Friday, September 17, 2004
Shocking Moments From Last Night
Last night the second episode of Apprentice 2 aired. The promos kept talking about the most "shocking boardroom yet". Yea, Yea, Whatever. Been There, Done That, Got The T-shirt. Well, it was the most shocking boardroom yet! Bradford had been given an exemption and decided he didn't need it. He offerred himself up as a possible victim. Donald said he'd accept the return of the exemption and Ivana liked the idea of another body joining her on the cutting block and added his body to her choices. While Ivana was disorganized/lacking control and Staci was out of control, both survived Donald's boardroom. Bradford was not so lucky. Donald felt it was a poor leadership choice to give up the exemption and took Bradford to task for it. Bradford, "You're Fired".
I see where Donald is coming from. If you have a bye to the final round of the finals, you don't say "no thanks, we'll play the prelim anyways". At the same time, Staci is a detriment to the Apex team. Granted her days are numbered so she'll be leaving soon, but even Donald admitted Bradford was the most talented in the boardroom. To let go of that talent before seeing where it could go, is a poor choice on Donald's part. Just because a person makes a mistake, that is not a reason to cut them immediately. Bradford got a huge dressing down and even admitted he screwed up by refusing the exemption. He wouldn't have done it again. Lesson learned.
It's Donald's show, but not money as NBC pays the salary of the winner, so he gets to fire who he wants. Poor choice Donald. Bradford, I'd offer a position if I could.
Before the APPRENTICE shocker, I got to witness another shocker at cheerleading. It was an optional practice, so those who wanted to could meet and go over what they choosed to do so. Tina, our co-captain (this is the name the VC agreed upon because giving her the Wicked Witch would have given her entry into the VC. Not Happening), was there last night. I showed up a little late. She had already herded the others into working on our performance routine for Saturday. Well those that showed up wanted to work on our stunts. More fun to throw people in the air than work on a dance/cheer/pyramids when we already know them or have a lot of people missing. So when the Lion and Toto showed up, Lion was not happy. He definately wanted to stunt. We got through the routine and started to stunt.
A few weeks ago we peformed at the Windy City Rodeo aka The Gay Rodeo. Lion, Scarecrow, and myself were the bases for one stunt group. Tin Man was one of our flyers. Its basically turned into the VC stunt group. Last night Scarecrow had to work and wasn't able to come to practice. Tina thought she could jump in and take Scarecrow's place. When you're throwing a 130 lbs person and are responsible for making sure they land safely, being another 130 lbs person is not always the best choice to be a catcher. Being a girl without the strength of a guy, definately not the choice.
Others expressed their concern about this stunt happening, but came short of saying outright it was because Tina was a part of it. Of course these discussions are also happening in front of the flyer who needs to be 100% comfortable with the people throwing her. These discussion were not helping. We finally tried the stunt a few times. The stunt never hit and the flyer came down. When a flyer comes down from a failed stunt, its never graceful or pretty. Its a lot of arms and legs and people throwing their bodies to protect the flyer. This is why you don't want a 130 lbs girl jumping in without a lot of experience. Our flyer was safe, but Lion and I were getting nervous.
We decided to switch out flyers and have Toto take over for Tina. Toto is still learning, but has the strength to protect the flyer so we were comfortable with him jumping in and start to learn what to do. As we are setting up, Tina is standing behind me giving out non-stop comments. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I had to step out and away from the group a number of times because I was about to lose it. We continued to try things, but everyone was on edge and we just weren't into it anymore.
In an effort to still have fun, I decided I'd fly a little bit. I grabbed a few guys and had them put me up in an Elevator. Easy, simple, fun. I'm up in the air and Tina decides to give us directions on how to get my butt down. Not the best time to do this and since she isn't in the stunt, not the person. The bases and flyers get to make the choices, not a spectator.
By this time Lion has had enough. After getting me down safely, he lets her know that she has been a hinderance. She didn't take it too well. While Lion is expressing his displeasure, I'm standing there mentally agreeing with everything, yet restraining myself from jumping in. Having been involved with so much other drama, I was staying out of this. To see Lion get pushed to this, really shocked me. I always figured I'd be the only one to ever speak up about Tina speaking out when she should just shut up.
