Football Boxes

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.13.80
Current Song - Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

I had been writing about most sports on a regular basis since the time I began in this profession nearly 8 years ago. I started writing about football on a regular basis, during its season, 5 years ago.

I've found it difficult to put together a football box. I can put together a story without problem. The darn box keeps delaying me.

There's three parts to the football box:

The first part of the box is easy: that's listing each score.

The second part is a bit tough because you have to add a bunch of things together. I don't know whether or not I can add these things up from whistle to interview. However, I've never tried. So I will this Friday.

Last year I typed up a worksheet that was supposed to help me put a box together quicker. I can't recall if it worked. The things that are a part of the second part of the box are: first downs, total offense, rushing yards, passing yards, completions-attempts-interceptions (C-A-I), fumbles and those lost, penalties and yards lost, and number of punts and average distance.

I have seen boxes that omit first downs, penalties and punts. In my first attempt this season, I will try to skip these stats in order to better formulate the rest. Then once I get better, I'll try to include the first downs, punts and penalties.

The third part is totaling up individual stats. I don't need a calculator.

I guess the biggest problem for me is actually formulating these numbers into a box. My template is two-sided: one for first-half stats, and the other for final game stats.

I'll just see if this works on Friday. I'm heading to Galena for their game with East Dubuque.

A Thought About Scoreboards

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.52.80
Current Song - PYL Theme (???)

I run a weekly football scoreboard on NISB. Posters can post scores to each game on this particular thread. Because I'm writing a football gamer after these football games, I won't touch the scoreboard until around 1:00.

There were times when I thought about putting up one big scoreboard for the area, for all sports. I would have to obtain every schedule from every high school sports team in the area. I have tried this, but each time I've tried there has been some sort of computer crash via highschoolsports.net. It's not their fault, I just happen to be loading a LOT of schedules.

It will take a lot of arthritis in order to just get the schedules posted to NISB. That's just to post the schedules. Now I would want people to chip in. That's the tough part. Plus, if no one chips in, all that arthritis will mean nothing. In order for people to chip in, I'll need to persuade the coaches to put me on the contact list. That, and find a way to not only get a fax machine (@#$& !!!), but to also pay for a large phone bill. That, and ALSO trying to find time each night to update it.

I think it will be quite some time before we get a scoreboard concept going. I may have to quit the Shell gig in order just to run it.

Now a little something about fax machines: I don't have one. I don't know where to put one. I give up there.

Five Years Later ...

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.22.08
Current Song - Dance With Me (112)

About 25% of our high school graduating class got together for our 5th Year Reunion. I attended.

I had a blast! Even though if you saw me there sometimes standing alone, I still had a good time. It was good to see everyone after these few years in a setting I could be comfortable in. I couldn't really get going until some more people showed up. The real thrill for me was keeping up with most of those there. A couple of which I hadn't seen since graduation.

A lot of us have gone on to do some very successful things, and work for very successful businesses (such as the Seattle Seahawks). I told a few people about my two websites, as well as some stories about working at the Shell station. I guess the kick out of all that is that I didn't seem like I was doing nothing with my life :)

I sat with the crowd with the most beer. All that beer. Okay, maybe a small sip. Thank you, B, for pouring the entire cup full! One, two, three ... my eyes widened up and I was shaking a little bit after just a small sip. I walked away for a bit and went off to the side of the building and dumped the rest out. It wasn't the first time I had tasted something intoxicating: I had a couple of sips of some kind of wine at my sister's wedding. This was the first taste of beer (Bud Light). It tasted like cold, flat Fresca. Nothing I would want to try again. After that, I really can't believe there are people that drink many cans of that a day!

Enough about Bud Light (thank God). I can't wait for our tenth. Maybe a few more people will show up. I did learn a few things about myself tonight - that if I actually try to put some sort of effort into finding a connecting point, it will happen. That I can still at least attempt to fit in with a crowd. That I also kind of need more time off from what I'm doing.

After talking with one classmate about what I've been up to, somehow I was able to spit out the fact that I'm working and writing a lot and need to quit doing that a lot. He agreed that I was always busy.

We'll see about that.

The Fall Grind

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.12.80
Current Song - Tired of Being Alone (Al Green)

Tuesdays and Fridays are off days. Friday will be spent doing a football game.

