72 Incredible Hours

About three hours ago, the wife and I returned from New York City, where we spent three days sightseeing and cheering on our Kansas State Wildcats in the Pinstripe Bowl.

And man, was it fun. In terms of cramming in as much stuff as possible, I'd have to say these were three of the best days of my life. There was the whole getting married thing, but then I started moving furniture the next day.

But we wore purple the whole time (it was the only color we packed), were thankful for good walking shoes, did some sightseeing, ate some incredible food, met some nice people (some of whom wore orange) and watched our Cats live for the first time in two years. And everything was on time and went well. It was truly a flawless trip.

It was worth every penny we spent. There were many times where I couldn't believe what was happening to me.

Anyhow, I'm painting the trip with a broad brush here, then later I'll spend some time going into detail on each day of our trip. We really had an incredible time and I'll relive these 72 incredible hours with you.

G2 and Basketball Shoes

In the last week, the First Lady went hunting for new phones for the both of us. So, during a time of year when people buy these things for others, the wife bought us new G2 phones, officially getting us out of the era of having phones that only called people. Well, texting was also available, but you get the idea.

So I've spent some time figuring out all the things our new toys can do. Calling, yes, but learning about all the apps (new word) and ringtones that are available, as well as having the entire world wide web in the palm of my hand. I could become dangerous once I figure out how this gizmo works. Of course, by then, who knows what technology will be available.

And I've begun selling shoes at The Athlete's Foot. Not the TAF store I interviewed at, which was more of a running-centered store, but at a store where the bread and butter is basketball shoes. Basketball shoes, in fact, selling shoes for that matter, is not a forte of mine. But I did work at the store for four of the five days leading into Christmas, and the Thursday and Friday were particularly busy. I've learned a lot, and still have a long way to go. I equate it to my first days at Domino's back in February, when I was learning how to get a job done with no experience to call on.

I also get a chance to look into the eyes of people and see the calculus that goes on as they try to buy a pair of shoes, perhaps on a budget and where other factors seemingly come into play. I can still see the expression on a man's face who called and then came in asking about a nice pair of women's boots. He seemed to just want something nice for his lady. I told him we didn't have the boots in that size, and my read was that he settled for different pair. I could see his disappointment. Still do. And I shared it when I learned that we had the correct size at our other store.

So I guess I'm starting to see this as something besides selling shoes. Where it leads, who can say.

You Never Know

There has been much to report over the last few weeks, and the more time that goes by, the further behind I fall. So here goes.

I interviewed for a job at a local running store, by now close to six weeks ago. I'd managed to move past the disappointment at (apparently) not getting the job, since I'd not heard anything from the company. I'd been rejected like this before, so I sort of assumed that this was how the world works.

Well, I'm trying to bang out some pre-calculus homework about three weeks ago when I got a call from the guy, saying they wanted to hire me! I was very happy, since I now had another way to contribute to my family, and to not do my schoolwork. So fast forward to last week, when I started at another location of The Athlete's Foot (shameless plug-- hey, it's my blog, and I *am* a company man), and not the one I interviewed at, which was more running-oriented.

So I'm selling shoes and delivering pizzas. The Domino's gig (cha-ching) continues on, and I feel like I'm doing OK-- finding my way around pretty well and even making a little scratch on the way. TAF is going to be a work in progress-- I had no idea that there were 3,846 versions of Air Jordans. I'm learning my way around the store, how to work the register, and how to sell. I'm pretty nervous, but I want to learn and support my wife, and this is a chance. The learning curve is steep for now, but I had a lot to learn at Domino's once, also, and I'm keeping my head above water now.

It just goes to show that you never can tell what's going to happen. Sometimes we get struck by lightning, such as I did that day. I'd turned the page and was looking at other options when things turned for the better.

And speaking of school, finals are done at the University of Alabama, with our hero earning an A in microeconomics and a B in said pre-calculus course. I can be very pleased with these marks. I worked my arse off in a new neighborhood doing a new thing. Oh yeah, and 13 years after I earned my first degree. I'm registered for intro to accounting and Calculus I in the spring semester.

And I did my first basketball games in nearly two years last week. Local TV access for a private school down the street. Not the same as radio, since the pictures tell some of the story, but it was pretty much the same as riding a bike. I still don't know where that'll go, but I've learned to not turn my back on anything.

I've made it this far and haven't talked about football at all. The First Lady and I are making our first bowl trip together at the end of the year, as Kansas State plays Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. She's never missed a K-State bowl. We're both pretty excited about it and have been making plans to fill our three days in New York. It'll be my first trip there, but the wife is an experienced world traveler and travel guide. It'll be great fun. Besides-- given the football we've seen from KSU this season, their 7-5 ledger is pretty remarkable.

And my Miners are 6-6 and headed to the New Mexico Bowl. What the hell. It's a bowl. We don't deserve it, but there are more bowls than there are teams deserving them. I'm not really a Mike Price guy anymore. I'll support my team. I love my Miners. It's a character flaw, and I can't quit them, even if I tried.

So-- that's the news from Lake Wobegon-- where all the men are strong, all the women are good looking, and all the children are above average.

More to follow.