that rosebud girl

my 15 seconds of fame.

today was pretty cool. i went to the delaware-southern illinois football game….i’d never been to a delaware game as a fan, so it was a lot of fun. i went with jill and brad, got a free ride, got some free food. not a bad deal. it was a I-AA playoff game. and the hens won. the only problem was that it was freezing and windy. i was totally bundled up but toward the end of the game, it wasn’t enough.

some people at work also told me i was on TV during the game. they’d been interviewing the parents of one of the players, who were sitting a couple of rows behind us. so i wound up on TV apparently. oh, my 15 seconds of fame….

turkey (or prime rib) day!

thanksgiving was pretty awesome…way too much food….but all sorts of good times. matt and elisa came over, and we had quite a menu: prime rib, chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, ridiculous amounts of dessert. i felt like a stuffed turkey myself. i had to peel myself off the couch to go to work too…and had more dessert at work. it was a neverending cycle of food. but i love thanksgiving because i get to cook. and except for a minor gravy disaster, everything turned out fabulous.

i think i’m paying for all the food right now, though. i feel queasy…and there’s no time to go to the gym…..ugh….

new orleans or bust …

sugar…oh so bittersweet though….

so i have passed the point of no return. i booked my flight for new orleans. if SC fucks this up, i will be very pissed. i probably should have waited, but well, i found a decent fare…and i didn’t want to let it disappear….and besides, some people had already booked and i didn’t want to get left behind i guess. but in booking my flight, i couldn’t help but think of a number of things….

like, why did SC have to be this good? i mean, i’m happy for my alma mater and proud of them certainly, especially since they were so shitty while i was in school. but why now? why when i don’t have money? the orange bowl was different last year because i was able to do that on the cheap. new orleans? not cheap. no frequent flyer miles, no free hotel nights, nothing. just a shitload of money i’m footing because seeing your team play for a national championship — in person — doesn’t happen very often.

on the other hand, this is a shitload of money. and i mean a shitload. when all is said and done, i could be footing a $1000 bill. and that’s a lot of money for someone who is trying to desperately get out of debt, buy a new car and pay some hefty bills. that’s a lot of money. i feel fortunate that i’m going to knock off some debt with some help from mom and dad (generous souls that they are), but still…i keep thinking about what mama said to me…”don’t go on any trips unless you really have to.” and what am i doing? going on a trip….that really, i don’t have to go on. but i really want to go. i want to have fun. i want to celebrate USC’s success. i want to go to new orleans because i’ve never been there before and because it would be a great time. but i know i’m also setting myself back financially at least a few months. at this rate, i may never get out of debt soon, never get my car. i feel like i’m never going to make any progress. i felt the same way about my chicago trip. instead of making some real progress debt-wise, i got stuck in the same place. it’s kind of painful.

and yet, here i am, going. making myself swear i will never go on another trip for the next six months (which is a promise i’m probably highly unlikely to keep). dammit.

why does my alma mater torture me so?

philosophies …

jenn’s random thoughts of the day:
- you’ll never know if you’ll win or lose unless you actually try.

and also:
- without downs in life, there would be no way to go up.

my north carolina trip.

so i am back from north carolina…good times….

i got in without incident on sunday afternoon….slept mostly on the train ride down. jeff had to work that night, so jaime and i spent the night mostly chatting, eating dinner and going on a DQ run….it’s all about the DQ runs!

monday, jeff, his friend travis, and i all went to the outer banks….long drive down country roads, but it was pretty cool. i’d never been to the outer banks before, and it was really pretty….besides, it was 70-something degrees in the middle of november! we all went to the wright brothers monument in kitty hawk, hung out on the beach, collected a plastic bag of seashells….and got stuck in the sand. jeff wanted to drive on the beach, but he drives a sedan….so he went onto the sand and got stuck. fortunately, this guy in a big pickup came along and bailed us out. it was pretty damn funny. then, as we drove back to town to eat, a deer jumped out in the middle of the road, which was kind of a scary thing. we didn’t hit bambi, though. lots of pictures, too…here’s a sampling….

a really cool sand castle that was already on the beach at nags head when we got there. totally intricate. i wonder how long it took to build.

lighthouse at bodie island.

ooh, waves. very soothing.

staring off into space while the sun sets behind me over the dunes. jeff took this picture. i think it’s kinda cool.

