Semi Pro Volleyball, PDX Style

I play volleyball. Rather, since moving to Portland I play volleyball. A lot. In as, five times last week I played the game.

How did this happen? Sunday night, Underdog Sports at Hillside Community Center. Monday night, at Fulton. Tuesday AND Thursday at Southwest Community Center. Friday at 24 Hour Fitness in Vancouver, WA. Yes, I have been to Washington now.

How the hell did I wind up here again (in the Pacific NW that is)?

Volleyball is a funny game. You mostly play it in Junior High and then never play it again. Out here it is big. Maybe because of the rain or maybe because people aren't very competitive out here and volleyball is an interesting sport.

It's not like basketball where one person can dominate. It has little to do with hockey or football where you hit people. I enjoyed that.

It's bump, set, spike. To me, there is very little athleticism in the sport. In the sense that it is a true team game, and people that know me well, no I despise these sorts of things. I prefer to go off and do my thing, or play an unorthodox style, or get into it with people.

Volleyball isn't really like that. Why do I play so much? I couldn't tell you. My father would probably say it has something to do with that I am all or nothing. There is truth in that. Besides, sprained ankles and broken noses are a bitch when you get older.

No mas.

Some People Got To Have It

Money that is. I've been paying keen attention to the economy, finance, and the politics of it all since the cookie started to crumble a couple years ago. I don't care to remember how many times I've read about SIVs or CDOs, Lehman Brothers, Ben Bernanke, and so on and so forth.

We've got a problem people. I wanted to understand what this was all about. Who was at fault and why? Where and how did things go wrong? Key moments and decisions made. The heart of the matter. My conclusion is that all of this is irrelevant.

The problem is that capitalism in our modern society will put everyone at risk.

Grand statement, right? Off base. Too strong. What do you mean?

We live in a world with limited resources and a rapidly growing populace. We've got a pizza pie problem here folks. Everyone wants a cut of the pie, the slices will get smaller, and there will be no more ingredients to get another pie in the oven.

The nature of capitalism caused the financial collapse. Its ethos. The idea that one can better themselves through material gains. See, everyone was playing the game. Some were skirting the rules sure. Others were oblivious for certain. The majority wanted their slice of the pie. That's what it's all about, right?

Right, and wrong in the sense that it cannot be anymore. We have a construct problem folks. Something that won't easily be fixed. It will require the majority to view life differently. It will require the actual usage of words like sacrifice, sustainability, and the common good.

Shit, I'm not sure that is what I have learned from the mass media the past twenty years or so. Man, do we have a problem. Where's my money?