Are You Ready For Some Football?

Break out the facepaint (or warpaint, whatever you want to call it), jersey's and fire up that grill. Football season is back!

Now, football's never been really big at my school. We've got a small team in a small division. We're not one of those teams you're going to see on ESPN or Fox (unless we make the playoffs like we did last year). My cousins and friends are jealous because instead of praying that I win a lottery to get a ticket, I just have to show my student ID and walk through the gate. In fact, I think most people are a little surprised that we even have a football team.

I support my football team, and I always will. However, my loyalty also lies with a couple of other teams. If our football game is an away game, then you'll probably find me sitting in front of the TV, yelling at my beloved Hokies (or Chokies, as they're affectionately known in my household). On Sunday's, you might find me watching some NFL. I tend to avoid watching them, though. There's just something about watching the NFL that I don't like. I can't really put my finger on it. Let's just say that I live for college football, and that sentiment is shared by my father.

It's amusing, actually. Dad usually has three football buddies (four, when I'm home). On any given Saturday, you can probably find him lying on the couch with Cleo (my cat) sitting above his head, and Kodi and Callie (our dogs) lying at his feet as they settle in to watch his alma mater play. By the second quarter, all four of them will probably have fallen asleep. It's Ok, though. They'll wake up in the middle of the third and watch until the end.

If there's a major game that's going to be played later in the evening, then sometimes dad cooks chili. He and I (and sometimes my brother) will go out and get all the neccessary ingredients earlier in the day, and when we return home, we begin the process of "building" the chili. Dad has a sworn by recipe that's never been written down and depends on constantly changing proportions of spices, meat and tomato products. Each pot of chili is a little different, so we've got to be flexible. While one batch might need more cayenne pepper, another might need more salt. Or maybe we need more tomato paste in one while another needs more water. Either way, we're constantly testing the chili as it cooks, making adjustments as need. By about 02:00 PM, we've usually got a rather large pot of chili simmering on the stove. About fifteen minutes before kickoff, we'll all gather around and dip out our bowls of the thick stew. This is where things get interesting.

Each member of my family has their own unique way of fixing their chili. Personally, I prefer to put a fair amount of shredded sharp cheese in mine, with a small dollop of sour cream. Dad tends to steer away from any cheese or sour cream, instead pulling out the Fritos Scoops that serve as his preferred method of consumption. My brother will also use the Fritos, but he usually throws some cheese in his chili as well. Mom's never been a huge fan of chili, but she'll eat it when Dad takes the time to cook it. She usually throws sour cream in hers, but no cheese.

One pot of chili usually produces enough thick, red stew for all four of us to go back for seconds (and sometimes thirds). In fact, usually we've got enough left over for us all to have at least a couple of bowls later in the week.

Chili is my family's big football tradition. It brings us all together in one way or another, even if during the beginning of the day, we'd been all doing our own things. In my humble opinion, I don't think there's anything better than coming into the house after running errands while home from college and smelling that distinct chili smell. At the end of the football season, I may not remember the final scores of all the huge games, or who even played the Super Bowl. I can bet you money, though, that I can remember those days where Dad and I stood around the stove, discussing what exactly was missing from the pot.

Once again, though, I am faced with the reality that my chili days are numbered. I'm away at college, and to be honest, chili doesn't exactly ship well through the USPS. So, I cherish those moments I have with my dad, cooking that chili. I cherish those nights spent sitting around the TV, yelling at the players and coaches as spoons (and Fritos) scrape the bottoms of bowls. I cherish that time I get to spend with my family, because I know that those moments are slowly beginning to dwindle in number.

So, whether your family's football tradition is wearing jerseys and face/warpaint or watching the game with friends in your team-themed room, remember this- these are the important moments. These are the moments that you'll remember for a lifetime. These are the moments.

With that said, I've got one last question for ya...

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?!?!?!

2010- Bring it!

And... it's official. At 03:05 PM today, my '09 pool season ended. No longer will I be spending days upon days maintaining and managing a pool. Instead, I get to go to classes... YIPPEE!! (yeah, right)

Though there were many trying moments this year, I've got to admit it- I think this was the best season I've had in my 3 years as a lifeguard. The people were great, the days weren't hugely stressful (most of the time) and, seeing as we had only 2 rescues (which were really just assists), I'd say we had a really successful season. Sure, in retrospect, I can pick out several moments that I'd like to do over... things I could've done better, but hey. Live and learn. I'll do better next year.

