Month: December 2004 (Page 2 of 2)

Cologne For Christmas

Is there a more consistent entry on a man’s Christmas list than cologne? I realized that when I handed my list over to S. the weekend after Thanksgiving. There’s some point in every boy’s teenage years when parents think they require cologne each Christmas. I forget when I got my first cologne, but it was probably in the 12-13 range. I was somewhat chagrined to find a small bottle of Ralph Lauren’s Chaps cologne in my stocking that year. I was by no means a trendy kid, nor a kid who liked to attract attention to himself, so I certainly hadn’t asked for cologne. If I had, I’m sure I would have asked for what every other kid was wearing in the early 80s: Ralph Lauren’s Polo. See, it hasn’t necessarily always been choice on my part that has made me a contrarian. It was out of my hands sometimes.

Anyway, that small bottle in my stocking one year turned into an annual gift of a large bottle of Chaps from my parents. One year my dad even splurged and got me the gift set that included after shave (I was not yet shaving), soap, and deodorant. I remember busting out the deodorant early in 8th grade when I ran out of my regular Speed Stick. Shortly after lunch that day, my underarms broke out in a horrible rash caused by the fragrance in the deodorant. Damn that Ralph! As I said, I wasn’t trendy, so I accepted the annual gift without much fanfare. I didn’t know what else I should ask for, and every once in awhile some confused girl would tell me that I smelled nice, so why mess with an sure thing? At some point, Ralph got a little nutty and came out with a second Chaps fragrance that came in a green bottle. Perhaps in an effort to shake me from the fragrance rut I was in, someone got me a bottle of the alternate version one year. It didn’t go over well. I had a good thing going. I was comfortable with everything about Chaps, from its barely noticeable odor to it’s generic brown bottle. Now someone was trying to mess things up for me. I think I used this new flavor five times at most before the bottle was pushed to the back of the bathroom cabinet, not to be removed and thrown away for roughly ten years.

I went off to college in 1989 and a whole new world of fragrance opportunities opened up to me. Loitering in other people’s dorm rooms while waiting for my turn on Nintendo meant experimenting with new and exciting scents. By November, I decided that Benetton’s Colors cologne was the only thing that stood between me and a huge number of conquests in the second semester. I got the cologne but can’t honestly inform you I had much more success with the ladies in the spring than I had in the fall. Thus began a yearly cycle of me sampling other people’s colognes and requesting something new each Christmas. I’ve lost track of the different scents I’ve donned over the years, although I do know I’ve worn both Hugo and Boss by Hugo Boss, with more success than my attempts to branch out with Chaps.

While I admit I’m wearing better stuff than the insipid Chaps I rocked for most of the 80s, sadly I have fallen back into a rut. This year I asked for either of the Banana Republic colognes for men. I’ve worn and like both options. For the last three years, little else has been sprayed onto my skin. It might be boring, but it is protection. If I didn’t ask for something specific, there’s no telling what I might receive each year. You never know what some long, lost aunt or well-meaning neighbor might try to slip me. I’m only protecting myself, and everyone within smelling distance, if I make sure I get something nice to wear each year.

The question for my readers is: was there a cologne you consistently got at Christmas as a kid, whether you requested it or not?

 

Too Much, Too Soon

I think it’s safe to say last night’s broadcast of the Lawrence North – Poplar Bluff game was a bit of a dud. It was certainly an entertaining game, but that’s not why ESPN decided to show a high school game. They wanted to see Greg Oden go off. If Tyler Hansbrough also happened to put up huge numbers, all that much better. While both players had good halves, neither played like LeBron James did two years ago. And therein lies the problem. I’m not against high school games being shown nationally, but I do worry about the risk to the players. For the hyped up stars, you run the risk of being called overrated or a bust nationally if you don’t perform as expected. What about the 5’2” 105 kids that are on every high school roster? Do we need to see their shots blocked into the second balcony? What LeBron did in his ESPN performances set the bar unrealistically high for everyone that follows. With all the pressure these kids have on them already, I wonder if it’s worth it to heap more on their still growing backs. I’m sure all efforts will be made to get Lawrence North on national TV again before Oden leaves.

Hansbrough is a total stud. He also has the look of a crazed killer in his eyes. I think he’ll do nicely with a coach like Roy Williams, who demands complete buy-in to the system. I think it’s safe to say he started the game a little ticked that he was barely mentioned in the lead-up to the contest. Can’t say I blame him.

