What happened to my “All Stars”?

First of all, this is a critical view on Argentina’s soccer team. I am not complaining that Germany beat Argentina. I am only trying to answer the “how’s” and “why’s.” Argentina should have beat Germany, no doubt about it. In the first half, Argentina had the ball 67% of the time while the Germans were left with a meager 33%. These numbers alone should show that the Arians were taken by surprise by how aggressive Argentina was. In the first two minutes alone Germany had committed two fouls (one was awarded with a yellow card). Argentina did a good job at keepings the pace that it wanted, not letting the Germans rush them with anything. The second half though, was when the Argentines fell apart and the Germans picked up the slack. Still, in the 49^th minute Argentina scored, giving them-selves a false sense of security. Only fools would consider themselves saved by a single goal. Germany then continued to shoot at Abbondanzieri, who did a fine job at keeping the ball out of the box. Sadly, the Argentine goalie got hurt (it was an accidental collision, nothing done on purpose) and had to be replaced with an inexperienced (he had only played a few times for Argentina before the world cup) and cold (he had less than a minute to warm up) goalie. I must make a note that having to substitute a goalie is every coach’s worst nightmare due to the fact that you lose players who could be giving extra energy to the team (obviously, goalies don’t get worn down as much). Sadly, Juan Roman Riquelme’s stamina had been depleted and had to be taken out (this too was against Perkeman’s ideal game play) and replaced with Mascherano (in my opinion, Aimar should have gone in to continue creating goal opportunities). Soon after, Crespo was taken out (he ran a lot but hardly touched the ball) and was replaced with Julio Cruz (I have never seen him play but he is an able forward…yet…why wasn’t Messi put in?). After the Germans scored a beautifully played header, Argentina was weighed down with reality. Even though Argentina had several chances at making a goal, they went to the dreaded 30 minute over time. What followed were two exhausted teams who were not much of a danger to each other. Argentina clearly played better than Germany but could not make a goal. To my horror, the 30 minutes were up and the game was to be decided by penalties. Sadly, Argentina was outplayed by the penalties and lost (4-2). So...

Contributions to Argentina’s defeat:
1) Bad refereeing (sadly, Argentina had previous problems with Lubos Michel)
2) Forced substitutions (Abbondanzieri and Riquelme were not supposed to go out)
3) Fatigue (Argentina fell apart during the second half due to the lack of running)

I know I’m not supposed to complain but, how do penalties decide which team is better? The fact is that the goalie catches kicks, are for the most part, pure luck. *sigh* To top it all off, I lost a bet to a friend.

Dentists are scary

I got to spend two hours with my buddy the dentist this morning. What a day! I had the hardest time waking up today... It's been a while since I've had to wake wake up before 7 a.m. (the last time being when I woke up at 5:30 to help out with the senior breakfast) and I sure felt it. Anyways...I've had trouble with a certain tooth and am finally getting it capped. Yay! I can bite into apples again. What they did today was to grind down the existing tooth, stick in a titanium rod (about the thickness of a pencil lead) and capped it. On Thursday morning I have to go down to Grand Rapids (to a lab) and have them pick out a color which will match the rest of my teeth. In three weeks I get my permanent cap. Anyways...I think I really like the gas that they put on your face when they fool with your teeth. You feel a sensation of falling the whole time and come up with the wildest ideas. I think I just about figured my whole life in those two hours. Hopefully, I won't have to go back to the dentist because of my stupid tooth.

(Those aren't my teeth....honestly)

Mexico proved a lot...

