Come along to Awesometown

Wow

2007-08-27T16:25:00.000-05:00

Now this is Awesometown...

Listen closely to this very intelligent response

I'm proud to be a "U.S. American"

Destin Family Vacation 2007

2007-08-04T14:06:00.001-05:00

I can't imagine that I have any readers after a 4 month sabbatical from blogging. However, I thought I would share a little video that I put together from Noah's first family vacation. You can read Allison's blog to find out more about our awesome trip to Destin.

This is just a short little collage of the video (mostly of Noah) that was taken during the trip. Enjoy!

Noah at 3 Months

2007-03-06T21:41:00.000-06:00

Last week I used my blog to brag about Noah's smile. As you can see, my words don't do it justice...

Ripped Fuel

Hey Ladies...

Alright, that's enough.

The Office

2007-02-28T10:42:00.000-06:00

I mentioned on Monday that one of my favorite shows on television is 'The Office' on NBC. In my opinion it has a collection of some of the best characters and the most original humor on tv. Some scenarios in the show often hit home with my daily experiences in the workplace. Take for instance a brief conversation I had this morning with a coworker:

*For legal purposes the actual names of my coworkers will not be used in this blog. Let it be known from this point forward that the accountant I share an office with will be referred to as 'Larry'.

Larry: "Hey Aaron, do you know anything about cell phones?"

Me: "A little, I guess."

Larry: "Well, for some reason I can't get mine to stop beeping, can you take a look at it?"

Me: "Sure" I said as I walked over to his desk, picked up the beeping phone and began inspecting the screen. Everything seemed to be working properly. No lights were flashing and the battery indicated that it was fully charged. "Well, the battery light isn't flashing. Do you have an alarm set or something?"

Larry: "I don't think so. Do you think maybe water might've caused it to start beeping?"

Me: "I don't know. Why?"

Larry: "Well, I dropped it in the toilet about ten minutes ago."

I didn't have the courage to ask what was in the toilet. I don't think at this point it matters. I've washed my hands about six times, but my focus is pretty much shot for the day.

Weekend in Awesometown 2/26

2007-02-26T11:42:00.000-06:00

Over the past three months, a few changes at home (baby) and work (new job) have allowed me very little time to do things like blog. But, in the past few weeks things have started to slow down a little bit. I'm finally getting comfortable with my new gig and Noah is starting to sleep for longer than 3 hours at night. I figured if I was going to give this blog thing another chance, I should probably just pick up as though I had never stopped. However, I can't just post as if you're all familiar with what's going on in Awesometown, so today I'll just offer a short update.

Noah is getting bigger, funnier and more active every day. He's now smiling at Allison and me regularly, and last weekend he laughed for the first time. It really was the best and most rewarding sound I have ever heard. He has the most beautiful ear to ear smile- which he normally follows with a small grin while sticking out his tongue. During his colic spell, I was wondering if he would EVER smile or laugh. It's been such a relief to see him start to express himself in ways other than crying.

Allison is also fully adapted to her new job as a stay-at-home mom. She already looks like a pro and really seems to be enjoying it. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have such a wonderful woman at home taking care of little Noah. It was great spending a relaxing weekend just laying around watching Noah and trying to get him to coo and laugh at us. The funniest moment happened when I was telling Noah the story of the Sooner's football 2000 National Championship season. As I talked, Noah just stared at me the entire time, smiling and giggling every couple of minutes as I finished a thought. It's clear to me that he can't wait to experience his first college football season.

Here are a few other things keeping me "busy":

Shows I'm currently watching:
American Idol- I guess I've joined the cult and there is no getting out alive
Lost
Grey's Anatomy- although I'm not sure for how much longer
The Office
Man vs. Wild- slowly turning into my favorite show.

Book I'm reading:
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown- so far it's better than the DaVinci code (it's sequel)

That's about all I have for now. Hopefully I'll have time this week to spill a few things that have been on my mind. Baby bullies, Man vs. Wild, 'The Scoreboard', NBA predictions recap, and Oscar talk may be among the topics.

