Done with Schewww!

I just finished my first semester at UNF and it went very well, I did not receive the grades I thought I would at the beginning of the semester, but I did pass everything and I'm most definitely a better writer than I was five months ago.

I'm looking for internships and publishers where I can get my content published. My advanced writing for the media teacher was very adamant about writing right now and getting your work published now so you can start a portfolio and have something to show businesses once you graduate.

There's no doubt that I've grown as a writer and a person in my five months away from home. I'm very proud of myself for all that I've accomplished this semester and I'm looking forward to the spring semester more than I've ever looked forward to school in my life.

One Down, One To Go

I just finished writing my five page philosophy paper in just under 6 hours after procrastinating it the entire weekend. You're a towel! I'm very happy it's done, but now all my focus goes onto the harder of the two assignment I have this week, a group presentation.

I hate public speaking! I don't think anyone ever says, "Yes, I got chosen to speak in from of 50 other people this week, I'm really excited." That's just not how it works. I'm still stressed out, but knowing that I've gotten through half the battle (the paper) I'm very confident that Wednesday will pass by without a hiccup and my life will continue on as it has been since 1988.

I wish this stupid meteor shower would start, so I could just go to sleep already. I have to be up at nine tomorrow morning and it's already three in the morning. Tomorrow's going to be an awesome day, I can feel it. I've got 10 more minutes left in me, but that's it.

Almost There

I'm so close to finishing my first semester at UNF (with good grades) and the stress, pressure, work, and overall experience of being on my own and having to do everything for myself is finally starting to catch up with me. The first three months went by rather smooth with easy assignments and enough cash to play golf each of the first four weeks. But now that I have run out of YMCA money and am living solely of my parents at the moment, money is tight and I feel stupid for spending so much in my first month up here. I'm hungry most of the time because I'm living off frosted flakes and salads, and I can't do any fun activities without feeling guilty for spending my food and gas money on anything but those things. I have a five page paper due Tuesday, a presentation due Wednesday, and I've barely started either one of them. The next three days are crunch time and it sucks, but I guess that's life.

I can't wait to go home and have some homemade meat loaf, spaghetti, ride a bike, and just lay down and take a nap on the couch with bundles, and not have to worry about Cody nipping at my ankles or barking at me for no reason.

A Day in the Life of Sco

It's three in the morning, I'm in the loo and I thought I would enlighten anyone who cares to read about my life as to what took place in it today.

I woke up at the ridiculus hour of 5 AM after falling asleep just three hours earlier and drove to hockey practice. Practice wasn't as hard this week as it has been in the past two. Maybe I'm starting to get in shape, or maybe it just wasn't that hard of a practice, hopefully it's the former. After driving home from practice I had an onion bagel, my first ever protein powder drink (it was good), and cleaned up the kitchen a little. I then did some homework and napped from nine to eleven.

I woke up and went to class to take my first style quiz in my Advanced Writing for the Media class. It didn't go as well as I would've hoped, but now I know what to expect and can prepare better for the next one. I came home after class picking up a Publix sub on the way and ate it while watching some afternoon Sportscenter. Brandon and I then went back to school for our late afternoon class. After class we returned home, I aired out my hockey equipment on the roof of my car while I watched it like a hawk from inside the apartment and read The Lexus and the Olive Tree. I nearly fell asleep in the chair and was about to go to bed when Jen and Brandon said they were going to play tennis. I decided to go with them so I wouldn't fall asleep at six O'clock and get on a horrible schedule. After driving around what felt like the entire city of Jacksonville looking for an open tennis court, we found one and played for about an hour and a half. Upon returning from our tennis adventure, we enjoyed some China Garden and I went to bed falling asleep almost instantly.

It is now 3:11 AM, and I am wide awake as if I had slept through the night; this is not good. I am going to try and watch a boring movie to see if that will put me back to sleep till hopefully seven or eight. Wish me luck.

Ready To Go.

After two weeks of classes, my first UNF hockey practice and enough reading to last me the semester, I finally got a break to relax this weekend with Meghan and Steve coming up to hangout. It wasn't what the doctor ordered, but I had some good times. I was just getting into the flow of things, and a weekend of just chilling and not doing much of anything was fun, but not what I needed. The important thing to do right now however, is to get right back on the wagon and start reading again. I need to start eating good and working out again. God knows when we play the #2 ranked division III team in the nation I'm going to need some agility and endurance.

No more drinking until we've won a game, I'm saying it now. I can eat great and workout as much as I want, but drinking will put back on any weight I may have lost. I simply cannot do it when I'm playing a sport.

Welcome to Jax

It's been five days since I moved in with Jen and Brandon up here in Jacksonville and things could not be going much better. My first night up here was spent unpacking all my stuff and getting situated in my new room. My room is astronomical in size compared to my 8x6 cell I was living in last fall. The next night was pretty enjoyable, my cousin Toby called us up and wanted to know if we wanted to go watch the football game somewhere. I had just eaten and didn't really want to go anywhere, so I told him no and hung up. Then five minutes later, realizing he was sitting alone at his apartment and how much of an idiot I was for not inviting him over to watch the games and hangout, I called him back and invited him over to the apartment to watch the game here. We shared some laughs over my stupidity later on. A few drinks later we were discussing Chuck's temper and just how funny he is, then we went to Walmart around 2 O'Clock and grabbed some frozen pizzas; they were good.

