Sunday, February 3, 2008

Finance and Football...

I could bore everyone with what I actually do for a living - I am one of those Generation X's who grew up with a set of keys, and four parents, and movies like Platoon and Wall Street and just enough "mod" haircuts to make all of the high school pictures look great - there was Jerry Falwell and REM to supplant enough religion in our lives and to create that classic cynicism that defines all of us thirty-somethings.

I chose Finance and Accounting - after choosing British Literature, English, Information Technology, and a myriad of other majors that I thought were interesting. For a while I had dreams of becoming an author, travelling the world, selling books about travelling the world - then I realized that I really do like stuff - I mean not in a vain way, but stuff is good. I can get a lot of stuff, then when I bore of that stuff, I can sell that stuff on e-bay and buy more stuff.

Walking into an assignment, it is my job to fetter out emotions and to look into the numbers and find out where the goblins are hiding, and to see if I can find a reason to pay less, or more, but to at least give an honest assessment that, in purest terms,"Protects the interests and assets of the organization". It is an interesting dichotomy for me - that is not who I am - it is what I do, and the funny thing is, people see that as a defining role in our lives.

None the less, today is wonderful - I am taking a short break from the Sunday afternoon football game - my son and daughter love to play a variation of touch football in the backyard - sometimes we play two on two, sometimes we play three on one, but most importantly we just play together. My son is always the quarterback - he gets simple satisfaction of pulling the perfect quarterback sneak, or throwing a good pass to his sister or his mom - and he loves it when I rush - he will scramble nervously for two seconds then just laugh as I pick him up and run him backwards a few yards before falling to the ground. The best part of rushing is when we fall to the ground and just laugh together on the wet Florida ground.

The Superbowl is tonight, and I really don't understand what the hype is about - I love football in the classic sense - but the game itself has become more of a commercial - the best football is played in the backyards and concrete playgrounds across the country - where kids and dads and moms and friends gather to play - and just play - there are no millions riding on the game - just a feeling of togetherness and teamwork.

Last night was a long night - but it was a good night. I was able to talk to my friends, even though I can't see them, I was able to talk to them, and see how they were doing. I was able to sit naked on the patio in the dark next to the fire, and drink water out of the hose. I was able to listen to my music and soak up the perfectly clear night and listen to the wind in the pines. It makes life a great place - it gets rid of the worries of Finance, and just gives us all that feeling of playing football as a kid again...

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