I'm talking to myself, don't eavesdrop.

[A glance at my inner dialogue from a few occasions this past week...]

Wednesday 5/19, 4:48 PM

"Dude, great interview. You got this."
"I don't know...stumbled a bit at first."
"But you picked it up fast and really impressed them. That couldn't have possibly gone any better."
"That's true. But it's a 3A school and I don't have any head coaching experience. Still a long shot."
"Indeed. But you did everything you could for now. Let's go home."
"Sounds good. I need gas."
"You have gas? Gross. What did you eat?"
"Shut up. I need gas, stupid. I haven't eaten today, remember?"
"Oh yeah."

Saturday 5/22, 7:42 AM

"Dude, you still haven't been to sleep!? These headaches are getting ridiculous. Go...to...the...doctor."
"It's just a broken nose; don't be such a girl."
"Then why haven't you been to sleep before 5 AM all week?"
"Shut up. I'm fine. Just can't sit still. Or sleep. Long as I'm moving around, I'm cool. Which means I can still play ball."
"But I think you need sleep to like, live and stuff. Or is that an old wives' tale?"
"I'm not married. Wouldn't know."
"Smart alec."

Sunday 5/23, 4:08 PM

"Cubs win, Cubs win!"
"YESSS! Silva is 6-0. The cat is rocking it right now. I AM CARLOS SILVA."
"No you're not, shut up. That corny Tiger Woods commercial aired years ago, give it up already."
"Good win today, though."
"Yep, real good win."

Sunday 5/23, 4:31 PM

"Did you really ask that girl on a date?"
"Yeah, who saw that coming?"
"Not me. You never do that. What gives?"
"Beats me; had to try, though."
"Well it's about time. Don't do anything dumb."
"I'm sure I will at some point."
"Yeah, probably. HA. You should send her a text."
"Nah man, gotta play it cool today."
"Cool? You? Double HA."
"I know, right? Gotta at least try."
"Well good luck with thaaaat!"
"I'll need it."
"Concert should at least be fun, right? Favorite singer and all."
"Oh yeah, almost forgot about the concert."
"Wow."

“One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody's listening.” - Franklin P. Jones

I'm listening,
Derrick

Pomp, circumstance and some other stuff.

Pomp and Circumstance...

My last main group of college friends (Freshmen when I was a Senior) graduated this weekend.

Also, the first group of kids I coached (as 8th graders) graduate High School tomorrow.


Some of you don't know this, some have forgotten, but...I did not attend my High School graduation. It made for major gossip in a town of 600/class of 29. But it wasn't a big deal to me then and it isn't now. College was another story. My college graduation was a proud day for me. Regardless, I'm happy for all my friends who are and will be walking the stage this weekend.

Other news:

- I get to see (and meet) my favorite singer, James Otto live on Wednesday the 26th in Wichita. Hooray!

- I will have a lovely lady right there with me. Double hooray!
- Cubs still suck. Nothing new there. Negative-two hoorays!
- LeBron to the Bulls? Word is, it could be legit. See?

[Derrick just fainted; he'll be back shortly]

...sorry about that.
- One semi-promising job (if you can call it that) prospect. Details next week. Maybe.
- One coaching spot I'd really like has separated itself from the generic pack. Not that that means anything...

Pretty Prairie High School, class of 2003
Wichita State University, class of 2007--B.A., English

Derrick

Here's the story...

Last Sunday (8 days ago)...

I was hit in the nose [hard] while playing basketball. It made a loud 'crack!' noise. I was then hit again about 20 minutes later. Original thought: It's probably broken. Oh well, it's happened before. It's just a nose. Second thought: Very real chance I have a concussion, too.

But...for the past 8 days, I've been having very intense, almost blinding headaches. They come and go every few minutes, each time worse than the last it seems. It's like a sharp, stabbing pain in the side of my face and head. One night, it got so bad I cried. And I'm not a crier. I even fell down once. I haven't told some people because I know they'd worry. I shouldn't have told some others, because they won't stop hounding me about it. Or others because they've been rude and not supportive at all.

Scary moments:
1. Someone actually mentioned (with a straight face) the idea of "internal bleeding". Eek!
2. I awoke to the following news story on ESPN.com: [NAIA football player dies following blow to head]

I do not have health insurance. I can't go get X-rays. I can't go get it checked out. I'll just have to ride it out. But I've been worried. And I'm not a worrier, either. But I'm doing all the right things in terms of taking care of myself. Except for not playing basketball. Don't even try. I've played three times since then, and plan on continuing...

