Facie’s Ramblings

On Facebook this week, a handful of people said good riddance to 2013. The self-absorbed person in me was surprised to read that. What? People had bad years? But then I remembered, it is not all about me, and others have had crap handed to them. At the end of 2009, I am pretty sure I would have called it a good year. Yes, I was laid off after almost 13 years at the same place. But I had unemployment comp, subbing, and a tiny bit of freelance work to keep us going, and, more importantly, I got to spend time with my kid! But, just as significant in my mind, both the Steelers and the Pens won championships! That was seriously such a fantastic year for Pittsburgh sports. I still smile when I think about it.:-) I don't have strong feelings about 2010-2012. I don't recall anything too great or awful; and nothing really significant must have happened. Oh, wait, I just remembered now, my mom was sick in 2010. But, hey, she got better! I guess time really does diminish some memories...

It kind of seems wrong to utter that phrase, which has been one of many catchphrases/battle cries for the ever-faithful Steeler Nation, who fairly regularly has a feeling their ( our ) team is going to the Super Bowl. But I am not even sure the Steelers are going to pull together more than six wins this season; I am 99 percent certain the playoffs are not in their future. But the Buccos. Oh, the Buccos. The Pirates are in the playoffs, baby! Sure, the longest losing streak in major sports ended a few weeks ago. But the way the season was going, it was not going to be enough to just break even or end up a little over .500. No, the fans (both die-hard and fair-weather) wanted more. Last night, we officially got that. And what an ending it was. I don't remember the last time I was so nervous/excited for a baseball game/play. But to see that tag out at home plate (I have no idea if that would be considered a tag out, but that is what I am calling it). Here's hoping the Pir...

Tomorrow the kid starts daycare. I am not even sure that is what it is called when your kid will be 10 in about 2.5 months and headed into fifth grade. As I said on Facebook, it has been almost five years since I had to gather up extra clothes, write my kid's name on things, etc. I am not even sure what the etc. is  because I cannot remember what you are supposed to do when you send your kid off to a child-care facility (which in this case is a church-school)! J is a little apprehensive about it, but I think she is also slightly excited (and by think, I mean hope and pray). It will be a chance to meet some new people who hopefully will be kind-hearted. We are both glad that the place provides breakfast, which means that J can sleep in an extra 10 minutes from what she did the past nine months. The place also provides lunch, most choices which she likes, which also means that she won't have to pack her lunch too often. I still am sad that she has to do this. I am sad that she ...

So far, the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs has been an interesting ride for the Penguins faithful. The first game, this past Wednesday, was awesome. The Pens pretty much wiped the ice with the Islanders in a 5-0 route. I have heard people say that they would not want every game to be a blowout/one-sided. I agree with that statement, but I would certainly not mind if most of the games went that way for my teams. I get way too wrapped up in important games to go through too many nailbiters, which is exactly how the next two games played out. Friday's game started off well, with the Pens pretty much picking up where they left off and scoring a couple of goals in the first period, most notably one by Sidney Crosby, who had been out for a month. He may have been wearing more headgear than a football player, but that kid can play. I was (somewhat happily) thinking the Islanders were in for another shellacking, although I was actually feeling a little sorry for them. Unfor...

This week I have been teaching Vacation Bible School, something I am grateful to have the opportunity to do. I want to be sure the kids have fun while learning the Bible stories. but the real challenge is determining how lenient to be and how many feelings I should try to spare. Yesterday, I told my 12 kids to divide up into groups of three or four for a scavenger hunt. Once the kids did that, because I had an extra list, I asked if anyone wanted to work alone. After about 30 seconds, one girl volunteered, and I then started to explain the instructions. Soon after, one boy started to get upset because he insisted that he really had wanted to work by himself. I explained that I had asked for volunteers (and I actually looked right at him when I asked this question), and he did not speak up. This seemed to upset him even more, and he next said that he wanted to work with the girl who was going solo. For about five seconds I considered telling him, as nicely as possible, that he needed to...

When I lie awake at night, often post ideas swim around my head, most of which are pretty good. But when I wake up the next day (or at least when I have the time to sit down and write a post), those great ideas and half-written-in-my-head posts have disappeared. So I just thought I would throw a few things out there. I went to a fashion show today, to support J's school. Considering my near lack of fashion, it is kind of funny, but it was actually a nice time, made better by my winning a small door prize. If nothing else, I was happy to see a pair of medium-length shorts on one of the eight-grade models. Anymore, it seems as if shorts come in two sizes — an inch or two just below the butt or well below the knees, which I guess are not really shorts. Hooray for a happy medium! In case you were wondering, being out of work for three years is kind of like a lifetime. Unfortunately, those few freelance projects over the past few years as well as my share of subbing are just not the...

