Assumptions are Unattractive

Last Thursday, I was given the opportunity to attend a regional conference to provide new information and methods related to my profession. The conference was actually in Memphis, so it was really convenient for me. Several other people came from the Memphis area, as well as several from Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. 

Of course one of the main things that is always pushed at any sort of conference is networking. So I was putting forth some effort to be less of an introvert and talk to people. 

After having several conversations throughout the day with various people, an older man, whom I had not spoken with yet, came up to me and struck up a conversation.

"I heard you tell someone earlier that you went to Murray State University."

"Yes, sir." I replied "I work at the University of Memphis now, though."

"Murray State.... that's Kentucky, right?"

"Yes!" I beamed thinking of my alma mater, "But I grew up in south-central Kentucky."

His face immediately adopted a disgusted look, and said, "So, you voted for Trump." Let me make it clear at this moment, that this was not a question, but rather a statement. 

"...Kentucky's 8 electoral votes went to Trump, yes." The conversation fizzled out and luckily the next presentation started. 

This conversation (or lack there of) made me furious, and here's why:

1. Maybe its just because I was brought up with (Kentucky) manners, but isn't it rude to ask someone you just met who they voted for? To be clear, politics had not been brought up in my rhetoric the entire day, nor would I even want to talk about politics with people I've just met. 

2. Yes, "Kentucky voted for Trump." After this incident, I couldn't help but to look up the actual election results and statistics. Trump got 63% of Kentucky's popular vote, winning their 8 electoral college votes. 

But listen here, sir, TENNESSEE voted for Trump too. 61% of Tennesseans voted for Trump, winning the state's 11 electoral college votes.... What's the point in throwing shade at me about where you think I voted, when your state did the exact same thing.

3. Here's a question, if I work at the University of MEMPHIS, is it even possible for me to have contributed to Kentucky's voting pool?.... Absolutely not. Obviously, I'm a resident of Tennessee, and my votes counted with the rest of Tennessee's ballots.

4. Even though Kentucky and Tennessee (and many other states) had a majority of Trump voters, they still had Hillary voters! Just like California had majority of Hillary voters, but 33% voted for Trump. Every state will always cast votes for each candidate or issue, but the majority wins. This is called democracy...

5. Lastly, and most importantly, we, as Americans, have got to stop assuming things about one another. All this man knew is that I grew up in Kentucky. He assumed (for some reason) that I still live there. He assumed I voted with my state's majority. He assumed I agree with my state's majority winner on every issue. Although he didn't say a word, I could see in his face that he assumed a lot about me.

This election has widened the gap between the two most prominent opposing sides. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing that all people who voted for Donald Trump are racist, sexist, rednecks. I'm also getting sick and tired of hearing that all people who voted for Hillary Clinton are Christian-hating, baby-killing, tree-huggers. Those people DO exist, I'm not denying that. In the past few weeks, I have seen some posts and heard some stories from both sides that make me furious. Things that make me feel nauseous. Things that make me embarrassed that I live in a country where people are so vile. 

But this behavior is not the majority! People voted for their candidate for their own personal reasons and its not your place to assume that they fall into the 1% of the hate. 

I'm not insinuating that the supporters of Hillary Clinton should just bow down to Donald Trump and accept everything he says as right and true. But I am asking us all to show a little respect to one another. Don't assume lies about anyone but let individuals show you their true colors, instead of assuming that someone is as bad as the worst of us.

2016 Middle Earth Fantasy Football

Last year, I posted my predictions in the blog about how I thought a few of our teams would do in Middle Earth, and so by popular demand, I will post my thoughts here again. ESPN no longer offers the draft report cards, so I will also include FantasyPro's rankings on each team, also.

TOP THREE (in no particular order)

Riders of Romohan (Colin Capps)

Is anyone surprised by this? Should I even bother saying much? Commissioner Colin seems to toy with our league every season and why should this year be any different? According to Fantasy Pros, he has the best team in the league, getting the only 100% score. I am a bit miffed at him since he took Keenan Allen in the first round, as that was the player that I WAS TARGETING. But I'm not mad. I believe that Colin could be the Blackhawks of Middle Earth and could go for three rings in six years, while becoming the first team ever to win thrice.

