What An Odd Day

I swear this had to be one of the strangest days for me on record, but at least it's over.

Woke up this morning and I was going to drive to metro since I had plans to head up to Columbia after work.  Instead, I would get onto the main road of my neighborhood, feel something was not right, and end up pulling off into a nearby parking lot.  I discovered that one of my tires had blown its valve stem.  I changed the tire and drove to Metro to get on my way to work; a bit late, but at least I could make it in.

Then to top it off, I realized that my SmartTrip card was not in my wallet, but rather in my other pair of pants.  After much cursing I went and bought another card, so now I have a backup I can carry in my bag if for some reason this happens again.

When I left work, I dropped by the tire store and got the tire fixed.  The guy was nice enough to do it without a huge charge.  I drove back to the parking lot behind my apartment and started to switch out the spare with my fixed tire.

Some couple proceeded to have a screaming match by the supermarket, and boy did it sound ugly.  He kept on screaming for her to get out of the car, and she wouldn't get out.  I ended up calling the cops because I thought it was going to get violent, but they finished yelling and drove off before the police arrived.  I gave the officer the tag number and what I witnessed and left it at that.

Yeah, ladies and gents, if you get into a screaming match somewhere and it sounds like it could turn physical, I have no qualms about calling the cops.  The last thing I want to see is a domestic situation turn physical and I did nothing to try to stop it.

Perhaps tomorrow won't be so odd.

Spring Football Fest

Today is the day when thousands of Baltimore Ravens fans are going to descend on M&T Bank Stadium to enjoy a day of meeting players, cheerleaders, and other fans while the NFL Draft goes on in the background. I have never been to one before and so I am excited to go. I'm hoping I can get a few autographs on my Ravens poster and find some cool stuff at some of the rummage sales as well.

It looks like it is going to be a hot day so unfortunately I don't get to wear my new Ngata jersey because it is a replica, and those screened numbers tend to stick to you in the heat, especially when your jersey is the color black. So it looks like I am going with the white Flacco jersey today.

The bonus is that I got a ticket to go to the Orioles game as well this evening, and it looks like the seats are decent.

Any other Ravens fans who read this, maybe I'll see you down there today ;-)

People Can Be Crazy

What do you do when you watch someone cockblock themselves?  Do you observe and mentally make notes so you don't do the same thing in your own interactions, or do you say something to the person?

It's just something I have noticed both times that I was out on a Friday night.  Someone I knew was working to get the attention of someone else, and right when all is going well, they do something unexpected to completely sabotage their chances.  Then they're wondering why they're not getting laid that night.

I admit, in one situation I called a person out on it, saying their actions were pretty stupid, and in another one someone already was on them about their actions so I didn't have to say anything.  Still, one wonders when it is and is not inappropriate to say something.  Not just in a situation like this, but in a number of situations that can occur in our daily lives.

Customization

One of the more interesting aspects of following sports is going to games and seeing the folks who sport jerseys that have some sort of customization.  The typical thing is to get a jersey that has the name of your favorite player on the back, but this is not something everyone does.  Some people don't even bother with a customization.  There is a friend of mine who refuses to put the name or number of a player on the back of any shirt or jersey she buys because she says when she does that, the player ends up injured and out for at least a few weeks, if not the end of the season.  Did I mention that sports fans tend to be a superstitious bunch?  We're just as bad as the players, if not worse.

One other thing I have seen is folks customize a jersey with their name or a nickname.  For the most part it seems to be taken well, but there are those folks who take issue with that, they call it a "jersey foul."  Now there are some jersey fouls I can understand, such as a person wearing the name of a player that never played on the team, or even wearing a current player's name on a retro jersey, and maybe perhaps the OBAMA 08 jerseys that I did see while at a Caps game.  However, I'm not so sure that people should get bitchy about those who customize their jersey with a favorite nickname or name.

One line of thinking about why a person would customize a jersey for themselves is because players come and go and so instead of being stuck with wearing a jersey of your player that moved on to another team or even retirement, you can show support for your team and not have to change your jersey every few years.  The only exception would be if your team changes their style of jersey, but even then, you can still wear the old one, I see plenty of folks who do that.

My thought though is this; customizing a jersey with something like a name or nickname is your way of showing support of your team without necessarily being tied to a player.  It's for when you're emotionally vested in the team, but not quite to the point of sticking with certain players.  Let's be honest, players do move around and the player you like today may not be there tomorrow, and then you feel that you have an obsolete jersey.  Let me also say that jerseys are not cheap, so most folks in that mindset wouldn't want to have to buy a new jersey every year or so.  Using a personal name means you're not switching out jerseys every so often.  Besdes that, if your player is a popular one, then everyone and their mother has a jersey with the same name, and then you look like everyone else in the stands, and who really wants that at times?  Even if the folks that would cry jersey foul over it, it's probably a better idea for those folks all around.

