2013/12/30

Can’t Hardly Wait

Da Goddess @ 12:12

…til college football is over.

Don’t get me wrong, I like football. But, I’ve reached my limit on the Lisa Frank sticker books they call helmets these days. I know, I know. They’ve been this for years. The thing is, it’s gone too far. When you see helmets almost completely covered by stickers, it seems a bit overkill.

Seems to me this sticker reward system is out of control and needs to be rethought.

Okay, so let’s break this down.

In most cases, stickers are awarded for on-field outstanding plays. I get that. Some teams also award stickers for excellence during practice. Huh? Some award stickers for academic achievements. Uh, okay, though there are so few academic stickers. That still begs the question of why? WHY? It smacks of patting a child on the head for peeing in the potty. Or worse, trophies for everyone who just happened to show up. Or it’s like basketball. Too many points. If points are that easy to get, why not make the game more challenging so the points actually mean something? How about this as an example? Some poker tournaments tout the number of chips in the millions (which don’t equal actual dollars). At some point, once you get over x number of chips, they lose meaning. 34,820,109 chips! Ooooh! He’s betting all of ’em! Yeah, but what are their actual value? And that’s where these helmet stickers now reside. In Excess Land.

Again, it seems to me this sticker reward system is out of control and needs to be rethought and revised.

Look, we’re talking about GROWN MEN here. Collecting stickers. Why not just go whole hog and really get Lisa Frank rainbow farting unicorns for the helmets? Teams could buy in bulk and schools could save lots of money that could then be used on other programs…or lower tuition.

If you’re going to award stickers to players, make ’em count. Use them for extraordinary achievements on the field. Not practice. Not the classroom (that’s for parents and teachers to do). And don’t call catching a ball or scoring a touchdown “extraordinary” because, let’s face it, a football player is SUPPOSED to catch a ball, score touchdowns, protect the quarterback, tackle, etc. Extraordinary achievement on the field stickers should be awarded for actions that aren’t part of normal play. Like, perhaps, carrying a teammate off the field after he’s been hard hit. Reviving a downed player. Preventing a drunk fan from getting in his car and plowing into someone after the game. Okay, that, technically, is off-field, but if the player climbed into the stands during the game, I’d go along with that.

Coaches, let’s be real. No player really needs these stickers. No player really earns these stickers when all they’re doing is THEIR JOB on the field.

In the everyday world, the vast majority of us don’t get stickers for simply doing what we’re meant to do. If we did, mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, nurses, cops, firefighters, our armed forces, etc. everywhere would have to wear entire suits made of stickers for what they accomplish each and every single day.

Let’s leave the stickers for children who need incentive to use the potty, read a book, clean their rooms, or go a whole day without pulling someone’s hair or biting a friend.

Until this sticker trend is revised, I’m only going to root for teams who DON’T use them. So, college teams, you’re on notice. If you want this gal cheering you on, you have until next year to get this shit figured out.

2013/12/29

No LD

Da Goddess @ 18:41

If there was a single complaint about the holidays, it was the lack of LD. This was my first Christmas without Little Dude around. Yeah, there have been a couple years where he was with his dad for Christmas, but I always ended up spending time with him a day or so before or after. Not this time.

This year, LD went with his dad’s mom over to his uncle’s house for the day. By the time they were done and made it over to my sister’s house, we had dropped my mom off at her new place and were almost home. He called me to say thank you for the gifts and to tell me what he did that day. We texted afterward as well. It wasn’t the same, but it worked.

In some ways, I’m actually quite proud of him and his decision to go to his uncle’s. His uncle is on the lonely side of life these days and LD is the one person who gets along best with him, brings out the best in him, and they have a really good relationship. I think that more than makes up for us not getting any face time during the winter school break, right? Knowing your kid can think beyond himself, beyond a moment in time, is a good feeling.

Still, I had no LD for Christmas. No…L…D. No…L…(D)

Like the song.

