More Than Anyone Cares To Read About Home Repair
For no apparent reason (other than a string of bad luck), a whole bunch of things have been breaking in my house lately. My garage door, thermostat/heater, toilet, fridge, and a sizable list of other little stuff have all been dying in the past couple months. Even my car has been acting up with the heater and CD changer going down, but that's another story.
Some of these things I've been able to fix or replace on my own, while others I had to hire someone to come and fix. But in any case, I have been learning a lot about home repair from the experience having all of these things break on me. And I must say, I am becoming quite the Bob Vila (or should I say Ty Pennington?) with my newfound understanding of household appliances and such. My future wife will be so lucky to have a handyman like me... hahaha.
In what should suprise no one who regularly reads my blog, seeing the process of fixing all of these things got me thinking about some deeper applications towards life in general. A lot of characteristics about home repair definitely remind me about working on your own problems and issues, especially since I feel like I've been going through a lot of that in the past year.
One thing I've noticed is that problems usually don't just pop up suddenly and without warning. Once in a while, you'll have an appliance randomly die on you for no reason, but more often than not, things break in stages rather than all at once. My garage door, for example, would still be able to open about half the time in the beginning, before getting steadily worse over time to the point of not opening at all. The fridge started out with just noises from the fan, then the noises got louder, and ice started forming on the walls, and finally it stopped working completely.
Point being, not every issue demands immediate attention. In our lives, we may sometimes notice weaknesses about ourselves - perhaps it's a bad temper, maybe it's a gambling/smoking/alcohol/drug addiction, or maybe it's just a feeling of general unhappiness, depression, whatever the case may be. But it's rare that any of us do anything about them right away, probably because there isn't an apparent need to.
The good news is that these problems aren't necessarily going to come up in your life every day - most people can still function normally and go about their daily lives without being dominated by these issues. But the bad news is that usually, these problems tend to get worse over time, not better. We can often find ways to get around them or minimize the impact, but without actually dealing with our problems, they rarely (if ever) go away on their own.
Going along with this, another common thread I've seen between most of these situations is that you can temporarily fix a lot of things, by changing some sort of "sensor" to ignore the warning signs. When my heater was acting up, the easy solution at first was to turn up the thermostat and force it to keep going. In the case of the fridge, those fan noises would go away if you raised the temperature by a little bit to ease the burden of the cooling system. And my garage door opener also had a "sensitivity setting" that you could tune by turning a knob on the control box.
Not many people know about this, but if you turn the control box's sensitivity knob all the way down, your garage will think it's funny to kick babies, while if you turn it to the other end, it will cry uncontrollably while watching the Notebook on the Lifetime Channel. (Okay, so I made that part up.)
But seriously, I think we usually know when something's not right with ourselves. As I described earlier, you should be able see signs of your own weaknesses early on. You might find yourself struggling at work/school, maybe you're hurting the people around you, and you simply don't feel entirely at peace in your heart. And deep down you realize that eventually, you will have to deal with those issues.
In the meantime, though, the easy thing to do is find ways to avoid the root of the problem. There's many ways I could list, but many times the first thing we try is to run from the problem, and hope that it doesn't come back to bite you later on. Sometimes we might plead ignorance or resort to denial, and pretend that those issues don't exist. Finally, we might convince ourselves that we don't care (going back to the "sensitivity setting" analogy), that it's not really a big deal and we can just live with the warning signs.
Whatever our "method" of choice, I think again, you can only rely on these superficial solutions for so long before they get worse. Turning down the "sensitivity setting" might buy you an extra week, an extra month, or maybe even years will go by before things really break down. If you're really stubborn, you might be able to go your whole life pretending like nothing's wrong. But for most of us, it's really just a matter of time before you'll have to do something about it. And unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more likely that the problem will get harder to fix as you go along, or even spill over and affect other areas of your life.
Anyways, I've already taken this metaphor further than I should have, but I just wanted to make one last connection between home repair and self-help (also the most important). The positive thing I've taken out of it all is that based on what I've been seeing, coming up with the right solution - in either case - is almost never as complicated as you might think.
Not that every problem is easy to fix, that's not what I'm saying at all. But I think a lot of times, we're afraid to deal with a certain obstacle because we assume that it's going to be too hard. We're afraid to open up the black box and look inside, because we don't know what we'll find. As people often say, we fear things we don't know or understand - and this is certainly the case when it comes to trying to "fix" yourself. You start off by wondering what's broken inside, then questions start mounting about how much it might cost you or how much work it will be to fix, and before you know it, you're assuming worst case scenario. Then you start finding ways to avoid thinking about the problem, and convincing yourself that you don't need help.
I always pictured the garage door opener box to be filled with all sorts of nasty stuff - a mess of cables, grease, and gears inside, kind of like the evil machines in the Matrix movies. But when you actually take the time to pull up a ladder and toolbox to open it up, you'll find that it's not nearly as complex or intimidating as you thought. It's actually just 1 chain and a couple of gears (though actually I learned that the correct term is "sprocket" in this situation).
The same goes for a thermostat, refrigerator, toilet, or whatever it might be. None of these things are as complicated as you think they are, if you are willing to actually face up to it and take one step at a time. Even in the appliances that you have to hire professionals to repair, the situation is never as hopeless as it might seem. You just have to be willing to ask for help from the right people.
