The End of an Era

Wednesday was the final episode of my beloved Scrubs. For the last eight years, I have gone through the up's and down's of each Sacred Heart employee. There has been laughing and crying, but it was always entertaining. Alec and I confessed our mutual "guy love" before "bromances" became cool.

Guy Love





I was very anxious for the finale, to find out if I would be satisfied. This is a show I watch the reruns of multiple times per day, so I know the in's and out's of the whole series. The first 10 minutes was great, but for about the next 15 I was scared that it wasnt going to live up to my expectations. The last 10 minutes were the best in Television history. I hope I can find a youtube clip of it all. I couldnt stop smiling once it was over because it could not have ended in a better way.

Even though I can't say these are my 10 favorite clips, I can say they are a few of my favs.





















This is the last 10 minutes of the show. Absolutely fantastic!

Sports Update

Just a quick sports update.
-I have decided to make a renewed dedication to my SF Giants. They have gone through a few down years, but I think this is the year it starts to change. With a tough pitching staff, they will win a few more games this year, and if the dogs pitching staff doesnt develop well, then I could see an outside chance at the NL West crown.

-Masters week may be higher than the first weekend of march madness on my favorite sports week list. I am always excited for it, but every year I watch the par 3 tourney and realize how special this tournament is. Remember, live coverage of amen corner and 15 & 16 can be found here, even when ESPN or CBS coverage has not started.

-Does it please anyone else to see the Yanks drop their first two?

-Any suggestions on sporting events to use my razorgator credit for?

The Pay Off

Ok, it has been long enough. I really doubted my testimony of blogging, but my wife has helped me see that I should continue. Lets see if I can keep it up again.

Last night, my sports obsession paid off, literally. I am on a site called Wazzel where you pick the winners of games based on the betting lines. Instead of risking cash, you win and lose points with each pick. They say that in the future you will be able to cash in the points for prizes, like at an arcade. Over the past three weeks, I participated in a contest called Wazzel Madness. While most march madness contests consist of picking all the winners before the tournament starts, this one allows you to pick game by game, again based on the betting line. The amount of points possible to win increased by round, with the first round games worth 2000 points and the championship game worth 10000. Going into yesterdays game, I was winning by 6000 points, with only one other person in the running for a win, who was down by 18000. Since I was in first, I waited until late to make the pick, so no one could make their pick based on mine. Picking UNC at -7.5 wasnt very difficult, it was just hard picking period, knowing what was on the line. I didnt want to be like Tyler and screw up when the pressure was on!

Finally it was game time. After Carolina scored the first basket, the CBS feed went out. It was out on both cable and satellite, I dont know if it was just us or if it was the SLC affiliate, but I wasnt very happy. I was able to get the game online, so that saved a very stressful night. Honestly, the outcome was never really in doubt, but I pushed those thoughts out of my head throughout the game so there would be no jinx. Finally, with about 2 minutes left, I declared myself the winner and broke out the champagne. Actually, there was no champagne, but that would have been fun to spray all over the house. In the end, I won a $750 voucher for the ticket website RazorGator. I thought picking with the lead was tough, but deciding what sporting event I want to go to will be a huge challenge!

It is about time all the hours I have spent in front of the TV pays off. Let this be a lesson to you kids, hard work pays off.

The Cold Soda-Location Theory

While we were eating In N Out on our way home from Mexico this past weekend, my brain was firing on all cylinders. It had been a while since I had experienced those feelings; in fact, it had been almost six years. Previously, it happened while I was having a slurpee in Virginia, which was a very disappointing slurpee experience. Now, I (with help from my wife) came up with a great explanation for In N Out.

While I was enjoying a fabulous burger and fries, for some odd reason it surprised me how good it tasted. It shouldnt have surprised me, as it was In N Out, but then I realized where my last few In N Out experiences had taken place...St. George Utah. I had gotten used to having In N Out in the first state that does not directly touch California. I likened it to the different ways of having Cold Soda, at least through my eyes. The principles apply the same depending on how you like your soda.

1. Iced Mug
The Iced Mug experience only happens in California. That is the founding place of In N Out and embodies all that the restaurant stands for. When drinking soda out of an iced mug, it stays cold for a good amount of time and some of the gas can escape, flattening the soda. This is how I prefer my soda.

2. Can out of the middle of the cooler
The COOTMOTC experience happens in the states which touch California: Nevada and Arizona. As long as the soda is consumed quickly, it is still very cold and always has the best taste. It just doesnt have quite the same grandeur as the iced mug. The creative juices and lifestyle of California can seep into these states since they are touching each other.