Adios Muchachos

Meet Noah

2006-12-13T15:08:00.000-06:00

Noah David

2006-12-06T13:50:00.000-06:00

Christmas came very early for the Ellis family this year. If you haven't heard by now, a little over two weeks ago Allison gave birth to our first son Noah David Ellis. He was born on Tuesday, November 21, at 1:08 pm- 5 weeks and 1 day early. He weighed 6lbs 3.7ozs and was 18 3/4 inches long. He has a full head of dark brown hair (just like his dad), and for the moment, beautiful blue eyes (just like his mom). His birth came with a lot of excitement and a little stress. Being 5 weeks early, he had several minor problems that kept him in the hospital even after Allison was discharged. After nine tough days in the Neonatal ICU, prayers were answered and he was able to come home with us last Thursday. He is now doing great and is beginning to grow.

These last few weeks have been the craziest two weeks of my life. And as you can see, blogging slipped pretty far down on the priority list over that time. I'll attempt, during the next couple weeks to provide more stories about the delivery, Noah's first few days, his stay in the hospital, life with him at home and yes, some pictures.

Allison has recovered great and is adjusting very well to her new job as a stay-at-home mom. We've both been pretty tired from the rigorous schedule, but we're starting to get the hang of it. I'm also currently in the process of moving jobs at work. Its not exactly a promotion because I'm changing departments, but it is a step up, and everyone at work keeps telling me congrats (so I guess that means its a good thing) Not the best timing in the world though- as we're still adjusting to having a baby in the house. And I'm not really looking forward to doing two jobs until they find a replacement for me. But, its for the better and I'm excited about it.

That's all I have for now. Hopefully when we finally get the internet at our new apartment I can get back into a better groove of posting.

We can't begin to thank all of you enough for your prayers, thoughts, support, gifts, phone calls and visits during this exciting time. We are very blessed to have so many great people in our lives.

Thanks again

Being five weeks early I didn't really have time for my name game to fully develop. Sorry. Kind of ironic note about that- Only once in our 5+ months of having that name picked out did it come up in conversation. And even then, it wasn't a guess.

Adios Muchachos

Weekend in Awesometown 11/20

2006-11-20T09:53:00.000-06:00

The golf weekend went as good, if not better than expected. The golf course was beautiful and in great condition. We had perfect weather, good food, no crowds, and lots of laughs. I couldn't have asked for a better time- well, playing better would've made it a little more enjoyable.

I regret to announce that I didn't come out of the weekend victorious. Rather, it was Ben who took a huge first round lead and was able to hang on the rest of the way. (Ben is undefeated when carrying a lead into the final round on Sunday). Well all know, the only reason he won is because he had previous experience at the course. That obviously made him hit the ball straighter than the rest of us. There will officially be an asterisk next to this year's score for that reason. Even so, he won and congrats to him. You better enjoy those Pro-V's (or provisionals?)

The place was amazing. It's tucked in the heart of the Texas hill country and the scenery made it a very enjoyable golf course. Our cottages were located on the fairway of hole number 2 and you could literally spit on the green from our back patio. The back 9 was the best part. It's highlighted by the par 3- 15th which is about 180 yards and the green is a 125ft drop below the tee box. It has a great view of the green below and it's backdropped by pine trees and the winding Colorado river. (Pictures coming tomorrow)

The restaurant on-site had great food and several tv's that allowed us to catch some football in-between rounds, and then the last 9 mins of the Ohio St/Mich game at the end of the day. We also had some amazing burgers at a local place in Bastrop.

All around, it was just a great weekend. I couldn't really ask for a better group of 3 guys to play golf with. Our golfing talent (or lack there of) has always seemed to be very close and the humor is endless when the four of us tee it up. We all hope this can turn in to an annual retreat and I'm already looking forward to next year. Thanks again to Brett, Dill, and Ben for making the trip. I had a blast.

I guess this means a baby is coming soon. Hmmm.

Names for today: Ben, Brett, Andrew- sorry fellas.

And it gets even Awesomer...

