The Final Thought

An Update, Really?

2008-10-07T15:57:00.002-05:00

Well I wonder if anyone still stumbles on this? I will assume yes and if no one does, no harm done. I'm deep into grad school now. I'm really busy with Adult Fitness working in the labs, and especially my thesis research. I have a very simple/boring blog set up for my thesis research, mostly for me to more easily share ideas with my advisors instead of e-mailing everything and waiting for them to reply (one in particular who never responds to e-mails). Feel free to take a look and comment on anything. Right now it is really basic and just some introductory information on what I intend to do. Well this should do for now, I have some downtime in the labs coming up, so I will be able to update more I think, at least more frequently than twice/year.

Grad School, Really?

2008-04-17T16:41:00.002-05:00

Just as I thought I was done with school forever, I stumble upon an opportunity to get my masters degree paid for. I will be back here at EIU for another long year starting in the fall, as a graduate assistant in the Kinesiology and Sports Studies department working on a degree in exercise science. Right now I'm more excited than worried, but I have been told that changes as soon as you leave orientation in August. Before I start graduate school however, I will be doing a summer internship at Velocity Sports in Tinley Park. I will be training athletes as well as running camps throughout the summer. There is only one more week of classes as an undergrad, and then I have 2 finals and I will be done. I am suffering from such a severe case of senioritis right now too, so it couldn't come at a better time. I should have more time to post more in the coming weeks, and with all the social things that seem to be filling my calendar there should be plenty to talk about (assuming I remember what happens). I will be kicking it off with Beer-in-Hand Kickball this weekend at Fox Ridge State Park. Should be a good time, and a bunch of really good guys are buying all the beer and filling some inflatable swimming pools with it (its still in the can don't worry). Should be fun, and we finally have some nice weather here, mid 70s, SPRING BREAK WHAT!

I LEAVE TOMORROW AND I'M NOT SICK ANYMORE!

2008-03-05T19:34:00.001-06:00

EVERYONE GET READY!!

some sports stories I've liked lately

2008-03-04T16:54:00.005-06:00

Well it's about time that Brett Favre retires so that I can get to being a true Bears fan, and hate the Packers with all my heart. I have always had a general dislike for the Packers players and coaches, except Brett Favre. So I am pleased to hear that he (as of now anyway) is not going to be playing in the football anymore. Thanks Brett, now I can take some of the anger I'm bound to have this season due to the Bears being terrible, out on the Packers.

I found this story on Deadspin today. This guy is a scout for the Bo Sox and got caught being a Michael Jackson type creep!

Most people that I talk to regularly have already been bothered by this next story, but I just can't get over how much pain, one Mr. Felix Pie, must be going through. The Cubs have their fair share of pussy little injuries right now, but this injury could not be further from "a pussy injury." I know, I know, grow up.

The weather here is terrible. Sunday, I was outside grilling steaks and playing bags. I also snuck in some golf ball hitting at the driving range. All of these activities took place in shorts. It was 70 degrees out and sunny. The only downfall was the wind, but I can handle some wind when it's that warm out. Right now outside (note: only 2 days later) There is a freaking blizzard outside. There has been ice falling all day, in the form of sleet, and at other points hail. Now it's snowing, and blowing, and if this keeps up for very much longer we are going to have numerous inches of snow! I HATE ILLINOIS WEATHER!

West Coast can SUCK IT!

2008-02-25T22:08:00.005-06:00

This is the parking lot of my apartment building looking east. Do you see..... no? Because there is nothing to see! Except that black car has been parked there since I moved in, in August, it hasn't moved an inch.

This is a view of Lincoln Ave. which is the main road in Charleston, on my way out of town. It was raining with some sleet, but I figured it would just be a wet drive home. Little did I know what lied ahead.

This is me driving on I-57 at 25 mph. from Charleston to Champaign. Could easily be the worst 2 hours of my life. I'm pretty sure that the entire road was a sheet of ice. I don't think there was a single moment when I thought I could relax and not be in a ditch. Except for this moment when I took this picture, and it scared this shit out of me.

ONLY 10 DAYS UNTIL CALIFORNIA!!!

Oscars, what was that like?

2008-02-25T17:48:00.002-06:00

Well last night I had to miss the Oscars because I had to work on a presentation at the library. Of course the kid I had to work with would not let me do anything. He had to do the powerpoint, which took forever! Seriously, who types out everything word for word on a powerpoint presentation for a 20 slide presentation then prints those off, then goes back and changes everything to what it should be? Put the main points on there, type your own notes afterwards. Oh, and he totally fucked us today, by not knowing how to pronounce words that he should have known for almost a year now. I'm just bitter, because I just wanted to sit down after a long weekend and watch the oscars without a library involved.

I've been watching the NFL combine some too. Those guys are pretty impressive. McFadden was clocked at 4.27 seconds, but officially it was dropped to 4.33, still flying. I still don't think that he will be as good in the NFL as Mehndenhal. Mehndenhal is a complete back, where has McFadden is just a 3rd down back like Reggie Bush, but he lacks Bush's size. Either way, if he tries to run between the tackles he will get destroyed.

