The World Cup

I'm not as into the World Cup as some people, but I've been watching the games when I've had the chance and checking the scores online the rest of the time. I'm enjoying it, even though I certainly don't know much about soccer (yeah, I know everyone else calls it football).

Since I only have the very basic cable package (i.e. no ESPN), and because ABC only has shown the games that have been on weekend afternoons so far, this means that I've been watching them on Univision much of the time. Even though I don't speak Spanish, and captioning doesn't seem to be available, it's still quite entertaining to watch. For one thing, the sportscasters are much more animated and energetic than the ones on ABC, which is an acceptable tradeoff for me in the absence of being able to better understand the action.

There's long been a stigma in the U.S. (though I think it is going away) that soccer is boring because scoring is so infrequent. I don't see why that is, and I've not found the games boring at all, save maybe for the blowout against North Korea. Hockey games, for example, don't always have more goals scored than your average soccer game.

I think that the World Cup and soccer in general will continue to get more popular in the U.S. as time goes on. Perhaps some day one of the major networks will give it the wall-to-wall coverage that Univision gives it now. Assuming, of course, that Univison doesn't become one of the de facto major networks. Which, to be honest, would be kind of cool.

A Road Not Taken

I've been watching the reruns of Glee ever since Lost ended. It's goofy and cheesy, yes, but it's also very entertaining, and the musical numbers are really well done.

I was in swing and jazz choirs* from eighth grade through my senior year, so I can identify with parts of the show, though it definitely takes a lot of artistic license with what being in and performing in a such a group is actually like. But that's fine; it can do that.

It has also made me think about why I stopped doing it too. I had been in these kinds of groups for five years straight when I finished high school, and of course was in the concert choir on top of that. And then there was the occasional school musical, to say nothing of church youth choir and the summer musicals for that as well. So yeah, singing was a big part of my life, but when I reached college I needed a break from it. I didn't audition for any groups my freshman year, though I thought I might by the time my sophomore year rolled around. However, life and school got in the way, and I never did get involved with vocal music again. The closest I get nowadays is the occasional game of Rock Band at a party. And I can still do great on Expert, too, which shows I still have some ability, I guess.

I do wonder what would have happened if I had stuck with music. I certainly wasn't going to become a professional or anything, but maybe I would still be doing the occasional community theater gig, or not be too shy to get up and do karaoke at a bar. But then, I don't think it's too late for me to get back into it if I really wanted to. Just a good training montage or two, and I'd be ready to go.

* A note on the hierarchy of school music groups. At least when I was in high school, there was definitely a ranking amongst the different types of ensembles. Back then, show choirs were at the bottom, as they were seen as being about flash more than musical susbtance (I don't and didn't agree, of course). Jazz choirs were the next rung up due to the higher need for technical ability and the perceived greater academic legitimacy of the music compared to pop standards and show tunes. At the top were the pure a capella groups, since there's no such thing as an okay a capella group -- if you're not good, you can't do it. Like I said, these aren't my opinions, but it was the consensus at the time.

The Social Media Experiment, and My Other Blog

Honestly, I really didn't miss Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook when I took a break from them this past weekend. I went from late Friday afternoon to late Sunday afternoon without touching them at all. I was going to try to go until Monday morning, but jumped back on Twitter briefly on Sunday before checking back into all of them on Monday.

Considering how attached I am to Twitter in particular, that was quite an accomplishment for me. I'm on it throughout the day, pretty much from when I wake up to when I go to bed, unless I'm somewhere where checking in is just not feasible. It's nice to know that I can quit if I want to, as they say. And it was definitely good to free up some of that mental space to be able to do and think about other things for a little bit.

Changing direction, I actually posted on my other blog, Hired Minds, last night. It was a very short post, as it was just a quote I am fond of and its attribution, but it was the first time I'd posted since late April, which itself was either the first or second time I'd posted all year. I started that blog after this one as a means to write about life as a temp, contractor, consultant, or whatever you want to call workers who are "hired guns" (I actually wanted to name the blog that at first, but changed my mind) who work at a company, but are not of it. For a while I was pretty good about updating it, but I stopped after a while. I think it was going permanent last year that did it; that and being much busier with schoolwork this past academic year than I was the previous year. But I have not said all that I want to on the topic, so I am making yet another go at it.

Social Media Break

I'm taking a break from social media this weekend, which for my purposes I'm defining as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Obviously, blogs don't count for this.

I feel like I am on the first two of those way too often, and Twitter most of all. Sometimes you just need to step back and be separated for something for a bit and have fewer distractions. I'm going to try to limit my time online in general as well, and focus on quality interactions and content when I do so. Less is more, as Mies van der Rohe said.

Cabin Culture

So, yesterday's post was about rainy summer weekends, and today's continues the summer theme by talking about cabins.

I've never been "up to the cabin," as people around here are likely to go once the weather starts warming up. Many people I've told this to react with shock and bewilderment, as if they understand those words individually, but the way in which I put them together made no sense. But it's true; I've never participated in this very Minnesotan of activities.

The main reason, of course, is that no one in my immediate family owns one. And I don't think anyone in my extended family does either, though I might be wrong on that. So I admit to not really knowing what people do at cabins. It seems like the same type of things one does when camping (which I have done a lot of, between annual family camping trips growing up and my years spent in Scouts), only with the ability to sleep indoors at night.

It seems like I always hear about the work involved with them, though. The first weekend of the year is spent getting them ready, and the last is spent closing them up. Sometimes, people spend three our four weekends a year working on their homes away from home. Presumably, they actually get the chance to enjoy them at some point.

I'm not trying to rip on cabins, particularly since I don't know what of I speak. And if someone invited me to theirs, I'd gratefully take them up on it (not that that's a hint or anything). That said, I like going to new places when I travel, so the idea of having a cabin, vacation condo, etc. that I always go to doesn't necessarily appeal to me all that much. I like being places I haven't been to before.

Rain Days

This weekend was rainy, occasionally chilly, and overcast around here, which made it a good time to stay inside. Now, a lot of Minnesotans don't like this kind of weather in June. I like rain and cool temperatures, but I sympathize with them -- nice days are so scarce here that people want to make the most of them when they're around. June in particular is usually a good time to be outside in this state, as it tends to be milder than what we can get in July and August.

I have nothing against spending time outdoors; I went for a hike at Lebanon Hills yesterday right before the rain hit and usually spend some time outside every weekend. On the other hand, it is nice to have a good excuse to spend time inside doing things like watching movies, napping, and getting housework done without people practically being offended that I'm not outside and wondering what the hell is wrong with me.

w00tstock

I went to w00tstock at the Guthrie Theater last night, which was all kinds of awesome. It's kind of hard to explain in a blog post, so I recommend checking out the link if you're curious. It was really something to get to see so many people I'm a fan of (Paul and Storm, Will Wheaton, John Scalzi, Adam Savage, and many more, including a special appearance by Neil Gaiman) in one fantastic venue.

If it comes back, I'm definitely going again.