Friday Musings

Another Friday, another list of random Flick thoughts. . .

• Jeff Francis is out for the year (supposedly). Marquis better eat some inning and one of those young guys (Hirsh, Smith, Morales) needs to step up big.
  
• I would like to present a big, big 'IF' statement. IF Franklin Morales learns to control his pitches, IF Greg Smith stops walking every third batter, IF Jorge De La Rosa continues to pitch like his last 5 starts of 2008, IF Greg Reynolds learns to relax at the major league level, and IF Jason Hirsh ever gets around to remember how to dominate batters, the 2010 Rockies rotation could be the best in the history of the franchise.
  
• With Cook and Ubaldo (and a healthy Francis), we really only need 2 of these to happen. Much more likely.
  
• Last Sunday was the Daytona 500. We had a crew head over to our house to watch the race. Unfortunately, the last 48 laps were canceled due to the rain. Disappointing.
• My goal was to get the bathroom operational by Daytona. Robert left my house at about 6:00 or 6:15. At that point, you could use the toilet and the sink. I call that a success.
  
• A big thanks to Jorge, Robert, Dad, John, Matthew, and Randy for all their help in this remodel process.
  
• I thanked Chew even though he usually was watching chick flicks with Sarah in the other room when the men worked!
  
• All I have remaining down in the bathroom is the trim, some paint touchups, and the shower needs caulk.
  
• The hallway needs to be painted, the closet doors need to be hung, and the light fixtures need to be put up. As soon as all that is done, we are going to replace all the carpet in the basement and put up new baseboards.
  
• Then I start the next project. . .
• I read that the stimulus bill was 1,073 pages long. Yet it only took 18 hours to pass both the House and the Senate. That makes me sick to my stomach.
  
• This quick legislation is after Nancy Pelosi promised that we would have 48 hours to read the stimulus bill online before they voted.
  
• And it is after President Obama promised that the American people would have 5 days to read bills before he signed them into law.
  
• Seems like government is still full of the same old cheats and liars. I really had hoped that Obama would move the government in a new direction of honest and transparency.
  
• I did like this, though.
• For those of you out there that are car people, you will like this article about the Hofmeister Kink. Nothing says 'luxury' like a kink!

This weekend should be a good one as Blackhawk, a housewarming party, and Winter Park will all make appearances. I hope you all have good ones as well.

Til the next post,
Mikey

Ladies and Gentlemen. . . The Beatles!

In my life, a constant has always been music. There were times that we would drag the coffee table up against the wall to clear out space so mom could literally drag me around the room, teaching me how to dance. I learned everything in my parents living room from things as simple as finding the beat and matching the rhythm to specific dances like the waltz, two-step, polka (all things I still do from time to time). Piano lessons were a weekly occurrence until I quit in high school (wish I hadn't). My dad is a busy body - the two of us spent countless hours in the garage making stuff for the house or working on the cars or just putzing around. Without fail, either KYGO or KOOL 105 was on the radio. Looking back, it is hard to picture common scenarios in my life that didn't involve some aspect of music.


This ingrained sense of music in my life is glaringly obvious with a quick look at my iPod or my iTunes. What a random, bizarre collection that is.


A constant in all this chaos has been the Beatles. The Beatles have always been one of Mama Flick's favorites. Paul is her favorite; I'm more partial to John. Abbey Road was the first album I ever bought with my own money (on tape, of course). When I stumbled across this list: Playing the Beatles Backwards, I was hooked. I still haven't gotten all the way through this list, but I will. My biggest problem with the list? "I Will" at #86. It should have been much, much closer to #1.

Peer Pressure Prevails

The latest craze on Facebook - 25 Random Things About Me, a note that is exactly what it claims to be. I have found these lists hilarious and fascinating. Since I have sucked mightily at creating original posts on this blog the last month or so, I figured that I would jump on the bandwagon and post something that everyone and their mother is doing.

So please sit down, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. My gentle readers, I now present 25 things that you probably did not know about your (less than) humble correspondent. . .

1. My ideal vehicle has been and always will be a Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra. Of course, now that I have an SUV, I don't know if I ever would be able to give up the enclosed rear. I think I could adjust.

2. I originally applied to college as a physical therapy major. Physical therapy is basically the same as civil engineering.

3. Every time I get on a plane, I grab the magazine in the seat pocket in front of me and try to finish the crossword puzzle before we leave the ground.

4. I succeed close to 50% of the time.

5. I ran cross country and track all though high school. Now I despise running. I am fairly sure that as soon as the competition factor was gone, so was my motivation.

6. I have only been to 3 different countries - the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I would love to travel to Europe at some point, especially London and Paris.

7. However, I have been in 40 of the 50 states. I'm still missing Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont.

8. I am a stickler for correct grammar. I can't even type a text message with incorrect grammar. It drives me crazy when I see national publications that have grammar errors. Plus I work with engineers, who are as grammatically retarded as you can possibly be.

9. I think that tying shoes is a waste of time. As a result, a majority of my shoes are tied loose enough that I can slip my feet in and out of them.

10. Because of my wife, I can sing way more New Kids on the Block, Boys II Men, Jagged Edge, and Joe songs than I would like to admit.

11. I honestly can say that the only type of music that I do not like is techno. I will listen to almost everything else without complaint.

12. I wear a tie to work once a week.

13. I rationalize wearing jeans on Thursday AND Friday because of tie day.

14. I have always thought about being a writer or photographer, but I am not sure I am good enough at either to make a career out of it. For now, I will just practice until I am willing to take that chance.

15. Even though I parade through this professional world as a civil engineer, I love to both experience and create artwork. Photography is, hands down, my favorite style of art. Impressionist painting is a close second (photography has a slight edge as it is something I feel I have some level of talent in - I straight suck at painting).

16. I love the smell of capitalism in the morning. So much, in fact, that I want to make a black t-shirt that says "I $ Capitalism" in white letters with a green dollar sign. Of all the economic systems, capitalism makes the most sense and I support it completely.

17. I have always loved to draw. I don't just sit down and draw enough (except during work meetings).

18. I have a couple sweet coffee mugs at work. One is a penguin with a scarf. That one comes out around the holidays. The other has a giant plaster crocodile on it that says, "Life's a Croc". Needless to say, I win the ugly mug competition at work.

19. I could eat ice cream for every meal. And when I say ice cream, I mean the biggest damn scoop of ice cream you have ever seen. It is a Flick thing.

20. That being said, I would have steak and eggs for my last meal if I had the choice. I would just have ice cream for dessert. Either Rocky Road or vanilla with M&M (or both).

21. My wife throws a softball harder than I do.

22. But I can hit it farther.

23. I have recently become more and more interested in running for public office. I truly think that I (a) could do a good job, (b) would enjoy the work, and (c) would have the cojones to actually do what was good for this country instead of what was good for Mikey Flick.

24. If I were to run for public office, I am pretty sure it would be a contentious point of my marriage. Needless to say, I won't be running anytime soon. Sarah and I trump political aspirations.

25. The number 25 has always been and will always be my favorite number. My grandfather wore the number when he was playing semi-pro baseball. My little brother and I have followed his footsteps for as long as I can remember.