lukablog

Alternate titles: Scenes from a Mauling or The Mardi Gras Massacre.

My first reaction to The Orleans was “What a dump”, but by the end of the weekend I had decided that it was just about the perfect place for us. The casinos on the strip are much nicer but also much more expensive, ie $10 minimum bets (and good luck finding a spot at those tables). The Orleans is off the strip, but not too far, and unlike the casinos in old downtown this one has a high ceiling and a relatively good ventilation system. And it’s the only place close to the strip that has $5 minimum tables except maybe the Excalibur (which I didn’t go to).

The only thing I can say was poor was the service; the Special Ladies don’t come around the tables nearly often enough. In some ways that’s a good thing on game days because it acts as a natural throttle, preventing you from being “that guy” at the games. I think the staff was overwhelmed; many of them acted as if they hadn’t seen crowds like this before. If you’re not gambling the service isn’t an issue. Just get a bucket of beers for $6.25 and you’re set.

Sunday’s game looked like a sellout and other than the 20 or so Rough Riders it was all GU. By the middle of the second half it was more “Rough Rider”, as the rest of them had already headed to the casino.

The game was a jaw dropper. The team that showed up Saturday was the team that we’d been expecting to see all year. It was just wave after wave of Zags. And btw, while I totally respect what Bryant’s done since he was a freshman, there’s just no way that he’s the MVP. Against the top two teams in the league Santa Clara went 1-4, and although he got a double-double against us on Saturday over half of that was in Up By Time (Up by twenty! Up by thirty!). Give the guy a Subway commercial with Jared, not the MVP of the league.

After Sunday’s game I knew that if the same team showed up on Monday SMC had no prayer.

On Monday we went to our usual pre-game location (the Mardi Gras bar, right off the sports book in the Orleans) only to discover that it had been commandeered by St Mary’s. Then, while we were playing three card poker (easy game btw: you bet $15, the dealers turns his cards over and then he takes your money), two St Mary’s guys walked by and said “Good luck with your at-large bid”.

It was on now.

Unfortunately for those two guys, the GU team from the previous game showed up. I was the first of my crew to get to the arena, and when I walked in I sent a one-word txt messages to two of my buddies: “Libbey”. We did an informal poll at our seats as to who would get the first technical, and the consensus was that it would be Daye. Little did we realize that Libbey knew this was a big game too, so hey, I’ll do you one better and T someone up before the opening tip! The fact that it was Omar Man Hands made me ok with it though.

I went back and read the game thread for the SMC game and I have to ask: were you guys watching the same game as we were? This game was over 5min in, and the only way we could’ve humiliated St Mary’s any more was if we took their dance team, threw them over our shoulders and took them back to Spokane with us.

(If there’s any way to pull that off count me in btw. As they were walking through the casino two guys walked by and one turned to the other and said “Is that for real?”. I think the knee-high white leather go-go boots were my favorite outfit, followed closely by the spandex hot pants and sports bras. There has to be an option to contribute to the St Mary’s Dance Team Kidnapping Fund as part of the General Fund drive. We can make this happen. I’m going to change my ticket location next year just to sit closer to them. The funny thing is that they didn’t really do anything. They moved back and forth and didn’t contribute much if anything to the proceedings...just like Man Hands.)

After the game, Bong Krosby, SteelCityZag, gueastcoast, YouJeanZag, Mr & Mrs ZigZagger and myself raced back to the Mardi Gras bar and took our normal seats. The buckets of beers started flowing two at a time, and when we’d see the occasional SMC fan stroll by we’d just yell “THIS. IS. OUR. BAR”.

Regarding Patty Mills. Yes, he’s a great talent, but I couldn’t understand how a guy going off on us for a half (going in the locker room up only 6 btw) warranted the amount of trepidation everyone had facing him again. Getting torched for a half is practically our calling card, and he was being rushed back from an injury. One last thing on Patty. He’s really quick, but he’s also really small, and he was getting bounced around like a pinball. Watching him in person I wonder about his long-term durability.

