Tag Archives: hacky sack

Rosa’s Thursday Rundown

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I hope the beginning of my latest Thursday Rundown finds you well. If you are new to Don’t Blink, each Thursday I write briefly (debatable) about five random topics. If this format sounds acceptable to you, please continue reading for your enjoyment and pleasure…

First Communion TBT – The night before Sloan’s First Communion, I went through my old photo album and showed my daughter some photos from my own First Communion. I also showed her the program from my First Communion mass. Instead of telling me I look “funky” as she seems to do every single day, she reacted to the photos by saying verbatim, “You were low-key kinda cute.”

This was me moments before we got in the car to attend my First Communion mass.

Fruity Pebbles Candy – I am always on the lookout for new and interesting treats so when I saw Fruity Pebbles Candy at Dollar Tree this past weekend, I couldn’t resist. The verdict? They tasted exactly like Fruity Pebbles (seriously)! However, the taste of nostalgia and fruitiness quickly dissipated and I was done with them after eating the contents of a quarter of the box. My kids couldn’t even eat much more than me.

This candy definitely tasted like Fruity Pebbles.

Bowling Fun – Each quarter, our University Relations team takes a break from the office to spend some quality time together doing something fun off-site. This past Friday we found ourselves at Rosa’s for pizza and bowling. Even though I have gone on record stating that I am not a huge fan of bowling, I had a great time with my colleagues. Perhaps part of it was that I actually bowled well. I don’t know how I managed it, but I posted scores in the 130s and 140s as I won all three games we played (to be fair, just three other University Relations staffers bowled with me 😂). Even though not everyone bowled, everyone had a great time. I am lucky to work with such awesome people!

I really enjoy my University Relations team at Eastern Washington University. This was some of us last week at Rosa’s Pizza in Cheney.

Bringing Hacky Back – There was a major article in the New York Times this week (along with other publications) about the comeback of hacky sack. Gen Z has become obsessed with the hobby and all of a sudden stores across the country that used to sell two hacky sacks a month are selling 30 in a day. Many of these media reports site that hacky sack was a fad and “The Thing” to do in the 1990s. I find that funny because I was a die-hard “hacky sacker” in the early 2000s when I was in middle school…no wonder why I wasn’t a cool kid 😂. But yes, I LOVED hacky sack for a certain period in my life and to this day I still maintain some of the coordination needed to play it. I even wrote about my obsession with the hobby in a blog post from three years ago. I am thrilled to see hacky sack make a comeback with a new generation.

That’s me, wearing my Gap t-shirt and jean shorts, playing some hack sack probably 25 years ago.

Carry That Banner – As part of my role as EWU’s marketing director, I oversee sponsorships. For the second year in a row, we were the title sponsor for the Jr. Lilac Parade. Because of our designation as the top sponsor, Eastern Washington University led off the parade. With President McMahan riding in the car as the grand marshal and the cheer squad/Swoop energizing the crowd, someone needed to carry the banner. I gladly stepped up to help but it was a two-person job so I enlisted some assistance 😉. What a joy it was to bring Sloan with me so she could get a small taste of what her daddy does. At the same time, she got to go behind the scenes of a parade and chat more with her new BFF…President McMahan.

Sloan and I carry the EWU title sponsor banner at the 2026 Jr. Lilac Parade. (Photo credit: Amy Bradberry)

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That will wrap things up for tonight. However, I am not done for the week. I will publish a blog post about an embarrassing moment tomorrow morning…so stay tuned. Don’t Blink.

State Shirt Thursday Rundown

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Happy Pi Day Eve! I hope as we reach the mid-point of March that your month is going well. At the very least, hopefully your favorite college basketball team is gearing up for a March Madness run. Let’s get started with tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Birthday Frame – This past weekend, Beau attended the birthday party of one of his St. Mary classmates, Ellie. The unicorn-themed bash was held at Jump For Joy in the Spokane Valley and Beau had a lot of fun. One aspect I found cool was the homemade photo frame that Ellie’s mom made. After cake, she busted it out and helped each child post for their individual photo with Ellie. Needless to say, it looks like Beau has some growing to do.

Beau with his friend Ellie in her customized photo frame.

Old Maid – We have been playing Old Maid at our house. The game is easy to play and the kids enjoy it. I do wish the object of the game was more focused on winning as opposed to not losing, but I can look past that. The game has also been a learning lesson for Sloan and Beau on how to properly hold a hand of cards and to conceal them from others.

