Summer is officially upon us. Well, not in the calendar sense, but in my book, anything after Memorial Day is summer. Last week was a little busy for us and this week promises to be the same, but today is low key and relaxed so here are my musings for the week.
Music That I Am Listening To and Enjoying – New Jack Johnson came out last week and it is really good. A little more upbeat and poppy than his most recent stuff, but that is not a bad thing. Also heard some new stuff from Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Richard Walters, and The Swell Season, all of which have been quite good. Also lots of A.M., a new Jay Bennett song, and a bunch from The Sea and Cake. Been a good couple of weeks for picking up some new music and it will hopefully continue through the summer.
Customer Service Moment of the Week – There were like 20 to choose from these past few weeks. I had someone refuse to answer a question that I asked them when they pulled the old “change your order when the barista is almost done making the drink” move, which is always awesome and mature, and then a co-worker was accused of being a racist for no apparent reason except mentioning oatmeal, which I was not aware carried any racial connotations. I avoided that one but was there for the fallout and was sufficiently upset by the lack of support from Starbucks’ upper management.
Sports Moment of the Week – Take your pick: Rafael Nadal won the French Open, regaining his rightful place as the king of clay, the U.S. Soccer team won its’ final World Cup tune-up 3-1 over Australia, the NBA Finals game last night featured two records broken and a fantastic game, and the Stanley Cup finals are down to the last 2 games with two huge games this past weekend. It is a good time to be a sports fan. And that’s to say nothing of the baseball going on, or anything else for that matter. My head might explode just thinking about it, so lets move on.
Books and Movies of the Week – I finished reading Smart Money, a sports betting memoir a few weeks ago and it was pretty entertaining. I also read Ford County, a collection of short stories by John Grisham, one of my favorite authors and found them to be immensely enjoyable. And my wife made me watch How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, which I had successfully avoided all these years but got caught in last weekend, and it was preditable and sappy, all the things you expect from a chick flick. We also watched Mr. Deeds, which was way more hilarious than I remembered it being, and I watched The International, which was really good and pretty intense.
Video of the Week – Ok, the World Cup fires up in only 3 days. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. So this commercial, thought it came out a few weeks ago, serves as more material to get people fired up!
Yes, Drogba is hurt and may not play, Ronaldinho did not make his team, but that commercial is still awesome. And yes, that was Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, and Homer Simpson you saw, among others.
5 Things I Think I Think
1. I think that the Rickwood Classic, a minor league baseball game played here in Birmingham in America’s oldest ballpark, was a wonderful experience on Wednesday afternoon. The park is quaint and old, but gives off a stately feel that makes you think back to what baseball must have been like when they played it that stadium in the 20’s and 30’s. Pretty incredible.
2. I think that there are few things as enjoyable as time at the beach, as we had last weekend in Fernandina, and few things as annoying as oblivious and dumb people there, which we also experienced. Look in the mirror before you leave the house in your bathing suit. Don’t set up your towel three feet away from someone else. Don’t bring your dog without water, shade, and an ability to control it. Don’t talk on the phone loudly about your impending divorce and social security money loudly while sitting right next to people. These are all guidelines people ought to follow while at the beach. A little etiquette goes a long way…
3. I think that from all accounts, the late John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach who passed away on Friday, was one of the greatest men that lived. Everything I’ve ever heard about him from anyone that was in contact with him was that he was a gentle, intelligent, devoted, and incredible man. To say nothing of the fact that he was the greatest college basketball coach ever.
4. I think that the pool is calling my name right now. I have a lot of reading to do this week and I’m hoping to knock a lot of it out in the sunshine today…sorry to all of you who are stuck at work and are pinning for some quality time in the sun. I’ll try to get some for all of us.
5. I think that I could not be more fired up from the World Cup. starting on Friday with the opening match between South Africa and Mexico. It’s been a long time coming to wait for the U.S. Soccer team to redeem themselves for the debacle last time out, but Saturday afternoon the wait is over when we kick off against England. I’ll be front and center wearing my new U.S. jersey and yelling my voice out. You should be too.
So have a great week and I’ll check in later with some new stuff.
Love and Sweatpants.
Fielder's Choice 