Sunday Evening Smorgasbord

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I feel like treating my readers to a Sunday evening smorgasbord of topics so let’s get right to it and watch out as I throw five different things at you.

Iowa Recap: Last weekend I visited a friend in Iowa City, Iowa. It marked the first occasion that I actually got to spend time in the Midwest. I enjoyed seeing a different part of the country. I saw my fair share of cornfields and might have felt a little exposed with no mountains around me. I had the opportunity to meet some super nice people and relax a little bit from my hectic life. I enjoyed seeing the Iowa football stadium and driving around a few of the different communities that make up Iowa City.

The Wolf of Wall Street: On Thursday night I finally got around to watching “The Wolf of Wall Street.” I thought the movie for the most part was pretty good, although I wouldn’t want to watch it again. It was just a little too long for me. Also, I must claim ignorance when it comes to the stock market. You could fit my knowledge of stocks into a thimble so a lot of the “shop talk” addressed in the movie went over my head. However, I did enjoy the premium acting. Leonardo DiCaprio killed it and I especially liked the scene with him and Matthew McConaughey in the restaurant for lunch and also the scene on the boat with DiCaprio and Kyle Chandler (he played the FBI agent). Jonah Hill provided some good laughs.

Hosting Glen: This weekend I got to enjoy time with my brother. Glen flew out of Missoula for a job interview so after he returned on Saturday morning he got to spend the day with me. From the wonderful confines of my apartment we had a nice time watching Felix Hernandez and the Mariners dominate the Oakland Athletics and then witness the Connecticut victory over Florida in the Final Four. For the second Final Four game we watched the action at Buffalo Wild Wings. From there we concluded the night bowling with a couple of my friends. This morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then watched a couple episodes of “Bar Rescue” before Glen hit the road for Spokane. As it marked the last time I will ever host my brother in Missoula again I am glad we once again had a great time.

Speaking of That Breakfast: Glen and I ate at Stone of Accord for breakfast this morning. Over the past couple of years the brunch offered at Stone of Accord became my favorite. Although I love the traditional breakfast fare of pancakes, waffles, and French toast the Irish themed options at “The Stone” always just hit the spot for me. I became a huge fan of the cow pies offered…meat, eggs, veggies, and mashed potatoes combined together for a filling and unique meal to start the day. Don’t forget the soda bread that comes with each entre either. I am beyond stoked for the southern eating I will soon become introduced to but I will miss Stone of Accord.

NCAA Basketball National Championship: Although I wanted to see a Florida-Kentucky national championship game at least I get to see one of those teams in the chipper tomorrow night. I hope the Wildcats defeat Connecticut. For some weird reason I kind of like Coach Calipari and I love the story line of a freshmen starting five getting the better of much more experienced players. Go Kentucky!

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Have a great week! It is going to be a very busy one for me but it won’t slow me down from publishing to Don’t Blink. I will talk to you guys tomorrow. Don’t Blink.

My Mid-April Weekend

Another weekend is now in the books for your Don’t Blink blogger. Want to hear about the wild and crazy weekend I had? Yes? Yes, you do? Well too bad, such a weekend did not happen. However, I did have a good past couple days even if I have no crazy shenanigans to report. As I do from time to time I will take a blog post to make mention of a few highlights that defined this past weekend…boring as it may be.

Friday – Conclusion of Spring Ball: On Friday night our football team finished spring ball with a final scrimmage inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Played under the lights and with an emphasis on giving back to the community, it was a very enjoyable and fun evening.

In fact, the scrimmage was just not a conclusion for the football team, it was a conclusion for me as well. The scrimmage marked my fourth and final Griz event in the past seven days. The Saturday prior to the final scrimmage we held our spring game in Ronan, Montana. It was nice to take a day trip up north to Ronan and watch our football team fill the town with Griz cheer. Although it was a cold and windy day the rain held off and everyone seemed to have fun. On Tuesday we held our student-athlete talent show, “Griz Got Talent.” I was tasked with running all the sound and video for the show. Wednesday night we staged our basketball celebration for both our Griz and Lady Griz basketball teams for completing amazing seasons. Held in Dahlberg Arena I performed the same duties I did the night before.

