Who would have thunk it?

Tonight our kickball team will face off against More Cowbell and more than likely we'll pull out our second win of the season. We're 1-3-2 so far. We're not a bad team, we've just got an incredibly tough schedule this season. (I know, that's what they all say)

But it's true... we play in one of the most competitive divisions in the US. Also, DC is the hub of WAKA since it's conception at a happy hour at Kelly's Irish Times back in 1997. There are over 30 divisions in the greater DC area, with around 16 teams per division, with up to 26 players per team. That's at least 10,000 kickball players in the DC area through WAKA alone (and there are at least 2 other regional kickball leagues here, too)

So, yes, at pretty much any given moment, there is a kickball game going on somewhere in DC. And since it's a social sport, there are many a happy hour to be attended before and/or after each game.

This week it has come to my attention that the backlash against us kickballers has reached a critical mass. It would seem that there are a number of folks who despise us for one reason or another. Yes, we wear brightly colored team shirts. Yes, when we amass at a bar, we pretty much take it over... and yes, many of us end up stumbling our way home drunk as a college freshman. But are those really good enough reasons to start an underground terrorist organization?

Apparently to a few hundred local residents, it is.

Enter, the Anti Yuppie Kickball Guerilla Front. Their stated mission is to disrupt, by any means necessary, our evenings of ball kicking. This conspiracy has been quietly growing since early 2007 and apparently has started striking out against kickballers around the city in the past few weeks. Check out the tactics they advocate on their website.

A week or so ago, they showered our post-game libations with shredded kickball scraps. Rumor has it that they've run through games and stolen the kickball, then fled in an awaiting vehicle. They may have also showered a game or two with dog poo, but those rumors have yet to be substantiated.

Sadly, their antics (and more likely, their website) have attracted the attention of the US Marshals. On October 4th, at an "underground" meeting at a bar in DC, their leader was arrested on charges of advocating terrorism and providing material support to a terrorist organization. WHAT?!? I don't know whether to laugh or to cry about this!

Seriously. This happened.

Obviously, I don't agree with a group set to destroy a new favorite pasttime for thousands of twenty-somethings. But at the same time, should we really be considering this organization a TERRORIST GROUP? (doesn't it instill fear in you, just to see the words "terrorist group"?)

Apparently, he was also wanted on some drug trafficking charges in other states, so I suppose his arrest was warranted (HA!) but I'm still waiting for the Bush Administration to hold the press conference letting America know that we are once again safer, thanks to Homeland Security, the FBI, and likely the NSA, for stopping this homegrown terror netowork in its tracks before hundreds of innocent yuppies were robbed of their ability to blow off some steam on a Wednesday night (and maybe even given poo showers).

working for the man

My apologies for not having been able to post every day since I voiced my goal. I didn't think about the fact that I was leaving the country on Sept 30th. I went on a cruise to Bermuda for a week. I will post some pictures and a recap soon.

Today's post is about the instability in my job.

Being a contractor for the government, you never really feel completely secure. I've felt more secure than most because I've worked my way into a position that makes it difficult to eliminate me. It's not that exciting (I build and maintain databases) but they need me. I know too much about the research... that's my real security.

Last week, I started working for a new employer. The government ended the contract with my old employer and moved me and a few coworkers to this new contracting agency. Sadly, in that move I lost a company sponsored 401k and 10 days of PTO. Hey, when you're asked by the government to underbid someone else, you've gotta cut costs somewhere... and you know it ain't gonna be from your profitabiliy.

Sadly, I used half of my PTO last week for the cruise... in my first week of employment with the new contractor.

Elsewhere in my employment news, the government has mentioned that they want to bring me on as a true full time government employee! I wish I could be more excited about this, but it's not the 1st time they've mentioned it in the past 4 years... nor the 2nd... not even the 3rd. So we'll see... until December... and I'm definitely not holding my breath.

There's been a hiring freeze in place since Bush took office, so instead of just hiring the workers, we're hiring them through another agency and paying more for each one. The same number of people are still working for the government, they're just not technically employed by the government.

So... anyone got any tips on which is the best retirement account for me to open up?

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about...

I'm glad to learn that the world is starting to understand that we have the technology to power ourselves using renewable energy. Hell, we've had the technology for hundreds if not thousands of years! (recall: large windmills in Northern Europe and water wheels throughout the globe, for example) It's just that now we need to power EVERYTHING... everything is electronic and needs to be recharged.