Well, here I am writing about the Argentine team again. What happened? When up against the Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina shone. When they tied with no goals against Holland, we knew that there was no need to win because they were going to be first in their group. Both teams played at about 60-70 percent of their total potential. When playing against Mexico, in the knock-out round (if you loose, you are out of the tournament), I expected Argentina to play at 100 percent and beat Mexico 3-1. My estimates aren’t usually too far off (I can usually tell who is going to win at least), but I started doubting my skills when Argentina and Mexico were neck to neck for most of the game. Even though Argentina played better, Mexico did make them pay dearly (more on this later). Everybody says, “Oh, the referee was against my team.” Maybe, but what about the fouls that were called for Mexico while the Argentine players were being kicked? What about on the 89^th minute when the linesman called a non-existent off sides on Carlitos Tevez (who by the way, in my opinion, could have made the goal)? *sigh* If only the refs were perfect. This Friday, when Argentina plays against local team Germany, they had better play like they did against Serbia and Montenegro…fast, short passes. I can’t stand watching teams kick it and “try” to have a player get it. I think that using the whole team makes for a good foundation, causing players to have to run less. Ah yes, about Argentina having to pay dearly for their game against Mexico… Because they were tied at the final 90 minutes, a 30 minute over time was needed to decide the victor (if at the end of the two 15 min. halves no team has scored, penalty kicks are executed). Soccer players are used to running 90 minutes (very few games are played where penalty kicks are needed), so when Argentina had to play 30 minutes more, it was grueling on their bodies. The Mexican players have the rest of the tournament to rest, but the Argentines have to be recuperated by Friday to face Germany, the host team. Thankfully, Pekerman (Argentines head coach) put in Tevez, Messi, and Aimar in to rest the starters. Let the best team win next Friday…and let the best team be Argentina!

I’ve been noticing something strange with my eyes lately; they make me look like a drugg Funny thing is, I have never consumed any sort of drug which would alter the appearance of my eyes (smoke does that…but no fires around here). What is it exactly that would make my eyes water so much? I think I figured it out…too much tv. I don’t spend my whole day watching movies (well…I used to but that was quite a few weeks ago). What has really gotten to me is this computer, and the world cup. Today we watched a total of two games, three hours worth. If we could have, we (my father and I) would have watched three, but they have started playing at the same times. I'm not sure how I will moderate my time, but I'm sure something will have to change.

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Teaching in Slovakia?!

I'm not really sure where God is leading me with this, or if it is even God. Sometimes you get an idea in your head and you can't decide whether it's actually God, or your own voice. I'm sure everybody has experienced this... Anyways, a few of the things which have been on my mind lately is if there really is a call to go teach in Slovakia. I need prayer to discern between my truths, and God's truths. I've been leaning towards being an mk teacher for the past two or three months, and going to Slovakia for the past two weeks (Melanie can correct me if I am wrong with this amount of time). I know that I have plenty of time until I actually have to decide what to do after I graduate (probably three and a half years from now) but what I do need to figure out now...are what classes to take. Am I going to stop double majoring in Spanish and History and change my focuses to some sort of secondary education (which take FOREVER to complete btw)? Well...if God really wants me to become an mk teacher overseas, I'm sure He will continue to open paths for me, and give me clear messages.

It's nice to be on the winning team for once...

I don't want to make this long or boring but I want to let all of you know (yes, all five of you who actually read my blog) that it's great to be an Argentine just about now. We just beat Serbia and Montenegro 6-0, Serbia's worst defeat since 1930. After watching Argentina play today, all other teams seem to be amateur, unorganized teams. It is a beautiful thing to see Argentina play well. To describe Argentina's form of playing in a few words would be, "Short, fast passes with the whole team flowing as one." Yep...perfect teamwork. If Argentina keeps playing like they have been, and the other teams continue to play as they have been (yes, including Brazil, England, and the Check Republic), then Argentina is going to win the world cup...no doubt about it.

Work...