Dol Guldur Tsundere Towers (Braxton Koehler)

Like Colin, Braxton owns this league. I thought Braxton traded his way right out of contention last season but evidently, he didn't even need Cam Newton or Greg Olsen to win his second Championship Ring (side note: we actually bought The One Ring of power as our trophy and Braxton can now turn invisible). Braxton kept Antonio Brown and Jordan Reed, reacquired Mark Ingram and drafted Sammy Watkins. Fantasy Pros rated him at a 98.1% with his TE, Defense, WR and Flex being very strong. Could we see the Colin/Braxton championship matchup?! Time will tell!

Rubber Ducky Rohirrim (Kevin Koehler)

I'm having a hard time deciding who my third team will be as there are a lot of strong teams in our league, but I'm going with my gut and my heart on this pick. Kevin (or Dad, as I affectionately know him) did as I predicted last season and won not only his first playoff game, but his second and went to the Big Dance! His team played well all season and he ended up tied for the best record and met Braxton in the Championship. Now that the playoff monkey is off of his back, I believe another deep run could be in his future. Fantasy Pros rated teams higher than Dad, but his waiver wire expertise and trades should carry him deep unless he meets some tough injuries. Fantasy Pros ranks him with a 85.7% overall.

Wild Card

Andwise Puddifoot (Jake Thompson)

I'm upgrading Jake to a wild card this season. Last season, he went with a ton of RBs in the beginning of the draft and ended up in last place. This year, he decided to do...the same thing. He does have much better backs this time, though, as he made the homer pick of Ezekiel Elliott (Cowgirls NERD!) and kept David Johnson. His weakness, though, is the same as last year...not great receivers. And in a PPR league, receivers win championships (you can ask Braxton). So, the question will be, will Jake's RBs been good enough/catch enough to balance out his riskiness in taking WR very late in the draft? Fantasy Pros put Jake as the number three overall team with a score of 89.2%.

No Playoffs!

Shire County Studs (Klent Starks)

Klent may prove me wrong, and if so, bully for him! However, Mr. Starks seems to have not caught on to the fact that you never take a QB in the early rounds...come on, man! Klent went bold with taking Aaron Rodgers as his second overall pick. That does give him a premier QB, but limited his options in RB and WR considering the wealth that was also available at that time. His receivers are middle of the road, his flex position is weak and he's playing it risky with Thomas Rawls and Doug Martin as his top running backs. Will Klent prove me wrong? Probably...at least when he and I play. Fantasy Pros rated Klent second to last in the league with a 81.9% overall rating. (Sorry, Klent!)

Here are all of the ratings from Fantasy Pros (this does NOT reflect my opinion...just theirs.):

Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Score
1	Riders of Romohan	100.0%
2	Dol Guldur Tsundere Towers	98.1%
3	Andwise Puddifoot	89.2%
4	Saucy's Werewolves	87.8%
5	Russeldell Elves	87.2%
6	Rubber Ducky Rohirrim	85.7%
7	Seami Dolphawks	84.8%
8	Minas Morgul Scream	83.0%
9	Frodo And Boromir	82.7%
10	Prancing Ponies	82.7%
11	Shire County Studs	81.9%
12	Mines of Moria Mountain T...	77.2%

What do you think? Let me know.

Click here to see last year's predictions.

Anniversary Photos: Year 2

As part of our second anniversary festivities, we had some photos taken. These were taken by Elizabeth from Elizabeth Hoard Photography.

Photo Cred for all photos: Elizabeth Hoard Photography






Check out our 1st Anniversary Photos

Mad Face?

My mom has been trying to wake me up for 30 minutes, and she just doesn't understand how sleepy I am. I get dressed and walk into the bathroom to finish getting ready to go to 9th grade.

My younger sister walks in. "Hey, mad face." she greets.

"Hey." I reply back. Mad Face. I'm not mad. I'm not even in a bad mood. This is just my face. 

Yes, this is a true story.

I was born with a mad face and I could never understand why I always looked mad when I definitely wasn't.

Somehow, I think it might have changed. The only reason I think this is because in the past few years over [probably] 100 people have asked me for directions. 

Everyday during lunch, I walk for exercise around campus. At least once every two weeks someone asks me how to get somewhere in Memphis, and I have to reply, "uhhhhhh, I just moved here, but I think it's that direction..."

When I lived in Maryland for an internship, I would go to Washington DC every weekend. I walked the sidewalks of the National Mall, and it never failed that someone would ask for my help in finding some museum or monument. That was 4 years ago. At the time, I thought it was because I walk confidently. 

