Saturday was Jump Back. It was a great time, and somehow the stuff I painted didn't look awful. Or maybe I had consumed enough alcohol that it didn't look awful??

I was there about 20 minutes when someone came up to me and said she knew me. (I'd never seen her before, so picture me with a deer in the headlights look.) She said that she was at the Easter Seals auction and described my dress and shoes. Excellent...now I'm notorious. Or is it infamous? (Ironically, I had Converse on at this event as well. Black ones. I hoped to get to the store to buy a pair of pink Converse -- which I desperately want -- but ran out of time. But the converse were part of the costume this time.)

My little brother was there, and my friends were all flirting with him. I just can't get over the fact that every time we hang out all my friend tell me how adorable he is. Actually, I'm ok when they call him adorable. He's the little kid who at 18 months broke his leg and was in a full body cast and made all the nurses fall in love with him. He can be adorable. No, I start to freak out when they call him "hot." He's my LITTLE brother. Aagh!!

There was an afterparty at the hotel. The Cleveland Police came to break it up. NOT hotel security, the Cleveland Police. Excellent. I haven't been at a party that the cops busted us since, well, October. But you get the idea. I'm 30, not 16. And the cops are still busting my hotel parties.

A few stories. We hired M.O.B. Inc to walk the crowd. Anyway, one of the MOB Inc people was the naked cowboy (from 42nd street, in case you haven't been to NYC for a while). He
The rumor is that he is a diabetic and actually went into insulin shock. I heard that he ended up in the hospital. Then, at the end of the night, as we were walking out, an ambulance was walking IN. Turns out that some guy was drunk, slipped, and hit his face on the bar. They think he broke his nose, but he passed out and there was blood everywhere. As far as I know, that was the only casualty.

And let me tell you, open bar usually means weak drunks and not the best liquor. No, the drinks are strong. The martinis were super strong, I couldn't even drink them. The amaretto sours were also strong. Did you ever notice that when it's an open bar, you have no real attachment to your drink? So dancing, you may get covered in alcohol?? Because there is no incentive to be careful when walking or dancing with your drink. If it spills, you go get a new one. No responsibility at all. (Yes, this is way to say that I got covered in alcohol...)

The next morning, some people on the Jump Back committee went to breakfast (difficult in itself. The Diner on 55 was closed (WTF?), Pickwick got slammed with about 150 people right before we got there, so we ended up at The Harp (which, incidently, didn't have regular pancakes, only had blueberry pancakes. I was inconsolable.)) Anyway, we were telling stories about Jump Back, and most of them started with "so and so was so wasted and...." I mean, how many black tie affairs end in someone getting escorted out of the event, and an ambulance coming?

I had a great time though. The bands were both really good (Abby Normal and the Superband or something, who I had heard broke up.) However, as the theme was all about NYC, I thought the night should have ended with New York, New York. Just my two cents.

I spent most of Sunday recovering. Thankfully, we didn't have a soccer game. Of course, I have one this Sunday, and the Oscars are on. Do I go to soccer, or do I be snarky with friends and make fun of Oscar dresses? Oh, the trials and tribulations of my life...

For those looking for something to do tomorrow, there is a Personal Finance event. There is also a happy hour this Thursday at the Cleveland Playhouse. It includes free parking until 7pm - $5 unlimited wine tasting (compliments of Laurello Wine) , free appetizers , and a cash bar. And for those who have never been to the Cleveland Playhouse, you can get a tour as well. You know, the Cleveland Playhouse while not as big as Playhouse Square obviously, has some great performances. Intimate Apparrel is there through this weekend.

My friend asked me if it was wrong that she wanted Nick Lachey to get spousal support. I told her no, it was just wrong that she had an opinion on it.

So you are all curious about the Easter Seals auction, aren't you? DYING to know. I realize. First, yes, I wore my teal dress with my blue teal Converse. And I LOVED them. I'm not sure what anyone else thought, but all I really cared about was me, so that's good. If you ask nicely, maybe I'll email you a photo.

