Midwest Dealings...

So now it's definitely fall here in Chicago - the temp is dipping into the 40s, football is on the brain and the leaves are turning cool colors.

• I bought myself those faux earmuffs that wrap around the ears and then the back of the neck, and a pair of leather gloves (Walgreens $7.99 specials)
• I'm digging in the closet to get out those winter clothes (you CALI folks have no idea what seasonal clothes mean, except for you Sunset and Richmond district and Daly City folks who see fog and overcast-ness all year long)
• Finally went and got myself some contact lenses and luckily I don't need different prescriptions for each of my eyes. This means: I can wear contacts for performances and when I'm playing team handball
• Speaking of handball, I watched our local Chicago Club Team play in its own tournament. The Chicago Inter Handball Women's team kicked some major @ss. They went 4-0, including two victories over the US Women's National Handball Team! That's right, the NATIONAL TEAM! I was actually pretty embarassed for the national team, because some of their players tried to use intimidation and physicality to make up for their lack of handball skills. More than a few times I saw the national team players deliberately shoving their shoulders into the Chicago players as they walked past. This threw some of the Chicago players (who grew up playing the sport) off of their game, because they're not used to having to deal with over agressive play to compensate for lack of skills.
  
• In the flip side, the NY men's club team, apparently made up of former Olympians, used very physical play to beat a much younger and fitter team from West Point Military Academy. The difference from the national team is that the NYers had handball skills, just not the quickness and conditioning that the Cadets had. It took a while for the Army team to adjust to the physical play and they were able to string together scoring spurts when they combined the physicality with their exceptional conditioning. It wasn't enough, however, as they adjusted too late, and it was enough for the NY team, who had incredibly talented players.

In other sports....

• The Niners fired Mike Nolan on Monday, which for some people, is about 10 months and seven games longer than they thought. I admire Nolan's stubbornness and optimism (trying to find that half full glass of water is like finding the needle in the haystack some weeks), his outwardly professional demeanor (wearing of NFL approved suits, including a 49ers tie, in honor of his father who coached the Niners in the 70s), but what's really admirable is that, according to Mike Singletary (the new head coach), Nolan (already fired and on hiw way out of the 49ers HQ) told Singletary that to not take the job would be idoitic.

And yes, believe it or don't...I'm going to see NKOTB on friday.

Don't hate, you know you're jealous.

Beeyotch.

Makin' Mine Music

~No Tations~