2.35

I worry--a lot.

In fact, there may not be an adjective that could satisfactorily describe how much I worry.

I worry about Kiya, my car, because she has been having issues with her ignition. My financial situation does not account for automotive issues, especially, for a vehicle that is just over three years old.

I worry about whether or not I am going to be prepared for Dragon Con, which is a needless worry because one can never truly be ready for Dragon Con.

I worry about AWA, but I'm very close to making a decision on it; I'm just going to give it a week.

Yes, I worry about a lot of things--things of little consequence--but there is one thing that I could give little to zero fucks about and that's the opinions of my coworkers--in particular, the admins at my library. Why? Because they clearly give zero fucks about their employees and I have been witness to too many of those instances in which stupid decisions are made with little consideration of things like common sense or rational thought--everyone is so fucking territorial and everyone in admin is on a fucking power trip. Admittedly, I'm somewhat on that level, but the major difference is that I can more often enough rationalize my decisions and I'm open to the opinions of others (to a certain extent).

Anyways, it's late and I'm rambling. I really don't want this site to become a constant stream of bitterness, but it's just how things are in my life at the moment.

2.33

So, I saw the United States men's national [soccer] team in person for the first time ever last week and let's just say that it did not go to plan.  I originally had a long and thought out post drafted about this special moment, but I decided to scrap that post in favor of this one.  Therefore, I present:  The good, the bad and the ugly of my first USMNT match.

The Good

Brian McBride - I had the opportunity to have a photograph with USMNT and Fulham legend Brian McBride (I would post the photograph, but I like my anonymity).

Hanging with my BFF - No, I'm not a teenage girl, but I do have a best friend that I have known for years and that I still hang out with despite him being married with two children (though I have never seen the youngest--so they may have just made her up).  But seriously, it is cool because life tends to get in the way of us getting to hang out and kick it like when we were younger.

USMNT - I finally--FINALLY--got to see the USMNT play in person because for one reason (U.S. Soccer refuses to have their senior men's team play in cities with stadiums featuring artificial surfaces--unless you are Seattle or Portland--and the Georgia Dome and the new stadium feature [and will feature] artificial turf).

Panama - Damn it if the Panamanians did not play their hearts out during their match against Mexico.  Sure, there were moments in which they reacted out of line, but considering the circumstances they endured; they earned a new level of respect with me.  Also, they had the balls to call out CONCACAF officials as being corrupt crooks and that is okay to me.

The Bad

USMNT - They lost to Jamaica.  Seriously? The only I may ever see the men play in Atlanta and first time they have played in Georgia in about four decades and they lose to a side that at the start of the match was given an 11% percent chance of advancing to the finals.

U.S. Supporters - I know that Atlanta is an El Tri supporters city, but the lack of butts in the seat during the USMNT match and the less than vibrant atmosphere conjured by the American Outlaws was not surprising but still disappointing (I wanted to be wrong).

The Ugly

CONCACAF - I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but the events surrounding Mexico's berth into the semifinal and eventually final match of the tournament reeked of something foul and this was made even more evident by the horrendous officiating decisions toward the conclusion of the Mexico/Panama match.

At some point, CONCACAF officials must have realized that a Jamaica/Panama Gold Cup final match was not going to sell tickets to Lincoln Financial Field and that is when Mexico was handed a bullshit penalty call in the 89th minute of the match that allowed them to draw level with a 10-man Panama and force extra time.

Of course, the initial straight red that dropped a man from the Panama side was rather suspicious too and include the harsh second penalty decision during extra time to hand Mexico the victory and one could see that something appeared particularly peculiar about it all.

El Tri Supporters - It really pains me to say it because the supporters of the Mexican national teams are passionate and create an incredible environment, but they (not all, but more than sizable contingent of their support) are terrible, poorly behaved supporters.  For starters, one should NEVER insert oneself physically into the game (i.e. - quit throwing shit onto the pitch).  Honestly, it was disgraceful and embarrassing to see that sort of behavior and the fact that this is hardly an isolated incident is what makes it incredibly frustrating.  Why so mad?

Because the Atlanta soccer scene is very rarely the center of the American soccer landscape, but on the one night in which it is in the spotlight; it completely screws it up because Mexican supporters do not know how to keep their shit to themselves.  In my opinion, CONCACAF must punish El Tri by forcing them to play World Cup qualification matches in an empty Azteca Stadium and perhaps, further penalize El Tri by handing a point deduction at the start of qualifying.  Of course, this will never happen because El Tri generate too much money for the confederation and its own football association.

Overall, my first USMNT experience was disappointing, but I am happy to finally earn my first USMNT supporter's CAP.

2.11

I have come to learn that positivity and I do not mix. Trust me, I have tried and I have failed. For example: Monday. High off the United States’ Women’s World Cup win I thought I could overcome the negative vibes associated with Mondays; I was wrong. For starters, Monday marked the first day at work following a three-day holiday weekend, which means increased patron traffic and items circulated. Then on top of the large volume of items returned and checked out, the credit card machines at all of the system’s branches were out of order and that meant, obviously, no credit transactions. Now, all of this was manageable and Monday would have been fine if not for the elephant in the bedroom next to mine at home. Of course, there was a slight glimmer of hope in that he had to be taken to the ER during the early evening (I know, I am a terrible person).