You have to walk on stage, which is somewhat intimidating. Meanwhile, they are talking about you (but in what is meant to be a good way, not the way that people talked about you when you were in junior high or something). The problems are twofold: first, the stage is small, so you get to the end of the stage, and they are only about half done. So now what do you do? You just stand there. Fake smiling or something. But stand there. I like to DO things. Standing there is boring. And everyone is looking. At least if I were walking, then I'm not concentrating on the fact that everyone is looking. I’d be concentrating on not tripping, you know? Second, the MC made a comment about me having attitude because I was wearing my Converse. That unsettled me. Weird, I know. What did I expect? One of my sorority sisters asked me about my shoes. I told her I loved them. Her response: “I am sure you do. This does not mean that they were your best choice for this outfit. It was, however, a very "you" thing to do. Converse is your Chanel. For you, they are always a classic.” Awesome.

But once you get done with the stage, the night is only beginning! Because now you have to mingle. Did you ever play Zelda on Nintendo? The people there were like the town folks you talked to when you enter a village. Usually they were stupid and said stupid things like, "you need candles to see in the dark" and you wanted to scream “DUH!” and you literally felt your brain cells disintegrating in your head. If you stopped paying attention and just started counting ceiling tiles, you miss…*nothing.* At least nothing of consequence. But every so often you found a person who told you something good and interesting like, “the candle is in the cave north of the Prada Desert.”

By the way, this leads to an interesting issue. When you meet the interesting villager, even if you know that your character will die if you enter the cave (you haven't built up your magic, or sword, or heart enough to make it into the cave and back out unscathed) would you enter the cave anyway??

But I digress. One of my friends won me, so no (1) scary Republicans; (2) sketchy guys. So that was cool. I think we'll go skydiving. Fun.

And I slept last night for the first time in ages. I have been coughing too much to sleep of late. So last night, I was at my dad’s for dinner, and he gave me this disgusting thing – equal amounts of honey, lemon and alcohol. You know, I was able to sleep from 12-5. 5 whole glorious hours. It was perfect. It tastes awful, but I recommend it.

You know, normal people, when sick, would not play soccer on Friday (indoor at least), two football games Saturday (ok, that was outdoor. Freezing cold 11 degrees!), drink Saturday night, rock climbing Sunday, and soccer (again, indoor) on Sunday. They would stay in bed and rest. I guess this is my way of informing you that I’m not normal…

I'm in a pickle. I have two contradictory bets at the monent: one with a friend that I will never die, and one with another friend (who has a voodoo doll) that I will die before tomorrow if he puts his voodoo doll curse on me. So now I'm not sure if I should root for never dying, or root for dying today or tomorrow. I hate losing, so I don't particularly want to lose either bet. But I see no way around it. Either I die today or tomorrow, thus losing the bet I made on Thursday, or I decide to live forever, thus losing the bet I mad on Saturday? There's no way for me to die today or tomorrow and still live forever, is there?

So I spent Valentine's Day with a group of friends at The Town Fryer on Superior and East 37th or so (which, incidently, may be the best kept secret in Cleveland.) What a fantastic time. And I didn't even partake on the fried Twinkies or fried Oreos. (I was so fried out at that time. I should have planned better.) We had fried macroni and cheese (surprisingly good) and friend peanut butter and jelly (I did not partake). But the best part of the evening are the hats. They have all these hats - you know, now that I think about it, I have no idea where these hats came from - and we were all wearing the hats. Posing for photos. It was most excellent. I mean, drunken singles on Valentine's Day who just consumed an entire month's worth of grease in an hour and a half should definitely finish the evening with a night "cap," if you will. (Ok that was bad, I apologize. Actually, I don't really apologize, I just acknowledge your groans.)

