Ignorant Historian

There’s just something special about the Olympics, isn’t there?

My love of the Olympics is two-fold.  First, I simply enjoy watching sports.  I think it brings out the competitive side of me.  While I obviously have a preference of what sports I watch (college football, college basketball, PGA majors…in that order), I can watch almost anything and enjoy it.  The only known exception is soccer…blech.

As far as Olympics sports go, I’m pretty predictable.  My favorite winter sport is figure skating, and my favorite summer sports are gymnastics and swimming (probably because I know how fast they’re swimming).

But really, the second reason is what I want to talk about.  It’s the global aspect of it: people from all countries (except for our warm-loving friends for the Winter Olympics) come together for one cause.  Of course, we need to remember that world peace isn’t possible on our own terms.  But there is something special about people from different peoples coming together…reminds me of what heaven will look like.

Now THAT’ll be a place of world peace.

Photo by Dieter Drescher

Last night was the easiest night of camp or any camp-like activity that I’ve ever had.

I’m not sure if it’s just the calm before the storm, or maybe just that the younger kids really are easier.  Probably, it’s the fact that we only had 9 kiddies in our group and there were 2 other helpers.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

While I only had 9 in my group, my friend Jen (her group of kindergarteners rotates through the sports with mine) had 18.  Yeah, slightly unfair.  We’ve been told that’ll be fixed for tomorrow so she can stop pulling out her hair and I can start.  At least we’ll be a balding pair, right?

Really, though, I enjoy my group.  While we were waiting for all the kids to get signed in, we were shooting baskets.  After a while, I decided to go ahead and gather them up and sit down.  And they just sat there, not making a peep, not poking one another, not crawling around on the floor, for about 5 minutes.  That’s when I realized that I had to get them moving as the assembly portion hadn’t even started yet.  I know 5yos have a low tolerance for immobile activities.  So, I did what any other fun-loving children worker would do, and I “turned” the kids into frogs.  They had a blast hopping around while I tried to turn them back into boys and girls.  Definitely broke the ice, too!

Some kiddie-ism highlights:

Me: “What is your purpose?”
Child: “To obey Mom and Dad.” (haha, not bad, eh?)

Me: “What did we learn today?”
Child: “How to play basket-berry!”

I wish I could share with you video of the kids learning how to play basketball (each night we do a different sport, tonight is baseball…if it doesn’t rain) as it was adorable.  I only had one or two kids that had any clue how to play, so there were a lot of verbal reminders on what to do(“Dribble!” “Pass to a teammate!” “No, he’s not on your team!”  ”The basket is this way!”  ”Dribble!”).  More importantly, though, the kids had a lot of fun while learning not only about sports, but about the Lord.  I’m excited to see how the rest of the week goes!

Photo by e453753

First of all, the scoreboard:

Jen 90%
(she’s very proud to have won…she’s a bit on the competitive side)
Elizabeth 80%
(I’m impressed…but I guess you have the benefit of knowing me in RL and my blog)
Dori 70%
(some of these were particularly easy for her…but others weren’t)
Amanda 70%
(not bad…better than I did on yours!)
Dana 60%
(I’m actually surprised on this one…but I guess the little stuff tripped you up!)
Liz 60%
(Good job!)
G. Zoe 50%
(You weren’t as bad as you thought!)
Sleepy Jane 50%
(not bad for mostly guesses!)
Iva 30%
(no, I want unfriend you!)
Francesca 30%
(because you picked the wrong person to copy off of!)

