Farewell aught 8

Well this is the final post of '08. We are going to play some games to ring in the new year. We got to go sled riding a little today, because it finally decided to snow. I also updated the songs for the new year, a little auld, 9 of 'em for '09. Happy New Year Everybody!

Post Christmas 2008

Well only 363 more days until Christmas, and I think we have finally opened just about everything that the kids got this year. There are still a few odds and ends that kind of got lost in the shuffle. Yesterday we had to go and spend our gift cards that we got for Christmas. I got an oil change (yeah), and the kids got some more toys, like they needed that. Sophie and I are almost out of room and will probably be taking up residence in the play cabin out back, oh wait I think it is full of outside toys. Perhaps we should have spent that gift card on like a tent or something. Anyway it was a very good Christmas, the best the kids have had so far and that is probably the best thing about it. They really enjoyed it and we were up by 7:30 which is a new record in the Helfen household. I think Peach could have slept another 2 hours or so as Christmas Eve finished pretty late. Church started at 8:00 PM then we went to Sophie's Mom's house for dinner. Then we opened gifts. So far I would say Sampson's favorite is his guess who Marvel game and his Star Wars figures, and Peach's favorite is her Barbie head that she can put make-up on. Kirk got a new game Resistance 2, so check back for a review, and some UFC videos of the first 4 UFCs. Sophie's favorite is her crockpot so she can cook us all good food, ummmmm. That may not really be her favorite. Well Merry Christmas, a little late, hope you had a good one.

2nd Annual Helfen Christmas Letter

I guess the best way to describe this year for the Helfen's is to say it was a year of firsts. For all of us we went to Idlewild for the first time as kind of our vacation this year. A good time was had by all as we were able to spend the entire day there. The kids got their tastes of first as Sampson started to kindergarten and started going to school everyday. Sophie and I also had our first parent teacher conference which went very well. Sampson also played T-ball for the first time and played flag football where his team, the Purple Riders, won the Championship. Peach started at 'butterfly' school, for dancing and is enjoying it very much. She also got potty trained this year, which made Mommy and Daddy very happy. Sophie started her own myspace and is having a good time keeping up with people. Kirk got started on Fantasy sports for the first time and it has proved to be quite addictive. I finished 4th (according to yahoo, but if you count ALL the games I finished in sole possession of 3rd place) in fantasy baseball, and was the commish in fantasy football. Currently the Wreckers are the #1 seed, but my opponent had the Colts and scored 40 some points last night between 2 players. The Ankle Breakers are also in first in the basketball league. They were named due to an injury that Kirk incurred during the summer, where he severely sprained his ankle playing basketball and was on crutches for 2 weeks. This was actually the third time I have sprained my ankle so basketball may be over as I turn my attention to cornhole in 2009.



As far as seconds go, I got severed from work for the second time in 3 years, and have been scrambling a bit here in the last month or so. I think the Helfen family will be OK, for next year but in this economic climate I doubt that anyone can say with 100% certainty that they won't have any problems. Well best wishes for everyone for the new year.

Love,

The Helfens

Mid-December Fantasy Update

As of right now the Dream wreckers and the Ankle Breakers are in First place. Playoffs start next week and as long as I don't give up a ton of points tomorrow it looks like I'll have the #1 seed. We'll see if that helps or not. Sammy Morris and Bernard Berrian have really come on lately to help out the old Wreckers. As for the Ankle Breakers I have made some moves to help out the team and I also got over some of the injury problems. I dumped Arenas for someone that would actually play during the month of December and I think that roster spot really made a difference. Also the other thing I have noticed about fantasy basketball is that time on the court is very important, so if a team has an injury to a player the other players benefit, ala Ramon Sessions, however once the starters come back you can dump 'em and look for the next best pick-up. That's all for now, all I want for Christmas is a Fantasy Football Championship... and some other stuff, but a Championship would definitely be nice.

Merry Christmas

I changed the layout of the blog for Christmas. I even added Christmas Music (where available). Sometime this week I will add the Helfen Christmas Letter.

Out of my Control

I think the big reason I don't like my current situation at work is because it is out of my control. I don't really feel like I have any say it what is going on and even though I am going to land on my feet (at least for a while) I don't like that feeling. I am a bit of a control freak. I have to have some say in what is going on in order for me to feel comfortable. That is just who I am. I don't like being out of control and I don't even mind dealing with difficulty necessarily but the not being able to have any input to influence what is going on makes it hard. I know that there is nothing I can do at work now that will make things any better for myself. I just can't do much, but I don't enjoy that finality, especially with everyone else at work still scrambling to find jobs. Some people can retire, some will go back to school and some will find jobs before the severance runs out. But some may not find anything and that is a hard thing for me as well. If I just could have had a say in trying to keep the plant running, a stay of execution if you will, that may have helped. As it was I really didn't understand the decision or why we didn't ask the state for help before we shut the doors, but now we have to do an emergency repair in order to make six months worth of material for a customer. Go figure. I really wish there was something more I could do, or that I could at least enjoy myself, but I can't right now. I'm sure I will get things back in my control someday.

