Tough Thursday Night for Washburn and Chiefs Plus First Home Soccer Game and Other Ramblings...

Tailgating Spot

Officially it feels like fall with the start of home football games at Washburn University. Thursday night started the home schedule for Washburn and it was a beautiful night. It also happened to be the first game of the season for the Kansas City Chiefs. We had a new spot to park our car, so Carrie took a picture of me in front of our car in our new spot. Much better location as it is directly in front of where we tailgate which will be nice for unloading, packing up, and having the car right there if needed.

Washburn football started the week prior on the road at Pitt State losing 34 - 7. Granted, Pitt State is ranked #4 so it was a tough game. We then played our first home game of the season against Missouri Southern and while it was close, we lost the game 30 - 23. We had a chance to win the game going down to the wire, but turned it over and it was all over.

Washburn Stadium

The weather was perfect for the first game of the season. It was good to catch up with friends who were tailgating and had not seen since the last game of the season last year. The tailgate started at 4 pm although Carrie and I both worked until 5 and got out there about 5:15 or so. Could not have asked for a better evening for tailgating and football.

Washburn is now 0 - 2 to start the season and we are on the road for our next game. We need to get a W on the road to get our first win of the season and put us back on track.

Beautiful Skies Did Not Help Chiefs

The same night Washburn was playing, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing. Kickoff for the Chiefs was a little later, so I was able to watch the end of the game after we got home. We were without Travis Kelce for the Chiefs game and it showed with KC losing 21 - 20 and starting the season 0 - 1. The last time the Kansas City Chiefs started 0 - 1 was in 2014 when we lost our season opener to the Tennessee Titans 26 - 10. We have only started the season 0 - 2 once in our history (1977) and I am hoping we do not repeat that this year. I have faith we will bounce back and get the next win. The rumor is that Kelce will return for week two, but we are a week out, so probably a little early, but feeling confident.

After two loses for my teams Thursday night, we went to the Washburn Women's Soccer game on Friday night. We had a good crowd for the home opener for Women's Soccer and we won 4 - 0. I am hoping to make it to more soccer games this year as we only went to one last year and it was toward the end of the season. The same night Washburn Volleyball played too which we also plan to get to some games this season.

I would be remiss not to mention that Kansas Football won Friday night. I was unable to watch most of the game, but I was tracking on my phone. Good start for KU and it is going to be fun to see how the rest of their season progresses.

Today is Sunday and although Chiefs played Thursday, I am looking forward to watching games throughout the day. I have had YouTube TV for a few years now and now that YouTube TV owns the rights to Sunday Ticket, I bought the package so I can watch all of the NFL games. Much to the dismay of Carrie, I will be able to watch football all day long. 

Enjoy your Sunday and have a great week! Until next time, happy sport watching...

Various rambling on a Sunday afternoon while watching the Chiefs and thinking of what to share...

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon watching pre-season Chiefs football and wondering what happened to the summer. Seriously, it feels like I blinked and the summer is over. Students move in next week on campus, classes start soon, and before we know it the year will be over. The post today is going to be more of a rambling post on a Sunday afternoon, so bare with me as I jump around on various thoughts.

Carrie leaves for Houston this week for about a week. I will hold down the fort and probably do some grilling. I need to start planning what I will cook while she is away. You may recall that last year Carrie went out-of-town and I did some grilling while she was away (see post) and I plan to do the same this time too. Last year I did grilling every day while she was gone. She will be gone about a week this time, so I might only grill on the weekend when she is gone... I have not decided yet. You might also recall that the last time she went to Houston on her own, she came back with COVID and I got sick too with COVID. Hoping that does not happen this time as that was horrible!

As we look to the fall season, we are hoping to find some time to do more camping. Ideally, I would like to get at least two more camping trips in before it gets cold. Last year we went out to western Kansas and had a great time, but it was also really cold at the end of October. We have King Biscuit Blues Festival coming up the first part of October, so hoping to get a camping trip in September in and then maybe one more in October. Sad we have only camped twice this year.

We have Washburn football that will be starting up soon too. Tailgating and we are thinking of traveling to watch the Ichabods on the road for at least one game. Fun to have this starting up again and I am looking forward to spending afternoons out watching football at Washburn University. It is always a fun time out on the campus following the game and catching up with friends. I am hopeful to have large gatherings at our tailgate spot this year and we might even break out the Firedisc a time or two.

Changing topics a little, my reading of books has slowed some. I am still reading at least once a day although some days it has only been a page or two. I need to pick up the pace and reading through the day. Right now, I tend to read only when I go to bed which means I am tired and can barely make it through a page before I put down my Kindle and call it a day. I am almost done with a book I have been reading for a few weeks now. It has taken me longer to read this one for some reason, so I plan to go back to some of my book series after I finish this current book.

