Saturday, October 02, 2004
One last greetings from Tenn
As the title says, I'm still in Tenn. Since my posting will be slim to none for the next two years, I thought I would tell you some of where I will be. I will be leaving for training in Virginia this Wed and will be there until the week of thanksgiving. I will have a few days home before leaving the country on Nov. 28th. I will be traveling with three other guys, 2 are Bama fans (BOOO!!!!!) and one is an Auburn fan (YEA!!!!!) . This will give extra encouragement to following the Iron Bowl. This is more challenging when you have to be up at 2 in the morning listening over dial-up (time is for a 1:00 pm game). I will try to post once more from Virginia before leaving and will try to send Jason some info so he can post for me (the country I will be in blocks Blogspot). So I will leave you with this piece of information that was in one of my required reading books; apparently there is a little known immigration clause that allows returning M&M's to get quick citizenship for their spouses.
Blog the Plains
One question to get this discussion started off:
Why wouldn't they let Lee Corso wear the Aubie head? (Besides being worried about cooties or whatever it is that Corso has)
Why wouldn't they let Lee Corso wear the Aubie head? (Besides being worried about cooties or whatever it is that Corso has)
Friday, October 01, 2004
What kind of a moron names a hurricane "Ivan"?....and other musings
Next thing we know the National Hurricane Center will be naming their hurricanes Genghis and Napoleon. Of course, Napoleon will be a rather stubborn small storm that keeps coming back from remote islands to the US for another go, and will finally be torn apart by the wind shear of two storms named Wellington and Blucher (so named out of guilt for being so imbecilic to name a hurricane Napoleon in the first place.)
I have never been superstitious, but I have always been taught not to test God because you might not like his sense of humor. I wonder why everyone was surprised when Ivan not only hit Florida and Alabama, but caused devastion very far north and then comes around for another go...and then people are questioning the name? On the way home to FL from KY (it was a rather short stay before we had to evacuate) we heard a joke on the radio that the people of Florida we petioning the National Hurricane Center to change the name from Ivan to John Kerry so the storm would change directions. Too bad they didn't listen. :) Next year I recommend names like Bambi and Flower. At the very least then the storms can look and smell sweet.
It seems that even though we left FL to escape the storm, the storm still followed us to Birmingham. My grandmother's backyard has Shades Creek running through it, so besides my little run in with a Mr. Sal Monella (which I will comment on later), we had the joy of watching the water rise and flood the neighborhood. I took the liberty of posting some pictures.
Before
After
As I was saying earlier, in our hasty retreat from Ivan the Terrible, we stopped at a gas station in Prattville, AL, where I was introduced to a Mr. Sal Monella....a very foul and strong willed character, whose memory stayed fresh in my system for a very unwelcome number of days. One good thing about him (the only good thing I guess you could say) is that he helped me to lose a very large amount of weight in a very short amount of time. I would say he rivals or even surpasses the effectiveness of weight loss plans proposed by Mr. John Basedow, Ms. Jenny Craig and even Mr. Phen Fen.
On a more serious note, I have been recuperating here at home for a week now. I was severely weakened by the sickness, and still haven't gotten back to full speed, but I feel good (and light as well) and with a little more time will be able to get back to doing my normal routine. Yesterday Dominic and I even went out for a walk down towards the lake.
Mommy and Dominic
God has blessed us immensely, and I thank each of you who prayed for us or thought of us during the past few weeks.
Here are some more pictures of the little guy for your viewing pleasure. Now you are obliged to compliment my baby. :)
Lots of love,
Lauren
In Kentucky #1
In Kentucky #2
In B'ham #1
In B'ham #2
In Bham #3 (with Mommy)
I have never been superstitious, but I have always been taught not to test God because you might not like his sense of humor. I wonder why everyone was surprised when Ivan not only hit Florida and Alabama, but caused devastion very far north and then comes around for another go...and then people are questioning the name? On the way home to FL from KY (it was a rather short stay before we had to evacuate) we heard a joke on the radio that the people of Florida we petioning the National Hurricane Center to change the name from Ivan to John Kerry so the storm would change directions. Too bad they didn't listen. :) Next year I recommend names like Bambi and Flower. At the very least then the storms can look and smell sweet.
It seems that even though we left FL to escape the storm, the storm still followed us to Birmingham. My grandmother's backyard has Shades Creek running through it, so besides my little run in with a Mr. Sal Monella (which I will comment on later), we had the joy of watching the water rise and flood the neighborhood. I took the liberty of posting some pictures.
