USC, Pt. II

I was kind of suprised to see Google hadn't deleted this blog since I haven't updated it in, oh, over 3 years! I know there's no one who reads this, so just out to the general internet: I got into USC!!! I was actually paranoid about making it. I had the grades, A's in 3 levels of Calculus, both semesters of Physics, 1 semester in Chemistry and 1 in Engineering mechanics, and my other miscellaneous classes, with a B in my differential equations class. My essay was just OK, and I didn't have any letters of recommendation (the famous, not what you know but who you know). Plus, my old grades weren't so good. My business classes at ASU were like a hive on Sinbad's boat, lots of B's and C's. So that, coupled with what I found to be a 27.4% acceptance rate, I was a little weary of my chances. Had a backup plan, go to ASU. Didn't want to go to ASU, but that was the backup plan. Fortunately, didn't need it.
I found out when I was in Danbury, CT for my sisters wedding. I had asked her friend, who was watching our dogs, to call if anything came in from USC. She called my sister and said a package was here that said "Undergraduate Admissions". I asked my sister to ask her, "it's a package and not a letter right?" She said yes. At that moment I was thrilled, relieved, and even a little emotional. My dad planted this desire in me many years ago as a kid, and it's actually coming to fruition. (BTW, Thanks Dad!)
So, I get home a couple days later (being a paranoid schizo, I had to see it for myself to be sure) and there it was on the counter. I opened the envelope and it's a red folder with the seal of the University of Southern California and below that it says "Welcome to the Trojan Family" That was awesome!
Next day, I get an email from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering that I've been selected for a $10,000 scholoarship that is renewable for two years. That reduced my estimated bill from $120,000 to $100,000!
The countdown is officially on. I start classes August 23. Probably moving August 11, but maybe the 17th to get one last hockey game in. :)
This is phase two of the grand life changing plan. Can't wait.

USC

Nothing like a little bit of depression and a 6-pack of Molson Canadian on New Years Eve to make you want to change your life. One of my dreams was to go to the University of Southern California, the real USC. Given that the cost of an education there is very high (a private institution, USC estimated yearly costs in 1993 to be about $25,000) I didn't get to go when I graduated high school. I was accepted easily (ranked 25th in my graduating class) and gained early acceptance into the business school (my planned major was business administration), but didn't have any money. I was granted a regents (full) scholarship to any Arizona school, so I went to ASU and lost it in the first year since I had to keep my grades up and didn't when I was working full time. I continued on there with my employer paying for it for a while, then switched to the University of Phoenix (works for some, but I felt it was like going to school in a strip mall), but didn't finish there once I got laid off and haven't gone back since.
I've always promised myself that if I ever had the money to go to USC, which would probably only be by winning the lottery, I would. Now I've become so bored with life that I have to go. I can't wait for my 1 in 52,000,000 shot to get the money. Somehow, someway, I'll find the, what is now, $46,000 for a year to go and get a degree in mechanical engineering. I think one way would be if I could get .0003% of the people in this country to send me $1. That's $100,000 and would easily pay my way. So if anyone out there wants to help out, leave a comment and I'll get you an address.

NBC's playoff coverage

(For the regular readers of this site, um, that would be nobody, it may come as a shock that I've done two updates in one day, it's OK, I doubt it'll become common)

I was watching the NBC broadcast of the NFL Wild Card Playoff game between the Cowboys and the Seahawks earlier this evening and became seriously annoyed at the amount of commercial breaks. There was a break for every change in possession, score, and replay. Um, hello, I'd like to see the replays while the referee is looking at them. I think one sequence actually went like this:

Cowboys on 3rd and 8, pass play incomplete on sideline, needs review.
Commerical
Back from commercial, ref announces call stands
Punt
Commercial
Seahawks 1st & 10, 2nd & 8, 3rd & 4, 4th down Punt
Commercial
Dallas 1st & 10, fumble needs review
Commercial
Call overturned, 2nd & 10, Interception
Commercial
So on and so forth
Commercial

So you get the pattern here. There's no better way to break up the momentum of watching a football game by having to watch some stupid Nissan Frontier commercial again, or those four dweebs in the cell phone polos whining about Alltel. Regular season games are bad but this was ridiculous.

