LSAT, the wacky NFL, and the MLB Playoffs

Today is cold and rainy, and I’m one of those few psychopaths who actually enjoy this kind of weather. I get nostalgic for some reason; it could be because I always look forward to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. It really is my favorite time of the year.

I decided a few weeks ago that I would take a chance with my life and apply to law school. Let me make one thing clear, here: it’s not something I’m pursuing on a whim. I’m not going about preparing for it willy-nilly, either. I’m going at it full-force. It’s certainly very late in the application cycle to get started on something so big, but I can guarantee I’m putting my all into it.

In fact, I think I may have overdone it these first few weeks. At first, I could get through whatever material I had in front of me without much of an issue. But now, I can’t get through half a page without dozing off. So as a result, I think it would be prudent to adjust my schedule a little bit and take a couple of breaks during the day. I’m far enough along in the material that I can be a little more relaxed about it.

I wonder if it’s true that all lawyers go to hell.

Meanwhile, I’m balancing a couple of community college classes to help keep my mind fresh. They’re a little easy, but it’s still nothing to sneeze at. College is college, after all.

Now that I’ve got all that boring crap out of the way, I can move on to what really matters – my poor, pitiful Pittsburgh Steelers.

The last thing you want to do is count out a team, no matter how bad they look. But right now, it’s not looking good for Pittsburgh. The offensive line is in shambles; as a result, both the running game and Ben Roethlisberger have taken a sizeable beating. And with the offense unable to really sustain any drives, the defense is getting gassed a lot more quickly.

Let’s get one thing right, though. The Steelers looked helpless when defending against the run on Sunday. The Texans’ offensive line is nothing to sneeze at, and Arian Foster is an absolute monster. The obvious explanation is that the Texans are simply the better team. I’m sure I’ll have a hard time finding anyone who would argue otherwise.

With the Steelers banged up and terrible, I initially anticipated I wouldn’t really enjoy the NFL all that much this year. But 2011 really has proven to be one of the more unpredictable and exciting years in recent memory.

Yes, there are those teams we expected to do well – the Green Bays, the New Englands and others – that have failed to surprise us. But for the most part, the league is in a state of chaos. Buffalo is at a shocking 3-1, Detroit is undefeated through four weeks, and the Eagles, whom many trumpeted as the preseason NFC champion, are at a shocking 1-3.

It’s years like these that let me focus more on the league as a whole instead of only the Steelers and those few non-Steeler players on my fantasy teams. And really, I emerge from these kinds of seasons for the better, either by learning a little more about the league as a whole or not getting so upset over my favorite team’s performance (or lack thereof).

Should the Steelers find a way to pick things up, I’d be all for it. But until then, I’ll sit back and enjoy the three-ring circus that is the 2011 NFL season. I can’t wait to see how messed up the playoffs will look.

Baseball, for now at least, is pretty much dead to me. The Angels once again had a tremendously disappointing season, culminating in the long-overdue resignation of GM Tony Reagins and his cronies. But never mind them – I’ve had plenty of time to get over that.

The main reason I can’t really follow the MLB playoffs too closely is that there are very few moments I can conceive that would surpass the last day of the regular season. Time and time again, I look back on that day and shake my head in disbelief. What occurred on that day was something you’d only expect to see at the end of some sappy Disney movie.

I’m not going to go through it all here – I had a much better take on it here. But I can’t possibly imagine any moment involving these seven remaining clubs that would be somehow more memorable than the combined collapses of Boston and Atlanta last Wednesday. I wouldn’t mind seeing Texas or the Yankees go out in heartbreaking fashion. I know I'm not in the minority there.

Big day tomorrow. I scheduled a self-administered practice LSAT in the morning, so we’ll see how that turns out. It will be the first of many.

