Press Your Luck.

No Whammy...No Whammy!!!

Boy O Boy.  Tonight was and is a wild night.  It took me like 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home tonight.  Don't ask questions...please!!  I guess I bit off a little more than I could chew.  Miami traffic is bonkers during the 4-6pm hour, and I got involved heavily in it.  I saw some crazy stuff.  As I was in Coral Gables/Coconut Grove area, on Hardee Avenue and like LeJeune, it truly looked like a scene from World's Worst Drivers.  First off, I saw a dude do a U-Turn...in someone's yard.  This guy, literally made a hard left out of the line in front of the stoplight, turned into someone's yard...yes, I said YARD, as in on this nice home's grass, and circled back around the other way.  Classic.  Then while waiting on the same light, a near accident occurred (more on these things later), but this guy cut off this woman in a BMW white X3, the guy, who was in a pickup truck, then proceeded to drive his Miss Daisy all the while giving the dirty bird to the chick who was behind her.  As he flick her off, the woman seemed to have a Andrew Dice Clay type of conversation with the guy while she was driving.  All of this is happening, at the same stoplight,  in that old Olympics slow motion pace, and I'm like, "Dude, (yes, I call the girl a dude, I'm a beach boy, so everyone's a dude!!)...the guy can't hear you.  Just a ruckus atomosphere in "the Beverly Hills of the East"!

On top of that, a geese almost got the Redman "Smash Sumthin' " treatment, as she was crossing the street.  That would have made even a dove cry.  Wild stuff.  One thing, is that I keep on seeing the M-I-A in a different view.  We've been down here a wild, but still neighborhoods are popping up in which we surprising haven't seen.  I love what I saw today.  I even ran past and "Occupy Miami" set up by the Miami River.  Time's person of the year huh?!  Kids out playing in the parks...I drove through the Grove, and there was a sorta Man U. training camp with cones and everything set up for the kiddos.  The kids looked like they were like 5 or 6, but it was serious!  I wouldn't be suprise if some of those kids have a better nutritional diet than me!!  That would be something...Could u imagine going to a restaurant and seeing a small kid request that..."Can I have whole sweet mac-a-rony which cheese, with nuggets...wait...Mom they don't have grass-fed chicken nuggets...You know I hate to be normal...I wanna go home!!" (with a cross of the arms)  Funny but the kids nowadays...

Life is so funny.  I'm want to get the coolest people who want to have the most fun around me.  I love laughing, acting silly.  By the way has anyone else been checking out the manikins at some of these retail stores.  They looking...should I say lifelike.  I was walking on Collins Ave. down here in SoBe and one of the curvy dummys had her blouse like half on, literally...like I said...life--like!  But as this gent recently said, "you gotta laugh".  Our life is so filled with surprises.  I was thinking of some of our episodes.  Not gonna tell any girl stories 2nite.  Hopefully, people would believe me as I say, I'm gonna write a book.  I recently thought about how would it feel to have our own sitcom based on all these stories we have.  Some have been revealed in this diary blog.  I got a grip of stories about life really, playing sports through college...ok, here's one about a classic practice in high school.

Life is filled with challenges.  And as u quote unquote advance through the levels, you have to prove yourself again and again.  I was in high school...now I'm from the great state of Indiana, where I joke around and said, "that all guys did was play basketball and chase farmgirls all day!!"...I lived up in Michigan City, about 63 miles from the Chi.  Anyways, I was a freshmen and a few teammates with myself just got moved up to the Junior Varsity level for the end of the season.  Now...I can speak for everybody when I say that I heard horror stories about the practices JayVee had.   I mean this was stuff of legend, from people passing out running, the practices were as long as an LA trial, just...scary stuff bro.  Scary!  I put it to you this way, I really was timid to answer any questions the last period of school, just due to the fact of the upcoming practice.  I wanted all the use of the air that was in my body just for hoops.  Maybe that's why I had trouble with AP Biology my Junior year?  Anyway, I was nervous for the unknown...what would my first practice turn out to be.

