Sarah and I spent the weekend at Joe Wheeler State Park for a belated anniversary trip. On Saturday morning, we played golf on the park course. Actually, I played and Sarah drove the golf cart while trying not to die of hypothermia.
Sarah is very supportive of my sports passion. She allows the TV to always be on games and comes to about everything athetically that I do. While she is very supportive, she was not the most intelligent person in the area of athletics. Over the past three years, she has grown greatly in her knowledge of stats, players, teams and terms.
On Saturday, however, I got a great quote from Sarah that shows I have been lacking on teaching her golf. While I am not the greatest golfer, at times I can perform like I somewhat know what I am doing. On this day, I am hitting my driver very well. On the first few holes, I am hitting the ball about at 250 yards straight down the fairway. This is the best I can hope for.
Sarah responds with "Matt, you really are a great tee-shotter!"
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Headlines from Atlanta
Since I do not feel like writing a long blog with a description of the events in Atlanta, I am going to give readers some headlines from the trip. My latest adventure was attended by Jonathan Brewer and Kevin Morris. Jeff Coleman was in Atlanta, but decided he had better things to do in the Peach State.
Brewer helps cops put away dirty scalper
Perdue's luck still strong as tickets come cheap
Florida party bus plays American Pie song with "This will be the day that I die" on repeat
Perdue and Morris eat fast food Chinese in floor of CNN Center with Florida Fans while Jonathan enjoys a Reuben Sandwich and Beer by himself
Morris sells dental business to Brewer's roommate
Brewer bruises Perdue, Morris and other spectators' hands with violent high-fives during the game
Perdue collects dozens of free Chick-Fila coupons for free 3-Piece Chicken Minnies
Morris sits on top row of upper deck with Oriental Florida fan in a visor, hot girl and her husband
Perdue celebrates Alabama's first three scores with hugs from Brewer; After third hug, duo decides on another celebration technique (violent high-fives)
Coleman ditches friends in Atlanta for hotel time with In-Laws
Brewer valiantly searches for cheap toboggan but $12 not worth his health
Perdue pulls the legendary "Have you met my friend Jonathan?" on the MARTA to three semi-lovely ladies with no success
Brewer kept up all-night with snores from Perdue despite use of earplugs (Sarah says I do not snore)
Brewer's phone goes dead during pregame; following recharge in hotel after the game, Brewer receives 100-plus text messages (World Record)
Perdue's wife lets loose, orders Pasadena airplane tickets
Brewer helps cops put away dirty scalper
Perdue's luck still strong as tickets come cheap
Florida party bus plays American Pie song with "This will be the day that I die" on repeat
Perdue and Morris eat fast food Chinese in floor of CNN Center with Florida Fans while Jonathan enjoys a Reuben Sandwich and Beer by himself
Morris sells dental business to Brewer's roommate
Brewer bruises Perdue, Morris and other spectators' hands with violent high-fives during the game
Perdue collects dozens of free Chick-Fila coupons for free 3-Piece Chicken Minnies
Morris sits on top row of upper deck with Oriental Florida fan in a visor, hot girl and her husband
Perdue celebrates Alabama's first three scores with hugs from Brewer; After third hug, duo decides on another celebration technique (violent high-fives)
Coleman ditches friends in Atlanta for hotel time with In-Laws
Brewer valiantly searches for cheap toboggan but $12 not worth his health
Perdue pulls the legendary "Have you met my friend Jonathan?" on the MARTA to three semi-lovely ladies with no success
Brewer kept up all-night with snores from Perdue despite use of earplugs (Sarah says I do not snore)
Brewer's phone goes dead during pregame; following recharge in hotel after the game, Brewer receives 100-plus text messages (World Record)
Perdue's wife lets loose, orders Pasadena airplane tickets
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thanksgiving at Orange Beach
While being a middle-school teacher does not have a lot of perks, getting the entire Thanksgiving week off, however, kicks major bootie! This year, the Perdues and Storms packed up their belongings and headed to the Gulf Coast for the holidays. Being in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach for five days without driving in traffic, waiting in line for restaurants or fighting for space on the beach was a nice relief. Holiday vacations may become a tradition for the family!
1. Brynn and the Beach: Brynn is not the type that just jumps into a new situation. It takes her about 30 minutes to warm-up to new people, places or events. For example, we went to the Alabama basketball game two weeks ago. For the first 30 minutes, Brynn sat in her mother's lap without moving. After this short period of time, Brynn warmed up to the lights, band and crowd. By the end of the game, she was bouncing around and clapping.
The beach was much the same way. Brynn sat on her blanket on the sand, stared around and would not touch her toys. But after a few minutes, she got ready to go and began playing with her bucket and shovel, while tossing sand everywhere. She was having a blast until she did what every baby does with something new... put it in her mouth. From her reaction, sand does not taste like the Turkey-Apple-Sweet Pea combo that Sarah feeds her daily. This ended our first beach trip and not learning her lesson the first time, ended our second trek to the sand, as well. By the end of the trip, Brynn understood that sand=bad taste!
2. Brynn and the Indoor Pool: My daughter loved to swim in the pool this past summer. She would kick and float in her crabbie toy all day. But something about the warmth of the indoor pool did not sit well with my 2020 Olypmic swimmer (watchout Phelps, Perdue is breaking your records). She was ornery in the pool, but this might have been because it was 7 AM or a couple my parents age were being friendly in the hot tub. Brynn did not want to swim, but just hold on to her mommy. Lucky for us, some kid forgot his kickboard in the swimming pool from the day before. We decided to put Brynn on the board and push her around. She thought she was queen of the pool. She loved riding around the pool without actually being in the water.
3. The Blind Side: One of my favorite things to do at the beach is go to the movies. I am not the type to sit outside all day, so I find other things to do. I wanted to see New Moon, but was vetoed by Sarah and Ryan. We decided on The Blind Side, the true story of Ole Miss Alum and current Baltimore Raven Michael Oher. The movie starred Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. I figured the movie would be corny, since it came from a low-budget production. I could not have been more wrong. The movie was very touching, inspring and comical. I would recommend this film to any family.
4. Restaurants: Ranking the places I ate with meals:
1. Original Oyster House: Paremsan Cheese Shrimp with Baked Potato and Cheese Grits
2. The Shrimp Basket: Blackened Shrimp Poboy with onion rings
3. LuLu's: Caribbean Jerk Chicken Sandwich with Chips; half of my sister's Shrimp Quesedilla
4. Tacky Jacks: Breakfast Burrito with Home Fries
5. Bahama Bob's: Buffalo Shrimp with Fries
6. Rafters (twice): Hot Wings with Whirly Taters; Buffalo Fingers with Whirly Taters
7. China Dragon: General Tso' Chicken with Fried Rice, Hot and Sour Soup, Eggroll
8. Calypso Joes: Seafood Buffet (NASTY)
-- We ate Tacky Jacks for breakfast; Whirly Taters are homemade potato chips with ranch, bacon, cheese
5. Iron Bowl: Since Sarah came into my life, I have got a lot better at not letting the results of an Alabama football game ruin my day, week or year. In the past, my moods were dictated by the way the Crimson Tide performed on the field. Sarah has brought a lot of peace into my life in that area along with the games that I play or coach. My daughter Brynn, however, has brought me to a new level of peace. Whether it was Tennessee lining up for the game winning field goal or Auburn going up 14-0 in the first few minutes, a quick peek at my daughter can calm all my nerves. Lucky for me, Brynn woke up from her nap during the last 2-minutes of the Iron Bowl. She found her way to my lap and proved a great stress relief as Alabama scored the winning touchdown and knocked down Auburn's desperation heave.
As for the game, it was about what I expected. I thought Auburn would storm out of the gate with some trick plays, get an early lead and hope to hold on late. I was wrong, however, in thinking that we would beat them down in the second half and win by 14-17 points. Auburn played great and had a gameplan to win the game, but Alabama having more depth and better players proved the difference. Now, I am off to Atlanta with Jonathan for the SEC Championship. I am not taking my stress relief, but will have plenty of pictures of her on my phone to view.
6. Random Happenings at Beach: I took Brynn to see Santa Claus. I played tennis with Sarah, Ryan and Susan. I lounged in the hot tub. I got a few new articles of clothing from Old Navy including two head pieces. I watched two Bama basketball games. I changed a flat tire.
I should have a blog update on my trip to Atlanta. With a win over the Gators, this next trip may reach... wait for it... Legendary Status. A loss will lead Jonathan and I into a state of depression.
1. Brynn and the Beach: Brynn is not the type that just jumps into a new situation. It takes her about 30 minutes to warm-up to new people, places or events. For example, we went to the Alabama basketball game two weeks ago. For the first 30 minutes, Brynn sat in her mother's lap without moving. After this short period of time, Brynn warmed up to the lights, band and crowd. By the end of the game, she was bouncing around and clapping.
The beach was much the same way. Brynn sat on her blanket on the sand, stared around and would not touch her toys. But after a few minutes, she got ready to go and began playing with her bucket and shovel, while tossing sand everywhere. She was having a blast until she did what every baby does with something new... put it in her mouth. From her reaction, sand does not taste like the Turkey-Apple-Sweet Pea combo that Sarah feeds her daily. This ended our first beach trip and not learning her lesson the first time, ended our second trek to the sand, as well. By the end of the trip, Brynn understood that sand=bad taste!
2. Brynn and the Indoor Pool: My daughter loved to swim in the pool this past summer. She would kick and float in her crabbie toy all day. But something about the warmth of the indoor pool did not sit well with my 2020 Olypmic swimmer (watchout Phelps, Perdue is breaking your records). She was ornery in the pool, but this might have been because it was 7 AM or a couple my parents age were being friendly in the hot tub. Brynn did not want to swim, but just hold on to her mommy. Lucky for us, some kid forgot his kickboard in the swimming pool from the day before. We decided to put Brynn on the board and push her around. She thought she was queen of the pool. She loved riding around the pool without actually being in the water.
