An educational experience

so i went to minnesota for the NCAA tournament and i came back learning a lot more about real life than i did about basketball. i learned a heck of a lot about the economy in the US and how much it sucks. it started off as a joke but then turned more serious everytime we left the hotel, until eventually our jokes aroused no laughter and we were all in the car silent and pondering...

examples of the how much the economy has affected (effected?) the US and minnesota in general...

1 - company names on buildings were not there...you know office buildings downtown where you see huge letters on the top of buildings....well there was no letters just outlines because the letters have been taken off. obviously companies can't afford rent

2 - tons of new cars in an overflow parking lot not even near a dealership. during these tough economic times nobody can buy new cars.

3 - going into a deli and not being able to see because there were no lights on...no fresh meat...no fresh food at all...with the 3 workers (i presume) silently sitting around a picnic table in the store looking depressed.

4 - people gathered around a TV set in the middle of Minneapolis cheering at a basketball game...it was weird to see this because it illustrated how sports is the only thing that can make people smile anymore.

5 - random people just stopping their cars and getting out and puking all over...

6 - a total lack of newspapers. you know the side of the street newspaper machines...?? yes, well there were no papers in them...and we were there for 4 days and there were none. obviously during these tough times people cant afford the news and/or the newspaper company is out of business and/or people dont wanna buy the newspaper because they dont wanna read about the tough economic times....the one paper that i did see was for 3 days!!! i mean one paper was the news for thursday, friday and saturday. depressing.


so that was my trip i wish i would have taken pictures but it was too depressing, for real.

it was a debacle of monumental proportions to see such a horrid scene but oh well


xoxo, gossip girl

march madness

here we are...march is upon us and it is my favorite time of the year...for one reason. The NCAA basketball tournament. its a time when suddenly everyone is a big fan of college hoops, but i'm ok with that. as long as people are actually talking about college hoops then i'm cool.

this year is the first year of our new annual trip to see 1st and 2nd rounds games of the tournament. me and 3 buddies are driving...yes driving...to minnesapolis to see 6 games. i cant wait. although a part of me would like to be at my home sitting on my couch watching all the action. but you know what? this is the tournament man, and i cant wait to be a part of it live.

we are seeing:

north dakota state vs kansas
dayton vs west virginia
usc vs boston college
robert morris vs michigan state

i have kansas, west virginia, usc and michigan state all advancing...

PS. i also started a new NHL 09 franchise with the Toronto Maple Leafs and my record is 8-10-2

My laptop and Cellphones

My laptop is a mixed bag of good and bad. I have wanted one for a long time and now that I have one, I cant believe that I didn't own one before. Its like a cell phone in that way. In high school, I didn't have a cell phone because I didn't even think of it. But when I was 19 years old I got a cell phone for the first time and now have had one for the past 6 years. I wonder if i'll ever not have one...probably not. So whats the age when cell phones are appropriate? We have all heard of kids who are no older than 14 that have cell phones. I dont know what to make of this because on one hand, if my kid took the bus or walked to school then I might want them to have a cell phone in case of an emergency. But on the other hand, I dont want them to have it because for one, they cost money and I couldn't trust my kid to not text message. There is no doubt that the text message and day time talk bill would be through the roof. Second, they would be texting and talking during school hours and this would surely make their grades go down.



This brings me back to my laptop. Last year, without one, I felt in control of my studies, I was more on top of school than I had been in my whole life. But this year, I have a laptop everyday at school and it seems like I am falling behind in school. Every spare moment that I have I am on the computer, checking out http://www.espn.com/ or on facebook. It definitely is a time killer. However, it is also good to have a laptop because if I need to write a paper or check my email, then I have that luxury at my disposal. So I ask the question...is a laptop really worth it to have my GPA drop by .3 points? I would have to say yes.