My Morning Jacket

Good Morning and how about this weather?

I nearly did something yesterday I never do this early in October.
When I woke up, it felt like it was freezing outside. I pulled on a long-sleeve shirt, then opened the coat closet next to the front door.
I stared at my jacket for a few minutes. Thought about it, then left it on the hanger.
Yes, it's much too early (in my mind anyway), to pull that one out.
I realize this is kind of silly. I mean, it's chilly, put on a jacket.
When the boy goes out to the bus stop wearing shorts I half cringe. I mean, it is too cold in the morning for shorts.
His justification: Well, it will be warm when I'm coming home.
So it is.
I left the jacket in the closet and by the time I left work, it was quite warm. I actually felt hot in the car and put on the air conditioning.
So, I feel like I made the right jacket decision.
Now, the heat is definitely not going on for a few weeks no matter how many blankets we need.
Oh year, for those looking for something else this morning, here you go:

Hey, it's nearly October

Good Morning and how about we take this day and bottle it up?

Sitting here this morning, it suddenly hit me tomorrow is October 1.
'Rocktober 1'  as certain old-time radio stations used to announce. Apparently, there's something called 'Hawktober' about to start on City Line Avenue. So, no matter what you call it, we are in the home stretch of 2014.
Which, to me, seems too soon, but time does march on. It's funny how you look back on the year and it seems so quick, but those long days at work seemed like a marathon.
I like to see October come rolling in.
It's still warm enough you don't need the heavy jacket, but there is a crispness in the air, right out on the edge. It's the best month for apples as well. Which, I'm sure you really needed to know.
Unfortunately, that means we will be seeing more stores start decorating for Christmas.
I've been able to keep my blinders on so far, but it's soon going to get out of hand.
I'll enjoy October for a couple of days, then the leaves will come down.

It was fun to run, but it was still crazy

Good Morning and let's hold a revival!!

I'm going to flash back to the morning of September 21.
The alarm went off at 5 a.m. (yes, that's early for a Sunday), because I (foolishly I thought) was going to run a half marathon downtown.
By Noon, having gone the full 13 miles (the last mile is a blur), I was sitting on the couch wondering how somebody like me could get it done.
Sure, I was able to 'run' the Broad Street Run in May, but that was kind of like a bucket-list thing. I needed a goal to keep exercising and I did it.
I remember the Monday after being a day my legs didn't much like the rest of my body. They actually refused to get up off the couch.
So, I got talked into doing the 13 miles and trained as best I could. The first 10 (what, 10 miles? You are crazy!) went pretty well. The last three, well, lets not talk about that. Anyway, I got it done.
This past Sunday, we were out for a better cause: childhood cancer.
At first, I thought I wasn't going to be able to even walk the 2 miles, but by yesterday morning I was longing to run.
Of course, I think I need a little more than a week recovery, but that's still a good sign to me,
Now, to find something for this weekend...

Late night hustle

Good Morning and how about those clouds?!?

I used to absolutely hate when the Eagles played on Monday Night Football. All it meant for me was a later than usual night as we waited for the game to end and copy to appear.
Now I don't like it for another reason: There is no way I can stay up until the end.
Last night seemed like it was going to be a pretty good game, but I only made it until the very start of the second half.
I guess I could of have stayed up, but keeping my eyes open today would be a bit of a struggle.
I also realized about 10 last night the Phillies were in San Diego. Guess I won't be seeing any of those games.
Really, though, I don't think I miss out on much. At least I could catch Dancing with the Stars.
You know, priorities.

Just a little bit nervous

Good Morning and here we are again!!

I decided to try something totally different earlier this year and ran the 10-mile Broad Street Run.
The training was tough considering I had never done any kind of distance run. Prior to starting to train last December, the most I had walked was back-and-forth to the refrigerator.
To say I was out of shape, well, that would be an understatement. I was the poster-boy for couch potatoes. When they talked about how American's didn't exercise enough and ate too many fatty foods, they were talking about me.
So, I was proud of myself for not only turning that part around, but actually completing the run. The fact I found it hard to walk the next day only made it better for some reason.
Two days later, my brother started texting me about running even further.
"You ran 10 miles, 3 miles more won't be so much," he pleaded (at least that's the way I see it). "There's a half marathon in Philly in September. Let's do it."
It took about a month of begging (OK, maybe he wasn't begging but I let myself believe it), I signed up for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia.
I started my running again and tried (sometimes unsuccessfully) to eat right.
Well, the 13-mile run is this Sunday.
Really, can't you give me a couple more weeks?

Reading and no rainbows

Good Morning and welcome back to the 'Net!

I picked up a Kindle about two years ago. I was heading on a trip and thought it would be better than taking along a couple of books.
In those two years, I've probably read more than I ever have in my life.
I enjoy reading all kinds of different books. When they are well-written, they truly do take you to different places. I'm of the idea now I'd rather read a book than see a movie.
Unfortunately, I don't know if reading is coming across to the next generation.
Most of the time, teachers tell students to read 20 minutes a night at home. I found out a couple of years ago, they can't actually assign that as homework (it would take time away from actual homework, I guess, was the reason), so they "recommend" reading.
For some (and a couple I know in my house), that means they can't be forced to read.
I don't get it. Using the Kindle or the Nook (I have both) makes it so easy to go from page-to-page.
I understand there's now beeps and whistles, but there can be so much more.
I guess it's a battle I won't give up.

