Ok so here goes the last blog of the semester. Overall, I'd say this was a good semester. All of my classes were relatively stress-free, and I have done well (for the most part). I think English was my favorite class. Class time was very entertaining, and the work we had to do outside of class was not very boring. If I had to give advice to people coming into this class, I would suggest getting involved in the discussion in class. Even if you are not necessarily contributing to the conversation, make sure you are in it mentally. I learned a lot this year just by listening to what other people had to say. I would also suggest not procrastinating. We always had a few days to write each piece, and leaving it to the last minute hurt me sometimes. Other than that, I would say just go to class and do your work. It is not a very difficult course, and I found it to be fairly entertaining. That's pretty much it. So far this year was good, but if I don't go study it is not going to end very well.
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tonight was amazing. I went outside to the snowball fight in the quad and I have quite a few stories. There were guys fighting guys, girls fighting girls, and everything in between. I had to deal with a very angry person banging on doors, and I played some Madden. At one point (after I had come in from the snow) we started playing Zombination on my stereo outside our window (we are on the first floor looking out into the quad) and some people outside caught on. My roommate is an idiot and just tried to jump onto his lofted bed and failed miserably. Angry drunks are scary. I am not necessarily the strongest person on the face of the earth, and I would probably get killed if somebody really wanted to kill me. It is now 2 in the morning, and I am just starting to feel a sign of tiredness. This also marks the beginning of a very bad few days. I am glad that I ended the good days with a bang, but now we'll see what happens. This weekend is not looking very good.
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Well this marks the end of the day for me. This was one of the most productive days of the semester. I finished almost all of my paper, I studied for econ which isn't until Tuesday, I did two homework assignments that are due tomorrow night for computer science, I wrote a 2 page paper for seminar, and I went to office hours for English (even though they were cancelled--I would pick the one time that office hours are cancelled to go). On top of all of that I still had time to watch Family Matters, Boy Meets World, the Victoria's Secret fashion show, and play two games of Madden. Yea today was successful. The best part is probably the fact that I did most of my paper. My goal is to have that finished by the weekend that way I can devote Saturday and Sunday to studying for finals. The cherry-on-top was the chicken finger wrap that I had for dinner. Those wraps make Tuesdays and Thursdays worth living. Yea overall today was good, even though it was busy and filled with work. Hopefully I can say the same about THE LAST 3 DAYS OF THE SEMESTER.
Monday, December 5, 2005
Well it's halftime. The first half of this game was the most difficult hour and a half of my life. It would be one thing if the game was meaningless and we would be better off losing so we could get a good draft pick. However, that is not the case. An Eagles win tonight + an Eagles win next week=1 game out of first place in the division. I think I might cry. My life has revolved around the Eagles since I can remember, and I am not used to this. This season has brought back memories of Rich Cotite, and I HATE Rich Cotite. He was the Eagles' coach before Ray Rhodes, and it was a very difficult period for the lives of the Eagles fans. The biggest problem with this team is the fact that every time I think that they might be climbing their way back, they just get shot down again. The same thing happened with last year's Super Bowl. That night was an emotional rollercoaster for me. It was the only time (that I can remember) that I actually cried in public. This is so stressful. I realize that I am all over the place with this blog and I don't know if this is making any sense, but I needed to vent. Okay so Ryan Moats just fumbled the first play of the second half, and its now 42-0. In addition, I think I might murder John Madden. This is the worst he has been in a very long time. Ugh. AT LEAST I GOT A LOT OF WORK DONE TODAY!! That was the least sincere excitement I have ever expressed in my life.
Sunday, December 4, 2005
I just sat on the phone with US Airways and my credit card company for 3 hours. I am going to the Orange Bowl. I bought tickets a couple weeks ago, and I held an air ticket this morning. I had to call back to confirm my registration. When I called back, US Airways said my card was not valid. I then called my credit card company and they said it was valid. I then called US Airways back and sat on the phone so they could try to figure out what was wrong with the transaction. I gave them my credit card number so many times that I can practically resite it by heart, and they couldn't get it to work. I got off of the phone with them and called my dad. He was going to put the ticket on his card, but when he called, my card magically worked. In other words, after an hour of them telling me that my card was messed up and me telling them that it wasn't, the card worked when my dad called. I basically wasted half of my night for no reason. Technology sucks.
Thursday, DECEMBER 1, 2005
Since my Thursday opened up tremendously when I found out that we didn't have a draft due tomorrow for our final paper, I decided to be productive tonight and play basketball rather than just sit in my room all night like I usually do. It feels great to actually be moving around. This time of year is usually my most active because I am usually just finishing up with soccer and starting basketball season. I personally think that when you are stressed out, nothing feels better than sweating perfusely. I realize that that is pretty gross, but I really love the feeling of the sweat just pouring out of me. It is as if all of the stress in my body is being let out with the sweat, and it is very relaxing. Right now is the most calm I have been in a long time, because I just took a nice how shower and my body is calming down. Exercise is possibly the most important aspect of a person's life. I wish I wasn't as lazy as I am. I always used to want to go out and do something active rather than sit in my house, but things have changed. I will always have a love for sports, but I just don't have the time to go out anymore. It was really my car that did it to me. It is ironic because I worked for 3 years to buy myself a car, which was good, and the result of having the car was I got lazy.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I guess this is going to be another blog about the weather. Once again, it is relatively warm here at State College. When I left this morning for my 9:00 class, it was 61 degrees. I can't believe that it is still in the 60's and tomorrow is the last day of November. Every time it gets cold again I think that winter has finally arrived (and you know that because I blog about it every time it happens) and every time it goes back to being relatively warm (and you know that because I blog about it every time it happens). Seriously though, who would have expected that people would be walking around without coats in December. I know I didn't. Then again I also didn't think that my life would be so uneventful that I am actually spending time blogging about the weather (over and over and over). This week and next week are going to be surrounded by work, so chances are my life is not going to get any more excited in the next 14 days. Sorry to anybody that is planning on reading my blogs...they aren't going to be very entertaining.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Cited Source
"Irvin charged in Texas; says pipe belonged to friend." ESPN.com. 28 Nov. 2005. 28 Nov. 2005. <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2238758>∞.
"Friday, Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his vehicle and arrested him on an outstanding warrant for speeding during a traffic stop" (Irvin Charged).