A few months ago, I was in Boston for a business trip for 5 days. I kid you not, 6 different people asked me where something was located. I'm thinking, "This is nuts! I've never been here in my life; why do I look like I know which direction the Paul Revere House is?...."

During this business trip, I made a friend and right before flying back home, we had ice cream. I told her of all the people asking me for directions and explained my confusion. And she replied, "Well, its 'cause you have a friendly face."

What????? A friendly face. All this time, I've been thinking I have a mad face. What the heck is going on here?

Last week, I volunteered to help incoming freshmen move into their dorms. Now granted, its reasonable to assume that because I was wearing a UofM shirt, that parents and freshmen expected me to know every nook and cranny of the campus. I did my best. With all of these questions and interactions and heavy lifting, I began to ponder this whole "friendly face" concept. 

Maybe I do have a friendly face.

I read a book recently that talked about how expecting situations to be a certain way will cause your voice, your body language, and your facial expressions to be a certain way. For example, when you think, "I'm so excited," your body can't help but to be excited, if you let it. When you are thinking, "I'm going to help as many freshman move in today as possible," your voice, body language, and facial expressions follow suit adapting to sound and look helpful. 

But what good is this if you are actually mad or frustrated or aggravated. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if there is any excellent or praiseworthy - think about these things."

I genuinely think that I still have a mad face. I have a mad face when I'm thinking intently, or when I'm concentrating, or at this very moment as I'm focusing on writing this. 

But I also think I have a friendly face. As I've grown in my faith, I've learned to focus on what is excellent and praiseworthy. Simultaneously, as I've matured as a person, I've learned to let my face show what my mind is thinking. 

Here's one for the road....

2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs

This season, I hope to redeem my bracket scores just a bit. I was a bit too...shall we say, "-mistic?" I was too pessimistic about some teams like Nashville, but too optimistic about others, like the Rangers and the Ducks. Honestly, I'll probably be the same this year, but what the heck! Here are my first round picks for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs!

The West

1. Dallas Stars vs. 4. Minnesota Wild

The atrocity that the Minnesota Wild were at the start of the season tickled me quite a bit, but their coaching change helped them win their way into the playoffs as the second wild card. The Wild certainly have enough big names to win the Cup, but I don't think this is a good matchup for them. In their favor, though, is Tyler Seguin's injury. Seguin and Benn have been excellent this season, but it's possible that Seguin could be lethargic after injuring his achilles. As of right now, no one is even sure if he will play in game one. But, none the less, I'm picking the Stars to win this series in 7 games.

2. St. Louis Blues vs. 3. Chicago Blackhawks

This is an extremely hard series to pick for me because I hate both teams. Deeply. The only things I possibly hate more are annoying children and UK Basketball. Unfortunately, picking an earthquake to destroy the stadium and eliminate both teams is not an option, so I'm really just going to flip a coin. I've learned to never, ever, ever, EVER, count Chicago out but tails never fails so I'm picking the Blllll...Bllllluuu...Bluuuuu...eeeee...ssssss. That was hard to get out of my mouth. Blues in 7...I guess.


1. Anaheim Ducks vs. 4. Nashville Predators

Let me start this series by saying that I've been plotting my revenge against Nashville since they traded Seth Jones in January. Instead of trading Shea Weber, who has an absolutely HIDEOUS contract, GM David Poile opted to trade Seth Jones for the center they desperately needed. I'm not against Ryan Johansen, and I'm not disputing Nashville's need for a legit top center, but I am livid that they traded Jones instead of that aging twit Weber. I was hoping they would miss the playoffs so that Poile gets fired, but it probably won't happen...so maybe a playoff loss will do the trick? That being said, Nashville has lost tons and tons of overtime games this season and draw themselves an awful matchup with Anaheim. Anaheim has so much depth, including Ryan Kesler, who has dominated Nashville in the past. This pick is pretty easy to make...Ducks in 6. Quack, quack, quack, David Poile. Quack. Quack. Quack.

2. Los Angeles Kings vs. 3. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have become the butt of many jokes in the NHL. How many more talented teams will they have that will never make it to the Stanley Cup finals? At least one more, says I! LA is battle harden, winning 2 Stanley Cups in the last four seasons. They aren't the same team, sure, but they will have their core in tact. San Jose has drawn an awful matchup against them. They are fierce rivals and LA has dominated them. I might be going a bit bold in the length of the series but I'm pretty confident in saying that LA should take this series. Kings in 5.