Bradford gets fired. Someone else takes Tina to task. Definately a shocking night for me.
Last night the second episode of Apprentice 2 aired. The promos kept talking about the most "shocking boardroom yet". Yea, Yea, Whatever. Been There, Done That, Got The T-shirt. Well, it was the most shocking boardroom yet! Bradford had been given an exemption and decided he didn't need it. He offerred himself up as a possible victim. Donald said he'd accept the return of the exemption and Ivana liked the idea of another body joining her on the cutting block and added his body to her choices. While Ivana was disorganized/lacking control and Staci was out of control, both survived Donald's boardroom. Bradford was not so lucky. Donald felt it was a poor leadership choice to give up the exemption and took Bradford to task for it. Bradford, "You're Fired".
I see where Donald is coming from. If you have a bye to the final round of the finals, you don't say "no thanks, we'll play the prelim anyways". At the same time, Staci is a detriment to the Apex team. Granted her days are numbered so she'll be leaving soon, but even Donald admitted Bradford was the most talented in the boardroom. To let go of that talent before seeing where it could go, is a poor choice on Donald's part. Just because a person makes a mistake, that is not a reason to cut them immediately. Bradford got a huge dressing down and even admitted he screwed up by refusing the exemption. He wouldn't have done it again. Lesson learned.
It's Donald's show, but not money as NBC pays the salary of the winner, so he gets to fire who he wants. Poor choice Donald. Bradford, I'd offer a position if I could.
Before the APPRENTICE shocker, I got to witness another shocker at cheerleading. It was an optional practice, so those who wanted to could meet and go over what they choosed to do so. Tina, our co-captain (this is the name the VC agreed upon because giving her the Wicked Witch would have given her entry into the VC. Not Happening), was there last night. I showed up a little late. She had already herded the others into working on our performance routine for Saturday. Well those that showed up wanted to work on our stunts. More fun to throw people in the air than work on a dance/cheer/pyramids when we already know them or have a lot of people missing. So when the Lion and Toto showed up, Lion was not happy. He definately wanted to stunt. We got through the routine and started to stunt.
A few weeks ago we peformed at the Windy City Rodeo aka The Gay Rodeo. Lion, Scarecrow, and myself were the bases for one stunt group. Tin Man was one of our flyers. Its basically turned into the VC stunt group. Last night Scarecrow had to work and wasn't able to come to practice. Tina thought she could jump in and take Scarecrow's place. When you're throwing a 130 lbs person and are responsible for making sure they land safely, being another 130 lbs person is not always the best choice to be a catcher. Being a girl without the strength of a guy, definately not the choice.
Others expressed their concern about this stunt happening, but came short of saying outright it was because Tina was a part of it. Of course these discussions are also happening in front of the flyer who needs to be 100% comfortable with the people throwing her. These discussion were not helping. We finally tried the stunt a few times. The stunt never hit and the flyer came down. When a flyer comes down from a failed stunt, its never graceful or pretty. Its a lot of arms and legs and people throwing their bodies to protect the flyer. This is why you don't want a 130 lbs girl jumping in without a lot of experience. Our flyer was safe, but Lion and I were getting nervous.
We decided to switch out flyers and have Toto take over for Tina. Toto is still learning, but has the strength to protect the flyer so we were comfortable with him jumping in and start to learn what to do. As we are setting up, Tina is standing behind me giving out non-stop comments. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I had to step out and away from the group a number of times because I was about to lose it. We continued to try things, but everyone was on edge and we just weren't into it anymore.
In an effort to still have fun, I decided I'd fly a little bit. I grabbed a few guys and had them put me up in an Elevator. Easy, simple, fun. I'm up in the air and Tina decides to give us directions on how to get my butt down. Not the best time to do this and since she isn't in the stunt, not the person. The bases and flyers get to make the choices, not a spectator.
