A Wandering Eyre

It is that time of the year again. Leaves are appearing on the trees, the azaleas are blooming, the sun is out, and college basketball is on at the Rochester house. I, under orders of Mr. Rochester who is not even home, have the first games on of the season. I suppose he thinks the aura of the games will fill the house with shiny thoughts for his arrival home this evening.

I have filled out my bracket which is nothing to write home about. I use the very scientific method of picking and choosing the winners from teams I like. In the years that we have been doing brackets with our friends, I have never come in last place. That’s not nuthin’, as the Captain himself would say.

If you have teams in the tourney, I wish them good luck, unless they are playing my team, that is.

–Jane, is there a cure for March Madness?

In the Rochester household, there are a few months that are sacred in terms of planning events. Aggie Football season (that is college football season for those who do not know) and March Madness. Both our wedding and the birth of the first Little Rochester will avoid these fine events. Why? you ask. Well, because why would anyone want to compete with the glory that is college football and basketball?

College Basketball is starting to get exciting as it heads towards March and the NCAA has decided they needed to make a little announcement. The NCAA, being omnipotent, has decreed that no live blogging will take place during college sporting events. They have even gone so far as to limit the amount of updates per quarter. Apparently, they think it is not good for fans to know what is going on with their team.

I know this is aimed mostly at professional writers, but who are they protecting? ESPN’s live updates? Those expensive cable packages no one can afford to buy? Are they going to take away every spectator’s cell phone or Blackberry? If the public wants to know what just happened in the Duke game, they will find the information somewhere. If a reporter is denied “credentials” could they not simply go to a game as a regular fan who just happens to send updates to the local paper every 5 minutes or so?

It is ridiculous that the NCAA thinks they can control the flow of free information and the press by declaring that “It Shall Not Be So”. I wish I had that kind of power.

–Jane, declares, “It is now time for everyone to go home and read a good book. Make it so.”

When the Ides roll around that means only one thing in the Rochester household: NCAA Basketball. The brackets are completed. The bets are laid. Let the smack talking begin!

Even Alyson Hannigan has weighed in on the tourney. You can see the brackets of other “How I Met Your Mother” stars here.

–Jane, hopes her brackets does better then last year’s - she knows her team will

I know this salutation is a few days early, but tomorrow morning the Rochester household is packing into the new car and heading for the annual festivities at my family’s lake house. There is, of course, no toobes, and thus no posts in this space for a few days. Please contain your sorrow. There is no crying on the internets.

At the moment, we are watching the Holiday Bowl, which is in the 3rd quarter, and the Aggies are not doing as well as I would have hoped. We did just recover a fumble however, so maybe the fates will turn to favor us. Nope, it was a touchdown for Cal. Poo.

My resolution for 2007: I will strive to make things happen at MPOW and in my life in general. Less talkie more fetchie. A little more action with less stress. Wish me luck.

Many blessings to all of you in the New Year. I will toast my friends at midnight and wish you well.

–Jane, its going to be a great year

With the flurry of posts, you may have realized that I have reached the end of the tunnel! Yes, gentle readers, the light is now upon my face. The birds are singing and the air is cool.

This weekend most of my college friends will be in town for a wedding. Aggie football is on TV early enough for us to watch the game before the wedding so all is right with the world. The two previous sentences mean we will be acting, not like responsible adults (a questionable statement in any case), but like crazy college kids, at least for a couple of days. Bring on the beer games and make sure the Bloody Marys are nice and strong in the morning.

Beat the Hell Outta Texas Tech, Whoop!

–Jane, in love with Fridays

Leap!

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre.

Today involved washing the puppy who was beginning to smell like a stinky dog and napping. Contrary to the appearances in this picture, he does not like to get baths, but he does like to attack the hose.

Today marked the beginning of something wonderful, the College Football Season. At the Rochester Estate, it has been nothing but football, football, football. The Aggies played a little rough, but pulled out a win. Hopefully, we will improve after this first showing. This season marks the first time since he was a college freshman, many, many years ago, that Mr. R has not had season tickets.

Gentle readers, this is what getting married causes, a lack of football enjoyment. Instead of standing for three plus hours in the heat, hung over, and screaming until you get darting pains in your head, you are entertained by washing the dog and listening to the game on the radio.

What has this world come to?

–Jane, what indeed

My bracket for basketball was doomed after the first few days. As the only woman in my group, my goal is always not to be in last place. Alas, I believe I am firmly stuck there for the remaining time in the tournament. Compounding my grief, is the fact is that my Ags lost by one point in the last seconds of the game on Saturday.

Hauling me out of my grief is The Morning News which has started the Second Annual Tournament of Books with a whimsy explanation. Tomorrow, the first battle will take place between A History of Love and The Time In Between.

–Jane, bring it on baby

It is a couple days late, but Texas A&M has recieved a place in The Dance for the first time ever.

Beat the Hell Outta Syracuse, A! Whoop!

–Jane, Fightin’ Texas Aggies

Updated: As Mr. Rochster points out, not the first time ever, just the first time since I have been paying attention! 

Instead of getting ready for my 10:30 meeting with the boss-lady, I am putting grape Pez in my Emperor Pez dispenser which I got at the Star Wars nerd extravaganza a couple weeks ago. Pez is important too.

I have only been to a couple of soccer games in my life and I do not know all of the rules of the game, but I love to watch the players. They have a grace that I have not seen in any other team sport. They run and fly back forth across the field with an effortless energy I find amazing. Mr. Rochester, our friend J, and I are going to the NCAA Women’s College Soccer Cup this weekend in College Station. I am looking forward to it and not just because Northgate has cheap beer.

–Jane, off work tomorrow

I do not claim to be an Astros “fan” but I do try to support my hometown team. I am sad we lost, but proud that we advanced farther than we ever have before. I watched the game at a nice venue downtown called Pub fiction which had great happy hour specials ($6 pitchers!) and good food.

Today has been a blur of preparing for classes, a meeting with graduate students who were unsure about research, a meeting with the boss lady, and a hastily eaten lunch. Geez, I just looked at the clock and it is barely past noon. I still have a desk shift to survive, so if you do not hear from me in a couple of days, send out a search party. I will be the pile of exhaustion stuffed behind the printer with a jam in “the bad place.”

–Jane, duck and cover