Paulo
Got to hang out with Paulo last night. Paulo is a buddy of mine from back in California. He was part of the Portuguese community in Turlock. Man, I loved going to the festas and dancing. It’s one of the small set of things I miss about my life in California. Anyway, during the summers, it seemed like there was a festa within driving distance every weekend. I and some friends (people like Kathleen, Patricia, Cesar, and others) would drive out to a Portuguese Pentacost Association hall or church or whatever, to go dancing. One of the very cool things about Paulo was that he, along with another friend, Joseph, would try to come up with new dance steps. We would then demonstrate and teach them to each other. It was great fun.
Paulo has been living in New York for the past seven years and is now moving to Nashville. He took a vacation road trip across the county to see people, discover new places, and generally recreate before settling in to his new life. It was good to see him. We had dinner and then a drink before bidding each other ciao.
Regular viewing
It has gotten to the point where I don’t even know what night the various TV shows air, nor when a new season starts. As has been true for many years, everything I watch is something I’ve recorded on TiVo… with some new exceptions. Added to the mix now are shows that I watch on demand. I feel like I’m having an increasingly difficult time keeping up with my shows.
Among the shows that I watch these days:
- The Good Wife
- Elementary
- Big Bang Theory
- Marvel’s Agents of Shield
- Grimm
- Person of Interest*
- The Flash
- Marvel’s Agent Carter*
- Galavant*
- Supergirl
- Into the Badlands
*Not currently airing/season hasn’t begun
I also record Dr. Who, but seriously, I’m so not interested in the characters.
I also (binge) watch, on Demand:
- Daredevil
- Jessica Jones
- Homeland
- House of Cards
- Sense8
Finally, I have some things on the TiVo that are waiting for me:
- World War II in HD
- How the States Got Their Shapes
- (um…. some other history shows that I can’t remember the name of)
Anything I should be watching that I’m not? I recently gave up on Blue Bloods and The Bastard Executioner. I long ago abandoned The Walking Dead. So don’t recommend those.
Green thumb in absentia
Well these guys didn’t suffer in my absence.
Against all odds, I’m doing something right.
Championships wrap-up
Safe trip home from Minnesota yesterday. I got to chat with Mike Chexx in the Seattle airport between flights. That was nice. I also got to say goodbye to Reed, Tenacious D-Cup, and Mike Hammer as we were all on the same flight from MN to Seattle.
Here are a couple of photos of my crew this weekend.
Score & Timing team
Here’s a photo of the Mississippi River. Not so mighty at this point.
Here’s the State Capitol and a map of the tunnel system between State buildings.
Finally, here’s a shot from the plane on the flight to Seattle.
World Champions
So, the Rose City Rollers, my league, won the world championships. To do so, they defeated Gotham Girls Roller Derby. Gotham had gone unbeaten in their last 67 games and been the world champions for the past 5 years. It was a huge night in the derby world and for Rose City.
I’ve never felt so disconnected from my league.
As an official, I take my commitment to impartiality VERY seriously. I’m not just impartial when I’m working, I’m ALWAYS impartial. (Honestly, does anyone believe that an official who cheers for ‘their’ team/league one minute can be impartial for the hour that it takes them to work a game?) So while the whole damn derby world, including many other officials from my league, are cheering their fool heads off, I’m over here in the corner with my game face on. I felt so dejected that I had to leave the venue before the awards ceremony. As I was leaving, I stopped to shake hands with Agent Meow, the league’s dj who’d been spinning for that final game. He was in tears and when I shook his hand, I came close to breaking too. I feel very alone.
On the upside, I looked snazzy in my new NSO shirts.
St. Paul – Day 3
Yesterday I checked out the Church of the Assumption.
And this morning I attended Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul.
The Cathedral was really beautiful, but as I should have expected, the service was quite sterile and lifeless. A soprano so ‘well-trained’ that I couldn’t understand a word she was singing. And music selections clearly chosen to be artistically beautiful, but not especially singable by the assembly. Why bother, we’re really just an afterthought anyway.
St. Paul – Day 2
Did MUCH better with my position today. Felt like I shook off the cobwebs and remembered how to do this job. Before this weekend, I hadn’t been a scorekeeper for a sanctioned/regulation game since May.
Here’s a photo of the only two officials from Rose City (hell, Oregon) to work Championships this year.
sHellcat and Seán-Quad
Went to breakfast at a tiny little train car diner this morning.
Reed’s crew at breakfast
Finished the day by hitting the treadmill at the hotel. I walked/jogged a bit over 2 miles in about 45 minutes. A TERRIBLE pace, but one has to start (again) somewhere.
St. Paul – Day 1
Arrived in St. Paul yesterday. I met two of my roommates and I went out to dinner with them. We went to Pizza Lucé for dinner and I did my usual, ask the server what I should order. This is quite a hit-and-miss method of selecting my food. Sometimes it pays off, other times it doesn’t. Last night, it didn’t. My waitress suggested the Blue Dog (tomatoes, arugula, roasted asparagus, bacon, red onion, blue cheese, and mozzarella) and yeah, I didn’t really care for it. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. I also had a Surly Furious to drink. It was fine, but I’m hardly a beer connoisseur so what do I know.
Surly Furious
Worked a pair of games today as a scorekeeper. I’m paired up with Professor Murder (jam ref). Honestly, I don’t feel like today was my strongest performance. I got distracted and lost focus a couple of times. I’ll do better tomorrow.
Walked around downtown St. Paul a bit; checked out the Landmark Center and the Schubert Club Museum.
Wrapped up the day by walking to the Liffey Pub with an NSO from my crew, Bear Trap. I enjoyed a great fish & chips.
WFTDA Championships
Today, I am traveling. I am honored and privileged to have been selected to work this year’s WFTDA Championships tournament in St Paul, MN. My crew head is Reed d’Rulz, from Rat City. I really like working with Reed. The crew head referee is Sir Osis, also from Rat. This looks to be a great crew. I’m looking forward to working with a number of people with whom I’ve never before had the opportunity.