Final MMA post of 2008

This is my final MMA post of the year. There is still one big event on the 27th that I hope to watch, but I may not get to comment on it. This week there were two big free events on Spike, the fight for the troops and the Ultimate Fighter Season Finale. Both were really good and the fight for the troops was really special because it was generating money for a new facility to help troops who had suffered brain injuries or post traumatic stress disorder. It seemed like a really good cause and you can also buy a UFC shirt with all of the proceeds going to the troops. Kudos to UFC for this effort, the execution of it and the fights that they had on the show. Josh Koschek had one of the better KO's I've seen and Steve Cantwell actually broke a guy's arm. So it definitely didn't lack for action.

As far as the finale, it wasn't quite as good, but it was still entertaining. As always the UFC does a good job of filling the time and they had all the fighters on that I wanted to see. I thought that the polish experiment wasn't going to be on, but after the light heavy weight contract fight his fight was on. He won and Junie Browning won, which was good because he got a chance to apologize to Mir, so it probably won't be the last we see him in the UFC. Efrain ended up winning the light weight contract and Bader the wrestler from ASU ended up winning the Lt. Heavy weight contract. The way that Bader won looked really funny as he threw a punch that kind of glanced off of the other guy's hands, but ended up dropping him, then he was able to just kind of jump on him and TKO him. Efrain Escudaro won via decision over Nover who some were comparing to Rush St. Pierre. He has a lot to work on from the wrestling stand point if he wants to be anywhere near St. Pierre.

The last event of the year I expect Forrest to defend his belt against Evans, Mir to upset, and Rampage to avenge early defeats to Silva. Will see how I did next year. Have a happy new year.

A day I will not soon be Forgetting (Home)

Today was an exciting day at work, you'll see. When I got home we had dinner and I did some computer stuff and then went to the rest room to read the old ESPN the magazine, when Sophie started yelling that someone was at the door, and they were trying to get in. So I hurried up and ran up stairs and she was pointing at the back door and yelling 'who's there?' She was really freaking out. I turned on the back lights and opened the blind and here it was our neighbor. Unfortunately he is an elderly man with Alzheimer's, so I don't know if he knew where he was or how long he had been outside (at least it was in the 40°'s tonight and not freezing). I threw open the door and all he said was 'please kill me'. I was shocked, I was just at a loss for words, so I tried to get him in the house and I told him that I wasn't going to kill him. Well he was just shaking and talking about how his parents were dead and he should have been home, like it was some recent event. I don't think he wanted me to kill him because of his physical state I think he was more troubled by not being there when his parents passed. It is an interesting glimpse into a person's mind when everything is striped away names, dates, abilities and the things that are most prominent are the memories of regrets. These ideas that have been burned in over the years, real or imagined, the reality is only what we make of it and how long we dwell on certain things. Usually the bad supersedes any good in our life, often we dwell on the passing of loved ones, but rarely on the good events that actually make up our lives like weddings or child births. I can remember thinking about my Dad passing for everyday for the first two years after he died. I don't remember when the first day was that I didn't think of him, but I remember very clearly the next day walking across campus back to my apartment thinking that I had actually gone one day without thinking about my dad. Last year was the first year that the anniversary of his death passed and I didn't really think about it, January 17th. But it is an event that is very deeply burned into my mind and I wonder if I ever end up in a similar state that one of the things I dwell on will be my father. Life shouldn't be like that, but I guess it is up to me to really make that difference. You don't really concentrate on the good things because they are good and don't require a lot of attention, and that is unfortunate. I guess if you just took a few minutes a day or on the commute home or to work or school and concentrated on the good things, the real blessings that have come into your life, maybe the day will seem a little better and the 'good' things will get burned in to your mind. Anyway after we got him in the house and I got him to set down he asked God to kill him and then he asked the 'why me' question and what do you tell someone in that predicament. Not to be rude, but the answer will likely fall on deaf ears other than your own and your left with the rationale that God has a purpose for all of us. Maybe my sole purpose was to be here in this house on this night in order to keep my neighbor from wondering into the street or taking his life into his own hands. Or perhaps to be touched by this moment so profoundly that when I write it, I know eventually it will be read and that is what will affect someone to change their life. Whatever the reason I can live with that. After Sophie had been able to track down his wife, and alert her, and we got him back home he seemed to be a little bit better. As I helped him to the couch and he had a seat, he looked me in the eyes and thanked me, and I told him he was welcome, we shook hands and it was a heart felt moment. On the way out Sophie and I hugged his wife and sympathized with her as much as possible, but unless you have lived that life it is impossible to understand exactly what either one of them is going through. Afterwards, there is a period of self reflection and you just kind of wonder what will happen and how well off will you be. Why does our body and mind fail us at the time when we need them the most? All this time spent working out and reading and trying to better ourselves, will it all fall apart in the end and if it does who will people remember - the you when you mattered to you, or the you when nothing matters to you except your regrets? I don't know that there is any type or dose of medicine that could possibly help at this point, but watching is difficult, not as difficult as being there everyday, and writing this is difficult. I guess all we can do is focus on the good and help each other through the bad. Well this was a little sad for Christmas and all, but maybe just maybe it will make things a little better. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for everyone.

