What's a guy to do?

As it nears--okay, surpasses--my bedtime, I am writing this instead of sleeping, like I should be.

Few things: New design, new background song. Hope you like them.

Since my last blog, I've gained some interesting insight in a couple different avenues. Okay, two: girls and sports. You know, the usual.

The list of reasons not to date me has grown longer. Just when I thought I'd heard them all. But no hard feelings. Not much I can do about the way people feel (or don't feel)--nor would I want to. This latest girl is one of the really good ones. I could only be so lucky. But, like I said...not much I can do...right?

Same book, different chapter: Another idea has been floated around (again) recently by two separate friends--both of whose judgment I trust. And I've pondered the idea off and on since I was 11, but it's a risky one, to say the least. Perhaps too risky to warrant more than a passing thought. Wow...is that cryptic, or what? Perfect.

Different book (I'm not really talking about books, by the way): Finally saw my first Cubs games this weekend. They were a blast, even though the Cubs lost 2 of 3. As if I'm surprised. Oh, and I saw myself on TV--or one of the TV replay videos I found online, anyway. I'll cut short on the sports talk, because at last check, no one cares but me.

I fully intend to be back soon. But first, I'm gonna go drum up a life interesting enough to blog about. Or try, anyway.

Cheers,
Derrick

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

It's late, so this'll be short.

Did you ever hope for the best, but deep down expect the worst? I bet you have. Human nature, at times. Sometimes, in those cases, when the worst is what we get, we're sad, but not remotely surprised. Ya know?

Yeah, woe is me.

Blame in on the Cubs fandom, if you will.

No one would blame me for doing this as a sports fan. I mean, it's the Cubs. 103 years? Yeah. That's 3.96 of my lifetimes. But...why do I do this in real life? It doesn't help anything. Still, can't help it.

I've been doing it lately, and if I'm being honest, it scares the bejesus out of me.

I could very possibly be in the midst of experiencing 'the worst' of a current situation. Which would suck, because I (like a Cubs fan does) had gotten my hopes up. Then again, I could be overreacting because of past experiences. Either way, I feel like my reaction is justified. Or maybe it's not. I tend to rationalize. Which is what people tend to do when they're wrong.

So to whom it may concern, let me apologize for that.

Time to stop talking to myself and get some sleep.
Hoping to dig deep to find the motivation to run in the AM.

Final thought:
No matter how bad a situation gets, a good enough pitch(er) always gives you a chance. 

Cheers,
Derrick

New this, knew that.

Hey all. Been 6 weeks since my last blog. I've really got to get back into this. It was once a comforting outlet for me. Here's what's new...

The girl situation I mentioned last time turned out to be nothing. No ill will here. Just wasn't right, you know? It happens. A younger me would've fretted (the past tense of 'fret' sounds weird, by the way) over it, but I reckon God has something bigger in store, so I'm rolling with it.

There's even something else I could mention here, but I'll withhold it this time--hate to jinx it. ;)

In the meantime...I finally got a new car! Long time coming.

Old car: 1998 Ford Escort. Owned for 8 years, 4 months, 1 day.
New car: 2007 Pontiac G6. Owned for 15 days.

Other news: My Cubs have been horrible lately. Worse than horrible actually, but my vocabulary doesn't extend that far. That said, I'm still pretty stoked to get to see them in person for the first time ever in 19 days.

The last 5 days have been among the most frustrating in all my time as a Cubs fan. However...due to alternate circumstances (lack of better word), I've still had one of my better weekends I've had in quite some time. Corny, huh?

I still have no idea if anyone reads these things anymore. I appreciate the time, if so. But in case not, I'll stop now and continue with my evening.


Cheers,
Derrick

Long time, no blog.

It's been 4 months, 12 days since my last blog...

Here's what you've missed in my world:

I've been working at Horizons for 6 months and 6 days.

My 2011 resolution of blogging every 2 weeks has failed miserably. I had several others, though. Here are a few...

Read every night: Went very well through February, then fell off. Back on it tonight, though.
Do something nice for a stranger: I anonymously donated 8 hours of PTO to a lady who needed it.
Do something crazy: Nothing yet. I'm kicking around ideas.
No fast food for 2 months: Done. And it wasn't too difficult. Granted, I still had Subway and Quiznos.

