Believe It or Not...

... this is all true.

- My friend is painting a portrait of me and it is looking incredible. You won't believe this thing when you see it.

- I went to a Phish show last Friday, and it was a whole lot of fun. I would recommend anyone (who appreciates good music and good musicians) to check out one of their concerts anytime you get a chance.

- I have picked up some new lingo, but I have been dropping some "activity" around the place. (Side note: no real activity as of yet.)

- There are video casinos and soon to be table-game casinos at just about an hour and a half intervals throughout the state. On my first-and-probably-not-last trip to The Hollywood Casino, I went up $220 in 25 minutes at the $15 dollar black jack machine, and said good night. The machines are kinda cool they have a video dealer and a booth around it like a real casino and she is hot and she deals em out.

-I played my annual game of golf while here and got two legitimate pars. I was very happy.

-I was going to say something about music, but I think I will save that for another post.

- The Bunger-que tradition lives on. My friend threw a party and named it Bunger-que...looking forward to the tail end party in the 912.

-I am running out of things to think of, and I am about to go watch the season premier of Rescue Me. A good day to you all.

Greetings

One week after leaving Savannah, I have found myself somewhat acclimated to this northern land. My arrangements are quite comfortable. The natives' dialect is different, yet discernible. The cuisine is phenomenal. So far, I have eaten two subs, one cheesesteak, four slices of cheese pizza, one slice of cheesesteak pizza and a slice of spaghetti pizza. I tried to add a picture of the spaghetti pizza but I don't really know how to work my buddy's Mac. The wedding I came up for was awesome. Tonight, my buddy I mentioned before on the blogosphere is having a concert. He usually plays acoustic, folky music, but for tonight's show, he has a full band of accomplished musicians behind him...so I am really excited for that. Tomorrow, I am heading to Camden, NJ by way of Philadelphia to go see Phish in concert. That will be interesting. When I was 14, I had tickets to go see them, but I couldn't go because I didn't have a ride. They ended up breaking up as a band soon there after. My little neo-hippie heart was broken; I thought I would never see them again and I had missed my only chance. Turns out 10 years later I have gotten the chance. I am not super excited for it, but it will be cool...at least, there will be a lot of funny people to look at. That is all for now.

Rotation Rotation Rotation

The Braves may get washed out tonight, but that is one of the few things that isn't going right for them. Up and down, the lineup has had timely hitting and everyone seems to take turns contributing. Heyward has proved he is legit, but he's still a rookie. He'll continue to have his fair share of ups and downs. Prado and Glaus carried the team for over month, and both deserve serious Allstar votes. Hinske won't get any credit, but he's had a lot of say in how the team has been mowing everybody else down.

Having too much pitching can never be a bad thing, right? Well, too much good pitching can't hurt, and the Braves have just that. Jair Jurrjens was never right at the beginning of the season (0-3, over 6 ERA). He's healthy now and plans to start next Tuesday. Kris Medlen has been great for the Braves in Jurrjens' absence, and I don't see him giving up his starting spot. Your first reaction will be to yank Kawakami out as quick as possible, and then hand that spot to Jurrjens. Certainly, Jurrjens is a better option. But if you can somehow look past the 0-9 record and his last start going only 2 inn. and serving up slow pitch softballs, Kawakami's starts have been pretty good. There is something to be said for fielding your position. The guy is terrible. Someone forgot to tell Kenshin to glove and throw the ball for the force out, not karate chop at it.

I know there's absolutely no room for him, but it sure would be nice to see LH Johnny Venters get a start or two. He was a starter all throughout the minors, but he's been unbelievable out of the pen. When Saito returns, a great thing will somehow get a bit better. Oh and Chris Resop -- you are who we thought you were. See ya!


Top 5 sports right now:

5. Lacrosse
4. Wakeboarding
3. Baseball
2. Tennis
1. USA soccer (The only kind of soccer there is.)

Week 1

Bon voyage, Bunger!

Waking up at 4:30 in the morning is for the birds. I only had to do it a couple of times this week, but it was a couple too many. Work is awesome. It beats sitting in a classroom for 8 hours, that's for sure. My first official patient is 78, and she has called me everything but Joey in 3 visits -- Jody, Jonah, Josh, and jerk. She's sweet. My instructor still hasn't shown up for work. The other employees assure me that she does exist, and that I will be receiving credit for the rotation. We'll see. As for driving, Lex and Terry in the morning and driving the explorer like it's a Ferrari all day get me from point A to B. Right now, I'm OK with the drive. I'm not sure how long I'm gonna make it, so SSI isn't out of the question. How's the Junior Staff, Shiv?