By this time Lion has had enough. After getting me down safely, he lets her know that she has been a hinderance. She didn't take it too well. While Lion is expressing his displeasure, I'm standing there mentally agreeing with everything, yet restraining myself from jumping in. Having been involved with so much other drama, I was staying out of this. To see Lion get pushed to this, really shocked me. I always figured I'd be the only one to ever speak up about Tina speaking out when she should just shut up.
Bradford gets fired. Someone else takes Tina to task. Definately a shocking night for me.
6 Months
Today is the Blade's Dad blog 6 month anniversary. I now have over 20 posts. Not a very good number. Just a little less than 1 a week. I was hoping to write at least once a week if not 2 or 3 times a week. My lack of posts stems from lack of ideas on things to post. When I'm frustrated or need to vent, this is a great place to let me let loose and organize my thoughts. When things are just normal, I don't have the posting inspiration. This is going to have to change though.
Later today, I'm going to send my blog link to a really good friend of mine, JC. JC and I "met" over 5 years ago. What started out as two people sharing their admiration for LA FEMM NIKITA TV Series, has grown into so much more. JC is currently dealing with Hurricane Ivan. That boy is not making anyone's life easier down south. Since JC will be able to check in on what's going on at Blade's Dad, I'm going to have to be a little more prolific.
My goal is to find a voice during the next 6 months and to feel comfortable to start letting other people read Blade's Dad.
Good Luck to Myself!!
Today is the Blade's Dad blog 6 month anniversary. I now have over 20 posts. Not a very good number. Just a little less than 1 a week. I was hoping to write at least once a week if not 2 or 3 times a week. My lack of posts stems from lack of ideas on things to post. When I'm frustrated or need to vent, this is a great place to let me let loose and organize my thoughts. When things are just normal, I don't have the posting inspiration. This is going to have to change though.
Later today, I'm going to send my blog link to a really good friend of mine, JC. JC and I "met" over 5 years ago. What started out as two people sharing their admiration for LA FEMM NIKITA TV Series, has grown into so much more. JC is currently dealing with Hurricane Ivan. That boy is not making anyone's life easier down south. Since JC will be able to check in on what's going on at Blade's Dad, I'm going to have to be a little more prolific.
My goal is to find a voice during the next 6 months and to feel comfortable to start letting other people read Blade's Dad.
Good Luck to Myself!!
Monday, September 13, 2004
A Day Of Turning Points
Yesterday was a great day. Started the day off cheering for 5 hours as AIDS Marathon runners finished their 26 mile prep run for their marathon in October. This is a training run. They get to add the .2 miles for the real deal. Why not just add the .2 miles now and get it over with? Didn't get a good answer for my question. It's their torture, so I'll let them "enjoy" it as they please.
The cheering was more up the squad throwing up stunts and pyramids in between yelling and waving the runners as they came in. The stunting was great. While we weren't supposed to be throwing anything new, people would come up with a "let's try this" and we'd try it. Everyone was game and we came up with some fun stuff. Eventhough some of us had no clue what to do, it didn't seem to affect us. Big Red said at the end of the day he was really refreshed. In the 1 1/2 years of the squad being around, it was the first day he hadn't needed to keep the squad on track, we did it ourselves. This was probably the biggest reason the stunting was allowed. We never lost sight of why we were there.
After the day was over, the Vicious Circle decided to come to my house for a BBQ.
A little about the VC. It happened by accident. While I might be the ringleader, I by no means went in search of this group, nor do I direct its path. The VC are a small subset of the squad who all seem to share the same feelings about the squad and our squadmates. Our personal and squad goals line up. A fun group of people over all. We've nicknamed the captain "Big Red" ala BRING IT ON. He's not part of the VC, but hasn't started us from assigning nicknames. The core of the VC is Scarecrow, Tin Man, The Lion, Stir Fry / Toto and Dorothy. Guess which one I got.... yep, Dorothy. They said it because she's the one who brought them together. I told them that its somewhat ironic since I am from Kansas too. We also have Glenda and another person, but we haven't given her a nickname yet. I've got a suggestion out there for one of our co-captains, but don't know if it will stick. It's kind of mean.
