Back From Florida

A few reflections:

-I got to see an unusually high-scoring hockey game. The New Jersey Devils pounded the DEFENDING STANLEY CUP CHAMPION FROM TWO YEARS AGO (as they endlessly remind you) Tampa Bay Lightning 8-2. If you ever catch a game at the St. Pete Times Forum, I highly recommend getting your drink on at Dave Andreychuk's Grille pre and post game.

-I got to see an unusually low-scoring football game, as the Bears once again bore down and held off the Buccaneers. This team is truly for real and the national media's finally taking notice. (Reminds me just a little of another Chicago team)

-There are few pleasures in life quite like scarfing down a pecan waffle at Waffle House while "Redneck Woman" plays on the jukebox and a cook named Dot whines to the waitresses about her cheatin boyfriend. I wish I had my video camera with me.

Like Ferris Bueller Says...

I dunno, some quote about life moving too fast and passing you by.

As everyone knows, the mega derivatives brokerage that I work for filed for bankruptcy last month. Fates became uncertain, business was bought out. Everyone panicked.

Earlier this month, I got a call from a headhunter acting on behalf of a software company that I've had my eyes on for about 7 years but never was able to get an "in" with. Well, he got me in, and I interviewed for a position that seemed way over my head.

Guess it wasn't. They presented me with an offer yesterday. Full-time software sales, baby. Giddyup.

My last day here is December 7th. December 8th-12th I'm in Seattle. I get back from Seattle and hop a flight to NYC the next day for two weeks of training (back on weekends, thankfully) that'll take me right up to Christmas.

Off to Florida for Turkey Day tonight. Y'all have a good one, catch you next week.

It Had To Happen Sometime

Went to get my eyes checked out today.

My usual opthamologist is out of town, so I saw one of her associates for my biennial checkup. When I walked into the office, a cute perky young Indian girl was sitting at the front desk along with the receptionist. I figured that she was up front just helping out.

Nope. Turned out she was the doctor. Holy crap, she couldn't have been more than 25.

It's probably the second or third time in my life I've really actually felt old.

Dispatches From The Front: Tin Foil Hat Edition

Email from a Cub fan friend of the COO of my group. Grapes still sour, buddy?

After letting it soak in for a few weeks, in my opinion, it was very obvious that the 2005 playoffs were fixed in favor of the White Sox. It was a fraud!
The final straw was when Commissioner Bud Selig ordered that the Astros play with their dome open. No one involved in baseball has ever heard of such a decision. Telling the home team that they cannot do with their stadium as they have done all season including the first round of the playoffs. I want to know who theatened Selig's family to make that decision.
The umpires were a disgrace. Doug Eddings call on the ball in the dirt changed the whole series. Just in case, umpire Ron Kulpa failed to not call catcher's interference on A.J. when his mitt hit Steve Finley's bat. And of course who could forget when umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitch, loading up the bases for Paul Konerko's grand slam.
Coincidence? I think not. I want to know who got to the umps. Major League umpires are too good for that nonsense.
I have witnessed several sporting events in my life that I know were fixed. It happens more often that you think. One that comes to mind was the rematch between UNLV and Duke for the NCAA championship in the 90's. I can still see Stacy Augmon and Greg Anthony just throwing balls away to wide open guys.
Who was responsible for this White Sox victory? I would like to know. Was it the mafia? Mayor Daley and his Southside henchmen? Or was it Vegas bookies? When the playoffs started the White Sox had only a 10% chance of winning it all. Let me repeat that. The odds of winning it all even after the eight teams in the playoffs had qualified was only 10%. For every $1,000 bet, you win $10,000 if the Sox won. Who was on the other side of those odds? I believe that the offshore casinos and websites that are popping up all over took it in the ass! Why? I believe that Vegas is feeling the effects of all of the offshore bookies, etc. What better way to stick it to them by betting on the Sox(or any qualified underdog in sports) and making sure that they get the designated result of their wagers and putting these guys out of business.
I want to stress that I am not blaming Sox fans.
You had nothing to do with this. In fact I am jealous of you. I wish we had Mayor Daley and his boys and/or organized crime on our side like you did to make sure the Sox brought home a winner. I can only imagine the death threats to Vlad Guerrero and the rest of the Angels while they were here in Chicago. Instead what do we have on the North Side? Pussies! When the Marlins were here they probably treated them to dinner and drinks.
I also remember reading about how if the Cubs made it to the World Series in 2003 how much money Vegas would be out. All of the hundreds of thousands of Cub fans nationwide that put their money every year on the Cubs to win it all. The figure was in the hundreds of millions. Coincidence that the Cubs lost the last two games at home to go to the series? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm.
I worked at the Merc long enough to know how this country operates. Where big money goes and how it is made. You can laugh at my theories above if you want but I could tell you stories that you wouldn't believe regarding stuff like this.
Why weren't the White Sox featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated when they won the Series? Why didn't ESPN even have them as the lead story? They know what's up. They know the best team didn't win.
That and the fact that the White Sox fan base of 30,000 people doesn't amount to much.
Thanks for reading. I'll now go back to smoking my weed. BT

Full Steam Ahead Into Winter!

Ahh yes. The middle of November...signaling the start of the holiday season. It begins with my favorite day (Thanksgiving--the perfect excuse to go to Florida, eat heavily, drink heavily and watch way too much football) and ends with my second favorite day (New Year's--a day to recover from drinking heavily while watching way too much football). But everything in between can take a suck as far as I'm concerned.

