FIFA World Cup Games 54 and 56

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Pamela

On the way home I saw a sign at a pizza type place that said: Do you want to watch the soccer championship series?

That’s almost good enough to make a special trip back to take a photo. Maybe this weekend I can get up early and do it. It’s in a terribly inconvenient location.

Ugh. What a couple of long days. I’ve been getting up even earlier so I can leave at 6am and be at the office before 7am so I can start early and take a long lunch.

These games going into extra time are killing me.

All the Round of 16 games I’ve seen (I didn’t get to see them all) have been nail biters. My poor nails.

Germany went through, whew. USA did not. Total heartbreaker bummer. They played their hearts out and Tim Howard is a national hero.

I’m behind on everything in the world. The commute home tonight was insane. I walked out of the office at 4:30 and didn’t get home until after 6pm. The good part is that everyone on the bus, including the driver, were great sports and laughing. I’ve never been on a bus that full. This is Vancouver transit, not Tokyo.

A big guy sat down next to me and said: you won the lottery.

I said: So did you.

Does that sound snotty? I meant to be funny but later I worried that I might have sounded snotty. He laughed.

Two rest days (World Cup) I know that means for players but I need rest, too. I’m hoping I can get caught up at the office. Then two huge games Friday and Saturday plus a Timbers away game on Friday night. Being in love with soccer is a curse sometimes.

In other news, my shoulder is feeling about 95% pain free thanks to Saint Melonie of Vancouver Yoga Center. She worked on me on Friday and then in class last night there was a lot of focus on my problem area (shoulder blades) and there were huge stretches of time today where I felt completely fine. I have a whole new appreciation for people who suffer from chronic pain, and for being pain free. I’m still doing tons of self-care and homework to keep it up.

I’m also dying to work on the hedge but resisting the urge because that’s how I got into this mess.

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FIFA World Cup Games 51 and 52

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Pamela

This is Ishi Pishi Road.

This is the view from Ishi Pishi Road. Would you speed in the middle of the night on this road?

The part where they crashed is narrow and winding but they were by houses and not on a cliff.

This morning I watched Mexico and Netherlands. I was slightly Netherlands leaning. Finally, in orange! But once Mexico held the lead for awhile, I was rooting for them. I don’t think you could watch the goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa without falling a little in love with him. Another heartbreaker in the end and Big Orange goes to the next round.

I half-watched Greece and Costa Rica but it was mostly boring and choppy with some rolling around. By the end I wanted both teams to lose. Costa Rica led forever but then lost it and Greece equalized in stoppage time which meant it was going into an overtime round. I turned off the TV and Bob told me that Costa Rica went through.

Big Germany game tomorrow and USA on Tuesday and then 2 rest days to get me through until the weekend. We’re getting down to the real nail-biting now.

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FIFA World Cup Games 45 and 49and Orleans Car Accident

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Pamela

Finally, I’m going to tell about the car accident in Orleans. But first, World Cup action.

Thursday was, thank the maker, the last day of group play. Germany v. USA.

My gateway into soccer was via the German National Team and they are still my favorites which causes a lot of heartburn when they have to play against the USA. I wanted a good game, leaning Germany with the option of changing my mind if the party called for it.

Fortunately, it all worked out. Germany won and both teams went through to the next round. Whew!

Yesterday was a “rest day” but only from World Cup. I had a Timbers game to go to and it was awful. Terrible to watch and we lost. No need to go into details.

Then this morning 9am I was ready for Brazil and Chile. And there were stretches where I thought I was re-living last night’s game. Choppy and terrible to watch. Chile played their hearts out. Penalty kicks are awful and seemingly designed to make 1 man feel horrible. But Brazil goes through.

Tomorrow Netherlands v Mexico. That should be a great match.

Now, to finally tell the Orleans story. Relevant to the story: Orleans is in a rural area in the Six Rivers National Forest. My folks have a little trailer separate from the house and that’s where I stay when I visit.

I woke up in the middle of the night because of a weird noise — a high pitched humming sort of like a chainsaw. I got up and looked out the windows and didn’t see anything. Then I heard voices and I came to the most obvious conclusion: that there was marauding youth gang out murdering people with chainsaws.

