What I Love About College Basketball
- Senior Night. Seeing the guys on the team who have been around for 4 years say goodbye to the fans is always cool. It doesn't even have to be the big stars like Brian Cook, we love Harrington as well, and even cheer for guys like Jerrance Howard and Blandon Ferguson.
- The fans. College fans are definitely more immature than pro fans. And in my opinion, the less mature, the more entertaining. If you put up a shot in an away game, better make sure you draw iron at all costs. Or else be ready to have the crowd chanting "AIIIIIIR BAAAALL" every time you touch the rock for the rest of the game. My sister went to the game today and she told me that when a Minnesota player that was kind of chubby (Hagen) was shooting free throws, they were taunting him with "Eat a salad" chants. Very typical, I said. It's all part of the game.
- Tournaments. Within reason, any team can upset a much higher ranked team on any given night. And that makes these tournaments so interesting. You start with 65 teams and I'd say at least about 15 of them have a decent chance of winning it all. And "cinderella stories" happen every single year, it's expected. Much nicer than seeing the same exact teams in the NBA playoffs every year and the same teams winning.
- Change. This is the most obvious difference between college and pro ball. I used to think it was not good, because you couldn't get attached to your team and its stars. But now, I think it's great. From year to year, you are guaranteed to have new faces on your team, and even though watching freshman play is kind of frustrating sometimes, watching them develop is half the fun. Then when they actually do well, like Dee Brown, it's always a pleasant surprise. It's also nice that there aren't so many dynasties like the NBA. Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Bulls, Lakers... nice if your team is up there, but it sucks for the rest of the league.
- Loyalty. Because I went to U of I, I'll always be an Illini fan no matter what. In the pros, you could be a Cubs fan or a Sox fan. And when the Bulls suck, you lose interest. Worse yet, there's the possibility of your team moving away, which I guess in Chicago we haven't really had to deal with, but still. Also, with the exception of the occasional transfer student, there isn't "free agency" or players demanding trades. From the time you recruit a high schooler to the time he graduates or turns pro, he's gonna be on your team and nobody else's. One thing I do wish is that the good players didn't turn pro early so much these days, but I guess you can't help that.
- More team concept. My sis noticed that in college, after every stoppage of play, the guys on the court huddle, while they don't do that in the pros. There seems to be more love between teammates, not as much selfishness and personal ego. It's more fun to watch a team play when they are having fun together, than if it's like Allen Iverson or Vince Carter just taking over and dominating.
There's a lot more I could write, little stuff like the band, the cheerleaders, the announcers, the CBS music... but I'll keep this one short as I can. My readers deserve a break.
Sunday, March 09, 2003
Thursday, March 06, 2003
All That's Wrong With The People In This Country
Every day I listen to the radio in the morning, and every day I come away more pissed off than ever. Eddie & Jobo are ignorant and stupid, as are Crazy Howard McGee and his crew, Eric & Kathy are incredibly dull and lifeless, and Drex talks about the dumbest teenage crap. Mancow actually says some pretty good things at times, but his listeners that call up are some of the biggest rejects I can imagine.
But for some reason, I still always start out my morning listening to these shows. In the end, I either have to put on a CD or wind up getting to work feeling nice and angry.
This morning, the topic on GCI was "If you don't want to fight in this war, you shouldn't have to", which was the opinion of Crazy Howard. And all these people were calling in to say stuff in support like "Yeah, I joined ROTC cause they paid for my school, but I'm against war and I don't wanna go". The sad and disturbing thing is, they were saying all of this with serious intent.
Tell me that isn't some of the dumbest stuff you've ever heard. You sign up for ROTC, they pay for your school, but when the time comes to serve, all of a sudden you're against war and you don't wanna go. Now, did somebody put a gun to your head and say "We're giving you $20,000, sign here or else"? Or, did you think the US military was some sort of high-level charity organization that likes to give out scholarships for fun?
Here is what I think is wrong with people in this country today (hence the title of this blog). We've all come to expect to be given certain things without having to work or pay for it. There's too many takers, not enough givers. I say "we" because a lot of what I'm writing applies to myself too, and it needs to change.
See, the people here are born into some of the cushiest conditions this planet has ever seen. Okay, so there are still the ghettos, the trailer parks, etc. Yes, some do have it better than others. But for the most part, we all enjoy a degree of freedom, human rights, and a quality of life that is unmatched in history, to an extent which is still considered rare around the world.
We grow up with the luxury of playing video games, watching cartoons on TV, and joining Little League Baseball. We all get to go to school for free from the time we're 5 until we're 18, and in many cases, we're helped along through college and grad school as well. Roads are paved, firefighters and policemen protect us, food is plentiful, and healthcare and medicine is more advanced than ever, while our friendly congressmen and presidential candidates beg for our support. And, with by far the strongest military in the world defending us, we've never in our lifetime had to really worry about being taken over or enslaved by foreign conquerers.
You couldn't say those things about any other civilization, past or present. Even today, millions upon millions of the unfortunate are starving for lack of food, dying for lack of available medical treatment, and/or living under oppressive governments. Let's not even talk about the cruel Egyptian rulers, ancient Chinese dynasties, or the evil Nazi empire of the past. And let's not even compare ourselves to the current extreme situations in Africa, North Korea, Iraq, Bosnia, or Israel, for the moment.
How about we just take a look at the democratic society of Taiwan instead, a relatively rich and advanced country by most standards. ROTC members here complain about having to serve in Iraq? At least they had a choice about it. At least they got to go to school for free because of it. In Taiwan, every last male is required to serve for 2 years in the military once they graduate high school or college. No "sign here please", no "we'll pay for college" - if you were born with a penis, you're going to serve with no questions asked.
Why? Is it just for fun? Give me a break. For over 50 years now, Taiwanese people have been living in the genuine fear of being attacked and taken over by Communist China. If you don't believe me, read some history books. Better yet, take it from me. I lived there for a year in high school, and I've visited plenty of times throughout my life. Let me say this: if it weren't for US political support and the aircraft carrier dispatched to the area, Taiwan would have been toast a long time ago.