The next day (Saturday) started off with some pain in the morning, but then it was all uphill from there. I went to the Jax ice rink and played pick up hockey with some of the guys from the UNF and UF hockey teams. Not only could I keep up with them, but I was playing well with them. Passing, shooting, and even getting a little physical with the largest guy on the UF team. I made a great saucer pass through the goal mouth to a Florida player who banged it home for a goal; it looked really sweet and got some "WOO'S" from the benches. I talked to the captain of the UNF team and I'm going to a meeting on Saturday to talk about joining the team. Sunday I woke up earlier and had some breakfast preparing for the day at hand. Toby, Brandon, Brian, (Brandon's military friend) and myself all went to Windy Harbor Golf course located on the Naval base in Jacksonville. I didn't play great, but it was still a great time. Playing golf while fighter jets and helicopters take off and land within half a mile from where you're standing was sweet to say the least.

Today was the first day of classes at UNF and holy cow was it completely different from what I've come to know and expect from SPC. The classes are larger and seem a little bit tougher, the school is probably 3-5 times larger than SPC, and the girls are hotter and there's 3-5 times more of them; I can tell I'm going to like it up here already.

Trail Mix of Stuff

It's been a while since I've sat down and wrote anything. I've kind of been taking a break from everything since I finished up school two weeks ago, but after watching True Blood tonight I felt like I would write a little. Tonight was the best episode of True Blood this season and maybe the best so far in it's first two seasons. Answers, answers, and more answers, it seemed like they were gifting us with so many answers after having to wait 6 or 7 episodes to build the plot for this season. Not only did we get many answers in this episode, but many new questions have arisen as well. This is truly my favorite show on TV right now and I'm very happy I started watching it. I now also have my sister hooked on it and as far as I can tell she is also enjoying it very much.

Today also marked a milestone in my life; One I'm proud, yet embarassed to mention. I wore spandex in public today. Now before anyone jumps to any rash conclusions, it was for a good reason. I've recently been getting into cycling and my dad found all his old spandex cycling clothes he used to wear and I wore the spandex pants this morning while riding. It was so much more comfortable than wearing normal workout shorts and safer too. There is padding in the crotchal region and aided in the pain I was experiencing in my first couple rides on the bike. I rode today and was doing awesome until I ran over something and got a flat rear tire. Thankfully I had my phone with me and was able to get picked up instead of having to walk home 3 miles in spandex with a flat tired bike.

I'm currently rewatching season 5 of LOST with my sister right now and it's only making me more sad that there's still 6 months to go before season 6. I really don't know how I'm going to make it. Maybe time travel will be discovered and I can go into the future and get the DVD's so I can finally know what the hell is happening. Well, that's about it. Just getting some stuff off my chest and complaining a little bit. I'm really excited to start school in just over 3 weeks, but even more excited that in a little under 3 weeks I can "Legally" walk into a bar and order a beer. Thanks for caring. ;)

Le Tour de Palm Harbor

Look out 727, I'm on the road, and not in a car. After watching the Tour de France this month just like I do every year, I had the urge to start riding myself. My dad had a road bike that he hasn't been on in probably 5 years, and we took some time today fixing the tubes and tires and getting it rider ready. After about an hour we finally got it in decent shape and I took off up the road and did a couple of laps around the neighborhood. It wasn't entirely comfortable, so I brought it back into the garage and we lowered the seat and I headed back out. I then took off and left the neighborhood traveling 7 miles, man am I going to regret that tomorrow. As I'm writing this there's a part of my butt that's so sore, and I never even knew this part existed. I'll live though, I'm taking the bike tomorrow to chainwheel drive to get the gears fixed (after 5 years of no useage they need a little tune up). I'm so psyched about riding and having an awesome new way to get in shape for hockey in September. Not only is this going to help me breeze through the weight loss competition I'm currently in with my family, (suckers!) but riding a road bike is fun and gives me something else to do over the next month while I have no school and work only 4-6 hours a day. I can only take so much video games and television in a day. Look out Lance, I'll be seeing you in Paris next year.

BB 11: Let the Backstabbing Begin

Big Brother returned tonight, and it did so with unexpected twists and turns just like every other season of BB. Let me start off by saying I've been a faithful BB fan since season 3 or 4. I was a little young for the first couple years and couldn't really comprehend the deceit and deception the game requires. BB is one of the few, "True" reality shows that I can stomach. Mainly because it runs in the summer and I have nothing else to watch except for sports (and now True Blood). However the lure of this show goes a little deeper than having nothing else to watch. Sure the competitions are fun to watch, and faithfully picking a houseguest from the start and watching them go all the way to the final two or three is a real thrill (Dr. Will: BB Allstars). But the true reason I'm drawn into watching this show and I'm sure I'm not alone, is the ability to just watch other people live their lives for three months. It's extremely interesting to see these 13 strangers get thrown into a house that they cannot leave, and learn to co-exist with all the other people. Some become great friends; others begin to completely despise their new housemates. The animosity and hostility that builds throughout the season is unbelievable. Heated words are exchanged every season and fights nearly break out over the littlest things, simply because you can't walk away from any problems. Sure you can go to your room and think about something for a while, but eventually you have to come back out and face the person you just called a, "White trash whore". These are the defining moments that make BB stand out amongst other reality TV shows today and it is the reason it's been on the air for 11 years. Every conversation and emotion is completely and utterly real and of the individuals own accord. Few shows can boast that fact.