Before
After
As I was saying earlier, in our hasty retreat from Ivan the Terrible, we stopped at a gas station in Prattville, AL, where I was introduced to a Mr. Sal Monella....a very foul and strong willed character, whose memory stayed fresh in my system for a very unwelcome number of days. One good thing about him (the only good thing I guess you could say) is that he helped me to lose a very large amount of weight in a very short amount of time. I would say he rivals or even surpasses the effectiveness of weight loss plans proposed by Mr. John Basedow, Ms. Jenny Craig and even Mr. Phen Fen.
On a more serious note, I have been recuperating here at home for a week now. I was severely weakened by the sickness, and still haven't gotten back to full speed, but I feel good (and light as well) and with a little more time will be able to get back to doing my normal routine. Yesterday Dominic and I even went out for a walk down towards the lake.
Mommy and Dominic
God has blessed us immensely, and I thank each of you who prayed for us or thought of us during the past few weeks.
Here are some more pictures of the little guy for your viewing pleasure. Now you are obliged to compliment my baby. :)
Lots of love,
Lauren
In Kentucky #1
In Kentucky #2
In B'ham #1
In B'ham #2
In Bham #3 (with Mommy)
AU Preview: Tennessee
Not that this is a big game, but ESPN's online preview is 8 pages long. I'll keep this as concise as possible, given just how huge that this game is. For some perspective, Auburn and TN have played 48 times. This will be the 3rd time that both have been in the Top 10 going into the game. First, the 3 keys to victory for each team, as per ESPN
For Auburn
1) Time For Jason Campbell To Come Of Age
Campbell is going to need to step up and make big plays in a big game, possibly all game long, as opposed to only at the end of the game.
2) Williams And Brown Must Find Room
The Vols have a good run defense, only allowing 121.7 yards per game so far. Shockingly, we need our two star RBs to run well against them to win. Go figure.
3) Cornerbacks Need To Hold Up In Blitz-heavy Scheme
Auburn plans to blitz Tennessee's two Freshman QBs frequently, so Carlos Rogers and Montavis Pitts need to handle their man-to-man assignments to prevent big plays
For Tennessee
1)Build Confidence Of QBs Early
Tennessee has two freshman QBs, Ainge and Schaeffer. Ainge is a pocket passer, Schaeffer is a scrambler. Tennessee knows that Ainge will see lots of blitzes, while Schaeffer is likely to have a spy on him. Both need to be eased into the game to find a rhythm against Auburn's D.
2) Houston And Riggs Must Find Room
Tennessee counters Auburn's rushing attack with an impressive 1-2 punch of their own with Houston and Riggs. ESPN predicts that the two need to combine for 150 yards for TN to have a good chance to win
3) Take Advantage Of Punter Dustin Colquitt
Tennessee can use Colquitt to great effect if the game becomes a field position battle, as he is considered by many to be the best punter in the nation.
Summary
The two teams look remarkably similar in many ways. Strong running game. Passing game that defenses do not yet respect. Strong run defense. Good punters. Kickers who miss extra points. Questionable kick return skills.
Auburn has an edge from more experience at QB, and a stronger secondary. If Jason Campbell can step up and connect with his WRs yet again, Auburn should be in good shape to win this game.
Espn's Prediction - Auburn 26, Tennessee 24
Jason's Notes
The key to the game that ESPN seems to largely ignore is that, while Auburn looks to have the edge on paper, Tennessee has an incredible homefield advantage. In a stadium that is certain to be filled to its 108,000 seat capacity, Jason Campbell and the OL will have a great deal of difficulty hearing. In the still relatively new West Coast offense instituted by Borges, Auburn's Offensive Coordinator, there is a great deal of shifts and audibles done at the line of scrimmage. Delay of game penalties may kill a couple of drives in Campbell can not get the signals called and snap the ball quickly enough with all of the crowd noise. It is vital that Auburn come out firing early to take the crowd out of the game as much as possible.
Another thing to keep an eye on is that Tennessee has been relatively penalty-free on offense. If Auburn's defensive scheme can throw off Ainge and Schaeffer, you may see some more false starts and even delay of game penalties on TN. If those start to happen, then you will know that Auburn's defense is getting to TN psychologically.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN at 6:45 PM CST Saturday night. War Eagle
Programming Note: Worth noting is that the LSU-Georgia game occurs in the afternoon prior to the Auburn game on CBS. A Georgia victory would give Auburn a wonderful cushion in the SEC West. A LSU win would mean that Auburn will have to beat TN or UGA to win the West, assuming that LSU loses no more SEC games.