In so many ways, I learned so much this season. Not only did I learn about pool chemistry (anyone need their water tested??) and more about pool maintenance (how about diving boards? I could probably fix your diving board...), but I also gained better people and time management skills. My patience was tested several times, so I most certainly gained more of that virtue. And I think one of the biggest things I learned was to let go.

When I was first hired, my safety coordinator told me something I didn't even know about myself. Apparently I'm one of those people who believes in the saying "if you want something done and you want it done right, do it yourself." Looking back, I can definitely see where he'd say that. Anyway, when I was hired, he pointed that out and then told me he wanted me to stop that. I was a manager, and it while I did have more responsibilities and had to pull my weight, he didn't want me doing that. And so, over the course of the summer, I attempted to back off and let my guards do it... things like testing the water, cleaning the bathrooms, etc, etc. Sure, I did slip up a few times (but the tiles were never going to get scrubbed if I didn't do it!), but over all, I think I did and Ok job.

With that said, I think it's pretty clear in my mind that I'm optimistic for the 2010 pool season. True, I'm not sure if I'm going to return to my pool from this year. I've been at it for two years; it's probably time for a change of scenery. But, I think things will go well next season, and I've got faith in my supervisors. They'll put me where I need to be.

So, farewell, '09 Pool Season. You were fun (at times) and made life interesting.

To 2010: Bring it! I'm ready for you! :)

Invasion!

"Ohmygod, what is that?"

"Ewwwww.... gross! I thought I got away from those!"

"It looks like a centipede! ... Do you mind if I kill it?"

"By all means, kill it. I don't care."

Such was the conversation one of my suitmates and I held at 08:45 this morning, after she made an all too gross discovery. Apparently, our dorm has become a home to house centipedes... nasty little creatures with way too many legs and a creepy-crawly walk. The strange thing about it is, despite the fact that yes, we do have a lot of stuff in a small area, we're actually very clean. It's not like any of us live in pig sties or something like that.

As my suitmate danced around in the area right in front of the bathroom, I couldn't help but to be slightly amused once more. We used to get those all the time at the pool, and I kid you not, I did the exact same thing, only on a guard stand. It usually started with Jimmy putting umbrella's up behind me, the bug falling on my stand and me screaming the ever typical comment.

"Ohmygod, gross!!! Jimmy, kill it!!"

Thus, Jimmy would walk over, laugh at my hysterical reaction to the small creature and proceed to flick it off the stand. Unfortunately, Jimmy was over 200 miles away from this creature, so he couldn't flick it away for my suitemate and I. Instead, my suitemate put on a brave face, grabbed a flip-flop and proceeded to crush the creature with it.

I think my suitemate said it best as we looked at the now dead but still gross creature post-mortem.

"I swear to God, if one of those things crawls on me when I'm sleeping, I'm going to scream fucking bloody murder."

Me too, Chica. Me too.

Did They Have These Problems????

Even though I'm back to school it seems like I can't get away from the pool. This time, though, my inability to leave it isn't work-related. Instead, it deals with where my class is located.

James Madison University was originally founded as an all-women college called The State Normal and Industrial School for Women in 1908. It was a small campus located in the Shenandoah Valley, tiny compared to what it is now. There were only roughly 13 buildings, all of which are still in use today (though all with renovations, while still keeping their original charm). Wilson Hall is the centerpiece of what is known today as The Quad, and if you look at it from there, you'll see Keezell Hall branching off to the right, and Maury Hall to the right. The hall we'll be focusing on today is Keezell.

Back when it first opened, Keezell Hall was the gym, complete with a large pool in the ground floor. Today, the gym is known as UREC, is located across campus (and across the interstate), and yes, it does have a pool. Keezell Hall has been renovated, and now serves as the home of the English and Foreign Language departments. My American Literature Post 1865 class is located in what was originally the well of the pool.

Upon hearing this, I was a little surprised; I'd never known there was a gym here before. However, upon surveying the room once more, it became all too evident to me that indeed this had been a swimming pool. Thus, I resigned myself to "another five months at the pool." As the teacher began her lecture, though, I found my thoughts drifting into a rather interesting direction... a direction I know all to well... a lifeguarding direction. I began thinking about pool chemistry, chlorine and pH. How did they regulate that back then? Did they have chlorine pumps like we have now? If so, how did they work?

