America so far has been interesting. Spent some time with the family today. It was nice. Went out to San Francisco and ate some Chinese food out in Chinatown. Here'sa picture fresh off the press.
Other than that, I've realized that coming back to America has felt as natural as hmmm... as natural as Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing. Nice and smooth. Things just seem to pick up from where they left off. Only thing not nice and smooth are my eyes. They're still rather ugly and coarse. Well, the skin surrounding my eyes. The eyeballs themselves aren't ugly and coarse. That would be really bad. Strange thing is that I was feeling horrible at Narita Airport in Tokyo, sneezing all over the place and wiping my eyes with toilet paper and paper towels. But as soon as I touched down in Chicago O'Hare, the sneezing stopped. My eyes were still watering because they were drying out from fatigue and maybe some leftover pollen or something stuck in my eyes and sinuses, but I was feeling better. Plus, my eyes aren't swelling as much anymore. Yes! I don't look like a Simpson character anymore!
Going back to America... I'm enjoying my time so far and hope to see and catch up with many more people! Send me an email, gimme a call, IM me... I'm around til October 6th.

First entry from the America trip. The last night at Virginia. Today, I was driving my friend Ben Tao's car. I was going 45 in a 45 zone. I looked at my rear view and saw that there were a bunch of people tailgating me. The thing is that I thought I was blazing down the road... at 45 miles per hour. You see, the car I drive back in Japan isn't very fast. Actually, that's an understatement. But for the longest time I didn't think much of it because I couldn't convert my speed from the metric system. The speedometer is in kilometers per hour. So, when I'm in fifth gear, flooring the gas pedal, I am at 90 kph. I feel ok about it because all I see is "90". I sit in Ben's car... the first thing i look for is the speedometer, because most American cars have both the mph and kph written. 100 kph (the speed at which my car in Japan starts shaking because it's going too fast), was only 60 mph! Out goes my ego.
So back to the story. 45 mph felt incredibly fast. To go any faster to me, seemed utterly ridiculous. So, I kept crusing causing the people behind me to speed past me. I don't think they were all too happy.

Well, I'm packing up to go to the land of cowboys. At the same time, I was surfing the web and found this awesome link courtesy of the UC Berkeley page. The link is a researcher's page on the effects of 9/11 on young people in America. Actually, it's a page devoted to the issue of relations between America and the Middle East and what young people think of it. But of course, 9/11 stuff is there. I think the page does a good job of showing what young people really think, by having mini-video clips of them talking through an interview. Go check it out... high bandwidth is highly recommended though!

Today is the beginning of the LIFE Hokkaido Team, Day of Prayer retreat. We'll be starting 4 hours from now and be going for 24 hours from that point on. Pray for a good time of fellowship... and of course for protection. And join us! After the retreat, I'll post some of the prayer requests shared on the prayer page. For the meantime, you can go ahead and check out the prayer page and pray for me! Woo hoo!

Oh yeah. If you look at my friend Danny's website... you'll see that it looks like there's gonna be humong-o bbq bash. October 5th, in honor of both Danny and Isaac Chu's birthdays, as well as my homecoming for vacation... there'll be a good ol' American barbeque. I can't think of anything more American... well, with the exception of maybe Costco. I love both. And I hope to do/see both many times over during my two weeks for soaking up Americana. I desperately need it. I didn't know it'd be possible but it could be possible that I'm losing my American-ness.
Just yesterday, I realized that some of my clothes are getting dangerously close to being classified as "close to skin tight." I've been entertaining thoughts of not cutting my hair until I come back to Japan from my trip to the states (I last cut my hair about a month ago). I'm starting to feel bad whenever I eat and walk at the same time. And yes, anytime there's a camera pointed in my direction, I have an unexplainable, uncontrolable urge to make a peace sign with my hands. What's happening to me?!