For Auburn
1) Time For Jason Campbell To Come Of Age
Campbell is going to need to step up and make big plays in a big game, possibly all game long, as opposed to only at the end of the game.
2) Williams And Brown Must Find Room
The Vols have a good run defense, only allowing 121.7 yards per game so far. Shockingly, we need our two star RBs to run well against them to win. Go figure.
3) Cornerbacks Need To Hold Up In Blitz-heavy Scheme
Auburn plans to blitz Tennessee's two Freshman QBs frequently, so Carlos Rogers and Montavis Pitts need to handle their man-to-man assignments to prevent big plays
For Tennessee
1)Build Confidence Of QBs Early
Tennessee has two freshman QBs, Ainge and Schaeffer. Ainge is a pocket passer, Schaeffer is a scrambler. Tennessee knows that Ainge will see lots of blitzes, while Schaeffer is likely to have a spy on him. Both need to be eased into the game to find a rhythm against Auburn's D.
2) Houston And Riggs Must Find Room
Tennessee counters Auburn's rushing attack with an impressive 1-2 punch of their own with Houston and Riggs. ESPN predicts that the two need to combine for 150 yards for TN to have a good chance to win
3) Take Advantage Of Punter Dustin Colquitt
Tennessee can use Colquitt to great effect if the game becomes a field position battle, as he is considered by many to be the best punter in the nation.
Summary
The two teams look remarkably similar in many ways. Strong running game. Passing game that defenses do not yet respect. Strong run defense. Good punters. Kickers who miss extra points. Questionable kick return skills.
Auburn has an edge from more experience at QB, and a stronger secondary. If Jason Campbell can step up and connect with his WRs yet again, Auburn should be in good shape to win this game.
Espn's Prediction - Auburn 26, Tennessee 24
Jason's Notes
The key to the game that ESPN seems to largely ignore is that, while Auburn looks to have the edge on paper, Tennessee has an incredible homefield advantage. In a stadium that is certain to be filled to its 108,000 seat capacity, Jason Campbell and the OL will have a great deal of difficulty hearing. In the still relatively new West Coast offense instituted by Borges, Auburn's Offensive Coordinator, there is a great deal of shifts and audibles done at the line of scrimmage. Delay of game penalties may kill a couple of drives in Campbell can not get the signals called and snap the ball quickly enough with all of the crowd noise. It is vital that Auburn come out firing early to take the crowd out of the game as much as possible.
Another thing to keep an eye on is that Tennessee has been relatively penalty-free on offense. If Auburn's defensive scheme can throw off Ainge and Schaeffer, you may see some more false starts and even delay of game penalties on TN. If those start to happen, then you will know that Auburn's defense is getting to TN psychologically.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN at 6:45 PM CST Saturday night. War Eagle
Programming Note: Worth noting is that the LSU-Georgia game occurs in the afternoon prior to the Auburn game on CBS. A Georgia victory would give Auburn a wonderful cushion in the SEC West. A LSU win would mean that Auburn will have to beat TN or UGA to win the West, assuming that LSU loses no more SEC games.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
What Time It Is?
Yes, Jason, that title was just for you. And yes, guys, we ladies do read the Blog. And comment, as often as possible. It's been so long since I've posted, though, that I had to go back to remember how to do it. Since there was a not-so-subtle prod for some estrogen, I'm stepping in... though I'm probably the least likely candidate since I'm the least girly girl I know, and those of you who know me well know what I mean.
ANYway, an update on my life... well I'm now living in Perry, Georgia, which is about an hour and a half south of Atlanta and about an hour and a half east of Columbus. It forms the right angle on the triangle, so to speak. I teach fourth grade in Oglethorpe, Georgia, which is a tiny town about 31 miles from my apartment. It's an extremely poor community, but the school is phenomenal. Over 75% of our kids qualify for free lunches, which means they are basically poverty level. Because of this we qualify for all sorts of grants, which means the teachers are really well-trained and we have things like wireless laptops for the entire fourth grade! (And to you Computer Science guys... I don't know if they're hiring, but they do only have one tech guy for the entire county - high school, middle school, and elementary school, so it might be worth looking into. Just about everything we have to be done is now on "Phillip's waiting list" which must be a mile long!)
As a first year teacher, I of course have the worst class in the entire school. There were four new teachers hired on the fourth grade hall. One of them has taught before, in another state, and another ... well... let's just say she's now teaching kindergarten. So that leaves Candice and me to figure it out on our own. The other teachers are supportive, but there's only so much they can do. Fourth grade is an interesting age. They are beginning to notice one another (boys and girls). It's the first year that the teacher no longer holds their hands, so they are on their own grade-wise. This causes a lot of them to fall hard at first. This causes a lot of unhappy parents. The first report cards go out this Thursday, right before Open House, so it should be an interesting day.
