- It's hard to believe that ten years ago this week I got the official word that I was going back to college to get my degree. I was nervous before that because I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to do it. The only thing I was nervous about after getting that confirmation was how to tell my parents that I was leaving for Columbus once again. It was also ten years ago that I started those weekend trips down to Columbus with friends from Akron to the old Screaming Willies/Club Dance. I've already talked about that several times before in DJRT so if anybody wants to know more about that they can go back and look at some of the earlier editions talking about that. I will make one note about those trips that I haven't before in that I was extremely excited to be able to tell my friends down there that I was returning to Columbus to go back to school. It took a lot of planning and thinking on my part to get back there. As you can tell by the edition pic in the upper left hand corner that I put together myself, it was definitely worth it.
- It was also two years ago (two days from now exactly) that I moved back to northeast Ohio. That was more of a sad time as I've noted before because I realized that there was nothing more for me any longer in Columbus outside of my friends and DJRT. Outside of a few changes in the past several years, I am actually pretty much in the same position I was in before I started working on coming back to Ohio State in the first place. Two years later after coming back I'm still at that crossroads. I know there have been a lot of people wondering why I haven't got past my issues and stuff that led me to where I am currently both in my life and in my head. Outside of what I've talked about already, all I can say is that there is an awful lot I have to work out in my head before I can go forward with anything. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. I've had so many missteps and so many issues with things in my life and with many of my dealings with people in general that I've had to do a ton of backtracking and reflection of how I got to this point. I've had a lot of people when I've tried to talk about this stuff before that have advised me to simply move past it or forget about it or just "get over it." I wish I could in many instances but it seemed like every time I would attempt to do just that things got worse for me or something would happen that I would end up back where I started before or it would cause me even more problems on top of what I already had to deal with. That's happened way too often for my tastes and it makes me literally ill sometimes. I can't have a life like that. Some people do point out how fortunate I am...their words, not mine...and the luxury I apparently have that I'm able to be able to take the time to pull back and circle the wagons like I do to do all this reflection, especially when they aren't able to themselves due to whatever circumstances are going on around them (I've heard it more than once from some folks). Trust me when I say I don't feel all that fortunate or luxurious about that. It really hits me hard sometimes. Just last week I hit a extremely low emotional point. I even put a sarcastically-stated status update on Facebook in the middle of last week reflecting how low I was feeling...something I don't normally do...and I think because I put it in quotation marks it was overlooked or wasn't taken all that seriously. Believe me, I was not in a good place. Now, don't get me wrong...if a realistic opportunity to move forward in my life came along like the one I had 10 years ago with me going back to Ohio State, I would jump at it in a heartbeat. One thing I think people might want to know about me is that I am an extremely opportunistic S.O.B. when potentially big things come up for me personally...and yes, I meant to say "son of a b****" here. I don't say that all that often but I believe it's the most accurate thing I can say about myself in that regard. I tend to immediately jump on any potential opportunity that could be really good for me and I've had some incredible things happen for me when I've done that. However, those things haven't happened to me...in a tangible way, at least...for a very long time. I do wonder if any will ever happen again. In any case, all I can say is despite how things might look on the outside regardless of whether it looks good or bad for me at any one time, there's a lot of stuff I've got to work out and I'm doing what I realistically can to move forward with my life.
- Changing gears, how many people...raise your hands...outside of the Cleveland Browns front office saw this Trent Richardson trade coming? Anybody...anybody? Didn't think so. I was already numb from other things when I heard about that and about Brian Hoyer starting. I was shell-shocked. I would never have thought they would trade him the way they did, but they did and at least they got a 1st rounder for him. I've seen a lot of anger and venom over that, but I didn't really know what to think at the time. I think a lot of people believed him to be a cornerstone for the franchise and the Browns had promoted him as such to help sell tickets, but I have to agree with the rest of my immediate family that this trade may have been a really good thing for them especially since there was no indication that he was going all that effective in this Browns offensive scheme. It's a break from some of my friends' opinions but he was having some serious issues that stood out to me in the games he's played in despite his hype over the past year or so. It didn't help that Brandon Weeden would take forever to make decisions and get rid of the ball, but Richardson was having trouble blocking out defenders and was slow at getting back to the line of scrimmage when he was handed the ball. That stood out to me and the more I think about it, I believe it might be good in the long run for both the Browns and Richardson for this trade to happen now. We will see.