Only a few years ago, China test fired some missiles near the outlying islands of Taiwan just for kicks and giggles, and the Taiwanese stock market plunged like a rock. Another time, when I was visiting, there was a citywide power outage in Taipei, and the first reports that came on the radio were speculating on the fear that China was about to attack. Property values and consumer confidence routinely drop in the country as tensions rise. I mean, just take a look at a freaking map and see how tiny the island is compared to the mainland. Trust me, people living in Taiwan have had to, and continue to deal with a significant fear of being attacked.
This kind of feeling is something that too few people in America know about or understand. Many of us have never been outside the country, and when we do leave, it's as a tourist. The result is that we share a distorted fantasy view of the world, as if nothing bad is going on, a attitude based on ignorance of the facts. You don't have to watch Jay Leno interviewing people on the street to know that there are too many stupid people in this country who don't watch the news, don't know what's going on, yet act like they do. Just yesterday on Mancow's show, they went on the street and asked people what they thought of Kim Jong Il, and everyone started talking about Lil'Kim. That's just plain embarrassing for the current state of our society.
If only we all knew how truly lucky we have it here. Right now, as citizens of the United States I can think of only 3 fundamental duties we can offer in return for all the benefits we enjoy - vote, pay taxes, and serve in the military when called upon. Most of us don't even vote, everyone complains about paying taxes, and now, many are reluctant to serve. If you didn't want to serve, why did you sign up and why did you feel right in taking the scholarship? I never signed up for anything, I haven't received a penny from ROTC, but if a draft notice appears tomorrow in my mailbox, I'm there. No ifs, ands, or buts.
The underlying problem with all of this is that too many of us are used to being given things, and too few of us know the meaning of earning, working, or fighting for them - myself included. When this happens, the natural response is to take these things for granted. Such things as liberty, the Bill of Rights, national security, even the availability of fresh food at Jewel. All of these things have come at some cost, when it's easy to believe the myth that they are owed to us as human beings.
The fact is, brave men and women died throughout history for our liberty, and fought so we could have such a thing as the Bill of Rights. Brave men and women still work hard and risk their lives in our military today so that we can have "national security". Unfortunately, our society suffers from a collective ignorance of this fact. And when you don't know or understand the work that goes behind certain things, you don't appreciate it.
Think about it, when we were young, it was funny to destroy other people's property. Yeah, we're bored, so why not go TP someone's house or spray paint graffiti on some random building, for no reason? After all, none of us ever had to clean up TP from a house or pay for a building and its maintenance. But now that we're older, it's not that funny anymore.
Or, I think of back when I took Chinese School every week after church, and they would give us cookies during recess. Me and my friend would take the cookies outside and try to hit the lightpost across the field with them. Perfectly good cookies, now that I think about it, but we literally were just throwing them away because we didn't have to buy them ourselves.
Also consider this fact: statistically, studies have shown that the vast majority of lottery winners spend their entire winnings within a few years. I personally don't know how you can blow millions without at least saving some for the rest of your life, but I guess that's the lottery player's mentality. Does paying $1 for a ticket and watching ping pong balls bounce around on TV constitute "earning" $10 million? Yeah right. You won the lottery, you didn't work for the money, so there's no respect for the cash. Of course you're gonna end up wasting it away.
Compare that to how my grandparents or my dad are. Having witnessed his own mother and father scraping the bottom of the pot of rice as a kid, and having to wonder whether there would be enough for the next meal, my dad would never ever forget the value of food, or of money. To this day, he is one of the thriftiest people I've ever seen, even though by now, through years of hard work, he has made enough money to live comfortably. He tears napkins and tissues in half before using them, because he thinks using an entire napkin is wasting. When we leave the house for as short a time as an hour, he turns down the thermostat to save that little bit of energy cost. And when I think my tube of toothpaste is out, he takes it and somehow squeezes another month's worth of use out of it.
My point being, if we could pry ourselves away from silly reality shows for more than a few seconds, maybe we would be able to see and understand that we are lucky to have the lives we do. We might see that there is actually a real world out there somewhere, and not just on MTV. A real world where "due process of law" is a pipe dream, where fresh meat and vegetables are not necessarily a given, where you might witness your closest friends and family dying before your eyes each day, and you could be the next.
It's because of this lack of awareness that it's become so cool and popular to be anti-war these days. I saw on the local news last night that high schoolers walked out of school to protest the Iraq situation. They were joined by Jesse Jackson and many other protestors who heaped praise on the students for "standing up". There's even people who flew themselves over to Iraq to be human shields, thinking it's some heroic act. They don't realize that our country respects the lives of civilians, and that by these kinds of actions, they are using this very fact against us. Does Saddam care about civilian lives? He's probably laughing hysterically along with the rest of the Muslim world that thinks Americans are stupid, ignorant, and weak. Can you really blame them for thinking that? (By this time, most of the "human shields" have already come back after they realized Saddam only cares about them shielding his palaces - how funny is that?)
Not to mention the peace "leaders" like Dave Matthews and George Clooney speaking out against our government. Seriously, what do celebrities know about the real issues? They live more comfortably and have perhaps a more distorted view of life and this world than anybody. Dave Matthews, yeah he makes good music, but it's painful to listen to him talk about this kind stuff. He's much better off just sticking to his rambling about the joys of sex, and how we should legalize weed.
Now, this blog wasn't meant to be written about Iraq, if you want my thoughts on that, check my entry from 2/21. But while I'm at it, I should mention, it's now been weeks since I wrote that blog. Notice that months have now passed since we first heard the words "one last chance", and still nobody has the balls to disarm Saddam. We're in the same exact place we were before. Yes, I have a good idea: why don't we just wait till it's summer to make the decision? It'll be more fun for our soldiers to wear all their chemical/biological protection gear when it's a pleasant 100+ degree August day in the desert anyways. Let's not forget, that's why it's so dangerous for Saddam to have those kinds of weapons in the first place, because of the environment there.