I continue to fly my drone some days but with the heat we have had the past few weeks, I have not done nearly as much as I was after I first bought my drone. I continue to learn how to fly and how to respond in situations such as when the wind picks up and carries it away from me. I have not take many pictures with it since I initially bought the drone as I am learning how to fly and do so safely. I am also not taking it up high above the trees and instead keeping it at eye level as I learn to fly. Yes, I did lose one drone and quickly purchased a replacement, so it is a learning experience.

As we look at the semester starting, football season starting, and the weather starts to cool, I starting thinking about leaf cleanup for the fall. Thinking ahead, I bought a pack of bags for leaf pickup. The past few years I have called to have someone come out and do our leaves. I am planning to do this myself this year and I have purchased ahead of time the needed bags so I can get an early start once our leaves begin to fall. Not yet fall, but I have noticed some trees are starting to lose their leaves.

Enough rambling for a Sunday afternoon. Look for some posts next weekend about my grilling. Hoping to do some fun things while Carrie is away and it is always a learning process when I grill. Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.

Busy Saturday with NSO, Farmers Market, Mulvane Art Fair, and then Starting Working Out Again on Sunday... Good Weekend!

Carrie at Mulvane Art Fair

We had a busy Saturday which had us up early this morning. Carrie took part at New Student Orientation (NSO) at Washburn University. Got us up early to get coffee at Circle Coffee Co where they are starting to know our names as we are there at least once a week and sometimes multiple times in a week when Carrie has NSO to attend. Good way to start the day as I had coffee and then went to read while Carrie was working her booth for Learning in the Community (LinC). I saw a number of people that I knew and Carrie said many told her they saw someone not usually there on a Saturday hanging out.

Following NSO, we headed to pick up Greg and Erin and we went to the Downtown Topeka Farmers Market which was fun. We bought a plant for the front porch and had a fun time walking around looking at the different booths. We also picked up some breakfast at one of the booths. 

After the Farmers Market, we headed back to Washburn for the Mulvane Art Fair which was a lot of fun. Went around to each of the booths, Carrie found some ear rings, and we bought a painting. It was better weather than we thought we would have today so that was good although it was warm. We try to make it to the Mulvane Art Fair every year and we always try to buy something while we are there which usually is not difficult. Always fun to run into people we know at attending too.

Following the morning events, we decided to go have some drinks and find someplace to have lunch. We ended up in Holton, KS at Wilcox Brewing Company & Taproom where we have been previously. We had a fun time talking to the bartender and we spoke to the brewmaster briefly too while we sat at the bar. After a few beers, I got a growler to go and we went around the corner to The Cockeyed Pig Dive Bar & Grille where we had appetizers and both couples split meals.

We headed back to Topeka and had a low key rest of the afternoon which was good. What a fun Saturday that had us up early and I got in a nap during the afternoon once we got back home. Low key evening grilling some chicken and watching movies.

Sunday, the start of my routine of working out. I plan to start running on today or riding the bike which will probably be a combination of both. I want to get back to riding the bike as I have completely stopped since November 2022. Ouch! Went on vacation and never got back to the routine. It is time to start the routine and I plan to run or ride three times a week. It all starts Sunday, so I plan to update here on a monthly basis again with this being the first update that I am starting this process again. It is so easy to get out of the habit and difficult to start again. Here we go!

Have a great week and wish me luck as I start this process again...

Nothing to Say First Part of February… So Rambling Away I Go…

One of those weeks where I cannot think of anything to write about, so I see this as being a rambling post for this Sunday update. Let’s see where this takes me as I write.

We are already five days into February 2023. Hard to believe that January has come and gone. With Carrie being in the hospital in January (see Not a Fun Start to 2023), that made the month fly by and not in a good way. She finished up her last IV appointment this past weekend, but will be taking antibiotics orally for the next two weeks. She is doing well and I appreciate everything who has asked about her status since I did the update a few weeks ago on her hospital stay. Carrie and I will be happy once she is off of the antibiotics and the infection is completely gone.

Now that we are into the month of February, I find myself starting to wonder about our camping sites for this year. We have not made any plans, but we have begun to think about spots. We have thrown out the idea of visiting a camping site near an away football location for Washburn next Fall, but still discussing to see what would make sense and whether it would work out. I think we want to try some new places for our camping sites, but no decisions made yet. Hoping by March we will have some sites booked and planned out for the summer.

In about a month, we will have March Madness, but still a lot of basketball to play before the madness begins. We continue to enjoy attending home Washburn basketball games. We are 8-2 at home, but 1-8 on the road. We missed a few home games when Carrie was in the hospital, but we have been back to the most recent games. Our next home game is February 11 and only three more home games for the season for Washburn.

Kansas Jayhawks have been frustrating to watch here recently too. We lost three games in a row a week or so ago and we were swept by Iowa State this season. KU is 18-5 on the season but 6-4 in conference play. Frustrating to watch at times, but still a lot of season to play.

