Armchair Monday

So for football season, I'm going to be doing "Armchair Mondays" where I'll go over the Cowboys game and give my thoughts.

Now, starting 1-5 is a disappointment, and losing Tony Romo last week against the Giants (likely for the rest of the year) was even more of a disappointment. But the year isn't over quite yet so I still have an inkling of hope.

The game against the Jaguars will be Jon Kitna's first start since 2007 and his first play (with the the exception of last week against the Giant's) since 2008.

Well this game didn't start off as very promising. In the first half, the defense looked like it had given up before the game even started. The offense didn't give much help either, with two passes bounces off of receivers into the hands of Jaguar defenders.

Toward the end of the half, the usual "Barbarian" Marion Barber was held out of the end zone two straight plays leading to a 14-3 game at the half.

The third quarter looked like more of the same, with another pass bouncing off of a receiver and being intercepted by the Jags. The defense couldn't stop the Jaguars and by midway through the quarter it was 28-3 Jacksonville.

The fourth quarter pretty much closed out the game. Though the Cowboys managed to finally get something going, they were only able to score twice, leaving the final score at 35-17, an 18 point deficit. While this is the first game they've lost by more than a touchdown, against such a mediocre team it is most definitely going to be one of the final nails in the coffin as the Cowboys have a punishing November and December schedule.

Result: 18-35 (L)

Record: 1-6

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Music and Memory

So driving home from Texas after our vacation, I heard a song on the radio that I haven't heard in a while (mostly because I don't listen to this type of music anymore). But instantly it brought up a memory. Now, this isn't the first time that I've heard a song and associated it to a memory, but the memory in question was definitely one of my favorite.

It got me thinking about other songs that stir up memories whenever I hear them and thought that would make a good topic for a blog. So three memories that are tied to music: an event, an item and a person.

First off: An Event.

This one is a little backwards, since there are actually 3 songs that I associate with that memory. And that is our family vacation to Virginia in 2004. 2 of my Brothers and I followed my parents in my car, 3 of us crammed into a Chevy Cavalier 4dr with bags, pillows and food. There were 2 songs that were particularly popular around this time: "Yeah!" by Usher and "Rubberband Man" by T.I. We heard these songs more times than I can remember and so whenever I hear them, the trip to Virginia immediately comes to mind.

The other song wasn't so much popular, as has a funny memory attached to it. This was when we all had a regional carrier for our cellphones, so they didn't work out in Virginia, so we had the little short-range radios to communicate between our car and our parents. Well going through a mountain pass somewhere in Kentucky we happened upon a country station playing a song whose name I have no idea. But we had heard the song several times, were kind of tired and started singing over the radio at our parents, in harmony with funny accents.

Next: An Item. The next memory that is associated with music is kind of a two way street and its more general. When I first started reading the Honor Harrington Series, by David Weber, I actually got in on the series at like Book 9. Once I read "Ashes ofVictory", I went out and bought the other 8 or whatever books. While I powered through these (before I had a job or drove anywhere) I would ride in the back of the family van, listening to music and reading my books. While I was reading them, I would listen to the Newsboys CDs. So now, whenever I reread one of the books, or hear any of these songs I think of the other half of the memory.

The last memory is about a person, and isn't necessarily a good one, but it's a memory nonetheless. My first girlfriend bought the Eminem movie, 8-Mile, and on that was the music video for his song "Superman." So she ended up playing that music video a lot. And so, whenever I hear that song it brings back (usually) bad memories.

So there are some of my music-memory associations.

To start with...

So I guess I should start with a bit of an introduction. I'm in my late 20's, married for just over two years and expecting our first child in February (a boy, Jaydran Alexander).

For work I have two jobs which I work around 70 hours per week (hence the name of the blog, imagine that).

At my first job, the one that I consider my primary employment, I work as a Front-Line Supervisor for UPS at their 2nd largest airhub in the US. I usually put in around 25 hours per week, though that typically doubles in mid to late December. I've worked there for almost 5 years (anniversary is in February). I manage a group of teamster employees as they load packages into air containers during the week and trailers in saturdays.

For my other job I am the Store Manager for a Verizon Wireless Authorized Agent. I put in around 45 hours per week, selling cell phones and managing a small team of sales reps. I also manage the warehouse for the company, receiving shipments of phones and accessories and filling/shipping orders for our various locations. I've been there since February, so around 10 mnths.

Now, typically people think that having the technically part-time job at UPS as my "Primary" job is backwards. But despite the less hours, UPS has better pay per hour, benefits and a definitely more stable career track.

In my free time (what little of it I have) I spend time with my wife, keep up with Android stuff, play some turns on Civilization 5 and try to spend some time reading and writing Sci-Fi novels.

My favorite author is David Weber, specifically his Honorverse novels (though his Safehold series has caught my attention).

Other than that, my life basically revolves around working and getting ready for the babeh! Since this is my first non-topic specific blog, feel free to make comments and suggestions.

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