Prayer to St. Phog of the Allen

I really hope this isn't considered blasphemy. My friend Kari sent me this prayer and I found in hilarious:

Our Father, who art in Lawrence,
Hallowed be thy Game.
Thy tourney come,
Thy championship will be done,
In San Antonio as it is in Allen Field House.
Give us this day our deserved victories.
And forgive us our turnovers,
As we forgive Roy who double-crossed against us.
And lead us not into defeat,
But deliver us from East Coast bias,
For Kansas is the basketball kingdom,
And the tradition,
And the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Beak 'em 'hawks!

Vows

I'm getting this written into my wedding vows someday:

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

So while I probably haven't said it before on the blog, I've said it many, many times in individual conversations: New York is a hedonistic city. We live in small apartments so the upkeep is minimal, we don't have yards to take care of, to-go food is available and affordable, as are places to do your laundry, get your nails done, and there is an insane number of bars and restaurants to keep us occupied. Having fun is our secondary job and I definitely managed it this past weekend.

I had great St. Patty's day celebrations with a lot of great friends in NYC. TECHNICALLY, the St. Patty's festivities were only Saturday-Monday I'm going to include my friend's party Friday night in the festivities, nothing like pre-party.

Friday #1: My friend Rommi had an amazing birthday party at a great Manhattan apartment. The likes of which I have NEVER seen nor probably will again. INSANE New York apt. I have never been in this big of an apartment ever, let alone in NYC. Anyway, this is me striking a pose with some guys I met. The one directly behind me was kinda tall.

Friday #2: This is me listening to said guy explain that, 1) women have no common sense, "well, except for you three" (indicating to me and my friends) and 2) that Title IX had ruined women's sports, and 3) "Not all apartments are 6 feet from another building" (Mine is, from two actually). Um, yeah, I kinda wandered off after that.

Saturday: My friend Katie's boyfriend, Reid, had a pre-St. Patty's day party at his apartment and it was a GREAT time. We had some beverages, watched the conference basketball tournaments and had a great time. Reid got some INSANE bonus points for turning the KU/Texas A&M game on in his room so I could watch the whole thing without having to share the TV with someone watching Clemson/Duke (I think). Mad props, Reid, mad props.

Sunday: I kind of threw a festivity the Sunday afternoon before St. Patty's day at a little bar called "Off the Wagon". This bar specializes in games like beer pong and flip cup which many of the attendees were proficient at, as can be seen in the pictures below. And, no, I'm not getting sick in the first one, just laughing hysterically. It must be said, we had the most fun group of people at the bar and our group continued to grow throughout the night because, as mentioned, we were fun.

Oh, and Kansas won the Big 12 Championship from co-regular series champion Texas. Rock Chalk baby!

Monday: Actual St. Patrick's day was a hit! Nicole and I started the day at our favorite bar "The Gaf", conveniently located 2 and 1/2 blocks from my apartment. Then we were later joined by friends, Pete and James McNamara. We received AWESOME St. Patty's day hats from the Gaf bartenders. Thanks John and Brian! Then Nicole and I went to Stout where our favorite Irish band Scythian was playing and were joined by Meredith and Rommi and the McNamara bros! All-in-all, great holiday weekend. Now if there were a similarly fun Danish holiday I could get friends to play along with, this could be a BLAST!

Shout out to Rommi, Michelle, Carrie and James for supplying pictures. Approximately 3 out of 4 days I was dumb and forgot my camera at home.

Thoughts on Basketball

Just a couple thoughts on Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament:

• Go Jayhawks!
• I'm rethinking the Democratic candidate I'm supporting.
• If there is potential to have gigantic 7'0 twin sons, don't give them androgynous names like Brook and Robin.

It's Coming!

So I had my first sighting of buds on trees while walking to work today and some daffodils are struggling to come up on the patches around the sidewalks.

I've seen some fully grown tulips, daffodils and hyacinths (my personal fave) that have been planted in flower boxes around NYC, a practice that has given me a false expectation of spring and is actually very misleading. The best part about all of these flowers is that they just start popping out of the ground one day and you know, "it's spring!". Planting full-grown spring flowers just seems wrong. Did you hear me boutique hotel whose name I can't remember on 87th St. between Lex and 3rd? Yeah, I'm talking to YOU.

So even though its gray and rainy today, I think I might have survived another winter in NYC. Bring on the sun and warm and flip flops and skirts (without tights) and afternoon margaritas because I'm ready!

Adultery Prereq for NY Governorship?

Come on!

ONE DAY after Governor David Paterson is sworn into office in a very entertaining swearing in, this breaks. Ok, yada yada yada, full disclosure, but couldn't he have given us a little more time to enjoy the honeymoon period? After angry, arrogant Spitzer this guy was a breath of fresh air: making self-deprecating comments, telling jokes, entertaining stories about his kids, etc. I didn't even have time to blog about how much I liked him before this came out.

I'm curious to see what the New York Post will have on their cover tomorrow. For those of you who didn't see their cover last week, for your viewing pleasure:

A friend asked me the other day if I viewed the Spitzer situation any differently than I viewed the Clinton scandal in the late 90s. Now I'm asking myself that again but can look at it with the same perspective, that of a 26 year old, not from the differing viewpoints of a 17 year old and a 26 year old.

Both Spitzer and Paterson cheated on their wives, one was asked to resign, the other we have yet to see the fallout. I'm assuming he will be in office for awhile.

I just feel like what Spitzer did was so awful that I debated all the different ways I could call out "so awful" to fully stress how awful I thought it was: underline, bold, CAPS, all three?

Paterson didn't break the law but that's really not what bothered me about the Spitzer scandal. Spitzer endangered the health of his wife, has three teenage daughters (not that much younger than Kristen), and it was so planned and pre-meditated there is no way that it was not intentional and that he didn't acknowledge the potential consequences. Oh and $80k?!?! Don't get me started.

Does anyone else have these somewhat conflicting opinions?

Desiderata

I haven't blogged in awhile but just looked up at my cubicle wall and saw a poem I thought I should share. My friend Marc sent this to me sometime within the last year and I read it frequently.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, 1927