I Had Hoped...

Well, I had hoped to have been moved in Saturday night and to have an enjoyable weekend in College Park, but that didn't seem to be my plan at all. Shortly after I moved in I got this stomach pain and thought it was just me being very hungry. But it wasn't. I ate and then a couple hours later got really sick, and had to come home. I didn't get a great night's sleep Saturday night and slept for part of Sunday while recovering. Then last night I felt even better and got even more sleep, so today I feel so much better. I'm able to eat solid foods now and am drinking apple juice, all to get Vitamin C so I can have more energy and go back to school today. I'm also calling up DOTS to see if I can get a parking space this winter. Hopefully I do and hopefully I can drive back today. All that's left of this evil 24 hour bug is a slight headache and some body aches. But it feels like it's moving out of here. Hopefully I'm back at the university in a few hours!

State of the Mall

The state of the mall, in January 2009, is looking up. Before and after my shift at American Eagle today I walked around the mall... before the shift looking on the second floor, and after it looking on the first floor... just to see, has anything been done since the last time I've been through there? Well I can say that the upstairs Hallmark will be closing soon. Kaybee Toys is fully liquidated and was closed today. That's about it. There's nothing else big that I've noticed, but for some reason there's a big blank space in the JC Penney area, with nothing around but a Modell's. There's talk of this new third floor going on top... could this be the start of that renovation, once Modell's closes? We'll have to wait and see. For now, it's the waiting game. In a couple of months, I may venture back to see how everything looks... but I will be back at the University of Maryland so it will be tougher to do so.

Another Miss

You'd figure that with the historic inauguration, there'd be a historic snowstorm or something. It doesn't seem to be the case, except to our south. I looked at AccuWeather and saw that places like Norfolk are looking at 3-6 inches of snow tomorrow night into Tuesday. There's some talk about model error and how it could hit Washington, but I don't see that happening.

A note about tomorrow - it doesn't matter what your political persuasion is... this is a history-making event. This whole thing just sends shivers down my spine... when Barack Obama was born - he couldn't ride a bus with white people... his people were segregated. I can't believe it's almost come full circle. It's amazing.

I HATE incandescent bulbs...

They made my gummy bears melt together cause the bulb was so hot - and some of them are just deformed now.

About a year ago I got my parents on the "switch to fluorescent bulbs" track, so they did. Today, because my lamp got too hot that the switch didnt work anymore, I broke the old bulb in there and put in one of these new bulbs to hopefully cool it down. It seems as though the other week, we actually used up the last of the incandescent bulbs so we are on our way to becoming an energy efficient house - and one with a lower electric bill too. I'm sure my parents will be sure to thank me for saving them money monthly. Plus if this whole global warming thing is real, hopefully this sort of energy saving tactic can reverse it.

Anyhow, that's why I hate incandescent light bulbs... they're a menace to the environment and gummy bears alike.

About Time Already!

So I was strolling through the hallways of the lovely Springfield Mall today before work, and noticed that the large jungle gym that occupies a big space by the food court is now GONE. The mall looks like a real mall in some parts and appears to be moving forward. Yes, there's still the fact that if you stand in one part of the lower level, you can look around and see no open stores, but some new stores are finally open.

Last week, I had the pleasure to go inside one of the new stores, which I think is the only new store in the mall. It's not a brand new store, but it is a remodel of Easy Spirit. My mom and I walked into the store, and it was bright and beautiful. It had brand new, beautiful wood floors and was very brightly lit. If this is the future of the mall, it is a good one.

Word on the street is that construction on American Eagle's new store will begin February 1. If I see anything else new, I will be sure to take note.

The Official Reaction

Call me jealous. Call me bitter. Call me whatever you want. But there is no way Joe Flacco got that ball snapped before time on the play clock expired. If I'm right (and I know I am), then I saw the play clock expire, and another second on the game clock tick off, then the snap. It would have backed the Ravens up and it would have forced a 4th down because the Ravens would have needed more yards to get the first down. And then they would have had to punt, and that would have meant no field goal.

