#team peds forever <3

[headoverheelsforramsey]

The Seal Of Zeal (2/3)

Book : Open Heart (set post book 3)

Pairing : Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Meera Bose)

Series Summary : Ethan Ramsey and Meera Bose do not back down from challenges. But what happens when they challenge each other?

Chapter Summary : Ethan and Meera find it difficult to schedule a date night because of the demands of their new roles, until Meera proposes a plan.

Category : Fluff

Warnings : None

Rating : General

Word Count : 1209

Trope : And they were in the Office...

A/N : Hello and welcome back everybody! I so wanted to post this last week but it got very hectic, so better late than never. This is also my early submission for @choicesmonthlychallengejune2022 day 9 : date. Hope you all enjoy this one as well. Happy Reading! ❤️

Catch up on part 1!

Meera got into the car almost half asleep and let out a long sigh. 

"You look like you had a rough night," Ethan said pulling out of the apartment garage. 

"Says the man who has dark circles deeper than the Grand Canyon." 

"Ouch! That was rude!" Ethan tried feigning offense but ultimately broke into a laugh. Meera joined in a few seconds later.

"I feel like I haven't laughed this much in forever," she said regaining her breath. 

"Yeah tell me about it. Everyday I open my eyes and dread going into work because I'll have to see the fake smiling faces of the board members, and paperwork keeps getting more and more everyday!" 

"Ahh! Paperwork. Is. Literally. The. Worst. I have reached the point where I can't bear the sight of my own signature. Is it possible? Can you be disgusted by your own signature?" 

"Hmm, I think it is," Ethan chuckled. 

"You know, this reminds me we haven't had a date night in ages." 

"Really? Didn't we check out that food carnival like last week?" 

"It's been three weeks to that old man." 

"Wow! Three weeks is a really long time. We should rectify that at the earliest tell me when you are free this week?" Ethan said pulling into the hospital driveway. 

"I am not on call Tuesday and I think I get off early Friday," Meera checked her calendar. 

"No, that doesn't work with me, I can move around somethings and get out on Saturday and maybe Thursday if I am lucky." Ethan checked his. "I'll see if I can reassign some of your cases so that you can get Saturday off." 

"Sorry, won't work, I have a consult at Mass Gen and they have been trying to have me over for weeks. Why don't You make things work for Friday." 

"I would if I could, but the CEO of this med-tech company will be in town only on Friday and the board wants me to have dinner with him." Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose getting out of the car. 

"Great so my boyfriend is now going on dates with some CEO?" Meera chuckled following suit. 

"Come on Meera, meet me halfway here." 

"Halfway? I am dealing with life or death here!" 

The couple walked into the busy hospital atrium. 

"Hey round with interns in five," Jackie shouted walking past Meera. 

"Will be there!" 

"Chief Ramsey someone from HR has been asking for you," Ethan's assistant Margaret walked upto him. 

"I'll see them in my office in ten." 

"Hey I have a new pro-Bono case for the DT I wanted to discuss with you," Harper said crossing the atrium to meet Meera. 

"Let's assemble the team after rounds, will go through it then." 

"Sir Mrs. Wilson's lawsuit has been settled we just need you to sign the paperwork." 

"That's great! Keep it ready for me in my office." 

"Meera I need a consult for a kid up in peds, you can't say no," Sienna said handing both of them coffee and cookies. 

"How can I when your cookie is my breakfast? I'll page you when I'm done with the DT." 

"You are the best," Sienna smiled curtly at them and dissappeared. 

"Medicure pharma wants to let you know that their offer stands if you change your mind." 

"Margaret let them know that Ethan Ramsey doesn't change his mind." 

Margaret nods running up the stairs. 

Ethan and Meera get into the elevator, and let out long sighs. 

"So you ready for your day?" Meera asks. 

"Doesn't leave me with a choice of not being ready," Ethan replies. 

"You know I was thinking why don't we add a little more fun into our day?" 

Ethan looked at his girlfriend puzzled. 

"Whoever finishes with their itenary and clocks out first can decide the day for the date night and the other has to make time for that." 

Ethan's blue eyes sparkled mischievously, "you are a freaking genius." 

"Well I know, thank you very much," Meera gave a little bow as the elevator stopped at her floor with the familiar beep. Ethan cupped her face and pressed his lips to her one last time before parting ways. 

Meera stepped out, "just so you know this genius brain is going to figure out all of her cases in no time and make you change your schedule." 

"We'll see about that," Ethan said just as the elevator doors closed. 

Meera walked toward her office with newfound motivation and joy. 

The day zoomed by. Meera's brain was working at its fullest. She went through rounds, met with the DT and completed Sienna' s consult in no time. She returned to her office and started with paperwork without stopping for coffee. She didn't need coffee when the adrenaline from her impending win was pulsating through her nerves. 

Soon the sun had set over the Boston horizon and Meera put her signature on the very last paper. She threw her hands in joy and looked at the time, it was half past eight and there was no way Ethan was done before her.

Without wasting a single minute Meera packed up her belongings and made her way to the elevator, doing a little happy dance to the elevator's music. Only to come up to an empty Chief's office. Ethan's assistant had informed her that he was almost done with the day's work when he got called into an emergency board meeting thirty minutes ago. This was maybe the first time Meera felt grateful for Bloom. He had ensured her win, but she missed being able to rub it in Ethan's face. 

She walked over to Ethan's empty desk, overflowing with paperwork. She looked at the framed picture of her in the dog park that was kept on one side of the table. This man was whipped, she thought. 

On the other side she noticed a huge white box with a leading pharmaceutical company's name on it. Filled with curiosity she opened it to reveal a huge spread of donuts. Being chief came with its perks, she chuckled. 

Her stomach growled, reminding that the adrenaline of the day made her forget to take a break for lunch. She picked up the box of donuts and walked over to the couch, making herself comfortable. 

A couple of hours later Ethan walked out of the conference room, head throbbing with pain. He looked down at his wrist watch taking quick steps towards the elevator. There was no way he was beating Meera now. 

Ethan walked into his office and was welcomed by a soft musical snoring. His eyes made a quick scan before finding the source, his girlfriend, asleep on the couch with an almost finished box of donuts laying on the ground. 

He smiled, she looked so peaceful and cute, but he couldn't help but click a few quick pictures which he knew Varma and Lahela would definitely appreciate. He nudged Meera awake. It took her a few seconds to break the trance before groggily saying, "I won, you lost." 

"I know," he replied, "but let's get you home first," he put down an endearing kiss on her forehead, already cooking up an excuse for the board on missing the dinner with the CEO.

Thank you so much if you have read till here, it means the world to me. Hope to see you go on other different adventures with me, Ethan and Meera, till then sending love and hugs your way! ❤️

Taglist : @starrystarrytrouble @mm2305 @charisworld @choicesfanaf @potionsprefect @genevievemd  @shanzay44 @little-flowers-on-heaven @schnitzelbutterfingers  @coffeeheartaddict  @gryffindordaughterofathena @chemist-ana @adiehardfan-deactivated20211021 @custaroonie @ireneadlerisseggsy @takemyopenheart @natureblooms24 @mainstreetreader @lawyerlies @a-crepusculo @quixoticdreamer16 @starryeyedrookie @sincerelyscarring @thebluestonedpendant @kit-rookie-princess @wanderingamongthewildflowers @peonierose

+ @openheartfanfics, @choicesficwriterscreations, @choicesmonthlychallengejune2022

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed. 💜

[ontrackmind]

I am one month into residency. Here are a few things I've learned (mostly about myself):

1) I am, indeed, a textbook person. I always thought I was an uptodate person, but it's just not always the best resource for peds. I have looked things up in Red Book, Lange Neonatology, Bright Futures, and AAP Peds in Review multiple times this month already. They just seem to work better for me when I have the time. Uptodate is my second choice for on-the-go reading (like when walking to morning conference)

2) organization is key. I'm not sure what system works best for me on rounds since the handoff sheet we get is completely different from what we used at my med school. (Same info, just formatted differently on the page). But, I have found having a succinct cover sheet with all of my patients only and their to-do items for the day to be way more efficient than flipping back and forth in a big packet. I'm still working out how to make the handoff page work best for me during rounds though. One thing is clear though, if you're not organized, something will be forgotten. For me, keeping lists and check boxes is key.

3) if I don't write it down, it doesn't exist. How do people remember *everything*?? If I don't write it down within 5 minutes of doing it/hearing about it/being told to do it, it's forgotten in the abyss.

4) good sleep hygiene is my BFF. I probably have co-residents with wacky schedules, but I like my routine and I have noticed I do better when I'm well rested. I typically get 6-8 hours, but in order to ensure that happens, I have a pretty consistent routine in the evenings after work and the mornings before work (especially since I don't have a yard and have to walk my dog both times). I also like feeling well rested in the morning. I'm in a better mood, less stressed, and make fewer mistakes. (Maybe this one matters more since I don't drink coffee or soda so I don't get an extra boost from the caffeine?? I've debated energy shots, but I get heart palpitations with anxiety and they freak me out. I can only imagine what extra caffeine would do)

5) I 100000% prefer to work as a team than work alone. My last block was very team oriented and I felt like I thrived. We were always asking each other how we could help and getting lunch or snacks for each other when we couldn't go together as a group. It was very much a "we all lift each other up" kind of environment. I hope that carries into my other blocks, too. I'm going to do my best to continue to be a team player and help everyone with their workload.