Baseball season is right around the corner. Recent news from YouTube TV is that MLB Network is gone from the service. While we have not had Royals broadcasts in a few years, I was able to watch MLB Network or even subscribe to MLB.TV through YouTube TV to watch games, but all of that is gone. Contract disputes between MLB and YouTube TV have the service removed. 

I have read a few thoughts from others that they think it will be renewed as Spring Training begins, but guessing that is not the case and lose it completely. While it makes sense it would be removed around this time as it was added a year ago at this time just before Spring Training was starting. I am surprised that only a one year contract was done between the two entities. Granted, I will be able to watch games that are on ESPN, TBS, etc., but it was nice to have all the games (except my local Royals) to watch.

I would be remiss if I did not share that the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl a week from today. I am a bit superstitious, so it will be interesting as we lead up to kickoff next week for the big game. Yes, I realize what I do has no impact on the outcome, but it makes me feel better and connects me to the team. So, get ready for the big game and hoping that two weeks of being off will give time for us to heal and be ready to play.

That is all the rambling I can do for today, so have a great week. 

First Game of Season for Washburn was Thursday, September 1 and We Had a Blast!

Flyover at Washburn

Washburn football started their season Thursday and we had a flyover. Low and slow the planes flew which was very cool! I believe they did this last year too. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Erin, she snapped some pictures before they flew away.

A beautiful night opened up the season with tailgating and football at Yager Stadium. Bright and sunny where it was actually very warm when in the sun, but a perfect night for football. Washburn was set to play Lincoln and won the game 45 - 3. In case you were wondering, Washburn won last year against Lincoln 76 - 12. 

Washburn at Sunset

I neglected to take any pictures Thursday night, but thankfully Erin got some pictures and then Carrie took this one of the sun setting on the clouds over the field. Beautiful! 

We picked up Subway for dinner along with some chips we picked up from the store. Tried to be healthy and not eat like a typical tailgate. I did have some beers, but kept it to Michelob Ultra and only a few of them, so I did pretty well overall with eating.

It was great to see so many friends and people out at the stadium. Carrie and I bought a parking spot this year, so we were able to try it out for the first time Thursday night. Worked out great and it means I do not have to run off to get the car as the game is winding down to pack up. Nice a close and worked out great! We have requested if another spot opens up in front of where we tailgate that we be moved, so I am on a list to be moved once a spot opens up for us.

Erin, Greg, Joan, and Eddie all came out to watch the first game of the season. What a great night! As the fourth quarter was coming to an end, I see my friend Matt walking up to join us. I had wondered if I would see him out at the game, so it was good to see him and chat with him for a while. 

Our next door “neighbor” for tailgating, Jonny, did not make it to this game. I did not figure he would as he lives outside of Topeka, but I chatted with him via text. Hopefully we will see him at the next home game.

Washburn plays next on Thursday, September 8 at Warrensburg, MO. I will be watching that game on-line and cheering on the Bods. We play our next home game on Saturday, September 17 which happens to also be Family Day.

Be sure to catch some of the other sports that are happening for Washburn. We are planning to go to the volleyball game on Friday, September 9. Always a good time!

Go Bods!

Working Out, Washburn Sports, Chiefs, Lawn Care, and Other Odds and Ends

My workout routine worked for about a week and then I stopped being motivated to get up early to ride the bike. This past week, I did not ride once and have today (Sunday) to get back on track. The previous two weeks, I was able to get up at 6 am and ride the bike. Tuesday and Thursday this week, my alarm was set, but I could not get up to start my ride. 

I plan to change it again this week and go back to working out in the evening instead of trying to so first thing during the week. I will revert to riding Tuesday and Thursday in the evening after work and I believe that will help me to stick to the plan. More on my progress in another week or two as I post a full monthly update for how it is going.

Yesterday, Washburn played in the first-round of the NCAA tournament. We had a fantastic season with some huge wins and great memories. Washburn lost yesterday 30 - 14 in the first-round. The season will go down as one of the greats in my memory. We now turn our focus to basketball. We actually missed the first home Washburn game yesterday as we were out at Johnny's Tavern to watch the Washburn game. I followed along on the basketball game and we won 90 - 47 over Baker.

This afternoon we have the Chiefs playing Dallas. We sit in first place in the AFC West. Not too bad after the first few weeks where no one was sure what was happening with our Chiefs. I am looking forward to the game and for a win over the Cowboys. Let's GO Chiefs!