Nothing could have prepared me for this concoction , of work, running, language, everything.  I can handle anything, specially with hoops.  I like it tough, it builds u up.  But this Saturday...first we go upstairs to practice.  Our H.S. gym is the 8th biggest in the United States (need the evidence), so the JV practice in the upper level which would later be dubbed "Africa" due to the harsh conditions up there.  No out-of-bounds just walls.  It felt like the Romans going to the Coliseum.  Of course, I don't know the drills because I'm new. There are two sets of courts up there.  I begin a drill at one court, and immediately Coach is like u gotta go down to the other end as well. Looking at that other end felt like going to Miami Beach Parking office on permit due date.  (Once, it was a party up in there for real) So, I'm thinking, "this is gonna be long morning".  All these wacky drills, made up drills really (lol!!!).  So after about 2 hours of practice, Coach says that we are going downstairs to the big court since varsity just ended their practice.  I put this on Allen Iverson, the world just stopped for minute after he said that.  I was like...and next thing I know it, all heckyville broke loose...

We go downstairs to the court.  Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  Full court drills, with the running of sprints in between.  Coach was very adamant about doing things correctly.  My guy, Joe Nate, did his patent and effective, finger roll layup at the rim.  The whistle then screamed like an old Macy Gray song, "da-da da...no finger rolls..."  Then next thing I know it, he tells Joe Nate to get on the side, and the rest of the team to get on the baseline to run some sprints.  What??! U gotta be kidding me.  He wasn't.  "Tweet!!", goes the whistle.  And the team begins to run our sprints, all the while Coach is yelling @ Joe Nate, "you see ur teammates...this is because of you!!"  Joe Nate was just chilling catching his breath like he was at the beach.  No joke!  Hilerous.  But I knew it was only a matter of time before the spotlight would turn my way.

So we are in the middle of so mad sprints, and I begin to run off the court.  I was almost done son!!  I go over to the garbage can about to tryout for the hurling contest, when Coach yelled, "Austin...get back over here."  I think I yelled, "I'm about to throw up".  Coach then shouted emphatically, "Austin, bring the garbage can to the court!"  So of course, I drag this 10 gallon, grey garbage can, "ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum" over to the corner of the court.  At least I have a little safety if anything goes heywire, but then...

I get back on the baseline with the rest of the team, and Coach comes over to me, and asks, "Austin, are you tired?"  Whyyyyyyyy Meeee?  As an athlete, that's the worst question a coach can ask because there's no right answer.  You say u aren't..."Oh, I'm not running u enough".  U say u r, "Oh, ur outta shape, huh."..."Austin, are u tired?"  Doing my best to delay the inevitable, "Well, coach...." ...."Austin, are you tired?" "Ah...eh".. "Austin, are u tired?"  "Yeah, coach, I'm a little.", I said trying my honest Bob routine, hoping all those Sunday School lessons about being honest actually works.  "Ok, Austin, since you're tired...everybody step back...Austin you got two sets of down and backs, and I'm timing you..."  Inside, I think I'm gonna cry and I'm not ever going back to Sunday School again!!  Ha, Ha!! ...."Go!!!", Coach utters.  I take off like my life is on the line as my teammates watch this all unfold.  I complete it.  "Ok, everybody back on the line, Austin just did it in 21 seconds so everybody has 21 seconds to do it or we're back on the line!"  This is insanity.  "Tweet!", sounds the whistle..."AUSTIN, u betta do it in 21 seconds...u just did it...so u betta do it again!!".  We finish...,"Grab a ball and partner..."  I've never seen anything like this in my life.  It's like basic training in freakin' Bosnia.  But...

As I look back on that, I'm so grateful.  We all need a push, especially myself, and appreciate all the head coaches of my life, in which I'll share stories galore about.  Along with the social extracurricular activities! (wink, wink!).  The process can be hard and long but if u hold on...and as I've learned the practices sometimes are harder than the actual game.  Now, I figure, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Austino.