6) I still feel pretty dumb and unsure of myself, but the imposter syndrome is WAY less than before. Idk if it's the new environment or what, but I just don't feel that same fear of being too dumb and undeserving and being the weak link like I did during med school. Sure, I have a lot to learn and I do sometimes forget things or freeze up (for instance, I completely forgot what DI was today during rounds. Literally could not have even told my fellow my name if she had asked.lol) and while I fell a little embarrassed, it's not the same as it was before. Maybe I'm in a better mental place for now?

7) Im somehow less stressed. Like, I work hard at work and sometimes I get frustrated or get stuck, but it's not the same as being a student. I read articles and do practice questions at home but it's much more leisurely. Despite the long hours, I find this WAY more enjoyable than med school. I don't feel guilty for taking time off or enjoying my hobbies and I actually enjoy studying and looking up stuff about my patients. Residency is hard, but I am so much happier than I was before. I hope it stays this way.

8) my dog is still one of the absolutely best part of my day. She's happy when we get up in the morning and happy when I get home in the evening. She will forever be the bright, sunny spot in my day. Its a lot of work having a dog while living alone, but holy crap is she worth it❤

[thefrsers]

[grayluweekends]

Introducing Grayluweekend!

This is the official post for Grayluweekend2020! Below you will find the finalized dates and prompts:

Grayluweekend will run from November 6 - November 10. Each day will have a choice of 2 prompts. Each prompt is a quote from the manga/anime said by Lucy or Gray. Some quotes have been shorten to best fit as prompts. 

Day 1: 

Gray: “Lucy’s our comrade. I won’t hand her over even if I die”

Lucy: “Gray! Hang in there!”

Day 2:

Gray: “You know you mean a lot to us”

Lucy: “I’m glad to hear it!”

Day 3:

Gray: “Missy, could you please lend me your underwear?”

Lucy: “It’s hot!! Gray, cool me down!”

Bonus Day 1:

Gray: “I’ll be as dark and black a villian as I need to in order to protect ‘em”

Lucy: “I can’t keep crying forever...I have to fight!”

Bonus Day 2:

Gray: “He likes the whole package...she can be as hotheaded as Erza but she hides her pure heart”

Lucy: “She saved Gray”

These prompts are merely suggestions! Any graylu content is welcome for this event as long as it follow the rules.

Rules:

Please use #grayluweekend2020 in the first 5 tags of your post and tag @grayluweekends. There has been a tumblr-wide issue of posts not appearing in tags so please @grayluweekends in all of your entries and shoot us a message if you post is not reblogged

All fanfiction entries can be added to the Aurora Borealis: A Graylu Collection

Please tag any nsfw or potential triggers

No work containing in*est or ped*philia will be accepted

No work containing ship bashing or character bashing will be accepted

We apologize for any confusion regarding the change of dates but we are trying our best to make sure this event runs as smoothly as possible. Please continue to watch this space for any upcoming announcements. We look forward to spreading the Graylu love with all of you in November! 

With love, the grayluweekends mod team:

@fairiesnova @jaciserigala @castawayskiller

[spookyrobbins]

Okay, i can’t believe you managed to make a fucking bubblegum and x-ray hella sad. Kudos for that!

Now let’s do part 2 of the angst game with more random words.

1.) Moles/freckles

2.) Glasses

3.) Gauze-paws

4.) Polaroid

5.) Fending machine

6.) Ballpoint

7.) Softball

8.) Leather

9.) Clown

10.) Bailey

1.) Moles/freckles

callie was always fascinated with arizona's moles and freckles and used to trace them and count them and she honestly thought she could spend hours cataloging each one

there was one on her left knee that looked like the lyra constellation (a constellation that is partially based in the mythology of the muses) that was one of callie's particular favourites

i'll let you fill in the blanks :)

2.) Glasses

it started with glasses, oddly enough

arizona was in denial, but callie noticed; the colonel kept losing his glasses, he kept losing his glasses and he just seemed confused

arizona refused to even talk about it; he was the colonel, he was always fine

and then he asked how seattle was - arizona hadn't lived in seattle in three years

the next time they visited a few months later, he hesitated when he spoke to sofia, as if it took him a moment to place her

and still, arizona and barbara didn't want to see it bc he was fine most of the time, he had lived a hard life, he was getting older so a bit of confusion was normal and nothing callie said could change their minds

if callie could’ve done anything to stop the devastation that appeared in arizona’s face, she would’ve. but she could do nothing but watch as arizona’s face crumbled when her father turned to her after dinner one night and called her margaret, his beloved older sister, whom arizona did bear a striking resemblance

but maybe the worst moment came a few months after he was diagnosed, when arizona was speaking to him on the phone and he mentioned that he was going to give tim a call; arizona didn't know what to say but she didn't have the heart to tell him that tim was dead

and to think, it started with glasses

3.) Gauze-paws

arizona knew she shouldn't be jealous; they were just friends; mark was just helping his best friend bc she had chicken pox and she probably really wanted to scratch

it was stupid and childish to be jealous; after all, she was the one lying to her girlfriend - she totally had chickenpox, she and tim had it at the same time and spent a week on the couch, absolutely miserable, watching re-runs of MASH

but god if she didn't hate mark sloan just a bit, she just wished he wasn't around so much, like if he decided to leave seattle for a while or forever, arizona wouldn't exactly be mourning the loss

she really shouldn't have lied to callie, she just panicked and now mark sloan was cuddling with her girlfriend who looked unfairly cute with chicken pox and gauze paws

4.) Polaroid

callie loved taking pictures of arizona

arizona hated it when callie took photos of her, not because she was self-conscious, but because callie rarely told her she was doing it; arizona would just find polaroids of herself lying around (there had been a particularly dicey moment when cristina nearly found a more racy one if not for callie's quick thinking)

callie started to hate it too at some point; some point around when it seemed like arizona had disappeared in on herself, slipped into a deep, dark place and wasn't the arizona callie knew and all she had left of her arizona were the polaroids

callie couldn't remember the last time she felt so useless and pathetic as she flipped through old polaroids of arizona and a smile that callie hadn't seen in months; somehow it felt like she was looking at a ghost, even if arizona was only twenty feet away

5.) Fending machine

when she's wrapped up in planning a surgery, arizona frequently forgets to eat; for years, callie would remind her, just like arizona would make sure callie ate when she was working on her research

her favourite was this one kind of chocolate peanut butter granola bars that they only had in the cancer wing vending machines, which was on the clear opposite side from peds

it had been years since callie was around to take care of her and arizona had honestly forgot about the granola bars

but one day, she was down in the cancer wing for a patient and she happened to pass by the vending machines and it was so stupid it was a freaking granola bar, but she just felt alone? because nobody cared to make sure she was eating and bringing her the granola bars she liked and make sure that she wasn't so, so painfully alone all the time; but she had made her bed and now she had to lie in it, even if it felt like she couldn't breathe

6.) Ballpoint

arizona broke up with her and callie didn't want to be that girl who cried over stupid things just because they belonged to someone else

but then she found a ballpoint pen in the pocket of her labcoat and it was definitely arizona's; callie definitely didn't keep glitter pens in her lab coat and callie was just so angry because who did arizona think she was going around kissing her in elevators and smiling with her stupid dimples and yep, callie might be able to hate arizona just a little bit, she tossed the pen in the trash and steeled herself for having to go up to peds and maybe see arizona, honestly, her day couldn't get that much worse, not when it started with crying in her cereal

7.) Softball

arizona was cleaning out her junk closet when she found a picture of the hospital softball team, all goofy smiles and arms slung over shoulders and just happiness bled through the photo

as she traced over their faces with her finger, she desperately wished she could go back to that moment and warn them, tell them to hold onto this moment of happiness because henry would die a month later, teddy would leave and never return, mark and lexie would never get to be together, owen and cristina would fall to pieces, she and callie would tear each other apart, cristina would leave, derek would die and leave meredith broken with three small children; everything would change and very rarely for the better

8.) Leather

arizona locked herself in a supply closet, she knew she was being childish or jealous or insecure or whatever million words callie had thrown at her years ago, but god, it felt like her heart was being torn to shred for the hundredth time

but seeing penny wearing callie's leather jacket, the one that callie had been wearing all those years ago in that dirty bar bathroom, the one that arizona used to steal as a joke, the one that had always been arizona's favourite, it just felt like one more thing on top of everything else, just further proof that callie had moved on and arizona was just going to have to be okay with it

only she didn't know how to be okay anymore, she wasn't sure she could do that anymore, she'd just smile through the pain and it'd work because no one other than callie would know it wasn't a real smile, and even callie wouldn't notice because she didn't care anymore and arizona wished she didn't care. she wished she didn't automatically look for callie, didn't catch herself doing a million things that had become muscle memory because of callie

9.) Clown

"callie, what the fuck happened? why is sofia calling me in tears?"

"we took sofia to the circus and there were clowns and penny wanted to do something nice for sofia and she took her to get a balloon animal when I went to get food and she didn't know that sofia's afraid of clowns. that's all. it's fine, I'm dealing with it. you don't need to freak out about it."

"I don't need to freak out, seriously, callie? i think I'm perfectly entitled to freak out because my daughter called me in tears because you left her alone with your girlfriend who didn't know she is terrified of clowns. damn it, callie."

"it's fine."

"it's not. it's really, really not. sofia is terrified and I'm on the other side of the country and she is crying and she didn't feel like she could tell you because you'd be mad. it's really, really not fucking okay, callie."