And now, the answers:

1. What nickname did my family give me?
a.  Ronni
b. Bubby – or Bub, for short.  I have no idea how this got started, but I’ve been told I’ve had it since I was born.
c. Short Stack
d. Ronni Jon

2. How many boyfriends have I had?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3 – a very long time ago

3. Which reality show do I not watch?
a. American Idol – I watched part of one season, but after watching SYTYCD, it’s a whole lot more boring.  This is a hard one, because I don’t know that anyone but Dana knows that I’ve watched Survivor at all!
b. So You Think You Can Dance
c. Survivor
d. The Amazing Race

4. What country would I live in if I couldn’t live here?
a. Turkey – love this place
b. Australia
c. Mexico
d. Italy

5. What’s my favorite sport to watch?
a. Major league baseball
b. College basketball
c. College football – Boomer Sooner!
d. Professional golf

6. What is my favorite non-Pixar Disney movie?
a. Beauty and the Beast
b. Little Mermaid
c. Sleeping Beauty
d. The Emperor’s New Groove – I enjoy most of the princess movies, but this one beats all for sheer entertainment value.  Hilarious.

7. What is my favorite sport to play?
a. Volleyball
b. Tennis – though I rarely do it.  It’s hard to find someone who is as bad as I am yet still knows the rules.
c. Basketball
d. Softball

8. If I had to eat the same type of food everday for a month, which would I choose?
a. Mexican – yum, yum, yum.  I miss good Mexican (Tex Mex, really).
b. Italian
c. Chinese
d. Milk and cereal

9. Which is NOT a pet peeve of mine?
a. Others using the same knife as me to spread butter – I’m not a germaphobe.  Yes, the other three things really bug me, just ask anyone who’s lived with me!
b. Doors being fully opened/closed
c. Light in the room while I’m sleeping
d. Things being symmetrical and/or at right angles

10. If I had to, which movie would I be most likely to quote word for word?
a. Legally Blonde
b. one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies
c. one of the Ocean’s movies – Ocean’s 12 specifically, though I have a good grasp of the other two as well.
d. Enchanted

And a bonus question:

If I didn’t have to worry about making a living, I would want to be:
a. A dancer
b. A writer – Not that surprising, I know.  I’d also like to teach, though.
c. A teacher
d. A musician

You know those quizzes on Facebook about how well you know someone?  I avoid all such things over there, but I thought it’d be fun over here.  Are you game?  Answer the following multiple choice questions in the comments, and I’ll reveal tomorrow the true answers!

As always, remember to pick the BEST answer, some of these are tricky! Some answers might be able to be found on my blog. Even if you’re taking shots in the dark, I’d love to see what impression you have of me.

1. What nickname did my family give me?
a.  Ronni
b. Bubby
c. Short Stack
d. Ronni Jon

2. How many boyfriends have I had?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3

3. Which reality show do I not watch?
a. American Idol
b. So You Think You Can Dance
c. Surivivor
d. The Amazing Race

4. What country would I live in if I couldn’t live here?
a. Turkey
b. Australia
c. Mexico
d. Italy

5. What’s my favorite sport to watch?
a. Major league baseball
b. College basketball
c. College football
d. Professional golf

6. What is my favorite non-Pixar Disney movie?
a. Beauty and the Beast
b. Little Mermaid
c. Sleeping Beauty
d. The Emperor’s New Groove

7. What is my favorite sport to play?
a. Volleyball
b. Tennis
c. Basketball
d. Softball

8. If I had to eat the same type of food everday for a month, which would I choose?
a. Mexican
b. Italian
c. Chinese
d. Milk and cereal

9. Which is NOT a pet peeve of mine?
a. Others using the same knife as me to spread butter
b. Doors being fully opened/closed
c. Light in the room while I’m sleeping
d. Things being symmetrical and/or at right angles

10. If I had to, which movie would I be most likely to quote word for word?
a. Legally Blonde
b. one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies
c. one of the Ocean’s movies
d. Enchanted

And a bonus question:

If I didn’t have to worry about making a living, I would want to be:
a. A dancer
b. A writer
c. A teacher
d. A musician

It’s been a couple of weeks, but these comments stood out to me this week…

Lynda said, “*pinch*”

Thanks, Lynda.  I did avoid being pinched in real life on St. Patrick’s day!

Iva said, “Come on, girl…we both know that you are a view-nature-from-a-distance kind of gal…you’d never climb Mt. Everest. ”

So true!

