Yes, this is the part of my vacation where I tell random people about how I spent it.
*In terms of blogging, I haven't had much time to write beings that I've been spending some quality time with my girlfriend. And that's not a bad thing. It's nice to see her because we always have a great time together. It worked out that my vacation coincided with her Spring break (none of your business how old she is), and we basically got to spend the entire week together. I certainly needed a vacation, we both did, because last month was one of the most stressful months that either one of us can remember.
*You might be wondering why I mentioned not being able to blog. I say that because I really love to write. Sometimes, it can be a chore, but for the most part, I love it, and when I can't do it, I feel like I'm missing out. Fellow blogger and pal, Keith Thomas from Steel Curtain Rising, once told me that for every one or two blogs that he posts, he has an idea for a few others that he never gets a chance to write due to time constraints. That is so true. I always have a few ideas floating around in my cranium, but as much as I want to sit down and devote time to writing as much as possible, I know I can't do that because of my other responsibilities in life.
*Fortunately, when it comes to most of my Steelers blog ideas, I have a pretty awesome outlet at Behind the Steel Curtain. In case I haven't mentioned it before, Michael Bean, the founder and editor of that awesome blog, asked me to be a contributor for the front page about a year ago, and that has given me a forum to write for a larger audience as well as hone my skills a little. I think I've gotten a lot better over the past year, but I hate to go back and read my own work because I either think it sucks, or I kick myself for leaving something out. I always have fun writing and reading the stuff on that blog. I said it before, and I'll say it again: It's the best Steelers blog on the net. And I'm not just saying that because I get to contribute on the main page, either. I was saying that back in 2010 when I was just posting stuff in the fanpost section. Anyway, there are many awesome contributors to the site, and the other writers set the bar so high, I feel as if I must post quality stuff just to keep up. One of these days, I'll start doing that.
*Not to shill too much for btsc, but on March 7th, the site won the annual "Pittsburgh's Best Sports Blog" tournament hosted on the blog "Sean's Ramblings." I don't know much about the blog, but he updates it pretty frequently, and that in and of itself is pretty impressive. He seems to have a lot of interesting content, plus, he's a fellow blogspotter. It's worth checking out.
*One last thing on Behind the Steel Curtain. I thought it was interesting that I wrote an article about Mike Wallace's contract status with the Steelers on Friday because I had much difficulty trying to post it thanks to Internet Explorer "upgrading" to IE9 on Thursday night. I started having trouble with javascript error pop up messages and other nuisances right before Christmas, but I just ignored them because I'm far from a computer expert; I just hoped that they would go away like magic. About a month ago, when I started getting pop ups that read "Internet Explorer has stopped working," I asked a kid at work what it could be. He said he wasn't sure, but he suggested that I download Google chrome and use that as my browser. I never considered that because I've never thought much about my browser; it was just something that I used to surf the net. I never considered the fact that some might be better than others. Besides, I'm usually pretty resistant to change, so I ignored the suggestion until yesterday and the IE download from hell. For an upgrade, it sure seemed like a downgrade to me. I was desperate and feared that I might have to get a new computer, so I faced my fears and downloaded Google chrome. I thought I was just grasping at straws, but believe it or not, browsers really do matter. Chrome is way faster than Internet Explorer, and I have yet to see a pop up error message. Anyway, the reason why I mentioned the Mike Wallace article on btsc is because I found it very frustrating to write due to the problems I was having with my browser, and I don't think it came out as well as it probably would have if I had been posting under normal circumstances. Two years ago, my very first fanpost on btsc was on a Friday during my summer vacation, and it, too, was kind of crappy. During the post, I mentioned Mike Wallace several times, and for some reason, I kept referring to him as "Williams." I don't know why I did that, and people were like, "who the hell is Mike Williams?" Fortunately, I was able to pick up my game after that. Hopefully, my Google chrome will make my Internet experience a much better one.
*Speaking of writing. I try to brush up on my punctuation from time to time, but it's one of those things where you're never quite sure if you're doing it right. For example, when do you put a comma before "because"? Should that question mark be outside of the quotations or inside? Should I always put a comma after a conjunction? What's a conjunction? Do too many commas turn a perfectly good thought into a run on sentence, and can I substitute a semi-colon for a comma just to break up the sentence? It's a never-ending battle, and it seems that every "grammar expert" on the net has a different answer.
*I mentioned before about how stressful February was for me. Well, one of the good things that came out of last month was me bowling my first ever 200 game in league play. I bowled a 213 last year during practice, but nobody was around to see it. If you bowl a 200 game when none of your friends are around, does it make a sound? Anyway, I just missed a 200 during the last game of my fall league last October. I entered the 10th frame with a 190, and on my first roll, I knocked down eight pins. Unfortunately, I left the 4 and 7, and for a recreational left-handed bowler such as myself, that's a pretty tricky spare to try and pick up. Needless to say, I whiffed on both pins and finished with a 198. I was still proud of my effort, but man, I wanted that 200. Would I ever get it? Fortunately, I've improved by game a lot over the past year or so, and I had a pretty decent run in the middle of the winter season where I bowled above my average for nine straight games and improved my score by 12 pins. It was during this run of success that I finally had my 200 game. Just like the 198 game, I didn't have an open frame until the 9th, but instead of having a 190 going into the 10th frame, I had a 181. I didn't like my chances of getting a 200, but on my first roll of the frame, I got a strike. Now, I only needed nine pins to pick up a 200. On my next throw, I knocked down eight pins and left two standing. What were the two pins? You guessed it, the good old 4 and 7. I couldn't believe it. It was like Deja Vu all over again. Fortunately, I only needed one pin, and I managed to get the 7 to finish with an even score of 200. It was a pretty big thrill.
*Another awesome moment occurred when my volleyball team managed an upset victory in the first round of the playoffs. We were one of the lower seeds like we always are, and I didn't have much confidence going in. A volleyball playoff match is a best of three, and we managed to split the first two games. For whatever reason, in the postseason, the third game of a volleyball match caps at 15 instead of the usual 25, and we found ourselves dead-locked at 10. This was the time for heroes to rise. Unfortunately, I was almost the goat as I was responsible for three pretty blatant errors and, suddenly, we were down, 14-10, and one point from elimination. Thankfully, my teammates saved my butt, and we managed to string together six-straight points to score the awesome victory. It was thrilling and taught me a pretty valuable lesson about teamwork. Sometimes, you save your teammates' butts and sometime they save yours.
*I've been focusing on rest and relaxation this week, but I've also been trying to get my exercise in. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, when I was out sprinting, I pulled my hip, and that put a quick end to my sprinting for the rest of the week. Since I'm quickly approaching 40, I'm sure it's easy to make "old" jokes, but I'll have you know that it's an old football injury that happened when I was 16. I thought it was a thing of the past, but I guess I'll never fully get over that. Speaking of old injuries, I don't know how professional football players get along years after they retire. If my hip is still bothering me after one hit during a pick up game 24 years ago, how much pain are those guys in after years of playing tackle football at the highest and fiercest level? Does it still take Jerome Bettis half a day to get out of bed?
*Maybe I am getting old because this marks like the third or fourth vacation in recent memory where I've come down with a cold. Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat and a cough, and today, I don't feel much better. Yay me!
*Oh well, I've rambled on long enough. I still have the better part of two vacation days to enjoy, and maybe another blog or two to write.
Adios!
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