Christmas? Bah humbug, says I. Running around trying to find the prefect present because it's backordered until March online? Not my cup of tea. Plus, my parents split up just before Christmas of 1996--can you say most awkward holiday ever?

I do like Christmas trees, especially since I get to hang a White Sox 2005 World Series Champions ornament on mine this year.

I like snow. It's supposed to snow in Chicago tonight (no way in hell it hits the ground, much less sticks, but it still looks pretty) and that's kinda what inspired this pointless musing.

I like the start of college hoops season, and the playoff races in the NFL heating up.

I don't know if bankrupt companies have Christmas parties or not. But we'll see. About half the company parties I've been to have seen me be perfectly well-behaved, and the other half of them have resulted in me having a 2 day hangover.

So off we go, headlong into the end of 2005. Let's see what it brings!

That Time Of The Week...

Parlay (4 Teams)	11/13/05 09:34 ET
25.00/190.74	Result: Pending
Cardinals(Arizona) Lions(Detroit)	11/13/05 (13:05 ET) Lions(Detroit) -3.5
Packers(GreenBay) Falcons(Atlanta)	11/13/05 (16:20 ET) Packers(GreenBay) +9
Patriots(NewEngland) Dolphins(Miami)	11/13/05 (13:05 ET) Patriots(NewEngland) -3 (-105)
Vikings(Minnesota) Giants(NewYork)	11/13/05 (13:05 ET) Giants(NewYork) -470

Scenes From An Urban Existence

Left work at 4 today and I was just about the last person outta there. There just ain't much to do or see right now as we sit waiting to hear our fate.

Ran home, let the cleaning lady in. Decided that it would be really weird to be home while the cleaning lady was there so I trotted over to the Starbucks across the street. Plopped my ass on one of the big overstuffed chairs and I'm poring over the FT in between peeks at my email.

There's a couple sitting at one of the tables near me. Both probably a couple years older than me, sporting the uniforms of the young and restless in Chicago--he's got the requiste pinstriped Brooks Brothers shirt, she's got the tight sweater and the big rock.

I've figured out they're married, but not to each other. She's laughing way too loud at his jokes and keeps looking around stealing glances to make sure no one recognizes them. He seems wayyyyyy too interested in what she has to say to be married to her, keeps raising his eyebrows and whatnot.

Ahhhh..the things you see on a cold Thursday afternoon.

Illinois Politics

Two big stories out of the Land of Stinkin' in the past 24 to 48.

Chain-smoking, gin-sipping, baton-twirling State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka just chucked her loud flowery hat into the chase for the governor's mansion. JBT is an absolute riot, never afraid to speak her mind and a definite bright contrast to the dark and dull stuffed shirts who make up most of the Illinois GOP. But she's also got a nasty past. Allegations of her using state workers for political purposes abound, and she's in just a littletootight with former Governor George (not Jack! not Jim) Ryan, who's spending most of his November in federal court. Would Judy be the best candidate for governor? Hell no. But would she be the most interesting? Hell yes. I'm sticking with my guy Rauschenberger.

Oh, and Lee Daniels is retiring. Lee's been a near and dear friend to the Ilk clan for a looooong time, and here's hoping whatever happens happens for the best.

Fall Fashion Trend!

3 point games are the new one-run games.

You Write Great Emails, Brownie

Ahhh, the joys of working for the government. Everything's monitored, everything's archived and it's all in the public domain.

Behold the emails of deposed FEMA director Michael D. Brown written during the worst of Hurricane Katrina. In between trying to coordinate ice deliveries and rescue pets, "Brownie" finds time to ask how his clothes look, and takes some tips on looking industrious from his smitten assistant.

Randomized

People keep asking me if it's worn off yet. The honest answer is that it hasn't. I can still hear Joe Buck (sanctimonious little twit that he is) saying "88 years in as the second team in the second city are no more. The Chicago White Sox are world champions." Thursday's Trib is already in a frame on the wall of my office here at home. The locker room hat, ugly as it is, is sitting on my bookshelf with the tags still on it. I still just break out into a spontaneous shit-eating grin every now and then.

Bush nominated a new Supreme Court justice, and this is gonna be a bloodbath. I'm not buying into the whole Harriet Miers was a decoy tinfoil-hat conspiracy. At the same time, I think the last thing Bush needs right now is a polarizing high court nominee. The country's divided, and more and more people are flocking to the anti-Bush side than ever. Justifiably so, I suppose--what with the crummy Katrina response and the lack of followthrough on Social Security reform and the clusterfuck in Iraq.

Next to "Don't Stop Believin," the classic rock song that's been getting the most airplay on my iPod is "Do Ya" by ELO. Damned Monster.com commericals.

The Bears are playing some credible football right now. I'm seeing some shades of 2001 with their impressive defense coming up with the big play time and time again. For the first time all season Sunday (with the exception of the 2 games I've attended), I actually wasted space on my couch and watched two entire football games.

Prince Charles and Princess (Consort) Camilla are touring the US right now. I keep making all kinds of "Squiggy" jokes, only to have The Better Half (somewhat of a royals expert, don't ask) remind me that Squiggy was Di, and Camilla and Chuck used "Fred and George" as their adulterous code names.

Come next week, the fate of my company will have been decided. Not by management, or shareholders, but rather by a bankruptcy court. Delightful!

The first week after Daylight Savings Time ends is always the toughest for me. I start getting heavy lids at about 6 PM. Not good.