3. The Blind Side: One of my favorite things to do at the beach is go to the movies. I am not the type to sit outside all day, so I find other things to do. I wanted to see New Moon, but was vetoed by Sarah and Ryan. We decided on The Blind Side, the true story of Ole Miss Alum and current Baltimore Raven Michael Oher. The movie starred Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. I figured the movie would be corny, since it came from a low-budget production. I could not have been more wrong. The movie was very touching, inspring and comical. I would recommend this film to any family.
4. Restaurants: Ranking the places I ate with meals:
1. Original Oyster House: Paremsan Cheese Shrimp with Baked Potato and Cheese Grits
2. The Shrimp Basket: Blackened Shrimp Poboy with onion rings
3. LuLu's: Caribbean Jerk Chicken Sandwich with Chips; half of my sister's Shrimp Quesedilla
4. Tacky Jacks: Breakfast Burrito with Home Fries
5. Bahama Bob's: Buffalo Shrimp with Fries
6. Rafters (twice): Hot Wings with Whirly Taters; Buffalo Fingers with Whirly Taters
7. China Dragon: General Tso' Chicken with Fried Rice, Hot and Sour Soup, Eggroll
8. Calypso Joes: Seafood Buffet (NASTY)
-- We ate Tacky Jacks for breakfast; Whirly Taters are homemade potato chips with ranch, bacon, cheese
5. Iron Bowl: Since Sarah came into my life, I have got a lot better at not letting the results of an Alabama football game ruin my day, week or year. In the past, my moods were dictated by the way the Crimson Tide performed on the field. Sarah has brought a lot of peace into my life in that area along with the games that I play or coach. My daughter Brynn, however, has brought me to a new level of peace. Whether it was Tennessee lining up for the game winning field goal or Auburn going up 14-0 in the first few minutes, a quick peek at my daughter can calm all my nerves. Lucky for me, Brynn woke up from her nap during the last 2-minutes of the Iron Bowl. She found her way to my lap and proved a great stress relief as Alabama scored the winning touchdown and knocked down Auburn's desperation heave.
As for the game, it was about what I expected. I thought Auburn would storm out of the gate with some trick plays, get an early lead and hope to hold on late. I was wrong, however, in thinking that we would beat them down in the second half and win by 14-17 points. Auburn played great and had a gameplan to win the game, but Alabama having more depth and better players proved the difference. Now, I am off to Atlanta with Jonathan for the SEC Championship. I am not taking my stress relief, but will have plenty of pictures of her on my phone to view.
6. Random Happenings at Beach: I took Brynn to see Santa Claus. I played tennis with Sarah, Ryan and Susan. I lounged in the hot tub. I got a few new articles of clothing from Old Navy including two head pieces. I watched two Bama basketball games. I changed a flat tire.
I should have a blog update on my trip to Atlanta. With a win over the Gators, this next trip may reach... wait for it... Legendary Status. A loss will lead Jonathan and I into a state of depression.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Random Movie Fact...
There are many movies that I viewed when I was in elementary school, but do not remember the slightest thing about these days. With remakes taking over the movie market, I try to catch up on the originals. Rumor has it that a new, updated Mad Max will be released in the next couple of years.
For those who do not know Mad Max, it was one of Mel Gibson's first flicks. It was an Australian film of a future world where vigilante road gangs ruled the landscape. Gibson, an Australian road cop, kills one of the gang members in a high speed chase. This leads to the rest of the gang to kill his partner, wife, child and dog. Just like all action movies, he seeks revenge and destroys the gang all by himself.
I watched the movie this week from my DVR. The trilogy came on AMC (still have Mad Max: Road Warrior and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome to go) and I recorded the whole set. The original was actually a great movie. Using Australia as its backdrop, the director created a beautiful setting for viewers. The music was excellent, along with great cinematography. My favorite scenes are these 1-second flash clips of the bad guys' eyes bulging out just before they die.
Now to the reason that I wrote this blog. I am a horror film freak. When I was little, I stayed up all night on Halloween watching Friday the 13th Movies and Nightmare on Elm Street on the USA Network. Lately, I catch all of the Saw movies and Halloween remakes. I am also looking forward to the new take on Freddy and return of the Scream series in 2010-11.
The original Saw was based on a man getting a choice... die in a room where no one will ever find you, while chained to a bath tub or cut off you leg at the ankle with the rusty hacksaw on the floor and crawl to safety. Come to find out, this idea was not original to Saw. Those guys stole it from the original Mad Max. At the end of Mad Max, he catches the last bad guy and handcuffs him by the ankle to a flipped over car that is leaking gas. Max gives the guy a saw and tells him that he has five minutes to saw his leg off or burn/blow up with the vehicle.
Who knew that Mel Gibson was the original Jigsaw!
For those who do not know Mad Max, it was one of Mel Gibson's first flicks. It was an Australian film of a future world where vigilante road gangs ruled the landscape. Gibson, an Australian road cop, kills one of the gang members in a high speed chase. This leads to the rest of the gang to kill his partner, wife, child and dog. Just like all action movies, he seeks revenge and destroys the gang all by himself.
I watched the movie this week from my DVR. The trilogy came on AMC (still have Mad Max: Road Warrior and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome to go) and I recorded the whole set. The original was actually a great movie. Using Australia as its backdrop, the director created a beautiful setting for viewers. The music was excellent, along with great cinematography. My favorite scenes are these 1-second flash clips of the bad guys' eyes bulging out just before they die.
Now to the reason that I wrote this blog. I am a horror film freak. When I was little, I stayed up all night on Halloween watching Friday the 13th Movies and Nightmare on Elm Street on the USA Network. Lately, I catch all of the Saw movies and Halloween remakes. I am also looking forward to the new take on Freddy and return of the Scream series in 2010-11.
The original Saw was based on a man getting a choice... die in a room where no one will ever find you, while chained to a bath tub or cut off you leg at the ankle with the rusty hacksaw on the floor and crawl to safety. Come to find out, this idea was not original to Saw. Those guys stole it from the original Mad Max. At the end of Mad Max, he catches the last bad guy and handcuffs him by the ankle to a flipped over car that is leaking gas. Max gives the guy a saw and tells him that he has five minutes to saw his leg off or burn/blow up with the vehicle.
Who knew that Mel Gibson was the original Jigsaw!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Free is always better...
Myself, Jeff, Robert and Jonathan took Starkville, MS by storm on Saturday. This was our second trip to the Cow Palace this football season, but this trip involved our beloved Alabama Crimson Tide. While this trip did not live up to its legendary expectations, it still had plenty of entertainment, excitement and FREE TICKETS!
1. Scalpers can kiss our booties: Taking Starkville by storm without tickets to the game was not looking like a smart decision 45 minutes before kickoff. Tickets were in the $75-100 range and we are not the wealthiest group of friends. We were looking for the $30 range which did not seem to exist. After talking with about 100 scalpers, who all wanted to rip us off, we struck gold. An older, distinguished man beckoned us to his side. He presented us with four, lower level tickets in the Alabama section. We expected them to come with a hefty price tag, but his words took us by surprise... "These tickets are courtesy of the Mal Moore and the Alabama Athletic Department" JACKPOT!!!! In our minds, we just won the lottery. What a great way to watch an Alabama football game... Free and in the Alabama section. It gets no better than this.
2. Jonathan's Anger: Most people think Mr. Brewer is any easy going person without a temper. From personal experience, I knew it took a lot to get him agitated to the point of cursing or fighting (repeated shots to the private parts or an extended period of time with Robert). Either old age, lack of marital relations or the airline industry has changed this once patient man. The anger started at the Cowbell Sports Bar. Evidently, Mississippi does not ban smoking in restaurants. As we are eating our wings, a few people around us begin to light up. Cigarette smoke evidently turns Johnny into the Incredible Hulk. He turns a funny color, his voice gets deeper and his temper flares. He starts yelling out loud how he hates smoking. He is ready to leave the restaurant. I begin to get worried, but play it off as nothing. Next, we learned in the car ride to the game that Jonathan hates overweight people. Watching big people eat, grosses him out. He gets angry watching an obese person down a hamburger. Finally, Jonathan's temper reaches its peak at Chili's in Columbus. His hamburger comes out and it is not the largest burger in the world. Instead of being round, it is more of the McDonald's Rib-a-Que shape. This sets off Jonathan's last nerve. He pulls a Mr. Pate. He fusses at the waitress for the size of his burger. He sends his burger back for a new one. Jonathan has officially ripped out of his clothes and turned green. About 20 minutes later, his new burger arrives marinated in the cook's bodily fluids.
3. Jeff picking a fight: Jeff and the art of fighting do not go hand-in-hand. When a fight gets ready to take place, Jeff can typically be found hiding behind a book case at Barnes and Noble (inside joke from back in the day). Now that Jeff has gotten buff, married and expecting a child, he has gotten brave. This was no more evident than Saturday night at the game. Jeff is getting irritated by all of the drunk Alabama fans during the game. He decides to place a mustard packet on the bleacher in front of him and stomp it. This sends mustard flying through the air and on the intoxicated boys in front of us. About 30 minutes later, the boys realize their Shirt Shop pants are covered in yellow. They start running their mouths and staring at Jeff. Each of us offer Jeff a solution to the problem. I think Jeff should keep staring back. Robert thinks Jeff owes them an apology and a hug. Jonathan wants Jeff to ask them if they want some ketchup with that mustard. Jeff chooses option D, run away and do not look back. Maybe I was wrong about Jeff's new bravery!
