Adventures with Coffee
Cathy calls up from work at about 2:30 in need of some coffee to get her through the day. Doesn't sound like a problem and I don't mind doing stuff for her, so I go ahead and say sure, I'll be there in a moment. To save some cash I decide to just make it here and bring it in a thermos. I get the coffee maker going, take a quick shower and fill up the thermos, adding a some of the new vanilla chai cream we got the other day for flavor. I put on my coat and hop out the door, and then I remember. I don't have the Jeep right now.
I have the truck. The truck with the 18 foot trailer still on it.
I had met Dad about 7:30 in the morning to unload everything we had loaded up last night into a storage unit we rented. Since he was going out of town he thought that I should take the truck back and he'd take the Jeep so I'd have the trailer to load more stuff into. I almost just call Cathy up right there and say I won't be able to, but decide that I can do it anyway. It takes some effort to get the truck backed up with the trailer turned down the road, since there are cars parked all up and down the road. I want to back the trailer back up the driveway, but honestly don't trust myself enough to manage that. I would have just parked up front and taken the trailer off, but there's some SUV that is out in front of the house. It's there most weekends, I think, some friend of the girls upstairs. I don't really know. But if it wasn't there I just would have back the trailer onto the side of the road out front. Instead I just decide to head out to Petco and I park in the lot across from the main one, the only one I can find know will have enough room to pull a trailer into. I still stick out 2 or 3 feet on both sides but it should be enough. I stop into Petco, find Cathy and hand her the coffee while filling her in on the story so far, then back to the bathroom to wash the sap off my hands. The sap came from the Christmas tree that was in the trailer that we took out to make room for my tree. It was on the side of the driveway and I had to move it to avoid backing the trailer over its side. I say goodbye to Cathy, but as I'm a few steps down the aisle I hear the distinct sound of plastic hitting tile, the hollow sound of something popping open. I back pedal and see Cathy picking the thermos up and putting the cap back on, a big spill of creamy coffee across the ground in front of small animals.
Sigh. I tell Cathy that I did make a decent sized pot since I wanted some too, and if I can take her car back I'll refill the thermos and bring it back. This also lets me get some lunch at Carl's Jr., something I had wanted to do but had written off due to the trailer situation, so it's not all bad. I get back home, drop off my food to eat later, refill the coffee and head on back. Despite all the little frustrations to this point I can't help but smile when I get it back to her.
You may also have noticed that I didn't finish my Utah/BYU game blog yesterday, but that didn't have anything to do with the outcome of the game. That's the point Dad had gotten back with the truck and trailer last night and we started moving stuff again. We kept an eye on the game as we hauled stuff out, but I didn't have time to actually sit down and write about what was going on. I always appreciate a good game, and it was a good game to any objective observer. And if that had been the final score with the Utes instead trying to make a comeback and just falling short I would have been fine too. They weren't supposed to win the game and if they had just made a good showing that would have been great. But that's not what happened. They had that game won and let it slip away. There were so many little things, plays here and plays there, that if they had just gone the other way it would have decided the game. For instance, the pass interference call in the end zone that changed what would have been a 4th and punting situation for BYU into a 1st and 10, resulting eventually in a touchdown. When Utah scored their final touchdown and there was still time left, I knew I could celebrate yet. I've seen too many of these games come down to last second plays in situations that shouldn't happen for wins. Another missed opportunity was missed tackle that would have kept a BYU ball carrier in bounds, keeping the clock rolling and those precious seconds ticking away, but it was missed and the player got out of bounds, stopping the clock. That would have counted off about 14 seconds if he had stayed in bounds, or force BYU to use a timeout. BYU had to use all their timeouts on the drive, and if they had to use one there they wouldn't have had it later when they needed it. The game winning play came with 3 seconds left on the clock. Other times the Utes could have changed the outcome include a missed field goal (3 more points meaning that BYU touchdown ties the game for overtime), a 4th down and about a foot to go at the BYU 5 yard line, that would have resulted in a touchdown most likely, or they could have just kicked the field goal on that 4th down. At the end of the half they twice could not get a touchdown from about 4 yards out. The receivers kept having the ball come right to them but couldn't quite hold on in the defensive pressure. Any one of those above situations means a Utah win. So it's not that the Utes lost that has me mad, since I wasn't thinking they would win the game before it started (or after that 1st half either), but that they actually had the game in the hands and gave it away.
That leaves BYU at 10-2 and the Utes at 7-5, with BYU undefeated in the conference. They will both go to bowl games now. Here's the little situation I was playing out in my head. If Utah wins, that makes their record 8-4, BYU 9-3. Then it comes to bowl games, which Utah has a record of regularly winning and BYU hasn't won one in some time, so one more win for Utah and a loss for BYU. Both their records would be 9-4 at that point, with Utah having the win over the Cougars for the tiebreaker for bragging rights. Sure BYU wins the conference but it would always have that stain of that loss to Utah and their identical records.
One other interesting point about the game was the gambling line. I said earlier that Vegas usually has a pretty good idea. The line was BYU -2.5. They won by 2. If you had money on this game it must have been absolutely unbearable on that last moment. If the money was on the Cougars you are yelling at the screen as they decide not to kick the extra point for that last touchdown and take a knee instead. If for some reason you actually had money on Utah, you are down in the dumps as the last touchdown is scored and the refs stop the celebration to tell them to kick the extra point, only to then reach the heights of jubilation as BYU takes a knee. Also avoided by that knee was the ever fateful score of 34-31.