I think when we have shortcomings, flaws, weaknesses about ourselves, it's easy to give up and just accept them for what they are. But maybe that's only because we think it's too hard to change and we're afraid of seeing the ugliness and mess of gears inside ourselves. The problem with that line of thinking is that not doing anything about it only makes it worse, in the end we are only hurting ourselves and people around us by avoiding it. Everyone has issues that need to be fixed, but what I'm saying is that most of the time, the solution is not as impossibly convoluted as you think - again, if you are willing to take it one step at a time and give yourself a fair chance to work on it.
Finally, I guess to end with a word of encouragement to those who have managed to read this far, as the cliche goes, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". When you finally make an honest effort to address your problems at their roots, and you start to make some real progress in addressing your issues, I do believe that it's more than worth every ounce of energy and sacrifice it takes to get there. The worst thing you can do is give up on yourself and lose hope, because there's ALWAYS hope.
No matter how bad you might feel about yourself at a given point in your life, or how difficult it might be to grow yourself, I really believe that it's that much more rewarding when you are able to find your way back "home" - to get to the point where you can feel right again with who you are. As the words to one of my favorite songs goes, "You can't love, if you you don't love yourself". Maybe it seems like you'll be happier to forget about your problems, but there is a better way and a better place in life - and I really do believe that we owe it to ourselves (and the people who love us) to get there.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Thoughts on SuperBowl XLII
Leading up to this year's Superbowl, I found myself caring a lot less about the so-called "Big Game" than I have in the past. It's kind of weird because I remember all throughout high school and college, the Superbowl was such a huge deal for me and my friends. Especially last year when the Bears were involved, the hype could not have been any bigger for one game.
But this season, I mostly stopped paying attention to football once it became obvious that the Bears weren't going to be a factor. Even though the media kept hyping up all the storylines - Patriots quest for 19-0, Brett Favre's resurgence, Jessica Simpson distracting the Cowboys, Patriots cheating behind the scenes, the continuing Colts vs. Patriots rivalry, etc., I couldn't help but feel a bit bored by it all.
Maybe "bored" isn't the right word, but "uninspired" seems to describe my feeling pretty well. Something about the atmosphere and background leading up to the Superbowl was completely uninspiring to me, and I couldn't quite figure out exactly why I felt that way.
The thing is, as much as I dislike how ESPN tries to manufacture off-the-field stories, I guess the fact that they do, highlights what sports is all about to the me as a fan. As I have written about in the past, the biggest reason I follow sports is because I love watching the storylines that go along with the games. I mean, the highlights are great and all, and nothing compares to the excitement of watching a great game in person. But ultimately, sports to me is one giant reality show that trumps anything Mark Burnett or MTV's producers could ever put together.
William Shakespeare once wrote, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players". Though he was referring to actors and comparing a scripted play to life in general, I find this quote to be particularly applicable to the world of sports. Whether it's on a basketball court, a baseball diamond, or a football field, these are all but "stages" for the "players" to entertain the audience with their unscripted dramas.
Few people will make the effort to go watch a movie or a play purely to see a talented actor or actress. It's certainly nice to see an Oscar-worthy performance as compared to Keanu Reeves - but usually, most of us are drawn to the plot of a story much more so than the skills of those who act it out.
In the same way, sports is about much more than high-flying dunks, spectacular touchdown catches, and points on a scoreboard. It's about the people who make those feats possible and what makes them special. Not just the athletes themselves, but the coaches, the organizations, and of course the fans as well. When we watch a game, we're not just rooting for a random logo on a jersey, but who's wearing that jersey and what it stands for.
Having said all of that, it brings me back to my point of feeling uninspired by the Superbowl this year. Although there was no shortage of subplots in the 2007-08 NFL season (many of which I listed above), none of these stories really took hold of my attention this year. No matter how supposedly "unique" or "intriguing" it was made out to be by the media, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the storylines, one way or another.
Giants players predicting a victory despite long odds? Been there, done that. Randy Moss with off-the-field troubles? He's been having incidents probably since he was in his mother's womb. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are winners? Like we didn't already know that from their 3 championships this decade. Even the pursuit of 19-0 didn't seem all that special - maybe it's never been done in the NFL, but there's been plenty of monster teams in the history of sports, and plenty of "David and Goliath" matchups like the Pats vs. Giants this year.
I don't know, something about it all just seemed so contrived, old, tired, and I actually started to feel a little disillusioned about the way sports was heading in my mind. Maybe I finally reached the point where I had watched so much sports over the years, that I thought I'd seen it all. It certainly seemed like ESPN was recycling the same formula over and over, and I'd seen every possible ending to every possible storyline.
As I thought about how the Superbowl might unfold, words to the Bon Jovi song kept playing in my mind: "it's all the same... only the names will change". Another year, another Superbowl, another champion to be added to the list in the NFL's history books. It's like watching a movie when you feel like you've already seen the same story 100 times before. How can anyone get excited for that?
And for about 3 1/2 quarters of football on Sunday, not much happened in the game to change my mind. There were some impressive plays made by the Giants defense, but overall, sloppy offense by both teams led to very little scoring from either side. Not much to get excited about if you were a Giants or Patriots fan, let alone a casual observer like me. When the clock started to wind down in the 4th quarter, Brady threw a TD pass to Moss to put them ahead, and as Randy was doing his "swim move" celebration (not sure I understand that one), I think we all figured that would be the final chapter of Superbowl XLII and New England's historic 19-0 season. Boring, to say the least.
But what happened in the moments that followed was simply incredible. It wasn't merely unexpected, it was probably the last thing I thought would happen at that moment. Just when I thought sports was becoming formulaic and overly predictable, the last few minutes of that game takes place, reminding me of how awesome sports can be sometimes, and why we waste so much of our lives to watch people running around on a field.
Of all people, Eli Manning leads his team on a game-winning touchdown drive against one of the (supposedly) greatest teams ever, and in the biggest game of his life no less. On the key play of the drive, he escapes the clutches of several pass rushers and launches a desperate throw towards David Tyree (certainly not his #1 option). And Tyree, someone you've never heard of unless you're really into NFL football, makes one of the most amazing catches of all time. A day later, I still can't believe he was able to trap the ball between his arm and his HELMET and hold onto it as he fell, all the while having Pro-Bowl safety Rodney Harrison draped on him. Everything about that play was ridiculous, crazy, and awesome.
It's been a while since a single play has caused me to spontaneously jump up and yell out of sheer exhiliration. The last time I can remember anything similar was in the 2005 Elite Eight game between Illinois and Arizona, when Deron Williams hit a game-tying 3 to bring the Illini back from 15 down in the 2nd half. In moments like those, you don't even think about what else is going on. All you know is that something completely insane just happened and you'll never experience something quite like it again.
In a way, this was more captivating than Deron's shot, because I'm not even a Giants fan (not saying it made me happier, just that it was a more thrilling moment). I actually happened to really dislike the Giants for the past few years, partly because of Eli and the whole draft/trade debacle with San Diego. And it's hard for me to root for New York in anything to begin with, especially when all you ever hear about is New York teams in the national media. Add onto that annoying personalities like Tom Coughlin, Plaxico Burress, and Jeremy Shockey, it doesn't make for a likable team. On top of that, Randy Moss has been my favorite NFL player since he was a rookie with the Vikings, so a part of me kind of hoped that he would win the championship, even if I wasn't actively rooting for it.
The odd thing is, not only did that sequence of events win the game and the NFL championship for the Giants, it also won me over and totally changed my opinion of that team and the story behind it. All of a sudden, I stopped seeing Eli as a pampered brat who lived off the family name, and dug his own hole by demanding to play in New York instead of San Diego. Instead, I kind of started to feel bad for the kid - overshadowed by his father and older brother his whole life, disrespected by just about everyone around him.
And Plaxico Burress, even though he's still a typical big-mouth wide receiver and probably always will be, I have to give him props for the fact that Tom Brady now looks like the idiot for their pre-game trash talk (see link). Even Coughlin seems to deserve some redemption for lightening up a little bit after Tiki Barber's smear campaign against him during the past year or two. The only guy on the team that I still despise is Shockey, and in a bit of poetic justice, he was never a real part of this championship. It's only fitting that no one is sorry that he missed the entire playoff run with his injury.
What I appreciate most about the whole thing is that this Giants victory wasn't your typical underdog/David vs. Goliath story. We've seen that story before in sports in the form of crazy upsets, and dare I say, it's kind of played out at this point. "Rooting for the underdog" has become such a cliche these days that sometimes, I almost end up feeling sorry for the favorites instead.
There will be many self-proclaimed analysts who choose to compare this game to Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, or Villanova upsetting Georgetown, but as for me, I don't see it that way at all. This was one of those sports stories that you just can't categorize or compare to anything else. It was a crazy, unique series of events, but it didn't feel like a fluke that the Giants won. And as much as people villainized Belichick and the Patriots for cheating/trash talking/running up the score, it still seemed kind of silly to make this matchup into a "good vs. evil" thing. There were plenty of reasons to dislike both sides, just as each team had its redeeming qualities too. If you ask me, it's much more interesting to dissect a situation like that, than to simply break everything down into black and white terms.
In the end, I guess it just makes me happy to know that no matter how many games I may watch in my lifetime, or how many times it might seem like the same storylines repeated, that at least once in a while, something like the end of Superbowl XLII can still surprise and inspire me as a fan. The world of sports can definitely be a frustrating one at times, and as I get older it does seems to be getting worse for wear - but it's definitely nice to be reminded now and again of why I still watch.
Leading up to this year's Superbowl, I found myself caring a lot less about the so-called "Big Game" than I have in the past. It's kind of weird because I remember all throughout high school and college, the Superbowl was such a huge deal for me and my friends. Especially last year when the Bears were involved, the hype could not have been any bigger for one game.
But this season, I mostly stopped paying attention to football once it became obvious that the Bears weren't going to be a factor. Even though the media kept hyping up all the storylines - Patriots quest for 19-0, Brett Favre's resurgence, Jessica Simpson distracting the Cowboys, Patriots cheating behind the scenes, the continuing Colts vs. Patriots rivalry, etc., I couldn't help but feel a bit bored by it all.
Maybe "bored" isn't the right word, but "uninspired" seems to describe my feeling pretty well. Something about the atmosphere and background leading up to the Superbowl was completely uninspiring to me, and I couldn't quite figure out exactly why I felt that way.
The thing is, as much as I dislike how ESPN tries to manufacture off-the-field stories, I guess the fact that they do, highlights what sports is all about to the me as a fan. As I have written about in the past, the biggest reason I follow sports is because I love watching the storylines that go along with the games. I mean, the highlights are great and all, and nothing compares to the excitement of watching a great game in person. But ultimately, sports to me is one giant reality show that trumps anything Mark Burnett or MTV's producers could ever put together.