10.) Bailey

bailey really thought out of everyone, callie and arizona would make it

they loved each other in such a special way; they loved each other even when they hated each other; they had special smiles and twinkling eyes; and bailey always grumbled about them but she sort of adored them in her own way

she wanted to shake them and tell them to hold on to each other

she wanted to yell at arizona to actually fight for something because she loved callie torres so damned much and you don't just give up on the love of your life, even if you think you're doing it for her happiness

she wanted to shake callie and tell her that arizona still loved her, but she was terrified because callie left and she was trying to protect callie and callie had to see that arizona watched her and waited for her and the way arizona's smile dimmed just a bit more each day

but she didn't and she would regret that as she sat in a courtroom watching a lawyer try to destroy arizona while callie did nothing

she would regret that when she saw a version of arizona robbins that was wholly unfamiliar to her when she came back from new york

she would regret that as she watched arizona finally try to move on with now that callie was really gone, but bailey could tell that her heart wasn't in it because her heart was in

she would regret that whenever she got a message from callie "just checking in"

but there wasn't much for her to do, so she would give tuck an extra hug because he was still here and she wouldn't have to give him up; and she'd tell ben how much she loved him because not everyone got to tell the love of their life they loved them

and she would say a silent prayer that callie and arizona someday find their way back together.

[thesportssoundoff]

Playoff Droughts And Who Can Break Theirs

Joey

Baseball season is approaching and in the interest of breaking up the monotony of what figures to be a LONG and painful spring training, I wanted to take a peek whimsically while looking backwards. There's no more enjoyable story than when a team that's been excluded from the postseason dance for quite some time gets their invite. Sometimes it's years of hard work and team building and other years its due to ownership just throwing money around and sometimes? It's just a fluke luck circumstance not to be repeated for quite some time. For the sake of doing something of a bit of a project, I decided to take a brief look at teams that have not made the playoffs in over five years. I chose five years arbitrarily I suppose because to me five years or more without a playoff run is a genuine drought whereas four or less just feels like a lull regardless of expectations. Yankees fans may consider three years without the playoffs to be a drought whereas that's if anything a lull or a break in tradition. Teams that have been out of it for five years or more are teams that are either mired in long term BAD baseball or embracing mediocrity at best and so five years just felt right. Also I wanted to do it since the invent of the two game wild card but then it would be literally just three teams and nobody wants that.

Of the eight teams who have missed the playoffs for five years straight or longer, who are most likely to break that streak and join the dance? Well...

1- Philadelphia Phillies Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Last year's darling picks, the Phillies have been out of the playoffs since 2011. For fun facts, 2011 was also the first year of the Chromebook, snapchat and the release of Elder Scrolls: Skryim. If you read this space for MMA? 2011 was the year Jon Jones beat Shogun for the LHW title, the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix started and Alistair Overeem's UFC debut. It's been a while and to the credit of Philadelphia, they've tried a multitude of ways from riding out the final years of aging veterans to rehauling their farm system to spending and spending big. It's not for a lack of trying they haven't made it back to the playoffs! Last year they seemed armed to roll through a perceived weak NL East with big names and big money across the board. Of course little did we know the Nationals would be better without Bryce Harper and the Phillies wouldn't even crack the top two of the division. Out goes Gabe Kapler and in comes Joe Girardi who will be tasked with VETERAN MANAGING his way through this ultra talented and underachieving roster that has added the likes of Zach Wheeler, Didi Gregorious as well as Andrew McCutchen who was lost early into 2019 with a torn ACL. The Phillies boast an insane line up as if Didi and Cutch are healthy and productive then you've got a core of Jean Segura, JT Realmuto, Didi, McCutchen, Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. The rotation is pretty damn spiffy (health permitting) with Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Jake Arrieta plus flostam as a fifth if need be. The Phillies are always going to be a team that has slumps magnified and streaks glorified (such is life with Bryce Harper) but I can't see them not cracking the playoffs in some form or fashion this year. If they don't make the playoffs, we may need to try and discuss if there's some kind of a curse out there on the Phanatic.

2- Cincinnati Reds Last Playoff Appearance: 2013

Gotta admit I had no idea the Reds had a playoff cameo back in 2013. Guess that's just one of those years lost to time. Fun facts of 2013? Grand Theft Auto 5 came out that year, Yahoo purchased this hell site and the UFC brought women into the organization for the first time ever. The Reds spoke openly about wanting to spend a bit in the offseason and so they did, flexing some financial muscle with deals for Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos to help out a lineup featuring the likes of Joey Votto, Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez. If the Reds are going to make a serious run of things, it'll likely be on the arms of a rejuvenated Sonny Gray, mercurial Trevor Bauer and the league's best kept secret to casual fans Luis Castillo. There's obviously going to be concerns about a team that hits a lot of dingers but strikes out a bunch and a somewhat unheralded bullpen but the Reds have power, they've gotten better and they've got a cadre of arms to flex at any time. Also? The NL Central figures to be up in the air as the Cubs seem to coast with the core they have until the rebuild comes around, the Cardinals and Brewers underwent massive changes and the Pirates figure to be flat out bad. There's never been a more clear path for the Reds to make some October noise.

3- Los Angeles Angels Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The year is 2014. In the real world,  Colorado legalizes the purchase of wacky tobacky, selfies became "a thing" in need of forever going away and the occulus rift creates a youtube grift genre. Sports wise? The MLB struggles through record rating woes, the Cowboys finally break through in the Jason Garrett tenure with a 12-4 record, the UFC is undergoing massive upheaval as stars retire or are suspended for PEDs, Bellator hosts its first PPV which in turn leads to the ousting of Bjorn Rebney for Scott Coker and LeBron James leaves Miami to go back where it all began in Cleveland. That's the last time the Angels saw a playoff game and it's been beaten to death at this point. "WHY DON'T THE ANGELS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS DURING MIKE TROUT'S PRIME?!" is tired and done to death but for those of you who feel the same way, 2020 marks the BEST chance for that to become a fad question (or perhaps just morph into "WHY CAN'T THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL WIN THE WORLD SERIES ON HIS OWN?!") since the Angels are pretty damn loaded for bare. With the Astros about to endure a pretty weird season and the A's always lurking, the Angels will roll into the year with three bonafide superstars in Anthony Rendon, Shohei Otani and Mike Trout. The pieces around them aren't bad shakes either as Andrelton Simmons is a defensive whiz, David Fletcher is one of those solid under the radar types and the rotation isn't flashy but it should be competent with minor league depth to make moves if they see a big fish out there. The Angels would've been higher up had they gotten Ross Stripling and Joc Pedersen in a deal but since that fell off, I feel like 3rd behind the Reds and Phillies is a fine spot to put them in.

4- Chicago White Sox Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

2008 will probably best be known as the year of change headlined by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. It was the year Fidel Castro stepped down in Cuba. China got the olympics in Beijing and people were TOTALLY cool about that with nary any controversy whatsoever. Beyond that? 2008 was the year I got into MMA and that was a special time, dudes. It was also the year where the White Sox saw their last real sustained succeed with its last postseason appearance. The White Sox feel like they've been in a rebuild since pretty much the end of the Ozzie Guillen tenure and despite multiple managers, multiple attempts to figure it out, rebuilds aplenty and some damn good talent coming through the organization, it's been a rough go of it for the majority of 2010 to 2019. Put it this way, the LAST time the White Sox made the playoffs, Chris Sale was a 22 year old rookie and Paul Konerko was still an active player. They've got a chance to kick off this next decade as a bit of a sleeper team in the Central. This team can hit and one can assume that another year of development for phenom talents like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez can only help. Tim Anderson for better or worse has a style and swagger that generates attention but it is fair to remember that for at least one half a season, he was a phenomenal player worthy of the acclaim. The White Sox have tried hard to secure elite free agents (Manny Machado and Zack Wheeler) but it's been a bust so at this point it's going to be up to them to draft, develop and trade for it. It would not surprise me if the White Sox are good enough in June and July to make a big deal to try and push them over the hump and chase for the second wild card.

5- San Diego Padres Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

The Padres last made the playoffs in the year of the Nintendo Wii. Floyd Mayweather hadn't even come up with his Money Mayweather gimmick yet! Lost to baseball obscurity, the Padres had at the very least an interesting team out west. The likes of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, arguably the worst defensive outfield in the history of the universe and freakishly good young arms like Chris Paddack and Joey Luchessi at least made them fun to watch. They weren't "good" but this is a team that was still struggling to balance expensive veterans with clout (Machado, Eric Hosmer, Will Meyers) with really good young talent trying to figure things out. The Padres figure to be better with a full season of Tatis Jr, more production from guys like Hosmer and Machado plus improvements in the outfield with Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham (hold your jokes, Nats fans) figure to give this team a chance. There's a pretty good bullpen (Emilio Pagan is a sneaky nice pick up) and plenty of talent in their 26 man roster. The NL West has so much legit top talent with the D-Backs and Dodgers figuring to be really good that it's hard to make an argument for the Padres to be a playoff contender but they figure to try and trying is truly half the battle.

6- Miami Marlins Last Playoff Appearance: 2003

It's kind of a bummer that we didn't get our decennial Marlins "The fuck?" World Series win but they made up for it by giving us Jeffrey Loria and David Samson fucking things up for most of the decade leading to Derek FUCKING Jeter opting to get into the management game much to the chagrin of most folks on all sides. The Marlins are in the midst of rebuilding....again. Don't expect them to compete but they've got some good talent to at least want to see play. Brian Anderson, Caleb Smith, Jorge Alfaro and a bundle of veteran signings that will at the very least make the Marlins a fun trade partner in July will keep this team relevant. Wouldn't surprise me if the Marlins flirt with a 20 win swing from where they were last year.