Basketball has been the one constant in my life--especially lately--and no one is taking it away from me. Not that.

After looking feverishly online and analyzing myself, this is the best diagnosis I seem to be able to find:
- My nose is broken. There's no way around it.
- I may or may not have a concussion. I'd be certain of it, but I haven't vomited. They say that's a key sign. Although I haven't thrown up in more than 8 years, so maybe that's not a key variable for me?
- Somehow, the blow to the head may have caused some sort of migraine onset. Although my headaches have been shorter and more reoccurring than migraines are supposed to be.

Ultimate synopsis: I still have no freaking idea.

There. I talked about it. Now I'm done. Moving on...

Other news:
- The Cubs suck. Definition of irony: Talk to a Cub fan about a broken heart. Hello? Every day.
- This could be a big week for me. No details now, just be aware.
- My propensity for saying the right thing to the wrong person/people is epic. The streak continues! Someday, it will pay off. I am sure of it. Well, sort of. Well, maybe. Or maybe not. But that's who I am. Foot in mouth? Whoa is me.
- Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics pitched a perfect game yesterday. I watched the last four innings. Perspective: The first recorded baseball game took place in 1846. In 164 years, there have been 19 perfect games. 19. Perfect game = most beautiful thing in sports. I love baseball.
- New poll question. Vote on it! Go. In the meantime...

Results from most recent poll:

Question: Where are you from?
McPherson (county), KS: 4 votes (26%)
Somewhere else in KS: 4 votes (26%)
Another state: 3 votes (20%)
Wichita, KS: 2 votes (13%)
Pretty Prairie, KS: 2 votes (13%)
Another country: 0 votes (0%)

Once again, this poll didn't tell me much. I have tons of friends from other countries--but apparently none of them read my blog. Tear. And only 2 Wichita people is a little surprising. No worries, on to the next poll, I suppose...

Have a good week,
Derrick

Things People Say

I'm pretty much hilarious. If you disagree, stop reading now.

Hey, thanks! You kept reading, which means I roped you into a trap. See? Funny.

Here are some funny things I've said (or thought) recently to make myself laugh--if no one else. Just because I can...

Facebook chat with Jen Th.: "I'd rather [long list of funny, ridiculous things here] than watch volleyball."

Text conversation with Teri K:
[I had mentioned having to move farm equipment off my basketball court and that one item was particularly heavy].
T: "What part was heavy?"
D: "Do I look like the type of cat who knows farm equipment?! For all I know, it's an alien spaceship."

Pretend conversation between me and F. Scott Fitzgerald [who's been dead for 70 years]:
F: "Exclamation points are like laughing at your own jokes."
D: "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jerk."

Thought to myself:
- If I was Weird Al Yankovic, I would create a song called: "Beer Drops on My LeCar."


Think Taylor Swift would approve?


Side note: If you have negative thoughts or views about Taylor Swift, you can commence to the rock-kicking portion of your day.

I'm sure there are more funny things I've said or thought. But I'm so funny, it's hard to pick out the best ones. Just kidding. Actually, I thought I had more material for this bit--turns out, not so much.

Moving on [but still on the topic of things people say]...

I've noticed at times that people develop certain habits in their patterns of speech and become insanely repetitive with the way they talk. I try to refrain, but am probably guiltier than anyone.

I'm sure if you talk to me much at all, you've already noticed, but just for fun, here are some things I say way too much:

- I know, right? [this one's trendy--hence its annoyance]
- Whatever, dude. [kind of coined this one myself, I think]
- No worries. [makes me feel like an Aussie]
- Hey Phil, I hate you. [ah, brotherly love]
- lol [force of habit--I hate myself for this one]
- Well hi to you, too. [to people who start conversations without a greeting]
- Sorry. [unnecessary apologies drive me nuts, but I'm guilty, too]
- Did you see my Facebook status? [seriously, did you?]

- I wanted to post one of my current favorite songs on here, but since the music website I use doesn't have this song, I'm posting a video instead [NOT the official music video for the song, but still great]. I love this song! Give it a listen.

Things People Say - Lady Antebellum



If you don't have anything nice to say, talk about something else,
Derrick