World Cup 2010

And the winner of the 2010 World Cup from South Africa is.....



Espana!

After an amazing game Spain emerged victoriously!  The game was scoreless until the second half of overtime.  The Dutch put up a great fight but with 14 yellow cards during the course of the game there was bound to be a red card called...and in the second half of overtime a Dutch player received a red card and the team played a man down.  Shortly after Ignesta scored the only goal of the competition.

Great tournament!

World Cup Finals

And so the finals have been determined...





VS.

Spain will play The Netherlands in the World Cup final.  Germany will face Uruguay in the battle for third place.  This is the first time it will be an all European final when not playing in Europe and Spain's first trip to the finals.

The final game will be played on Sunday in Soccer City in South Africa.  The excitement is unreal and I think there will be more Dutch fans in the stadium but I think the Spanish will win the match...

4th of July

What a great holiday weekend.  July is shaping up to be a very busy month and it started out with a bang!  We started the weekend by heading to Alton, IL to watch the fireworks with Jenner and Andrew.  It was a nice little drive across the river and the only place with a firework showing on Friday night.  The show was worth the wait and great company.  Here is a random picture from the show.



On Saturday we headed to Pere Marquette Park for some hiking.  We could not have asked for better weather.  We drove up to Grafton, IL and did encounter some flooded roads and took a tour of the town.  By the time we got to Pere Marquette we were ready to hike.  We checked in with the Visitors Center and decided to take the Goat and Dogwood Trails.  They offered the best views stated the woman at the Visitors Center.

[caption id="attachment_479" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Visitor Center"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_480" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Flooded Picnic Grounds"][/caption]

We had to start the trail a little different than normally, the beginning was flooded and after we got start it was all uphill, but it was a lot of fun climbing it.  The hike offered a lot of great views from the top.  Here are a few views from 791 feet above sea level.









After Pere Marquette we headed home to get ready for another night of fireworks.  This time we were going to check out the Webster Groves show.  I had seen the show last year and it was a great show.  So I was expecting a repeat performance.  We got there with plenty of time to people watch.  Once the fireworks started the show was great, it seemed a lot better than the Alton show.  The only downside was that it only lasted 10 minutes.

On July 4th we headed down to Fair St. Louis for the real July 4th Festivities.  I love going down there on the 4th to see the air show and there is usually a fun band to watch before the fireworks start.  Although this year it was the B-52's and I only really know "Love shack" but it would have been a fun show to watch.

We got there in time to get a great seat under the Arch to watch the cover band before the air show and relax a bit.  Then the air show started.  The show started with a C-130 dropping 5 parachuter's through the Arch and onto the grounds.



Then the show was followed by more high flying tricks.  Overall the show was great, until the rain came in.  We decided to try to beat the crowds and ducked out a bit early to the parking garage.



Instead of going back and sitting on the wet lawn we went to the Landing for some food and to avoid the crowds for a bit.  We made some friends while people watching.  around 9 we headed back over to the fair grounds to watch the fireworks under the Arch.  There is nothing like watching the 4th of July fireworks under a national monument.  It really is amazing to see the fireworks glow off the Arch.  It seemed that the people to organized the show this year did a great job of matching the fireworks with the music.

After a quick stop at City Garden we headed to the Metro Station and took a cramped ride home.

Owl City

I recently was surfing the net and came across a blog and it had clip of the song If My Heart Was a House and had to find out who sang it.  I used my Shazam app on my iPhone and found out that Owl City sings the song.  After that I checked out the website.

http://www.owlcitymusic.com/home.aspx

After looking around and listening to some other songs, I decided that I had to download the CD.  Apple iTunes really comes in handy in moments like this.  I just search on my phone and check to make sure the album has the song I like and then download straight to my iPhone.

I have since only been listening to the Ocean Eyes CD, it even made working out fun today!  Thank you random blog for opening my eyes to new music.

Grizzlies and Wicked!

Another fairly busy summer weekend has come and gone by.  We started the weekend by taking in a baseball game...no not the Cardinals but the Gateway Grizzlies.  Tom, Kristin, Scott and I made our way over to Sauget, IL to watch the Grizzlies take on the River City Rascals in a local minor league show down.  Scott and I had been wanting to take in a game here ever since watching a Man vs. Food episode with the Best Burger in baseball.  I was curious to just try it and Scott wanted to eat multiple burgers.  The burger consisted of a Krispy Kreme doughnut used for the bun with cheese and bacon.  As told we did not add any ketchup or mustard because that would just ruin the whole taste of the burger.

[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Best Burger in Baseball"][/caption]

After trying some of the food we tried to find some shade.  It was a very hot evening our seats, although close, were right in the sun.  We hung out in right field for a a few innings.  There wasn't a bad seat in the house in this ballpark but it was still minor league ball...and after going to Cardinals games it is hard to realize how slow minor league games go.



[caption id="attachment_406" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="From Right Field"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_407" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The view from our seats"][/caption]

The Grizzlies ended up losing 6-3 and had a slight rally in the 9th but it wasn't enough.  The Rascals brought in a side armed reliever that seemed to be unhitable.   We sat right in front of the visitors bullpen and it was fun to watch the players warm up and see how fast they really to throw.  Back to the burger, I was able to get my one bite and it was enough.  I was not a fan of the salt and sweet taste together.  Scott managed to eat the whole thing and felt it with him all the way until the next morning.