4. Robert's New Girlfriend: As Robert, Jeff and Jonathan head to the bar to get a drink, I stay at the table to adhere to my strict Southern Baptist principals. Robert leaves his cell phone lying on the table. Bored, I begin to view his phone book, just to see if there is anyone that needs a random call from me. As I get to the letter S, I notice a peculiar name that I do not know. This must be a friend of Roberts that I have not met. Her name... Suzy Fun Buns. My first thought is that this must be a nickname for his wife Sara. So, I hit view the number and automatically pick up the first four digits 1-900. Uh Oh, Robert has a problem that might need to be addressed on this trip. I am the type that handles things upfront, so I walk to the bar and ask loudly in front of the good-looking bartender and other patrons sitting around, "Who is Suzy Fun Buns?" and hold up his phone. It is not easy to embarrass Robert, but this got him. He was caught off guard by the revelation of this info. According to Robert, the guys at work like to play tricks on each other and this was a clever scheme by his friends. But if I am Sara, I take a look a little more closely at his phone records.
5. Times have changed: A few years ago, our topics of conversation could not have been more different than they were this weekend. Instead of talking about how hot the college girls look in the short dresses, we swear that our daughter will never get caught dead in that outfit. Instead of attempting to pick up girls, we give Jonathan advice on the pros and cons of marriage. Instead of picking on Jeff, well we still do this (wearing his pants way too high), but we also give him tons of advice on fatherhood. Instead of planning our next wild adventure, we scheme of ways to convince our wives to let us do something that doesn't involve the park, Walmart or Sunday School Parties. Listening to Robert talk about his 401K, Roth IRA and diversified portfolio, Jeff talk about keeping his baby at night while April is at class and Jonathan contemplate joining the Air National Guard are in stark contrast to the past conversations of Halo, hot girls in our classes and intramural games. I can't imagine these conversations in 10 years... topics may include colon cleansing, a mid-life crisis and hair implants.
6. The Game: The actual football game was awesome. We had great, free seats. We sat with all Alabama fans. MSU fans left midway through the 3rd Quarter, so we had the entire stadium to ourselves. I hate halftime shows, but this one actually rocked. It was a Veterans' Day tribute. The game was awesome. Mark Barron proved why he may be one of the best young defensive players in the nation. Mark Ingram booked his trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy Presentation. A couple of more solid weeks and we are looking at Bama's first Heisman winner. Maze and Hanks stepped up to help out Julio, while Marcel Dareus will break all kinds of Alabama sack records before his career ends after three seasons. We have one more home game this weekend and I can't wait. I will not be in attendance for the Iron Bowl (beach with family for Thanksgiving), but plan to make Atlanta and possibly another place (I do not want to jinx the Crimson Tide).
7. Next Trip: Our next guy trip may be to the place not mentioned above on the other side of the country that has a big Hollywood sign on the side of a hill. But it will not actually be a true guy trip, as our scheming led to us inviting our wives on this trip!
1. Scalpers can kiss our booties: Taking Starkville by storm without tickets to the game was not looking like a smart decision 45 minutes before kickoff. Tickets were in the $75-100 range and we are not the wealthiest group of friends. We were looking for the $30 range which did not seem to exist. After talking with about 100 scalpers, who all wanted to rip us off, we struck gold. An older, distinguished man beckoned us to his side. He presented us with four, lower level tickets in the Alabama section. We expected them to come with a hefty price tag, but his words took us by surprise... "These tickets are courtesy of the Mal Moore and the Alabama Athletic Department" JACKPOT!!!! In our minds, we just won the lottery. What a great way to watch an Alabama football game... Free and in the Alabama section. It gets no better than this.
2. Jonathan's Anger: Most people think Mr. Brewer is any easy going person without a temper. From personal experience, I knew it took a lot to get him agitated to the point of cursing or fighting (repeated shots to the private parts or an extended period of time with Robert). Either old age, lack of marital relations or the airline industry has changed this once patient man. The anger started at the Cowbell Sports Bar. Evidently, Mississippi does not ban smoking in restaurants. As we are eating our wings, a few people around us begin to light up. Cigarette smoke evidently turns Johnny into the Incredible Hulk. He turns a funny color, his voice gets deeper and his temper flares. He starts yelling out loud how he hates smoking. He is ready to leave the restaurant. I begin to get worried, but play it off as nothing. Next, we learned in the car ride to the game that Jonathan hates overweight people. Watching big people eat, grosses him out. He gets angry watching an obese person down a hamburger. Finally, Jonathan's temper reaches its peak at Chili's in Columbus. His hamburger comes out and it is not the largest burger in the world. Instead of being round, it is more of the McDonald's Rib-a-Que shape. This sets off Jonathan's last nerve. He pulls a Mr. Pate. He fusses at the waitress for the size of his burger. He sends his burger back for a new one. Jonathan has officially ripped out of his clothes and turned green. About 20 minutes later, his new burger arrives marinated in the cook's bodily fluids.
3. Jeff picking a fight: Jeff and the art of fighting do not go hand-in-hand. When a fight gets ready to take place, Jeff can typically be found hiding behind a book case at Barnes and Noble (inside joke from back in the day). Now that Jeff has gotten buff, married and expecting a child, he has gotten brave. This was no more evident than Saturday night at the game. Jeff is getting irritated by all of the drunk Alabama fans during the game. He decides to place a mustard packet on the bleacher in front of him and stomp it. This sends mustard flying through the air and on the intoxicated boys in front of us. About 30 minutes later, the boys realize their Shirt Shop pants are covered in yellow. They start running their mouths and staring at Jeff. Each of us offer Jeff a solution to the problem. I think Jeff should keep staring back. Robert thinks Jeff owes them an apology and a hug. Jonathan wants Jeff to ask them if they want some ketchup with that mustard. Jeff chooses option D, run away and do not look back. Maybe I was wrong about Jeff's new bravery!
4. Robert's New Girlfriend: As Robert, Jeff and Jonathan head to the bar to get a drink, I stay at the table to adhere to my strict Southern Baptist principals. Robert leaves his cell phone lying on the table. Bored, I begin to view his phone book, just to see if there is anyone that needs a random call from me. As I get to the letter S, I notice a peculiar name that I do not know. This must be a friend of Roberts that I have not met. Her name... Suzy Fun Buns. My first thought is that this must be a nickname for his wife Sara. So, I hit view the number and automatically pick up the first four digits 1-900. Uh Oh, Robert has a problem that might need to be addressed on this trip. I am the type that handles things upfront, so I walk to the bar and ask loudly in front of the good-looking bartender and other patrons sitting around, "Who is Suzy Fun Buns?" and hold up his phone. It is not easy to embarrass Robert, but this got him. He was caught off guard by the revelation of this info. According to Robert, the guys at work like to play tricks on each other and this was a clever scheme by his friends. But if I am Sara, I take a look a little more closely at his phone records.
5. Times have changed: A few years ago, our topics of conversation could not have been more different than they were this weekend. Instead of talking about how hot the college girls look in the short dresses, we swear that our daughter will never get caught dead in that outfit. Instead of attempting to pick up girls, we give Jonathan advice on the pros and cons of marriage. Instead of picking on Jeff, well we still do this (wearing his pants way too high), but we also give him tons of advice on fatherhood. Instead of planning our next wild adventure, we scheme of ways to convince our wives to let us do something that doesn't involve the park, Walmart or Sunday School Parties. Listening to Robert talk about his 401K, Roth IRA and diversified portfolio, Jeff talk about keeping his baby at night while April is at class and Jonathan contemplate joining the Air National Guard are in stark contrast to the past conversations of Halo, hot girls in our classes and intramural games. I can't imagine these conversations in 10 years... topics may include colon cleansing, a mid-life crisis and hair implants.
6. The Game: The actual football game was awesome. We had great, free seats. We sat with all Alabama fans. MSU fans left midway through the 3rd Quarter, so we had the entire stadium to ourselves. I hate halftime shows, but this one actually rocked. It was a Veterans' Day tribute. The game was awesome. Mark Barron proved why he may be one of the best young defensive players in the nation. Mark Ingram booked his trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy Presentation. A couple of more solid weeks and we are looking at Bama's first Heisman winner. Maze and Hanks stepped up to help out Julio, while Marcel Dareus will break all kinds of Alabama sack records before his career ends after three seasons. We have one more home game this weekend and I can't wait. I will not be in attendance for the Iron Bowl (beach with family for Thanksgiving), but plan to make Atlanta and possibly another place (I do not want to jinx the Crimson Tide).
7. Next Trip: Our next guy trip may be to the place not mentioned above on the other side of the country that has a big Hollywood sign on the side of a hill. But it will not actually be a true guy trip, as our scheming led to us inviting our wives on this trip!
Friday, November 13, 2009
ER, Veterans Day and Random Stuff...
I am not a daily blogger. I do not think that people, need to know or want to know, what my family does on a daily basis. But ever so often, I will create a post about some events that have occurred in our lives over the past few days or past couple of weeks.
1. First Emergency Room Visit: Saturday started out so perfect. We slept in on Saturday morning, went to the Quad with friends before the Bama-LSU Game, I attended the game while Sarah and Brynn hung out with her parents, I tailgated with Jeff, April, Jonathan and the Newmans after the game, and finally returned home to watch free MMA on CBS while holding my sleepy daughter. This was the culmination of the Perfect Day!
Boy, things can change quickly. As I get done seeing Fedor destroy Brett Rogers with one punch, Brynn begins to cough in her sleep. I turn on the DVR of the Bama game, so I can see up-close the controversial calls. The cough begins to get worse. Brynn is having trouble catching her breath. Sarah is dead asleep in our bed at this time, but I decide to take a chance that she will not verbally abuse me for waking her up. I tap her on the shoulder and tell her I think Brynn is sick. She lets out some form of a sentence that I am going to pretend was "Matt you are so great!" After a second and third tap, I get her awake and listening to Brynn's breathing struggles. We phone the on-call nurse and she listens to Brynn over the phone and says it sound like Croup. We are sent to the DCH-ER. Not a fun place to be after the Bama-LSU game.
The first person we see is a drunken, LSU fan with a smashed right cheek. According to his side of the story, he was minding his own business as he walked down the street and an Alabama fan did not like the way he looked, so he was slugged in the face. This guy got drilled. His face was messed up and I am pretty sure he was not Mr. Innocent. He did not shut up the entire time and eventually had the cops called on him.
