August 2004 Archives

Well, well, well… my Hokies didn’t do too badly after all. I am pleasantly surprised!!! If it weren’t for a horrible offensive interference call in the 3rd quarter, who knows what REALLY would have happened?

BUT, I’m convinced that we’re going to finish better than the 6th - 8th in the ACC that all of the “experts” predicted.

So, for tonight’s game, ESPN carried the game, but ESPN2 carried the “Behind the Scenes” of the game. Well, with the advent of the DVR, I am blessed with the feature of Picture-in-Picture. I kept ESPN on the main screen, and ESPN2 in the corner.

So, what was so great about the game behind the scenes? I can’t describe it, but it was very interesting. You could see how the crew decides which cameras to show, which taped angles to show, and even what to discuss. You could see how the sideline reporter got her information. You could see how the crew crafts and weaves storylines into the game. And how they “Close the book” on those same storylines at the end of the game. You got to “meet” people who were cameramen, parabolic microphone operators, announcers, producers, directors, statisticians, and tons more. I found it FASCINATING!! It was true reality television.

But, beyond that, I was more mesmerized by how well my Hokie team played, with little expectations going into the game. I’m well aware that “shoulda, coulda, and woulda” still directly relates to “don’t, didn’t, and won’t”, but that one blown call absolutely turned the game around. After that single play (or non-play, in this case), Tech didn’t manage much more, offensively or defensively.

My season prediction (which we’ll revisit in December) is 8-4 or 9-3, including an upset victory over #10 West Virginia. I also predict either a 3rd or 4th place finish in the ACC.

Go Hokies!!!

Starting tonight, it’s time for College Football. In the season opening Black Coaches Association Classic, my Virginia Tech Hokies will come to FexEx field to play the defending national champion USC Trojans.

As excited as I am that it’s time for the games to start up again, I’m probably going to observe a good old fashioned ass-whoopin’!!! My Hokies haven’t gottend the best “reviews” this season. Hell, we’ve been picked to finish anywhere from 6th to 8th in the ACC. OUCH!!!

So, even though the game is just a few miles away, I’m going to stay home and watch it. So that if we somehow end up falling behind, say 48 to nothing, I can turn the channel for a while, instead of having to continually suffer in person.

Man, I hope we do better than 8th in the ACC.

Either way…

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi
Tech, Tech, V-P-I
Sol-A-Rex, Sol-A-Rah
Poly-tech Virgin-i-a
Ray, Rah, V-P-I
Team, Team, Team!

Man, I miss college!

I thought they’d go kinda quickly, but that quickly? Hmmm… they must still be popular.

Anyway, I got 9 replies for 5 invites, which means I had to unfortunatly turn down 4 of you. So, I took the first 5 (first come, first serve).

If I get any new invites any time soon, I’ll send them to you 4 before even posting for anyone else. But who knows how long that’ll take? It took me like 2 months to even get my first set of invites. Or they could pile on some others soon… I just don’t know.

If anyone else is interested, you can either keep checking back, or you can try dropping an email to BCunningham2 (at) gmail.com . I’ll keep a “label” in the archives for anyone interested.

Anyone want a Gmail account? I have received 5 invites to pass along. If you’re interested, send me an email to BCunningham2 (at) gmail.com. I might take me a day or so to respond, as I’m pretty busy at work these days.

I was just watching The Amazing Race, and they had to make it to a hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emerates. The hotel is called the “Burj Al Arab Hotel”, and I have to say, the architecture of this building is amazing.

From looking at the hotel’s website, the building is supposed to be shaped like a sail in the sea. And in the picture, it does just that. The website also seems to indicate that this hotel is extremely expensive:

“With your chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, discreet in-suite check in, private reception desk on every floor and a brigade of highly trained butlers who provide around-the-clock attention, you can be assured of a highly personalised service throughout your stay.”

So, even if this place weren’t in the middle east, it’d more than likely be out of my league. But who knows? The world may change enough many years from now so that might be a safe place to visit. But I still probably couldn’t be able to afford it. Rolls Royce? Not in my lifetime.

I haven’t been watching too much of the Olympics this year. But while flipping through the channels, if it’s been on, I have checked them out just a bit. I’ve watched some of the swimming, some of the crew/rowing events, a little bit of the track and field events, and a couple of beach volleyball matches.

The American team that took the Beach Volleyball gold consisted of Kerri Walsh and Misty May. While watching them play, I’ve become somewhat enamored by Kerri Walsh. What’s there not to love? She’s 6’2”, blonde haired, great slim body, and an Olympic athlete!!! And she’s only been playing beach volleyball for 4 years. That’s amazing!!! Well, she had played indoor volleyball for a few years, but it’s still amazing.

