SPLAT!

So this morning I went to the football office early to help with more camp registration. Once again Alecia wanted to be set up upstairs in the office, but Coach Heater told her to set up registration downstairs. So we just got through signing a few people up and I opened up a little box of Honey Nut Cheerios to eat. The next thing I know I hear something that sounded like someone threw a bunch of little pebbles at us. I looked around to see who it was when I saw in front of me the biggest pile of bird crap I'd ever seen in my entire life. It was all liquidy and chunky and brown and white. It was absolutely disgusting. It looked like it came out of a bird the size of a pteradactyl. I looked for the bird, but it quickly escaped. This bird's "mess" splattered on camp shirts, forms, the table, Alecia's shirt, and my hand. I wash my hands and scrubbed really hard, but it seemed like I could still feel it there for hours afterward. Needless to say, we moved everything back upstairs.

Oklahoma

So today I got a letter in the mail from the Administrative Coordinator at Oklahoma. As usual he said he appreciates my letter, but they don't have any openings. Like the two at UCLA, he (or his secretary) wishes me "every success" in my "search for a challenging position." Thanks.

On a side note, I'm noticing that these other schools have better stationary than our football and basketball teams. So far the award for Best Letterhead goes to Oklahoma. The name and logo are raised and shiny, the awards and championships are listed on the side, and the seven national titles are written across the bottom. The award for Best Envelope goes to Ohio State. There's a picture of a helmet with a helmet stripe going diagonally across the middle. Not to be left out, Notre Dame has nice stationary, too.

10 responses...55 to go! :-)

Ocean's 13

Just got back a little while ago from seeing Ocean's 13. I saw it at Gator Cinemas, which seems to be a little known secret here in the Ville. I think they only have four theaters, but it only costs 5 bucks. Whenever I can I try to go there instead of Butler or Newberry. It's behind the Oaks Mall if you want to give it a shot. Anyhoo...the movie. I have to say I was disappointed. It seemed kind of slow and forced. I didn't really like the acting of Eddie Izzard. I was really, really really looking forward to seeing this movie. Allysha can tell you how excited I got when I saw the trailer for it before The Departed. (The Departed is amazing! If you haven't seen it, please please please watch it.) Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12 are two of my favorite movies, so I've had opening weekend of Ocean's 13 marked for a while. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, it just didn't quite meet my expectations. It also didn't help that the two girls behind us talked throughout the whole entire movie. They felt the need to comment about every little thing that happened. "Oh, they're in a toy store." "Hey, it's Matt Damon." "Oooh, I saw this part in the trailer."

p.s. Right now I'm in the middle of listening to the album Back To Black by Amy Winehouse. It's really good; you should check it out. While listening to it, it's hard to believe she's British. She has a really raspy, extra soulfoul quality to her.

Ciao

Football Camp

First off...I'M STILL SORE!!! WHY?!?! It's been since Thursday and I'm still in pain. It's mainly my abs; they're killing me! It hurts to stand, walk, sit up straight, bend over, and even hurts to touch them. I'd like this to be over now.

Anyhoo...Today was registration for Individual session of Urban Meyer Football Camps. I'd like to know why some of these high school kids look like grown men. Jackie and I spent about 45 minutes if this one kid was a student or a coach. Kids these days are huge. On the other end of the spectrum are the kids who are really small and skinny for their age and I can hardly believe that they're coming to play football. Watching some of the parents who bring their kids helps me make notes of the kinds of things I don't want to do when I bring my kids to a camp.

Last night I watched You, Me and Dupree. It was pretty good. There were some parts where I actually laugh laughed and not just chuckled. It had the potential to be stupid, but thankfully it wasn't. I'd put it on the list of movies I'd recommend.