7- Seattle Mariners Last Playoff Appearance: 2001

My god man. The Mariners were SO close in 2018, winning 89 games and finishing a few spots out of a Wild Card spot. As if they decided that this core couldn't do it, the Mariners went to work tearing their team apart and were rewarded with a pretty blegh squad that was once again picked apart at the deadline. To their credit they have some spiffy talent worth watching, namely the infield duo of JP Crawford and Shed Long. They’ve also got some fun young arms who might take the next step. Just don't expect them to win many games.

8- Detroit Tigers Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The Tigers are aways away from being contenders. They're not trying to be contenders. They're in the midst of what could best be described as a multiple year rebuild after riding out the end days of the core from the start of the 2010's. They will be bad but god bless 'em for embracing it.

[allieisamermaid]

12/17/17 vs now

I didn’t think you would live to see age 1, Quinlee. But here you are a sassy, smart, and freaking hilarious 2 year old.

Not only were you born 7 weeks early due to HELLP, but then you got RSV (probably from your oldest brother, bless him) and ended up fighting for your life for a hellacious 2 weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

The doctor that saw you first refused to do an RSV test, even after knowing you were 7 weeks premature and were only 2 days old (adjusted age). She said, “we don’t test for RSV if over 1 month old.”

You were sent home with a “virus” and we were told to treat the symptoms.

The day after the doctor’s appointment, we had to take you to the ER. You refused to eat and would choke and vomit when eating if you tried. There you were tested for RSV and the result was positive. We were sent home with a syringe and instructed to feed you 5 CCs every 30 minutes. Formula if you would tolerate it. Pedialyte if you couldn’t do formula.

That night we tried formula. You would still refuse or spit it up. We tried pedialyte. That was a no-go.

Luckily, your Nonnie - being super smart and a respiratory therapist - noticed you were having difficulty breathing. Nasal flaring, retractions. She said “we need to take her back to the ER.”

We didn’t go back to the same ER, of course, but a different one in the same network of hospitals so complete record would be accessible, including from your birth.

The hospital admitted us initially because you were dehydrated.

You turned blue in the ER but not for long.

Once we got up to the pediatric floor, everything seemed to calm. The initial plan was to give you fluids overnight and possible release the next day.

Nonnie went to grab some things for us because for some reason we didn’t plan for admission. She was gone for an hour or so.

She came back with clothing and something for dinner. She wanted to hold you and give mama a break. She noticed your leg start twitching and asked me if you had been doing that. I replied no - you hadn’t been.

Your other leg started twitching. Then an arm. Then another arm.

We called the nurse into the room. She asked the doctor to come in. The doctor checked you over and confirmed you were having a seizure. It went on for what seemed like forever.

Finally medication was given to stop the seizure. But then, you stopped breathing.

And it happened again. And again. And again. Apnea spells lasting longer each time.

The PICU team was called in. We were told you were being transferred to that department. We gathered our things and followed the nurses there.

The distance from the peds floor to the PICU is not that great. And the nurses were running with you. They had to stop 3 times from the pediatric floor to the PICU and get you to start breathing again.

Once we got to the PICU you were intubated. Which means we had to leave the room while it was being done.

Two days later, you were doing better and the decision was made to take the breathing tube out.

Unfortunately the next day you had to be re-intubated because you were breathing entirely too hard.

For the next 2 weeks you were fighting for your life. Apnea spells, bradycardia. At one time your heart rate went down to 23. Twenty-three. You continued to have seizures due to the swelling from the infection.

Luckily this story has a happy ending. Others don’t. Please, be careful. It’s RSV season.

No parent wants to go through this. Trust me.

[junker-town]

The start of Western Illinois’ NCAA tournament run in Year 20, continued

We pick up with the Leathernecks facing No. 5 Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA tournament in our College Hoops 2K8 sim.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, I simulate every game in this series (even the ones we watch on Twitch) and only handle the recruiting and coaching strategies.

We pick up with Western Illinois in the first round of the 2027 NCAA tournament. Here’s a recap of everything that has happened so far this season:

Western Illinois entered the season seeking redemption after losing to Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. We began the new season rated as a 96 overall with three new starters. We went 3-6 against a difficult non-conference schedule before sweeping the Summit League and again capturing the conference tournament championship.

We enter the tournament as a No. 12 seed. Our opponent in the first round is No. 5 seed Minnesota.

We recruited for one scholarship and are in position to land five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe in the spring.

READ: Western Illinois, Year 20, 2026-2027

Here’s a look at our roster heading into the 2027 NCAA tournament:

Not going to lie, there’s some real pressure heading into this tournament run in my 20th season as head coach at Western Illinois. We saw our season end in the Elite Eight in Year 16, Year 17, and Year 18. We lost in the first round last season. While I already have a strong case as the greatest mid-major coach in college basketball history, we all know this is a “what have you done for me lately” culture. It will be so hard to face the fanbase if we bow out early again.

Unfortunately, our shaky non-conference slate means we got a raw deal by the selection committee. It’s going to be a tough road through the bracket for us as a No. 12 seed, and it starts against a talented Minnesota team. Both teams enter the game rated as a 98 overall.

Minnesota is real good — you can check out the Golden Gophers’ roster here. Their senior shooting guard Carlos Klatsky is rated as a 95 overall — only four players are rated higher entering the tournament — and he’s matched up against our redshirt freshman Mathew Alloway. Their front court is stacked. Their five best players are either juniors or seniors. I am expecting this to be tough as hell.

The one thing giving me confidence is how we performed in the regular season against No. 1 Louisville in a game we watched together on Twitch. We gave the Cards all they could handle in a true road game before losing in the end. I love our inside-outside combination with senior small forward Wilky Henry and junior power forward Allan Cunningham. I trust our guards more than I did last year. While we have struggled in quick sim games, the pieces on this squad fit together better when we watch full games together on Twitch, I think. We need to take care of the ball, dominate the glass, and hopefully get a stellar performance from Henry as our go-to option on the perimeter.

We streamed this game on Twitch on Sunday night. As always, I’m not controlling Western Illinois; we’re watching a simulated game played by the computer. I’m not playing any of the games in this series, I only do the recruiting and set the coaching strategies. We did do something new this year, though: for the first time, I’m allowing myself to make in-game substitutions. Why not? There’s too much pressure to let poor rotation choices cost us.

The game should begin when you press play. Let’s go!

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Win, 89-72! We’re onto the round of 32 where we will face No. 4 seed Ole Miss.

“SECOND HALF TEAM” has become a rallying cry for our Leathernecks during the Twitch chat, and it paid off once again. Thank the heavens, because that first half was tense. Our defense looked good, but Minnesota was still matching baskets with us the entire way. We couldn’t get anything going from three-point range early. I was wondering who was going to step up to be the hero, but instead the whole team pretty much raised its level of play in the second half.

A few shout-outs:

Wilky Henry was outstanding — he was up to 24 points on the night when we pulled the starters with about five minutes remaining. Henry didn’t do anything in our first round tournament loss to Cal last year (7 points in 33 minutes), so it was great to see him splashing threes and using his size (6’8, 240+ pounds) to bully people at the rim. That is exactly the type of performance we need out of him to keep winning.

Allan Cunningham is simply an all-time Stream Team performer. Dude is so big (6’11, 290 pounds) but still so graceful, and has three-point touch to match. For all the praise we give Ham — read our beat writer Matthew Morrow on Cunningham coming into the season — we often overlook his passing ability. Not anymore: Ham was dropping dimes like a vintage Chris Webber in this one, beating constant double-teams in the second half by kicking out to open shooters. Beautiful stuff.

Our center Pat Giddens has been generally maligned by the fanbase for being too short (6’9) and too overweight (close to 300 pounds), but he’s also the highest rated junior in the NCAA tournament. I was waiting for his production to match his ratings, and it finally happened. Giddens looks formidable offensively and held his own protecting the rim. Good stuff — we need more of that is we want to keep winning.

Reader Abby blessed us with clips from the win. My favorites: this three-pointer from Silky Wilky:

Manual subs! Featuring a Cunningham steal and finish:

Nice block by backup center Kevin Brazzle + a knockdown jumper from freshman guard Mathew Alloway:

Bring on Ole Miss.

No. 12 Western Illinois vs. No. 4 Ole Miss, round of 32, 2027 NCAA tournament

Another tough matchup for our Leathernecks. Ole Miss enters the game as a 99 overall, which is one point higher than us. They have five players rated in the 90s, though most of their talent is in the backcourt and on the wing rather than in the front court. Here’s a look at the roster:

We need Cunningham and Giddens to eat inside. Waiting for us in the Sweet 16 would be a matchup with top-seeded Dayton, who are led by junior big man Matt Boswell, the player we created for the first-ever winner of our bracket contest. That would be such a fun game.

We also streamed this game on Twitch on Sunday night. Again: we’re watching a simulated game, I’m not controlling the teams. The game should start when you press play.

LET’S GO!

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Win, 116-85! We’re going to the Sweet 16! Here are the tempo-free team stats from @akulawolf:

@SBN_Ricky not sure it's possible to be much better than this offensively pic.twitter.com/zRvek6XJfz

— Steven (@akulawolf) August 17, 2020

We just witnessed the best NCAA tournament performance in program history. Wilky Henry, have yourself a day!

Here’s what I wrote about Henry at the start of the season: “Henry needs to be a superstar this year for this team to play up to its potential.” It happened in an epic way, and we’re going to the Sweet 16 because of it. Henry was absolutely unconscious, pouring in 46 points on 10-of-16 shooting from three-point range. He shattered the program’s previous tournament scoring record of 34 points set by Kim Kone in Year 17.