More importantly, the Cubs start spring training play in 2 days. Dempster is getting the nod in the first game, he joked that Zambrano didn't want it this year. What a jokester.... not that funny of one, but a jokester none the less. DeRosa was sent to the hospital a couple days ago with an irregular heartbeat... stay off the drugs my man! I like what Ryan Theriot said, "Everyone goes through that at some point in their life" I don't know many people who's heart rate goes up like that and they lose vision and almost lose consciousness. Especially when they get to the hospital and their EKG is all fucked up. Right, that is a normal thing that everyone goes through. If you play Major League Baseball and put anything in your body that won't show up on a test, regardless of whether it actually does anything positive for you.

Pretty good weekend in the Bourb. Mr. Jeck came home for a few days. Had a few beers and a lot of laughs on Friday night with one Chris Kelly. Sat. night I went out to shoot some pool with the family. My brother and I were mistaken for exotic dancers. I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or if I just looked like a giant tool! Oh and it was male exotic dancer night at the bar we went to, didn't know, and it was in a separate room, so it wasn't as gay as it sounds. Pretty good night the family though, and then had a couple more beers with Dan Saturday night before we both went our separate ways. Only 10 more days until I will be back in California for another great weekend! I can't wait to get out of this cold. I need to see an ocean and temps above 35 degrees. There are also a couple people out there that it will be alright to see too. All in all it should be a pretty fantastic start to spring break. The tail end of spring break will hopefully include some internship interviews.

I'm rambling now, with no structure to this at all. I have senioritis pretty bad right now. I just don't go to class sometimes. Dumb school. I will have pictures soon of why I hate the snow and cold. A 2 hour drive turned into a 3.5 hour drive last friday. Booo!

Pitchers and Catchers Finally Report

2008-02-12T18:58:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow marks the day pitchers and catchers reports to HoHoKam Park in AZ to kick off the 100th season since the Cubs have won a World Series. I couldn't be more excited. This has motivated me to make some preliminary picks for the upcoming season. And look back to last year and see how I did with those picks. First I will make the picks for the Divisional Winners for the 2008 season. Now these are just preliminary and are subject to change after I look at the teams closer.
American League
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Los Angeles Angels
National League
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Colorado Rockies

Now lets take a look back to see how I did last season picking the Divisional Winners. Here is a direct quote from last March 7th. These picks were made later in the spring training season and may have been influenced by some four letter word or a sports network. Not this year. Making my first picks before they start to make me believe things I don't really believe.

American League:
East: Toronto Blue Jays. No explanation needed. (I have no idea why I didn't think there was an explanation needed to not pick the Sox or the Yanks)
Central: (Toughest Division in Baseball) Cleveland Indians
West: Angels (wherever the hell they are from)

National League:
East: New York Mets (Seriously, they should have won it. Choke worse would you!)
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (or the Cubs, but I figure I pick the Cubs every year and I will change in hopes of actually winning this season.) (IT WORKED!)
West: San Francisco Giants (This pick is seriously embarrassing. One of the worst teams in baseball)

In case you didn't notice, Red means wrong, Green mean correct, and blue is the stuff that I just added this year. So I didn't do that great last year, but there were some picks that I remember picking to try and make myself seen smart if it was right... I look really dumb when they are terrible though, and I picked them to win their division. Wild Card and some award winning picks might be up later on in the spring, but I make no guarantees.

So....

2008-02-04T02:23:00.000-06:00

That really didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. But at least I was entertained until the very end of the game. I may have even become a little less of an Eli hater as the game went along.
Congrats Giants. I only wish now that I could fall asleep. I need some sheep to count.

SUPER SUNDAY

2008-02-03T14:52:00.000-06:00

Alright, so I'll admit that I am cheering for the Patriots today. I will stand up for myself by saying that I am merely cheering for them because I dislike them less than the other two teams involved. Other two teams you ask. Yes, the New York Football Giants and the 1972 Miami Dolphins. I DESPISE them both. Eli Manning does not deserve the last name Manning. I have disliked him since that week before he got drafted. Don't cry about being the number one overall pick because you don't want to play for them. Then go cry to your daddy. I don't even want to get started on the 1972 Dolphins... Mercury Morris, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! Don Shula can stop trying to kiss everyones ass now that he realizes that the Patriots are about to "be in their neighborhood." I'm so sick of hearing, Perfectville, population 1. You know who I like from the 1972 Dolphins? Everyone I've never heard of. I had never heard of Mercury Morris before he started shooting his mouth off from a golf course in Florida at some rich retirement center. I hope he gets run over by a car. (one of my less mature moments, but I apologize for nothing)
I do hope that the game is entertaining though. I get so disappointed when the games over by half time. I was watching some pre-game coverage and they were doing some fun stats about money spent during super bowl weekend. It's estimated that 9.5 Billion dollars will be spent this year on Super Bowl related items. 30 second commercial spots are going for 3 millions dollars. My favorite though was that antacid tablet's sales will double tomorrow.

My super bowl pick: New England Patriots 34, New York Giants 21

Nothing is really new in my life. Pitchers and Catchers report this month though. So excited for baseball season this year! GO CUBS GO!