I don't give a damn who you are, that was not a legal snap and I will hold that to Ravens' fans til the end of time. And let me justify that by saying... when the Titans won in the regular season, the same Baltimore fans said the refs were on our side. Which is not true... because I saw how many "penalties" Tennessee got in that first half.

But let's stop dwelling in the past. Let's focus on the future, and why Baltimore simply can not - and will not win next week's battle against the winner of San Diego @ Pittsburgh. For one, Baltimore forced three turnovers, and only scored 13 points. Just 13... and don't forget three of them were handed to them on a penalty that didn't exist. Also, the Ravens' defense allowed an exorbitant 391 total yards by the Titans, 281 of them in the air. Believe me... when a team like Pittsburgh or San Diego, both of whom hold on to the ball a lot better than the Titans do, faces Baltimore, those kinds of yards will lead to points. Joe Flacco won't get the benefit of facing a beat up defense, either.

And now let's focus on the further future. Where to go with the team in the offseason? The first priority has to be re-signing Albert Haynesworth. I don't care if the Lerner family themselves are running the Titans... Haynesworth needs to be re-signed, and it's going to take a raise. We also need to make sure that there are a couple good young defensive tackles in the system in case Haynesworth isn't re-signed, and/or when he retires. Haynesworth is an excellent player, and he needs to be secured. He's the face of the defense (though some might argue for Vanden Bosch or Bulluck).

The second priority is establishing a second big-play threat. The Titans offense had bite, until Chris Johnson went down with his ankle injury. After that, there was nothing out of the Titans all day... a key reason why the team signed him last offseason. It seems as though there is a lack of talent and/or depth at wide receiver. The offseason needs to be establishing a big-play receiver on this team who can lead the team to a deep playoff run; the pieces are coming together elsewhere.

Another priority has to be finding a long-term solution at quarterback, and we know Kerry Collins is aging fast. Collins had an excellent season, but isn't the most reliable of passers. Cut him or keep him around for another year, but make sure the future is secured with the next great quarterback. Is it Vince Young, Chris Simms, or someone else? Decide that sooner rather than later so we can return to the playoffs and go deep. We've seen what happened when Tampa Bay made the playoffs with no quarterback. It wasn't pretty.

A lesser priority seems to be special teams. Love him or hate him, and most hate him, but Pacman Jones was an incredible athlete who always had the potential to run back a big one. Maybe the next return specialist needs to be found. This goes under the category of a big play threat.

So here's the priorities in summary for this offseason: re-sign Haynesworth, find a big play threat, get a receiver, and find the long-term solution at quarterback.

And, congratulations has to go out to the Arizona Cardinals, for winning two playoff games and reaching the NFC Championship Game. Just goes to show you that even the seemingly hopeless-forever franchises can improve and succeed. I'll talk about Arizona another time. But I've got to wash my jersey, pack it in the closet, and shave the few hairs off my playoff beard. Until next year, Go Titans!

Migrated and Ready to Go

Okay, the old blog is migrated to the new e-mail address and we are all set up and ready to go. Now I'm going to start updating this much more. Hopefully every day.

The latest musing comes from Springfield Mall, where the old carousel has been taken down and is now gone from mall premises. This is excellent news for people who want to see this mall project come to fruition. It signals the start of renovations. Word on the street is that electrical work is also underway. American Eagle is reportedly going to be under construction beginning February 1st. Finally, finally, this mall can be like Tysons, or at least closer. Springfield Mall is going to be back like it used to be - back in the 90s when it was cool to hang out there. I'm excited to say the least.

Tomorrow I have an eye appointment and I can at last be able to see when I get new glasses or contacts. That will happen later this week. And tomorrow may get interesting when the weather gets tricky. Keep it tuned over at It Never Snows for the latest.