I'll Have a Blue Christmas

I got the tootsie roll bank for Christmas. All is well in the world.

Oh and Christmas isn't all blue, speaking solely of the color, not the temperament (temperament good, see below). Sure the sky and ocean are, but the grass is green, and the foliage is an assortment of colors.

Christmas was great, spent a lot of time just relaxing and not thinking about work or schools, or anything more serious than, "Is the pain incumbent with eating 20 or so pecan tarts worth it?" (Yes, and yes. I find all pain related to over-eating is typically worth it. Pain due to food poisoning, not as worth it.) Just chilling with the immediate family and seeing family members for the first time in a decade, debating over which movie to watch first, contemplating what songs to get off iTunes. These are the decisions and activities that maybe, just maybe, will be the most crucial ones in my life someday. We all have dreams.

More to the point, in a round-a-bout way, I was given a trip out to Utah. It's under the auspices of helping my brother, but I know his work will only take a day and I'm already booked to spend three days there. So here's the deal.

Monday night, as in this Monday the 29th, I'm going to be having dinner at Winger's. Not sure which one yet, likely the one at PTC, but that's beside the point. If you are one of the handful of people who read this and are in the greater Provo area during the holidays, please try and clear your schedule. I would love to see you and share a bowl of popcorn and two plates of sticky fingers, (two because I'm not really going to share them. I'm going to eat one on my own and whatever you don't finish, I'll eat that as well.) while I tell you about how awesome it is to still be wearing shorts.

Seriously, let me know if you'll be able to make it. There will be a mass text sent out tomorrow some time, and either reply to that or post a comment here, or, if worse comes to worse, a phone call is still valid. I look forward to sticky fingers, and seeing you all would be a bonus.
Word.

How Can I Be Lost, When I've Got No Where To Go

Two things off the top: 1) How amazing was the Dark Knight? I picked it up (funny story and I hate to sidebar this early, but it must be done. I went to walmart* at midnight Tuesday morning to be one of the first ones to get it. I was expecting a crowd because this was easily the best movie to come out in years and if you don't get it for Christmas let me know. I might have to remedy that. However, I forgot that I live in a retirement community where no one is awake after ten. I get there and it's empty. In fact, they had the main alleys cardoned off for polishing. I don't have any reports from how the Orem walmart* was that night, but I like to think there was a line.
So I brought in an ad from CVS which said they would drop the price down to $10 if you bought $15 in iTunes cards. A no-brainer as I definitely use iTunes. However, it took two walmart* employees twenty minutes to figure out how this deal worked and why I would want to do such a thing. Granted, it was midnight and I was asking for a $5 discount on a movie, but I didn't expect it to be such a production. Needless to say, I got it, at the price I wanted, and left questioning who was the more dumb party: them for their actions, or me for expecting something better from the late night walmart* staff.) and watched it, you have to pick up from the beginning of the sidebar. It was still just as amazing. It did seem a little longer then it did in the theater, but still solid from start to finish. No regrets with the purchase.
2.) I miss baseball like school kids miss the spring. The winter meetings are a tease that is supposed to tide me over from November to April. Good luck. It's not working. On the plus side, being in Florida means I haven't bought season tickets for the arizona fall league. You know I would have. Front row.
Finally, give it up for Greg Maddux. Now give it up again. He deserves it. Probably more, but that's all I ask of the public. Easily, the best pitcher of my generation. One of the top ten guys I either currently regret, or will regret not seeing play. (Also on the list: Ken Griffey Jr, Pedro Martinez, and Jim Edmonds [he probably won't make the hall, but he made the game look fun]). Watching him pitch was mesmerizing. The best hitters in the league would look like high schoolers. If I could raise my kids to be like one athlete, it would be Greg Maddux. Here's to you. Word.

So Long, Put Your Blue Jeans Back On Girl, Go Home, Remember

I own 28 different seasons of various tv shows. Eleven of them have to do with medical shows. Since working at the hospital, I have had several epiphanies. Chief among them is that people at real hospitals are no where near as good looking as people at fake hospitals. Not even close. I've had direct interactions with over a thousand patients in the past three months. I can tell you, at no point did I ever even think about asking for one of their phone numbers. Not a one. In their defense, some were unconscious, or had facial trauma, or were old. (On the list of things that used to be creepy to me, but now don't even register: Old people without their teeth in. Used to be so unsettling how the lips curled in way past vertical. Now, not even disturbed when they're asleep and their mouths close much farther than they should.)
The point is, where is one tasty coma wife? They just don't exist. I want them to, badly, but they don't. Now, of course, the shows revolve around the physicians and staff, and all of the television personnel are at least decent. #13, Elliot Reid, Cameron, Jordan, Kim. All of them very beautiful. Even the minor female characters are soft on the eyes. Real hospital staff, not even close.
Out of the hundreds of doctors, nurses, aides, dietary and janitorial staff, there are maybe a handful of ladies whom I would spend time with outside of the hospital. It's stunning. I don't know what I was expecting, but I can tell you hollywood taught me to expect more. And after working in a business office where the attractive girl to non-attractive girl was at least close to the one presented by "The Office", I had little reason to doubt the same ratios would hold from medical shows to medical work. For the record, they don't.
Word.
Ok, so I have to put this in, even though I know I already closed it out. It's completely unrelated, but completely amazing.
I was going through an old box where I store all sorts of notable things from my life. High school diploma, EFY pictures, tae kwan do black belt, you know a "memory box". (Note: mine is waterproof and always closed tightly. When you live in an area constantly struck by hurricanes, you just keep things in a constant state of ready-to-evacuate-ness.) As I'm going through, I see something I thought I had lost. Tickets to the two Giants games I went to during the 2001 season. One was against the Dodgers and the other against the Cardinals. Yes, that's cool to know I saw the 2001 home run chase of Barry Bonds in person, but the cooler part is on the back side.
Yep, there he is. The Say Hey Kid. It looked weird, and indecipherable, which of course lended to its credibility. I checked with his other signatures just to be sure I didn't imagine him signing it in the San Fran airport, and it's legit. I thought this was lost to time. I'm unbelievably pleased by this. Also, I found the ticket from the White Sox/ Royals spring training game I went to in 1997. Not much special, until I flipped it over and saw Johnny Damon's John Hancock. Needless to say, being awake at 4am has finally been worthwhile.
Word.

The Spirit Of A Hustler And The Swagger Of A College Kid

So, it's 1am. It is technically Monday, but for me it is Friday because I work Friday through Monday, and have Tuesday through Thursday off. So, now I'm starting my weekend. Want to know the only downer about this? I just finished my bookshelf project. I won't lie to you. Its beautiful. You're quite jealous of it. It's ok to be. I would if it wasn't mine.

Setting its beauty aside, as hard as that is, it now leaves me with a dilemma. You see, when I wanted to break away from things and just relax, I had the bookshelf to work on. Measuring, cutting, routing, sanding, sanding, and of course more sanding, staining, sealing, mounting and finally, choosing the books and items to place on it. I reveled in it, because it was mine. From first cut, to final nick nack, it was mine.

But it is done now. Well, at least 90% done. I still have one shelf to fill with non-book items. I could put more foreign souvenirs, but I don't like the idea of putting up more than one from a country and I would quickly run into this problem. Now my though is baseballs, and I have more than enough to fill the shelf, but not many of them are worth putting on display. Essentially, I've hit a writer's block on the last paragraph. Frustrating. Ideas?

Really what I wanted to get at is that now I have completed the thing I wanted to get done for a while. Please, don't ridicule "building a bookshelf" as a task worthy of this honor, but for me it was. And I've completed it. What now? It was nice because for the hour or so a day, I wasn't thinking about the things I probably should be thinking about. Medical School, Marriage, Dating, and what happens if the first one doesn't happen. (Please don't ask me. I really have no answer. Ask Mike instead. He might actually have one. Not kidding. Smart money says he has much more a backup plan for me than I do.)

Now what? Here are my thoughts. Mind you, I work 32 hours a week. That's not nearly as important as the 48 hours I spend awake and unoccupied on days not Sunday during the week. Also, I have moderate funds, but not limitless. I only wish. The ceiling of the extravagance of ideas is to purchase the most beautiful car ever, and the restore it. Amazingly, I think this might end up costing only $3500 over the space of the next ten months. It doesn't take a math major to realize that means $350 a month. How I decide this being the cap? Because that's how much rent use to cost. Logical, as always.

The complications involved in such an undertaking are numerous, but not irreconcilable. Below that, it's wide open. Call it ADD. Call it needing a constant change of pace. Whatever it is, it's definitely something I need to resolve.

Oh, and I refuse to let Jake and Holli have a more recent blog post than me. Of course I'm that petty. I thought about Jared and Courtney, but I wouldn't have a shot. They simply have much more of an audience and therefore they need to please them much more often. Case in point, they've had a counter for roughly three weeks and they have had approximately 600 hits. Mine's been going for almost ten months. Finally hit 1000 yesterday. Ridiculous. Can't match that. Won't. Too intimidating.

There you go. Word.

I Was A Champion For Me It Was A Fall

Two months. Yes, it has been the longest cessation since the beginning of this log. Needless to say, there are a lot of things that need to get covered, and covered they shall be. Bear with me as this will have to be a multi-post so that you won't have to sort through the posts about things that don't interest you.

This part, the first one I'm writing after the silence, has to be about the most prominent thing over the past two months. Without a doubt it would have to be the relationship I had with a particular girl. I'm hesitant to use her name, so for the story's sake, she'll be known as M (Really, if you're reading this and don't know who she is, welcome to my life. Enjoy the ride).
We met up about late August/early September, and began attending social gathering together for a couple weeks, and then started dating by mid September. This continued until early this month when the relationship ended. I'm not going to go into the details of that part, but will say that it was difficult, and we're both getting over it.

Ok, I expected to write more about this, but I feel that to be sufficient as is. In conclusion, the break-up was rough, but even if I knew how it was going to be, it still was worth the ride before the end. To quote Peyton Sawyer (Big kudos to anyone who tracks down this reference), just because the song has an end, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the music. And it was good music.
Word.