School's Back

2008-01-14T17:16:00.001-06:00

Well back at EIU for the last leg. One more semester of undergrad work and I will finally have a degree to "brag" about. This is all assuming that I will complete an internship this summer. I figure if I can get through all the coursework the internship shouldn't be bad at all. This semester has gotten really busy, really fast. I have been reading a lot already, I have a quiz on wednesday over a class from last semester. It's pretty much our final in quiz form. It shouldn't be too bad though. Like a steal trap (points to head). I just finished applying to graduate school here at EIU. I have to get three references and write a small essay about my experiences that could help with graduate study to finish my application for an assistantship. The only way I will be attending is if I get the GA spot and they cover the tuition. I recently found out that EIU is one of the top Exercise Science graduate programs in the midwest, ball state is another top one. Either way, that should look pretty good on a resume later on. I think that me sticking out Charleston for another year is going to make me such a strong person (read: this place sucks).
My roommate has mono! That will hopefully workout for me. I really can't afford to get something like that. If I'm more tired than I usually am and have to get through the days that I do... could be bad. He is in bad shape right now, hope he gets better soon. poor guy.
Is it baseball season yet? Sports right now are probably more terrible than ever. It's so bad that I find my self rooting for the Green Bay Packers, and as a Bears fan, pretty sure that could constitute as an all time low. The Cubs should get Brian Roberts.

Last Post of 2007!

2007-12-31T03:13:00.000-06:00

Ok 2007 wrap up... lets see, watched the Bears blow the super bowl, spent the rest of that night in a Hospital, became single, finished two more semesters of college (that makes 9), went to Los Angeles for the first time, watched the cubs win the division and totally choke in the playoffs, watched Illinois football play very well, watched the bears play awful (more on that in a second) had some friends move away, a couple more are on their way out soon, made a bunch of new friends, drank too much, had a lot of fun, turned 23 and bought this sweet computer..

2007 wasn't all a bad year.

More about those Bears. Where the hell has this been all season. The defense finally decides to play with some enthusiasm... even though they can't stop the run to save their life. Ron Turner finally decides that Mark Bradley is allowed to play and that maybe they should see if Devin Hester is still fast when he lines up as a reciever. They even had a little fun and allowed Adrian Peterson to throw the ball, which worked to perfection. Kyle Orton, while maybe not the starter that everyone is looking for, he sure does win a lot of games he starts, 12 or 18 actually. I would still like to see more passes thrown the Greg Olsen... he was your first round pick for a reason... use him!
More on Kyle Orton. Its bad that it seems foreign to me to see a quarterback on the sidelines looking at pictures of schemes and defenses in between series. Rex Grossman usually just sat on the bench or dicked around with people on the sidelines. Could that be why he looked like he didn't have a clue sometimes? Even if Orton doesn't have a clue all the times, at least he is making people think that he cares and does a little work during the game. Thinking of a pretty good quarterback who does quite a bit of in game studying, Peyton Manning. I'm pretty sure anything you can do as a quarterback to be more like him is a good idea. It was asked during a post game show today, "What should be the Bears number one priority this off-season?" That is easy, PAY DONAVON MCNABB WHATEVER AMOUNT OF MONEY HE WANTS!!!! If they had to not re-sign Briggs to bring in McNabb, I'm all for it. Sorry Lance, great football player but this franchise needs a QB more than it needs a LB.
That will end my rant on the Bears for now, it was an entertaining season, even though a huge let down. I'll bitch more after the draft I'm sure.

Speaking of bitching, Illinois men's basketball lost to Tennessee State tonight, that is it, Bruce Weber should be out! I'm glad you took over with your predecessor's players and did well. You are someone who can coach good players. It's getting those good players to commit to play for you, no sorry scratch that, keep the ones that are committed to play for you until they actually play for you (read: Eric Gordon)

Happy New Year Everyone! Might as well just say it, everyone else in the world already is, Let's Make 2008 Grrrrrrrrrreat! -Tony the Tiger.

Called IT!

2007-12-27T17:23:00.000-06:00

For the last few years I have been saying that the only reason Mark Prior doesn't pitch on a regular basis for the Cubs is that he absolutely hates the cold weather in the spring and fall. He will be at spring training in Arizona and even make some minor league appearances in warm weather games. He has been sitting and waiting for the Cubs to leave him alone so that he can get back to California. How does someone with perfect mechanics and "stuff" like that in college and in his first year, all of a sudden become completely useless and "injured" but no doctors can find anything wrong with him until this year. Once he became a free agent he didn't last very long signing a small short term deal with San Diego. Being the Cub's fan that I am, I would like nothing more than to destroy Prior this year. If I had to guess I would say that he will come back from this surgery quicker than expected, (due to hard work and diligent rehab work). I guess we will have to see, but don't be surprised if Prior returns to the form that he showed in 2003 when he lead a Cubs staff to the NLCS and one win away from the World Series in far too long.
On a college football note, USC vs. Illinois might be a little more interesting for Illinois fans than most "experts" are predicting. Even if the Illini do get blown out. A student organization that supports Chief Illniwek say that the recent decrease in public activity is on purpose and they are laying low for a "big push." I'm sure there are going to be all kinds of kids and alumni in bright orange shirts with "CHIEF" printed on their chest. I am a big Illinois fan and would like nothing better than for Illinois to show that the young talent they have is legit and upset the "Best Team Ever"
I'm going to post my actual picks for all the BCS bowl games soon.

