Holy cow, is tomorrow Friday already?
Indeed it is.
I dunno about you but this week has been *EXHAUSTING*. Whenever Maribou goes away for more than 10 hours, the cats return to feral (with the exception of my sweet Cecilia) and so they’ve been extra wary, work has been in full “AAAAAAAAAAAH” mode, and Mass Effect 3 came out with the Extended Cut which finally allows me to play it… BUT I HAVEN’T HAD TIME!!!
But! Maribou is back, people are gearing up for 4th of July Week at work (which has almost half taking off the first couple of days and the other almost half taking off the second couple of days) which means that many of the people who ask me to do stuff and the people who tell me to do stuff will be out of pocket… and, I hope, I’ll just be able to sit down on the couch. And, yes, do laundry.
So… what’s on your docket?
Sleeping. Sleeping is an important item on my docket. I was going to tell you to remind me to call my sister, but she just called!
In-laws! Ahhhhhhhhhh!
Most importantly, the EuroCup final is on Saturday. The surprising Azzurri take on the dominating Spanish tram that looks to become the first European team to win three consecutive major tournaments. Does anyone know what any of that means?
No. Surprised?
BTW, thank you for reminding me that divorce is awesome (in my case). The in-laws were a nightmare.
Mary-
Soccer is a game that humans ought not play, given that we spent eons evolving the use of opposable thumbs, which the game forbids for 95% of the game. You kick a ball and try to kick it in a big net. Fans get drunk and fight. Some fly Nazi flags and/or throw bananas at black players.
The game itself is by far the easiest to understand. There are about 4 rules, which are enforced with the consistency of yoing children self-refereeing. I made a pledge after the ’06 World Cup to get more into soccer and following Euro has been a big step in that. And it is actually frickin’ awesome to watch played at an elite level. Next I choose a Club team and attempt to follow that. I’m leaning toward a Spanish league team. How long ago did you stop reading?
🙂 I read the entire thing. I’m actually kind of interested remember. I wouldn’t waste my time reading and commenting if I wasn’t trying to learn *something*.
Heh… I knew you were interested in sports. I didn’t assume you were interesting in my sports fan navel gazing. Watch the game on Sunday! 2:30 EST on ESPN.
It means it’s going to be a fantastic final.
ESPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Also the final is on SUNDAY. Shame on you, Kazzy.
Nob- Argh! Misspoke/typed. I am intimately familiar with the day and time because we are having an in-laws luncheon at the very same time meaning I am relegated to going into a sports media blackout and watching it on DVR, hopefully configured in such a way that the final extra time and PKs (if necessary) don’t get cut off like in the Spain/Portgual game.
Do you follow any European club teams/leagues?
…does the sun rise from the East? (Yes)
Is Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time? (Duh)
Is Messi better than Ronaldo? (Of course)
My primary leagues are the Premiership, BBVA and Bundesliga.
I occasionally follow Serie A and Eredivisie, but mostly from a nationalist impulse of watching Japanese players.
Which squads? I’m debating between La Liga and English Premier, in part because I want a league/teams popular enough to have a following in the states. Trying to figure out a reasonable way to choose… Which is much harder as a full-grown adult…
And does anyone reasonable think Ronolado, or anyone else for that matter, is better than Messi?
Yes. We call them wives.
Scratch that. You were looking for someone “reasonable.”
The answer is no.
Well played, good sir.
Primary clubs are:
Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona….
And teams that I root for when they’re not playing my favorite clubs are:
Stuttgart, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Athletic Bilbao.
A reasonable way to choose I guess is: 1. philosophy of soccer, 2. location/people there, or 3. your own ancestry.
I kind of came to the same conclusion… I can probably only devote time to one team and might be best served to watch a season to learn those things. I’m Italian but din’t have much interest in Serie A… Does the style there represent traditional Azzurri dootball, namely all defense and possession? I also don’t know anyone that follows it, meaning I’d be on an island trying to watch it, which is why I’m leaning Premiere or La Liga.
Now that it is officially the weekend I can tell you that I’m not doing anything interesting. I will be cleaning and working from home. My to-do list for work is outrageous. If the weather is nice I will go on a motorcycle ride.
You have a motorcycle?
Hell yes! Honda Rebel 250. Her name is Scoot because she is so petite. I’m not very large so she has served me well, but I’m looking for something bigger. I’m think a 750.
750 is more than 250, thus a 750 is a larger bike than a 250?
