Weekend Report Card #MayPac #KentuckyDerby #Avengers #NFLDraft

This has been one of the greatest weekends in quite some time. So much has happened since Friday night and now that the weekend is almost over, I'm just as tired as if I worked all week. I've been sitting around trying to think of a more active weekend then May 1st - 3rd of 2015 and I just can't bring anything to mind. Why was this weekend so great?

Friday night for me started with "Avengers: Age of Ultron." I grew up as a huge comic book fan and I've come to love their movies. I saw "Avengers" in 2012 and I've waited patiently for this sequel and it finally arrived. Unlike most sequels, I wasn't worried about being disappointed because every Marvel Comic movie has been done to perfection since "Iron Man" debuted in 2008. The original "Avengers" movie from 2012 became my all-time favorite movie after seeing it and let me say that the sequel is an extremely close second! An awesome movie that non-comic fans may not appreciate, but those who are familiar with the characters will enjoy.

Grade: A+

After sleeping until 9 AM, I spent Saturday morning cleaning for the most part. I did a lot of moving, discarding, and rearranging. Later that afternoon, I fired up the grill and started to throw down on some vittles. Chicken legs, turkey burgers, hot dogs, and pork chops made up the BBQ roster. As I prepared, I peeked inside at the TV from time-to-time to see if the 141st Kentucky Derby had started.
Dating back to my youth, the Kentucky Derby was always a big deal. I was around 6 years old the last time a horse won the Triple Crown in horse racing. So I'm always excited to see the first leg of the Triple Crown races to see who will be the horse to watch. The Kentucky Derby is generally one of the most exciting two minutes you'll ever see in a "spectator sport."

I would have liked to have seen more action towards the front of the pack, but the race basically came down to two horses. It was neck-and-neck down the stretch before American Pharoah pulled off the victory by a length. American Pharoah will be the horse to follow as they move on to the next leg of the Triple Crown in a few weeks.

Grade: A- 

The NFL Draft was going on throughout the day on Saturday. I didn't take the time to watch it, but I was elated when I found out that a friend of mine had a stepson get drafted by the New England Patriots. Congratulations to Matthew Wells, Mississippi State linebacker. I hope that the Patriots get good use out of your versatility.  I only hate that my Cowboys didn't see his potential, but I am happy with their draft.  Training camp is just around the corner and Preseason will be here in just a couple of months.  I can smell the tailgating in the air already!

Grade: Gotta give an A+ when someone you once saw play in high school makes it to the NFL. 

Lastly was the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. "The Fight of the Century" as dubbed by the promoters. Well, the actual fight didn't live up to its name, but the hype surrounding it most definitely did. This was probably the most anticipated fight in the history of boxing. For six years people have asked for this fight and last night it finally happened. Here's my take on the fight: I enjoyed it. Many loyal boxing fans did. I saw a lot of negative comments on Facebook and Twitter about Mayweather "running" from Pacquiao.

Unfortunately, people watch too many mixed martial arts and Rocky movies and assume that every title fight is a war. That's not necessarily the case. You're not supposed to get hit in boxing. Muhammad Ali most famously said, "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." Not "stand toe-to-toe and swing for the fences." And if it's good enough for Ali then it's good enough for me.

Mayweather dodged Pacquiao's punches, landed punches of his own, and got back out of Pacquiao's way. I can't blame the man for doing what boxing was based on: "make him miss then make him pay." Everyone knows Mayweather's style so I don't understand the complaining. It's like buying an ice cream cone in the summer and getting mad because it melted before you got home. You should have expected it. Was this fight worth the $99 I spent? Absolutely not. However, very few fights in the history of boxing would have been.

Grade: B+ 

As you can see, I had a very active Friday and Saturday. Today is my grandmother's 92nd birthday, so I will be going to see her to celebrate her being blessed with another year on this earth. My god daughter has a dance recital in a few hours, so if I'm lucky then I can get that in as well. This has really just been an awesome weekend.

My Birthday Gift to The Mrs...

Carlsbad, CA

I hope that she likes it! :)

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

For Kids or Parents?

Those of you who have followed for a few months know that I'm old school. I try to be open-minded on some things, but for the most part, I start with my roots and go from there.

Look! Homey the Clown is coming!

I have a few problems with kids and their birthdays:

Uno) Having a party at a very young age. If your kid isn't old enough to hold a fork to eat his / her cake, then why have a party?

Dos) Having a party every single year. Is inviting friends and family over to celebrate really a way to to get your kid free toys and clothing?