The East

1. Washington Capitals vs. 4. Philadelphia Flyers

The Caps have been the best team in the NHL all season, but have slumped here towards the end. They have so many big names that have performed, including the obvious in Alex Ovechkin. Barry Trotz was fired from the Predators a few seasons ago, and I'm pulling for him this season! Philly has a good team, but they don't have the star power (or backend players) to beat Washington. Caps in 7.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 3. New York Rangers

The Penguins have been the hottest team going into the playoffs, and despite an injury to Malkin, they should be fine to starve off the Rangers. The Rangers have plenty of talent, but they reached their peak a couple of years ago. Pens in 5.

1. Florida Panthers vs. 4. New York Islanders

The Ageless Wonder Jaromir Jagr was traded to the Panthers last year, and I was shocked. Why in the world would someone nearing his mid-40's want to play for a team like Florida that isn't going to compete for the Cup? Last year, this was true. This year is a different story. Florida has good depth, and I think they will put the Islanders out of their misery...and by that, I mean end their post season quickly so that they can get out of that awful stadium deal. That new arena is a disgrace, NHL! Panthers in 6.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. 3. Detroit Red Wings

Hockey teams usually don't boil down to just one player, but in this case, Tampa is in serious trouble without their captain, Steven Stamkos. The fact that he's out (probably for the entire post-season) makes me have serious doubts about their ability to compete against Detroit. I hate Detroit, but I think that they will take this series. Wings in 7.

What We've Been Up To

I'm sure everyone is wondering what happened with the Cold Tuesday Morning. Its riveting, I know... Our last entry was posted on Christmas Eve. I really don't like that its been over 3 months since we've written anything, but it couldn't have been helped. Since then, we've experienced several changes and we've spent the past few weeks adjusting to these changes. Lets just start from the beginning.

1. I got a new job working at the University of Memphis. I am an Occupational Safety Coordinator and I started the beginning of January. Many people are very confused about what I actually do as an Environmental Health and Safety employee, and I'm not going to go into a long tangent in this post, but basically EHS people work for your company (in my case the university) for two basic reasons. The first is to keep all employees as safe as possible by eliminating hazards that could cause injuries or illnesses. The second is the save the company money through lower workers compensation costs AND avoiding OSHA fines. As I'm writing this, I've come to the realization that I'm going to write an more in-detail post explaining things an EHS person might do at work. 

2. Because of the new job, we moved closer to UofM, obviously. We found a perfect townhouse that has a wood-burning fireplace, huge bedrooms, and plenty of room for Koba and Yuki to chase each other around. And, its an easy commute to work. Although we have visited Memphis often, moving here has been different, to say the least, moving from a fairly rural area to the 23rd largest city in the United States! We've enjoyed trying new restaurants, doing Memphis things, and meeting new people at church and work.

3. Nathan and my dad went the the NHL All-Star skills competition and game on January 30-31. This weekend had been building up for almost a year since Nashville won the bid on the NHL All-Star festivities. When this season started, we decided to go in with my parents and buy half-season tickets to qualify to buy All-Star tickets. Well, basically we only got to use half of our game tickets before we moved and had to sell the rest, but we made the trip back to my parents house to enjoy a hockey-filled weekend. Nathan and dad loved getting to experience such as once-in-a-lifetime event (for Nashville) and my mom and I enjoyed watching it live on TV also.

4. Yuki turned 1. She's just so darn cute, still. Yuki Koehler was born on February 12, 2015. She enjoys eating, playing with Koba, getting belly rubs, and howling at the moon (literally, she howls like a little dog). Happy Birthday Yuki!

5. Nathan passed the CCNA test, so he is now a Cisco Certified Network Associate. Yay! This is us celebrating:

6. We celebrated Resurrection Sunday. It was a beautiful day to celebrate Jesus rising from the dead! We enjoyed the weekend with Nathan's parents and an Easter lunch complete with steak and pecan pie. Oh. Also, I joined the choir at church, so it was pretty exciting to get to perform during the celebration service.

As far as the next post on Cold Tuesday Morning goes.... I'm not sure when that will happen. We are going to try and post something at least once a month, but it isn't going to be near the amount of content as it was before we moved.