Houston We Have a Problem

At about 5:00 PM today I was sitting at my desk reading up on Saturday's NFL draft when I read the breaking news that almost made me spit my Diet Pepsi all over my keyboard. The Houston Texans agreed to terms with North Carolina State defensive end Mario and will select him with the first pick of the NFL draft.

Several hours later I'm still scratching my head over this one. It is mind boggling to me that Houston would pass on a once in a lifetime player in Reggie Bush. In my years of watching college football reggie Bush is the best player that I have ever seen.

It is my belief that this may go down as one biggest draft day blunders in sports history. This move is definatly on par with the Blazers picking Sam Bowie over some guy named Jordan.

10 Things I'd rather do Than Watch an NBA Playoff Game

1. Go hunting with Dick Cheney
2. Run a Marathon with Ski Boots instead of running shoes
3. Watch a replay of the 2004 Civil War Football game
4. Watch a WNBA playoff game
5. Watch the UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Arsenal
6. Drink 64 ounces of water and then go for a four hour car ride without a bathroom stop
7. Clean the bathrooms at Autzen Stadium after a Duck game
8. Drink a six pack of Busch Ice tall boys and then go for a six mile run
9. Watch American Idol
10. Watch three hours of John Kerry speeches

Hayward Field

At about 7:00 tonight I set out on an hour run. The plan was to cover aproximatley eight miles, I would run through the Autzen Stadium parking lot, across the footbridge onto the U of O campus, down Agate St past Hayward field all the way to 22nd, 22nd to University, take University from 22nd past Mac Court, through campus, back across the footbridge, run a few laps around Autzen Stadium and then back home. As I passed Hayward Field my plans changed. The gate was wide open so I decided to run a few laps around the track. It was the first time that I had set foot on that track since my dissapointing eighth place finish in the 400 meters in the district meet when I was in eighth grade. As I was circling the track I began thinking about all the great names who have competed on this track and it occured to me that almost every American Track and Field great has competed on this track. I was on sacred ground.

Hayward field was built as a football stadium in 1919 and became the home University of Oregon Track and Field in 1921. Named for the legendary Track and Field coach Bill Hayward who coached Oregon track for 44 years until his death in 1947, it has hosted nine NCAA championship meets, six US chamiponship meets and three Olympic Trials (a fourth in 2008). It's also the birthplace of a little company known as Nike. It is the most storied track and field facility in the United States.

Hayward Field is to Track and Field what Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field are to Baseball. The difference is that I can't walk into one of those stadiums and take batting practice but I can walk into Hayward Field and run a few laps around the track.

information from the Official University of Oregon Athletic site was used for the completion of this blog

Week in Review

Since I don't have internet hooked up at my new place yet I haven't been to blog like I usually do. Next week I should be all set up and back to my normal blogging. Here's a short look at my life over the past week.

Saturday- I woke up at 6:30 and 21 miles, my time was a respectable 2 hours 40 minutes. After getting cleaned up I started moving. The rest of my day was spent moving, when I finally sat down at the end of the night I was so sore I could barely move.

Sunday- I rolled out of bed at about 10:00 and could barely walk. I got dressed and headed to easter service at church. After Church I went home and took a two hour nap. After my nap I went to my parents for dinner. After dinner I went home opened up a bottle of Killian's Irish Red and watched "Walk the Line". After the movie I went to bed.

Monday- I went to work at 7:30 AM, I drank my cup of coffee and worked until 12:30. I then enjoyed my lunch and went for a little walk. After lunch I worked four more hours and went home. I went for painful five mile run which took me longer than normal. After my run I went to my old place to get some of my junk. I got home and enjoyed my last bottle of Killian's and then went to bed.

Tuesday- I woke up at 7:30, showered, got dressed, packed my lunch and headed to work. I do need to mention that I wore a tie to work for the time since I started this job. It was an uneventful day at work. After work I headed to special function at the local Auto Auction. I was bored out my mind but I got a free steak dinner out of the whole thing. After the function I went home changed into my running clothes and went for a seven mile run. After my run I began feeling ill and went to bed.