2006-11-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

Today is Friday, which is always good. But today is good for different reasons. I have this weird, excited feeling today. Allison would tell you it's because I'm going on this golf trip. And that's partly true.

I think the fact that I'm going to be a dad is finally hitting me. I thought it would've happened by now. It kind of happened a few weeks ago when I was putting the baby furniture together, or when we were loading up all of our gifts from the shower. But not like this. During this whole pregnancy, we've both had time to adjust to the fact that we are soon going to have a child, but everyone's always asking "Has it hit you yet?" "Yeah, I guess" is normally my response. But today the answer is "Yes".

It has to do with the fact that I'm heading out of town for a weekend trip which I've been really looking forward to for months. Back in the summer, when Ben was visiting, we planned out this trip. In my head, the time line has kind of been working itself out. We planned the trip early enough so that I could be in town for the last month or so of Allison's pregnancy. Going on this trip means I come home, work a few days, then there's Thanksgiving, then its pretty much open baby season. Christmas is not far away. Christmas means baby. And I couldn't be more excited.

This weekend I'm going to try to put my focus on golf and hanging out with the guys. But it won't be easy. I just can't get this baby and my wife out of my head.

Now for golf. I'm heading out (in couple hours) to Bastrop, TX to meet three guys at ColoVista Country club. We're going to attempt to play this beautiful course 4 times over the weekend. I've never been there, but all I hear about it are great things. The front nine is a Texas style "links" course and the back is in the middle of the Hill Country. I played golf with these 3 guys dozens of times in college and always had a blast. This weekend will be a great time of catching up and most importantly- a little friendly competition. I guess I'll report back on Monday with a review of my victory.

"Tee it high and let it fly!"

Name for today:
Daniel (or Danny) (or animal)

YouTube Tuesday (on wed.)

2006-11-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of my upcoming weekend, this delayed installment of my weekly YouTube sharing is centered around golf. Enjoy

This is an old Nike Golf commercial featuring the one and only El Tigre. The producer says they only needed one take. If you've never played golf, believe me, this is not easy.

This is a clip from the crazy 2005 Masters at Augusta. Minutes after a hole-in-one on this hole by Trevor Immelman, Tiger and Chris DiMarco come to the 16th battling it out and both coming off birdies on the previous hole. DiMarco sticks his tee shot close, while Tiger misses the green to the left. Watch as Tiger chips from over 100 feet away. As this rolled toward the cup, it was one of those moments that got me off of the coach actually creeping toward the tv in anticipation. The neighbors probably heard me when it went in.

Name for today: Tiger (Sorry Allison)

Weekend in Awesometown 11/13

2006-11-13T16:55:00.000-06:00

Once again, Awesometown was very busy this weekend.

We were finally able to stay at our new place. Allison worked a lot. I played golf. We also mixed in dinner with friends, several college football games (all at the same time), and Emma's birthday party. All of that didn't allow us much time to unpack and get settled, so we're still living amongst the boxes for the time being. Hopefully after this week, it will start to feel more like home.

Golf was great. Art and I played at Firewheel in Garland- which is turning into one of my favorite courses. (not that I have an extensive repertoire) You can't beat playing at a great course with great weather. Of course, losing 5 balls to the water and barely breaking 100 didn't help matters. Still had a good time with the FIL.

What a great weekend of sports! (Aside from Colt McCoy being injured) Sooners win. Texans win. Rockets win. (Yao for MVP?) Mavs win. Cowboys win. Texas loses?! Doesn't get much better than that.

Let me just get this out. I like to see Texas lose. But not like that. I know how it feels to see your all-star go down. (Jason White, Adrian Peterson) Sorry to all of you Texas fans (and I'm serious)... especially now that I have to root for A&M.

Oklahoma had a great win coming back from a 2 touchdown deficit to beat Tech. What a great performance by Paul Thompson. After completing only 3 passes against A&M last weekend, Paul was 24-31 for 309 yds and 2 tds. He was able to shake off his huge interception that put them down two scores and bring them back to win (with the help of our 4th string running back). Not to mention the defense seems to have figured it all out. Don't look now, but with another slip up by Texas, OU could play for the Big XII.