tuesday, jeff and i headed down to all the big campuses — nc state, unc, duke. we wandered around unc and found a randomly open door at the dean dome, so we just walked in and soaked in the atmosphere. that was pretty cool, being surrounded by all that carolina blue and seeing all those retired jerseys and banners and whatnot. then we headed to duke and cameron indoor stadium; that was open too, but the court was being used by the women’s basketball team, so we couldn’t walk in the stands for fear of being yelled at during a practice. we kind of peeked in through the corridors and stuff; it was cool to see what i usually just see on tv.

all in all, the trip was a welcome diversion from being home….

wow, i’m out of shape!

so we had a coaches vs. kids soccer game today…it was some coaches and parents from our league against one of the u-15 teams. and man, am i severely out of shape. we played a full game and i nearly died out there….we had no subs because we had exactly 11 adults on the team. but i was dying after the first 10 minutes of each half. how sad. i sucked big-time. but at least i got to throw on some shin guards and socks and look like a soccer player again. hahahaha. but i am totally sore now. and tired. i am at work and want to take a nap.

otherwise, not a whole lot else going on. ed is still on vacation, though he gets back this tuesday. i am going to north carolina tomorrow. wheee.

my soccer finale.

i coached my soccer season finale today. happy and sad times. it was freezing today, too. but we did win. 5-2. and we finished 7-1 this season.

looks like i’ll see many of the same faces next spring. or at least i hope so. this was probably the best team i’ve had in three seasons of coaching. good kids. good learners. fast kids. very skilled.

it all makes me smile. they’ve all become good friends and good teammates.

it’s always nice to know you’re making a difference for kids. and the gifts you get at the end are only gravy.

otherwise…not a very exciting week….pete is in norfolk this weekend for a field hockey tournament, so we couldn’t hang out on friday….

i am having a so-so gambling week….didn’t win the high school football pool….i am on a very long drought (like seven weeks, maybe?)….and EVERYONE lost in doug’s nfl pool…so i tied with five other people for first…which means i will get $32. i made like, 12 bucks. not bad. but damn, i knew i should have been different and picked the chiefs! or even the steelers! damn….that could have been a big pot….

and i am getting my ass kicked in fantasy football….grrr….i can never win….now i know how ed feels whenever he and edgar compete at something….hahahaha.

maureen!

every so often, i get to talk to someone out of the blue, a friend i haven’t been in touch with for a while.

today, that person was maureen. i happened upon her while i logged online on instant messenger at work. i was happy to talk to mo. mostly caught up on some of our old friends, talked about living in SoCal, and stuff like that. she and rob seem to be doing well; so are most of our other friends from the magnificent seven….ahhh….those were the days.

but that was my feel-good moment of the day. made a rainy, blah day a bit better….

trojan fools.

hell yeah…finally able to post some pics….

my favorite picture from the chicago trip! i’m so ghettolicious…representin’ the WESTSIDE!!!! (hahahaha. i’m not a gangsta. really.) and ed is doing his best 50 cent impression….

and here were pictures from the greatest tailgate ever….too bad i wasn’t there….*sigh*

ed and john austria…yeah…they’re ghetto too….but they’re fighting on….go USC!

there they are, all tailgating before the wazzu game…they were so hardcore…someone even busted out a table….and edgar brought a keg….dude, i miss the engineering quad. it had my favorite fountain on campus….

did i mention there’s always drinking involved? here’s austria and edgar….they’re so PIMP!?Ǭ†

no, it’s not the stanley cup. looks like it though. it’s really the pony keg they got for the tailgate….

and that’s pretty much it. must have been good times……

BUT NEW ORLEANS WILL BE BETTER! (or at least it better be!)

sugar … oh, honey, honey …

the march to new orleans is on!

after a couple of weeks of bitching and bemoaning the fact that usc might have been knocked out of the national title picture, the buzz is back after this saturday. and we’re all excited. and here we go trying to plan another trip….this time to the sugar bowl….new orleans….oh, boy….

the e-mail brigade has already started….i think this trip is going to be even bigger than the orange bowl one last year…more people….more partying….more drinking….it’s new orleans, for crying out loud. and i need to make up for my flameout in chicago…..

i have something to be excited about again….and the trojans better not fuck it all up or i will be severely pissed….

and i wanted to post some pics that edgar sent me from the greatest tailgate ever….but for some reason the xanga picture thing is not working….grrrr….i’ll get to it later.