communication breakdown

Back With a Vengeance: Part I

No need to panic - I assure you that, despite rumors to the contrary, I am still alive. Fans and admirers from around the globe, feel free to now breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Well, it has been awhile, hasn't it? About a month, to be non-exact. And what a month it has been - so much has been going on that I probably will never get around to catching up and commenting on it all. But I'll give it a shot anyways...

The Move

What really started off this blogging hiatus was my move from an apartment to a friend's house that I'm renting. Thanks to the help of some fraternity brothers, the move itself was relatively painless, with almost everything getting moved over in the span of 3 hours one weekend. Then we began the laborious and oh-so-enjoyable process of cleaning the apartment to pass inspection.

This strategy worked for me at my apartment in Minnesota - I spent three evenings making the place spotless, but I got my entire security deposit back in return ($250 or so). However, this time it backfired. Me and my roommate each spent 2 full evenings cleaning the apartment, and it finally looked good at about 5 AM on the day we were supposed to move out. However, when the inspector came by to check the apartment the next day, he said the entire place was fine except for one area of my roommate's bedroom, where his birds had left some spots on the floor. The cost to heavy-duty steam clean the carpet was almost as much as the security deposit itself. Perhaps we would have been better served to have just left the place in shambles. Oh well - what's done is done.

Here's my breakdown of the house evaluation, after a month of living there:

Pros:

• More space. Lots more. Not that we were lacking it, but we have an absolute ton now.
• Garage. I would never pay for one on my own, but it is nice to have it and keep my car in somewhat decent-looking shape.
• Location. This results in a slightly longer commute (from 30 seconds to 5-10 minutes), but it also means we live closer to North Point and a bit closer to town, which I consider to be a plus.
• Cost. Stating the obvious, cheaper (in this case) is better.
• Flexibility. This is kind of intangible, but it's a lot easier now for me to buy a house at any time if I need to. Freeing myself from the burden of an apartment contract was an attractive bonus.
• Privacy. No close-proximity neighbors to bother or be bothered by. Not that our neighbors were a problem before, but in an apartment, it only takes one neighbor moving out and some moron moving in to make life like hell.

Cons:

• Bugs. This place is like Insect City. Roaches, spiders, and every other sort of insect seem to flock to this house. Coincidentally, I hate roaches, spiders, and every other sort of insect. This is definitely something that will need to be addressed.
• Housework. Say goodbye to maintenance guys. Say hello to fix-it-yourself and plenty of lawn work. It's been near 10 years since I've had to do yardwork. Can't say I'm necessarily looking forward to it.
• Hot water. It's not horrible since Aaron replaced the house's hot water heater, but it's not quite as unlimited as the apartment supply. I like to take long showers by most people's standards (20 mins.), and there's nothing worse than going cold in the shower.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with things. However, it took awhile to get to that point - while the move went pretty quickly, settling in took quite awhile, and really we're not finished yet. From my perspective, most of that is due to the fact that, in what was about the worst timing ever, the US Open began just about as soon as we moved in, so my life was consumed for 2 full weeks by tennis coverage and other random sports. Speaking of sports...

The Season of Male Bliss

How about that for a segue? It's almost as if I planned it that way...

First off, I've got to start by mentioning what will likely be remembered as one of the most significant sporting weekends for me in all my life. Consider the events of September 3-5, 2005:

