The Long Weekend That Wasn't Very

Last week I was very much looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend. It looked like there would be a lot of time to relax and hang out at home with my family, something we haven't done a whole lot of this summer. We had some cookout commitments which was nice, and I had a card game scheduled with the crew in Berwyn on Saturday night that I was eager to jump into. Friday night the missus and I had dinner and a movie planned. All-in-all it was lining up to be a most enjoyable weekend.

The weekend started off okay. I hustled home from work to hang out with the baby a little before we had to take him to my Mom-In-Law's for the night, and everything seemed okay. Hurricane/tropical storm/tropical depression Ernesto arrived early for some people in West Chester, however. We hadn't noticed any rain or wind gusts on the way over to drop The Man Zachary off, but less than a minute before we pulled into the MNL's driveway, a transformer exploded a few houses away, rendering her home powerless. She assured us that the lack of power would not impede her babysitting ability, so we were still off to the movies.

Believe it or not, I really wasn't all geeked up to see "Invincible". In fact, I am almost embarrassed to admit that going to see the movie was Kim's idea. Yes, the die-hard Eagles fan had to be convinced by his wife to see a sports movie based on his favorite team. I had no real expectations for this movie for a number of reasons. First, I hate the Hollywood-ing up of a true story for the purpose of a story translating to the big screen. "Invincible" is a Disney movie, and they are the biggest culprits of all. "Cool Runnings" was once one of my favorite movies. That is, until I researched the actual events surrounding the Jamaican bobsled team. Disney changed EVERYTHING, including the names of the Olympians! I am happy to report that the movie was very well-done, and I will up my sissy factor a few points by sharing that I even got a little weepy at the end. There were more than a few goosebump-inspiring moments, and I highly recommend this movie to any sports fan, but it is especially relevant to Philadelphia sports fans.

A few points of interest I gathered from the film: First, Philadelphia appears to have been a very depressing place in the mid-1970s. Second, Vince Papale should always be remembered in sports circles as one of Philadelphia's greatest sons. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone that is unfamiliar with the story, but what he accomplished was truly incredible. I am still blown away by the magnitude of what he did. I can't see how this could happen today, but there was a similar story out of New Orleans when Michael Lewis made that team after a tryout and stint with an arena football franchise - also with no college playing experience - in 2001. I have always said that I would never cave in to the throwback jersey craze, but I just might have to order a #83 Eagles jersey, circa 1977.

We got to sleep in on Saturday, and this was needed after weeks of non-stop running around. We awoke to find that the power at my Mother-In-Law's would be out for a fairly long time. This did not bode well, as our Sunday family cookout commitment would now fall into our laps to host. Normally, this sort of thing doesn't bother me, but I was not in a hosting frame of mind. This lack of hospitality I was finding in myself would only be augmented by the events of the Saturday night poker game in Berwyn. It also wasn't helped by the 6 hours I had to put in to get my night job's monthly billing out the door, but I digress. Poker night was what really got to me. I began the night playing well. I had a good read on the table and was up pretty nicely early-on. Then, I flopped a monster hand and ran smack-dab into an even larger monster. I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say my heart wasn't into it as it should be with real money on the table. I ended up donating another $100 after losing the initial $50. This was inexcusable for me, as I knew on all three big hands that I lost that I was on the worse end of things. I played horribly and stupidly after the first hour and a half, and it cost me. This put me in a most foul mood heading into Sunday. I generally am able to handle a bad night of poker if I am outplayed or unlucky. On this particular night I was unfocused and stupid. Not a good combination when playing cards.

I was a complete sourpuss on Sunday. I was a little tired, I was annoyed with myself for giving away $100 the previous evening, and I wasn't feeling great physically. The cookout/family gathering went pretty smoothly, much better than I had expected. I feel guilty for not being my normal energetic welcoming self, but I don't know anyone who is "on" all the time.

Monday I went to my Dad's to continue helping him get his PC up to speed. My attempts to get my parents off and running with their first PC and internet access has me wondering if I could cut it as a teacher. I always thought I'd be a good teacher. Now, I wonder if I have the chops for it. Long story short, I ended up causing more problems on the machine than fixing, and in the meantime spent way more time than allotted for the visit. I was over a half-hour late to pick up my wife and son for a cookout we were supposed to be present for at 4pm. I didn't get home until 4:05pm and we had a nice half-hour trip in front of us to get to the festivities. Needless to say, the missus was miffed.

All in all, the weekend wasn't too bad, but there are a lot of things I could have/should have done to make it a lot more enjoyable. My first day back to work hasn't been bad so far, and for that I am grateful. Another thing I am grateful for is football. The NFL regular season kicks off this week and with it my favorite time of year. It means watching Eagles games, fantasy football, spread pools, suicide pools...(sigh!) I love football!

[Currently Listening: The English Beat - "Ranking Full Stop"]