Exciting News!

I left this message for Shawn while he was out to lunch last Tuesday to let him know that I had turned in my letter of resignation, effective March 31st. There are many more things I want to do professionally than be a low-level administrative assistant, so I've decided to tap into my creativity and start my own freelance social media contracting business. Since I graduated from college (almost ten years ago!), I've only ever worked these kinds of jobs where I sit at a front desk and answer phones, order office supplies, and generally not get to do much that interests me or leaves me feeling anything more than exhausted from boredom once I get home. My mantra for the last few years has been "I don't want to die an admin," and for the first time, I'm going to take a leap to make that happen.

This means that the blog will likely end, as I won't be around to make silly conversations on Shawn's white board. If something really exciting happens (like when the Ravens inevitably sweep the Steelers this season!), I might be able to pop into the office to write something, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep. I might be able to update with news about the Ravens and Steelers I think is relevant, but it wouldn't have the same sort of spirit and humor that the blog currently has.

Writing this blog has been a lot of fun, and it's really bittersweet that I'll have to give it up. If you follow me on Twitter (@nikkimarielynx), I'll post there anytime I update.

Until then friends, I remain your loyal fan,
Nikki

Interlude: Marshall and the Case of the Bad Touch

This board tells the story of an embarrassing misunderstanding Marshall had while skiing one weekend.

Marshall and his friend Lori had been skiing most of the day when Lori decided to call it quits. Marshall wanted to get another run in, so they agreed to meet in the lodge at a pizza place after he was done. (See Marshall skiing in the bottom right corner. The snowman is there to establish that he's skiing on snow and not a random wave-like hill.)

Upon entering the lodge, Marshall went looking for Lori. She was wearing a distinctive red hat that Marshall could use to find her if they got separated on the slopes. He saw her - in her red hat with her blonde hair poking through - watching the football game on TV in a different part of the lodge. Thinking that there just hadn't been seating in their original location, Marshall walked up to Lori and wordlessly started giving her a back massage. After a minute or so, she asked who he was....it turns out, it wasn't Lori at all! It was some random woman who happened to have Lori's same hat. She joked that he was lucky her husband wasn't around, and with many sincere apologies, Marshall left to find Lori in the pizza shop area, wondering where he'd been (upper right corner).

The story quickly spread through the office, everyone making sure Marshall told this person and that person, and eventually an artistic interpretation of the incident made its way to Tracy's white board.

Ray Rice in Trouble

Transcript:
Big Ben: "It's the Rays! So guys, quick question. How long before it's illegal to be named "Ray" and play in Baltimore?"
Ray Lewis: "AAH! DON'T MAKE ME UNRETIRE!"
Ray Rice: "..."

By now, anyone who's a Ravens fan, a football fan, or someone who "enjoys" celebrity "gossip" knows about the incident of Ray Rice getting drunk in Atlantic City, allegedly getting into a physical altercation with his fiance, and knocking her unconscious. TMZ released a video showing Ray dragging his unconscious fiance out of an elevator. Attorneys for both parties claim that the video is edited (which, knowing TMZ and the people who give them their "news", could very well be true), and "only shows part of the story." While there's uncertainty about what sort of punishment Ray could receive from law enforcement, the Ravens, and the league, so far top Ravens personnel are saying that Ray won't be released.

(I'd like to mention that the "yards per carry" joke wasn't written by either Shawn or me. A work friend of Shawn's contributed that. He's not the only one making that joke.)

While Shawn and I are using this incident for blog fodder and are commenting on it with tongues firmly implanted in our cheeks, I'd like to go on record and say that I am INCREDIBLY disappointed in Ray Rice. While fans obviously don't know everything about the characters of their favorite players, Ray had always seemed to be a stand-up guy in the past. He has a close relationship with his mother, and he, his fiance, and their daughter have always been seen as a happy family.

I got into a discussion with my friend China and several of her friends on Facebook about whether or not Ray was "justified" in hitting his fiance after she allegedly spit on him first. They were of the belief that spitting on someone is the most degrading thing you can do to a person. China additionally took the stance of "equal rights, equal fights": women want equality with men in every other aspect of their lives except when it comes to having men fight back when women start physical altercations. If the fiance started something, she should have been prepared to finish it. I pointed out that a small woman like her hitting a big guy like Ray wouldn't (and obviously didn't) do as much damage as Ray hitting her back and that it was an unfair fight. We reached a stalemate, agreeing that the incident wasn't something we wanted one of our favorite athletes to be known for, but that we wouldn't see eye to eye about whether or not Ray was justified in his actions.

It will be interesting to see how the league handles this off-field, especially considering their previous lack of involvement in punishing players for misconduct in the past. For now, I know that Ray and the Ravens are hoping the Combine will take some of the spotlight off of them.

Valentine's Day

Angry Troy & Angry Ray have a very odd way of showing affection to one another, but at least it's coming from a place of mutual respect. I wonder if Regular Troy got anyone Valentine's Day gifts? He seems like the type to send at least a thoughtful card.

Speaking of....

I had some cards of my own to hand out!

The adorable puppy and kitty cards were VERY popular with my coworkers.

I hope you all were able to celebrate love and affection, even if it involved (appropriate, consensual) tackling.

Nikki Post - Apology

Hey everyone, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. My husband and I just bought our first home, so between that and work ramping up with things to do, I haven't had time to post the excellent things that Shawn and I have been coming up with this off-season. Unfortunately, Ray Rice gave us something to write about lately, so we've got two posts about that. I'm just going to post them all in succession to get them out of the way while they're still barely relevant; don't forget to check out the "archives" list on the right side of the blog page.

Thanks for your patience!
Nikki

Well, That was Unexpected

For obvious reasons, we had to write this, take the picture, and immediately erase it before someone in the school noticed that we had a character on Shawn's office's door cursing out someone else's mother. We had another idea for a "Troy's Anger Translator" post, but ultimately deemed it too "not okay" for publication. Let's just say that Shawn and I got a lot of laughs out of it.

These types of post will probably be showing up every now and then as "filler" during the off-season, which is approaching entirely too soon. We'd also like to get Ray an Anger Translator, as the idea of it also made Shawn and me giggle maniacally.

This is SportsCenter...These are Feuding Airports

Only a few more days left, boys...

BONUS HILARITY!
The Twitter account for Denver International Airport has been going at it all week with the Twitter account for Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport. It's been pretty great to follow.

Sick burn example, DIA:

Hey @SeaTacAirport - stop by Elway's on B Concourse for food, drink, and the Lombardi trophy #SB48 #Broncos http://t.co/wSbGQ0gRj9
— Denver Int'l Airport (@DENAirport) January 30, 2014

Sea-Tac puts its rep on the line:

Game on @DENAirport Loser of #SB48 must fly the flag of opposing team in public for 24 hrs #BlueWillLookGreatAtDIA http://t.co/2kvlMcpjl2
— Sea-Tac Airport (@SeaTacAirport) January 27, 2014