Sports:

Last time I blogged, the Bulls were 14-8. They finished the regular season 62-20, best record in the NBA. They lead their first round series vs. Indiana 3-1. In short, they've played 64 games since my last blog. Sheesh!

Cubs are 10-11 to start off the season. Not as good as I'd like, but a couple of the youngsters are playing well. Starlin Castro is the future of the team. Heck, he's the present, too. The kid is [barely] 21, and looks even younger. Dude can play some ball, though.

Other stuff:

- I like this girl. Enough to make it worth mentioning, which if you know me, is significant. I don't know where it's going, but I like where it's at so far.

- Actually...that's pretty much all I have for this time. Gotta do some picking up and prepping some things for work this week. I'll do my best to blog again soon.

Cheers,
Derrick

Merry Christmas, Happy Blogging

I haven't blogged in 22 days. Yikes. Sorry, self. So now I'm back. If for no other reason than to say I was here.

Let's see, what's new? Cubbies signed a new first baseman. This guy:

Carlos Pena

He hit 46 home runs two years ago before a down year last season. Nice, polite guy with pop in his bat. Glad to have you aboard, Carlos. --that reminds me: With Zambrano, Marmol and Silva, Pena now makes it four Carloses on the Cubs roster. How cool is that?








Bulls are playing nice lately. Five straight W's and a 14-8 record thus far. I can dig it.

My league in Hutch is back from a two-week hiatus. After losing our first game, we shellacked our opponent in Game 2, 64-18. We take our 1-1 record into tonight's 7:00 game with certain signs of rust.

I will try to blog again before Christmas, but in case I don't...uh, it's Christmas time! I love Christmas. Everything about it. The music, the shopping, the decorations, the spirit. It's all just so fun. I'm literally, well...a kid at Christmas.

I still have most of my shopping to do, but I'm looking forward to it all.

I'm planning to buy myself a new (big) TV on the 23rd. Merry Christmas to me! But you can still buy me stuff, if you want.








Also, I'll be making my first ever (voluntary) student loan payment at some point this week. Big step! And planning to penny-pinch like crazy in January/February, in hopes that I can buy me a new vehicle (ahem, truck?) around March or shortly thereafter.

But in the meantime, trying my darnedest to take things one step at a time.

Next step: Cookie.

Merry Christmas and Happy Blogging,
Derrick

PS, I'd like to share this song with you. Heard it for the first time a couple weeks ago, and it's fun. You may not like it the way I do, and you'll have to pause my already-awesome music on here, but I'm sharing anyway.

No Girls Allowed. Unless you're cute. Then it's fine.

It's been a month since I blogged, so this one will be pretty random (not that most aren't)...until I can hopefully get back into the flow of things here soon.

Stuff and things...
- Got a job. This isn't exactly news, but I haven't told a ton of people. So it might be news to you.
- Decided to go with the pink on the layout for a few weeks--in spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness and all that jazz. Don't judge.
- At my pre-employment physical, Doc told me despite working out upwards of 10 times per week, I am 37-49 pounds overweight. Beyond depressing. Bright side: I'd bet everything I own that I could still outrun the guy, despite being twice his size.
- Today marks 7 months with no pop. And yes, I miss it

Sports stuff...
- Cubs are done. Bad, bad year to say the least. As per the Cubs motto: There's always next year.
- Pretty Prairie football is now 5-0. At Greensburg this week. I've never been, should be cool.
- Bulls PF Carlos Boozer out 6-8 weeks with broken finger. Ugh.
- Been playing a lot of touch football lately. Decent workout, kind of fun.
- Bears are 3-1. But that loss was uglier than...well, something that's really ugly.

Girl stuff...
- Took a bit of a risk the other day. Stepped out on a limb. Branch broke. Failed miserably. Metaphor.
- Talked to neighbor girl yesterday. Longest talk in ages. NG = girl ma thinks I should marry. Eye roll.
- My good buddy Bacon & I plan to start a club, build a fort, etc. "No girls allowed" signs, the whole 9. Seriously, y'all are a crazy bunch of ninnies sometimes. But I still love ya. [though sometimes I forget why]

Quote of the day:

"If you want to be loved, be lovable." - Ovid

Derrick

It's not. Ranting if. I use. Short sentences.

