the update and other ramblings

again, I must apologize to myself for not writing more often. such a vicious cycle. but enough self-deprecation, I will attempt to move onto something with a bit more substance.

I posted a blog a few months ago about a friend who was in a terrible accident on his motorcycle and was in a coma. Here is the update: I was sitting at my desk yesterday doing whatever it is that I do at my desk, when my phone rang. I was scared when said friend's name appeared on the ID, afraid that it may be bad news. I certainly did not expect to hear his voice.

apparently, in the time that has elapsed since my last news of him, he has almost fully recovered. he is home from the hospital, progressing well with his physical therapy, and is, so far, mentally sound. The biggest relief was that he sounded like himself. He paused more between words, but for the massive amount of head trauma, I am surprised that he can even talk.

he remembers nothing of the accident, and his only worry is over what caused the crash. he has a sort of guilt complex, and wants to know if it was his fault. my advice was simple: he is better off not knowing. he does not need to feel guilty over it, nor does he need the anger and resentment over knowing that someone else put him through so much.

right now, he is off of all medication, and is only taking blood thinners for a clot that is forming in his leg. he has a few mending bones and ribs, but overall, he is fine, and i am relieved. it felt so good to hear his voice. such a difference from second hand information. it is terrible to think that someone so young and with so much more life to live may have either died or live in a persistent vegetative state.

he is going back to college tomorrow. that shocks me more than anything else. he insists that, while stressful, the mental exercise will help him recover more quickly.


in other news, football is in full swing. (American football, just so there is no confusion. i love soccer, too, but football season means only one thing: football)

I'll keep this brief: i am proud of my team. The ravens have played well so far, in spite of the massive problems that have plagued the team (injuries, two incapacitated quarterbacks, and having a rookie starting QB.) If they continue to play as well as they have been playing, I have no doubt that they will be a major contender for the post season. notice I say "post season." any person saying the actual name of the big game this early in the season is an idiot, and should be ashamed.

Last Saturday night was my high school reunion. five years has gone by rather quickly, and I now feel quite old. I was not popular in high school, mostly owing to the fact that I split my high school years between two schools, and at that age, two years is not long enough to make friends and move out of the "new kid" status. The good news is that this reunion gave me the chance to speak to some people that I never would have spoken to in school. I am always amazed at the changes that a person goes through between the ages of 16 and 25. in high school, everyone believes that they have life figured out, and yet most people have no true concept of self at that age.

in other news, have I mentioned that I broke my toe recently? I feel terrible complaining of pain in my little toe, but it actually hurts. If someone had complained to me about a similar pain a month ago, I would have laughed, but the truth is that this little bone fracture is causing me more pain that I expected. and shoes? forget it! its fine to walk on, but once I step into a shoe, the pain flares up and the swelling begins. it has been almost two weeks, and I hope the pain subsides soon.

I believe that is all of the news I have for now. stay tuned for either a posting of some artwork, or opinionated commentary on the economic status of America, depending on my mood.

as a (comical) side note, the last time I was shopping in New York, I found myself eating fantastic Swiss chocolate truffles from a place near the plaza hotel on 5th ave. I plan to visit New York again within the next month or two, perhaps I will have to treat myself again. Swiss chocolate is not my favorite, but I cannot resist that smooth, flawless texture that only Swiss chocolate has.

Flacco happy!

Yes, my dear readers, I am a RAVENS FAN. And not the fair weather type, either. I am proud to say that I watched every single game last season, in spite of the horrors that befell the team.

but there is a light on the horizon this season, and he is the rookie from Delaware, Joe Flacco.

Now, im not one for stats, which is good, because, as so many sports casters have noted, he isnt flying above every other QB who played today, but he is doing well, he is improving every game, and he shows immense promise.

the best thing is that, compared to Kyle Boller, he is brilliant.

At first, i was worried about flacco having to play so much this early in his career, but after watching him play, i realize that he is not another boller. kyle bombed as far as the ravens are concerned, and everyone, myself included, said it was because he was put in too early and ruined before he had a chance to develop, but now i realize that he just wasnt what we wanted him to be.

flacco is laid back and unshakable, so far. he is calm and collected, and i noted at one point in the day that he looks almost like eli manning from afar, the way he approaches problems, and solves them without panicking or causing any sort of major problem.

