Zach Dotsey

Realizing that Milly’s a little short on pants, Amanda, Milly and I went to the mall this morning to get some.  We went to pretty much every baby clothes store at the mall and bought a few things, but Amanda made a rule for herself to only buy things from the discount racks.  On the way home we stopped by Sam’s to pick up some more formula.

Back home we had a lunch of leftovers.  Amanda sorted baby clothes while I took a fitful nap.  I say fitful because it seemed like I was getting up every five minutes for one reason or another, though Amanda assured me that it wasn’t every five minutes.

Amanda decided in the afternoon that she wanted to take Milly out just to go out, so we went by Old Navy.  I didn’t want to go, but I did anyway and I’m glad I did.  They had some vintage college shirts- Ohio State, Florida, Georgia.  I was complaining that we were in North Carolina and that they didn’t have a Duke shirt, when, on the other side of the display, Amanda found some.  There were only two smalls left and we were going to get them both, but we decided on just one, since Amanda tends to wear my shirts anyway, and it’s not too often that we’d both want to wear the same Duke shirt, next weekend probably being the only time.  I told her she could wear it.

I really like the shirt.  It just says DUKE across the front in very plain letters with a Blue Devil logo head beneath it.  In fact the font was, I believe, the same as the Johnny Dawkins jersey Nolan Smith wore at the Countdown to Craziness last night.

Later on at home, Milly was fussy pretty much up until her bath time.  Amanda made omelets for dinner and we watched Heroes, which I think is starting to pick up, and Flash Forward, which I think has so far been consistently good.

Zach Dotsey

Today was Barry’s actual birthday, so happy 50th birthday, Barry Frazelle!  You certainly don’t act 50 and I hope you never do.

Church was great today.  Brett Eddy delivered the message and did an awesome job, even after joking about following up probably the best message Mike Ashcraft has ever given.  Amanda and I saw Nick Warkentien after the service.  He and Amy had gotten in late last night and today was his first day actually working for and at Port City Community Church.

Amanda and I ate at Atlanta Bread after church then went on home.  As has been the norm lately on Sundays, she caught up on some of the DVR’ed shows that I don’t watch and I played BioShock.  She did manage to drag me away for a little bit to do some Christmas shopping though.  We’re pretty much done with my side of the family now, which is nice.

Mr. Henry, our elderly neighbor, came by the house.  He was having trouble with his TV/DVD player in that he couldn’t get the DVD (or tape, as he called it) to eject.  I thought it would be a simple matter, but strangely it wasn’t.  I managed to get the DVD out somehow, but then the regular cable stations wouldn’t come back on for him.

Amanda and I had started watching last night’s Saturday Night Live when Mr. Henry came over and we were planning on watching Duke play Rhode Island at 5:30.  Fortunately, Amanda happened to decide, while I was gone, that she’d go ahead and set the TV on ESPNU, at which time she discovered the game was about to come on right then.  For some reason the Duke basketball schedule in my iPhone is an hour off, and I always forget that.  Anyway, she paused it, which was a nice surprise for me when I got back to the house.  It was about fifteen minutes in.  (Real minutes, not game minutes.)

That was a hell of a game, let me tell you!  Duke started off cold and got down, struggling to keep up.  At Cameron Indoor Stadium!  Again ninth in the Atlantic 10 University of Rhode Island Rams!  Ironic that they are the Rams, and they also wear sissy blue, although it’s not as sissy as Carolina’s sissy blue.  Anyway, Duke had to go on an eleven point run to finish the half just to still be down by one.

Not a big deal, I thought.  Duke will come out strong in the second half.  And they did- they played very well.  But Jimmy Baron, the coach’s son, was hitting everything.  Dude went eight of nine from the three point land.  And it’s not like Duke was playing slack or not guarding him.  He took off balance shots, shots with the defender’s hand all in his face, practically half court shots- everything was going in for the guy.  Apparently he idolized JJ Redick and it showed.

Like I said though, Duke was playing a fine game, but Rhode Island was playing a crazy out of their minds game.  It came down to the wire, but Kyle Singler hit some clutch free throws and Duke won 82-79 (although it should have been 82-78 because there was a shot that was counted as a three even though Baron’s foot was on the women’s three point line).  It was an exciting game, to say the least.  I was getting text messages like crazy and Seth Holloman, who had gone to the game with his dad, called me on the way back from Durham to talk about it.

