October Madness

Now, you may guess by my name that I am the #1 Tarheel fan. I take my job seriously. There are 2 seasons of the year....1) basketball season & 2) pre-& post-basketball season. I have given you a break, as I have been patiently waiting and preparing for the upcoming Tarheel mania. (No medication required.) The schedule has been on the fridge for months, with the pacific time conversions. The ESPN Full Court package has been bought & paid for. The roster is on the fridge and I quiz myself on the home towns of each player. So, no more breaks for you. First we will have October madness (prep time, including learning each new player, stats, rankings), November madness (pre-season blow-outs, pre-season tourney trip to NYC), December madness (a short holiday break in between the early games), January madness (rising to ACC greatness), February madness (overcoming the Cameron crazies in their house), March madness (my party, on the 4th at 1pm PST where we will watch & celebrate UNC beating duke), & finally April madness (we will paint our bodies blue, run through the field, & scare the 9 month pregnant cows as we celebrate once again---a NCAA National Championship)! Now, the Gators can't get greedy, they had their celebration, so move over, here we come. The preseason polls are out...listed below. Dick Vitale has redeemed himself with me (I've always believed he is a secret, in the closet, duke lover and during the misery of the 8 winning game season, had to regularly mute him on my TV or listen on the computer to the hometown announcer). But, alas, he has been assimilated and has gone against the grain and put my BELOVED Tarheels as #1 ranked in the USA. Thanks Dick!
Week 1 ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Florida (30) 0-0 772
2. North Carolina 0-0 728
3. Kansas 0-0 714
4. Ohio State (1) 0-0 595
5. Pittsburgh 0-0 583
5. UCLA 0-0 583
7. LSU 0-0 556
8. Georgetown 0-0 538
9. Wisconsin 0-0 530
10. Arizona 0-0 478
11. Duke 0-0 477
12. Alabama 0-0 420
13. Texas A&M 0-0 335
14. Memphis 0-0 328
15. Boston College 0-0 284
16. Washington 0-0 240
17. Marquette 0-0 203
18. Connecticut 0-0 200
19. Texas 0-0 172
20. Syracuse 0-0 138
21. Georgia Tech 0-0 137
22. Kentucky 0-0 119
23. Creighton 0-0 113
24. Tennessee 0-0 106
25. Nevada 0-0 101Top 40Dick VitaleSPECIAL TO ESPN.COM
When looking at the landscape of college basketball, the 2006-07 season should be excitement galore, baby!
There are so many talented teams out there. It is time to look at my summertime rankings for the upcoming campaign, 10 at a time until I unveil number one. Here we go.
1. North Carolina Roy Williams has a super recruiting class coming in to join Tyler Hansbrough and company. There will be joy on Franklin Street! 2. Florida Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford and company want to be the first repeat champion since Duke. The Gators have a legit shot of doing it.

Unedible Zucchini

Now getting down to the nitty gritty. I grew up on a farm but never had farming in my blood, so to speak. Don't get me wrong, I worked on a farm, but never did transcend over to loving the farm. I took for granted so much during those growing up years...like a big yard to play in (& mow), tractors & old trucks to drive, horses to ride, fresh cows & pigs to eat, hay to bale, crued tobacco to stomp, even moon pies to eat or peanuts in Mountain Dew. Yes, I'm getting a little sentimental here. I'm imagining the smells, sounds, tastes. Why was I imagining, planning, dreaming of leaving instead of savoring, enjoying, delighting in my good fortune? Now, Mr. Tarheel had a total different location to grow up in...a real city. Born in San Fran, & transplanted over in San Jose, he lived in one of the early, classic, suburbs. Neat, new houses, built side by side with one tree planted out front. He only dreamed of running in his yard, b/c after a couple of steps, he was on the sidewalk or street. He took the city bus or skateboard around to explore. He dreamed of woods, fields, rivers, open space. It's funny, I would have loved that. I craved stimulation and was easily bored. Now fast forward 30 years....here we are on a little "farm" of 10 acres, an old big red barn, and some cows of our own. You'd think that I'd have the ability to grow a garden, some veggies, from the land. Well, this year was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, when preparing the soil became overwhelming, I decided to plant one zucchini plant. I faithfully watered it during the annual 90 drought we call summer, and voila, nice zuchini grew. And grew, and grew. I kept telling myself to pick one & actually eat it, but the summer passed and I never ate one. Opportunity missed. So I decided to gather my zucchini, take a picture, so you could see some examples of large, unedible zucchini. I tell myself, don't worry, there's next year.....

A Dream Come True

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life.....now, that says alot, b/c I have lived throught 3 UNC national championships! Yes, let's give a hip, hip, hooray to one of the newest CRNAs in the world...my sister RaRa:)

Once upon a time, it began with a dream. A dream, not only to finish 3 college degrees, but to help people, get respect, while on the way to living one happy life. The beginning was hard because it involved delivering papers in the middle of the night while going to class and clinical during the day. And of course, there was a motherly presence always nearby. From a distance, she made it look easy. Then came working night shift, even through a hurricane, and helping people in the ER and ICU. The next part of the dream involved learning to jump through a seahawk flaming hoop, all while working through the night with first a broken and then a mended heart. Even though Hawaii wasn't meant to be, but loving a trucker and a four-legged son named Sam was. The dream continued and even rejection didn't deter her. Her determination grew. The transformation into a Gamecock was a slow process, filled with sleepless nights, and hours and hours of volunteer work. Inch by inch, she kept putting one foot in front of the other for months and months and months with little compliant and an occassional smile. She saw the finish line, the end of this era of stress. Then a monster appeared in the mail, and the last hurdle would have to be jumped again. How could this be, this detour from the completion of the dream. If there was doubt, she hid it well. The cheerleaders didn't doubt, but they did wish to see her big smile when she jumped that hurdle that would never have to be jumped again. Days and days passed with many hours of study and prayer, and the sign came again...the passing sign ...the end of the dream. The cheers from the east and west woke her up...for the dream came true. She had lived her dream...to be a CRNA and I know she will be the best one ever.

I love you RaRa!~

Timing Tucker

Good morning, Casey Kahne fans....yes, last night was win #6 and he's on his way to making history! I'm becoming a NASCAR fanatic also. Only 3 weeks before Tarheel (my namesake) basketball season starts and we're ON!

The funny event of the Saturday was practicing with the self-timer and trying for a good, not great, picture with Tucker. The pictures didn't turn out the best, but it sure was fun..ENJOY!

Famous Roosevelt Quote

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbledor where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;who strives valiantly;who errs and comes short again and again;who knows great enthusiasms,the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while DARING GREATLYso that his place shall never bewith those timid soulswho know neither victory or defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt