A few notes

Friday night, my dad and I went to Reliant to watch 2 Sweet 16 games, Texas vs. Stanford and Michigan State vs. Memphis.  The Texas game was a pretty good game.  Texas took an early lead and held onto it for the entirety of the game, but was never able to really pull away until late in the second half.  So I always felt good about their chances of winning but there was the appropriate amount of tension to keep me interested in the game.  We then watched the Memphis game.  I’ll be honest, it was my first look at Memphis all season.  These guys are fast and long, and, as good as Augustin and Texas are, I don’t know if Texas can beat Memphis.  The second game was a blowout from tip-off.  The last 5 minutes of the first half went something like Steal, Dunk, Steal, Dunk, Steal, Dunk, Steal, Dunk, Steal, Dunk, until the horn rang and the scored was 50-20.  My dad and I had seen enough massacre and we left at the half.

Today, we’re headed back to watch the ‘Horns take on Memphis for a spot in the Final Four.  I hope they win…

Also, last night, Maren and I watched “Donnie Darko” for the first time.  I think I’m going to need to see that again.  I won’t go so far as to say it was a great film, but definitely intriguing.  I may eventually call it a great film.

LASIK and whatnot

I took Maren to have the LASIK procedure today.  It was meant to happen next week, but she was able to have her appointment moved up to today.  We dropped Sophia off at my parents’ and drove in town.  It was a nice drive.  We talked about how much she misses singing and we talked about plans for the morning.  The way it was supposed to go down was she would do some follow up at a place on Buffalo Speedway at 9:30 (that ended up being a waste of time) the have the procedure done at a place in Sugarland (59 and Hwy 6) at 1:00.  So we talked about window shopping around Greenway Plaza, have lunch, blah blah blah.  As it turned out, the follow up needed to take place at the same location as the procedure, so we left for Sugarland first thing after leaving Buffalo Speedway.  At the Sugarland location, Maren was able to get them to squeeze her in earlier.  While she was “in surgery”, I ran out to Walgreens to get some prescription eye-drops.  When I returned, I picked up…not my wife, but a wigged-out version of my wife.  Apparently it’s not natural to let others shoot lasers at your eyes.  She later tells me it’s one of the scariest things she’s done in her life.  My wife is not one for hyperbole.  I don’t know;  I’m glad I have 20/20.  We came straight home.  Her eyes were tender as you might expect so she couldn’t watch the ride home.  That combined with her heightened sense of wigged-outiness and my reputation as a driver had her believing every lane change was a life or death situation.  I promise you, our lives were never in danger.

When we got home, I cooked her a little lunch and we administered the 3 different types of eye-drops.  Then Maren took some NyQuil and 4 hour nap with some goggles.  (She’s not allowed to rub her eyes for a month.)  While she was out, I returned to my parents’ to pick up the kiddo.  We came home for short time before heading out to Pappasito’s to celebrate Allison’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Allison).  Maren stayed home to rest her eyes.  Literally.

I’m pooped.

LOST

Alex:  These people — you said they’re dangerous.  More dangerous than you?

Ben:  Yes.

Whose snipers are those at the end of the episode, then?  Would Ben kill his daughter’s mother and boyfriend just to get her back?

Miles:  He wants to survive.  And considering a week ago you had a gun pointed at his head and tonight he’s eating pound cake, I’d say he’s a guy who gets what he wants.

Top Holidays

Over dinner last night, Maren and I had a surprisingly interesting discussion on what the top American holidays were. Things that were informally considered were amount of time given off of work/school, importance/existence of traditions, existence of a mascot for the day, amount spent on the day, and social expectation to celebrate the day. I was not expecting there to be such a difference in our opinions, but this is our compromised Top 10 list.

1. Christmas

2. Thanksgiving

3. New Year’s

4. 4th of July

5. Easter

6. Valentine’s Day

7. Halloween

8. Memorial Day

9. Labor Day

10. St. Patrick’s Day

We did not consider unofficial holidays like Super Bowl Sunday or big non-holidays like Tax Day. I think the other holidays are really just bank holidays.

Lunch

A few Thursdays ago, I went to Chipotle for lunch and to grade some tests before picking up Sophie.  I ordered my Burrito Bowl, etc. but when I reached for my wallet, it was not in my pocket.  So I tried to refuse the food, but the manager insisted he pay for it, and I could pay them next time.  How cool is that?!?

(Confession:  I’ve been back once since then, but didn’t pay for 2 Burrito Bowls because the manager wasn’t there.)

Just checking in.

I’m on Spring Break and in North Carolina, but I’ve got a few things I want to write about when I get home.  Look for me Wednesday or Thursday.  Cheers.