Fantasy Sports

With the end of Fantasy basketball now closed it is the end of another disappointing year. This year I had two fantasy football teams and a fantasy basketball team.

The Yahoo team was great. I ended up winning the championship over the league manager. I had a stacked team and made a big move that showed to be very crucial down the line. I pretty much dominating the  league losing in week one and a few other weeks with some bad match-ups for my players (bye weeks). I made good pick ups week to week and with only 10 teams in the league to was crucial  to have all positions solid since the free agency pool was fairly deep.

The big Trade (Before RG3 got hurt): RG3 and Gore for AP and Spiller.

Robert Griffin III (Was - QB) P Player Note Frank Gore (SF - RB) P No new player Notes	Trade
	Adrian Peterson (Min - RB) P Player Note C.J. Spiller (Buf - RB) P No new player Notes

Starting Team:

1.	(2)	Tom Brady(NE - QB)
2.	(19)	Maurice Jones-Drew(Jac - RB)
3.	(22)	Roddy White(Atl - WR)
4.	(39)	Tony Gonzalez(Atl - TE)
5.	(42)	San Francisco(SF - DEF)
6.	(59)	Frank Gore(SF - RB)
7.	(62)	Vincent Jackson(TB - WR)
8.	(79)	Robert Griffin III(Was - QB)
9.	(82)	Darrius Heyward-Bey(Ind - WR)
10.	(99)	Stephen Gostkowski(NE - K)
11.	(102)	Jacquizz Rodgers(Atl - RB)
12.	(119)	Dustin Keller(Mia - TE)
13.	(122)	Santana Moss(Was - WR)
14.	(139)	Toby Gerhart(Min - RB)
15.	(142)	Mario Manningham(SF - WR)

Final Roster:
Davone Bess
Justin Blackmon
Tom Brady
Michael Crabtree
Tony Gonzalez
Vincent Jackson
Brandon Myers
Carson Palmer
Adrian Peterson
C.J. Spiller
Roddy White
David Wilson
Stephen Gostkowski
Indianapolis
San Francisc

In the ESPN league it was messy. We had a lot of teams (12) which made for thin teams, It was hard to get a solid team together. I made it into the payoff but made a quick exit. Half the league ended with the same record of 7-6. Maybe next year when we eliminate the snake draft.

Basketball which just ended was the biggest disappointment of them all. I had the hands down best team but due to paying more attention to fantasy football in the beginning of the season I took a few Ls I shouldn't have. This made me have to make a big push to end the season to make it into the playoff. I ended up with the #1 Seed but all 4 playoff teams had the same record of 13-6. I drew the #4 team and he ended up having his biggest week of the season and was the eventual overall champ. Looking at the stats even though my team had the most points on the year I had more points against then the two in the final. Actually , the two in the finals ranked low overall in PF but had low PA. This just shows how much luck of the draw is in fantasy. Not to take anything away from either GM as they both optimized their schedule and roster.

Well, it was fun. Win or lose it is always fun because the leagues are made of good friends and it makes sure we stay in contact on the regular....... No to start preparations for Fantasy football. Who should be my first pick in this years draft?

Downtown Albany - Loan Central

I have lived here in Albany Ga for a few months now. I think it is time to give my view on it. I don't feel like I have had the full Albany experience but I pretty much go out of town every weekend. I guess that says something about Albany itself.

For now I will concentrate just on "downtown". This last weekend I decided to take some time and do a little self guided walking tour of the portion of downtown I hadn't seen yet.

The downtown area consists of about a 6-10 block area that sits right on Flint river. The area near the river is real nice. It consists of an amphitheater, children's park, a spray park, a walking path & a riverquarium (pretty cool took my niece), the civic center & an area dedicated to Ray Charles. Actually I believe the whole trail is dedicated to him. They have a statue with a piano key style sidewalk. The statue plays his songs on cycle. The Hilton is as also right there across the street.

Right next to the riverquariam they have a few shops & a local BBQ place (River Front BBQ). It is pretty good. The rest of the downtown is fairly typical of a small city. No tall buildings (none more then 5 stories or so). Most of the buildings are government or public facilities like court houses, energy company, police, library school board & like agencies.

Their are several small businesses & restaurants that close in the 5p time frame when all the government buildings close. They also have limited hours on the weekend. The downtown area also has a bunch of closed up shops & empty store fronts. A run down sign of a revitalization sits on one of the buildings. This area is also home to a local favorite Jimmie's Hot Dogs. Which you go for more for the name then anything. They only sell hot dogs. I'll do a review of them in another post.

The one thing that struck me as odd was the number of loan business located in a small area. I counted six in a 2 block area. They out numbered Salons (5), restaurants (3), banks (2), retail stores (3) in that same two block area. These are like pay day, title loan places.

After thinking about it I noticed Albany seemed to have a high concentration of these types of businesses for its size city. They have them all over the Albany area like Starbucks in NYC yet the city doesn't even have a Dunkin Donuts & only one Starbucks. Just seems odd.

Anyway, that is pretty much the Downtown area of Albany. Nothing special and besides the riverfront part pretty dull. To end the day I visited the Museum across the street from my house. Not bad at all for its size. No big time names but still had some good piece. Surprising enough it was free.