So I got an email the other day criticizing me by telling me that I haven't been posting often enough. Evidently, my once a week routine is wearing a little thin with a friend of mine. And last week was a busy week, and when I wasn't working or doing stuff, and I had down computer time, I sent a long email to a friend of mine. I was informed this was unacceptable. I promise it will not happen again. I shall let friendships deteoriate in order to keep you entertained at work...

So total cost of my car was $450. BUT most of that was the 2 new wheels I needed and the transmission/coolant/oil change. In fact, for the actual stuff related to losing control of my car and spinning and median hitting, I spent $60 on a wheel alignment. There are no dents in my car. There are some scratches to the front bumper, but when it's washed they may be able to be buffed out. Let me think about this: I was going 65 on 271, spun around in circles twice, hit the median, wasn't wearing a seatbelt...and all I have to show for it is a $60 dollar wheel alighment. Someone up there was watching over me Sunday!! Wow.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day - spoony: foolishly or sentimentally in love.
Hmm... I like it.

And I'm reminding everyone about the Easter Seals auction this Thursday at the Holiday Inn on Rockside Road. Yours truly, as we know, is a participant. Doors open at 5.30, we walk across the stage at 7, get raffled off at 9.30. That is well worth the $40, so I hope to see everyone there. If you aren't from Cleveland, I will excuse you from attending. Otherwise, I expect to see you that.

And other events coming up Jump Back Ball is on February 25. I know for a fact that the signs will look great b/c I was painting them last night. Ok, I don't really paint in the lines, but you'd be disappointed with me if I did, right? I mean, that way, when you see a sign, you will automatically know if it's a "Stephanie." I mean, every artist needs a calling card. Or is that serial killers? Anyway, the fact is, they asked me if I could paint, and I said yes. That isn't my fault. It was an unclear question. What they obviously meant was, can you paint well. See, that's a different answer. Of course I can paint. Can't everyone?

Tonight on the way to soccer, I hit some snow, lost control of the car, overcompensated, really lost control of the car, did two 360s on the freeway, then hit the median and was facing the wrong way. I was so shook up. That was the first accident I think I've been in since I was a teenager - and I was't driving then. It doesn't look like there is too much damage to the car (what I could see in the dark) but when I drive faster than about 60 my car shakes, so my brother thinks I need a wheel alignment. Even when I got to soccer, I was still freaking out. I made my brother get off the field (I was late) because I was freaking out. I called him off the field and tell him I needed him b/c I was in a car accident and was freaked out. His response: "I just let a girl who was 4'11" score on me, I don't have that much sympathy for you." I *think* he was joking...

But the good news, we won our first soccer game! (1-2-1) The players, for the first time, weren't high school kids. They were adults. The goalie was older than us and so was one of their forwards; the rest of them were about our age. But they were really good. Excellent ball control. Excellent. They were Italian (as in from Italy Italian - they had the cutest accents when talking in English and often would break into Italian. It was a good, close game. Actually, they were better than us, we just won.) You explain it - we lose to high school kids in better shape but not better players, and beat a team much better than us.

Wednesday at the OAR concert, I swear, we were the oldest ones. It was actually entertaining. Until my knee gave out of me and I sat down in the ground. This guy fell on me and spilled his beer. And he was a big guy. Not cool. Not cool at all. (I think the two concerts this week did a real number on them. I had a hard time walking today. My right knee was in constant pain all day. It was on the side and I really was thinking that it was going to go out on me. That would, honestly, suck. I know it will happen sooner or later, but I'd rather it be later. But it was the most pain it's been in for several years. And I don't have my knee or ankle braces anymore b/c they were stolen from my bag in December when my car was broken into. It was the first time I really needed them today.)

Rent. Not only was Angel not that great, but Mimi was flat out awful. And by awful, I mean she was the worst Mimi I've ever seen (and I've seen Rent two dozen times). In fact, I am debating whether she is the worst broadway singer I've ever heard, and I'm pretty sure that the answer is yes. Seriously, she sang Out Tonight and not a single note was in key. It was painful for me. Every time she opened her mouth, I cringed.