Zach Dotsey

Today was the borthday of at least three people that I know.  In order of how long I’ve known them, there was Margie Revill, the mother of my best friend Jason Revill; Britt Jensen, one of my siter Erin Dotsey’s best friends; and Matt Davis, whom I know through church.

I got an e-vite a few weeks ago to Matt’s birthday party, which was to be a surprise party thrown by his wife, Melissa (who is very pregnant!).  I haven’t been to their house since they day I helped them move in there, which was coincidentally the day Amanda and I got Harvey, but I found it easily enough.  It’s in Leland and we expected it to take us about half an hour to get there, but it really only took about half that time.

Anyhoo, Melissa had taken Matt and a number of other people out to eat while a few other people met at the house and got things ready.  Melissa stalled and the people who were out with them met back up at the house.  We all his and turned the lights out, but the big surprise came from Kevin Millard, a friend of Matt and Melissa’s and a photographer I’d heard much about.  Kevin thought it would be a good idea to find a Speedo of Matt’s and put it on, waiting for Matt to come home.  So we all his while Kevin sat on the couch in the living room with candles lit.  Our cue to pop out and yell surprise was to be the lights coming on and whatever Matt’s reaction was.

It was pretty funny.  Matt later said that one thought that crossed through his mind was that Melissa had hired a prostitute and how really weird a thing that was for her to do.

Anyway, we had a good time at the party.  We met a number of new people and I ended up doing a little business networking to boot.  Ironically, Matt had given Kevin my contact info to discuss search engine optimization because we’d done such an excellent job with his and Melissa’s business, Lifestage Videography.  I think we’re going to get together on Monday to talk about it.

On the way home I called Nick Warkentien.  He and Amy are on their way to Michigan to visit their families and they have a sixteen hour drive ahead of them.  Nick didn’t answer, later telling me that he was on the phone with his mom, so I left him a message saying I was calling to laugh at him since they had such a long drive ahead of them.  Amy had done TILT, a function for the kids at Port City Community Church, and they hadn’t been able to leave until about 9:30.

Nick called me back after we got home (and Amanda had already gone to bed) and we chatted for a few minutes.  We discussed how tomorrow, after I’d slept for the night, gotten up and ridden to Durham, they’d still be driving.  And a little later, while I’m going to be tailgating outside of Wallace Wade Stadium, getting ready to watch the Blue Devils beat up the Wolfpack, they’ll still be driving.  When he called they were still about half an hour on this side of Raleigh.

I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow.  I’ll be wearing my gray Duke t-shirt, my fitted Duke hat and possibly I’ll take my Duke sweatshirt in case it gets chilly.  Amanda’s grandparents, Peggy and Earl Lemons, will be coming to town so Peggy can take Amanda shopping for new clothes.  Bras, specifically, I think.  Amanda’s boobs are getting bigger.  I’d thank Pistachio for that, but I can’t do anything with them right now anyway.

Michael Mercer, Amanda’s brother, called while we were at the party and asked if I wanted to go surfing tomorrow, but I told him that not only would I be in Durham watching Duke and State, but I didn’t have a wetsuit yet anyway.

Speaking of that, Surf City called today to make sure they were ordering the right wetsuit for me.  I asked if there were any that came with some color and they said they could order one with blue, red, green or yellow on it.  I asked what color blue and they said royal, so that, followed by red, was my first choice.  Green and blue are actually my favorite colors, but I think the red on the black would look really cool.  Then again, yellow would be cool too.  They all would, actually.

Anyway, when I told Michael he said he wished he could have gotten one with color and, without me mentioning the colors, said he’d have liked one with yellow.  I like the fact that what I’m getting is different from his, just because it distinguishes them and doesn’t make it look like I copied him so much.  What can I say?  For the price, quality and features he picked the best model wetsuit.

Zach Dotsey

So I could talk about my day, but there wasn’t really much to it.  After work Amanda and I picked up toilet paper and paper towels from Target before picking Lars up and heading to Justin and Lisa’s for small group, but that’s not the big news of the day.

America has elected its first black president.  (Okay, so Barack Obama’s mom was white, but that doesn’t really matter.)  Wow, my child will be born in a world where the idea of a black president isn’t only portrayed in movies.  How cool is that?.

Who would have thought even a couple years ago that a black man with foreign sounding names, Muslim names that sound like two of America’s biggest enemies in the past decade at that, would not only be a serious contender for the highest job in the land, but actually become President of the United States?