Luckily having a young child, we are carried back into the ER quicker than everyone else. I do my best to name drop Tara Anders' name to the other nurses in search of preferential treatment. I think it might have worked a little! The staff at the ER was incredible. Everyone was super nice and friendly. They all took their time to entertain Brynn and make sure we were comfortable. Brynn was perfect through the entire ordeal. She let the nurses and doctor poke and prod all over her. She lay perfectly during an X-Ray. She took her breathing treatment like it was a game. The steroid shot at the end did result in a few tears, but quickly dried up as she fell asleep on the way home. In all, we were at the ER for about 3 hours. I was able to finish Twilight for about the 20th time, so it was a productive trip.
In the end, Brynn had the Croup and a sinus infection. She ended up with 3 shots, all in her thighs and taking medicine for her infection.
2. Veterans Day: Being a teacher has many perks. One of those was receiving an off day for Veterans' Day. My morning began early, as Scott and I had a tee time at 8 AM. It was the perfect morning for golf. The sun was out, the temperature was perfect with a slight breeze and no one played in front or behind us. We both played extremely well and had a blast.
Following golf, the wives and children joined us at Wings for lunch. We had a great Hot Lips Platter for $5 which is their Wednesday special. The kids were well behaved, except when Spencer tried to show Brynn how to properly use a steak knife.
After lunch, we went shopping at Old Navy and got Brynn three outfits and daddy one long-sleeve polo shirt. We then went home and took a nap as a family, before heading to the park so Brynn could swing. That night, we spend plenty of time playing with Brynn and watching TV. In all, it was the best holiday I have had in a long time.
3. Update to List of Top TV Shows: For some reason, I forgot to include one of my favorite shows to my list on last week's blog. This show would definitely be in my Top-3. The show comes on ABC on Monday nights at 9 PM. What is this wonderful show, you may be asking. CASTLE!! That is right; it is thrilling and hilarious, all-in-one.
4. Basketball Update: The Hillcrest Lady Middle School Patriots are off to a rough start on the season. We are currently 2-4 with victories over Riverside and Bottenfield. We have lost to Westlawn on three occasions (2, 6, and 7 point differences) and Eastwood in a blowout. We are the most talented team in the city/county, but we are having trouble playing together, listening to coaches and staying out of foul trouble. I predict a City/County title, but we have a long way to go!
5. Brynn Update: Brynn is growing up everyday. She has now progressed to crawling in the correct position on a permanent basis. She does not resort to military crawls anymore. She can pull up on anything. She is attempting to be Spiderman on a daily basis by crawling up flat surfaces like the wall or our front-glass door. She also has a new toy. It is a baby grocery cart. She is able to pull up on the toy and then walk behind it. The girl can scoot across the floor with her cart. I predict walking by Thanksgiving (9 months), but Sarah says Christmans (10 months). I started teaching her to throw left-handed this week. She has not shown a strong distinction towards either hand. She uses whichever hand is closer to the object she wants in her mouth. But the process of creating a deadly left-handed volleyball server and softball pitcher has begun!
6. Upcoming Events: The Perdue's Calendar is full over the next few weeks. This Saturday, I will be going with the boys to Starkville for Day Out 2. We will be watching Bama continue their perfect season at the expense of Dan Mullen's puppy dogs. I will be sure to update my blog next week with a recap of this, wait for it... legendary trip!
During Thanksgiving, the Perdues and Storms will go to Orange Beach for 5 days. Both families have decided to enjoy the holidays beachside. It will be a week full of tennis, indoor swimming and seafood. We also plan to hit some stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
I am still in the process of finding a way to get to the SEC Championship on December 5. Jeff is my best bet, but if anyone else wants to take me, I fit into most trunks.
On December 18-20, Sarah and I will celebrate our 3rd Anniversary at Joe Wheeler State Park in North Alabama. Her father is so proud! We plan to hike, play golf and sleep without being woken up by Brynn.
1. First Emergency Room Visit: Saturday started out so perfect. We slept in on Saturday morning, went to the Quad with friends before the Bama-LSU Game, I attended the game while Sarah and Brynn hung out with her parents, I tailgated with Jeff, April, Jonathan and the Newmans after the game, and finally returned home to watch free MMA on CBS while holding my sleepy daughter. This was the culmination of the Perfect Day!
Boy, things can change quickly. As I get done seeing Fedor destroy Brett Rogers with one punch, Brynn begins to cough in her sleep. I turn on the DVR of the Bama game, so I can see up-close the controversial calls. The cough begins to get worse. Brynn is having trouble catching her breath. Sarah is dead asleep in our bed at this time, but I decide to take a chance that she will not verbally abuse me for waking her up. I tap her on the shoulder and tell her I think Brynn is sick. She lets out some form of a sentence that I am going to pretend was "Matt you are so great!" After a second and third tap, I get her awake and listening to Brynn's breathing struggles. We phone the on-call nurse and she listens to Brynn over the phone and says it sound like Croup. We are sent to the DCH-ER. Not a fun place to be after the Bama-LSU game.
The first person we see is a drunken, LSU fan with a smashed right cheek. According to his side of the story, he was minding his own business as he walked down the street and an Alabama fan did not like the way he looked, so he was slugged in the face. This guy got drilled. His face was messed up and I am pretty sure he was not Mr. Innocent. He did not shut up the entire time and eventually had the cops called on him.
Luckily having a young child, we are carried back into the ER quicker than everyone else. I do my best to name drop Tara Anders' name to the other nurses in search of preferential treatment. I think it might have worked a little! The staff at the ER was incredible. Everyone was super nice and friendly. They all took their time to entertain Brynn and make sure we were comfortable. Brynn was perfect through the entire ordeal. She let the nurses and doctor poke and prod all over her. She lay perfectly during an X-Ray. She took her breathing treatment like it was a game. The steroid shot at the end did result in a few tears, but quickly dried up as she fell asleep on the way home. In all, we were at the ER for about 3 hours. I was able to finish Twilight for about the 20th time, so it was a productive trip.
In the end, Brynn had the Croup and a sinus infection. She ended up with 3 shots, all in her thighs and taking medicine for her infection.
2. Veterans Day: Being a teacher has many perks. One of those was receiving an off day for Veterans' Day. My morning began early, as Scott and I had a tee time at 8 AM. It was the perfect morning for golf. The sun was out, the temperature was perfect with a slight breeze and no one played in front or behind us. We both played extremely well and had a blast.
Following golf, the wives and children joined us at Wings for lunch. We had a great Hot Lips Platter for $5 which is their Wednesday special. The kids were well behaved, except when Spencer tried to show Brynn how to properly use a steak knife.
After lunch, we went shopping at Old Navy and got Brynn three outfits and daddy one long-sleeve polo shirt. We then went home and took a nap as a family, before heading to the park so Brynn could swing. That night, we spend plenty of time playing with Brynn and watching TV. In all, it was the best holiday I have had in a long time.
3. Update to List of Top TV Shows: For some reason, I forgot to include one of my favorite shows to my list on last week's blog. This show would definitely be in my Top-3. The show comes on ABC on Monday nights at 9 PM. What is this wonderful show, you may be asking. CASTLE!! That is right; it is thrilling and hilarious, all-in-one.
4. Basketball Update: The Hillcrest Lady Middle School Patriots are off to a rough start on the season. We are currently 2-4 with victories over Riverside and Bottenfield. We have lost to Westlawn on three occasions (2, 6, and 7 point differences) and Eastwood in a blowout. We are the most talented team in the city/county, but we are having trouble playing together, listening to coaches and staying out of foul trouble. I predict a City/County title, but we have a long way to go!
5. Brynn Update: Brynn is growing up everyday. She has now progressed to crawling in the correct position on a permanent basis. She does not resort to military crawls anymore. She can pull up on anything. She is attempting to be Spiderman on a daily basis by crawling up flat surfaces like the wall or our front-glass door. She also has a new toy. It is a baby grocery cart. She is able to pull up on the toy and then walk behind it. The girl can scoot across the floor with her cart. I predict walking by Thanksgiving (9 months), but Sarah says Christmans (10 months). I started teaching her to throw left-handed this week. She has not shown a strong distinction towards either hand. She uses whichever hand is closer to the object she wants in her mouth. But the process of creating a deadly left-handed volleyball server and softball pitcher has begun!
6. Upcoming Events: The Perdue's Calendar is full over the next few weeks. This Saturday, I will be going with the boys to Starkville for Day Out 2. We will be watching Bama continue their perfect season at the expense of Dan Mullen's puppy dogs. I will be sure to update my blog next week with a recap of this, wait for it... legendary trip!
During Thanksgiving, the Perdues and Storms will go to Orange Beach for 5 days. Both families have decided to enjoy the holidays beachside. It will be a week full of tennis, indoor swimming and seafood. We also plan to hit some stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
I am still in the process of finding a way to get to the SEC Championship on December 5. Jeff is my best bet, but if anyone else wants to take me, I fit into most trunks.
On December 18-20, Sarah and I will celebrate our 3rd Anniversary at Joe Wheeler State Park in North Alabama. Her father is so proud! We plan to hike, play golf and sleep without being woken up by Brynn.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Fall TV Favorites
There have been many things that were invented, created or developed in my life time that I do not know how I lived without. As a child, I do not know how I lived without my original Nintendo Entertainment System. I played Mega Man, RBI Baseball, Contra, Duck Hunt or sprinted against the Cheetah on my Power Pad everyday, all day.
During high school and college, the emergence of cellular phones has taken me and nearly everyone else on this Earth by storm. I can't ride in my car, sit at my desk or go to a ballgame without calling or texting my wife or friends. I get mad at my students who try to text during class or drivers who don't pay attention because they are talking, but I am just as guilty as any of them. I have, however, taken a vow to my wife that I will not text and drive with Brynn in the car.
