I'm not quite dead

So for the past several months, a product called "vitamin water" has been advertising extensively on the channels I watch. (Apparently I need to also buy new vehicles and eat steaks and use A1 steak sauce, but that's a different topic for a different day.)

Vitamin Water, as best as I can tell, is just another in a line of sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, and the long-since forgotten 10K.

Having never tried the product, I'm really not in any position to discuss the merits of the beverage, but there are a couple things about Vitamin Water that bother me, if for no other reason than I think their marketing team is being lazy.

Let's start with the name. Vitamin Water. Really, is that the best we could come up with? As the old Saturday Night Live sketch used to say, "who are the ad wizards who came up with that one?" Vitamin Water is one step above "Healthy Drink" in terms of naming a product. You've got to sell the sizzle, baby, not the steak. Vitamin Water doesn't pop. It doesn't grab my attention. It sounds like something my grandmother should be drinking to offset the onset of aging. But apparently it's being marketed to people like me.

And how is it being marketed? With perhaps the worst slogan ever for a product in the history of mankind? The slogan, for those who haven't seen the product advertised, is "Try it."

That's right, just "Try it." Not "Try it, you'll be amazed" or "Try it at your own peril," you know, something that might give it an edge. Nope, they went with "Try it." Again, I ask, who are the ad wizards who came up with that one?

If you're going to go with "Try it," why even bother trying at all? Why not go with "Vitamin Water: Ehh, why not?" But I guess the ad wizards had to make some sort of effort to earn their paycheck.

School Update: So far, so good. I'm getting used to getting up at 7 a.m. every morning for one of my jobs, but other than that, things are well. I like my classes, like my classmates, and best of all, I get to use Yes Dear's faculty parking pass to drive to class. The two graduate assistants at the RAC who also ride with me to class also enjoy that perk.

Intramural Update: Playing with a team comprised of Yes Dear's student employees, we went 3-1 in the dodgeball season. Playoffs start Sunday night, and we'll see what happens. I know this much, my arm hurts.

Well that was fast

So Friday was my last day of employment at the Statesboro Herald.

I gave my boss a little more than two weeks notice of my intent to leave, wanting to be fair to him and to the other reporter (yes, that's singular) to give them time to try to line up my replacement. I told my editor on a Wednesday I was leaving. By Friday, he'd offered the job to someone else and by the next Tuesday, he'd accepted.

Now my ego isn't so big that I thought I was irreplaceable. But two days to find someone who could do my job? My boss said it was more of a matter of finding someone quickly and that's why they hired someone so quickly. I'll believe, however, that it just meant I could be replaced at a moment's notice.

They're singing Go Cubs, Go.

Baseball season's underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day.
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

They're singing ...
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

They got the power, they got the speed
To be the best in the National League
Well this is the year and Cubs are real
So come on down to Wrigley Field

They're singing ...
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

- Lyrics by Steve Goodman

Here it is, August 2 and the Cubs, yes the Chicago Cubs, are in first place in the National League Central. The same team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2003, the World Series since 1945 and they haven't won a title in nearly a century, but as we're entering the dog days of August, my beloved Cubbies are in first place. Granted, it's only by percentage points over the pesky Milwaukee Brewers, but I'll take it.

As you would expect, I'm giddy with excitement. Sure there's still two months of baseball left to be played and if history is any indication, the Cubs should blow it and wind up watching the postseason from their couches, but as Charles Schwab likes to say, past performance is no gauaruntee of future return.

In year's past, I'd be a nervous wreck right now worrying about the Cubs. But over the past year or so, I've realized that all that worrying really didn't do me any good. Instead of analyzing every little thing about the team, I'm taking a different approach this year. I'm riding the wave of emotion. It's a lot simpler than agonizing over the team's lack of on base percentage or their starting pitching after their top two starters. The formula is simple: Cubs win and I'm happy. Cubs lose and I'm unhappy.

Screw all the statistical analysis (which is odd of me to say considering the vast majority of my reading material over the past few years is about that stuff.) It's fascinating from an intellectual level and, ideally, should help me with my fantasy team, but it takes away some of the joy of just watching a game. After all, the game is supposed to be fun, and what's more fun than an emotional roller coaster ride with your favorite team. Sure, there's bound to be some lows, but those will make the highs seem that much more magical.

A few weeks ago, a fan brought a sign to a Cubs game that simply read "It's Gonna Happen." While the cynics and naysayers may say "it" is a collapse, I'm on board with those who believe "it" is a World Series trip.

Hop on board, it's going to be a great ride for the next two months.