Chris McAllister called him a turtle, said he just plods along. and it seems true. he doesnt get worked up to the point of freezing with the ball in his hands until someone sacks him (i called boller "sticky fingers") and he doesnt freak out until he throws away a ball that could have made it to the endzone. (another boller problem)

after having such a hard time with QBs, i am finally confident.

not to mention the way he was protected during the game today. the offensive line was put together, not a scattered bunch of bulls like the one last year. of course it helps that there are fewer injured players this season, but overall, they are working together and doing what they are supposed to do: protect the QB. nothing was worse than watching boller actually try to play well and be knocked into because of a collapsed pocket. the team seems to like flacco, and therefore they trust him and protect him. a qb cant throw a ball if he has the other team jumping all over him.


now, if we can just get heap up to par. watching him fumble and then not complete a pretty easy pass, and then lay on the field in pain today made me sad.

i dont know what to think about him. like troy said, (my troy, not troy smith) he is still really young, and shouldnt be worried about anything, but the truth is he was out most of last season with injuries, and didnt play in training camp or pre season, and now he does poorly (by his standards) on his first game back. what does this mean? poor conditioning and training due to injuries, let him get back into the game and he will be fine? or is it a bad sign?

taking the worst case scenario in mind, if todd is going to be injured and unable to perform, i would rather he retire early. i dont want to see him go out amidst humiliation. he should be allowed to retire the way that brett favre should have retired.

and dont even get me started on him. i have lost all interest and respect for him and his current media circus.


long story short: i have hope for this season, and dont want to hear any complaints from the other fans if flacco doenst perform perfectly. i hope for the best, and really, im just glad to have football season back!!!

no time for losers.

First things first: a lesson.

Cheaters never prosper.

That’s all I want to say about the massive upset tonight. The NY Giants pulled together and beat, nay, destroyed the New England Patriots. I have what I wanted. I am complete. My season has ended perfectly. Bring on the new Ravens coach and next season, I’m ready.

I really couldn’t care who won the Super bowl, as long as the Patriots lost. It could have been the Steelers (and you know how I feel about the Steelers), as long as the Patriots were knocked down from their high horse of false idol-hood.


Now, on to the project. It is getting pretty massive and I am running out of time. I need to pick up the pace. It will be ready before the 13th or I will be upset (and not sleeping on the 12th.)

I love secrets.

Cheating is Patriotic, according to the NFL

Why has there been no parallel drawn in the NFL between the Patriot’s perfect record and their “brief” stint as cheaters? Am I the only person who understands that people who cheat are given an unfair advantage over those who do not? Why else would they do it?

Warning: This may be the result of post-losing-streak bitterness, but I honestly feel that the Patriots should forfeit their winning streak.

After being caught spying on other teams, the Patriots were barely slapped on the wrist with a few fines: Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000, according to AP. For a team that pays their QB $60 million, I think $250,000 sounds like petty change. Even if $250,000 is a substantial amount of money, it does not destroy the unfair advantage that the team gained from cheating.

As a side note: Who actually believes that this is the first instance of cheating. Aren’t most big-time thieves caught after stealing their first candy bar? No, not usually. The NFL Commissioner believes that the team will abide by the rules from this point on. I’m sure.

While I do not feel that taking the Patriots out of the equation this season would not have helped the Ravens, I must admit that I wonder if we, too, might have been undefeated had we cheated. I think that’s a fair stab.

To be fair, I would normally commend and hope the best for a team with such an excellent record. Even if the Steelers were undefeated (never going to happen as long as they have to play the Ravens at home. If we can beat no other team in the NFL, at least we can beat them). Anyway, I don’t care if the hated Steelers had a perfect season, I would admit that they deserve it. If a team—regardless of who they are—worked so hard and put so much into the game that they maintained a perfect record, I would personally shake their hand and congratulate them on a job well-done and a W much-deserved. “Deserved.” Do the Patriots DESERVE to win the Super Bowl?

Do the Patriots DESERVE to be undefeated? How much of that record depends on good players, amazing training, concentration, power, muscle, determination, and flawless execution of plays? How much of the record is the result of information gained by cheating? Knowing another team’s plays and patterns can make or break a game. Especially a really important game.

In short: I hope they go all the way and then lose. I hope they make it to the Super Bowl and get shut out. That’s what they deserve: to be cheated out of the Super Bowl like they have cheated other teams out of Wins.

By the by, I really hope the Packers are the team to do the honors of blowing the Patriots away. It is my opinion that Favre (if not the rest of the team) deserves the Super Bowl after the shit he went through last season. He is amazing, and just generally deserves the honor.




I am Ravens Girl, through and through, but I have always loved the packers too. Who doesnt?

Lets see a repeat of XXXI!