Honestly, it felt like he could have scored 60 easily. We pulled the starters with 9:35 seconds left as we were up 22 points. I tried to manually sub Henry back in to get 50, but the game took him out right away. LOL. Still an unreal performance either way.

Seriously, man: 46 points on 27 shots in 26 minutes. We might never see a performance like that again in Leathernecks history. Let’s go the clips from reader Abby, starting with a three and then a dunk from Wilky:

More Wilky:

Nice pass from Wilky to point guard Tron Whaley:

Silky Wilky forever. We’re going to need him to keep going, because we’re moving onto the Sweet 16 to face No. 1 seed Dayton.

No. 12 Western Illinois vs. No. 1 Dayton, Sweet 16, 2027 NCAA tournament

Dayton enters the game as a 97 overall — we’re a 98 overall. This is how the two teams matchup:

Here’s a look at Dayton’s roster led by one-time bracket contest winner, studio host, and created baller Matt Boswell. This is going to be an all-out battle. And we’re going to watch the simulated game together on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. Please join us.

Here’s how to watch Western Illinois vs. Dayton in the Sweet 16:

Game: No. 12 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 1 seed Dayton, Sweet 16, 2027 NCAA tournament

How to watch: My Twitch channel

Date: Tuesday, Aug. 18

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET // 7:30 p.m. CT. The stream will start a little earlier.

If we win: Elite Eight game against the winner of No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 6 Pitt will follow immediately after.

Put Lakers vs. Blazers on one screen and the Leathernecks on the other. This is going to be a blast. A few links before I get out of here:

Join the Leathernecks Reddit for continued discussion on the team. We also have a fan-started Twitter account (with spoilers of Twitch streams before the recap goes out) and Instagram page you can follow.

Reader Evan’s Leathernecks recruiting database now includes size progression over time. He wrote about it on Reddit, but it’s wild seeing some of these changes. For example: Wilky Henry has gained three inches and 43 pounds since he committed. I hope no one gives him a PED test before the Sweet 16.

We had 130 entries in the bracket contest this year. Hell yeah. Check out Sean’s Blog Team app for the current standings, which works on desktop and mobile.

Reader Thanh Nguyen wrote a fan-fiction e-book on the first eight seasons of Ricky Charisma at Western Illinois.

WESTERN ILLINOIS VS. DAYTON

SWEET 16

TUESDAY NIGHT ON TWITCH

I’LL SEE YOU THERE

GO ‘NECKS.

Would you like email updates for this series? If so, add your email to this Google Form.

[blackcomicschat]

Kickstarter Highlight: Fight of the Century

We recently had the opportunity to interview Troy-Jeffery Allen and Nick Allen, two of the creators of Fight Of the Century, an exciting new project which is currently featured on Kickstarter. You can view their trailer above and support the campaign HERE. Enjoy the interview.

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Welcome to BlackComicsChat. Please introduce yourself and tell us where are you from?

Troy: We’re from the DC-Maryland-Virginia trifecta. I hesitate to say “DMV”, but that’s a thing. I’ll quickly represent DC despite no longer living there. Nick will always strongly rep Baltimore.

Nick: Always.

Tell us about your earliest memory of comic books, and the moment when you first decided that you wanted to be involved in the creation of comics.

Nick: It was a late uncle’s comic collection. Lots of old school Marvel.

Troy: Yeah, I definitely remember randomly finding that Spider-Man, Power Man, Storm anti-smoking issue. At that age, I don’t think it really connected to me that these were comic characters until later. It also failed at teaching me not to smoke.

Nick:  I think we were both hard-headed children.

Troy: Oh, for sure.

Nick: The one I grabbed was X-Factor #4 with Frenzy on the cover.

Troy: Look at that. Both comics had black people on the cover. I just realized that. Nick: Right?

Troy: As far as deciding to create comics, that came in the late 2000s. Nick was in video game school and I was the questionable one still working at a comic book store letting my film schooling collect dust. I think we both realized that comics – this thing that seemed impossible to do before digital – might be attainable. That’s all it took: Ease of access and stupid assumptions.

Let’s discuss the comic that you are Kickstarting. What is your story about? A cyberpunk, underdog sports tale about Performance Enhancing Drugs in the future is a premise that I haven't seen before in comics. How did you come up with the concept, and what made you want to tell this particular story?

Troy: Well, it’s called FIGHT OF THE CENTURY. It takes place in Brazil in the not-so distant future where everyone is linked to a pharmaceutical company. Our focus is in the Mixed Martial Arts world, where everyone undergoes a Dr. Frankenstein-like experiment to compete. We’re talking full metamorphoses.

Our afro-Brazilian main character, Rex Punga, gets in the octagon while totally juiced up and he has a “hulk out” moment that causes an in-ring incident. The company behind the drugs – BrawnPharm – buries him with a public smear campaign and ends his career. But this is a sports story. So, Rex has to make a comeback and he’s going to do it by going all-natural. It’s very David and Goliath that way.

Nick: I'm a huge sports fan, and a few years back I noticed how athletes were being busted for doping.  However, I thought for every athlete that's being busted, there are probably ten that aren't.  And what does it mean for sports in general when we pick and choose losers that way.  So, I asked well what if I could tell a story about a society where athletes got to openly use these drugs.  What would happen?  I approached Troy, because he's a really good writer, and thought he would be great to work with.  From there we started hammering out some plausibility details (who, what, where); and what social commentary could we add.

Troy: I was already doing a wrestling comic over in my corner somewhere. FIGHT OF THE CENTURY kind of seemed like the obvious thing to do. I agreed to it so quickly. We just found so many ideas based on that nugget of a concept.

Also, Nick hit me up about this right around the time that I’d watched Food, Inc.--that documentary about Monsanto. My mind was already in a place where I was thinking a lot about genetic modification and how a lot of what we consume is unnatural. That led to us talking about multinational corporations that essentially have no borders. That’s when we knew who the real bad guy of our story was. We started down this track of looking at a future where everyone is chained to a pharmaceutical company. Then we came back to the present and went, “Shit…this is happening now!”

Nick: Troy and I also have experience in combat sports (myself with martial arts and Troy with wrestling), so we thought MMA could be a great vehicle for telling this type of story.  And life has imitated art as more and more MMA guys are being busted for P.E.D.s.  Also, who doesn't love watching a good bloody fight?

Troy: That’s kind of the crazy thing. Life kept supplying material for us to riff off of.  From Ray Lewis’ deer antler spray to students using Ritalin to pass – the story just kept writing itself.

Tell us about the creative team behind this project.

Troy: We wanted an international squad. Like, one of the biggest hooks for MMA are these cultural connections: Conor McGregor is proud to be an Irish fighter, the Gracies gave us the designation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instead of judo -- styles of fighting and fighters are very much tied to culture. We wanted that baked into the story.

Nick: Shawn Alleyne reps Barbados and he started the artwork by providing many of the original character designs.  I don't think Shawn needs much introducing to your audience.  I knew him from attending shows and seeing his artwork online.  He's a phenomenal designer and brought a lot of the initial style ideas.

Troy: If I had to credit anyone with injecting cyberpunk into our initial concept it would be Shawn. I don’t think it was intentional, but his concepts just screamed “cyberpunk”. We just kept thinking of it in those terms from there on.

Artist Mervyn McKoy also added a lot of style and a pinch of dystopia to some of the early concepts. Especially to Karla Punga, Rex’s wife and manager. He’s been a frequent collaborator of Nick’s.

Nick: From there, we scoured the internet in order to find some amazing talent. Julius Abrera  was the first guy we found thanks to Instagram.  He lives in the Philippines, so we had to cold contact him, but, fortunately, he was an MMA fan and loved the idea. He was all on board.

Then, we wanted to add some homegrown talent from Brazil, so we looked for a Brazilian based inker and once again Instagram showed us Thiago De Costa.  We thought they would make an amazing pairing for the line art team.

Troy: Thiago has been indispensable. He got Thiago Ribeiro on board and Netho Diaz. All from Brazil. He’s also been our Portuguese voice on Facebook.

Nick: Absolutely. Also, Bryan, our colorist, was a referral from Julius. So we got the Filipino connect too. And that only left lettering which I take responsibility for.

What was the creative process like on this book?

Nick: Amazing.  Everyone adds something different and special to the book.  We've been fortunate to work across 3 continents with ease -- that's to the internet.  Dropbox and Facebook are our primary tools for collaboration.  

We’ve also found a new graffiti artist that we hope to incorporate into the mix. Troy: And Dana Brand, who has become our story editor recently. Her passion for story is great motivation to work through the sometimes rough terrain of plot. She also loves baseball, so I think the PED angle made sense to her pretty quickly.  

Nick: Yeah, the core team is always batting around ideas and helping each other when challenges arise.

What made you choose Kickstarter as a funding method?

Nick: Well, we've completed an entire issue and thought it would be worth pursuing to fund a graphic novel.  Troy and I are fully committed to the book, but totally self-funding would be much slower.  Also, Kickstarter is an amazing place to find like-minded individuals that might love a book like this.  

Troy: I was all sorts of skeptical. I’ll admit that that’s why this project took a couple of years. Nick had been funding his book, C-LISTERS out of pocket and I’d been doing the same for my comic BAMN, but Nick had done some Kickstarter campaigning for Visionary Studios before. He saw the value in crowd-funding a lot quicker than I did.

What are some of the incentives that backers can receive when they support your campaign?