For real though, what is it gonna take before we finally decide to enforce this thing? Say you get pulled over by a cop, he asks you if you have drugs, you say no, and then he searches your car and finds some dope in the trunk. No way any cop's gonna give you a few months to get rid of it, your ass is going to jail. Instead, it's like we should all give Saddam a cookie for reluctantly agreeing to destroy these missiles that he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. What a flocking joke.
What, so France is against war? So France wants inspections to continue? SCREW FRANCE!!! WHAT DO THEY KNOW??? WHY DO WE NEED THEM ANYWAYS?!! (If I could make the font any bigger, I would) The French, they've spent their entire history getting raped by the Germans cause they do nothing but sit around, eating their baguettes and despising Americans for being fat and ugly. The same Americans who saved them in World War II, after they foolishly thought some bunkers they built on their border after WWI would save them from the Nazis. Face the facts: these inspections are not truly working. They are merely giving us an illusion of security, much like those silly Maginot Lines did in the past.
Forgive the tangent. This is becoming one of my longest entries ever, I think. That's saying a lot too.
Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, there's way too much we take for granted here, and way too many ignorant people in this country. All the stupid things being said and done today in the name of avoiding this war only highlights that fact. It's one thing if you are "morally opposed" to war, but to actually join ROTC and not want to report when the time comes to fight is one of the worst things I've ever heard. How selfish of a person and how big of a pussy do you have to be to even have such a thought? I really wonder.
You know what, being an engineer at the nation's 2nd largest defense contractor, I have seen a little bit of how far advanced our military's technology is compared to what's available to the rest of the world. It's ridiculous and not even fair, the kinds of things we have which give us an unbelievable advantage over our enemies. Not that being a soldier is a walk in the park, but look at our casualties from recent conflicts, compare them to the numbers suffered by the other side, and they will tell you as much. If you think it sucks to be a part of our military, how about you try serving in another country and then we'll see what you think.
The more I write, the more I'm getting frustrated with the things I hear. We live in the greatest country in the world right now, and none of us seem to realize it or care. People freely criticize the President while defending Saddam like he's not so bad, as if he's some great guy who just accidentally gassed his own people and didn't mean to use deadly chemical weapons on our soldiers. People praise our men and women in the armed forces in one breath, but refuse to offer themselves in service and "morally oppose" war in the next. They accuse G-dubs of thirsting for Iraqi oil, complain that gas prices are too high, and all the while they're driving around in Hummers and Ford Expeditions that get about 10 miles per gallon.
Am I the only one who sees something gravely wrong with all of this? I really hope I'm not alone. There's a lot of waking up and eye-opening to do for all of us. And if we don't recognize what's happening in this world on our own, one day worse things will be upon us without any further warning. By that time, we'll have no choice but to recognize the cold hard facts of life. Our selfishness and our ignorance will then be our own destruction. All I can do is sincerely pray that we won't let it come down to that day.
Every day I listen to the radio in the morning, and every day I come away more pissed off than ever. Eddie & Jobo are ignorant and stupid, as are Crazy Howard McGee and his crew, Eric & Kathy are incredibly dull and lifeless, and Drex talks about the dumbest teenage crap. Mancow actually says some pretty good things at times, but his listeners that call up are some of the biggest rejects I can imagine.
But for some reason, I still always start out my morning listening to these shows. In the end, I either have to put on a CD or wind up getting to work feeling nice and angry.
This morning, the topic on GCI was "If you don't want to fight in this war, you shouldn't have to", which was the opinion of Crazy Howard. And all these people were calling in to say stuff in support like "Yeah, I joined ROTC cause they paid for my school, but I'm against war and I don't wanna go". The sad and disturbing thing is, they were saying all of this with serious intent.
Tell me that isn't some of the dumbest stuff you've ever heard. You sign up for ROTC, they pay for your school, but when the time comes to serve, all of a sudden you're against war and you don't wanna go. Now, did somebody put a gun to your head and say "We're giving you $20,000, sign here or else"? Or, did you think the US military was some sort of high-level charity organization that likes to give out scholarships for fun?
Here is what I think is wrong with people in this country today (hence the title of this blog). We've all come to expect to be given certain things without having to work or pay for it. There's too many takers, not enough givers. I say "we" because a lot of what I'm writing applies to myself too, and it needs to change.
See, the people here are born into some of the cushiest conditions this planet has ever seen. Okay, so there are still the ghettos, the trailer parks, etc. Yes, some do have it better than others. But for the most part, we all enjoy a degree of freedom, human rights, and a quality of life that is unmatched in history, to an extent which is still considered rare around the world.
We grow up with the luxury of playing video games, watching cartoons on TV, and joining Little League Baseball. We all get to go to school for free from the time we're 5 until we're 18, and in many cases, we're helped along through college and grad school as well. Roads are paved, firefighters and policemen protect us, food is plentiful, and healthcare and medicine is more advanced than ever, while our friendly congressmen and presidential candidates beg for our support. And, with by far the strongest military in the world defending us, we've never in our lifetime had to really worry about being taken over or enslaved by foreign conquerers.
You couldn't say those things about any other civilization, past or present. Even today, millions upon millions of the unfortunate are starving for lack of food, dying for lack of available medical treatment, and/or living under oppressive governments. Let's not even talk about the cruel Egyptian rulers, ancient Chinese dynasties, or the evil Nazi empire of the past. And let's not even compare ourselves to the current extreme situations in Africa, North Korea, Iraq, Bosnia, or Israel, for the moment.
How about we just take a look at the democratic society of Taiwan instead, a relatively rich and advanced country by most standards. ROTC members here complain about having to serve in Iraq? At least they had a choice about it. At least they got to go to school for free because of it. In Taiwan, every last male is required to serve for 2 years in the military once they graduate high school or college. No "sign here please", no "we'll pay for college" - if you were born with a penis, you're going to serve with no questions asked.
