The Delp Luck - a case of the Mondays

Quick update on the NCAA tournament. Remember when I said I had prepared like I was invading Normandy. Unfortunately, I am not having the same result. I am in third last place in one pool and only slightly better in my other pool. A high school who is in one of my pools made her picks while watching Real World/Road Rules is in third place. I am going to close my eyes and pick next year.......


Ihave known this for a long time and many people that know me have confirmed this: I have bad luck. I seem to have a black cloud hovering over me quite a bit. I had mentioned in blog #1 that I got the nickname Chief Rain in the Face for all of the bad luck that I have had. The family calls it "Delp luck". I have enough stories to fill a book. Perhaps I should start a Volume 2.....

Missy is due pretty much any minute. Our due date is actually tomorrow, March 21st. We were pretty sure that this baby was going to come early. However, unless she goes into labor in the next 3 hours, that won't happen. Anyway, we have tried to do everything within our power to make sure EVERYTHING is ready for when this baby arrives. We have even organized our vast CD collection - why, I'm really not sure. I guess if the baby really needs to hear something from an artist whose last name starts with L, we can find it quickly and efficiently. We have done our best to dot all of our i's and cross all of our t's to be fully ready when the little one arrives. Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough.

I play volleyball on Monday nights. I have played with pretty much the same guys for the last several years. Last Monday - the 12th - I was playing and we were one point away from winning the match. I went for a ball and ran into one of my teammates. All of a sudden, I felt a pop and couldn't stand on my right foot. I have hurt myself before and usually just walk it off. This time, it didn't happen. I, stupidly, kept playing and limped through the end of the game. After the game was over, I could barely walk to my car. After some prodding from Missy and putting aside my male ego, I went to the doctor. His thought - go directly to the hospital and get x-rays - your foot might be broken. Perfect. The x-rays have since come back and my foot is ok but I might have a fracture in my ankle. I will be headed to an orthopedic doctor tomorrow morning. So potentially I could be hobbling around with crutches and a cast when my son is being born. Not much we can do to prepare for that. I just hope someone videotapes the pathetic Delp family as they try and make their way up a flight of stairs when they bring their son home for the first time. It will be one sad display. Welcome home, son!

This past Monday - the 19th - I made my way out to our little old '94 Honda Accord to go to work like I do every day. I had to navigate the snow and (mostly) ice that came from the nasty storm we had on Friday. We had something like 6 inches of sleet alone. When I got to the Honda, I noticed something out of place in the back seat of the car. Snow. And glass. I then moved my line of sight to the back windshield of the car. Only one problem - it wasn't there. It was completely obliterated. Glass and snow and ice were everywhere. Using my CSI skills, I came to the conclusion that the melting snow and ice that had been on the roof of the house next to where I parked had slid off, turned into a ballistic missle and destroyed the back of our poor Honda. The car sitting six feet to the left of our car was untouched, by the way. Not only was the windshield gone but there were big dents along either side of where the windshield used to be and the roof was dented in. Being an insurance agent, I knew just what to do. I called my dad. In one stroke of actual good luck, a body shop shares the parking lot where this missle attack occurred. So my dad and I walked over and they took the car right away. I spoke with the body shop later that day and the cost of the damage totalled over $3000. That means that the insurance company will probably total the car. THAT means that there is a decent chance that I will have to drive our newborn son home in the ONE car that we still have while wearing a cast on my driving foot.

So I have been 0-2 on the last two Mondays. What I would love to have happen is a reversal of fortunes this Monday. Maybe with the birth of a son. A welcome member to the family. I just hope he doesn't inherit the Delp luck.

March Madness

I printed off probably 30 pages of statistical breakdowns, analysis and pontifications from three different sports sites for this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. I also looked at a forth site that gave head to head comparisons. I wish I were kidding.

I am in three different pools. One is for a little trophy that I BOUGHT. One is for fun through church (and a gift certificate I think). And one is against several middle-aged women and their families through work (which I organized).

I am preparing for this thing like I'm invading Normandy.

I love March Madness......

30 Trips Around the Sun

Well, I figured I would wait two weeks to post again since that is probably how long it took everyone to read my Oscars diary. Sorry about that. Holy War and Peace!

Well, last Saturday I turned 30. I haven't really had too strong a feeling about turning 30 until recently. Actually until about 3:00 am on Saturday morning, I think. I woke up in pretty much a panic. Then I proceeded to wake up with the same feeling at 4, 5 and 6. It could have been the sushi I had the night before, it could have been the pending birth of our child, it could have been the realization that my 20's were just about over or it could have been a combination of all three. Either way I woke up feeling panicky. Only God knows why. I sure don't.

As I look back on my first 30 years, I have lived quite a life. I have been to 3 different continents, I have seen almost corner of this country, I have found the love of my life, I have made lifelong friends, I have felt both pain and joy that were beyond description and now I am standing on edge of the cliff called parenthood. However with each of those experiences, I experienced them through the lens of me, myself and I.

The thing that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around is the fact that other people care about me and see me in a positive way. The fact that people would take up part of their day to go go-karting with me and eat lunch with me; the fact that a decent number of people would get together, get me gifts and celebrate me (I think having free food there helped too but I will try not to think about that part); the fact that someone would drive 7+ hours round trip just to say happy birthday; the fact that someone would put together a photo montage on the computer that encompassed the moments of my life - the cute, embarrassing, momentous and downright awkward. As I reflected on the day, those things were tremendously humbling to me. It was at those moments that I realized that my life has had some meaning. It has had some impact. Since I exist only from the perspective of what I see from behind my two eyes, it is (and was) a moving experience to have people put so much effort and love into celebrating someone who I don't think deserves it - me.

All of that to say, thank you. To those of you who love me and call me friend and think that I am not a bad person to spend a part of your life with, whether it be 5 minutes for a talk about the Eagles or a lifetime til death do us part, thank you. Know that you have had an impact on a newly turned 30 year old.

So as I make my 31st trip around the sun and look back on my first 30, I hope that I can humble you and make a small part of your trip as beautiful and fulfilling as you have made mine.