A Look Back at My Membership-Did I Get My Value?

Written on 2-22-25.

     It’s a Saturday afternoon, and Belinda and I are enjoying some quiet time.  Kody, too.  B is resting on our bed, and Kody is in the hallway sleeping.  I started to declutter our computer room closet, but I am taking a break to catch up on some writing.  It’s a pleasant distraction.  We have many things that need to be gone through, including more stuff from Mom and Dad.  We are syphoning off items to be sold in a garage sale.

I did a workout this morning, and then we ate burgers and fries on our deck (first time this season) from a new restaurant in town, Badlands Burgers and Brews.  It took over the spot where the Bistro was on Main.  The burgers were okay.  I would eat there again, but they were expensive; we spent over $30.00 for the two of us. 

I have a dermatology appointment on Monday.  This is the second one, and I am having more Milia removed from between my eyes.  I have a BIG one near my left eyebrow.  She wouldn’t touch it last time, but I hope she will this time.  We shall see.  Of course, I have an ingrown hair in my eyebrow right next to it, too, so that’s great, just great (wink, wink).  

We have parent-teacher conferences this coming week.  I only have to make it until Wednesday, and then conferences start on Thursday and continue on Friday.  I helped set up some I.E.P. meetings for those days.  I know I am not Neily, but I am doing my best.

James and Casey are on week 32 now!  Our Swopelet is growing and growing.  Belinda and I got to feel it kick when they were here.  What a wonderful feeling!  Thank you, Casey, for allowing us to do that.  They have a routine where they play music each night to get him to start moving and grooving.  It worked.

Danielle and Sarah both participated in that Spartan Sprint 5K in Phoenix, and they both did rather well.  Sarah got 14th place and Danielle finished 3rd.  That was made even more impressive when we learned that Sarah lost her glasses in the mud and stopped to try and find them and 347 women competed!  Holy moly!  Great job, ladies!  I believe they are going to do another one, and they sounded just giddy when we called them on their way back to Albuquerque.  They were giggling as they told us what happened, and they loved it all.

On to golf…

I played on Wednesday, and that was the last day of my membership.  I played with Herman (not his real name), Richard, and Val (not his real name either).  Herman recommended Val for our bathroom remodel, but we were mostly set with Nate by that time.

It was an awful, truly forgettable round.  I made a couple of bogeys, and I also lost four golf balls.  I could have stayed and played some more, but I left after nine holes.  Everybody understood, and nobody tried to convince me to stay.  I had low energy and brain fog.  I did learn from Luke that I managed to get 23 rounds in for my membership, which confirmed it was not enough to warrant buying it.  What a bummer and a waste of money.  I knew I was short of the mark, but I didn’t know by how much.  Looking back, I know it was one of the tougher years of my life with Dad passing and helping to take care of Mom, too.  Then Mom died.  Oh, and I had my pinky surgery, also.

The round was so bad that I didn’t save it on my Garmin, and I threw away the scorecard.  I was happy when it was over.  I chalked it up to a practice round.  I can now look forward to a new season and getting back to work on getting my swing and game in shape.  Man, do I wish I had Herman's game.  He scores birdies and pars and only occasional bogeys most every round.  Someday.  

Okay, back to decluttering.  

Until next time…

I Play at Sandia for the First Time

Continued from Valentine's Day...

     I managed only one more par on the par four #6.  I did enjoy playing with them, although he was pretty miserable after his nine holes.  I felt bad for him; he really struggled.  His wife and I played better, for sure.

Curt and I took on Troy and Michael at Sandia last weekend.  On the #1 tee, I simply suggested best ball match play, and Mike agreed.  Curt was nervous playing with strangers and with new clubs.  He did better than he thought he would, though.

We won in a rout.  Curt ended them on the back nine with a couple of better scores.  We were a good team, and we ended up winning 8 and 6.  I thought Troy would play better, but he was all over the place.  So was Michael.  I had no idea how good Michael was, but I found out pretty fast.