Why? Is it just for fun? Give me a break. For over 50 years now, Taiwanese people have been living in the genuine fear of being attacked and taken over by Communist China. If you don't believe me, read some history books. Better yet, take it from me. I lived there for a year in high school, and I've visited plenty of times throughout my life. Let me say this: if it weren't for US political support and the aircraft carrier dispatched to the area, Taiwan would have been toast a long time ago.
Only a few years ago, China test fired some missiles near the outlying islands of Taiwan just for kicks and giggles, and the Taiwanese stock market plunged like a rock. Another time, when I was visiting, there was a citywide power outage in Taipei, and the first reports that came on the radio were speculating on the fear that China was about to attack. Property values and consumer confidence routinely drop in the country as tensions rise. I mean, just take a look at a freaking map and see how tiny the island is compared to the mainland. Trust me, people living in Taiwan have had to, and continue to deal with a significant fear of being attacked.
This kind of feeling is something that too few people in America know about or understand. Many of us have never been outside the country, and when we do leave, it's as a tourist. The result is that we share a distorted fantasy view of the world, as if nothing bad is going on, a attitude based on ignorance of the facts. You don't have to watch Jay Leno interviewing people on the street to know that there are too many stupid people in this country who don't watch the news, don't know what's going on, yet act like they do. Just yesterday on Mancow's show, they went on the street and asked people what they thought of Kim Jong Il, and everyone started talking about Lil'Kim. That's just plain embarrassing for the current state of our society.
If only we all knew how truly lucky we have it here. Right now, as citizens of the United States I can think of only 3 fundamental duties we can offer in return for all the benefits we enjoy - vote, pay taxes, and serve in the military when called upon. Most of us don't even vote, everyone complains about paying taxes, and now, many are reluctant to serve. If you didn't want to serve, why did you sign up and why did you feel right in taking the scholarship? I never signed up for anything, I haven't received a penny from ROTC, but if a draft notice appears tomorrow in my mailbox, I'm there. No ifs, ands, or buts.
The underlying problem with all of this is that too many of us are used to being given things, and too few of us know the meaning of earning, working, or fighting for them - myself included. When this happens, the natural response is to take these things for granted. Such things as liberty, the Bill of Rights, national security, even the availability of fresh food at Jewel. All of these things have come at some cost, when it's easy to believe the myth that they are owed to us as human beings.
The fact is, brave men and women died throughout history for our liberty, and fought so we could have such a thing as the Bill of Rights. Brave men and women still work hard and risk their lives in our military today so that we can have "national security". Unfortunately, our society suffers from a collective ignorance of this fact. And when you don't know or understand the work that goes behind certain things, you don't appreciate it.
Think about it, when we were young, it was funny to destroy other people's property. Yeah, we're bored, so why not go TP someone's house or spray paint graffiti on some random building, for no reason? After all, none of us ever had to clean up TP from a house or pay for a building and its maintenance. But now that we're older, it's not that funny anymore.
Or, I think of back when I took Chinese School every week after church, and they would give us cookies during recess. Me and my friend would take the cookies outside and try to hit the lightpost across the field with them. Perfectly good cookies, now that I think about it, but we literally were just throwing them away because we didn't have to buy them ourselves.
Also consider this fact: statistically, studies have shown that the vast majority of lottery winners spend their entire winnings within a few years. I personally don't know how you can blow millions without at least saving some for the rest of your life, but I guess that's the lottery player's mentality. Does paying $1 for a ticket and watching ping pong balls bounce around on TV constitute "earning" $10 million? Yeah right. You won the lottery, you didn't work for the money, so there's no respect for the cash. Of course you're gonna end up wasting it away.
Compare that to how my grandparents or my dad are. Having witnessed his own mother and father scraping the bottom of the pot of rice as a kid, and having to wonder whether there would be enough for the next meal, my dad would never ever forget the value of food, or of money. To this day, he is one of the thriftiest people I've ever seen, even though by now, through years of hard work, he has made enough money to live comfortably. He tears napkins and tissues in half before using them, because he thinks using an entire napkin is wasting. When we leave the house for as short a time as an hour, he turns down the thermostat to save that little bit of energy cost. And when I think my tube of toothpaste is out, he takes it and somehow squeezes another month's worth of use out of it.
My point being, if we could pry ourselves away from silly reality shows for more than a few seconds, maybe we would be able to see and understand that we are lucky to have the lives we do. We might see that there is actually a real world out there somewhere, and not just on MTV. A real world where "due process of law" is a pipe dream, where fresh meat and vegetables are not necessarily a given, where you might witness your closest friends and family dying before your eyes each day, and you could be the next.
It's because of this lack of awareness that it's become so cool and popular to be anti-war these days. I saw on the local news last night that high schoolers walked out of school to protest the Iraq situation. They were joined by Jesse Jackson and many other protestors who heaped praise on the students for "standing up". There's even people who flew themselves over to Iraq to be human shields, thinking it's some heroic act. They don't realize that our country respects the lives of civilians, and that by these kinds of actions, they are using this very fact against us. Does Saddam care about civilian lives? He's probably laughing hysterically along with the rest of the Muslim world that thinks Americans are stupid, ignorant, and weak. Can you really blame them for thinking that? (By this time, most of the "human shields" have already come back after they realized Saddam only cares about them shielding his palaces - how funny is that?)
Not to mention the peace "leaders" like Dave Matthews and George Clooney speaking out against our government. Seriously, what do celebrities know about the real issues? They live more comfortably and have perhaps a more distorted view of life and this world than anybody. Dave Matthews, yeah he makes good music, but it's painful to listen to him talk about this kind stuff. He's much better off just sticking to his rambling about the joys of sex, and how we should legalize weed.