I Don't Care If I Ever Get Back

No words, just pictures. Word.

Is It Getting Better, Or Do You Feel The Same?

If you were wondering if I have cleaned another man's butt, I for better of worse, have now. I recently finished a CNA certifying course. Right now, half of you are thinking, wow CNA, sounds like a big deal. It's not. At all. No really, they're the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to health care. Their duties typically include changing linens, checking vital signs, and making sure the bed is in its lowest position. Oh and measuring and monitoring excretions. Of all kinds. How jealous are you of me? It's ok to say very jealous.
Clearly, I took this job for the prestige. My new pick up line has to be, I know the proper way to transfer you from a wheelchair to a bed. (Cue the cheesy grin and of course, the double shooters). Bullet-proof, I know. The ladies of central Florida better beware.
In all seriousness, I'm doing it because it's the best way for me to gain great first hand experience in health care. I'll be assigned to roughly a dozen patients and be in charge of the menially tasks incumbent in their care. I'm cool with that. Plus, it gives me a job that I can pickup wherever I live. Go ahead. Look up your local hospital's job listings. I guarantee there to be at least one listing under CNA or Patient Care Tech (materially identical). Yep, that could be me.
I'll take the certifying test on the 3rd and then get hired on here at one of the local hospitals. It might be a pay cut from what I'm doing now, but I'll be getting better experience, more hours and better hours. Working the entire weekend really put a cramp on my social life, back when I had one worth talking about. The new gig will have me likely slinging three days a week, 7a-7p and then every other or every third weekend off. It will be a nice paycheck and a great way to know more of the inner working of health care. And no, if you do end up in my hospital, on my watch, I will not wipe your butt. I'll let you wallow in it for days. Trust me, I'll win that battle easily.
Word.

Oh Man We Were Living, Didn't Waste One Minute

Do you remember how excited you were about getting a bag of M&M's at the store checkout counter when you were young? How about the cool-ness you enjoyed when you were finally allowed to pick out which movie to rent for the weekend?
I've been like that until recently with boating. It originally was this unbelievably cool thing that I'd get to do on special weekends, and eventually became just another thing to kill time. Well, being seven years removed from having one at my disposal has given me a new found appreciation. In the past two and half weeks, I've taken her (of course all ships are female, but no, she does not have a name. I've tried naming vehicles before, but it backfired within twenty-four hours after I named my car. Very hesitant to take that risk again.) out on the river thrice. Absolutely enthralling. Just being on the water and traveling so smoothly, just kind of lets you put everything else behind you for those couple moments. So serene. If real heaven was like cartoon heaven- that is angels resting on clouds, strumming harps- then being on a boat just cruising down the river has to be the closest approximation we have here. In all honesty, I'm contemplating spending a night anchored off shore and just sleeping on the water.
In addition to the re-discovered enjoyment of boating, things are going well. I'm working at the hospital, and keeping busy with church assignments and callings. Really, just one calling, but it sounds better if I use the plural. I thoroughly prefer a busy life to an unencumbered one and I'm very pleased to be on my way to the former of the two. Ask me again in three weeks, and I'll likely complain about it, but know that I still prefer it over spending endless days on my couch.
So yeah, thanks for all your support and willingness to listen to me gripe over living in a mansion with a nice car and two miles from the beach. But seriously, thanks. Word.

I Can Design An Engine 64 Miles To A Gallon Of Gasoline

I know what you've all been thinking. Man, we haven't had a post from Rick in a long time. This, of course, is followed by seeking out a box of Kleenex, and then realizing that a chamois is the only thing with the absorbency needed. Well, I've been writing, but something significantly more important. On Monday, I sent in my medical school applications. Part of this, was a personal statement. And therein lies my literary efforts of the past couple weeks.

It's in the hands of the medical schools now. Over the next couple months, I will be compulsively checking my email and various official school sites. Wish me luck.

Oh, I figured you all might want to see it. Here it is. Enjoy, and if you want, let me know what you think of it. More importantly, let me know what you think a person who only knows me from this essay would think of me. Thanks.

I don't remember the exact date, but I'll never forget the moment. I realize that not everyone can identify exactly when they realized what they should do with their lives; the exact minute their life's purpose was undeniably clear. I'm one of the fortunate few; I know exactly when it happened, down to the minute. Over the course of sixty seconds, in a slow flash, with overwhelming certainty, I knew what I could, what I should, and what I wanted to devote my life to.

After nine months as a volunteer in the Pediatric Ward of a local hospital, I began volunteering in the Emergency Room. My shift in the ER was ending for that day and I had spent the last half hour in the trauma room. A patient was wheeled in and the staff began working feverishly. For the next thirty minutes, serving as a scribe, I witnessed and recorded chest compressions, epinephrine pushes, bicarbonate boluses and defibrillation shocks. Then, just after eleven on a Sunday night, everything stopped and the lead physician sighed, "Time." I looked up at the red digits on the clock, recorded the time, and paused for the next instruction. It never came. It didn't have to. Everyone understood.

I had seen dead persons before. But it was that precise moment, that pulse between being alive and then not, that became uncharted territory for me. Being the end of my shift, I drove home with the vivid images and impressions etched on my mind. I had seen a dozen men and women do all they could to help, but in the end, it was out of their hands. I realized that even though their primary objective of saving this life wasn't achieved, they were able to accept it and move forward as though it had been.

This is what separates medical professionals from professionals in other fields; this ability to work toward a goal that may or may not occur despite well-executed procedures. For these professionals, the success was in doing everything they knew how to do, excelling at all the procedural steps within their control. That one minute -those simple sixty seconds- crystallized those impressions in my mind. This understanding, this indelible clarity has directed the course of my actions ever since.

It was, by then, the first semester of my junior year in college. I had already spent my freshman year working toward a degree in finance. Following my freshman year, I volunteered for two years serving as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A strong work ethic has always been a hallmark of my family and dedicated service came naturally. The days were long, the work tough, and the results of the work often not within my control, but throughout the experience I acquired skills that continue to influence my life today. During those years, I gained a greater appreciation for those who devote their lives to service. I personally discovered the joy of learning, the reward of service and the satisfaction that comes from positive life changes.

When I completed my mission, I returned to school with a new direction. After serious thought and prayer, I decided which science courses would best prepare me for medical school while I also made progress towards a major in finance. Every semester, pursuing these two paths meant rigorous credit loads, regular scheduling conflicts, and constant decisions concerning the amount of credits hours to allot each semester to biology, chemistry and physics courses while making sure I had the required accounting, economics and management classes to complete my degree. My commitment to excellence and personal work ethic is demonstrated by the fact that I earned a finance degree from one of the top business schools in the nation while simultaneously completing the science courses that would best equip me to meet the demands of medical school, including devoting my final semester exclusively to science courses.

Graduating with a degree in Finance, I was quickly recruited into a financially lucrative position by a subsidiary of Bank of America. I rationalized taking the job knowing that was a great way to pay for medical school but very quickly realized it was not helping me prepare for medical school and left me feeling unfulfilled and empty. Consequently, despite achieving recognized success in that position, I resigned and readjusted my priorities.

I realize that my current financial rewards are not as great as what I left behind, but I have no regrets. The feeling I get when I make a difference in the life of another human being is more reward than what can be measured in dollars and cents. In a nutshell, I have come to realize that I'd rather be a poor physician in a rural clinic in Pahokee Florida than a wealthy financier on Wall Street.

I am confident that my personal and professional experiences thus far demonstrate my commitment and my character, and I eagerly await the opportunity to join them with the necessary training medical school provides.

Word.

I've Been Waiting. I've Been Waiting For This Moment, All My Life.

How awesome are the olympics? Very. Simply amazing. Just to let you know, this is going to be long. This is the actual running conversation me and a friend had while watching the olympics on August 12th. All times EST. Savor. Enjoy.

