Ugh

Maybe if I make it public and have people hold me accountable, it might actually happen. I have officially retired from STM flag football. It no longer, nor has it for quite a while, holds any joy for me, and I find I'm a better person when I don't play. So here's to those who can be bigger people without having to be quitters, cause apparently I can't. Please hold me to it.

Also, a big fat happy birthday to Hilary. And happy next 23 years. Love you.

Rule #1: All guns are always loaded

I went to the shooting range yesterday. It was less Aliasque than I thought it would be, but that's mostly because all I could think about while I was in there was not breaking the rules, and hitting the target. It was surreal, the whole thing.
I felt so naive asking if the gun could fire when you pulled the slide back, but, hey, how else am I gonna know? I now know the difference between single-action and double-action, which is something you could just as easily Google, but it was more fun this way.
I hit the target on the first try. And the second try, which Dan said was more impressive. That was after taking a full five minutes to select a gun. I definitely liked the feel of the 9 mm more than the revolver. And when I say "liked," don't get the idea that I got all giddy and smiley at the thought of holding a lethal weapon in my hands. It just felt more comfortable, more powerful, and more like I was an agent, if you want the truth. Although feeling like a cowboy is almost as cool.
I kept the targets to brag about, and because no one got a picture of me with my "eyes and ears" on. I don't know that I'll go back to Firing Line, but I'm really glad I went, for many reasons. Not the least of which is that I'll never get snubbed for calling the magazine a clip.
Thanks for the lessons.

Less than cut-throat

I know it's totally sappy and bordering on pathetic, but I was watching the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions last night, and saw probably the saddest hand of Hold 'Em I've ever seen. Until that point, I wasn't aware poker could be sad. Final three--Annie Duke (yay for women holding their own!), Howard Lederer (her big brother, the one who got her into poker), and Phil Helmuth (who, despite his renown, I can't stand). Phil kept getting out of the way of the sibling rivalry, which I was glad for, as I can't stand to hear him running off his mouth when he plays. Howard was all in with pocket 7's, and Annie, with the chip lead, called him with pocket 6's. "Good hand, bub." And then the flop. Q-Q-6. Annie was devastated. Naturally. I mean, she's knocked him out of WSOP play multiple times, but not like this. Not on a hand he should have won. The River played out with no help, and Bub went off with a "What a 6, Annie" and heart-wrenching hug from his baby sister. So sad. I didn't finish watching, but all I can say is thank goodness she knocked Phil out shortly after to win the $2 million. I don't think I could have handled the drama if she had then lost, to Phil no less. I came away appreciating the class and skill of the sibling duo. It put a nice sentimental ending to a weekend full of competitive flag-football, during which I apparently earned titles as "Total Dominance" and "Big Pun" (from my "Punisher" designation on my jersey). It was so much fun, I'm not gonna lie. I love scoring touchdowns, sacking QB's, and even the painful stiffness the day after. But it was good to remember in the end there are more important things, like family.

Awwww.

Rolling...

The title of the blog, for those of you who haven't been tortured by my family home videos, comes from a little slip (or perhaps intentional joke) courtesy of my twin sister, who informed my mom before going to bed one night that the moon was not outside because it went to work ("wuk"). Anyways, any reminder of my childhood makes me nostalgic, and for some reason, the following memory popped into my head.

Every time we visited my grandparents in Indiana, we would pile on the pull-out bed, crank the ceiling fan, and slip "Pippi Longstocking" into the VCR. Among other things, the theme song was forever etched in our heads from the first viewing, and so I remember one day, back at home on Roslyn Ct., Michelle and I, bored as usual, took it upon ourselves to create entertainment. We pulled out my dad's green moving dolly and some extra bungee cords, strapped one of us down to the dolly, and took turns wildly wheeling each other around the cul-de-sac, screaming at the top of our lungs, "Whoa whoa! Pippi Longstocking is coming into your world, a freckle-faced, redhead girl you outta know, the one who's fun to be around."

I don't know why that one stuck. Probably a combination of the absurdity of it and the freedom we felt flying along the sidewalk, not caring what other people thought of those crazy blond twins. I probably wish I had more of both in my life: absurdity and freedom. But for now, back to the studying, which is certainly absurd, but hardly freeing. Thanks for indulging my memories.

Evangelizing the Culture

A little heavy for the first post. I thought about writing something stupid for the first one just to take the pressure off, but this came to mind first. As I look around me especially in Denver, I see a vibrant young Catholic community, several intact marriages and families that I consider role models, and people that are striving for something better than what this world has to offer. However, I also see (partially as a result of being in health care, at a secular university, and in America, I think) a failing health care system, political system, and moral system. So many people are satisfied with so much less than they were created for. The other day, I was informed that the "right order" of doing things was "meeting someone, dating, moving in together, then getting married." No one batted an eye. It's just one example, but I think representative of how many people blindly accept what has been given to them...a hedonistic, agnostic culture. And so I alternate between thinking my generation is going to change the world and despairing that the world is beyond our help. What is our role? We have to bridge the gap somehow. I've already ruled out being of the world, but I'm having a hard time even being in it. How are we to evangelize a culture that isn't aware it needs evangelizing?