Monday, November 28, 2005
I had a very good break. I was pretty busy the whole time because there were so many people that I had to see, but it was still relaxing. The one thing that I didn't really accomplish was school work. I tried my best to get a lot of work done, but I was in vacation mode. The problem with this is the fact that I now have a ton to do, and I am still in vacation mode. While the break came at a good time in terms of me needing a break, it also came at a bad time in terms of throwing me off of the habit of doing work. I had been working pretty hard up until the break, and then I got out of the habit. Once out of a habit, it is very difficult to get back in. I did do a lot of work today, but I also took long breaks. I think if I hadn't had the break, I would have got more done. At the same time I would not have been more energized. I would have been in the flow of things, but I probably would be much more tired and sick of working, which could have inhibited my performance. Either way, I still have a lot to do, so I am going to end this blog. Wish me luck on finishing everything.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Thanksgiving is a great holiday. It is a time for family to get together, eat, and watch football. I don't think there is anything that I enjoy more than to eat and watch football (in case you haven't realized that by the amount of football posts I have made). The only problem with the holiday is the fact that turkey is not my food of choice. I can eat it, but I don't really enjoy it. If thanksgiving was eating filet or prime rib instead of turkey, I would be in heaven. But regardless, I love the holiday. Now that I am in college it means even more. It means that the semester is almost over. It is a time when everybody is home from school at the same time and I can see all of my friends. I have been waiting for this week for a while now. I have loved Penn State and always said that I don't want to go home, but I think that a weekend off will be very beneficial. I can't wait for Tuesday.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
I am quite out of shape. I just played basketball for two hours, and now I can't move. I was planning on joining the gym, but the fact that I have been too lazy to click on a link to sign up tells me that I will be way to lazy to actually go work out. This time of year is usually my most active time, because I have played soccer in the fall for the last 12 years. My coach was always big on endurance, so he worked us until we couldn't move anymore. This year, however, I am not playing with that team for obvious reasons. The combination of not playing soccer and not working has really kept me in bad shape. My goal for the second semester is to get myself into good shape. I am going to start working out over winter break, and then keep the routine going when I get back here. The key is to get into a good routine. If I know that 4:00 is gym time every day, I will go. However, until I get to the point where it is an every day thing, I will not be able to make myself go. I now realize that I need to get myself into good shape, so I am going to work at it.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
http://epod.usra.edu/archive/images/sunrise.jpg∞
This is a picture of a sunrise. My paper is going to be eliminating evil, I felt that a sunrise was very appropriate. It is often the case where evil is symbolized by darkness. By having a sunrise, the darkness is going away, and the evil is being destroyed. I also plan to talk about the way to eliminate evil is with good people. In this case, the sun is the good person destroying evil. Light colors tend to represent good, and the light is overtaking the dark. The sunrise is a perfect image that depitcts my paper topic.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
In one week from now I will be home. I am very excited to go home and see everyone. I have already gone home twice so far (once for a wedding and once for fall break), so I thought that I would not be looking forward to Thanksgiving as much as I am. I can't wait to see all of my friends. I have seen my family a lot (both times I went home), but the majority of my friends weren't home when I was. I also need a break from this atmosphere. Things are starting to pile on, and I think a change in atmosphere will help me get everything done. Going home means a differnt routine with different surroundings, and that helps me focus (don't ask me why). It seems like everybody is very excited about going home except my sister. This is her last semester up here. She is a senior, and next semester she will be student teaching at home. The fact that we are going home means she only has two weeks left of college life. I would imagine that that is a very weird feeling. I know that it was weird knowing that I was graduating high school, so I can only imagine what is like to be finishing with college. This means that she is going into the "real world" soon. Fantasy land is gone. I want to stay in college as long as I can.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Frustration has officially set in with the Eagles. They lost last night (in case you are living under a rock). They have fallen to 4-5 and 0-3 in the division. Last place is not a phrase that has been in the Eagles' dictionary in the past several years, and it hurts to say it. The fashion in which they lost was the worst part. Everybody is telling me that the season is over, and we are done. I'm not buying it. Although we are in last place, we are still only 2 games out of first place. It is very possible that we turn the season around and win the division, but it isn't going to be easy. However, I think that the season ends when I give up hope, so I am refusing to tell myself that the season is over. I have a feeling that I am in store for more disapointment, but I would much rather be disapointed by believing than to end the season today. However, that doesn't mean I am not frustrated. Just when you think they are going to win, something goes wrong and they blow it. It is difficult to watch games like these. I guess I will have to watch every minute of every game with a feeling of uncertainty. Ugh.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
I have decided that I don't like working in groups, especially for a paper (I am glad we don't have to for our final project in English). For Econ, we are writing a paper in groups. Originally we had planned to meet on Thursday night to put everything together, but when Thursday rolled around the rest of the group wasn't ready, so it got put off until later today. This didn't bother me too much, especially because I didn't really feel like working on it on Thursday night. However, the other members of my group can't decide on a time to meet today. One has his girlfriend up here until later today, he said the later we could work the better. That is understandable, but my other group member had a problem with that, and wants to do it earlier. I think he might want to do it earlier just to be difficult, but I am just speculating. On top of all of this, one of my group members just sent me his part of the paper, and it is not very good. I am not willing to just re-write it for him, but something needs to be fixed with it. He listed the sources he used at the bottom, and did not include a works cited. He has one graph, when we needed two, and his text doesn't reference the graph at all. I didn't even get the other member's work yet. I am frustrated.
Friday, November 11, 2005
I just read chapter 7 in "Understanding Comics," and there was one thing in particular that I found very interesting: the idea that everything that humans do that is not for the purpose of survival or reproduction is art. I never really thought of it in this manner, but when looking closely at what is being said, I think I agree. Everything we do is for the purpose of expressing ourselves, whether it be the clothes we wear or the way we walk. When I read this, I started thinking. I would consider taking this one step further. I think that Everything we do is art. Even if what we are doing is because of a basic instinct such as survival or reproduction, everybody does those things differently. The manner in which we attempt to reproduce is a form of expression. The pick-up lines that a guy uses on a girl can be considered art. Even though the guy is still following the basic instinct of reproduction, the way he is doing it is art. The same can be said about survival. If a person is being chased by somebody else, the way in which that person escapes is art. Just look at movies. Car chases are very revealing about people. Anybody that is in a car chase has a certain type of personality, and is showing that personality by participating in the chase. If somebody is being chased by somebody else on foot, the way in which that person escapes is art. Ducking in and out of windows, jumping over fences, and using weapons are all ways of expressing one's self. A prime example is "Home Alone." Kevin uses creativity and intelligence to escape the burglars. He uses art. Everything we do is art.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
I need to vent. I started a franchise in Madden the other day, and so far I have lost 4 games. You can ask my roommate, I own this game. For some reason, the game is out to get me. All four losses have come on last second miracles, and at this point I think it is impossible to win a game. I don't know what I can do differently in order to win. All of the techniques that I usually use in a regular game don't work. I think the game is designed so that it is impossible to win on a consistent basis unless your team is significantly better than the teams you are playing. In this franchise, I am an average team because when I use good teams, the games are blowouts and not entertaining. I wanted some competition, but there is a difference between competition and impossibility. It is literally impossible to win some of these games. Nothing I do is successful, and I am getting very frustrated. That being said, I am going to go play again. (It's weird how things work out.)