9:57pmRick
You watching the olympics?
9:58pmC
yes of course
9:58pmRick
They're lauding Michael Phelps for waking up at 6:30am and going to bed around 11pm. That's not that special.
I know about 50,000 guys pulling those hours.
9:59pmC
yes me being one of them i'm pretty sure with pressure he is under i wouldnt be able to sleep
9:59pmRick
Probably. Then again, this pressure is nothing new for him. Really, he's probably felt it since he was 16.
10:00pmC
true that all i know is the man is a beast
10:00pmRick
Not to take anything away from him. I mean, honestly, most dominant athlete in their port...ever?
10:01pmC
it will be if he wins tonight no doubt
10:02pmRick
He has two chances for gold, and one of them is essentially a given. Ok, when you're competing at the olympics, and barring you falling asleep at the start everyone else is playing for silver, that's amazing.
10:02pmC
yes it is
10:03pmRick
Do you also want the french guy to drown?
10:03pmC
yes very much so. he just won that one dangit.
10:04pmRick
I know. And took the world record back.
10:05pmC
friggen french
10:05pmRick
Good for nothing really.
10:05pmC
thats one place i do not want to go on my mission
10:06pmRick
The language wins the women, but it otherwise mostly useless.
10:06pmC
really i thought italian did...?
10:07pmRick
It does as well. Italian is the prettiest though.
10:07pmC
yes i agree if i go on a mission there that'd be sweet
10:07pmRick
Seriously, I was on a bus ride and these two italians were talking infront of me. So beautfiul, just put me right to sleep like a lullaby.
10:08pmC
haha i bet
10:09pmC
dude did you see that dudes eyes?
10:10pmRick
Yeah. Looks like he got jacked.
10:11pmRick
Much like the french guy's world record!
10:11pmC
seriously!
10:11pmRick
For the second time in a week.
10:12pmC
i want katie hoff to win gold
10:12pmRick
She needs to. Badly.
10:12pmC
yes very bad
10:12pmRick
Does she have any gold medals at all?
10:12pmC
nope bronze and silver
10:12pmRick
What about 2004?
10:13pmC
she had a bad year she was the one that passed out on the floor after her race big upset
10:14pmRick
Ouch. Passing out after winning, legendary. Passing out after losing, embarrasing.
10:14pmC
exactly
10:15pmRick
Hoff is getting hammered. She's going to need a Lezak-esque finish. Ouch.
10:16pmC
SHE DIDINT EVEN MEDAL! gosh china beat us on that one!
10:16pmRick
I didn't think I would ever say this about a swimmer, but over-rated.
10:17pmC
that wasnt her best race i still like her but come on!
10:17pmRick
She better take home a gold from this olympics. Otherwise, she might have to be put on suicide watch.
10:18pmC
oh no doubt
10:18pmRick
She passed out while losing last time... is that next?
10:18pmC
haha idk its possible
10:19pmRick
Ok, how many seconds does he break his own record by? I would set the over under at .75
10:20pmC
i say he breaks it at at least that even more
6 YEARS!
10:20pmRick
Seriously, I was typing when they said that, and I stopped and kind of shook as that sunk in.
10:21pmC
Me too
10:21pmRick
Ha ha ha. Make these guys all look like boys. Best quote of the olympics.
10:21pmC
I know i was just gonna say something
10:22pmRick
Want to see an athlete drop the hammer? He's gone. By .06
10:23pmC
Yes he won! whew hes a beast. he won and hes still mad!
10:24pmRick
No joke. I guess when you've already 9 gold medals, winning by itself isn't as special.
10:24pmC
true
10:24pmRick
Ridiculous. He's pissed that he didn't go under 1:52.
10:25pmC
I know i say he takes it out on his next race
10:26pmRick
Wouldn't be surprised.
Ok, is there always at least one hot little gymnast on the American team? Really? How long has this been a tradition.
10:30pmRick
My vote for hottest on the team goes to Alicia Sacramone. Although, Shawn Johnson is clearly a better athlets, Alicia is just striking.
10:31pmC
oh shes a cutie no doubt about it no doubt. these chinese girls look about 10 or 12
10:31pmRick
Yeah, and honestly, I would pick a small german shepherd over any of them in a fight. TKO due to strikes in the first round.
10:32pmC
haha no way she is 20! shes 13!
10:33pmRick
Yeah, ridiculous. She's 15 tops. I think Alicia is 20. I say Alicia like she's an old friend.
10:34pmC
haha i understand. is she? i'm gonna look it up lol
10:35pmRick
She'll be 21 in December!
10:36pmC
I know i just looked it up! shes all yours. dude shes 5'1"
10:36pmRick
Shawn Johnson, that firecracker, all yours my friend.
10:36pmC
haha i'll take it
10:36pmRick
She's 5'1" and she towers over the rest of the competition.
10:37pmC
haha i know she does look tall. johnsons 4'9"! shes 16 though
10:38pmRick
She can't see over the steering wheel. Dude, that's perfect, when you get back, she'll be 18. How's that for a slice of fried gold.
10:38pmC
ITs perfect! she'll need to convert though but thats no big deal
10:39pmRick
That's easily the easiest part of the whole plan.
10:39pmC
oh most def
10:40pmRick
Once you two meet, how could she not join the church?
10:41pmRick
There they are. Sister's C and Russell.
10:42pmC
haha its perfect
10:42pmRick
I swear, if this happens, we are kings.
10:42pmC
golden kings! dude i'm like mezmorized by them just standing there
10:43pmRick
No joke. The killer would be if we start dating them separately, and then we send each other wedding invitations, figuring it out then.
10:43pmC
that would be hilarious!
10:44pmRick
We all have dreams.
10:44pmC
bridget looks like she could beat me up
10:45pmRick
She's scary.
So hot. She looks like she's 5'5" by comparison.
Alicia, obviously.
10:45pmC
Yes we do MLK had a dream and it came true....
10:45pmRick
Not this ugo.
10:45pmC
Haha
of def 5'5"
10:46pmRick
And her olympics are over.
10:46pmC
agreed
10:47pmRick
And the television viewing public is the better for it. She did that ridiculous cross step in the pre-lims.
10:48pmC
i know thats what they just said the same time you said it lol
10:48pmRick
Yeah, I know this crap solid.
10:50pmRick
That's my girl, gets her job done and doesn't even sit down. Just picks up her bag and goes to work at her next task.
10:50pmC
Oh she does work son
10:51pmRick
Heck yeah she does.
10:53pmC
dude i'm like mezmorized by the uneven bars
10:53pmRick
Definitely the most exciting of the women's event. Just mind boggling that people look at a horizontal bar and say, Yep, I am going to fling myself off of that do two flips and a twist, and catch the thing in rhythm. Pretty simple when you think of it that way.
10:55pmC
oh there is no simplicity about it whatsoever. who thought of this event anyway?
10:55pmRick
I think I might dirty my drawers if I went around the bar while still holding onto it, much less letting go in efforts to catch it later.
10:55pmC
oh i def would i mess mine just catchin air
10:57pmC
that blonde one is a cutie too
10:58pmRick
Yeah she is, and in other olympic years, such as 2000, she might have been the eye candy. But now she's third.
10:58pmC
but that is still a good third let me tell ya
10:59pmRick
No arguments there.


Word.

She's A Good Girl, Loves Her Mama, Loves Horses, And Her Boyfriend Too

Let's catch up a little, heh? A month ago, I walked into my job at Countrywide (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America) and resigned. Yes, it wasn't fun, but it's what needed to happen if I want to be taken seriously this round of applications to medical schools. Within 24 hours of resigning, I was on the road down here to Florida where I've been living since. Ironically, I'm in the house all by myself because my parents like to spend their summers up in Park City. Can't blame them. When it gets in the high 90's here, and PC only tops out at 82, they made the right decision.
So I'm knocking around in a fairly large size home. No really. If you and a dozen of your friends want to stay near the beach, I know a guy with room. While down here, I've been looking around for jobs in medical centers and hospitals. Hopefully, something is going to come through within the next couple days, but nothing is certain. I've also been looking into volunteer opportunities, but, and I don't fully understand this, no one is looking for volunteers. I finally got a hold of a doctor in a specialty worth shadowing, and am trying to line something up with him, but that is looking like it might be a couple weeks.
So, to recap, I live alone in a good sized home, with no job, no volunteering and the beginnings of shadowing experiences. If you would have told me this was my life two years ago, I would have been ecstatic. Really, I divide my time in the mornings between fishing, sleeping, reading and television. Sleeping is leading the division by a good six games. Afternoons, I watch One Tree Hill (How did no one tell me about this show before now? I'm hooked. Maybe it's because I just watched the columbine episode and one of the main characters got shot, but regardless, I definitely looked on ebay to see what it would take to get the series- too much by the way.) and then make a couple phone calls or visits to the dozen or so people I stopped by concerning employment. At six, back to back Stump the Schwab comes on followed by Jeopardy at 7pm. after 7:30, dinner of some sort, then fishing, or watching a baseball game. Unless it's institute or FHE night. And I guess adult volleyball is starting on Fridays nights. So if you call, at any given time of day, you have a fairly good idea of where I am or what I'm doing. The deviation is starting to grow though, as I'm meeting more people roughly my age.
I really don't have an agenda for this post. Normally I wait until I do, but I figured going a month without anything of substance, no recapping baseball predictions does not count, is inexcusable.
However, I do need to dole out some props.
First and foremost: The Dark Knight. If you haven't seen it, seriously, shut down your computer right now and go see it. If you've only seen it once, go to hollywood.com and buy tickets for the next possible matinee. It's better than that good. It's simply incredible from all aspects. Cinematography, performances, score, symbolism, script. All of it. Easily the best movie I've seen in a decade. Better than Batman Begins, not by a lot mind you, but by a good margin. Just spectacular. When it hits the dollar theater, I will see it probably twice more. It will likely depend on how many dollars I have at that time.
Second: Baseball division races. Really, if you ever wanted to get into baseball, pick one of them 13 teams currently in the hunt for their respective divisions and follow them for the next month and change. It doesn't get any better than this year for baseball. All the teams are close and evenly matched (excluding the Angels).
Third: One Tree Hill (See above). I'm more interested it it than a man my age should be.
Word.