Now, this blog wasn't meant to be written about Iraq, if you want my thoughts on that, check my entry from 2/21. But while I'm at it, I should mention, it's now been weeks since I wrote that blog. Notice that months have now passed since we first heard the words "one last chance", and still nobody has the balls to disarm Saddam. We're in the same exact place we were before. Yes, I have a good idea: why don't we just wait till it's summer to make the decision? It'll be more fun for our soldiers to wear all their chemical/biological protection gear when it's a pleasant 100+ degree August day in the desert anyways. Let's not forget, that's why it's so dangerous for Saddam to have those kinds of weapons in the first place, because of the environment there.
For real though, what is it gonna take before we finally decide to enforce this thing? Say you get pulled over by a cop, he asks you if you have drugs, you say no, and then he searches your car and finds some dope in the trunk. No way any cop's gonna give you a few months to get rid of it, your ass is going to jail. Instead, it's like we should all give Saddam a cookie for reluctantly agreeing to destroy these missiles that he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. What a flocking joke.
What, so France is against war? So France wants inspections to continue? SCREW FRANCE!!! WHAT DO THEY KNOW??? WHY DO WE NEED THEM ANYWAYS?!! (If I could make the font any bigger, I would) The French, they've spent their entire history getting raped by the Germans cause they do nothing but sit around, eating their baguettes and despising Americans for being fat and ugly. The same Americans who saved them in World War II, after they foolishly thought some bunkers they built on their border after WWI would save them from the Nazis. Face the facts: these inspections are not truly working. They are merely giving us an illusion of security, much like those silly Maginot Lines did in the past.
Forgive the tangent. This is becoming one of my longest entries ever, I think. That's saying a lot too.
Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, there's way too much we take for granted here, and way too many ignorant people in this country. All the stupid things being said and done today in the name of avoiding this war only highlights that fact. It's one thing if you are "morally opposed" to war, but to actually join ROTC and not want to report when the time comes to fight is one of the worst things I've ever heard. How selfish of a person and how big of a pussy do you have to be to even have such a thought? I really wonder.
You know what, being an engineer at the nation's 2nd largest defense contractor, I have seen a little bit of how far advanced our military's technology is compared to what's available to the rest of the world. It's ridiculous and not even fair, the kinds of things we have which give us an unbelievable advantage over our enemies. Not that being a soldier is a walk in the park, but look at our casualties from recent conflicts, compare them to the numbers suffered by the other side, and they will tell you as much. If you think it sucks to be a part of our military, how about you try serving in another country and then we'll see what you think.
The more I write, the more I'm getting frustrated with the things I hear. We live in the greatest country in the world right now, and none of us seem to realize it or care. People freely criticize the President while defending Saddam like he's not so bad, as if he's some great guy who just accidentally gassed his own people and didn't mean to use deadly chemical weapons on our soldiers. People praise our men and women in the armed forces in one breath, but refuse to offer themselves in service and "morally oppose" war in the next. They accuse G-dubs of thirsting for Iraqi oil, complain that gas prices are too high, and all the while they're driving around in Hummers and Ford Expeditions that get about 10 miles per gallon.
Am I the only one who sees something gravely wrong with all of this? I really hope I'm not alone. There's a lot of waking up and eye-opening to do for all of us. And if we don't recognize what's happening in this world on our own, one day worse things will be upon us without any further warning. By that time, we'll have no choice but to recognize the cold hard facts of life. Our selfishness and our ignorance will then be our own destruction. All I can do is sincerely pray that we won't let it come down to that day.
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
So there I was, just about to get out of my car in the NG Rolling Meadows parking lot this morning, when the weather report came on. I usually don't pay attention to the weather reports, but this time I caught the words "100% chance of snow, 4-8 inches this evening".
After that, I couldn't focus all day at work. Just sitting there in my cube and all I had to look forward to is another nightmare commute home. And yes, it took me well over an hour to drive back for the second day in a row. I decided to transfer all my negative thoughts to the following song:
An Ode To Snow
I used to like snow
way back in the day
To me it meant "no school"
and more time to play
My sis would make angels
I would make forts
We'd go sledding in our snow suits
or enjoy other snow sports
But now there's no school
No school bus to take
I still have to show up at work
when before I wouldn't even have been awake
I gotta get up earlier
and shovel my driveway
But by the time I finish
it's past 7:05 -- gay!
Then there's the long commute
in my G35
I still love my baby girl
but she's rear-wheel drive
I try to make it anyways
on a wet road full of salt
while accidents and gapers
bring traffic to a dead halt
Finally I make it to work
and of course I'm quite late
The way back's even more fun
Ooh boy, I can't wait
Now don't get me wrong
I grew up in Chicago
But it's already March
I want the sun, not this snow!
Maybe I should be more positive
and see snow as a blessing
Why am I so angry these days
am I just PMS-ing?
Most likely I'm not
after all, I am a man
Anyways, I'm afraid
this song's gotten out of hand
Most likely by now
You all think I'm some flamer
So I best end it here
before it gets any lamer
After that, I couldn't focus all day at work. Just sitting there in my cube and all I had to look forward to is another nightmare commute home. And yes, it took me well over an hour to drive back for the second day in a row. I decided to transfer all my negative thoughts to the following song:
An Ode To Snow
I used to like snow
way back in the day
To me it meant "no school"
and more time to play
My sis would make angels
I would make forts
We'd go sledding in our snow suits
or enjoy other snow sports
But now there's no school
No school bus to take
I still have to show up at work
when before I wouldn't even have been awake
I gotta get up earlier
and shovel my driveway
But by the time I finish
it's past 7:05 -- gay!
Then there's the long commute
in my G35
I still love my baby girl
but she's rear-wheel drive
I try to make it anyways
on a wet road full of salt
while accidents and gapers
bring traffic to a dead halt
Finally I make it to work
and of course I'm quite late
The way back's even more fun
Ooh boy, I can't wait
Now don't get me wrong
I grew up in Chicago
But it's already March
I want the sun, not this snow!