Thanksgiving is this next week and it is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food and I cannot wait. This time of year is also when everyone is out doing their leaves. Our lawn, patio, driveway, and curbs were packed with leaves. I was going to do them, but they got out of hand, so I reached out to business I thought had shut down, but they continue to do lawn work and more importantly clearing leaves. On Tuesday, I called Green Boys LawnCare, Inc. and asked if they could add us to the schedule. They told me with all the wind, recent rain, etc., it might be a little bit before they could get to us. They got to us the next day. Yard, driveway, curbside, and back yard looked great... well, until the next day. More wind and now can hardly tell they were at our house. I told them when we spoke, it will probably be a two or three time visit for our house to clean leaves. So trees, now is the time to drop your leaves and prepare for winter.

Short work week, so enjoy your Sunday and a few days of work. Until next time...

October 16 Washburn Faced Off Against Northwest Missouri State University and We Won!

On Saturday, October 16 I went to a tailgate for Washburn University vs Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU). It was any normal Saturday and the third such tailgate of the season I had attended. Previous years, we would put up a good fight to lose to NWMSU whether at home or on the road. Not this day! This day, Washburn came away with a huge win! It will be one of those games that I remember forever. I have been attending Washburn football games for many years going way back to Javier and I first coming across tailgating and football on the Washburn campus one weekend some fifteen years (or so) ago. I have been going ever since.

Greg and I went to the game as Carrie was out of town with her Mom and sister-in-law, Erin, for a girls weekend. Greg and I got to the tailgate right about the time it was starting. It seemed like a lighter crowd than normal, but I supposed that was partially because of other football games going on at the same time or that afternoon. The weather was amazing! 60-70s for the temp and nice and sunny. We hung out for a while in the alumni tent where we had a hotdog and a few drinks before making it back to our tailgate spot by the flag pole. 

We saw a few of our friends at the game, but it was sparse in our corner for this game. To end the first quarter the score was zero to zero. I recall Greg and I talking and saying hey that is not bad at all to be tied at zero after a quarter of football. Sometime in the third quarter my father-in-law, Eddie, showed up to watch the game. He had been out playing golf on the beautiful morning, so it was good to have him at the game to watch this game with us. The second quarter finished up and we were up 3 - 0 at the half. Again, not bad at all considering who we were facing in this matchup. 

The third quarter was suddenly upon us and NWMSU scored a touchdown which put us down 7 - 3 but we came right back and scored a touchdown ourselves late in the third quarter. Again, we were all going crazy in the stands with high-fives and screaming. We were into the fourth quarter and we were feeling pretty good but knew it was nowhere close to being over. Sometime during the fourth quarter, our friend Matt showed up. He only lives block away from campus and he had been following on the radio. He said he had to get over to watch the game in-person, so we had four fans in our corner following and cheering for the Ichabods. 

Once again, late in the fourth quarter,  scores a a touchdown putting us up 17 - 14 with 48 seconds on the clock. We were all going crazy screaming, high-fiving, and there might have been some hugging, but again, we all knew it was nowhere close to being over. NWMSU turned it over on downs and punted back to Washburn with just a few seconds on the clock. Washburn being backed up to our own goal and only a few seconds decided to do a safety so we not have a chance of giving excellent field advantage to NWMSU. So, now the score is 17 - 16 with 5 seconds remaining on the clock. Washburn Football kicks the ball and NWMSU tries some trickery but to no avail and Washburn comes away with a huge win of 17 - 16 over NWMSU.

Our tailgate neighbor, John, who always has a huge spread for his tailgate, multiple tents, satellite TV, and is so friendly was over in our spot a few times during the game high-fiving and telling us this was the time we are going to beat NWMSU. As the final seconds ticked off of the clock, John was over in our area telling us he was going to rush the field when it ended and we won. Sure enough, as the clock ticked away to the end of the game, John moved inside of the stadium and was poised ready to run down the hill. There might have been some talk about taking down the goal posts, but his friends as well as us just laughed at him. If there ever was a good time to take down the goal posts at Yager Stadium, this was likely that time, but then what would we do with he goal posts? Where would we take them? Instead, we watched John rush down the hill following the 17 - 16 win and hug coaches, players, and possibly other fans. When he came back up the hill, he high-fived, hugged, and yelled celebration of the huge win. 

The last time we had beaten NWMSU, home or away, was back in 2004 I believe I heard mentioned. We did all of this with a backup quarterback as Mitch Schurig had gone out in the very first play of the game. Kellen Simoncic came into the game and did an excellent job of leading us to a win. Our whole team played well that day and it was exactly what we needed to knock of a 5 - 0 (at the time) powerhouse of NWMSU. It will go down as one of my all-time favorite memories of Washburn Football.

Next, we have homecoming on October 30 and then only one more home game on November 13. Who knows, at 5 - 2 on the season, we could see the postseason… but that is a bit early to speculate at this time. Until then, we will enjoy the games and keep cheering on our Washburn Ichabod Football team. Go Bods!