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Owens is a disgrace. He got up in front of thousands of people today and completely bs'ed an apology. He sounded so apologetic and remourseful, but we all know that he just wants money next year. He knows that if the Eagles don't let him play this year, he will probably never get another solid contract. He will be stuck with one-year contracts for the rest of his career and will never make the "big bucks" (it is ironic because not getting a lot of money means low millions as apposed high millions--I feel really bad for him let me tell you...). On top of his ridiculous apology today, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, looked even worse. He did not answer any questions directly, and did not even attempt to answer most of them. If he accepted the question, he spent 5 minutes yelling about who knows what, none of which had to do with the actual question that was asked. He must have said "Next question" at least 25 times during the press conference. I am confused about something. If people hold a press conference, aren't they implying that they want the press to ask them questions and then answer them? Apparently Rosenhaus's idea of a press conference is a little bit different than everybody else in this country. His version is accept only questions that he feels appropriate and then not answer them directly. Today was a joke. The Eagles better not let Owens play now.
Monday, November 7, 2005
Indianapolis just beat New England. This has been the one thing that has held Peyton Manning back from being truly great. I am frustrated because I am anticipating a week of "The Colts will win the Super Bowl because they were able to beat the Pats this year in New England." This bothers me because the media is great at handing teams championships, but they really have no idea what is going to happen in the long run. Week 9 has nothing to do with a Super Bowl win, and I know for a fact that there will be commentators gift wrapping the win to the Colts. The media bothers me in general. I think that Michael Irvin intentionally started an issue with Owens and the Eagles by mentioning Brett Favre. It is incredible how much power media has. Because of one comment made by a commentator, the Eagles lost their "star" receiver for good (not that that is necessarily a bad thing) and a man is out of a job for the rest of the year (even though he still gets paid). The point is the media plays too big of a role in sports. I wish that could change.
I knew there was something I was supposed to watch last night ... oh well. - EschaTon
DAMN THOSE COLTS!!! -TrinFuff
Sunday, November 6, 2005
I just wrote my proposal paper. I decided to write about how we could solve the problem with our economy. Although my idea seems fairly strange and sadistic, I honestly do believe that it would work. I think that instituting a mandatory death at the age of 65. I just wanted to say that I am not sure if I am going to use this topic, because I am not sure if it is too "out there." I feel like this is along the lines of eating babies (but not nearly as disgusting). I would like to take this opportunity to say that if I do go through with this idea, I don't mean to offend anyone. Don't judge me just based on this idea, because this is not how I would normally think. This idea came through one of my dad's friends. He used to be on the debate team in high school, and they were debating how to solve the decline in the economy. He simply told me the idea and that nobody could ever win a debate with them because there were no facts that disproved this argument. I then thought about why it would work, and I realized that it is a legitimate plan. I don't know...I might go through with it.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
It's great because today is basically Friday for me. I was able to manipulate my schedule in a way that English is my only class on Friday. This is generally a fairly laid back and entertaining class, so I don't consider it a struggle to go to. When I wake up on Friday I don't say to myself "Oh man I have to go deal with a class for 50 minutes." Instead, I say to myself "Cool, I only have English today and then I am done." Since our class is formatted the way it is, most of the "hardcore" work is done by Wednesday, so all I have left to do for Friday is revise a paper (and read a little bit for this week, but that is not the norm). All of this boils down to the fact that my weekend "starts" at 12:30 on Thursday, with a little bit of English work to do (especially because I try to revise my papers on Wednesday while it is fresh in my head). I think that creating a good schedule is one of the most important aspects of having a great college experience. My semester has been great because of the amount of free time that I have. If I could give any advice to the incoming class, it would be take your time creating a schedule. It will pay off in the long run.
It's good that you've picked up on the importance of schedule creation. It truly is the most important skill a college student can have. - EschaTon
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
A whiteout has been declared for this Saturday's game vs. Wisconsin. I can't wait. This game will without a doubt rival the Ohio State game in terms of energy in the stadium. It amazes me how emotional that place can get. I don't know how any opposition can come into Beaver Stadium when our fans are going crazy and perform. Actually, they haven't come in and performed. So far every team that was supposed to come in and do damage has not met expectations. This weekend is also the last home game for 23 seniors on our team. That will definitely add some emotion to the game. Michael Robinson will be able to play on emotion alone and will have the game of his career. The crowd will be behind him, his team will be behind him, and this will be his game to do what he wants with it. He is going to shine in the biggest game to reach Beaver Stadium in years. This is virtually for the Big Ten championship. It doesn't get much bigger than that. One thing that I am disapointed about is that the Rose Bowl is the National Championship this year. Of all years, it picks the one that Penn State would have been there had it been for the Big Ten winner. Regardless, I can't wait for the bowl. We are projected to play either UCLA or Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. I can't wait. My parents picked a great year to conceive.
Monday, October 31, 2005
What happened to October? I feel like I was just asking what happened to September, and it has already been a month. This was one crazy month. Between Ohio State and fall break (going home) and homecoming, October was quite busy. I should be out celebrating Halloween right now, but I am still not 100% health-wise, and I did not have a very boring weekend just to blow it on Monday. I also need to be healthy for this weekend. Looking ahead to November, it looks like we have a long stretch of classes until Thanksgiving. I am sure that the time will go much quicker than I expect. I can't believe we are down to 6 weeks in the semester. It seems like there is still so much to do for all of my classes. I am anticipating a very challenging month. At least I am prepared for it. There is nothing worse than getting a lot of work thrown at you without anticipating it. This should be an interesting few weeks. Let's see what happens. Happy Halloween.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
This has been a very boring weekend. Since class on Friday, I have not moved except to fill up a water bottle, to shower, and to go to the bathroom. I just had no strength to do anything. I couldn't even get to my computer to do my blogs or check my fantasy team (and I am probably going to lose this week as a result). I think I am starting to get healthy now. Today I have much more energy to do things, and I can actually swallow without the feeling of dozens of nails going down my throat. Apparently whatever I was sick with is going around campus, so if anybody has a low grade fever, a drip in your throat, and a lack of energy, take dayquil and nyquil (I'll save you a trip to the doctor's). I am very happy that I am starting to get better, but I am still going to take it easy for a few days to ensure a good weekend next weekend. I have not had a normal Penn State weekend in a month. We had Ohio State here (and that weekend was far from normal), I went home the last two weekends, and this weekend I was sick, so it will have been over a month by the time I can actually go out next weekend. My goal is to make next weekend as good as it possibly can be (so if anybody has anything real good going on let me know). Another bad thing about being sick was my inability to do any work. I had no strength to do anything, and I have plenty to do for this week. Between exams and presentations the work is really starting to pile up. O well, I'll get through it.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
I just got back from the doctor and apparently I have some version of the flu. Of course this happens on Homecoming weekend/Halloween. I only went to one of my classes today. When I barely made it there on my feet I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to keep going to class for today. Luckily the class I went to ended very early and I got back home about 25 minutes before I usually do. I am also lucky that English is my only class tomorrow. I don't know if I would be able to make it any other classes. Part of me is happy that this happened on the weekend, and part isn't. I am probably not going to be able to go to the game on Saturday, and that kills me. I take my sports very seriously (obviously) and to not be able to go to the second-to-last home game of the season is eating me up inside. At the same time, if I can only "attend" (in quotes b/c todays class didn't really count as a full class, so I don't know what would have happened if it went the full period) one class a day, it is probably good that this isnt starting in the beginning of the week, or I would have one tough week. Well I will see what happens. Hopefully I will be in class tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I am actually watching baseball right now. I hate baseball. For some reason I am watching the World Series. That just goes to show you how bad the television network is that we have up here. I realized that I have no idea what is going on in the world, thanks in part to the lack of quality in our TV. At home I got almost all of my news updates from the news on TV. I am not much of a newspaper person. I think it might have something to do with the way the information is presented in the newspaper. First of all, I don't like the black on gray. I find that these colors make me tired. It is much easier for me to read a book or a magazine than it is for me to read the newspaper. Another reason I don't like the newspaper is because of its chaoticness (if that is a word). I feel like the newspaper has no structure; things are written wherever there is open space. I am not a newspaper fan. I wish we had a better TV network. (For the record, I wrote a letter to Comcast SportsNet (the Philadelphia sports-station) asking why we don't have their service up here.)