My kids and I have finally gotten into a groove. I have 3 Hispanic children and 20 African-American children, 8 girls and 15 boys. It's quite a handful, but I'm getting a handle on it finally. I hear my name more times in one day than I thought was humanly possible, so when I go to bed at night I hear, "Ms. Jor'n, Ms. Jor'n" over and over in my head! (Is that the first sign of being crazy?) Here are just a few of the other things I hear a million times a day that took some getting used to: "Can I go to the bathroom? I'm in a tight." (What?!) "Can I hold your pencil?" (means they want to borrow it) "Where your people?" (Where are you from?) Between that and my little Hispanic students testing my Spanish, my brain is overworked! (And my Ebonics are back... which I totally have to work on when I'm back around white people!)
Other than that, the only thing that seems to be going on in my life is weddings. I've had four in a five-week period, when I'm the poorest. Most have been college people, so it's been good to see them. The one last weekend and the one next weekend were wrestlers who graduated a couple of years before me, so it's been catch-up time. It's amazing how much people change in two years, and also how much they do not change! Thanks to a comment made by Rich, I have now found the Middle Georgia Auburn Club and will be joining them for the game this weekend. War Eagle! Now, I think this post is quite long enough to merit not posting for awhile, so look for me on comments! :-)
ANYway, an update on my life... well I'm now living in Perry, Georgia, which is about an hour and a half south of Atlanta and about an hour and a half east of Columbus. It forms the right angle on the triangle, so to speak. I teach fourth grade in Oglethorpe, Georgia, which is a tiny town about 31 miles from my apartment. It's an extremely poor community, but the school is phenomenal. Over 75% of our kids qualify for free lunches, which means they are basically poverty level. Because of this we qualify for all sorts of grants, which means the teachers are really well-trained and we have things like wireless laptops for the entire fourth grade! (And to you Computer Science guys... I don't know if they're hiring, but they do only have one tech guy for the entire county - high school, middle school, and elementary school, so it might be worth looking into. Just about everything we have to be done is now on "Phillip's waiting list" which must be a mile long!)
As a first year teacher, I of course have the worst class in the entire school. There were four new teachers hired on the fourth grade hall. One of them has taught before, in another state, and another ... well... let's just say she's now teaching kindergarten. So that leaves Candice and me to figure it out on our own. The other teachers are supportive, but there's only so much they can do. Fourth grade is an interesting age. They are beginning to notice one another (boys and girls). It's the first year that the teacher no longer holds their hands, so they are on their own grade-wise. This causes a lot of them to fall hard at first. This causes a lot of unhappy parents. The first report cards go out this Thursday, right before Open House, so it should be an interesting day.
My kids and I have finally gotten into a groove. I have 3 Hispanic children and 20 African-American children, 8 girls and 15 boys. It's quite a handful, but I'm getting a handle on it finally. I hear my name more times in one day than I thought was humanly possible, so when I go to bed at night I hear, "Ms. Jor'n, Ms. Jor'n" over and over in my head! (Is that the first sign of being crazy?) Here are just a few of the other things I hear a million times a day that took some getting used to: "Can I go to the bathroom? I'm in a tight." (What?!) "Can I hold your pencil?" (means they want to borrow it) "Where your people?" (Where are you from?) Between that and my little Hispanic students testing my Spanish, my brain is overworked! (And my Ebonics are back... which I totally have to work on when I'm back around white people!)
Other than that, the only thing that seems to be going on in my life is weddings. I've had four in a five-week period, when I'm the poorest. Most have been college people, so it's been good to see them. The one last weekend and the one next weekend were wrestlers who graduated a couple of years before me, so it's been catch-up time. It's amazing how much people change in two years, and also how much they do not change! Thanks to a comment made by Rich, I have now found the Middle Georgia Auburn Club and will be joining them for the game this weekend. War Eagle! Now, I think this post is quite long enough to merit not posting for awhile, so look for me on comments! :-)
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
in response to a not-so-subtle prod from jason:
having relocated to philly as of august 1st this year, i am currently employed at a marketing research firm entitled lhk partners. i love the company, and the people, and honestly the work isn't bad. i'm officially an administrative assistant for the call center (the company is sorta threefold - door-to-door market research, custom research projects for such companies as cocacola and espn, and a call center which does follow-up on them both), which translates into me spending all my time on tasks relating not at all to the call center. which is good, cuz that wasn't really the part of the job i was looking forward to. i'm working with yankelovich youth monitor right now, which is a door-to-door nationwide survey of kids-related stuff. i'll also be in charge of the adult monitor (both of these are in conjunction with an outside company), and when they aren't in session i'll be spending my time in custom, which is where i was hoping to end up eventually anyways.