I really enjoyed the course.  I played much better on the front nine, shooting a 44 and winning most of the holes.  I started with a par, and Troy asked me, after my long birdie attempt, if I was sending a threat.  I joked that if I had made it, that would have sent the threat.  I nearly did hole it, too, and it was from around 40 feet away.

I also got the only par on the long (over 600 yards) par five that we can see from Tramway when we drive home.  That was earned with a putt from around 50 feet.  I hit my approach from a rocky/sandy wash with my 6-iron, but it ended up just short of the green.  The pin was near the back, and my pitch with my “Sandy Andy” ended up way short.  Thankfully, I made that putt to win the hole!  I think I was the only one who earned a legal score on that monster.  

I earned another par on a shorter par five to win yet another hole.  It was fun to win and to have Curt as a partner.  He did his part on the back nine, for sure.  

After we won, I was competing against him in my head, and I know he wanted to beat me, too.  I shot a 44, 51 for a 95.  He shot a 51, 49 for an even 100, but he did beat me on the back nine.  My 95 was the low score of the group, and that’s a bit embarrassing to write.

I hope to play one more time this coming week.  The weather doesn’t look promising, though.  Weather Bug is telling me the high for Wednesday will be 48º.  Brrrrrr.  I will see how I feel when the day is here.

Until next time…

My First Birdie of 2025!

Written on 2-15-25.

     It’s the day after Valentine’s Day, and it’s a Saturday.  James and Casey recently arrived home after spending the first part of the weekend here.  They spent one night at our home and the other two up at Vallecito.  Very soon, their lives will change…for the better, of course.  I am glad they could have a getaway before it all begins.

Belinda and I are excited for the long weekend due to Presidents’ Day.  We have already done some light cleaning and started gathering tax documents from last year.  Danielle is going to Phoenix for a Spartan Race.  Benny had RSV yesterday, and she recently shared the air with him, but she still decided to go.  Hopefully, it will all be okay.  Benny is already feeling better, I have heard, and his temperature is down after being as high as 106º, though!  Matt is racing, too, and they brought Benny with them.

On to golf…

I just cleaned my clubs after my last two rounds, the one at Pinon Hills and the other at Sandia, like I wrote about above.  I have removed the Arccos sensors and cancelled my subscription.  I know I need more distance on my drives, and I know I can always improve my approaches from 125-150 yards.  It was a super experiment, but I feel I know my game well.  It was super to see the improvement I made at the end of the last season when I did score better.  It was gratifying to see the data.  You have improved by 1.3 strokes in blank, etc.  I didn’t want to pay $155.00 for an entire year again, though.  It was all or nothing.  I couldn't pay monthly, so I let it go.

My membership at Pinon Hills ends on Wednesday, the 19th, too.  I don’t plan on renewing that either.  I didn’t get enough rounds in this past year to justify doing it again.  Eric plans to pay each time, so that's what I will do, too.

I wanted to finish writing about my new baseball glove I bought at Dick’s (I switched to baseball gloves quite a while ago because I feel they are more durable, but maybe they aren't).  I used the gift certificate that Asurion sent me after the last one failed, so I was able to take advantage of that protection plan.  The one for my new glove, however, cost between $7.00 and $8.00, up from between $4.00 and $5.00.  I decided to do it anyway, but that is quite the price jump.  Hopefully, I won’t need to take advantage of it.  It’s a bit of a pain to file a claim.

I also didn’t finish the story about the round with that couple at Pinon Hills, and I have a birdie to write about from those nine holes.

Like I said, the husband was not very good, and his name is Joe.  We did have similar markings on our golf balls like I wrote before, too, and he hit my ball by accident from the #1 fairway.  He apologized, and I told him it was not a big deal.  I dropped close to where it just was and finished with a par, the first par of my round.  Actually, the first par of the year, too.