Monday, October 24, 2005
Yea so I am back already. I just realized that we had a "poem" to read and blog about so I figured I would do that before I forgot. This was a very "interesting" poem. I would classify it as a poem because my definition of a poem is a piece of literature that messes with one's emotions. It is different than a novel in the sense that the emotions that are affected by a poem are affected based on interpretation. Everybody gets a different feeling from a poem. I think that a novel produces the same emotion in everyone. This piece did change my emotion. I can't put a finger on the way that it makes me feel, but it definitely makes me feel something. I have a feeling of uncertainty after reading this poem (and that could be why I am not sure of the way it makes me feel). I don't necessarily like this poem, but I would definitely consider it a poem.
Monday, October 24, 2005
It's been a while since I blogged b/c of the Wiki going down, but not long enough that we can go from heat to snow. SNOW! One week ago I was commenting on how nice it was outside, and now they are predicting snow for tonight. I blogged a few weeks ago about how I was ready for no more heat, but now it is SNOWING. This boggles my mind. I can't believe we went from summer to winter with virtually no fall. I was warned that it gets cold up here early, but I didn't really pay attention. I think I am happy that it is getting cold, but I am not sure. I know that makes no sense, but I really don't know how I feel. I am definitely happy that it is not hot anymore, but I would rather have had an autumn before winter. One very good thing about the cold weather is the elimination of allergies. Winter is my healthiest season of the year, and hopefully this feeling that I have in my head right now will be gone for several months. I am not feeling well, and I am looking forward to not having to deal with this anymore. We'll see what happens. I have a feeling that I will be sleeping relatively early tonight because I don't feel well, but if I don't I will be back to write again.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I just finished writing my casual argument, and as my neighbor said, "it is a stretch." I wanted to write about something different for a change. I wanted to be creative. There was one problem with that: I couldn't think of anything "different" to write about. I decided to write my arguement about the cause my difficulties in writing this particular paper. It seems like it would be confusing to read and comprehend, and maybe it is. All I know is I understand it, but I also wrote it. I am going to have to get a few people tomorrow to read it and tell me what they think. If you are interested in reading this please let me know, because I definitely need some feedback. I figured it is worth a shot since it is only a rough draft. If worst comes to worst I can always re-do this paper and write about something different. We'll see.
Monday, October 17, 2005
My neighbor takes econ 4. His professor posted some sort of study guide online which seems like it would be very beneficial. However, the professor happened to make it in a "word perfect" format, so the only way to access it is to have Word Perfect on your computer. Nobody has Word Perfect on their computer. Why would a professor do this? Is he trying to be difficult? Is he that mean that he would make it impossible for people to access the study guide? Maybe he is just not smart. Maybe there is a way to convert the file into a normal word document (if this is the case please let me know how to do that b/c we couldn't figure it out). If it is a situation where the professor purposely put the document in a word perfect format (he had posted other things in a normal format that could be accessed), something needs to be done about that. There is no reason that a professor should be intentionally making things difficult on the students. I don't think that this is the case, but I also wouldn't put it past him. Some people are so power hungry that they would do anything to put themselves on a pedistol. People bother me.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
So it has been a while since I wrote last. I was at home with an insane amount of things to do. One of those things, like everybody else, was the Penn State-Michigan game. You all saw it, I don't need to tell you what happened. I do need to say, however, that there should be fines for refs. There should be some sort of way of making sure that the right call is made. There should be a reason for the ref to want to make the right call. In that game, 7/8 of a foot was equal to one on a very big play in which the Michigan receiver only got "one foot" in bounds. On the kick following the last Penn State touchdown, there was a missed penalty that would have brought the kickoff return back and probably would have given us a 7-0 record for the season. I am not making an excuse for the loss. Penn State's defense was very suspect at various times in the game, especially that last drive. That dude should have been covered in the endzone. He had already had a big game, and you had to know that Henne was going to be looking for him. However, I do think that the game might have ended differently if it weren't for the bad calls/noncalls during the game. The ref should face a penalty for making a bad call. That is the only way to ensure that they will work harder to make the right call.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
I have a night class on Wednesdays. This week, my teacher told us that she couldn't make it on Weds, so she asked that we come to her other class, either Mon or Tues. That is ridiculous. If I have a reason to not be able to make it to class, I can't ask her to teach me another time. She should not be able to require us to attend class on a different day. There is a reason that I did not choose to attend class on Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday was the day that best fit into my schedule, and I don't want to attend class on Tuesday. There should be some restriction on the professors. If she can't make it to class one day, the class should be cancelled and we can learn the material another time. I don't like the fact that professors have freedom to come to class whenever they want, and the students have no freedom at all. There should be a change in the system.
- Welcome to the wonderful world of tenure!! - EschaTon (I for one will cancel class if I can't come, because I'm just that cool)
Monday, October 10, 2005
Next weekend we play Michigan. We are ranked #8 in the country. Michigan is not in the top 25. Somehow Michigan is favored in the game. Granted they are playing at home which will have some affect on the game, but not enough to be favored over the #8 team in the country. There is a problem with this. I could understand if Michigan was ranked lower than us, but still higher than 25. Then playing in the Big House could give them the advantage. This is not the case though. Michigan is not only not ranked, but they are 3 games behind us over all. We are 6-0. Michigan is 3-3. 6-0 is better than 3-3 no matter how you look at it. More wins, less losses, better percentage...we are better than them. I am not saying that Penn State will definitely win the game, but there is something wrong with us not being favored. I personally think that it will benefit us to be underdogs, because now our players have something to prove. It is easier to play as an underdog than it is to play as a favorite. However, I do want respect. We should be favored.