Front page:
Hello, world. Been awhile.

Friend's wedding today. I want one.

I think I wanna get married on a Tuesday morning. Three kids. Maybe two. What's that? Gotta get a date first? Oh.

Haven't read much recently. Boredom problem.

Haven't written much lately. Idea problem.

Haven't run much either. Knee problem.

Hope to fix all these soon. Though the latter will be tough.

Breaking News:
Um, JENNIFER NETTLES! Sorry for the outburst. There is no story here. I just like her. The idea of having her babies has been floated about.

Tuesday is important. But I'm not telling you why. Just know that it is.

Obituary:
Joel Strohl, Pretty Prairie, KS. Small town, big deal. Rest in peace, Mr. Strohl.

Sports section:
Hometown fellas won 50-nil Friday. Hooray.

Jayhawks lost 6-3 Saturday. Bah.

Cubs are still terrible.

Bulls still look promising.

Bears look...eh.

Comics:

I need to write again soon. If only for my own mental stimulation. I'll do my best.

Until then.

Cheers,
Derrick

Bookworm, sports nut, overall weird dude.

First things first: Remember this blog? Needless to say, it took me forever to really start reading. I finally cracked open Hit and Run this past week--and finished it in last night, taking approximately 5 days (+/-). Real good book. It was the third and final tale within a series of books about Lawrence Block's protagonist, Keller--an ironically likable hit man. Fun story with several twists and turns, and a fun ending.

I'm still finding it too difficult to dive into Wild at Heart, a book gifted to me from my best friend--who no longer speaks to me. So it's back on the shelf for now. Heart-wrenching bookmark and all.

So the current pick: The Testament - John Grisham

This is just one of at least 6 unread Grisham books on my shelf. If I like it enough, I could very well have a very Grisham summer, 2010. We shall see. Ideally, I'd like to try and knock out a book a week for as long as possible. At current pace, should be an OK goal.


Moving on: Helluva sports day. I mean, epic. I mean, so much so that even if you're not all that interested in sports, you should appreciate how big a sports day today has been. And if you don't, well...I probably don't have much to say to you.

World Cup: Team USA needed to win, or they were done. Correction, they could have moved on with a tie, but only if England tied and scored less than 2 in their game. Or something. Huge stakes. Knotted at nil-nil and knowing England had already won, the drama was intense. In extra time, Landon Donovan punched in the winner, sealing perhaps the most thrilling soccer victory in United States history. President Clinton was there, watching in person--in tears and had lost his voice. I'm just saying...


Wimbledon: John Isner, United States. Nicolas Mahut, France. If you don't know the names, you will. Or...check the record books in about 500 years and their names will still be there. Longest match ever. In the history of tennis. Ever. By far. Ever. In fact, the 5th set alone has lasted longer than the next-longest match ever. Oh yeah, and it's not over yet. Play was suspended today (again). They will resume tomorrow, having already played 9 hours, 58 minutes. The 5th set is tied 59-59. The only word I have to describe this: Superrinsanecrazyludicrousridiculousness!

Utterly ridiculous day in the world of sports...and the Cubs don't even play until 9:10 tonight.

Lastly, I have effectively managed to put my entire foot in my mouth on multiple occasions (same topic) already this week. But it needed to be done. It was something I was hesitant about, but decided to listen to the advice of a friend [Thanks, Brit] and go ahead with it. So glad I did, too. It's out of my hands now...big relief. Time to move on from that situation. Like I've said before--in regards to other topics--I've done all I can.


Happy reading,
Derrick

See what I see...

- I talk too much.
- I struggle finding things to blog about.

With these two things in mind, figured I'd try a new approach. A small look inside what I see. A bit of my world, through my eyes.

My BlackBerry.


My laptop. Go Cubs!


My still-too messy bedroom. "Believe"


My closet. Note: There are 4 other Cubs hats not pictured here.


Stepping outside my front door...


My dog, Pete [old pic].


A look back at the house.


My court--and the hillbilly clutter occupying it, courtesy of gramps.


My not-so quality car. Would much rather have a pickup truck. Someday. :)


Looking down the driveway, toward the road.


Short and sweet this time. That's it for now, y'all.

Don't forget to vote!

Thanks for stopping by,
Derrick

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

Who knew doormats could shoot?