Wednesday- I woke up at about 7:30 still not feeling great but decided to press on and go to work. It was another uneventful day at work. After work I went home changed clothes and headed off to church for you group. Like work, youth group was uneventful. After youth group I went for a six mile run and then returned home and watched the "Chronicles of Narnia". At about midnight I shut down for the night.

Thursday- As I did Tuesday and Wednesday, I woke up at 7:30 and headed to work. Upon my arrival I poured a cup of coffee and went to a meeting. After the meeting I reviews for the two employees that work under me. The rest of the day was filled with phone calls and more meetings. After work I went to my old place and gathered the rest of my belongings and then went home. I changed out of my work clothes into a green duck polo shirt, khaki cargo shorts from old navy and my old nike running shoes with no socks. I headed off to PC2 out at Harlow. After PC2 I went to the Lucky Noodle with a few friends. I enjoyed a pint of Guiness and a three cheese tortelini. It was very good but a little pricey. At about 11:00 I got home watched the news and went to bed.

Friday- I woke up at eight, got dressed and went to work. Currently I sitting at my desk typing this blog and working at the same time.

That's another boring week in the life of Dennis.

I know this happened five months ago but this picture still brings a smile to my face everytime I see it.

The Great Coffee Debate

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Dutch Bros. ?

The Annoying Garbage Man

Last night I was out until just after midnight. After getting home and taking care of a couple miscelaneous items it was about 1:15 AM. My plan was to sleep until 8:15, throw on a t-shirt and pair jeans and head to work. At 7:00 AM I woke up to an extremely loud vehicle outside my window. It was the garbage man, for about 35 minutes I had to put with a loud engine, beeping and a periodic loud "thud". Why does the Garbage man come at 7:00 AM? Why not 11:00 AM? That way he wouldn't wake me up.

Ridiculous News Item of the Week

Every once in a while I get bored and I search the internet for the most ridiculous news item I can find. This week I came across a story out of the great state of California.

An 82 year old woman recieved a $114 ticket for taking to long too cross the street. The lady, Mayvis Coyle began crossing the street when the light was green but it turned red before she was able to make it across. Coyle told the LA Daily news that the cop said "your obstructing the flow of traffic"

I have the utmost respect for police officers and the job that they do. I'm grateful for the work that police do making communities that we live in safer. But to give an 82 year old lady a $114 ticket for crossing the street too slowly is ridiculous and that officer should be ashamed of himself.

LA DAILY NEWS STORY

Soccer Update

In effort to reach out to my readers who are soccer fans I've decided to start posting periodic soccer updates.

First I came across a story on ESPN.com that Real Madrid star David Beckham desires to finish his career in the United States. Beckham was quoted as saying "I want to be a part of a country that is passionate about sport", Beckham is right that the United States is passionate about sport, I just don't know how passionate we are about his sport.

Beckham plans to end career in United States

The second story is that the United States played Jamaica to 1-1 tie in an international friendly today. If the US doesn't step it up in 58 days (thanks Justin for the countdown clock) it's going to be three and out for Bruce Arena's boys in the World Cup.

No ESPN Until Football Season

One of the disadvantages of not having a roomate is all the expenses like cable tv, internet and electricity will have to be paid by me and me only. In an effort to save a few bucks I made the tough decision to go with only basic cable until football season begins. This means until the end of August I will not have ESPN, ESPN2 and FSN. For as far back as I can remember, I've always had ESPN. I think I'll be ok for now, I've got plenty to keep me busy for the spring and summer months. If there's some game during the summer that I really want to see I can always walk to the bar right next door to my apartment.