Back to Football

I might get sued for using that title. I'll keep you updated.
Well, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting and uncertainty, the NFL finally began its 2011 regular season schedule.
The Steelers apparently didn't get the memo. They played one of the sloppiest football games I've ever seen them play and went down by a 35-7 final tally. It was a disgusting display, capped by 7 Steeler turnovers and a stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Ike Taylor that nearly led to an on-field riot in Baltimore. Luckily, it's only Week 1, and the Steelers have a lot of time to improve before they face the Ravens again in Pittsburgh. I'm hoping it was simply too hot and humid for Pittsburgh to function properly in their black home uniforms. We'll see.
Even with my favorite team's sub-par start to the season, I'm glad to see football back in full swing. There's simply something special about it I can't really define. It could be that it heralds the oncoming fall and winter seasons, or sending off the summer as it nears the end. Whatever the case, I get a little more spring in my step knowing that the weekend will bring with it the joys of America's game.
After watching my Steelers roll over, I had the pleasure of watching the Vikings visit the Chargers in one hell of an exciting game. I hope to see a lot of games like that one over the next few months.

And now we play the waiting game

Well, let the hype begin. Nintendo held a barn burner of a press conference today, setting ablaze buzz all over the internet.
What wound up dominating discussion of the presser was their unveiling of the upcoming Wii U, a completely new (and interestingly named) console. The system features a controller the likes of which we've never seen before, with a six inch HD screen and cameras. At first, I was horrorstruck when I thought that the thing to which Nintendo fans have been eagerly looking forward turned out to be nothing but a new controller. But Nintendo kind of botched the whole presentation, never once mentioning an actual game console. There actually is a game system to which the controller will be connected. The company chose instead to focus primarily on the revolutionary new controller. It didn't help that the unveiling began with a video of people playing a game that looks nearly identical to New Super Mario Bros. Wii using Wii remotes. As it turns out, the upcoming system will be fully backwards compatible with Wii games and peripherals, saving Wii owners the expense of going out to buy new controllers. And the game featured in the unveiling was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which allows players to play the game using their own Wii avatars.
Once I got over the shock of thinking it was only a controller, I realized more and more what fantastic implications the device had for the gaming community.  One of the great things that have been confirmed about the Wii U is the ability to play games entirely on the controller if someone else wants to use the TV. There were also situations in which players pointed the controller at the TV screen, and, using the camera and HD display mounted into the controller, were able to zoom in on certain areas on the screen. It really does boggle my mind when I think about the possibilities. As of now, we still know very little about the device.
For a second, I thought I was going to get over not being able to get my hands on a Nintendo 3DS when I feasted my eyes upon the Wii U's fantastic features. However, right after the unveiling of the Wii U, Nintendo had a knockout punch of an announcement, including a new Mario Kart, Super Mario 3D, Luigi's Mansion 2, and plenty more. All of a sudden, the 3DS's paltry lineup has been loaded up with star power. And I'm going to go crazy waiting for it all.
EDIT 6:33PM: How the hell could I forget about this! Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped hints that Smash Bros. may be on the way for both the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U, and there will be some sort of connectivity between the two versions! That was my favorite moment of the conference.

Excited for E3, the BGE, and an appearance on 1340AM

Tomorrow is one of the few days of the year that I look forward to like a child awaiting Christmas. At 9am PST tomorrow, Nintendo is going to hold its annual press conference at the E3 Expo, which is the biggest video game press event of the year. Microsoft and Sony both held theirs today, and they were both impressive, but the one event in which I am truly invested is Nintendo's. There are a couple of things I am expecting to see which I won't share here purely because they are rumors. I'm hoping for at least one thing I won't see coming at all.
It has been well established that Nintendo will unveil their newest home console, which I understand will be called the "Current." The name's a little less silly than "Wii," but I'm sure it'll be subject to ridicule here and there. Its mysterious controller has been the subject of much speculation, along with a few rumored launch titles.
Also confirmed to be unveiled is the newest handheld Mario game, which I understand will be a derivative of Super Mario Galaxy. I absolutely loved both Mario Galaxy games, so I expect to be wowed with this one.
I've been watching too much Food Network lately, and I've become a fast fan of celebrity chef Bobby Flay. He's all about the barbecue, and that's been a personal obsession of mine for about a year now. I mentioned to my dad this weekend that I was thinking of building our very own BBQ smoker the way they do it in the South, which wound up being a mistake. Dad mentioned he'd rather purchase a "Big Green Egg" grill, which I had only heard by name until that point. I looked it up, and boy, is it an impressive and versatile piece of cookware. I keep thinking about all of the food we'd be able to grill and smoke with one of those babies, and it makes my mouth water. I really, REALLY want one. The main problem, though, is the $700 price tag for the most popular model. That price tag doesn't include the separate stand, either. It does include plans on how to build a rather convenient-looking table. With Mom recently losing her job, though, it seems out of the question now.
It looks like I'll be headed back to school for at least a semester in an effort to fend off my loan payments a little longer. Normally, the loans wouldn't be an issue, but with my mother's aforementioned loss of a job, it's the least I can do to help keep expenses down. This, of course, is assuming I don't wind up with a paying job before then. Better safe than sorry.
I've been graciously offered an opportunity to appear in an interview on the radio! The details haven't quite been worked out yet, but I'll be talking Angels over the phone with Steve Bortstein of Fox Sports Radio 1340AM in New Mexico. Stay tuned for more details! I'm excited!