When I first found out about Cal beating Michigan St. I thought I was dreaming... literally. Earlier in the week, I found out from Ben Tao, a friend of mine, that there's a live link on the web that lets me hear Cal football. Immediately I got all excited. But then, I thought about the time difference... and I found out that the Saturday 9 AM PST kickoff time would be 1 AM Sunday here. To put this all in perspective, all I really have to say is, I am a missionary here. If I show up at church Sunday morning looking crazy tired because I was busy listening to a college football game until 4 AM... well, it won't be a good situation. Regardless, I was prepping up to listen to the game... until somebody put my head on straight. So, at about 1 AM I went to bed... but with the computer on, playing the game.
It's the weirdest thing, to be all excited when your body doesn't want to move because it's too tired and is already in the "get ready to sleep" mode. For those who followed the game, I was still awake for Jameel Powell's punt return for a TD. But I was definitely in bed. I had enough energy to maybe clinch a fist in celebration. But inside, I was jumping around with my mouth wide open... flailing those plastic blue and gold pom poms. Yes, inside, I probably looked like a complete idiot.
I was also awake for Christian-Jensen's 50+ field goal. I have to say, that guy's gone a long way. Last I saw him, he couldn't kick a 20 yarder. He had a reputation for kicking the goal posts... the actual posts. Yeah, you don't get any points for hitting the posts. It has to go between them. It was uncanny. I remember a home game in which he hit a goal post 3 times. 3 different tries. 3 consecutive tries. 0 points. After that game, anytime the Bears were within 30 years of the end zone and in a 4th and long situation, I'd go into "Madden mode" screaming at them to go for it. For those of you who aren't familiar with the football video game world, Madden mode means 4th and long situations are opportunities to chuck the football downfield hoping that a receiver'll catch it. 9 times out of 10, you'd get a 1st down. Maybe there are some things that don't carry over into reality from the video game world... but it didn't matter. Seeing a scholarship player not only miss a 15 yard field goal... but miss it by hitting the goal post is excruciating. I mean the only thing this scholarship player does is kick the ball... supposedly through the uprights (although you couldn't tell by watching the Cal special teams). He gets a free ride to school because he supposedly has an exceptional ability to kick a football. Anyway, the 50+ FG was another fist clencher. Maybe I squinted my eyes a little harder.
Everything after that was a blur. Somewhere I lost consciousness. But the game played on on my computer. And I swear i heard the final score... but that would've been sometime around 4 AM here. At the time I thought I was dreaming, so when I really did wake up in the morning, I checked ESPN and saw that it was reality! This has definitely become a different brand of Cal football. These guys actually win! "Gimme a C. Gimme an A. Gimme a L. What does that spell? Who are we? Who's gonna get ranked? Who just beat Michigan St? And who's gonna beat Air Force next week? Goooooo Bears!" (Yeah, I've become a bandwagon jumper)

So a continuation of the allergy saga.... One of my eyes look fine now. The other one's recovering. As a positive side effect... I think I have the smoothest eyelids in the world. They are silky smooth. Oh yeah!
However, it looks like the effects are moving down my face. I've now got the forever clogged nose condition. I'm sure many of you have had the same thing at one time or another. It's like this: My nose feels like those hamster water bottles. Anytime I put anything at the opening and apply pressure... the fluid comes out... otherwise, nothing. Kinda gross I know... but that's what it's like. I'm sure my nose isn't special. There must be people who know what I'm talking about here.

I've always liked doing those little surveys that try to figure out who I am. I found this one thanks to John Poon's weblog. It's an interesting one. "What pre-1985 video game character are you?" Here are the results.

I am a Breakout Bat. I am an abstract sort of creature, who dislikes any sort of restraint. If you try to pigeonhole me, I'll break the box, and come back for more. I don't have any particular ambitions, I just drift, but I am adept at keeping life going along. What Video Game Character Are You?

I dunno. Is this true of me?

Here's an article from ESPN.com about NBA GMs. Actually it's not really an article at all. It's a ranking from #1 to #29 of GMs around the league. When I first saw the article, I didn't care who ESPN ranked at the top... I scrolled all the way to the bottom to see if Garry St. Jean was there at #29. I was surprised. Wes Unseld of the Wiz beat him out for the bottom spot. The thing is... I don't see why. He was able to pull off the trade for Stackhouse not too long ago. Sure, Stack'll probably be around for only a year... just like MJ, but at least they'll be interesting for this coming year. And besides, they'll unload a bunch of money for free agency the following year. Hughes, Stack, Russell/Jordan, Brown, Haywood. That's maybe a marginal playoff team... but then I think well, what do the Warriors have to show right now? Arenas/Welsch, Richardson, Dunleavy, Jamison, Dampier. Comparing the two, I'd have a hard time saying that I'd pick the Warriors. There's still no reason to put the words Warriors and playoffs together.
Somebody might argue... well that's not St. Jean's fault. Anyone who says that hasn't been watching Warriors basketball. A few words to explain. Exhibit A: Mookie Blaylock. Picked up Mookie instead of drafting Jason Terry because at the time St Jean was quoted as saying something like "We have the chance to win today... not the future." Always the optimist. Always the optimist beyond reason.
Exhibit B: Antawn Jamison. He's a good player. But the max contract? Is really a franchise player? I don't think so. Very few people think so. Shaq, KG. Jamison? I don't think so.
Exhibit C: Marc Jackson. The Warriors finally accidentally stumbled upon a quality center. And he leaves. In return the Warriors get Dean Garrett. Enough said.
And that's just recent history!
Finally, here's a quote from St. Jean I found... he made this not too long ago! "We don't have Jason Kidd, but look what happened with New Jersey. They turned it around in one year. I look at other teams that have made 10- and 15-win jumps. That's not out of the picture for us." Do I have to say anything to that? I didn't think so. But suppose, the impossible happens and the Warriors make a "15 win jump." Last I checked, the Warriors finished with 21 wins last year. That brings the Warriors to 36 wins. Still not playoffs! Especially in the West.
So, forget trading players and signing free agents, hiring and firing coaches. The Warriors need a revamping of the front office. The Griz had the right idea.

