Two games into the season and we have scored 1 offensive touchdown. We have held the 2 opponents to 30 total points but… we have only scored 26 and 19 of those 26 total points scored this year have come from either special teams or our defense. Pathetic, again.

And then I have to be subjected to post-game interviews with Jason Campbell saying: we need to change our mindset, we need to believe we can score points on every drive. WHAT??? What the hell are you thinking now? This is the ‘skins problem for the last 10+ years – we play to not lose.

Our next 4 opponents have a combined 0-8 record after week 2. If we do not win the next 4 in a row … well – I will just be pissed like every other year.

Hail Redskins!!!

ABUJA, Nigeria – One of the summer’s biggest blockbusters — a sci-fi morality tale about aliens and apartheid — is not welcome in Nigeria because of its portrayal of Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals, Nigeria’s information minister said Saturday.

Information Minister Dora Akunyili has asked movie houses in the capital of Abuja to stop screening “District 9″ because the South Africa-based sci-fi movie about aliens and discrimination makes Nigerians look bad.

This story, I came across this morning, is great! Nigeria is complaining that a movie has scenes that make them look bad? The movie makes the entire country look bad? Really? This is a prime example of when someone needs to come out and ask the right questions and not accept generalizations from a politician. Besides, I just received an email from the Nigerian Information Minister’s daughter, he just died and she wants to share his fortune with me, I got it in an black and white email so already I am skeptical of the story.

1st and 2nd lie: NIM states that this movie portrays Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals

reality: This movie portrays Nigerian gangsters as Nigerian Gangsters (note: they also portray the sky as blue and sometimes partly cloudy – look for the backlash from mom nature at any time)

reality: The Nigerian who wanted to cut of the arm of the protagonist and then eat the severed arm to gain his powers would not be considered a cannibal. A cannibal is: someone who eats human flesh or any animal who eats its own kind. “Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA.” (taken from: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809961221/details) Now I am no scientist, but my limited understanding of DNA is that it defines every aspect of what we are.  With that in mind, if Wikus’ DNA originally designated him as a human being and then it began to change his DNA, he would no longer be a human being. Again, I am not a scientist. So the alleged Nigerian cannibal is actually just a Nigerian who likes or wants to eat non-human appendages.

1st “No shit” statement: “Nigerian prostitutes are seen courting alien customers.”

Same scene, different movie. I saw this in Alien Nation when the “visitors” were soliciting prostitution to humans and vice-versa. The Nigerian prostitution union, local 112, must be powerful as hell. I have to wonder if the Nigerian prostitutes were soliciting humans would there have been an uproar? That’s what they do.

So ultimately my point is this: The movie does not make Nigerians look bad, it makes bad Nigerians look bad. Not a big deal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_en_mo/af_nigeria_district9

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cannibal

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809961221/info

My first use was at age 17. My next door neighbor and I walked the 2 miles (uphill both ways) to the local convenience store and got a pouch of Red Man. That started my affair with nicotine. At 34 years old I have devoted, yes devoted, my life to keeping nicotine in my system. I was an addict and the cravings, 7 full months after my last use, prove I am still addicted. I tried chew and smoking during my 17 year run but Copenhagen snuff was my product of choice. During the span of my use I cannot remember ever going more than 3 days without some form of nicotine being ingested. I had to have it every day,  the cravings were strong and patterns of use were set.

Anyone who has every been or continues to use tobacco, in any form, knows what this is like. The cost alone of using tobacco products should at least get them thinking about quitting.

I probably tried to quit 6 or 7 times over the last 17 years, hopefully this time will be the last.

Not much to say about week 1:

J.C. needs to go, obviously he does not have what it takes. No excuse to throw the ball over the line and how can you sit in the back of the pocket and not move as it collapses from behind?

Zorn needs to grab a few face masks and start pulling some millionaires to the ground when they screw up. No more tilting your head to the side and saying “golly gee that was weird” – just kick anyone’s ass that screws up because then they just might understand that winning is the expected result.