William Shakespeare once wrote, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players". Though he was referring to actors and comparing a scripted play to life in general, I find this quote to be particularly applicable to the world of sports. Whether it's on a basketball court, a baseball diamond, or a football field, these are all but "stages" for the "players" to entertain the audience with their unscripted dramas.
Few people will make the effort to go watch a movie or a play purely to see a talented actor or actress. It's certainly nice to see an Oscar-worthy performance as compared to Keanu Reeves - but usually, most of us are drawn to the plot of a story much more so than the skills of those who act it out.
In the same way, sports is about much more than high-flying dunks, spectacular touchdown catches, and points on a scoreboard. It's about the people who make those feats possible and what makes them special. Not just the athletes themselves, but the coaches, the organizations, and of course the fans as well. When we watch a game, we're not just rooting for a random logo on a jersey, but who's wearing that jersey and what it stands for.
Having said all of that, it brings me back to my point of feeling uninspired by the Superbowl this year. Although there was no shortage of subplots in the 2007-08 NFL season (many of which I listed above), none of these stories really took hold of my attention this year. No matter how supposedly "unique" or "intriguing" it was made out to be by the media, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the storylines, one way or another.
Giants players predicting a victory despite long odds? Been there, done that. Randy Moss with off-the-field troubles? He's been having incidents probably since he was in his mother's womb. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are winners? Like we didn't already know that from their 3 championships this decade. Even the pursuit of 19-0 didn't seem all that special - maybe it's never been done in the NFL, but there's been plenty of monster teams in the history of sports, and plenty of "David and Goliath" matchups like the Pats vs. Giants this year.
I don't know, something about it all just seemed so contrived, old, tired, and I actually started to feel a little disillusioned about the way sports was heading in my mind. Maybe I finally reached the point where I had watched so much sports over the years, that I thought I'd seen it all. It certainly seemed like ESPN was recycling the same formula over and over, and I'd seen every possible ending to every possible storyline.
As I thought about how the Superbowl might unfold, words to the Bon Jovi song kept playing in my mind: "it's all the same... only the names will change". Another year, another Superbowl, another champion to be added to the list in the NFL's history books. It's like watching a movie when you feel like you've already seen the same story 100 times before. How can anyone get excited for that?
And for about 3 1/2 quarters of football on Sunday, not much happened in the game to change my mind. There were some impressive plays made by the Giants defense, but overall, sloppy offense by both teams led to very little scoring from either side. Not much to get excited about if you were a Giants or Patriots fan, let alone a casual observer like me. When the clock started to wind down in the 4th quarter, Brady threw a TD pass to Moss to put them ahead, and as Randy was doing his "swim move" celebration (not sure I understand that one), I think we all figured that would be the final chapter of Superbowl XLII and New England's historic 19-0 season. Boring, to say the least.
But what happened in the moments that followed was simply incredible. It wasn't merely unexpected, it was probably the last thing I thought would happen at that moment. Just when I thought sports was becoming formulaic and overly predictable, the last few minutes of that game takes place, reminding me of how awesome sports can be sometimes, and why we waste so much of our lives to watch people running around on a field.
Of all people, Eli Manning leads his team on a game-winning touchdown drive against one of the (supposedly) greatest teams ever, and in the biggest game of his life no less. On the key play of the drive, he escapes the clutches of several pass rushers and launches a desperate throw towards David Tyree (certainly not his #1 option). And Tyree, someone you've never heard of unless you're really into NFL football, makes one of the most amazing catches of all time. A day later, I still can't believe he was able to trap the ball between his arm and his HELMET and hold onto it as he fell, all the while having Pro-Bowl safety Rodney Harrison draped on him. Everything about that play was ridiculous, crazy, and awesome.
It's been a while since a single play has caused me to spontaneously jump up and yell out of sheer exhiliration. The last time I can remember anything similar was in the 2005 Elite Eight game between Illinois and Arizona, when Deron Williams hit a game-tying 3 to bring the Illini back from 15 down in the 2nd half. In moments like those, you don't even think about what else is going on. All you know is that something completely insane just happened and you'll never experience something quite like it again.
In a way, this was more captivating than Deron's shot, because I'm not even a Giants fan (not saying it made me happier, just that it was a more thrilling moment). I actually happened to really dislike the Giants for the past few years, partly because of Eli and the whole draft/trade debacle with San Diego. And it's hard for me to root for New York in anything to begin with, especially when all you ever hear about is New York teams in the national media. Add onto that annoying personalities like Tom Coughlin, Plaxico Burress, and Jeremy Shockey, it doesn't make for a likable team. On top of that, Randy Moss has been my favorite NFL player since he was a rookie with the Vikings, so a part of me kind of hoped that he would win the championship, even if I wasn't actively rooting for it.
The odd thing is, not only did that sequence of events win the game and the NFL championship for the Giants, it also won me over and totally changed my opinion of that team and the story behind it. All of a sudden, I stopped seeing Eli as a pampered brat who lived off the family name, and dug his own hole by demanding to play in New York instead of San Diego. Instead, I kind of started to feel bad for the kid - overshadowed by his father and older brother his whole life, disrespected by just about everyone around him.
And Plaxico Burress, even though he's still a typical big-mouth wide receiver and probably always will be, I have to give him props for the fact that Tom Brady now looks like the idiot for their pre-game trash talk (see link). Even Coughlin seems to deserve some redemption for lightening up a little bit after Tiki Barber's smear campaign against him during the past year or two. The only guy on the team that I still despise is Shockey, and in a bit of poetic justice, he was never a real part of this championship. It's only fitting that no one is sorry that he missed the entire playoff run with his injury.