The most recent addition to the Perdue lifestyle has been DirecTV HD DVR Service. I have heard from friends how great TiVo or DVR players can be, but I never thought them neccessary since I did not watch many shows religously. I was sooooo wrong! We love our new DVR. I am currently watching about 20 different series ranging from sports to suspense to romantic comedy.
I have decided to compile a list of 10 Favorite shows of the Fall. Some are obvious, while others have become a guilty pleasure.
BUSTS
10. Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice: I watched the first episodes of both shows this season and have not watched since. Major Disappointments! Actually, Grey's lost me when Katherine Heigl started seeing a ghost-boyfriend last season.
9. TUF (Ultimate Fighter Reality Show) : This show has been a major disappointment since it was supposed to be the best season, EVER! With heavyweights, I expected some great knockouts and pranks inside the house. Instead, I have gotten seven fights were the combatants were gassed within 3 minutes. The show was built around Kimbo Slice, but he lost his first fight and hasn't played a major role. The season still has a ways to go and hopefully can turn itself around.
8. The Office: This show has always been one of my favorites, but has been a let down this season. I have laughed alot, but nothing out of the ordinary. I must say, however, I was thrilled with the wedding episode. I just think it should have opened or closed the season. I am not sure where the show will go in the future.. but I expect it to center around Jim and Pam having a child, Michael finding a wife and Dwight doing something random.
Better than Expected
7. Cougar Town: This is my new guilty pleasure. The show only last 30 minutes, but I am constantly wanting it to go for a full hour. Courtney Cox is definitely back in her element, which is comedy. The parade of supporting characters all bring something different. I love her ex-husband, the golf pro, who lives on a boat which is docked in a parking lot across the street from the beach and drives a golf cart, instead of a car.
6. Flash Forward: I have always been anti-Lost. This show was promoted along the same lines as Lost with the sense of suspense, mystery and intrigue. I did not have high hopes for this show and thought it might not last long. I was proven incorrect. This show is great with a great storyline and great characters. It brings in solid mystery every week, adds elements of surprise and decent firefight scenes. This past week, a hobbitt joined the ensemble and made the episode complete. I look forward to seeing how long this show lasts and what direction it goes. Please no Aliens!
5. Modern Family: This is my surprise comedy hit of the season. I was excited about this show's premiere, but feared all the funny spots were in the promos. I could not have been more wrong. The characters are what makes the show. Each is very different, but someone that I have interacted with at some point during my life. Even the young children on the show are very funny, especially Manny, a 10-year-old boy who acts like a 50-year old man and provides the adults with plenty of life advice.
My Favorites
4. Numbers: I watch this show so I will feel smart. I do not know what is going on most of the time, but whenever I do get the math equation that solves the murder, I feel extremely intelligent. Too bad this only happens about twice a season.
3. Law and Order SVU: This has been one of my favorite shows for a very long time. I do not like any other Law and Order, but find this show very entertaining. Many episodes can be very disturbing (Sarah avoids this show), but it is a part of crime that you do not hear much about.
2. CSI: NY: This has become my favortie non-comedy show on TV. The show is led by Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump with help from Tag of Friends. Yes, I have watched way too much TV. I do not watch Vegas or Miami, but have settled upon New York for some reason. Most of the storylines are very interesting and Sarah has really taken to this show. It is one of the few suspense type shows or movies that I can get her to watch. Plus, they killed off a main character at the end of last season and anytime that a main person goes down, I respect the writers for taking a chance.
1. How I Met Your Mother: The best show on TV! Barney, Robin, Ted, Marshall and Lily form the best cast since Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Joey and Chandler. Whether the cast is making a Slap Bet or "hearing bag pipes" from their upstairs neighbors. I love the humor. What makes this show great is that someone can watch it for the first time and laugh their heads off, but someone who has seen every episode can watch it and laugh their head off at completely different jokes. The reason... this show provides tons of inside jokes from season to season that gives the regulars a new giggle.
Honoarble Mention (almost made the list): So You Think You Can Dance, Cold Case, Vampire Diaries, Dancing With the Stars
During high school and college, the emergence of cellular phones has taken me and nearly everyone else on this Earth by storm. I can't ride in my car, sit at my desk or go to a ballgame without calling or texting my wife or friends. I get mad at my students who try to text during class or drivers who don't pay attention because they are talking, but I am just as guilty as any of them. I have, however, taken a vow to my wife that I will not text and drive with Brynn in the car.
The most recent addition to the Perdue lifestyle has been DirecTV HD DVR Service. I have heard from friends how great TiVo or DVR players can be, but I never thought them neccessary since I did not watch many shows religously. I was sooooo wrong! We love our new DVR. I am currently watching about 20 different series ranging from sports to suspense to romantic comedy.
I have decided to compile a list of 10 Favorite shows of the Fall. Some are obvious, while others have become a guilty pleasure.
BUSTS
10. Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice: I watched the first episodes of both shows this season and have not watched since. Major Disappointments! Actually, Grey's lost me when Katherine Heigl started seeing a ghost-boyfriend last season.
9. TUF (Ultimate Fighter Reality Show) : This show has been a major disappointment since it was supposed to be the best season, EVER! With heavyweights, I expected some great knockouts and pranks inside the house. Instead, I have gotten seven fights were the combatants were gassed within 3 minutes. The show was built around Kimbo Slice, but he lost his first fight and hasn't played a major role. The season still has a ways to go and hopefully can turn itself around.
8. The Office: This show has always been one of my favorites, but has been a let down this season. I have laughed alot, but nothing out of the ordinary. I must say, however, I was thrilled with the wedding episode. I just think it should have opened or closed the season. I am not sure where the show will go in the future.. but I expect it to center around Jim and Pam having a child, Michael finding a wife and Dwight doing something random.
Better than Expected
7. Cougar Town: This is my new guilty pleasure. The show only last 30 minutes, but I am constantly wanting it to go for a full hour. Courtney Cox is definitely back in her element, which is comedy. The parade of supporting characters all bring something different. I love her ex-husband, the golf pro, who lives on a boat which is docked in a parking lot across the street from the beach and drives a golf cart, instead of a car.
6. Flash Forward: I have always been anti-Lost. This show was promoted along the same lines as Lost with the sense of suspense, mystery and intrigue. I did not have high hopes for this show and thought it might not last long. I was proven incorrect. This show is great with a great storyline and great characters. It brings in solid mystery every week, adds elements of surprise and decent firefight scenes. This past week, a hobbitt joined the ensemble and made the episode complete. I look forward to seeing how long this show lasts and what direction it goes. Please no Aliens!
5. Modern Family: This is my surprise comedy hit of the season. I was excited about this show's premiere, but feared all the funny spots were in the promos. I could not have been more wrong. The characters are what makes the show. Each is very different, but someone that I have interacted with at some point during my life. Even the young children on the show are very funny, especially Manny, a 10-year-old boy who acts like a 50-year old man and provides the adults with plenty of life advice.
My Favorites
4. Numbers: I watch this show so I will feel smart. I do not know what is going on most of the time, but whenever I do get the math equation that solves the murder, I feel extremely intelligent. Too bad this only happens about twice a season.
3. Law and Order SVU: This has been one of my favorite shows for a very long time. I do not like any other Law and Order, but find this show very entertaining. Many episodes can be very disturbing (Sarah avoids this show), but it is a part of crime that you do not hear much about.
2. CSI: NY: This has become my favortie non-comedy show on TV. The show is led by Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump with help from Tag of Friends. Yes, I have watched way too much TV. I do not watch Vegas or Miami, but have settled upon New York for some reason. Most of the storylines are very interesting and Sarah has really taken to this show. It is one of the few suspense type shows or movies that I can get her to watch. Plus, they killed off a main character at the end of last season and anytime that a main person goes down, I respect the writers for taking a chance.
1. How I Met Your Mother: The best show on TV! Barney, Robin, Ted, Marshall and Lily form the best cast since Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Joey and Chandler. Whether the cast is making a Slap Bet or "hearing bag pipes" from their upstairs neighbors. I love the humor. What makes this show great is that someone can watch it for the first time and laugh their heads off, but someone who has seen every episode can watch it and laugh their head off at completely different jokes. The reason... this show provides tons of inside jokes from season to season that gives the regulars a new giggle.
Honoarble Mention (almost made the list): So You Think You Can Dance, Cold Case, Vampire Diaries, Dancing With the Stars
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Letter to Future Parents...
Dear Expecting Mothers and Waiting Fathers,
Your baby is almost here. You are counting down the days until you can hold your little one in your arms. As a father, you are dreaming of your little boy hitting a home run in his first little league game. Mothers are eagerly waiting to dress up their daughters in the finest smock outfits available. As soon as your child is born, you will begin looking forward to the many milestones they will reach over the next two years. Whether it is their first teeth, first words or crawl across the den floor, parents eagerly await these happenings, so they can take pictures and brag to family members and friends.
Let me be the first and probably only person, to warn you about the problems that come with these milestones. They seem so joyous and glamorous from the outside, but are far from the glitz and glam. Here is a list of the inconveniences that milestones bring to your family from my 8-month experience into the journey.
Teething: Any human being, young or old, without teeth, freaks me out. Seeing someone without teeth and all gums is just not natural. So I eagerly awaited the breaking through of Brynn’s first teeth. What was I thinking? Teething is horrible! Babies slobber everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean changing her outfit 3 or 4 times per day because they are soaked. Babies that are teething are constantly whining or irritated. The teeth coming through the gums, evidently causes pain. This leads to hours of baby fuss. Baby fuss is not all that bad, except when it is added to the 1 AM, 3 AM and 5 AM. This leads to a longggggggggg night! This also leads to irritable parents. How to fix this problem? Not possible! How to help with this problem? Baby Orajel and Teething Tablets.