Amos Song's new blog!

Hey! My friend Amos has officially started his personal blog, The Amos Song Variety Show! Check it out, will you?
I might have something new up in the next day or so. Probably a rant about how maddening it is to watch these 2011 Angels.

Newest Zelda 3DS trailer!

I will think about this game day and night until I finally get my hands on it. It's the greatest game of all time, in 3-effin'-D!

Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

One last thing - check this baby out. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and it's only a few weeks away.
I was a huge fan of the original, and seeing the announcement for this game was probably the best news I've ever heard. I can't wait to see what Nintendo pulls out of their magic bag of tricks when the E3 Expo rolls around. I expect the upcoming Super Mario game to kick some major ass.

Through the Fence Baseball and BBQ

I can't believe I haven't posted it here yet, but I've got my first writing gig! Check me out at Through the Fence Baseball! I'm covering the Angels as a regular contributor. Should be a lot of fun. I'm already learning a lot more about the craft of writing, the sport of baseball and my poor Angels, who laid a giant goose egg yesterday at the hands of the crummy A's. I've got an article pending that will hopefully be up before the day is done.
This has been a pretty interesting experience so far, mostly because I've never actually written articles about sports before. They're not postgame wraps, either. Rather, they cover interesting themes or topics I've noticed while watching so much baseball.
With the (temporary) return of warm weather to Southern California, I've had plenty of opportunities to get in some pre-summer grilling. I think the best thing I've cooked so far is some pretty badass pork ribs. A great dry rub recipe in conjunction with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (recommended to me by my friend Amos) really made for some flavorful ribs. I look forward to the days when I can go outside and cook. I may not always do a good job, but I like to learn about what works and what doesn't along the way.
Speaking of cooking, my family's moving forward with a pretty elaborate plan to improve the house before renting it out and moving. The latest phase in the project is completely redoing the kitchen. We knocked out most of the overhead cupboards over the weekend, and we'll probably take the rest of the cupboards out and demolish the counter in the coming weeks. From there, we'll have everything replaced and move on with the overall project. The bathroom is probably next.
I've heard that Seth MacFarlane is moving forward with a reboot of The Flintstones. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how that pans out. It probably won't be as horrendous as the Internet is making it out to be.

