Hot in Herre

Yesterday, I wanted to work out some pre-wedding jitters, so I figured I'd go to the Wash U gym and maybe play some basketball, lift some weights, whatever I could do to be active and get sweaty. First I walked the dogs, which was sort of an interesting experience on such a hot day. Poor Moose was clearly laboring, and every 10 feet or so Teak wanted to lie down and take a break. Not a good day for black dogs to be outside. So we cut it a little short, I brought them home, and I went to school, only to find that the gym is closed on weekends during the summer. Sure, makes sense to me...once the undergrads are gone, who could possibly want to use the gym? Grrr. Determined, however, to be active somehow, I chose to run on the outdoor track. I think I did about a mile before I surrendered to reason and stopped.

After my run, for some reason I was thinking about soccer, and the World Cup, and shootouts, and the fact that I wanted to play basketball but couldn't because the gym was closed. And I thought that it would be great for the NBA to institute 1-on-1 games in the event of ties, rather than overtime. Like I said, it was really hot, so this was not fully thought out. But I think there's something to it. It could be just like shootouts in soccer or hockey, where up to 5 different players get to shoot and it's a best of 5 series. In this case, there would be up to five 1-on-1 games, and the team that won 3 games first would be the winner. People grow up playing 1-on-1, they know it, they love it. It's the ultimate display of individual talent in a sport that so often showcases individual talent anyway. Why not just strip away the other players and duel it out, mano a mano? Who wouldn't love to see that? I think it would be a hit.

One other thing: Do I deserve a PhD? This website tells me that, according to a little survey I took, "You have an issue about feeling unworthy and less competent than others". This tells me nothing about my worthiness for getting a PhD, but is interesting nonetheless. Perhaps a side effect of graduate school.