Monthly 'Dump' - February, sort of since it's March already

Man could I play on that word, but I won't! It seems like I am going through stretches of wanting to write but not being able to formulate full posts and other times where random thoughts strike me that don't require a full post but I want to express them. I thought I would add in a monthly 'dump' here as to what has crossed my mind. Hopefully I'll remember most of them, or at least recall where I jotted them down...

* I don't think I have ever been more excited for baseball! Maybe it is living in New York but I can't wait to go to Yankee Stadium, take the train 'home' to Philly and the 'Bank' with long lost friends and even the thought of taking in a Mets game is somewhat appealing (at least I own plenty of Orange and Blue in case I chicken out of Phillies gear).

* I am beginning to get sad about the end of LOST. The show has certainly run its course and this season started off rocky but I am back and fully engaged. It took me 4 years to catch on and while I spent 6 months getting caught up I stayed away from all the internet stuff...now, alone at night, I pour through content. I have even gone back and started all over and the context and complexity that is layered in is really fascinating me. My favorite subject in school became English thanks to one of my High School English Teachers. She taught me to read behind the words; to understand subtext, symbolism and foreshadowing. In those teenage days I thought she was a whack job...today it is the biggest blessing I have been given. It helps keep my observational skills sharp and in terms of LOST has opened up a whole new world of debate and conversation.

* I really need to rant on a sports topic. I also caveat this with the fact that my opinion here is currently skewed because of my love for all things Florida Gator related. As most of you know, I love the Gators and I love the NFL. So it would make sense that in a year where 10 former Gators will most likely be drafted, I am paying attention to the NFL Combines and things draft related. What I am now disliking is the complete dissection of every little nuance and facet into these micro numbers that seem to take the person out of the equation. From a Fantasy Football guy I know that sounds a little off since according to many all I care about is statistics but at least those stats are related to actual game play. At the NFL combines they have kids running the 40 yard dash and doing a standing jump. Very rarely will an NFL player need to run a straight flat out 40 yards as fast as they can and unless you are playing Special Teams trying to block a kick when the fuck are you jumping straight in the air trying to 'touch something'. Look, I get the need to break all this down but up until a few years ago it was done with and for the people who needed to see it, the teams and their scouts. You know who doesn't need to see it? A back up college QB on a D2 team that never got to play a down 'because of an injury' and is now clearly bitter about it and uses his platform at ESPN to rip whomever he wants --- yes I am talking to YOU Todd McShay ---leave my Gators alone or I am coming to Bristol --- now that's a thought :-)

* I am ready for SPRING!!! Holy crap have we gotten a ton of snow in New York and even when I spent a week in Atlanta we got 4 inches. I want to explore the greatest city in the world! I want to walk and run in the Park, I want to see people in less clothes (please take that in whatever you deem as the proper spirit), I want the cold to end!!

* February was a month of many high notes but it also saw my daughter in the hospital for 6 days (yes she has gotten better) and it also marked the loss of a dear family member. Life is a cycle and it must come all the way around but sometimes it seems like the end should never come for some people and that is how I felt about Grandma Ruth. She will always be in our hearts and as I heard her eulogized so eloquently, her legacy will live on in our children.