Sunday, October 9, 2005
http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_cambodia1.html∞
I never was much of a history person. Throughout school, history was one of my least favorite subjects and as a result, I never took the time necessary to learn about it. I know that this is not good, because so much can be learned from history, but that is the way it was. As a result, I had never heard of the Cambodian Genocide before class on Friday. I looked it up online and the link about gave me a pretty good idea of what was going on. I think that this situation was an awful one. I can't believe that such horrible things could be done to innocent people. I am also surprised that I had never heard of it before. This is along the lines of the Holocaust, and we have spent countless days learning about that horrific event. Why was this not taught to us in detail? This also makes me feel lucky that the United States worked out the way it did. We had our own Civil War, and the outcome, for the most part, was a peaceful one. The Genocide following the Civil War shows us what could have been, and we should all feel lucky that we are in the position that we are in today.
Sunday, October 9, 2005
I haven't written in a few days. Life has been revolving around football, and for a good reason. In case you were unaware, Penn State beat #6 Ohio State last night. It was the most incredible feeling I had ever had. I felt as though I was on the field playing the game. Through the entire game, I could not stop moving, and I could not stop yelling. When there was nothing to yell about, I found something to yell about. As a result, I have no voice today, but I love it. I am sure the majority of the students here are in the same position as me. I will never forget last night. As soon as that ball was fumbled and Penn State recovered, my entire section collapsed into one big hug. It was amazing. I was hugging people I have never met before, and probably will never see again. That is what football does to people. It is more than just a sport. It is a reason for a large group of people to become united regardless of their differences. You can't go one day without hearing about issues within communities, whether they are racial issues or political issues or something along those lines. At a football game, we are all one big family. That video that is played before the game talking about how we are one big family is true. For 3 hours of the week, everybody puts their differences aside and unites. I love it. I love Penn State football. 6-0!!!!!
Thursday, October 6, 2005
I know somebody who has a very big problem. She has emotional/psychological issues, and I have had some very difficult experiences with her. I have spent countless hours trying to make her feel better about herself and trying to help her, but she still has issues. Recently she got referred to CARES (she is still in high school). CARES is a program through the school that tries to help students like her who have problems. I was very happy to hear that she finally got referred, because I know it can help her. Today was her first session, and she is not accepting that she needs help. She has admitted to me that she has problems and has told me numerous times that she needs help, and now that she is getting it she is rejecting it. This is making me very frustrated. I think the reason that she is rejecting it is becuase of it's reputation throughout school. CARES is viewed upon as a joke. If somebody says they know someone that went to CARES, everybody laughs. It really is a shame. Society should be more accepting of people with problems. Because of the schools nievity (spelling?), CARES is getting a very bad reputation. I think it is a very good program and very benficial, but it only works if the person attending wants to be there. It is difficult to want to be there when you know that you will be laughed at if you tell anybody that you go. I wish the school was more understanding. I am worried about her.
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
I do not like the fact that this is considered a Pittsburgh network when it comes to tv channels/programs. We get all of the Pittsburgh channels and all of the Pittsburgh games, and all of the Philly games are cut out. The other day, I missed the first quarter of the Eagles game because we are not in a Philadelphia region. I am not going to see the first Flyers game tomorrow because we are not in a Philadelphia region. I feel that since we are neither in the suburbs of Pittsburgh or the suburbs of Philly, we should either get neither network or both. If we had neither, we would just get the nationally televised games. If we were both, we would get both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia games. This campus is split pretty evenly in terms of people from the Philadelphia area and people from the Pittsburgh area, and there is no reason that one should be arbitrarily picked over another. It comes back to my point about timezones that I wrote about a while ago. It is simply a random drawing of where the Pittsburgh network ends, and I don't like it.
Monday, October 3, 2005
I am addicted to minesweeper. Many people have no idea how to play this game, and I really wish I was one of them. About a half hour ago, I planned on writing my blog. I needed to think about what was on my mind, so I decided to play some minesweeper while thinking about blogging topics. After a half hour and countless minesweeper games, I am still in the same boat as I was before. I think I might have some sort of ADD. Actually, I think it is the opposite of ADD. I am going to call it OADD. With OADD, I get involved in one thing and I get to the point where I can't help but think about that one topic. There aren't enough numbers known to man to count the amounts of times my roommate has asked me a question while I am doing something meaningless and I don't even hear the question asked. I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I just tune out the rest of the world. This could be beneficial when it comes to doing school work. It is good to be able to focus on a paper that you are writing or a book that you are reading and not be distracted by things around you. However, my OADD does not seem to kick in when I am doing something important. More times than not, I am easily distracted when doing my schoolwork, but the get into a zone when doing something trivial. I think I have OADD.
I wasted so much time playing MineSweeper. Now I have a Risk clone on my computer and that completely destroys my ability to be productive. - EschaTon
Sunday, October 2, 2005
Something very weird happened today. While watching the Eagles game, there was a commercial for KFC buffalo wings. I didn't think too much of it, and I continued watching the game. Towards the end of the game, my roommate suggested that we get wings for dinner. I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I went next door to see if our neighbors wanted to join us. I went in and asked them if they wanted to get some wings, and they just sat there laughing at me. Apparently, no more than ten minutes before, they had discussed getting wings for dinner after watching the same commercial. I found it very ironic, and realized that the commercial did its job. We would not have wanted wings unless we saw that commercial. This company did a great job advertising, and as a result put us in the mood for wings. The funniest part of this story is the fact that we decided to get wings delivered from "Wings Over Happy Valley" and not KFC. KFC did a great job putting us in the mood for the product, but did a bad job selling us on their product. KFC wasted their money on a commercial spot. They almost got our business, but instead, gave business to their opponents. Nice work KFC.