Maybe I should be more positive
and see snow as a blessing
Why am I so angry these days
am I just PMS-ing?
Most likely I'm not
after all, I am a man
Anyways, I'm afraid
this song's gotten out of hand
Most likely by now
You all think I'm some flamer
So I best end it here
before it gets any lamer
Monday, March 03, 2003
Grindin'
Construction has begun on IL-53, the highway I take to and from work every day. This is gonna add about 15-20 minutes to the drive each way, increase the wear and tear on my car, and decrease my gas mileage with all the stop and go biznass. >:-o
I'd have to say that right now, the stress in my life is close to an all-time high. It's not even like my job is all that demanding or my supervisors are putting added pressure on me. But working overtime plus the commute takes away my whole week, more or less. I wish I had more time to hang out with friends or just spend alone in peace, but I can't.
The way it is, I come home from work, do a bunch of little things, and before I know it, I'm tired and I need to go to sleep. Eat dinner, wash dishes, make my lunch. Talk to people on IM and maybe write a blog or read other peoples pages. If I feel in the mood to be clean, I'll take a shower. If time permits, I'll play 1 or at most 2 games of Starcraft. Little 15-30 minute things add up and fill up my post-work day to the point where I can't even figure out where my time went at the end of the night.
If I go lift, that's at least an hour right there, plus the time it takes to cook and eat my post-workout Jack's Sausage Pizza. I don't even think about doing anything else on those days.
Kind of stupid, but I'll plan out my week and shoot for doing one task per day. Like this:
Monday - Eat dinner with friend
Tuesday - Stop by Dominicks and buy lunch meat
Wednesday - Bench
Thursday - Fill out rebate forms and pay bills
Friday - Prepare material for teaching Sunday School
On weekends, maybe I'll get to do three or four things:
Saturday - Watch Illini game, change oil/wash car, Barleycorn/Buzz
Sunday - Church, nap, squats, laundry
The sad thing is, I actually feel satisfied and pat myself on the back if I get each of these things done. And I actually feel too tired to do anything else after a grueling session of lunch meat purchasing or rebate form filling out. It's like "dang, I'm so pooped from writing that check and putting the stamp on the envelope. Better call it quits for the day before I get too burned out!"
Notice certain things missing or lacking from the above list:
- Spend time with the girlfriend. Actually, I think she is probably even busier than me. Especially lately, she's had to study for a big wave of exams. No pity for her though - this coming weekend is the beginning of her Spring Break, and she's leaving for Cali on Friday for some playtime. So I won't be hanging out with her then for sure.
- Watch movie. I used to watch at least one movie every week or every other week. But I think the last movie I saw, in either the theater or rented, was 25th Hour. That was around 2 months ago or so. You all know I've been dying to catch "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days", "Kangaroo Jack", and "Maid In Manhattan" but just haven't had the time.
- Only 2 days of lifting per week. That's not enough. >:-o
- On average, about 2 chances to hang out with friends. In college, I basically lived with friends and did stuff with them all day, every day. Now, it takes extra effort to plan something to do, and maybe a special occasion like someone's birthday to make people motivated to get together. Especially tough with friends who don't live around Darien.
- Read up on Spring Training reports for upcoming fantasy baseball draft. March 16th is the big day for kicking off the 5th season of Dudo/Dizudo league baseball, and I am gonna be ill prepared. >:-o
- Watch TV. Seriously, I barely watch any TV anymore, outside of Illini basketball. I miss Sportscenter and Conan the most. The last memory I have of watching a show is the last 40 minutes of the Joe Millionaire finale. Oh wait, actually I watched some of Smallville yesterday. Here comes a tangent. This show facking blows. The only reason I took some time to watch it yesterday is because I happened to land on that channel when flipping around, and also because I hear Kristin Kreuk is all the rage these days. Well, I guess she is an exception to the suckiness of the show. But really, I couldn't care less if Lana and Clark get together. You all know that it's only a matter of time before it happens anyways. Not to mention it ain't gonna last because Clark ends up with Lois Lane when he gets older. To be fair, the acting is alright but the dialogue can't get much cheesier. All the characters have to act so smug and witty with every line they say. I lasted about 25 minutes and 2 commercial breaks into the show before it drove me nuts and I had to turn it off.
It's kind of surprising to myself that I still somehow write a lot of blogs and make time to read and comment on other people's stuff. But there is something relaxing about writing thoughts down. Reading other people's stuff is nice too. Although I hope reading each others' blogs doesn't end up replacing human interaction. For some friends, like Texas man Vic, that's become my main thread of keeping in touch (other than Battle.net of course). Which is kind of sad, considering he updates like once every 2 months or so.
I guess I've been complaining more than usual these days. Well, I hope nobody gets depressed from reading what I write. But a lot of people lately have been telling me that I look tired. See, it's not so much that I'm tired, but that I'm drained. Phyiscally and emotionally both. I haven't had a chance to sleep in for a long time. My relationship with Olivia is basically limited to a phone call once every few nights and maybe a quick lunch on Sundays. I don't have much quiet time alone other than the 40 minutes it takes for me to fall asleep.
Yeah, I don't mean to complain so much. I don't think I am a complaining-type person normally, usually I just go with the flow and I'm happy. And it's not that I'm unhappy, cause I think there's still a lot to be happy about in my life. It just sucks to not have much free time, I guess. I don't even have a wife and kids or a house to take care of, which makes me wonder how much worse it could be if I did.
But right now, I'm really just looking forward to the point when I get off this overtime schedule, and move to a place closer to work. The time could come in as early as a month from now, I think. That will potentially give me 3 extra hours per day, just in subtracting the hour of overtime and 2 hours saved in driving time. 3 hours could be huge, maybe I would be able to do two things instead of one on weekdays. We'll have to see though.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
I've been steadily losing interest in hip-hop/R&B stuff for the past year or so. Almost everything I hear is annoying and unoriginal these days (with the exception of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix of course). On the other hand, I'm getting back into so-called "white music". Not the pop-guitar kind of stuff. But this song is great, I like the sound cause it's fresh and original. That plus the Linkin Park song is dominating my playlist. I think I will probably have to get the Linkin Park CD, METEORA, when it comes out March 25th.
