Useless Terminology

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed. I don't think I have ever if my life spent 2 days in bed when I was sick. As my mother. As my wife. If I'm sick, I'm up and about, in fact, I may as well be at work/school/piano lessons, save for the fact that I would make everyone else miserable with my hacking, coughing, sniffling nature.
Because of my bed-ridden hours, I had a sever lack of day-time tv and too much back-ache from laying around. But during the little time I did watch TV, I got to watch some of the UEFA Champions League on ESPN2. Yup, I eschewed the Food Network, G4 and CNBC for European Soccer. I felt it was appropriate as I managed to watch about 30 minutes of the MLS Cup.
All I can say is them Europeans are darn good at that other football game. I watched ManU versus Bantha Fodder of the Day (ok, they had a real name, and they actually lead for half the game, but even I knew that ManU was gonna win that game). At any rate, my tired, congested head enjoyed the game, not sure if I should start DVRing it on a constant basis, but it was kind of fun.
When I finally got back to work today, Doug, (who reminds me of a cross between Dante and Doug Funny, only Dante was Doug Funny) and I chatted about the potential for the Sox landing Johan Santana - setting up the possibility that the Sox could have the most stacked pitching rotation, well, ever, next season. Needless to say, I'm giddy.
In reading on ESPN about the potential deal, I'm immediately dismayed though, not because of the deal itself, but the way its positioned: the Sox and Twins are working out the "framework" of a deal that would send Santana to Boston for Jon Lester, Coco, and the pupu of prospects (most notably NOT Jacoby and NOT Buchholz).
Why do they have to call it a framework? Why is that jargon necessary? Why can't they just say that they are talking about a deal? Of course they're talking about a framework - if they already had the framework, and the floors and ceilings and walls, and they were just picking out carpets and cabinets at this point, wouldn't we say they had a deal?
When ARod resigned with the Empire, it was reported that they had a framework in place for the deal, but it wasn't signed yet. This is all well and good, it tells everyone that he's off the market, and the specifics are all that is left (how to spread out bonuses, how many gourds Boras gets up the rear, ect).
But with the Sox and Twins, there's no actual deal in place - in fact by all accounts the deal may not happen at all.
So there is NO reason to say they are working out a framework. Just say they're talking about it. Just because they're talking about it doesn't mean it will EVER happen. This happens with Meghan and I all the time. But I don't go out and say that we're talking about a framework of an agreement of me spending a weekend in Montreal with the boys, or a framework for the arrangement where I'll hang around for Beth's baby shower this weekend. Believe me, there are discussions, they're usually loud, and there is certainly no framework for either.
All I'm sayin is that writers need to cut out the waste. Tell me what I need to know without too many fancy sayings. There's a lot of news to digest out there, give it to me straight.

Take A Bow!

What can I say. I'm thankful. I'm thankful that the Red Sox won the won the world series, I'm thankful that the Celtics are doing so well, I'm thankful that the Pats rock the world, I'm even thankful that the Bruins have a +.500 record.

I'm thankful for my friends. I'm looking forward to our Christmas party. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, and I'm really glad that those that can come will be there. And those that can't come, know you will be missed.

And I'm thankful for my family. Meghan and I only do the Keene thing once every two years (for thanksgiving that is), but I really do love doing it.

And I'm thankful for the beer, and wine, and lots of sugary deserts, that helped my write this post.

but most of all, i'm thankful right now for you, my fair reader, for sticking with me.

I've been crazy recently. 50+ hours of work a week. 3 classes a week, 3 out of five week nights. I barely find time for myself, let alone you (no, really, I played madden the other night, for the first time in months. believe me, i missed you.).

Well, I will try and do better; as the classes wind down, and the incidental incidencies wind up, i'll try and tell you more about me.

But most of all, i'm most thankful for direct flights to North Carolina. It may have been less than 30 degrees, but we survived, and we had a good time in NC for Meghan's cousins wedding last weekend. and if we can brave the cold, we can brave the hard work, and hard classes, and all the rest, and try and provide the hard hitting comedy that you've expected, and missed, as I've been away.

On that note, enjoy this:

With insomnia you're never really asleep, you're never really awake"

I don't have insomnia, no, if I had a pillow right now, I'm pretty sure I would be asleep five seconds ago. But if you've seen fight club, you've seen the look on Ed Norton's face - the blank stare because he can't sleep. Well, I have the same blank stare because I have to be awake.

Work, Class, Work, Work, Class, Work, Class, Work. I haven't slept well since the ALDS. And I haven't even played Halo 3 in a few weeks.

I may not be making much sense, but that's mainly because my body is upright when it wants to be laying down, and it doesn't even care that its only 7 pm. And, Well, I have a microphone, and you don't, SO YOU WILL LISTEN TO EVERY DAMN WORD I HAVE TO SAY!

A few random notes, tidbits, and other various and sundry things about the world:

1. I have never been as ashamed of my poor little car as I was last night, when, in a room of 60+ people, my Financial Modeling professor asked me what type of car I drove, and he made me admit not only that it is a Nissan, but that it is a Sentra. And then he managed to use it as an example for about 10 minutes. But I can't say too much bad about my car, as I'm still relying on it to get me home tonight.

2. For about 5 minutes there in the middle of that last point (or is it the first point? And if it is both, doesn't it make it the infinate point? Eh, don't worry about me, I'll be fine come Saturday.) I completely spaced out. I was lost in whatever my professor was talking about. What is great is that he sounds a lot like George Carlin. It doesn't make the class more exciting, other than that I constantly expect him to go on rant about the 7 words you can't say on TV - or in a classroom.

3. Random sports note that ended up not being a random sports note: On Sunday night, after the Pats came back against the Colts and proved that their the best team probably ever, I found myself wondering if any city has ever had 4 teams from 4 different professional sports each win 2 games within 9 days. It seems unlikely that this would happen, considering that it would have had to have happened at the end of October, and its been just over the past decade or so that the baseball postseason has started ending so late in October.
The Sox won games 3&4 of the World Series (Yay!)
The Pats spanked the 'Skins, and the defeated the Colts
The 2007-2008 NBA Champs Celtics won their first two on the way to being the first team to go 82-0
The B's won earlier in the week, and were closing out my 8 wins in 9 days for the good guys stat, when they lost. In overtime. In a shootout. To the 2007-2008 NHL champs, the Ottawa Senators.

Once again, they failed me. If only it were for the last time.

4. Who wants to play the ARod over/under game? Well set the o/u at 10/325. Not sure yet, but the way things are looking, I'd say I'd take the Under right now.

5. My stats professor just said he likes getting survey phone calls because he may get something interesting he can get from it to use in class. I don't really have a point, other than I think that's great. Its like saying that you like having a pebble in your shoe all day because you can add it to rock collection when you get home.

6. How is this for injustice. I have Monday off for Veterans Day. A three day weekend. And in that time, I have to attend not one (usually on Monday night), but TWO Global Econ classes. Yep, we're having a bonus class on Saturday morning. What's the point of the long weekend exactly?

7. Professor Carlin just went on a rant about voting and election day. The worse vulgarity was "damn", and there was a vague reference to death, but it just wasn't funny or angry. Of course, I still laughed, because everything he said sounded like it should be hilarious.

Ok, one more hour to go in class, and then maybe i can get some sleep. Time to pay attention.