Make a Film Foundation

I apologize for the long delay. I was in a bit of a funk for the last few weeks.
On Saturday, my dad and I took a trip out to Beverly Hills to volunteer for the Make a Film Foundation, a group created by Tamika Lamison whose work revolves around giving ill children the chance to fulfill their dreams by creating a film with real Hollywood actors. The event was a premiere of their latest release, Deep Blue Breath by Clay Beabout and starring Clay and Sean Astin. Along with a little general labor here and there, I got to be an usher for the event, which was fun. I got to converse with a lot of the people involved in the project, including little Clay himself.
Clay's film featured a dramatization of his battle with VACTERL association, a disease caused by associated birth defects. He has been through over 40 surgical procedures, which is staggering when you really think about how young the little guy is. He has had artificial ribs installed along his spine, along with other surgeries that were (understandably) not covered in detail.
The film itself was profoundly moving - it was written by Clay himself, so it provided a deep glimpse into what kind of hell he's endured and the apprehension that the next trip to the operating room might be his last. But he is, after all, a kid, so he doesn't make the movie a complete downer - the film includes an animated segment in which Clay battles Lord Vater (played by Ernie Hudson), a personification of the disease that dogs him, inside his own body with the help of Charger, the imaginary dog. Sean Astin of Rudy and The Lord of the Rings fame played Clay's father, and Natasha Gregson Wagner played his mother. It ran for about 14 minutes.
The premiere also involved a making-of documentary and a glimpse into the Make-a-Film Foundation as a whole. Turns out Elijah Wood was kind enough to give Clay acting lessons as the film was made.
When his film was over, Clay took the stage and took questions from the audience, awing the crowd with his charisma and sense of humor. For all he's been through, it's amazing that he's got such a sunny outlook on life. He put Charlie Sheen to shame; I wish I had recorded the conversation.
I will have pictures shortly, I hope.
Last night was the longest Angels game I've ever seen, complete with a rain delay and a trip to extra innings (thank you very much, Jordan Walden). Glad to know they can take at least ONE game from those Goddamn Red Sox this season.

Wrasslin'

You’re probably going to hate me for this, but I’m about to talk about professional wrestling. Bear with me, people.

I used to watch WWF/E programming starting in late 1999, when the so-called “Attitude Era” was at its height. Many consider that period of time as somewhat of a golden age in pro wrestling, and I have a difficult time disagreeing with that notion. Stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, and Mick Foley dominated the main event stage, while up-and-coming superstars of tomorrow were showing the world what potential their future would hold.

Fast-forward to 2011, when many of those old stars are on the rapid decline or already retired. The remnants of the Attitude Era have, for the most part, faded away, while many elements and figures of that time have chosen to linger.

As a stupid kid, it’s easy to fall into the storyline and become what they call a “mark,” believing that what you see is real and that the people that brutalize themselves before you are legitimately good or bad people based on their performances. Looking back on my viewpoint back then, it’s kind of disgusting that I jumped for joy when the “good guy” slammed the “bad guy” through the announcer’s table or pushed him off of a towering steel cage.

When the mid-to-late teens set in, so did the awareness that I was watching a planned performance and more of an appreciation for some of the moments these performers created. Regardless of who the character was that was being maimed, I marveled at what these athletes are capable of doing – and enduring. As my teenage years waned, so also did my interest in wrestling; the spectacle began to wear off.

The years have quickly come and gone since I gave up following professional wrestling, and recently I’ve started watching again. Having absorbed a college education and attained a little more sensitivity for my fellow man, I now watch some of these normally unthinkable stunts with a twinge of horror running down my spine. The amount of risk and pain associated with this business is about as close as one might possibly get to inhuman. I become aware that these are not simply “good guys,” “bad guys,” or stuntmen putting themselves through these brutal spots. These are human beings who regularly fall on their backs on the wrestling canvas or jump off the turnbuckle in the corner. Every single bump they take inflicts some toll on their body that will be amplified manifold some day.

So when I see someone like The Rock return to professional wrestling, I don’t get excited. Instead I feel regret that they’ll go right back to torturing themselves for a little bit of fame and a decent paycheck. I recently watched one of Mick Foley’s pay-per-view matches for the TNA promotion in which he was back to his old tricks, falling on barbed wire and falling through wooden tables. I couldn’t stand seeing Foley getting beat up in his prime, simply because I liked him so much as a wrestler; it’s even worse knowing that he’s had the ability to walk away from the sport on multiple occasions.

So when I found out on Monday that Canadian superstar Adam “Edge” Copeland was retiring, I felt that it was a moment that really did signal the end of an era. Edge was one of those young up-and-comers from the Attitude Era’s peak, and here he was now, standing in the ring and telling the world that his arms were numb and trembling uncontrollably. This man signified so much simply by standing there and pouring his heart out to his fans – an old era eclipsed by the new, the physical toll that professional wrestling can take on a human body, and how alarmingly backwards the business can be.