While thinking about all of this, I couldn't help but to remember all the chlorine mishaps at Foxcroft. Did the pool here have the same problems as us? Or, maybe I should consider elaborating on what exactly a chlorine mishap is...

Commence Lifeguarding Flashback

It was a June morning when one of my guards, Melissa, and I were cleaning the hairstrainer. Everything had been going well- the pool was clean, the pressure wasn't too high and pool chemistry was perfect. Remaining optimistic, I put the basket in the hairstrainer, primed it, shut it and turned it on as Melissa walked out of the pump room. All of a sudden, a clear liquid starts shooting out of our return valve, and catches Melissa on her leg. She yelps, I yelp and we turn the pump off. Thus, I get the job of calling my supervisor and telling her what's going on.

Me: Hey, we've got a problem over here.
Supervisor: What's going on?
Me: Well, our return valve is shooting clear liquid at us everytime we turn the system on. It wasn't doing this until after we cleaned the hairstrainer.

My supervisor assures me that she'll be at the pool ASAP; leave the system off and run things as normal. Twenty minutes later, she shows up, and I show her what's going on. As soon as I turn off the pump, she gives me a look.

Supervisor: You don't smell that?
Me: Smell what?
Supervisor: That's chlorine spraying out of the tube.

As a lifeguard (and a history major with an interest in WWI) I'm well aware of the dangers of chlorine. It can give you a headache in small doses, knock you out with a large whiff, burn the lining of the lungs and your skin, and yes, it can kill you. All things considered, though, it's not nearly as dangerous as another chemical we have at the pool, muriatic acid, better known as hydrochloric acid (but that's another story for another day).

Immediately, the supervisor set to fixing out problem- the cracked feed tube. I left, and went through rotation. As I was sitting at the gate, my supervisor let me know she got the problem fixed. She leaves, and we continued running the pool. All day, though, we keep smelling chlorine near the pump room. Even I'm smelling it, and that's saying something. Finally, with a shirt over my nose, I go into the pump room and am astonished at what I see.

Chlorine bubbling from the same tube that was fixed earlier, just in a different spot. Sighing, I got and get my cellphone, once again calling my supervisor and letting her know what's up. She comes out and patches it with an all-mighty tool- duct tape. The seal holds (and has held since that day), and we leave at 8 when the pool closes.

Fast Forward 2 Months

I was running off of fumes when I unlocked the gate to the pool on a Friday morning, after attending a manager meeting at the other end of the county. The first thing I'm greeted with as I unlocked the snack shack was a large puddle of chocolate on the floor with ants all over it.

Me: Great. Shit.

Now, not only did I have to open the pool but I had to solve this mystery too. Somedays I hated my job.

Melissa came in, and we opened the pool, with both of us noticing a strong smell of chlorine again. This was weird. I checked all the barrels, the tube and the feed, and nothing was leaking. I decided it was from where I'd refilled the baby pool chlorinator with skimmer sticks earlier.

Two hours later, I finally discovered the source of the chocolate mystery. Our freezer hadn't been shut the entire way, and had slowly defrosted during the night, leaving all ice cream sandwiches to melt. Lovely. I got to clean it all up and move everything to the other freezer. As I was cleaning, I still noticed this chlorine smell. Once again, I checked the tubing, and found nothing wrong. Certainly I wasn't going insane- other lifeguards had mentioned it too. So, why couldn't I find the problem?

6 o'clock rolls around, and I happened to meander into the pump room to look for something. The overwhelming smell of chlorine hits me, and I look down to see the tubing that feeds into the return valve bubbling. Well, good to know that problem's solved. Now, how the hell do we fix it? We'd already cut the tubing once before when it decided to spew chlorine every where.

In the end, our other supervisor had to come fix it. It was patched quickly, though, and everything was Ok.

End Lifeguarding Flashback

So, now I find myself in yet another pool, albeit an emptied and renovated one for academic instead of professional reasons. It's a new place, and eventually, I'll get used to it (and the lack of windows). I don't like the room, and I don't really like the class. Despite it all, I know one thing. At least I won't have to worry about leaking chlorine tubes. :)

Politcal Heatwave

Thunderstorms have been rolling across the nation recently, and I'm not talking about the weather. It seems that like the temperatures down here in the South, the heat around politics has been rising, and not for the better. With all the debating that's been going on, it seems like now's yet another point in time where it's important to know where you stand in regards to your beliefs. With that thought in mind, I'm going to attempt to do so... to state my political beliefs on a a few topics that I personally think are important (in no particular order).

