Best...Weekend...Ever

Why, as a man, do I feel the need to censor myself and hold back on what I say? I’m not a mean or spiteful person. I’m not going to say anything that will hurt anyone. I don’t even usually think that way. More often than not, when I censor myself, it has to do with me protecting myself from what the other person might say. Even worse, it happens in my relationships with the people I care about the most. Why can’t I just say what I am thinking/feeling at the time and let the chips fall where they may? Sure, it may end up hurting me, but it will probably be better than the constant nagging feeling I have after the fact. Sorry, I am beating up on myself a little right now due to a conversation I had earlier. I held back. It was right on the tip of my tongue, or fingertips, depending on the medium, and I just clammed up. I got generic. I dodged saying it even though I wasn’t confronted with saying it. Is this the end of the world? No, far from it, but it’s something that means a great deal to me and I said nothing. Nothing…

Aside from that, I am about to start the ultimate weekend. Let me break it down to you. I have four days off of work. Four…in a row…consecutive. Starting tonight, as soon as I leave this ridiculous stat class, I begin my weekend. The first twenty four hours will consist of me doing basically nothing. I have wanted to do nothing for twenty four hours for four days, since the last time I did so. Continuing into tomorrow night I will pick up my long-lost best friend Fernando and his wife, Claudia, from DFW International Airport with my friend Jon and take them out. Out…for debauchery and silliness in the Big D. They live in Atlanta and are coming to town for two reasons, well, for Claudia one reason, but Fer for two reasons. They are going to meet up with Fernando’s long-lost brother at some point this weekend so Claudia can meet him. I will get to Fernando’s second reason later. Anyway, debauchery, all night long and into the morning in some cases, is the plan for our guests. Then, waking Saturday to charge the batteries and refuel. The day Saturday will be played mostly by ear because of the questions of when/where/whether they will be able to meet up with Fernando’s brother. But, Saturday afternoon/evening, I will be heading out to Texas Motor Speedway for one of the greatest spectacles in sports…a NASCAR Sprint Cup race with my brother and his rowdy race friends. At TMS we will be drinking all night long on Saturday and into the morning hours in some cases, then trying to sleep it off in the camper before going to the race on Sunday. I have invited our visitors and Jon out to the track Saturday night to experience it all. The night before the race is like Woodstock, the Republican National Convention, Sturgis, Mardi gras, and the Super Bowl all rolled into one. I can’t explain it any better than that, but if you asked my brother I’m sure he could come up with something. You just have to experience it first hand to know it. After the race, where my boy Clint Bowyer is probably going to tear it up, I will head back to town for more quality time with my friends. Am I going to dry out at any time…probably not. Monday morning we will shuffle Claudia’s cookies back to the airport and head off to the event I’ve been waiting for since twelve months ago. Texas Rangers Opening Day at the Ballpark at Arlington is probably more exciting than the race, but only slightly. It’s the start of a new year of Rangers baseball and the hope for a playoff bid begins anew. This is a tradition that Jon, Fernando, and I have shared for several years and to which my brother joined last year. It’s boy’s day out. Tailgating, cheering, guessing how old the ball girls and Six Shooters are…it is awesome. Once again, the words escape me, but if you could see me, the giddy look on my face would say it all. I’m sure my classmates are wondering what the hell I’m smiling about in the middle of this damn stat class. After the game will be one more night, just the boys (well, maybe just the boys), doing what we do best…drinking and laughing. Tuesday morning, Fernando will be leaving our world again and life will go back to normal, literally, since I have to work that morning.

All that being said, don’t expect to hear from me for the next few days unless you are one of the lucky few who I grace with drunk texts in the middle of the night. You know who you are. I’ll let ya’ll know how everything turns out sometime next week when all the alcohol leaves my system. Yes, by the way, we practice safety when drinking and designate a driver. But we don’t travel much once we’ve settled into a good rhythm of shots and beers. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Fascinated...by a woman...

