Tuesday, November 21, 2000

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Cincinnati!

I hope you are getting the belly ready for some weekend treats! I am making appearances at the in-laws in Chattanooga on Thursday and Friday and then past Knoxville to White Pine to see my folks, as I double my eating pleasure.

Everything is going well here. It is colder than a well digger's boots, etc. here. The "feels like" temperature here last night was 0, yes zero. The real low was 15. The wind is brutal. We had some snow flurries yesterday but that is about it. It is supposed to get back to 50 this weekend. There is a dusting of snow on the ground today.

Well, I have three weeks left of my first semester at XU. I have projects due in each class and then finals. I have projects of evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the Xavier licensing program, a marketing and budgeting plan for a pro sports facility, and a marketing and promotions plan for a local premier (semi-pro) soccer team here in Cincinnati.

Yes, in sports news, the Xavier men's basketball team opened the new arena on Saturday with a 68-54 win over Miami, Oh. The Cincinnati Bearcats won its 7th football game Saturday with a come-from-behind win over No. 20 Southern Miss; there are now a bunch of Bearcats car flags being dusted off. The Bearcats will more than likely be in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit hopefully against hated Marshall.

The Xavier women's basketball team beat Vanderbilt in its first game in the new arena on Sunday and moved to No. 23 in the nation on Monday!

I was sad to see the Mocs end the football season 5-6 with the gutsy 45-44 overtime loss to No. 4 Furman. And then the Mocs basketball team lost by one to College of Charleston on Monday night. UGH!

On the transportation front, Stacy and I got a new used car on Saturday a 1998 Honda Accord EX V-6. We have been driving it all over Cincinnati. It is a great car, and we are lucky to have it. We have three cars right now. I am taking the Ford F-150 to Tennessee to sell. It is worth more there than in Ohio. I hate to let her go, but she has given me seven good years of trucking fun!

I hope you take the time this week to enjoy your thoughts and be thankful for what you have. I am lucky to have many great friends. I am thankful for you and your friendship. I am thankful to have a great wife, a great family, a great life, good health, great peace and great friends.

Remember what is there at the end of the day. You may even want to drop to your knees and send one up to the big guy!

Well, take care. I hope to see you sometime soon

Monday, November 06, 2000

VOTE

I hope everyone is getting riled up and ready to vote!

I am watching George W. Bush on the "stump" right now in Chattanooga live on CNN. Of course there are old ladies behind George Dubya with orange and white checkerboard sweaters. Who makes those God-awful ugly things? And everyone in the crowd has orange and white shakers. Wish there was a little Chattanooga Blue and Gold in there!!

And of course the crowd is chanting "Ain't seen nuthin' yet!" Always nice to see on live national television that grammar=Tennessee, huh?

Speaking of "ain't" and weird phrases, we have learned up here that when you say something and a person does not understand you, they say "please?" instead of "excuse me?" or "what did you say?" The first time I encountered that was in class when I asked a guest speaker a question and he asked, "Please?" It sounds very odd.

Anyways, I do not have far to go to vote tomorrow, as the nearest voting location for us is in our complex's clubhouse.

Stacy and I are doing well. Stacy has been given a lot of responsibility at the University of Cincinnati Foundation. One of her big projects is the restructuring and redesign of the UCF's website.

I have about six more weeks this semester at XU. My midterms went well, and I have three A's at this time. My finals are on December 18, 19, and 21 just in time for Christmas! That is late, but the next semester does not start until Tuesday, January 16, when I will begin taking research/statistics, marketing and facility design classes for the spring term.

It looks as though I will finish in December 2001 with intern/research project and sport seminar classes in the summer and legal issues and NCAA rules/regulations classes in the fall.

Stacy's parents came to Cincinnati this past weekend and we went to Lebanon, OH, about 20 miles north of us. This little town is full of antique and other curious stores. It was a good time.
We finished the weekend with a lunch trip to Covington, KY, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. We ate at one of our favorite places, Jack Quinn's, an Irish pub. The corned beef boxty (a potato pancake with corned beef and sweet cabbage with a cheese/mustard sauce) is the best. Meanwhile, across the river, the Cincinnati Bengals were getting spanked.

Stacy and I are coming to Chattanooga on Thursday night, Nov. 9. Stacy is going to visit her friends at UnumProvident on Friday, and I will more than likely make my rounds around town to say hi to everyone. Then it is on to the last Mocs home football game of the year versus ETSU. Hopefully, after good wins over App. St. and The Citadel, we will pull out a win off the Bucs and secure a winning season. We are going to the UTC Fine Arts Center on Sunday afternoon to hear Stacy's sister, Meghan, perform her senior recital.

The weather has started to get a little colder here, as it was in the mid 20s for the low this past weekend. It is going to be in the mid 40s for the lows and mid 60s for the highs this week.