The more I think about it, the cooler it is.  I can’t even begin to imagine the pride African Americans feel right now, especially the ones who grew up during segregation.  How great of a role model must he be to everyone?  I still don’t think I’m very comfortable with some of his ideas and policies, but on the TV they were just talking about getting the transition ready, and I thought about Obama replacing President Bush.  What a breath of fresh air Obama will be.  He’s young, energetic, charismatic.

I know a lot will be made of the race benchmark here, but this is a moment that ranks up there with other iconic moments in history.  I was going to list a few, but most of them weren’t positive things

Obama’s grandmother died a couple days ago.  It’s too bad she couldn’t have held on a few more days to see this, her grandson’s finest moment, a milestone in the history of America.

He’s just come out now for the first time.  The lady in the voting line in front of me and Amanda was absolutely sure that if Obama were elected he’d be assassinated.  I just imagined that happening right now and how awful, how completely and utterly horrible that would be.  I hope to God that does not happen, not now and not at any point.  That would do awful things to this country.

McCain made a very gracious concession speech about half an hour ago.  Obama just said some very kind words about McCain.  I’m glad that’s over.  I’m glad the election is over.  No more automated phone calls, no more junk mail telling me how to vote, not too much vitriol in commercials and on the news and talk radio.  Sean Hannity should be pretty entertaining to listen to over the next few days.

I’m all over the place, I know.  It’s kind of a big deal and I’ve got all kinds of thoughts going on in my head.

I hope Barack Obama can be the force of positive change everyone who voted for him thinks he can be.  I hope a Democratic majority won’t take the country too far left.

On another positive note, we’ll get to see more of Obama’s bodyman, Reggie Love.  Reggie Love played basketball and football for Duke.

Zach Dotsey

It’s a good thing Amanda and I didn’t waste much time this morning after we woke up.  We got up, ate cereal, took showers and, semi-arbitrarily, decided to go vote.  North Carolina is one of the states that allows early voting, which is a great idea.  What sucked, though, is that it took us literally about three and a half hours.  We got to the north campus of Cape Fear Community College at about a quarter after ten and didn’t leave until about ten ’til two.

Part of the problem is that I heard the news reported that this early voting station, a mere five minute drive from our house, has not been crowded, so I think that encouraged more people to vote there.

It wasn’t very exciting.  There were two somewhat obnoxious guys behind us for the first hour, maybe less, but they eventually bailed.  We talked to a lady in front of us a bit.  Other than that it was a bunch of standing and sometimes sitting on the floor.

To make things worse I forgot to charge my iPhone last night.  There was enough juice to take a couple pictures and for Amanda and I to use the internet to brush up on some of the candidates’ stances on issues (one of us actually changed who we decided to vote for) and to have a short phone conversation.  Nick and Amy Warkentien were going to a Polish festival and had invited us to go, but we didn’t make it out in time.

So who did we vote for?  It doesn’t matter, really.  I don’t feel like enough with change no matter who wins the election.  It’s historical either way though- a (half) black president or a female vice president.  I really wish I’d brushed up on the local candidates though.  I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t.

One thing I think they should do if they’re going to offer early voting is to let them voting stations stay open later.  They’re open from 9:00 to 4:00, which is great if you’re a college student or you don’t work.  They should be open during times that are convenient for more people, and I think they’d have a greater impact that way.

After serving our grueling duty for America Amanda and I went home, let Bruce and Harvey out for a bit and watched last night’s episode of The Soup before heading out to Wrightsville Beach.  Amanda and her aunt, Anna Frazelle, walked Bruce, Harvey and Scout.  I was going to go too, but Amanda’s brother, Michael Mercer, showed up right before they left and he and I were going to go with Barry Frazelle, their uncle, to look at wetsuits.

First we went to Surf City, where Michael and I both found suits that fit us perfectly- he a small and I a medium short.  We then went to Sweetwater to compare what they had there.  There were some less expensive wetsuits at Sweetwater, but Surf City was willing to match prices and deals.  Michael ended up buying the one he tried on earlier and I had them order me one of the same because they didn’t have it in my size.  I liked his better because it’s got a part that helps cover up the neck hole to keep from getting flushed as much.  I hate to copy him, but it’s a good deal and it’s exactly what I want as well.

Before we went back to Sweetwater to get Michael’s wetsuit (and booties) Barry took us to Vito’s Pizza and bought us each a beer for the hard shopping work we’d done.