Productive day. Just finished applying for 8 different coaching openings. Yeah, eight. And one other random job (for now) in the process. A process which has gotten really old. A different man might be battling severe depression in my current situation. But forget that, gotta keep on kickin'...

Sure, the Cubs got drubbed by the Diamondbacks today (13-5), which made part of the day go for naught; 'twas productive, nonetheless.

Last night: Basketball. I was hot. I mean, my shot was hot. You know, like, I shot really good and stuff (B.A. in English, folks...yikes). I've decided that I shoot decidedly better when I wear my orange Nikes--as opposed to my black Adidas' with the interchangeable color stripes. They're some ugly sneaks, but were free and as much as I like to look cool (read: attempt), I like raining Js better. So guess what I'll be rocking again tonight? Yup.

Moving on...I'd like to send a shout out to my good friend Britani Bruster. She's seriously the only person who lets me talk about me (about my ridiculous crushes on "forbidden girls"--her words--and otherwise). Sometimes, it's actually a little frustrating because she's stubborn and never wants to talk about herself--but that's an OK problem to have with a friend, I suppose. *chuckle*

My first song on here this time around is officially dedicated to all the people (girls in particular) who just like to rant on and on, after a quick hello to 'Derrick the Doormat' and don't even ask how I'm doing or what's up with me.

Don't get me wrong, I like being that guy who people/girls can go to with their problems. But seriously...always? I mean switch gears once in awhile at least, goodness. Or don't, it's whatever...

Funny thing: Most girls have NO idea they're even doing it--while they're doing it. So yeah, thanks Brit. :)

Whew. Sorry y'all. Soapbox section is now completed. In fact, been sidetracked by various conversations and whatnot, so this whole blog is now completed. Time to play some ball. Again. See you soon.

Fake right, go left, fade back, shoot the 3,
Derrick

Some stuff I like...

Howdy, y'all.

So...not sure how I've managed to never mention it before, but I am absolutely in love with the TV show Castle. It's officially my favorite show on TV--I recently moved it above 30 Rock and Family Guy. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out majorly. Give it a shot. Amazing stuff.


With that out of the way, on to some more of my favorite things. Well, people...

My favorite baseball and basketball players each made news this week.

Carlos Zambrano. Ace of the Cubs pitching staff has been moved to the bullpen. Since most my readers are not sports enthusiasts, I'll spare you--just know that this is a big deal to me. Normally viewed as a demotion, but hopefully it will help the club.

Joakim Noah. If you know anything about sports, chances are, you hate him. I couldn't care less. He's ugly as sin, but the dude is a winner--two traits I reckon we both share. *chuckle* He outworks anyone and everyone on the floor at all times, and he's not afraid to say what he thinks. I love it.


His latest comments were about the city of Cleveland, while playing the Cavaliers. He was asked his opinion of the city (not the team--we all know they're great), and he gave an honest answer, saying "It sucks."

He's annoying a whole city at the moment. So what? Few people in the country like him anyway. --excluding Florida Gator fans, people from New York City (where he grew up), people--especially girls--from France (where he's from)...and me.

The following is from the next day's press conference.


In case you're reading from a place in which you can't watch or listen to that clip:

When asked if getting booed bothered him.
Response: [Shakes head] "I was booed a lot. My whole life, I've been booed."

Then, asked if he regretted his Cleveland remarks.
Response: [Shakes head] "Not at all. [Pause] Do you like it? Do you think Cleveland's cool? I mean, I never heard anybody say 'I'm goin' to Cleveland on vacation.' What's so good about Cleveland?"

Hilarious.

Interesting week for some of my favorite things and people--so with nothing much else to discuss, thought I'd share...

Need a new sign-off,
Derrick

...it's hard to take a handout--and still feel like a man.

I'm back. Two nights in a row. It was a bland Friday night--but the Cubs won and there was lots of good stuff on TV tonight. *Sigh* I need a social life.

Actually, I'm pretty OK with my solitude most times... [Never thought I'd say that--I must be growing emotionally]... Or maybe people just bore me? That's got to be it. :)

Went for a run today--first time since my ankle injury. Got about 5 miles in. Felt surprisingly good until the last mile or so when my foot went numb. It happens. Shake it off and get back out there tomorrow--weather permitting.