Fortune Fame, Mirror Vain, Gone Insane

Easily, the all-star game last night was the best all-star game ever, and without question, the best game of the year. When you have bases loaded, none out, no runs scored situations, teams literally being down to the last man on the roster, pitching on two days rest, and runners being cut down at the plate to keep the game going until the 15th, that's amazing. Nothing would have pulled me away from that. Maybe the laundry.
Since all goals need to be revisited from time to time, this seems like an appropiate juncture to review my pre-season progonostications. However, I'm going to start with surprises of the year, both good and bad.
Good: Rays, Josh Hamilton, and the Cubs
Honestly, who outside of Coach Maddon and Don Zimmer thought the Rays had a shot this year? Here we are, mid-July and the Rays are a half game back in the East and 2.5 up in the Wild Card. Absolutely outstanding. Unless you're a Yankee fan.
Hamilton coming back from drug addiction to become an all-star and helping his team battle in the anemic AL west.
The Cubs, see the Rays, but add on not winning the series for 100 years. Oh and having your best athlete on the DL for a month and being in first with the most accident prone pitching combination of Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden. Best of luck to those guys being healthy.
Bad: Phil Hughes, Dontrelle Willis, The Tigers, and Andruw Jones
Obviosuly, the jury is still out on this, but really, if Phil stays this injury proned, Yankee fans might start looking at the decision to keep him over Johann Santana as being a worse decision than getting Gary Sheffield instead of Vladimir Guerrero. Yes, Santana is all but destined for Tommy John, but with a known one-year layoff, and then reasonable improvement for the first little while, this has to be a better scenario than a Mark Prior-esque career path, right?
So, Willis came from Florida, and is now back in Florida. This time, it's the minors though. And he was supposed to be the innings-eating difference maker that got them a ring. Not quite. His failure has completely over shadowing Miguel Cabrera's lack of performance, and has been a benchmark for the Tigers' demise.
Andruw Jones- Ridiculous. How is he still wearing a jersey?
Ok, let's get to what matters, namely how am I faring at this not exactly half-way mark. We'll work backwards from the order I made the predictions.
Which brings us to the NL. Which still doesn't matter. Part of me felt bad for the NL fan as they were so close to winning an All-star game for the first time in over a decade, only to see them blow it. Ouch. I'll still say that the Mets and the DBacks are worth talking about, but now I have to add the Cubs and make this a three team race. Now you're thinking, but wait, the Mets aren't even leading their division, how can you still have them as a favorite. Well, they're a half game back of the Phillies. They have a new coach, a new mentality, and, most important of all, have seemingly forgotten all about last year's historic collapse. Oh, and they haven't had a lot of injury problems this year, which should bode well for the rest of the year.
The DBacks had a bad June. I've got to put that one on myself. I showed up when they were 8 games up, and I left when they were a game up. Sorry guys. My fault. By the same token, don't look for them to fall any time soon.
Lastly, the Cubs. They've been, well, dominant in the tough NL Central, holding the best record in baseball, along with the Angels. With Harden pitching well, it seems like the juggernaut is going to keep rolling.
So the NL predictions have no reason to change, with the exception of the Wild Card. Atlanta is not cutting it, and the people above them in their own division are not dropping any time soon. I'm going to take the Brewers, after the addition, and successful outing, of CC Sabathia. It'll come out of the Central for sure, just a matter of who.
NL Recap, original in parenthesis
NL East: Mets (Mets)
NL Central: Cubs (Cubs)
NL West: DBacks (DBacks)
NL Wild Card: Brewers (Braves)
Now the part that matters, the AL. West first.
Seattle, who I had slated for a 86-win second place finish, are all but mathematically elimiated from that. Bedard has been useless and the offense has been worse than usual. That recipe always cooks up a horrible season. Beyond that, everyone is over 500 for the season. I'm not as suprised at their ability, but I am suprised at how those three seem to end up with the W in every close game. They're like the Zac Morris of the league. Always count on them to pull out of the scrapes. However, removing the Mariners from the equation, which they have done on their own, I was pretty on going Angels, A's, Rangers. I'm pleased with that.
The East has been interesting, and is now boiling down to whether or not the Yanks will be able to pull themselves up once again by their bootstraps and force themselves into the wild card. The division is the Red Sox's to lose, and not just because of that thinnest of possible margins 1/2 game over the Rays. They're firing on all cylinders, with the pitching doing fine without Schilling, and Papelbon emerging as a competitor to Rivera's throne.
Rivera leads us to talk about the Yanks. (By the way, and I'm not the first to say this but I will be one of the more adamant supporters of this, if the Yanks make it to the playoffs and Rivera performs for the rest of the year as he has already, he should get the Cy Young). They're floundering. The pitching rotation is worse than anyone could have reasonably expected, with the exception of Mussina's moderate renassaince performance, and the Joba experiment has been a good move for the starting pitching, while leaving the reliever corp cupboard bare. What's more, the offense has been weak. For example, name who's batting over 300 this year. Answer: Matsui (.323), Damon (.319), and A-Rod (3.12). That's it. More? Ok. Who has more than 20 Hrs? No one. Not A-Rod, not Giambi, not Abreu, no one. (Note: this would leave them on pace for less than 40 in the season even if they were at 20). Yikes. Good luck gentleman, but I have to move you out of the wild card. The pitching, well, we've been over Hughes lack of a season. Kennedy didn't work out nearly as good as hoped for, and it has gotten so bad that Kei Igawa was recalled (and then sent back down) in addition to the Sidney Ponson sighting a little while back.
The Rays, surprisingly, and have a great shot to hold onto the wild card. So much so, that if forced to decide right now, I would say they do hold onto it. They are in a good position, with what has been so far very consistent pitching backed by quality hitting. That's pretty good, if you like winning and all. The Yanks, more so this year than others, are floundering, and worst of all, outside of the amazing #2, none of them really seem to care about it. They had more excitement during the all-star game than they did in the series against Boston a little while back.
The Orioles suck as expected, but suck respectably, being only three games under five hundred. So while they're some 10 games back in the AL East, in the NL West, they would only be a game back and tied in the loss column. That's all the ink they deserve.
The Blue Jays are treading water at best, but are no where near worth talking about it any sense. Look for them to unload whatever talent they have, if any, for future prospects.
All in all, spot on for me, with the only thing in error right now is the switch of the Rays and Yanks for the 2-3 spots. Doing well.
The Central has been a pleasant surprise for me. The White Sox's young arms have done much better than I expected, which has been critical considering the struggle of Buehrle at the beginning of the season. Also, Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye are putting up terrific numbers, while Konerko and Thome have quietly had good, not great seasons. Everything is kind of working as one smooth unit, and has put us in the driver's seat. I'm very much pleased by this. So much for only 78 wins this season. I am happy to eat crow over my claim that "simply put, the White Sox are not a playoff contention team this year."
By the same token, there is no way the Tigers will be winning 97 games this season. Who would have guessed how big a flop the Willis-Cabrera deal would have been? Just has shattered this team. They'll be lucky to maintain their 500 winning percentage.
The Twins will be nipping at the sox heals all year, another moderate surprise. Torii Hunter's replacement has been outstanding, and the pitching has not seen too siginificant a drop since Santana's departure. In view of those two losses, this really has been a great season for them, and they have a legitimate chance to win the wild card or even the division.
For the Royals, see the Orioles above.
The Indians, good grief. Someone please, let Travis Hafner know it's ok if he wants to hit the ball again. Seriously, in games where Cliff Lee did not earn a decision, they are 29-51. Not kidding. Wow. Let that sink in. It's reminiscent when Seaver won 21 games and his team won something like 54 games.
Recap predictions, again original in parenthesis:
AL East: Red Sox (Red Sox)
AL Central: White Sox (Tigers)
AL West: Angels (Angels)
AL Wild Card: Rays (Yankees) [Yeah, I'll take the sexy pick. They've got the talent to make it happen]
Obviously, these changes affect playoff matches, so without further ado:
ALDS
Rays over Angels in 5
Red Sox over White Sox in 4
NLDS
Dbacks over Cubs 5
Mets over Brewers 4
ALCS
Red Sox over Rays in 6
NLCS
Mets over Dbacks in 7
World Series
Red Sox over Mets in 6
Boston is still the best team taking the field this season. Obviously, baseball playoffs has a lot more luck and momentum playing roles, so who knows what will happen in October. Look no further than last year's amazing run by the Rockies. Ideally for me, it would be White Sox DBacks with the sox winning in 7 so I can get the most money out of DBacks world series tickets while still being able to watch the Sox win in game 3. Yeah, that would definitely be ideal. Word

Is It A Whiskey Night, Or Just A Couple Beers?

There definitely are a lot more cons than pros to my recent relocation to Florida, but one of the pros has to be the fact that I'm able to post this message while fishing off my dock. If there is a lengthy pause, it's because I'm reeling in dinner. (Oh and if anyone know what type of bait/lure/action I should be using to catch fish, please let me know. My main effort includes putting a piece of hot dog on the line and letting it sink to the bottom, and wait for a catfish to eat it. Not that successful really.)
Yes the plan is definitely to catch and eat a fish within the next couple days. I've done it once, but never off my dock. A scout trip down to the keys where we went scuba fishing during the day and pretty much chilled at the campsite during the nights led to us buying a Mickey Mouse, and I mean that literally, not just figuratively, rod and reel combo and some squid bait from the bait and tackle store next door. We landed about eight fish in the space of two hours. They weren't big at all, but when you took three or four of them, it was enough to be a meal. Plus, you felt amazing knowing that you could make food happen if you ever went broke. I want to go back to those times every now and then, and this may be the last chance I get for a while.
Of course, it was sunny thirty minutes ago, so now it has to start to rain. Makes sense. Hold on, moving to the boat so I can continue fishing/blogging.
If any of you were wondering if I did land a fish tonight, the answer is yes. I pulled up a catfish, as expected, and thought about cooking it, but after asking about three people who knew more about fishing than I did, decided to kick it back into the water. And this is when the thing stabbed me with one of its whiskers. Didn't see that coming. Now I'm wondering if I need antibiotics or vaccines of some sort. Not going to go the doctor about it though, so I guess we'll just hope my foot doesn't die.
This is kind of a weak post, simply because nothing has really happened since I decided to move back to Florida. I could talk about all the fun I had in Phoenix, but that would just leave me moderately depressed about the whole leaving episode. However, I do think this is where I supposed to be right now. I think it's my best chance to get into medical school, even if I have to forgo social relations, friends, and professional baseball. By the way, expect the DBacks to tear it up now that I'm gone. They sucked while I was there, and almost lost the division lead after being up by like 15 games just before I showed up. Not to say I'm the sole cause, but I had to play some role in it. Word.