Flogging Molly on Friday was great, naturally. Though I had to move out of the eye of the hurricane (i.e. the middle of the mosh pit) because I was bouncing around like a ball in a pinball machine. Usually I adore that, but it was a bit too much for me. So I went and stood towards the back of the mosh pit, so I just got a little bit of pushing and whatnot. I have all sorts of mystery bruises. I felt a bit bad b/c I was with two people who didn't know who FLogging Molly was. So the second opening act, this rock band, my friend asked me if this was Flogging Molly. I gave her an "are you kidding me?" look and yes (sarcastically, I thought) "yeah, it's Flogging Molly." I then said to my other friend with us, "they asked if this is Flogging Molly." She gave the same "are you kidding me?" gesture that I did but said nothing. My one friend asked us why there were only 5 people on stage if there were 7 people in the band. I tell her that there are two Flogging Molly tours. When they ended and no one left, my other friend asked why no one was leaving (it had been about 5 minutes). My other friend answers, "encore." At some point, we were just playing around. I was sure they knew we were pulling their legs.. Keep in mind that while they were playing, no one was singing along. Not that many people were even dancing. They definitely weren't celtic sounding. And they played about 40 minutes. But evidently they bought the entire thing. Oops.

As for The Male Intellect, the entire second act was new. I didn't like it as much. The first act was still hysterical. But the "truth" was pretty boring. He made a few political jokes, and I was sitting next to my friend who is conservative, so we had a good time with that, but otherwise, yeah, I preferred the first act.

Because I have an account on My Space, and I have more artists and bands as my friends that actual people, I get a lot of indie artists who writet to me and say, "you are a friend of so and so, I think you will like my music, I've been compared to them." But Sophie B. Hawkins sent me something. Wow, I've heard of her! :)

So I passed my belay test, and can now go rock climbing any time I want to without instruction. Excitement. My mom thinks one should need more instruction before they can go climb on their own, but really, as long as you know how to put the equipment on right, you aren't going to fall very fall.

Obviously, my friends and I are violent people. During the Superbowl, we enjoyed all the violent commercials. The Fex Ex commercials where the dinosaur ate the pacage, then crushed the caveman was a big hit. And I won't lie to you, the theft control Sprint one was watched more than once. (This is why God invented TiVo...)

On a more peaceful wavelength, I really liked the Dove commercial (though one of the girls at the party asked what the song was. She hadn't heard True Colors before. Ahh, yes, you know you are old when...)

As usual Budweiser had some great ads. The Magic Fridge one made us laugh. The streaking sheep commercial was cute as well. The bear and the beer was good, but again, we liked violence. :) I think my favorite was the tiny Clydesdale horse that thought that it was pulling the cart. And it was - with help. It was adorable.

Which leads to the obvious. Any commercial that uses animals is great. Budweiser used that it it's advantage. The two Careerbuilders ones (working with jackasses, and the monkey's partyting b/c they had the sales report upside down and thought they sales were up) both were fun. Best ever? No. But fun.

For the second year in a row, I most enjoyed the Ameriquest "Don't Judge, We Won't" commercials. Though neither were as clever as the guy cooking for his girlfriend with the cat covered in red pasta sauce, both were good. The first one, with the wife and daughter walking in on the doctor right after he killed a fly and saying, "that killed him" cracked me up. The second one with the plane turbalance causing the woman to fall on the other passenger made me laugh as well. Clever clever clever. How can I get a job at Ameriquest making commercials? Yes, I'm serious. That is the idea job to me.

The other one that I really liked was the sports scores on the cell phone one, where the old man started in on the younger man who was checking his scores on his cell. Back inthe old days. The stereotypical "walked to school uphill both ways" speech. (And yes, I think I would have liked it even if it wasn't a Browns fan. The pause after "We did it the old fashioned way. We went" and before "to the internet" made the commercail for me.)

