Harbor is Where the Heart Is

Making my way home to Harbor tomorrow afternoon. The students (me - yay!) here at Western are on a Spring Break (never thought I'd have one of those again) and I'm going home for a couple days. My sister will be up as well, so it will kind of be like a shortened Christmas break - and with the weather the way it is, I'm sure everyone will agree. Sounds like a relaxing, movie-watching weekend (not much of a shift from my normal weekend) that we have on tap, but in a different place with some different faces.

Not sure if I mentioned this in any previous entries, but I am going to begin writing articles for the Herald after Spring Break. The sports editor told me a little about what I'll be writing about for the rest of the semester and it seems promising. Since I have little experience and I can't really pick up any beats right now (middle of the winter sports season), he said I'll probably be writing about some of the club teams and do some feature articles to get my feet wet. His goal is to have me write about 6-7 articles (probably one a week) before the end of the semester and then I would have some good experience going into next year. Most of the sports staff is graduating this spring (including the editor), so he said I have a real good opportunity for next year. This leaves me at a crossroads. I wasn't exactly planning on staying into next year, but this opportunity forces me to re-think about my plans now.

Well, I'm off to sleep. The extra day of February (and thus an extra day of winter - ugh!) is going to be a long one with me working 8 hours and then traveling 4 plus hours home. Hope everyone has a good weekend and we'll catch ya in the hopefully much warmer March.

Good Riddance?

I haven't much time to blog tonight because I'm studying for two evil exams tomorrow, but I'd just like to point out that Miguel Cabrera's first AB as a Tiger was a 420-foot homerun over the Centerfield fence. The Tigers were playing a college team today, however, I think it bodes well for the year to come. Real Spring training games begin tomorrow.

Herald

I finally got an email back from the Sports Editor at the Western Herald. He told me to come in and we'll discuss some of the articles and sports that I will be writing about. I'm going to try and get Monday off from work so that I can go visit him at the office. Hopefully I can get some steady work here before the semester is over. I'm really going to push writing articles about the baseball team and/or the Tigers - although I'm really not going to be picky 'cause I'm the new guy.

This job opportunity comes at a perfect time because I'm really starting to get tired of Borgess. On most days it's really not a bad job (get paid to do homework and watch TV), but other days I really wonder why I'm working in a hospital when I'm not sick or even going into any medical profession. This Herald job is right up my alley.

Waiting patiently for the next few weeks to go by before:
1) Spring Break
2) More Wii Games coming out (Smash Brothers & Mario Kart)
3) It gets warmer
4) Getting even closer to "the trip" in April

Man-Crush

Throughout this whole political process this 2008 election year, I have developed one large man crush... and it's not John McCain. Yes, I'm not going to lie - my heart started beating a little faster when I saw Senator Barack Obama walk across the stage tonight at the University of Texas. I'm even going to go ahead and say that it's probably weird that I've declared a man-crush on Barack, but I'm ok with that. Maybe it's for the fact that I can't stand Hillary or for the fact that he struck a heisman pose today with a heisman trophy. Maybe it's because he reminds me of JFK or because he's being compared to FDR - who knows? All I know is that he's my man and after watching the debate tonight, I am certain on one thing... the man's got style.

GObama!!! (thanks AOTS)

In other news: I'm ready for baseball season and the weather that it brings.

WHY?

I was very saddened by the news regarding the shooting at Northern Illinois University yesterday. Hearing that it took place in a large lecture hall was a little eerie because I have a lecture every single day of the week in 250+ seat classrooms. I didn't think it was possible for something like Virginia Tech to happen again (at least not for awhile) and it happened within a year and this time even closer. Northern Illinois, like Western, is in the Mid-American Conference and has roughly the same amount enrollment. Western was supposed to travel to DeKolb this weekend to face the Huskies in basketball, but that is an afterthough right now.

Something is going to have to change at colleges and universities across the nation because this is starting to get a little scary. The first thing I thought about today walking into my lecture was, should I start sitting a little closer to the front in case that one person walks through the door and decides that it's his or her turn to make national headlines. I'm not sure if metal detectors are necessary, but campuses need plans for emergency situations. All it takes is one little thing to snap inside someone's head and dozens of innocent people are put in danger. All I know is, that everytime someone walks through the door during my lectures in the weeks to come, I'll be more aware and alert about who it is.

Trip Update

It's official. I've began a countdown. Exactly 50 Days until Drew and I depart on our epic quest of the West Coast. Things are going to be a little different at the beginning of the trip. Drew has a class that weekend that will keep him in the classroom on Friday night and Saturday morning. He had to switch his plane ticket from flying out with me Saturday morning and instead is going to meet Andrea and I in Las Vegas that evening. I'm in charge of getting to Los Angeles, picking up the rental car, picking up Andrea (who will fly in to L.A. at a different airport) and then we'll meet Drew in Las Vegas that evening. Hope my incompetence when it comes to being responsible doesn't hurt me on this one. Other than that, everything else on the trip is the same as planned, so no worries there.

I'm really being careful with my money these days in awareness for this trip. I've got some money saved and I'm trying my best to not use up all those funds on useless stuff before the trip. Buying the camera and getting all that settled ahead of time was good and the fact that we have almost all the hotel rooms, plane tickets and car rental taken care of is huge.

Was thinking about heading over to Detroit this weekend to bum around but I really don't have the cash to do this and my cold is still winning battles, so I will most likely stay put this weekend. I'm going to probably be over there during Sprink Break anyways.

I'm going to try and get some more pictures in here soon, although I really don't have too many that are blog-worthy right now.