With the ankle injury finally, almost, sort of, but not quite behind me, it's time to get back on the weight-loss trek. I've now gone 6 weeks without pop. Soda, if you prefer. Maybe that's part of the reason I didn't die running today? I miss it some, but still a long way to go...

Other habitual practices:

- I've done a really good job of not texting late at night since 2010 rolled around.
- I fell off the reading pace severely. In fact, I quit the book I was reading. It was good and I'll finish someday, but I think something fiction might pique my interest a bit more for now.

Tonight's task: Choose next book. *drumroll*

And the winner is: Hit and Run - Lawrence Block



I read Block's prequels to this one--Hit Man and Hit List--when I was in High School. The dude tells a compelling story. Owned this one for awhile, looking forward to cracking it open.

Runner up: Wild at Heart - John Eldredge



I've had this book for nearly 3 years. I read about 20 pages, but found it too difficult to get through--not because it has big words, but because of who gave it to me--my best friend. My goal is to suck it up, start anew and read it cover-to-cover once and for all before June 20 at 4:25 PM--which will be exactly 3 years after the date marked atop the handwritten letter that serves as its bookmark.

But first things first...a book about killing. How ironic is that? First, I'll read a book about people being killed. Then, a book about being saved. Neat, huh? *chuckle*

Do the right thing,
Derrick

PS--The title to this blog post [in case you don't have your speakers on or are viewing this from your phone] is a lyric from the newest song I've added to the blog--Easy to Love by Sons of William. Genius song. Love that line, too. Actually might not make a bad replacement title for my blog page itself. Hmm...

Have you not heard? It was my understanding that everyone had heard...

So the last two nights, I've stayed up much too late, watching baseball. Err, listening to [Vin Scully] talk. If you don't know who he is, you're missing out. Greatest. Broadcaster. Ever. No regrets. Ladies, if your voice sounded like Vin's, you'd never have to worry about a man listening to you ever again, guaranteed.

Also today (well, yesterday--it's after 2 AM now): Saw the girl my mom wants me to date again. *chuckles* That's going to be an annoying, yet recurring thought.
...but with no real prospects, the notion is at least entertaining--which is admittedly kind of lame.

Other nonsensical gibberish: Been thinking lately about changing the title of my blog. Not the title of each post, but the "...flip-flops and jump shots." part. I think it fits me, but I've also had it up since I first started this site and wondering if it's time for a change. Any suggestions?

Sports News:
- Had a game in Wichita on Wednesday. We lost. I haaaaate losing! Next game: Sunday, 4 PM. We will win. Period.

- Bulls made it to the playoffs. Yay!

- Cubs are still struggling to string wins together, but getting better.
...Marlon Byrd is a stud! In case you haven't heard, the Byrd is the word.



Keeping this one short, so I'll try and write again soon.

Do the right thing,
Derrick

Between Twitter and a liar.

I am not a fan of Twitter. You are more than welcome to try and change my mind; I will be optimistic. Again. If anyone out there is on Twitter and knows much about it, please explain to me how it's different than a simple Facebook status update. Because so far, that--and the fact that people follow celebs to try and feel cool--are the only things I know about it.

That said, I'm giving it another try in an effort to get my blog a little more circulation and may even post a status--err, tweet, from time to time. So if you're on Twitter, feel free to follow me on there. Otherwise, it could take me awhile to find you (trying to avoid stalkerish tone). I've provided a link to the right of this blog. I'll post links to this site on there and vice versa. In a related note: I love circular logic!



Annoying news: Came across Stephanie's wedding website the other night. Oops. Curiosity killed the dumb guy, too, as further research proved that Stephanie and her soon-to-be husband were actually dating during the time she was still talking to me about getting back together, saying she still loved me, and so on. I knew it was probably soon after--had no idea the time frames actually overlapped. How trifling is that?! As I told a dear friend earlier this evening, I honestly don't care. Don't miss the girl a bit, but...what motivates a girl to be such a bold-faced liar is beyond me. [Sigh] Oh well...

And girls, before you say anything--trust me, I know you're not all like that. I'm not the kind to lump you all together; no worries!

Here's where I take the high road, and quietly wish them well. And I do.

