Of futures and goalkeeping

So today’s lunch was not an Amway pitch.

It was a pitch for financial planning instead.

That, I can handle. I should probably start putting some kind of plan together…the markets have probably hit the point where they’re scraping along the bottom, and this would be a good time to get back in. And it’s a guy whose job it is to sell financial planning services. I have no problem with people selling the things their job requires them to sell (except for the folks who only do Amway. There’s just no winning on that one). It was a productive lunch…it’s just a weird thought that someone who is my age is trying to suggest how I should invest my money. It’s one thing to call a help desk and get a 23 year old to fix a problem with your computer. It’s another to start laying the foundation for your retirement with a 23 year old.

Anyways. Potentially awkward situation averted.

Tonight was the weekly informal soccer practice for the team I play with. It’s a drop-in format, which means that those of us on the team who can make it try to make it, and we usually play against a group of other people who may or may not know each other. It’s a referee-free game with no score, and depending on how many people show up, we can wind up playing 2-3 times longer than we normally would in a regular game against people who are usually much better than us (and the more skilled teams we play against).

Tonight, though, we found out that we’ll be losing a few players this weekend to other commitments, including both of the guys who are usually goalkeepers. Since I suck at offense (no ball control), midfield (I’m not much of a runner), and defense (my reflexes are crap), I volunteered to be goalie. It was a least-harm solution.

And I still suck at goalkeeping. My natural tendency is to duck soccer balls and avoid them, and I’ve been playing defense for so long than I’m used to not using my hands to block shots. So now I have to re-learn all that. And dispose of my well-honed sense of self-preservation. Basically, I need a moment like the goalie in Mighty Ducks where he transforms from a child terrified of pucks to what’s-his-face, THE GOALKEEPER.

So we’ll see how that goes.