Fantasy football

I was off yesterday and managed to get some pictures of Squirt. She is quite the little show-off. The last couple of days I have either been off or had to work late. When that happens, I can sleep in later if I want to. The past couple of days when I have slept in, Abbie has too. We did not get up until after 10AM on Thursday. Amber is not too pleased because Abbie seems to wake up earlier on the days when I have to get up early.
I have been thinking about posting about "Fantasy Football." Whoever came up with the concept of fantasy football was a genius. With just this simple concept, many, many people like myself are now very in tune with NFL games each week. If not for fantasy football, I might watch some NFL during the playoffs, but nothing like I do now. To explain to the non fantasy owners out there, fantasy football is a game that takes football players from different teams and distributes them amongst fantasy team "owners." Then, when the games are played, the stats that each player has create fantasy points for the fantasy owners. The trick is that fantasy owners have to choose who they "start" and "sit" each week. I have been in a fantasy football league for 3 years now and I think it is fun and it gets me into the NFL like never before. There are fantasy football leagues played for money, but I would not be able to handle that. I spend too much time on my fantasy team right now and it is just for fun. I like the "competition" of it, and I like trying to find that "sleeper." That is the guy who has a great year that no one would have predicted. Anyway, it definitely makes the NFL season more enjoyable.

Rough week for pooter

Abbie has had a rough week. Despite the jolly look with the ears, you may notice the bruise above her left eye. One night this week she was walking in front of me down the hall towards the kitchen and as she started to speed up she tripped and went head first to the floor. There was that terrible thud that a head makes when it strikes a hard surface and needless to say, she was not a happy camper after that. Then, not thirty minutes later, she was standing in front of the oven and as I reached down to pick her up, she lost her balance and fell backwards into the front of the oven. Another loud bang as the back of her head hit the oven door. Now, she has gotten the cold that I am just getting over. Not exactly pooter's best streak of days. Not to mention how broken up she was about the OU game on Saturday. I didn't think she would ever get over that one. She may write a sternly worded letter to the PAC-10 and their officials. Well, there is not too much else to talk about right now. Hopefully, Abbie will be over this cold quickly. I hate it when she does not feel well.

"I am just not good at confrontations"

I have quoted the movie Back to the Future before. I sympathize with Marty's father in the movie. He gives a reason for why he does not stand up for himself, "I am sorry son, but I am just not good at confrontations." Some people enjoy confrontations and seek them out with most anyone. Others shy away and give up their position to avoid them. In the past few weeks I have had a couple of confrontations that I would rather have not had. One had to do with work. I had let something go on far too long because I knew what the result would be when I confronted the problem. For someone in my position, avoiding conflicts is not a desired trait. I think I am probably liked because I am not a ranting and raving boss, but that can have consequences. For one, when I do confront problems and show some energy about it, it is all the more harsh because it does not happen that often. The other side is that employees can get into bad habits because they are not "smacked around" enough. I try to find a happy medium between the two. If something needs to be corrected, I correct it and do so forcefully if needed. Otherwise, I try to remain easy going and let the employees do their jobs. I do not claim to have the market cornered on being a boss, but I do feel I do better now than when I started out. Are you into confrontations or do you like peace and quiet?

Nicknames

What is it about nicknames? Why do we come up with goofy little monikers for each other? When I was growing up, I was Snicklefritz to mom, Hammerhead to Grandpa, Jacob (Ja-kobe) to Jr. Dowler, Moby to any number of guys at school, and one of my favorites was Joebobaloopbobaloopbamboomtuttifruittionrudy. Keith Parr came up with that when I was in middle school and he would call me that every time he saw me. There are many others where the name has stuck so well as to become the preferred name. Eldrick Woods is "Tiger," Norman Esiason is "Boomer," and Anthony Webb is "Spud," to name a few. I have noticed in the past couple of days that Abbie already has a number of nicknames. I call her a number of names without even thinking of it. "Pooter-dooter," "Squirty-squirt," "Stinky-girl," "Little Miss Squat in the Bush," to name a few of the most common names. I do not know why this is important enough to write about, but it is something I have been thinking about. What if the name "Pooter" sticks and everyone calls Abbie that? I do not think she will appreciate it as she grows up. I am afraid it is too late, though. I call her "poot" without even thinking. I have a friend from college that has been called Buster ever since he was a young boy. He still went through a period when he wanted to be called Don instead of Buster. I think Buster would probably be preferable to Pooter (or Don for that matter). I am reminded of an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" where Andy is trying to help a couple patch things up because they argue all the time. In the course of trying to get them to be nice, Andy has them say "Mornin' Honey," to each other when they first wake up. When they first start, the phrase is said, but still with the same spite and venom. My reason for bringing this up is Barney Fife's reply to their first attempt; he says, "I would rather be called skunkface than have someone say good morning to me like that!" I think that phrase is hilarious. Am I alone in noticing all these nicknames? Does anyone else have some good nicknames that they know of? Think about the nicknames that you say to people without even noticing them. Have a good Labor Day, see you soon.