Fun Filled Weekend with Thursday Night Washburn Football, Larry Carlton Friday, and Chiefs Sunday

Washburn Home Football

I had some fun this past weekend with football, good food, drinks, and fun with family and friends. It started Thursday night with the first home Washburn football game. We played Central Missouri for the second game of the season for Washburn where we won 29 - 10 improving on the year to 2 - 0.

It felt good to be out for a tailgate again after a year of being away. A good turn out for the first home football game. I saw a lot of familiar faces and camped out in our corner by the flag pole. Our long-time tailgate friend Jon was set up next to our spot. It was good to see him talk to him for a bit after the game started and of course as he started breaking down his spot, we had a good conversation and looking forward to the rest of the home games.

Washburn did not look great, but we did what was needed and won the game. I enjoyed being in our corner to watch the games. Yes, in case you are wondering, we have season tickets, but I cannot recall the last time I went into the game. Javier and I were trying to remember when we started going to Washburn games to tailgate and we think it might be around 15 years at this point. I called him from our spot as he was down in Texas and always brings back good memories of being in our spot enjoying a football game. 

Bright and early Friday morning, I took Oliver over to Brenda to watch while we were going to be gone for a concert. Oliver always has a good time over at Brenda’s house. We have to be careful when we say he is going over there to see Emma and Toby because he will start running around the house ready to leave. He is so funny though as he is so excited to get over there and then they really do not do anything together. When they go outside, Toby and Oliver will run around a little, but no real playing. Oliver just likes being around them to be around something different than just Carrie and I all the time. 

When I left, the sunrise was low in the eastern sky and looked like a fireball coming up over the horizon. The picture does not do it justice as it was impressive as I was driving down 21st Street to head to work. It was a good way to start the day although sad to be leaving Oliver behind, but I knew he would have a good time.

I worked a half day on Friday so that we could get to Hutchinson, KS that afternoon. Eddie had bought the family concert tickets to Larry Carlton who was playing at Fox Theatre. We had a great time eating dinner Friday night at Polo Bar and Grill. We had a good time eating before the concert and turned out to be a really nice spot to eat. Popular with locals, from what we could tell, and the food was really good! We were going to eat after the concert, but decided it would be too late and not sure if places like Polo Bar and Grill would have their kitchen open. We did not want to eat at a chain, so it worked out nicely for us.

The Fox Theatre was fun to see. I think I had heard about it when Uncle JR and Aunt Marcia would talk about Hutch, but I do not think I had ever been there. For COVID, it was not capacity seating, so everyone was spaced out and we ended up spacing out even further as there were lots of seats/rows open around us as they were taking the precautions about being masked and not close to one another seriously.

Seeing Larry Carlton in concert was so fun! The first note he played on his guitar and I knew it was going to be good. I had listened to some of his songs prior to going to the concert, and I knew about Steely Dan, although seeing Larry Carlton in-person was so much better. I know through many of the songs Friday night, my head was bobbing up and down, or my foot/leg were bouncing up and down in rhythm to the music. 

Sometimes there are evenings, or days, that I wish would not end and this was one of those trips. I felt sad as we packed up and left to head back to Topeka on Saturday. We did have lunch at Pizza Ranch before we left for Topeka, but then I was sad and full, so Eddie offered to drive and I slept the whole way home. What a great weekend and so good to be out and about.

Today is Sunday and ready to watch the Kansas City Chiefs today at 3:25 to start their season. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a great week!

Studying, Piano Lessons, and Remembering Childhood Piano Practicing

Text Book for Piano Class

I have enrolled in a piano class this semester.  We recently received the piano from Carries' parents.  It is very similar to the piano I used when I was young.

The book we are using in the class is the "PianoLab: An Introduction to Class Piano".  I almost forgot I had to order the book as I had checked on the class before the semester started, but did not see the book listed.  I checked again this past weekend and realized I could find the book listed under "Find My Books" of our campus portal.  Sure enough, there was the book listed for the class.  A few short Amazon searches and we had a book in-route to our house for class that started Wednesday night.

When I was young, I took piano for many years.  I took the Suzuki method of piano.  I started in grade school and from what I remember I took it all the way through junior high.  In fact, when Carrie asked me how long I took lessons, I think I told her it was for 12 years.  That might have been an exaggeration... it just felt like it went on forever.  With the Suzuki style of piano, I did not learn to read any music.  It was all memorization.  Well, at least through the first couple of years of lessons.  I think at some point, the lessons did try and teach us to read music, but being a kid, it was not something I was too interested in learning.

Mom and I had a lot of "fun" learning new pieces.  Of course, she struggled to get me to practice and then we struggled through my memorization of the piece.  I remember my dad being in the family room watching TV while mom and I struggled through lessons for the night.  I am sure dad enjoyed hearing the piano played while he was trying to watch TV.  My mom recalls at a summer workshop that I was attending that the teachers finally realized after years of my taking lessons that I could not read music.  I think I blocked that out as I do not remember it at all... or the ability to read music!

