The Big Game

My day has so far consisted of an endless cycle of boredom followed by headaches. Christmas Break is soon upon the horizon. The only problem with this is that every college student has begun growing gray hairs.

There is one special thing that I am glad to see occurring once again. When the days grow shorter and the night skys get darker, it can only mean one thing. It is Basketball season in the Basketball state. Our traditions are old and our minds are simple but Basketball is our game. As the old saying goes: "Basketball was invented in Massachusetts, but it was perfected in Indiana."

Tonight, our Hoosiers will be taking on the #1 Duke Blue Devils. It will be the first meeting since the 2002 NCAA Tournament when Indiana upset Duke 74-73. Quite possibly the greatest game in Hoosier Basketball History in my opinion. With this in mind, here are the President's KEYS to Victory.

Keys for Indiana:

• 3 Point Shooting - Indiana must continue to shoot well from the outside.
• Duke Foul Trouble - Shelden Williams is the main man in the middle for the Blue Devils with 3 blocks per game. Indiana will be much more successful with him on the bench.
• Ball Control - Indiana is averaging over 18 Turnovers a game. They must take care of the ball or Duke will make them pay!

Keys for Duke:

• Blue Devil D - Duke's defense is notorious for causing turnovers and ball pressure. Force Indiana to take bad and off balance shots.
• Josh McRoberts - The former Carmel stand-out must have a good game. Duke can't solely depend on J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. The bench also has to step up!
• Silence the Crowd - Duke has never traveled to the hostile environment of Assembly Hall. The crowd will be fired up for this game. Duke must make them a non-factor!

Those are the President's KEYS to Victory. Enjoy the game and have a Wonderful Wednesday! Go Hoosiers!

Life is Good

You ever get in the kind of mood where you just want to complain until you start to count all of your blessings? Well, today has definitely been one of those days. My reflection time was extremely positive today. Despite the little shortcomings that seem to occur every now and then, LIFE IS GOOD.

The Indianapolis Colts are 11-0! Nothing is better than watching football with good friends and finger food from Damon's. Well, maybe a few things are a little better. Anyway, there was only one low point of the night in which case I am still upset about getting hit in the face with a roll! Bring it on Orion!

Unfortunately, staying up late watching Indiana's team left me with a major headache when I got home. I passed out on my bed as soon as I got home and forgot to set my alarm. By the time I woke up, I had already missed my 11:30 class! How pathetic is that?

The Indiana vs. Purdue Flag Football Game was also on the President's Domestic Agenda today. This task was accomplished; however, I think I should just stick to being a spectator. We lost big time so we did a good job of playing the part of the Hoosier football team. I also think I did a good job of yelling and bumping chests with my buddy Bill.

I am so glad that I decided to play tennis instead of football. I am very happy that my mom wouldn't sign the permission slip. Tennis was a lot safer. Thanks mom!

Well, that is all for the Prez today. I am off to bowl and play cards with the guys tonight at Starbucks. Wish me luck!

Happy Days and Karate Kid star dies

Normally I wouldn't post twice in one day but I thought you all should know that Mr. Miyagi passed away today.

Pat Morita dies

Happy Holidays!

I really couldn't come up with a better title for this post. It's so cliche this time of year but unfortunately today I have no creativitiy. I guess that I'm tired more than anything today. I guess that happens when the weather is overcast and cold.

I didn't feel like doing any shopping today either. Mostly a bum day for me. Quite frankly, I don't know why so many people are wanting to shop today. After going through the stress of hanging out with relatives all day why would you be interested in dealing with strangers?

I guess I really don't know what to say. I mean what can you say when you are sitting in Starbucks except that the music is pretty good sometimes. What I can't believe is that I see little kids drinking Frapaginos!

Kids aren't allowed to have candy in schools anymore but they can have a frickin' Frapagino? Does anyone else see something wrong with this?

Sounds of the Season: Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys

I'm Back

After freaking out half of my friends with my last post and enjoying a few days in Bloomington, I'm back! My last post was just a recently rambling of mine while I was sitting in Spanish class. I can't describe what I was feeling but it was a very strong emotion.

Anyway, I'm sorry for scaring you Mike. What a weekend in God's country: Bloomington, Indiana. I have to say that there is nothing better than sharing a beer with you father at Nick's English Hut on Kirkwood. My dad came into some tickets for IU Basketball on Friday so we had to check it out. They looked pretty good! Go Hoosiers!