3. Fountain Drink Full of Ice
The FDFOI experience is still a great way to have soda, but it is my least favorite. There are many different factors that go into play, from the amount of syrup in the mixture, the amount of CO2 in the mixture, how cold the mixture is coming out of the fountain and how quickly the ice melts. While I can never turn down soda just because it is from the fountain, I prefer the other. The St. George location is still great, because it is In N Out, but now it has California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah variable to deal with.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that In N Out in California is the greatest way to consume the burger and fries, but the other locations cannot be ignored. I urge all who think they have experienced In N Out without partaking in California locations, to do so as soon as possible, as it is a life changing experience!

The End of an Era

In sad news for Colts fans, Marvin Harrison was released by the team today. After breaking Jerry Rice and Steve Young's record for most TD connections, it was best to let him go. I am very interested to see where he ends up. Marvin has seen better days but is still a very capable possession receiver.

The Next Best Two Years

Today marks the second anniversary of my return to the United States after a year and a half in Brazil. I have been thinking about all the things I miss about Sao Paulo.

-Pastels!

-Tapioca (different from tapioca pudding)

-People watering their concrete
-Three tongue clicks
-Dodging buses in Santo Amaro

-Getting violated on buses during rush hour

-The crazy music blaring on the streets in favelas

-Cops driving around with their heads hanging out the window

-Crazy motorcycles
-No snow!

-Guarana Kuat

-Sao Paulinos

-Corintianos

-Favelas

-Vielas

-Random trees planted in the middle of the road
-Cipo

-Evening mist

-Motorcycles getting hit by buses

-Crazy evangelicals holding their bibles over their hearts

-Crazy evangelicals taunting you during their services

-Crazy evangelicals in general

-Igreja Universal

-Rice and Beans

-Pao de Queijo

-Parque Ibirapuera


There are so many more things that I know I am forgetting, but these are things I have remembered throughout the day.

DTV

Who decided that people need more time to procrastinate the transition to digital tv? IMO those who havent switched over cant afford the $10 it takes, after the govt subsidy (understandable), or dont watch tv enough to care. I am willing to bet a lot of money that the latter make up the large majority, therefore, not be affected. When they turn their tv on and it doesnt get a signal, I am sure they will figure out what is wrong if they want to watch tv so bad. And the government wonders why people are so cynical towards them? There have been ads on tv for OVER A YEAR about this, but lets put it off until June, that should make a huge difference. How about you be an example of how to meet a deadline, instead of your usual excuses and delays?

Funny Finance Fiascos

My most boring class this semester is Managerial Finance. The professor is a good guy, but its about his time to retire. Every session I battle to keep my phone and bejeweled in my pocket, which lately I have been losing. Today, something amazing happened, almost like BYU winning a game in the NCAA Tournament, its bound to happen sometime, but is very surprising when it does.
Even though school started three weeks ago, the professor decided to have each student introduce themselves, the typical "what is your major, year in school and a few interesting facts" thing. This provided some obvious comedic gold, but little did we know the last guy (referred to as BB) would inspire laughs previously unheard in room 208 from 11-12. When it was BB's turn, he asked if he could stay sitting since his legs hurt. Then he said, "Well, I will try to stand up, but it is hard to use your legs after doing 450 lbs. on the leg press last night." Immediately, he had 65 people laughing, even though it wasnt meant to be a joke. Then his interesting fact was that he once went 5 days without sleeping, which was probably not very surprising to most in the room. Once the introduce yourself exercise finished, I thought it was back to the normal doldrums that accompany the class...but I was wrong.
One assignment in this class is to do a two minute presentation on business ethics. it can be a personal experience, a story from the paper, or even something made up. The first guy got up and put his powerpoint on the wall. The name "Tony Stark", or Iron Man, was on the first slide, which lead us to believe that was the presenters name. What followed was absolutely amazing. His presentation was about the ethical dilemma that Tony Stark faced as the head of Stark Industries and as Iron Man, so it was basically the plot of the box office hit from this previous summer.

Not only did he come up with this great idea, but he was able to present it with a straight face, while the whole class was laughing.
I have to do my ethics presentation on friday and am thinking of talking about the ethical dilemma that Batman faces when fighting the bad guys. His whole shtick is not killing people, but that must be hard when he considers all that they have done. The Iron Man presentation opened up a whole new world of ethical dilemmas to me!

My Nah Nah Nah

While surfing around the interwebs last night, I came across a sneak preview of a new scrubs episode. What follows is the greatest fantasy JD has ever allowed us to see.