- Regarding the Browns, I am very happy they got their first win of the season this past Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, though I do feel bad for my friend Ron because the Vikings are his team. Brian Hoyer came in and led the Browns with three touchdowns and got the team moving down the field with his quick release on passes and managing the game well. Sure there were hiccups like the three interceptions and not keeping Christian Ponder from two running touchdowns but the Browns won despite those hiccups. The Browns defense kept Adrian Peterson in check and just stuffed the Vikings offense. A lot of people were shocked by the outcome but I wasn't as surprised as most. Hoyer seemed to want to play more in the preseason for the team than Jason Campbell seemed to and I think he was rewarded for that in Brandon Weeden's absence due to injury. He also seemed to fit what the Browns braintrust wanted for the offense and I believe along with Josh Gordon's return (who Hoyer seemed to connect with a lot in that last preseason game), they were going to surprise a lot of people on Sunday. They did just that. I'm not sure what it will lead to in the short term or the long term especially in the shadow of the recent Richardson trade and Brandon Weeden's status with the team, but after this last game I do feel better about the team than I did the first two games. They have two games in quick succession this next week, one on Sunday and one a week from this Thursday, so we'll get an idea what to expect in the near future.
- A Buckeye record-breaking six passing touchdowns from Kenny Guiton...in a half? Granted, it was against one of the biggest bunnies on the schedule in the past twenty years, but who would have expected that from the backup? Not me, that's for sure. This past Saturday was one of the biggest offense-producing games from the Ohio State Buckeyes that I've ever seen. They've had a light pre-Big 10 schedule this year but now the real season begins starting at Wisconsin this Saturday night. They have a winning streak going back to all of last season on the line and the last time they had a streak like this...their championship season...it was broken by Wisconsin the following season. I do wonder if history will repeat itself here, but we'll see soon enough this weekend.
- This year, the Summit County Metro Parks are celebrating the 50th season of their Fall Hiking Spree series. I know a lot of people who like to walk, so I thought I'd pass along this reward program which is free for Summit County residents to hike eight separate trails within the Metro Park system. From their page, first-year hikers will earn a hiking staff and shield and veteran hikers earn a hiking shield for completing the Fall Hiking Spree. Check out the Summit County Metro Park Fall Hiking Spree page if you want more info on that.
- How many times have you find yourself wanting to say "Before you say anything...don't!"? I have...many times.
- Who would have thought Arsenio Hall would be back on the air with a late-night talk show nearly two decades after his old show went off the air? I didn't, but I think he would have made a better replacement for Jay Leno on the Tonight Show than Jimmy Fallon or any of the other hosts out there. His show was the bomb, so to speak, back in the day, so it's great that he's back. I don't know if his new show will hit the heights of his old one, but the potential is there for it. I do think he needs his goatee back, though. If you want to find out more about the new show, check out the Arsenio Hall Show homepage which includes some of his best clips from his old show.
- Song on Repeat: "Can You Picture That" by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Now, why did I pick a song from the Muppet Movie, you ask? Because I can, that's why!!! But seriously, I liked the movie and liked the song so why not? It's a change of pace, for sure.
- Shoutouts: Cheryl, Holly, Joe Dawg Brother, Daryl, Griff, Erik, Kristin, Jenny K., Mindy, Ron (very belated happy birthday), Anna, Heather D., Uncle Larry, Cory, Dave, Christian/Zach, George, Mary K., Bob, Lynn, Ernest, Tom R. and Maggie.
That's it for this week. Like I said, not many subjects but wanted to put something out. I don't know when the next DJRT is coming because I don't foresee any major events coming up, but as you all know that can change at a moment's notice. I do want to say one more thing before I go regarding DJRT. Next year I will be debuting a new DJ Logo that will replace both my personal logo and the DJRT one. I will be using different fonts for the "Random Thoughts" part along with the new DJ Logo, but for the most part it will stand alone as a single logo. I do like the current one but I want to get some more mileage out of it before I retire it and commit to the new logo. It's a different and more basic design but when I recently finished it, I instantly felt "this is it...the logo I want for me and DJRT." Be on the lookout for it next year. Until next time folks...take care and God Bless.
DJ