Time, Is Never Time At All. You Can Never Ever Leave, Without Leaving A Piece Of You

When I'm old, I will brag to my children about several things. There will be stories of life before the internet. Tales of purchasing tapes, audio and video. Demonstrations of the ability to write in cursive (Really, when was the last time you used cursive for anything other than your signature? Fifth, sixth grade? You learned it in fourth as though that was how all written communication was, but by seventh grade, everything was either typed or required to be printed. At this point, it only serves two purposes, to sign credit cards, and to give teenage girls an activity when they become infatuated with a boy [Like you didn't write out your last name with his last name. Go ahead, lie to me and say you've never done it.]. I honestly don't think my children will learn cursive. Really, I want to know how early in school teachers start requiring typed assignments. Jake, Jared, you've got to keep me up to date on this.).
In the sports realm, I will bore them of tales of the 2005 White Sox. I will dazzle them by telling them I saw Santana pitch in his prime. They will marvel that I was at Wimbledon while Federer dominated the world of tennis.
I hope they'll ask me of the utter beauty of Ken Griffey Jr's swing. (Arguably, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. No really, if it were a girl, it would probably be among the top ten ever. And to see it live, it makes you want to pick up a bat and hit until the blisters pop, and then keep hitting until the those areas become calluses. It made me believe in the goodness in humanity. I miss it a lot.) I wonder if I'll have to tell them about why Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens aren't in the hall of fame.
One thing is for sure though. They will ask, "Dad, do you remember watching Tiger Woods?"
Yes, yes I do actually. I will have to ask them what they want to know about. How he is among the elite few who not only lived up, but far exceeded the hype? More than likely, they'll want tales of just how great he was. How he was the most intimidating guy to put on spikes. Or how about how just about everyone he played with would fold in the final rounds. How he would make difficult shots seem easy, and easy shots seem pedestrian. How records were re-written from the moment he first teed off.
I'll pull up clips of him sticking that 4-iron stiff on the green from some 230 out. He'll see the best nike golf commercial ever made. (How amazing was that chip? Don't answer. Just savor the memory? It always goes down smooth.)
The boys will give the upper-cut fist pump after their first home run. My girls will give the less ostentatious form after they score their first goal. Truthfully, they might know Tiger the player before they know of Tiger the jungle cat. He's just that good. It's simply amazing. And watching him for the first time ever, come from behind in the final round of a major (Yes I know he started with the lead, but he was trailing while being the last guy on the course), to force an 18-hole playoff, there is no doubt that my children will ask me about him, just like I asked my dad about Joe Montana. He's just that good.
So, what will you tell your kids when they ask about Tiger? Word.

I'll Be Like Your Medicine, You'll Take Every Dose Of Me

Ok, so this might get a little graphic, but I had to wonder it. I'm down in Arizona and today, I kid you not, my car told me that it was 108 degrees outside. Of course, it was 71 inside so no big deal, but I had to wonder, people lived here before the fantastic invention of air conditioning. This would be the time to skip ahead to the next paragraph as this may get a little visual. If during development, the testicles descend from the abdomen because the body is too hot to sustain proper production. Now, the body is typically 98.6 degrees, give or take a couple. If the outside is higher than this, two things make me curious. 1) Wouldn't they migrate back into the abdomen where it is relatively colder? 2) In either location, wouldn't the temperature be too high for proper output and therefore make the local populations sterile for a couple months out of the year? Yep, I did wonder that.

Beyond the oppressive heat, Arizona is kind of nice. I haven't seen all of it yet, but what I have, I do like. Oh and they have all four major sports as well as PGA and I think Nascar events. I live in a fantastic neighborhood and what seems to be a good ward. Basically, I'm pleased on all fronts. And it can only get better when the DBacks come back for a homestand starting on the 13th. I'll be chilling in my seats, hob knobbing with the other season ticket holders, talking about our yachts and how we hire people solely to replace the toilet paper and start our cars so they're cold whenever we get into them. That's just what we do.

Ok, I have to say this, and if you haven't seen the new Indiana Jones, you're done reading for today. I defintiely saw it, and let's just say I'm glad I only paid the matinee price. Wow. Really? That's the best you got after a fifteen or so year layoff? It definitely dissuaded me from buying the other movies because I now remember that one. Mostly, I'm just glad I didn't get that psyched for the last Rocky because it would have tarnished the first four, which were fantastic. If you want to hear more, I've got more, I just don't want to spoil it for anyone. Word.

Running In Circles, Chasing Our Tails, Coming Back As We Are

Ok, Billy Chapel is amazing. He just pitched his second perfect game of the week! There really is no comparable sports accomplishment. Maybe if you would be able to negotiate two raises of 15% or more in the space of a week, then you could put yourself up there with him. Or, if you were able to have great dates with two girls you were into during the same weekend, then you might be Chapel-esque. That's really about it. He's that good. Truth be told, the Tigers are opening a weekend series in Arizona. Maybe I can make the Saturday game and watch a master of their craft.
I'm headed down there tomorrow. I'm looking for a place to set up shop for a while. My job starts down there at the beginning of the month. (For those unaware, I landed a job with Countrywide Financial as a loan consultant. It's out of Mesa, hence the move.) I've got a couple leads that I'll be looking into this weekend. Ideally, there would be this place equidistant to work and the Diamondbacks Stadium (Of course I'm a season ticket holder. Seriously? How many, if any, of you are surprised?) that was part of a strong ward and that had at least one cute girl for me. Is that too much to ask? The question should be, is it enough to get Rick Russell? Is it?
Guess we'll find out. Some people get nervous over this moving stuff. Maybe I am. I haven't been nervous for a long time so I don't really remember what it feels like. I can tell you, that my room looks really bright without the pictures, calendar, jackets, jerseys, and hog hats on the walls. It no longer feels like I live there.
Alright, I'll level. If you talked with me over the past month and thought to yourself, "That was a little different than normal" or didn't go away feeling better, I apologize. I've been taking things a little rough. You see, I acheive goals I strive for. I succeed. Sure, it gives me that swagger that at once alienates most girls and befriends most guys, but it has been constantly replenished by continuous success.
Well, I haven't had too many successes in the past months and it all came to a head at graduation. When I came home from the mission, I set two goals for my time while at BYU. When I left I wanted to A) know who I was going to marry, if not be married and B) have a clear, stable career path. The former isn't unilateral, so I'm not over worried about it. The latter is kind of all about me. Going 0-2 on the two most meaningful goals I've set stings a lot to a guy who doesn't lose a lot.
So yeah, if you thought, he seems a little off, that's why. Maybe I should have shared this earlier, but to be honest, I don't like sharing my problems. I always want to make people feel better about things. On top of that, really, where do I have room to complain? I've lived an overly comfortable life and really had most things in life go my way. If life is a highway, I've been riding on a glass surface up until about a year ago when it got increasingly bumpy. Again, sorry.
Well, I'm heading out to Arizona for good in a little more than a week. If any of you ever come down and want to catch a baseball game, I know a guy with tickets. Unless it's a Saturday game. Then you're kind of on your own. Word.

Nothing's Going To Ever Keep You Down

Jared and Mike, sorry for the three week absence. If other people pulled up this site in the past three weeks A) I'm sorry, B) I'm impressed, and C) thanks. Ok, so some of you may know this, but I'm willing to bet most of you don't. I have a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. I'm not kidding. For like three years, I was all about it. Not to the point where I'm wearing the uniform to school or learning japanese, but more like going three nights a week to class and then going to tournaments every three weeks. Yeah, I've got trophies for this. Big ones.
Here's the thing, I'm staying up in Park City tonight with my parents and watching The Karate Kid II. Ok, for starters, if you want to watch an awesomely bad movie, put this one in and watch the middle 45 mintues. Priceless. To whet the appetite, although is is set in Okinawa, everyone speaks only english, the signs are all in english as well as japanese and the martial arts dojo is filled only by white guys. Needless to say, I was laughing while remembering how cool I thought the whole things was. In particular, I remember thinking the girl Daniel went after was hot.
She's not. At all. Really, I'm borderline embarrassed by thinking that. It's up there with how I would foolishly bet against the Yankees making the playoffs every year. (This season is the first since coming home from the mission that I haven't made some sort of wager on this. I know way too much about baseball to be betting against the Yankees.)
AMC, in all their wisdom decides to go ahead a roll Karate Kid I right after II finished. About five minutes in, my mom, who had watched the better part of II with me, asked if that was what started my martial arts kick. Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was. That's right, a movie led me to dedicate three of my formative years to something I had no business starting in the first place. It might be the most manipulated I've ever been by any media. I loved Rocky IV, but never went into the ring. I can quote the better part of Sandlot blind, but never... ok, I so love baseball, but that was before any movie.
Also, how hot was Elisabeth Shue in that movie? No really? Watch it. She was on point. A little thick, but nothing bad at all. I would go for that in a heart beat.
Now here's what I really wanted to get to-- how come she never comes up in any timeless hottie conversation? Name me one movie that she wasn't looking good in? I'll wait. I've got the time. She always looked good. I thought maybe she didn't for a second, but then was blown away by her in "Cocktail". (Catch this one on TV. I'll just say that.) Just stunning. If it wasn't going to be 2:30 when this one ends, I would start scanning channels to see if I could find The Saint, or Adventure in Babysitting.
So yeah, give it up for Elisabeth Shue, the hottie that seems attainable. (Oh and by the way, she was 21 and Daniel-San was 23 when they made Karate Kid I. They were supposed to be anywhere between sophomores and seniors in high school. Word.)

The Perfect Ending To The Bad Day I Was Just Beginning

Let's not kid ourselves. Even I got bored re-reading that last post. Good golly, it just kept going, and unless you follow those shows, no one would have blamed you for stopping after the first paragraph. If you were to write a blog about American Idol and Prison Break, I would have bailed at the title. Like an art major in the quantum physics section or Mike at BoSoxNation.com, I have no business reading any of that.

With finals bearing down and the job hunt concluding, there hasn't been much else mulled over in a while. Yes, my White Sox are tied for the AL Central lead as of 2pm today, notably after sweeping the tigers over three games in Detroit. But we're tied with the royals, who also swept the tigers, so it kind of loses some prestige. I did however, pull out a win in the first week of my fantasy league, (Really, picking a major league team and following their stats to try and garner a victory? How could I not involve myself in this?) thanks to Pudge Rodriguez going o-3 in the last game of the week.
So essentially, I've been running on Krispy Kreme's and Monster drinks this past week. It's not too bad to be honest. Takes a while getting used to the swings of sugar and glucose levels, but once you do, you handle it quite well. You want to know the craziest, and easily the best, part of living like that- the dreams. I have no explanation for it, but they're all pretty vivid and extremely random. For instance: One involved playing a skee-ball game to perfection, resulting in something like 19,500 tickets which equaled $450 in merchandise. I was buying IPods and car stereo speakers with chuck-e-cheese tickets. And of course, this was all completely rational. The other one started on the baseball field and somehow wound up in class studying the movies of Val Kilmer. Again, it all made sense.