Toot Toot

(By the way Johnny, you can't earn a jump ball when you are not touching said ball! Se parafuse!)

It's about time. I went through the gamut of emotions in about 4 hours yesterday. When I came home from work, shay and I decided to go to the gym. Since the byu-unlv game was later, I wanted to wear my lucky rebels shirt. After going through my closet I couldn't find it. I started to panic but shay helped me out and the crisis was averted...for now. I had a great workout and we ordered the new Natural pizza from Pizza Hut, which is great by the way. We got settled in for the game and I made a critical mistake...I grabbed a blue powerade from the fridge. The first half then proceeded to mAke me extremely mad, I couldn't understand why the Rebs decided not to show up, especially Oscar on the defensive end! I finished up my powerade as the first half ended and spent halftime mad At the world. Alec called when he got out of class as the second half was starting and I was able to vent my frustrations. After byu called an early timeout, I realized my mistake. How could I enjoy anything blue on this day!?! The rest of the half proceeded in direct opposite to the first and the Rebs escaped with a big road win. It had been a long time coming!

Now, to address the blog title. Before the game, I made two predictions: a final score prediction of 78-70, and that the rebels would win if Wink scored more than 20 points with at least 8 of those coming from the free throw line. As the CBSC broadcast ended, I realized my final score prediction was two points off, 76-70, which can be directly attributed to one of the technical free throws that Wink missed and the front end of the last two free throws that Tre'Von missed with a second or two left! I usually predict the score for every game and this is my closest prediction of the season. Then, as I was reading the Sun today, I saw that Wink went 8-10 from the line for 22 points. I batted 1.000 yesterday! Too bad I wasn't around any sports books, I was on fire! Hence the blog title, Not to toot my own horn but...

A Long-Awaited Reunion

SPIRIT WORLD-After more than 25 years of being apart, Bert and Joyce Leavitt were reunited early Tuesday morning. In a beautiful moment, with countless souls watching, Bert pulled his wife into his arms, speechless after so much time apart. It was a beautiful sight to see, such lasting love being rekindled. The decision had been made, Joyce would no longer be a mortal servant, taking care of her sisters, husband or children during sickness; it was time for the next mission, this time with her husband.
Joyce had served hundreds, or maybe thousands, of people during her time on Earth, especially after the loss of her husband. A few missions in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C, and Salt Lake City are just a few examples of the time she spent serving. She outlived not only her husband, but also her eldest son and daughter. This was a woman who had experienced much heartbreak, but had taken those experiences and turned them into positives that she could learn from. For the past 15 years, Joyce organized "Gram's Beach Party," which outsiders may call a family reunion, but those that experienced it will attest to the "party" part of the name. There is no doubt those she left behind will continue this great tradition.
I am lucky enough to have had a personal relationship with Joyce, who is my Grammy. During my school years, she missed only a handful of sporting events, choir concerts or other events where I requested her presence. Short, routine chores at her house turned into an afternoon full of stories. I have never met another 80 year old woman who was up to date on not only the family team, UNLV, but multiple sports. Countless times I walked into her house on weekends to find a golf tournament or college basketball game on the television.
In my mind, Gram didn't age for my first 20 years of life; she jumped straight from 60 to 80. The last few years were hard for her. She walked slower, breathed harder and just didn't have the energy to take her to all the places she wanted to be. All of a sudden I started to think of a time without her, which I just as quickly pushed out of my consciousness. My only regret is that my beautiful wife did not get to experience Christmas Morning with her. The breakfast tradition will continue, but there will always be someone missing; no Charlie brown tree, or crazy sweater with flashing Christmas lights. I hope the weird birthday hat doesn't disappear, that every child or grandchild frantically calls around on their special day so they can put the hat on their head for just a few seconds.
Witnesses to the reunion say it was one of the happiest moments they had ever seen, second only to their own reunions with loved ones. Even more people confirm what many of us here on Earth were thinking...she did hear the words, "Well done my Good and Faithful Servant."

Argue!

Last night Shay and I were over at a friends house for a little sunday night get together. It was there I discovered the greatest board game ever created...Argue! The name explains the whole premise of the game, to take an assigned topic and convince the other players your argument is correct. Little did I know, Shay and I would provide entertainment for the remainder of the night. We argued about whether or not Supermodels are overrated, which is better: baked or mashed potatoes and I think there may have been one more argument in there but I dont really remember. It is a good thing we dont have this game in our house or else I would be sleeping on the couch everynight, after winning arguments of course! :) I think this is a perfect game for our upcoming Mexico adventure.