So, I have started this new class.  We had our first class, as I mentioned, on Wednesday night.  We are starting with the basics.  Posture, hands, keys, how the peddles work, and much more.  This was all on our first night of class.  We have homework to do for our next class Monday night.  It did bring back memories of some of the Saturday morning workshops with my piano teacher when I was little. Memories of going through treble and bass and trying to memorize the lines and spaces.  Memories of the "Every Good Boy Does Fine" or Good Boys Do Fine Always" to help you remember those lines and spaces on the treble and bass clef.  Ah, the memories when I was young and not caring whether I learned it or not.  Not, the goal is to learn how to read music and then be able to sit down and play at a piano from any book that I pick up.  Now, I am not saying I want to be able to sit down and play perfectly as I recognize that it takes practice to be able to play a song; I would like to be able to simply sit down and play a song with both hands from start to finish.

When asked in class about treble or bass clef, yeah, I could not remember the notes each represented. I could though recall where Middle C was located. So that was good to know I at least remembered that much from my young years taking piano.  Everything else from those early years, while it  sounded familiar, were no more clicking in class Wednesday night then they did when I was in lessons years ago.

The intent this weekend is to spend about two hours studying for class Monday night.  Learn the treble and bass clef well enough to be able to look at the staff and recognize the individual notes.  I think I can handle that without too much trouble. After all, I do not want to embarrass myself in class on Monday when we are asked to go to the board and mark the notes.  I did leave my notes from class at the office, so I will need to stop by the office to pick those up and make sure I cover everything.  I also plan to sit down at the piano in our house and try out a few of the items we did in class Wednesday.

Wish me luck in my class and maybe in a future update there will be a sample of what I am playing.  I am excited to be taking lessons and I want to make the most of this class.

First 10K in May, Other Races, and Motivation

Signed up for my first 10K in May. I will be running in Boulder, Colorado for the BolderBoulder. I cannot wait! I am having a difficult time getting motivated to start this year with running. I miss running outside and cannot wait for it to get warmer so I can be outside running.

I signed up for the gym at Washburn and have only managed to get there once since I signed up. I know that is sad! We have a treadmill in our basement, so I use that when I do workout. Last summer I was managing to workout (run) 3 - 4 times a week. Since about November, I have only been managing to do 1 - 2 times a week and sometimes taking a week or two off before running again. Since the start of the year, I have been running 1 - 2 times a week, but intend to increase that rate.

I know that I will run in at least three 5K's this spring/summer. The Trolley Run in Kansas City was one I did last year and had a great time. The Washburn Alumni Fun run which is in the Fall is another one that I will do towards the end of the running season. Sometimes in July, you can count on seeing me at the Fiesta 5K. So, I have my targets lined up and the motivation is starting to build.... in my head. Now to put the motivation to work and get me running on a regular basis.

Over the next few months, I do plan on getting to the SWRC at Washburn at least once a month. I plan to limit my calorie (beer) in take with the goal of dropping weight. Finally, I plan on running at least three times a week with a big mile push each Sunday as I get back into shape and use to running.

I hope your running and exercise is going as expected. Until next time... Happy running!

 

Washburn in Wild Cat Territory

As I was driving back from a Washburn Alumni event in Manhattan, KS, I decided I would try something new this year. After all, I am the new incoming president as of July 1, so I thought I would try to post a brief update following each Washburn event I attend as a board member. One thing this does is add additional content to my blog and helps me to post on a regular basis.

With a little background and what I hope to accomplish over the course of the next two years, here is a summary of what happened at the June 14, 2012 event in Manhattan, KS. I plan to do something similar for meetings, sporting events, After Hours, etc.

The first alumni event ever held in Manhattan, KS was at the Colbert Hills Golf Course. For the first event, we had a nice group show up from the Manhattan area. There were about twenty signed up to attend and although I did not count, I would say just about everyone showed up.

The room we were in for the event was perfect (The Founders Room). It was the perfect size for our get together. We actually pushed the two tables in the room together to make one large table so everyone could sit together. We had wonderful appetizers to eat as we visited with Washburn alumni from the area. President and Mrs. Farley were in attendance too.

After visiting and snacking, President Farley spoke to the group about various happenings at Washburn. He said how happy he was to have a alumni gathering in Manhattan, KS and that he hopes it continues into the future. He shared various news with the group and answered questions they had too. Following the get together I spoke to Susie who told me that they expect to do one alumni gathering in Manhattan each year. We hope the word continues to spread through the community and we keep getting more and more people.


 

Where Have I Been and What Have I Been Up To?

OK, so, this will start the process of me blogging again. I enjoyed it so much when I was doing it on a regular basis. I got into somewhat of a rut just posting about sports. While that will probably play into a lot of what I post about, I do plan on posting on a variety of other topics as well.