Thank goodness Oden got loose in the second half and gave viewers what they expected, five dunks. That’s the curse of being 7′ tall and so young. People expect you to dunk all night. He could have scored 40, but if he did it on hook shots and jumpers, people would have called him soft. He is a joy to watch, though, because you can tell he cares about being part of a team and, like most 16 year olds, his game is flawed. As much as I enjoy watching great players, I also enjoy seeing someone like Oden who has so far to go to become great, but you can see the learning/developing process taking place.

Biggest impression from watching the game was how tall Oden is. I think people who regularly watch basketball lose perspective of height. We’re so used to 6’8” guys running around that they seem to be normal. Guys who are 6’4” seem short, even though I’d be looking up ever so slightly at them. Seeing Oden stand next to guys who were 5’7” or so put into perspective how huge the kid is.

Tonight’s local broadcast includes Duke-bound Josh McRoberts from right here in Carmel. M. cooperating, I hope to see him healthy for the first time since I moved to Indy.

 

Indy Sports News

Yesterday was some day for Indianapolis sports fans. The Colts made a major statement about the future of the franchise. There was continued fallout from the Pacers-Pistons brawl. The Indy 500 suddenly got a lot more interesting. And Mike Davis was up to his old tricks. Thoughts:

The big thing that jumps out at me from the resigning of Marvin Harrison is that the Colts now have close to $60 million guaranteed to two players, have another major free agent to worry about, and several B+ level free agents they need to resign this off-season. Oh, and they continue to play in the smallest stadium in the NFL, which they had difficulty selling out before this season, and have a stadium plan in front of city and state leaders that has been met luke-warmly by many. Resigning Harrison and publicly stating a desire to keep Edgerrin James tells me if the Colts and city can’t get a new stadium deal wrapped up in the next 12 months, Los Angeles football fans can start looking forward to having a team again relatively soon. Even with a new stadium, I’m not sure this city can support an NFL team to the level the team needs to bring in enough revenue.

I have no problem with any of the charges filed by prosecutors in Detroit against Pacers and fans from the riot last month. Even if found guilty (Why plead the charges down when there are civil suits to be filed?) none of the players risk serving any jail time because of the charges and their lack of prior offenses. I think this is a good way of furthering the messages to all professional athletes to keep their asses out of the stands no matter what.

As for the Indy 500 getting more interesting, the Letterman-Rahal team hired on 22 year old Danica Patrick as a driver for next year. Anytime a major team like this brings in a rookie driver, it’s a big deal. The Patrick addition is doubly interesting because she’s a woman, and triply interesting because she’s, well, quite attractive. I think we can all agree that people in the public eye should not be judged by their physical appearance first. They should be allowed to let their actions as entertainers, athletes, politicians, whatever be the first thing they are judged by. But it sure doesn’t hurt to be a tasty little treat. It’s worth noting that despite never winning the 500, Sarah Fisher has been voted the most popular driver in the Indy series for several years in a row. By all accounts, Patrick is a better driver than Fisher, and she’s attached to one of the most powerful and popular ownership groups in the sport. Throw in the fact she’s a looker and open wheeled racing may finally have found a way to compete with NASCAR! I found it amusing that on the local news I watched last night, the sports anchor didn’t say a word about Patrick’s off-the-track qualities, but left it for the John H’s favorite female news anchor to say, “It’s safe to say she’ll be turning some heads at the track next year.” Who’s in for tickets???