X-Mas Break

2007-12-20T10:28:00.000-06:00

Home for Christmas break has been really long and it has only been just over a week. It should pick up however, though. People are coming in from out of town and there will be some good family time to be had. This last week may have been the most boring in a while. Although VH1 is really helping me out. Top 100 songs of the 90s makes me not only feel old but also brings back awkward memories from grade school and before. It's weird how a song can make you think of one specific place or time. I'm probably going to attempt to download all of them and make a sweet play list. I told you it has been a boring week.
I'm pretty sick of this snow and cold weather already. I really think I live in the wrong region of this country. I really can't stand the snow, I don't even like sledding unless there is a good amount of booze involved.
Looking forward a little bit... one semester left of undergrad and I couldn't be more excited to be done. While I might do graduate school for a year and a half to get a masters I will not be forced to take classes that I just didn't get around to taking three years ago. I remember when there was a time in college when my friends and I talked about how you couldn't tell who was a freshman and who was a senior. Oh, how times have changed. People are dumb! Ok, I'm done bitching about dumb people who will probably be more successful than me, because that is how things work.
Juno should be in all cities, because I really really really want to see that. Ok, seriously, thats the last thing I'm going to say.

Or is it?

Los Angeles, I'm Yours

2007-12-10T21:45:00.000-06:00

Seriously, how do I go to a city like Los Angeles for the first time in my life and get 2 pictures worth posting. They are barely worth posting.

It also took forever for me to put up two pictures of the trip. I would like to thank one Mr. O'Connor for the hospitality and also Matt and Jenna for the same. It was also good to meet up with family, good to see you Brian. Good times watching the Bears suck. More good times just around the corner I assume. I'll be back in the spring if all goes well, so prepare. Not really, because what you even do?
Margot and the Nukes, NYE in Chicago, I"M PUMPED!

This week in a nutshell... or an article

2007-10-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

It Only Tuesday

WASHINGTON, DC—Tuesday's arrival stunned a nation still recovering from Monday's nightmarish slog, leaving some to wonder if the week was ever going to end.

Music Week

2007-10-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

This week has been a very good music week for me. I have picked up two new albums on ITunes, Band of Horses-Cease to Begin which I'm currently listening to. I don't know what it is about those guys, but they just seem to make me feel good about things. That might be weird seeing as most of their songs I'm pretty sure derive from sad/unhappy things. (not positive about that statement however) The next album I was pretty pumped to pick up was Jimmy Eat World's new one Chase the Light. It's been a while since I've listened to much JEW. I was not a fan of Futures, so there was a lapse in my paying much attention to them. The day before my birthday Saves the Day has a new one hittin' stores! Happy Birthday to me! The best birthday gift would be for them to put out an album that would rival Stay What You Are. GOOD LUCK, only the greatest album ever.
Everything else this week.... Not as cool. Yesterday was a day from hell as I had 4 classes, one of which I had an exam, then I had to meet with an academic advisor to register for my last semester of classes, (ITS ABOUT TIME) and then I had to be to work at 3:30, and was there until just after midnight. It's homecoming week here at EIU, which means nothing to me. At least not until this weekend, when it means we have a reason to start drinking at 8 am as the bars open and some good friends will be visiting. During the week though, nothing. The only thing that changes is the "Fratbags" (its a frat guy/douche-bag hybrid) are even more fired up about nothing.
*Reminder to myself - Get a pair of Bicep Bands before I do anything active!

Finding that link upset me, and to think that people actually go to a store and spend money on things like that makes me furious. I can't even write anymore. Bicep Bands... ugh....

These are some random pics that I just found on my cell phone and thought I would share them with you... enjoy

This first one shows the kind of town that I go to school in. Bathroom of a bar, with a blackboard, which by the way had no chalk that I could see. Cars in circles, still no idea how that's entertaining.

This next one is from this summer when my parents and I were playing golf and as my dad was trying to tee off a random cat came out of no where and decided that my father has played enough golf today. *The cat was immediately destroyed*

Something out of the "Giant World" from the original Super Mario Bros.

2007-10-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

What exists on this planet that requires a tire this large? I have been trying to come up with ideas for about 3 days now, and I can't think of anything. If you have any ideas I would be delighted to hear them. I hope this doesn't bother you as much as it bothers me.

Purchased

2007-10-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

It is final. I have officially purchased my plane tickets to L.A. It has been brought to my attention that the majority of the traveling I have done in my life is directly correlated to one Mr. O'Connor. November 16-19 shall be a fine weekend. I hope it's brutally cold when I leave Illinois so that I enjoy getting out of here even more than I already will. (There has to be a better way to word that statement, but I couldn't come up with it) Well since the last post I joined the masses and became hooked on The Office. I watched the first two seasons on my roomates DVDs then I purchased the 3rd season via Itunes. I had heard that it was a funny show, but how funny could it really be, right? WRONG! I can't get enough. They also throw in a really interesting love story that I find rather interesting.
I also need to buckle down on finding a Halloween costume. It's been forever since I've dressed up. I haven't really put much thought into it yet, but I think this weekend at home will give me a chance to look over some ideas online and at some local shops... (target and factory card outlet)
If anyone has anything they think I should do while in L.A. feel free to share. I'm pretty sure the two people that read this live there, so ideas are welcomed & encouraged. Also a good bar or 12 to visit would be nice. I will be in Irvine for most of the trip but I'm sure there will be a visit closer to "Downtown." I'm not yet familiar with the city of angeles so I really have no idea where things are in relation to where I will be.
Last thought, Cubs are down 0-1 in the series right now, but have faith. (I don't know why we should have faith, but it seems like the right thing to say) Stupid Cubs...

