Jul
26
child’s play
Filed under sports at 8:49 pm | 5 Comments
Though it’s no longer PC, many of us grew up playing dodgeball in school. I’m guessing that was the last time I played … until last night. As Jay so subtly mentioned, I’m playing on a dodgeball team comprised of other skilled athletes from our group at work. I feel I’m at least partly to blame, as the dodgeball league is at the same facility where I play indoor soccer. However, clearly there is another who is the driving force behind getting a team together.
Our first couple games last night were incredibly fun, which is a good thing considering the pain we’re all in today. My biggest problem is my throwing arm. The league uses a type of nerf ball that’s small enough to grip and throw with one hand. Unfortunately, that means it’s incredibly hard to throw with any velocity, at least for us rank amateurs. (It was painfully obvious that some of our opponents last night do not consider this child’s play, and have learned how to hurl these nerf balls in punishing fashion.) I need to know how they do it, without rendering their throwing arm useless for the duration of the season.
Any tips on how to throw a nerf ball without dislocating shoulders and elbows?
Jul
5
I was stuck in the usual Thursday-afternoons-during-the-summer traffic nastiness on my way home from work today. A honk from the car in the lane next to me grabbed my attention. I looked over, and the driver clearly wanted to talk with me. I paused my podcast, and rolled down my window.
“I’m from out of town. Why can’t we drive in those lanes?” he asked, pointing at the traffic flying by in the HOV lanes.
I simplified things and replied, “Those are for car pooling.”
“Oh,” he acknowledged. “So we have to stay in this all the way to Fredericksburg?” (Fredericksburg was still a good 20 miles south. We were easily averaging 15 miles an hour at this point– stop and go.)
“Yes, though the car pool lanes don’t go nearly that far.” I was trying to console him, as if to say it wouldn’t be all that great in the HOV lanes since they ended soon.
“Oh,” he acknowledged again. “So this should clear out as soon as those lanes merge, right?”
Who was I to squelch that glimmer of hope I heard in his question? “Sure, it should clear up a bit.” What else would you expect when 5 lanes of traffic consolidate into 3?! This didn’t seem like the type of discussion where I should lay out all the possible reasons traffic could easily get worse. And truthfully, traffic does generally pick up a bit after that merge due to limited on ramps for a while.
“Probably in 10 miles or so?” he wondered.
“Not nearly that long. Only a couple more miles.”
And with that, the conversation was over. I was glad the traffic did increase in speed a bit after the merge, so I didn’t appear to be a complete liar. Only on I-95 do you have a chance to verbally welcome visitors to your state while commuting home.
Jul
4
a great hymn
Filed under church, music at 4:39 pm | Leave a Comment
Michele, a good friend of ours in MI, wrote a great piece about one of her favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I count that hymn as one of my favorites, as well. We even had it as part of Micah’s baptismal service. However, I’ve never taken the time to contemplate, let alone verbalize, why it’s a special hymn. I think Michele articulates it well:
[F]irst, it highlights the fact that my main purpose in life is not to be successful, particularly, but to praise God…. Second, it implies that praise is not something I can do by myself. The ability to praise God is a gift from God. I must be taught to sing God’s praise…
Her post is definitely worth a full read. Preach it, Michele.