Then he hit my ball again on the next hole.  He shanked it, but it was my ball.  Once again, he was very remorseful, but I told him not to worry.  Then he did it a third time!  That was impressive.  If I had played the hole better, that wouldn't have happened, but I scored a double.

Without his help, I scored my first birdie of the year on the next hole.

Pinon Hills-Hole #3-Birdie #1 of 2025

My drive was not good.  It went left (so did Joe’s), but it did go far enough to get over the first large hill over there.  It ended up in the rough near the bottom of the next hill.  I was sure to remind Joe that our golf balls look very similar, so I was able to stop him from hitting my ball for a fourth time.

I had a blind approach due to the hill.  I walked up to see which line would be best.  I saw the flagstick on the front right side, so I picked a line just right of that.  I used my 5-iron/wood and swung a beauty from 159 yards.  The ball launched toward the hole, and I knew it would be satisfactory.  It was more than that, though.  It ended up right of the hole, only three feet away.

Joe’s wife putted for her par first, but she missed.  She doesn’t like putting on winter greens due to the inconsistency, she said.  They were crusty and mottled.  Thankfully, I was able to roll mine on a true path for my first birdie of the year!  Yay!

James and Casey's Swopelet Shower

Written on 2-12-25.

     I am back in my classroom, but it’s a Wednesday this time.  I do Math Olympiad on these days, and this time I will be reviewing the math problems from the test last week.  This time, I tried my very best to get the answers right; I missed all five.  I gave the test to Belinda, and she got two right.  Thank goodness for the answer keys, so I can explain to the students how to arrive at the answers, since I obviously didn’t by myself.

We had James and Casey’s baby shower this past weekend in Albuquerque.  It was great, just great!  Bev and Curt came down, and we got an original Swoperton gang picture, too.  We also got a tour of Matt and Becca’s house after three months (they hosted the shower), had some quality alone time with Ben, and spent both nights at Danielle’s house.

Bev, Curt, and I went to church on Sunday at the Shrine of St. Bernadette.  I had never gone there before, and it was truly beautiful.  Bev and Curt agreed.  All in all, it was a super weekend.

On to golf…

I played last Wednesday as a practice round for Saturday’s round at Sandia.  Herman (not his real name), Richard, and I played the back nine, and it was cool to see them.  Herman had three birdies and one bogey for a round of -2.  He made it look so simple.  My first nine was rough, but I improved my score when I played the front nine.  I asked them to join me, but they had had enough since they played 18 already.  I get it.  I barely made it playing 18 holes after my long winter lay-off.

On my final nine holes on the front, I played with a married couple.  They were in the same stage of life as Belinda and me, and she was better than he was.  He had the same marks on his golf balls that I do (black alignment lines), but he had little dots in each corner of his lines.  That was the only difference.

More on that later...

James and Danielle Get Some Gifts

Written on 2-1-25.

     I wanted to put in here what I gave to James and Danielle from Mom and Dad after Mom died.  I grabbed some stuff when we cleaned out their apartment, and I thought the gifts were fitting.  I snagged all of Dad’s pocket knives.  First, I just got the two that were next to his recliner, but later I found a bunch more.  I gave Danielle one of the Swiss Army knives and I gave James one that had a Cutlass, a sailing ship.

Next, I found many religious items on Mom’s table between the recliners.  I spotted many St. Anthony medals/necklaces, so I gave them one each as well.  He was the saint outside their door that came from their garden in the backyard. 

Last week, I went through all of the stuff I brought back and had spread out all over the computer room floor.  I am back at home today, and it’s 8:36 at night.  I am sitting in a decluttered computer room as I type this.  That was the last of the “stuff” to go through from Mom and Dad, and it was difficult.  I put it off for weeks.  Actually, I put off some of it again by moving some of the journals/diaries to a box that I put in James’s closet.

On to golf…

I haven’t played due to the cold weather.  The highs have been in the 30’s and 40’s, and the lows have been in the single digits.  Brrrrrrr!  I have been preoccupied with my new position, too.  In other words, it has not been conducive to playing golf, but it hardly ever is in the month of January.  I do remember having a January one year when Bruce, C.J., and I played many times at Hidden Valley.