Stay tuned for my take on the greater Albany area. As of right now it doesn't look like it will be a shinning review but you never know the place could change my mind between now & that post.

Reply all? Sure why not.

A friend sent out an email to a group of her closes friends about her 2013 dreams and aspirations. She asked us to share back with her or even reply all to all of the people she emailed. So I did here was my response:

Reply all? Sure why not.

• Career - My career has been moving along fine here in the boring corporate world. I recently was promoted to a bigger store (not a big pay bump though). Really it is more of the same stuff with more stress and less hands on. In 2013 for my job I want to make sure I turn the store I am at around, reduce loss by half  and improve campus outreach (FYI if you didn't know I am bookstore manager.. yeah yeah I know overpriced books). I also want to concentrate more on revenue flow from outside of my 9-5. Hopefully you all will here of some of the things I have planned in 2013. None of those pyramid style schemes or multi-level marketing things (stay away people stay far away).
• Financial - In 2012 I didn't accomplish all my financial goals. I wasn't able to pay off my car but will in the next 2-3 months (now a 2013 goal). I didn't invest as much into stocks as I planned (did some just not enough). In 2012 I cut my expenses down to the bare minimum and after moving went the opposite way. In 2013 I hope to go back to reducing unnecessary spending and use those funds to help with my career projects. 
• Education -  I am good on pursuing education for a while. Well at least formal education. I would like to still teach. Maybe I'll make that one of my 2013 goals, to become an educator.
• Family - 2012 I made a bitter sweet move. I moved back to GA closer to my mother, nieces, and one of my best friends (my sister to I guess) but left being close to my other family members- including Natasja (I don't think I will ever be able to get rid of you). In 2013 I want to take full advantage of  of being closer to my nieces. Spend more time with them both and be a positive male role model for them.
• Artistic - Lets face it I am not an artistic person but I can support my friends artistic desires (I am working on that project btw Natasja). I am more of a problem solver.  
• Attitude -  I need to get my positive attitude back in 2013. I need to re-motivate myself. I have lacked a desire to push toward my goals maybe this email will spark it. 
• Physical - Continue to workout on a regular basis and continue to do 5ks and participate in sports in 2013. Most importantly finally get through the whole series of Insanity without taking a break. I have been able to do P90X. For some reason I always get interrupted with life when I start Insanity.
• Community Service (I Added this one)- Giving back is an important part of being a good person. It helps keep me grounded and reminds me to be thankful for what I have. In 2012 I didn't do much to give back to society. I donated some clothes and some money to not for profits. That isn't the same as  working with a child, volunteering at a community center, or handing out food at a soup kitchen. In 2013 I want to make sure I do some of those things.
• Additionally! -  I would like to continue to travel in 2013 and beyond. I have had to cancel several trips in 2012 (including my Miami NYE trip) due to work or family conflicts. I want to make sure I don't use those as excuses this year and use some of my 110 vacation hours I currently have.  

I am not sure why I hit the reply all but thank you all for allowing me to share. Best of wishes in 2013. 

2 Games, 2 Birthdays, a holiday, family all in One week

Holiday & Family

It was nice to be home for Thanksgiving. I got to spend time with both of my nieces, my sister and my mother. It was fairly uneventful. I went to the park & played a little ball with my niece. I  helped cook dinner (Mac & Cheese, Mashed potatoes). Mom made the Turkey & mixed Veggie. As you can see below my niece made the deserts and set the table.  My godson was in town and I got to spend some time with him. Nothing like family time.

Two birthday celebrations and a basketball game

I got to celebrate the birthdays of two people very close to me. We started off with a little singing for Sam. We followed that up with the basket ball game.  My step bad, Sam, B and I all went. An ATL win over the Clips surprised us all. After that me and the two birthday people went out to Harlem Knight Lounge. Had a few drinks (I  was the DD). We didn't make it to part three of the double celebration but went for part four (food) before calling it an early morning at 4a. 

Flacons Game & More

After having to come back to Albany for a few days I headed back to ATL for some more fun. A big game in the GA Dome against our only loss at that point and rival NO. I picked up my game mate up from the airport and checked into the hotel. She of course is a Saints fan. Anyway, we took the Marta to the game. The Dome rocked. We had awesome seats and came out with a big win. I was pumped. I can't say the same for Jodie. But the fun didn't stop at that after a late dinner B picked us up. We went out to a bar. We had some fun. I still don't know why Jodie didn't accept that dance offer when she knew she wanted to. Lost opportunity. We followed that up the next day with a late start to the day. We went to the World of Coke & got to see the setup for the SEC game for College Game Day. After dinner we headed to play some bowling. Took a little while after Apple Maps sent us on a goose chase for an alley and a little curb action. She did beat me both games but the bowling alley's balls sucked ( I still would have lost). We decided to end the trip with a little session at the shooting range compliments of B. Jodie is a mean clip holder shooter. B got one shot the zombie eye on his first shot. We are now officially mean zombie killing machines. Of course Jodie ended up getting checked at the airport and tested positive for gun residue. I guess it isn't the best idea to go to shot off a few rounds before going to the airport but all worked out and the weekend was a success. 