All Things Must Pass

Camp Harlow has undergone many changes since the first summer I worked there. We've seen new cabins, a new pool, a pink cafe, pavement, a yurt, a sea foam green wall, a sacrificial urn, a new director, a giant boat, more pavement and numerous other things (including even more pavement) that I don't have time to mention. Through all the changes one thing survived, the Craft Shack. When I was out at Harlow Thursday night for a church function I noticed a new building near the infamous yurt. When I inquired about what that building was, I was told it was the new Craft Shack. While not surprised I saddened to hear that my favorite building on camp was being replaced.

The Craft Shack was my first ever cabin as a camper in 1987. At that time it was a cabin called "Love". By the time I started working there in 1992 the "Love" cabin had become known as the "Craft Shack". Throughout the years, I spent many hours in that building. It became my favorite hangout spot during my freetime, not because I was crafty but it always seemed so peaceful. Many days I would fall asleep on the couch during freetime. Somedays I would just sit in there reading all the names that were all over the walls and ceiling. In my later years it became a prime late night hangout spot as well. I remember many nights being up way too late playing "Kemps" with my fellow staff members. Some nights I would get out crayola markers and draw pictures of everyone, it was some the best artwork anyone has ever seen.

The late George Harrison once sang "All things must pass, All things must pass away, All things must pass, All things must pass away", I just wish that didn't include the Craft Shack.

My Week in Review

Before I begin I must mention that the rest of my Mexico pictures are up, they've actually been up since Tuesday so you all have probably allready seen them. I realize that I've been slacking since I got back from Mexico, hopefully I will return to regular blogging schedule soon. Hopefully my week in review can explain to you all why I haven't blogged much since I got back.

Sunday- I returned home from Mexico. I celebrated my return with two twelve ounce bottles of Corona with lime. I also paid some bills and did some laundry.

Monday- I left my house for I thought would be a normal day of work. On my way to work I stopped at Starbucks and ordered a venti nonfat white chocolate mocha and a maple bar. I got to work turned on my computer, checked my email and voice mail. I had about 100 emails while I was on vacation and five voice mails. At 12:30 I went to lunch at the Jail (I'm reffering to the name of a restaraunt not the county jail!) I ordered a #1 which is Teryaki chicken and rice. After returning to work I started feeling ill. At 3:00 I told my boss's boss that I was going home because I was sick. Upon arriving at my apartment I went to my dedroom turned on ESPN and fell asleep. At 4:30 I woke and felt much better so I decided to go for a short run before watching the NCAA championship. About a quarter mile into my run I realized that my body wasn't cooperating so I stopped and walked home. I decided to get cleaned up get ready to go to my friends house to watch the game. After getting cleaned up I started feeling not so well again so I called my friend and told him I wasn't going to make it. At 6:00 I turned on the game and layed down in my bed. At 6:15 I puked in my toilet. At 6:30, 6:45, 7:00, 7:15, 7:30.............and so on I rushed to the bathroom with horrible diarreha. I also puked two more times. This went on the rest of the night the trips to the bathroom eventually slowed to every hour.

Tuesday- I woke up at 6:30 and called my boss to tell her I wasn't going to work. I went back to bed and woke up again 7:30 and 8:30 to use the bathroom. At 10:00 I woke up for good. I turned on the Price is Right for awhile and ate a bowl of oatmeal. Feeling much better but extremely weak and dehydrated I stumbled across the street to the Chevron station to purchase a 32 Ounce bottle of extreme grape Gatorade. I drank the Gatorade and took a nap until about 3:00. Feeling about 87.3% I drove to Walmart and the grocery store to purchase some miscelaneous items. Upon rturning home I went for a short walk and then had spagehtti for dinner. After flipping between Fox Sports, ESPN and ESPN 2 most of the night I went to bed at about 10:00 PM. Before going to bed I brushed my teeth with my sonicare electric toothbrush with a brand new brush head that I purchased at Walmart earlier in the day. I used Crest Lemon Ice toothpaste and rinsed my mouth with orange flavored listorine.

