Are You Socially Inept or Just Drunk?

First Denver Nuggets game experience - Post #3

The saddest part of my first NBA game experience was the idiots (and I am not exaggerating) seated behind Aaron and I.

Beyond the vulgarity (pick your favorite reference for bad language ... it was even worse than that!), name-calling (see: bad sportmanship), and general boorish (loud, obnoxious, abusive, insensitive, constant, etc.) behavior, the one fool just loved to whistle ... loudly ... about everything ... so loudly I literally lost hearing for a brief period of time.  This was temporarily stopped after Aaron was recognized on the court, but it didn't last very long.

How can you believe that spending money on a ticket into the arena to watch the game justifies you behaving in such an inappropriate manner?
No amount of personal wealth or value should excuse bad behavior in any circumstance.  Period.

The view from our seats was amazing!
This picture isn't zoomed in at all.

Aaron and I spoke about how incredibly blessed we felt to have the experience we did (sitting where we did, enjoying the game, feeling the excitement of his "celebrity" moment, free parking, etc.).
We contemplated the possibility of this kind of cool experience in heaven.  How great it would be for everyone to get a chance to experience that?  How blessed and special can you feel?

But this yahoo behind us seemed incapable of recognizing what a great experience this was.  He seemed angry, mad, discontent, like he deserved more.  Hence the title of this blog post.  I surely hope that is not his outlook on life in general or it must be a sad foreseeable future for him indeed.


Song Of the Day:
I prefer to put a silver lining on dark clouds or find the positive in negative or bad situations.  With that in mind, here is "The Fishin' Hole" composed by Earle Hagen and Herbert W Spencer.  While you'll immediately recognize the tune with it's iconic whistling, you likely don't know that Fred Lowery is the whistler behind the tune.  Rather than being aggravating and damaging to one's ears, whistling can be quite beautiful and calming.  I prefer to think about that instead.

...

What's With All The Swag ?

First Denver Nuggets game experience - Post #2

Short belated post here, with more focus on the swag Aaron and I received at our visit to the Nuggets game in late February.

On the right is a picture of the items we received, free of charge, as part of his redeemed package as the Hometown Hero for that night's game.  Each ticket included a $25 credit to merchandise or food in the arena (I "saved" the credit on my ticket so Aaron could use it to buy stuff for his kids ... after all, it wasn't really "mine" to begin with).

I did not have the forethought to take a photo of the Hometown Hero chair covers that were on our seats, and sadly I cannot find an online photo either.  Sorry.


Song Of The Day:
Often played more on the radio around Christmastime, the song "The Gift" by Jim Brickman isn't really specific to any holiday (although it does reference winter snow falling down).  I think these "gifts" (or swag to use more current terminology) are a great tie in for a good song.

...

Why Don't You Come Watch Me Play More Often ?

Tonight was the final game in our church basketball league.  It just so happened to be the equivalent of a Championship Game (we abolished an actual playoff years ago when things got too competitive).  Our opponents had gone undefeated for their season, and were clearly the better team all year.  With youth, precision passing, unselfish play, and swarming defense on their side it was even fun losing to them.  And they were our only loss this season, so we were relatively clearly the next best team.

Tonight was unique for two reasons:
First, our team only had 5 (five) guys show up to play: Trent VanDenberge, Kyle Ambrose, Dustin Larsen, Mark Puhlman, and myself.  I was our center, standing at roughly six feet nothing (I am aging so it's probably closer to 5'11" nowadays.  (The other team had 10 guys so they were subbing constantly and running us ragged).
Second, my parents were in town from Arizona and despite the 10:00pm start time, they came out to cheer on their son.

I'll skip to the end of the game because it's late and I'm exhausted, but suffice it to say that we only lost by 2 points: 79 to 77.  I was so proud of my teammates who hit clutch shot after clutch shot and never gave up hope that we could win.

My dad, ever being the statistician, kept my "line" for the night and I am very grateful because it was arguably my best game ever.  37 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and only 2 turnovers.  My favorite shot was a running three pointer from just beyond half court that beat the buzzer in the first half, tying the game at 38 apiece.