In the interest of fair reporting...

I'm a few weeks late on this, but in the interest of fair reporting, regarding my previous post (which was a couple months ago), the Coyotes have stopped using the pedophile song (Rock & Roll, Part II by Gary Glitter). For a while they were using a combination of Song 2 from Blur (the woo hoo song), and the old edited Werewolves of London from Warren Zevon. Lately they've been trying out what seems to be an orginal. Some kind of "whoa oh" type of song where the guitar soloist will repeat that phrase. It's not bad. Not as good as the NY Rangers original goal song, but it's a worthy effort.

Oh, and from a dry run for Opening night, a friend who works for the team asked a couple of us on our rec team to come in and help out. We got to skate on the ice, get the first look at the Pack girls (very hot, very young). And I met Howler. Ok, I don't hate him now, but he's still a silly cartoon dog running around the arena.

10 Things I hate about my team

First off, let me say this, I'm a die-hard Phoenix Coyotes fan. I've had season tickets or a partial package since their second year. I've got jerseys, hats, t-shirts, etc... I'm not the type that hangs posters or paints my face, but I'm pretty serious about my team. My mood is even somewhat based on their performance. Win and I'm good, lose and I'm down, lose bad and I'm pissed.
That said, there are a few things that really bug me about my team. So in no particular order I present the 10 things I hate about my team:

10. They still play that damn pedophile song after goals. You may know it as "The Hey Song" or it's proper name "Rock and Roll, part 2". I call it the pedophile song because of the guy that wrote it. Gary Glitter, also known as Paul Gadd (his real name). He was a glam rocker in the '70s, that has been convicted and served time for possessing child pornography and then committing lewd acts with a minor in Vietnam (they tried to get him on sex with a minor but the girls wouldn't testify). For more info try Wikipedia.

9. Howler, the loveable mascot. Except he annoys me. He's a stupid looking cartoonish dog with what look like cartoon dracula teeth. Now they have him dressing up. At the first pre-season game, he wore his normal outfit you see here, a karate outfit during the Sumo hockey intermission, and a white disco suit. At least he skates on the ice now. The last one barely did anything. I hope the kids love him, I can forgive that if they're getting more kids interested in hockey. But I hate him.

8. Announcing a penalty for the opposing team then this "and your Coyotes ARE ON THE POWER PLAY" Um, I know it's a power play, you don't need to announce it to me. Second, if there's a game with a lot of opposing penalties, do you think that the mic would short out from all the spit flying at it?

7. The disorienting powerplay graphic on the 360 LED board around the arena during power plays. It makes me dizzy, maybe that's why the power play is so bad.

6. They still play that damn pedophile song after goals. (Cont'd from 10) This started last season when they decided that they didn't want to play "Werewolves of London" anymore. Sure, we're Coyotes not wolves, but the song was cool and it has the howl that they edited. It was unique to us. I guess they needed something that the simpletons of the world could clap to. So instead of having a classy artist who passed away of cancer and honoring him (who was also very impressed when he came to sing the national anthem years ago and was given a jersey with his name on it), we get to pay royalties to an imprisoned pedophile.

5. It's too early to tell, but this reason may finally be fixed. The organ idea is cool, because it's traditional. Old time hockey. But the last two guys to play it must have been hitting the bong pretty heavily. Everything was off key, they'd fudge notes. It really sucked. At the first pre-season game, it was significantly improved. So we'll see.

4. I have to pay for pre-season games. This is a national complaint of every season ticket holder in every sport. It is what it is, I guess.

3. The team isn't that good. This year we picked up an old guy, a broken guy, a goon, and an actual star with at least a couple good years left. Still, we're just not that good. Maybe a middle of the pack team. This is another we'll see I guess.

