Monday, January 7, 2008

Football, Fixed Rate Mortgages & Public Transportation

This is how the Seahawks game went (for me) on Saturday:
1st Q: feelin' great. Alexander looks better than he has all season and we score a rushing TD (OMG I know!) to go up 7-0. Defense is lookin' stout and mean.
2nd Q: Defense still lookin' solid. Still pitchin' a shutout. Josh Brown kicks a 50 yard FG to put us up 10-0. This is the JB I know and like. Halftime arrives and I feel like one more touchdown and the game is out of reach for Washington.
3rd Q: JB kicks another FG to put us up 13-0. Wanted a TD, but will take the points. Defense isn't lookin' as tenacious. Not as much pressure on the QB, but still haven't allowed any points, though the Skins are driving and inside the red zone as the quarter ends.
4th Q: Skins score on a quick, short pass to Randle El. We know him well from the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh. We don't like him. 13-7. I liked being up by 13 better, but feel like a scoring drive will squash whatever momentum they have and lead us to victory
....On the second play after we get the ball back, Hasselbeck throws an interception. WTH HASSELBECK!?! Three plays later our safety takes the worst route ever to help cover the Redskins best WR and in so doing, lets him make an easy catch for a 30 yard TD. DAMN. All of a sudden we're down 14-13
....On the ensuing kickoff, the strangest thing happened (which was true, but I was still LIVID!!!) in that the wind basically stopped the ball from continuing its flight down field. The kick return man noticed this and tried to run up and catch the ball but could not get there in time and it bounced in front of him and then passed him...where there were no more Seahawks. The Redskins players running down field passed our return man, and then scooped up the live ball. DOUBLE DAMN!
....So now the Redskins have the ball in the red zone again. Defense steps up HUGE and holds them to a FG attempt. Kicker comes in and SHANKS A 30 YARD FG...OMG!!!!!!!!! So no harm no foul. Hawks get the ball back and now we really need to use this to gain some momentum back. Start driving and then HASSELBECK THROWS ANOTHER PICK! TRIPLE DAMN!
....Luckily the Redskins ended up punting after the pick, and we then drove down and score a TD, and converted the 2 point conversion to go up 21-14.
...Next offensive play for Redskins is a pass that the Pro Bowl CB Trufant intercepts and runs back for a TD. on the play, the WR (same WR who caught the 30 yard, go ahead score) gave up on the play, thinking his QB wouldn't throw it bc he was so well covered wrong. Trufant stayed with the play and made the catch look almost like it was thrown to him. By the time the WR realized what had happened, Trufant was already 10 yards in the other direction. SWEEEEEEEEET!!!! 28-14. (Side note: after Trufant intercepted the pass my roommate, Dan, was yelling at the TV for Trufant to fall to the ground to prevent a fumble or something else bad from happening. As he crossed the goal line to score what really turned out to be the play that completely deflated the Redskins, I turned to him and mocked him endlessly for about 30 seconds. I get what he was thinking when he wanted him to just fall to the ground, but there was still six minutes left in the game and we were only up seven at the time. Silly Dan....ok moving on).
....Then the Redskins were driving and failed to convert a 4th down. We then ran the clock down to the two minute warning and punted. As the Skins desperately tried to get something going again, Babineaux picked off their QB and returned it for another TD. YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
....final score 35-14, but for awhile there I thought we were going to completely blow it. phew.

So now that I have recovered from the 87 heart attacks I had during that 4th quarter, I think I just had another one bc I realized we have to play Green Bay @ home @ Lambeau Field this weekend. Quadruple damn. Brett Favre is playing re-energized, youthful-type, extraordinary football this season. AND. and is incredibly tough to beat at home, especially in the playoffs. Can we beat the Packers on their home field? Yes. Did we show signs on the kind of play needed to beat the Packers during our game against the Redskins? Yes. Did we also have a Kingdome sized brain fart for about six to eight minutes in that same game? Yes. Hopefully the team from the first three quarters will show up for the whole game, and then we'll have a real good chance of taking down the most prolific QB of all time. We shall see what happens...


Caution: may contain work like substance....Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates are quite attractive right now. If you own a home, or wish to purchase a home, please contact me immediately to get a sexy 30 yr FRM today! (ha. sexy mortgage rate. they are quite good right now tho...)


The 358. This is the bus I ride to and from work everyday. If you have ever ridden the bus in Seattle, you've probably heard of this bus...and all the "specialness" it contains. The route runs from 200th up in Edmonds/North Shoreline all the way down Aurora Ave to downtown Seattle. Now Aurora Ave is not known for being high class anything. In fact a certain stretch has signs posted that designate those blocks as "drug & prostitution watch areas." In fact, I used to live right near this area, and even saw a few "ladies of the night" get picked up/dropped off in front of my house. There was also a shooting only a few blocks north of my old house too. Like I said...Aurora = ghetto. So imagine some of the people that accompany me downtown every morning and home every evening. Yikes. For the most part tho, its not too bad. Not the shortest ride, but usually not terrible in length or seat companion. It is however, a great place to people watch...which is becoming one of my favorite hobbies.

