Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Go Panthers!!

This past Sunday, I got to tick another item off my "bucket list." Bill and I, with our good friends J & M, went to the Carolina Panther football game. This game had been a long time in coming. I bought the tickets way back in August, and really had no idea what it would be like on November 15. Luckily, it was great.

We got up bright and (too) early to leave in plenty of time to get some good tailgating under our belts. The road trip took less than 2 and 1/2 hours. It was smooth drive south, and we found a space in a parking lot very quickly. By 11:00 am, we were sitting around the lot with other happy fans enjoying a beautiful fall day. We had decided to try to eat a little healthier for our tailgate. We had an appetizer of Weight Watcher friendly dip with tortilla chips followed by marinaded grilled chicken, a green salad, roasted veggies, and an apple pie. It was an absolute feast! Of course, the meal was accompanied by beer, a not so healthy, but very delicious, drink. Bill even surprised me with a Panthers T-shirt and a pin to wear to the game. Soon, it was time to walk over the the stadium.

Bank of America Stadium is huge, but well designed. We were very lucky to be in a section that was in the shade all day long. Even though it is fall, it was about 75 that day. It was quite hot in the sun. The game was all I hoped it would be. The Panthers made some quick touchdowns, and were soon up 21-10 over the Atlanta Falcons. There was a near comeback in the second half, but a beautiful interception and a 45 yard touchdown run put our team up for good. The final score was 28-19.

While we were not as lucky on the drive home (we were in traffic for an extra hour), but the day was still worth it in my mind. I really, really enjoyed myself. I hope I can get to another game, soon.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

One Good Deed

I try to be a nice person. I really do. Sometimes, being nice has a way of coming back to bite you in the butt.

A friend of mine who is currently working on his college degree asked me to read a paper for his English 102 class last week. I said sure, I would be glad to help you. Well, the paper was a mess. He had actually already received a grade, but wanted to polish it up to get an A. I read it with his professor's comments, and helped him rewrite the paper. He got an A. I am glad for him, and glad I could help, but now it has turned into a nightmare.

He has another paper due this week. He asked me take a look at the assignment, and give him a suggestion for which poem to analyse. OK, fine. He wrote the paper. I reviewed it and gave him pointers on grammar and spelling. I edited only to make his sentences cleaner, but did not comment on the content. He also sent it to his professor to review it. Overall, the professor said it was good, but the introduction and thesis are weak.

Now, my friend refers to it as "our paper," and wants me to stop by later so that we can rewrite the introduction. I am in deep doo doo. I really don't want to rewrite his paper. I am not interested. I have a degree, and I have already written all of my papers. How do I get out of this mess??