This season started off with a great new gameplay element involving high school cliques. Just like back in high school, you had the popular kids, the brainiacs, the athletes, and the off-beats. This season splits the 12 houseguests unwillingly into those four cliques. The big reveal tonight was that if someone from your clique wins Head of Household then they cannot nominate anyone from their own clique. It's like a forced alliance from day one. This is sure to change the game right from the start, and anyone who had their mind set on building an alliance with certain people upon stepping through the front door has most likely had a change of heart after hearing about this. After winning the HOH competion, the athlete's were given a fourth member to their clique who was then designated the HOH. This person was Jesse from BB 10. I was not happy with this news, considering the guy is the biggest meat head in the world and adds almost nothing to the intelligence department that the BB game requires. He didn't win BB 10 and he's not going to win BB 11.

After all was said and done, and the episode came to an end, I think it's safe to say that this season should be a dandy. You've got everything you need to make it a classic. A gay guy, a bisexual girl, the girl with huge fake boobs, the older guy that won't get evicted until the rest of the house is done using him, and the black chick that nobody likes but they keep around because she can't win anything. Let the madness that is Big Brother begin; I Can't wait for the stupid and outrageous things that will happen on Big Brother After Dark.

Falling Into Place

So I just got back from an ass kicking at hockey. Not enough people on the bench = me too tired for words. However I thought I'd take the time to write this because it's great news and I'm very excited about it. I might have a job in Jacksonville before I even venture up there. The city of Jacksonville needs someone to do basically the same thing I'm doing right now at the Ymca. The only difference would be more money, a different company, and more black children. I applied today and should here back in a week or two. I'm super psyched about this and it could mean 200 bucks more a month. I mentioned in a previous blog about stepping out of my comfort zone and this is a prime example. I'm going to take it with open arms and embrace the chance if I'm lucky enough to get it.

*Killswitch Engage's new album review coming soon...

True Blood "Scratches" Review

True Blood has captured my mind over the past couple weeks. I had not really paid any attention to it during it's first season on HBO, but with all the previews leading up to season 2, I became intrigued and long story short I watched the whole first season in three days. Now that season 2 is off and rolling, I have become a victim to yet another TV show that I can't miss.

Tonight's episode entitled, "Scratches" was another great episode in the series but left me wanting a little more. So far this season has been dedicated to setting up questions and mysteries to be answered at some point down the line, but I was expecting the story to progress a little more than it did. Lots of new questions were asked, like what in the world was that minotaur/bull creature, and was that Daphne? Another lingering question we're left with tonight is whether or not Lafayette is indeed a vampire. If I had to guess, I would say yes, but we will have to wait two weeks to find out.

I feel like I'm off to a negative start and that is not the way I want to go with this. The opening scene with Bill and Sookie was a thrilling start to the episode. The overall creapiness in that scene was brilliant. I originally thought it was Eric stalking Sookie in the woods so he could take her to Dallas just like he told Bill he could, but I was wrong. Bill taking Sookie to Fangtasia worked out perfectly for a trade between Sookie and Eric, and you could see that coming from a mile away. That's another bright point to this episode (and actually the season). Eric was my favorite character from the first season and I always wanted to see him in more scenes, and that's exactly what season 2 has delivered. Eric definitely has some good mystery and stories from his past and I look forward to his further involvement in the show.

Tara's story this season has been an interesting but very confusing sequence of events so far. It feels like Sam's story from the first season where they showed clues the whole season of him having the ability to turn into a dog, but you didn't know that until the last couple episodes. I believe Tara's story this season will go that same route and I'm okay with that. Maryann showed a new power/ability this week by making a 250+ pound pig disappear. I'm very interested to find out more about her, but her story most likely won't be revealed till the end of this season.

Jessica (Bill's vampire child) had an interesting and very well written story this week too. I actually enjoyed her scenes this week as opposed to her winy teenage antics so far. When she walked in the bar and caught Hoyt's attention you could see the trouble that was building all the way to the confrontation of Bill and Jessica towards the end of the episode. Now as for the end of the episode, I was completely surprised to see Daphne show up on the dock and couldn't help but feel like something was up when the actual dog didn't jump in with Sam. Daphne has been an underused character this season and I thought she would soon become the casualty of a vampire attack, but yet again I was wrong.

All in all it was a great episode that asked a bunch of new questions and was mostly a set up episode for things to come. I'm sure after seeing the next couple episodes I would rank this one higher, but as a stand alone episode this was at best an 8/10.

UNF

See kids, dropping out of high school WILL get you somewhere in life. I've been accepted to the University of North Florida (pending my grade in my final math class at SPC). I finally get to leave my parents house and get out on my own. This could not happen soon enough. I'm already counting down the days till August 21st. I think the best part about it will be that on August 19th I will be turning 21 and as most of you know, that is the "legal" drinking age here in these United States. So not only am I leaving home, but I'm leaving home to drink (just kidding mom). But seriously, it will be nice to go out somewhere and not have to worry about being carded or scheming for a way to get into a bar.