The Constant Gardener

I just finished watching The Constant Gardener. It's one of those social commentary kind of movies about pharmaceutical companies' operations in Africa. Throughout most of the movie I thought it was just okay. But toward the end it started to really get to me. It makes me want to do something to help people. It makes me want to find some way to make a difference. I'm not sure if this is a true story or not, but it makes me wonder if real pharmaceutical companies are engaged in practices such as the ones depicted in the movie. Up against entities this large, what are the ways that people like you and me can make a difference? Something to think about.

Next movie: You, Me, and Dupree

Illuminated

The other day I watched a really great movie called Everything Is Illuminated. The movie, starring Elijah Wood, is about an American man who travels to the Ukraine to find a woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis in World War II. I'm not necessarily an Elijah Wood fan, but he was really good. The movie was well-acted and I loved the eccentric characters Alex, Grandpa, and, of course, the dog Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. I highly recommend watching this movie. Here's the schedule of when it will be playing on HBO and Cinemax this month. Watch it!

Owwwww

So yesterday when I wasn't feeling that sore, I thought I was in the clear. WRONG! I started feeling even more sore last night. When I got in bed it hurt to roll over, stretch out, etc. This morning is more of the same. It hurt to sit up, reach for my clock to see the time, swing my legs out to stand up. Basically everything I do hurts. The good thing is that I don't feel as bad as I did when I got overzealous doing pushups. After that exertion it hurt to stand, walk, and even laugh. I think this time I can enjoy humor without pain.

In other news, I got an e-mail this morning from UCLA's Director of Football Operations. He said he read my cover letter and resume and said I have an impressive work history at this point in my career. I'd have to humbly agree. Anyhoo, as with the others he said they don't have any internship positions to fill in football. Like his other UCLA colleague he wished me the best in my search. If they really wished me the best, wouldn't they give me an internship?

9 responses...56 to go! :-)

Atlantis

This afternoon I watched the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on tv. The shuttle launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The seven astronauts on board are headed to the International Space Station to deliver supplies and swap out astronauts. I've always wanted to go watch a launch in person, but I had to settle for watching it on tv. BUT! Once I saw on tv that it had gotten off the ground I went out on my balcony and looked in the sky toward Cocoa Beach to see if I saw it. Eureka! I could see the shuttle and the stream of smoke! I was so excited. It was really incrdible to see. I was watching the shuttle go higher and higher when I realized that I should take a picture. Once I finally found my camera I couldn't really see the shuttle anymore, but you can see the path it took. I find the space shuttle launches fascinating. I think it's amazing to watch something leave Earth and go to outer space. Thanks to Danielle I now know that there are other launches scheduled for this year, so maybe I'll get a chance to go see one.

Workout

So yesterday after work I went to the Student Rec Center to take an aerobic kickboxing class. I got there early and there was a 20 minute abs class that was about to start, so I just decided to do that one also. I haven't taken worked out in at least a year, so I was worried about how I would hold up. I made it through the abs class pretty well, although I felt I wouldn't have been able to take more than 20 minutes of it.

The kickboxing class started a few minutes after abs and it was taught by the same person. I knew it was going to be hard, but I really wasn't expecting what I went through. It was super intense! Every time I thought we were going to stop and start to cool down we kept doing more and adding on to what we had done. I think I worked harder in that class than in any other I've taken there. I definitely sweat more than I did, although not as much as Larry Shyatt does. It was a really really great class. Although I was worn out, I felt really good afterward. I hope to go back and do it every week. I like being able to see improvements I make as weeks go by. If anyone would like to join me, I'd highly recommend going to kickboxing with Lindsay at racquet club.

I thought I'd be exceedingly sore today after the intense workout yesterday. I do feel sore, but it's definitely not as much as I thought. I feel a little sore all over, but the main spot is in my ankles. It's worth it, though.

London 2012

Ok, so I'm watching PTI and they just talked about the new logo for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The logo is DISGUSTING!!! What on earth were they thinking? Good gracious! It looks like something straight out of the '80s. You would think that an event like the Olympics this big would actually have something that looks nice. I really hope they change it. They've got five years. The logo was just revealed yesterday, and there's already a petition to get rid of it. However, officials from London 2012 are trying to defend the new logo. Good going.

