Words with Friends ... or Enemies??

Rod Works Arizona is opening soon!!!  Everyone should totally check out that link AFTER you finish this blog.  I bring this up because my fabulous in-laws are the owners of this franchise.  This means that they get to open a cell phone account for their employees, one of which is my beautiful wife.   Due to this, we found ourselves at the Verizon store last Friday where they were picking out their new “smart phones.”  Casey got a iphone 4, while my in-laws opted for the htc incredible. 

Now as many of you know the invention of smart phones led to the explosion of “apps.”  There are so many different types of “apps” for almost anything imaginable.   “Apps” can be used for news, weather, movies, jokes, pranks, killing egg-stealing pigs, and my favorite, word games!!!

You see I too am the proud owner of a smart phone (Droid 2) and a few weeks back I started playing a “scrabble-like” game called Words With Friends against my brother in Provo and various classmates at school.  I love it and so it was the first “app” I suggested for all of my in-laws.  They all downloaded it and we spent Easter weekend playing one another.  It was all fun and games until Sunday Night…

My wife and I were playing against each other and she was getting frustrated because I was only using short words, making it difficult for her to find places to play her letters.  I finally used a five-letter word so she would be able to start a new branch with a longer word and open up the game a little bit more.

So what does she do?? She plays a two-letter (QI) word that blocks any other potential moves off my long word!!!  I started joking with her about how she just did exactly what I was doing that got her so frustrated.  She responded by hurling a pillow at me that knocked the ipad I was holding out of my hands and into my face resulting in this:

This is a few hours after “the incident,” but you can still see the result.  Initially, it bled like crazy!  I thought I was going to need a transfusion… okay not really but it bled more than I thought it would.

Anyway, this incident set off a wave of emotions.  My wife felt horrible and was near tears.  I had to ensure her multiple times that it was an accident, and that I was not mad at her in any way.  I was a little mad that I had a gash in my face, but I did not blame her.  I blame apple for making their ipad cases so dang sharp! 

This was the first time either of us had actually physically hurt the other.  She felt bad until the next day when I accidently cut her toe shutting that stupid drawer most people have beneath their oven.  Then we were even.  It was a first in our marriage.  

I hope you all go out and get words with friends (my user name is jordanbrough ßjust like that).  Just beware of pillows and ipad cases if you do.

JB

PS Now go click on the Rod Works link above!!!

Pity the Fool

This Sunday while doing my hair to attend church I realized I was in dire need of a haircut.  My hair was beginning to look like Eric Foreman’s on “That 70’s Show.”

Luckily for me this past January I married a hairstylist and will now get my hair cut for free the rest of my life. (As long as I still have hair.)  I asked her when would work best and she said I could come in on Wednesday. 

Therefore, yesterday I found myself in my wife’s chair at Blossom Salon and Boutique.  As summer is fast approaching my preference was to buzz it all off; Michael Scofield style. 

Sadly, Casey was not a fan of the idea. (Even though she thinks he’s dreamy.)

We made a compromise to do a 2 on the sides and a 3 on top.  Midway through the 3 Casey said, “We should do a Mohawk!”  I agreed wholeheartedly.  Now I have a Mr. T/Puck hairdo!!

Here is a few pictures of my haircut and one of me and my super sexy hairstylist!!

JB

P.S. Casey now has feather hair extensions so if you are interested in getting them done comment below and I will put you in contact with her.

Pancakes and Kills

Volleyball is my new favorite sport.  I do not know how many of you have ever had the chance to attend a men’s volleyball game but I would highly recommend you do so soon.  They are exciting, and where else are you going to find pancakes (placing your hand flat on the floor so the ball pops up) and kills (hitting the ball and not having it returned by the opposition) at the same place? (Other than Saturday morning breakfast at a Halo convention)

I became a big fan a couple of years ago when Landon was the team manager for the Varsity and Dalton was on JV.  Since then I have not missed a game that I was available to attend. (School and Work sometimes interfere, and now that I’m and “adult” I have to prioritize my activities.)

The pace of the game is fast and the energy is electric.  Each team has a variety of chants it does when various aspects of the game happen.  For instance when a player on Mesquite’s team blocks an opposing player the players on the court, as well as the bench, chant “Rufio, Rufio, RUF, I, OOOO.” (You could say they stole it from Hook but most of these kids have never seen that movie.)  Another favorite is when the other team finds itself out of position and the ball drops to the floor for a point.  The entire Mesquite squad waves one of their palms in front of their face and says in a deep, drawn out voice, “CONFUSIOOON.”