Zuffa's Mistake

After watching Torres destroy Tapia, I came away with a few impressions. #1 - on a pound per pound basis Miguel Torres may indeed be the best fighter in the world. He completely dismantled his opponent on his feet even though that is potentially the best area Tapia had a chance to win. Torres even did this spinning axe kick, that I had never seen in a fight. It was like a Jackie Chan movie where Jackie is doing all this crazy stuff and the other guy is just kind of at his mercy. Anyway I was very impressed by Torres.
#2 - I think that Zuffa made a mistake by trying to make the WEC all about Bantam through Welter weights. I think they should have kept the middleweight and light heavy weight divisions active. Because you had a forum where people could care about the likes of a Brian Stann or Doug Marshall and now these guys are going to have to try and compete in arguable the deepest division in UFC. I just think they could have left in alone and kept in like the minor leagues of MMA. The bantam and feather weight divisions would be the top in world and the other divisions would kind of fill in the show. An entire show of bantam and lightweights just isn't that entertaining for me, sorry. There are a couple I like to see, but there are also a couple of guys that were coming up in the upper weight classes that I also liked to watch that like will disappear onto the under cards of UFC events. Although I did see Cantwell's name on the card in January, but so far he is the only one. Chael Sonnen was already in the UFC and didn't fair that well, but was entertaining and one of the better middleweights in WEC. I think they could have treated in like the minor leagues, or the truck series where you work your way up to the championship and if you make two successful title defenses you automatically move up to the UFC and move within a fight or two of fighting for the title. Then they could have another title fight for the vacated title between the top two contenders. It would also be a platform for quality guys that couldn't make it in the UFC or are in the twilight of their career, ala Jens Pulver. That would give the WEC 5 titles, and they could have at least one up every show and then if someone completes the double defense the title could be right back up for grabs again at the next show. I would like to see MMA gain some exposure, but I think they ruined a good opportunity for more quality shows by combining these upper classes. Now you have 3 belts up for grabs and all of the fighters are lighter weight guys in the WEC. It just seems like a blown opportunity to me.

Recommendation Letters

Finished my first letters of recommendation tonight. It is tough recommending someone for a job outside of where they have been for the last 25 - 30 years. Not because they aren't good people, but just because it isn't right that after working for a company for 25 years people should have to look for another job. Oh well, it is the least I can do for those guys, I just hope it does some good.

MMA Tomorrow

I am getting excited about some of the upcoming MMA battles, including the match up tomorrow of Miguel Torres (one of my fav's) vs. unbeaten Manny Tapia. Tapia's power is an equalizer of sorts as he could stop Torres in much the same way Faber was stopped by Mike Brown, but I hope Torres wins. I have been looking at the pound for pound rankings a lot lately too and it seems there is real debate about who is better between Fedor or Silva. My personal choice is Fedor, because he really has never been beaten so it is impossible to say that his game has any weak points, at least to the point where someone has been able to exploit them for a victory. His only "loss" was due to a cut by an illegal elbow, that normally would have resulted in a no-contest, but since it was a tournament someone had to win and since Fedor was bleeding badly he couldn't continue. Even though he probably could have ended the fight in 60 more seconds if he had to. Silva on the other hand has been beaten 3 times legitimately and even though he is on a roll now I still don't think he is unbeatable like Fedor is. Fedor has already beaten the #2 ranked guy twice as well as put a beat down on the former UFC champ Sylvia in 36 seconds. So yeah he is a pretty bad dude. The only other argument I would make is for BJ Penn if he beats St. Pierre, which I think he will, because he would be the belt holder in two different divisions. Which pound-4-pound speaking is pretty impressive. I think the 'Prodigy' will beat 'Rush' because he lost to 'Rush' via split decision the last time they fought, so I think he'll be more motivated and also BJ is a better striker and is really trying a lot harder than he has in the past. He just seems more focused to me and baring a catastrophic mental collapse I can't see him losing. Plus this time it is 5 rounds.