Nick: Well, we're offering digital and physical copies of the books; a special thank you page with your name and MMA handle; cameos; original artwork… Troy: We really wanted to give people incentives that enhanced the story instead of just loading them up with junk. That was important to us. That’s why we worked with Drive Radio to lace certain incentives with a soundtrack. We want you to feel the story at every possible level. We make sure to do our part in the action and drama department, but then you can be IN the story as well as hear how dangerous the future is.

What are your future plans for the series?

Nick: Well, it's a limited series, but I think it's an extremely fertile universe to tell other stories in.  Maybe some one-shots with the characters would be fun.  Or explore another sport in our cyberpunk paradise.

Troy: This really is the maiden launch of our imprint Rex Co., so we’re going to set up shop here and unleash a lot of other ideas. Nick is working on a YA title for Rex Co. that I’m actually really excited about. I’m still doing BamnComics.com, and the plan is to start printing that story through Rex Co. A nap would be nice too.  

We’re looking forward to seeing the finished product. Anything else you’d like to share?

I will correct one mistake we made early on: We’ve been calling FIGHT OF THE CENTURY “cyberpunk”, but I discovered that there is a subgenre that fits more specifically for what we are doing. It’s called “biopunk”. There is cyberpunk in the story too, but the larger part of it is definitely biopunk.

Sorry, but nerds can be particular. That would have bugged me forever.

Where can people find you and your work on the internet?

Nick: Currently, the best place to shift blame is Facebook.com/FotcComic. We’ll be there throughout all this. And, of course, our Kickstarter Page.

Thanks for joining us. Everyone, be sure to check out this campaign!

[fae713]

"Mama, you're here! I missed you so much!" The young, shaggy brown haired boy shouted as he ran up to a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She held her arms to catch him when he ran into her, knocking her onto her heels.

"Hey, honey, I've missed you, too," she gently smoothed his disheveled hair so she could see his still baby blue eyes. His head reached up to her stomach now. "My goodness, you've grown like a weed, how old are you now, Taylor?"

"I'm six, Mama," he pulled back from her, just an inch, "you've been gone forever."

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to. I never wanted to leave you. I just couldn't take you with me." She paused before asking her next question, her voice fill of an emotion Taylor had only heard from all the other adults when she first left. "I didn't expect to see you again for a much longer time, how are you here?"

"I dunno,"he replied. "I just kinda of woke up here," he looked around as though for the first time. Everything looked really fuzzy, like when it was raining and foggy at the same time. The little he could make out looked a little bit like the house, the one he has been brought to only a few weeks so. The window for the bedroom he shared with two other boys, one in middle school and the other in 2nd grade, was the easiest to see though it was on the second floor. He even thought he saw the blond hair of the younger boy as he tried to hide while still looking out. Taylor figured he only watched so he could tattle on kids who broke the rules. There were a lot of rules here. More than the other two places he lived before. Mrs Williams seemed to like it when kids broke the rules. That meant she could spank them and send them to their room with only a peanut butter sandwich and water for dinner. Taylor hated her.

"Are you here to take me away, Mama? I don't like it here very much. They're so mean."

"Oh sweetie, I don't know. That depends on you."

"Trauma room 3!" A woman in green scrubs yelled to the growingly crowd of similarly dressed people. They all ran into a room to their left, splitting up into teams of two at different points in the white and steel room. They were immediately followed by the paramedics pushing a gurney with a small, bloody body barely covering half the bed. They talked loudly over the general chaos to give report to the doctor and nurse helping to guide the gurney.

"On the count of three," two people in green reached across the bed in the middle of the room to grab the sheet below the child, "one, two, three!" The two paramedics and two ED staff lifted and pulled or pushed the child from the paramedics' gurney to the ED one.

"He's lost at least a liter of blood," one of the paramedics said before stepping back to let the swarm of nurses, techs, and doctors replace them and the bed.

"Stacy, go get three bags of O-neg from the lab!" The woman at the foot of the bed called out, sending a young tech running out of the room. "Travis, you got that?" She asked without turning to see if the man furiously clicking and typing at the lone computer had indeed heard her.

"3 bags of O-neg, entered and acknowledged,” he reported back to her. “What are his vitals?" A tech yelled out a series of numbers. Without pause the man at the head of the bed began to call out various injuries and treatments. They had done this dozens of times just this week and knew what they needed to do. “We’ve lost his pulse!” The man at the head of the bed interrupted himself. One nurse pulled out a stool from beneath the bed and a second stepped up on it to start chest compressions. With each push on his chest bright red blood spattered from a deep gash on his head and pooled beneath him from multiple cuts and scrapes on his torso. “Where’s that blood?” the woman at the foot called out.

“Here!” Stacy wheezed and passed a small ice chest to the nurse next to the IV pole. The controlled chaos around the bed continued, people calling out observations, what they were doing, and the condition of the child.

“What do you mean it’s up to me, Mama?” Taylor asked with a quiver in his voice.

“You’re hurt really bad, baby. If you stay here with me you’ll be here with me as a six-year old kid, for even longer than I was gone,” she unwrapped her arms from around him then kneeled down to be face to face with him. “You won’t grow up, you won’t find someone to love, or have kids of your own.”

“That’s okay, Mama! I don’t want to go back,” he began to cry. “Mrs. Williams doesn’t like me. She hurts me all the time.”

“Oh, Taylor, sweetie, she won’t be in your life forever.”

“I don’t care. I want to stay here with you,” he stated with finality. He crossed his arms and his little jaw jutted out. He glared at her, daring her to try to change his mind.

“Okay baby, you don’t have to stay,” she stood up and held out her hand for him. He eagerly grabbed it, his hand disappearing inside hers. “All you have to do is walk with me, but don’t look back, okay? If you look back you’ll have to go back for a little while longer.” He nodded and started to drag her the direction they were facing.

“I’m calling it,” the green clad woman at the foot of the bed said with a weary sigh. “Time of death is eighteen twenty-four,” she stepped back to Travis, no longer needed to direct any of the activity around the small, pale and bloody body on the bed. “Could we have done anything else?” She asked him quietly. He only shook his head, “auto v ped, the fact we got a heartbeat again is amazing,” he patted her hand, “you did everything possible.” She nodded slowly, not bothering to blink back or hide her tears.

[thornburgrealty]

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Once Kapanen was recalled to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Baby Penguins, the team was seen as having one of the elite forwards the AHL and he certainly proved that when he scored a goal off of a wicked shot on just his second shift North . No guarantee we were going to win the Super Bowl.’ Give credit to them, they went on and won the whole thing. He hasn’t played since 2013, with his career coming to a premature end due to injuries. Thornton’s quantifiable contributions were less visible the Damontre Moore Womens Jersey playoffs. Every attorney working for DOJ is required to maintain a license and good standing with at least one state bar organization, Ambrose writes.

from WordPress http://www.thornburgrealty.com/2018/07/04/tech-football-wvu-football-big-10-football-illinois-fighting/

[thatcancergirl-blog]

october 14, 2011

October 14, 2011. The day that changed my life forever. It wasn't until a week later that I knew "forever" was the correct word. 

That's the day I was admitted into Duke Children's Hospital to treat my illness, which I now know was stage 3 peripheral t-cell lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

I spent the next six weeks in the hospital. After three days at home, I went in for my first clinic appointment. That appointment turned into a 3 day stay in the PICU. I was septic. After I was rushed to the PICU, I had an IV in every limb of my body, including an A-line. That A-line was a great time, especially when it exploded blood on the nurse as she was first attempting to put in my left arm artery. That night I didn't sleep, instead I peed every hour, like clockwork. 

The next day, I started to lose my hair. And once it started, I couldn't help but pull it out. There were two massive piles of hair on each side of my bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and called my house, to tell my mom to bring a hoodie. This sounds so vane, but losing my hair was one of the hardest experiences to go through. I was a sixteen year old girl, would you expect anything less? But my family friend came in the following day with Chick-Fil-A in hand as well as a bag of scarves she used when she was sick (thanks Shari). Once I got moved back up to the Peds Hem/Onco floor, my favorite nurse cut my hair even shorter than before to make the lose less dramatic and spent the morning making pillow case headbands (my favorite was the zebra one).

For my specific type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the best course of treatment was to have a stem cell transplant. Because the strain I had was so rare, the team of doctors decided to create a new regime to combat the aggressive nature of the disease. The first two years after a transplant are the most critical in terms of relapsing. There is a high way chance that the cancer could come back in those two years. My course of treatment would include: apheresis (the harvesting of my own stem cells), transplant those cells back, two rounds of radiation (one on my neck and one on my torso), and then have another transplant with someone else’s cells (match unrelated donor). 

The second transplant happened on June 13, 2012. So this June will be five years out! At Duke Children’s, if you are six-years out and are healthy, you come every OTHER year for check-ups. Every time I go back up for check ups (this is the final year for a yearly check up), I go back to floors I was done before, just to say hello. Usually, my nurses would look at me, then my mom, and realize who I am (that is happening less and less). It's fun to see my nurses outside the hospital walls because we like seeing each other out and about, happy and healthy!

xoxo, that cancer girl

[greggreaen]

The Crossfitter’s Gym Bag – What Should You Include

While there are a lot of decent looking bags out there, none seemed adequately suited for crossfitters like us.  Some look cool but are cheaply made.  Some are a little better quality, but the zippers break the second you put anything in the pockets and try and zip em up.  And most just don’t have enough compartments for all the super cool gear that a crossfitter needs. 

On any given day we might be doing barbell work, heavy lifting, gymnastic movements, jumping, sprinting, jump roping, rowing, metabolic conditioning, climbing ropes, hell, we might even do a swimming wod when it gets crazy hot outside!!!  This is what I love about Crossfit and is the reason I’ve stuck with it this long and plan on doing into my old age.  It’s also the reason we require a variety of totally cool gear.

