A weekend in E-ville

For those of you out of the loop, E-ville is Evansville. I went home this weekend (to washington, IN) in order to bowl the Evansville City Tournament. On saturday, I tagged along with Dad. We did happen to stop by and eat at Shyler's (which is the BEST barbecue....ever!!). Anyway, saturday dad bowled in a team event at Arc Lanes. He bowled well, in fact, he had a 299 in his 3rd game. He absolutely buried the final shot, I mean it was perfect, but the stubborn 8 pin felt otherwise. It was crazy. Worst of all, had it carried, it would've been worth $5000. Anyway, he bowled well. I just practiced on the other end of the house and bowled decently.

Sunday consisted of Singles/Doubles at Franklin lanes. In singles, I went 266-174-258 = 698. Bowled well, but I still missed 3-4 easy spares, so it could've been better. Doubles, I bowled ok, but not great, 188-191-221 = 600, more easy spare misses. Dad struggled a bit. Granted, his struggling resulted in 630ish, 640ish. I was overall relatively pleased. It's good to know that I can still bowl. After bowling on my league night here in Indy, my confidence gets shaken. Oh well, I'll figure something out...maybe....hopefully.

The next few weeks are gonna SUCK

Not that I am one to complain (ok...occasionally I may complain, but not often...and not for very long), but the next few weeks are absolutely loaded. I have group projects in several classes. Including working on a debate for Therapeutics. The debate is a real pain in the rear. It requires looking up a bunch of studies, preparing arguments, reading opposing studies to prepare rebuttals, and then actually preforming the debate itself. It is a 2-week process. To compound matters, my group got stuck on the short end of the stick. Nearly everything published has been favoring the Pro side (we are the con side). So, we happen to be stuck behind the 8-ball...so to speak.

In addition to debates, we have to do our Discovery Map for therapeutics. This shouldn't be too difficult, but will take some time and still must be done. I also have to put together a rough draft of my rsearch proposal for Biostats & Research design. This draft should be 6-8 pages in length. And then to top it all off, Clusters fall immediately the next week after all this stuff is due. So, finish projects up, then study my butt off for clusters. As I said, the next few weeks are gonna suck.

On the positive, after these weeks, I have spring break and get a week off!!!!

Considering a Trade

I'm referring to trading in some DVDs/Video Games to Blockbuster for store credit and then getting Star Wars: Battlefront. I know this game rocks because of the huge number of hours spent playing with my brother (mostly over a 3 day period at Thanksgiving). I was looking over what I own and realized I have some DVDs that I'm really not overly wild about, which begs the question why did I buy them?, but that requires me trying to justify my actions, which I'd rather not do right now...so anyway. Plus, I have Metal Gear Solid 2 and Unreal Tournament that I never play (ever...I played each once, and realized there are far better games out there). So, I'm tempted to trade those in and then get Star Wars Battlefront. I think there is a $5 minimum credit on trade-ins, so if I trade in 4 items, I can get SWB new for about $20, or used for $10ish. There you have it...any thoughts on the smartness of this, let me know.

Indiana Weather

The weather patterns in this great state of mine are absolutely ridiculous. I could never be a weatherman here, because you just don't know what's going to happen. It's really is crazy. Here's a grand example of what I am talking about:

Yesterday was beautiful. It got up to 67, was amazing, sunny, slight breeze, absolutely astounding.

Today is quite the opposite. Now it still looks nice, but the high is only near 40. It snowed last night (only a dusting).

There you have it. In under 24 hours, we had a complete reversal of weather. It was like going to bed in Florida, and waking up in Michigan. Go figure. I guess that's where they get the saying "Don't like the weather? Stick around, it'll change."

Alrighty, that's all. Clusters are over, but I still have an assignment and have to go to work tonight. Blah!

PS - Happy 1 day belated birthday to my brother (aka SeanXor)! I thought about calling last night, but it kinda slipped my mind....it's the thought that counts, right?

Quite the freaky movie

On Saturday night, I rented and watched The Grudge with a friend. I was previously told that this was the scariest movie someone had ever seen, so my interest was relatively high. Now it is important to note, that I don't really scare easily, especially from movies, but I can admit to a freaky movie when I see one. Prior to the Grudge I would say that the Ring or Event Horizon were the freakiest things I'd ever seen. But the Grudge is down right freaky. I mean, make you think, jump, and give you that chill down your back.

It was quite humorous however, as the friend I watched it with is a self-proclaimed wuss. I got a kick out of the ball she wound herself in and the talking to the actors to "Don't go in there." If you're looking for freaky, watch the grudge, but don't expect great acting and it is relatively predictable.

I don't wanna study...

Well, it's that time again. Clusters start on Monday. Granted this is going to be by far the least hectic set of clusters ever. I have a test on Monday and a test on Wednesday. That's it. Compared to the 6 tests I've had in the past during the 3 day cluster period, this should be cake. However, one class is a new one with a new teacher, so most of it is going to be relatively unexpected. The other class is one that I got a B in last semester, thereby being one that I'm not all that confident in (primarily because test questions do not correlate with things decided in class). But anyway, my studdy buddy has finally gotten around to doing her job and making me learn. This afternoon and tomorrow morning will be focused on learning. In addition, Monday afternoon and Tuesday will also be used in the pursuit of knowledge.