One change I have made is keeping my golf clubs inside.  I want to keep them nice and warm and happy when I am not playing in the winter.  I believe it will keep the grips healthier.  Who knows.  I like to look at them, too.  They are right behind me, and it makes me smile that they are in here.

I bought a new golf glove using the silly and even more expensive Asurion No Sweat Protection Plan.

More on that later…

A New Year-Here I Go Again!

Written on 1-6-25.

      Here I go again!

Written on 1-31-25.

I am at Park Avenue Elementary School, and I am sitting at “my desk” in Room 502.  I have written my lesson plans, rescheduled a meeting, and cleaned up after the projects from the past week.  I have a lot of time to fill between morning duty and my first group.  Today is Friday, and it’s the last day of January.  Phew.  I am now able to write a longer entry in here before the month ends.

I just sent a picture of my new Puns calendar to Pupdates (our text group for the Swopertons).  It said, “We’re afraid for this calendar…its days are numbered.”

Since my own days are numbered, I thought I would bring my MacBook Air to school today to get started on Golf Diary-Part 23 for this year.  I am amazed at how my first month of work is already done.  It went by as fast as a rabbit running off my lawn when I growl or yell at it.

I will start by telling about the new job.  The CORE did not get the funds for this year (sniff, sniff), so after eight wonderful years, I said goodbye and started doing something else.  I am the long-term sub for the Gifted Program after taking over for Neily, Matt and Becca’s and James and Casey’s wedding planner.  She and her husband moved to Albuquerque to take on other roles and be closer to their boys.  

I also brought my MacBook to send an e-mail to Isabel from Newcomb Elementary.  She and I have been going back and forth with multiple replies after I sent her our Prezi for the first time this year.  I wanted to share the STEM Outreach Academy that Camille and JoDee are starting, since we lost the grant money for the ECLIPSE Grant.  I am stopping to send that reply now.

Back.  That feels good to have that done.  I hope to share that with other schools where I built relationships when I worked for CORE-NMSU.

Okay, one of my groups is coming in soon.

Until next time…

Mom and Dad Both Pass Away Near the End of 2024

Written on 1-3-25.

     I am sitting at the dining table up at the cabin.  B is settling in for a nap in the family room, and we both have our fires going for warmth.  We have done some decluttering in our home recently, and B found an iTunes GC for $10, so she offered it to me.  I am listening to some of the songs I bought including Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Dream Academy.  It’s from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when they are going through the museum.  Now, it’s playing This Christmas by Donny Hathaway, and the fireplace actually is burning bright right now.  I recently fell in love with that song after hearing it on Amazon Music multiple times the past few years.

This Christmas.  This Christmas.  It’s been a..

The Broncos Beat the Chiefs...Not!

Written on 11-10-24.

     I am in my/our computer room, and I am listening to the Broncos.  They are playing the Chiefs in Kansas City today, and they have the lead…for now.  The score is 14-13.

I thought of some other things to write about after my last major victory.  The first thing is Herman (not his real name) has had many ailments when we’ve played this season.  

*Broncos had the Chiefs defeated with a 35-yard field goal.  Then a Chief blocked it, and it was over.  The Broncos lost.  What the heck!

We have joked about Herman's problems.  It started with a bad back.  He would play to help loosen it up and get out of the house.  He would tease me by saying this would be a great day to beat him.  It wasn’t.

The next malady was a cold.  He sounded terrible.  Once again, he reminded me this would be an excellent opportunity to beat him.  Then he shot a 39.  It doesn’t matter what is hurting him. 

He also would work on his game by experimenting with different things.  No differences ever in his scores, though.

Written on 11-17-24.

     This last time he figured out that his gout was acting up. I wasn't happy to hear this, of course, but this was what would eventually be his downfall.  He was still able to shoot a 41, but with my six strokes, I was able to defeat him this time.   