I prayed for rain and got a storm. For weeks I waited and waited for a job. I was desperate to get any kind of job. I applied to various places including grocery stores, factories, landscaping services, a bank, warehouses, etc (a total of sixteen places actually). As I stated before, I waited for the magic phone call to say, “Mister Joshua, we want you to work for us. How does 20 dollars and hour sound to you? We need you to model some leather jackets…” But no…instead I sat around for weeks watching movies, tv, talking to friends (online…some friend who lives in Slovakia and another who lives in Indiana), wishing I were anywhere but small town Sparta. As I was giving up hope…I got an email from my cousin who works at the church. “Josh, I have a job opening for you.” Yay! I called the number that she gave me and sure enough, I got the job. My warehouse duty (I am currently emptying a storage room for a small business) takes about 5 hrs. a day, not a heavy load at all. One day, after work, I received a phone call from my pastor’s wife, “Josh, I need you to do some odds and ends around the house. Would you like to help?” I sure did! Ahh…in this awfully hot weather, I’ve been working 10 hr. days, sweating away. For what? I’m saving all of my money to go to Europe. My goal is to save enough to be able to spend a whole summer there without having to pick through trash a single time. I’m actually enjoying this busy schedule. I seem to get depressed when I am either extremely tired or extremely bored. :D I’ve been sleeping quite a bit lately…so no depression (so far…thank you for praying for me (yes, you)). One more thing about my job, it’s going to end soon (both of them). I guess I could use your guys’ prayers on this. I will be needing a job very soon…so if one of my applications went though it would be very nice.

They Made It!

Well, my parents made it back alright. They have been gone for about a week and a half now, visiting our mission head-quarters and other friends. What can I say other than that I missed them. There are pros and cons of living alone. I am going to list them:

Cons- -My cooking tastes awful.
-No one to keep me accountable (ok Josh, five Van Damme movies in one night is quite enough).
-No one to keep things clean (first thing my sister said when she walked in...*snif* *snif* "Smells like boy.")
-The food gets rotten.
-I get lonely (seriously).

Pros- -I can monopolize the Internet connection (dang I hate 50k dial-up connections).
-I have control over what and when I watch things.
-I can smoke cigars whenever I feel like it (not that it's an issue when my parents are here or anything...they just don't appreciate me going to the gas station at 3 A.M.).
-I can eat whenever I want (if at one moment I feel like eating at 7 but change my mind and eat at 9...it doesn't bother anyone).
-I can listen to any music I want, any time, and at any volume.

Even though this list is by no means exhausted, I think it shows my current attitude about staying home alone. Moral of the story: once I am done being a bachelor at college...get married REALLY fast.

"Thank you Lord for protecting my family while they were traveling."

"That Way"

I am sure that everybody knows that there are differences between cultures. Even though I have been in the States for a whole a year, I am still finding many things that "shock me." Before, I just saw Americans as being annoying, stupid, and naive, but I am now starting to see them as just being different (even though I still struggle with the naive issue). I am sure you are wondering what differences are my pet peeves. Well...to tell the truth (no fair laughing at me ok?) the one that bothers me the most (I finally figured this one out during spring break) is how people give me directions. In Argentina, when you ask someone how to get somewhere it is usually presented in a broad fashion. Here in the States, when asking directions they want to tell you EXACTLY how to get there. "See that building over there? Ok...it's right behind that one...about ten meters to the left, look for the second door to the right. Here, let me draw you a map." In Argentina, it would have been, "It's that way." Which one is better? Neither one. Which one am I used to? "That one."

More to come on cultural differences...

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"Back in the day"

This is me: the guy with the large beard. He must be trying to hide something! What about the "dread mullet"? He apparently doesn't follow any fashion rules. Is he a social rebel? Does he like to stand out? I've heard that he is a socialist, he must eat raw chicken hearts while they are still beating.
Seriously now, what am I trying to prove? Am I just trying to show the world, "Here I am! Look at me!" I don't think so. I've tried fitting into the American culture and failed drastically. Instead of being like everybody else...I might as well try being myself. Even though it may be hard to believe, but I actually do enjoy my styles. I don't think they are the prettiest things around, but then again, who am I trying to please? If I shave and cut my hair, would that mean that I lost my battle to be unique in my own way? I just wish people would see me past my odd appearances and accept me for who I am. If they really tried to get to know me better I'm sure they would find me to be very interesting.

Here we go again

I'm sorry for being such an unfaithful blogger-updater. I'm not going to tell you about all the things in my life now...just wanted to let all of my die-hard fans know that I, Hombreverde, am back! I would post a photo, but I can't due to the fact that my dial up is TOO slow. Don't worry though...I will figure something out.

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