What I appreciate most about the whole thing is that this Giants victory wasn't your typical underdog/David vs. Goliath story. We've seen that story before in sports in the form of crazy upsets, and dare I say, it's kind of played out at this point. "Rooting for the underdog" has become such a cliche these days that sometimes, I almost end up feeling sorry for the favorites instead.
There will be many self-proclaimed analysts who choose to compare this game to Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, or Villanova upsetting Georgetown, but as for me, I don't see it that way at all. This was one of those sports stories that you just can't categorize or compare to anything else. It was a crazy, unique series of events, but it didn't feel like a fluke that the Giants won. And as much as people villainized Belichick and the Patriots for cheating/trash talking/running up the score, it still seemed kind of silly to make this matchup into a "good vs. evil" thing. There were plenty of reasons to dislike both sides, just as each team had its redeeming qualities too. If you ask me, it's much more interesting to dissect a situation like that, than to simply break everything down into black and white terms.
In the end, I guess it just makes me happy to know that no matter how many games I may watch in my lifetime, or how many times it might seem like the same storylines repeated, that at least once in a while, something like the end of Superbowl XLII can still surprise and inspire me as a fan. The world of sports can definitely be a frustrating one at times, and as I get older it does seems to be getting worse for wear - but it's definitely nice to be reminded now and again of why I still watch.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
XOXO, Gossip Girl
Thanks to a certain someone I know, one of my recent guilty pleasures is watching the show "Gossip Girl" on CW. Now, I'm no stranger to trashy TV, but it's mostly been limited to your half-hour MTV reality shows like Real World or Laguna Beach. And while people have suggested to me that I should check out shows like Dawson's Creek or The O.C., I've never gotten into any teen-dramas like that before. Not sure why, but I think mostly it's because I have trouble staying attentive for 1 hour long episodes - I can't really even follow a season of 24 or Heroes, shows that everyone thinks is so intense and addictive.
Well, I guess the times, they are a changin'. Somehow I found myself watching a random episode of GG one day, and then I stumbled on another one a couple months later, just flipping channels. Obviously there was a big gap in the story between with all the time passed, so that got me wondering what happened in the months in between. Next thing you know, I've downloaded all 13 episodes and watched them in a matter of only a couple weeks.
Judge me all you want, but I find it to be actually a very well written show. Even though the premise is kind of stupid (okay, extremely stupid), and in typical teen-drama fashion the storylines are over-the-top, the character development is what sets GG apart for me. You actually kind of identify a little bit with almost everyone on the show, including both the "good" characters and the "bad" ones, the older generation as well as the younger one too. Also, I guess if I was a shallow person, I would say that it helps that the main girl is really hot - but I'm not a shallow person, so I won't say that.
The other key for me is, the music they choose for the show always goes well with the scenes that they're used in. That's one of the things I liked most about Laguna Beach or the Hills. Most TV shows fail to ever use the right song in the right situation, they just end up throwing in some generic cheesy music in key moments (like Full House for example, haha). But seriously, whoever is responsible for coming up with the songs for Gossip Girl does an exceptional job of capturing the moment and fitting it to the right song. Actually I heard somewhere that it's mostly a credit to Josh Schwartz (co-creator of GG), who did the same thing when he worked on The OC. But again, I never watched that show enough to know one way or another.
Anyways, the worst part of this whole thing is that I now find myself feeling kind of angry about the writer's strike. Whereas before, I didn't really care about the strike because I didn't follow any shows that were affected, now it's become an issue for me. I'm actually kind of upset that it's going to be only reruns from now until the strike is resolved. What's going to happen with Serena and Dan? Is Jenny heading down the wrong path towards materialism and ruin? Why does one of the main characters have the same name as an NBA player from the 70's (Nate Archibald)? Ugh, I think I need help.
Thanks to a certain someone I know, one of my recent guilty pleasures is watching the show "Gossip Girl" on CW. Now, I'm no stranger to trashy TV, but it's mostly been limited to your half-hour MTV reality shows like Real World or Laguna Beach. And while people have suggested to me that I should check out shows like Dawson's Creek or The O.C., I've never gotten into any teen-dramas like that before. Not sure why, but I think mostly it's because I have trouble staying attentive for 1 hour long episodes - I can't really even follow a season of 24 or Heroes, shows that everyone thinks is so intense and addictive.
Well, I guess the times, they are a changin'. Somehow I found myself watching a random episode of GG one day, and then I stumbled on another one a couple months later, just flipping channels. Obviously there was a big gap in the story between with all the time passed, so that got me wondering what happened in the months in between. Next thing you know, I've downloaded all 13 episodes and watched them in a matter of only a couple weeks.
Judge me all you want, but I find it to be actually a very well written show. Even though the premise is kind of stupid (okay, extremely stupid), and in typical teen-drama fashion the storylines are over-the-top, the character development is what sets GG apart for me. You actually kind of identify a little bit with almost everyone on the show, including both the "good" characters and the "bad" ones, the older generation as well as the younger one too. Also, I guess if I was a shallow person, I would say that it helps that the main girl is really hot - but I'm not a shallow person, so I won't say that.