When Mike Davis finally makes good on his annual threat to leave IU or gets fired, I’m really going to miss him. There’s no doubt he’s the most bizarre and entertaining coach in Division 1 basketball. Whether he’s denigrating his players’ talent (the legendary “Help is on the way!” comment), their work ethic (claiming they don’t practice hard enough), or accusing them of mutiny in veiled terms (Saying he doesn’t understand why they don’t run the plays he draws up in the huddle late in games), no coach has a more interesting way of discussing his team with the press. (He reminds me a lot of Elvis Grbac and his “I can’t throw the ball and catch it,” nonsense.) He’s completely lost his mind and charged onto the court. He constantly puts his story ahead of his team’s. He’s just utterly fascinating.
After last night’s loss to Notre Dame, Davis continued to impress. The story of this season for the Hoosiers has been the brutal schedule they face. They’ve lost to North Carolina, UConn, in addition to the Irish. Saturday they play Kentucky. They then travel to Missouri and still face a tough Charlotte team in Bloomington. The new Athletic Director has taken great pains to let everyone know the previous AD is responsible for the schedule. (Last week, he even announced that the previous AD had been attempting to schedule Kansas and Arizona this year.) The schedule is tough enough. Coupled with a team that just wasn’t very good last year and a large number of freshman players, it was difficult to imagine the Hoosiers winning much this year. And Davis has let everyone know about that every chance he gets. His comments last night were especially odd, though. He looked at Saturday’s opponent and said, “You see Kentucky play North Carolina and then come back and play Morehead State. That would have been great for us to do. Now, you win by 25, you win by 30, and you get a chance to let guys play and develop.” Who the hell is he kidding? IU beat Indiana State and Western Illinois by four each. How can he say they would beat Morehead State like a bad high school team. I think the Hoosiers will get much better as the season goes on, because they do have some very good players in the freshmen class, but they’re not beating anyone by 30 points this year. Well, maybe Purdue who are brutal as well. I’m not sure who Davis thinks is going to agree with that statement, since pretty much all IU fans hate him (Except for my wife, who like politicians she doesn’t care for, just says, “It’s a tough job and I wouldn’t want it.”). I’m hoping for another Kentucky whooping Saturday just to see how Davis reacts.

Oh, and the Colts signed Martin Gramatica to be their kick-off specialist. Sadly, he won’t be kicking field goals unless Mike Vanderjagt gets hurt. I wonder if little Martin will celebrate wildly each time he gets a touchback off of his kickoffs?

Done

I survived the GRE, at least for now. I’m not exceptionally pleased with my performance, so I won’t get into it all that deeply. I did better than expected, significantly better in fact, on the math part. But I was guessing on many of the questions so that’s a fluke. I didn’t do nearly as well as I wanted on the verbal, which is really disappointing. I’m still above the 90th percentile, but my goal was the 97th so I’m a bit frustrated by that. Of the two essays, I really feel like I messed one of them up. Rumor has it they have only 2-3 minutes to devote to grading each essay, so hopefully the parts that are disjointed in that essay get lost in the skimming. I think I did well enough on the other. I’ll get my essay and official scores back in 2-3 weeks. I did some checking after I got back, and my score would get me into Missouri’s master’s program if I was a recent college grad with a 3.0, so I suppose I shouldn’t be so disappointed if my GRE score was good enough for Mizzou. Of course, I’m not a recent grad and I didn’t have a 3.0 as an undergrad either. Looks like I better take apples to class with me this spring!

I’m going to decompress the rest of the afternoon and will try to get back in the swing of things tomorrow. Hey, I’ve got a trip to KC to look forward to now!

 

Monday Morning

Some assorted thoughts as I prepare to start the final study push for the GRE.

I picked the right time to take the GRE. The last ten days have very much felt like finals week back in college. I did actually have a couple decent semesters as an undergrad, believe it or not. The semesters when I had gone to class consistently, began the month of December with an A or B in each class, and had a plan for studying were always kind of fun. I’m definitely a person that works best with a deadline looming in the near future. I always enjoyed knowing I had ten days to write three papers and study for four finals. I loved the days when I’d wake at 8:00 AM, study until noon, maybe go play some hoops for an hour to blow off some stress, come back and study for another six hours, eat dinner and hang out for awhile, then hit the books again until after midnight. I enjoyed being able to close the door to my room, load up the CD player, and not be bothered for hours because my roommates were all doing the exact same thing. Things are a little different now with a wife and kid, but there is a familiar feeling about all of this.

I took the “official” practice tests last Friday. The practice tests I had been taking before those were all paper-based. These were computer-based and supposed to adjust like the real test. The GRE is adaptive, so as you submit correct answers, the questions get progressively more difficult. When you miss an answer, you get an easier question. Because of that, no two GREs are alike, which is kind of strange. Anyway, I have a rather lofty goal on the verbal side and got exactly that goal score on both practice tests Friday. My math goal was originally less stellar, but with all the studying I’ve done, I now expect to get a higher score, regardless of whether that’s realistic or not. My math scores Friday were right in line with my original expectations. I’d like to do better, though. I talked to Mr. Beardslee Saturday and he said he would look forward to a blog entry Wednesday when I return from the testing center. I’ll post something quickly if I got good scores. If I didn’t do so hot, you may have to wait awhile!