The party's over. I was not really expecting my team, even with all the injuries, to lose to an 8-8 team with a QB who was a horrible passer. But maybe God really was on Tebow's side (I say that with some sense of seriousness; see my last paragraph). But I mostly believe that God could care less about sports, bands, movies, etc. I am pretty sure He has enough other things to keep track of. And let's face it: a lot of rich, famous people are rather crappy people, and I kind of doubt God would want to reward that kind of behavior with a #1 movie, album, or Super Bowl victory. But what do I know? Well, I know that the Steeler season is over, not even halfway through what is typically the worst month of winter here in southwestern PA. And unlike last year, I don't get to look forward to watching football into February. There is no more planning weekend activities around Steeler games. No excitement in thinking that my team could be hoisting another Lombardi trophy thr...

Last week, on the last day of school, Jordan got into the car with some certificates from awards day. She handed me the one she was "most proud of"--a certificate for athletics. I scanned it as I came to a stop sign, and I at first thought she had won an award for being the most athletic. This immediately caused flashbacks to childhood, during which I was pretty much the slowest and most non-athletic kid in the class. I was in slightly better shape as I entered high school, but mostly still just skinny and completely devoid of grace. And pretty much almost always picked last for gym class. (See an old blog pos t about that.) Because of these unpleasant memories, I decided right then and there a photo of Jordan's certificate would be going up on Facebook, so all my former classmates could see that my kid was nothing like I was. She had hope! As I came to a stoplight, I read the certificate more closely and realized that she had actually ran the mile in gym class in just ...

Well, another Penguins season has come to a close. What can I say? A few things, actually. Considering the injuries to players, most notably Sidney Crosby, who is arguably the best hockey player in the word, you have to tip your hat to the Pens for making it to Game 7 of the first round. When you are without Crosby and Malkin, the fact that you can win more games than lose (until this series, anyway) really shows that the others stepped up. Kudos and rah-rahs aside, when your team has a 3 to 1 series edge, it is almost inexcusable to go out and lose the next three games and ultimately the series. That is a tough pill to swallow. They needed to win only one of their last three. How could they not do it?! Last night, the Bolts scored only one goal, and the Pens could never get on the board. The Pens definitely played hard; they played their hearts out, which made it all the more frustrating. But if you can't score a single goal in a Game 7, well, you just don't deserve to win...

I heard today on the Fan radio station that it takes some people weeks to get over a big loss like the Super Bowl. I don't think even in my most devoted, fanatic days it took me more than a few days, thankfully. When the game ended on Sunday night, I was fine. Really. Honestly, I had felt a little guilty throughout the game, thinking how it is kind of unfair that the Steelers were in the Super Bowl for the third time in six years, and that they (we!) had won it two times in four years. Shouldn't someone else get a turn? Of course, that is not how it works. Life is not always fair. Clearly I should never coach or own a sport teams. Etc., etc., etc. But I went to bed happy for the Packers. Unfortunately, I woke up once in the middle of the night, remembering that the Steelers lost, and I felt a little sad. When I woke up for good the next morning, after 7:30 a.m., thanks to that stupid two-hour delay, I thought about the "things always look better in the morning" ph...

When Skippy missed that short field goal last night, I said, just as I did last week when he missed another short(ish) one, "The Steelers must have known what they were doing when they did not sign him to a long-term contract." Not that it would have mattered. The Steelers were totally schooled last night. I did not care so much when they lost to New Orleans. After all, the Saints were the defending Super Bowl champs, who perhaps did not take the Browns (aka the Clowns) as seriously as they probably should have. Plus, the Saints are in the NFC, so no biggie. But for the love to Pete, the Pats, who are, unfortunately, in the AFC, sure seem to have the Steelers' number. As much as I do not like Big Ben (as a person), I thought he played pretty well last weekend (and, yes, I realize, that was against the Bungles). Sure some throws were low or high (I forget), and he probably had an ill-advised pick (who can remember), but he just looked good overall, particularly the way...

I subbed four days this week, my most this year. Mostly because of that exhaustion, I have been sitting on a post (in my head) since Monday or Tuesday, trying to decide if I should flesh it out and post it. Since I feel neglectful to this blog, I decided to do it. Earlier this week Jordan told me that when she tried to sit next to a certain girl, whom I will call Dee, at lunch, Dee told Jordan that her mother does not want her to sit by J. Yes, I said that . And as I write this, I am getting angry all over again. What kind of a mother, in a Catholic school no less, says something like that to her kid?! And my kid, although goofy, is honestly one of the kindest kids in the school. Believe me, I am there enough to see this and I certainly hear about it. Here is my take on why this happened. Last fall, I subbed a gym class that Dee was in. A few of Dee's classmates told me that Dee was cheating (that is, when the ball hit her, she would say it did not), and Dee ran off, pouting....

I am a big believer in destiny and a little bit of one in karma. Although I am not sure how this works with my religious beliefs, I go with it. (For the record, I considered lighting a candle while at church yesterday for the Pens, but decided not to.) Last year, at the start of the playoffs, I believed and hoped (and, yes, even prayed to some extent) that the Pens could bring home the Cup. The main reason? The 2009 NHL playoff commercial that had various players, including Mario Lemieux, hoisting the Cup. It ended with the quote, "It weighs 35 pounds except when you are lifting it." Seeing the Pens savior Mario holding the Cup, I could not help but picture Sid Crosby doing the same thing. That commercial still gives me chills, more so than this year's playoff commercial. This year, however, I did not have any big feelings. Sure I was thinking the Pens could go all the way. And again, I was hoping. But when the first three seeds were knocked off in the first round, t...