The other key for me is, the music they choose for the show always goes well with the scenes that they're used in. That's one of the things I liked most about Laguna Beach or the Hills. Most TV shows fail to ever use the right song in the right situation, they just end up throwing in some generic cheesy music in key moments (like Full House for example, haha). But seriously, whoever is responsible for coming up with the songs for Gossip Girl does an exceptional job of capturing the moment and fitting it to the right song. Actually I heard somewhere that it's mostly a credit to Josh Schwartz (co-creator of GG), who did the same thing when he worked on The OC. But again, I never watched that show enough to know one way or another.
Anyways, the worst part of this whole thing is that I now find myself feeling kind of angry about the writer's strike. Whereas before, I didn't really care about the strike because I didn't follow any shows that were affected, now it's become an issue for me. I'm actually kind of upset that it's going to be only reruns from now until the strike is resolved. What's going to happen with Serena and Dan? Is Jenny heading down the wrong path towards materialism and ruin? Why does one of the main characters have the same name as an NBA player from the 70's (Nate Archibald)? Ugh, I think I need help.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Rebel Without A Cause
As I've written about before in this blog, I definitely racked up my share of speeding tickets and parking tickets throughout my college years. I've been pulled over in almost every county between Cook and Champaign, I've gotten clocked for going as much as 34 over the limit or as little as 9 over, and I've done everything from court supervision to traffic school as ordered by the judge. And in terms of parking, I probably paid hundreds of dollars in total fines while I was on campus, which is a lot considering tickets were only about $5-10 a pop at the time. Not to mention I also got towed a few times, which cost me a good chunk of change too.
But after graduation, I've actually managed to maintain a very clean record. Despite the fact that I traded my Maxima for a much faster car, I probably drove slower overall in the Infiniti than I did in college. Maybe it's a sign that I've gotten wiser and more sensible in my old age, maybe it's because traffic in Chicago sucks too much to drive fast anyways, or maybe it's just good luck.
Whatever it was, all of that has gone out the window in the past few weeks. I've already shared the detailed story with some people, but to sum up, I've gotten a zone parking ticket ($50), speeding 21-30mph over limit ($100+), and now a citation for "disobeying traffic signal" ($75).
The last one is definitely the most annoying - it was the middle of a typical weekday, in a fairly empty parking lot, and apparently I didn't come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Cop came out of nowhere and wrote me a ticket, as well as admonishing me for having illegally tinted front windows. He didn't write me up for that part, because I was a good enough citizen for having my front license plate mounted, but whatever. I'm guessing the fact that when he asked me for my license, I had to tell him it was being held as bond for my speeding ticket from only a few days ago, didn't exactly help my cause.
So now, not only do I owe the stupid government a couple hundred bucks in fines, but I also have to do the court supervision and traffic school thing just to keep these tickets off my insurance record. Wack. The worst part is that I'm starting to second-guess myself at every stop sign if I stopped fully enough. Or every time a light turns yellow, trying to judge whether I should stop or not. I feel like Superman but robbed of my powers.
Oh, and I was just kidding about the "stupid government" part. Our government's awesome, what am I saying.
As I've written about before in this blog, I definitely racked up my share of speeding tickets and parking tickets throughout my college years. I've been pulled over in almost every county between Cook and Champaign, I've gotten clocked for going as much as 34 over the limit or as little as 9 over, and I've done everything from court supervision to traffic school as ordered by the judge. And in terms of parking, I probably paid hundreds of dollars in total fines while I was on campus, which is a lot considering tickets were only about $5-10 a pop at the time. Not to mention I also got towed a few times, which cost me a good chunk of change too.
But after graduation, I've actually managed to maintain a very clean record. Despite the fact that I traded my Maxima for a much faster car, I probably drove slower overall in the Infiniti than I did in college. Maybe it's a sign that I've gotten wiser and more sensible in my old age, maybe it's because traffic in Chicago sucks too much to drive fast anyways, or maybe it's just good luck.
Whatever it was, all of that has gone out the window in the past few weeks. I've already shared the detailed story with some people, but to sum up, I've gotten a zone parking ticket ($50), speeding 21-30mph over limit ($100+), and now a citation for "disobeying traffic signal" ($75).
The last one is definitely the most annoying - it was the middle of a typical weekday, in a fairly empty parking lot, and apparently I didn't come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Cop came out of nowhere and wrote me a ticket, as well as admonishing me for having illegally tinted front windows. He didn't write me up for that part, because I was a good enough citizen for having my front license plate mounted, but whatever. I'm guessing the fact that when he asked me for my license, I had to tell him it was being held as bond for my speeding ticket from only a few days ago, didn't exactly help my cause.
So now, not only do I owe the stupid government a couple hundred bucks in fines, but I also have to do the court supervision and traffic school thing just to keep these tickets off my insurance record. Wack. The worst part is that I'm starting to second-guess myself at every stop sign if I stopped fully enough. Or every time a light turns yellow, trying to judge whether I should stop or not. I feel like Superman but robbed of my powers.
Oh, and I was just kidding about the "stupid government" part. Our government's awesome, what am I saying.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
2007 Year In Review
Incredibly, another year has passed in our lives and in the blink of an eye, 2007 is nearly over. But before we welcome in the new beginnings of '08, I'd like to say a few words of reflection on this past year.
Though time seems to fly by faster and memories seem to start blurring together more and more as I get older, 2007 was definitely a year that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It was a year of a lot of growth in my life (obviously not in a physical sense) and on the whole, I definitely went through a lot of important experiences that have really impacted who I am as a person.