right, so there's my job. in other news related to me - i'm working with a local theatre company, but sorta on hold until i hear back some more from kelly about that. i'm reading scripts for them and researching women's history in philly for a future project.
my mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, but after an early diagnosis/surgery and much debate, they have decided that chemo is not warranted (really really really good news), and will instead be doing radiation and hormone treatment. so it's bad, but it could have been so much worse.
and that's about it for me...
having relocated to philly as of august 1st this year, i am currently employed at a marketing research firm entitled lhk partners. i love the company, and the people, and honestly the work isn't bad. i'm officially an administrative assistant for the call center (the company is sorta threefold - door-to-door market research, custom research projects for such companies as cocacola and espn, and a call center which does follow-up on them both), which translates into me spending all my time on tasks relating not at all to the call center. which is good, cuz that wasn't really the part of the job i was looking forward to. i'm working with yankelovich youth monitor right now, which is a door-to-door nationwide survey of kids-related stuff. i'll also be in charge of the adult monitor (both of these are in conjunction with an outside company), and when they aren't in session i'll be spending my time in custom, which is where i was hoping to end up eventually anyways.
right, so there's my job. in other news related to me - i'm working with a local theatre company, but sorta on hold until i hear back some more from kelly about that. i'm reading scripts for them and researching women's history in philly for a future project.
my mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, but after an early diagnosis/surgery and much debate, they have decided that chemo is not warranted (really really really good news), and will instead be doing radiation and hormone treatment. so it's bad, but it could have been so much worse.
and that's about it for me...
The Search For More Blogging
Some miscellaneous things before we jump into the upcoming weekend, at which point I will enter a state of sports bliss for the next couple of weeks.
The blog has evolved nicely into a useful medium to share interesting tidbits and talk about Auburn. That said, it's also intended to help us keep up with each other as we move onto new phases of our lives. Just as we did initial postings about where we were and what we were doing, I'd like it if those who have moved onto new things in new places could post some updates on what they are up to. Now, I won't name those who might have neglected to grace us with their updated status, but their names rhyme with Caroline, Amanda, and Jessica. We have a fair balance of gender in the authors list, but this seems to have been a distinctly male environment lately. I'm hoping that we haven't scared the women off yet.
Now, onto the other reason for the title of my posting. In an interview about his upcoming movie adaptation of the Broadway show "The Producers", Mel Brooks says that he is currently writing a Spaceballs sequel. That's right, Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, may actually come out sometime in 2005-2006. More info here.
In Auburn football news, two items of note that I have picked up so far. First and foremost, Ronnie Brown sat out The Citadel game as a precaution, and is not significantly injured. He would have played against a SEC team, but it was deemed unnecessary to bother putting him in against a crap team like The Citadel. Secondly, Junior Rosegreen has said that the coaching staff is working on some "fun" coverage wrinkles to mess with both of Tennessee's Freshman QBs.
The blog has evolved nicely into a useful medium to share interesting tidbits and talk about Auburn. That said, it's also intended to help us keep up with each other as we move onto new phases of our lives. Just as we did initial postings about where we were and what we were doing, I'd like it if those who have moved onto new things in new places could post some updates on what they are up to. Now, I won't name those who might have neglected to grace us with their updated status, but their names rhyme with Caroline, Amanda, and Jessica. We have a fair balance of gender in the authors list, but this seems to have been a distinctly male environment lately. I'm hoping that we haven't scared the women off yet.
Now, onto the other reason for the title of my posting. In an interview about his upcoming movie adaptation of the Broadway show "The Producers", Mel Brooks says that he is currently writing a Spaceballs sequel. That's right, Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, may actually come out sometime in 2005-2006. More info here.
In Auburn football news, two items of note that I have picked up so far. First and foremost, Ronnie Brown sat out The Citadel game as a precaution, and is not significantly injured. He would have played against a SEC team, but it was deemed unnecessary to bother putting him in against a crap team like The Citadel. Secondly, Junior Rosegreen has said that the coaching staff is working on some "fun" coverage wrinkles to mess with both of Tennessee's Freshman QBs.