Wednesday- I woke up with a cold. I took some sudafed, put on my work clothes, packed my lunch and drove to work. I arrived to work and grabbed a coffee mug that read "All stressed out with nobody to choke" I poured myself a cup of sumatra blend from South Fork Coffee Company. At 12:30 I ate my lunch which consisted of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, nonfat raspberry yogurt, a Granny Smith apple and a can of diet Pepsi. After eating my lunch I took a short walk to the U of O campus and back. I worked for another four hours and then went home. At home I made myself a quesadilla with Tillamook chedder cheese. After eating dinner I drove to church for youth group. On my way to church I listened to Paul McCartney's latest album "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard". After youth group I went to Dairy Queen with a few students and other leaders, I ordered a medium Oreo Cookie Blizzard. Upon returning home I decided that I needed to go for a run so I ran six miles in a slow time of 51:09. Considering that I hadn't ran in over a week and that I was sick I was satisfied with the time. after my run I thought about blogging but instead decided to go to bed.

Thursday- The morning was the same as Wednesday, the only difference was that my cold was worse. At work I grabbed the same coffee cup and poured the same blend of coffee. At 12:30 I took my lunch but decided to go drive by a couple apartments that I discovered in the Register Guard. One of them looked acceptable so I called on it and set an appointment to go look at it on Friday. I went back to work and worked for four hours and then went home. At home I made myself a quesadilla and enjoyed a cold Corona with lime. After dinner I went the PC2 group at my Church which stands for Post College-Pre Children. Upon returning home I smoked a Cigar with my roommate. I then went McMenamins North Bank with two of my friends. I enjoyed two glasses a special brew they had on tap, I don't what they called it but it was a special version of their Hammerhead pale ale that was 8.3% alcohol by volume. It was very enjoyable. After that I went home and went to bed.

Friday- I still had the cold and it wasn't getting any better. The morning routine was the same again. At 1:00 I took my lunch and headed off to look at the apartment that I drove by a day earlier. It was located near Autzen Stadium and it was a very small but acceptable. The idea of driving past Autzen Stadium everyday on my way to work made it a done deal. I wrote a check for $250 for the deposit and agreed to move in on the April 15th. I returned to work for four more hours and then went to my parents house for dinner and to celebrate my sisters birthday. I had Spaghetti, for dessert I had chocolate cake which my six year old nephew Nolan helped my mom bake. After dinner I went to 7-11 to buy beer for poker, I settled on a 22 ounce bottle of Arrogant Bastard. I then headed to my friend's house and played poker for a couple hours and as usual I did not win. After poker I went home and went to bed.

Saturday- I woke up a 8:30 and went for a short 10 mile run (next week I get to do 21!). After the run I cleaned and watched ESPN for a while. I then decided to go grocery shopping. I drove to Winco listening to "the Best of Johnny Cash". At Winco I purchased a variety of items including shaving cream, chicken, cheese, beer, diet pepsi, pasta, oatmeal, lunch meat, yogurt and apples. The total came $45.79, I also purchased a powerball ticket which I have yet to check to see if it was a winner. After putting away my groceries and watching a little more TV, I changed into nice clothes and headed off to my roomate's wedding. On the way to the wedding I listened to the Beatles "1" album. At wedding I said hi to a few people I knew and then took a seat on the groom's side. I did not have a date at the wedding. After the wedding I drove to the reception at the Valley River Inn. I mingled for a bit and then took a seat at a table with some casual aquaintences . While sitting at the table I saw one of my friends enter the room, I walked over to her table and sat and had a 10 minute conversation with her. Unfortunatly her table was actually full and someone was allready sitting in the seat that I was in so I eventually headed back to my table. On my way back to my table I ran into another friend so I stopped and talked to her for about five minutes before returning to my table which had since filled up with some weird people that I had never met. One guy had a pornstache! After eating and watching the cutting of the cake I quietly left the building and returned to my apartment where I spent the rest of the evening.

I hope this makes up for my lack of blogging this week. Hopefully I can return to my regular blogging schedule soon.

Mexico Pictures

I have a few of my pictures from Mexico up for everyone to take a look at. I should have the rest up soon.

Mexico Pictures