Kerri (and also Misty for that matter) was in a Visa commercial during the SuperBowl, where they were playing beach volleyball in the middle of the winter. The ball goes into the icy water, and they play “evens or odds” to see who’ll go into the cold water for it. Amusing little commercial, but better because Kerri’s so hot in it!

Anyway, as with any crush, it’ll soon pass, and then there’ll be another cutie to gawk at. But for now, just for a little bit, I’m enamored by Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh!!

So, before that Vegas reminder, I saw this picture online.

Apparently, water polo is more of a contact sport than I thought. There were at least 3 different pictures (of 3 different players) of exposure in the pools.

Now, I’m guessing that since NBC is tape-delaying most of their coverage, that this didn’t air on TV.

If it had, would it have had the same furvor as the Janet Jackson SuperBowl debacle? Would the FCC interfere here as well?

This is further proof of “everywhere I look, there are more reminders of Vegas”, which was addressed in an earlier post.

I saw an interesting water polo photo online this morning, that I was considering posting about. So, I go to where I saw that picture, and what do I see? More vegas lightning!

Someone of great power is really rubbing it in now!

Or could it be a calling, as if destiny wants me to be there? As if I were going to win big? Nahhh… I doubt it too!

Hah… a theme post… how clever can I be?

The renovation at work is nearly done. We started moving back in on Friday, and will start serving meals again on Wednesday. The past few weeks have just been the anticipation of getting back into the kitchen. The staff got most of the “stuff” put away on Friday, but there’s still some heavy stuff that has to be moved back into the basement. The worst part of it (at least for me) is putting the office back together. At this point, we’re waiting for 2 more file cabinets to be delivered (should happen on Monday), waiting for a phone line to work properly, and waiting for our internet connection to get up and running again. Oh yeah, we have to put tons of stuff back into those file cabinets. It sucks that the file cabinets I bought (as well as the 2 being delivered on Monday) are too long, about 3 - 4 inches longer than the desk. I’m going to see if they’ll do an even swap, but doubt it for the mere fact that those that were delivered were delivered for free. I doubt that they’ll do free return and free re-delivery.

Once we’re all moved in at work, it’ll be time to get moving work wise! These next 3 - 4 weeks will be as busy as any time of the year. But, to make it more challenging, we’ll have to do it with an inexperienced manager. Since Angela moved, I got Jessica. Jessica just simply hasn’t had the opportunity to take on the responsibilities that she’ll soon be having. That means on top of being busy, we’ll have to be training and coaching her. Nothing like being thrown right into the fire, huh? So, we’ll be moving along pretty quickly for at least a few weeks.

Jeremy turned 2 years old last Wednesday. That boy sure is growing! Last time I saw him (just a couple of weeks ago), he’d shown even more bits of brilliance! He learns something new everytime I’m down there. I’m still called “Uncle” (which is pronounced more like “un-coo”), as he hasn’t even tried to say “Brian” yet. He’s moving on along, too!

I was “proposed” with an interesting option at work during the summer. They’ve asked me if I’d be interested in moving to another city. It’d be part of our company growth, and would certainly help to foster more of my professional growth. I can’t divulge to where I’d be moving yet, as it would break some company-client confidentiality issues, but I will say that I am at least curiously interested. If I decide to take them up on the offer, it would take place either at January or some time next summer.

My biggest concern with that moving scenario is my money situation. I’ve only been in my condo for about a year. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t “earned” enough equity in it to break even if I were to sell it. Between appreciation and what little bit gets applied to the principle in the first year of payments, I’m pretty sure that we haven’t reached 6% over what I paid. With my monetary situation as it is, I absolutely cannot afford to lose money on the sale.

So, that would leave me with the option of trying to rent it out. I might be able to do that, but how would that limit my “buying potential” in the “new city”? In other words, could I get a loan for another condo or even a house in a different city, if I have this one here? I doubt it, although I don’t know for sure. I imagine that if my credit weren’t damaged, that this wouldn’t be nearly as much of an issue.

The last option would be not to move. I’m not sure that’s what I want right now. Yes, I like it here. Yes, I love my condo. But, I’m at the point where it’s financially uncomfortable to be living here (I know, I really should get a roommate — but when your “friend” burns you, imagine what a stranger could do!!). The “new city” looks to be an exciting city, with a lower cost of living, and it’s been mentioned that I would not suffer a decrease in pay if I do move there — it’s essentially a raise solely based on the difference in cost of living. Decisions, decisions… all those thoughts moving around in my head.