People watching is simple, always interesting and even highly rewarding at times. Its even fun when you have your iPod on and can't hear what's going on, but can see everything unfolding bc then you can make up what's being said to be EVEN FUNNIER. Some of my favorite bus episodes are as follows (in no particular order):
**the guy who got on and just stood in the entrance to the bus...didn't catch what he did, if anything, but the bus driver asked him to get off (now that I think about it, I don't think he paid....but no, it was the ride free zone...so idk) but the man continued to stand there. the bus driver repeatedly asked the man to get off, and each time his voice got a little louder. after about 30 seconds of non-cooperation the bus driver was YELLING at this man and threatening to call the police. the man slowly began to get off, as the driver continued to yell at him. it was actually quite humorous.
**the woman who got on by way of the lift (generally reserved for disabled persons, or people in wheelchairs) even tho she was not visibly unable to climb the steps. she did however have a large piece of luggage with her. well this bus driver knew the woman by name and as she got on she asked her if she had a bus pass?...no...coupon book?...no...any form of payment for her fare?...no. HA HA. she said this all so casually and then sat down about midway through the front half of the bus with her giant piece of luggage in the aisle way. as more people got on, they struggled to get by this obstacle, and their faces were priceless. eventually one guy made some comment/noise and raised his hands in the air like 'WTH lady?' OMG it was great.
**another lady and her daughter got on with luggage on one of the first stops after the bus gets off aurora, and starts winding towards downtown. they were obviously going to the airport, and said so. the woman asked where a certain stop was, which happened to be the next stop only about five to six blocks from where they got on the bus. as we approached the stop, the lady asked where 3rd & pike was. the bus driver told her it was several blocks south, and that we'd be stopping right near there, so she didn't need to get off right then. the lady insisted she knew where she was going, and her directions told her to get off then. after much delay about who knew better where to get off, the bus driver, or this lady who clearly had no clue, yet claimed to know exactly where she was, the woman sat back down to get off at the correct location to catch the bus that heads to the airport. this was funny. what was even funnier was the man sitting in front of me that kept mocking her for the next 10 blocks. "where is 3rd & pine?...do you know where 3rd & pine is?...I know where I am." LMAO. as I got off, I turned to him (my stop is 3rd & pine) and asked if this was 3rd & pine. he laughed. it was great. the best part was this woman was about two feet from us. HA HA.
**several weeks ago the bus was running quite late. turned out there was a bus missing. meaning...if there is a bus that comes at 7:30, 7:40 & 7:50, the 7:40 never showed up. so I was waiting for this bus FOREVER until finally the next one came. about 30 blocks after I got on, this woman boarded the bus and was very snooty. she asked the bus driver if she was late or what took so long for this bus to arrive. the bus driver said she was on time. the woman did not like her tone or something, and made some snide comment back and walked towards a seat. the bus driver then screamed "YOU'RE GONNA PAY LADY!!" and I was shocked that a driver would threaten a passenger. turned out the woman simply had refused to pay bc the bus was late, but then after being called out in such a way, went back up to pay. I thought it was hilarious how irritated this little lady was, only to see her get off two stops later. stupid lady. just walk the 5 blocks next time. geez.
**there was the time when one of my co-workers was celebrating his 30th year with WaMu, and so we all met up after work at this pretty swanky bar inside the WAC (washington athletic club) to have some drinks, mingle and just have a good time. We all got one free adult beverage, and a non-alcoholic type as well. I traded my "non" for one of my bosses, Jason's< "adult" coupons bc he doesn't drink. two free drinks. scored one more of these coupons from the event organizer bc not everyone who RSVP'd showed up. three free drinks. my other boss, Fred, noticed I was empty on a few occasions and got me two or three more. five to six free drinks (all except one were jack & cokes (and the one that wasn't was a beer...i think Stella)). then I bought one more, which I definitely did not need. so roughly seven for the price of one. so I was smashed. felt sick. went into the bathroom there and managed to pull myself together without getting sick. I had been talking with a few people from work, but ducked out after leaving the bathroom to head for the bus stop. Stumbled down and caught the 358 for home....


Stay tuned for more crazy bus stories, and more on the time when I got drunk downtown and took the bus home...well sort of :)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

So I know we haven't talked in a LONG time. Thought I'd let you know that I wandered on to your blog through facebook. When I've blogged in the past, I always thought it was nice to get some feedback to know people were actually reading what I was writing. You're quite the writer. I've been thoroughly enjoying your stories, I always find myself laughing and smiling. It's always nice to know what people are up to post college. Sounds like life is going well for you. Keep it up!!!