the three in one (not the illini one)

topic number one for this evening involves more gear for the badlands trip. my sleeping bag arrived on monday. i was short on time so i unpacked it and ran out the door for work. I worked late that night and went to the gym afterwards. by the time i rolled in from the gym, it was almost 2am. Upon entering the living room where I had unpacked the sleeping bag, I found that my roommate had been using it as a blanket while watching tv. it was now abandoned so i decided to zip into it just to see how everything worked. i got into the sleeping bag and didn't even get the zipper halfway up before i fell asleep. i woke up 7 hours later absolutely soaked. it's a 0 degree bag and using it indoors is NOT recommended.

topic number two is my bike ride today. I was almost hit three different times by three different cars today. how is it that people cannot see a bright yellow jersey when they are coming up on it? cyclists have just as much right of way on the road as a car so tire-tagging me is not going to make anybody very happy. i'll be dead and you'll be in jail. i do my best to avoid dangerous routes but for the most part, those are the safest. I rarely have close calls on those. it's residential streets and country roads (or as country as suburbia gets) that are the worrisome ones. i don't get it.

topic three for today is soccer. I got carded for the first time ever tonight. sure, i've been known to get even with forwards who are a too aggressive with my defense but normally i'm pretty non-confrontational.
there was long ball being played past our defense so it was me vs. the forward going after a loose ball. we both get to it at the same time but instead of me getting tossed as normal, it's the forward that goes down and i'm forced to jump over/around him so that i don't catch him in the head on my way through. now as i start for the still loose ball (it had spun off funny when we both got to it), i hear the whistle. I'm thinking, "oh christ ref, i have an advantage, don't call me back". i look over and he's holding a card up. next thought, "what the hell? he went for the knees but i'm still standing, no big deal." i grab the ball to take it to the restart when one of my defenders yells, "mike, he's carding you!" "WHAT?!?!? NO! YOU ARE WRONG!" i stand there and wait. the ref starts yelling at me to get off the field. i retaliate by brewing up a cussing storm. thinking back on it, i probably could have been given a red for what i said to him ("maybe i should just bend over and grab my ankles so it'll be easier for you next time"). fact is that i got all ball. he just happened to be behind it. i even avoided him after i hit the ball. what a horrible ref. and yea, they scored and we lost because of it.