We need more than 3 plays in the book, right now we have the slant, the run up the middle and the screen pass – the end.

Frustration is high after week 1. Playing game 1 at NY is tough but they had multiple starters out and if I see Haynesworth on the sideline hurt I am going to throw up. how much does this fat ass make a game and he is sitting out???

Lets hope the Rams at home are not too tough otherwise we need to schedule the D.C. high school 3rd string team to get our confidence up.

Hail Redskins!!!

Every Monday we have one at 4pm. Six branch managers and district manager. We use it to discuss the strategy for the week as well as use it to review policy changes for the previous week.

So I get on the call as usual. There is always at least one of the girls that is late to the call, cant remember when it is I think she said (and I lost my job?) So we are discussing how poor the entire districts results have been month to date. The DM says “these results suck and I am tired of being the ones that suck and you should be tired of being the ones that suck. there is only 1 district worse than us and they do not even have a district manager” (what does that say about his leadership?). Then he goes over individual results, starting with one the female managers, he says “you were out of the office last week and your branch did better than when you were there, maybe you just need to go back on vacation.” she laughs and says “yeah, ok” – This girl just took a direct slap in the face and didn’t flinch, I mean she did not even recognize the insult I guess. I am in rage and I am glad this was over the phone because I was beat red I was so mad. We were being belittled and insulted by this guy. I do not know if I was more mad at the DM or the other BMs for not defending themselves, they said nothing. So finally I had to speak up right before he started ripping into me. I tried to give him valid reasons why production was down with examples of current customer situations. His response was to raise his voice louder, skirt the current issues and address previous customers accounts that I had dealt with earlier in the month, a tactic I have experienced many times first hand. At that moment I had an epiphany. I realized that this guy wants to provoke me (am I paranoid?), he wants me to say or do something that will prevent me from getting my severance. So in a moment of clarity I slowed my speech, lowered my voice and simply said “I was just trying to raise some issues”.  That my friends, will be the last time I speak up out of turn. I decided at that moment that this guy does not care about the last 9 years of weekends and late nights and missed children’s events that I have sacrificed for the greater good of “the company”. So I do not give a fuck about him or is results. I will come in at 8:30, leave at 5:30 and yes sir/no sir anything he says to me for remainder of my limited employment with this joker.

I realize now that my revenge will be the fact that on October 1 2009 even though we both will be earning paychecks, he will be the one having to go back to work for what is left of this pathetic excuse of a company and its management “team”.

Within the last 10 days prior to this meeting I had discussed with my wife the possibility of leaving the company and moving back home. We had actually discussed moving back to Texas, the Dallas area. We discussed when the best time would be and when to apply for jobs if transfer was not available or wanted. We have never previously lived in the Dallas area (Amarillo, Austin & San Antonio) but were sure that the job market and big city offerings would be a nice change from the small town cult atmosphere we have endured for the last 2 years. The plan we ultimately came up with was to save every last penny and be ready to move at the earliest mid December 2009, during our oldest daughter’s school winter break or at the latest after the school year ended in May.

At first I thought I was being fired. Since January 2009 the office’s total production has seen a reduction in overall production and a lack of gains in few of what upper management is calling “key areas”. My level of frustration with the job had been rising at or above the same pace as the performance slide. I was called into a private office, just myself, my DM and a HR rep. on speakerphone. A huge lump in my throat began to form as I was being issued what was surely a preset speech coached to my DM, from HR, prior to my arrival that morning. All I heard was that my office was being closed down and consolidated with the next closest branch, 50 miles away. But the next part, the part explained by HR, was the part that set me free.  My office will close its doors 9/30/09, I will continue to receive a bi-monthly paycheck as normal in the months of October and November. Then in December I will receive a lump sum severance, based on number of years of service. The frog in my throat is immediately gone! Now I am biting my tongue, trying not to laugh, smirk, giggle or stand up and do a back-flip. I wanted out, and now they are essentially paying me to leave.

My goal is to rant about issues that have affected me during that day and I will try to share background when I feel necessary.