It would be far too crazy for me to list every single thing that's happened in the past 12 months (though knowing me, I might just try). But certainly the most important highlight that I'd have to mention when looking back at 2007 is my baptism. Not just the day itself, but I'm seeing that so much of my life centers around that decision - the years of thinking and praying that led up to it, and the short few months that have followed since then are all heavily influenced by what baptism means to me.
I don't intend to preach extensively about my religion in this blog, but speaking from my heart for a moment, I really do believe that baptism is the most important act of my life to date and I wish everyone could share it with me. As I shared in my testimony that day, God has been teaching me so much about what *faith* means, and with every passing day I'm continuing to learn more and more about why I need it so much in my heart. While I grew up in a Christian family and have been going to church my entire life, it hasn't been until the past year that so many of the Bible verses and praise songs have started to truly come alive for me. The words that I've been reading, singing, even sharing with others for so many years, really have taken on such deeper meaning to me in the past year, and I don't think I would have grown so much without first taking that step of faith. That's all I'll say about the subject here for now, but I hope that if anyone out there cares to talk about these things more, you would not hesitate to seek me out. I would be more that happy to share the rest of my thoughts and feelings.
One thing I certainly experienced a lot of in 2007, perhaps for the first time in my life, was failure. Not to say this in an arrogant way, but I do think that the first 26 years of my life were relatively "easy" for me. For as long as I can remember, I've been able to succeed at everything I've truly put my mind to - whether it be school, relationships, work, or whatever little or big thing it may be. But in the past year, I found myself falling short in almost every area that was important to me. It definitely hurt to struggle so much, especially when I've become accustomed to having everything go smoothly all the time. But as I look back and think about these experiences, I can see that they needed to happen in my life, and not a moment later. Not only this, but while many of these failures seemed to converge in 2007 specifically, I can also see that they've all resulted from many mistakes I've made in the years leading up to this one.
Failure is obviously not a good thing, but as people often say, you have to fail in order to succeed. When I talk about the personal growth I've been going through during the past year or so, so much of it is closely related to the missteps and stumbles I experienced. It seems that many times in life, we need to be bluntly faced with our own weaknesses before we can learn from them and do something about it. In a way, I'm seeing that failures and struggles are the "growing pains" that all of us must go through in order to move forward and mature in our lives, much like the physical awkwardness that accompanies those dreaded years of puberty we'd all like to forget. I do hope that these experiences will keep spurring me to grow throughout the rest of my life
Another thing I'll definitely remember 2007 for, is the people who have come and gone in my life. Again, for perhaps the first time in my life, I've had to say goodbye to some that were extremely close to me, which has not been easy at all. It simply sucks to part with someone you loved dearly, and although I'm sure there will be more difficult farewells I'll face in the future, I don't think I'll ever get used to the feeling. For that matter, I don't think I *want* to get used to that feeling.
At the same time, I'm so very thankful for the new people that have become a big (or bigger) part of my life in the past year. Some of you I've literally only met in this year for the first time, while others I have known for much longer, but have luckily gotten a chance to reconnect with in recent months. And of course, still another very important individual has entered my life by way of the local pet store (okay, so Sally isn't a person, but she still deserves mention here).
I've always felt that few things in life, if any, are more important than the relationships you build. You can earn all the money in the world, or spend your whole life trying to make yourself happy, but in the end, none of that means anything and you can't take any of those possessions or selfish pleasures with you. I would hope that some day as I look back on my life, it would not be defined by my personal achievements of glory, but by the way I impacted those around me in a (hopefully) positive way. While I often lose track of this and have wandered off in my selfish world many times in the past, I feel so encouraged by the people that have become a bigger part of my life in 2007 and hope that in return, I'll be more a blessing to them in the coming years as well.
All of my sappy thoughts aside, some other important notes from the past year include (in no particular order):
- An awesome vacation in San Diego and Vegas (see 9/18/07 entry for recap)
- The Bears making it to the SuperBowl (even though they lost, it was still an exciting time for all of us in Chicago)
- Illini football making a comeback and somehow getting picked for the Rose Bowl (results TBD until New Years Day - it could be a fantastic start to 2008, do we dare to get our hopes up?)
- Grace moving on from being our 3rd housemate, to bigger and better things (marriage)
- Taking on some new responsibilities at work, as a committee chair for an employee organization
- Quitting fantasy sports entirely (Of all the recent changes in my life that I've shared with people - breakup of a 5+ year relationship and working towards a career switch, this is somehow the one that seems to surprise people the most. Not quite sure what to think of that fact.)
- Finally entering the world of High-Definition TV and using a DVR (quickly becoming hooked on Food Network HD and Planet Earth)
- Starting a Facebook account (gotta keep up with the kids these days)
- Getting a Nintendo Wii, my first iPod (well, a hand-me-down from the sis, but whatever), and new sunglasses
- Eating lots of good food (way too much to list here!)
- Turned down a Victoria Secret model (sorry, I'm all about personality)
Quite a list there, but perhaps the best part of it all is, the year is not quite over yet. Still a few days left in 2007, and I have a feeling there will be more to add before we ring in the new year. But if I don't see you all before then, let me just wish everyone out there a Happy New Year and many great things to come in 2008!
Incredibly, another year has passed in our lives and in the blink of an eye, 2007 is nearly over. But before we welcome in the new beginnings of '08, I'd like to say a few words of reflection on this past year.