Mrs. Mouthy said, “Ronnica’s to-do list:
1. Buy sticky notes
2. Begin making to-do lists again

B/c seriously, what’s the point of life if you can’t cross things off??!”

Thanks, but I think not having anything on the to-do list to begin with is more satisfying.

Joy said, “It’s amazing that Pres. Obama had time to figure out his bracket and pick teams and sounded very knowledgeable (I assuming the teleprompter wasn’t tell him who to pick), but he couldn’t give much time to the Prime Minister of England.
Just my thoughts.”

Well, he did have it written in several different pens, probably not taking the time to sit down all at once. Plus, he’s not much use to the country if he’s going 24/7!

Today the NCAA basketball tournament begins!  I think it’s kinda like the holidays for sports…even those who don’t observe their fanhood during the rest of the year still decorate (themselves) with their team’s gear and show up to watch the game (if only on TV).

As always, I’m rooting for the Kansas Jayhawks (remember, I’m from there) and some for the Oklahoma Sooners (as they’re my alma mater).  I also root a little for North Carolina, but if they completely fall apart in their game today, I’ll laugh.  Though I picked them to win the tournament, so I might not laugh that hard.  But I’m in good company…Obama picked them to win, too.

I definitely picked fewer upsets than I have in years past, mainly because I didn’t have the time to research the teams like I have previously.  My Final 4 consists of KU, Pitt, UNC, and UConn.  If you did a bracket, who did you pick?

Congrats to the Florida Gators, really.  Though he wears orange, I’ve admired Tebow and what he’s done in the name of Christ.  I was disappointed there at the end though, with his taunting (not that others weren’t doing it, including Sooners.  It’s just that I expect better conduct out of one who openly proclaims his faith.).

It was a good game as expected, but we lost.  I wish I didn’t know this feeling oh-so well.  Let’s review:

In 2001, Oklahoma lost to Nebraska (yes, Aubrey, you all were my first loss as a Sooner fan) in a regular season game, but it was my first opportunity to feel this type of heartbreak.

In 2003, late in the season we were dubbed “the best team ever” as if we had earned it without playing a championship game.  Then we lost to K-State in the Big XII championship.  And again to LSU in the national championship.  That year, I was at a big Christian conference that was a great distraction.

In 2004, we played for the national championship against USC.  And of course lost.  I was spending time with friends at my parents’ house and had just bought a bunch of new clothes with birthday and Christmas money, so I focused on that rather than our loss.  Less than a week later, I met Jason White, our Heisman-winning and 2-time losing national championship quarterback.  I was proud that he was willing to face a crowd of angry fans in a busy Norman Walmart on a Saturday (I was his cashier).

In 2006, we were in the Fiesta Bowl, against a presumedly easy opponent, Boise State.  On a trick play in overtime, we lost.  We were tricked, all right.  This is considered one of the best games in recent times, which isn’t really something to be proud of.  To forget about the loss, I had our big office move to pay attention to this time around.

In 2007, we once again were in the Fiesta Bowl.  But this time, we were playing an even easier opponent in West Virginia.  Does the Big East even know how to win football?  Apparently, because they beat us.  I didn’t have time to focus on this, though, as I had a class to read for.  And politics to pay attention to.  Those were a great distraction.

And now this year, what do I have to distract me?  You guys.  Go ahead, tell me a joke, amuse me, give me a funny anecdote.  Tell me your most embarrassing moment, the strangest thing your child has ever done, the time that you shot Dr. Pepper out your nose.  Anything.

But hey, we’ve been 2nd best 3 of the 8 years I’ve been a fan.  I just had hoped that we would be THE best.  Someday…

It takes all kinds…of college football fans, that is. If no one was rooting for the other side, it wouldn’t be so fun to beat them. But who knew that we could all get along in the bloggy world?

As you know, I’m a Oklahoma Sooner fan. That doesn’t keep me from being friends with:

A Nebraska Cornhusker, by far the most dispicable on this list. Sorry, Aubrey, but I’m more of a crimson girl than red!