Other news:
- The Cubs won today! It was the Home Opener. Exciting game.
- Judging a High School forensics meet tomorrow. Absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Should be fun, although I'm a little nervous. Those poor kids...

Quote of the day:
"Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind." - Austin O'Malley

Do the right thing,
Derrick

A word to the wise...

In case you couldn't tell, I made some more changes to the site (again). I felt the last version was a little too dark, and with summer around the corner, thought I'd lighten it up a bit. Any thoughts? Share 'em.

For now, though, I'll just try and catch you up a bit on a few things that have happened since my last blog:

March 27: 3 on 3 tournament in McPherson went off without a hitch. My team lost in the semifinal to a team we'd already beaten--and we'd also beaten both teams who played in the Championship game. Needless to say, we coulda, shoulda, woulda...

April 1-2: Did some praying--and lots of it. I won't go into details here, but a scary situation involving a very good friend of mine...

April 2-4: Prayers seem to have been answered. Thank you, Jesus.

April 5: Cubs Opening Day! Easily my favorite day of the year. YAY!!
...3 hours later: Cubs lose, 16-5. I hate baseball.
...3 seconds later: I don't mean that.

April 7: Basketball game in a league in Wichita. Another win, now 2-0. I love winning.

April 8: Saw the girl my mom thinks I should date. Makes me laugh every time I see her. Not in conniving way--she's actually a terrific girl--just in an "Oh goodness, my mom has a legitimate opinion on my social life; I must have issues" kind of way.

Results from most recent poll:

Question: How did you meet me?
College: 5 votes (31%)
Other: 5 votes (31%)
High School: 2 votes (12%)
Basketball: 2 votes (12%)
Family: 1 vote (6%)
Through a friend: 1 vote (6%)

I dunno what to make of the five 'other' votes, but the 16 total votes is the most I've had on a poll so far. Shooting for 20+ votes on a poll one of these days.

Quote of the day:
"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby

Do the right thing,
Derrick

I have no title for this. McPherson and stuff.

I am now less than 14 hours away from playing basketball at my favorite place ever.
- If not for basketball, I would have never left this place.
- If not for basketball, I would have never found this place.



Safe to say, emotions are running rampant. Despite being cut from the team shortly before our first game and being forced to transfer [KWU debacle, circa 2005] in order to pursue my dream of playing college basketball in an actual game--I have nothing but fond memories of both McPherson the town and the college. I love it there.

-- The ankle is feeling better-ish. I ran on it for the first time on Wednesday. It's still pretty sore, and for an idea of what colors still appear on my foot and ankle, [click here]. Neat, huh?

But it's playable and shouldn't be as difficult in a half-court, 3-on-3 setting as Wednesday's full-court pickup ball was. Here's hoping...

Other topics:

- Had a lengthy blog written the other day, posted it and quickly removed it due to its controversial nature. Apologies to anyone who saw it and clicked, only to see it'd been removed.

- 10 days away from my favorite day of the year--Cubs Opening Day! You could say I'm excited.

- Effectively limited everything I look for in girls down into one specific trait--nerves. If I get nervous while talking to a girl, very good sign. If not, probably not a chance. Not sure why this never occurred to me, but I feel like I've stepped on a gold mine. Eureka!

- I'm really curious what everyone thinks of the new layout. I received an e-mail from Blogger, advertising its new features and felt like trying something new again. Any feedback is appreciated--as always.

Quote of the day:
"Worry often gives small things a large shadow." - Swedish Proverb

Word of the day:
criterion - Singular of criteria. Used it (in the flow, I might add) in the aforementioned deleted blog and wanted an excuse to throw it in here, too, because I've always liked the word. So there.

Do the right thing,
Derrick

My Birthday Wish List

Birthday's tomorrow. Just for kicks, here are the things that top my wish list--not necessarily in this order.

1. A nice-looking damsel.
- Long hair
- Long legs
- No drama
- No baggage
- Age 20-30
- Really hot set of...morals.

2. A head coaching gig.

3. A new car. Well, truck.

4. New Basketball shoes. Adidas, size 13.
- Like this.

5. Anything Cubs
- Tickets
- Hats. Size: XL; top 2 choices: 1. This one. 2. This one.

6. Eric Church tickets
- Wichita, KS; March 26

7. New baseball glove. Big one.

8. Lose 32-36 lbs. OK, that one's on me. Ready, go!



While I'm posting...results of most recent poll:

Question: How do you interact with me most?
Facebook/MySpace: 8 votes (53%)
Text/On phone: 5 votes (33%)
In person: 1 vote (6%)
Don't know you/Random reader: 1 vote (6%)

Not surprised at this, but a little disappointing. I'll try to fix this; need to reach out a bit more to my people, I guess. ;)

Yay for pointless blogs,
Derrick

More blog changes, additions.