What is the above a picture of? If you said a trophy that the Steelers will not be hoisting next month, you are correct. Probably the only thing the Steelers will be lifting in the near future are boxes, as they clean out their lockers for the season (and some for the last time ever). They certainly won't be preparing for the playoffs, as I fully expect them to be doing this time of year, every single year. As I was telling my priest this morning, I would rather the Steelers go a decade or two between Super Bowls than ever miss the playoffs (assuming it was an either or proposition). Weird, perhaps, but I just always think that they are going to make the playoffs; it happens so much more often than it does not, so this assumption is not exactly crazy talk. And, now that the Steelers have won the most Super Bowls ever, well, I am cool with their not getting another one for awhile. This season will undoubtedly go down as a disappointment; after all, the Super Bowl Steelers returned m...

In the late part of last century and the early part of this century, I was very lucky when it came to winning things. From bridal shows and contests the Post-Gazette had, to various raffles and events, I have snagged cookware, crystal, candy, tickets to events, CDs, cosmetics, and money. In fact, if you have been reading this blog since the beginning, and you have a better memory than I do, you probably know this already. My favorite win was at a bridal show in 1998. I really wanted to win a gift certificate to a small bridal shop near where I grew up. So when the MC announced that prize, I slowly started to stand. I recall my mom telling me to sit down, but I kept inching my way up, until I heard my name called. My mom was surprised. Me? Not so much. That was the just the way it rolled for me. But for whatever reason, once I had a kid, I stopped winning things. In fact, the last thing I won and cashed in on was a VIP pass to Steelers training camp just a few weeks before I had Jordan....

Yesterday Jordan and I went to a local country club to support the athletic association at her school. You pay some money, get to eat a lot of food from a buffet, and watch the Steelers on giant screens. We got there a few minutes after kickoff (mercifully, we missed the all-too-common kickoff return for a TD) and tried to find two seats at one of the many tables. Eventually we came upon an empty table "claimed" by a couple of coats; said table happened to be near one of the screens, so good deal, I thought. That is until I see a handful of boys heading our way. Not just any boys, mind you, but boys from sixth grade, one of the more challenging classes I have subbed for. As they noticed me sitting there, what can only be described as a look of horror crept over some of their faces. I just smiled sweetly (well, maybe more like sarcastically sweet), and as more boys showed up, I offered to keep moving down, proclaiming there was room for everyone! About 15 minutes later, the pr...

Right now I am thinking about the utter smackdown the Red Wings put on my beloved Pens last night, and how just a few days ago I was actually trying to reason with God about the Pens winning the Stanley Cup. I know you are not supposed to pray for a sports victory. Sure, you can pray for whatever you want, but, really, should any of us bother God with a request for a sports victory? Considering that in Catholic grade school my teacher scolded me for praying that I would do well on a test for which I did not study, sports should probably be pretty far down the list. Yet I have managed to do pretty close to that several times now. Here is how it went with the Steelers: I asked God to let the team play the best game they have ever played. I was not asking for them to become super heroes or play at a level they never have, just that they give it their all that day. I figured if that happened, the Steelers would win the Super Bowl. After the Pens won convincingly on Thursday, I tried a simi...

Just when I was finally heading into the acceptance stage after Tuesday's election, Penn State had to lose today. I was really starting to believe that PSU might actually end up playing for the national championship, but with a couple of minutes to go, I knew it was not to be. Except I was still holding out hope. Just as when I went to bed around 10 Tuesday night and Obama had something like 200 electoral votes. I told myself that maybe McCain could pull it out. Once I knew PA and Ohio went to Obama, the chances were pretty close to zilch, just as I knew PSU was headed for its first loss when Iowa was on the 20 yard line (or thereabouts) and had almost no chance of missing a field goal from that close. So now I am back to sadness or depression, or whichever stage that is. There is almost no way PSU can play for the national championship, and what makes it so hard to take is I feel as if this would have been JoePa's last, best chance. I love that man. My eyes actually welled up ...

Or at least that is what I keep telling myself. But I believe it. Sure, the Pens played rather badly last night (well, they started off looking pretty good/evenly matched against the Red Wings), but it was just one game, and an away game at that. I think they will bounce back in game 2. When Fleury tripped his way onto the ice, that was probably not a good sign. And Lord knows I am into signs. But when the Red Wings' first goal was overturned, I thought that was big, since the Pens have won almost every game they scored first in these playoffs. Now that they lost their first, first game, I am choosing to ignore that the Pens won their first three games in each of the first three series. This is the fourth series and the first time they are not beginning the series at home, so it makes sense, I am rationalizing, that this series starts off differently. I know that most athletes are overpaid, and some sports fans place a little too much importance on games (guilty, sometimes!), but I...