Friday afternoons could be spent snapping either a XC meet or tennis match at the site of the football game. Soccer games can be fully-covered with less emphasis at the town of the football game. However, I have never turned this trick before. The odds of either happening are at least 1 in 25.

Tuesdays are free days, and I can cover pretty much anything.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday if I'm working the midshift: I'm out the door at 5:30 if I have something planned. The only thing that late would be volleyball, or a RARE football game. I can make a varsity tip-off no later than 7:00, meaning I can travel an hour and 15 minutes. Thursday's are special because I may be out by 4:30.

Saturday and "school holiday" coverage (if I am closing at Shell) has to start no later than 8:00 for boys golf, 10:00 for XC, 1:00 for boys soccer, and has to be within 30 miles from Sterling. I also factor in the time it takes to drive immediately to work. So, yeah, Saturday's suck.

Everything revolves around the Shell schedule.

A State of Flux

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.11.80
Current Song - Just The Two of Us (Bill Withers)

I was reminded today that I'm not faring so well in this battle versus the real world.

I was reminded today that I think I have a case of a mixture of solitude, depression and lonliness.

Between work, high school sports, and the battle to live a normal life, today I find my mind in a scramble.

A blah day at work was followed by a nap, looking at a state atlas, dinner, another nap, news and Leno, reading a book, and typing this. I did nothing else other than this.

The effort to communicate better isn't going so well. I would like to share an example of my failure to communicate:

On Monday afternoon, I traveled to a golf meet in Rockford. I was going to cover it, but had to be back in Sterling at a certain time. I park at the course parking lot. I had to think of a plan for a couple of minutes: okay, I'm going to go inside, try to find someone important and ask him/her when the meet's going to end. I exit my car thinking as if I'm breaking out of a huddle.

I walk in the clubhouse and find a bunch of people. I don't know any of them. Nobody looked too important, and they were all engaged in discussion. Rather than rudely interrupt the conversations, I walked outside and thought of a Plan B.

Plan B, as odd as it is, was to call the clubhouse and ask someone. I'm thinking, they have to answer the phone and I'll finally get my answer. I can't just say, when's it going to end. I called the clubhouse and disguised my voice as if I were someone older. I told them I couldn't reach my son, who's playing in the meet, and I wanted to know when things were going to wrap up (it wasn't going to wrap up in time for me to report to work).

That is what I did.

Years of not engaging in general conversation had made me sort of forget HOW to converse.

I write this stuff here because I don't know who will WANT to listen to me.

When I was out of work from the summer of '05 to the fall of '06, I was told that getting a job would help me interact. It has, a little bit. Four years later, I find myself as an afterthought in customer-clerk conversation when another clerk is in the store. They'll acknowlegde my presence, and then converse with the off-duty clerk.

They say converstation starters are things such as the weather, gas prices, weird items (especially the large beef jerky), and the Gazette. "It's nice out." "It's cheaper in Dixon." "that's a HUGE piece of beef jerky!" "Sheley's on the front page, AGAIN." These are things that I can only concur. I can't really find that connecting point to extend the conversation. I do succeed in finding it at times, but they are repetitive.

So if it's communication, it's generic communication. I deeply hate that.

I can't even find a conversation starter when it comes to classmates and high school friends from both Sterling and Rock Falls. What HAVE I been up to? I feel as if I want to tell the entire story of my life post-graduation. At the same time, I realize they don't have TIME to hear everything. So I try to abbreviate it in the form of "still working and writing."

We have our Five-Year Class Reunion this Saturday. I kind of know what everyone's up to because I'm Facebook friends with a bunch of classmates. Speaking of Facebook, I only have about 140 friends. I'm not going to engage in some sort of popularity contest of who has the most friends. The 140orso people are those people who are important to me.

I guess when I try to be respectful, I don't often succeed.

So that's how my lack of conversation fails me at work.

I truly feel that if I had more time to spend with high school sports maybe my communication in that area would improve. Maybe I would have a stronger inner circle (more about that later). I guess you can say vice-versa with Shell. Also, sometimes I think that my desire to be involved more with sports friends kind of turns off my Shell co-workers. Like customers, I can't seem to find a connection to a conversation piece with my co-workers, and it seems as if we don't work together well. It hurts a lot.