Here's the thing: I don't know if I want to give it up. Really, I have been able to survive on donuts and energy drinks. Let that soak in. I've mixed in a little orange juice here and there, but by and large, caloric intake has been dominated by glazed donuts and Kaos Monsters. It's fantastic. Of course, I realize the health concerns, and this is a major reason why I'm not keeping it going. The other is the financial side of it. If you figure you down one large Drink a day and about half a dozen donuts, that means you're staring at a bill of about $8 a day. Now, if I had the discipline and lack of regard for society, I could do it it cost wise. But I like eating nice food. I like stepping out for dinner, and occasionally lunch. (Side bar: I love the sticky fingers at wingers. So much so I bought a bottle of the sticky finger sauce and have draped it all over any chicken dish possible. The best so far... dipping Wendy's nuggets in it. It's no tootsie rolls, but it's close.)

So I'll have to leave this for special occasions, or wicked hard tests. Both demand such a fare. Word

Life is a Journey Constantly Turning Down an Unknown Path

The Patriots, Georgetown, Duke, UConn, and Kristi Jo. If you think your bracket and all of your prognosticating ability was trashed, you're just stepping into my torment. From Sunday the 16th to Sunday the 23rd, several of my prominent predictions came up empty. It was rough, a seemingly endless parade of failure upon failure to see into the future. It was like taking the other exit off the freeway, thinking that if you just catch a little more than half the lights that you'll save time, only to hit every red light on the way, and get stuck behind a traffic accident. Yeah, it sucked.
I have to start chronologically, simply so I know that I got them all. On that fateful Sunday the 16th, Kristi Jo, arguably the best looking, and clearly the one who had the strongest relationship with Bret, left the show. I would say she was booted, but she was given the option to stay or go. There were two girls left without passes and Bret told her that she could stay if she wanted to, or she could go if she felt she needed to. She walked. If you would have told me that it was going to happen that way before the epsiode started, I would have asked you to leave my presence and began forgetting your existence. I had her in the final four for sure. Out of all of them, I had her going as the favorite, posting at 5-2 odds. And she bails leaving five girls to compete.
Sure, she did cause more turmoil in the house than any two other girls combined. Yes, she was married and had only told her husband that she wanted to get a divorce at the beginning of the episode... over the phone. Of course, she did spend half her time crying and the other half winning Bret's emotions. To be honest, she had all the pieces that you would need for a reality victor. Great for the ratings, fantastic for drama, and very soft on the eyes. However, she couldn't handle it all, and in what came to be ominous of the week's events, the goliath's began to fall.
Wednesday the 19th: I've spoken about my passion for this before. It is deep and it is fierce. Sleep has taken a back seat to it, and I love my sleep. It's the Gauntlet, brought to you by MTV, and it is fantastic. This season was stellar, and a changing of the guard wherein many of the standard players have hung up their respective bikini's or speedo's. But what it will be remembered for is how simply dominant the Veteran team was. They started with 16 and finished with 12, while the Rookie team was whittled down to just six for the final challenge. That's right, the Vets went 10-4. Sure that may not sound impressive, but a closer examination makes it all the more impressive. Two of those losses were intentional. One of them was because the Rookies had a distinct advantage because their numbers were depleted already (They were down 3-0 at that point). The only legit loss was the last elimination challenge. It is arguable that have six members as opposed to 13 made it easier to balance the platform, but still, the rookies did it, and I'll give them that victory as a legitimate one for them. So really, the Vets could easily have gone 12-0 in non-team size dependent challenges, and 12-2 overall. Easily. Maybe they could have gone 13-1. That's obscenely dominate in the challenge, where producers try to balance out the teams.
Heading into the final challenge, it became extremely clear that the Veterans had it all but in the bag. Unfortunately for them, the bag was not big enough for the 300+ pound Eric. How he was physically cleared to do these challenges in the first place is amazing. No really, if you saw this guy your first thought would never be, "Ooh, I want him on my team in a competition of endurance and agility." It just isn't. He's not even getting drafted. Maybe someone will let him tryout and if he's lucky get a contract on a practice squad, but he's never seeing the field.
It would be like if you saw Boomer Wells walking past the track as you were training for the Tour de France. You're not asking him what his helmet size is.
Needless to say, when the first two legs are a half mile swim and mile run, the Vets were so far behind, binoculars were needed. There were five stages, and by the time the vets got to the second, the Rookies were done with the third, and by the time the Vets finished the third, the Rooks were working on the fifth. They were that far ahead. And here's where it gets completely crazy. Eric passes out and goes into heat stroke. (In case you were wondering, that's what heat stroke looks like. Inability to visually focus, decreased mental status, muscle fatigue, loss of coordination, yeah those are the classical signs of heat stroke. Short, rapid breathing, yep, that too, and by the way, when that happens, you start looking for a stretcher. Walking, much less running, is no longer an option.) They call the ambulance, and after probably ten minutes, they take him away. The Vets rightfully think it's all over and that they'll never be able to catch the rookies, but decide to press on anyway. The kicker is that they actually catch up to the rooks, and pass them. The last stage involved raising a flag, which the vets did long before the rooks, but the horn doesn't sound indicative of victory.
No Eric, no victory. Because of an all-team-members-must-be-at-the-finish rule, the vets were de facto disqualified. The Rooks take their time, and after being pounded day in and day out by the superior Vets, they win it all and walk away with the $300K, while the Vets leave only with the shirts on their backs. Un..be..lievable. It's hard to make comparisons of this in other sports. The closest would be if Colorado actually beat Boston in the World Series because it turns out, there was some rule that you couldn't use a DH in game 7, and we all would agree that Dice-K is not an exact replacement for David Ortis. Rockies would win and everyone would leave the stadium dazed, questioning how long Rocktober will last. (Honestly, had the Rockies won, couldn't you have seen people saying that Rocktober lasted from the beginning of their winning streak all the way until the victory parade through Denver? It would have been a 45-day imaginary month, that everyone knew about. Kids would have been told all over Colorado that Rocktober was real, and this would have lead to all sort of psychological trauma. If you want to find a silver lining for the Bosox win, this is it. And maybe that it will start a backlash against the Bosox.)
If I was thinking about it all back then, I probably would have reviewed my bracket. But you don't alway realize that history is going on around you. How was I to know that the biggest reality upsets ever would be during the same week as the opening round of March Madness? (Again, it makes so much sense in hindsight, but so does voting against Mr. T) No really, who picked Western Kentucky, Davidson, and Villanova to all make it to the sweet sixteen? Did anyone even have two of them going? (If you check, the leader in all of the brackets received by ESPN had all 16 members correctly, picked, while the guy tied with him missed one of them, but got more of the earlier round correct to tie it up.) Had I seen it coming, I would have gone with Davidson getting as far as they did. The other two I still would have bounced in the first round though.
So how does the week end? Right where it began. That's right, Rock of Love. With five left, all the ugo's are gone. Well, all but Destiney. How she is still there is the definition of no news is good news. She raised her voice to Kristi Jo once, and that was quickly forgotten as KJ flew off the handle. Now, beyond that, think of any other instance where Destiney stood out from the others. Go ahead. Search VH1's database if you want. You won't find one. It doesn't exist. It's up there with, "Where the heck was Jessica the first month and a half of the show?" as the greatest enigmas of this season. (And where was she? No really, I want her to win. I like Ambre because I think she's the most level-headed, but I want Jessica to win, mostly because she's short, energetic, attractive and relatively conservative. Essentially means that she hasn't stripped before, but you take what you can get with Rock of Love contestants.)
The best looking one, now with KJ gone, is hands down Megan. This is not up for debate. She's scoring a 75-80 on every measurable. Except for intelligence. Dumb as a brick doesn't fit, because the brick will actually change a little bit to make a better fit, given enough pressure in that direction. Not Megan. She's permanently dumb. She would be the ultimate test in the "Could you date a dumb chick, even if she was smoking hot?" conundrum. The two extremes are not better unified into one person than Megan.
Needless to say, I had her as a finalist. You see where this is going already don't you? Yep, she got the boot last night. Now, even though you know how it ends, I would recommend catching the last ten minutes of the episode. Her reaction is priceless and really all you need to know about her. After she is told her time is up, she stands there, silently, slowly shaking her head. For ten minutes. To the point where everyone else starts making facial reactions to it. To the point where Bret repeats himself twice to make sure she understands. Hilarious. Remember 50-cent's reaction to Britney Spears's comback at the VMA's? Like that.
Now, I'm left to openly root for Jessica to take it all, wait anxiously for the next Real World/Road Rules challenge and hope my other three final four NCAA teams can hold on. Word.