I had a great time at Emma's birthday party. I'll have fun anytime you combine chili-dogs with cupcakes and a bounce house. The best part was when all of the kids decided it would be fun to play "Kill Aaron" with the little plastic balls (like in the old McDonald's ball pit) They ganged up on me for a good half hour and left me for dead with multiple bruises. Good times.

I'm gearing up for this weekend's guys trip. Heading down to Bastrop, TX to Colo Vista Country Club (I will likely revisit this in future posts this week) for lots of catching up, eating, and a whole lot of golf. I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with friends that I haven't seen in a while. Can't wait.

Name for today:
Drew

Hmm.

2006-11-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

My blogging lull can mainly be accredited to our crazy week of trying to get into our new apartment. About 3 weeks ago we signed up for a new place in North Garland. Our move-in date was set for November 5 and we were very excited to find such a nice place for the price. Everything seemed to be working itself out nicely.

We were first told by the apt complex that in order to sign the lease and receive our keys, we needed to have the power turned on in our name. After several phone calls, faxes, and spending what seemed like hours of my day-off on hold with the power company, we were told that we needed to send a copy of the lease in order to set up the power. Hmm.

We then convinced our apt manager to let us sign the lease so we could have the power turned on. (On Saturday we were told our hot-water heater would be installed "Tomorrow") Monday, we finalized everything with the power company and they said "Everything is good to go. You'll have power beginning Tuesday morning." We picked up the keys from the leasing office and were set for our big move on Tuesday evening.

The truck full of all our stuff, the baby furniture delivery, and our new mattress were all set to arrive around 6 pm. I arrived at the apartment shortly before 6 and there was a car parked in front of our garage, we had no hot-water heater, and better yet, no power. Hmm.

After calling a tow truck, and having a heated 30 minute conversation with the power company that got me nowhere, we proceeded to move everything in using the light of one lamp connected to a 75 ft extension cord. (Borrowing power from our new neighbors) Discussions about the hot-water heater led to the leasing manager assuring us it would be installed "Tomorrow". Hmm.

We were able to get everything moved in and delayed our actual move-in date one more day until we had hot-water. Our power was eventually turned on the next day.(After several more calls to the CSR Manager) On Wednesday, all of my calls to ask about our hot-water heater went unanswered. Finally, about 4pm I was told it would be "Tomorrow", with no real explanation of why it hadn't been installed. Hmm.

The same series of events took place on Thursday. Allison was on hold for over 10 minutes and I was told at around 3:45, that the manager would call me back with an explanation when she got off the phone. No call. I headed to the apartment after work to find, shockingly, that we had no hot-water heater. I went to the office to find that the doors were locked, but I saw the woman who had been helping us, through an office window. She saw me, so I went back to the front door where I expected her to greet me. No answer. I then looked around the corner again to find that the blinds had been closed. Hmm.

About 30 mins later I received a call from the apt manager apologizing about the hot-water heater problem. In her rambling, I caught bits and pieces of her blaming it on the property management company. At no time did she tell me when I should expect to have hot water. She talked about how she might lose her job and about how the company was trying to sell the property but at the last minute it didn't go through. She kept saying "what will make you happy". To which I respond "hot water". We eventually hung up and I still had no real explanation of what had happened. "I will make this right" is what I had to go on. Hmm.

Today, Nov 10 (5 days after our 'move-in date') I have read several horror stories about the management company online, and those have me a little worried. After reviewing the lease, it seems like the pain of trying to break the lease and moving everything again are enough to keep us here for now. A few minutes ago I received a call from the Apt Manager saying that they are going to take my suggestion and steal a hot-water heater from a vacant unit. We get a huge credit, so for the time being, it seems to be resolved. We still have several questions about the management company, but for now, we should be okay. "We'll have it in TODAY" she says. Hmm.