BCS. I’ll talk more about this later in the week, but I’m so glad an undefeated team is getting screwed. In a perfect world, Auburn wins big in the Sugar Bowl so we have another split championship. I’ve got some harsh words for the idiots who vote in polls and didn’t see Cal play until this past week, too.

The baseball steroids story is another thing I’ll have to devote some time to. I’m quite torn on the issue. In general, I find steroids and other banned supplements to be bad. I wonder what the difference is, though, between banned substances and heavily regulated supplements that have been approved. Don’t they all help an athlete recover during his/her training sessions rather than provide a measurable on-the-field benefit? Why was Andro legal until 1999 but suddenly banned after? Safety concerns, right, not some sudden realization that it makes people like Mark McGuire hit the ball farther? Isn’t the only real difference between what’s allowed and what’s banned a long-term health issue rather than a benefit issue? I’ll have to think all this through and try to get something more lengthy put together.

I know it’s tough to fill 100,000 seats, and LA fans are notoriously front-running, but wasn’t it odd to see the crowd at the USC-UCLA game be probably 2/3 USC fans? It was a UCLA home game, right? Something tells me at least 1/2 of the people wearing maroon and yellow would have been wearing light blue and yellow if it was the Bruins who were 11-0 and not the Trojans. LA fan sucks.

I thought Tom Brokaw ended his run as NBC Nightly News anchor quite well. Tom has always been my favorite and it’s sad to see him go. I rarely watch the evening news as it is. I’m sure I’ll watch even less now. Tom was such a calming voice who always seemed to put things in the proper perspective. In an era where every TV personality is painted into an ideological corner whether they want to be or not, Tom was always firmly in the middle. It was obvious that he had political views. But he never had an agenda and never put his views in front of the news. He treated each politician and newsmaker with respect. He was always concerned equally with challenging accepted notions while respecting the traditions of the past. He never became the story as Dan Rather so often did. It will be interesting to see how the networks treat their news divisions over the next 5-10 years. Might NBC not just spin everything over to MSNBC and pick up coverage on the main network only in times of major news stories? Might ABC or CBS pool resources with CNN and do the same? Perhaps the remaining network will start their own news network. Soon networks will only give us shitty sitcoms and reality programming and we’ll all be watching the Food Network and Seinfeld reruns for our nightly entertainment.

 

The Perils Of Blogging With A Baby

I believe I chose wisely when I decided to scale back the basketball blogging this year. Evidence is my experience watching Saturday’s Kansas-Pacific game. I had a babysitter so I could study, and fortunately she didn’t need to leave until about 3:30. So my “study break” began at the tip-off in Lawrence. At about the 8:00 mark of the first half, I reclaimed my daughter. For the first few minutes, she sat on my lap staring at the TV, waiting for “her player” CJ Giles to get into the game. When he didn’t, she started to get frustrated and fussy. I flipped her onto her stomach and laid her over my legs, which were propped on the ottoman. She loved it, because she could gnaw on my knees (We’ve yet to have the discussion about not gnawing on your daddy’s knees) and still see the TV. The last five minutes of the first half were exceptionally ugly by both teams. M. protested by puking all over my left leg. I spent the last 50 seconds of the half cleaning up with her slobber diaper and angling my body so there was no run-off onto the couch. That’s a real fan! No way was I getting up until there was an extended stop in play!

At halftime, I brought her upstairs to try to get her distracted and tired for the second half. She started the second half in her new Exersaucer (Santa came early in Indy). She was interested and active, but proceeded to puke two more times. We then entered the wild mood swing phase of the afternoon. Laughter and smiles one minute. Screaming the next. I must admit I probably set it off when I leapt out of my seat, pumped my fist, and yelled when Wayne Simien threw down a dunk. Back and forth until she finally lost it for an extended period. It was a solid five minute outburst, during which I couldn’t hear a thing the announcers were saying. Good times. I finally found the right combination of position, booty patting, and binky to get her to pass out on me. She slept on me for the last ten minutes of the game, which meant I watched in silence. See, there’s no possible way for me to blog under these circumstances!

Worth noting the entire time I’ve been typing this, she’s been sitting in her bouncy seat, staring at me with a sly grin as if she knows I’m writing about her. Smart kid.

 

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