My little brothers pretty good volleyball players. (They both start as of yesterday.) Dalton has also contributed in another way to the success of the team. You see Dalton had the flu about a week ago and found himself kneeling before the porcelain god a few times.  He noticed his eyes were burning after he finished and looked in the mirror and saw this:

Dalton Brough

Only it was worse because it had just happened and all the way around his eyes was bright red. (He popped blood vessels in both eyes while he was going “number 3”)  It provides a nice distraction initially to the opposing teams on game day.

Here are a couple more pictures courtesy of www.steinophoto.com:

Dalton Brough warming up

Caleb Brough v. Red Mountain

Dalton Brough v. Brophy 1

Dalton Brough v. Brophy 2

If you want to see them bigger, and less blurry, click the link and look in the Sports Galleries in the Men’s Volleyball section.

JB

Thrust Capacity

At Life Time I coach three different levels of swimming.  I coach a beginning group, advanced group and a Jr. Masters group.  In my advanced group I have a seven-year-old boy named Andrew.  The other day I realized he was doing his breaststroke kick incorrectly.  I stopped him and explained to him the correct kick and sent him on his way.

Now the kick he was using is known as a scissor kick and is faster than the traditional breaststroke kick.  Thus, he was swimming significantly slower and got passed by one of the older boys.  When he finished his lap I noticed he was crying and talking under his breathe.  I assumed that he was angry that he got passed so I told him it was not a big deal; that is was normal for older kids to be faster.  He looked up at me and said, “I don’t care that he passed me.  I hate this new kick you are making me do.  It does not have the same thrust that my old kick did, and my potential speed is much slower.” 

The kid is seven-years-old and has a better vocabulary and understanding of physics than most of my high school age kids.  I had to explain to him that his potential speed would be slower, but that by doing the kick correctly he would not be disqualified for using an illegal kick at meets.  He responded, “So by doing the kick your way it eliminates the possibility of me being DQ’d?”  I explained that he could be disqualified for other things but not for his kick if he did it the correct way.   He asked what other things he could do to be disqualified and I had to explain them all.  The kid is sharp.

JB

Mattress Stamp

Riding the light rail is the greatest!!!  I have to admit that I enjoy eavesdropping on my fellow commuters, and do so almost every time I ride the light rail.  The other day I was riding home from ASU and a man got on and sat a couple rows ahead of me.  He was on the phone and ended his call by saying, “I love you, tell the boys I love them, and I can’t wait to see them tonight.”  

I was touched.  I had immediately judged this book by its cover.  You see the man had a shaved head and was wearing baggy pants.  He had tattoos over at least 50% of his body and just looked like someone I would never want to wrong.  As I was thinking all of these things and chastising myself for my haste in judging the man, another man got on the train and sat right next to the scary looking, loving father.

This man also had a scary look about him.  He had a tattoo of the devil on his shaved head.  He wore a shirt condemning police officers, and had tattoos over most of his visible skin.  I decided that I should not judge him and waited to see if the men would begin talking to one each other. 

It started out as a simple introduction.  The scary looking, loving father turned, held out his hand, and said, “Hi I’m John. *” The “man with the devil tattoo” replied, “How is it going, I’m Michael.”  As they were shaking hands Michael apparently saw one of the tattoos that John had and informed him he had just done a similar one.  Michael then talked about his profession as a tattoo artist.  This was interesting, as he told stories of famous people he had tattooed and strange places he had inked.

I lost interest for a moment as I received a text from my beautiful wife.  When I came back I heard John say, “Man, federal prison is like a resort.  I loved my time with the feds.”  John replied, “I know man.  I didn’t feel like I was being punished.  It was more like a break from my (girlfriend.)” 

Apparently, both men have done time in the federal prison system.  They also have logged time in various different states.  John has a warrant for his arrest in California, and Michael is wanted in Pennsylvania for violating his parole. (Apparently he is not their number 1 priority as he recounted a story of being pulled over.  He was not arrested because the “system” in Pennsylvania did not want to foot the bill for his extradition.)

Anyway, John asked Michael about his time in the PA system.  He asked if he wanted to hear about his first time when he was 18, or the second time when he was 23.  John elected to hear about his second stint.  Michael told the story about being booked and walking into the cell.

“I walked into the cell and this big (man) started looking me up and down.  He asked if I had had my ‘mattress stamped’?  I told him to (back) off; that this wasn’t my first go round and I already had friends in the pen who had my back.  He told me to give him one name and he would back off.  I gave him the name of the head of my gang and he didn’t give me (crap) after that.”

