Facie’s Ramblings

Another month has passed without my blogging. I (sometimes) long for the days when I would blog several times  a week. I am just in a weird place now, and I am not sure blogging will help. Plus with the rather boring life I lead, there really is not much to say. But I will try to say a few things that are on my mind. The Steelers are the playoffs! I used to be so excited by that. And I am still a little. I will certainly be watching the game. I am wearing my Hines jersey as we speak. But I no longer get really worked up by a game. I don't cry when my team loses a big game. I no longer post a lot about the Steelers as I used to on Facebook and a little on here. This season is the second in a row I did not go to a single game, which is now my longest streak. My family got season tickets when I was in high school (can't remember when). I went to a game or two a year then. In college, I probably went to only one per year. Once I graduated and up until I had Jordan 10 years later,...

I miss the days of blogging regularly. Unfortunately, life gets in the way, and the little time I have for myself in the evening is often wasted on TV or the stupid smart phone. And it is way too annoying to bang out a post on a phone. I want to blog about my and the kid seeing the big yellow duck at the Point. I want to blog about the Pirates winning season, amazing wildcard win, and decent showing in the playoffs. I want to blog about the good things at work. I want to blog about some interesting bus tales now that I am a regular bus rider. I want to blog about my future career as a badminton player (wink, wink). I want to blog about little things that have made me happy. But despite the many good things in my life, sometimes there are things that just get me down and frustrate me. Things in life that disappoint me. Things that make me sad. Things I analyze and question over and over. Things that really concern me. Things that I wish there were easy or at least obvious answers for....

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...

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...

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...

It is weird for me to blog so infrequently. Yet I almost (almost!) don't miss it. I started working at a company on part-time, freelance basis almost four weeks ago. Even though I have been working only about 20 hours per week, I have had to juggle some things, commute a few times (have not missed that), and send my kid to after-school care twice. When you throw in a day of subbing, no school for almost a week, plenty of Easter-related church, spending time with relatives, and everyday normal stuff, well, blogging and Facebook take a backseat. But I did want to get in a good "Let's go, Pens!" cheer as today is the official start of the tied-for-first-place most wonderful time of the year--the Penguins-included hockey playoffs (Steelers playoffs share the trophy, in case that was not clear). Here's hoping the Pens can bring home another Cup. At the very least, I want the Pens to kick the crap out of Philthy. But not literally, because you know how I am anti-v...