Random Thought

2007-09-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

What if religion was like Santa Clause and The Easter Bunny, when you turn a certain age the Vatican will tell you that its all a hoax and it was just for fun and to occupy your time and thoughts to make life a little more interesting....

Saw Margot and the Nuclear So and So's Friday night at the Canopy Club. Six bands $12! Can't beat it! I was really impressed with them. I was not impressed once again with the sound quality at the Canopy Club, however. Last year when I saw Of Montreal there I was thinking the same thing, but I chalked that up to me hanging out near the bar on $1 PBR night...

Go Cubs Go!

11 to your 7

2007-09-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

The free Hey Mercedes show took place last night, and sadly, I could not attend. Being three hours away from Chicago is not conductive to me seeing good shows. I wasn’t able to see Hey Mercedes while they were still touring and that is one of my biggest musical regrets. This was a perfect opportunity to see them at the Threadless store grand opening. I had plans to drive up to the Metro right after class and sit there all day in hopes of getting into said free show. Turns out the only way to get in was to be at the actual grand opening of the store on a Monday or Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. downtown. Even going there and getting a pass does not guarantee entrance to the show. I’m still bummed about this whole situation. Hopefully Friday will make up for the missed show. The Canopy Club and The Pygmalion Music Festival are calling my name, specifically Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. I haven’t been to a show since I saw The Decemberists at Millennium Park in July. Pygmalion has some pretty large shoes to fill if it wants to keep up with The Decemberists with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during a thunderstorm!
Three nights ago I spent the 2-3 hours I had set aside to study for a test, downloading music off the list that Bekah left me. I know spend most of my time listening to all of the great stuff that I hadn’t been exposed to. (i.e. Band of Horses, Under the Influence of Giants, A Fine Frenzy) I find myself smiling while listening to a song called “The Funeral” by Band of Horses. I’m not sure what that means? Check them out if you haven’t already.

While discussing metabolic syndrome and ways to assess risk of chronic disease through body composition in class yesterday I thought of an experiment or study I would like to look into. I’m mostly writing this to make sure that I remember it, and if I put things down in words they tend to make more sense to me. I will be able to tell if I really have no idea what I’m talking about then. A recent study looked at Waist Circumference (WC) and WC relative to height and overall fat mass (%FM) to determine risk for chronic disease. The results were somewhat inconclusive in that, there was not a definitive winner, although WC seemed to show some potential to be an effective/inexpensive technique. It seems somewhat obvious to me, but I haven’t heard or read anything looking a ratio of WC and %FM. An abundance of overall fat mass has its risks, but abdominal fat brings so many more risk factors into play. By taking a %FM and a WC one would get a better idea of the location of the fat by looking at statistics and being able to determine the specific risks the subject is facing.
That ended abruptly, but I have lost my train of thought and need to look into this more. This is just a basic idea that I thought I would share. If it makes any sense at all, let me know. If it doesn’t make any sense than definitely tell me, so I can never mention it again.

Due to extenuating circumstances

2007-09-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

Alright so the circumstances were not so extenuating and I became lax in the completion of prior noted summer plans. I did work all the time, however, I did not make “MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY.” I worked out pretty frequently… to no real outcome, I got as far as putting my keyboard on the stand in my room and I really didn’t have legitimate plans to road trip to the Gulf.
I do have a legitimate excuse for not blogging this summer, however. I purchased a new MacBook last spring and while I was at home for the summer, technical difficulties made the process of connecting to the World Wide Web more difficult than I was willing to partake. I do have plans this academic year to write more frequently, due to the fact that I do not see this semester or the next as being very demanding academically, especially when it comes to writing. Consequently, I would like my writing not to fall off or even improve as this year continues. Since talking to a certain person this weekend I have realized that my collegiate education may be somewhat of a farce and I may need to take it into my own hands and begin to run through some textbooks in my free time to even the playing field with people from other universities. I might be mistaken, and be learning everything I need to know to land a quality job, but I still have my doubts. Not too mention, it wouldn’t hurt to further my knowledge in my field or a related one.
As I said, I hope to keep this more updated, and with my schedule I’m sure it won’t be too much of a problem. I have a few ideas for topics already. That is my main problem with keeping up with this blog. I NEED IDEAS! My mind has been racing lately though, so it might not be a problem for a while. Lets hope so.

P.s. Go Cubs! Go Bears.

Kyle, congrats on knocking out those summer plans. If I was only as dedicated as you are.

Summer Plans

2007-04-23T16:53:00.000-05:00

1. Work All the Time to MAKE MONEY MONEY MONEY
2. Work out All the Time
3. Learn to Play the Piano, for real... what the hell else do i have to do this summer?
4. Road trip to the Gulf of Mexico

New Computer

2007-04-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

Well I now have a computer that will not screw up half way through a post or freeze for no reason. This is the first post on my new macbook, which I love so much. This should be good motivation to post more, maybe if I had something to post about I would do it a little more often. School is rapidly approaching its end, and it can't come soon enough. I love the people here and I will miss some more than others, but I need some money so this summer job thing, as embarassing as it is, will be nice to have. I will be working at Jimmy John's in Bourbonnais this summer, for the last time I swear! Hopefully I can get some job shadowing thing at a hospital now that I have a paying job somewhere else.
If anyone wants to go on a roadtrip or something or is moving away and wants a visitor this summer, I'm sure I will be free for a couple days and I will be more than willing to swing by your place. I really want to go a few places this summer, nothing too spectacular or expensive, just somewhere I have never been. St. Louis is probably on the list, why? because I have never been there, and its so close. Maybe catch a baseball game, who knows. Anyway, I'm going to hopefully try to make a video post sometime in the near future. that probably won't be the most awkward thing to watch EVER! I hope it makes you all uncomfortable.
Word of advice: Listen to Mitch Hedberg more than you currently do. (R.I.P.)