There was no question that this weekend The Orleans was transformed into Gonzaga Country. The place was packed with GU people the entire time with the one SMC exception, and Sunday night after the game the tables were packed full of Zags until well past 2am. The crowds at the games were much more like a normal March Madness crowd than a Kennel crowd, and I mean that in a good way. In Spokane, the non-Kennel side of the arena is much more low-key, but at these games everyone everywhere was going crazy.

The arena itself has very comfortable seats and is just the right size. The only “bad” seats were on the baseline where they had temporary seating set up, but bad is pretty subjective as even those seats were close to the action. The scoreboard that everyone has been complaining about is kinda lame, but there’s a board around the top of the bowl that flashes everyone’s points & fouls, so it was good enough imo. I can’t see them changing it unless the WCC and WAC gang up and demand it.

The non-Gonzaga fan turnout was abysmal. Throughout the weekend we’d see a few people from other schools passing through, but for the most part it was just us. Saw a fair number of UP people on Sunday and a few Santa Clara fans; I don’t remember seeing even one USF fan the entire weekend. The non-GU games were about 20% full. This is a neutral site, and the team the farthest away had by far the most fans. There’s really no excuse for the lack of turnout by the other schools. It’s what - an hour flight from the bay area? As a fan I’d love to make this the permanent location because it’s neutral, and I’d actually like to see fans from the other schools. But if I were an AD or president of the WCC I’d fight hard to get out of Las Vegas as soon as possible. Unless they can basically cheat and host the tournament at their school in the hope they can luck their way into the tournament, they’re going to be hard-pressed to win until we stop coming.

Regarding the team, if you can forget about the journey for a moment consider this: we were a preason 10/11 and this week we’re a 12. We’re basically were we should be. We all know our weaknesses, but what team doesn’t have weaknesses? This is one of the more wide-open fields in years. I stand by the prediction I made before I even saw a game in Vegas: we can out-talent our way to the Sweet 16, and after that it’s about matchups and more than a little luck.

If the team that showed up in Vegas shows up in the tournament we’re going to be very, very difficult to beat. And that’s all we could’ve asked for.

As I look back on my life there are a few key decisions I made that at the time didn't seem like a big deal, but in retrospect played a major part in who I am.

As I was sitting in my bedroom studying for a dynamics final my sophomore year, I really had no idea that the decision I was about to make would completely change my life. I just realized that there was no way I could be an electrical engineer. I didn't enjoy the classes, and if I didn't enjoy things now, how was I supposed to last in the field for forty years?

The other issue was that I desperately wanted to transfer back to where I'd spent my freshman year (Gonzaga University), to be with my friends. Since the tuition was so high I decided to change my major to Math/Computer Science, a "combined" major they offered, so I could leverage my current credits and hopefully graduate earlier, save some money, and be with my friends.

Not necessarily the best way to decide on a career.

Then, after working at a small software company for a year after I'd graduated, I took a chance and quit that job to become a contractor for Microsoft. Leaving a full-time job for part-time work was a pretty stressful decision, but I became full-time at Microsoft after less than two months, which was pretty quick at that time.

I've been there ever since - over seventeen years.

Two decisions that worked out in the end, which didn't seem like that big a deal at the time but basically defined the last twenty years of my life.

Now I'm about to take the next big risk: I'm leaving behind a 17yr career with no plan for what to do next.

This had been coming for a while. Last year I actually quit but was offered a five month leave of absence, which I took. I figured that I'd take time off, come back, and if it didn't work out for me I'd know that it was really time to leave. When I got back I committed to not making any kind of decision on my future for ninety days, so I wouldn't make anything stupid that I'd regret later.

Unfortunately while I was gone the team that I left changed significantly, with quite a few people I enjoyed working with leaving and the area I'd previous owned basically shut down due to a change in strategic direction. It was not the group that I'd left. The fun for me was gone, and I knew as the summer was winding down that it was time to leave for good.

I could have looked around and found another job fairly easily, but I was confronted with the same thoughts I had back in my sophomore year: I couldn't see myself doing this anymore.

Maybe it's burn out, I don't know. But what I do know is that right now there's nothing at my current company that I find particularly compelling, and even though several people tried to convince me into staying in a more low-key job, I'm not the kind of person that can just mail it in.