I looked toward the house and the lights were on. I wondered how I should best prepare.

Then I saw my parents’ car go screaming out of the driveway.

It’s hard to tell but there’s a boulder and we think the car lost control and hit the boulder and then flipped. The whole scene didn’t make sense so we’re not clear what happened. Also, Ishi Pishi Road is the last road you would want to drive like a maniac on. I will try to post photos of it tomorrow. It’s very narrow and winding.

I ran to the house and went inside and the dog was there wagging his tail.

I then assumed that someone in my family must have keeled over and they were rushing to town (2 hour drive). My sister was visiting too, but neither of our spouses. I went from room to room looking for clues.

Why did they leave me? The dog wagged his tail. I didn’t think they’d leave the dog to the murderous youth gang.

I couldn’t come up with a scenario where the strange noise and disappearance of my family were connected. I knew I couldn’t sleep so I fretting on the couch and then searched for clues and then asked the dog why they left us there in regular intervals.

I finally went to the trailer to put on my shoes so I could feel like I was doing something productive and the car came back.

Here’s what happened. A car went too fast and flipped and started a fire. Fires in the middle of the forest in June are extremely hazardous. They’d seen the flames from their window and hurried to see what was happening. There were neighbors and other people helping to do fire fighting stuff in the hopes the fire wouldn’t spread.

There were young people in the car. One broke his leg. Allegedly there were illegal substances (plural!) found at the scene.

Mission accomplished, they were able to keep the fire under control until the volunteer fire department got there. And it looked terrible. But no one was hurt. Well, the guy with the broken leg was hurt. But no one died.

And my family promised to wake me up next time there’s an emergency.

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FIFA World Cup Games 42 and 43

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Pamela

Evening rain again. I love it. I should get out there and pick snails but I’d have to change clothes. I’ll see how I feel when I’m done with this post.

I decided to watch Argentina v. Nigeria today.

But I had an important work project and I really wanted to finish a cut at it before I started watching. And of course it took longer than I thought so when I finally sat down to watch, it was the 45th minute with the score at 1-1.

Okay, I thought. I’ll run to the restroom and then watch the highlights.

When I got back it was 2-1 Argentina.

Damn! Then I was distracted by another work project so I managed to get back to watch at the 56th minute and it was 3-2 Argentina.

DAMN YOU STUPID SPORT WHERE THINGS HAPPEN WHEN I’M NOT LOOKING.

So then I figured I’d just wait and watch France v. Ecuador which I predicted, knowing my luck, would be 0-0. I was distracted by work again and checked the score a few times and I was right: 0-0. A 0-0 match doesn’t necessarily mean it was boring but still.

So I didn’t watch anything today. The real takeaway is that it’s hard to concentrate on sports at the office.

Yesterday I posted before I mentioned that I had to watch a Timbers match when I got home. Yes, I HAD to. They tied me to a chair and propped my eyes open with sticks. It was an away game which we won 3-1. I’m not unhappy but not sure why this team can win on the road but not at home. We play the same team this Friday (long story non-MLS fans, it makes sense(ish), just trust me on this) and it would be nice to beat them at home.

Tomorrow is a big day with USA playing Germany. I still don’t know if my feeble heart can handle it. I’ll try.

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FIFA World Cup Games 37 and 39

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Pamela

Uruguay v. Italy

“Everybody’s talking ’bout my tight shirt. I got my tight shirt on.”

Boy, that Uruguay team has some tight shirts. Not complaining. At least not about the shirts.

I started a sheet I was going to tick off every time I saw an Uruguayan rolling around on the ground. Except I only had about 2 marks on my sheet and already I’d seen Italian players rolling around on the ground, too.

Get off the ground you big fat crybabies. You are grown men who are also very well paid.

And speaking of grown men. WHO BITES PEOPLE? Luis Suarez needs to be banned forever and Uruguay should have punishment, too. What incentive is there not to cheat if the team isn’t punished as well? I can’t even believe this really happened since he was already busted for biting opposing players TWO other times.