Irish

2007-03-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

This weekend was suprisingly entertaining due to the wonderful hospitality of my dear cousin Bo. I was awoken early Saturday morning to my mom telling me how Bo said that I should come up this weekend and go to this irish party with him on Sunday, because he has a few days off and he needs to know ASAP because we have to make reservations to get into this party. So not being one to pass up a party in Chicago, especially seeing as I didn't have a thing to do on the first couple of days of spring break. I kicked off the weekend by visiting the family up in Romeoville for an afternoon of eating and drinking while watching the Illini crumble in the face of a much better Wisconsin team. After family time was over I jumped on the train to Chicago where I met up with Bo and a couple of his buddies who were just as hospitable. We swung by a little pub to chat and warm up for the long day of drinking that awaited us the next day. After a rather impressive bar tab was conjured and the complimentary shots of jameson were in out bellies we decided its now time to call it an early night. the 7 am wake up call was not going to be greated with a smile if we were to stay out much longer. Once 7 am rolled around we were excited to get going, the goal was to be waiting at the bar at 8:45 so we could get a table and get all the party favors that we could. We are not sure if we did something wrong in the passed days or if we should chalk it up to plain bad luck, but we did not make it to the bar as smoothly as we would have liked. As we are in the middle of a transfer from blue line to red line spaulding realizes that she forgot her I.D. and needs to run back to the apt. to get it, but the reservations we had were in under her name. She said she would just jump in a cab and probably beat us there since we had a little bit of a train ride to the north side. We catch the redline train north and we sit there.... and sit there..... and sit there. An announcement states there is a delay and that they appreciate out patience. We are not very appreciative of their appreciation and after about 5 min. which Bo was convinced was more like 25 we all leave and hop in a cab as well. Having only 3 hours at this bar until they start charging us for drinks we needed to hurry to get as much open bar time as we could. Once we arrived, the madness began. 2 and a half hours of "free" jameson and cokes which i wonderfully lost track of later... i was in a rather blurred and happy mood. I called kyle soon after and he somehow knew exactly what I was up to, apparently I had called him earlier and talked for sometime. I, however, do not remember this at all. After we overstayed our welcome at that bar we went back to Bo and Becca's apt. for a wonderful spring drink-a-thon. As we all enjoy the weather and the suds a few of the guys decide to get mohawks and soon there after the cops show up. We were being a little loud and the old people surrounding us did not approve. They just said to keep it down a little and they just have to show up when called, it was really no big deal. Passed out at 7:00.
Overall a weekend that I will not soon forget. I thank everyone who was hospitable this weekend and thanks to all the people I met this weekend who made it so enjoyable.

I'm Impressed

2007-03-09T00:17:00.000-06:00

I know this is kind of a weak way to post but I can't sleep and think that anyone who reads this should take a look at this kids video. He says that this was not nearly as difficult as it seems and it only took him a day. I need to thank one, Adam LaGesse and his myspace page for bringing this video to my attention. Oh, and Michelle because she is the one who showed me his myspace page, and possibly this video, alright enough with this run on sentence connected by a bunch of commas, seriously.
Quick Edit: Originally there was only one video, but after looking a little bit i found another, this kid impresses me. Be sure to check them out. (Quick Edit #2: This first video is really good too, kind of an intro into the videos that you will hopefully watch after this one,)

You can pretty much not even watch baseball now.

2007-03-07T11:18:00.000-06:00

I figure there is no better way to make my comeback to blogging than by giving you my 2nd annual picks for the upcoming baseball season. I will not go so in depth this season so I don't screw myself on small meaningless picks... beacuse the other ones have a meaning. Here goes....

American League:
East: Toronto Blue Jays. No explaination needed.
Central: (Toughest Division in Baseball) Cleveland Indians
West: Angels (wherever the hell they are from)

National League:
East: New York Mets
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (or the Cubs, but I figure I pick the Cubs every year and I will change in hopes of actually winning this season.
West: San Francisco Giants

I will make more picks once the season is closer and I can assure health to some of the players that I will be putting unjustifiably high expectations on.

I can't just jump back on here and not update you all (maybe 2 people will read this) about what is going on in my life. Semester is flying by. Spring break starts on Friday and I am looking forward to eating for free for a week. I don't have any special plans for spring break, unless I make it up to Chicago to do some cousin time at some bars. Speaking of cousin time, I am getting rather excited for the scheduled Vegas trip in June. Having never been to Vegas, and most of my cousins being of age now, which is really strange to think about, it should be a heart healthy good time. Other than school zipping by there is really no new changes in my life that stand out as important. I still have that girlfriend. She is pretty cool, even though she could have killed us all with her disease. She had meningitis (viral) about a month ago. She is ok now after spending a few nights in the world famous Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital. Hopefully I will go on a few week stretch of updating this with more meaningless, yet hopefully more hilarious tidbits of my life.

