Event Log: 9/7/14 - Let's Get Ready to Football

This is the first season of football where I'm playing fantasy. Games I normally wouldn't care about carry stakes now. I'm invested in the outcomes, in particular, the performances of certain players. I'm tied in my current match at 90-90. It all comes down to Keenan Allen vs Joique Bell, wide receiver vs running back. I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope the Chargers are on fire that night. Throw that ball, Rivers.

The Saints lost, which is soul crushing, but divisional games are always close and it was on the road. It's an acceptable loss and hopefully it'll spark a fire under the Saint's defense. The O-line looked good and our running game was somewhat effective. The secondary was a big letdown and couldn't make big plays down the stretch. Critical mistake with that fumble, Colston. That's almost enough to make me drop you from my fantasy team. I'm thinking about picking up Brandon Cooks as a flex starter. I'll have more flexibility and you'll never know when injury might rear its ugly head.

Since I couldn't sleep last night, I went to early church at 7:30AM. I think my lack of sleep has intensified my tinnitus. It's terrible. Even with music on full blast, I can hear that low pitch hum. It's taking a toll on my sanity. No one deserves this pain, especially when there's seemingly no reason for it.

I thought Sunday was supposed to be a relaxing day, so why am I receiving possible job offers? I'm not complaining, but I'm not in the mood process that serious stuff during the weekend. Give me a break, especially from this heat. I went through half the day shirtless because it was that hot.

I must sleep now.

/eventlog

Event Log: 9/5/14 - Deepening Bonds

Today, I deepened my longstanding relationship with professional American football by jumping into America's biggest obsession since sports--and that's fantasy sports. It was just a matter of time before I joined in because of my affinity for stats; I didn't run 60+ years of MyGM in NBA 2K14 for nothing.

Besides, a friend of mine was playing, and I couldn't allow his knowledge of the game to eclipse mine. It was a small matter of pride. I want to be on top of things. This was an opportunity to look beyond my favorite team and appreciate these athletes for what they do in every position.

I signed up for an account on ESPN and joined a random public 10-team league. I did a ton of research before the draft, looking up drafting strategies, poring over rankings and expert analysis, and when the clock finally chimed, I think I did decent, all things considered. Here's a look at my team:

My strategy was to get the best running backs off the board, attack the best wide receivers available, and fill in the depth chart. I did this at the cost of an elite quarterback but that was my game plan and I was sticking to it no matter what. On paper, I have the best team in the league, but football is one of the more unpredictable sports. The studs of yesteryear may be the duds of today, and they might encounter serious injuries, and you'll never know who'll have a breakout season. That's just part of the excitement of fantasy sports. I can't wait for Sunday.

For a friend's belated birthday celebration, we ventured out to this packed place appropriately named the Packing House. It's this plantation-looking building with various restaurants and markets inside, the most intriguing of which, was a bar called the Blind Rabbit. Just outside the place was an indie band doing covers in addition to their own stuff, I assume--only because I haven't heard it before. The Blind Rabbit resembled a prohibition-era speakeasy, complete with a shelf of sake barrels as a disguised entrance. 

We went inside and it was cramped. Our corner was quickly crowded with another party of four next to us. Despite our close proximity, there wasn't much crossover in conversation aside from a few recommendations to a place called The Playground and Father's Office, the latter of which, apparently has the best burger ever.  

It was clear the main allure of this place was its sense of exclusivity and the ambiance, although the illusion was somewhat spoiled by the AC unit directly above us and the computer screen across the way. You can't be 100% authentic without losing some conveniences. 

Service was slow, but when I eventually got my pear blossom, it wasn't bad. One of my friends bought an $18 burger that I knew wasn't worth $18, while another friend got duck and mac and cheese. I had some of it. It got cold pretty quick, courtesy of the AC. I didn't talk much until the alcohol was flowing. I was tired from my workout earlier and I hadn't eaten so the effect was quick. I couldn't shut up.

In apology for their slow service, one of the bartenders bought us a round of complimentary whiskey shots. It was a nice gesture. Then I finished off the birthday boy's beer because he wasn't a fan of its earthly taste. Considering the amount of alcohol I imbibed at the cost of one drink, I felt good about that night. The only thing I regret was not eating dinner. My brother once said that alcohol makes you heavy, and since I lost four pounds seemingly overnight (did I piss it all away?), I'm inclined to agree.

I didn't complete my goals for the day, which was to apply to jobs and add another entry to my personal resume site. Since I was too drunk to do otherwise (I drank a protein shake and I couldn't close the cap--until I realized I was twisting it the wrong way), I went to bed early. 

It didn't work. My tinnitus kicked into overdrive and I stayed up until 6 in the morning with a low pitch in my ear the entire night. This thing's a real vibe killer. 

/eventlog

Event Log: 9/4/14 - Nothing Stops This Train

Football is back. The recent spate of Madden videos has reignited my interest in football. I typically don't tune into season openers. I normally get into the groove a few games in the season, but thanks to Madden, I was fully prepared for tonight's game. I predicted that the Seahawks would win despite the Superbowl champions losing in the season opener for the last 8 years. I was right. The Seahawks dismantled the Packer's defense. They're clearly the team to beat this year. Their defense is just too strong.

I skipped out on my run partly because of the game, and because I didn't want to aggravate my shin splits further. I went for a fifteen-minute jog during halftime, just to stay spry. In the past, I've spread out my weight training through the week, but now that I've concentrated everything into Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, my body has to adjust, and like any adjustment period, it's quite difficult and a little painful. Hopefully, after this week, my body will get used to it like it did when I started running again.

My day was dedicated to heaping another 2k words on the next chapter of my side story. I'm four words shy of 5k. I've reached the length that I've wanted but there's still a lot of development left in the scenes. I've got one...two...three major scenes left, each probably requiring at least 500 to 1000 words each. Sometimes, I wonder why I'm working on this when nobody has acknowledged my effort. That's a lie. My effort's been acknowledged, just not in a satisfactory and visible way.

Although I've become more consistent in my content production, I really gotta start working on these much earlier in the day. It's usually hard for me to fall asleep, but I'm feeling a bit drowsy at the moment. This fogs up the mind and I can't work at peak efficiency. If I can slide my schedule a bit, I think I can really start building on my potential. The last three days have been great in terms of acquiring more confidence. It's not an issue of ability, but mental toughness. I gotta stick with it until its embedded in my routine.

/eventlog