My lack of communication also fails me when it comes to my career: high school sports journalism. I was reminded during this past spring season that what I do and who I cover has hindered my communication ability. How?

My coverage area is the combined coverage areas of about 10 different daily newspapers. My coverage schedule and dedication time only allows me to stay in touch with the top of the top. In a newspaper's coverage area, I could only tell you about the top two teams. I hear all these writers talk about all of their teams, and it blows me away. It should NOT blow me away. It sure makes me look dumb.

In knowing a lot about all of their teams, the writers it seems are in more constant contact with coaches and players outside of the sports event. I like to refer to this as an "Inner Circle" of sorts. If I had one of my own, it currently would be a very weak one with only a few coaches. Constant contact is something that's being preached to journalists these days. That's something that I cannot excel in.

Then fix it. Establish constant contact.

That's when the respect factor comes in. I know people have a lot more on their minds than wanting to be an interview subject for a website that's looking for some popularity. I'm so AFRAID that it will turn into stalking, that I shy away from constant contact with coaches. I tell myself that this is prepatory sports and not professional sports, and coaches are teachers first.

I guess when I try to be respectful, I don't often succeed.

There is still a lot of places to explore in the high school sports scene. Working at the Shell station, I feel very stuck in the same loop of disappointment when it comes to communication. However, as I have mentioned time and time again, Shell is where I'm making my money and NISB is where I'm just trying to keep my career going. What would make this much better is that coveted journalism job.

Establishing a knack for simple conversation leads to friends, friends lead to having girlfriends, and so on.

As for right now, all I can do is dream.

Back in the midshift groove

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.41.80
Current Song - Opening Act (Prevue Channel)

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on the -1% of gas station customers.

Gee, after working a few daytime shifts the whole point about "I, me, my" doesn't seem as abundant as I thought it would be. In other words, I haven't had any major headaches.

I have had minor headaches, however. I lose track of time quite a bit, and sometimes don't even make it to the other side of the counter where the coffee's at. Non-stop lines until about 3:30, with small pockets of time for unpacking a carton of cigarettes or taking a sip of my Dew.

All of this goes on with the stupid two-counter/one-register format (the ONLY thing I miss about BP is having just one counter). At times, there is no line. It's a blob of people. And when there's a line of people at one register, someone comes into the store and is the only person in the other line, and thinks he/she is the next person in line.

They do not know that there's a second line. They don't see the second line. They don't see anything other than their purchase, the clerk and the exit door. Everything else is blank white. These are your "I, me, my" people that make me want to puke. They don't pay any attention to the world around them, as opposed to the the world should be revolved around him or her.

Some may think it's easy to point these people out. Look at their clothes. However, in the nearly four years I've been behind gas station counters, I have noticed that well-dressed people are more cooperative than the sub-one. I have noticed that the area's celebrities and public servants are more cooperative than not only the sub-one, but the large majority of total customers. I don't judge the book by the cover.

So who exactly makes up the sub-one?

If you pester me about the ATM fee, even though that's decided by the ATM - chill, man!

If you toss your credit card on the counter like a ragdoll, that's just like throwing money - chill, man!

If we don't carry your cigarettes, and you've never seen an advertisement of them - chill, man!

If you inform me that the Jif peanut butter is ten cents cheaper down the street - chill, man!

If you use the words "should" and "therefore" during a transaction - chill, man!

If you think we're informed every day from Mr. J about why Dixon's gas is cheaper - chill, man!

Good night and Good Luck.

Busy, Busy Week

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.70.80
Current Song - Jackie Blue (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)

I got stuck with the same work schedule (wink, wink) for next week.

Sunday off, Monday night, Tuesday mid, Wednesday off, Thursday and Friday mid, and Saturday night.

I closed this past Thursday, and had to come in at 10:00 in the morning. Little sleep. I've done this before, so it's not new. The only time when it gets irritating is when you have one of your "Top 5 sales shifts" ever during the day, and your relief is an hour late. Then again, Friday middays were once a staple for me during the past football season. However, that made the football games not that interesting.

When I got home, I needed to lay down. It was a nice day outside, so the air conditioning at home wasn't on. However, I had it on all day at work. You know how that feels. I eventually did lay down in the sauna (the nickname for my bedroom - where the insulating is worn out). I could feel my feet literally tingling toward my knees.

