Spring is in the Air
Spring break is approaching. God, I remember when that actually meant something. Gone are the days of packing up the car and driving to wherever, for whatever. My circumstances now, at face value, would come with some kind of hiatus. Unfortunately, I have multiple jobs, which do not allow me to fully appreciate this time of year. I suppose I should look on the brightside. I don’t have class this week. Which means for at least the next week I can forget that being a Ph.D student can occassionally feel like being a prisoner of war. In addition, I don’t teach this week, as fortunately the spring breaks of the University I attend and the University I teach at alligned. So, that just leaves the hospital. Unfortunately, psychiatric hosptials do not have Spring Break. Maybe they should look into it. I’m sure the patients would enjoy at week at South Padre, instead of increased anti-psychotics and a marathon of Hogan’s Heroes. My wife and I decided to salvage at least a portion of this week. She is a student, and her Spring Break is this week as well. So, midweek, we are flying to Charlotte. I’d love to claim we planned this impromptu vacation to stick it to the man….but it’s somewhat work related, so that claim I cannot make. There is a conference in Charlotte that I am presenting some research at. It’s not a bad wrap, as my presentations shouldn’t take up to much time, and we can enjoy some vacation time. We plan to spend some time with my good buddy Pat while in Charlotte, and take in some night life. This will mark the second year we have attempted to turn a speaking event of mine, into a vacation. I feel I set the bar a bit high last year with the Hawaii trip…making the trek to Charlotte seem a bit like following a top shelf scotch with a beer in a can. I’ll save further judgement for post trip blogging.
Took in the Watchmen over the past weekend. I really, really enjoyed this film. I had read the graphic novel, which I highly recommend before viewing the film. You won’t be completely lost without it, but it certainly provides some back story to really appreciate the subtext.
In other news, march madness is on its way. This is my absolute favorite time in the sporting year. Baseball, which is the cancer of sports, isn’t on enough yet to be annoying, so I can focus on college basketball. I have friends that don’t like college basketball, they are more NBA fans. I like basketball in general. But it’s hard for me to make a case for NBA over college. It’s obviously not a talent issue. There is far more talent in the NBA game. It’s more of the ambiance. You’re never going to go to an NBA game and see and hear the things you will at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, or Cameron Indoor. You would also never find people in tents outside the stadium for weeks and weeks, just to get the chance to get a ticket to an NBA game. You may find people in tents outside NBA arenas, but those people are homeless, and they will stab you. No, the NBA just doesn’t have the same fanbase. It’s just not the same. I honestly would stay home for the next three weeks and watch college basketball, if I wouldn’t get fired, and my wife wouldn’t leave me. A few weeks ago, my wife and I drove to Lawrence, KS. We went to Phog Allen Fieldhouse and watched a basketball game. This was the second time I’d been there. I’ve been to dozens of spurs games, and a few mavericks games….and the noise level pales in comparison. I love the NBA, but it’s just not as interesting as college basketball. I typically catch a few marquee NBA matchups on tv during the regular season, but don’t take a vested interest until the playoffs. Until then, I’ll let Linda Cone and John Buccigross give me the NBA rundown on Sportscenter.