Oh, and it's Valentine's Day. I'm currently in hiding.

Lies, Lies and More Lies...

As I have previously stated, Wednesday's are perhaps my favorite day of the week this semester. Not only do I get a 7+ hour break between classes, but I get to enjoy my only journalism class on this day. Today, I was also able to watch just about all of the Clemens-McNamee hearing today on ESPN. There were no shockers in what they said to Congress today and I'm actually somewhat disappointed that watching almost 5 hours worth of hearing really led nowhere. Nothing was decided although I found myself rooting for Clemens more than McNamee (Clemens' former personal trainer). McNamee seems like he is more believable as he's got nothing to lose and Clemen's has his reputation on the line, but I am rooting for Clemen's for the mere fact that I'm worried about what might happen to the game of baseball if he's found he lied today. I really don't want to see the game tarnished by any means and it seems that these never ending steroid hearings involving the United States government are starting to give our national pastime a black eye (if it already hasn't). Lou Pinella, manager of the Cubs, said today that he didn't mind what they were doing but didn't want to see it upstage the game and spring training. I think it would be a shame if this kept going into the season because the game doesn't deserve this. So here's to hoping that the next five years aren't overshadowed with steroid talk and accusations about famous ballplayers using banned substances. We've all got the right to hope, correct?

Valentine's Day tomorrow. Brace yourself.

Worst Holiday Ever

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I find myself in the same mood I'm in every year around this holiday - annoyed. I've always had disdain for V-Day and this year is no different. Every time it's brought up by my friends or I see a "cute" commercial on TV adversitising various gifts, I find myself overcome by feelings of anger, sadness and disgust. I'm not sure when this all started, but I can tell you that I'm not normally taken with these kinds of emotions. I guess maybe it's for the fact that I'm not usually participating in this holiday, but I really don't think that's the whole reason. I just flat-out dislike a holiday to me - is pointless. A real waste of money if you ask me. So come next Thursday, you won't find me wearing red and handing out cards like their candy. Instead, you'll probably find me rejoicing the end of the terrible holiday and dreading the fact that there is still another one to come next year.

"Super" Bowl & Tuesday

Until the fourth quarter last night, the game between the Patriots and Giants wasn't much of a game at all. The commercials were more entertaining and I actually got up to get food and beverages during the gameplay. Realizing that the game was actually going to be in the ballpark of Plaxico Burress' prediction, it was gametime in the fourth. There was some very good defense throughout the game, which isn't appealing to your outside fan but was riveting in the fourth quarter. Everyone expected the game to come down to the last couple of minutes and that always makes for a good Super Bowl. Blowouts mean loss in interest, but these teams kept everyone tuned to the TV for the mere fact that the Patriots weren't blowing anyone out of the water. Tom Brady looked human. The Patriots looked panicked for the first time all season and could have even lost that edge they had over the Giants - confidence. I had a hard time rooting for the Patriots because most of those players have rings already at home. I had an easier time rooting for Eli Manning in getting his first ring than Randy Moss receiving his first. I just read somewhere that it is most likely the highest game ever rated, which is expected. Maybe one of these years the Lions can put together some momentum leading into the playoffs like the Giants this year (funny, right). The Giants showcased that anyone can win the Super Bowl - who cares what anyone else says? Very good game in my opinion.

Tomorrow is one of the bigger days politically, as well. I'm interested to see who pulls ahead on the Democratic side (Obama or Hillary). It seems that John McCain has the Republican nomination in the bag, unless Romney comes out of nowhere. I'm kind of new to all this politic stuff, but Super Tuesday is apparently a pretty large day so I'm going to take it all in tomorrow. Where was I four years ago? I'm hoping that John Edwards finds it somewhere in himself to support Obama rather than Hillary because I think he has a much better chance at winning the presidency than Hillary over the Republican front-runner.

And now that football season is officially over, it's time to turn to baseball. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two weeks and my favorite Tiger, Brandon Inge is reporting with them. Once sworn off from ever having to play catcher again, he now finds himself right back where he started. There is still a chance that the Tigers will trade him, but as of now, he's the third catcher/back-up infielder/possibly outfielder on a suddenly very-dangerous and playoff contending Detroit Tigers squad.

My Playlist

Yes, music is good. I like music. I have a hard time believing that there is anyone who doesn't like some kind of music or artist. There have been several songs and artists that have influenced me during my still young life (some in middle school, others more recently). If I was forced to create a playlist of songs that embodies my life so far, this is what it would look like. If I was famous, you'd be able to see this on itunes.

There really is no particular order.
1. Snow Patrol - "Run"
2. Moby - "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters"
3. Coldplay - "Clocks"
4. U2 - "Beautiful Day"
5. Linkin Park - "Numb"
6. Explosions in the Sky - "Your Hand in Mind"
7. Eric Clapton - "Cocaine"
8. Sigur Ros - "Samskeyti"
9. Boston - "Livin' for You"
10. Lostprophets - "Last Train Home"
11. Moby - "Porcelain"
12. Metallica S&M - "No Leaf Clover"
13. Death Cab for Cutie - "Marching Bands of Manhattan"
14. Aerosmith - "Dream On"
15. The Verve - "Bittersweet Symphony"
16. Thrice - "Stare at the Sun"
17. Straylight Run - "Existentialism on Prom Night"
18. Incubus - "Dig"
19. Guns n Roses - "November Rain"
20. Smash Mouth - "All-Star"

I'm sure I'll look at this list in five years and feel completely embarassed by it, but these are a few of the songs and bands that have filled my ears from when buying cds was cool to the current age of the ipods.