2006-12-12T21:46:00.000-06:00

I have been annoyed into writing another post due to the fact that I have one devoted reader who cannot go on without my literary genius. The reason for my lack of updates is lack of topics worth making an international note of. However, I will look at this not as a post of the recent past, but of the recent future. Tomorrow concludes yet another semester of university life and x-mas break will start. It will be a much needed break from Charleston, IL. I will be visiting both ends of the social spectrum in the next week. Right now I sit in an apartment in Charleston, IL population 12,000 during school months (pop. during summer months: 1,000). Mostly farm country and the meth capital of the U.S. Next Tuesday traveling will commence and three great friends of mine and I will enbark on a road trip to the north east and visit NYC population 8 million. There is a good chance that there will be more guests at the hotel we stay at than the entire town that I call home right now. I promise that once I return from NYC there will not only be plenty to write about, but plenty of pictures to show you, as if you won't have already seen them kyle. Until next time, i bid you adieu.

2006-11-22T13:59:00.000-06:00

We are all atheists to the majority of the gods society has created, some of us just go one god further.

Turkey Break

2006-11-21T12:34:00.000-06:00

Its turkey break here in my life. whoops, just hit the eject button on my brothers laptop. I mention this everytime I'm home and using this, but I really need to get a laptop sooner rather than later. I have no desire to own a desktop anymore. I really don't have a desire to own a PC anymore either. I use this Mac and it makes the desire to own one increase greatly. ok, less redundancy. I was at Best Buy the other day and I wanted to buy a new CD. I always think of CD's that I want to get, but of course when i walk in the store my mind goes completly blank and I can't think of a single cd that i would like to own. but then it strikes, in a moment of clarity, i think of one. The Mountaingoats. i hear good things and have checked some things out about them online and all is well. well to no ones suprise i cannot find it on the shelf, but i being the optimist that I am chalk it up to me not looking hard enough. its at this point that i notice that I have set the record for being in a best buy for more than 5 minutes without a single person coming up to you and asking you four times if there is anything they can help you find. the one time i would like someone to approach me, to no avail, i am left alone. finally someone sees that I am walking in a circle with an obvious confused look on my face and they offer to help. They check the computer after a strange glance when i tell them the name of the band I was looking for. they do carry the cd, however they are sold out. I don't know what I did to deserve that, but I was pretty dissapointed. i had to go back to the radio or the decemberists cd, which while great, makes me sick to here it due to the fact that I have listened to it non-stop for the past 3-4 weeks.
I'm getting excited for a big homecooked feast on thursday, i dont know about the rest of you, but it should be a good time. anytime you can get lots of good FREE food from people its got to be a good day.
I am very excited to get my traveling off and running in about one month. I think that rich people travel boring. I think that they should make it more exciting and stay in a mediocre hotel that they no nothing about, and have a very strict spending limit. I don't know if i truly believe that this will make their traveling experience more exciting or if it is just a way for me to justify the fact that we will be going to NYC on very little funds. if you would like to know how little, there will be a cooler involved with lunch meat and bread. does that do it for ya? GOOD! and no broadway shows. which doesn't really upset me as much as one might think. now don't get me wrong, i want to see a broadway show as much as the next bloke, but i am very confident that this will not be my final tour of NYC. hell, you never know, i could live there..... HELL! I might be in a broadway play someday. you keep laughing. i will leave you in the words of Ben Marcotte, 3 P's and a V, love ya to pieces.

Just good Fundamentals

2006-10-18T15:24:00.000-05:00

Suspended Tackle Albert Haynesworth: 'I Just Wanted To Make Sure The Guy Was Dead'

You better watch out for this guy on the football field. Hopefully he doesn't play I-M football here @ EIU.

Well the NYC trip is pretty much set in stone now that we have reservations at the New Yorker for 3 nights. I am very excited to kick off my abundant travel throughout the better part of my twenties and throughout the rest of my life. I figure since I have not been on many vacations or trips I have some making up to do. I have another trip to Las Vegas planned for a few days in June to see my cousin Kevin get married. Not to be a "downer" but I'm a lot more excited to go to NYC than Vegas, but I am very excited to be in Vegas with a lot of my family members. I don't think Vegas is somewhere I would go on my own, or my own money for that matter. It should be a pretty good family vacation #2.

Best game..... EVER!!!!!!!

2006-10-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

Can I get a puff of smoke with that?

2006-10-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

Firstly, A gloomy day here in Charleston and for some reason I think I like it. The cold grey skies contrast the bright warm autumn leaves. I don't know if it is because the weeks are flying by or I am just crazy, but it seems as if autumn and the changing of the leaves is going way too fast. I awoke this morning to the majority of the leaves falling off of the trees. I think that autumn is making a pretty strong case for best season. Summer is pretty hot, winter is pretty cold, spring would be the normal front runner however, when spring rolls around I am so sick of the cold that I want it to be summer right away. Spring doesn't understand that and will randomly throw in a giant snow storm in the middle of March. NO ONE wants snow once march rolls around and nasty mother nature has teased us all with a 70 degree weekend once. Autumn doesn't lie to you like that. You know the cold is on its way, and there is no suprise there. I am also sick of the heat right now, and when is the last time in the middle of October that it has been uncomfortably hot out? I don't remember any such instances.
In closing, go Autumn and powerwriting

I decided after writing that last line that I would throw it back to the writing techniques that they taught us in grade school that were considered the worst writing style EVER!