Hey Bunger and Shane, good call. The Avett Brothers were great. I have listened to them and never was sold. Well, as of a week ago, I'm sold. It's hard to believe that those 3 + Joe Kwon could ever put on a show like that. I'm not sure what category you can place the Avett Brothers in to. If it's bluegrass, fine. If it's "alternative folk" (Amazon.com's take), that sounds kinda weird, but OK. They aren't like many other bands, and I like that. Who knew they could make Springsteen tolerable for me...



Moving on...



Lakers win! Lakers win! Love that picture by the way. Queensbridge was definitely in the building on Thursday night. Not sure if I'm a Laker fan, but I'm a Kobe Bryant. He proved 2 things in the past 2 months worth of playoffs: 1. Shooting more than everyone else gives you the best chance at scoring; 2. He's the best basketball player in the world. As for Bostonians, suck it. Ok I'll be honest, it would not have matter who played the Celtics; I would have rooted for the West no matter what... well except Dirk and zee Mavs.

Jack - "Paul Pierce is "the Truth"?! Ron Artest handled the truth!!"

The US Open wraps up today on NBC. That means: Phil has checked out, Tiger took the night off last night to focus on golf, and Johnny Miller is an idiot. I'm pulling for Dustin Johnson.

On a personal note... this weekend I swung/swang/swinged(?) and missed. I was talking the big talk all this week. But after one beer Friday and Saturday nights, I was down for the count. I guess I need to start drinking at work to tune the body up for the weekend. It's settled -- Martini Mondays and Tequila Sunrise Tuesdays. I'm going to do better.

Hey, Koman Coulibaly - you're fucking out! Don't screw with America's sport.

Happy Father's Day!

HUGE Sports Day!!!

I'm so happy...I could take my pants off! Days like these don't come around often, and I think we need to stop hating and start embracing. It's been a few year since the last time this sporting event this has taken place, but once the squads take the field that same ol' familiar feeling returns. Yep, the Braves and Twins renew their rivalry tonight! They have met twice ('02 & '07) since that 1991 World Series.


Kirby Puckett must have grown a foot or so the week leading up to the series. For me, there were many reasons to dislike those Twins: guy named Kirby who was good a baseball, Minnesota and its proximity to Canada, and Kent Hrbek's bush league play in picking off Ron Gant. What do I remember most from that World Series? That was the first time I heard someone say "fuck". It was my father, and it was directed at Hrbek...many, many times.

The times they are a changing, well kinda. The Braves and Twins are back on top of their respective divisions, but the Twins don't come across as sleazy this go round. But thanks to Kirby, Jack Morris, and Hrbek, I still hate you Minnesota. Go fuck yourselves.

Other notable happenings on the BIG Friday:

WNBA Hoops - 1st place Atlanta Dream (7-2) v New York Liberty (3-4)

Bassmaster Elite Series - Day 3 of the Tennessee Triumph BASS Tourney BASScast Live!

NBA Agency - 19 Days and counting...

Inter-office memo

Greetings co-workers. I just wanted to bring your attention to the fact that I have added a new website to our (the original) bare necessities. It is an internet magazine, whatever that is, called Slate. I believe David Hale linked it a while back. I don't know how else I would have come across it. Actually, there is no telling how I came across it. When I get on the internet things are very much like a dream sequence. My sense of time is greatly skewed. There are funny things, scary things, pretty things, ugly things. I never know how I got to any of them, and the only way I can get out of it is to wake up/ "x" out. Anyway, I digress. Slate is a good website to check out because they have a broad area of interest. You can check out synopses of Friday Night Lights episodes, see what is new and interesting in the world of science, read book reviews, and check out some (left-wing) political commentary. So what do you say? Today, do something to make yourself a more rounded human being, besides for the Double Decker Double Down you had for lunch. Just ask this guy.

Summa Summa Summa Time

I just dealt with my first block class for the second to last time ever. Three of my kids aren't allowed in school tomorrow. Christmas came early. It is a good feeling. It is going to feel even better tomorrow. I am not sure how the last day of school, The Avett Brothers, The Rail happy hour and a Friday are all going to mesh together. Any one of those four would call for some serious celebrations. I've been drunk before. I am going to give being good a try. Not too good though...as my mother constantly reminds me, I am going to pace myself. We will see how that works out.

I am the type of guy that looks forward to things a lot. I like to go with the flow, but I really like having something to look forward to. Friday at 3:15 a bell is going to ring, a bell that I have heard many times before, but this time with new meaning. This bell will ring in freedom. It will ring in merriment. It will ring in adventure. It will ring in celebration of the fact that I have survived my first year as a teacher, something many people don't do...at a school many people don't want to do it at. It will ring in the Weazle I’ve always wanted to be: a Weazle who can take a bad situation and make it better. It will also ring in a Weazle with plenty of free time and disposable income. Dreams do come true…God Bless America.