How many chances would you get if you bit people at your job? How about if you were annoyed with someone talking on their cellphone at Target so you took a little chomp? I’m guessing criminal charges. Not a fine roughly equal to a week’s salary and you can’t shop at Target for 4 months.

I love that Italy has a player named Marco Parolo. I love Italy but they weren’t playing like they wanted it. But that doesn’t matter because biters don’t deserve to go through. Doesn’t matter. Italy goes home and biters go through.

Japan v. Columbia

Since the other match was so boring in the first half I decided to save my other hour for the Japan v. Columbia match and I watched about 10 minutes and then got distracted with work. I know this is hard to believe but it was easier to follow WC when it wasn’t blasted live from every orifice. If you couldn’t duck out from work you just had to wait until you got home.

It’s possible to save and watch later but I feel like I should know what’s going on when it’s happening. So I run into the room where it’s on but I don’t actually watch the match. It’s not an ideal set up.

Meanwhile, remember when I asked whether there was a website that says what the proper word is for nationals?

Via a completely random article I was reading I learned that the word for this is: demonym which is great already. I’m not sure how much I trust Wikipedia (to be honest, I don’t believe anything I read online anymore but that’s a topic for another day) but there are lists for countries, states, cities. Entertain the kids for hours.

Also, and this is probably not the last time I will say this, but if you are not watching Orphan Black, you need to remedy STAT. Binge on the first 2 seasons. It just gets better and better.

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FIFA World Cup Game 34

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Pamela

It’s drizzling right now and the air is cool and refreshing and smells so amazing I would like to dunk my head in it.

Remember the rubberband ball from 2010?

Stay tuned to see what it looks like now.

I didn’t have time to watch a full match today. Monday is my long day and I guess technically I wasn’t required to go to exercise class, but I decided to prioritize after all the chip eating and sitting on the couch I did over the weekend.

I only watched the first half of the Croatia v. Mexico game and Murphy’s Law: if I pick only one half to watch, if will be the less eventful half. Sounds like the second half was off the hook. I’ll have to check the highlights reel later. I loved the purple goalie outfit.

A few miscellaneous notes:

Netherlands finally wore orange and I missed it. Bet I’ll get another chance.

During the Iran v. Argentina game I thought the commentator said something about how this player “moves like Jagger” as in a reference to the song and I thought it was sort of strange but also funny. But then I kept hearing it. There’s an Iranian player named Ashkan Dejagah. When Forvo says it it doesn’t sound quite like Jagger. But during the broadcast with the crowd noise you can understand how my delicate ears misheard.

Here’s the rubberband ball 2014. It’s very heavy and would hurt if it bopped you in the head.

Finally, I can’t believe I forgot about this Jezebel has been doing World Cup thighlights. Enjoy!

Here’s one batch.

I never say this but look at the comments, too. More photos. Batch two.

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FIFA World Cup Game 30

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Pamela

On the bright side, all the years these games are shaving off my life mean I don’t have to worry as much about how my retirement plan is doing. If nothing else, I was happy to see so many Major League Soccer players on the pitch and thrilled to see Wondo play, even if it was only for a few minutes. I used to not understand the substitutions at the end of the game. Not anymore.

But that was a major heartbreaker. Thursday is going to be a bloodbath. I don’t think my nervous system can take it. I might go hide in a cave until the matches are finished.

Hey, check out this fun statistics page.

I picked another giant bowl of raspberries this afternoon. And there are still tons ready to come on. One tomato plant is looking great but the others look pitiful. The pumpkins are on the windowsill and ready to go out. I thought I’d plant them today but ran out of time. I don’t understand why soccer watching is so exhausting but I’m off to bed early.

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FIFA World Cup Games 27 and 29

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Pamela

These two games wore me out. I am finished.

Argentina v. Iran

I don’t think one single game has gone the way I expected. I thought was going to be an easy rout for Argentina with me turning off the TV after the half so as not to have to watch the horror. I was very wrong. Iran was amazing. I found myself conflicted. Who doesn’t like to see an underdog beat one of the favorites? Argentina found a heartbreaker in stoppage time and I felt bad for Iran. But if you’re going to get your heart broken, at least it was at the feet of Messi.