Saturday morning we participated in the ALS walk in Forest Park.  I am personally affected by ALS, a former teacher at Ursuline is currently battling it and a friend (Kate) from grade school lost her father to it.  Kate reminded me of the walk on Friday and I quickly signed us up for it.  Scott and I met up with Kate and Matt before the race near the Ursuline group.  I was able to say a quick hello to Mr. Dailey and let him know that we were there to support him.  It was fun to see him and a few other UA teachers.  I was amazed to see how many UA girls and family members were there to support Mr. Dailey.  The walk was a huge success and I will definitely do that annually.

We decided that we had had enough of the heat and sun and needed a break.  The good thing was that it was just in time for the USA vs. Ghana game in the first knock out round of the World Cup.  Ghana scored first and quickly and it wasn't looking good until Landon Donavon scored on a PK.  It gave the USA a little ray of hope.  With a 1-1 tie, they went into overtime and then Ghana scored...the USA couldn't do anything to come from behind and score.  And just like that they were sent home.  The great showing has again brought much attention to soccer in the USA and hopefully we will get more MLS teams.  Now with the USA and Italy out, it's hard to decide who to cheer for.  Brazil is still in and Spain the favorites are currently in a 0-0 tie with Portugal (as I write this).  And then there is Argentina and Messi.  All I know is there is a lot of soccer drama still to come in the last 12 days of World Cup 2010.

Saturday night was the most anticipated event of the whole weekend.  We finally went to see Wicked at the fabulous Fox Theater!  We went to dinner on the Hill first and then made our way over to the Fabulous Fox.

I had heard great reviews from friends but had not heard any of the songs and had a little idea about the plot.  But I knew I had to see this while it was in town.  The reviews did not let me down.  The play was great.  The cast was great.  The songs were great.  It had me wanting more the whole time.  I highly recommend this play or even the soundtrack, it was that good.  I would love to see it again before they leave St. Louis, if I could find the time and money!

[caption id="attachment_412" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Dinner before Wicked"][/caption]

Unemployment Update...

I haven't done much on updating my unemployment status and so now is as good as ever.  At the beginning I did have a few interviews, one as an admin for an advertising firm and I did make it to the third interview for an inside sales position.  However, since then interviews or even call backs have been scarce.  I have sat at the computer for long hours of the day try to find jobs that I am qualified for and that I would succeed at but again, those are hard to come by.  So, I apply for at least 4-6 real jobs that I am really qualified for a week and a bunch of others that seem to be dream jobs and hope that someone will call me back.

On a positive note, I have taken this time to really enjoy summer vacation.  I haven't had a true summer vacation since I was 16 and only had one job that was about 25 hours per week.  I have been truly burnt out on corporate BS that I just don't want to deal with office drama any more.  It has mentally taken a huge toll on my life and I'm just not ready for that.

On a side note, after talking with Scott about the job front he suggested that I  look into a career in Real Estate.  Since I seem to have an eye for what needs to be done to sell a house, I might be able to use my sales experience and be out of an office with that career path.  It's an option that I'm willing to take a look at.  Who knows, it might be something I really like...But getting started might be difficult.

Now that I have a few options in mind as to what I can do for the future I may see if any of my resumes are received and if I get any call backs in the next month.  If not, I'm going to start seeing how much it takes to get licensed and get moving on a new career.

I do keep in touch with old co-workers, ones who have moved on and ones who are still at my past place of employment.  How my old employers are still able to make payroll amazes me!  I love hearing gossip of not being able to pay for stamps, or people being asked to leave or even the possibility of clients being on the edge of leaving and my old boss begging them to stay.  Of course the clients that do stay, the company does the work for free.  And then there are the two idiots that I worked with who think they are the smartest people there and constantly do nothing and get paid huge bonuses.  I like to think that my being laid off from this company was the best thing that has ever happened.  I have been able to get three of the worst people out of my life, reduced stress and enjoyed a much needed vacation.  Now I can sit back and wait for the sinking ship to go down....

World Cup 2010

It's World Cup time and I've caught the fever.  I usually try watch it and get into it every 4 years.  This year has been very exciting so far.  The first USA game was against England and it had been talked about since the World Cup draw, 180 days before the World Cup even started.

USA/England game was also the same day as the Gabe's picnic.  But of course I didn't miss any of it.   The game was close and England scored first.  Then in the second half the English goalie gave up and easy save and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The second USA game was vs. Slovenia.  This game was a horrible game for the USA.  They had a goal called off for no reason...the ref still will not say what the call really was and he has been removed from World Cup officiating.  Slovenia had the lead 2-0 for most of the game and the USA came back to tie 2-2.

The third game for the USA in the first round was against Algeria.  Again, another closely played match.  Each team struggling to stay alive and to have a hope to move on the next round.  With 90 minutes of no scoring, one USA goal called off (again), Landon Donavon can through and scored to make it 1-0 the final.  Donavon's goal against Algeria guaranteed that USA won the Group and they advanced the top 16 teams.

I've been watching Italy play as well.  They are the defending World Cup from 2006.  They beat France in an exciting game with a controversial head butt to the chest of one of the Italian players.  And a red card given to Zadine.  This year the Italian team is not favored to win, they are older, maybe wiser.

In the first game Italy played Paraguay and played a little sloppy.  They ended in a 1-1 tie.  Their second game verses New Zealand also ended in a 1-1 tie.  They are currently tie with New Zealand at 2 points.  They will play Slovakia next and it will determine who will make it to the next round.