Saturday, October 1, 2005
WHAT A GAME!!! Penn State finally put it all together, and played a flawless game. It really makes me proud to be a Nittany Lion. I honestly believe that a person cannot have a good college experience without a tremendous amount of school spirit, and a big sports program plays a significant role in that. For instance, yesterday was crazy in town. I walked up and down College Ave and I got chills from all of the excitement, and needless to say, our team did not let us down. The reason I feel that it is important to have a lot of school spirit is because it makes a person want to be at the school. I was talking to my friend at NYU the other day, and he told me that since NYU doesn't have a football team, he roots for PSU. There is no way he feels as connected to his school as I do to mine, and as a result, is missing out on somethin very important. I have a sense of belonging here at Penn State. Anyway, how about that hit that Michael Robinson put on that one guy? That was incredible. Personally, my favorite part of this game can be summed up in the following quote written in an article on cbssportsline.com: "Minnesota's offense was frustrated most of the day, though. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Gophers were serenaded to chants of 'Overrated' from the loud crowd of 106,000 clad mostly in blue and white." We made it into the news!!!! Our fans are by far the best in the nation. I think that our support for the team has put them in the position they are in. There is only one way this weekend can get better, and that is with an Eagles win tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
You know what bothers me... People who think they know everything. I know somebody (I will call him joe) who must find a way to outsmart me at everything. Whenever I have an opinion about something, I always get a comment out of Joe. Whenever Joe and I are putting something together, we have to do it Joe's way. Whenever I have an idea, Joe's is better. Whenever I think something bad is going to happen, Joe tries to prove me wrong. For instance, the other day I almost poured a bottle of water on my computer. There is no way that my computer was going to live through that. Joe found it necessary to debate me about how the computer would have been fine, as long as I "took the computer apart and let it dry out." Is it necessary to say that? Obviously this is not an option, and even if it was I don't think it would work (but that is besides the point). Another example would be when Joe and I were trying to take something apart that was screwed together very very tightly. Joe refused to allow me to try to do it my way, because it wasn't his idea. This is frustrating. I realize that the purpose of these blogs is to argue a point, and to a certain extent I did that (not really but whatever), but I had to get this off of my chest before I exploded. I feel better now having expressed my frustration, and I promise- tomorrow's blog will be better.
Monday, September 26, 2005
How to be a good waiter or waitress
Having spent 4 years in a restaurant, both bussing and serving, I have developed a very successful routine for serving tables and earning a good tip.
1) Approach the table with a smile. First impressions are VERY important. It is incredible how far a smile can take you.
2) Be friendly. Establish a relationship with the customers. Make sure they know that you are there to serve them, but you also want to "be their friend." Ask questions. Start conversations. Make the people think you are interested in their lives, even though we all know you probably aren't.
3) Be patient. There are always situations where you are in a rush or have other things to do, but give the table all of the time needed to make a decision. In the long run, the happier the table, the better the tip. It is incredible how much a tip will suffer if the customers are not happy with the taste of their food. While it is obviously not your fault (you didn't cook the food), it is usually taken out on you. If they need more time to look at the menu, don't rush them.
4) Offer advice. If the table seems to be having difficulty on making a decision, suggest a good dish. This is dangerous, however, becuase now it is on you if they don't like their food. Recommend the "safest" dish. If there are a wide variety of exotic entrees and many basic ones, suggest a basic one. The table is much more likely to enjoy it.
5) After taking the order, say thank you. While there really is no reason for you to be thanking your table for their order, it makes them feel better.
6) If the food seems to be taking a long time, make sure you make visits to the table updating them on their food and making sure they have everything they need. If necessary, lie. Come up with a good reason as to why their food is not out yet, even if it is not the truth. Making it clear that it is not your fault that the food is not out yet is crucial when it comes to getting a good tip. It is also good to be humorous. For instance, one time one of my customers ordered fish. It was taking longer than it should for the kitchen to prepare the food, and there was nothing I could do to control it. I approached my table and apologized for the amount of time it was taking, and informed them that the chef decided to go to the Atlantic Ocean to catch the fish himself. The table laughed, and no longer cared that it had taken too long to get their food.
7) Keep the drinks filled. A thirsty person is an unhappy person. Both before and after the food is served, make sure that they have a full glass.
8) After serving the food, make one visit to make sure their food is okay. It is necessary to find a happy medium between ignoring your table and bugging your table. Frequent visits will get on the table's nerves. They did not come to the restaurant to talk to you, they came to eat, so let them. This is possibly the trickiest part of the job. Some people take longer to eat than others. It is impossible to judge how long it will take each person, so do your best to give them the time necessary to finish their meal. On the same note, it is not good to leave a table with empty dishes on their table. If they finish their food, get them dessert or the check. Do not let them sit there.
9) Be available. While it is not a good thing to constantly stop to talk to your table, it is also not good to "disappear." Make sure that your customers no you are around and available to help them if they need it.
10) Encourage dessert. If there are young children at the table, tell them about "all of the yummy things there are to eat!" Chances are the kids will beg for dessert and the parents will give in. Dessert=more food=higher bill=higher tip. The ultimate goal is to make as much money as possible, and adding on to the bill can only help.
11) Draw a happy face on the check. Although this is not one of my techniques (there is something about it that bothers me), I have been told that this is very effective, and can raise the tip dramatically.
12) Thank the customers for coming in. End the meal on a very good note.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
We think we have it tough...A random blog∞
I was reading that person's blog (don't ask me why) and I realized that our hardships are so small compared to other people it is ridiculous. America has bred a bunch of complainers. I can't believe the amounts of complaints I hear every day about such minute things. I am the same way. I find myself complaining about things with such little importance, and it bothers me that I do it. Every day I hear "it is too hot" or "it is too early" or "it is too sunny" or (my favorite) "I have too much free time." I am guilty of 2 of those 4 myself, and it really is a shame. The American public as a whole has turned into a bunch of lazy winers, and I am getting sick of it. I wish we could all just change into the perfect society. Damn.
Friday, September 23, 2005
I am one of the most competitive people I know. If there is one thing I hate (more than Steelers fans), it is losing. Regardless of how insignificant the activity is or how meaningless the game, I want to win. When playing street hockey with my friends, I want to win. When watching a preseason football game, I want the Eagles to win. When playing taboo with a couple of friends when there is nothing better to do, I want to win. This is why I chose this icon. I view almost everything as a competition, and I keep pushing until I win. This icon represents the constant fight that I put up when participating in any sort of competitive event, no matter how insignificant it might be.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Okay so technically it is Friday already, but I haven't gone to sleep yet so to me it is still Thursday. I found out today that talking in your sleep runs in my family. A few times already, my roommate has informed me that I say things to him in my sleep. One time I got so far as actually leaving the room (so I guess it goes beyond just talking). I thought this was weird, but I didn't think anything of it. Today I met my sister for lunch, and her roommate happened to be walking by. Somehow the two of them got on the topic of talking in your sleep, and it turns out that my sister does the exact same thing. Is this some sort of genetic disorder? Why is it that both me and my sister talk/walk in our sleep? I find it very weird, especially because I have never been told I do this before. It must be something that I just picked up recently. As a young teen, I had sleepovers just like everybody else, and I didn't talk to anybody while I slept. Whenever my family goes on vacation and we are all sleeping in one room, I don't talk to anybody, nor does my sister. Why is it that we both randomly started talking in our sleep this year? She is in her senior year of college, and this is the first time that she has had this issue, so it must have just started. I think it is very weird.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Today one of my crazy professors set of the security alarm trying to plug his iPod into the computer. Throughout this ordeal I wondered to msyelf, what if there really was an emergency? What good was that alarm doing? Nobody came in to see what was going on, and nobody did anything about the alarm going off. Had this been a real emergency, whoever set off the alarm would have been able to crawl away without any problem. I think that there is a problem with the system. If the security alarm does not generate a reaction, what will? One would think that the alarm would be linked to the police station or campus police or some sort of emergency help team, but it wasn't. We all just sat there while the alarm went off, and not one person came in to see what was going on. This does not make me feel safe. If there is ever an emergency, I want to know that I am protected. This system needs to change.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Believe it or not, I am currently watching football. Surprising isn't it? This post is not going to debate the quality of the Eagles and Steelers or their fans, however. Tonight is the clumination of Hurricane Katrina Relief weekend in the NFL. There is a telethon tonight for donations to the relief fund being held by the NFL. There are two games on tonight, and all of the other big names in the league are answering phones asking for donations. I think that this is a great thing that the NFL is doing. They are possibly the most powerful company in the world, and it is imperative that they are doing everything in their power to help our country. This act is not to gain popularity, not to make a name for themselves, and not to make money. The NFL is doing this to help those who are suffering across the nation, and it is a great cause. Way to go NFL.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Isn't it supposed to be cold up here? I was under the impression that we would be up here and have about a week and a half of heat, and then the temperature would start to drop. I am sick of the heat, and ready for the cold. Today I was laying in bed imagining that it was 30 degrees outside and i was almost ready to go make some hot chocolate and wrap myself up in a blanket. I then realized that I was hot. This is weird for me to be saying because I much prefer the heat, but I am ready for cold weather. Chances are I will regret writing this because it is just a matter of time until I am walking to class without feeling in my toes and frostbite and windburn on my cheeks, but I want it to get cold. I want hot chocolate.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
What a game! That was by far the best game of the season. Our offense played well (no fumbles by Michael Robinson) and our defense limited the production of Central Michigan's offense. Granted CMU is not good, and we were favored by 22 points, but it was still a solid showing. Not only did the team do well, but the crowd was really into the game. It was a great atmosphere (as always). Next week our season begins, as we kick off the in-conference games with Northwestern. The Lions were supposed to go 3-0, so they still have not proved anything to me. I'm hoping for the best. I am still counting down the days until Ohio State. I CAN'T WAIT!