Now as my dad lets me know just about everyday since I recieved my acceptance letter, my main focus up there needs to be school. I am fully aware of this and plan to devote the majority of my time in Jacksonville to school and homework. I'm sure he's just worried that I'm going to go up there and waste his money and my time playing video games, watching Lost reruns, and drinking. Now I won't say those things aren't going to happen, but they will definitely be in moderation and will always take the backseat when it comes to order of importance.

I'm excited to go to a legitimate college and not know half the people that I'm in class with. I'm looking forward to possibly playing hockey up there on a team again. UNF has a hockey team that I've been in contact with and have expressed my interest to play with. Not only would this be great for my health and awesome exercise, but it would be a great way for me to make friends rather quickly. I'm ready for the next challenge in my life and I know it will have it's ups and downs and sometimes I'll want to give up, but that's life. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and do stuff you normally wouldn't do. I plan to try a lot of new things up there. For one I'm going to be getting a brand new job with people I've never met before. That's kind of putting me on edge considering I've only had one job in my life so far and it's been with people I've known for 4 years. But if I want to be able to drink, play hockey, or do anything besides go to class and study, I'm going to have to get a job. So I'll suck it up and get on with it, because living life in your comfort zone is like not living at all.

The Return of Conan O'Brien

It's been a little over three months since Conan signed off from the his Late Night show in New York, and tonight he returned better than ever.  Conan started off the show with a great monologue that had some really good jokes about his new home, Los Angeles.  He then showed a video of him giving the Universal Studio tour that was classic Conan and had me laughing until it hurt.

Will ferrell was his first guest and he couldn't have chosen a better person to have on his first show.  Will came out being carried on a throne with 4 guys holding him up, later telling Conan he toned down his entrance as to not upstage him on his first show.  Will Ferrell is the type of guest who can carry on the conversation and humor by himself and if Conan had any nerves, then Will was his scapegoat.  

Pearl Jam played a song from their new album and was a great way to end Conan's first of many shows at 11:30.  It's definitely nice to know I can watch Conan now and still be asleep before 1am.

E3: Skynet is Underway

I don't even know where to begin with the absolute madness that took place today at E3.  Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft all held their own press conferences showing off world premieres of some of the most anticipated games of the year.

Elecrtonic Arts showed off some cool new games like EA MMA, and a pretty neat looking demo of Saboteur that was intriguing to say the least.  Ubisoft had a less than stellar presentation.  With comedian Joel McHale hosting the press conference, it started weird and stayed that way.  However, Ubisoft made up for their host selection by showing an amazing world premiere trailer of Assassin's Creed 2 to end their time on stage.

Microsoft was the first to grace the stage today and they set the bar some where in the ozone layer.  They unveiled details on Forza Motorsport 3, Crackdown 2, Left for Dead 2, Tony Hawk Ride, and the much anticipated and overdue Alan Wake.  These games alone are reason enough for a massive nerdgasm, but this was just the tip of the iceberg for Microsoft's press conference.  They went on to announce a very well kept secret known as, "Project Natal".  This project has been, and will be, the talk of the video game world for this week and the rest of the foreseeable future.

Project Natal is a motion sensing camera that enables people to play games without the use of a controller.  The camera tracks 3-dimensional body movements and has voice and face recognition.  This means that by simply moving in front of your camera, your console will recognize you and automatically sign you into your gamer profile.  It also has the ability to track the movements of your entire body in 3-D.  This means if you're playing a fighting game such as Tekken, you would stand in front of your television and actually kick, punch, block, and dodge just as if you were fighting another human.  There was a great moment during the presentation when they were showing off the abilities of the camera by playing a full body movement brick breaker type game, when the speaker called out the Wii by saying, "This isn't a game where you end up on the sofa just using some kind of preset waggle commands".  This was more than enough for Microsoft to show and had just about everyone in the crowd buzzing, but then they brought out the President of Lionhead studios, Peter Molyneux.

What he showed the crowd today was quite possibly the most phenomonal and disturbing thing I've ever seen in a video game.  He introduced a character named Milo.  This character has the ability to recognize your face, voice, and emotions using the project natal camera.  In the video he showed there is an actual human woman talking to Milo as if he was another human being, or a friend.  Then they showed the truly remarkable thing the natal camera could do.  In the game, Milo needs help with a school project and doesn't know how to draw a fish.  The woman in the video draws a fish on a piece of paper, holds the paper up to the camera, the camera scans the picture, and Milo takes the picture and is now able to get on with his project.  If you don't believe it, then just watch the video for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxU_T7C4Ils.  

It is no doubt that Microsoft stole the show with Project Natal and it will be extremely interesting to see where and how this type of technology will go from here.  Hey, worst case scenario is Milo is the beginning of Skynet and the beginning of the machine's take over of the world.

Smoke Genade Issue in Gears of War 2

There's been some talk on the interweb the past couple of days about the smoke grenade issue in Gears of War 2, and the possibility that Epic may be making some changes with the effects of them in their next title update (Title Update 4).