The kids have had fun playing Old Maid.

Beau’s Heart – Earlier this week, Beau brought this paper heart home. It represents the “pieces” of his heart. Even though someone obviously did the writing for him, the sentiments are 100% from Beau. Oh how he treasures staying at his grandparents and making smoothies with his papa and helping grandma make pancakes. I didn’t know about this project until Sid took a photo of it and sent my way. When I looked at it on my phone, it made my day.

With some help, Beau made this heart at school.

March 13 – I think I have something cool/weird that I can share for pretty much every March 13th I have been alive for, but for space considerations, here are just a few: Can’t ever forget about the blog post I published two years ago about my extremely nerdy middle school hobby of hacky sack. On this date in 2020, this prodigal son returned to Spokane after 15 years away. Because of COVID, Sid and the kids wouldn’t join me until two months later. On March 13, 2016, I lived out a dream when I judged a macaroni and cheese contest. And finally, 13 years ago I was on a plane to Albuquerque for the NCAA Tournament as part of the travel party for the University of Montana men’s basketball team. The experience was one of the best of my career. Speaking of Griz basketball, congrats to this year’s squad for returning to the Big Dance after last night’s Big Sky Conference tournament championship win over Northern Colorado.

That’s me, wearing my Gap t-shirt and jean shorts, playing some hacky sack probably 24 years ago. I wrote about my hobby on March 13, 2023.

State T-Shirt Joke – How old-fashioned am I? Instead of sharing funny memes like most people do in 2025, I continue to share comics. This Family Circus strip caught my eye. If Texas is an XXL and Rhode Island is an XS, I think Washington would probably be a medium.

A Rhode Island shirt would probably be a crop top.

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Have a great evening, everyone. Don’t Blink.

My Middle School Hobby

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I was your typical awkward middle schooler. I wore braces, struggled to talk to girls, and fastened a pocket watch to the belt loop of my jeans. Ah yes, those were the days.

On top of all that, I also embraced a rather nerdy habit. During those 7th grade and 8th grade years, I became a hacky sack fanatic.

That’s me, wearing my Gap t-shirt and jean shorts, playing some hack sack probably 22 years ago.

Despite my awkwardness, I did manage to have a group of friends. One day, a particular buddy showed up with a hacky sack. We were introduced to a game called KILL. We would form a circle and kick the hacky sack, spelling out the work K-I-L-L. On the fourth kick, the hacky sack could be caught by a player and then thrown by that person at another player. We would play this game insistently before classes, during breaks, and even outside of school.

It wasn’t long before we all had our own hacky sacks. I remember going to a sporting goods store called Gart Sports and looking through the tub of hacky sacks to find the one that was packed perfectly and stitched with a unique design. Because all of us now had our own hacky sacks, we had time to practice by ourselves when we weren’t together as a group. This helped us develop our “hacky” skills.

Pretty soon we weren’t just playing KILL. Our skills had evolved to a point where the primitive game of trying to string four consecutive hits together was too remedial. Instead, we would form a circle and engage in pretty skillful freestyle session where we would kick/pass the hacky sack to one another over the course of long volleys. We also invented our own games. A favorite was the hacky sack equivalent of basketball’s horse—a player would perform a combination of kicks and the next player would have to replicate it. If he messed up, he picked up a letter.

True to my nature, I took the philosophy of “anything worth doing is worth over-doing” to hacky sacking. I would carry my hacky sack with me everywhere in my pocket. At the grocery store? Okay, let’s kick it around in the chips aisle. At a family reunion? I bet my aunts and uncles share my passion for hacky sack too. Watching one of my sister’s gymnastics meets? You think a beam routine takes concentration and skill, watch what I can do with my feet.

I would use my hacky sacks until the colors were faded, the fabric was worn, and the beads were busting out. It had become an obsession.

But at least it was a healthy, albeit nerdy, obsession. The hobby improved my coordination dramatically. It also provided a great way to get loose and stretch out. It proved to be a superb social activity and resulted in countless hours of entertainment.

Once we left middle school, we ditched the hacky sacks too. However, the skill itself hasn’t left me entirely. Even to this day, I can still kick around a hacky sack in a semi-decent manner—which makes me happy—because more than 20 years later I rather be hanging onto a hacky sack over a pocket watch. Don’t Blink.