The last time I posted anything of content was Sunday, April 26. It was the weekend after the Spring Faculty/Staff golf tourney. What a great time! So much time and things have passed since the April day. I will try to recount some of those items in this long over do update.



The faculty/staff tournament back in April helped to kick off me playing golf. I had planned to play a lot of golf over the Summer and I feel good about the amount of golf I have played. July was the month I played the most golf. One week right before my birthday, I played 36 on one day, 27 on another, and 18 on one day. It as great!



I have also taken a lot of golf lessons. I received golf lessons from the Shirrons' last Christmas and I started to use those in June. I was having a problem with my right wrist hurting when I would play, but I took a lesson with Joey at the club and he helped me to the over swing I was doing and instead not take the club back as far. This helped my wrist a great deal. Now, I have having problems with my right elbow. I know, odd! So, I scheduled another lesson for September 1 with Joey for another lesson. He is going to watch my swing to see if he can figure out why my elbow would be hurting. It hurts to the point where after playing golf I cannot open doors, lift a glass of water, etc. This goes on for days and at this point is preventing me from playing much golf. Still, I love the game, the process, and the experience of playing a round of golf.



The Summer also brought the start of Men's League at Shawnee Country Club. I managed to put a team together for Men's League this year. It was a lot of fun and September 3 is the last day for the league. We did not win, but we had a lot of fun! It is so much fun playing each Wednesday with a different group of guys, drinking beer, talking, and then eating dinner afterwards. The experience is great and I encourage it for anyone. The women's group has been trying to get Carrie to play for two years, but Carrie still needs to get clubs and learn the game. I think she would enjoy it just as I do if given the chance.



This is our third year of belonging to Shawnee Country Club (SCC). For two years, my handicap has been above the mens maximum handicap, so I had a 37.7L handicap. Ouch! The "L" indicates that it is above the mens maximum handicap and it is a local handicap. Well, finally, after three years I am finally below the maximum and I am at 33.9. Ah, much better!



June was a fun month playing golf with my brother Tim. We had a great time playing in the SCC Member Guest Tournament. Tim and Jennifer stayed at our house for the weekend. We had a great time! While Tim and I did not win, we did have a good time! We smoked cigars just about every day (and night). We had a lot of beers! We also had a lot of good conversation! I plan to do it again next year. It was just good to have my big bro staying with me at my house. It was great to be able to get up and go to the golf course with my brother to play golf and know that all we would be doing for three days was play golf and be together. While Tim and I were playing golf, Carrie and Jennifer were able to spend time together too. They had fun shopping, going to lunch, and just lounging around the house doing nothing. We all had a fun time the last night, Saturday, with dancing and a full dinner. SCC did a great job with the event. It as my first of many and I was already planning at the end of the week to do it again next year. Good times!

July 4 weekend found us over at Robin and Scotts'. We had a great July 4 weekend. It was nice and long with the forth falling on a Friday. We actually saw someone light a firework in their hand and set it off. Later, Mike D, had to go to the emergency room to see if he fingers were broken. Nah, they were just badly bruised and still bleeding. The best part of the night was watching Scott and Carrie dance in the fireworks.

I am jumping around a bit, but after so much time what can you expect? We move into August and it gets extremely busy at work. Move in week for residential living, upgrade for MyWashburn, and working with new faculty, staff, and students as they start to use Washburn systems. It is now about to turn to September and things remain busy at work. The kind of busy where the day is ending and it feels like it just began. The types of days where you have to make it a point to get your lunch in or you will miss it completely. The only good thing is that the days pass by so fast you barely realize you have been slammed the whole day.

Turning to September also takes us into the start of college and NFL football. The Washburn Ichabods played their first game of the season yesterday. They played the Colorado School of Mines and kicked their butt 27 - 7. Good way to start the season. Carrie and I will miss the first home game next weekend as we will be down in Arkansas to visit family that we are meeting down there. We will make it to the September 12 game and it should be fun as it is a night game.

Well, I realized I forgot to mention anything that happened in May. I do not recall at this time what happened that month. If I happen to think of anything, I will be sure to post it. Other than that, rest assured that I am going to try and post a update at least once a week. I am going to set a reminder task so I get reminded of it each week.

Now, we begin the slow descent into the winter months. What a odd Summer it has been. We went to the lake on Friday and about froze in the water. Odd! We had a fun time and hope to be able to get out to the lake once more before winter hits.

Until I write again... Have a great week and I will be back on next week!

Basketball Thoughts through Monday Evening

What a weekend it was for Washburn mens and womens basketball. WU played Emporia State on Saturday and won both games. The men won 76-58 and the women won 78-52. Both are playing well coming down the stretch of the season and playing when it is the best time to be playing well so they can go strong into the post season.

The Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon did not perform well. They never got things going in the game against going in a 60-61 loss to Oklahoma State at OSU. This is the third loss on the season for the Jayhawks and about the forth or fifth time this season that they did not appear to be playing as a team. Nothing was clicking early on in the game and they certainly did not get their typical half where the team clicked. Nothing seemed to go well for them on Saturday. There was discussion that I heard about on Monday that it was caused by the death of cousins (or relatives) of two Kansas players; according to Coach Self, this took away from the focus of these two players on the game. If this it in fact the reason, perhaps those two players should have been left behind to deal with their grief.

Saturday night found the Kansas State Wildcats losing to Baylor. Beasley and Walker combined for seventy plus points and lost the game. I did not see any of this game, but looking at the stats afterwards it would appear that no one else showed up for the game except for Beasley and Walker. Scoring that many points between two players and not able to pull out the win; something seems wrong with this picture.

Tonight found Kansas State playing the Texas Longhorns on Big Monday at 8 pm on ESPN. It was overall a good game, but once again K-State could not close the deal. They let it get away from them late in the game while leading some of the first half and starting the second half tied. Beasley had a double-double in the first half to keep that streak alive. Meanwhile, Walker only had one point in the game. So I go back to ask what happened in the KSU vs. Baylor game? Seven-five points combined and then Beasley/Walker only combined for 31 points in this game which was another loss. What is wrong with this picture?

The next game for Kansas is Wednesday night and then next Saturday it is Kansas State vs. Kansas in Lawrence, KS. After the way these two teams have been playing, it is going to be a interesting weekend!

I have to point out that there are no undefeated teams left in the NCAA. Memphis finally lost on Saturday night to Tennessee. So, as we are a week away from March it is only going to get more interesting.

Monday Thinking Back to the Past Weekend

Another weekend down and we move into the first week of February. Wow! Hard to believe that it is already February. Carrie and I are trying to decide on an additional vacation possibility, but it would mean not doing some other things. Decisions need to be made so we can let our friends know our plans.

Our vacation plans are not what this post is all about. No, this post is about the weekend, sports, and having fun. Friday night was After Hours at Washburn University which is a great even that our Alumni Association puts on here at Washburn. To attend, you do not have to have gone to Washburn or work there. It is open to anyone and it is a lot of fun events. The first Friday of each month (usually) is After Hours. Free food, beverages, and fun with people from all over Topeka takes place here.

This Friday I had lunch with a longtime friend Shayne. I told him that in the evening we were going to After Hours. He and his wife, Autumn, decided to attend. They might just join to be paid members after the fun we had Friday night. Susie kicked us out shortly after 7 when the event ended. Carrie and I invited people to our house for snacks and drinks. We ended up playing games and had a great time. Some of us drank a little too much and we were hurting Saturday morning.

Saturday morning I had plans to go into work and do some serious work. Well, I did make it into work, but my serious work did not materialize until Sunday around 11. I went into work and checked e-mail, browsed web sites, and then went to lunch. I took a three hour nap in the afternoon so I could be ready for Brenda's b-day party that night.

Carrie and I got over to Brenda's a little later than we had expected. We were sitting having a good time when our good friends that we do not see often enough knocked on the door. Brian and Kim came to Brenda's party. It was great to see everyone! We played Guitar Hero II which is becoming a common event for us at gatherings. Some of the people at the party did not seem to like that we were playing Guitar Hero, but it was the birthday girls wish to play the game at her party. We had to grant her wish!

Great time at Brenda Beans! We ended the night after playing some tennis on PlayStation. Fun night and Brenda was another day older. Poor Brenda!

Sunday I finally made it into work and got a lot completed. I worked from 11 - 1:30 and was ready for the week. With work behind me I went home to watch the Jayhawks barely squeak by the Colorado Buffalos. Wow! KU almost lost that game and talk about not being in sync throughout the game, they did not look good at all. Now, I admit that I feel asleep during the first half and part of the second, but I did wake up in time to see the last minute of the game. I then quickly fell asleep again. As I write this I believe the game was actually on Saturday when I am saying Sunday. As you can clearly see, I am mixing up my days from the weekend. It was a relaxing weekend, but also stressful knowing that I had to finish up evaluations for a deadline.

Sunday was a great night for NFL football. It was the best Super Bowl I have ever seen. I was not really pulling for either team, but come the end of the game I was cheering loudly for the Giants. They pulled out a huge game and made Tom Brady eat his words from a previous interview that week. Making a comment joking that someone said he would not score over 17 points in the game. He laughed and told the reporter that was crazy and it should have been something more like 40+ points that he would score. Well, the joke was on him and the Patriots. Still, it was a great game and a fun one to watch.

So, it was a fun weekend and also a stressful one. I am already looking forward to next weekend! Have a great one yourself and until next time...