As for the worst commerical, I really hated the Burger King commercial. It did not entertain at all. Though the competition is close: the Diet Pepsi commercials were awful. And the music video one was way too long. The Jackie Chan one was just stupid. And did anyone else wonder why they placed Diet Coke in their ad. Yes, it got stamped, but at the end of the day, it's still free advertising. I hated the Hummer commercial (and that wasn't new either, was it?) I also didn't like the car commercial withthe models in white mascara. I won't lie; I had nightmares last night.

And is anyone else disturbed by FIVE blades Gillette premiered? FIVE. Really, is that necessary in life? I mean, what will five blades really get that three blades will not. I think we are getting a little bit out of control, I really do.

A few other random thoughts: MacGyver is getting old. And porky. And movie trailers are just a waste of time. The Desperate Housewivescommercial wasn't bad - though let's be honest, it was completely unnecessary. Is anyone NOT familiar with Desperate Housewives at this point? And if so, where have they been living? And was that one car commercial in Spanish and English a commercial for the hybrid car or a commercial for speaking English?? The Sprite airline security ad was clever as well.

* * *

What about the game, you ask? I was disgusted. Not because I actually cared who won the game. In case you hadn't noticed, the Browns fielded a high school football team (not a Texas high school team, b/c a Texas high school team might have beaten them, but just a regular high school team.) In fact, the Browns have more or less fielded a high school team since they returned to the NFL. A few more years of that, and we'll be Cincinnnati. So I didn't care who won, but I really hate bad officiating. Especially when said bad officiating determines who wins a game. Let alone who wins THE SUPERBOWL.

And the worst part of it was the fact that the calls affected scoring. First, there was the pass interference on the touchdown. Which, as the commentators stated, was extremely questionable. Extremely. Then there was the Roethlisberger touchdown. This was extremely close, actually. I didn't think he broke the plane while in the air. It was impossible to tell. Whatever the call on the field was couldn't be overturned because there was not undisputed evidence. But there was nothing that I saw to suggest that the ball did cross the line. Hard to say for sure, but still. Then the hold on the Seahawk's pass to the 1 yard line. You know it's bad when the announcers, upon watching the replay, say, "I have no idea where that hold call came from."

It's impossible to guess where the game would have gone. That's at least a 14 point difference for Seattle, and 7 less for Pittsburgh (the interception came soon after the hold on the 1 play. No interception, no ensuing touchdown by Randal El. And maybe in 10-14 less for the Steelers (if the Steelers are stopped at the 1 on Roethlisberger's TD).

I accept that referees in all sports are human and make mistakes. It just seems incredible that every mistake went against Seattle. And I didn't even care who won. Imagine the frustration that a fan felt! Yes, the commercials were clearly better than the Superbowl this year. Both the playing, and the officiating.

Oh, you know what else bothered me? The fact that they kept on having commericals of the Steelers with the Superbowl trophy but only had one of Seattle. Even the media was doing it! Even my friend at my house, a Pittsburgh fan, commented on it.

FYI, you can check out all of the Superbowl commercials here.

* * *

Don't forget to set the TiVos for Arrested Development this Friday night. Yes, yes, yes, the Olympics opening ceremony are on. Let me help: they run with a torch and light the main torch. There will be lots of people wearing flags, or flag colored shirts, and walking and waving at the cameras. Basically, it's a larger scale city 4th of July parade. Clearly Arrested Development is more interesting - and if it's not (or if you go out on Friday; I have Flogging Molly tickets myself), that's why God invented TiVo. (You know, I'll throw a plug out for Veronica Mars too. Just because it's brilliant so you all probably aren't watching it. SHAME! I'd only point out you people are the reason that Sports Night, Jack and Bobby, and My So Called Life were cancelled too. Not that I hold grudes but I think that the actors from the last one care able to collect social security by now.)

And while we are on tv, Grey's Anatomy followed the Superbowl. Am I the only one who finds the main character totally unlikable? She is whiny, she is selfish, and she can't act to save her life.