Speaking or Sounds: I have dreamed of the day that my child will utter the words Dada. Brynn is eight months old and has yet to form any semblance of these words, despite our constant practice. Brynn has mastered the art of spitting noises, random screams, nonsense chatter in the middle of the night and the word “Gee”. Spitting leads to ugly instances when green beans are in her mouth, screaming leads to a parent running into the room expecting the worst and receiving a smiling child, chatter in the middle of the night leads to parents not sleeping, while the word Gee leads to grandparents claiming Brynn is saying their name first.
Sitting Up: I made a big mistake in this area. I practiced with Brynn sitting up on a daily basis. I could not wait to proclaim that Brynn is sitting up by herself. I am an idiot. A daughter that can sit-up, can also fall over! When Matt falls over, he can catch himself. When Brynn falls over, there is no catching. Even when babies become experts in sitting up, like now, they still fall over. Guess what… eight months old, still not old enough to catch themselves. Recommendations… surround your child with pillows when you leave them in a sitting position.
Crawling: If the Navy Seals were accepting babies, Brynn would be their first candidate. My daughter can military crawl faster than I can walk. She can crawl on all fours, but typically gets lazy halfway to Sarah’s shoe, the remote control or the cat food bowl and resorts to her military movements. We wanted Brynn to crawl for the longest time and feared she may walk before crawling, because Sarah read in some book that babies need to do their milestones in a certain order for future development (blah, blah, blah). Evidently Brynn is making up for lost time, because that girl can move. Whether it is to spill the cat’s water on herself or stick anything that I accidentally left on the floor into her mouth, Brynn is on the go. There is no more leaving Brynn on the floor to play while you take a bathroom break. Brynn will not be there when you get back. Most times she just follows you to the room you are going, but more than not, she gets distracted along the way for something that can fit into her mouth. I have no recommendations to fix this problem, other than fence them into an area. Do not leave things on the floor.
Pulling Up: Seeing Brynn pulled up on her crib with a big grin, as she waits for daddy to get her out of bed is possibly the best feeling in the world. Brynn pulling up on her play table in the den, falling backwards with the toy landing on top of her, one of the worst feelings in the world.
These milestones have been great. I am not trying to scare parents away from the anticipation of these events. I just want to warn them that for every great accomplishment comes a lot of trial and error. Babies must practice these milestones with bad results to end up with the good results. With walking in the near future (probably before Christmas), the bumps are only going to get bigger!
Matt Perdue
Your baby is almost here. You are counting down the days until you can hold your little one in your arms. As a father, you are dreaming of your little boy hitting a home run in his first little league game. Mothers are eagerly waiting to dress up their daughters in the finest smock outfits available. As soon as your child is born, you will begin looking forward to the many milestones they will reach over the next two years. Whether it is their first teeth, first words or crawl across the den floor, parents eagerly await these happenings, so they can take pictures and brag to family members and friends.
Let me be the first and probably only person, to warn you about the problems that come with these milestones. They seem so joyous and glamorous from the outside, but are far from the glitz and glam. Here is a list of the inconveniences that milestones bring to your family from my 8-month experience into the journey.
Teething: Any human being, young or old, without teeth, freaks me out. Seeing someone without teeth and all gums is just not natural. So I eagerly awaited the breaking through of Brynn’s first teeth. What was I thinking? Teething is horrible! Babies slobber everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean changing her outfit 3 or 4 times per day because they are soaked. Babies that are teething are constantly whining or irritated. The teeth coming through the gums, evidently causes pain. This leads to hours of baby fuss. Baby fuss is not all that bad, except when it is added to the 1 AM, 3 AM and 5 AM. This leads to a longggggggggg night! This also leads to irritable parents. How to fix this problem? Not possible! How to help with this problem? Baby Orajel and Teething Tablets.
Speaking or Sounds: I have dreamed of the day that my child will utter the words Dada. Brynn is eight months old and has yet to form any semblance of these words, despite our constant practice. Brynn has mastered the art of spitting noises, random screams, nonsense chatter in the middle of the night and the word “Gee”. Spitting leads to ugly instances when green beans are in her mouth, screaming leads to a parent running into the room expecting the worst and receiving a smiling child, chatter in the middle of the night leads to parents not sleeping, while the word Gee leads to grandparents claiming Brynn is saying their name first.
Sitting Up: I made a big mistake in this area. I practiced with Brynn sitting up on a daily basis. I could not wait to proclaim that Brynn is sitting up by herself. I am an idiot. A daughter that can sit-up, can also fall over! When Matt falls over, he can catch himself. When Brynn falls over, there is no catching. Even when babies become experts in sitting up, like now, they still fall over. Guess what… eight months old, still not old enough to catch themselves. Recommendations… surround your child with pillows when you leave them in a sitting position.
Crawling: If the Navy Seals were accepting babies, Brynn would be their first candidate. My daughter can military crawl faster than I can walk. She can crawl on all fours, but typically gets lazy halfway to Sarah’s shoe, the remote control or the cat food bowl and resorts to her military movements. We wanted Brynn to crawl for the longest time and feared she may walk before crawling, because Sarah read in some book that babies need to do their milestones in a certain order for future development (blah, blah, blah). Evidently Brynn is making up for lost time, because that girl can move. Whether it is to spill the cat’s water on herself or stick anything that I accidentally left on the floor into her mouth, Brynn is on the go. There is no more leaving Brynn on the floor to play while you take a bathroom break. Brynn will not be there when you get back. Most times she just follows you to the room you are going, but more than not, she gets distracted along the way for something that can fit into her mouth. I have no recommendations to fix this problem, other than fence them into an area. Do not leave things on the floor.
Pulling Up: Seeing Brynn pulled up on her crib with a big grin, as she waits for daddy to get her out of bed is possibly the best feeling in the world. Brynn pulling up on her play table in the den, falling backwards with the toy landing on top of her, one of the worst feelings in the world.
These milestones have been great. I am not trying to scare parents away from the anticipation of these events. I just want to warn them that for every great accomplishment comes a lot of trial and error. Babies must practice these milestones with bad results to end up with the good results. With walking in the near future (probably before Christmas), the bumps are only going to get bigger!
Matt Perdue
Monday, October 12, 2009
Saturday with a family vs. Saturday without a family
As most college football fans, especially SEC fans know, this weekend kicked major bootie in terms of top-notch football games. At 11:00 we had Auburn v. Arkansas, at 11:30 Georgia v. Tennessee, at 2:30 Alabama v. Ole Miss and at 7:00 Florida v. LSU. Not to mention, Kentucky v. South Carolina and Miss. State v. Houston, which I did not locate on the thousands of channels I receive courtesy of DirecTV. As I prepared for such a plethora of college football greatness, I realized how much my life had changed since my marriage and birth of my daughter.
This blog centers on what this Saturday would have entailed five years ago versus what actually happened on Saturday:
Waking Up (Past): Five years ago, I would have set my alarm for about 8:50. I would have got up in just enough time to put in my contacts, get a Mountain Dew and locate my green blankey for couch time and ESPN Gameday!
Waking Up (Present): I was awoken at 5:30 by the cries of my daughter Brynn. It was not a cry of let's go back to sleep, but a cry of let's get up and play. Being nice, I let Sarah continue to sleep and I make my way to the den for floor time with Brynn. At about 7 AM, Brynn and I start to get hungry. We wake up mom for breakfast. Instead of my Mountain Dew diet, we decide to have waffles, eggs, bacon and cheese grits. Brynn goes for some kind of fruit and cereal. Following breakfast, we clean the kitchen, put Brynn down for a nap and get showers. This Saturday morning equals Vet Day. We get to carry our cats to the vet at 9 AM. Yes, the same 9 AM that Gameday starts. Susan comes over to watch Brynn and Sarah and I load up Swen and Fergie and head to the vet. With an appointment, I think we will be in and out in 15-20 minutes. Nope, we are behind the couple who train dogs for a living and brought 5 of their prized possessions for vaccinations. Needless to say, I get home about 10:30, just in time to watch the final 30 minutes of Gameday.
Early Game (Past): For the early games, I used to take in a pre-game meal at Swen in Northport for some General Tso's Chicken, fried rice and hot-sour soup. I would get it to-go and return home before kickoff. Typically, I watch the first game by myself on the couch with my Chinese food and computer on for updates on other games.
Early Game (Present): Instead of my pregame Swen meal, I attempt to save a few bucks and knock down a leftover taco from Lupe's the night before. Instead of watching the game alone, I have the luxury of watching with my football guru best-friend Jeff Coleman. Instead of getting updates on other games from my computer, Jeff continually gives me updates from his IPhone's Tweet Deck! If you need to know where someone is moving, getting married or eating for lunch, just ask Jeff! Instead of not getting off the couch for the entire Razorback massacre of Auburn and Tennessee whipping of Georgia, I get convinced to ride up to Jeff's house to pick up a bunch of BBQ. Evidently to Jeff, a bunch of BBQ equals enough for 1 sandwich.
Alabama Game (Past): If you know me, you know I do not do well watching Alabama games on TV with large groups. I can watch it with my parents, my wife or a couple of friends, but never a large group of people. I get too nervous and too worked up. I hate listening to idiots who do not know the correct (Orlando McLain anyone?) name of 3 players, but can direct an offense better than Alabama's coaching staff. I tend to watch Alabama games in the solace of my home, where I can yell, stomp around or take a deep breath outside. I like to be in control of the volume of the game, control of the commercials, etc... If I was not at the game, I would be locked in my den for about 4 hours of Bama football!
