Final 4 my ____!

George Mason vs Florida; LSU vs UCLA! What has happened to the world of NCAA men's basketball? But on the bright side, Duke, North Carolina and no big east or big 10 schools are left AND 2 SEC schools are. I really, really, and I mean really, hate DUKE and NC! Not real fond of UConn or the big east conference in general and not too crazy about the Big 10, though I did get a degree from Ohio State. I will watch the games as a fan of college basketball and will pull for the SEC schools, since that is Kentucky's conference. I had hoped Memphis would get to this level, but they shut down against UCLA. Folks in Memphis where really excited about UM having a chance to get to final four heaven, but it wasn't meant to be. Good news is that most of the team will be back next year, so they should be a favorite to make the final four and even when it all! Who knows about UK?

My brother and his family came to visit Memphis on vacation Saturday and just left this morning. We had a really good time visiting and "doing Memphis" together. My daughter didn't really know her cousins or Uncle before this, so she was apprehensive at first, but the more time we were together, the more relaxed she became. We ate at BB King's on Sunday ($182 bill), then hung out on Beale St and watched the games at a bar called "Boogie Woogie Rum". How could you miss with a bar named after Rum, my drink of choice since returning from Nevis. Monday I had to work we didn't hook up, but yesterday we took a riverboat ride on the mighty Mississippi, then went to a place called Jillians for a early dinner/late lunch. It is the coolest place. Huge (3 stories), Sports on TVs everywhere, pool tables, and a big video arcade. The second floor opens into Peabody Place mall and a Putt Putt is just next door! Oh yeah, they have food too! We where there from 4 to 7:30 ish, then my brother took his two boys (14 and 15) to see the second half of the Grizzlies vs Sonics NBA game. FedEx forum is just next to Beale street, which is a block away from Jillians, so they walked over, got tickets and saw a great game. I took my family and we headed on home, since we had school and work today. Overall, they had a great visit and enjoyed Memphis Mania as much as I do. Oh yeah, they toured Graceland and Sun Studio (where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and many other singers got their starts). We are planning on getting our families together more often. I really regret that I let so many years pass without letting my daughter get to know my family (other than my Mom and Dad), but I hope to change that now.

Best get back to work now. Adieu

Good Day

March Sadness

The Wildcat nation mourns yet another failed season. If we don't at least get to the final four, might as well not played the season. I knew Ucon would most likely beat this sorry bunch of Cats, but they did make it interesting. North Carolina got beat (Yeah) and if someone can knock of Duke, I can rest at ease. The U of M Tigers are hot and Memphis fans are getting "loud and proud". UM should knock of Bradley, then handle either UCLA or Gonzaga, so it looks like Final Four time again for the Tigers. Since the colors and logo and such are so much like UK, I can easily transfer some of my lost enthusiasm over to the TIGERS (Growllll..).

Spring is springing in Memphis, but slowly. The weather as been unseasonably cool, but it is keeping my grass from growing so that is fine with me! Got to get a new mower from Wally's Mart, so the longer I can wait on that, the better!

Class time again.

Good day

UK out Early?

March madness and Memphis mania have coincided this season. The NCAA tourny is upon us and the UM Tigers have gotten a number 1 seed! I always follow the tourny with gusto, usually because my UK wildcats are seeded fairly high (1 or 2) and are expected to go deep into the tourny. But not this year! They really suck and got an 8 seed. Some folks think UAB will beat us in the first round, but I hope they get to round 2 so UCONN can beat us out (a 1 seed instead of a 9 seed).

UM is good this year and I will pull for them since I am sure the Wild kittens aren't going anywhere this time. UM pulled #16 seed Oral Roberts, who some analyst say have a real chance of being the first #16 in history to beat a #1, but I don't think they are giving UM enough credit. I hope that the upset doesn't happen, but hey, any thing, any time in the NCAA playoffs, right? I almost didn't fill out a bracket this year, which would have been the first time since I can remember, but I went ahead. Already missed one game, dumb ol' Montana upset Nevada, but I didn't know much about either of those teams, just took the higher seed there.

March is half over already! Where did it go? At this rate, I will be 70 yrs old in a few months! Wow, time is really moving on quickly it seems. I guess the key is to enjoy each day as a new and unique adventure and gift from God and not take anytime for granted. At 50, I can really feel the years going by and I know most of my life is behind me now. It is a perspective that you have to feel to understand, but it is real. Best to be here than not though, right?

Got my third Patho exam coming up at 6:30. I hope the class does much better on this one than the last, although the grades were up on exam II from last term.
Well, time to get off for now. I have noticed more and more time is elapsing between my blogging. I want to get my own website so I can get my messages out to more and more folks. Why keep all this wisdom, humor, wit and humility from the world, eh?

Good day

coffee gene?

Now they are getting personal! A gene that may increase your risk from drinking more that 1 cup a day of coffee. (excuse me while I take a sip of coffee). All I can say is I hope I am one of the 2/3 of folks who DON'T have this bad gene. I drink from 2-5 cups/day and if I have the bad gene, then I guess I would have to quit, but I enjoy a good cup of coffee in the mornings to jump start my day and throughout the day, to keep me awake! How dare they try to put a bad spin on coffee like this! I did a bit of research and apparently there is a variant of the gene whose job it is to break down caffeine quickly. The "bad" gene does it much more slowly, therefore, the 1/2 life of caffeine in your plasma dramatically increases, ergo, higher risk for BP increases and heart attacks (though the risk of heart attack is almost negligible). What next, a gene that makes you get drunker quicker from beer! Hey, not a bad idea, should save on beer if it takes fewer to "pass you out", right? I found a good site for research and background into caffeine and coffee. Cut a past the link below if you are interested:

http://www.cosic.org/background-on-coffee/history-of-coffee

Good day!

aniversary #5

Ended up not taking a trip afterall. My daughter brought home 2 C's on her last report and we put her on punishment, which means we had to be around to enforce it. I took her TV/cable box from her room for a week, she can't go outside to play and has to keep her room clean. The room clean is a constant thorn, since as she puts it "I like my room messy"! Well, I pulled the tried but truism: "as long as you live with us........" But we still had a nice aniversary. We went to dinner and saw Madea's Family Reunion. It was a great movie. We went to a rather pricy, but elegant/quaint little restaurant in Midtown. I had sauteed catfish w/ crawfish in some kind of sauce that resemble mud, but it tasted great and I ate the 'whole thing'. The tab was 90 bucks, but my wife had two whiskey sours @12.95 a pop! I washed our new (new to us) Durango in the back yard on Saturday and it looked pretty good, inside and out, if I do say so myself. Of course, it rained Sunday afternoon, but hey, that's the way it goes.

We went to a new church Sunday morning and I don't believe I will go back. The preacher was good and delivered a good message, but the music and other stuff was just too loud. The video the services and I think they crank up the speakers so they will come across loudly enough on TV and radio, but it gave me and my daughter headaches... I am talking a headache it took a four beer lunch after church to ease!

I have found that the search for a good church you feel comfortable in and difficult. The one we found in SC took a while, but my wife did all the work there (she had a car and job back in those days). But, we will find something sooner or later.

Spring approachith and this is a good time of year in the south (midsouth really). I need to dust off my clubs and find a place to get some fishing bait!

Good day!