I was proud of how I held my mental state together during the last four or five holes. I started to get ahead of myself by thinking I might just do it this time, but then I caught myself.  I even said where I was, 

which hole I was on, what the date was, and what I was doing in a couple of places. That happened on #16, for sure. I also tried to calm myself by counting backwards from 5 to 1, something I had learned from Dawn Grant.  Both of those things really helped me to stay focused on what I was doing.

We really had a good time.  We always enjoy our banter.  When we were playing #9, I had some difficulties.  I didn't get off the tee, and then I shanked another shot out to the desert rough. When I finally got up to the green, I wondered where Herman's ball was.  I had passed him up.  He was near the bunkers and about 60 yards away for his third shot. He made a sarcastic comment about how he was always waiting on me. I clapped back and said, “That's never stopped you before.” 

We laughed and laughed.  He said he thought he had really burned me with that comment, but when I had a retort, he was blown away and it really cracked him up.

Until next time…

The Conclusion of the Victory of the Season

Written on 11-6-24/

    Donald Trump is the President-Elect.  He will be the 47th president.  B is bummed.  He even won the popular vote, the first time for a Republican since George W. Bush 20 years ago.  

On to golf…

Hole 17-I aimed more to the right this time, and it was so successful.  When the driver is working, so are most of the other things.  I used my turf buster for my lay-up shot.  It’s very similar to my 5-iron/utility (according to the Arccos app), but I had other successes with it on the front nine.  That shot turned out well, too, and I was past the 150-yard marker and in the fairway to boot.  My 9-iron approach didn’t have the best contact, so my ball landed short of the green by 20 yards.  I used the same club for my pitch to the pin on the middle tier.  This was another wonderful result, and it rolled to a point three feet from the hole.  

I had just told Herman (not his real name) I would love to get a par (get off the bogey train to gain even more ground on him), and then I got one.  He did, too, but I had maintained my three shot lead.

Hole 18-My drive sailed to the right of the fairway and the bunkers.  I found it in the dirt.  As I lined up my lay-up over the bunkers, I heard Herman say, “You got this, Pat.”

I know he wants me to be successful, but he also wants to beat me.  

On hole #17, he said repeatedly and half-jokingly, “I can’t let Pat beat me.”

I used my gap wedge to get on the green in three shots, and then I had a long putt to a hole in the back left position.  Not an easy two-putt at all.  

Herman got up and in for an amazing par.  His approach came out from under an overhanging bush, and it almost stayed on the green.  If his ball had had brakes, they would have been squealing the whole time they were on the putting surface.

My first putt was on line, but it stopped short four feet.  He felt that I needed to make that putt to beat him, but I could have triple-putted and still won.

Finally!  I got a Dos Equis, and Herman paid for it.  It tasted sooooo good. 

Now, I want to beat him straight up.  I have done it before for nine holes, but I would love to do it after 18.

Holes 15 and 16 and an Interlude

Also written on 11-5-24.

Hole 15-We both got bogeys again.  The pin was on the back, and I nearly had a sweet par.  My tee shot was short, left, and in tall grass.  I pitched my ball, and it rolled from the middle of the green towards the back.  It curved around the back of the green just inside the fringe and stopped even with the hole.  My par putt stopped a centimeter away.  Once again, no loss here.  I had given up two so far, and I had three left to give to get the win.

Hole 16-I got a bogey to his par.  I hit a beautiful drive that faded, matching the curve of the fairway.  My 6-iron approach stopped short of the green, and that’s the reason for my bogey.  He made a smooth approach to get his ball on the green to gain his par.  I had given up three strokes at this point, the same amount I had given up the day before.  Oh, no!

Interlude: I didn’t want to go play the night before and the morning of.  I even talked to Belinda about it.  I was bummed about my game.  Who could blame me?  I had lost two times, and I didn’t know where my game was.  I was getting abused by Herman.  Who likes abuse?  Not me.  