* * *

Wait wait wait. When testifying before the senate, the Attorney General does not have to be sworn in?? Are you f'ing kidding me? Yes, because politicans have shown themselves to be honest and truthful. What was I thinking? Give me a break. The entire process is a joke. Are we at home not supposed to realize that?? Though some conservatives are breaking with Bush on his spying program. And one of them is (allegedly) Ashcroft, who supposedly had some reservations about the program. How much does an action violate your rights before ASHCROFT things that it's questionable?? But I actually meant during the hearing.

"I find your testimony honest, straightforward. You legal reasoning is well articulated," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. "I don't agree with it all." Graham said he was concerned about the president's argument that his commander-in-chief status gave him the authority to launch the program. "Taken to its logical conclusion, it concerns me that it could basically neuter the Congress and weaken the courts," he said.

Well, duh. You know, just when I'm ready to completely write off humanity as a failed experiment ...

* * *

Things to do in Cleveland this week. First, Rent is town at Playhouse Square. I adore Rent. I'm heading out to see it on Thursday. This isn't part of the Broadway series, but a good call for a week. Then Saturday I am going to see Robert Dubac in The Male Intellect, An Oxymoron on Saturday. He's hysterical, I've also seen this before. It's at the Odean - before it closes (BOO!) Fear not, I have O.A.R. tickets on Wednesday, and Flogging Molly tickets on Friday, so I won't be bored on the other days. Though that's a lot of shows in a short time, when the best come to town, you take advantage.

And we are about a week and a half away from the Easter Seals date auction. Thanks to Lori for donating. Very cool of her. I shall have to make it out to a Meet the Bloggers event sometime. But not February. There is so much going on already (especially with Jump Back Balls 15th anniversary that I know you all want to go to...) If anyone is curious what my shoes for the Easter Seals auction look like, you can see them here. Yes, I'm serious. I hope they match my dress - they might be a little off. Which would make me sad. But the dress is knee length so I don't think it will look too bad.

* * *

Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by idiots? I swear to god. The other day I was going to the 20/30 happy hour. It was at the Bier Market, a great new(ish) bar in Ohio City. Anyway, I go to the parking lot, and hand the guy a $5 to park. He looks at me and say, "parking is only $3." Well, see, I wanted to leave a $2 tip. I thought you should start a college fund.

* * *

And if I may offer soemthing. I turn 30 in about 5 months. (5 months, 4 days). Perspecive from a friend of mine (who is about 2 weeks younger than me):

The 20s are all about instability. The first two or three years are ok, but otherwise it's all about figuring out who you are and struggling--to find your career, to get your finances straight, to figure out if you want an emotional/romantic relationship and if so what kind, etc. etc. etc. By 30 you have some credibility and you've figured a lot of that out.

Interesting, no?

* * *

And my friend sent me this article about Vince Young going pro. The article (and sorry, it was emailed to me, so Im not sure of the magazine or the author or anything) said:

I feel sorry for people who can't get a thrill out of a major eventl ike this year's Rose Bowl game ... I'm mean, people who don't get emotionally involved in sports. They are missing something important in life. Everybody should have a team - actually, several teams - to root for. The greatest thing about it is that there's always next season. No matter how good or bad this season was, we'll get 'em next year. ... [A]s a sports fan, there is nearly always something new going on, another game coming up, another chance for redemption. And you change sports as the seasons change. Love affairs bloom and fade, and new love affairs begin. So partisanship in sports is something to take pleasure in.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

You know, I haven't mentioned the Coco trade to Boston at all. Here's my thoughts (I know you felt lost without them): Shapiro had made several good trades, and he deserves some trust in these matters. But boy, was that hard. The trade, for those not aware (SHAME!) involved Crisp, Riske and Bard to Boston for Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, Guillermo Mota, a player to be named later and cash. Then, a a subset, Rhodes to Philly for Michaels.

