Childish Games

I typically look down on these sort of things as silly, annoying things, but must admit that I enjoyed reading both Dana's and Lynn's enough that I feel that I should do one too.  It's like how I feel about Facebook: I don't like it, but in the Judd Nelson from Breakfast Club kind of way where you just rip it because you rip on everything.  Plus, I've held out this long...why cave at 27 when people my age are starting to quit on Facebook?  But I digress, I'll do the 25 things because I don't want to hold out just to hold out and be all Judd Nelson on you all (the 3 people that may or may not look at this thing).

1.  One of my favorite things to do is hide behind doors or walls and jump out and scare Dana.  Childish, yes.  Hilarious?  Without fail.

2.  When I do activities such as shaving, brushing my teeth, putting away a dish, etc...my off hand (usually my left) takes on a claw shape and is raised to stomach level unconsciously.  I can't tell you why, but Dana has noticed and takes a lot of pleasure in making fun of it.

3.  I love my dogs, especially Pistol.  He has the purest heart, and a somewhat slow brain.  He's an outside dog, which means he stinks.  Dana says this is why she won't snuggle him.

4.  My favorite movie is The Godfather.  And the difference between it and other classics is that it still stands up.  I won't even debate someone that this isn't the best movie of all time.

5.  My TV intake is getting out of control.  I'm ill right now that season 2 of Mad Men isn't available yet because I REALLY want to see it.  A week for our home isn't complete without Michael Scott, Desmond Hume, or the many sad, sad girls from The Bachelor.

6.  That's another thing, my intake of really girly shows has increased as expected by living with Dana.  But she doesn't seem to mind as I tear these women to shreds.  Side note, I know it's blasphemy to criticize reality show stars from Alabama, but this list must be made:

a) the old looking lady from this year's Bachelor is as creepy as I've ever seen.  I'm sorry about her husband, yes.  That said, her "sexy voice" makes me extremely uncomfortable, and she looks like an alien to me...a really old one.

b) Bo Bice? Really "heavy metal" of you to go on American Idol.  And by the way, thanks for that song that is still stuck in my head.

c) Taylor Hicks?  I didn't watch because of you.  An embarrassment.  

And yes, I acknowledge that I'm the only person in this state that feels this way, but come on!  We're the state of Hank Aaron, Bear Bryant, Bo Jackson, Harper Lee, et al.

We're a little better than this...kind of.

7.  I love my friends.  We're that group that stayed friends since we were kids like you'd see in a movie.  

8.  I knew Dana and I were right for each other when we went to a movie together the first time.  I sheepishly asked her if she wouldn't mind sneaking in some candy (and by 'some' I mean like 3 pounds worth) in her purse.  She not only agreed, but squealed with joy at the idea.  She, however, doesn't like the new development having to sneak in fountain drinks in her purse for me.

9.  I take my coffee like a complete sissy.  Sugar and cream until it looks like a white russian.

10.  My favorite band is Counting Crows, and this is usually met with either intense approval from a fellow fan or condescending "Didn't they put out that Shrek song?  They suck."  I won't apologize, they're combination of music, lyrics, and harmonizing is as good as it gets for me.  Listen to Anna Begins, and tell me your heart doesn't break, I dare you.

11.  This is about Dana, but she didn't tell you that her cooking show was called "Now We're Cooking" and I'm laughing as I type this.

12.  My name is Michael Kent Jackson which led to many anxious moments at the beginnings of class where I knew they would call role and everyone would laugh at the guy with the freakshow's name.  I've actually had nightmares about this.

13.  I can't help but love Michael Jackson's music though.  If I could see one music act in their prime, it would be him.

14.  I endured only one heartbreak (2003) as a Red Sox fan, making me a quasi-bandwagon Sox fan.

15.  I endured years of heartbreak as a Celtics fan, making me a beneficiary of their rebirth rather than a bandwagon fan.

16.  To Dana's irritation, nothing makes me angrier about pop culture than when an "average at best" woman is presented as a  "hot babe."  I'm talking about you, Sarah Jessica Parker.  Of course, the worst case of this in history is Serena Williams.  The mere sight of her makes me angry now...and scared she's going to attack me.

17.  As I've been studying Emerson, I'm finding myself to have a lot of common ground philosophically with him, and that is upsetting.  But we're both optimists, hopefully that is where it will end.  Because, you know, he was sort of a fruitcake.

18.    I still dine out on the fact that I was voted "Wittiest" in high school.  Graduating class of 45 people.  That's right.