Sunday night was also a basketball night but with the guys. I think I'm gonna be guarding John from now on because we had a great battle in the post. It was also much different than most nights because the games were intense and close. Last time I saw Ben play as hard as he did was when we were in 8th grade at the Tipton Invitational. Quick Note: Ben's Western team lost to my Tipton team in the first round of that tournament.

Good times! Well, that is all for me! Have a great Turkey day everyone!

Untitled Writing (from Spanish)

I am in a square room and I cannot breathe. All around me are familiar faces but no one notices me. I frantically look around for help and sweat begins to form on my face. I see no way out.

I start to panic. How in the hell do I get out of this place. Does anyone notice my pain? My stress? Why must they only be concerned with their own life and problems? Do I not matter? Do I not hurt like you? If I were crying, would you not care?

I hate this place and I cannot get out! Get out of my way! Why won’t you listen! I continue to push and push and the only thing that moves are my teeth that grind back and forth causing me to bite my tongue and scream!

The room is empty now but the sickness in my stomach remains. The sweat is gone from my face but the stench remains. So much left unsaid, so much built up inside. Eating away at me.

The memories continue to go through my head as I approach the door. I go to the door and open it. I look back into the room and all is clear and white. I am free. I am now safe. With a slam, I shut the door but the emptiness and anger remains.

Loss for Words

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Only two dogs, three chickens, and two rats were harmed in the writing of this blog.

Despite the rain and the impending snow, I have been having a great day. The only class that I had today was my favorite: Western Civilization. As boring as many of my classmates may find it, I learn something new everyday. I’m a fan of political history! Give me a break!

The other good thing that the class does for me is that it gives my brain a terrific work out which allows me to do my best thinking. With this work out, I have concluded that I do not know what to think about today.

Every time in the last few months I have known exactly what to blog about but today, I am at a loss for words. I am just sitting in my office not bothering anyone and listening to music with no thoughts or opinions on what is happening in the world around me.

Of course, I could write about love and relationships but today I think I will just end with a quote from someone who is never at a loss for words.

“Women cannot complain about men anymore until they start getting better taste in them.” – Bill Maher

Balancing Equations

What a weekend! Most of the time, the weekend is my special time to do absolutely nothing. I’ll mostly just stay in my room, lounge around, play a little bit of football, and then go hang out with my friends. This weekend was different.

This weekend, I attended the annual University of Indianapolis Model UN in an effort to prove to the world that I am a Political Science dork. For reasons that go beyond normal understanding, my friend Chad and I chose to be the United States.

We thought we were prepared until we entered the room to see half of the delegations with laptops and several binders on their desks. As it turned out, we really didn’t have to worry.

In the end, we came within one vote of passing a resolution for UN Reform. The unbelievable thing about it was that it was full of the State Department’s recommendations. By almost pulling off this miracle, I think that gave us the confidence to do as well as we did. It felt good to put in all of that hard work in especially when my council voted me Runner-Up for Best Delegate.

Yeah I am a dork when it comes to politics and debate but I’m darn proud of it! In addition, I’m happy with the way things are in my life. Even now, I am so glad that I got to experience what I did this summer in Washington DC.

This summer really put things into perspective for me. I learned that family, friends, and a personal life are the most important things but one should also be striving for personal success in the professional world. I feel as if I have finally balanced the final equation and for that, I am truly thankful.

Classic Quote from my favorite book The Great Gatsby: “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

Glory Days

Can you believe it? The Indianapolis Colts are 8-0.

What a great night! My friends Chad and Kayla came over to the house for a little football, pizza, and craziness in my basement. Good times! Anyway, I had an experience tonight that I just had to blog about.

Tonight as I was getting ready to go to sleep, I stumble upon an old shoebox that was underneath my bed. Inside of the shoebox, I found dozens of cards, pictures, and notes that brought back a ton of memories. Here is what I found:

I found the note my high school g/f wrote me just before we broke up. I'm not going to disclose any of the contents of that letter but I will tell you that it made me think a great deal about the good times we shared. It also made me think of the reasons we broke up and how they have become so vague with each passing year.

I found my old wallet from my junior high and high school days. I experienced a great deal with this little piece of leather which included my first date, my first car, my first car wreck (not my fault), my second car wreck (again, not my fault), and my first g/f (lasted 3 weeks).