Now, I adore Crisp, AND I was a Riske fan (though Wedge clearly was not and seemingly didn't even trust Riske with the ball. I'm not sure why, but I think Riske is a great pickup for Boston. And we moved WAY down with Mota from Riske (AND we gave away Rhodes. AND we lost Howry to free agency - the worst failure to sign, in my opinion. Two years ago we had one of the worst bulletins. Last year we had th ebest. This year I fear we have moved back towards where we were two years ago. So I didn't like that component of the trade. Riske OR the subset of Rhodes. That puts a lot of pressure on Cabrera. And he's a pseudo rookie (I think he has too many appearances to be a rookie this season). But we have weakened our bullpen with this trade. Fact.

Bard was just a backup catcher to Victor, and as long as Victor is healthy, it doesn't matter. To the extent that it does matter, we moved up in terms of backup catchers with Schoppach. But come on, who really cares when you are talking backup catchers?? It was just an odd addition for the trade. Unnecessary.)

Now for the main bulk of the trade. Coco for Marte. If Marte is as good as they think he will be, that's great. We need a third baseman in our future, he fills that role, while we have other players who can play outfield in the minors who can develop. But who is going to play left field in the NOW? Michaels and Hollandsworth are the answer? Really?? I think I'd feel better if you'd say that Franklin Gutierrez could play left field and was ready for the majors (neither of which is likely true).

And I am warning Shapiro: LEAVE JHONNY PERALTA ALONE. If you must, trade Victor and Travis. Hell, you can even trade Grady. But leave Jhonny Peralta alone. Got it??

I depend on my friends to clue me into great new music. And in the last few weeks, I've discovered two GREAT artists that I just can't get enough of. The first is Brandi Carlile, courtosy of my friend Kevin. The second is JJ Appleton. (I discovered JJ Appleton from Entertainment Weekly, but I do consider EW a friend.) They both have wonderful voices. I love to hear good new music. Yay. I encourage all to check them out. They both have music on their websites and MySpace if you wanted to listen to them. And you can download their albums on iTunes. If you can listen to Brandi Carlile's rendition of Hallelujah and not get goosebumps, you are a better person than I. (Or is that worse?) And everytime I hear JJ Appleton's Anyone and Someone Else's Problem, I have the urge to call my exs and play the song. And Downloader's Blues makes me laugh. Seriously, I can't say enough about the two of them.

We played against another high school team. Even better, we had a happy hour before the game, so people were, I don't want to say drunk, but had been drinking. The other teams have made us feel old. They have even commented on us being old. But these were the first really immature kids we've played against.

They were talking smack the entire game. The one girl, who I will refer to as The Bitch, literally pulled one of the guys on the team as he went for the ball. When he told her that wasn't cool, she told him that he was a fucking pussy. Another time The Bitch

Some of the guys on the bench were talking. Some guy says "That guy is really good, but he's psycho." The Bitch says, "he's not that good." And the guys says, "Compared to the rest of the team, he is." Now this is my baby brother you are talking about. Who, by the way, is an awesome soccer player. I will grant you, he's majorly intense about soccer. But still.

So I say to them (I'm playing defense) that he may be psycho, but he's better than all of them. (Which, incidently, was true. He really was on fire last night. He's generally a great player, but he was really awesome last night, saving several goals. Kicking himself for missing a shot on goal, but awesome.) And one of the guys says, "oh, that's really impressive, beating a bunch of teenagers."

Well, actually, it IS impressive. You are a high school team. Meaning that during the season, you play every day. You are in shape. During the summer, you have two a days (practices). We are in our mid to late 20s, we play once a week, we don't practice, we aren't really in condition, and we were drinking before the game. Yeah, I say playing at the same level as you is really impressive. Oh, and fuck you.

For the first time ever (and I do mean ever, and I've played soccer since age 7 - and I played and play several other sports as well) I refused to shake hands at the end of the game. Immature? Yes. But I really don't give a shit.