In the first Gears of War smoke grenades were just that, smoke grenades.  In the sequel, Epic decided to add some kick to the smoke grenades by adding a concussion effect to anyone within a certain radius of the grenade.  Many fans of the blockbuster franchise have not taken well to the change in their beloved game and have been outspoken on the topic since it's release in November of last year.  Well the good people at Epic have heard the complaints and listened to the requests.  This Memorial day weekend, Epic has announced that they will do a test run of stunless smoke grenades to see what kind of feedback they will get from fans.  Then they will decide whether or not to remove the stun feature all together, or eliminate the knockdown feature and have your character become dazed for a second or two.  It all depends on the feedback from gamers and whether or not they enjoy the classic smoke grenades from the first Gears, or the smoke/stun grenades from Gears 2.  

Personally I would like to see them remove the stun feature from the smoke grenade all together and swap the ink grenade for a stun grenade.  If they did this I think they could make people on both sides of the spectrum happy.  Everyone would still spawn with a smoke grenade, but if you wanted the stun grenade you would have to pick it up on the map just like a frag.  

One thing is for sure, no matter what the outcome of the smoke grenade, it's clear that Epic is dedicated to their game.  The fact that they are still trying to improve it six months after it's release is a testament to how much they care about their fans, and how badly they want it to be perfect for them.

Resident Evil 5 Review

For going into Resident Evil 5 never having played any of the previous games, my expectations were not that high.  But after playing this game a few times through and unlocking the infinite ammo capability, it has surprisingly become the best game I’ve played so far this year.

     Resident Evil 5 brings some new things to the renowned franchise.  It adds the ability for 2 player co-op in the campaign and does it extremely well.  Usually when you have someone else join in on the campaign it becomes rather easy and loses some of the game’s entertainment value.  With RE 5, this is not the case.  When playing in co-op mode the enemies you and a friend will face are larger in numbers and more difficult to take down.  Just about everything about the co-op mode in this game is great.  The only downside to playing with a partner is that if you don’t have a friend to play with, you still have to play with an AI controlled partner; this is where it all goes downhill.  Sheva (your female partner in the game) is not artificially intelligent like she should be.  When playing by yourself on the harder difficulties you will find her getting in the way of your bullets all the time, dying almost every chapter, and never being close enough to save you when you get hurt.  She is more of a hindrance than a help when playing by yourself.  If at all possible, you should play this game with a human partner, whether online or in the unique split screen.

      The graphics in RE 5 are stunning to say the least.  They are up there with the other high grade graphical titles on the market right now (Gears 2 and COD 5).  I never experienced any pop up or frame rate issues during my 40+ hours of playing.  The graphics really shine in the form of boss battles and interactive cut scenes (which I don’t really care for).  During certain cut scenes you will be prompted on the screen to press a button or a combination of multiple buttons rather quickly or you will die or sustain immense damage to your character’s health.  This seems like a way for the developers and creators of the game to force you into watching every cut scene regardless of whether or not you care about the story or just want to shoot some zombies; which brings us to the gameplay.

      RE 5 does some great things and some bad things in the gameplay area.  The laser sites on the weapons are great and are visible from pretty far away.  There is a wide array of weapons to choose from once you’ve picked up enough gold and jewels to be supplied with them, but if you’re in this game for the long haul, money won’t be a problem.  Shooting zombies feels natural, and blowing off their heads with a triple barreled shotgun is awesome!  The one thing I had a problem with right off the bat with this game and most people won’t stand for is being rooted in place when you use a weapon.  Whether shooting or using your handy knife you can’t, “Run and Gun”.  It was definitely a deterrent when I first started playing it, but after a while I just got used to it and didn’t really notice that I was planting my feet and shooting anymore.  It’s not a flaw in the game by any means, but some just won’t care for it and will not want to play it based on that fact.

      To compare Resident Evil 5 with other shooter or survival horror genre games on the market right now would be doing this game an injustice.  It is action packed, has lots of replay value, and is extremely entertaining.  RE 5 is a great game that deserves it’s time in your console. 

                 

G1 BABY!

I am now the proud parent of a Tmobile G1!!  I'm super excited, I bought it on Ebay and it should be shipping on Mon or Tues.  My dad told me if  I bought a new phone then he would take away my car and anything else he could, I'm a little nervous to see if he follows through with what he says, but I know that if I do what I need to do around the house and help out with the little stuff (make momma happy) then he will have no reason to fly off the hook.  I know he's just looking out for me and doesn't want me to spend my money on, "worthless crap" as he likes to call it.  But to me it's not worthless, and it's not crap.  I'm a tech geek and enjoy this kind of stuff.  I know it's a want and not a need, but it was on the top of my want list and I had the money, so I went for it.  I researched and thought about it and then researched some more and decided to buy it.  Now all I need to do is show him that I'm a responsible adult who's capable of making my own decisions whether right or wrong, and learn to deal with the outcomes/consequences.  

I wish I blogged more often, It really helps to say these things out loud instead of just thinking about them.

Sense of Accomplishment

Is there anything better than the feeling of self accomplishment?  Putting your mind to something, investing time into it, and coming out on top or just finishing whatever it is you set out to do.  The bigger the task the better the feeling too.  It really makes me wonder why I don't do more in my life.  I thoroughly enjoy the feeling of accomplishing things, so why am I not proactive in completing the tasks that are right in front of me.  I honestly don't know; I could say it's laziness but who isn't lazy, so I think it might be something else.  All I know is I need to start doing more and thinking less.  The more I think about it, the less likely I am to actually do it (That's what she said).  Oh well, tomorrow is another day full of chances to accomplish things, and after tonight, I'm looking forward to it.

