Home of the Chiefs

Given the opportunity to attend three Chiefs games this season, I'm finding myself warming up to football. Having a team to cheer for has a lot to do with this change. I used to think I was gaining three productive hours on Sunday while the rest of the city halted to watch the football game. Look at me now. Conforming. That makes me cringe.

Then again, I do appreciate that the football team generates a temporary boost in the economy as out-of-towners drive into the city for entertainment. Games also encourages camaraderie among fans.

Here are a handful of the photos I took during the games. My favorite game is the one saluting the Veterans this past weekend. This tribute had the best half-time show, and nothing compares to seeing the B2 Stealth Bomber fly over Arrowhead Stadium during the National Anthem.

Burnt Out on a Night Out

I should have been home eating a bowl of ramen and falling asleep to PBS Friday night. This would have been better than witnessing the dynamics of people at the local bar. Tonight might have been an isolated case or I am beginning to view my world differently. Watching the Zeros play at Raouls was supposed to be guaranteed fun. No doubt I enjoyed the company of my dearest friends and the live music, but surrounding us were strangers with their own agendas. Women and men fronting confidence to hide their true expectations in meeting the right person.

The idea of the right person is often different for people. For most, it seems to be a short-term person and for others, it seems to be a long-term person. One thing remains the same, the evening often ends in uncertainty or disappointment if someone walks in with high expectations.

Tonight I left feeling that this bar scene is not right. This unsettling feeling is not new, but wavering. I am riding the downward slope in my view of people's trust and integrity. People should not be treating others the way I have seen them. Many people have accepted this behavior. Others have stood up against it and have found themselves in the same place. I wonder what it was like twenty years ago for singles. Courtship has lost its luster and few people are fighting for it.

Earth Club- Apply Now

In third grade, I sported a button on my backpack declaring that I belonged to Earth Club. This grassroots effort focusing on recycling newspapers and cans at my elementary school was led by my endearing, third grade teacher, Mrs. Hurley. My "Go Green" fashionable accessories did not stop there. My pink, blue, and white Reebok tennis shoes came with a tag that read, "SAVE THE ELEPHANTS" that I also attached to my backpack. Nearly 15 years ago, people and companies were already advocating environmentalism, and this advocacy has begun far before I was born with the inception of Earth Day in 1969.

Today, the "save the earth" mindset is booming. What took so long to make everyone care about the environment? Several factors beyond my knowledge play into this answer, but the most obvious one is the media. I wonder how much Al Gore contributed to this media push. He was a huge stakeholder in it after releasing An Inconvenient Truth and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a great example of how I think politicians should handle issues more often. Focus. Gore has focused on one specific issue, which has resulted in worldwide awareness and the idea to change. Politicians often advocate solutions on multiple issues to appeal to multiple groups of people. Then, they do not accomplish any of their goals very well.

The environmental push is also generating ideas in new technology. The technology industry will benefit from this peaked interest and need to innovate alternative energy sources. This new green wave in technology could be as big and influential as the computer era.