And I was so looking forward to eating the donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
I have the truck. The truck with the 18 foot trailer still on it.
I had met Dad about 7:30 in the morning to unload everything we had loaded up last night into a storage unit we rented. Since he was going out of town he thought that I should take the truck back and he'd take the Jeep so I'd have the trailer to load more stuff into. I almost just call Cathy up right there and say I won't be able to, but decide that I can do it anyway. It takes some effort to get the truck backed up with the trailer turned down the road, since there are cars parked all up and down the road. I want to back the trailer back up the driveway, but honestly don't trust myself enough to manage that. I would have just parked up front and taken the trailer off, but there's some SUV that is out in front of the house. It's there most weekends, I think, some friend of the girls upstairs. I don't really know. But if it wasn't there I just would have back the trailer onto the side of the road out front. Instead I just decide to head out to Petco and I park in the lot across from the main one, the only one I can find know will have enough room to pull a trailer into. I still stick out 2 or 3 feet on both sides but it should be enough. I stop into Petco, find Cathy and hand her the coffee while filling her in on the story so far, then back to the bathroom to wash the sap off my hands. The sap came from the Christmas tree that was in the trailer that we took out to make room for my tree. It was on the side of the driveway and I had to move it to avoid backing the trailer over its side. I say goodbye to Cathy, but as I'm a few steps down the aisle I hear the distinct sound of plastic hitting tile, the hollow sound of something popping open. I back pedal and see Cathy picking the thermos up and putting the cap back on, a big spill of creamy coffee across the ground in front of small animals.
Sigh. I tell Cathy that I did make a decent sized pot since I wanted some too, and if I can take her car back I'll refill the thermos and bring it back. This also lets me get some lunch at Carl's Jr., something I had wanted to do but had written off due to the trailer situation, so it's not all bad. I get back home, drop off my food to eat later, refill the coffee and head on back. Despite all the little frustrations to this point I can't help but smile when I get it back to her.
You may also have noticed that I didn't finish my Utah/BYU game blog yesterday, but that didn't have anything to do with the outcome of the game. That's the point Dad had gotten back with the truck and trailer last night and we started moving stuff again. We kept an eye on the game as we hauled stuff out, but I didn't have time to actually sit down and write about what was going on. I always appreciate a good game, and it was a good game to any objective observer. And if that had been the final score with the Utes instead trying to make a comeback and just falling short I would have been fine too. They weren't supposed to win the game and if they had just made a good showing that would have been great. But that's not what happened. They had that game won and let it slip away. There were so many little things, plays here and plays there, that if they had just gone the other way it would have decided the game. For instance, the pass interference call in the end zone that changed what would have been a 4th and punting situation for BYU into a 1st and 10, resulting eventually in a touchdown. When Utah scored their final touchdown and there was still time left, I knew I could celebrate yet. I've seen too many of these games come down to last second plays in situations that shouldn't happen for wins. Another missed opportunity was missed tackle that would have kept a BYU ball carrier in bounds, keeping the clock rolling and those precious seconds ticking away, but it was missed and the player got out of bounds, stopping the clock. That would have counted off about 14 seconds if he had stayed in bounds, or force BYU to use a timeout. BYU had to use all their timeouts on the drive, and if they had to use one there they wouldn't have had it later when they needed it. The game winning play came with 3 seconds left on the clock. Other times the Utes could have changed the outcome include a missed field goal (3 more points meaning that BYU touchdown ties the game for overtime), a 4th down and about a foot to go at the BYU 5 yard line, that would have resulted in a touchdown most likely, or they could have just kicked the field goal on that 4th down. At the end of the half they twice could not get a touchdown from about 4 yards out. The receivers kept having the ball come right to them but couldn't quite hold on in the defensive pressure. Any one of those above situations means a Utah win. So it's not that the Utes lost that has me mad, since I wasn't thinking they would win the game before it started (or after that 1st half either), but that they actually had the game in the hands and gave it away.
That leaves BYU at 10-2 and the Utes at 7-5, with BYU undefeated in the conference. They will both go to bowl games now. Here's the little situation I was playing out in my head. If Utah wins, that makes their record 8-4, BYU 9-3. Then it comes to bowl games, which Utah has a record of regularly winning and BYU hasn't won one in some time, so one more win for Utah and a loss for BYU. Both their records would be 9-4 at that point, with Utah having the win over the Cougars for the tiebreaker for bragging rights. Sure BYU wins the conference but it would always have that stain of that loss to Utah and their identical records.
One other interesting point about the game was the gambling line. I said earlier that Vegas usually has a pretty good idea. The line was BYU -2.5. They won by 2. If you had money on this game it must have been absolutely unbearable on that last moment. If the money was on the Cougars you are yelling at the screen as they decide not to kick the extra point for that last touchdown and take a knee instead. If for some reason you actually had money on Utah, you are down in the dumps as the last touchdown is scored and the refs stop the celebration to tell them to kick the extra point, only to then reach the heights of jubilation as BYU takes a knee. Also avoided by that knee was the ever fateful score of 34-31.
And I was so looking forward to eating the donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.