Girls Basketball

I've never coached boys basketball (though that is about to change when I begin coaching aydan's 6th grade team this year), but I did play in high school and college so I'm at least slightly familiar with that realm. Coaching girls has been an eye-opening experience, though. So today I will share with you the main differeneces between the two sides of this one sport.  

1) Blankets
Maybe this is a North v. South distinction here, but no guy on my team EVER brought/wore a blanket to a game. In Ohio where the season was always cold and the first few minutes on the bus could literally be freezing, we dressed warm and in layers. In Texas, people don't know how to dress against the cold, but even still a boys basketball player's response is either baggy sweats or the shorts-and-suck-it-up method. But girls? Fuzzy blankeys...with tassels. And I'm not even getting into pillow pets, over-sized slippers, etc. It's weird. 

2) Smell
This one is harder to communicate in text, so I will parenthetically give the expression. Perhaps the primary difference is noted when walks into the locker rooms of the two genders. 
Boys--"Do you smell that?" (Face scrunched, groan in the voice, feelings of disgusted revulsion)
Girls--"Do you smell that?" (Sigh of contentment and delight, feelings of refreshment)
Guys locker rooms smell like butthole. Girls locker rooms smell like a Bath and Body Works franchise. Huge difference. 

3) Giggling on the court
I'm not joking--girls literally giggle while playing. Guys are just more competitive and mean. 

4) Singing on the Bus
I do remember once singing "We Didn't Start the Fire" on a return trip from a game, but it was in Coach Harrison's car with 4 other guys, not the whole team. Besides, I guess I'm not really a typical guy in that sense. Typical guys MIGHT sing after a particularly big win if they are in unusually high spirits. But girls sing to and from, win or lose. 


I am very fortunate to coach these girls.  We are having a great season and they are awesome young ladies to work with.  Go Chargers!

Rest

I have spent nearly the entire day in bed.

I feel sort of bad about this, actually.  There is much to be done.  My garbage disposal is broken.  My washing machine is leaking.  My stove top refuses to turn on.  In addition to these major repairs/replacements, I have work to do for basketball, work to do for school, paintings I'd like to finish, paintings I'd like to start.....  But today I did...nothing.

And rest is a beautiful thing.  I went to bed last night at 8 pm; I'm probably going to try and sleep again as soon as I post this.  Not that it needs justifying, but I do so because of the many nights I have returned home from basketball games near midnight, only to get up at 4:30 or 5 am to go back to practice and start the madness all over again.  I need to catch up on sleep.  I need a break.  It is good to rest.

So I came home from practice this morning and took a nap while the rain drizzled down outside.  I finished a book ("Ender's Game"--it's a good sci-fi read).  I completed a project.  Not a wasted day by any means, but I really haven't done much.

What I have been doing over the past several days is enjoying the treats of the holidays.  One way has been through my own gift to myself this season: new music.  I figure I'll be a little lighter on presents this year, and so I took the liberty to buy new tunes.  I'm really enjoying Amos Lee's "Mission Bell" ("Learned A Lot" is particularly poignant), and The Civil War's "Barton Hollow" ("Poison and Wine" kills me).  Following my older brother's example, I will recommend an "off the beaten path" Christmas album.  It's by Duluth-based band, Low, and is entitled, simply, "Christmas" ("Just Like Christmas" with its Scandinavian references, and "Take the Long Way Around the Sea" are tops).  As for other Christmas-time treats, I have utilized the ubiquitous Starbucks gift cards I've received to indulge in my beloved Peppermint Mocha's.  And though it may cost me my baptist-based salvation, I will say that my favorite alcoholic drink is the White Russian, and it is only made better (and more festive) with the addition of peppermint mocha creamer.  I had my first one tonight and it was delightful.

Update.  Recommendations.  It's the most productive I've been all day.  Whew! I feel like I need a nap.

A Year for the History Books

I thought this birthday might be weird, what with an impending divorce and all, but it was actually one of my favorite birthdays in recent history.  As the Beatles have said, "I get by with a little help from my friends." 

It started with my lunch-time crew presenting me with this as I walked in the door.  To offer some explanation, Sissney (the head girls basketball coach) and Josh have taken to calling me "Beefcake" (in reference to my attempt to build muscle mass).  You may notice my face has been Photoshopped onto Taylor Lautner's body in the photograph, but what you may not see is that in the upper left hand corner of the cake there are some pieces of jerky...thereby making it a literal beef cake.  

How awesome is it to have friends that understand you?  They know you well enough to know what you really enjoy and they indulge your little quirks.  I received this gift from the Fab Four, which now hangs in my entryway.  It probably won't stay there for long--it's a little gaudy.  Still, I think it's fantastic.

While we adults opened the presents, my two glorious sons played in the lot next to Josh's house, where a new home is being built.  They produced this bunker for the war with the Japanese who, in their words, "almost killed Uncle Bucky" (my Uncle Jim, who really did get shot in Vietnam).  

If only they could be this precious all the time.  When we went to eat out for dinner, no sooner had I given my name to the hostess than I returned to find them fighting and yelling at each other in the entryway.  This was done within mere feet of other guests who were waiting to be seated.  So I immediately turned the buzzer back in, grabbed their hands, and left to go home.  All was not lost.  Even though they couldn't keep it together to eat in public, we enjoyed each other at home.  

I also received this awesome scarf from my friend Brandi.  Obviously, it is my new favorite.  What meant the most perhaps, were the encouraging words I received in cards from these friends.  Seriously, some of the best cards I've ever received.  Josh's words in my card almost made me cry.  He pointed out that this year has brought car collisions and relationship melt-downs, and yet I'm still standing.  It just means so much that people around me care, and--as silly as it may sound--that I'm doing something right.  The words in the cards reminded me that although my life is a bit screwed up right now, I am not a screw up; they are proud of me.  That is a fantastic present.