Hello, Goodbye, I'm sorry

I got really good there at posting frequently and then Sept 11th kind of took the wind out of my sails. Sorry to leave you so abandoned. Here is an update.

Tonight I am sitting on the couch with Doug, watching a football game with two teams I don't care about at all but long time friends know I love me some football. So, we watch. Actually, I kind of care because Michael Vick is playing, and I spend great swaths of time pondering his crime and sin, incarceration and redemption (to some) and rekindling of his career. I personally feel that everyone gets a second chance, especially if they are genuinely contrite, and sorry for what they've done. Some people say he isn't sorry. How do they know? They say he is sorry he got caught, sorry he lost all his money and fame, NOT sorry that he tortured dogs and did horrible things to them.

Problem is, culturally... I think he thought what he was doing wasn't wrong and he learned that it is. And I like to think he has taken that cultural difference and has learned from it, and will work to educate others.

I like a good redemption song. And once it hits 10pm we'll switch over to "Breaking Bad."

Anyway.

I didn't get the job that I interviewed for in September. I thought I was a shoe-in, but the HR recruiter told me they're going with someone who has more experience and who has been without work for a shorter period of time. I guess I understand that. Like she maybe has been unemployed for 4 months to my 18... so her brain is better. She's still sharp, has that "I remember what an office is" edge that I'm obviously missing.

I thought there maybe should be a rule that if I'm a good candidate, I get picked first because I've been out of work longer. Then, let the other person be unemployed for a while...

It's only fair, right?

Geoff and football... oh it is fun.

Geoff's team had their first real game canceled because we had the remnants of a tropical storm come through on a Wednesday, and by Thursday the field was so flooded they couldn't have anyone on it.

He was really disappointed, and came home from school. I asked if they had practice instead and he was indignant. "NO! Why would we have practice if the game is canceled!"

Well, it's the kind of thing that athletic departments do. You have an indoor practice or weight room or something. "Didn't you even ask?"

No.

Well, turns out I was right, they did. But the thing is... no one communicates to the kids what they're supposed to do. So they make stupid mistakes like come home. I emailed the athletic director and told him that if Geoff was in trouble for coming home that I was going to rain down hellfire, and he understood. None of the freshmen who left got in trouble.

A couple other stupid things have happened that have me pondering how anyone knows what is going on in this world.

But it all works out, right? And this past Thursday Geoff's team had their first game, and won in an "oppressive" (as Geoff put it) fashion. 24-16. Geoff doesn't get to play a lot, but he likes it, and the guys seem to like him, or at least tolerate him, and it's all good.

He got to play in the JV game last Saturday, and there is a JV game tomorrow, so he gets to suit up and go out there... they do the same with the Varsity too, even though he said that the Varsity guys just say "hey freshman, get me a water" which pisses him off. I told him that's part of paying his dues, being a low man on the totem, and if he gets through to Varsity in three years, he should remember to say "Please."

Last Saturday was our town "day" here in little small town land. Every town in this area does a "day" where there are events and activities, food, entertainment and all kinds of things.

Our Boy Scout Troop organizes and runs a burger burn, which is one of our big fund raisers for the year. This year, we far out paced the last three years that I've run this event. Or is it two years? I forget.

Anyway, we had a line 30 people deep at one point, the grill was rocking, the boys were super helpful, and the woman running the cash box kept handing me batches of 20 dollar bills to get them out of her way.

I handed all the money to the assistant Scoutmaster, who at the end of the day pulled me aside and said  "what were our expenses?"

90 bucks for rolls, donated at cost by the local bakery. Burgers, dogs, sausages from the meat market in Haverhill, and cheese, came to about $320. We got free ice and charcoal, but someone went out and bought more charcoal because they felt we didn't have enough. I spent 80 dollars on chips and condiments, so all told under $500 dollars out of pocket from the troop.

He looked at me and said "We made $2700.00."

I think we made $500 last year, and $700 the year before.

It was a great day.