Big Game Anticipation!

In my lifetime there have been a number of Superbowl games that I've really enjoyed and I am hoping that today's game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots can join that list. Now you may be wondering why I have any interest in this game at all since typically I don't root for East Coast teams. I'm a tried and true Bronco fan and should be all worked up that my boys in blue and orange didn't make it to the big game. While a part of me is sad that Tebow didn't make it clear through the playoff unscathed I have faith that he and the Bronc's will be back next year and with more experience under that young teams belt will do even better. In other words I'm excited for their future and not disappointed in their past season what so ever.

So that brings us back to today's game and why I'm so excited for it. Its pretty simple actually, I HATE the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, and the grand cheater himself Bill Belichek. I know that hate is a strong word and should be used sparingly so I will redefine this hatred in football life only. I can remember as a kid the Patriots going to Superbowl after Superbowl and it would be a complete blowout. The other team I put into this category of hatred is the Dallas Cowboys for the exact same reason. While I look at the Pats as all that is evil and wrong in the world of professional football today I see the Giants in the opposite light. A few years ago New York was in an uprage over how the team was being coached, who the quarterback was etc. And yet both Tom Coughlan and Eli Manning have withstood these barrages from their own fans with grace and humility and have come out on top. Coming from a small school I have the tendency to root for the underdog or those that people have serious doubts about, especially if they comport themselves with dignity. I've seen the Giants as a whole do just that and so of course I'm on their side today.

There has been this tiresome debate this year as to whether or not Eli Manning is an "Elite" quarterback. When the heck did this turn of phrase come into existence? From what I have seen from Eli as well as his older brother Patton I can't imagine anyone questioning whether or not these two individuals are elite both on and off the football field. I love watching their interviews because even though their teams would be completely different (and not nearly as successful without them-- as we saw this year with the Colt's 2 win season) they are always putting their teammates accomplishments above their own and never say a bad word about anyone they encounter. I've always thought that football players were in a very unique position to be mentors and heroes to the millions of children in our country but so few players comport themselves in such a way as to be that good example. The Manning brothers however are people I'd gladly have my own children one day emulate. I think their parents raised them right. So today I wish the Giants well and I truly look forward to watching them beat the Pats yet again in a Superbowl.

How Rude!

I am generally the kind of person that likes to think those around me are kind, considerate, and overall good people, but today I had the worst grocery shopping experience of my life. Granted I should have known better not to try and do my spring grocery shopping the day before the Superbowl, but I seriously wasn't even taking that into consideration when we decided to head into Sandpoint and just get it over and done with. Now what people need to understand is that because I live in such a remote location I only go grocery shopping about 4 times a year so when I do its a couple of cartloads of goods. I usually grab a cart and Mace grabs the other and we systematically go through the store and check off the items on our list.

Its never been a problem and it generally goes smooth as silk. But today was hellacius. People were just downright rude. People were pushing, shoving, and ramming one an others carts all over the isles. I even had one woman take my very heavily loaded shopping cart that was literally parked right next to me while I was comparing two items and move it clear down the end of the isle without saying an "excuse me" or "could you please move that so I can get in there" or anything along those lines, then physically scooted me aside by reaching across me when she can back to the spot where my cart had been. I just stood there mouth open, eyes wide, and in shock! And to top it off, after all that, she put the item she was looking for back on the shelf and just turned and walked away. I couldn't believe it and that wasn't the only example of rudeness. Mace was getting a few loaves of bread and a man in a motorized shopping cart ran over his foot and rammed into his shopping cart and uttered some interesting expletives along the way directed at Mace for taking to long to figure out what he wanted.

I suppose I've learned my lesson though. Never get in the way of Superbowl Shoppers they are a dangerous breed to mess with!

Started another blog!

So yesterday after I posted the blog about smarterer.com I realized that I should separate those kinds of posts from the stuff that I talk about normally. I figure family and friends probably don't really care about those kinds of things but would rather know what is going on with me. If you are interested though the link is http://bzzntracy.blogspot.com/ and you can certainly join and follow that one as well. I have to admit I've gotten some pretty cool stuff over the past couple years from these organizations ranging from electronics to makeup to cleaning products. I'm always willing to try new things and as long as they want my honest opinions of the stuff I'm always glad to give it.

But for typical life related stuff I stick to using this same blog that I've had for the past few years. So what is going on with me you ask? Not a whole heck of a lot. I'm still teaching at the local preschool and looking for a job. Finding a decent job in this economy is hard as hell. I keep interviewing for different agencies (as a matter of fact I even have follow up interviews with a bunch of the jobs I apply for) but alas there are tons of people out there looking for the same kind of work. I am thinking more and more that a Masters degree would do me a world of good but the idea of going back to school is still scary to me. Its not that I think I would be unsuccessful but when I remember the amount of hours you have to dedicate yourself to schoolwork it really depresses me.

But as I said in the mean time I'm teaching a great group of kiddos. I consider it warping the minds of the next generation since I'm such an oddball but most of the people I say that to seem to think if I give myself as an example to these kids then they will turn out pretty good. They are all so smart and so excited about the future, even it its just tomorrow and playing with their friends for the next 2 hours. I miss having that kind of excitement each and every day. So frankly I think they have a bigger influence on me than I possibly do on them. The big thing we are all looking forward to is of course Valentines day. We're making our Valentines day boxes and apparently I need to make one for myself as well. So I guess my next project is to decide how I want to decorate it. I've already picked up the valentines I'm going to give out to the kids and I'm getting excited about filling them out and having a special message for each to share. I mean look at them... they are too adorable not to love!

Smarterer

So for the past several years I've been a member of a Word of Mouth organization called BzzAgent. I've loved every minute of taking part in their surveys and product campaigns because I've gotten to try out things I wouldn't normally do. Today was no different. After checking my email for typical drivel I decided to log into my BzzAgent account and see if there were any new campaigns for me to join. Luckily there was and it was the Smarterer campaign. Now while I don't recommend going to this site if you actually have things to do in your day it is an excellent site for wasting time and de-stressing. This site is a platform for people to test their knowledge base about everything digital in this wonderful world we live in. It has quizzes about facebook use, twitter use, blogging, computer games, etc etc etc. I've only taken the quiz specifically designed for BzzAgents so far but I'm sure in the next day or two I'll go back and try my hand at a few other digital formats I use in my day to day life and see how I stack up to others. But as I said... be forewarned... I can see this as being rather addictive and time can slip away pretty quickly while you are trying to prove your skill set to the rest of the world. So get your work done first THEN check out this site. Oh and by the way... I got a 764 out of 800 for my BzzAgent quiz. Guess I'm Smarterer after all!