• College Football: GT beats Auburn 23-14. After a full 7 hours of tailgating at Auburn, we headed into Jordan-Hare Stadium to see the Jackets kick off the season against a team that went undefeated last year and nearly had a shot at the National Championship. GT dominated the game from start to end as the crowd watched on in eerie silence. It was an unexpected and fantastic way to kick off the season - there are few better feelings in life than going to another team's home stadium and beating the fool out of them.
• College Football: FSU beats Miami 10-7. It might not have been pretty, but a W is a W. With unflinching defense and a history-be-damned attitude, the Seminoles broke a 6-year losing streak to Miami, and even managed to transfer the mythic kicking woes to the other team. I was so relieved to see the team I've cheered for 15 years finally get this monkey off their back.
• Tennis: Agassi, along with 2 other American men, advance to US Open Quarterfinals. They keep saying he should retire, and he keeps proving them wrong by winning on the biggest stages in tennis. Agassi's career has had so many forks that he is a truly remarkable athlete and person - someone that I admire greatly. I have watched Agassi practically since I knew what sports were, and I find it thrilling every time he wins, knowing that retirement will eventually come for him soon. The fact that both James Blake and Robby Ginepri were able to also advance signified hope for the future of American tennis and made for a great weekend of watching.
• NFL Football: Jerry Rice retires. This was the bombshell that I didn't see coming - it is undoubtedly the most significant event in this list. My emotions were mixed at the news - to some degree, I knew it was coming soon, so it wasn't a total shock. But it's never easy when a personal hero retires or leaves his/her game... it creates a void that will likely never be filled. Like FSU and Agassi, I have watched and felt a connection to Jerry Rice for nearly 15 years, and the game will never be the same for me without him. He is undoubtedly the greatest receiver of all time, and in my opinion, the greatest football player of all time - and I believe history will eventually prove me to be correct.

As if all of the hoopla from the first week of September wasn't enough... the second weekend of September is possibly the greatest time for a sports fan all year round. Over the course of 2-3 days, you get the second week of the NCAA football season, the opening week of the NFL football season, and the finals of the US Open. For my money, there is no better time in all of sports - especially since the beginning of football season is so hyped because, despite the best intentions of baseball promoters, football is America's sport. It was yet another great weekend. Observe:

• College Football: GT beats UNC, 27-21. The home opener provided a win as I watched from my new seat as a season ticket holder. The seats are great: East Stands, 20 yard line, about 30 rows up - perfect for seeing the whole field. The only downside was that we baked the entire game. Oh, and I guess GT trying to give the game away was a pretty big downside. I don't care what anyone says: when you're up by 6 with under 4:00 to go, you run the ball - whether the run game has been effective or not. Oh well... we won the game anyways, so I'll get off my soapbox.
• NFL Football: 49ers beat Rams, 28-25. Yet another bombshell - no-one saw this coming. A team that went 2-14 last year, with little hope for improvement this year, isn't supposed to win its opening game! Nevertheless I was quite surprised to see my all-time favorite NFL team defy the odds and get the W. Especially against a team like the Rams which have pissed me off enough in recent years for me to root against them. Go Niners...
• Agassi advances to the US Open final after defeating Americans Blake and Ginepri in classic five-setters. I was absolutely thrilled to watch my boy Agassi do the "impossible" and reach another Grand Slam final. However, he ran into an unstoppable force in Roger Federer. I can't say it enough: Federer is the greatest player of all-time; he just lacks the accomplishments to prove it. Give him a few years, and he'll have those too. Despite his loss in the final, Andre Agassi's spirited effort was more than I think any other player could have mustered against Federer; not to mention the classic tennis he gave us in the Blake match which will undoubtedly be replayed for years to come.

Needless to say, it's been a fantastic start to the fall sporting season for me...

And with that, I'm going to rest the fingers for the night. There is much more I want to catch up on, but it will have to wait until the weekend, or sometime thereafter. Actually, this weekend is a good example of why I haven't had any time to write. Check out this weekend schedule:

• Friday: Adam's bachelor party. Dinner, cards, and an all-night Madden 2006 tournament.
• Saturday: Tailgating starting at 2, followed by GT-UConn at 6:30
• Sunday: Church in the morning, poker night in the evening

This is what practically every weekend has looked like. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving it - it's so much better than my weekends living in Minnesota, where I didn't do much of anything. It just means that I've got to be more diligent about blogging when I get a few minutes. We'll just have to see how I perform under pressure...

Posted by sdishman at September 16, 2005 12:18 AM

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