Kazzy:Motorcycles*::Mary:Sports
* You can really expand this to all things automotive and mechanical.
I will keep it simple.
Yes, a 750 is larger. The numbers are refering to the cubic centimeters (read: size of the engine). I ride a cruiser.
Sportbikes are a different story altogether. They are fast (which I LOVE!), but not nearly as beautiful, fuel efficient or comfortable as cruisers. There are usually larger numbers in the name of a sportbike because the engine size is bigger. They also have more initials thrown in and so the names can usually tip off the layman for determining what kind of bike the rider is talking about.
A CB750 would be a nice bike, and they’re still relatively affordable.
Maybe a customized classic CB from ’69 to ’78, but I’ve just don’t like the back end on CBs. The ones I’ve seen from the ’90s are too sporty and the concept for the 2015 CB makes me throw up a little in my mouth.
But yes, they are pretty affordable. Great suggestion, Nob.
Personally I’m a big fan of the Kawasaki Z…especially the ZII 750…but those are getting harder to find and I don’t know if you can actually find one in the US.
You are officially my favorite person at the league now, Nob. Ahhh… bikes! I will even forgive you for favoring sportbikes.
The Z750 sounds like it has great handling and stopping power, which is great, but I just can’t get on board with the styling. Besides, it would be weird to jump on something with such precise handling after so many years of cruisers. It’s just a different game. I would probably freak cornering on a Z750. Drastically different lean angles.
If you’re a cruiser gal, the Vulcan 750 by Kawa is a nice choice, I think. It’s certainly gotten good marks for reliability. Otherwise, you could try a touring bike?
Also the notion of a woman who understands bikes, has at least a passing interest in sport to ask about it, and frequents a blog like LoOG is…stimulating.
Touring bikes are just too bulky (yes, I know I’m picky. Not too lean, not too much bulk). My ex-husband and grandfather both owned Goldwings. I enjoyed riding bitch on those, but I’m not looking to own a bagger for my main ride.
As for the Vulcan 750, I’ve seen many on the road but I’m more familiar with the Honda Shadow or Suzuki Boulevard. My brother and ex-husband both owned Shadows. At this point I’m sure it’s about nuance, wouldn’t you say?
I’m undecided about Harley and Indian. The Buell and Sportster are too sleek so that probably rules out Harley because I want something that I’m not going to lay down. I must admit, I consider myself uneducated on Indian. I wouldn’t mind owning a restoration, but I would be crushed if anything ever happened to it. This might prevent me from riding as often as I like or as hard as I like (as subjective as that term might be).
I’ll take that as a compliment.
I mean a lot of it at that point is about personal taste. If you liked the Shadow, and have ridden a Honda mostly, bets are likely you’ll like a Honda more than whatever else you get, if only out of brand loyalty. The Boulevard is a neat looking bike, and I’ve always been fond of Suzuki engines.
(Then again it’s been aaaaaaaaaaaaaages since I’ve even touched one much less ridden, so my advice is basically just window shopping)
As for the compliment, I’m glad you took it as one, because after posting it, I realized it had been worded quite disastrously.
Just the words “brand loyalty” make me want to sit on something else.
It’s been ages since you touched or ridden a Suzuki or a bike altogether? If you haven’t ridden a bike in a while you are going to need to correct that immediately. Don’t you live in Texas? I would we all over that. I’m a fair weather rider, but I live in Oregon. What the heck is your excuse???
Of course, I’m flattered. I don’t think it was disastrously worded at all. It’s not every day that I find someone who is willing to talk about bikes with me.
I haven’t touched a bike since I moved stateside. The last time I was even astride one was when I was 19, I think. (I’m now 28) Not for a lack of interest, a friend of mine tried to get me to try out some of his sportbikes, but I was recovering from a bicycle injury at the time….
As for why I don’t have one now.
1. I’m broke. (Have you noticed I’ve started a crowd-sourcing campaign to try to pay for my degree?)
2. Texas drivers scare the hell out of me.
3. Did I mention Texas drivers scare me?
I’ll be brewing a strong Scotch ale based off the McEwan’s recipe this weekend.
Typically, my Scotch ales have been modeled on the Maclay and West Highland recipes, so this is something a bit different for me.
The last of the big beers I’m going to brew for awhile.
Should be ready around mid- to late-September; a bit before my witbier.
Damn! but I brew one fantastic porter!