19.  I am the only person in the world who does not care for Tina Fey.  

20.  My favorite group of minorities is Asians.  They are the most polite.  Even when most people would point to their difficulties in traffic, I say they aren't doing it on purpose.  Honk at them, and they give you a deferential head bow and hand wave.  That's all I ask.  Honk at any other group, and you may get a finger, a swerve into your lane, or end up in a fist fight.   

21.  A list of my heroes would include Vince Vaughn.  He's like Springsteen.  Not much range, but he's perfected what he does do.  

22.  I'm a flag football All American.  I feel funny about this, like I'm the best of all the non-athletes.  Do you brag about this?  

23.  Until there was Dana, I was terrible with women, and had no game at all.  We watch "The Pickup Artist," and while I wasn't as bad as them, I was/am just as clueless as some of them.  I still cringe when I think of my freshman year of college.

24.  My drink is Scotch and water.  

25.  Dana is my very best friend, and while I try not to talk too much about it and put people off, it is a fundamental truth of my life and direction in life for me.  Dana is the best thing I have, and I've got a lot of good stuff in my life.

I Was Tagged!

A couple of my friends tagged me to write 25 random things about myself on Facebook, but I didn't really want to put that on Facebook because (1) it would push me to actually blog on here, and (2) this way, only a few faithful friends will read it. Here goes . . .

1. I love cats, and my favorite pet ever was Kissyfur. I doubt she'll be replaced in that category. I've never really wanted a dog, but I've married into owning two big dogs--Pistol and Grits. I've never really warmed up to them, but Kent and I took them on a long walk today, and I felt some semblance of loving pet ownership. Big step.

2. I'm obsessed with the show LOST. It used to annoy me because everyone who watched it was so crazed. Then Kent and I rented all the DVDs and I've become that person who begs others to start watching it and counts down the days until Wednesday nights.

3. I've only been married for about 6 months, but it's the best. It's better than I even thought it would be, and I'm so glad. Kent is the best and we have so much fun just hanging out.

4. I've always wanted to be a writer, but I can't think of a single thing to write about. That may explain my trouble with this blog.

5. When I watch group performances, i.e. dancing, singing, or a combination of both, I either cry or get a huge lump in my throat.

6. Kent beats me ruthlessly at Scrabble 99% of the time...literally. I've had to stop playing for a while because it was making me angry.

7. I wish I had a career direction and an actual, specific job like nurse or lawyer or teacher. I'm beginning to see jobs as just a way to make money to avoid the pressures of finding the "perfect job." It eludes me.

8. I wear black a lot. Not on purpose to be gothic or something, but I just end up in it a lot. In high school, I had a friend who pointed this out to me, but I never really cared. I wore it today actually.

9. I've become a Food Network junkie. I wish I had a house with a constantly clean kitchen, filled with every kind of ingredient so I could make all the things I see on TV. Huge confession--when I was little, I talked out loud while I made cookies and stuff, pretending I was a TV chef. This makes Kent laugh....a lot.

10. I never get tired of watching Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or Troop Beverly Hills. They make me so happy.

11. I'm addicted to candy.

12. I've never had the chicken pox.

13. Since my maiden name was Garcia, everyone always thought I was of Mexican heritage. Actually, my great grandparents came from Spain.

14. I hate saying song titles aloud. Weird, I know, but it just sounds so awkward out of context of the music.

15. I miss the caf at Samford. Two words: frozen yogurt.

16. I love thunderstorms and prefer cloudy weather to sunny weather...unless I'm at the beach.

17. I love the ocean and wish I could go to the beach about once a month. I grew up going to a small town in Florida called Panacea for summer vacations, and it's one of my favorite places in the world. I miss it and vow to take Kent there someday soon.

18. My wedding day truly was the happiest day of my life.

19. I love Alabama football games. I'm already counting down to next season, and that's something I never thought I would say . . . about any team.

20. I was an obsessive student all through school, and I feel such relief every time I think about not ever having to take another test or write another paper. That being said, I probably need to go back to school.

21. I hate playing sports. Too much pressure and potential for disaster.

22. I'm an introvert...married to an extrovert.

23. I love mexican restaurants solely for the unlimited chips and salsa.

24. When I was little, I wished my parents would send me to boarding school. It always looked so romantic and fun.

25. I'm a homebody.

Ok, your turn. I tag Ashley, Lynn, Kent, Ellen, and Ann Wade.

Closing the Book on 2008

First of all, let me just say how nice it is to have Dana back on the team here at the blogspot.  Now if you'll allow me, I have to get a few things about the Sugar Bowl off my chest.