Today was a slight improvement from Monday in that patron traffic at the library was significantly lower and the unwelcomed nuisance was still at the hospital—also, the United States men’s national soccer team won their opening match of the Gold Cup tournament. Anyways, I’m just going to try and keep my head above water and finish out the week. I’m behind on a number of personal projects, but things should be squared away by the end of the week…maybe.

2.9

How about the United States women’s national soccer team? They wanted their third star and they got it in incredible fashion; defeating Japan 5:2. Carli Lloyd was an absolute beast—earning a hat trick in sixteen minutes! Honestly, this team looked as though they were struggling to put it together early on in the tournament, but as we drew closer towards the finale of the tournament; they found their stride and put together their two best performances in the semifinal against Germany and the final versus Japan. Perhaps, the best part of this achievement—at least to me—is that Abby Wambach finally won a World Cup. She is undoubtedly one of the greatest women’s players in American soccer history.

Shifting gears to more personal matters, I have spent the past couple of days finding excuses to get out of the house. Yesterday was Independence Day and I did nothing. No cookouts, no fireworks and no ridiculous displays of patriotism—just me hanging around the house doing the same thing as usual though I did leave for a bit to drive around north Georgia.

Today, I went down to Athens and visited their library—it was stifling because (and I’m only guessing) the A/C had been off for two days and the library had only been opened for about an hour prior to my arrival. I picked up two graphic novels, Avengers: The Enemy Within (it finishes off the Captain Marvel arc from Kelly Sue DeConnick’s initial volumes of the series) and the fifth volume of Brian Azzarello’s run on Wonder Woman, and an audio copy of Hillary Clinton’s Hard Choices. I like the Athens library and I think it would be incredible to work there, but they have got to do something about their A/C timer. On the way down, I stopped by the Starbucks in Banks Crossing and tried their Frappucino Flav-Off winning flavor: Caramel Cocoa Cluster. It was actually pretty good—something that I would definitely have again. From Athens, I swung over to Gainesville in hopes of having some boneless wings and some of Gainesville “best fried rice” but it turns out they were closed; I settled for some terrible Chinese buffet.

Anyways, I spent much of my day driving, eating, and watching the Women’s World Cup final. I also read a few books from the Marvel Secret Wars event: Secret War #2-4, Old Man Logan 1-2, Red Skull #1, and Spider-man: Renew Your Vows #1.

2.7

Today has been good. It feels at times as though I am imposing myself on others because that is often the case, but I like to think that people go along with my schemes willingly. Anyway, my ongoing issues with my parents’ decision to house my mother’s brother continue to create a hostile environment in which I wish to have no part. So, to register my personal disapproval, I made the conscious decision to remove myself from the equation while verbally communicating that I had rather be anywhere than under the same roof as this being that I see as being nothing more than a petulant drain on society. I understand fully the consequences of my actions and comments, but my parents are fully aware of my intense disdain toward this nuisance and they still permitted him entry into our home under the auspices of family and health issues. My parents, especially, my mother, likes to say that I am selfish and that I don’t care about family, but I don't consider an individual that exists for no other reason than to create animosity and division amongst others to be “family.”

Wow, I have gotten totally sidetracked from the original intent of this post, which was to discuss my pleasant day out with my good colleague and coworker, Billy. First, we had lunch at Moonie’s Texas Barbecue:

The brisket—moist and tender, you could tear through it with a plastic fork and spoon—and the macaroni and cheese were superb as usual, but the brisket chili was a bit too acidic—too heavy on the tomato—though it did carry a nice underlying heat that could catch one off guard. Regardless, I do enjoy eating Moonie’s and if I could, I would make it a weekly dining destination. In terms of Hall County barbecue, it is my favorite by far though there are still a handful of joints I have yet to visit.

After lunch, we headed over to Braselton to check out an antiques flea market that another coworker had suggested. Personally, it cool to see some older knick-knacks, but in reality, I couldn’t afford anything and (you may call me a bit of a pervert) the lack of vintage pornography was disappointing. I understand that it may sound strange, but old Playboys have an oddly shaped place in my heart. Of course, given the environment—small, rural Georgia town—I would have been more surprised to see that they actually carried any at all. Billy picked up three die cast cars so it was a productive stop and I did see some items that piqued my interest (at least, until I saw the price tags).

From Braselton, we found ourselves in our usual routine of visiting local comic shops and our first stop was Galactic Quest in Buford. I picked up: Bob’s Burger #1 from Dynamite, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7 from Marvel, and The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 2 from Image. After Galactic Quest, we stopped Toys ‘r’ Us (Billy picked up two more die cast cars for his collection), Ross Dress for Less and Marshalls before heading over to the Mall of Georgia and Rock Shop in search of the elusive second volume of Jason Aaron’s Southern Bastards (no luck).

Of course, no trip Buford is complete without a stop by the Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop, especially when the light is on. To be honest, the two original glazed doughnuts were freshest, warmest, and most delicious doughnuts I have had in a long time. And, the Peach Pie doughnut is simply one of my favorites. Typically, a stop at the Krispy Kreme will mark the end of a road trip for us and in truth, it was for Billy. But, I stopped by Uncle Maddio’s and grabbed an individual pie and started drafting this post—I finished at home.

2.5

Tired. Plenty to discuss, but it's not going go happen tonight. Maybe at a later date? Bowling, Cook Out, and bantering amount peers