Name: Tom

YouTube Tuesdays

2006-11-07T22:58:00.000-06:00

Due to my lack of brain activity and creativity, I've decided that every Tuesday I would let the genius of YouTube do the work for me and post my favorite video of the week. You may see some sports highlights, funny bits, or just a favorite movie scene of mine. Without further adieu here's the first installment:

This clip is the actual live call of a Fox Sports Espanol announcer during a Manchester United and Liverpool game. Listen as his goal call actually turns into song. It's obviously premeditated, but still very classic. You'll never hear anything like this from Brent Musburger.

Name: Brent

Weekend in Awesometown 11/6

2006-11-06T09:39:00.000-06:00

Once again it was a very busy weekend in Awesometown. Lets get right to it:

I want to start with a special thanks to all who were a part of Allison's baby shower on Saturday. Especially to Lindsay, Al's mom, and the other hosts who did an excellent job of putting it all together. Several family members and close friends were there with lots of gifts for the baby. It was a great surprise to see how many people made the trip to be there. We are very blessed to have so many great people in our lives. Also, I'm already getting worried about how spoiled this baby's grandparents are going to make him. Thanks everyone!

It was a great long weekend of hanging out with the family. My yankee sister, mom, dad, and brother were all in town, and it was a lot of fun to see everyone. It's a bit scary to think that the next time we see them, we'll have a kid (or at least be very close). It makes it especially tough to go back to work after such a good weekend.

Notes:

-Borat was awful. It had several opportunities to very funny, but they were all ruined with crude sexual humor and male nudity that made me feel very awkward. (I sound old, I know. But it was terrible.)

-The Sooners escape with a win. If you didn't watch this, it was crazy. Fran appears to be trying to lose his job. Stoops looked like vintage Stoops. Including a first half onside kick and going for it on 4th down in A&M territory at the end to ice it. Insert 12th man joke here. I still have some major questions about the offensive play calling. Why after running the ball for 120 yards in first quarter, do we not open it up and pass? Stupid penalties continue to hurt us and kept A&M in the game. Paul had an off night, but the receivers didn't help matters by dropping several balls (including a td). I credit the Aggies for staying in the game after that first quarter. If you had a coach, you might have won. I'll take the win at Kyle Field though. This play was negated by one of those dumb penalties, but hopefully we'll see more of this from Allen Patrick:

-Tony Romo looks for real. News flash, TO is a joke- his teammates must hate him. Why go for 2 that early? Roy Williams is not a pro bowl safety. I love the guy, but he cannot cover. Move him to linebacker and he'll be great. Cowboys are a very long shot to make the playoffs.

-Texas is getting the shaft in the BCS. I know its early, but check out this breakdown from the BIL on the computer rankings. Their only loss is to the number one team. Give me a break.

-My curse appears to have worked on the Mavs. Jason Terry has already called a players-only meeting. Sorry.

I've been getting lots of criticism on my name selection. Since I'm in a good mood, here is a better name for the day:

Aidan

Plano East vs. Tyler 1994

2006-11-02T09:52:00.000-06:00

Fellow blogger and reader of Awesometown- Matt Bryan referenced a quote on my comments that motivated me to post this video for your viewing pleasure. Dallas locals will definitely remember this and others might have seen it on the ESPY's. The most classic part is the commentators who morph back into fans as their Plano East team attempts the unthinkable. Make sure you have sound, and for a complete story check out this article. The video is a bit long, but worth every second.

Halloween

2006-11-01T22:55:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics from our evening of trick-or-treating:

Emma as a dog

Madison as a cat

Allison as a gorgeous pregnant woman

Chester and I (left to right) as humans

This doesn't have anything to do with Halloween, but I thought is was worthy of a post. Not sure where they picked this up though...