-I hated this match-up from the beginning because no matter what, you cannot motivate a team to play Utah unless that team is Boise St. or the like.  Granted, great teams motivate themselves no matter what, but I think that we showed we are not a great team, unless we have everything just so (meaning all of our pieces in place and run our gameplan just how we like it).  We are a good team, not a great team...by the way "great" is the most mis-used adjective in all sports media.  

-You can never overstate the importance of the offensive line.  UGA had a sub-standard season, given the hype coming in.  They also struggled in big games giving their quarterback time or their running back holes.  The reason:  their offensive line was mainly freshmen and sophomores.  Alabama by contrast had a terrific season because their quarterback was sacked only 12 times this season, and their running backs had large meadows of running room whenever they needed them.  We had three All-SEC linemen, one of which is going in the top 3 in April.  

The week of the game we lose our best lineman, shuffle things around, then lose our second best lineman in the first 5 minutes of the game...all of a sudden, we ain't the same team anymore and things are NOT just so.  JP got sacked 8 times, threw two picks, and fumbled once...sounds like 2007 to me.

It reminded me of that scene in Bloodsport where Chong Li throws the blinding powder into Frank's eyes and then just toys with him for the next 5 minutes. 

losing the linemen was the powder in our eyes...only we didn't train with blindfolds on and somehow sense where their punches were coming from.  That movie is bullcrap!

-Utah was better prepared and better coached during the prep period.  Score after 10 minutes of gameplay: 21-0 Utah.  hmmm.  Their fist drive was something like what I would do to the computer on "freshman" settings in College Football 2002 for Playstation 2.  And that had nothing to do with our O-line.  After the 1st quarter, we settled in and held them to just 10 more points, but when I say "just so," I don't include down three touchdowns in that.  Alabama fans have known all year that our style can not depend on quick scores to get us back...it was always about pounding the other guys into submission slowly and winning by 10-20 points.  

-Utah was definitely better than us on Friday.  I just wish that if we were going to lose, it would have been more like the Florida game where we had no real excuse except we weren't quite there yet.  But then I ask myself, "Are you really there yet if things have to be 'just so' for you to win?"  The answer is yes if you won 12 times by making things that way for yourself.  

-One last thing, losing to Utah tasted like Poo Sandwich.

Now for more real life things, 2008 saw us get married and move into a nice little house.  It took the dogs to a new home as well and they got a dog apartment that far beats any shelter they've had in the past...got em a space heater in Nov.  

It saw Dana and I both do some "career experimentation."  It gave us many firsts like Christmas and Thanksgiving together, houseguests for a weekend, a vacation alone, SEC championship game, and our first fight as a married couple which of course Dana won (she is much smarter than me).  

It is important to me to look at life and try to only focus on the good and positive things, and there have been more than enough of those this year.  I feel really lucky most days, and on the days that I don't, I just think about how differently things would be without the people around us who've invested themselves in us.  And how rewarding it can be to invest back in them.  

Without getting too corny, I feel like that is the best lesson I learned in 2008: to continue to invest in people.  It feels good to have people believe in you.  And it feels good to give that to someone else.

For those that don't know, I'm going back to school in a few days with the objective being to become a teacher.  Any thoughts and prayers for us during this time will be appreciated.  Mainly for my study habits and our bank account.  

Also, for 2009, I resolve to play more basketball (to get into shape), to be a good student, and to play a practical joke, videotape it and post it online, kind of like this one, beware the language:

My favorite prank in their series.

Our Famous Nephew

Only the pride of aunt-hood could force me back to blogging.  After being shamed and ridiculed by Kent, Lynn, and various other friends for refusing to write, it was little Grant that caused my change of heart.  

Grant is our new nephew.  He was born two seconds after midnight on January 1, 2009, making him the first baby born in the new year in Atlanta!  My brother Michael has always had amazing luck and a knack for winning things, so this should come as no surprise to the Garcia family.  But it was still very exciting!  They won free baby food for two years, free diapers for a year, and major news coverage in Atlanta.  

Little Grant joins our other nephew Joseph and niece Caroline, and we have another niece on the way...due in March!  Maybe she'll be born on St. Patrick's Day.   

Kent and I love spending time with all our nieces and nephews. Kent especially enjoys playing any and all sports with Joseph, and Caroline and I are beginning to bond over ballet steps and baby dolls.  We can't wait to get to know Grant and Carly (to be born in March).

Here's the link to an article and video interviewing my brother and sister-in-law.  Isn't it funny how we still get so excited to see someone we know on TV?  

click here

In other news, one of my New Year's resolutions is to contribute to the blog...we'll see how that goes.  I have hope!  

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!