Or was that obvious? Was this too long a post to get to that very bad play on words?

2013/12/27

Was It Good For You?

Da Goddess @ 12:17

Not only did I survive Christmas, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

How was your Christmas?

2013/12/25

12th Day of Christmas Music

Da Goddess @ 04:53

Merry Christmas!

Da Goddess @ 00:36

I hope you all enjoy a day full of love and silliness and all sorts of happy things.

May the day warm your heart and fill your soul with peace.

2013/12/24

11th Day of Christmas Songs

Da Goddess @ 04:33

Every year it remains the same. I have to play this song. This version.

2013/12/23

More Christmas Blues

Da Goddess @ 10:33

10th Day of Christmas Music

Da Goddess @ 03:35

2013/12/22

9th Day of Christmas Songs

Da Goddess @ 04:50

And just to flip the script a bit

2013/12/21

8th Day of Christmas Music

Da Goddess @ 04:04

I’m giving you a full album to listen to today as you go about finishing your wrapping and baking.

Don’t laugh. This is actually very good.

2013/12/20

Unexpected

Da Goddess @ 13:45

King Arthur took me out the other day for a special Christmas gift buying jaunt. I ended up with skinny jeans and booties. Two things I never thought I’d ever wear. EVER. Let alone look good in. Which I did. Color me shocked.

Furry Ankles

Da Goddess @ 09:50

First off, if you like these things, good for you. But, puhleeeze! What is the possible appeal of furry leg warmers?

furry ankles are not attractive

I’m watching the morning news and they have models in lingerie (yes, on the morning news!) with these insipid furry leg warmers on. WHY? They look ridiculous. Are women who wear them subconsciously wishing they were Clydesdales?

7th Day of Christmas Songs

Da Goddess @ 03:58

2013/12/19

We Try.

Da Goddess @ 10:31

I found quote over on Marmalade Bleue and fell in love with it.

From the book Quitter by Jon Acuff. (If you’re not reading his blog, start. It’s one of the nicest gifts you can give yourself.)

“We know how to talk ourselves out of or into things better than anyone on the planet. Think about a time when you made a horrible mistake and someone said, ‘What were you thinking?’

Usually you weren’t doing it because you thought it would be a horrible mistake. You thought it would be great. And you talked yourself into it. Because no one can convince us like we can convince us.”

We humans are so very complicated, aren’t we? And we are also quite simple. The thing that struck me most was the part about talking ourselves out of things. We fear failure. We want to avoid looking or feeling foolish if something doesn’t turn out the way we planned. But without taking any risks, our lives are nothing. Nothing. We cannot love, we cannot grow, and we cannot teach if we never TRY. We try because otherwise we’re just getting by. And that’s not LIVING. That’s existing. LIVING comes from the flavor we add to our lives by trying new things.

As babies, we look around and begin to focus on things further and further away. Then we begin reacting to the world around us and smile or cry in response. We start to reach for things that catch our eye. A baby doesn’t just lie around month after month. A baby learns to roll over, to sit up, to crawl, and to walk and talk. Babies would do this even if we didn’t cheer them on. As they learn to walk, they fall a lot. But they don’t stop trying. They get up and try again.

And so do we.

So, if something doesn’t work the first time, don’t give up. Try it again. Maybe it’s just a matter of building the proper muscles (physically, mentally, creatively) to get it right. Every step we take, literally or figuratively, is an exercise that helps build those muscles. Exercise…from taking a chance.

Sure, it takes less effort to stand in your own way, but then you don’t get to brag about all that exercise you’re getting if you’re out there giving it a go.

Kind of makes you feel a little better when you think about it that way, doesn’t it?

The Dyson vacuum cleaner was the result of 5,127 prototypes over 15 years.

I’m no longer calling my mistakes “mistakes”, they’re now just prototypes for what I will eventually accomplish.

6th Day of Christmas Music

Da Goddess @ 04:06

Now to put a little pep in your step, Louis Prima!