Sunday, February 03, 2019

Showdown In Atlanta

Started off the day with my first of two early work shifts in a row. To my surprise, it was once again on-and-off steady. Everyone must have been waiting to shop until right before the big game. Not to mention, it was simply too nice for shopping. It was sunny, bright, breezy, and far warmer than it has been, probably in the mid-40's. I did the outside trash and recycling and occasionally gathered baskets or bagged, but I mostly alternated between shelving loose items and helping the guys outside with the carts.

Went straight home, changed, and had a nice, simple lunch of yogurt, peanut butter, honey, a banana, and Breakfast Squares while listening to my Queen's Greatest Hits Vol 1 CD. Keefe got into 70's hard rock in the late 90's-early 2000's, thanks to his love of the soundtrack from A Knight's Tale and a teacher in elementary school who was as big of a fan of Led Zepplin as him. He called the Greatest Hits CD his "pump-up music." He used to listen to it right before a football or basketball game. I've taken to thinking of them that way, too. Songs like "Another One Bites the Dust" and "We are the Champions" sure get your heart moving, anyway.

Headed out to the laundromat as the CD was ending. To my surprise, they weren't bad, either. They were just starting to clear out as I arrived. Just as well. I had a huge load that included towels. I half-worked on notes and half-listened to the Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was on. (Bruins won, 1-0.) By the time they'd switched to golf, my laundry was in the dryer.

As soon as I got home, I finished Queen, put everything away, and got some writing done. Luke arrive just as Han and Leia finish arguing, with a strange little monk on his back. Han can't figure out why Luke brought this ancient short guy. The monk's name is Friar Yoda, and he demonstrates his skills by leaping onto Han's back and riding him across the bridge, to Han's general annoyance.

Broke to take a fast shower at 6. The Super Bowl was at 6:30. The game was just starting as I got out and got dinner together. I was going to make my favorite Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip...but I was out of black beans. It became Southwestern Shredded Chicken Dip, replacing the beans with canned chicken and the fresh oregano with spinach and dried oregano. Had it with blue corn chips. Not bad. The mellow flavor of the chicken actually paired pretty well with the tangy dip. Made the pumpkin bread from the Acme mix for dessert, which wasn't bad, either.

Wish the game had been as good as the food I made. It was the dullest, most spectacularly boring Super Bowl I have ever seen in my entire life! It's probably just as well that Dad got sick and he and Jodie couldn't have a party. This was nothing to celebrate. The Rams and Patriots just would not let each other score. There were constant penalties. One team would get close, only to lose the ball to the other team. The Patriots did manage to score a field goal in the first half, making it 3-0. They got a touchdown by the end of the second half and finally won, 14-3.

I streamed the game on the CBS All Access channel...which means there weren't even that many good commercials. If it wasn't uplifting, it was advertising a show for CBS or Amazon Prime. The best thing I saw all night, besides Maroon 5's decent half-time concert, was a hilarious commercial for the NFL's 100th anniversary that had 50 active or retired star players chasing a ball all over a fancy party and wrecking total havoc. It was vastly more entertaining than the actual game, which was a huge-let down, especially after the genuinely exciting Eagles-Patriots game last year.

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