Name for today: Eric

NBA Predictions

2006-10-31T10:17:00.000-06:00

Place all your bets on these biased, uneducated guesses:

East (Borrrriiing)
Atlantic Division- Boston Celtics
Central Division- Cleveland Cavs
Southeast Division- Miami Heat

West
Northwest Division- Utah Jazz
Pacific Division- Phoenix Suns
Southwest Division- Dallas Mavericks

Playoffs
East Champ- Cavs over Pistons (in 6)
West Champ- Mavs over Suns (in 7)
Winner- Mavs over Cavs (in 6)

Biggest Surprise
East- Bulls
West- Rockets

Awards
Rookie of the Year- Randy Foye
Most Improved- Yao Ming
Sixth Man of the Year- Bonzi Wells
Coach of the Year- Mike Brown
Defensive Player of the Year- Andrei Kirilenko
MVP-
1. LeBron James
2. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Pete Chilcutt

Oh yeah, and names:
Andrei, Mike, Randy, Josh and Pete

(Notice I didn't rule out LeBron)

Weekend in Awesometown 10/30

2006-10-30T10:38:00.000-06:00

Things are busy these days in Awesometown, USA.

I returned Saturday night from my short trip to Surprise, AZ (Phoenix area) for a big grand opening festival for one the company's new dental practices. The day was a huge success as far as business was concerned. Not much exciting to report about the trip except that I got to drive a new Dodge Charger while I was there. Nice car, but the stinking windshield was so low that I had to slouch in order to see the road. I also stayed at the spring training hotel home of the Texas Rangers. I knew Tom Hicks was cheap, but I didn't know he was that cheap. Also, don't go the Phoenix area unless you have at least two days to do nothing but play golf.

I'd like to send a shout-out to Daylight Savings Time. Thanks to him and DVR, I was able to get home Saturday night, watch the Sooners victory, and still get enough sleep to wake up early before church and watch the Texas game. A side note: Colt McCoy scares me a bit. This is suppose to be his year of paying dues, not leading his team to Vince-like comebacks. Also, imagine the level Paul Thompson (the biggest surprise of the season) would be playing at, had he already had a year under his belt. Stupid Corky Bomar.

The baby boy is already trying to do great things. Yesterday during church, he was trying to kick his way out as the preacher was calling for a young boy to rise up and follow God. So what we know so far: He loves the Sooners (at his first game he was kicking like crazy when they took the field against Washington) and he's ready to follow God. I'm a proud father already.

Allison is doing great. She's over 7 months along and is feeling good, even though the boy insists on jabbing her in the ribs several times a day. We should have some good pics of her to post very soon.

We're both very excited about seeing family and friends this coming weekend, especially my Yankee sis who's coming all the way from snow-covered NY. We have a baby shower and a move on the calendar in the next week, so there should be plenty of blog-worthy moments.

Here a few names for the weekend and one for today:
Paul
Tony
Colt

Watch Out for the Rockets

2006-10-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to make any bold predictions and say that the Rockets are going to win the NBA title this year, but they have a chance to be a very good team. Here is what I like and dislike about the Rockets this year:

Pros:
-Yao and T-Mac appear to be healthy. If both can stay on the court the whole season, they should have the opportunity to compliment each other very well. I look for Yao to have his long-awaited break out year as the dominant center in the league. With lots of double teams forced on Yao it should also free up a lot of opportunities to score on the outside. If T-Mac stays healthy- he'll be T-Mac. (bold- I know) In order for the Rockets to do something more than just make the playoffs, he has to stop being Peyton Manning and putting up huge numbers, and start being Tom Brady and leading his team.

-Bonzi wells is the 3rd scoring option. A guy who has the talent to lead a team in scoring is the Rocket's 3rd choice. Lets not forget that last year he averaged 23.2 points and 12.0 rebounds in the playoffs, with five double doubles in six games against the Spurs. He took a much smaller deal to come play in Houston, which tells me he wants to win. If he can handle playing a role and not cause problems in the locker room, he'll help make this team very dangerous. He'll also need to really step up on off-nights for T-mac (especially if he misses time due to injury).

-Defense. I think JVG has finally got a team that can guard. With the addition of Battier (when they traded Rudy Gay for him- I thought they were crazy. Maybe not any more) they have a lot of size, and several guys who can defend very well.

Cons:
-Too many unknowns. Can these guys finally make it through a whole season healthy, and actually learn how to play together? If not, it could be bad news. Can Bonzi Wells play a role? Hope so.

-Lack of speed. They're not a slow team, but they can't run with Dallas and Phoenix. They'll really have to learn how to slow down the game and make those quicker teams play at their pace. If they can't do that, good luck catching up.