2. Black nets. Appropriately, the NHL decided that there would be nets on either side of the rink to protect from 100mph slapshots that got deflected into the crowd. This is good. Some people just don't pay attention and kids shouldn't have been there before. Some teams use white, some use clear. The Coyotes use black. Supposedly research showed that black nets were better. And they would be, if the surface was some other color than white. It makes it look like we're staring through a dirty window.

1. They still play that damn pedophile song after goals. To be fair they still use "Werewolves of London", but based on last year the pattern is, first goal, pedophile song, 2nd goal, Werewolves, 3rd goal and after, random, usually the pedophile song. Oh, and they play it after wins too. There's at least a dozen songs that could be used, but they use that one. The New York Rangers have their own song, it's called "the goal song". It's on their website somewhere and it rocks. It's got an Oh section and a hey section. They don't play it much because the Rangers suck, but it's still cool. And it's theirs. Oh, and one other thing, the NFL banned that song, not really banned, but requested that all its member teams not use it. Good move NFL!

By the way, if you're still not convinced about the pedophile song being bad, maybe you don't care who wrote it. Think of it this way, everytime it's played, he gets money. He being the guy that wants to have sex with your kid.

This is him:

OH MY GOD!!!! IT'S AN UPDATE!!!!!

No way, really, could it be. Did I actually just sit down and start typing. Yes, I believe it could be, it's an update. Of course it's kind of sad (to me at least) that my life can be summed as this: watch sports, play hockey, work, sleep-but not enough, concert, rinse, repeat. I had some grand plans for this space, I was going to use it as a political sounding board, spout my opinion on society, give reviews of various popular arts (music & movies), or become a poet and have something really poignant to say. Ok, I guess not. My mind moves in a complete spew of unintelligible subjects that go and twist and change. I can do something coherent, but that takes and effort, and frankly, recently all I've wanted to do was sleep. I still have some plans, though. I'm going to try to do a solo act, acoustic guitar and me. I figure this would be a good place to list some of the songs that I'm working on, all covers of course. I have found that I'm not really poetic/lyrical. Well there was this shining example of prose:

I like beer
I like chips
Get them here
All at Skip's

Yeah, I think it sucks too.

I actually have a notebook of various lines, most of them better than that last part, such as:

Now my disease awakens my soul
Blissfully stricken I'm under control

It might be about drugs. Or maybe love, or a good blow job, I'm not really sure. That was a year ago I came up with that and never did anything else with it. I have tons of stuff like that. Turns out, I really like the word soul, it means something and rhymes with a lot of other words.

Here's some more crap:

Empty Lot filled with morning sky
The Birds come down to rest
Something comes this way and away the fly
Searching for somewhere to rest

or

I'm stuck with a useless ticket
Nothing more than an expensive bookmark
Should I throw it away or keep it
Doesn't matter, the building went dark.

Ok, enough of my poetry. What else? Oh, I've gone through my annual spring peaking of desires. That's where I really want to ask someone out. (I have always been, still am, and always will be single) It's not that I don't want to try, I don't want to try because I know I'll fail. Last year, it got the better of me and I did try after 8 1/2 years. I was trying to hit ten. Almost did it again this year, but I talked myself out of it. All for the best. People say you shouldn't date someone you work with, and while I don't work with her, she's in the company. Second, for you astrologers out there, I'm a scorpio, she's a leo, I think, and those don't go well togther from what I've read. And finally, she wouldn't have said yes anyway, she's out of my league.

I think that's it for now. I still need a band. It's been a year since the last one and I'd really like to do it again, someday. Also on the music front, new Pearl Jam: 10, new Tool: 8.5, new Wolfmother (trio from Australia): not sure, I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but the first 4 are good, reminiscent of '70s rock, like Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin. Oh, and Sirius kicks serious ass. The sound quality is a bit lacking, like a heavily compressed mp3, but the content is so good, I mean sooooo good, I'm keeping it. The music channels blow away anything I've heard in any city.