Chapter 1

Today started off like any other day.  Ronaldo woke up, grabbed a quick shower, and watched some Sportscenter while he ate his lunch.  He was still tired from a long day of fishing the day before.  It's not often he actually catches fish when he goes fishing, but yesterday was different.  The fish were attacking his bait like a lion attacks a gazelle.  The sun had taken a lot out of Ronaldo and had burned his face a dark shade of red, the one place he had forgotten to apply sunblock.  

Not long after finishing his lunch did Ronaldo start to notice the humming sound that was coming from just outside his bedroom window.  Being the curious cat that he was, Ronaldo slowly opened the blinds to reveal a magnificent sight.  There was a large rectangular shaped box sitting on the grass just outside his window.  It was a dark green box with all sorts of pictures and phrases on it.  It looked just like a weapons box that people in the army used to hold their stuff.  Ronaldo was intrigued by this strange yet exciting box and decided to venture outside to see what it was.  He left his room and walked to open the garage ripe with anticipation.  He couldn't believe that something interesting was actually happening in his dull and repetitive life.  As he opened the garage and rounded the corner of the house where the green rectangular box was just moments ago, Ronaldo stopped dead in his tracks.  The box that had been there just seconds before, was there no longer.  Ronaldo found himself staring at nothing but the air conditioner and garden hose that was also located outside his bedroom window; the box had vanished.  "There was no way someone could have lifted the box by themselves and moved it that quickly" Ronaldo thought to himself.  Now more depressed than normal, Ronaldo stomped back inside to get ready for work.  Little did he know, that soon his life would be changing forever.

No Message Sending?!!

"When the game is out of reach, there is to be no message sending".  This is what the NHL has said about this post season... WHAT... WHY?  Playoff hockey is all about message sending! That is the best thing about the playoffs.  You battle and fight your way through a grueling 7 game playoff series and when you lose, you let the other team know that if you can't beat them on the scoreboard, you're going to beat them physically.  You're going to pound on the other team until the final horn sounds.  You let them know that you're not going anywhere, that the series is long and you're in it to win it.  

To take this element of playoff hockey (which has been around since before I was born) out of the game is not anything that will be appreciated by the fans.  I'm extremely upset about it and I hope the players rebel and ignore what the NHL is saying.  Fighting/message sending, whatever you want to call it is a part of the game, and to take it out is changing the sport.  It would be like removing the three point line in basketball, or taking away field goals in football, it's just absurd!

I understand the league's concern of injury and how allowing players to fight at then end of a game can look barbaric.  I'm completely for making fighting safer and making more stringent rules about it, but to try and eliminate it from the game like they're doing with the no message sending rule is ridiculus.  How about limiting players to one fighting major a game.  If you fight more than once in a game then you are suspended for the next one.  Something like this would still allow the roots of the sport to shine through, while being able to keep playoff games from getting out of hand.  Playoff hockey is about passion.  When you remove fighting to send a message at the end of a game from the sport, you take away from that passion and leave the players and fans wanting more.  

  

Fantasy Baseball

I've never really gotten into the whole Fantasy league thing.  I did a fantasy hockey league one time with people I didn't know and it wasn't that fun and I didn't check it that often.  Then I did fantasy football with some people from work and it was pretty cool.  I came in second only because I was in Canada on vacation and didn't have a chance to get to a computer to change my starters for the last week.

Now I'm doing a fantasy baseball league with a few friends and it's only been two days and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  The season hasn't even started yet but making trades, placing guys on waivers, and picking up free agents is a lot of fun.  I never thought that I would actually enjoy the whole nit picky roster moves, but I'm really into it and can't stop analyzing who I should trade for, or what position I should try to make stronger.  

Knowing that I'm the type of person who enjoys alternate reality, video games, and overall expansion of the mind type things, I should've seen this one coming, but I didn't.  However, I'm happy to say that it's been a very welcoming and enjoyable surprise.  

ARGH! STRESSED!

School, work, friends, family, responsibility, obligations, the list goes on and on.  I’ve reached the home stretch of this semester for school; there is one month left.  Four weeks, that’s all I have left and then I can start taking classes that actually excite me; classes that I actually would want to attend.  But the stress from this semester, and the workload that I’ve received has been building and building and the crescendo is going to be tomorrow.  Everything that has happened so far this year will culminate tomorrow.  I have an assignment due tomorrow that I’ve most regrettably held off until now and I’m paying for it. I’M STRESSED OUT!  I’m not doing well in this class because of the format and the absolute stupidity of the class, and I’m probably going to end up dropping it and having to retake it over the summer.  Not the end of the world, but being the people pleaser that I am, I hate to disappoint, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do when I tell my parents what is happening.  (10 minutes later)  It’s not even disappointment that I’m going to cause my parent’s that upsets me the most, It’s disappointing myself that is really getting me upset.  I have been doing awesome in all my other classes and I’ve been making decent sized steps in my life as a whole, but this one class has been stressing me for almost 3 months now and It’s time to just sever ties and move on.  If I try to hang on to the sinking ship, I’m only going to end up going down with it at some point in the future.