Browns find new way to lose

Just when you think the Browns could possibly pull out a victory against a Colts team that basically refused to make field goals and move the ball they find a way to blow it. Apparently all they had to do was have Derek Anderson drop back and fumble the ball when he was hit. Then instead of jumping on the ball they let one of the defenders pick it up and take it in for a touch down giving the Colts a 10-6 lead. They could have challenged it because his hand might have been going forward, but that could have cost them the loss. Here I thought they were going to win, but their usual strategy of just run, run, run apparently wasn't good enough when they were up at the end of the game. No, now let's try to pass. How dumb. Just run, the Colts couldn't do anything against our defense, but noooooo. Let's do something stupid. I am going to start rooting for someone else. I am open to bribery, if you feel I might be too big of a jinx, just send me some cash and I will avoid 'rooting' for the team of your choice. Or I could just abandon football all together I become a hockey fan. I do kind of like the Penguins, but i can be persuaded to not root for them if the price is right.

My first "Brawl"

Hans scored some tickets to the Pitt vs. WVU game, which is commonly referred to as the 'Backyard Brawl'. Clever huh. I didn't realize how much bad blood there was between the teams, but they really don't like each other. We were sitting behind a row of WVU fans and as the pre-game ceremonies were going on the one guy was flipping off the band and some of the parents there for senior day, class stuff. So natural when they started yelling the 'Let's goooooo, Mountaineers' chant I felt obliged to join in or else suffer the consequences. Then the game was starting and these dudes were still standing up and since I don't really care about either of the teams I wanted to stay seated, so Hans and I did a little 'reverse seat stealing' and we moved all the way up to the top of the stadium to the last row of seats. At least we could see the field now. I don't know that the top was any colder than the three rows below where we would have been, but it was definitely cold and the wind was blowing. About 10 minutes before halftime the stadium really started filling up though and apparently the seats we had taken belonged to someone else, and they actually wanted them back. I guess they had tried the old regular seat stealing method and it didn't work so they were coming back to get their seats. Well we decided to go ahead down and get some Quaker Steak and Lube wings, before the half ended. I got the hot wings (they really weren't all that hot) and Hans got the L.A. lickers (no real point in me mentioning this I just wanted to write lickers). Anyway during halftime we went and sat with Hans' dad and Uncle who we had come up with us. We sat next to them until we got kicked out again and then we went inside and ate. After we finished we debated going all the way back to the top of the stadium, but we had decided to try the ramp at the open end of the stadium so we could at least watch the game on the way up. We got up the ramp to where we could see and basically stopped there and watched the rest of the game. It was extremely windy where we were at, but at least we could see. We missed Pat White's run while we were on the ramp, but I did catch 'Shady' McCoy running into the endzone with less then a minute left. That was neat, then we got out of the there to beat traffic. I know, 'what if WVU pulled off the most amazing comeback and I missed it because we left early'. 'Oh well' - I guess, because fortunately WVU was able to lay down and take another beating for the second year in a row. Another thing I didn't realize was that Pitt had some affinity for the song 'Sweet Caroline', where during the chorus they yell 'Let's go Pitt' and also 'Go Pitt, Go Pitt, Go Pitt', pretty hardcore stuff. One final impression about my first visit to Heinz field. I was kind of surprised by the structure at first as it looked very minimalistic it is design, because it wasn't completely boxed in like some stadiums, in fact on the side facing the river where the score board is there is no wall at all, allowing the wind to just rip right through the stadium. Aside from that all of the Steeler stuff made me want to hurl all over one of the terrible towels that was hanging around. What a dump. It looks pretty on the outside, but that is about it, the one ramp is terrible because you can't see anything and the other ramps are terrible because you get tore apart from the wind. Three Rivers was much better. Way to go Pittsburgh you deserve this stadium.

Live sporting events over the Break

Sampson did so well at school during the first 9 weeks that he got a free ticket to the Nailers game on Wednesday, Dad's ticket however was not free. It was a good time though, and I think he would tell you his favorite part was the mascots. In between periods they would come out and throw t-shirts and Frisbees into the crowd and he would yell and scream to try and get their attention, but we didn't get one. I liked the atmosphere as live hockey is completely different from hockey on T.V. When you are watching you can look at whatever you want to see all the line changes and you can just get a much better feel for the game. I don't know that I could ever get into hockey, but I would like to sit next to the glass one time and bang on it when the opposing teams comes through, I think that would be fun. Maybe when they have a $5 night or something I will get the family over there.