But that's all over with.

I'm closing tonight and getting tomorrow off. While off in the following week, I'm going to get caught up on stuff I actually had planned for June and July. There's three features, an event, and more bits and tweaking with NISB.

The sports season is starting soon!!

Love Is Blue

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.40.80
Current Song - Love is Blue (Paul Mauriat)

Today, I got a dose of an instrumental piece you may have heard on an oldies station. You know, that one with the string guitar and the piano doing some sort of French waltz? No, not Classical Gas.

You can probably say that Paul Mauriat's "Love is Blue" is my kryptonite. It's a song that closely resembles two of my favorite foreign films ("Bicycle Thieves" and "Band of Outsiders"). All active thought in my very active brain ceases for this moment.

In the words of a YouTube comment of an audio file of the song, "My heart sighs heavily."

More difficult than "A Tale of Two Cities," "War and Peace," and any early T.S. Eliot poem is the understanding of life's greatest adventure. Eventually we all finally understand the literary works, but it takes years to understand this adventure.

I feel like I'm back in the literature part of my English classes: Everyone is at the fun and exciting part, while I'm still trying to figure out what the first paragraph of the prolouge means.

Okay, so it means this ... and I advance forward in the reading.

NO! ... and I get thrown back to square one.

Again, I try to make sense of it and again I get thrown back.

I try many different ways. However, I'm unable to get anything off the ground. And as time goes on, the task gets even more difficult. These are the only ways I know, and they have all failed, even if I repeat them. And when I do repeat them, the fewer the people who hold me back - but I still get held back.

Avenues I once went down are permanantly being blocked quite a bit these days.

When, oh when, will that time come?

And which lady will it be? Who will strike me with a zap of romance?

Daytime

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.20.80
Current Song - Sign Your Name (Terence Trent D'arby)

I'll be working the daytime shift at work in the next couple of days. I only get one or two daytime shifts a month. I'll be doing three this week. It's like having to fill a dayshift quota. Actually, we're a bit short-staffed.

I haven't written in this blog for a while because of being busy. But when I do, it's likely something I need to share (probably because of frustration).

The reason why I'm the "night specialist" is because of me being a night owl. The night shift, to many people, is one where you taper off as the night goes on. The way I avoid this is by waking up in the afternoon. When I come to work, it's as if it's the first thing I'm doing. That philosophy is what made me survive the overnights at BP for a year-and-a-half and the evenings at Shell for over two years.

So when I have to work during the daytime, I'm usually finding my sleep pattern interrupted. I'm entering work feeling groggy. However, through the years I have seemed to manage it well ...

Until recently.

The way I conduct my "clerking" is a bit different. I have a set schedule for chorework. Everything's routine. A good portion of the night is spent doing chorework. This is reversed during daytime.

There's more time at the register during the daytime. There are more customers at the store during daytime. The busyness doesn't frazzle me.

What DOES frazzle me is the make-up of the customer base in the daytime, compared to the nighttime. I have found out that there are more customers who are rude, insubordinate and mean. Everyone thinks that nighttime customers are all drunk and vagrant. I find it the opposite with the 5% of daytime customers I'm writing about.

The real reason why I don't like working during the daytime is because of that ONE such confrontation that will absolutely ruin my day. It is all about disgruntled customers.

I'll admit that I'm the worst at dealing with disgruntled customers. Everyone else who works where I work at, all with a lot of daytime experience and one with over 20 years, is so much better at this. I rarely, if ever, get disgruntled customers at night, and when I do, it is in the early part of the shift (5-7). They scare the hell out of me.

When this kind of thing happens, here is what is going through my mind afterward:

-You are not God.
-If you kill us youth off like that, the cycle of evolution will break, and you are effectively killing society as we know it.
-Johnson Oil's future depends on youthful people such as myself.
-Those guys from Turk 190's are right, people from Sterling really CAN'T read.
-Mr. Williams' lecture on healthy Time Management in my college health class.
-I don't want to work a dayshift ever again.
-Why am I worrying so much?
-You ever notice that it's always the pump and never the card?
-You ever notice that it's always our problem and never yours?
-This never happens when I work at Wende's.

... and I will add more later.