Which brings me back to my bag hunt …My current “gym bag” if you can call it that, I think still has my little sister’s name on it and the name of her old volleyball team.  It’s embarrassing.  I’m never on the cutting edge of technology and rarely do I own the latest and greatest equipment, gear, clothes etc.

  Usually when I attempt to shop by myself I get to the store or mall, start looking around, get distracted, overwhelmed, forget why I am there in the first place, have a panic attack and end up leaving with something I didn’t need.  Like a fruit smoothie and a crazy hat from Spencer’s.  It’s ridiculous and unproductive at best.  BUT, I think I may have finally found the one.  One bag to rule them all. 

It is called the KING KONG BAG

It’s got all the compartments, 2 separate shoe spots, tough zippers and is made king kong tough.  “KING KONG…. AINT GOT NOTHIN… ON ME!!!” right?  From the movie Training Day?:)  

I’ve never actually seen one in real life though so my endorsement can only go so far, but I’m going to go ahead and order it and I’ll let you all know if it stands up to the hype. 

Also, the logo is a really cool little dude that looks like the old strongmen from way back in the day.  You know, the ones with the huge mustaches, the Speedos and the tall shin high boots like hulk Hogan used to wear while holding those dumbells with the oversized balls at the ends. You know what I’m talkin about?  It’s awesome.

Anyway, all this bag searching, then the ecstasy of finally finding one that I think will be my new bag forever has inspired me to compile a list of gear that crossfitters like you and me might want to have in our bag of tricks at any given time.  I’m sure I will leave some stuff out and may put things in there that you may not.  If this is the case or you have any additions or omissions please let me know.  It will be appreciated by all I’m sure.

CROSSFIT GYM BAG EQUIPMENT GUIDE

1. Sports tape-to tape your wrists for OH Squats, Snatches, or cover blisters and boo boos.

2. Lifting shoes or flats AND Running or Cross Trainer shoes- use lifting shoes or indoor soccer type shoes or crossfit shoes (read more here) strength training.  Make your own decision about shoes for the wod based on movements, running requirements, etc.

3. Water!- Remember, even a 1% decrease in hydration can severely effect performance by as much as 10 PERCENT!!

4.  Journal- Track your progress!  Or use an app on your smartphones.  Several of us are using XFIT PR.  It’s available on IPHONE and DROID.  Log your workouts so you can look back and be impressed.

5. Band Aids, New Skin, Antibiotic ointment-it’s good to be prepared.

6. Callus shaver- you can find this in beauty sections of stores.  The Ped Egg works well also.  Keep callus’ shaved to avoid tearing.  Tearing really sucks and can be prevented just like forest fires.

7. Extra socks- because how many times have you gotten to the gym wearing sandals on a hot sunny day and forgotten your socks?  And those sexy long ones the Crossfit games girls wear for when they climb ropes.

8. Extra shorts- so you don’t have to go digging through the lost in found when you forget yours, or worse, when they split down the middle during your back squats:)

9.  Tennis ball, lacrosse balls, or something similar- to roll out “hot” spots on shoulders, lats, quads, or anywhere else that needs it.  We provide these for you at RSA but u never know when you need one.

10.  Post workout snacks (nuts, fruit, etc)- refuel as soon as you can after workout.  If you must hang around for any reason, it’s good to have something on hand.

11.  Jump Rope- really, size matters:)  So when you find your perfect rope, bring it with you in your bag every day.  We have em at RSA for general use but finding your own special rope is cool.

12.  Chalk-you can never be too prepared.

13.  Calculator- Need to know what 80% of your 1RM is?

14.  Stop Watch- in case you find yourself doing a wod outside of the gym or running 400 meter sprints on your own at the track.

15. Extra hair ties- for the Ladies.

The Crossfitter’s Gym Bag – What Should You Include published first on http://ivoamatheis.blogspot.com

[valdesfraost]

The Crossfitter’s Gym Bag – What Should You Include

While there are a lot of decent looking bags out there, none seemed adequately suited for crossfitters like us.  Some look cool but are cheaply made.  Some are a little better quality, but the zippers break the second you put anything in the pockets and try and zip em up.  And most just don’t have enough compartments for all the super cool gear that a crossfitter needs. 

On any given day we might be doing barbell work, heavy lifting, gymnastic movements, jumping, sprinting, jump roping, rowing, metabolic conditioning, climbing ropes, hell, we might even do a swimming wod when it gets crazy hot outside!!!  This is what I love about Crossfit and is the reason I’ve stuck with it this long and plan on doing into my old age.  It’s also the reason we require a variety of totally cool gear.

Which brings me back to my bag hunt …My current “gym bag” if you can call it that, I think still has my little sister’s name on it and the name of her old volleyball team.  It’s embarrassing.  I’m never on the cutting edge of technology and rarely do I own the latest and greatest equipment, gear, clothes etc.

  Usually when I attempt to shop by myself I get to the store or mall, start looking around, get distracted, overwhelmed, forget why I am there in the first place, have a panic attack and end up leaving with something I didn’t need.  Like a fruit smoothie and a crazy hat from Spencer’s.  It’s ridiculous and unproductive at best.  BUT, I think I may have finally found the one.  One bag to rule them all. 

It is called the KING KONG BAG

It’s got all the compartments, 2 separate shoe spots, tough zippers and is made king kong tough.  “KING KONG…. AINT GOT NOTHIN… ON ME!!!” right?  From the movie Training Day?:)  

I’ve never actually seen one in real life though so my endorsement can only go so far, but I’m going to go ahead and order it and I’ll let you all know if it stands up to the hype. 

Also, the logo is a really cool little dude that looks like the old strongmen from way back in the day.  You know, the ones with the huge mustaches, the Speedos and the tall shin high boots like hulk Hogan used to wear while holding those dumbells with the oversized balls at the ends. You know what I’m talkin about?  It’s awesome.

Anyway, all this bag searching, then the ecstasy of finally finding one that I think will be my new bag forever has inspired me to compile a list of gear that crossfitters like you and me might want to have in our bag of tricks at any given time.  I’m sure I will leave some stuff out and may put things in there that you may not.  If this is the case or you have any additions or omissions please let me know.  It will be appreciated by all I’m sure.

CROSSFIT GYM BAG EQUIPMENT GUIDE

1. Sports tape-to tape your wrists for OH Squats, Snatches, or cover blisters and boo boos.

2. Lifting shoes or flats AND Running or Cross Trainer shoes- use lifting shoes or indoor soccer type shoes or crossfit shoes (read more here) strength training.  Make your own decision about shoes for the wod based on movements, running requirements, etc.

3. Water!- Remember, even a 1% decrease in hydration can severely effect performance by as much as 10 PERCENT!!

4.  Journal- Track your progress!  Or use an app on your smartphones.  Several of us are using XFIT PR.  It’s available on IPHONE and DROID.  Log your workouts so you can look back and be impressed.

5. Band Aids, New Skin, Antibiotic ointment-it’s good to be prepared.

6. Callus shaver- you can find this in beauty sections of stores.  The Ped Egg works well also.  Keep callus’ shaved to avoid tearing.  Tearing really sucks and can be prevented just like forest fires.

7. Extra socks- because how many times have you gotten to the gym wearing sandals on a hot sunny day and forgotten your socks?  And those sexy long ones the Crossfit games girls wear for when they climb ropes.

8. Extra shorts- so you don’t have to go digging through the lost in found when you forget yours, or worse, when they split down the middle during your back squats:)

9.  Tennis ball, lacrosse balls, or something similar- to roll out “hot” spots on shoulders, lats, quads, or anywhere else that needs it.  We provide these for you at RSA but u never know when you need one.

10.  Post workout snacks (nuts, fruit, etc)- refuel as soon as you can after workout.  If you must hang around for any reason, it’s good to have something on hand.

11.  Jump Rope- really, size matters:)  So when you find your perfect rope, bring it with you in your bag every day.  We have em at RSA for general use but finding your own special rope is cool.

12.  Chalk-you can never be too prepared.

13.  Calculator- Need to know what 80% of your 1RM is?

14.  Stop Watch- in case you find yourself doing a wod outside of the gym or running 400 meter sprints on your own at the track.

15. Extra hair ties- for the Ladies.

The Crossfitter’s Gym Bag – What Should You Include published first on https://ivoamatheis.tumblr.com

[thesportssoundoff]

“The Art Of Doing SOMETHING” An Analysis of the Mets-Mariners Trade

Joey

December 3rd

Tomorrow the Mets are going to hold a press conference to welcome New York to all star closer Edwin Diaz and reintroduce New York to an old friend in multiple time all star 2B Robinson Cano. In exchange for Cano and Diaz, the Mets basically salary dumped some bad decisions (Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak) while also giving up three prospects in Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, and Gerson Bautista. I'm not a Mets fan so I can't tell you if those prospects are great or not and it'd also be pretty patronizing to hit those grieving Mets fans with a "Prospects bust all the time" speech. Giving up young talent to get old talent you're unsure of always hurts in sports so if you're hurting, you've got my fan sympathies.