But no matter... the sun isn't going anywhere... at least not for millions of years.

So Algeria decided that it was going to take the lead in generating electricity from the solar rays that bathe our planet each and every day...

Check out the news story here.

I'm impressed.

It's just KICKBALL!!

For the past 4 years, I've been playing kickball on Thursday nights in the fall and the spring on a team in the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA). Our team plays in one of the most competitive divisions in the nation... over the years a few of the national championship teams came from our division.

I know... you're thinking "Kickball???"

Yes, kickball. It's a great, fun game and it's something that you can definitely play after a few beers without risking too many injuries. And although some teams are very competitive, we're not one of them. That's not to say that we lose every game... we usually go about .500

Our team (Turn Your Head and Cough) considers itself a social team, with a goal of meeting new people, networking, and generally having a good time. It's supposed to be fun and relaxing.

Last night, that wasn't the case. We were playing the team who was in last place, so it should have been a very easy and relaxed win for our team. But instead, the game was marred by controversy... Two of our players were ejected for explicit diatribes directed at the ump, and one of those two had also physically assaulted the ump. And this was all within the top of the 1st inning!!!

Needless to say, after that we were a bit off of our game. In the end we gave up a 6-2 lead and allowed Irish I Was Drunk to score a tie out of us.

The only question now is... do we boot those two players from our team, or will the division do it for us?

And to think... it's just kickball...

Deep Thoughts

Wow... June 22nd was my last post. I'll tell ya', it's been a fast crazy summer!!

I know that I haven't posted too frequently in the past, but that's going to change. I'm going to try to post something every day... or at least 3 or 4 times a week. Feel free to blast me through comments if I don't hold up to my end of the bargain.

A few days ago, something happened that made me think deeply about what it is to be a friend, an acquaintance, or a family member. I read a post from Spicy Little Pi over at Adventures of a Cubemonkey... a sad post. As it turns out, her father passed away on Sunday night.

Now, I visit Pi's blog frequently, and we dialogue through her blog's comments, but I've never met her... I've never spoken to her on the phone... I've never even sent her an email. Yet I know who she hangs out with... I know what she likes to do on weekend (and sometimes during the week)... I know what the inside of her new condo looks like (and what it looked like before she remodeled some of the rooms).

So what does that make her? Certainly not a family member... sadly you don't get to choose those (*Note: I love my family and have nothing agaist any of them... I was very lucky when I was assigned a family. I wouldn't have asked for any different had I been able to). And I can't really call her a friend (at least not in the traditional sense of the term)... remember, I've never actually spoken to her. But acquaintance doesn't seem to fit either... I usually reserve that designation for people I know, but sometimes wish I didn't know ;) She's more like someone I wish I had a better opportunity to know, but circumstantially, it doesn't work so well... someone with whom I KNOW would get along well with and would have lots of great, fun, hilarious times with... but can't.

I think we need to come up with a new term for these types of people and interactions. People whom you've never actually met, but about whom you know a great deal and respect and admire enough to interact with them in some capacity (in this case through comments on her blog). And a special designation for those you know would make a great friend if only they were local.

Beyond all that, I was amazed at how much I was affected by reading her post about finding out that her father had passed. I'm sure she's still away from home dealing with the aftermath of his passing and I hope she knows that my thoughts and prayers are with her (okay, I don't really pray... but you know what I mean). After reading that post, I felt my mood change for the rest of the day. Maybe it was what she wrote... maybe it was the way she wrote it. Regardless, I was deeply moved and saddened for her and couldn't figure out how to convey this to her. Of course I posted a comment on her blog telling her how sorry I was to hear about her loss... but beyond that, I felt compelled to do something for her to help ease her pain.

But what can you do for a person who lives hundreds of miles away and with whom you've only communicated through blog comments??

Well I couldn't think of anything (at least nothing that the comments feature would allow me to do), other than resuming my blog by posting an entry dedicated to her and her father.

So Pi... this one goes out to you. I'm so sorry that your time with your father was cut so short... but remember all the good times you had with him... the holidays, the times growing up, the fatherly advice he gave you and you ignored :)

It's going to be a tough few weeks or months ahead... but know that there are people out there... people you've never met and probably couldn't pick out of a crowd... but they are out there. And they are thinking about you and pulling for you to help you get through. And if you need anything... any advice, any support... any place to crash to get away from it all... know that they will be there for you. And know that I am one of them.