And I Wasted All My Time Waiting Up For You to Make Up Your Mind

So I'm sitting at this baseball game about a year back, and the girl I'm sitting next to is seeing one of the players. They aren't officially dating yet, but it seems to be heading that direction. She doesn't know much about baseball other than the uniforms make everyone look better, so she asks me what I think about the player of interest. I tell her he has a couple of strengths that will carry him for a little while, but that his biggest problem is that he performs poorly under pressure. He simply wasn't a clutch player. If he was coming up with two outs and runners on in a close game, I was heading for the concession stand to get my meal because he's making the third out. Like Willie Mays under a flyball or Lou Gehrig with the bases loaded, it was just going to happen.
Turns out, one time she was talking to him about baseball and for whatever reason, she decided to share my comments with him. Thankfully, I don't think she credited them to me, although if she wanted to, I would gladly say I was their author (I thought about this, and although it would remove some of the humor of her passing off astute observations as her own, it would make the relationship a little better. I just like to see those things work for people). It came as a shocker to her that he became visibly upset at this. She couldn't understand why telling someone that they perform horribly at their job when it matters the most would make that person upset. (Oh and future reference, telling any guy they don't perform under pressure in any circumstance is a bad idea. It's just emasculating from so many angles.)
This brings me to what I really wanted to address in the last post, but wound up laying down a challenge. I'm a free-wheeling guy. I take chances and sometimes those don't work out. I take risks that would give Mike ulcers (for all I know, him simply knowing my actions, or lack thereof, might weaken his immune system prepatory for an ulcer). But I do so with a degree of foresight and maturity that makes those choices understandable. I have come to realize that all people do not act this way, but rather still walk around the proverbial New York City with dollar bills dangling from their pockets, expecting not only that people will not take them, but that people will actually add to them. Yes, it sounds a little crazy when couched in those terms, but I've seen it.
I spent a couple days around people who seemed to live in the world, but acted like they were better than the world. It was a little arrogance, mixed with a little success, mixed with a skewed paradigm on things. Stir it together, and it becomes immaturity. It's what you feel when someone expresses a superiority complex. It's what you taste when you try and start a conversation and they have no interest in that topic, or any other you propose. It's what you hear when their talk is centered on their life and their accomplishments. And it's ugly.
I'm going to stop there. I have to catch myself from time to time and wonder how many of these things do I embody. I'm ashamed to say that I notice them in myself more than in my friends, and I know this is the truth for the most part. However, I have little doubt that if people were to ask if I were mature or immature, I would be the former and if there were to be a spectrum with mature being 80 and immature being 0, I would be upwards of 65. Good enough to make the bigs due to the high scores in other categories, but something that would be beneficial for me to improve.
What I'm getting at is, it's amazing how immaturity can completely alter the way a person is viewed. They can go from A-list to D-list in a matter of moments if immaturity is found. Obviously, we're not talking about people who are 16 or so, because for the most part, the ability, or expectation, of maturity is not there. I don't expect 13-yr-olds to be gauging how there actions will effect not just them or their friends, but other people in the area. I do expect it from anyone who has graduated high school.
Yes, we all make mistakes and sometimes say things that simply shouldn't be said. It happens. About a month back, I made a comment in a group of people that getting engaged on valentine's day was cliche. Then I made the faux pas of saying that getting engaged on New Year's Eve was cliche. Did the girl just behind the guy I was talking to just get engaged that past New Year's Eve? Of course. I quickly conceded that it might not be cliche given the right circumstances. (Side note: Under most circumstances, I still think it's a little cliche to get engaged on either of those days, but if the relationship is at the level and those events do come, you either have to propose on those days or before those days. You can't wait until after because that would ruin those holidays, as the girl is probably expecting it to come and if it doesn't, then she'll start to wonder why, and having a girl wonder about the seriousness of your relationship is never good. Ever. Ever.) The key is to make those instances happen less and less, and when they do, be quick to correct them. This is what adults do. Or at least this is what adults worth talking to do. Word.

They Still Goin Put Picture of My Derriere in the Magazine

It crosses all languages, resolves year long conflicts and causes more money to shift hands than the super bowl. Yes my dear friends, it is back and it will be all people talk about for at least the next week and a half. Sure, it does run three weeks, but by a week and a half, most brackets will be so toasted that you could warm your hands over their glowing embers. Oh, yes sir, it is march madness bracket time.
No sporting event brings in more of a diverse interest. I haven't held too many jobs in my days, but every one of them has had a march madness pool where everyone participates. The scary thing is, it seems that the people who know the most about college basketball do only marginally, if at all, better than those who pick teams based on the number of letters in the name (Less is more. Hmm, I'm going to fill out a bracket like this, just to see how it goes. I'm mildly scared it might work out). Sure there are myriad ways to fill out a bracket, and that's amazing in it's own right, but what gets me is how everyone you meet over the next week can be easily engaged in conversation by one of the two following questions : 1) How's your bracket? 2) Who's in your final four? I gaurantee that one, if not both of those questions will immediately incite a tone of either bravado or remorse, depending upon their level of success in the world's biggest crap shoot.
I know this, because it happened to me. I have cousins. Yeah, kind of a surprise to me as well, considering I have not seen some in over ten years. Believe me when I say that there were times when I would have to ask a date's last name, just to make sure we wouldn't have to move to Mississippi in case things worked out. There are still some that I honestly don't remember ever seeing in the flesh. I have pictures, and have met their siblings, but to be honest, I question their existence. I know what can be done with photoshop and no longer trust pictures at face value.
Traipsing through campus, I saw one of the formerly estranged relatives. We've spoken maybe ten minutes to each other total, so clearly we have a firm history. I said hi, and he replied with "Hi. Have you filled out your bracket yet?" Not kidding. Those were his first words. As they should be. With 48 hours till tip-off, (No, the play-in game does not count, although, being in the Mountain West, we have no one to blame but ourselves for this predicament as they needed to add an additional spot for the conference champion. That's why it's there, in case you were wondering) nothing is more important in the sports world than having your bracket filled and filed with some group. It trumps studying, homework and class easily. If you were wondering if I once spent an hour on a date filling out a bracket with the girl, you would be correct. (Yes I did beat her, but barely, thanks to me predicting the right national champion.) Really, if you haven't filled one out and submitted it yet, take the ten minutes to do it and submit it to me.
No really, I've decided to hold a contest. The most successful bracketologist gets lunch on me. Yep, it's out there now. I'm doing it. For those three devoted readers of this blog, you all have a shot of having me pay for your lunch. If you want to submit one, feel free via email. Considering most people fill them out online, I'll explain how to send it.
In the upper right of the keyboard, you'll find one labeled Print Screen (or possibly PRT SCR if it's an old one). This one's important. You'll need it.
Pull your bracket up onto the screen and have it fill the screen. Now press Shift+Control+Print screen. Open Word, and press Control+V. It should past the bracket nicely. Now email it to me. You should have my email if you're reading this. If not, use rickrussell239@gmail.com.
It's on. Deadling for this is 10 AM MST Thursday. That gives you 24 hours to email the bracket you filled out a while ago. The only caveat I am giving is that there needs to be at least three people submitting brackets before I put lunch on the line. I'm not just going to let Mike walk away with my money because he's the only one who actually did it.
I didn't expect this post to go this way, but there you have it, and here we are. Word.

Through the Sleepless Nights and Every Endless Day

I couldn't sleep at all last night. Just when I thought I was going to slip away, I would snap back into alertness and have to restart the gradual down shift. No position was comfortable, the pillow wasn't the right consistency, nothing seemed to be working last night.

This was not, however, one of those I-can't-sleep-because-everything's-hitting-the-fan nights. this more like Christmas Eve. Maybe more like Christmas Eve when I was eleven, back before I knew 90% of what I was getting before the unwrapping. You see today is the home opener for the mighty cougars. I have been preparing for this day for the past month and finally it is here. If you were wondering if I spent the last couple days scouting out the UVSC team, you'd be correct. (For the record, I don't know how we lost to them a week ago. Just doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's why they play the games.)

Back are the evenings of two hot dogs, churro, milk duds and a large coke for dinner. Back are the nights of mild hypothermia, wondering if it's worth spending another 3.50 for my fourth cup of hot chocolate. Most importantly, back are the days of shouting at the players, coaches and umpires that displease me.

I've tried heckling at other sports. Soccer games are too fast paced for people to notice. Basketball is good, but not as predictable. Football works, but the crowds are too large for the players to really hear it. Hence, Baseball is the best of all the heckle-able sports. You sit close enough to read the time off their watches, but are allowed to scream at them really whenever you want.

I am ready.

This isn't the main reason for the posting, it's actually quite unrelated, but I would be remiss if I did not lead off with the most important item. If you asked me what I got for dinner at outback, I would have to tell you the steak, although we all know, it is the cheese fries that keeps bringing me back.

Mostly, I realized that I need four things really: Food, Baseball, Shelter and Recognition. Probably in that order. After today, the first three are met sufficiently. It's that fourth one that has fallen short. I can't be the only one of this mindset, but I feel better about myself when people remember my name, or at least remember that they once knew who I was. Conversely, when someone doesn't remember me, it perturbs me a little.

If you're reading this, you know I make impressions. They're not always good ones, but nevertheless, people typically remember meeting me. Go ahead. Remember back to your first impression of me. Yep, that happened. It sure did. I might not do that again, but for better or worse, I'll stand by what I did then. The point is, it's memorable. I'm a loud, prideful, funny guy who uses his intellect, or lack thereof to make the situation more enjoyable.

Needless to say, when I spend two evening with a girl (I was not her date, but was there on the date with her and her date both times), I expect at least for the girl to have a remembrance of me. When those two activities are 1) a monster truck rally, and 2) cooking a dinner and playing a board game, I find it near impossible for someone to forget me.

But it happened. Amazing. I'm still dumbfounded.

I see her strolling through campus, and make definite eye contact, and even begin to say hello, when she gives me the "Why are you looking at me? I don't know you and the fact that you're looking at me weirds me out a little" smile. I stopped saying hello and let my jaw dangle there for a while. This, coincidentally, is the same reaction I give when someone says they've never been to a baseball game, or that they never had pizza flavored Combo's. I'm stunned at their ignorance, and saddened by their situation.

Makes me wonder if maybe I don't make that big of an impression on people. Maybe I'm just a fly on the... oh heck no I'm not. I'm not even going to finish that sentence. That's preposterous. I'm amazing. I'm Rick Russell dang it! I do work! What is her deal, now that's a question worth asking. I will tell you this though, if it she shows up to the ball game tonight and still doesn't remember me, you really have to wonder if she has her own home lobotomy kit. I would say yes. Word.

What Could It Be? It's a Mirage. You're Scheming On a Thing.

Driving around the other day, and Mike makes the comment: You like pop music more than anyone I know. Now, Mike knows a lot of people, probably more thanhe wants to know to be honest. So to say that I like pop music more than all of them, well it just makes me swell with pride.