SetAbominae: I agree. I was pretty impressed by the game. Penn State still has a lot of work to get their game up. This is a huge improvement over their other two games, especially their season opener.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Alright so I just tried to understand comics, and I have to admit, it was kind of interesting. I'll be honest, I was skeptical in the beginning when I first saw the book, but I read it with an open mind. It turns out that the book is pretty interesting. The part of the chapter that I enjoyed the most was the part about the Egyptians. It seems like the hieroglphics would be considered comics, based on our definition. This is not the case, however, and Scott McCloud does a very good job explaining this. The part about how the Egyptian "comics" went diagonal was interesting as well. The story that was told through the egyptian pictures was pretty clever. This book pasts my test.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
You know what is difficult...blogging. I like the concept, and I think it is not only a good idea but a healthy one. However, there are some times that I just don't have anything on my mind. Today would be a very good example. I have spent the whole day trying to figure out what was bugging me or what was worth writing about, and I came up with nothing. Today was just one of those days that was fairly uneventful, and I really don't have anything to say. I think this system would work out much better if we were only required to blog when there was really something that we wanted to express. I can search for things and just fill up space on my Wiki, but I think that is not the point of this assignment. Personally, this would be much more effective if we were only required to write when we really had a strong opinion about something.
(I do realize that I just expressed an opinion about not having an opinion on anything...ironic isn't it?)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
AimConvos
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Today I received a free bottle opener from the library. The library is supposed to be the most educational part of the University. If people need to study, the first place he/she thinks of is the library. I was trying to figure out what a bottle opener could be used for. There is the obvious use...alcohol. What else can a bottle opener be used for? Soda is rarely sold in bottles these days. WHAT ELSE CAN A BOTTLE OPENER BE USED FOR? Nothing. There is no other practical use for a bottle opener. This leads to another question. Why are they giving out bottle openers in a library? Mixed messages are being sent. We are not supposed to be allowed to drink alcohol, seeing as how we are 21. Why am I being given the tool necessary to take part in the act? I do not like the fact that the University is sending mixed messages to it's students, and then reprimand them for drinking. Something is wrong.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Today was the first Monday of classes, and I have now realized what the most influential factor in having an enjoyable semester is: your schedule. My schedule goes as follows: Monday: class from 11:15-1:10; Tuesday/Thursday: class from 9:05-9:55 and 11:15-12:30; Wednesday: class from 11:15-1:10 and 6-9pm; Friday: class from 11:15-12:05. I have had a tremendous amount of free time, and time to catch up on my work since I got here, and today has been no exception. It is only 4 o'clock, and I have completed work for 3 classes. Being a football fan, I have a strong desire to watch Monday Night Football. This is now possible because I am completing my work very early in the day. So far I have had a very good semester, and the biggest contributor to that has been my schedule. I have plenty of time to get my work done, which also leads to plenty of time to relax. That is essential to enjoying the time at Penn State.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
I can't believe it is Sunday already. What happened to Friday and Saturday? Part of me is very excited that it is Sunday, because it is the first day of football. However, I have work to do for tomorrow, and Sunday also means I am one day closer to classes. Up here, the days go by very slowly, but I can honestly say Friday and Saturday flew. Anyway, seeing as how it is September 11th, I guess it would be appropriate for me to be thinking about the tragedy that occurred 4 years ago. For this moment, sports need to take a back seat. I can't believe it has already been 4 years since the horrific event known as September 11th. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting in biology class when my teacher got a memo, and began to cry. She told us what had happened, but being a naive freshman in high school, I didn't really know what that meant. She told us that all of the doors to the building were being locked to prevent anything from happen to us. This seemed like a "joke" to several of us. "What are the chances that a small school in Richboro would get attacked by a bunch of guys who just didn't like America?" Little did we know, but it was much more complicated than just that. The event didn't really sink in until I got home from school, and my dad and mom had both left work early, and were sitting in the family room watching tv. My dad never ever leaves work early. I like to call him a "workaholic" because even when he isn't working, he is thinking about work. For him to just end his work day and let his business shut down for a day, I knew that this had to be a much more serious issue than just a few guys playing a practical joke on the United States. The weeks to follow September 11th were possibly the most stressful weeks of my life, and I still didn't really understand the severity of the issue. I can only imagine what the people were going through who lost loved ones in the event. I was lucky. Nobody very close to me lost a single person. My heart goes out to the all of the families who are being forced to remember their loved ones on this day.
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Why am I always tired? There has not been one day since I arrived here at Penn State that I wasn't tired. Regardless of what is going on and where I want to be, I am tired. Last Saturday, after the football game, I got some dinner, came home and sat down on a chair. I fell asleep. It was Saturday night, and I was sleeping by 10:30. Over the summer, I went well into the wee hours of the morning hanging out with my friends and having a good time. Since I came up here, I have been tired. By midnight I am ready to go to sleep. I would think that by getting to bed early, it would make me less tired the next day. It doesn't. No matter how much sleep I get and how little I do, I am still tired. While this is the case, I am not going to let being tired stop me this weekend. I WILL NOT be sleeping by 10:30 on Saturday. I will be out partying and celebrating another win. If anybody wants to meet up with me, let me know.