Good Effort

After today, I will never eat an original Chick-fil-A sandwich again. I have never been a huge fan of anything on that menu, besides the milkshakes. The food isn't cheap, and it's kinda blah. However, their new spicy chicken sandwich has given me a reason to go to Chick-fil-A on a regular basis. Research has begun on opening a new Chick-fil-A. Prospective location: the corner of Victory and Skidaway -- we're gonna shut the city downnnnn!

Possible SNAFU: "I'm pretty sure you have to be Mormon or something to do that." - Chick-fil-A Insider, Matt O'Rand. Hopefully, he was just talking about opening up the restaurant.

Cheer up, Murray!

I've Been Duped

While checking out Only In The Bear Necessities, I saw a blog post title on the side and I thought it was from one of our brother blogs. I thought it was going to be really funny. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.

Get it Gurls

For all the women who be gotten they own cars and paid they own billz -- much love.

Trivia question:

On this day in 1990, Partners in Kryme released their smash hit "Turtle Power". The question is, who was the best Ninja Turtle?

Seven To Go

I would like to start by saying, "How bout them Braves?" To some extent I am a fair-weather fan. Baseball is just too darn boring. Even if I don't watch most of the game, I usually check the score every so often and tune in when it gets interesting. Recenty it has been interesting. It helps that every other show I watch on television has begun their summer vacation. It also helps that they haven't been losing much. It really helps that they have beaten the Phillies in their last two games. Being first place in the division, well, it just seems like the right place for the Braves to be. I am sure that comes from years of them residing there.

Things have been a little wild at work. I had a fight in my classroom yesterday. That was my first, and probably not my last, depending on how long I stick with this profession.

The good news is they have been wild because we only have 7 days left. Yip-e-khai-yay, melon farmer.

Two Fridays from now will be the students' last day of school, as well as, the Avett Brothers concert. That will be fun. As losers say, "This ain't my first rodeo." I have seen The Avett Brothers three times. The first was at The Freebird Live Cafe at Jacksonville Beach. That was awesome because there were like maybe two hundred people there and I was like six feet from the band and I could have been closer if I felt like it. This is one of the biggest payoffs for keeping your ear to the ground for emerging bands. You get to go see them before they get real big, and it is just an amazing feeling to be in a room with such an awesome band and so few other people, and everyone realizes how special the show is because this band is about to blow up. The next show I saw them at was a homecoming/album release in Cary, NC. That was probably cooler than Jacksonville Beach. It was a lot of their local fans and it was one of the biggest shows that they have played to date. I got their early and hung out at the gate with my buddy Mike from Lancaster and meet some cool dudes that just graduated high school and were going to NCSU and UNCW and some other NC schools. When the gates opened we rushed to the stage...strike that... they rushed to the stage. I walked and then wedged my way through the crowd to get a spot in the very front. That show was incredible. I had to pee the entire time. At the end of the show, they threw a bunch of plastic flowers off the stage and into the crowd and I picked up a few (no homo). I saw them in Atlanta on New Years Day. That was ok, but an ok Avett Brothers show is still better than probably whatever you were doing that night. I am excited about this concert because there will be a lot of people to hang out with before the show. I'll be getting to the parking lot around 3:45. Murray is getting his mouth numbed at the dentist earlier that day. It should be entertaining, watching him try to drink without sensation in his mouth. I have an extra ticket to the show. I am not really sure what I plan to do with it. If one of yall want to go, you will need to make a compelling case, in order to beat out a lucky lady (tbd).

Exactly two weeks from today, I will begin my yankee exploration. There is no telling what I will find up there. Hopefully, they have internet up there, so I will be able to keep yall posted. If not, I may have to go all they way out to Californi. The Tuesday before I leave, I wanted to get a little dinner together. Details will follow, but clear your calendar.

Thursday marks Game One of the NBA Finals. Shane and I already did a seven game series on NBA Live 10 to see how it would work out. Shane was the Lakers and I was the Celtics (someone had the upper-hand, and his name ain't Weazle). Shane won game one, then I went on to win three straight. With the series at 3-1, all I had to do was win one of the next two to not push it to a game seven. I was unable to do so. We decided that if the series went to seven games, the seventh game would be played with 12 (real life) minute quarters. Kobe er ugh Shane won. I still wonder what would have happened if we would have stuck with three minute quarters. Anyway, my prediciton for the Finals is the Lake-show in six.

I feel like I have said enough. Who are you to judge me anyway?