Wow! So, that happened. We've been remiss in posting--especially Nance--and we're sorry. There are a ton of good reasons, but here are the best ones in no particular order:
Top 5 Reasons We Were Slugs And Didn't Post
1. Finals
2. The Scarlet Letter
3. Christmas
4. Fatigue & Generalized Malaise aka Burnout
5. The Craziness over at the Tie Report
We'll each take the ones that are germane to ourselves and chat them up. Here's Nance:
1. Finals
2. The Scarlet Letter
3. Christmas
4. Fatigue & Generalized Malaise aka Burnout
5. The Craziness over at the Tie Report
We'll each take the ones that are germane to ourselves and chat them up. Here's Nance:
2. The Scarlet Letter: I just finished dragging my honors sophomores through this, and let me tell you, it was exhausting. Only Nathaniel Hawthorne can take a sexy story like a Puritan pastor knocking up a lonely wife and bury it in an avalanche of paragraph-long sentences and polysyllabic words. If I had a dollar for every time a kid said, "Oh, that was what happened? WOW!", I'd be retired and typing this in the Bahamas by now.
3. Christmas is the workiest holiday ever. 'Nuff said.
4. ZZZzzzzzzz....! Huh? Am I still typing this post? I will spend the entire Christmas break in my fleece pants and bathrobe and (hopefully) new slippers napping, waking only to go back to bed.
5. Since my little Brian Williams Tie Report site got noticed and the AP story broke the day before Thanksgiving, it has been insane. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful and excited. VERY! But the pressure is on. I can no longer wait a couple days when I'm busy or tired to do the Reports. The very fact that BW himself reads The Report is amazing to me. I've been contacted by other people in the industry who read it. Good heavens.
Jared, take it away!
1. It is no surprise, nor is it news, that I had finals and that they were brutal and took up far more of my time than I anticipated or wanted them to. Almost 200 pages written, and nearly 1300 read in a span of about two and a half weeks. I know, right?
1. It is no surprise, nor is it news, that I had finals and that they were brutal and took up far more of my time than I anticipated or wanted them to. Almost 200 pages written, and nearly 1300 read in a span of about two and a half weeks. I know, right?
3. I recently declared to my mother that I may not do Christmas ever again. This is, of course, not true. I mean, the sentiment is, but the actual denouncing of Christmas just isn't going to happen. It is stressful, it starts in October, and it beats me over the head while at the same time sneaking up on me. How is this possible?
4. See 1 and 3 for other examples of this. Look, the whole thing here is that everything this time of year feels like the biggest deal ever. Last Friday, my cell rang, I answered it, and it was a wrong number. I looked at the Lady Friend and said "Can you believe that? It's almost Christmas". She told me to calm down and asked if I needed another Dortmunder or if perhaps I would like "something stronger like a martini." Burnout. I was burnt out and couldn't deal with the idiot on the other line. Just couldn't.
5. I too, have had some craziness related to some national exposure as well. Get your minds out of the gutter, all of my clothes remained on. I write for thefootballexpert.com, and it has turned me into a legitimate high demand expert. I do interviews for a nationally syndicated program (DC And The Family) every Friday morning, I do a Cleveland webcast every Monday night, and I have done interviews for ESPN Radio in Dallas, Philly, and Phoenix on several occasions. AND I have to find time to write what the site wants me to. Being an NFL Draft Analyst does not, contrary to popular belief, begin and end with the Draft.
So, loyal readers, accept this post as a peace offering for our sabbatical. Once things calm down with Christmas, we will back with a bit more regularity. After all, this is one of our Top 5 priorites.
6 comments:
Hey, I am just relieved that I only had one post here to catch up on! Believe me ... all your readers were too stressed themselves with holiday preps to realize you hadn't posted in a bit. Now that we know all the OTHER things you guys are doing, I am amazed you have even started this blog--truly I am, but glad just the same.
P.S. Jared, the Dortmunder link didn't work. I will have to look that one up.
P.P.S. Nance, aren't you ecstatic that BW has been on vacation, too?
Shirley--for some reason, the Great Lakes Brewing Company links aren't working at all. I've changed the link to a site that rates beers, and it will give you the info, plus a link to GLBC in case they get back online.
RE: BW being on vacation--whew! The hiatus is definitely helpful. Things here at the Dept. have been a bit in flux. I'll catch you up via email.
I whole-heartedly identify with numbers 1 and 4. Christmas did not wear me out too much because I only had 2 days to get ready for it, I blew off doing the tree (sick husband, no time), and just did the absolute basics with no apologies to anyone.
JPD: Yes, you do know! How the heck do you do all that writing and study as well?! Chapeau!, Me quito el sombrero. Perhaps you could write a eulogy for the Cowboys. I had a feeling the Eagles might win, I just didn't think it would be such an incredible massacre. Hmmm... er... fumbling for words here.
Shirley -- If you or anyone you know is a beer drinker, make an effort to see if you can get this stuff. Their Elliot Ness makes for a great base for chilli. (cook it down with a bit of sugar, some caramelized onions, and once it gets thick, add your other liquids).
Ortizzle -- The Cowboys are a complete dumpster fire. The problem is T.O and the owner. That, and the headcoach is a marshmallow with a headset. That and Philly just came to hit. They hit very hard that game. As far as studying, the website is really great about not giving me real deadlines. It is sort of fluid so I can do it at my own pace. Works well.
Ortizzle--Every year, my mom and sister used to do a Christmas Cooky Bake-off. And every year, we ended up with a theme that would insinuate itself. One year, things were such a blow-off, we ended up with "The Stuart Smalley Bake-off" because we kept on making excuses and saying, "...and that's okay!" LOL. Your C-mas theme this year was "The No Apologies Christmas!" YOU GO GIRL!"
Nina--You know how you missed all of it. YOU HAVE A BABY. Duh. That's explanation enough.
Jared--My hubby is the beer drinker. Since I am gluten free, I can only drink gluten-free beer made from sorghum or buckwheat. It's not a biggie for me as I was never a big beer drinker. So, none of that chili at my house, but it sounds good for those who can partake! When we are out and about, I will look for the Dortmunder varieties for my husband. Thanks!
Shirley
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