For those who don’t have much of an idea of what goes on during a wrestling match, I’d like to present to you one of Edge’s own classic matches. Note that only one of these crazy fuckers still wrestles for WWE.

(And no, this won’t suddenly become a wrestling blog. No worries there.)

Part 1/3

Part 2/3

Part 3/3

826LA Panel

On Sunday, Dad and I took a trip out to Hollywood to attend a writing panel organized by 826LA, a local nonprofit organization. The talk featured three prominent Hollywood writers: Jen Kirkman, who performs stand-up and formerly worked for Chelsea Lately; Brian Stack, who works for Conan O’ Brien, and Bob Odenkirk, who created the sketch show Mr. Show, worked for Saturday Night Live and is currently associated with AMC’s hit series Breaking Bad.

The panel was held at Nerdist Industries at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. The venue was a relatively cramped facility, but there was enough room for everyone; there were several empty seats available when the show began, which was about a half hour later than advertised. Adorning the walls and rafters were many oddities and nerd-related paraphernalia. Right above my father and me stood a plastic rat covered in blood and a little painting on the wall of a “dust bunny” from one of my favorite movies, Miyazaki’s classic My Neighbor Totoro.

Seeing as it was about a 45-minute drive from our house to the venue, I needed to use the restroom before the event began. As soon as I entered the cramped little bathroom in the back, I was greeted by what I can only describe as the most beautiful depiction of Satan taking a shit I’ve ever seen. Every little detail about the painting was elegant, from the drops of sweat forming upon the Prince of Darkness’s forehead to the clear strain that inhabited every muscle on the devil’s body. The painting appeared to be oil on canvas and was featured in a plain but ornate frame. Truly a modern masterpiece.

The event itself was hilarious and informative. The panel members, led by comic book writer Adam Beechen, all shared their views and stories on the comedy industry, including Odenkirk’s grim tale of the comedy boom of the 1980s and its sudden, inevitable collapse. It was amazing to get an inside look at what life in the entertainment business is like; the prospect was intimidating and exciting at the same time. I tried to take notes throughout, but I was so engrossed in the discussion that all I could remember to take down were the names of performers who would soon be coming to town. They’ll be holding more events in the future, and Dad and I agreed we should attend another one.

Yoga

I’m going to try to avoid baseball discussion that excludes teams not named the Angels or the entire league. It alienates a lot of people, so I apologize for the previous post.

So with little to no baseball discussion today, I’m going to go ahead and get on with this stupid thing.

I tried yoga for the first time today, and it went about as hilariously as you might expect. I used a workout DVD my parents had purchased with the intent of relaxing. They decided to nix yoga as soon as they were told to sit on the heels of their feet. I can’t really blame them.

First of all, if you actually sat down and watched this DVD objectively without doing the exercises, you’d realize that this is probably intended either for people in their 40s who are simply too lazy to leave the house or perverted old men. The workout is led by a man in his late 30s who is accompanied by a fairly attractive young woman, to whom he refers as “the greatest yoga teacher I know.” Her credentials do check out; she performs the instructor’s exercises even better than he does. Nevertheless, the show consists of several shots going right down the young lady’s low-cut shirt, of which she is clearly aware – she gives the cameraman several dirty looks throughout.

The instructor himself puts you to mind of an unkempt hippie you might see wandering People’s Park up in Berkeley with the personality of a cult leader. His appearance is clearly relaxed, and that carries over into what I can only describe as a bizarre charisma. He has sort of a calming presence, reassuring the viewer that they should not feel guilty at all for taking it easy on a particular exercise, but I couldn’t help feeling that a command to engage in a mass suicide would catch me off-guard.

The last thing I’d call myself is active, even remotely so. I haven’t done anything that can even be described as remotely physically demanding since I played football with a couple of old college chums a few weeks ago. They’ve seen me in action, and it’s not pretty.

First of all, I didn’t have a yoga mat, which is imperative when you’re trying to work with a hardwood floor. I tried to fold up a comforter into a cushy little rectangle instead, which looked promising at first glance. As it turned out, it was more of a hindrance than a help. For many exercises, it worked wonderfully, but for a few that involved leaning forward or backward, I found myself sliding uncontrollably and came close to snapping in half here and there. After the frustration had reached its peak, I gave up on the endeavor and did some simple stretches, push-ups, and crunches. I had admitted defeat.