Construction has begun on IL-53, the highway I take to and from work every day. This is gonna add about 15-20 minutes to the drive each way, increase the wear and tear on my car, and decrease my gas mileage with all the stop and go biznass. >:-o
I'd have to say that right now, the stress in my life is close to an all-time high. It's not even like my job is all that demanding or my supervisors are putting added pressure on me. But working overtime plus the commute takes away my whole week, more or less. I wish I had more time to hang out with friends or just spend alone in peace, but I can't.
The way it is, I come home from work, do a bunch of little things, and before I know it, I'm tired and I need to go to sleep. Eat dinner, wash dishes, make my lunch. Talk to people on IM and maybe write a blog or read other peoples pages. If I feel in the mood to be clean, I'll take a shower. If time permits, I'll play 1 or at most 2 games of Starcraft. Little 15-30 minute things add up and fill up my post-work day to the point where I can't even figure out where my time went at the end of the night.
If I go lift, that's at least an hour right there, plus the time it takes to cook and eat my post-workout Jack's Sausage Pizza. I don't even think about doing anything else on those days.
Kind of stupid, but I'll plan out my week and shoot for doing one task per day. Like this:
Monday - Eat dinner with friend
Tuesday - Stop by Dominicks and buy lunch meat
Wednesday - Bench
Thursday - Fill out rebate forms and pay bills
Friday - Prepare material for teaching Sunday School
On weekends, maybe I'll get to do three or four things:
Saturday - Watch Illini game, change oil/wash car, Barleycorn/Buzz
Sunday - Church, nap, squats, laundry
The sad thing is, I actually feel satisfied and pat myself on the back if I get each of these things done. And I actually feel too tired to do anything else after a grueling session of lunch meat purchasing or rebate form filling out. It's like "dang, I'm so pooped from writing that check and putting the stamp on the envelope. Better call it quits for the day before I get too burned out!"
Notice certain things missing or lacking from the above list:
- Spend time with the girlfriend. Actually, I think she is probably even busier than me. Especially lately, she's had to study for a big wave of exams. No pity for her though - this coming weekend is the beginning of her Spring Break, and she's leaving for Cali on Friday for some playtime. So I won't be hanging out with her then for sure.
- Watch movie. I used to watch at least one movie every week or every other week. But I think the last movie I saw, in either the theater or rented, was 25th Hour. That was around 2 months ago or so. You all know I've been dying to catch "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days", "Kangaroo Jack", and "Maid In Manhattan" but just haven't had the time.
- Only 2 days of lifting per week. That's not enough. >:-o
- On average, about 2 chances to hang out with friends. In college, I basically lived with friends and did stuff with them all day, every day. Now, it takes extra effort to plan something to do, and maybe a special occasion like someone's birthday to make people motivated to get together. Especially tough with friends who don't live around Darien.
- Read up on Spring Training reports for upcoming fantasy baseball draft. March 16th is the big day for kicking off the 5th season of Dudo/Dizudo league baseball, and I am gonna be ill prepared. >:-o
- Watch TV. Seriously, I barely watch any TV anymore, outside of Illini basketball. I miss Sportscenter and Conan the most. The last memory I have of watching a show is the last 40 minutes of the Joe Millionaire finale. Oh wait, actually I watched some of Smallville yesterday. Here comes a tangent. This show facking blows. The only reason I took some time to watch it yesterday is because I happened to land on that channel when flipping around, and also because I hear Kristin Kreuk is all the rage these days. Well, I guess she is an exception to the suckiness of the show. But really, I couldn't care less if Lana and Clark get together. You all know that it's only a matter of time before it happens anyways. Not to mention it ain't gonna last because Clark ends up with Lois Lane when he gets older. To be fair, the acting is alright but the dialogue can't get much cheesier. All the characters have to act so smug and witty with every line they say. I lasted about 25 minutes and 2 commercial breaks into the show before it drove me nuts and I had to turn it off.
It's kind of surprising to myself that I still somehow write a lot of blogs and make time to read and comment on other people's stuff. But there is something relaxing about writing thoughts down. Reading other people's stuff is nice too. Although I hope reading each others' blogs doesn't end up replacing human interaction. For some friends, like Texas man Vic, that's become my main thread of keeping in touch (other than Battle.net of course). Which is kind of sad, considering he updates like once every 2 months or so.
I guess I've been complaining more than usual these days. Well, I hope nobody gets depressed from reading what I write. But a lot of people lately have been telling me that I look tired. See, it's not so much that I'm tired, but that I'm drained. Phyiscally and emotionally both. I haven't had a chance to sleep in for a long time. My relationship with Olivia is basically limited to a phone call once every few nights and maybe a quick lunch on Sundays. I don't have much quiet time alone other than the 40 minutes it takes for me to fall asleep.
Yeah, I don't mean to complain so much. I don't think I am a complaining-type person normally, usually I just go with the flow and I'm happy. And it's not that I'm unhappy, cause I think there's still a lot to be happy about in my life. It just sucks to not have much free time, I guess. I don't even have a wife and kids or a house to take care of, which makes me wonder how much worse it could be if I did.
But right now, I'm really just looking forward to the point when I get off this overtime schedule, and move to a place closer to work. The time could come in as early as a month from now, I think. That will potentially give me 3 extra hours per day, just in subtracting the hour of overtime and 2 hours saved in driving time. 3 hours could be huge, maybe I would be able to do two things instead of one on weekdays. We'll have to see though.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
I've been steadily losing interest in hip-hop/R&B stuff for the past year or so. Almost everything I hear is annoying and unoriginal these days (with the exception of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix of course). On the other hand, I'm getting back into so-called "white music". Not the pop-guitar kind of stuff. But this song is great, I like the sound cause it's fresh and original. That plus the Linkin Park song is dominating my playlist. I think I will probably have to get the Linkin Park CD, METEORA, when it comes out March 25th.
