My Commute

I would like to thank Al Gore for both the warm weather we are having now and the chance to publish a story about it.  If he had not invented global warming and the internet, you would not be able to read this tale.

One day last week I was driving to work with my roof open.  Sixty degree weather is a welcome relief from the usual bone chilling February temperatures.  As I was driving along the interstate, I heard a loud noise.  I frantically looked around trying to find the source of the disturbance, hoping that Betty was not making that noise.  There were no cars around me, so my fears of a wreck were temporarily relieved.  But then I looked up and the entire window was filled by the belly of a plane.  I was a little bit terrified.  It looked close enough that if I had stuck my hand out of the window that I would have been able to touch it.  I should probably point out that I was driving passed the airport when this happened.  Thankfully the plane past over me and as far as I know landed safely.  Despite my fear, I was able to control my bladder and arrive at work unscathed.  And then I found five dollars.

Academy Awards

Today is that annual event where I say, "Fill in the blank (Billy Crystal this year) was funny but Jon Stewart would have been better."  That's right, it's Oscar night.  I have only seen four best picture nominees so far.  Tree of Life was visually spectacular but not much in the way of story.  The Help is probably the favorite.  Race relations in this country usually wins the Oscar.  It was good but not great.  I really liked Midnight in Paris, but I would be surprised if it won.  Moneyball is supposedly about baseball, but mostly it is about Brad Pitt being charming.  That's not really difficult to pull off.  It did make Jonah Hill likable which I never expected.  My hope is that Thor wins as a write in candidate.

It's Awesome, Baby!

Tonight in Murray Ky, the #16 Saint Mary's Gaels play #14 Murray State Racers. This will be first time that two ranked teams have played at the CFBC Center, and the first time that a ranked MSU will play another ranked team. The game will be televised on ESPN and called by Dick Vitale. I'm not a big Dickie V fan, but he is the voice of college basketball.

Two weeks ago #14 St. Mary's was 22-2, and #7 Murray was 23-0. Since then the Racers lost to TSU and the Gaels have lost 2 of 3. Despite the recent losses by both teams, this is still a great matchup. Both teams should already be locks for the NCAA tournament, but if not, today's winner will definitely be in.

When this game was scheduled, I was very worried about SMC's size advantage. I am still nervous, but their recent losses make me feel better about Murray's chances.

Working for the Weekend

When I started working for the post office thirteen long years ago, I was just an average employee.  Typing is not my area of expertise, so I didn't do anything to distinguish myself from the rest of the work force.  That all changed in 2002.  My job changed from typing to physical labor.  I would rather rip my arm off than pat myself on the back, but I am probably the best physical laborer that you have ever met.  In a recent letter of recognition, my supervisor wrote that I do "the work of three employees."  I think that this has to be an exaggeration.  I only work an eight hour shift, and that is enough time to do the work of just one employee.  It is more likely that my coworkers that I was being compared to only do the work of 1/3 of an employee, which explains a lot about the current state of the USPS.  The letter also stated that I am "the hardest working man at the Little Rock Plant."  I can't argue with that.

In 2003, my first full year as a mail handler, I was named Little Rock Postal Worker of the Year.  Then again the next year and the next.  In fact every year since then except for 2007 when I broke my finger.  I was also named Arkansas Postal Worker of the Year in '04, '05, '06, '08, '09, and '11.  In 2010 they gave it posthumously  to a carrier from up around Jonesboro who was run over while delivering the mail just a few days before retirement.  I took home the National Postal Worker of the Year in '05, '06, '09, and '11.  You might think that all of this praise might go to my head, but it hasn't.  I was already extremely conceited before the recognition.  My inability to win the International Postal Worker of the Year has also kept me humble.  It is not just me though.  No one from the US has won since the days of the pony express.  There is a huge anti-American bias in the judging.  It is really hard to compete with those eight year-old Asians who are working sixteen hours a day.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Of course I am referring to both my recent Internet silence and Murray State's undefeated season. I have been expecting this loss for a few weeks now. The Racers have been just barely beating teams that they are clearly better than. I am not one of those people who say that a team needs to lose, but hopefully this loss will take some of the pressure off of them.

There could be more defeats on the horizon. Four of the five remaining matchups will be more difficult than this one. After Saturday's game against Peay, the Racers go to Cape, host a very good St. Mary's team, and then travel to Cookeville and Nashville for a rematch against the Tigers.

This was such an amazing winning streak. This past weekend pollsters ranked MSU #7/#9 and ahead of Duke. Take a moment to let that sink in. The question now is how far down the rankings the Racers will drop now that the novelty of the undefeated season has pasted. They will definitely fall out of the top 15. If they don't step on Peay's throat Saturday, they will be out of the top 20 or possibly unranked.

Of course a regular season loss hurts, but the most important thing for the Racers is to win the OVC tournament. Murray has been projected as a 6 or 7 seed in the NCAA since the win at Memphis. I am curious how much this loss will change that. It might be good for the Racers to lose another game to help them avoid the 8/9 game in Kentucky's bracket.

I am really glad that there was cake and ice cream at the house to comfort me after the loss. As bad as this hurt, there are at least 7 games left in the season.