Germany v. Ghana

What a game. Great playing on both sides. And completely exhausting. I thought it was kind of interesting that the commentators seemed to be writing Germany off when USA and Portugal haven’t even played yet. Let’s not jinx it by assuming the outcome.

So, the good news is that the technical problem I was whining about the other day is actually an update to Photoshop.

Just kidding. That’s not good news at all. It took me what, 18 months to finish a 15 hour class on the last version I had? It asked me if I wanted to import my settings. Yes, I clicked. My settings were not imported. Bob asked if I had a back-up. Of course I have a back-up but I don’t need a half-day project because 1 computer program updated.

I’m going to putter out in the yard for a bit. I need the fresh air and sunshine and the garden needs any attention I am willing to give it. I need to wait until my bread is finished. I haven’t baked in a couple of weeks and have been missing decent bread. EVERYTHING that comes from the grocery store, no matter what it’s called or what shape it is, is soft, squishy crap. I would rather not eat bread than eat soft, squishy bread.

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FIFA World Cup Games 24 and 25

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Pamela

First of all, I found this out in the backyard when I got home from my trip. Looks like more are not far behind. So pretty!

Here’s another shot of the “before” garden.

And this is what it looked like when I got home. I was out there this afternoon, cleaning up. I put the big tomato in a cage and picked beets and tons of berries. There is still so much work to do out there, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed.

On to soccer. I missed Italy v. Costa Rica live because I slept in and then went to the grocery store. I had a book waiting for me at the library and the library opens at 10 on Friday instead of 9. I didn’t want to have to make another trip so I killed time in the car. Then when I did self-checkout I got an error warning that said: Your privilege has expired.

It sounded ominous but the librarian just confirmed my current information and sent me on my way.

I decided to watch Switzerland v. France instead and that went from exciting to pitiful pretty quick. I never enjoy watching a team meltdown.

At the half I gave up and turned on the Italy v. Costa Rica game. This is the first time I’ve seen Costa Rica and I was impressed. I saw someone else had it in their twitter feed: let’s get all their defenders on the Timbers. I was sad for Italy and my beautiful Buffon. I thought Donovan Rickets was the only goalkeeper who looks amazing in orange. I was wrong.

I decided to skip Honduras and Ecuador. I was getting antsy to do something besides sit on the couch. I love my lazy time but I love doing stuff on my list, too. Tomorrow is a big day because Argentina and Germany are both playing, although not each other.

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FIFA Game 23 Uruguay v. England

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Pamela

I’m having trouble using Photoshop (long story omitted but has to do with when technology makes our lives easier by making our lives more complicated) so I am attempting to use one of my flickr photos. But flickr has changed and I’m not sure what’s going on and I do not have the patience or brainspace to figure it out right now.

I’m pretty frazzled from traveling and having consecutive intensive long work days. I don’t know how people do this all the time.

But I did manage to see Uruguay v. England. I am not a fan of Luis Suarez and it pained me to see him, even with what looked like genuine boyish joy, do so well against England. I was crossing my fingers for a last minute equalizer.

Uruguay did show up with the beautiful hair I’ve been looking for that Argentina failed to deliver. Cavani with his long hair and amazing cheek bones. Meanwhile, when Uruguay was up they were the falling-down time-wasting babies. And then England equalized and miracle! They stopped falling down. I really hate this. I know all teams do time wasting stunts but this was shamefully ridiculous.

But hard cheese, they won and they get to go through. England is finished. Too bad.

I saw about 3 minutes of Greece v. Japan and I have no idea what happened this morning in Columbia v. Ivory Coast and I think it’s on the DVR so I’m going to fire it up right now.

I have to go to the grocery store and buy us food but otherwise no obligations this weekend. Soccer and the garden. Oh my, it is a weed factory out there plus tons of beets and greens to harvest. And hopefully some sleeping in so I can return to my regular sparkling self.

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