I’m not going to dwell on this.  I’m going to move on and continue to do well in my other classes, and when summer comes around, I’ll have a second chance at it and I will take this course by the reins and ride it to the ground!  After all, the only way to succeed is to have hope, be enthusiastic, and stay positive!

Don't postulate, ask questions.

Does anyone else enjoy reading the dictionary?  I work at a job where I have some free time and a spare dictionary.  I've found myself reading it a lot, and it has really helped my vocabulary.  I'll just flip the dictionary open to a random page and start looking for words I've never seen before.  Like the other day, I found the word, "postulate".  Awesome word!  It means to assume something to be true.  In a sentence it would go something like this, "Well you shouldn't have postulated that I would stop by the store and get milk should you?  It is fun to say and is a word you can use a lot.  I could go on for a while but there's really no need to.  Just pick up a dictionary for yourself and start reading.  An average American only knows about 1/4 of all the words in the English language; crazy right?  Think about it this way, English speaking people don't know 75% of the language they speak everyday.  That's crazy!

Negative Thinkers

You've got to really put some effort into trying to make me angry to get me mad; I can't remember the last time I was furious.  But when people are blatantly rude, vulgar, or completely inconsiderate towards another person, I can't help but get angry towards them.  I can understand being mad or sad with something going on in someones personal life, or even just having a bad day, but when they begin to take out those feelings on others that they surround themselves with or just random people, that's when they cross the line.  I have absolutely no respect for someone like this and cannot be around them.  

These people are what I and some others like to call, "Negative Thinkers".  The only things that come out of their mouths are negative thoughts and negative ideas.  Being around a negative thinker is difficult, because they're unconciously trying to bring you down to their level.  The only way to fight back with a negative thinker is with positive thoughts and positive self talk.  Believing the negative thinker only hurts you.  You must learn to ignore the negatives and replace them with positives.  

Negative people want others around them to feel the same way they are feeling; they want sympathy or empathy.  They don't want a resolution to their problems, they want others to feel their pain.  Don't let Negative thinkers hold you back.  They want you to stumble, they want you to fail.  Don't give them the satisfaction.  

Fishing: Better Than Work

I went fishing today and I'm going again tomorrow.  There's something about fishing that is just so relaxing and care free.  When you're fishing anything you're worrying about or stressing over in your day to day life just fades away.  Nothing else matters but catching some fish.  This is the reason why you see so many different types of people fishing.  They're just trying to get away from something.  Fishing is like taking a vacation without having to go anywhere. (I wonder what it's like to live further than 10 minutes from the ocean)  Even if you're not catching anything or you stab yourself with a hook, it's still better than being at work, or going to school.  Sometimes stabbing yourself with a hook is even a blessing in disguise.  The day after you fish and you're sitting at your desk at work or school and you go to pick something up and feel the pain caused by the pressure put on the hook wound, you remember fishing the previous day.  You remember the joy it brought you to not be doing what you're doing at that precise moment.  You can let your mind wander for a minute or two and think about standing in the ocean at sunset or on a pier at sunrise, or whenever or wherever you went fishing.  

People who don't fish miss out on the opportunities to just think.  Think about anything that's bothering them or anything that's putting a damper on their life.  Some of my best thinking gets done when it's just me, the ocean, and my fishing pole.  There's is nothing like time alone or with friends or family fishing.  Fishing is infectious and possibly contagious.  It sucks that I wasn't introduced to fishing until I was 18, but what am I going to do?  Continue to go fishing and enjoy every minute not spent doing daily obligations that's what; and a beer or 12 couldn't hurt.  ;-)

Hockey: A Shunned Sport

I was watching Sportscenter this morning and they were showing a clip from David Letterman last night; it was the top ten list that Letterman has made so famous.  On this particular list they had a few baseball players come on the show and say the top ten which was, "Reasons why you should watch the World Baseball Classic."  There were a couple of funny ones, but then they reached number 1 and my mood shifted 100 percent.  Derek Jeter (who I hate anyway being a dedicated Red Sox fan) came on and read this as the number one reason why you should watch the World Baseball Classic, "What else are you going to watch, Hockey?"  Now I enjoy a good laugh anytime of the day, probably more than most people, but this was just an ignorant comment about a sport that people don't invest the time into to comprehend the rules.  I have watched and played hockey since before I can remember.  It's attitudes like this towards hockey (the best, most intense, and skilled sport of the major four) that make the sport a laughing-stock.  People who don't understand the sport or don't like it because it's slow or boring (which is not true) undermining the talent required to play it. 

In my opinion the NHL is the best of the four professional leagues and it suffers from not having a television contract with ESPN.  MLB, NFL, and the NBA all have games on ESPN and other national television stations multiple times a week.  The NHL has a game on Versus once a week if it's lucky.  If people can't watch the sport how can they like it or even understand it; especially in markets such as Phoenix or Tampa where people didn't exactly grow up with an understanding of the sport.  It saddens me to think that people out there are missing out on everything professional hockey has to offer its fans.  In the NHL players can legally fight each other, if you did that in the street you'd be arrested.  