You're right, he probably didn't do steroids

2006-10-05T18:16:00.000-05:00

I was a little bored and thought I would compare one of my favorite players pictures from early in his career to the post steroid era. Most people realize after a few years in the league that they are way to strong for their own good and they should cut back on the working out. That must have been what he was thinking. Texas is then, Tigers is now.

Concerts and Tennis

2006-09-24T18:51:00.000-05:00

The weekend was as pleasant as expected. Although the "Of Montreal" show was very dissapointing. I don't know why a band that is as musically talented puts up with awful sound. It sounded like they were trying to impress someone with how loud they could play. Everything was turned up far too loud. After too many PBRs and only two OM songs I decided to exit the venue. I ended up walking around Champaign alone for a while at around 1 or 2 in the morning.
On a much more positive note. The City on Film show at the Iron horse was amazing. Bob Nana does not dissapoint. I even had a little chat with him before his set and we had a nice toast to drinking Lienes. Pretty cool guy if I do say so myself. Its too bad that I was never able to see a Hey Mercedes show. I bought a t-shirt, but it seems to be way too small. So michelle has probably inherited a nice black t-shirt.

In conclusion it was a rather good weekend. I'm especially glad a certain person did not attend because there might be a chance to hang out with a girl. We probably had a better time with Ben. Private stock, burgers, and Cubs cookies.

Oh, the cold

2006-09-19T18:53:00.000-05:00

Well the school year continues to roll on uneventfully yet again. The Bears are playing great and that makes me excited for Sundays. The weather is very chilly today, and I think I like it. The cold really gives my life a good ole college feel. The air just seems more crisp. This week is a tough one with a test I took on Monday, a test on Thursday that will be really tough, and another difficult test on Friday. Good thing I have a great weekend with my good buddy Kyle planned this weekend. Friday night we are going to see The City on Film (Bob Nanna, formerly of Hey Mercedes) and as of right now Saturday should be another great night with Owen and Of Montreal. I think the only thing that could make this weekend better concert wise would be to throw in a little The Format. Hopefully there will be some new pictures either on here or on facebook.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Gerrymandered To Serve King Friday's Make-Believe Agenda

Crazy Maybe Lezzy

2006-09-07T23:32:00.000-05:00

I feel I must share the tail of my Human Disease professor with all of you. I know that most have heard the story and I appologize for being redundant. However, there are many who have not.
She is a shorter woman maybe 40 years old with a crew cut with a nice salt and pepper hue. Appears to be a normal build at first, until you make your way down the torso and realize she is hiding a innertube in her waistband. The sarcastic smurk on her face cannot be mistaken as she leans against the lab table in the front of the classroom. At first you don't know how to take her as you try and decide the difficulty of the class based purely on the apperance of the instructor... (simply put, she is short, round, and has a lil' lezzy look to her).
So the other day during this class she is talking about AIDS and the whole sharing needles thing. She goes off on a tangent about coke-heads using a new technique called "jacking-off." They put the cocaine into a syringe and pull blood from their body filling the syringe and mixing the blood and cocaine. They promptly inject the mixture back into the body enhancing the already potent high of cocaine. Everyone reacts appropriately with the standard, "ooooooooooo" or "fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkk." (with a sigh mixed in) One kid however looks a little deeper into and promptly asks, "Oh yea, how do you know?" With a quick tilt of the head and a witty giggle she says with (no sarcasm at all), "I actually have done it about 200 times. (rolls up her sleeves) You see, I don't want to show you guys my track lines, so I usually shoot up in the crack of my ass... or between my toes." Every immediately laughs uncontrollably until she continues. "You should see how I put a tampon in..." laughter quickly seizes and a soft, ughhhhhhhh comes over the class. "It involves jumping off a building!" The laughter is completly gone at this point and I just begin to pack up my stuff, because I have officially checked out of paying attention to this lady today.
I had a conversation with Mr. O'Connor the other day about a similar situation, yet more generalized. I don't know what it is about instructors swearing. I know I should be used to it, because I have had numerous swearing instructors each semester. Everytime though it gets me, just makes me want to giggle like its the first time I have ever heard that word in my life. Now, if I could only get one of them to use the word "clusterfuck" in a sentence, it would make college all worth while.

2006-09-05T00:55:00.000-05:00

Right Guy To Fuck With Identified

I'm sure that some of you will find this boring and dry however, I know at least a couple people who will find it rather humerous. Hopefully something exciting or funny will happen to me and I will be able to write something original instead of putting up creative and funny things written by people armed with far more wit than I.

The Real NCAA Pre-Season Poll

2006-09-04T15:14:00.000-05:00

Here We Go Again

2006-09-04T13:26:00.000-05:00

To all of you who are laughing right now, its not the same this time. I have been trying to post on my other blog. However, I cannot seem to remember my password or the e-mail address that I used. I was automatically signed in for the majority of the time and then once I moved to school it forgot my information, hence no posts for sometime. I have been trying to remember and try all sorts of different names and e-mail addresses just so I wouldn't have to deal with the shit that I will inevitably recieve for starting yet another blog. Yet, if you want to know what is going on in my life you can deal with the transisiton.
I bid you farewell for now.