Saturday, October 29, 2005

Age: It's all in the eye of the beholder....


And apparently to the kid in front of us at the hockey game today - we were too old to know (or sing) Kid Rock songs.

Kelscraggly and I went to a RoughRiders hockey game tonight. The Roughriders are part of the USHL junior league. The oldest player was born in 1985 with the youngest born in 1988. But this did not make me feel old.

The game was a 2 for 1 deal with Iowa/Iowa State playing first. It came to my attention that I have been out of college for almost 10 years. That alone did not make me feel old.

The kid who sat in front of us was 13 and would turn around regularly to see Kelscraggly with a big ole can of Labatt Blue in her hand just having a grand ole time. To us: we're just kids - having a few beers and watching other kids play hockey. To the kid in front of us: we were weird old people that had a few too many. This - made me feel a wee bit old.

Why? Not sure. I always thought I had a "connection" with youth because of my wit and charm. This young man thought Kelscraggly and I were insane. That is until Kelscraggly got hit with a hockey puck and didn't even flinch. I entered "cool" when I made a witty comment about keeping your hands on your own stick when the other team grabbed one of our teammembers sticks.

I suppose I can't pretend anymore - I am reaching the age when songs from my youth are played on classic rock stations and Halloween costumes are based on TV shows that I used to watch! How do we fight it? Crimp your hair, peg your jeans and walk around on Halloween as if you didn't dress like this 20 years ago - and feel good about it!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Chicagoland it's a real place....


In case you haven't figured it out yet - I am originally from Northwest Indiana (Lake County, IN) 40 miles southeast of Chicago's Loop. Some (like kelscraggly :-) feel that although I grew up with Chicago radio and television that I should not consider myself a Chicagolander.

Well - I do. I grew up listening to WLS (on the AM with Larry Lujack).

I fought the traffic on I 80/94 - and if you aren't familar with the area: "Chicago traffic is really bad. Folks think Boston's is bad, but according to a ten year longitudinal study, Chicago's traffic is third worst in the country, trailing only LA's and NYC's." (taken from http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2005/09/chicago-traffic-reports)

Even Wikipedia says Chicagoland is a real place http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicagoland and it even includes Wisconsin (who knew!)

As for the "Armpit of America" I am not the only person out there who believes that Gary should be labeled as such. DVD Talk posted a forum http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/printthread.php?t=381978&pp=40 related to the subject. Glad to see I am not the only one!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Mr. Men on LIfe




If you haven't read the Mr. Men/Little Miss series of books you should. I have adopted Mr. Happy as my own personal step-by-step guide to life's little problems.

I received my very first (and only) Mr. Men book when I was 8. I still own it. I have it sitting next to my computer and the picture of Mr. Happy is enough to "turn my mouth up at the corners" when things aren't going my way. This book was the start of what some might say is infectious positivity.

Alright - that's almost enough to make my mother barf - but it's true (in it's own sick way). In fact there aren't many of us "positive" people out there. Here's what I mean.

Our company does a Gallup test called "StrengthsQuest". It's all the rage is companies trying to find the best way to work with their employees. If you are not familiar with this "test" here is a brief summary.

The assessment tool asks a series of questions to help determine what your top 5 (out of 36) strengths are. This way an employer, instructor or student can work/learn best based on their strengths.

My top 5 strengths are WOO: (Winning others over) , Communication, Arranger (see Arranger vs Pack Rats post for an indepth look), Achiever and Positivity.

"So what" you say? Well my company has every employee take this "test". Out of 70 staff and faculty members - I am the ONLY positivity.

Guess I can thank Mr. Happy for my lighthearted look at life!

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Chicago Fan for life....



OK I have to admit. I grew up a Cubs fan. I still am.

After moving to Iowa I found that I watch whatever Chicago team is on TV - and having married a White Sox fan (yes also a Chicagoland native) I find myself drawn to the White Sox and their AMAZING season thus far.

Bandwagon jumper? Not really - been watching the Sox for years. I love baseball - and I love Chicago sports teams. Needless to say I am thrilled to see the "blue collar" team of Chicago succeed.

Game 2 has so far proven to be just as exciting as the rest of the season - and I hope for the cursed teams of the MLB that Ozzie's boys pull this one off.

As for the Cubs? There's always next year!