Though I said I'd try and refrain from blogging until I finished my current book, I've fallen off pace a bit--so I'm back.

This will be more of a transitional blog than anything, as I don't really have anything substantial to discuss this time.

As I'm sure you noticed, I finally got some music up and running on my page, along with a new poll question.

Results from previous poll:

How often do you read my blogs?
I read occasionally--7 votes (58%)
I read every single one--3 votes (25%)
I read frequently--2 votes (16%)
This is my first time--0 votes (0%)
Stop writing, it all sucks--0 votes (0%)

Would've liked a better outcome--especially in vote totals, but also in regards to a more favorable result. But oh well. Hoping to get more votes with the next question.

Here goes nothing. It's a simple question (top right) regarding what kind of interaction you may have with me. If you aren't pleased with whatever your answer is, feel free to fix it. :)

Randomness...

My sports week:

- Pretty Prairie Bulldog boys basketball team lost to an inferior Peabody team last week. It happens, only one game--the team will be fine, I'm sure. Still, I continue to hold my tongue on certain opinions--but, uh, yeah...

- Cubs signed outfielder Xavier Nady today. Eh.

- Bulls rumored to possibly be trading Kirk Hinrich to Lakers. I might just have to cry if this happens. I played against Hinrich back in 2003 in the KU Barnstormers game in Hutchinson, KS. 17 points, 5 threes. His hand hit my nose on one shot. Slapped me on the butt and said "good shot" on the way by. Highlight of my basketball career. Well, not the butt slap part--the game itself.

Anyways, let me know what you think of the tunes. I can make it so that it doesn't auto-start when you arrive. Something tells me more people would prefer that, but I'll leave it as is in the meantime...

I'll probably have a Valentine's blog coming out soon--or maybe a Black History Month blog? Or maybe someone else has an idea?

Either way, until next time...

Do the right thing,
Derrick

[insert holiday fire joke here]

This blog will be short and sweet. Not sweet like in a tasty way--like candy, though. Mmm, candy...wait, where was I? Oh yes...

In the spirit of the New Year, new beginnings, habits and whatnot, I've begun reading again before bed each night. Hopefully I can keep this trend up. The current book of choice was actually a Christmas gift from mom in 2008. Only on page 60, but very gripping book so far...


For those of you who don't know, here's a short summary:

Pat Tillman was a star football player for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. After 9-11, he decided to give up millions upon millions of dollars playing professional football, and join the Army Rangers. He was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. The circumstances leading up to--and following--his death are perhaps more intriguing than his story itself.

Other bits of randomocity:

- Happy New Year to you, too, Mr. Fireman: Hung with my friend Teri at her place in Wichita. Big fire in her complex forced everyone to evacuate, and sit around waiting for about 8 hours on firefighters to do their jobs. Quite the ordeal for those involved. I'd personally been there before (see: Christmas Eve house fire--2002), and actually felt a bit guilty not having much at stake this time around. But alas, New Year's 2010 was memorable, if nothing else.

The moral: You should probably never invite me to hang out with you on a holiday--your place of residence will more than likely catch on fire.

- Someone just gave me the Byrd: On December 31, my Cubbies finally got themselves a center fielder--Marlon Byrd. Welcome to Cub nation, Marlon.

- Just call me Mr. Productive: I did not spend way too much time today editing my blogger layout, only to end on one that I'm still not sure I like enough to keep. OK, yeah I did. *Sigh*

- ...or Mr. Sneaky: Let's see if you notice a difference, a subtle nuance, if you will--in this blog. I'm probably not as sneaky as I think. Still, indulge me, won't you?

- I kind of want to say something about _____, but I can't (or won't): _____...see? Told you.

Anyways, I'll try to write something more substantial soon. Until then...

Do the write thing,
Derrick