Ok, so I lied to myself. I may have lied to ya’ll too, I don’t know, I don’t read my own blogs once I post them. It is not a serious lie by any means, but it is something I told myself I wouldn’t do and yet I am compelled to do it. Let us start from the beginning. I was flipping through the channels last night, which is something I rarely do because my TiVo offers me an onscreen guide that alleviates the need for such silliness. Anyway, I was flipping through the channels and I came across CNN. I don’t watch CNN that much, to be honest with you, not that I don’t watch the news, but CNN is a little too liberal leaning for my tastes, at least on occasion. So, I came across CNN and Larry King Live is on. Let’s just say that you can take what I said about not watching CNN that much and then double it went applying it to how often I watch Larry King Live. Like I want to sit and listen to an old man in suspenders prattle through “hard-hitting” questions with celebrities and politicians. I don’t care much what Jennifer Aniston’s political point of view is or whether she thinks President Obama is cute. But, last night I had to stop because his first guest was Meghan McCain. Here comes the rub, I had promised myself that I wouldn’t write about Meghan McCain after my first blog about her where I compared her to a unicorn. However, this was a special case where I would get to see a little behind the curtain (un-edited) as to what she really thinks and feels about things. Sure, Larry King probably gives them the questions he is going to ask ahead of time and I would accuse him of using “softball” questions on more than one occasion, but at least I would get to hear her speak.

I know what a lot of you are probably thinking…man, does he have a crush on this girl or what? Well, you can put that question to bed right now, folks. The answer is no. I don’t form crushes on people I’ve never met, talked to, or experienced before. That’s absurd. I pity people who have these celebrity crushes on the people in the limelight with whom they have never exchanged a single word in person, in writing, or otherwise. Ok, pity is a strong word to use, but I guess I just don’t understand it. I admit though, that if I did meet Meghan McCain and she lived up to even half of my expectations of her I probably would have a crush. But what does that say about me that the one “celebrity” I have would potentially have a crush on is not really a celebrity in the traditional sense. She’s more of a political commentator, which isn’t really sexy unless you like politics or you like big words like commentator. Let me not misinform you. I have formed an interest in Ms. McCain that is based on several factors that make up so-called “crush” material, but I’m not part of her fan club (if there is one), I don’t subscribe to her blog, and I don’t have posters of her on my walls. All of which, I use as criteria for identifying a celebrity crush scenario.

All of that aside, I think I gathered a great deal from watching the interview. Ms. McCain said one thing that CNN and Larry King locked onto instantly. When King asked a question about whether Obama seems like the same guy who ran against her dad and how she views him now, Meghan said, “He's our president and when the election was over and when President Obama won, all negative feelings were gone. I support the president.” When asked if she thought that many in the Republican Party want the President to fail, she said, “I don't know, because there are many different personalities within the party. ... I would never want my president to fail, no matter which party is in power.” That struck me as an excellent point to make. Both parties always rail against the opposition when they are in power, but no one ever really stops to think that a president failing means a nation failing. Poignant and well thought out for someone who is about twenty years younger than most policy makers and party leaders. Sure, it is healthy for democracy to have two sides (or more) that fight for what they believe in, but it is unhealthy to wish that one side completely fail so that your side looks better. I know I am hard on President Obama because I don’t believe in his politics, but I would never want him to fail. He could fix the economy, erase the deficit, lower taxes, cure cancer and save a hundred puppies from a burning building, I am still going to rail on him because he is a democrat. But, I will also respect him for his accomplishments, even if not publicly. This is not the only thing I learned from watching the interview, I also learned that Meghan McCain has a tattoo on her foot and is playing to get another on her wrist. She likes tattoos. Kinda makes me want to go out and get that tattoo I’ve been planning on, but not for her, for myself. She is a conservative, motivated, successful woman who has and wants tattoos. Why not me, too?

Ok, enough is enough. Now, I promise I won’t write about Meghan McCain again. Ok, maybe not again…right now she is a fascinating woman to me, and I have a shortage of fascinating women in my life right now. Well, I have a shortage of women in my life right now, period, never mind the fascinating.