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Last night while trying to fall asleep, my roommate and I had a very interesting conversation. I have come to the conclusion that time-zones are merely an arbitrary approximation of where time should jump an hour, and I don't like them. Who is to say that in one instance it is 7 o'clock, and then after taking 5 steps due west, it is 6 o'clock? I understand that it is necessary to have a uniform way of determining what time it is in a certain place, but I don't like the fact that it can be one time of the day in a certain place, and 1 mile down the road it can be a completely different time. Time-zones are crap. We were over-tired.
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
I was planning on writing a blog about a certain issue, but there has been a comment left on my page that cannot go unanswered concerning the Eagles and their preseason record. Apparently, Himeros believes that since the Eagles did not have a successful preseason, they will not be able to contend this year. I believe there is only one thing I need to say to end this debate. Last year, the Eagles went 1-3 in the preseason, and went on to win 13 games in the regular season, and make it to the Super Bowl. This year the Eagles went 2-2 in the preseason (that is better than 1-3). If this reasoning is not enough for you stubborn Steelers fans, here is one more bit of info. That HORRIBLE loss that you speak of to the Jets came in the 4th preseason game in which Donovan Mcnabb didn't even start. Most of the starters for both teams were not playing in the game. The fourth preseason game is historically a game for the coaches to determine who deserves to fill the last few open spots on the team, and the starters generally sit to prevent injury. If the Eagles were forced to play with all of their backups all season, I would agree that they do not have much of a shot at winning a significant amount of games. This, however, is not the case, and #5 will lead us to the Super Bowl.
Monday, September 5, 2005
I really dislike the bookstore. I have a computer science class, and we are required to have a certain book. I took three trips to the bookstore, and each time they told me that they didn't have the book that I needed. I continued to go to the HUB bookstore and the Got Used bookstore, neither of which had the book I need. I decided to email one of the other students in the class to find out what she did about getting the book. Coincidentally, this student works for the bookstore downtown. She talked to her manager, who decided to check storage. In storage were twenty more copies of the book I needed. I now have to make a fourth trip downtown. This wouldn't be a problem in a normal situation, but this is definitely not a normal situation. Living in East, it is a good 15 minute walk to get downtown, and I am lazy.
Sunday, September 4, 2005
My Narrative
I kept pushing. I wasn’t going to let a small injury hold me back from the one thing that would make my “childhood years” complete. It was the championship game for my soccer team, and we were tied with just minutes left on the clock.
I started playing soccer at the early age of five. It had been a passion of mine for quite some time, and seeing as how it was my last year of high school, and my last chance to play with “my team,” I wanted it to be a successful year. We had been so close every year, but we were never able to win the big one. Agonizing defeats in the championships in years past made this year that much more important to me. It was the last year my team would be together, and I was going to make sure it counted. Throughout the season, I had been one of the leaders of my team, not only through play, but through voice. I lost my voice practically every game from trying to energize my team to keep pushing, regardless of the importance of the game.
The entire season was a great one for our team, and we had made it to the championship game, when the worst thing that could possibly happen to me happened. I was fighting for the ball, using all of my ability, when I felt a sharp pain shoot up my leg, as if an explosive had been set off. It was the worst pain I had ever felt, and I didn’t know what to think. Here we were in the biggest game of the season, and I could barely put pressure on my right leg. As I lay on the ground, I heard several of my teammates encouraging me to keep going. They turned into the leaders of the team at that point, and I knew what I had to do. I kept pushing. I wasn’t going to let a small injury hold me back from the one thing that would make my “childhood years” complete. It was the championship game for my soccer team, and we were tied with just minutes left on the clock.
After a minute or two of back and forth action, we were down to the last minute of our season. I was not going to let my season end on a bad note. The ball was cleared out to me and I had some space to work with. I charged up the sidelines with the burn of sweat in my eyes and one leg filled with jello. I rushed past one defender and then split two more. I realized that I had a clear run at the net. I could hear all of my teammates and our fans cheering me on. This was the moment I had been waiting for my entire life. With all of the energy I had left in my body, I unloaded on the ball. My team won the game two to one. I left the field with a championship trophy and no voice.
VeritasNarrativeComments
Other Narratives HimErosBlog and MonicaKrasBlog
Saturday, September 3, 2005
When I was sitting down to think about what to write for my first WikiBlog, I figured I should write about what I am most passionate about. Without a doubt, my passion (especially during the fall) is football. Seeing as how I am from outside of Philly, I am a die-hard Eagles fan, and I cannot wait until the season starts. The Eagles will be the best team in the NFC this year, and once again contend for a Super Bowl championship. Many people, especially those un-educated Steelers fans, might say "without T.O. the Eagles have nothing." This, however, is not the case. First of all, they have a solid running back in Brian Westbrook, who performed exceptionally last year without the aid of one of the top fullbacks in the league, John Ritchie. Anybody that can perform behind the ABSOLUTE WORST player in the league, Josh Parry, can be successful in any situation. Second of all, the Eagles have a solid, young receiving core in Greg Lewis, Billy McMullen, and Reggie Brown, not to mention a solid upcoming tight end in L.J. Smith. In addition to a great offense, the Eagles have one of the top defenses in the league, and will continue to succeed. If all of these reasons weren't good enough for you, there is one more reason that the Eagles will contend for a Super Bowl again this year-Donovan McNabb. He has led the best of the Eagles (T.O. and Brian Westbrook) and the worst of the Eagles (James Thrash and Todd Pinkston) deep into the playoffs, and he will not let a minor mishap with another teammate hold him back. I have one thing left to say...E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
I would like to take this time to apologize in advance to anybody that I offend over the course of the year. Everything I say is all in good fun, and I am looking forward to a great season and semester.
Himeros: Veritas, I would just like to wonder, how are the eagles going to win? If they cannot even do well in the preseason. For example, the Jets led them 27-0 after the first half! You Eagles fans seem to point at everyone else but yourselves
MichaelNiffeneggerTestUser: Even though I can't stand the Eagles, preseason doesn't mean anything and I think they got what it takes again. Thanks for the offer to help with my calc.
Thursday, September 1, 2005
I am not sure if I am doing this correctly, so if anybody happens to view my page and knows if am headed in the right direction, please feel free to contact me (or if you just want to talk). My email is emg5021@psu.edu, and my screen-name is Gobirds1234. I chose this license because I want people to be able to borrow my work, but I do want credit for it. When other people ask for my help in something, I take it as a compliment. As the phrase goes, "imitation is the finest form of flattery." I am flattered when other people want to use my work or my help, so if anybody needs help at any point in the year, please let me know. I can't guarantee that I will be a big help because I am obviously on the same level as everybody else, but feel free to ask.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.