HBD big Bro

It doesn't get any easier each day. You learn to live with it. Each year my mom likes to release balloons in the air in memory of my brother. I am not sure what it does but having a tradition allows us to have a time to reflect on the life of my brother. I like to use this day to reflect on my life. I use it as a reminder of how blessed I am, how precious our time is, to remember to love those around us.

This is a video I made a last year. A lot of people have seen it but it stands true on my feelings.

Thank you everyone for your kind words & support.

Wedding Weekend

I don't even know where to begin with this post or even what angel to take. I'll just start with a  story I guess. The history of Juan and Lisette from my perspective.

We all  grew up in a small town. One that everyone pretty much knew everyone. A small town that all your lives are intertwined with each-others. You end up developing unique life long connections with each other. Even to the people you don't know as much. We enjoy each others accomplishments and feel each others sorrows long after we have left this town.

This is where Juan and Lisette's story begins. Growing up we all went to school together. I became friends with Lisette in 2nd grade or so and even though I knew Juan didn't really become friends with him until middle school. We played on the same sports teams and had class together. I remember in 8th grade Lisette was my best friend and Juan was my teammate & classmate. In the hallways Juan would mention how he found Lisette attractive. I am not sure I ever told her that just taking it as typical middle school guy talk. That summer I moved away to Atlanta.

Being great friends with Lisette we stayed in touch. I specifically remember the late September call I had with her. She excitedly told me about hanging out with Juan. She also mentioned her worry of Juan's "bad boy" persona (which is kind of funny thinking about it now). Over the next few weeks we talked a few more times. I could tell she was really growing to like him. She really felt Juan genuinely liked her. Before long they started dating. Years went by and still they stayed together.

After high-school Lisette moved down to Miami. The same place I was going to college. It was great. We got to hang out more and become close again. However this was a tough time for her relationship. Maybe one of the hardest times. Being young, in a new place and not together can make it tough for any couple even one that had been together a long time. Something amazing happened over those months Juan & Lisette's relationship went from being hard to becoming stronger. After that, that is when I knew they would grow old together. Juan would move down to Florida and Lisette would move to the Tampa area. The two continued to build their relationship while figuring out who they are as individuals. Something I know can often push people apart. Instead they leaned on each other and grew together. Years later here they are committing to each other. Only legally because they have long ago committed to each other.

They found something rare in today's world: True Love. Many people get married and say it but I see something different here. As said by one of the best men they are the action love not just the word or the feeling but they are the definition of love in action. As long as they continue that they will forever be. I just want to wish them the happiest of times in this next portion of this love journey.

----

As far as the actual weekend event, I must say it was beautiful. It was a well needed break from all that has been going on with me lately. The first day ended up being a 24 hr day for me. After getting up & working I made the 5 hour drive down to Tampa. I met up with everyone at the Garcia house. That night was a ton of fun even though I was the DD. I don't really drink or party so it was perfect. It was guys night out and I will leave out the finer details of the evening. After ending up at McDs and ordering breakfast for the party goers we called it a night. I stayed at a hotel. The next day I hung out with Pickle, Title IV and Peter before we went to the dinner.

We had a mini fire but not serious more funny. The dinner was nice. I got to hang, eat good food, talk about food. Later in the evening we just hung out at the house and played Dominos and talk about nothing really. Some people headed to the Casino while the rest stayed behind and hit up the food truck to end the night.

The following morning ( the day of the wedding) a few of us decided to head to the beach before the wedding. I had gotten a room near the wedding venue. It was right on the beach so it worked out perfect. Peter, title IV and Pickle joined me being none of us were in the bridal party or had kids to worry about. It was a nice relaxing day. After spending time on the beach we headed to the room. We all showered and headed out to the wedding.

The wedding we real nice. Everything was well put together. It was an intimate wedding. A good amount of people. I really like that the bridal party was up on a stage it made it easier to take in the ceremony. The ceremony was very touching. Followed by a nice dinner and some hanging out.

After the wedding we headed over to a bar in the hotel next to mine. That fizzled out quick and we all parted ways. I left out a lot of specifics of each day but I am not trying to write a book here. I''ll leave that for stories over a drink.  Don't forget to check out a low quality video I put together with the pictures I had.

New Luxury Apartment

Here is a short video of my semi complete apartment. I am trying to still keep the minimalist idea going. I just want to add a few pieces of art, furnish the guest room (aka Alyssa's room), get a stand for living room, a night stand and washer/dryer set. This apartment has way more cabinet space then I will ever need (high quality problem) but the large kitchen is nice for cooking. The room sizes are perfect.  If I had to point out something I didn't like it would be that the living room could be a little bigger & no linen closets.

As mentioned in my previous post, I am within walking distance from work. The apartment complex is just over a year old & it is considered a luxury apartment here in Albany. No pool or gym on the property though. Look for a future post on Albany as a whole.

I didn't really clean the apartment before making the clips used in this video. I didn't originally intend to use them for this video but this is how I live.

*Floor plan in the beginning is the real floor plan of the apartment