Futbol

Oh yes, I am writing about a sport, for the first time and perhaps the last time. And until the US wins the World Cup some day, I believe I should refer to soccer by its rightful name, football (futbol/ futebol in the other two languages I know...). But it is hard to switch cold turkey like that. Now I have never been interested in sports, except for a short stint with amateur wrestling. Embarrassing? Perhaps. My grandma bought be a letter jacket in high school but I played no sports to speak of in order to earn a letter. As a "mat-stat" (or "mat-maid" as I've recently heard them called) I was able to earn a letter in two short years, and seeing as how I had to understand the game intimately in order to keep score, I became slightly interested in it. Obviously I did not follow wrestling beyond the days of the Midwest Classic back in central Ohio, but now I have found a new interest in the sport of futbol.

I suppose I have caught the "World Cup Fever" I keep hearing about.

Ever since I can remember, my dad would prefer to "watch paint dry rather than watch soccer." Maybe I subconsciously took this to heart. After all, my dad watches golf on TV every day. If he doesn't find THAT as boring as soccer, then I wanted to steer clear.

Now, as the World Cup has progressed and my boyfriend has patiently answered my every question about the game (so that's what off-sides means), I have become more and more passionate about the sport and World Cup 2010. I even surprisingly got my dad to watch the entire match between Ghana in this WC's round of 16. Granted, we were stuck at the Knoxville, TN Hilton, waiting to go to my cousin's wedding, and there really wasn't much else he could do, but it was quite a moment of family togetherness when he and I yelled profanely at the TV while my mom hid behind her Christian fiction novel.

So while my dad, along with many other American football fans find fault with the sport (namely the score doesn't go high enough), I have found many reasons to love the game. I don't see FIFA taking his suggestions to heart any time soon (they need a bigger goal and no goalie). It is nice to root for the US in some capacity first of all. Although I will always have some issues with the government, I am the most patriotic I have ever been. And it's nice to see the US as the underdog for once, and I loves me some underdogs. I also love how popular the game is in Latin America, obviously (and was also rooting for my homeboys, the Mexicans. Sorry you didn't make it past those darn Argentinians again, guys. They're tough.)

And finally, I have found a new love for soccer because I appreciate its ability to bring all walks of life together in a way that no other sport can. Although the World Cup has plenty of bells and whistles, the bare bones of the game can be shared between everyone. You don't need any equipment, just a ball and a way to mark goals. I now wish I would have grown up with a love of the game, but I guess that was never meant to be, considering I run a 12+ minute mile and there is very little love in this world for women's sports...However, I guess I don't need to be good at the sport- athletic and coordinated- in order to enjoy it.

For those of you I haven't shared this with, I end this with my nerd thoughts Re: The World Cup:

How many thesis/dissertation observations about the World Cup are being carried out right now? If I had one: Language on the World Cup Field, what language to players resort to (if verbal language is used at all) in order to cross-lingually/nationally communicate. My hypothesis is that for teams with similar but still different languages, such as Italy v. Spain, communication can come through using one's native language with slight communication error, when N. Korea plays Brazil, a 3rd mutual language such as English is resorted to when possible. But mostly body language is necessary.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!

Festies!

Hey heyyyy.
So there is life after grad school, because I am finished, and still breathing. Unemployment is going to be financially hard on me, so I'll need a lot of ideas for free things to do. One of the not-at-all-free activities that I enjoy partaking in the most is going to festivals over the summer. Nothing grounds me quite like a weekend full of great music, sunny weather, wonderful people and camping.

I went to this year's Summer Camp festival in Chillicothe, Illinois, and my love for festies came rushing back to me. After years of action items lists and deadlines and citation style guides, it was so nice to have a to-do list that 1. didn't require being written down in order for me to follow it, and 2. included items such as wash face at the spigot, stay hydrated, catch Pretty Lights live. I wish there was a way that I could enjoy the freedom of unemployment but also have some money in order to enjoy all the free time. Maybe it's because I was deprived of actual summer camp as a child, or any camping for that matter, but I want to make up for lost time by living from festie to festie all summer long. Unfortunately, this is not financially feasible. :(

It is because of this that I am posting this little widget here. If I make it to no other festival this summer, I will still be making Camp Bisco. The lineup is amazing, and even some friends are playing a set there. I imagine an Athens, OH reunion will be happening at this venue.


I will try to write more. It's funny how I have actually posted less now that I have more free time. Being on a tight schedule really does ensure that things get done. Maybe between the spigot run of one festie and the first show of the next, I will fit in some blogging. Summer love to all of you!

Sad News

I found out a couple of days ago that Alix Reese, one of my friends from high school was driving on Columbus' east side when she was caught up in a crossfire and shot in the neck. She is now paralyzed from the neck down, and relies on a machine to breathe. Here is a link to one of the news reports about the incident. Although we are not as close as we once were, I always follow her on facebook and leave little comments, and back in high school I would say we were pretty darn close. We read eachother's Open Diary and spent lots of time together. I know that the path ahead for Alix will be long and treacherous. Even though she has been in stable condition, we don't know what the future holds for her subsequent surgeries. I know the people who read this aren't loaded, but I want to put this site out there, prayforalix.com. It is great how much they have made, and the overwhelming amount of support for Alix, but we need to keep giving, whether it is our money or just our positive energy. The support has been so overwhelming, in fact, that the hospital has been concerned with the amount of visitors coming to see her in ICU, and now only family members are permitted to visit until further notice. So if you pray, meditate, peace pipe, or anything else as a spiritual practice, please do so for Alix in the next coming days, as she has a long way to go to recovery. Alix has always been an amazing and bubbly girl, and although this should never happen to anyone, it certainly should not happen to her. Thanks for your support!