Cups, Highbury Park

The fact that something about Mikel Arteta’s hairline has always vaguely unsettled me, the fact that maybe Freddie should have been given a bit more time or until the end of the season, the fact that the problems run much deeper than the gaffer, the fact that Ozil has at least looked a bit better, the fact that I recall his days at Real Madrid, the fact that he can be quite the nifty midfielder when he wants, the fact his left foot is simply sumptuous, presumptuous, sumptuous, just you and us, the fact that he had the courage to talk about the situation in Western China, the fact that he was then deleted from a video game, the fact that I doubt it bothers him much, the fact the Erdogan attended his wedding in Istanbul, the fact that it’s kinda bothersome, Erdogan attending a random wedding not the videogame deletion, the fact that Erdogan is not exactly a champion of democracy, the fact that Ozil looks a bit surprised in the wedding pictures leaked online, the fact that Erdogan is loving it, the wedding not the fact of the leaked pictures on the internet, the fact that apparently Erdogan crashes celebrity weddings in Istanbul quite often, the fact that if Trump showed up to my wedding I’d get it annulled, the marriage not Trump, the fact that this Greta is really something, the fact that we use too many paper towels in America, the fact that I use too many paper towels in my household, the fact that I can’t really speak for all Americans and definitely note every household, the fact that Greta didn’t want to waste her time talking to Trump and good for her, the fact that anyone who spends time in Florida of their own volition and it’s not to Disney or Miami needs a fucking shrink, drink, mink, pink, rink, sink, the fact that the cream colored outdoor cat just walked up to our dogs’ food plate in the backyard and nibbled a bit, the fact that not one of our three dogs bothered to bark, the fact that they are in the laundry room but used to bark all the time, the fact that no more, the fact they have accepted the stray and feral cats that now own our backyard, the fact that Trump lies about his golf scores, the fact that I think his caddy should have his or her caddy license revoked for conspiracy or at least aiding and abetting, the fact that the cat nibbled three or four bits then started to drink from their water dish, the fact that the dish is not even a dish, the fact that Auba and Lacazette should be 20 goal scorers but not with this midfield, the fact that when David Luiz is the solution the problem is more massive than you’d like to admit, quit, split, writ, spit, hit, the fact that Ozil married a former Miss Turkey so I guess he had to expect the good ole Erd-meister to swing by, the fact that I remember when George Best went “missing” back in the day, the fact that I’m secretly upset Ozil or some other member of the 2014 German World Cup winning team did not marry Rihanna, the fact that I guess it could still happen, the fact that Lukas Podolski is really not doing much else right now, the fact that the water dish is a plastic contraption where you attach the water container upside down and it automatically refills, the fact that my kid showed me a Youtube video explaining the science behind it and I’m still clueless, the fact that Arteta has to go to a browbar or something, the fact that my dad had dark black hair like that, the fact that he dyed it from age forty onward, the fact that I’m more of a silver fox, box, locks, pox, rocks, the fact that the cat is really enjoying that water, the fact that I guess not many other good sources of H2O around here, the fact that okay one of the dogs barked, the fact that it was more of a yelp, the fact that we can’t put a dog bed in there because they just urinate all over it, the fact that the cat is now up on the wooden fence and lounging in the sun, the fact that how are Auba and Lacazette going to reach even ten goals a piece with only old man Ozil feeding them, the fact that midfield needs to be a priority and centerback, the fact that Arsenal twitter got really toxic for a few months but everybody had kinda given up hope after the last three years of the Wenger era, the fact that Wenger’s suits always had the sleeves trimmed too short, the fact that you should never be able to see more than a man’s cuffs, the fact that after the 2014 World Cup I bet Rihanna saw more than Mario Gotze’s cuffs, the fact that oh my I have no basis to say that, the fact that they could have just been clingy and tipsy at a night club or something, the fact that Rihanna could have been the best friend of Mario Gotze’s then-girlfriend for all I know, the fact that a few of my Nigerian-American friends from my co-ed team moved to Germany and love it, the fact that they love all the tall men around to date, the fact that being taller than a man often intimidates them, the fact that Ozil looked a good four inches taller than his bride, the fact that Erdogan never really got close enough to Ozil or his bride in any leaked pic to get a good height estimate, the fact that that smell cannot be good, the fact that it’s okay one of this pupusa de frijol will just be a bit more done on one side, the fact that pupusas are so easy to make, the fact that the ingredients are cheap and the process lasts 5–10 minutes tops, the fact that the cheese ones are even easier to make, the fact my kids love them, him, whim, swim, the fact that Greta sailed across the Atlantic to cut down on CO2, the fact that the trip took three weeks, the fact that everybody used to travel across oceans and up and down rivers in steamers, the fact that we don’t have to burn fossil fuels or cut down trees to survive, the fact that every time oil spits or a drink spills I grab a paper towel without thinking, the fact that I can’t live without’em, the fact that the judges for a literary prize didn’t even bother to finish a finalist book, mistook, nook, crook, rook, the fact that Philip Roth can write about a young man masturbating with a slab of uncooked meat that is later eaten by his family for dinner and that is art but a stream of consciousness masterpiece written by a woman about a woman is a bore, the fact that now I’m upset, the fact that I get there’s only so many hours in a day, the fact that why agree to judge a book prize when you aren’t going to read the damn books, the fact that I am going to count to ten, the fact that I will feel the anxiety exit my body and float up and away like mist, the fact that I am removing the anxiety, the fact that I have a lot to be happy about, the fact that I am able to walk and walk without difficulty, the fact that my kids and spouse love me, the fact that I often feel appreciated, the fact that this first pupusa lacked a little salt but I’ll make sure the others don’t, the fact that my youngest only wants the cheese ones anyways, maze, lays, plays, craze, the fact that my spouse prefers I make them with butter but nobody else does, the fact that the cat outback looks so relaxed, the fact that feline movement can be so graceful as to be almost hypnotic, the fact that even at rest they admit surety and confidence, the fact that I just wish the feral cats would not mate on our driveway at night, the fact that when one of them is in heat our driveway turns into a warzone though, the fact that the shrieks don’t stop from sundown to sunup, the fact that nobody really says sunup anymore, the fact that I guess I do, the fact that Arteta hopefully learned a lot from Pep, the fact that Pep’s teams struggle to defend in UCL second legs but sure can score against weaker teams in domestic leagues, the fact that that’s exactly what Arsenal need right now….