For me, too much time is spent at work to do something I don't love. For millions of people that doesn't matter because they have to pay the bills, and need the medical benefits provided by their employer. So they go to work with the long, hound dog look, serve their time, and go home.

I'm fortunate in that I can now take some time to figure out what I want to do next without the stress of having to live paycheck to paycheck, and I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity. I don't know what I'll do next, but I have a feeling that it will pay less than I get paid now but will be more fulfilling.

In the immediate term I'm going to take some time to regroup and focus on more personal things that I've always put on the back burner. I'm going to focus on things I enjoy, things that have fallen by the way side as I filled more and more of my waking hours at work.

One thing I'm not going to do is go into this with the idea that I'm pursuing happiness. One thing I've learned over the course of a year of a few really high highs and far too many extremely low lows, is that happiness isn't a pursuit - it's a decision.

And I've decided that I'm going to be happy. It might take some getting used to, but I'm thinking it'll happen soon, and I think this is the first step. As I do focus more on doing things I enjoy, relaxing and just being...myself, without worrying so much, things will build on themselves and I'll eventually find the right fit.

At times over the last couple of months I couldn't help but feel that this was the beginning of the end, but now I feel that it's more like the end of the beginning. The beginning of a bright new future that I haven't found yet, but I know is there, want to find, and most importantly I want to have fun along the way.

It will all work out in the end. It always does.

If you're ever in a bad mood just go over to his site and watch the videos. Here's the 2008 version.

I'd been planning on getting one for a while now but never got around to it, and all of a sudden time was running short. When I got to the lot most of the good trees had already been picked over, so I had to settle for a tree that was ok, but not really as nice as I had hoped. I guess I'll just have to make due; serves me right for waiting so long. There's a life lesson in there somewhere.

I clearly remember my 29th year. I don't remember anything specific; events, particular people or relationships, etc. What I remember about being twenty-nine was spending most of the year freaking out because I was about to turn thirty. I don't recall any of my friends feeling that way, and in retrospect I don't even understand why I was worried about it. All I know was that I thought “I'm almost thirty!”, and once I hit it all the anxiety went away and I never thought about it again.

Now, as I sit one month into my 40th year (technically my 41st, but gimme a break here), things are a bit different. Turning forty is much different than turning thirty, and for those of you that haven't I'll just say: trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about when your time comes.

Now I understand what people go through when they hit the stereotypical mid-life crisis: you have your list of things you want to do, you see that you haven't done them or have made some bad decisions that have resulted in you being in a bad spot, and you decide that it's time to act. Unfortunately in a lot of cases the result is more bad decisions, made in haste, that you then have to spend MORE time fixing.

In my case, I feel like I'm standing at some imaginary midpoint in my life. I look back and see everything I've done, and I look forward and see that there's a ton of time for me to do all the things I want to do. Still, for the first time I look forward and, if I squint, I can see...an end. Don't get me wrong, I'm not obsessing over death. It's just that it feels different, like for the first time you don't want to think “there's time for that”, because...who knows? Maybe there isn't as long as you thought, and do you really want to risk it?

The one missing piece for me is the result of choices that I made myself. I've always been committed to my career seemingly over everything else, and it has been where I got my personal validation. In my early 30s I joined a new group in an attempt to take on a new challenge as well as boost my self-confidence, and I think I was successful on both counts.

I did pay a high personal price though, in that by putting work over everything I didn't make being in a relationship a focus until my mid-30s. So here I sit today: successful, well-liked and respected, financially independent...and forty, and single. If I had a quarter for every time someone has asked "How is it possible you're not married yet?" I'd be able to start my own charitable foundation.

At any rate, that's my cross to bear as I head into my 40s. Would I trade everything else I've achieved in order to have a family today? I'd say no, for two reasons: I have no use for regret (unless I've hurt someone else, which isn't the case here), and by saying I'd trade everything implies that I don't still have a chance to have both. Things have been looking up for me in this regard in recent months, and I have a ton of confidence that the relationship thing is going to work out for me, and sooner rather than later. After many, many years of questioning myself I'm finally to the point where I accept all the great things that people say about me as a fact and not just them being nice or trying to boost my confidence. I accept that I really AM a great guy. Five years ago I wouldn't have been able to write that last sentence, and the fact that I can now without being embarrassed about it bodes well for my future.