Also, I had learned that I had only played 18 times with this membership.  Luke told me, and that sounded right to me.  Two other guys in the pro shop had told me I had played 54 and 48 rounds.  Both sounded like too many.  They forgot or didn’t know how to check/adjust the date ranges.

Since I had learned that info, I decided I had better go play to earn my membership some more.  Herman asked me the day before when I wanted to play again, and I couldn’t think of a reason not to play the very next day.  I knew the weather was going to be even better/warmer, so I said, "Tomorrow."

I am going to bed.  It’s 10:28, and although I don’t care too much about the election, I am going to check on the results so far.  B and I had a big talk about it tonight, and we usually don’t do that.  It fired her up a little, so I have given her plenty of time to fall asleep.

I will finish writing about my victory tomorrow.  

Until next time…

The Beginning of the Nine Holes That I Won...Finally!

Written on 11-5-24.

     I am so glad Election Day is here.  The sooner we get this over with, the better.  This morning, I attended Garylee’s funeral, and it was beautiful.  My vote for 2024 is for Garylee and his family.

Belinda went up to the cabin with her sisters, because she has today off.  That’s new.  We didn’t get Election Day off all the years before.  I hope she enjoyed the quiet of the mountains.  I heard it snowed.

Back to golf…

The day before I beat Herman (not his real name, but I am sure he wouldn't mind if I used it), I was leading until the final two holes.  He gave me six strokes on that day, too, but they dwindled to only three by the time we got to #17.  Then I had a meltdown triple bogey (honestly, I didn’t even finish the hole) and a double after that.  He had a bogey and a par, so I gave up the lead and bought him a beer…again.  I should have a membership for buying beers for Herman; it would be less expensive.

Richard played really well that day.  He shot a 44, so Herman actually had to buy him a beer. He did give Richard more strokes than he gave me, though.  We normally play the front nine as a warm-up, and then the gloves come off and we have a competition on the back.  After that, we buy a beer for Herman.  That’s been the pattern.

He gave us six strokes each on Friday.  That made sense.  For Richard, it was fewer because of his win the day before.  For me, it made sense because I blew up in a spectacular way.  I am going to do a hole by hole this time, since I defeated Herman.  I want to remember this in detail.

I won’t include Richard’s scores, however.  He blew up in an even more spectacular way.  When we got to hole #14, he jokingly offered to lend us his credit card and head back to the parking lot.  My bad score from the day before would have beaten his round by six strokes.  That’s how bad it was, and it was such a contrast from the day before.  That’s golf.

Hole 10-Herman and I both got bogeys.  I had a super chip for my third shot, but I missed my par attempt.  

Hole 11-He earned a bogey, and I made a bogey, too.  I putted my fourth shot from way off the green and below the hole on the left side.  It was a swell play, and he was incredulous that I had putted it.  He asked, “Did you just putt that?”

“Yes,” I said.  

The grass was cut very low for some reason, so I thought it was super smart.  I got up and down for another bogey, so that’s all that matters.

Hole 12-We both went right of the green.  He pitched on and made a bogey.  My pitch fell short and landed on the fringe.  Sadly, my first putt went too far past the hole, and I missed my bogey putt.  He gained his first stroke on me on this hole.

Hole 13-I teased him on the fairway before his second shot.  I told him to splash his ball into the water and then get up and down for his par, because that’s what he did the day before.  He ignored me, but then he got his par anyway without the watery part.  

Then he teased me to put my third shot in the water and get up and down for a bogey.  I didn’t mean to put my approach in the water, but that’s what I did.  Next, I did what he told me to do, too.  I got up and down for my bogey from about 30 yards.  I had now lost two strokes to him, though.

Hole 14-We both got bogeys.  I hit my approach into the bunker.  Herman hit his into the bunker, and his ball plugged!  I chipped on with my Sandy Andy, and I two-putted.  Herman gouged out his ball, but missed his long par putt.  No loss here.

To be concluded...