I have eleven preset FM stations. Three are country, two are for the same hip-hop station, one for alternative rock (and no, Paramore does not fit that category), leaving five different stations set for pop music. Yes I love it. More than a man my age should. It's just so good, at least most of it. Granted, Mike did make his statement while I had my window down in 30 degree weather bumping "Low" by Flo Rida. I can't be the only one who does this. I certainly hope I'm not. Surely people have those songs where as soon as they hear it, their day becomes measurably better. Go ahead. Admit it. You slap the steering wheel in rhythm to Push by Matchbox 20, or rock out to the chorus of Pour Some Sugar On Me. It's ok. We all do it. Just don't tell me it's Beautiful by James Blunt. We won't be friends anymore. I hate that song. Period.

Here's what I'm thinking though. Flo Rida just released a new single. It's ok. Not that bad, but it certainly is no Low. As such, he is doomed to fade into mediocrity. It will get moderate radio play, but nothing compared to Low. In fact, Low will probably be in heavier rotation throughout the second song (Notice even I don't know it's name. That's how much it will always be overshadowed.)

What were his producer's thinking? My only thought is that they realized this was his only shot for fame. They sat around the table and said "One-hit wonder. That's his ceiling." Clearly, they hit the ceiling, with Low being feature in a prominent movie, and becoming the #1 downloaded song of all time on iTunes (Let that wash over you). So they acheived their mission. But if they at all thought, hey, he's got talent and could go for a couple years, why lead off with Low and promote it to death? Within two days, it was pretty safe to say that this time next year Flo Rida is just going to be a trivia question answer.

This happens all the time. A band comes out with a single that just kills it, and then fades away into nothing. Want a list: ChumbaWumba, New Radicals, Daniel Powter, Dream, O-Town, BBMak, The Verve Pipe. I can go on. But that is sufficient. Those have all been within the last ten years, but they're the most memorable ones.

Do record producers not realize that if they want their band to be more than a one hit wonder, they need to realize a good song first, and then follow it with a great song? It's when that second song goes big that the band gets instant credibility and staying power. Usher released You make me wanna, which was good, but then followed it up with My way, which was much better, from the same album, making him credible. You almost have to sabotage the first release to make sure the hyperactive media/public doesn't blow your success out of proportion.

I'm starting to wonder if the same is true with relationships. Maybe the first date should be good. Nothing spectacular, just barely memorable. Enough for them to say, yeah I remember that without thining about it being bad. Then on the second date, you bring your A game and leave them saying, Wow, two dates that went well, this must be a good thing. Then you've got them hooked. You have established yourself as a go-to-guy and one who performs well. The key, I guess, is being able to quickly decide if you're dating a one-hit wonder, or a perennial powerhouse. Honestly, if you can read it as a one hit wonder, maybe your better off maxing out your abilities in round one, leaving nothing in the take for the round two that likely wasn't going to happen anyway.

Just think of it if you were on the receiving end. The first date went ok. They were kind, polite and seemed like fun, but nothing exceptional. So you take the second date because you figure, the first one went fine, why not go out again. Better than playing Contra. (It's probably not better than Contra, even if it went perfect. If it ever is, go find a ring. No, seriously. If a friend calls me and said it went better than Contra, I'm getting out of bed and we're looking at rings within an hour.)

Round two happens and it's fantastic. They're charming and funny and even look/smell good. they took to a fun/nice/whatever-impresses-you place and really made you feel special. Now that person is looking terrific, and you're anticipating rounds three, four and five.

Now, what stopped them from doing date two on date one? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's just simple strategy. Worked for the Backstreet Boys, Usher, Michael Jackson, Justin Verlander, and probably all of my married friends.

You see, I've always been releasing Low on the first date, and it just hasn't been getting me the longevity I was looking for. Is it wrong for me to tank the first round, just so I can over impress them with my normal material in the later rounds? Maybe, but if it works, I'll do it. Word.

You're My Only Reason, You're My Only Truth

Eleven and a half hours until the first spring training game. If you were to ask me how excited I am for this, it would be somewhere between getting ready for a first kiss with a girl and finding the tootsie roll bank in my Christmas stocking, a symbol and manifestation of the goodness that is Christmas. (Side bar: I would say that nine out of ten Christmases, it's all about the tootsie roll bank. Everything else is secondary to those sweet, chocolatey sugar globules. If you ever think to yourself, "What can I get Rick for [insert whatever]?" The answer is tootsie rolls. Or caramels.)
Yes I realize that these games mean absolutely nothing to the season other than getting a look at the prospects, but it's baseball. More than that, it's where I came to love the game. I was eight, and the Marlins had just been established. Fortunately, their spring facility was just twenty minutes away. Even more fortunately, my best friend got season tickets, four rows behind the third base dugout. Their father is a doctor, and so his ticket was almost always unused due to almost all spring training games starting at 1pm. That quickly became my ticket. Box 12, row 4, seat 6. Mine. All mine. I like to think that there is still an impression in the plastic seat from my pre-pubescent posterior. Can we just say that there is? Yep, we can. It's there.
Seeing the guys on the baseball cards in real life, took baseball from a mythical activity only see on the TV to something I could be a part of. I saw Johnny Damon, Tom Glavine, and Bobby Bonilla. I got my first foul ball off the bat of the great Terry Pendleton. The game became a part of me. Really, you can go ahead and mark the moment when I gave my soul to the rawhide gods when I picked up that foul ball. Sure, I had been following baseball for two years prior; checking box scores, watching sportscenter highlights, seeing an occasional White Sox game on WGN. Heck, by then I had two little league trophies on my shelf. But now, the big leagues became tangible.
This was my only exposure to professional ball until I caught my first regular season game when I was 16 or so and somehow convinced my dad and older sister to go to a Giants-Cardinals game in San Fran. I still don't know how that worked, but it did. Twice in fact that trip. And then, to top matters off, while flying back home, who do we run into at the airport: Willie Mays. I'm not making this up. I've met the "Say Hey Kid". Shook his hand and talked about his daughter. Even had him sign my ticket. I've been impressed when meeting only a handful of people. They are, in no particular order: Elder Russell M. Nelson, Richard E. Rich (the guy behind the animated Book of Mormon tapes), and Willie Mays. That's really it.
So basically, church, church, baseball. That's my priorities. Church is year round, so I don't get too excited about sacrament meeting. General Conference, a little, but not a lot. Spring Training, Opening Day, Trade Deadline, BYU Home Opener- these are days that I would argue should be holidays. You want me to miss this? You better have a fantastic reason. I've canceled appointments, skipped classes and re-planned dates to make them happen.
So, am I excited for tomorrow's slate of games? Sure, I guess. If marking the anniversary of the only passion that has never let me down, enjoying the only thing that always satisfies, anticipating seven months of following my beloved Chisox is exciting, then yeah, I guess I'm excited. Word.

He Doesn't Look a Thing Like Jesus, But He Talks Like a Gentleman

In case of any of you were wondering if you were the luckiest person alive, I can tell you right now, you're third at best. For the longest time I thought I was the luckiest person on the planet. Family is great, friends are always there for me, in general, things have just seemed to work out for me (medical school so far might be the first major setback... ever). I just assumed I was the luckiest person out there because I couldn't completely justify all the good fortune that went my way. But now, I've realized I'm second. When you get paid $4.3 Million to do nothing, and I mean nothing, you are the luckiest person alive. This isn't one of those jobs where you were trying to accomplish a goal, but it didn't work out, so really you're efforts were useless, this is a case where the guy is getting paid to sit at home and never show up to work at all. And this is why Keith Van Horn is now the luckiest guy on the planet. $4.3M and he is expected to never lace up his high-tops or sling on a jersey. His only expectation is to show up to receive the check and then leave. That's it. And there isn't a even a deadline set on that! Yes, he is the luckiest. There might be some out there thinking that Kirilenko's now infamous "freebie" makes him the luckiest, but they're a mistaken. How awkward is that situation? Especially around say thanksgiving? Do you think his wife has to ask if it's been used yet? No one wants that conversation. On the flip side, there is no bad conversation where the subject is "how I made $4.3M in the NBA without ever getting out of bed." Van Horn wins, going away.My only question is, did his agent negotiate how much his client was going to get? He had the leverage knowing that the both sides wanted the deal to go through, and if it didn't work, both GMs would look like Mike Dexter after Amanda Beckett shut the door on him. Seriously, can't you see the agent sitting across the table arguing "Now I know he hasn't played in two years, and he's not close to physical form suitable for play, but he's got to be worth at least $5M, but we'll settle for 4.3." Shrewd. Very shrewd.What you have to gleen from this is that yes, Keith Van Horn is arguably luckier than you'll ever be, but also that he saw a good deal when it came to him and he took it. He didn't look around, wondering if by stalling he could get an extra 500K, he saw the great opportunity and he closed on it like Rivera, vintage 1998. In truth, he probably could have held out for the extra money and gotten it. But he took what was offered and he ran with it.
I've been thinking (yes, I took advil for the cramps). How many people have I seen blow perfectly good opportunities to have relationships because they were looking for the bigger, better deal. This is why there are so many single people around here. People are so concerned about getting the best possible deal that they look past great options.
Let's call a spade a spade. I'm one heck of a catch. Yeah, it's true. I am. I'm a five tool player. But there are better guys out there. I can't fault the ladies for trying to get the best possible, but I do fault them for looking past perfectly fine guys because they're worried about missing out on something better. Here's what I'm realizing: You can keep trying to get something better, but you'll always end up dissatisfied.
By no means should you just settle (Unless you're a smoking hot, intelligent girl who sees me after reading this. You, you can settle for me. I'll live with that.) But realize that a good thing now is better than the potential of a good things later. At the end of everything, you're just trying to find someone that matches you best. They're not going to be perfect, and they're not going to have the most of all the things you're looking for, but they will have the optimal blend of those things.
This area just fosters an environment of everyone thinking they can do better than what they already have. Obviously, this is because girls see me and the other unbelieveably amazing guys, while the fellas see the bevy of beauties that grace this county. But please, just realize that life is good and take it for what it is.
If you're lucky enough to find someone who likes you enough to care about you, and you like them enough to care about them, then hold on for dear life. Like Keith Van Horn holding onto that $4.3M. Yeah, he's also got a wife. That's why he's still the luckiest person in the world. Word.