UCLA

So today I got an e-mail from one of the Associate Athletics Directors for football at UCLA. He said that he got my cover letter and resume, but they have no internship positions. He said that it seems like I have had a lot of experiences that would help me in the future. He also said he wishes me the best in following my dreams. How special. Although not special enough to give me an internship.

8 responses...57 to go! :-)

Billy D

The whole Billy situation still seems very surreal. I think it's because everything seems to be happening so fast. There weren't anymore major developments today. We still don't know for sure, but are speculating that Billy will be returning to UF. And rumor has it that the Magic have offered the head coaching job to former Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy. In addition to the numerous changes the Magic will have to make, they've altered their website. Starting last week the website opened with a huge picture of Billy and mentioning something about him bringing a "Championship Spirit" to Orlando. Now the site just goes to the main page where you can read the Magic's official statement about Billy.

Some guy called the office today and said that he is a Bull Gator and needs to know if Billy is staying or going. After I told him that I don't have that information he said he wanted to speak to someone who did. Why don't people seem to understand that we're not just going to give out that kind of information to every random person who calls or comes by the office. Another guy wanted me to personally give a message to Billy. People seem to have the wrong idea. I'm probably the last person in the office who'd be able to get in contact with Billy right now.

This whole thing has just been really intense. I feel like Billy can't go anywhere to just sort through his thoughts in peace. With reporters showing up at his house, his office, and anywhere else he might show his face in Gainesville he doesn't seem to be safe anywhere. I'm hoping that this will all be resolved as soon as possible so that everyone can start to move on.

Soooo Confused!

Time out! Time! Out!

So I'm lying in bed and I turn to ESPNEWS where there's an interview with LeBron James. So I'm watching Bron Bron talk about the playoffs when I look to the bottom right hand corner where they put the breaking news. I can't even describe what I feel as I read the very succinct, "Billy Donovan wants to return to FLA." WHAT???!!!???!!! Seriously? Honestly? Or as Justin Timberlake on SNL would say, On the real real real real real real real?

My first thought was to make sure it wasn't April Fool's Day. Nope, we're in June. My second thought is that this is some kind of joke. But who'd play a joke like this on ESPN? So I keep flipping back and forth between ESPNEWS and ESPN to see if there's any further coverage. Nothing. So I get out of bed and turn on my computer. While I'm waiting for my slow machine to get going I turn to the very end of ESPN's coverage of the story. I am sooooooooooooo confused! I honestly don't know what's going on.

Billy just accepted the Magic job this past Thursday. He gave his introductory Magic press conference and farewell Gators press conference on Friday. Everyone was getting ready for the majority of the staff to leave and hoping that Anthony Grant would come back to Florida. And now Billy apparently doesn't want to leave. I always knew that UF was a special place, but this is out of control. I guess we'll all see how the story unfolds.

Little Gator

So today was the first day of Little Gator and Individual Billy Donovan Basketball Camps. Yes, they're still called Billy Donovan Basketball Camps even though Billy's going to the Magic. My little brother is attending the Little Gator camp. I got a chance to watch his group for a little while. I was surprised at the number of these kids that are actually good. Hearing those kids trash talk to each other and challenging one another on Gator basketball trivia was pretty funny. I also liked seeing little 7 and 8 year old kids in Under Armour, which I think is hilarious/adorable. If I have a baby boy I'm bringing him home from the hospital in Under Armour. I'll have to talk to them about making a line for newborns.

My brother is pretty good at basketball for a 7 year old, but he's really shy so he doesn't always show his true skills. Anyhoo, his group was playing 5-on-5 and none of the other kids were passing him the ball. I could see him saying, "Pass! Pass!," but they wouldn't. When he finally got the ball I guess he decided he wasn't going to pass it to anyone. He has good ball handling skills, so he kept the ball away from the other kids pretty easily. The other kids were getting visibly annoyed with him. I guess it's all part of learning how to play as a team.