Universal Health Care
No. No no no no no. My parents work hard, and they deserve the benefits that their companies offer them. They don't take advantage of them, and in my opinion, considering how long they've both been with their respective employers, they deserve their health care benefits. And I plan to work hard and also get a job that offers benefits as well. Why should I have to lower my health care standards for someone else who's unwilling to work and earn health care benefits? Even more, why should the average citizens like my family and I be forced to give up our health care for something substandard while all the government officials get to keep theirs? That's not right, and we all know that. Listen to the people- we don't want this. Don't you government officials dare force us into something that we've spoken out against. And don't you dare attempt to make a hasty decision in regards to this.

Illegal Immigration
How can we afford to offer all these corporate bailouts and stimulus checks but not afford to build a fence across our southern border and keep it maintained and patrolled? Stop the amnesties. Send the illegal immigrants back to wherever they came from. I'm not being racist- when they obtain the proper documents, can effectively communicate in English and actually legally cross the borders, then we can let them stay. Until then, though, they need to stay in their own countries, and we need to keep them there. Close the borders, fill in all the holes. With our economic state right now, we cannot afford to have them here.

Education
Federal government: butt out. Let the states decide how they want to run their education systems. And stop blackmailing the state education systems with this No Child Left Behind bullshit. From what I've seen, it's not really helping anyone. If anything, it's probably hindering more schools. Federal funding for test scores? What the hell kind of system is that? There've already been cases of school districts sending in fraudulent test scores- do you really think that's going to stop? No. It's not. So get your greasy paws off the education systems.

Redistribution of Wealth
Get rid of it. Right now. Personally, this is a crime in and of itself, and I call it stealing. I work hard for my money. I went out and found a steady job. Why should I have to give up my hard-earned cash to some Joe Schmoe who's unwilling to get up off his butt and get a job? You didn't work for this cash, therefore you don't deserve it. Want your share? Get a job. Then we can talk.

US Troops in Iraq
Don't get me wrong- I'm all for bringing our boys home. I've got plenty of family and friends in the military, and I'd hate to see any of them get killed. The fact of the matter is we helped instigate this current situation in Iraq. Therefore, we should help resolve it. It's our responsibility. We cannot leave that country hanging. If anything, that'll make even more nations dislike us. We've got enough enemies out there as it is. We don't need anymore.

Corporate Bailouts
Stop them. Why are you giving money to the companies that put us in our current economic problems? They don't deserve the bail outs. Why don't you focus on putting that money to better uses, like paying off the huge deficit that we have instead of creating even more of one?

Those are just some brief beliefs and observations that I've come up with. Those are my opinions. While they probably aren't thought out as well as they could be, they're better than some beliefs I've heard. Please don't bash or flame them.

I really do urge everyone to sit down and think for a little bit. Figure out your political beliefs. Perhaps it could help cool this political heat wave down some.

The Letter

Here's another interesting article I was sent by my uncle just earlier this week. It's just some food for thought. Enjoy!

GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Source: The Letter

The Season Thus Far

"A good lifeguard will mostly stay dry, if using prevention." -Ann Lawton

Though it's only been roughly two weeks, it seems like I've easily slipped back into the role of the lifeguard. I've got the stereotypical tan working (sunglasses tan included) and am most likely smelling like chlorine and sunscreen 24/7 now. Indeed, it seems that summer has begun.

Like I said before, I had a lot of high hopes for this summer, and so far, it appears that many of those hopes can be fulfilled. We've got a good group of guards (for the most part) and as of now, it seems like our relations with the pool committee are holding strong. Sure, we've had our fair share of petty troubles (none of which I'll divulge here), but nothing too major had occurred... knock on wood. In fact, I'd even reckon to say that our pool's looking really good compared to some others out there.

Now, mind you, in returning to the world of lifeguarding, I've slipped into some peculiar habits. For example, instead of being upset when it thunders or rains, I jump up and down for joy. Chemical names, first aid terms, and rather strange jargon (such as the term "pushing") have all become regular vocabulary for me. I have a cynical outlook on life once more, find dry, dark humor in almost every situation, work in an environment that's full of unintentional sexual innuendos, and more often than not, I question the intelligence of some of the people around me. It's Ok, though. This is the type of environment I'm used to. In fact, I think I'd rather be a lifeguard than have any other job.

As the season progresses, I continue to have high hopes. Perhaps this will be the best pool season thus far.

Time will tell.