Signing off...(for today, I'll be back, and sooner than 5 months)

El Salvador

I just recently got back from El Salvador. (Ok, it was 11 days ago, so not that recent in a certain manner, but I'm slow, sue me.) You may wonder why I went to a third world country the size of Connecticut, well, that's where my mother's side of the family, except for one of her sisters, is located. I was there for a week and met for the first time, or saw again after a long while, 7 aunts and uncles, 23 cousins, and about half a dozen of their kids, along with their spouses, and my 90 year old grandmother. At one point, at my grandmother's birthday celebration, I experienced information overload where I knew that I was related to someone there, but not sure who they were, or how. This included my sister and mom!
It was a good trip. We went to the beach, twice (keep in mind I don't like the beach), a small town overlooking a lake that they're trying to make tourist friendly called Suchitoto, my grandma's house in their small town of San Miguel de Mercedes, a section of San Salvador (the capital and largest city) that has an American feel to it (the two malls, Office Max, KFC, Wendy's, and Burger King do that).
Some parts, especially in the capital, are very much like any other city here. Then there's parts that have little tin shacks with people that bathe in a nearby river. Like here, there's the different classes of wealthy, middle, and poor. My family is pretty much all middle class. The family grew up on a farm, but most of the sons work in either financial or political jobs. Some are retired now though. They have decent sized houses, with a maid! Almost everyone has a maid. A lot of the maids live in their own quarters in the house. That's where my room was. We called it the dungeon because it was small and in a corner of the house, past the kitchen, and the open area where the laundry was done. Most houses have an open area without a roof.
Another interesting thing is the Pollo Campero phenomenon. It's a fried chicked place, kind of like KFC, but better (at least I thought so). The phenomenon is that, a) they're everywhere, b) they're usually crowded, c) for whatever reason, people leaving feel the need to bring it with them. On the flight back, there were at least half a dozen people carrying boxes of chicken as their carryon, to the point where you could smell it on the plane. The wierd thing about it is, that there's no Campero anywhere near the airport, which is a good hour outside of the city. So it's an hour old just before they get to the airport, another hour to get on the plane, the flight to Houston is 2 and a half hours, plus the flight to wherever they're going. The flight to Phoenix was another 2 hours. Probably another hour to get off the plane, get the baggage
and get home. By that time, it's like 7 hours old. Yummy!
What else, oh, my Aunt and Uncle had digital cable which offered ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX from New York, that was kind of odd. ESPN for Latin America shows tennis and soccer, and that's about it.
Technically this was my third time there. I was there when I was around 4 or 5, then again at 9 years old. Then 20 years later I went back. I'm glad I went, I'll probably go again. Probably less than 20 years. Now I just have to learn to speak some Spanish. I made everyone ask me yes or no questions with simple language because that's all I could understand.

30

Today I turn 30. I was asked how I felt about this, my response, I don't know. On the one hand, 30 isn't really old, but it's not really young. I consider myself a kid, but I'm really not. Definitely not a man. I guess what bothers me the most is what I haven't accomplished, be wary, it's a long list:

• I have no money, every check is spent by the time I get it.
• I haven't had a serious relationship, hell, I haven't even had a frivolous relationship. I'm basically undateable. I'm like a Trekkie without the fake Vulcan ears, the uniform, and the Klingon to English dictionary.
• I don't own my own home, and with the way prices have skyrocketed, I don't think I ever will.
• I don't go out much because almost all of my friends are married with kids, except one, but he's in Massachusetts. Then again, doesn't matter much (see the first item)
• I was in a band for a short time, but not now, and can't find one.
• I haven't finished college.
• I don't know if I really want to work in computers for the rest of my life.
• I wanted to have a Corvette by now, instead I have my 8 year old Camaro (which I still love) that i've been in two minor accidents with. At least it's paid off.
• I still haven't written a complete song. Just little bits.

So after all that whining, I guess it could be worse. Problem is, I just don't feel like I've amounted to much. I am the most optimistic pessimist in the world, so here's hoping that the next half of my life is better than the first.

KWILCO

Just a quickie. I've updated the radioblog with more Wilco. Someday I'll think of something else to post here.