Finding my footing

Good Morning and it was nice to open those windows last night!

Back in the day, I didn't know much or care much about soccer. A couple of friends played in high school. I think I went to one game.
When I got to college, I joined the school newspaper right away.
OK, the sports editor at the time told me, you can cover soccer.
So, I headed to the library and did some studying on the game. I talked to the coach, to the players, to my friends.
When I started I couldn't tell you where a midfielder would play (yeah, it's kind of obvious). By the end, I could call an offside before the ref (yeah, it's kind of obvious).
Throughout my career, I've seen thousands of soccer games. I've watched the World Cup. I've even found the game fun, not boring like so many Americans.
The last couple of years when the children got involved, I've found even more reasons to enjoy the game.
This year, about three days before the season was to begin, I heard there was no coach for my daughter's team.
I jumped right in and, even though it was about 1,000 degrees Saturday, we started the season. I think the players actually had a good time.
Now, I need to talk to those refs about offsides.

Little bit of rambling

Good Morning and it really was summer the last few days!

Admit it, it's been nice sleeping weather this summer, but you do miss the heat. Right? I mean, we live here because we like the change of seasons. The winter was a pain, but at least it felt like winter. This summer hasn't been hot enough.
I have a prediction, though, when school starts next week, it'll be 98 degrees. Oh well, at least I won't have to deal with overheated youths.
I think in a lot of ways we have, for lack of a better term, lost our way. Our corporate society has decided we are all just robots and don't actually need to be talked to like adults. Send an e-mail. Don't actually look anybody in the eye. Changes are always made, just be up front about them. Hiding behind walls is never the best way to handle situations.
I'll freely admit that once again I felt lost watching the MTV Video Music Awards. It wasn't the music so much, it's just I didn't think MTV played videos any longer.
For some strange reason, I look forward to a new TV season starting. I'm probably justifying the price of cable in my mind, but I like watching the new shows. Sure, I can wait until they hit Netflix. I guess I'm just old-fashioned that way.

This is still pretty funny:

Watching TV

Good Morning and start yelling!

I watched the Emmy Awards show last night for the first time in a large number of years.
While some of these shows are fun to watch, the Emmys just never really did it for me. The shows I watched were never nominated and those that won, I had never seen.
Don't know why I tuned in last night. Maybe it's because the Phillies are so boring this year or maybe there was absolutely nothing else on.
I think it was a lost couple of hours.
There were not heart-felt speeches. Everything seemed rushed. The host, Seth Meyers, wasn't funny.
 When the only highlight is Woody Harrelson doing a Matthew McConaughey imitation, well, maybe the 10th rerun of 'Pawn Stars' would have been a better choice.
Actually, I think going to bed early would have been a better choice, but, you know, that's for another time.

From the Phillies on down

Good Morning gentle readers!

How far have the Phillies fallen? Well, I had a couple of tickets for last Friday's game and couldn't give them away. Seriously, I was just going to give them to anybody who wanted to go.
Nobody wanted to go.
Just a couple of years ago, I probably could have sold them for double the amount I paid. Now, the market has died. I think it's gone and buried.
There is no market. There are completely empty sections in the stadium. You can sit where ever you want (provided you can sneak past the aisle guards).
The thing is, there's something great about the ballpark on a summer night.
It doesn't matter if the home team stinks. It doesn't matter if the visiting team stinks (the Cardinals are no great shakes this year either).
When you walk through the gates, it's like entering a different world.
The smells are there. The green grass is still there.
I was outpriced by baseball years ago. It's just too expensive to take everybody to the game on a consistent basis.
I remembered Friday night what was so right about the game, though.

Ruining the cool

Good Morning to the Internet!

Let's face it, we really don't need to carry a phone with all the latest technology.
We really don't need to have the ability to play Candy Crush while waiting for the light to change. We don't need to be connected all the time. Sometimes, we don't want to answer the phone.
You can admit it, you see the caller-id and let the phone go to voicemail a lot. You can always claim later you were in the bathroom or cleaning the kitchen or sleeping.
We carry these things around because it makes us feel cool.
Anything we want is right there. Need to cheat at Quizzo? Hold the phone under the bar. Need to win a bet? Quick, check Google.
So, when I was semi-excited when I heard Amazon was putting out something called the Fire phone. Great, I thought, everything from ordering sneakers to watching videos will be right there. I won't need anything else. We've finally reached the top level.
Then, I saw the commercials advertising the Fire phone.
Now, I don't feel so cool. I mean, really, a 9-year old telling me how great the thing is?
When does the iPhone6 come out?

They don't make them like they used to

Good Morning and I can hear the school bells already!

So, Saturday night, we decided to sit down and watch a movie.
Yeah, I know, real exciting.
Anyway, having watched and enjoyed the Jason Bourne movies series (as well as the books, but that's another story), it seemed like a good night to catch the latest sequel, 'The Bourne Legacy.'
About an hour into the movie, nobody in the room could figure out the story. The characters were boring. There was no action. The only time there wasn't low-level talking was when one character killed off six others.
We were falling asleep, not a good review of an action movie.
So, I checked the listings and asked if it was OK to change to something else.
"Please," came the quick response.
That's when we stumbled upon another sequel. One that was much more entertaining: 'Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman.'
Yes, it was made in 1943. Yes, some of the costumes were laughable.
The movie, unlike the newer one, was entertaining.
That's all we ask from Hollywood. Unfortunately, more often than not it seems, we have to go back 80 years to find one.