I'd like to talk about this trade from a few fronts, beginning with Robinson Cano aka a guy who should've never left to begin with. When Derek Jeter's glory years were winding down in 2011 and onward, it was Robinson Cano who had emerged as the best player on a team of major names. With A-Rod, Teixeira, Sabathia, Jeter and whatever big names Cashman was pulling off the scrap heap, it was Cano who was without question the Yankees star. He didn't have the big personality of A-Rod or the quiet confidence of Jeter but he exuded star power and still boasts one of the greatest left handed swings I've ever seen. Defensively he was easily the most fluid and fun 2nd basemen of my generation with an NFL QB-esque legendary quick release. In 2011, he won the Home Run Derby and ensured that Yankees fans would forever hate the KC Royals when the Royals fans buried Cano during an 0-fer in the same event the next year. The idea of Cano playing elsewhere when he was the heir apparent to the Jeter/Mattlingly throne seemed insane and yet Cano's first taste of free agency led to him signing a massive deal with the Mariners. Even if Cano was never truly worth it for Seattle, letting him go remains one of the biggest Yankees snafus ever made worse by the fact that they panic attacked in the face of a potential rebuild and spent the Cano money on the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and NEARLY Shin-Soo Choo. Cano in Seattle never felt right, never looked right and while he was ultra productive, it never really took Seattle anywhere and Cano never really was the brand carrier for the Mariners. Perhaps it was a case of just being overshadowed by the likes of King Felix and Nelson Cruz. The fact Cano missed 80 games due to a PED suspension is disappointing as well and I bet that did little to endear him to the Mariners brass.

The second is about the end result here. Chances are the Mets will regret this deal as they're the ones taking on a 36 year old middle infielder who is defensively slipping, coming off a season married by controversy and boasts a massive major contract. The all in all end result here is the Mets will eventually wind up dealing Edwin Diaz (likely for a similar haul due to the lack of extra control offset by the lack of Cano in the deal) and they'll be stuck with Robinson Cano's deal. Sometimes risks don't work out but risks for much older players NEVER work out. At the same time, this is very much about winning right now and the Mets are a better team now. Any team with their stable of arms (even if they are flirting with trade deals) will probably be competitive, aided by the addition of a tremendous closer. They're probably going to keep adding to the bullpen (David Robertson maybe?) and the Mets will probably continue to try and some additional relief help. A 3-4-5 of Cano, Michael Conforto and Todd Frazier isn't going to horrify teams but it's reputable and it can even better if the likes of Yoenis Cespedes gets healthy and Jeff McNeil proves not to be a fluke. It's a win now move but conversely, what's necessarily the WORST thing about that?

The Mets for the past few years have been neither a have nor a have not. They've been on a steady decline since their World Series run, neither dipping into a full rebuild nor throwing themselves into a full reload either. They lived in limbo, mocked by others for lacking a direction or a defining voice/vision while being hated by their fans. While the Yankees rebuilt for a year (really just six months) then reloaded with some timely emerges, the feeling was the Mets were squandering the careers of their aces by never committing to either building around them or trading them off entirely. This yo yo act hurts not just the Mets but New York as a whole since both teams being good is always better for baseball. Brodie Van Wagenen came in talking like competing was not going to be some down the line long play but something he envisioned could happen right away. He talked openly about the idea that the Mets can compete right away without the long painful rebuild road. The Yankees (and Rangers) prove that New York fans can understand a rebuild but Mets fans are a different bunch of guys entirely. They HAD their rebuild, a few years of fun and then this limbo rebuild now. I don't blame Brodie for wanting to get there quicker because this fanbase needs it perhaps more than any other fanbase in the MLB right now outside of the Reds (who are also in the Mets mode of spending) or the Mariners (who are now engaging on yet another rebuild). I can maybe knock his vision or his lack of patience but I can't knock the hustle of going for it. I can't bemoan a guy who isn't trying to become the latest GM who spends a few years trying to rebuild something broken, gets fired for it and then watches the next guy reap the rewards of what he did. Maybe this doesn't work out and he ends up getting ousted anyways but shouldn't you go down swinging? The Mets weren't going to be in on Machado, Harper, Corbin or any of the big names of this year's off season class. This requires creativity and they got creative even if it means taking on a massive deal. I know "DO SOMETHING!" is a bad way to approach a deal but the Mets really HAD to do something, especially when your crosstown rivals are about to potentially gift wrap the likes of Manny Machado, Patrick Corbin and Adam Ottavino to their fans. This is one of the rare cases where something truly is better than nothing.

The last part ties all of this up and represents why the Mets going for it should be rewarded. Even if you don't like the trade, you have to at least like the fact that there's something to talk about. This offseason is feeling eerily reminiscent to last year where the proverbial Hot Stove never lit up and we had to deal with talks of collusion. With even more elite talent on the market, the year's off to a pretty slow start if you remove Seattle from the mix. Part of this is just the nature of the long off-season and the winter meetings upcoming but another part of it is the adoption of unofficial official tanking in baseball. MLB is in a weird spot where there's six teams who can realistically and honestly say they're contenders, six or so teams that are teetering on the verge of making the necessary moves to become contenders and then a whole bunch of teams that are either looking at a soft rebuild ("We'll see where it takes us and if we struggle, it's going to be a BOGO deal") or are flat out embracing a long term rebuild. That doesn't make baseball fun nor does it make it more engaging for the casual fans. As a Yankees fan, I applaud the Mets for trying to win now in an era where teams are either already winning or preparing to win sometime after the next Presidential election. In an era of a lot of teams doing a lot of nothing, I'll at least root for the Mets for doing SOMETHING.

[ivoamatheis]

The Crossfitter’s Gym Bag – What Should You Include

While there are a lot of decent looking bags out there, none seemed adequately suited for crossfitters like us.  Some look cool but are cheaply made.  Some are a little better quality, but the zippers break the second you put anything in the pockets and try and zip em up.  And most just don’t have enough compartments for all the super cool gear that a crossfitter needs. 

On any given day we might be doing barbell work, heavy lifting, gymnastic movements, jumping, sprinting, jump roping, rowing, metabolic conditioning, climbing ropes, hell, we might even do a swimming wod when it gets crazy hot outside!!!  This is what I love about Crossfit and is the reason I’ve stuck with it this long and plan on doing into my old age.  It’s also the reason we require a variety of totally cool gear.

Which brings me back to my bag hunt …My current “gym bag” if you can call it that, I think still has my little sister’s name on it and the name of her old volleyball team.  It’s embarrassing.  I’m never on the cutting edge of technology and rarely do I own the latest and greatest equipment, gear, clothes etc.

  Usually when I attempt to shop by myself I get to the store or mall, start looking around, get distracted, overwhelmed, forget why I am there in the first place, have a panic attack and end up leaving with something I didn’t need.  Like a fruit smoothie and a crazy hat from Spencer’s.  It’s ridiculous and unproductive at best.  BUT, I think I may have finally found the one.  One bag to rule them all. 

It is called the KING KONG BAG

It’s got all the compartments, 2 separate shoe spots, tough zippers and is made king kong tough.  “KING KONG…. AINT GOT NOTHIN… ON ME!!!” right?  From the movie Training Day?:)  

I’ve never actually seen one in real life though so my endorsement can only go so far, but I’m going to go ahead and order it and I’ll let you all know if it stands up to the hype. 

Also, the logo is a really cool little dude that looks like the old strongmen from way back in the day.  You know, the ones with the huge mustaches, the Speedos and the tall shin high boots like hulk Hogan used to wear while holding those dumbells with the oversized balls at the ends. You know what I’m talkin about?  It’s awesome.

Anyway, all this bag searching, then the ecstasy of finally finding one that I think will be my new bag forever has inspired me to compile a list of gear that crossfitters like you and me might want to have in our bag of tricks at any given time.  I’m sure I will leave some stuff out and may put things in there that you may not.  If this is the case or you have any additions or omissions please let me know.  It will be appreciated by all I’m sure.

CROSSFIT GYM BAG EQUIPMENT GUIDE

1. Sports tape-to tape your wrists for OH Squats, Snatches, or cover blisters and boo boos.

2. Lifting shoes or flats AND Running or Cross Trainer shoes- use lifting shoes or indoor soccer type shoes or crossfit shoes (read more here) strength training.  Make your own decision about shoes for the wod based on movements, running requirements, etc.

3. Water!- Remember, even a 1% decrease in hydration can severely effect performance by as much as 10 PERCENT!!

4.  Journal- Track your progress!  Or use an app on your smartphones.  Several of us are using XFIT PR.  It’s available on IPHONE and DROID.  Log your workouts so you can look back and be impressed.

5. Band Aids, New Skin, Antibiotic ointment-it’s good to be prepared.

6. Callus shaver- you can find this in beauty sections of stores.  The Ped Egg works well also.  Keep callus’ shaved to avoid tearing.  Tearing really sucks and can be prevented just like forest fires.

7. Extra socks- because how many times have you gotten to the gym wearing sandals on a hot sunny day and forgotten your socks?  And those sexy long ones the Crossfit games girls wear for when they climb ropes.

8. Extra shorts- so you don’t have to go digging through the lost in found when you forget yours, or worse, when they split down the middle during your back squats:)

9.  Tennis ball, lacrosse balls, or something similar- to roll out “hot” spots on shoulders, lats, quads, or anywhere else that needs it.  We provide these for you at RSA but u never know when you need one.

10.  Post workout snacks (nuts, fruit, etc)- refuel as soon as you can after workout.  If you must hang around for any reason, it’s good to have something on hand.

11.  Jump Rope- really, size matters:)  So when you find your perfect rope, bring it with you in your bag every day.  We have em at RSA for general use but finding your own special rope is cool.

12.  Chalk-you can never be too prepared.

13.  Calculator- Need to know what 80% of your 1RM is?

14.  Stop Watch- in case you find yourself doing a wod outside of the gym or running 400 meter sprints on your own at the track.

15. Extra hair ties- for the Ladies.