Amanda and I left Anna and Barry’s shortly after we got back.  She was hungry and ready to go.  her original plan was to make some macaroni and cheese, but we had to stop and get some dog food (it ran out this morning) and she was too hungry to really wait.  Not wanting to be a man who starves his pregnant wife, we stopped at Atlanta Bread for some quick dinner, got the dog food and came on home.

We watched Fringe and an episode of Law & Order: SVU before Amanda went to bed.  I watched a Smallville and am about to go to bed soon.  We gain an hour of sleep by getting to set our clocks back, but I hate it because it will be dark after work so I won’t get to go surfing during the week so much anymore.

The Duke Blue Devils football team, as I read it, threw away a victory over Wake Forest today.  Apparently the special teams just melted down today, although the offense was doing well.  That’s okay- Coach Cut has already really improved this Blue Devils team and in subsequent years he’s only going to make it better and better.  They’re already markedly better than they have been in a long time.

Zach Dotsey

Amanda and I slept in until about 10:00 today, which was a nice little change.  My plan was to get up and mow the yard, but it was drizzling out, which is how it stayed pretty much all day today.  On the subject of needing to mow the lawn, the good thing, I noticed today, about having pine trees that drop pine needles all over the place is they make the grass not look so tall.

Amanda and I went to Atlanta Bread for breakfast then came home and picked up a bit, since her parents, Phil and Karen Mercer, were coming by.  A friend of Karen’s sold them a washer which they were bringing down here for Michael.  I was continuing my streak of dominance in College Hoops 2K7 when they arrived.

Phil and I, in a truck borrowed from Amanda’s grandfather, Earl Lemons, went over to Michael’s.  He’d just gotten off work and was taking a shower when we got there, but we went ahead and took the washer up, which wasn’t the most pleasant of tasks.  We hooked that up then the three of us went to Lowe’s, where Amanda and Karen had looked at ceiling fans for Karen and Phil’s new sunroom and had started to look at dryers for Michael.

The dryer was a lot lighter than the washer.

Phil spent some time hooking that up at Michael’s apartment while I watched some of the Duke and Miami football game.  By the time we got back to my house Duke was leading 17-14.  Karen had gotten some steak for dinner and they were making baked potatoes and salad which we all, Michael included, ate while watching football.  Carolina was playing Virginia at the same time, so we kept switching back and forth.  The good news is that Virginia beat Carolina in overtime.  The bad news is that Miami beat Duke, 49-31.  When Duke was up, Michael was predicting that Duke was going to lose 40-something to 20-something, and he was being a bit cocky about it.  It was only fitting that Carolina lost their game just a few minutes later.

Karen helped clean the kitchen (going above and beyond and really doing a nice job) then they all left.  Nick and Amy Warkentien called to see about getting together and playing Settlers of Catan or something, but again Amanda didn’t much feel like going out, so we’re just sitting around doing nothing.  At least it’s allowing me to do my entries on here the day of, instead of sometime during the week.  That’s a weekend rarity.

Michael let me borrow Bioshock, but I think I might play a bit more College Hoops 2K7.  I feel like finishing out my season at Ole Miss and seeing which recruits I end up landing.

Speaking of college sports, the Duke Blue Devils had their Blue-White scrimmage today.  The main points to what I’ve read are that Nolan Smith should start as the point guard over senior team captain and three-year starter Greg Paulus, that Gerald Henderson is going to blow up this year, that Martynas Pocius might get a shot at some decent backup playing time and that freshman Miles Plumlee should start at center.  Most everyone else played about as expected (for good or bad).  Of course, it was just an exhibition and practices have only just begun, so a lot may change before any real games start.

Zach Dotsey

Big news in the world of Duke basketball: Ryan Kelly is going to be a Blue Devil!  Ryan Kelly is a top twenty, five-star kid from Raleigh and was being heavily recruited by Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Georgetown.  Confidential sources told me ahead of time that he was a pretty sure lock for Duke.  He’ll be joining the Blue Devils next year as part of the freshman class of 2009, which is shaping up to be a monster team.  Duke has several recruits for next year and 2010 lined up that should seriously put them back in the Final Four.

Work work work.  Work’s been very busy.

Nick and Amy Warkentien came over and helped us put a dent in the leftover chicken pot pie before we all watched There Will Be Blood.  I’ve wanted to see this movie since it was in the theaters.  Nick and Amy rented it for us to watch last week, but we started watching movies too late.  Daniel Day Lewis was just plain awesome, as per usual.  He was just mean and evil, and certainly deserved his Best Actor Oscar.

Zach Dotsey