So in honor of my awesome parents, whose presence always seems to coincide with my best games, I pose today's blog post title question.  :)
Love you mom and dad!


Song Of The Day:
I've recently become quite a fan of Imagine Dragons (thanks Jordan for suggesting them!) and their newest song "On Top Of The World" is fantastic!  It describes how I am feeling this evening and is a great tune to end the day on.  Thanks again to all of my teammates (and competitors) tonight!  That was the most fun I've had in a long time playing basketball!  Y'all are fantastic friends and everything that is right with semi-competitive sports!

...

Are You Nervous ?

Tonight I was privileged to attend my first ever NBA game with a great friend of mine, Aaron Summers.  This is the first of several posts inspired by events prior to, during, and after the game.

Aaron redeemed some points that he had earned (ask him if you want more details 'cause I barely understood how it all worked out) to score two great seats to the Nuggets vs Trail Blazers game tonight.  It wasn't until after we were at the game and the section attendant had asked Aaron the title question of today's blog that we both realized what was in store.  It also wasn't until after that question that Aaron shared with me lots of little details which clued me in that I was sitting next to a celebrity (for at least that night).

So linked here below is the video of Aaron standing respectfully on the Nuggets home court while tens of thousands of fans cheered and revered him for his military service.  It was awesome to see and be a part of!  (Apologies that the video starts so abruptly.  There was little warning that this was starting so I began recording as fast as I could.)

Special Video Presentation:  Aaron at Center Court

Aaron and I had some fun conversation after the experience, talking about how awkward it can be to be the center of attention.  And not just that, but specifically how awkward it can feel to be recognized for military service, when you know people are cheering just as much for what you represent as they are for you individually.  It is an odd mixture of pride and unworthiness.  I was proud that Aaron handled the whole spectacle so well, but I cannot imagine what that would be like.


Song Of The Day:
In honor of Aaron I have chosen "God Bless The USA" for today's post.  Lee Greenwood first sang the song decades ago (and I still remember singing it in grade school in the 80's).  The lyrics "and I'd gladly stand up, next to you, and defend her still today" came to my mind as I enjoyed the amazing spirit of appreciation and connection while Aaron was on the court.

...

Doesn't My Wife Deserve A Nice Shoe Rack ?

Among my many hobbies is an interest in making things out of wood.  I can't carve or whittle, but if it is made of wood, and of relatively basic construction, I am reasonably confident I can re-create it.  I also, often, have my own ideas on things I would like to own, but would rather build them myself than spend time and money looking for something that meets my vision.



This is my original shoe rack which I made
about 3 years ago (just from scrap wood)

An example is the picture on the right.  I was tired of the pile of my footwear cluttering the corner of our closet.  So shortly after we moved into this house, I crafted my own shoe rack to fit into the space available.

Whenever I am making a project for the first time, I use leftover materials, rather than nicer wood, so there is vitually no cost.  This allows me to forgive myself too, if the project doesn't turn out.  Mistakes in pieces of left over scrap wood are not worth being sad over.

Once I "know what I'm doing" I'll use better wood, even purchasing specific styles or pieces to achieve a desired look or design.

An example of this would be the shoe rack I made this past week for Karen (pictured below).  Some of the wood was "hand me downs" from my dad's workshop, but they were certainly not scraps and worked perfectly into the design and space I had available.

This is the 90% finished shoe rack I made for Karen.
The design has improved and obviously she has more shoes.

My next project is a trash can holder for the dining room and kitchen.  I made one out of MDF before, which didn't take long to break down.  But that's okay because it was my test project.  I am finally ready to make a long-lasting one, with some nice wood that I also salvaged from my dad's stock.  Thanks old man!  :)


Song Of The Day:
What better song than "Knock On Wood" by Amii Stewart for this wood-themed post?  I'm a big time hater of most 70's or disco music ... but some tunes are just too good even with that terrible tie in.