I found Senior pictures of my old friends. One picture was of a friend who wanted to be a movie director. Another was of a friend who has gone on to be a great success in the world of politics. I even found a picture of Ben when he didn't have a goatee!

I guess you are never too old to go back and experience the glory days of little to no responsibilities. In college, I've always been told to think about the things that are on the outside of the box. That may be true but in this case I'm glad that I didn't.

Song of the day: Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen

Crazy Quote from a Crazy Blonde: "Wow! I just got boobed!"

I Miss the Old Pacers

I want to apologize to all of my loyal readers (all 2 of you) for not blogging in a few days. The past few days have been full of unwanted activity that needed to be dealt with, unfortunately. It is my hope that those kinds of things will never occur again. Anyway, I'm sorry!

After a disappointing IU Football game yesterday, I came home to my basement and watched the Pacers game against the Sixers. The game was extremely exciting even though the Pacers lost. The team is full of new stars and they have a relatively new home in Conseco Fieldhouse but I have to say, "I miss the Old Pacers."

I miss seeing the 7'4" Dunkin' Dutchman Rik Smits starting at center for the Blue and Gold. I also miss Reggie Miller hitting the last second three pointer with only seconds to go on the clock. I even miss debating with my friends about which Davis is better: Antonio or Dale?

Along with missing the players, I also miss their former home: Market Square Arena. You could never find a bad seat in that arena. No matter where I sat, I always felt like I was close to the action and the players. I even remember sneaking down to the expensive seats before game time just to get a glimpse of Chris Mullin's bald head during the playoffs or to cheer on Larry Bird before his first game as Pacer's head coach.

I might be sounding like those little old men that complain about change but with this subject I don't care. The Pacers still might be a brilliant team to watch and the facilities may be top of the line in Conseco Fieldhouse but the best times I ever had as a Pacer fan occurred in Market Square Arena with the Old Pacers.

Maroon 5 song of the day: Sunday Morning

My favorite moment as a Pacer Fan: In 1998, I won tickets to an Indiana Pacers game by guessing the correct number of Boomer's in a box case at the Pacers Homecourt Gift Shop in Indianapolis.

Family Foundation

It seems as if the past couple of days have gone by with a flurry. For reasons that I'd rather not talk about, I've been extremely tired lately. This tiredness has also allowed me to think which has been great. Because of recent events in my life I've been thinking a lot about the First Amendment.

Tonight, I went out to dinner with my folks and I had an excellent time. Normally, as a person gets older they often hate to have anything to do with their parents but I guess I'm a little different than most college students.

For the first time in a while, I just talked with them and listened to the advice they gave me. We also went to go see my great aunts tonight as well. It is so nice to see them and they are always happy to see us.

No matter what goes wrong in my life I am glad that I have a good foundation to fall back on.

Paul Simon song of the day: Learn How to Fall

Random Thought for the day: Nothing beats good music from Yahoo! Radio

Taking Chances

As the day progressed, I seemed to get more tired. I planned to wake up early this morning and study for my Western Civilization test but I ended up hitting the snooze button over a dozen times. By the time I woke up, I had just enough time to get to school and go to my Debate Team meeting.

Today's debate topic was the Death Penalty and I was given the opportunity to argue for the Con-side of the issue. My colleagues impressed me by making some great arguments that almost caught me off guard. I still think that I was able to hold my own though.

After the meeting, I left mentally strained because in debate your mind is going a million miles an hour in such a short amount of time. I arrived at my class just in time to take my test. Unfortunately, it was an essay test and I really didn't feel like writing too much today.

In retrospect, I think I did pretty well considering my brain was half asleep. The office of the President was especially busy today with buzz certain campus events and happenings. However, out of all gossip I heard today, I was pleased to hear that my friend had taken a chance with something and was successful.

I could not believe how well things worked out for my friend. To tell you the truth, I think I was more proud of his success than he was. Maybe, it is okay to take more chances in life. Sometimes, I feel like I try to play it too safe. I sometimes catch myself trying to have everything planned out that I sometimes forget that I have to live for today and not tomorrow.

With this in mind, I am going to take the chance of watching Conan O'Brien this evening before bed! Good Night all!

GREEN DAY song of the day: Insomniac

A Special Quote from the Student Body President of Indiana University Kokomo: "Constructive criticism of any institution is an essential contribution to its progression and longevity; however, blatant attacks contribute nothing."