3-3 isn’t bad at all to start off, although Tampa Bay looks absolutely terrible. A scrappy Toronto Blue Jays team visits for the next few days. Crap, I reneged on my promise. Oh well. GO HALOS!

Observations

After four games of the 2011 MLB season, the LA Angels of Anaheim have proven that they are pretty much the same team they were last year, even losing an identical 3 straight games after winning their season opener. Last year's opening series may have been a little less distressing because the Twins had been a playoff-caliber team the year before and wound up repeating their regular-season success. However, this year's opening series embarrassment came at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals, whose last postseason was in 1985 when they were the best team in baseball.
Many will argue that it's too early in the season to make any real predictions about how 2011 will play out. I tend to agree, but it certainly is distressing that all three of the Halos' regular season losses so far have been walk-off victories for the host Royals. Couple that with the fact that the Angels bullpen has blown a lead in each of those three losing affairs. There is always the possibility that the bullpen will get better as the season progresses, but if they continue this abysmal play for the remainder of the season, quality starts courtesy Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Kelvim Escobar.
With all the darkness bubbling around the Big A to start the season, though, there are plenty of things to be excited about with regards to this team. First, Howie Kendrick has suddenly become the offensive juggernaut he was so heavily hyped to be when he first entered the majors a few years ago. Jered Weaver continues to be the hands-down ace of the squad, taking the momentum from his successful 2010 season (in which he led Major League Baseball in strikeouts) into a great performance on Opening Day of this year. Bobby Abreu, as oft-maligned as he is among Angels fans, had an amazing performance in the Angels' loss on Sunday, notching 5 hits in 5 plate appearances. Meanwhile, the speed and skill of Peter Bourjos both in offense and defense has left many an Angels fan in awe. Vernon Wells continues to be the Angels' biggest head-scratcher move from the offseason, performing poorly in left field and amassing little offseason production thus far.
The two main problems from last season pretty much remain - the Angels have little clutch hitting and an abysmal bullpen. Many Angels fans (myself included) find themselves wondering what General Manager Tony Reagins was thinking over the offseason, doing very little to address both issues. Perhaps he was simply outbid or out-GM'ed by other members of his baseball fraternity, but the fact of the matter remains that after 4 outings of baseball, the product that he has put on the field leaves much to be desired. 158 games remain for the 2011 Angels. There is plenty of time to right the ship, but the fact remains that meaningful baseball has already begun, and the Angels have quickly fallen behind the hated Texas Rangers in the race for the American League West division crown.

BASEBAWWWWW

NOTE: This was originally supposed to be posted yesterday, but for some reason Blogger was goofing up on me. Here it is:

After what seems like a long, torturous wait, Opening Day is finally here! It’s funny – when you get down to brass tacks, the wait is only four months. Compare that to a seven-month wait for the NFL to begin (in a normal year, anyway) and six months for the NBA to restart its season. The wait for Opening Day really is one of the shortest in sports, but for one reason or another, it always feels like an eternity. I think this year had a lot to do with the Angels getting bumped from the playoffs and Texas (the freaking RANGERS!) winning the AL Pennant. Watching a division rival go deep into the playoffs while your favorite team sits at home will make anybody twitch in their seat in anticipation of the next season.

The pundits, it seems, are pretty much set on the normal favorites winning it all. The Sox, the Yanks, and the Phils are all top picks this year, which is the status quo as of late. But as last year taught us, stat sheets and roster analytics can only take us so far in making postseason predictions so early. I’m hoping for another unlikely pairing in the Fall Classic this year if the Halos aren’t involved.

Here’s to a hell of a season.