-Lots of youth. Hopefully all of these young guys are as good as people are saying. I'll be watching for Novak, Hayes, and Spanoulis to do something significant.

-Point guard. Every great team seems to have a very solid point guard. I'm pretty sure Rafer Alston is not going to be great, but we just need him to not turn the ball over. Look for some flare from Vassilis Spanoulis, who can drain from the outside. (You may have seen him help Greece to beat up on the US this summer)

Overall I have high hopes for the season. Look for my NBA predictions some time next week. Any predictions for the Rocket's season are welcome on my comments.

Also, I've had some complaints about the quality of names that I've been eliminating in my little game. In order to make up for that I'll eliminate several today. Here goes:

Yao, Tracy, Rafer, Bonzi, Juwan, Dikembe, Luther, and oh yes, Vassilis.

Weekend in Awesometown

2006-10-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

I realize that it's Tuesday and the time for retelling weekend events has nearly passed, but a few things over the weekend were just too blog-worthy not to mention.

I attended my fourth, and most likely final Sooners game of the season on Saturday night in Norman with my brother and parents. I always love the first cold game of the season. It doesn't get much better than freezing your tail off in 30 degree weather with 85 thousand other crazy OU fans. The Sooners made a pretty good showing - especially on defense, which really seems to be coming together. I was also impressed with the Sooners running game against a decent Colorado rush defense. Allen Patrick stepped in nicely with 115 yards on 35 carries, and overall it was a good win considering we just lost the best back in the country.

I would also like to take a minute to brag about my 6-year-old niece and her heroics. If you haven't heard, my sister-in-law was taken to the emergency room over the weekend after passing out and hitting her head while cleaning. We're praying that it is no big deal, and at this point it doesn't appear to be. She was able to get to the ER because Madison, her daughter, found her and dialed 911 on her cell phone. Everything ended okay because Madison had the presence of mind to calmly pick up the phone and do what she had been taught.

The night in the emergency room was absolutely bizarre. If you've never been inside an ER on a Saturday night, its like an ER reality show. I arrived at the Baylor ER around 1:30 to find Allison and Jevanna in the waiting room (By the way- a big Thanks to Jevanna for helping out with whole situation). Allison and I then went in and sat with Lindsay to offer some company. FIVE and HALF HOURS later, they told us that there was nothing wrong with her and that we could go.

We saw it all. Well, not really, but we saw A LOT of gross stuff. The man one curtain over was in a motorcycle accident and was not wearing a helmet when his face hit the pavement. He was unrecognizable. We sat and watched for 4 hours while a plastic surgeon sewed and stapled up his face. (He had been there for over 12 hours) The woman two curtains down had apparently been in a fight with another woman who had bitten her bottom lip off.

The most bizarre part of the whole night was the fact that we were able to just sit there and watch it all going on. All the sewing, and bleeding and screaming was happening with us three just sitting there taking it all in. And no one really seemed to mind.

The plastic surgeon deserves every dime they pay him. Several other employees of that hospital- not so much. It seemed like every time I walked past the desk, the nurses and several doctors were just talking about the latest Grey's Anatomy episode instead of checking on patients. (especially Lindsay) The excuse all night (for not getting anything done) was "well- you know, there's more serious patients" and "its really busy". I feel worse for those "serious patients" who were moaning all night while the staff was catching up on their tv talk. We saw several more victims of car crashes, failed suicide attempts, and bar fights.

It was a very interesting night, and now I believe my dad was right all those years when he said, "Not much good happens after midnight". More on the hospital trip tomorrow.

You may eliminate Allen.

Glass of fat?

2006-10-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

The State Fair of Texas is once again making headlines for it's fried creations. This year's creative food category winner was concessionaire Abel Gonzales Jr. for his invention of fried Coke. Yes, that's right, fried Coke. Many have said the creation tastes like Coke-flavored homemade doughnuts.

