4 Hard Downs: Movie Night Prep, New Sewing Tools, Get Cash
Between sewing, cleaning I am in my dad bag, plus paying players and coyotes
Oh, no big deal, had two coyotes come through the yard yesterday, so this might put an end to my late night frustration runs. It won’t. But it probably should.
Foreground, coyote #1. Background in the streetlight, coyote #2. My front door is right behind those flower pots just off screen. This is at 5 in the morning which, I guess isn’t when I do my anger runs, but I have to assume they’re pretty active from sundown to sunup. This is merely them returning to wherever they hide during the day.
Or it could be them going after my neighbor’s chicken’s that come out around dawn.
Either way, knife has been added to my running fanny back and I will be on high alert for these guys when I go out at night.
Speaking of high alert, let’s go ahead and SPOT THE BALL!!!
1st Down: Movie Night Setup
Last time we did a movie night I skipped the setup part of things. So, here goes:
My wife and kid went to see The Nutcracker today which helps me avoid the thing that makes me the most anxious about hosting: my wife cleaning.
She goes Super Saiyan.
It reminds me so much of my mom when we were going to have company and I just am freaked out. My style of cleaning is knowing what time the event starts, how many tasks have to be accomplished and slowly parsing them out over the day. I do the same thing with cooking. I know the finish line, I like to take my time getting there.
They are both “do it now” and then if you’re not keeping up, you feel some level of guilt or worry that you’re somehow letting them down.
Here is where The Nutcracker comes into play; they were gone. Which means I got to go at my own pace. Clean the stove, play on instagram. Vacuum the floors, just relax a bit. Swiffer the hardwoods, play on instagram. Put the living room toys where they belong in my kid’s room, just stop and listen to a podcast. Order the pizzas and call to get them double cut and make sure we get plates and napkins, have a beer. Remove the school clutter and wipe down the table, start writing this. Blow leaves, keep doing this.
As I write this, they have just returned, I have three tasks left and I cannot complete them until after I go for a run: change out my towels in my bathroom, clean my bathroom and run the washer.
It is now Sunday, the day after and it went off without a hitch. “Home Alone” on the big screen. Kids running around. Adults playing cards. Popcorn for days.
Honestly, popcorn was enjoyed so much that my favorite thing, stale popcorn, is not an option today because three rounds of the stuff was devoured to the tune of no leftovers.
So, I’m doing something right!
2nd Down: Still Sewing Up Stuffies
My kid has this wildly abused puppy. Named puppy. The latest update is that basically the head fell off. Fell off is a nice way to say she basically strangled it from holding her lovie so much that the head popped off.
I have come up with two improvised things because normal thimbles both don’t fit my fat hand fingers and the ones that do are the rubber ones that are not powerful enough to push through fabric and stuffing. Basically, the hard ones are too small. The rubber ones my hands still get pricked because going through 4 layers of fabric plus two layers of stuffing is too much for them.
Enter my first new weapon.
Which worked pretty well as a pusher to get through to sew this thing together. Then, I combined that, with this as it became a problem to get in there:
Yes. A Leatherman. I use the pliers to pull the needle through because going through a stuffed animal to put it back together is tough to pull out. Pliers make it easy and I don’t lose the doubled back thread in the eye.
Puppy is back intact, head on, and we will see how long this lasts. My next plan, because of how brutal my kid is with this stuffy, is to use 10 pound test fishing line to sew it up. Thoughts?
3rd Down: The Paying Players Proposal Is Weird
Here is the actual link to the document and proposal.
Maybe I am dumb, but this seems like doing the exact thing that people have been both calling for and expecting since the BCS era. I’ve been in this space since 2008 and this makes it seem like the NCAA and the “have nots” are finally bending to the will of “haves” and in some cases, the legal system.
NIL already happened and with the exception of Deion Sanders, there have not been major waves made in terms of big names going to small places. Now, there will be a consolidation of power with the dissolution of the Pac-12.
Four leagues.
And from my understanding of the proposal, not even true four leagues because if schools opt in they can pay everyone. Every school probably will not opt in.
From my understanding, the schools that can afford to pay will decide to do it, plus their athletes will also get NIL money. So it will be the same top, not a way for a school on a limited budget to turn the corner.
4th Down: You Can’t Ban The Snow Man
It has been pretty well documented that I do not love Christmas, but it is here. So, I am partaking in all the activites. We took the kid to see Santa recently and luckily it was at our swim club instead of going to the mall. Just some neighborhood folks, put on mostly by the Boy Scouts probably earning service badges helping little kids do crafts.
Yes, to our swim and racquet club my wife wore a Jeezy The Snowman hoodie. I don’t stan Frosty. I don’t stan the Abominable Snowman. The only Snowman I acknowledge is Jeezy. And while Bob did a great job as the neighborhood Santa, you all have to assume that the only Santa for me is Gucci Mane.
The East Atlanta Santa aka St. Brick. This is my favorite Christmas song. The Snowman is my favorite Christmas character. Christmas cards are on the way for those who I have info on. I will make Christmas good and fun for my wife and kid, but seeing her in the Snowman shirt was her making it fun for me, too.
I am going to get into some deep dive stuff for each team, am actually doing one for each for The Messenger and want to bring counterpoints here to the newsletter. Those should hit this week and I have stuff I couldn’t fit in there that is probably going to be interesting in the games.
And I’m not going to spend much time on the whole million dollar bet on Michigan because I don’t think my readers want to give that guy more pub. Being able to afford losing a million is a very privileged position. So, I will just talk about why I think Alabama wins.
Cheers!!
So Bama wins because they can sell out to stop the run and JJ McCarthy isn’t talented or playing well enough to throw it over the top?? Am I missing something