“Inside The Terrordome”: ‘Back To Reality’

Well, I’m one week removed from Spring Break. Of the many things I’d hoped to get done on break, the only thing that panned out was the Unemployment appeal – it actually happened on the 22nd, the Tuesday after Break. I now have to wait for some kind of ruling on it. The 3 likely outcomes are:
a) they uphold the original decision: my school schedule prevents me from seeking full-time work, thus denying me any unemployment benefits while my job is virtually out of work projects
b) they reverse the decision but award me only the weeks that I claimed from February 12th, when I reopened my claim
c) they reverse the decision and give me everything that I’ve claimed since January 22nd

My tenure now will depend on this ruling and the next few weeks of potential work. If a) happens, then that period goes to 1 week from the appeal decision: if I don’t pick up at least 10 hours in that week, I’ll probably put in my notice; if there are 10-20 hours of available work, I’ll wait an extra week. We will see how things play out.

I have read somewhere between 8 and 12 reviews for “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, plus have seen a few reactions from friends on Facebook. Color me underwhelmed; I’m not trying to spend $12 on a ticket to a movie that’s “nearly 3 hours of mix and match pieces of different plots, barely tied together.” I won’t rule out seeing it much further down the road but I am ruling out paying to see it any time soon.

Why has it been so hard for professors to either answer an email or grade an assignment this school year?? It happened with my Game Design class in the Fall, now it’s happening with 2 classes this Spring (not nearly as bad, thankfully)!

Speaking of school:

1. I think I’ve finally gotten things to ‘click’ in my Web Site Design class. I started so far behind (no internet, no good option to do homework at, at that time), I had to play catch-up for a good chunk of the 1st half of the semester. 
2. I may have another honor coming my way (depending on money): I was invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society! I am honestly still shocked!
3. I graduate in a little over 6 weeks… but that’s only the ending of a LONG First Act. Act #2 – the Bachelor’s Degree – starts back in August.

I’ve griped a few times about it before but it absolutely bugs me when I am, I read about, see, or hear someone being judged negatively, based on how much money they have or on what they do or don’t own. 

I am enjoying seeing stories on World of Warcraft (WoW) play out from the Horde side. I am currently playing a Forsaken Rogue and am going through the whole Gilneas story line; it’s been fun, so far! 

My annoyance level at missing, leaving events early, turning down invites because of, and scheduling around public transportation is approaching “critical mass”. I appreciate the rides home that I’ve gotten over the (too-many) years but I can’t expect one any time I show up somewhere; at the same time; the local bus system here is a joke, especially on weekends.

There was an interesting Facebook topic started in a Drum and Bugle Corps group that I am a member of. To summarize: Drum Corps Associates (DCA), the sanctioning body for all-age drum corps, is taking bids from cities that want to host their annual World Championships on Labor Day Weekend. For the last 20 years or so, the championships have been held in Rochester, NY, Scranton, PA, or somewhere in New England or the Mid-Atlantic (with a few exceptions). The topic brought up in the group was that DCA should have the championships in the Midwest or Midsouth, with Nashville, Columbus or Cincinnati, Ohio, and Atlanta being 4 of the cities named the most. The thoughts of some – me, included – is that the championships, and most of DCA’s power, has been entrenched on the East Coast for far too long.
For a circuit that wants to bring more exposure to the sport, having your powerhouse corps in the Midwest and Upper Midwest (Minnesota Brass, The Govenaires, and Racine’s Kilties, for example) and the West Coast (The Renegades, assuming they 1) are actively competing and 2) make the trip) travel to New York or Pennsylvania routinely, without returning the favor and having the East Coast groups at least travel to the Ohio Valley or Georgia (for example), seems like a good way to alienate a section of your groups, in my opinion. I need to keep an eye on this and see what DCA ultimately decides to do.

I’ve been plateaued at about 233 pounds (-31 since July 2014) for a few months, although my focus this month was more on school and money, plus dealing with another occurrence of heel and ankle tendinitis. Time to get back ‘on track’ – I still think I can hit 205, or lower, by October. If I miss that mark slightly, but get back to the cardio condition I was in my last 2 years marching at UofL (I think I’m really close now; enlarged heart with some metal valves makes it hard to judge, though), then I’ll be happy.

I am not a huge soccer fan but I am becoming very intrigued by a relatively new minor league team here in Louisville. The Louisville FC Coopers play in the United Soccer League; they finished 2nd in their conference in their 1st season (14-8-6) and made the final four of the playoffs. It seems like an interesting and fun atmosphere at the games – I may just have to check a game or 2 out.