Anyways Tin Man, Lion and Toto came over for a BBQ. Had a great time, watched both BRING IT ON MOVIES, my cheerleading tape from college and wonderful talks. This is a great group of people who I'm happy to have the pleasure of sharing my time with. After my run ins with other members of the squad, having people who will back me up should I go out on a limb again is great.
As for going out on a limb, no more. I've decided to work hard, but it's not worth the stress to try and improve the squad's attitude. I'll lead by example, but no more through an exchange of ideas.
Between cheering and the BBQ, B and I had a discussion about our extra-curricular activites. Since I don't travel anymore, we modified the rules. Those modifications have had some negative affects on our relationship and how we go about our lives. During the past week, I've had chats with other people in similiar situations and started notice just how negative things have started to be. As B is on is way out to have some "fun", I told him that we need to talk and re-evaluate what's been going on. I told him that while the relationship is suffering, it isn't anything we can't fix. He agreed with me. While we haven't had a chance to talk yet, we have decided that we need to have a "date night". I love this boy alot and the fact he is right there with me is great. While I don't see us cutting out the extra-curricular activities, maybe we can adjust the frequency and how we go about participating.
The last turning point actually occured on Saturday night. Saw Powder with some friends of mine at OysterFest. Had previously seen Powder at Market Days and loved them there. Music is good, image/performance is even better. They'll be big. One of the people I went with cuts my hair. This past week went in for a haircut. He told me about his weekend and how he had a lot of fun with the boys in P-Town. Well I decided to give him grief about it at the concert. Didn't divulge any details, but implied their were details to be known. It turns out that the guy he's dating was in our concert group but not present for the P-Town adventures. HUGE egg on my face. I was soooo ashamed. I apologized to my friend. He said that others had already spilled the beans, but still, I shouldn't have done what I did.
This similiar behavior got me in trouble with B's ex-best friend. Having just talked about the situation around B and his ex-best friend ending their friendship earlier in the day. With this fresh in my mind I realized I just need to shut-up. I can be fun and funny without going this route.
Definately a weekend of enlightenment for me.
Yesterday was a great day. Started the day off cheering for 5 hours as AIDS Marathon runners finished their 26 mile prep run for their marathon in October. This is a training run. They get to add the .2 miles for the real deal. Why not just add the .2 miles now and get it over with? Didn't get a good answer for my question. It's their torture, so I'll let them "enjoy" it as they please.
The cheering was more up the squad throwing up stunts and pyramids in between yelling and waving the runners as they came in. The stunting was great. While we weren't supposed to be throwing anything new, people would come up with a "let's try this" and we'd try it. Everyone was game and we came up with some fun stuff. Eventhough some of us had no clue what to do, it didn't seem to affect us. Big Red said at the end of the day he was really refreshed. In the 1 1/2 years of the squad being around, it was the first day he hadn't needed to keep the squad on track, we did it ourselves. This was probably the biggest reason the stunting was allowed. We never lost sight of why we were there.
After the day was over, the Vicious Circle decided to come to my house for a BBQ.
A little about the VC. It happened by accident. While I might be the ringleader, I by no means went in search of this group, nor do I direct its path. The VC are a small subset of the squad who all seem to share the same feelings about the squad and our squadmates. Our personal and squad goals line up. A fun group of people over all. We've nicknamed the captain "Big Red" ala BRING IT ON. He's not part of the VC, but hasn't started us from assigning nicknames. The core of the VC is Scarecrow, Tin Man, The Lion, Stir Fry / Toto and Dorothy. Guess which one I got.... yep, Dorothy. They said it because she's the one who brought them together. I told them that its somewhat ironic since I am from Kansas too. We also have Glenda and another person, but we haven't given her a nickname yet. I've got a suggestion out there for one of our co-captains, but don't know if it will stick. It's kind of mean.
Anyways Tin Man, Lion and Toto came over for a BBQ. Had a great time, watched both BRING IT ON MOVIES, my cheerleading tape from college and wonderful talks. This is a great group of people who I'm happy to have the pleasure of sharing my time with. After my run ins with other members of the squad, having people who will back me up should I go out on a limb again is great.