Saturday, March 01, 2003
Roger Powell is pure... nuff said. In honor of the Illini Mucking Fichigan today, here is a list of my top 5 moments in sports. (no contest this time, just the list)
Best Sports Moments
5. Jordan announces comeback (first time) - I was living in Taiwan at the time, missing Chicago, and when the news broke, I couldn't believe it. It totally sucked to see the Bulls losing to the Knicks in the playoffs, and we all knew he had at least a few more seasons in him. Then he came back, and the first time he played at Madison Square Garden he dropped 50-some points on those foos. One day my kids and grandkids will ask me about how awesome Michael Jordan was and I will tell them "he was good, he was very good". Well, at least on the Bulls he was.
4. Marcus Griffin last second shot vs. Wisconsin - This is a interesting story overall, not just the shot itself. One of Dennis's friends found 4 tickets to the game, and he called Dan and me to go. We get there, sit down, then about halfway through the first half, the original owners of the tickets show up and we get kicked out of our seats. So that part sucked, but security took us downstairs to the ticket center, and they let us buy legit tickets and watch the rest of the game. Ok, maybe it wasn't that interesting of a story now that I think about it. Anyways, at the end of the game, we're down 1 with only time for a quick shot. Inbounds to Marcus in the paint, he puts it up and in at the buzzer for sweet sweet victory for the Illini. Me and Dan high five each other and like 20 strangers sitting near us.
3. Bears comeback to beat Cleveland - Down 2 TDs with less than a minute left, I thought the game was over. So did everyone else I was watching it with. Then they scored, recovered a onside kick, and hail mary caught by James Allen to tie. In OT, Mike Brown returned a INT for a TD and the win. Madness ensued at Skylight Court and many blood vessels were shattered in my hand from the high fives. If you are a Bears fan, you should also remember this moment forever too. Also, it was the week after another OT comeback win against the 49ers.
2. John Paxson 3-pt shot vs. Suns, Game 6 of the 93 NBA Finals - You can't be from Chicago and not remember this moment. If you didn't watch it live, at least you must have seen the replays about a million times in the years after. As for me, I remember watching it with my sister and dad. Down 2 with like 15 seconds left, you could cut the tension with a knife. Ball comes in, Horace Grant has it under the basket, kicks it out to Paxson, Bulls by 1 with 3.9 left, me going nuts. Next play, Kevin Johnson drives to the hoop, stuffed by Horace, and Bulls 3-peat. Good stuff.
1. Bo Jackson hits a 3 run jack to clinch the division for the Sox in 93 - I didn't even see this one on TV, I was listening on the radio. But baseball has always been my favorite sport, and the White Sox my favorite team. So even though I was just listening to John Rooney and Ed Farmer call it and didn't see it for myself, I remember being so excited that they were gonna go to the playoffs. Didn't matter that they got owned by the Blue Jays in the playoffs and that the strike screwed us the next year. Nothing can take that moment away from me.
Best Sports Moments
5. Jordan announces comeback (first time) - I was living in Taiwan at the time, missing Chicago, and when the news broke, I couldn't believe it. It totally sucked to see the Bulls losing to the Knicks in the playoffs, and we all knew he had at least a few more seasons in him. Then he came back, and the first time he played at Madison Square Garden he dropped 50-some points on those foos. One day my kids and grandkids will ask me about how awesome Michael Jordan was and I will tell them "he was good, he was very good". Well, at least on the Bulls he was.
4. Marcus Griffin last second shot vs. Wisconsin - This is a interesting story overall, not just the shot itself. One of Dennis's friends found 4 tickets to the game, and he called Dan and me to go. We get there, sit down, then about halfway through the first half, the original owners of the tickets show up and we get kicked out of our seats. So that part sucked, but security took us downstairs to the ticket center, and they let us buy legit tickets and watch the rest of the game. Ok, maybe it wasn't that interesting of a story now that I think about it. Anyways, at the end of the game, we're down 1 with only time for a quick shot. Inbounds to Marcus in the paint, he puts it up and in at the buzzer for sweet sweet victory for the Illini. Me and Dan high five each other and like 20 strangers sitting near us.
3. Bears comeback to beat Cleveland - Down 2 TDs with less than a minute left, I thought the game was over. So did everyone else I was watching it with. Then they scored, recovered a onside kick, and hail mary caught by James Allen to tie. In OT, Mike Brown returned a INT for a TD and the win. Madness ensued at Skylight Court and many blood vessels were shattered in my hand from the high fives. If you are a Bears fan, you should also remember this moment forever too. Also, it was the week after another OT comeback win against the 49ers.
2. John Paxson 3-pt shot vs. Suns, Game 6 of the 93 NBA Finals - You can't be from Chicago and not remember this moment. If you didn't watch it live, at least you must have seen the replays about a million times in the years after. As for me, I remember watching it with my sister and dad. Down 2 with like 15 seconds left, you could cut the tension with a knife. Ball comes in, Horace Grant has it under the basket, kicks it out to Paxson, Bulls by 1 with 3.9 left, me going nuts. Next play, Kevin Johnson drives to the hoop, stuffed by Horace, and Bulls 3-peat. Good stuff.
1. Bo Jackson hits a 3 run jack to clinch the division for the Sox in 93 - I didn't even see this one on TV, I was listening on the radio. But baseball has always been my favorite sport, and the White Sox my favorite team. So even though I was just listening to John Rooney and Ed Farmer call it and didn't see it for myself, I remember being so excited that they were gonna go to the playoffs. Didn't matter that they got owned by the Blue Jays in the playoffs and that the strike screwed us the next year. Nothing can take that moment away from me.
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