Of course this brings us back to Friday night and our spring ball finale. A rainy and cold day had us a little nervous for how ugly conditions might get for the event that night but as most people know, God is a Griz fan. When 5:30 p.m. rolled around and we opened the field to the kids to participate in low key drills with the players and coaches, it couldn’t have been a nicer night. After the kids went back in the stands with their parents we honored two Griz legends, Dave Dickenson and John Edwards, at midfield. After showing a highlight video chronicling the achievements of both men, Dave and John both addressed the crowd. As for the scrimmage, the fans who showed up were treated to an exciting, high scoring battle. After the scrimmage concluded the whole team stayed out on the field and signed autographs for the fans, many using the 2013 Griz football poster they just received as signing material.

 

The football team signs autographs under the lights.

The football team signs autographs under the lights.

The scrimmage was a lot of fun to work. Running music and Griz Vision, I enjoyed working with everyone else up in the control room of the press box. With representatives from sports information, internal ops, the GSA, and the football team all working together up above, we had a great time.

 

A view from the Washington-Grizzly Stadium press box of the scrimmage.

A view from the Washington-Grizzly Stadium press box of the scrimmage.

Saturday – High School Reunion: Although Missoula is only 200 miles from where I went to high school at, I surprisingly didn’t have anyone here in town who I went to Mead Senior High with. Well, that all changed last week when one of my high school friends moved here from Butte. Now throw in the fact that this friend who just moved here has a best friend who also went to school with us living in Whitefish and you got the potential for the three of us to reconnect and have some fun.

That is just what happened on Saturday night. My friend John, who works as a personal trainer, is now living in Missoula. His best buddy, Chase, who works in an important position at a credit card company in Whitefish, decided to come down and check in on John’s new place. This of course led to the three of us hanging out yesterday evening. After the three of us met at my place we enjoyed some fine dining at Hooter’s and then went downtown and played shuffle board (Chase and I won!). We then did some other exploring around town before calling it a night. Earlier today we reconvened and ate breakfast at Stone of Accord before Chase made the trip back to Whitefish.

John, Chase, and I on Saturday night.

John, Chase, and I on Saturday night.

Chase and John were both a class under me in high school. However, despite the year gap we all played football together. The bond that develops from playing sports together is extremely strong and will always carry on as the years go by. Because the three of us shared so many hours together on the athletic field we will always feel connected. Just as we had each other’s backs several years ago, we still have them today. It was so nice hanging out with them.

Sunday – Snow Storm: Even though it is late April, Mother Nature could care less. What looked to be a decent day with the sun shining brightly in the morning quickly turned into deception and deceit as snow started falling at a fast rate from the spring sky. A blizzard in April? Really? Roads were covered and visibility was next to nothing as Missoula received a late season whiteout.

I hate the snow. I hate it even in December so you can get the picture that I especially despise it in April. Of course with my luck the one time that I decided to park my car in general parking as opposed to under my assigned covered area at my apartment complex the sky decides to dump snow on us. Sorry, but scraping/brushing inches of snow off my car does not sit well with me when the month of May is just around the corner. Oh well, I guess I should not be surprised. I just thought that after an Easter weekend filled with temperatures almost reaching seventy degrees that we might not see snow until October rolled around…wrong.

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The weekend has come and gone. Time now to get back to work and start another week. Luckily for me, the next weekend will be here sooner than usual. I have a short work week that will conclude at the end of Wednesday. Come Thursday I will be on the road again as I embark on a fun adventure…but more on that later. I don’t say this enough but thank you so much to all of my readers! I appreciate all of your support and comments regarding my blog. You are my motivation to continue writing. Have a great week everyone! Don’t Blink.