Last thought… I was “moved” by an email I received from my old friend Angela (the girl I dated back in college, NOT the girl I used work with). She had a bad situation befall her recently, and she sent me a “writing” of hers where she got her feelings about the situation out into the open (or at least out into type). First and most importantly, I was very saddened by the news that she told me.

Back when I used to talk to her very often, she was very “artistic” — she was a songwriter. I knew that she was creative, and you could also get a sense of that by her everyday writing style (email, letters, etc). I hadn’t asked or talked about it, but I kind of just thought that those days had gone by — that she wasn’t writing anymore. I guess I was wrong… girl’s still got it!

I also knew that she kept her writings relatively private. At least she never let ME read anything she wrote. So, this one situation that she wrote about recently was the first real writing that I’d gotten to read. So, on top of it being a heart-wrenching description of what she’s gone through… I mean I could feel what she’s writing (although I cnould never feel what she’s going through)… she asks me what I thought about it.

She wants a critiquing of her writing when I’m heartbroken by what she’s writing about? I don’t know how to do that. Like I said, I could feel the pain in her writing. It’s definitely creative, and comes from an artistic head. I don’t have anything negative to say about it. But it’s sooo personal. Does saying that it’s good demean what she’s writing about? Saying that feels like saying that it’s “fine”, or like saying that someone has a “nice personality”. Do you understand what I’m saying? It’s like I feel that no matter what I say about it, she can come back with “you’re just saying that because of what I wrote about”.

So, Angela, I love ya, I love what you wrote, I’m saddened by the situation, but there is no “real” way to answer what I think about your writing (even though, I honestly think that any writing where you can “feel” what you’re reading has to be good!). Shouldn’t this be one of those “tests” that you give to your husband, not to your buddy?

OK… movin’ on, am I the only person addicted to watching the World Poker Tour stuff?

I’ve noticed for the past few months, that everywhere I look, there’s something that reminds me of Vegas. If it isn’t “special episodes” of The O.C., it’s the TV shows themselves (CSI, Las Vegas, The Casino). There are ads in magazines, there are ads online. There have even been stories (link no longer active) of MGM buying out the Mandalay Group. They even show Poker on ESPN, Celebrity Poker on Bravo, and Celebrity BlackJack on GSN! Everywhere I look, there are reminders that I really want to go back to Vegas!!!

I even have some friends willing to go for a little trip (even a friend who doesn’t particularly care to fly), but I unfortunately cannot afford it right now. I am broke-dick-dawg for a while (reasons are easily referenced via the archive links over on your right, ahem… “friend” ruins credit rating, mortgage interest rates higher, credit cards not paid off in mortgage, meaning higher monthly payments on mortgage PLUS a credit card payment… instead of having the damn card paid off, and a lower monthly mortgage payment… ugh, getting sick to my stomach STILL having to think about it and having to deal with it).

I’ve mentioned the fact that I’m dying to go back to Vegas to several people recently, because I had such a great time there last summer (even though I went with she who will no longer be mentioned).

But in true “Brian Cunningham-ain’t that just some more shit” fashion, I get hit over the head with my whole fascination with Vegas one more time. I’m walking into a drugstore, and what’s there right on the shelf in the friggin’ doorway? That week’s issue of Time Magazine with a cover story on Vegas! Enough already, I’m dying here!!! Can’t the world turn off the neon-lights-publicity of Vegas just long enough for me to get so busy at work that I won’t have the time to think about it? Is that too much to ask?

Some people have told me that I should “be careful” with the gambling, but here’s the thing: When I was in Vegas, I was there for 5 nights/6 days. And how much time did I spend gambling? Less than 3 hours. I spent approximately $250 in gambling. That’s not even close to over-doing it!

But it wasn’t the gambling that’s attempting to seductively lure me back. Oh no! I think it was the fact that everything there is larger than life. You can fly into one of the world’s top 10 busiest airports, and be in the world’s largest hotel by taking a 5 minute cab ride. And across the street is New York, New York, complete with miniature versions of the Empire States Building and the Brooklyn Bridge (and a whole roller coaster going inside and outside of the whole place). You’ve got a pyramid down the road, complete with a Sphynx. And down the road in the other direction, you’ve got the fountains of the Bellagio, a smaller Eifel Tower at Paris, a volcano at the Mirage, and it keeps going and going.

And that’s not even discussing the tremendous variety of entertainment (I’m still jonesing for another Blue Man Group visit), or the myriad of different types of restaurants.

Maybe next year I can go again… or at least I hope to go. But for now, let’s just hope that the Time Magazine cover will have a similar effect as the Sports Illustrated Curse or the Madden Cover Curse. Let Vegas just fade into the background for a little while, until I can find a way to get back there. And quit being EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE I look, OK?