I've been very fortunate in my life. I'm healthy, have a great family, a great network of friends and a solid career. I often think about the random events that had to occur for me to be at the place, in this time, and just shake my head at my good fortune. Why should I be anxious something as silly as my age? It's just a number I can't do a thing about. Really, it is. As I tell anyone that will listen, I'm gonna age like Sting and will continue to go full throttle until my dying breath somewhere north of 100. It's all about your mindset, people.

As far as what I'm feeling about life going forward, I'm just extremely happy about what life will offer me, and I believe the best is yet to come.

I'll leave the closing to Red, who says it better than I ever could. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go back to sanding my boat.

I've had lukablog for quite a while now. Up to now it's been used to post pictures and trip reports for family & friends, but now that I'm on leave from work I thought I'd start branching out and exploring my creative side (bet you didn't know I had a creative side huh?). Since I'm on leave, what better way to start things off than to talk about how it's been going during the first month?

The main focus for me during the first two months leading up to the new year was health and wellness. Over the last couple of years I've been so focused on work that I've really gotten away from exercising (the goal is every day before work, but I was lucky to get in three days most weeks) and eating right, and that combined with work stress left me feeling like crap most of the time. I've been doing great on both counts, with the only caveat being I'm drinking more than I'd like; those lunches & dinners with old buddies often include a glass of wine.

I've also gotten more into yoga, and my initial experience notwithstanding, it's been pretty fun and I've definitely made progress. For those of you that are rolling your eyes when you read the word “yoga”, I suggest you try it first; it'll wipe that smirk off your face right quick. At any rate, I can tell the my flexibility is improving, which is what I was shooting for, not only in general but also so I can hopefully improve my golf game down the road.

One I've noticed, which I really wasn't expecting, was how often I catch myself thinking about something and wishing I was at work so I could get my mind off of it. I've always tried to not bring work home (with little success), but I don't think I ever considered that work could be a distraction from non-work stuff. Go figure. It's not enough to make we want to go back to work of course, but it did surprise me.

Overall though, the main thing is that I'm shocked at just how busy I've been. I was trying to set up lunch with a friend the other day and he said “I don't understand how it's so hard to find an open date with a guy who isn't even working”, and it's pretty much been that way since the first week. It's been great getting back in touch with people I haven't seen in ages.

There were two things that really stuck out for me this month, aside from Thanksgiving.

The first was that my sister got married. There was plenty of drama in the weeks leading up to the event, but the whole thing went off without a hitch. It was really strange for me, because for the first time I really had to get my head around the fact that she's a grown up. It only took 35yrs! Still, when I was watching her at the rehearsal dinner and wedding I still saw my baby sis, and I'll always think of her more like this:

The second thing that happened was that my dad lost his wedding ring. He was out raking leaves, and when he got done washing his hands afterward he saw that the ring was gone. He went out to the recycle bin, dumped out every leaf he had already raked up, spread them all over the driveway and tried to find it, to no avail. Then he took the sink apart in case it had fallen down the drain (my grandma had this happen, and we got the ring back), but it wasn't there either.

It was weird that this happened now, because I was just looking at it at my sister's wedding and we were talking about the fact that he'd had it so long (42yrs) that all the designs had worn off. Then, a couple of days later...gone.

Fortunately the story ends on a happy note. A week or so later he was still looking around the yard for it, decided to look in a different part of the yard, and there it was just laying in the dirt for all to see. I'd already started looking into renting metal detectors, and we were considering adding “replacement wedding ring” to his Christmas list, so it was good that he found it when he did. All in all, quite a bit of drama with very little changed at the end of it - just like life.

Much to my dismay, Jayson has given up on The Beautiful Game and decided to join his friends in the brainless sport of football. This is his first year, and I had a chance to take a few pictures of his game against the Ballard...guys in black. I think they're the Knights or something. Click on the picture below to go to the full gallery.

Ken Griffey returned to Seattle as a member of the Cincinnati Reds back in June, and several of us were there to see him up close and personal. Click on the picture below to go to the full gallery, and click here to go to the pictures that Daryl took.