Closure

Well, at long last, my family was able to lay my grandmother's ashes to rest on Saturday, ending a long struggle with Green Hills Memorial Park in Palos Verdes. The atmosphere was strange; our feelings of anguish resurfaced, bubbling through and overtaking any feeling of closure. With Granny in the ground now, her death has become a startling reality, even after seven months of mourning. That feeling was definitely prevalent as we stood around her grave and the rain began to fall, first as a slow sprinkle and becoming a steady shower when we finally left the cemetery. With that, I think things will be a lot less melancholy around here. I still miss you, Granny.
I'm going to try to go without a Nintendo 3DS as long as possible, mostly as an attempt at self-improvement, but also to see how severe the withdrawals will be if I go without purchasing a new Nintendo device altogether. As of right now, it's manifesting itself as a tiny pain in my heart, ebbing and flowing with each commercial viewed or review read. It helps that I suck at Street Fighter, which appears at the moment to be everybody's highest-rated 3DS game.
Being the philistine that I am, college basketball normally doesn't carry much weight with me (unless the alma mater is involved), but this year I've found myself increasingly invested in the drama of the tournament. It could be (and probably is) that the competition really is unpredictable this year, with all #1 and #2 seeds knocked out of the Final Four. It could also be that this year's tournament is more accessible than ever before, which was an absolutely brilliant move on the part of the NCAA. Their smartphone app is probably the best thing I've ever seen. If the NFL or MLB were able to find a way to work out something similar, I'd probably have to find a way to prove to myself that I haven't died and gone to heaven.

A Bittersweet Moment

It gets to be very difficult to find things to post about after a couple of posts. You think you have enough lined up to fill the blog on schedule every time, but that well creative well dries up fast. So my apologies to you, readers, but I'm quickly learning why veteran bloggers get paid so damn much.
I've been trucking along with the job apps, but so far I haven't heard from many of my potential employers. Many of the jobs to which I applied noted that it would probably take a while for them to properly review every application, so I'm not too worried. I can always get in contact with them if I think I've waited long enough.
Saturday is going to be somewhat of a bittersweet moment for my family. After a long battle dating back to August, we are at last able to lay my grandmother's ashes to rest in the same plot as my grandfather. It's a bit of a long story.
After my grandmother passed away, my mother thought that getting her mother buried would be nothing more than notifying the funeral home and letting them take care of the rest. She and my uncle had, after all, already filled out the necessary paperwork and planned well ahead to make the process as painless as possible. Unfortunately, things did not quite go the way they had intended. They discovered, to their complete shock, that the funeral home had sold them a plot that legally belonged to someone else entirely. My grandfather had been buried there by special request, and the owner of the plot had long ago passed away.
In fact, when my mother and uncle reviewed the documents, they discovered that the salesman who had originally made the deal with them had forged several documents. He, too, had died since the deal was made. The funeral home would not budge on the matter - they couldn't let us bury Granny with her husband.
The whole matter was sickening - we were forced to stand by and watch helplessly as my grandmother's final wishes were left unfulfilled. It really was a gutcheck after the pain of dealing with Granny's death.
My mom then hired a lawyer to see if anything could be done about the situation. She did so, and the lawyer knew exactly what to do, but he failed on multiple occasions to act without a prod from the family. We would go weeks without hearing from him, and it wasn't until my mother would call him that he would finally act on our behalf. At last, he goaded out of the funeral home an offer of the proper burial with a written apology to the family, with the stipulation that the family would not sue. All we wanted was for our beloved family member to properly rest with her husband, so my mother and all of her brothers approved the offer.
After that, the matter of settling the date was yet another headache, as the lawyer once again failed to correspond with the family properly. It took yet another rather heated call from my mother to get the deal finalized, and now we have the set date. After all the pain and frustration of dealing with this ludicrous situation, it will be nice to finally have some closure. I think the actual event will be somewhat somber, but that mood will be coupled with relief and peace. That's all we could have ever hoped for.

