This is Neil.

I am behind in blogging. I have two funny stories to relay. They are a bit out of date, but still worth sharing.


One I alluded to on Facebook recently. My grandpa, Grandpa Neil.

Is. A. Character.

This is the grandpa who was the former Prison Guard, Pump-Guy, Miner, Driller, Dump Truck Excavator, fisher, dancer and joke teller extraordinaire. He once got hit by a train in his Dump Truck and kicked the windsheild out to rolled to freedom. (Even though he knew the diesel fuel wasn't going to explode). That was a weird day coming home from school. "Lindsey, your Grandpa has been hit by a train, but he's ok." He's had his share of ups and downs in life and when he's down he's DOWN, but when he's up...


When he's up he calls my cell phone for a phone conversation for maybe the first time in my entire life. Calls to talk to me. Just me. He's like 72 or something. I didn't recognize the number and I was at work, so I answer "This is Lindsey."

"Well, This is Neil." (He's funny . He has good delivery. It's where I get it.)


The highlights of our awesome conversation:

1. He mentioned that he had just used the gift card that I gave him and my grandmother for Christmas. I took special care to make sure the restaurant was indeed in Brownsville, TX where they spend the winter. He thanked me sweetly but got to other business.

2. He informed me that he had a question for me. Me? He continued "Tell me why, when you go to Wal-Marts, and you buy Anti-Freeze with a 50% Anti-Freeze, 50% Water mixture, it's got a lower freeze rating than a 100% solution of Anti-Freeze? There is a buddy of mine, a mechanic I know down here who works on diesel engines. He says it's true, and if he says it's true, I believe him. I told him, I said 'I have no idea why that would be the case...but I know someone who does'."

I reply. "Oh, at first glance, that does sound a bit backwards. What were the temperatures ratings we are talking about?"

"Oh the 50/50 is like -34 Fahrenheit, and the 100% was some other number, but it was in that other thing "C"... "I don't know what that stands for... "

"Celcius."

"No... Centimeters"

"I think it's Celsius."

"Yeah. Celcius. Something warmer in Celsius."

So? My hypothesis was that the pure mix must have a higher viscosity, (it's thicker) and therefore will lock up a radiator sooner. The water thins it out enough to work at lower temps. He seemed more than satisfied with that answer and beamed that his techincal savvy, much like his dancing ability, had indeed been passed down, even though it skipped my dad. (Dad's words not mine).

3. Then he asked if I was 'leaving' him. I told him that was a funny question to ask as he calls me from almost Mexico. He had heard about my pending relocation to Oregon. He's excited about Oregon. He loves to fish.

4. He told me to tell my boyfriend John that he should go down to Texas for spring break before I move out there. I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that. I convinced myself to not be creeped out and I laughed. He and my grandmother were a little bit overwhelmed by the college spring break crowd. Grandpa Neil is excited about John because John sells air-compressors and pumps and stuff for a company that Grandpa used to work for way back in the day.


5. Then Grandpa asked me about my brothers love life. This just got movie quality epic. How's what, Grandpa? You'll have to ask him.

Yeah Bears

It's that time again.

The Wash U bears are in the Final Four AGAIN.

They hosted sectionals this year so the alumni gang was in full effect, and feeling OLDER than ever.

A couple of sweet little fans we had back when I played were fifth graders at the time. They have now graduated from college and are older than the team that is currently playing.

Yarp.

In any case, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Another Bear team...a new all-time rebound leader. The old iconic rebound leader, Alia Fisher Keys, was sitting in the stands with her TWO kids...

And there are girls who I never played with, who have now graduated and are old enough that THEY haven't played with anyone on the current team either. But we all sit together in the stands and are idiots together. Members of the same sorority for life. 12+ generations deep.

Yeah I cried when they cut the nets down. Again.

Good luck next weekend, Bears. Bring home another one.

Just because I'm about to slip into anonymity...

I have watched this developing news with a curiousity. Will they mention us?

They haven't. It's like it doesn't exist. It's not even an asterisk.

The current University of Connecticut womens basketball team has now won 71 games in a row.

They are media darlings and, of course, division I atheletes. But seriously... "making history"?

That's a bit much. Considering...

My team won 81.

In a row.

That's all I'm sayin'. And the "record" before that... in all of womens basketball was 61. I think that was a Div. 2 team maybe..

I'll grow up and let it go. It hardly matters in day to day life now. Much like my embarassing spelling bee loss in seventh grade. Or the amazing time I met an old man in the airport named "Merrill Lindsey". But at least acknowledge the current record holder for at least 10 more games until it's not ours anymore.

Records are made to be broken. I hope they do break it. It's great for the game. I hope they surpass John Wooden's men's record of 88 games in a row.

But for ten more games...

Check out the asterisk.

Milestone

Last whenever...I think it was Octoberish. I decided I was gonna lose some weight. Encrouaged by a Ms. Peggy Hope who I heard speak about this, I resigned to count calories and exercise more. And to let myself fail as many times as I needed.

I am thrilled to report that as of yesterday I weighed in under 180 pounds for the first time since maybe before high school. (I'm 6'2" this is ok...)

To be specific, I was 179 right when I got back from working out last night, and after I took a bath, I was 178 when I got out of the tub. To which my brother replied "Did you poop in the tub?"

No. I didn't.

Yay. These are good numbers for me and I'm excited. Wanted to tell the world that I have now lost 23 pounds and four dress sizes.

(You probably haven't noticed because I'm tall and I distribute poundage better than say a 5'2" person... but really, you probably haven't noticed because you haven't seen me in months. I am now a nocturnal-underground creature who now only works at my job and works on selling her house and comes up for air and to squint my white glossy mole-type eyes into the sun and say "I used to be fun, really").

And hopefully, since I just bragged to the whole world wide web, the fates wont intervene and I won't gain it all back in a fit of chocolate-covered quesadillas and sleeping.