Stuff and Nonsense

1) Um, yeah. About that last post. Thanks a lot, Tom. See my butt? Kiss it, baby. Kiss it publicly. To be fair, the 'Boys have a long way to go... but damn, Tom...

2) We (fraternity) went on retreat a couple of weeks ago--won't say where, won't say who was the retreat master--and let's just say it blew chunks. I can read from articles. I can read from 10 year old notes. I can create a retreat that manages time better than that. I can create a retreat that is more profound and less droll. And that's sad, considering that I don't know squat about giving retreats.

Oooo, wasted time, let me get started. The first night? Sign in at 5:00, a mediocre dinner at 6:30, and the first talk started at 8:30. How long did the talk go? 10 minutes. 10 freaking minutes, then "Good night." Eh?

Second day: I skipped breakfast and enjoyed my time with TJ, but it was at 7. The first talk was at 9:30, and lasted 20 minutes; hour break. Second talk? 25 minutes, followed by and hour break, then lunch, then another hour and a half before the next talk. Of course, we used some of this time for our fraternity meeting, which was more poor time management, but that's the bane of any club or organization. Anyway--we had almost four hours of downtime. The worst part? The 25 minute talk in the afternoon was flat-out hawking the books. When it was announced that the evening session would be book signing, I fled... and I wasn't the only one. I returned on Sunday morning around 9 for the morning talk... nobody stayed past it although there was Mass and then lunch provided.

Don't get me wrong--there were some gems in the rough, but they were buried deeply. I'm glad we candidates only have to give a 20 minute talk for the next meeting. I'll post a little later on some tidbits.

I don't appreciate the weekend being used for the retreat master's book hawking and signing. I don't appreciate having not only everyone's time wasted, but the money that we attendees and the Fraternity shelled out to attend it. It was expensive, and I don't think we got our money's worth.

3) Work is good but frustrating, school the same, and my knee is better every day. I didn't tear the ligament again, but I sprained it good.

4) Sibs are in crisis mode. I'm ignoring them.

5) Pray for some friends of mine who have left the traditionalist (CMRI!!) sect and come home to the fold. Christ in His mercy and wisdom has opened their eyes. The wife's family is hard-core traditionalists and the road ahead is going to be rough.

Peace! More later.

An Open Letter To Tom Brady

Thomas E. Brady, Jr.
New England Patriots
One Patriot Place
Foxborough, MA

Dear Tom:

Heya there, how you been? Things are finally cooling down here in this God-forsaken desert--60s in the morning, mid-90s in the afternoon. It's really like the North Pole... but it's a relative comparison when I remember that you're on the East Coast. You would probably wither and die out here.

Writing this, it reminds me: I need to call your Aunt Tinker. We still need to have tea. She's great, isn't she? She's the cousin, other than her and my mutual cousin Melinda (on our fathers' side), that I'm closest to. She was so proud of you that she actually said, "You remember Phil, my ex-husband...?" Well, they always say you're three degrees from someone famous, and for me, that makes two. How cool is that?

(As an aside, I like to tell people "Tom Brady's my cousin... by marriage... And no, I've never met him, why do you ask?" But hey, who's really counting? I'm sure you can appreciate my attempts, weak as they are... but nobody can say I'm lying! heh)

Anyway, as to the reason I'm interrupting your preparations...

Much hot air has been given to the game this weekend. I try not to read anything, listen to the radio, or watch any television, because holy cow they were wrong about the Cowboys on Monday, weren't they? I think only ESPN warned that it could be a trap game, and I really appreciated their honesty. As devout as a fan I am, I was disheartened by the end of the third quarter and stopped watching. I had to go to Fark later that evening to find that oh my blessed Lord they won, they won, they pulled it out of thin air, and I about fainted. But hey, that's classic Cowboys football, and you can hardly fault Tony for channeling Roger Staubach--quite the trick, eh? Brilliant (I'm amazed that he can have 5 INTS and still manage 300+ yards passing... just.. WOW). I just hope he doesn't get into the habit. I don't think I could take it.

Now listen, I have a favor to ask: do you think you can hold off on the massacre on my 'Boys this weekend? You can go on a rampage on the other teams for the rest of the season, and even in the Super Bowl... but ya think your considerable talents can take a vacation for about two hours on Sunday? I'm really enjoying the delusion that the 'Boys can go undefeated all through the season. So would you mind terribly?

Believe me, Tom, it's not a lack of faith in the talent on my team. However, they are young and untested, although Tony is proving he can pull a win out of his ass (almost literally), and the rookie, Nick, has shown he's already a veteran and has the cojones to win. Well, hell, the team has shown they can hold it together despite their QB fouling up beyond comprehension. And, you know, I have a bit of admiration for the coach, too--he's done a phenomenal job, including getting Bigmouth to shut the hell up.

So, Tom, thanks in advance for the favor. Peace!

With love
from your Cousin

Amen.

It's been insane. I'm also considering a drastic move, but I need to think about it some more.