Alabama Game (Present): This Alabama game seems like it is going to be a replicate of past Alabama games for me. I have my wife on the couch and she does a good job of keeping me in check. I have Jeff and Jonathan coming over to watch, the first not claiming to know anything about football and the latter possessing a good amount of Alabama and football knowledge. The wildcard in this scenario will be Brynn, who is getting to watch her first daytime game with daddy. Sarah fails miserably in her ability to keep me in check. She is actually asleep on the couch before the game starts. Jeff is still annoying me to death with his Twitter updates. Jonathan is obsessing over the volume of the TV and the decision of whether to go to the beach that night or next morning. Brynn is asleep in her crib at kickoff and forces us to be quiet until halftime. Once Brynn wakes up, Sarah decides she wants a nap and I get to play with Brynn while she heads to the bedroom. Playing with Brynn and watching Alabama do not go hand-in-hand when Alabama is kicking field goals from inside the 5-yard line, but I do a good job of keeping my temper. Alabama pulls out the victory, which does not make the afternoon a complete wash, but truly enjoying the victory over a solid team was lost to many distractions.
Supper (Past): In the past, I would have headed to Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings or Phils with my friends to eat hot wings and watch football.
Supper (Present): In the present, I head to Mr. G's with my friends and family for a near fist fight with a tatooed woman and her eight kids. For those familiar with Mr. G's, we make our way to the back room for football on the big screen. No one is in the back room, so we settle in front of the TV for pregame Florida v. LSU. While waiting for our food, a lady confronts me and asks if we are watching TV. I say that we came back here to watch the Florida game. She says that she has 4 kids who want to watch cartoons. I inform her that we have been sitting here and plan on watching football. She still insists that her kids are bad and need to be in this background for cartoons. I still insist that we are not moving because I am going to watch this game. She then comes up with a quick lie that the employees told her this area was a kid zone and cartoons were allowed on the TV. I am not budging, but thanks to Jeff and Sarah lacking confrontational bones, our seats and TV is quickly given up. Jonathan may have helped in my argument, but he was too busy on the phone contemplating his decision of when to go beachside with Rochelle. Despite my arguments that she should have taken her children to McDonalds or Chick-Fila, since they have a playground, we end up in the front of the restaurant.
Night Game and After (Past): Watching the night games of the past would have involved all of the guys leaving the restaurant at the same time and heading to someone's house (normally Jeff) for football. We would have settled around the TV all with the beverage of our choice (Matt:Sunkist, Jeff:Coffee, Robert:Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper and Jonathan:Some weird Latte). We would have snacked on food all night. During halftime, we would have snuck in a couple of Halo games. After the game, we would have played Halo til 1 or 2 AM then made a Krispy Kreme or Waffle House run. Finally, we would have fought over who is sleeping on couch, on floor or with Jeff.
Night Game (Present): Oh how things have changed! Jonathan and Jeff headed up to Jeff's for the game immediately after dinner. I had to go home and help Sarah get Brynn ready for bed and missed most of the first quarter. Robert showed up after halftime following a thrilling one-year old birthday party. Jeff spent most of the night packing for his business trip, while Jonathan contemplated whether he made the correct decision of leaving for the beach Sunday morning. Our snacks were Halloween candy and hot chocolate. Halo was never once brought out and the thought of Waffle House or Krispy Kreme visits were passed over for bed before 11 PM.
Things have changed greatly over the last few years. We have all tied the knot to some wonderful women and added to the world's population with great kids. Jonathan is moving a little slower, but might catch up on both this week at the beach.
This blog centers on what this Saturday would have entailed five years ago versus what actually happened on Saturday:
Waking Up (Past): Five years ago, I would have set my alarm for about 8:50. I would have got up in just enough time to put in my contacts, get a Mountain Dew and locate my green blankey for couch time and ESPN Gameday!
Waking Up (Present): I was awoken at 5:30 by the cries of my daughter Brynn. It was not a cry of let's go back to sleep, but a cry of let's get up and play. Being nice, I let Sarah continue to sleep and I make my way to the den for floor time with Brynn. At about 7 AM, Brynn and I start to get hungry. We wake up mom for breakfast. Instead of my Mountain Dew diet, we decide to have waffles, eggs, bacon and cheese grits. Brynn goes for some kind of fruit and cereal. Following breakfast, we clean the kitchen, put Brynn down for a nap and get showers. This Saturday morning equals Vet Day. We get to carry our cats to the vet at 9 AM. Yes, the same 9 AM that Gameday starts. Susan comes over to watch Brynn and Sarah and I load up Swen and Fergie and head to the vet. With an appointment, I think we will be in and out in 15-20 minutes. Nope, we are behind the couple who train dogs for a living and brought 5 of their prized possessions for vaccinations. Needless to say, I get home about 10:30, just in time to watch the final 30 minutes of Gameday.
Early Game (Past): For the early games, I used to take in a pre-game meal at Swen in Northport for some General Tso's Chicken, fried rice and hot-sour soup. I would get it to-go and return home before kickoff. Typically, I watch the first game by myself on the couch with my Chinese food and computer on for updates on other games.
Early Game (Present): Instead of my pregame Swen meal, I attempt to save a few bucks and knock down a leftover taco from Lupe's the night before. Instead of watching the game alone, I have the luxury of watching with my football guru best-friend Jeff Coleman. Instead of getting updates on other games from my computer, Jeff continually gives me updates from his IPhone's Tweet Deck! If you need to know where someone is moving, getting married or eating for lunch, just ask Jeff! Instead of not getting off the couch for the entire Razorback massacre of Auburn and Tennessee whipping of Georgia, I get convinced to ride up to Jeff's house to pick up a bunch of BBQ. Evidently to Jeff, a bunch of BBQ equals enough for 1 sandwich.
Alabama Game (Past): If you know me, you know I do not do well watching Alabama games on TV with large groups. I can watch it with my parents, my wife or a couple of friends, but never a large group of people. I get too nervous and too worked up. I hate listening to idiots who do not know the correct (Orlando McLain anyone?) name of 3 players, but can direct an offense better than Alabama's coaching staff. I tend to watch Alabama games in the solace of my home, where I can yell, stomp around or take a deep breath outside. I like to be in control of the volume of the game, control of the commercials, etc... If I was not at the game, I would be locked in my den for about 4 hours of Bama football!
Alabama Game (Present): This Alabama game seems like it is going to be a replicate of past Alabama games for me. I have my wife on the couch and she does a good job of keeping me in check. I have Jeff and Jonathan coming over to watch, the first not claiming to know anything about football and the latter possessing a good amount of Alabama and football knowledge. The wildcard in this scenario will be Brynn, who is getting to watch her first daytime game with daddy. Sarah fails miserably in her ability to keep me in check. She is actually asleep on the couch before the game starts. Jeff is still annoying me to death with his Twitter updates. Jonathan is obsessing over the volume of the TV and the decision of whether to go to the beach that night or next morning. Brynn is asleep in her crib at kickoff and forces us to be quiet until halftime. Once Brynn wakes up, Sarah decides she wants a nap and I get to play with Brynn while she heads to the bedroom. Playing with Brynn and watching Alabama do not go hand-in-hand when Alabama is kicking field goals from inside the 5-yard line, but I do a good job of keeping my temper. Alabama pulls out the victory, which does not make the afternoon a complete wash, but truly enjoying the victory over a solid team was lost to many distractions.
Supper (Past): In the past, I would have headed to Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings or Phils with my friends to eat hot wings and watch football.
Supper (Present): In the present, I head to Mr. G's with my friends and family for a near fist fight with a tatooed woman and her eight kids. For those familiar with Mr. G's, we make our way to the back room for football on the big screen. No one is in the back room, so we settle in front of the TV for pregame Florida v. LSU. While waiting for our food, a lady confronts me and asks if we are watching TV. I say that we came back here to watch the Florida game. She says that she has 4 kids who want to watch cartoons. I inform her that we have been sitting here and plan on watching football. She still insists that her kids are bad and need to be in this background for cartoons. I still insist that we are not moving because I am going to watch this game. She then comes up with a quick lie that the employees told her this area was a kid zone and cartoons were allowed on the TV. I am not budging, but thanks to Jeff and Sarah lacking confrontational bones, our seats and TV is quickly given up. Jonathan may have helped in my argument, but he was too busy on the phone contemplating his decision of when to go beachside with Rochelle. Despite my arguments that she should have taken her children to McDonalds or Chick-Fila, since they have a playground, we end up in the front of the restaurant.
Night Game and After (Past): Watching the night games of the past would have involved all of the guys leaving the restaurant at the same time and heading to someone's house (normally Jeff) for football. We would have settled around the TV all with the beverage of our choice (Matt:Sunkist, Jeff:Coffee, Robert:Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper and Jonathan:Some weird Latte). We would have snacked on food all night. During halftime, we would have snuck in a couple of Halo games. After the game, we would have played Halo til 1 or 2 AM then made a Krispy Kreme or Waffle House run. Finally, we would have fought over who is sleeping on couch, on floor or with Jeff.
Night Game (Present): Oh how things have changed! Jonathan and Jeff headed up to Jeff's for the game immediately after dinner. I had to go home and help Sarah get Brynn ready for bed and missed most of the first quarter. Robert showed up after halftime following a thrilling one-year old birthday party. Jeff spent most of the night packing for his business trip, while Jonathan contemplated whether he made the correct decision of leaving for the beach Sunday morning. Our snacks were Halloween candy and hot chocolate. Halo was never once brought out and the thought of Waffle House or Krispy Kreme visits were passed over for bed before 11 PM.
Things have changed greatly over the last few years. We have all tied the knot to some wonderful women and added to the world's population with great kids. Jonathan is moving a little slower, but might catch up on both this week at the beach.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Guys Trip (Guys Day Out)
The annual guys trip (Myself, Jeff, Robert, Scott and Jonathan) had high aspirations for Fall 2009. Many ideas were tossed out such as: Canada, Northern California, White Water Rafting or the beach. Due to the large number of children being added to our families, the guy trip actually turned into a Guys Day Out. Unfortunately, the airline business (Jonathan) and need of someone's construction skills (Scott), the fivesome was turned into a trio. Instead of an exotic or wild locale, we took our threesome to the major metropolis of Starkville, Mississippi.