Though time seems to fly by faster and memories seem to start blurring together more and more as I get older, 2007 was definitely a year that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It was a year of a lot of growth in my life (obviously not in a physical sense) and on the whole, I definitely went through a lot of important experiences that have really impacted who I am as a person.
It would be far too crazy for me to list every single thing that's happened in the past 12 months (though knowing me, I might just try). But certainly the most important highlight that I'd have to mention when looking back at 2007 is my baptism. Not just the day itself, but I'm seeing that so much of my life centers around that decision - the years of thinking and praying that led up to it, and the short few months that have followed since then are all heavily influenced by what baptism means to me.
I don't intend to preach extensively about my religion in this blog, but speaking from my heart for a moment, I really do believe that baptism is the most important act of my life to date and I wish everyone could share it with me. As I shared in my testimony that day, God has been teaching me so much about what *faith* means, and with every passing day I'm continuing to learn more and more about why I need it so much in my heart. While I grew up in a Christian family and have been going to church my entire life, it hasn't been until the past year that so many of the Bible verses and praise songs have started to truly come alive for me. The words that I've been reading, singing, even sharing with others for so many years, really have taken on such deeper meaning to me in the past year, and I don't think I would have grown so much without first taking that step of faith. That's all I'll say about the subject here for now, but I hope that if anyone out there cares to talk about these things more, you would not hesitate to seek me out. I would be more that happy to share the rest of my thoughts and feelings.
One thing I certainly experienced a lot of in 2007, perhaps for the first time in my life, was failure. Not to say this in an arrogant way, but I do think that the first 26 years of my life were relatively "easy" for me. For as long as I can remember, I've been able to succeed at everything I've truly put my mind to - whether it be school, relationships, work, or whatever little or big thing it may be. But in the past year, I found myself falling short in almost every area that was important to me. It definitely hurt to struggle so much, especially when I've become accustomed to having everything go smoothly all the time. But as I look back and think about these experiences, I can see that they needed to happen in my life, and not a moment later. Not only this, but while many of these failures seemed to converge in 2007 specifically, I can also see that they've all resulted from many mistakes I've made in the years leading up to this one.
Failure is obviously not a good thing, but as people often say, you have to fail in order to succeed. When I talk about the personal growth I've been going through during the past year or so, so much of it is closely related to the missteps and stumbles I experienced. It seems that many times in life, we need to be bluntly faced with our own weaknesses before we can learn from them and do something about it. In a way, I'm seeing that failures and struggles are the "growing pains" that all of us must go through in order to move forward and mature in our lives, much like the physical awkwardness that accompanies those dreaded years of puberty we'd all like to forget. I do hope that these experiences will keep spurring me to grow throughout the rest of my life
Another thing I'll definitely remember 2007 for, is the people who have come and gone in my life. Again, for perhaps the first time in my life, I've had to say goodbye to some that were extremely close to me, which has not been easy at all. It simply sucks to part with someone you loved dearly, and although I'm sure there will be more difficult farewells I'll face in the future, I don't think I'll ever get used to the feeling. For that matter, I don't think I *want* to get used to that feeling.
At the same time, I'm so very thankful for the new people that have become a big (or bigger) part of my life in the past year. Some of you I've literally only met in this year for the first time, while others I have known for much longer, but have luckily gotten a chance to reconnect with in recent months. And of course, still another very important individual has entered my life by way of the local pet store (okay, so Sally isn't a person, but she still deserves mention here).
I've always felt that few things in life, if any, are more important than the relationships you build. You can earn all the money in the world, or spend your whole life trying to make yourself happy, but in the end, none of that means anything and you can't take any of those possessions or selfish pleasures with you. I would hope that some day as I look back on my life, it would not be defined by my personal achievements of glory, but by the way I impacted those around me in a (hopefully) positive way. While I often lose track of this and have wandered off in my selfish world many times in the past, I feel so encouraged by the people that have become a bigger part of my life in 2007 and hope that in return, I'll be more a blessing to them in the coming years as well.
All of my sappy thoughts aside, some other important notes from the past year include (in no particular order):
- An awesome vacation in San Diego and Vegas (see 9/18/07 entry for recap)
- The Bears making it to the SuperBowl (even though they lost, it was still an exciting time for all of us in Chicago)
- Illini football making a comeback and somehow getting picked for the Rose Bowl (results TBD until New Years Day - it could be a fantastic start to 2008, do we dare to get our hopes up?)
- Grace moving on from being our 3rd housemate, to bigger and better things (marriage)
- Taking on some new responsibilities at work, as a committee chair for an employee organization
- Quitting fantasy sports entirely (Of all the recent changes in my life that I've shared with people - breakup of a 5+ year relationship and working towards a career switch, this is somehow the one that seems to surprise people the most. Not quite sure what to think of that fact.)
- Finally entering the world of High-Definition TV and using a DVR (quickly becoming hooked on Food Network HD and Planet Earth)
- Starting a Facebook account (gotta keep up with the kids these days)
- Getting a Nintendo Wii, my first iPod (well, a hand-me-down from the sis, but whatever), and new sunglasses
- Eating lots of good food (way too much to list here!)
- Turned down a Victoria Secret model (sorry, I'm all about personality)
Quite a list there, but perhaps the best part of it all is, the year is not quite over yet. Still a few days left in 2007, and I have a feeling there will be more to add before we ring in the new year. But if I don't see you all before then, let me just wish everyone out there a Happy New Year and many great things to come in 2008!
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