Never Ending Tailgating

Scott was asked by the CMU marching band to conduct a tune during their KISS show- I think we can all guess why HE was asked to do such a thing. So, we made the trip to the football game so that a video of this event could be made for future viewings with the Rozzle. But his conducting is not really what I want to discuss today.

I fully understand that tailgating prior to a football game is a time honored American tradition. While I never did partake of such pre-game partying...wait, I never went to a game as a student at MSU...I can imagine that it would be, shall I say, fun. But here is what I witnessed at the CMU game. We pulled into the parking lot where hundreds of students, adults, and children surrounded their own vehicles that contained a variety of foods and beverages, which included beer. It was clear that everyone, except maybe the children, was plastered. By the looks of things, they had all been there for a few hours already. When the game started, the tailgators remained by their...tailgates. They did this until nearly the 2nd quarter! By this time in the game, Roz began to get fussy and I decided to go for a walk with her. So, behind the stands we went and by very drunk people we were met!!! I was actually scared to be surrounded by these students because of their behavior. When one of them screamed in a very hammered voice "Look, it's a baby!" I knew that I needed to find a safe place...FAST! We managed to get away from them, but I couldn't help but wonder if there isn't a better way.

NCAA rules state that alcohol must not be consumed IN the stadium. Hence the extra-long partying prior to the game. That way, people can get good and liquored up FOR the game so that there isn't that awkward pause in drinking before the post-game parties. But isn't this how we end of with things like violence and alcohol poisoning? I'm thinking that the scary behavior that I witnessed (including a scene where a young college girl had to be held up by her 2 friends because she couldn't control her own body) could be avoided by the following:

1.) Allow only 1 hour of tailgating prior to the game. When the game starts, everyone needs to be in the stadium. They are there for the game, right?! And if they aren't there for the game, I'm thinking they could host a smashing party of their own at home while pretending to watch a game on TV.

2.) Sell beer IN the stadium at such outrageous prices that people will be inclined to limit their intake! Trust me, people will still buy. If people will pay $4 for a 20 oz. bottle of Aquafina, then they will pay much more for a crummy Bud Light.

I know that the NCAA is worried about image, but from my stand point, the sight of people too drunk to stand, let alone watch a football game, is a pretty bad one. Therefore, to excessive tailgating, I vote: STUPID.

By popular demand...

THE ROZZLE

Rozzle and her Nuk.

FINALLY- a picture of Roz SMILING in the SMILE shirt.

Why oh WHY must Dad be such a freak?!

Today Show and Roz

Do we really need 4 - yes FOUR - hours of the Today show everyday????

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16673581/



What we definitely need more of is pictures of Roz! Please email or post them soon!

LAMAFEST!

This past weekend was my favorite event that I have no real business being at. That's right - LAMAFEST!

www.lamafest.com

My obsession with llamas (and to a MUCH lesser extent, alpacas...which make up the single 'l' lama family) began as a bit of a joke. I thought the animals were cute. They have very expressive ears, they make funny faces with their lips, they have split hooves, etc. You get the picture. Now I've hung out with them several years in a row, and gosh darn it, they are damn fine animals to be around. There. I've said it.

Anyway! New to lamafest this year were these beauties....MINI LLAMAS! When I got wind of miniature llamas, I insisted that I could not live another day without seeing a mini llama. Not wanting to be a widow, sdb took me, even on birthday weekend.

And here's a full-size llama - one of the friendlier ones. :)

And one of the main reasons to go to lamafest year after year....the llama obstacle course! In this photo, the llama is supposed to sort of sashe sideways over that stick. Apparently this isn't easy, as only a handful of truly exceptional llamas pulled this off. You should have heard the comments from the gallery when a llama (or more likely, the handler) would screw up. It was brutal!

Top Summers

I wanted to continue Scott's blog about the best summers. I was thinking of mine and came up with these top three (I know I had some cool childhood summers but can't remember the years or the details):

Summer of 1999
This was the summer I went to England and Scotland for a study abroad program. It was the first time I did something without the safety net of my friends and family. Six weeks in the UK without anyone was scary but I learned that I could survive and have fun. Without that experience I don't think I would have been able to move to Louisiana.

Summer of 2000
First of all getting married made this a cool summer. I also loved being in Baton Rouge and working with a bunch of other 20-somethings. It was common for all of us to go to the bar after work, meet up with our "respective others" and drink a lot. The best part was that our apartment was within walking distance of the bar. It was the summer I learned drinking was fun.

Summer of 2004
I called this the summer of fun. I had quit my stressful office manager job and went back to school part time to get my paralegal certificate and worked very part time. It was great to not have to be at work at 8:00am every weekday. So when friends called on a Tuesday night to go out to the bar I was in! I knew the next year I would be working full time again so I took advantage of all the free time. Plus I spent a lot of time with my friend Erin and her two young children. For the first time I seriously thought motherhood could be really cool and something I wanted to do.

Happy Birthday!

Just wishing sdb a big ol' happy birthday today. :)