I fell asleep.
It happens.
When you’ve got a 15-run last-inning rally in a softball game that lasts about 2 1/2 hours, it really throws a wrench in your schedule.
So, I figured I would make up for it in some sort of huge mega-post.
(Turns out it wasn’t that huge at all.)
| — | “Babe Ruth” from The Sandlot |
“I miss your face.”
That, my friends, has been a common refrain since I graduated SIU in 2009, and even more so since leaving the southern Illinois region in August 2010. In the first few days and months after leaving my job in Harrisburg, Ill., my phone was constantly buzzing with texts, e-mails, tweets and Facebook posts from friends wishing me good luck on my future endeavors and how much they would miss me.
So much so, my mother once quipped: “Why didn’t you just stay there? Everyone seems to love you.”
The love was undeniable. But once I came to the conclusion that the day would come where I would no longer be able to re-live my college days once all of my friends grew up, left the region and started families elsewhere, it was just one of the factors that led me on my current adventure that has put me at a similar job that is a bit closer to my family, long-time friends and city that I love.
Still, when you spend five years with folks and suddenly up-and-move, it can be a difficult transition to make. There were no more late-night Don Taco trips. No after-class cookouts. No sitting on the porch drinking wine while sheltered from the rain.
I miss those days. I miss those people.
Here’s hoping Facebook Video Chat helps change that.
Facebook’s video chat app was recently rolled out to the social networking site and I’ll say it was an immediate hit, if only because I got it to work on my first try and was able to chat up a friend I hadn’t seen in a while.
No need for a username, password or lengthy download process. It’s a quick jump from chatting via type to chatting the way normal people do — even if they’re thousands of miles apart.
Look, as much as I love Facebook chat, which has successfully replaced AIM in my world, video chat actually allows me to interact with my friends.
No need to type out “LOL” because I can hear you laughing. That quizzical look on your face? You don’t need an emoticon for that because I can see it. Facepalm moment? You’re on camera.
And I love it.
Sure, it still has its bugs. And yes, I’d love to be able to chat with multiple people at the same time. Still, it has its place in social networking and it just might revolutionize online friendships.
At worse, it becomes Chatroulette with people you went to school with.
So, the next time someone says “I miss your face” during a chat session, you can do something about it.
Today is National Kissing Day.
At least, that’s what Twitter told me with its #nationalkissingday trending hashtag.
And since Twitter has never let me down, I’m more likely to believe it than any other source who would have told me the same.
Then again, how was I supposed to know it was National Kissing Day?
Isn’t Hallmark supposed to remind me of these things?
Usually, I can count on them to remind me of the big upcoming holidays that get celebrated. Heck, Hallmark is usually good at reminding me of holidays I don’t actually celebrate.
(Looking at you Valentine’s Day. You too, Sweetest Day.)
But no National Kissing Day cards.
Really?
Well, I guess it’s not that big of a deal. Like Sweetest Day and Valentine’s Day, I’m single.
And in more breaking news: water is wet and the sky is blue.
I might come off bitter about it, but it’s not as if I’ll make a playlist and celebrate it with a defiant drunken evening full of ill-advised advances at love.
(Isn’t unrequited love the best? Of course it is, but it’s really better when it’s tied to a corporate monster whose main objective is to sell a few cards and make a few bucks — even if it as the expense of a wet-behind-the-ears kid who is head-over-heels for someone who one day is the girl of their dreams and a few weeks later is that girl I went out with that one time.)
In any case, at least I know I won’t be alone for National Kissing Day.
*Cracks open a bottle of Miller High Life*
Questionable decisions seem to be the norm in Florida.
In 2000, the Miami Dolphins hired Dave Wannstedt to replace Jimmy Johnson as head coach.
In a related story, prior to the 2000 season, Miami’s legendary quarterback Dan Marino called it quits.
That’s not a coincidence.
And it wouldn’t the last. In December 2004, Wannstedt was hired to be the new head coach for the University of Pittsburgh football team.
After the 2004 season, quarterback Joe Flacco transferred to then Division I-AA Delaware. Flacco completed one pass for 11 yards as he found himself planted on the bench in favor of Tyler Palko.
Flacco never played a down for Wannstedt. Instead, Flacco will be widely remembered on this blog for torching my beloved Salukis in 2007.
In 2000, the state of Florida skated on election-rigging allegations.
Somewhere, George W. Bush was cackling and rolling blunts — literally and figuratively.
In March 2009, Donte Stallworth, a wide receiver in the NFL who has seen time with the Saints, Eagles, Patriots, Browns and Ravens, pled guilty DUI manslaughter and spent 30 days in jail.
That’s a significantly soft sentence compared to time in jail than a guy who was involved with killing and torturing dogs.
In 2011, Casey Anthony was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter.
Are we sure that Vice City is a fictional place?
Hell, Florida is the only state in the union where you can celebrate a championship before the season starts.
If anything, today is just another reminder that Florida is bizarro world, where hot snow probably falls up.*
So, vacation accordingly.
*Homer Simpson, FTW
*Kanye West is really my favorite rapper, but for this post’s sake, Drake takes the throne. Might be the only time Canada wins something that isn’t hockey related.
Much of the rap game revolves around what’s “real” and what’s not. The stuff that’s real gets spins, while the fake stuff gets rightfully slammed.
That’s why I like Drake.
Yes, I have no shame in saying Wheelchair Jimmy is my favorite rapper going right now. And that’s because he keeps it real.
I can’t relate to millionaire rappers spitting about pushing drug deals and living the hard knock life while recording in state of the art studios built in their mansions.
However, I can relate to Drake’s transparent flows and the honesty he comes with.