As for going out on a limb, no more. I've decided to work hard, but it's not worth the stress to try and improve the squad's attitude. I'll lead by example, but no more through an exchange of ideas.
Between cheering and the BBQ, B and I had a discussion about our extra-curricular activites. Since I don't travel anymore, we modified the rules. Those modifications have had some negative affects on our relationship and how we go about our lives. During the past week, I've had chats with other people in similiar situations and started notice just how negative things have started to be. As B is on is way out to have some "fun", I told him that we need to talk and re-evaluate what's been going on. I told him that while the relationship is suffering, it isn't anything we can't fix. He agreed with me. While we haven't had a chance to talk yet, we have decided that we need to have a "date night". I love this boy alot and the fact he is right there with me is great. While I don't see us cutting out the extra-curricular activities, maybe we can adjust the frequency and how we go about participating.
The last turning point actually occured on Saturday night. Saw Powder with some friends of mine at OysterFest. Had previously seen Powder at Market Days and loved them there. Music is good, image/performance is even better. They'll be big. One of the people I went with cuts my hair. This past week went in for a haircut. He told me about his weekend and how he had a lot of fun with the boys in P-Town. Well I decided to give him grief about it at the concert. Didn't divulge any details, but implied their were details to be known. It turns out that the guy he's dating was in our concert group but not present for the P-Town adventures. HUGE egg on my face. I was soooo ashamed. I apologized to my friend. He said that others had already spilled the beans, but still, I shouldn't have done what I did.
This similiar behavior got me in trouble with B's ex-best friend. Having just talked about the situation around B and his ex-best friend ending their friendship earlier in the day. With this fresh in my mind I realized I just need to shut-up. I can be fun and funny without going this route.
Definately a weekend of enlightenment for me.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
A Gift and A Curse
My mouth is a gift and a curse. Sometimes I say the most wonderful things, other times what was I thinking.
The curse part seems to come out around the cheerleaders, regularly. This past weekend, I worked hard to not cause any drama at practice. Nature abhors a vacuum, so she found another source. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just because you have the authority to "tell" other people what to do, doesn't mean you have to exercise it. This vacuum helped me realize that while I need to be careful, some of my detractors need to watch what they do/say even more than I do. Of course that was practice. Later that night, we met for martinis at Kit Kat Club. There I opened my mouth and inserted foot. Don't have a problem with sex or discussing sex. I need to develop some restraint. I should know that no matter how open someone may appear with other subjects, sex tends to wig out many people.
The gift came up unexpectedly. Last night met someone online and we started chatting. They're having relationship issues and I was listening and offering my 2-cents. They came away feeling better and refreshed having the opportunity to vent/release. Having someone tell me I have a good head on my shoulders, really suprises me and gives me warm fuzzies.
Now if I can only learn some restraint, I might have more warm fuzzie moments than having to stress about the damage I've caused.
I've tried this before. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.
My mouth is a gift and a curse. Sometimes I say the most wonderful things, other times what was I thinking.
The curse part seems to come out around the cheerleaders, regularly. This past weekend, I worked hard to not cause any drama at practice. Nature abhors a vacuum, so she found another source. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just because you have the authority to "tell" other people what to do, doesn't mean you have to exercise it. This vacuum helped me realize that while I need to be careful, some of my detractors need to watch what they do/say even more than I do. Of course that was practice. Later that night, we met for martinis at Kit Kat Club. There I opened my mouth and inserted foot. Don't have a problem with sex or discussing sex. I need to develop some restraint. I should know that no matter how open someone may appear with other subjects, sex tends to wig out many people.
The gift came up unexpectedly. Last night met someone online and we started chatting. They're having relationship issues and I was listening and offering my 2-cents. They came away feeling better and refreshed having the opportunity to vent/release. Having someone tell me I have a good head on my shoulders, really suprises me and gives me warm fuzzies.
Now if I can only learn some restraint, I might have more warm fuzzie moments than having to stress about the damage I've caused.
I've tried this before. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.
