Less than Saint-ly

From the Washington Post

Okay, New Orleans. You can now take down that "Super Bowl XLIV Champions" ad that mocks me in the Louis Armstrong Airport every time I fly in. I wanted it down a long time ago because I'm bitter they beat my beloved Colts. Now I want it down because it's not only mocking me, but every NFL fan.

First there was "Bountygate." Coach Sean Payton and GM Mickey Loomis get suspended for the season for supporting a bounty system which aimed for defensive players from the Saints to purposely hurt opposing players (QBs specifically- including Brett Favre, who I don't like but don't think needs to be intentionally hurt. He does that enough to himself.) and get paid extra cash money for it. I can't say it suprised me a lot that this was going on. What surprised me was that they tried to deny it when the league had 50,000 pages of evidence on them. To put it in perspective, that's roughly 50 Bibles of evidence. 

And today it comes out that Loomis had a wiretapping system installed so that he could spy on opposing teams headsets from his corporate suite. WHAT?!?! Not only is this wrong, bad sportsmanship and all that, it's actually illegal. Hence the FEDERAL investigation that's now going on. 

Um, how much is a Superbowl really worth? I mean, I love that the Colts have one, but I would hope they wouldn't stoop so low to get it. And to NOT sign Drew Brees to a long term contract in the mean time. Ridiculous. 

It makes the Peyton Manning and Jim Irsay's back-and-forth, and Irsay's crazy tweets look like fun little diversions now. The Colts off-season wasn't this much of a nightmare. 

How far would you cheat to get ahead at work?

You Can't Pick When You're Famous

I say this a lot and Chef and I have debated this, but my feeling is this: You can't pick when you're famous and when you're not. It's like being pregnant: there are stages of it, but when you are, you are (I am neither famous nor pregnant by the way). You can't pick to NOT be pregnant because you want to go on a sushi bender nor can you NOT be famous because you want to have your own little hissy fits.

Case in point: Gisele you cannot speak out to make breastfeeding for six months a LAW and use your fame to try and lobby for it or say really obnoxiously superior stuff about your kid BUT not want attention when you respond to a heckle about your husband's Super Bowl loss. Have you never been to a football game? Let me rephrase that: have you ever been to a football game and NOT sat in a luxury box? The whole thing is one big heckle. Toughen up. Or at least don't say anything back because you ARE famous. Someone WILL record it and make you look even more like an idiot. (For the record, had Abby Manning made some comment about Peyton NOT being in the building that had been recorded, I think it would've been big time news too. Just sayin'.)

On another note, it's not your place to say anything, no matter what kind of fame you have. Blaming co-workers for something is lame in itself, but blaming your HUSBAND's co-workers is even more lame. I actually have had one instance in my career when a colleague's wife called me up to bitch me out. It was the worst and made life awkward between me and the colleague forever. Partly because I was pissed at him for letting her call and partly because he was pissed at me for yelling at his wife. Not a good idea in ANY situation.

And lastly, to all those guys (and a few girls) out there who have said "She's Gisele. She can say whatever she wants." Or "Tom wins because he gets to go home to that." I have to say this: Being hot does not give someone carte blanche to say stupid stuff and act inappropriately. Stop reinforcing this idea.

It truly has been my day

I'm 31. Not a big birthday, but a birthday nonetheless. And I learned an important lesson a few years ago. I'm not so important that I can't take a day off of work (even during the busy season) for my birthday. It took a while for my inflated ego to realize it, but once I did, I became a much happier person. I've done the simple thing of taking the day off the last two years and it's made all the difference.

Today has been a great day and for all the simple reasons. Despite the pain of his oral surgery just a few days ago, Chef has been a real trooper. He didn't even pout when I brought home my birthday lunch of Pei Wei and he could only smell it. I got to go to Sephora and blow a big gift card on myself without feeling a bit guilty. I was lucky enough to find a dress suitable enough to wear to work the Heart Gala next weekend for only $35. I got a giant cupcake (my favorite!) and some beer for later.

It's been peaceful, it's been relaxing and most of all, I've been able to forget about my impending work load, responsibilities and mistakes for a day. I only have one more Birthday Wish that I'll happily wait another 8 days to receive...a Colts Super Bowl victory.

And even with the snow (and it's actually coming down quite a bit for Nashville), I'm happily holed up with many well wishes, Chef's attention and lots of a kitty love.

It's a good day.

Happiness is. . .

Your team going to the SuperBowl! Go Colts. Then there's the realization that I have to work at the Nashville Heart Gala the night before and will probably not get home until 2 a.m. So sleepy time until about an hour before kick off.

Now here's hoping that the Vikings lose because I can't think of anything more excruciating than having to listen to two weeks of Brett Favre worship coming from the mouths of sportscasters. I mean, seriously, if I have to hear about him being "old" and having his best year ever for two straight weeks I'll be ready to tackle the shit out of him myself by February 7th.

And TJ Houshmandzadeh, thank you for picking against the Colts every time in the play offs. Please continue to do so.

Super Bowl Break down

Woo hoo! The Colts are Super Bowl Champs. I'm excited and that's all there is to say about that.

The Super Bowl as a whole, however, there are lots of things to comment on. First is the pre-game show. Not so much the talking heads spouting off at everything. I don't mind them (except for the lisp-y Shannon Sharpe). I do, however, wonder what the hell the NFL was thinking to put Cirque de Soleil on. Does any football fan really need to see tye-died lizard men jumping off of swings with their teams logo across their chest? How about a perpetually smiling kid with his face made up to look like a creepy rag doll bouncing up and down with giant balloons strapped to him? People holding gian butterflies? No? None of that appeals to you? Me neither. Cut the crappy ass pre-game show of at least that theatrical performance. Or if you must have one, at least make it a really cool marching band. Football and marching bands go together.

Other than that the Super Bowl was pretty enjoyable. Prince was as good as a half time show really can be and the game wasn't a blow out in the first half. Can you ask for anything more, at least if you're not a Bears fan?

On another note, I am getting sick. I can feel it in my scratchy throat and lithargic manner. I came into work early this morning and am leaving a little early this afternoon. After a very short walk today (have to keep the streak going) and perhaps a warm bath, I'll be sleeping until my heart is content. I can barely stay awake now. This isn't good.