Highlights of the trip:
1. Cowbell (twofold): Thanks to some good advice from a former Mississippian, we took ourselves to a sports bar called the Cowbell. It was AWESOME! The place was huge and wide open. Each booth had its own TV. Tons of bigscreens filled the place. It included four pool tables and plenty of arcade games. The place had a limited menu, but served great Wings and sandwiches. According to Jeff, the bar was well stocked and can lead to numb lips. We watched the entire Alabama game at the Cowbell and first half of Georgia-LSU. It was a great place to cheer on the Crimson Tide and keep a tab on other games.
1a. Cowbells: I have always been annoyed with MSU fans and their cowbells. If it was an Alabama vs. MSU game, I am sure they would have driven me crazy. But as an unbiased viewer of the Bulldogs, cowbells rock. They really get the players and fans going. If I was an opposing player, they would drive me crazy. But for a day, I had a fever for more cowbell!!!
2. Jane the Chi Omega: Upon leaving the Cowbell, we found our way to Main Street and Mugshots for dessert. After enjoying a piece of chocolate cake, we found our way walking to the stadium to mingle with tailgaters. Along the way, we stopped at Regions for Jeff to get some cash. As we wait on the money to dispense and Jeff does his best to hide his pin number, a Jeep Cherokee pulls up. Robert, proving that age and two children can't slow him down, strikes up a conversation with the lovely young lady. Pulling out all of the game that Sara has not sucked from him, Robert lands us a ride to the stadium with the lovely young lady. Since Robert bagged the lady, we let him ride shotgun and Jeff and I find seats in the back. Not wanting to see Ava and Tessa go without a father, I immediately step in and put any hopes of Robert ending up at the Chi Omega house for the night. I inform the young lady that we are married, like to eat chocolate cake at Mugshots and her seats are very slippery. She immediately lets us out. Robert and Jeff blamed me for our lack of visitation time at the Chi Omega House. I think I was a messenger from God.
3. Gameday Experience: I was extremely impressed with Mississippi State's gameday experience. Like all colleges, they had their Bulldog Walk where the players walk to the stadium to a chorus of cowbells. Once inside the stadium, things get crazy. First off, there was a flyover. Flyovers are the greatest pregame ritual EVER. Not only did the plane come through unexpectedly once, it made a second lap. Even though the flyover caught me off guard, Alabamas are much better. They are much louder and the fans react better. MSU has a great, new jumbotron. It takes up one entire endzone. The videos and replays used on the screen rocked. The players come out to "Who let the dogs out?". Once on the field, the team does some typing of jumping ritual on the sideline. It got the stadium rocking. State's main problem is the fans. They started out great, but as soon as the score swung in GA Tech's favor, the fans went quiet and sat down. This lasted most of the game. I would rate the Miss State experience a 6 ot of 10. The setup was great for the game, but fans really hurt the place. There were plenty of empty seats and they were playing a ranked team. Fans like Jeff, would fit in perfectly at Mississippi State. Get excited for about 10 minutes and then sit down in your comfortable seats and only get up when forced to by the guy in front who stands up.
4. Dinner at Mugshots: In case you ever need reminding of what it is like to go out to eat with Mr. Pate, just go with his son, Robert. Prime example of this experience occured at Mugshots after the game. I ordered Stu's Magic Mushroom and ate about 2/3 of the sandwich. I did not cut it in half, but bit around the entire thing. I picked off all the cheese with my hands and finished off the mushrooms underneath. Being done with my meal, I placed my napkin over the plate and the waitress picked up on the signal that I was done with my food. As she starts to clear off my plate, Robert lets out a yell like he personally witnessed someone stab his mother. Evidently, the waitress did not pick up on the fact that Robert was planning on getting a doggie bag for my leftovers. A friend's mauled burger was definitely lunch the next day. Our waitress was officially afraid of our table for the rest of the night, but at least Robert had a meal.
Lowlights:
1. We walked way too much. Alabama's strip is right next to the stadium which makes eating and hanging out much easier to do. At Mississippi State, the stadium is 2 miles from Main Street. This is a very long walk after a football game. If not for Jane, we would have walked this twice.
2. Starkville lacks road signs. It is impossible to find anything in Starkville, because they lack road sign. GPS is useless when it tells you to turn on MLK Drive, but finding MLK Drive is not labeled.
3. We really needed our other two amigos. This trip rocked, but definitely needed a Scott and Jonathan feel. Jonathan could have provided us with a constant sense of purpose... finding him a wife. There were plenty of available girls in Bulldog Land and we would not have left without a diamond ring on someone's finger. Scott would have used his master manipulation skills on the trip at some point. Possibly, to swindle us seats in a skybox, a free meal or a new deep-sea fishing boat that he plans to sell in three months.
Conclusion: All in all, this trip was a great experience. Alabama won, I experienced a great football game and enjoyed time with two great friends. It was not the adventure of a foreign country or some extreme sport, but it was quality time with your best buddies. If Jeff comes through, we may head back to Starkville November 14 for Bama vs. State.
PS. Thanks to my dear wife Sarah who let me go on this trip!
Highlights of the trip:
1. Cowbell (twofold): Thanks to some good advice from a former Mississippian, we took ourselves to a sports bar called the Cowbell. It was AWESOME! The place was huge and wide open. Each booth had its own TV. Tons of bigscreens filled the place. It included four pool tables and plenty of arcade games. The place had a limited menu, but served great Wings and sandwiches. According to Jeff, the bar was well stocked and can lead to numb lips. We watched the entire Alabama game at the Cowbell and first half of Georgia-LSU. It was a great place to cheer on the Crimson Tide and keep a tab on other games.
1a. Cowbells: I have always been annoyed with MSU fans and their cowbells. If it was an Alabama vs. MSU game, I am sure they would have driven me crazy. But as an unbiased viewer of the Bulldogs, cowbells rock. They really get the players and fans going. If I was an opposing player, they would drive me crazy. But for a day, I had a fever for more cowbell!!!
2. Jane the Chi Omega: Upon leaving the Cowbell, we found our way to Main Street and Mugshots for dessert. After enjoying a piece of chocolate cake, we found our way walking to the stadium to mingle with tailgaters. Along the way, we stopped at Regions for Jeff to get some cash. As we wait on the money to dispense and Jeff does his best to hide his pin number, a Jeep Cherokee pulls up. Robert, proving that age and two children can't slow him down, strikes up a conversation with the lovely young lady. Pulling out all of the game that Sara has not sucked from him, Robert lands us a ride to the stadium with the lovely young lady. Since Robert bagged the lady, we let him ride shotgun and Jeff and I find seats in the back. Not wanting to see Ava and Tessa go without a father, I immediately step in and put any hopes of Robert ending up at the Chi Omega house for the night. I inform the young lady that we are married, like to eat chocolate cake at Mugshots and her seats are very slippery. She immediately lets us out. Robert and Jeff blamed me for our lack of visitation time at the Chi Omega House. I think I was a messenger from God.
3. Gameday Experience: I was extremely impressed with Mississippi State's gameday experience. Like all colleges, they had their Bulldog Walk where the players walk to the stadium to a chorus of cowbells. Once inside the stadium, things get crazy. First off, there was a flyover. Flyovers are the greatest pregame ritual EVER. Not only did the plane come through unexpectedly once, it made a second lap. Even though the flyover caught me off guard, Alabamas are much better. They are much louder and the fans react better. MSU has a great, new jumbotron. It takes up one entire endzone. The videos and replays used on the screen rocked. The players come out to "Who let the dogs out?". Once on the field, the team does some typing of jumping ritual on the sideline. It got the stadium rocking. State's main problem is the fans. They started out great, but as soon as the score swung in GA Tech's favor, the fans went quiet and sat down. This lasted most of the game. I would rate the Miss State experience a 6 ot of 10. The setup was great for the game, but fans really hurt the place. There were plenty of empty seats and they were playing a ranked team. Fans like Jeff, would fit in perfectly at Mississippi State. Get excited for about 10 minutes and then sit down in your comfortable seats and only get up when forced to by the guy in front who stands up.
4. Dinner at Mugshots: In case you ever need reminding of what it is like to go out to eat with Mr. Pate, just go with his son, Robert. Prime example of this experience occured at Mugshots after the game. I ordered Stu's Magic Mushroom and ate about 2/3 of the sandwich. I did not cut it in half, but bit around the entire thing. I picked off all the cheese with my hands and finished off the mushrooms underneath. Being done with my meal, I placed my napkin over the plate and the waitress picked up on the signal that I was done with my food. As she starts to clear off my plate, Robert lets out a yell like he personally witnessed someone stab his mother. Evidently, the waitress did not pick up on the fact that Robert was planning on getting a doggie bag for my leftovers. A friend's mauled burger was definitely lunch the next day. Our waitress was officially afraid of our table for the rest of the night, but at least Robert had a meal.
Lowlights:
1. We walked way too much. Alabama's strip is right next to the stadium which makes eating and hanging out much easier to do. At Mississippi State, the stadium is 2 miles from Main Street. This is a very long walk after a football game. If not for Jane, we would have walked this twice.
2. Starkville lacks road signs. It is impossible to find anything in Starkville, because they lack road sign. GPS is useless when it tells you to turn on MLK Drive, but finding MLK Drive is not labeled.
3. We really needed our other two amigos. This trip rocked, but definitely needed a Scott and Jonathan feel. Jonathan could have provided us with a constant sense of purpose... finding him a wife. There were plenty of available girls in Bulldog Land and we would not have left without a diamond ring on someone's finger. Scott would have used his master manipulation skills on the trip at some point. Possibly, to swindle us seats in a skybox, a free meal or a new deep-sea fishing boat that he plans to sell in three months.
Conclusion: All in all, this trip was a great experience. Alabama won, I experienced a great football game and enjoyed time with two great friends. It was not the adventure of a foreign country or some extreme sport, but it was quality time with your best buddies. If Jeff comes through, we may head back to Starkville November 14 for Bama vs. State.
PS. Thanks to my dear wife Sarah who let me go on this trip!
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