RUSH (and I"m not talking about the band)

Team up with your friends and go on a galaxy-wide, loot-flowing, backstab-filled rampage against common space folk, the monolithic Empire and other Facebook space raiders!(WARNING: this application contains strong language, fantasy violence, and simulated gambling)

This is a game on Facebook. This is a game I got invited to join back in August. Diana recruited me to be part of her crew. I didn't have time or interest. She reminded me this morning that I sent her a message to go ahead and use me in her crew but that I wasn't going to be a player. Space Raiders to her was like Scrabble to me. Then she spent an afternoon here showing me how to battle. I was somewhat hooked. I played around with it a little after she left. I started playing with it a little more after that. My crew grew and so did my bank account. I was hooked. And then it happened. It took me by surprise. I knew that you felt it, too. By the look in your eyes. This magic moment.

Some greedy creep out there in cyberspace stole one of my longstanding crewmembers. Let's call the greedy creep "13" because that is actually his "name." I bought my crewmember back. "13" had the gall to take him away from me again. I left a message on his wall since his profile indicated that stealing his crew is a punishable act. Ah, double standard. That's what I told him. So what does this idiot do? He buys me. I'm in Diana's crew. Diana, as in "The Redhead of Death" Diana. Bad idea, wrong move. Guy didn't know what hit him, probably still doesn't. ROD bought me back and I am now worth $104,147. That pales in comparison to ROD's $1,638,020 worth and her crew of 171. War. The Alliance.

So, you must be wondering - what does this have in common with a triathlon? Well...Curt woke me up at 4:30 yesterday to get ready to leave for Ft DeSoto. He entered us again as a relay team where he would do the swim and the run. I would be doing the 10.5 mile bike. It was too early to put my contacts in so I told him I was going to check my email first and then I could get going. What I found was so exhiliarating that I actually got pumped up for the race and the adrenaline started flowing. Everyone had answered ROD's call and they were operating as a team. The bad guys were losing and the good guys were having a field day. It was democracy at its best. It was a RUSH to see what was happening. I've always said smart is sexy but what about power? It was a complete turn on, I tell ya.

So, anyway, I have no pictures before or during the race because it was raining. I had a good ride because it was a straight out and back route instead of winding myself through a town like the last one in Tarpon Springs. I averaged near 15mph for 10.5 miles and it was a great day. Curt thinks this is how all families should spend their time together - by (tri)ing! Btw, I'm not 52 yet - they have to put your age this year on your calf no matter how old you are now. The "R" is for relay.

Scrabble Humor

Boston Massacre

Well, Boston Massacre is a bit strong to describe the Rays loss to the Sox last night. But it wasn't a tea party either. I was able to attend my first playoff game EVER. It was a dream come true. And I was willing to shell out the extra bucks ($105 over face value) just because I was so sure the Rays would be clinching the ALCS title on their own turf. It didn't happen so the series is tied and game 7 will be played at the Trop tonight. It should be an exciting game. I had to laugh when Curt brought to my attention the headline of yesterday's paper versus today's headline. We went from pretty much "no big deal" to "hey, we might not make it, after all." I heard more than one person say they went to bed Thursday night, myself included, thinking there was no way we were going to lose game 5 only to wake up and find out that we had.

But yesterday started out a lot better than it ended. I officially became a member of US Coast Guard Auxiliary Tuesday night when I was sworn in during their monthly meeting. Twice a month, on Saturdays from 10-2, our Flotilla performs vessel safety checks at Williams Park in Riverview - a popular launching site on the Alafia River (about 20 mintues from home). I decided to check it out and also to hook up with my friend, Joe, from high school. Joe is a coxswain and owns two boats used as facilities (i.e. used for patrols). I am extremely fortunate to be under his guidance. I don't have my uniforms yet but I did buy the boots I'll need for boat crew. Are they hawt or wawt??? Within the next couple of weeks I should be out on the water as a trainee!

I also want to thank all of my friends for their great taste in music, especially Diana. Friday night I bought 4 new cds - Sass Jordan (Racine - title) , 4 Non Blondes, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Dido (Here With Me, Take My Hand - songs). I also finished "Twilight" this weekend and moved on to the second book in the series called, "New Moon." Oh, how I want my own vampire...

Bandwagons

I never jump on bandwagons. Not my style. I never read the Harry Potter series. Just not into it. Never understood the hoopla. But then came Edward. If you're wondering what rock I crawled out from under, please reread my first sentence. I just got sucked in, well like, like blood to a vampire. I couldn't sleep this morning so I got up to be with Edward, again. Donna, Diana, Charlene, Carol? Would you like to jump on? I've got the reins and I'm ready to lead the way. I'm unashamedly wanting more and more of Edward. By the way, I'm talking about a book that came out in 2005 called "Twilight." The movie premieres November 21. Its sequels are "New Moon," "Eclipse," and "Breaking Dawn." To read more about this captivating series, check out the author's website by clicking on her name, Stephenie Meyer.

Rayhawks!

It began with the players when they started winning more and more games. Now that the Tampa Rays have made the playoffs, fans are sporting their own versions of mohawks and Tom is a BIG fan. Today we won game 1 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox (6-4).

Tom and I played Scrabble last night. Our usual 5 games. Tom won the first four - nothing unusual about that. And it's not that I won the 5th game that makes this so interesting - it's just the game itself.

Tom's first play (a bingo) was "duocote." I looked at him. He looked at me. And then I checked my rack to see if I could use these letters even if it was a phony. Tom got 74 points for "duocote" but I could score 40 with "qoph" as a parallel play so I decided to let his word stay on the board. I told him either the word was good or he was the world's best poker player and if that was the case, he needed to switch games. Then he played "wis" which I challenged and lost. I thought I knew my threes. It just looked funny. The joke was on me. His next play was "gripe" but I came back with my first bingo - evaders. We went back and forth until I put down another bingo - cresting. I only won by 4 points. And since I hadn't challenged "duocote" we looked it up after the game. As you can tell by the "Word Judge" the play was not acceptable. Duocote? A second coat of paint?????