I bring this up because I have been doing some jersey hunting for myself.  I am liking the new Orioles road jerseys this year with Baltimore across the front of them, so I would like to get one, but ya know, I'm not really following the players that closely.  The only one I really pay much attention to is George Sherrill, and I got a free T-shirt last year from one of the T-shirt Tuesdays.  When it comes to the Capitals, I just got into them so I am not that vested in any particular player, so I would rather support the team.

The one exception is the Ravens, I follow them very closely, and I do have a few player jerseys that I would wear, and at this point I would not consider getting a personal jersey because I know I can wear these player jerseys for a while.  If anything though it does make me a bit crazy to see all of these folks sporting Flacco jerseys now because I feel like they're being bandwagoners.  I ordered my Flacco jersey before Flacco was even cool.

Anyway,  so how I'm feeling about this is that I am going to say screw the haters, when it comes to the Orioles and the Caps, I'd rather have a personalized jersey than a players jersey because it gives me more flexibility for now.  From the opinions I gather from some other folks I've talked to, they could care less about seeing so-called jersey fouls.

Now to just find a discount on a jersey since the Baltimore ones are finally in.

Worst. Timing. Ever!

What the fuck is it with DC clubs scheduling major DJ's and events the night before Easter?

Tonight one of my favorite DJ's, DJ Chris Cox is spinning at Town, and the 9:30 club is holding Blowoff, and so I am getting invites to head there as well.  It figures that it is on a night when I have other obligations, namely that I am participating in the Easter Vigil at church.  Besides that, I will be attending services in the morning.

So what the hell?  This is a night when many folks could be out of town visiting family, or if they're like me, they're attending Easter services.  Bad timing there DC clubs, not all the gays are against organized religion or hate their families.

Too bad, I would have given them my business.

Marriage Decisions

Well there was big news today in regards to rights for same-sex couples.  Vermont's legislature was able to override their governor's veto and became the fourth state to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples, and Washington DC's council voted to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states.  Add on to that the unanimous decision from Iowa's supreme court that struck down their same-sex marriage ban, and it has been quite an exciting two weeks.

What I am hoping for is that it will light a fire under the Maryland legislature to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples as well.  For a state that has called itself "The Freedom State" it is starting to fall behind when it comes to rights.  The other thing I think we could see is a re-examination of the Federal Defense Of Marriage Act.  With a big part of the Federal government being in DC, and if the surrounding area such as Maryland and some Northern Virginia counties extend civil marriage rights, there will be a lot of unhappy federal workers if their employer continues to deny them their rights.  It would finally start putting more pressure on the Federal government to re-examine this outdated law.

For now though, I am just sitting back and watching to see where things go next.

Bar Annoyance

Every so often I like to head out to the bar with friends to have a few drinks and partake in socializing.  Yet at times there are some things that go on in bars that remind me of why I don't visit more than about once a month.

Crowding is the biggest problem.  Yes, I know it's a small space, no I am not claustrophobic, but goddammit if I am trying to walk through to get somewhere, don't stand in front of me and stop every 2-4 feet to chat it up with someone or stand there because you're too timid to move forward in the crowd.  I have no problem with shoving you out of the way, and by that point you have no right to try and shoot me a dirty look for doing so.  You're contributing to the problem.

Along with that, I have to laugh at when an organization tries to do a "bachelor auction" to raise funds.  Typically it's guys standing up there and they offer some sort of prize for bidding on them.  As the price goes higher, they typically will strip off their clothing (at least to underwear since most bars aren't licensed for anything more).  You as the audience member are not bidding on a date with the person, you're bidding on the prize behind them.  My friend BG isn't particularly fond of them because what's the point of watching them on stage when all you're really bidding on is a prize like tickets, memberships, or gift certificate? 

Personally I don't mind seeing them on stage, but what I can't stand is those who act all embarrassed for being up there, or even for doing some of the eventual stripping.  Maybe it's just me but it makes them look timid, and I am not big on seeing a guy be timid.  Come on, if you volunteer for this, you know what you're getting into, and as much as you don't want to admit it, you probably enjoy that people are looking at you, so look like you're enjoying it.  Don't be a damn pussy.

At least the guys at Omega don't act all embarrassed when they're up on the bar.

Shamrock Fest Pictures

The pictures are up from Shamrock Fest, click the beer above to see them all :-)