Every year this happens. Contestants attempt to shove as many calories as possible into a deep fryer and sell it for 12 tickets a piece. You can currently find snickers, pickles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, twinkies, and now coke that's been deep fried for your pleasure. I still stick with the Fletcher's corndog. What will they come up with next?

Here is my early prediction for next year's winner:

Any Predictions on what they will fry next?

You may eliminate Bob. Sorry Matt. And while you're at it go ahead and scratch off Bud and Barry too.

A Hard Fall

2006-10-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

There's no big mystery that these past few months have been a pretty rough time to be a Sooner's fan. At some point during our recent Big XII south reign, Sooners had to expect these types of seasons would occur, I just didn't expect it to hit this hard.

Last year was a completely different story. I was okay with losing last year. Everyone knew what to expect after losing 11 players to the NFL. We were paying our dues for what seemed to be a very promising 2006 season. A very young team did a lot of growing up in one year and everything seemed to be leading upward. Heading into summer practices, OU was ranked in the top 5 of every poll and as high as #1 in several. Anchored by what was supposed to be one of the nation's best defenses, everyone had high hopes. Boy, did it turn south in a hurry. Lets recap shall we?

-Shocking news out of Norman revealed that starting QB Rhett Bomar had taken large amounts of money for work he didn't do at a local car dealership. He was shortly thereafter cut from the team. At this point, many among Sooner nation (including myself) still had pretty high hopes for the season.

-After two games, our touted defense appeared to have several holes- including the inability to stop the run. Even so, a 2-0 start had allowed some growth- especially with the offense.

-The epic Oregon referee collapse helped to hand the Sooners their first loss of the season. Although they shouldn't have had the opportunity, the defense gave up 500 yards and blew a 13 point lead in last 2 minutes. This collapse came minutes after a 200 yard day by AD and an overall outstanding offensive performance. The loss and the call seemed to totally deflate and distract Sooner players, coaches, and fans.

-Three weeks later the Sooners commit 11 penalties and create 5 turnovers on their way to their second straight loss to Texas. Several missed opportunities and terribly sloppy play had many questioning the coaching staff.

-In a good showing against Iowa State, Heisman hopeful and Sooner great, Adrian Peterson breaks his collar bone after landing awkwardly at the end of a 53 yd td run. The injury puts him out a minimum of five weeks, giving him a chance to return for the OSU game or perhaps a bowl game. Depending on his ability to run, he'll possibly end up a few yards shy of Billy Sims' all-time OU rushing record.

-Early Sunday morning, OU's leading tackler and co-captain Rufus Alexander was arrested for disturbing the peace. No word yet on a suspension.

Don't get me wrong, there is still hope for the season. A good run will land the Sooners perhaps in the cotton bowl and the year will give many young players a chance to get some good experience. But that was supposed to be last season. And now, thanks to an idiot named Rhett and a lot of bad luck, it seems that we have at least another few years as number 2 in the Big XII south. At best.

I promise not to make all of the posts this long.

You may eliminate Rhett. And Rufus.

2006-10-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Awesometown

Don't expect greatness.

Simply titling my blog "Awesometown" does not imply that you're going find extraordinary insight, life changing advice, or even anything that should be dubbed "Awesome". You should however expect some luke-warm sports opinions, mild humor, updates on baby-boy Ellis, and perhaps even a few guest visits from Momma Ellis herself (Allison).

I've held out from becoming part of the blog community long enough and finally I've given in to creating my own. At this point I feel confident enough that I can at least keep a reader informed of the things going on in my life. I know updates can get a little boring, so along the way I'll attempt to add a little more than just family news.

If you haven't heard by now, Allison and I are expecting a little baby boy (a real-live human) in December. The 27th to be exact. We couldn't be more happy, and its really gearing up to be an incredible holiday season. Allison is doing great, I can already tell she's going to be the best mother. You've probably also heard that we've picked out a name and we're keeping it a complete secret until he arrives. To promote reader loyalty, I've decided to eliminate one name per post from your list of guesses. This should make things interesting down the stretch. I promise not to throw out names like "Zeke" every day. These will be names people have actually guessed or that we've considered.

Thanks for reading,

First name: Adrian