That's it. Time to get this nose to the books (and not to sleep...they don't make good pillows...plus, any drool on class notes can smear the ink). Happy learning!!!!

Amazing Race thoughts

Last night was the season finale of the Amazing Race. Now, I'm not much into reality shows, but I really enjoy the Amazing Race. I think it is primarily because there is no "voting off" (and back-stabbing), but rather more performance based (luck is still involved, don't get me wrong). Anyway, this entire season, I had been rooting for Kris and Jon. They treated each other and everyone else with respect. They did not fight, they got along, and they worked together. It really was awesome to watch two people do that. However, they came up just short of winning. It kinda sucked. I was literally no the edge of my seat talking to the TV....I'm not crazy though. But that's alright, it was still fun to watch and good to see that no jerks made the finals.

On another note, is there anyone out there looking for an Amazing Race partner? I've got another year of school left, but after that I'm free to participate. Let me know if your interested.

In the famous words of Porky Pig, "Bedee, bedee, bedee, That's all folks."

It feels good

to bowl well. It's been awhile since I've really thrown the ball well. There were occasional flashes of brilliance over Christmas break, but all in all, I've been in quite a funk. After a tournament this weekend, where I was relatively clueless, I really was trying to think up some way to start bowling better. My main problem has been having too much hand, or hook, in the ball. I have been struggling with getting the ball down the lane and rolling up strong to the pocket. Most of the time, my ball will just dive hard and leave lots of ugly splits and combinations.

After the tournament, my coach, aka Dad, came up with the idea of taking hand out of the ball without rolling it end-over-end. It's something I've done as a last resort and not very consistently, but I figured what could it hurt. So, I went before league and practiced a game to get used to the feel. In league, I go 203-268-215 = 686. This is by far the best I've scored in a while, and without a doubt the best I have thrown the ball. Seems like the old man was on to something. The real trick is seeing if it works 2 weeks in a row. Here's for hoping that the funk has come to an end.

Up, up and away...I'm off to do some work.

Respect has been earned

I'll be honest. I don't like the Patriots. Sadly, in my dislike, I am being a bit hypocritical. I've always said that there needs to be a better reason to dislike a team/player other than they win too much, but in this case thats the main reason for my dislike. The Patriots win too much. They always beat the Colts which really sucks. What is most impressive is how they win. They don't get flashy or fancy, they just come out and play ball. They play good solid team football. I can honestly say that they should be respected. They have earned it and they deserve it. But it would still be nice to see another team in the Super Bowl....you know, like the Colts!!

On the commercial front, the monkey commercials (carreerbuilder.com) and the "don't judge too quickly" commercials (Ameritech?) were by far the best. The FedEx/Kinko's with the top 10 commercial ploys was good too.

That's all from me. Twas a good game, good friends, and good food...all-in-all a good Super Bowl.

Video game sports Update

I felt an update on the progress of the Butler basketball dynasty was in order. I finished my first season at 30-3, won the conference tournament, never got ranked, seeded 10th in the NCAA tournament. Faced Tennessee in the first round and was victorious, then went on to beat #2 seed Gonzaga, however my best player (SG #3, 19 ppg, 6 spg) was injured (broken wrist). My sweet 16 game was against Kansas, by some miracle I was victorious. In the elite 8, I faced Michigan State (#1 in country and undefeated in Big Ten play), and got beat by around 10.

My recruiting class wasn't strong. I did get a pretty solid PF/C and a decent backup at the SG spot. Season 2 is underway. I've gone undefeated in non-conference play (beating 3 ranked teams, and several major conference teams...USC, IU, Minnesota, etc.). Not to get cocky, but I'm pretty confident that I will go unbeaten in the Horizon league. Currently, at 17-0, I'm ranked 20th. SG #3 is the leading player of the year in the NCAA (16 ppg, 8 spg, 4 apg), he is also leading defensive player of the year based on his steals. I've already signed 2 4-star players (out of a possible 5....a C and a PG). I have high expectations for the remainder of the season and tournament play.

Now before everyone goes and tells me the setting is too easy. The games against quality ranked teams are no cake walks. The games against Horizon competition is cake. I'm hoping to eventually get invited to join a more major conference and thereby have tougher games. If I go undefeated 2 years straight, I will consider raising the difficulty.

My original game plan was to alternate a season of hoops with a season of Madden (colts all the way). However, I have become quite hooked on the basketball game (plus it is college basketball season). If I do return to Madden, I'm currently 2-0 in preseason play with the colts. I'll keep you posted though.

That's it. I've got to work at CVS this evening and then finish up some stuff for class tomorrow, so I doubt any gaming occurs tonight (more's the pity). That's all for now.

I'm Online!!!

After recieving a new modem from dad in the mail, I plugged it in and bada-bing badda-boom I'm online. Now, it is dial-up and therefore is slow, but it's better than nothing. I now have the ability to check e-mail, use AOL IM, and download the occasional thing (if left online over night). Just thought I'd post and let everyone know that I'm up and running. Ya-hoo!!!

That's all for now. I'm off like Batman after the Bat signal has flashed.