The comment just really rubbed me the wrong way and I had to say something about it.  

Lost Ep: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Well, Lost never ceases to amaze me.  This weeks episode entitled The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham was one of, if not the best episodes so far this season.  It had everything you wanted from a Lost episode;  Action, drama, mystery, death, and a resurrection.  From the opening scene with Ceasar, all the way to the final scene when Locke finds Ben as an injured survivor of flight 316, my eyes were glued to the screen.  I enjoyed every mintute of this episode except for two small nuances that really frustrated me.  

First off, what is Kate's problem?  She was insanely rude to Locke when he visited her in this episode.  She tells him the reason he wants to be on the island so bad is because he doesn't love anyone.  Which as any faithful Lostaholic would know, is completely untrue.  Then, once Locke tells her that she is false in her accusation and explains what happened, Kate tells him that he is still an "angry and obsessed" old man.  I thought this was really out of context for Kate, and I was really dissapointed with the way her character handled Locke's visit.

The second thing I was a little peeved by in this episode took place during the scene with Walt and Locke.  If you remember back to season 4, Walt visits Hurley in the mental institution and tells him that Jeremy Bentham cam to visit him.  Now in the scene with Walt and Locke in this episode, Locke never mentions that he is using an alias.  So how does Walt know that Locke's code name is Jeremy Bentham.  Either there is another scene yet to come with Walt and someone who knows that Locke is using the name Bentham or the writers screwed up.  It's not the end of the world, and I'm probably just jumping to a conclusion, but Lost is known for having very few if any inconsistencies and I'd hate for them to make such a simple thing like a name drop ruin their clean slate.

Overall however, this was one hell of an episode and I can't wait for next week.  I hope Locke beats the crap out of Ben for killing him.  (that sounded wierd to say)

Lost Ep 316

So I watched Lost tonight just like I do every other Wednesday night, and it was absolutely amazing.  Tonight's episode (316) was a perfect reason why this is by far the best show on TV right now and my favorite TV show of all time.  The way the writers are working in content from nearly 4 years ago and expecting you to know the little stuff from back then is just an example of how commited you have to be to this show in order to appreciate its brilliance.  And that's just what it is...Brilliant.  I know the show is now kind of sci fi and involves time travel, but I feel sorry for just about anyone who is not watching this historic television show.  The ups and downs, the love stories/relationships, and the overall emotional connection you feel to towards these characters is absolutely phenomonal.  I've never laughed or cried more during any TV show or movie as I have while watching Lost.  If you've been hearing great things about this show and have always said, "Well one day I'll watch it". Or, "I'll borrow the dvd's from someone eventually".  I urge you to stop procrastinating and go buy the dvd's or even just watch the previous 4 seasons on ABC.com for free.  But it is well worth the money to buy them; you will end up watching them again and again.

The Truth Hurts

Why don't people respect the truth?  People ask you a question or your opinion on something, you tell them the truth and they get upset with you; I don't get it.  Now I understand if it's something that could really hurt someones feelings or publicly humiliate them, but simple things need the truth, otherwise the people you surround yourself with will just continue to live the lie that you are fueling them with.  The perfect exampe of this is Simon Cowell; he tells it to you like it is.  If you're not good he straight up tells you, "You're not good".  Sometimes it seems kind of harsh, but in the end, you know he's right.  If we lived in a world where the truth was told to people more often, people would stop wasting time with petty things and get more work done.  

People pleaser

So when people I know get angry with me, I really don't like it.  I had some friends today who were kind of mad with me for whatever reason, and I took offense to it.   Today I discovered that I'm a people pleaser.  I feel better about myself when people are happy with me.  When I make other people laugh or make them feel better, I feel better.  Maybe this means I'm supposed to do something with my life that has to do with helping others.  Missionary work, volunteering, I don't know; only time will tell.  

Slam Don't Contest

Watching the NBA Slam Dunk Contest just reaffirmed for me why the NBA is the worst of the four major sports.  Everything about it was absolutely horrible.  First off, I've seen better dunks in college slam dunk contests.  It's about time that players started thinking on their own instead of modifying dunks that have already been done.  At least Nate Robinson won, and justifiably so considering Dwight Howard horribly duplicated Michael Jordan's famous free throw line slam.  Secondly, the announcers sounded like they were a couple of guys who were pulled off the street.  There was no intelligent feedback being given; it was like three fans were given microphones and told to talk about what was going on.  Last but not least, the judging was completely and utterly biased.  Rudy Fernandez who in my opinion had a top 3 dunk of the night, didn't even make it through to the second round, while Dwight Howard got a perfect score for a rather normal dunk.  The only thing they did right was allowing the fans to text their vote for the winner.  If the NBA wants me to watch the Slam Dunk Contest next year they should really think about making the whole contest open for fans to vote by texting.

Numero Uno

All right baby, here we go.  What should be the first of many.  I plan to start blogging as often as possible (which should be about everyday) about all sorts of things.  I love the tv show Lost, so that will probably be a large chunk of my thoughts.  I'm also an avid hockey fan and I love playing video games and watching movies.  I hope to use this blog as a way to express my feelings on all of these things.  You may not like some of these things as much as I do; hell, you might not care for them at all.  But that's why it's MY blog.