Movin' on

Let me start off by saying that comments (provided they're constructive) are appreciated and encouraged. I take your input very seriously, readers.
As I mentioned in an edit to Tuesday's post, I got neither job to which I last applied. Both came as a result of general incompetence on my part, but at the very least, I gained a little bit of knowledge from the whole experience.
The big goof-ups I'd rather not go into, mainly because there isn't too much to gain from those behind some obvious corrections which are already in progress. Suffice to say that if you start a new e-mail account, you'd better be damn sure you have a way to check it regularly.
I've only had one face-to-face interview so far. That was the one from which I garnered the most information. The main nugget of information I garnered from that particular session was that, for the love of GOD, do not show up to an interview in anything other than a relaxed, alert state. I was certainly alert for that one, but "relaxed" was the last thing I would have ever described myself in that instant. I was so rattled primarily because it was my first interview, but also because there were a couple of last-minute hitches in my plan to get there that had me literally yelling in exasperation.
That's not to say the interview went badly; the position was advertised as an entry-level position, so the interviewer was perfectly aware that she would see her fair share of jittery applicants. She assured me throughout the interview that she had gone through the same bout of nerves the first time she had interviewed for a job. It made me feel a lot better.
Despite the employer's insistence that I had no reason to worry, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure, especially when it came to the question that I would be fine with committing to the organization for a career. It didn't sound so bad during the interview. But afterward, the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a daunting prospect it was. The position itself seemed like little more than hawking free offers to Home Depot-goers, and I don't know if that was "it" for me.
Regardless, things didn't quite work out and I didn't get either job. Just going to shake it off, learn what I have to learn and get to it again. I'm going to try to multiply my application output this time around.

It's Going to be a Long Battle

So, after much deliberation, I decided on a schedule for this thing. I thought that at first, I would try to update the blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but I think it would be prudent to go ahead and try Tuesdays and Thursdays first, if only because something is more likely to happen two times a week than three.
I've also gotten critical advice from some of my friends, most of which has been pretty helpful. So I'll take that into consideration, as well.
There are times where the only voices that will get through to you will be those from your family. That rang very true last night. My dad sat me down and we had a really eye-opening discussion. I needed it, and I kind of realized how long it had been since I'd had a discussion that meaningful with my father. Or anybody in my family, for that matter.
I've had several friends give me advice and guidance along the way, and I don't intend to cheapen your contributions. I've followed your words closely, but when someone in your family calls you out, it hits home more than anything else really could.
What's most frustrating to me about this whole situation is that I've come about as close as humanly possible to people literally holding my hand to guide me along my post-collegiate journey. Several of you would agree with that. I've had people pull me aside and help me set goals and try to find motivation for the things I need to do with my life. While I thank my friends and family for that help, it still reflects poorly on myself that I sort of entered such a depressed state after school ended.
I'm not saying that I was miraculously cured of my shortcomings overnight. I have a LOT to work on, especially with regard to my attitude and my relationship with my family. But acknowledging that such faults exist is a hell of a start.
EDIT 10:27pm And no, I did not get either of the two jobs mentioned in the previous post. It was a learning experience, let me tell you.

It Begins

Well, after much humming and hawing over entering the job market, I'm finally ready to put myself out there. It took a lot of work and a lot of help along the way, but those who helped were glad to offer their assistance along the way. I thank you folks for that; you know who you are.
So far, I've applied to two places: a game company in the Bay Area, and an event management company in Anaheim. I haven't heard back from either, but I know it'll probably take a while for these guys to get back to me.
I've set up a personal schedule that I should ideally be following every day until I finally do secure employment. While searching for a job is my top priority, I also want to try to maintain an exercise schedule. My health has taken a backseat lately, so it's time to re-prioritize.
Having planned to go back up to Berkeley for a while now, I finally made the trip to my alma mater for a couple of days last weekend. There's something magical about that campus, especially with having been away from it for a few months. It loses its luster when you're constantly going to class and have a destination when you set foot on campus, but when you're simply there to visit, the whole structure takes on a new sort of beauty. I'd like to take the trip back a little more often, especially during football season if I don't wind up living there.
Lately I've been hooked on the simple little app "Angry Birds" for the iPhone. I'm incredibly late to the party, but it takes a lot of creativity and work to take something as simple as catapulting vengeful birds into kleptomaniac pigs and turn it into the moneymaking (and time-wasting) machine that occupies nearly every Smartphone currently in human possession.
It's an incredibly windy day today. The weather has been warm recently, so the air was full enough of pollen as it is. Now, it's like Mother Nature has launched a full-on assault on my allergies. And Mother Nature always wins.