Tres) Feeling obligated to attend every birthday party of your child's daycare because you invited all of them to his / hers.

I'm not saying don't celebrate your kid's birthday. My parents had a cake for me every year along with gifts. But, I didn't have a party every year. I had parties at ages 6, 10, and 12. The reason I remember the ages is because they meant something to me. It meant something to me because my life wasn't saturated with attending birthday parties every freakin' year.

Now that I think about it, age 12 is the last time I had a party. Okay, maybe I'm not the best example to follow since I don't make a big deal out of my birthday.

I don't need an annual reminder to celebrate life because I do it daily.

(If any of you see that in a book of quotes, please notify me so that I may sue them)

It's all about me on MY day, baby!

But, the point I'm trying to make is do you want your kid to grow up to be this ----------------------------------------------------------->

Let's be honest. The first three or four annual parties that you have for the little one is not about him / her. It's about you, the parent. You want to share the celebration with others that you're baby is a year older. I understand it, but say it. Stop feeding me excuses about how your kid will appreciate it when they're older. They won't even remember it. They're too young. I have a photo of my brother holding me when I was one. Cute photo, but based on my memories, I didn't know I was in the world until age 3.

You may think that what you're doing is noble, but you're putting pressure on your family, friends, and other parents from the daycare who spend every other weekend at someone's house bringing gifts to a child they hardly even know. (Memo to parents: don't feel obligated to buy a gift and attend a kid's party based solely on the fact that it's your child's classmate).

When you celebrate every single one, then over time, the spotlight will shift from the parent to the child. In the end, you'll wind up with some 29-year old pestering you to celebrate their party with them at Applebee's. SN: if you want to celebrate milestone ages like 16, 18, 21, 25, 30, etc. then I can understand that. But, if you're trying to rent the club for an odd number birthday like your 29th, then you're an egomaniac and a loser. Sorry. I'm a Life Ref.

Should a child have a birthday party every year? If so, should it start with Year One?

Who is this party REALLY for?

I'll Forgive You... This Time...

My birthday came and went and none of my 35 followers or 58 FB Fans seemed to notice. Hmmph! Some followers you guys are! I guess no one pays attention to the profile/bios, huh?

No Colorful Rants in honor of my Life and Times. No Thoughts from a Randomista. Nothing. I didn't even get a Lollipop. Are You Serious? Not one fellow blogger/follower wished me Good Times? I thought I'd generated enough "famosity" for you all to count down the days to my b-day. Again, I say, "Hmmph!"

Okay, I basically turned this into a blog roll. Now you know what I read regularly.

Seriously, I've never made a big deal about my birthday. So many people at work said, "Q, it's your day! Enjoy it!"

In which I'd always give the same reply, "Everyday is my day."

I believe in celebrating life daily, so I don't need an annual reminder to do so.

Whenever I'm on Facebook, I always have a few friends who give you that countdown to their b-day. "Only 13 more days, y'all!"



How about the person who pins a $5 bill on themselves so that everyone knows it's their birthday and feels guilted into giving them money when they see them?

Or they celebrate that milestone birthday. "Come out to my 27th birthday party tomorrow, y'all!"

And yes, I was being facetious when I said "milestone". Who celebrates the number 27 besides an egomaniac? LOL!

To each their own, so let me stop hating. I'm thankful for every morning I can open my eyes and although reaching another year does mean something to me, I don't expect everyone else to stop their lives to help celebrate mine. It's a nice gesture, but not necessary.

I do pretty well celebrating on my own. :)

America's Most Wanted

This is a Q Service Announcement! Be on the look out for this individual:

Perpetrator: FB Peacocks
Crime: Spotlight Thieves

I've referenced what a FB Peacock is before, but I'll brief those who may not have read about them. Peacocks must have the spotlight and not just to showcase their worldly possessions. Sometimes it's just all about them.

Have you ever had a FB friend who counts down the last 30 days of their birthday?

"Only 27 days to go until my birthday! I can't wait!"

Uh, is your birth date not on your Profile page? Will I not see a reminder once your birthday arrives?

But, they don't care. They want your attention. They want to feel special, not just on that day, but the weeks leading up to it. And on that faithful day, some will even come out of their own pockets to pin money on their shirts so that even strangers will know it's their b-day.

I'm not saying b-days don't matter. But "happy birthday's" are like "I love you's". It should mean more to you when you don't have to remind someone constantly to say it.