Apparently this was a very funny story because John got a good chuckle out of the whole experience.  Now, I am not sure I really want to know, but I cannot find anything about having one’s “mattress stamped.”  I assume it is some sort of initiation into prison, but who knows.

Michael got off at the next stop and my entertainment went with him.  John and I got off at the same stop and, I have to say, I was more than a little intimidated.  I could not help but think that my initial judgment of the man was correct.   Then I saw a car pull up and two little boys jump out and run to him.  They were ecstatic to see him, and called out “daddy” as he wrapped them up.

I guess even though my initial judgments of John were true it did not mean he was not a loving father too.  His kids obviously adored him, and the “scary man” I saw on the light rail was not present as he was holding them in his arms.

JB

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Why is there no dislike button??

I have discovered one of the most awkward experiences known to man this week. It was horrifying and unexpected. We all know that Facebook has taken over the world. Rarely do you see a computer screen where Facebook is not up, or at least on one of the tabs. We all see people looking at other people’s pictures, and we all do it too, but have you ever caught someone looking at your pictures? It is weird, especially when they realize that you know they are looking at them, looking at your pictures.

Over the weekend I had befriended a few of my ASU classmates via "the social network”. Most of them are people in my Glee group for my gender and communication class, but a couple were in my Philosophy class. I made my way into class and took my seat in the second to last row. As I have mentioned in my blog, Anti-freeze and Shovels, we all have laptops in front of us in class. While waiting for class to start I opened my Facebook and noticed that the kid in front of me had requested that we become Facebook friends. I figured it would not hurt to have an easy way to access a member of my class. I mean you never know when you might need to double check on assignment requirements, due dates, or test dates right? So I added him and thought nothing of it.

A few minutes later I noticed he was looking at my profile page. That in itself was a little awkward but not out of the ordinary, but then he started looking at my pictures. I will be the first to admit that I too do this when I make a new Facebook friend. Looking at pictures of other people is really fun, but I never thought about how awkward it would be for that person, especially if they happened to be sitting behind you in class. I felt a little violated, which is funny because I was the one who put those pictures up for others to see. I think it stemmed from the fact that I do not know this person at all. Therefore, what concern does he have with my summer biggest loser contest I had at work?

Well, as he browsed through my pictures he must have thought one of the girls in my pictures was cute because he left my page and started looking at her pictures. What single guy has not done this? I bet everyone has at one point or another, myself included, but it is really weird to watch someone doing it with your Facebook page and friends.

One would think that I would have learned my lesson, but later that day I did the exact same thing to a new Facebook friend in my Gender and Communication class. I had made the friend request over the weekend, and this potential friend accepted that request at some point during this particular day. I did not get on Facebook until this new Facebook friend was sitting right next to me. What was the first thing I did? Any guesses?? If you guessed that I looked at this new friend’s pictures you are correct. That is right, I did the exact same thing to this new friend that my new friend had done to me in Philosophy class. The only difference is I realized that my new friend was witnessing me doing this, and that my friends is even more awkward than seeing someone look at your pictures.

JB

Flannel and fun.

While I was sitting in class one day (actually it was the day I wrote 99 out of 10) Cameron sent me a message through facebook chat.  He asked me if I had heard of Devilpalooza.  I informed him that I had not.  He explained that it was an event put on by the school that included a free concert.  Casey and I thought that a concert sounded like a cool idea and we agreed to accompany Cameron to the event.

Upon arrival at the field where the concert was being held I was surprised that along with a free concert, I would also receive a pat down.  It was not a TSA grade pat down, but I had a man’s hand on my butt nonetheless.  I felt for the guy doing the frisking, he was less excited about it than the friskees.

After that wonderful experience we headed in towards the crowd who was listening to The Maine.  I thought I was entering an Al Borland tribute concert.

Al Borland from Home Improvement

I am dead serious.  There was more flannel there than in Paul Bunyan’s closet.  I could not help but take some pictures.  Here are a few of them:

It was incredible.  Most of these are from the back cause I did not want people to think I was creeping on them.

After I got a hold of myself I remembered that it was a concert and I settled back and enjoyed the fun.  The fun is, of course referring to the band fun.  The former lead singer of The Format heads this awesome band.  They sound great live too.  Here, have a look and listen:

Here is the only semi-decent picture I got from my camera:

Speaking of Als does not the drummer look a little like Weird Al Yankovic from a distance?

Well this was my first attempt at blogging with pictures and video.  I hope you all enjoyed seeing the concert through my eyes.

JB