A Texas A&M Aggie. I’ll never forget watching OU smash them 77-0 (and yes, we were trying to be merciful, but they were letting us score) and the whole time the group of Aggie fans one section over were cheering until the final whistle. I can respect that.

An LSU Tiger. I like Dawn, but don’t like her team. Hush about the fact that they beat us a few years back for a national title.

A Notre Dame Fighting Irish (is that how you would say it? I’ve never really had a Notre Dame supporter as a friend). I’d like to think that I had something to do with Liz admiting her football loyalties.

An Alabama Crimson Tide-r (again, I have no idea how to put that). Jen’s great. Her team’s not that bad either. Something about their colors or something.

A Boise State Bronco. Okay, I don’t know if Jennifer is a football fan or not, but she’s taking classes there. And I’ve heard firsthand reports that everyone in Boise is a fan. And no, I don’t seem to remember that embarrassing Fiesta Bowl. Statue of Liberty? What? Moving on…

A Georgia Bulldog. Leigh Anne is a new friend, but an encouraging one. Oh, and I love her blog! She’s a

Anyone I’m missing?

I’m excited to be able to welcome you all to North Carolina. Now, you may be confused about why I, the Kansas Girl, am welcoming you to North Carolina. The simplest explanation is that this is where I am! I moved here 3 years ago, and now it looks like I’m here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. I originally came up with this blog title when I started blogging (back then I used xanga) right before leaving college in Oklahoma. Confusing, no?

Okay, okay, now I’m boring you and wasting my opportunity to show you around the lovely state of North Carolina (true natives would say “Noth Care-line-a,” light on the “r”). I’ve thought about what to say about North Carolina. It’s the South, you know, and I’m not a Southerner, so I’ve had a few things to say. Like why boiled peanuts should not be consumed. And funny things that Southerners say. Oh, and I can’t forgot the time that I found a confederate flag license plate at the DMV. Good times, good times. But really, I’m not painting it in as pretty colors as it deserves.

Here are a few random things it’s good to know about North Carolina:

• We love our basketball. Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, or North Carolina State, it doesn’t matter. It’s all good here. Definitely a quality that a Kansas girl can appreciate (though I root for a different team, *ahem* the National Champion Jayhawks *ahem*).
• North Carolina has both mountains and beach. The mountains are merely okay, but the Outer Banks are wonderful. It’s like a whole new world out there. (Cue music now.)

• I live in Raleigh, the state capital. It’s known as the “City of Oaks.” We have a lot of trees. Something I wasn’t used to. On New Year’s they drop a giant acorn instead of a ball.

Enough about North Carolina. I feel like I’m not doing it justice. Let’s talk about me! I’m a single gal, so there’ll be no tripping over toys in my living room. I’m in my last semester of grad school, so you might be tripping over books instead. Speaking of books, I love to read. Too much, probably. I also love to write (hence the blog), laugh, and talk to others about my faith.

Feel free to take a look around. Thanks for stopping by, and please take an acorn party favor on your way out!

I never get the paper, but last Sunday I did, to get some coupons that were in it. I didn’t take the time to read the paper (except for the Comics, can’t skip those!), but something caught my eye:

Aerial Delivery Goes Awry

It seems that UNC wanted to kick off the season by having parachute jumpers land in the stadium with the game ball. Due to bad weather, miscommunication, and poor judgment, the parachute jumpers were dropped off at the wrong stadium.

The stadium of UNC’s big rival, Duke. I’ve been trying to make a spiritual analogy out of this, but really, this is just a funny story in and of itself.

I laugh because the story says that the jumpers knew “only when they landed in [Duke's stadium] that they were in the wrong place.” Their slow descent into the stadium, where they could see the fans decked in the team colors, apparently didn’t give it away because there were few/no fans there an hour before their game. The ACC just doesn’t do football like other, Bigger (ahem) conferences.

Have a wonderful, restful, worshipful, and re-energizing Sunday!