...

What Do You Mean By "Master" ?

This past week, I experienced another "when did I get to be this old?" moment: High School Orientation for my oldest son Josh Jr.  It feels like no small coincidence that this very year is my 20-year high school graduation reunion.  A double dose of feeling my age: boom, BOOM!

But today's post isn't about being old.  Instead it is based on the picture I took below.

It is harder to read than I hoped, but the last line of the class description says:
"Students will master golf, racquet sports, ping pong, archery ..."

So the sign up process for classes seems much more streamlined than when I went to high school, but that much should probably be expected.  I was reasonably impressed by the different elective options that Josh Jr has for consideration through these next four years.  Even I wanted to sign up for some of the classes!

What I am not a fan of is the misleading verbiage that was used in the picture above.  I'm all about life-long physical fitness and learning the rules and gaining experience participating in different sporting activities.  But let's carefully consider whether it is appropriate to promise that students will master these various games.  You may master some of the skills.  You may master the terminology and regulations.  But come on?!  If you could "master" these sports through this class, don't you think everyone would be taking it?!  Even professional (see: paid lots of money for playing their sports) athletes aren't "masters" of their disciplines.  To be a "Master" is to perform even further beyond professionals.  It is the pinnacle.  The top.  The best of the best of the best.

It already feels like it's going to be a LOOOOOONG four years!


Song Of The Day:
It's been far too long since I featured a song by my favorite group: OMD.  One of their more popular songs from the 80's was "Dreaming" and it fits today because ... this instructor is only dreaming if they think high school students will master these sports in a single class, let alone a single semester!

...

How Do You Spend Your Tax Refund ?

Just a few weeks ago I buckled down and completed that annual ritual of doing taxes.  In all of my years of paying taxes, I have never owed money when filing my taxes, so there should be no reason to hesitate on doing them.  Some years the refund has been meager, and other times the amount has been so large that I seriously questioned it's *accuracy.
Regardless of the size of the refund, the other annual ritual is the discussion around what do we do with the money.
*I am a die hard TurboTax fan, so it's hard to question accuracy unless I willfully chose to answer a question wrong or skip a section ... and I never do, so there's virtually 0% chance of error.

Some years, the money has already been spent (usually these are the meager years).  These are sad days indeed.
Some years, the money has all been put into savings (for a house downpayment, or a newer car, or kids' mission funds).
Some years, the money has been spent frivilously (family or couple's vacation, or a new car that we didn't really need).
And in some years, the money has been invested in something practical and useful (payment of additional principal on the house, purchases of carpet or furniture or landscaping materials, etc.)

This year's refund has been earmarked for savings towards future upcoming costs (braces, new flooring, newer car, etc.) but the discussion certainly isn't over on what it will be spent on.  In fact, this very year, we began what will likely be a multi-year discussion over financial decisions we have been making recently and want to continue making going forward.  It's a good, healthy discussion, but that doesn't mean it is always fun.

Sometimes in life, you have to sacrifice what you want or what sounds good right now, for what you know is right or good for you, and your family, in the long term.  I am grateful to have married a wonderful wife who not only understands that concept, but helps ME remember it when I get a little too short-sighted.  A family vacation to the happiest place on earth sure would be nice, but it's not the right time.  Sad face, but I'll be glad we chose more prudently in the long run.

Whatever your tax season brings you, I hope you can enjoy whatever decision you make now and can also feel good about that decision years later!


Song Of the Day:
There are almost as many songs about money as there are options for how to spend it.  Today's post is accompanied by Jessie J's tune "Price Tag" which features B.o.B.  I like the beat, but one portion of the lyrics feels very applicable here.  Why is everybody so obsessed?  Money can't buy us happiness.  Can we all slow down and enjoy right now.  Guarantee we'll be feelin' alright.

There is a quote by Tony Robbins which states "Nothing you get will ever make you happy ... nothing.  But, who you become will make you very happy or very sad."  Those are wise words to keep in mind as you choose your tax refund's final destination.

...