Wow. It's been exactly a year. But somehow, it seems feels longer than that. For me, so much has happened in the passed year... that there's indeed reason why it feels like it was so long ago. But then again, I don't think I'm alone in these feelings. For many people in the US, it's been quite a journey since that morning of complete confusion. But at the same time, I don't feel all that changed from the incidents. Maybe it's because I'm not from the East coast. My space wasn't invaded. I read all these articles and saw all these TV programs right after the incident saying that Sept 11, would be a historical time that would forever change the psyche of Americans. Now that a year has passed... I wonder, has it? The New York Times has a great article that really seems to reflect how i think about the attacks on the Twin Towers... a year later.
It's kind of chilling to think that I've "gotten over it." Especially considering that so many people died... on American soil. It's chilling to think that the amazingly horrific pictures of the planes crashing into the buildings have for the most part subsided from my mind. Have I been changed by the events in New York? Or has it just become another thing to add into my experiences bag... along with learning how to drive and graduation?
When i think of things that have changed my worldview, I think of my Berkeley accountability group, my uncle in Japan dying, even the 1989 World Series in which my Giants got swept by the A's (I hate Dave Parker!). Apparently, things that change me, have to directly affect me. And quite frankly, the Trade Tower attacks didn't directly affect me. This sounds completely selfish, considering that it hugely impacted thousands of families around the world, but it is the truth.
More than ever, I realize how much incompassionate I am. And as a result how much I need Jesus to continue to change me. Maybe this is how my psyche has changed as a result of the attacks.

Every Tuesday, the pastor and I get together to pray. Prior to praying, we talk about news we have, as well as any kind of questions we might have for each other. It's kind of an update each other kind of thing... and then pray.
Today was kinda weird. Not this passed Saturday, but the Saturday before, my supervisor, came by to the English coffee house we hold on Saturday nights. My supervisor said that he wanted to see me in my ministry setting, and so, I suggested that he come Saturday because then, he'd be able to participate with everyone in speaking English (he's American by the way). So, Tim (my supervisor) came, and as he walked in, he said that he wanted to say hi to the pastor. They talked for a little bit until the coffee house began.
So where's this all going? Today, the pastor asked a lot of questions about Tim coming on that Saturday. Although last Saturday was the first time Tim came by, I could tell that the reason for all the questions wasn't curiosity. Me, being me, I didn't think all that much of it at the time. And it wasn't until I came back to my apartment after teaching a class, that I put all the pieces together.
Given the nature of the questions and their context, I'm guessing that the pastor might have thought that I was unsatisfied with the ministry situation, and asked Tim (with his supervisor title) to come by and talk to the pastor to straighten it all out. Why would I be unsatisfied? Well, of the three churches here in Hokkaido that LIFE Ministries is working with, ours, the Date church is probably the one furthest behind in terms of actual church planting. Amazingly, however, this hasn't been a point of discouragement for me... mainly because the pastor's talked to me about it, and his hopes/plans for church planting. I'm actually quite satisfied with the ministry that I'm involved in, seeing this time as an opportunity to really build a repoire with the church members and the people of this city, and to build the groundwork so that in the near future we would be at a place to be able to plant a church.
Looking at today's conversation in hindsight, I smile thinking about all the things that the pastor probably wanted to ask me... but couldn't because of Japanese manners/customs.

Right now, I'm watching a video tape of American TV shows thanks to Tim Clark and whoever sent him the tape. I'm not really watching it all that intensely. I'm walking around the apartment, doing odds and ends, occassionally looking over at the TV. But, just a few minutes ago, some ads ran. There was the Carls Jr. ad showing their "Six-dollar burger." You know, the one where there's the two guys sitting down in a restaurant that looks like TGIFs... eating their burgers when the waiters and waitresses start singing their trademark Happy Birthday song a few tables away. As soon as I heard the guys munching on their burgers... I stopped and stared. My mouth dropped to the ground. Maybe some drool ran down to my chin.
After the initial shock, the first thought that ran through my head was "That McDonalds' burger I had yesterday has nothing on that monster of a burger." Add Carls Jr. to the list of places I want to eat at when I come home for 2 weeks.

As soon as I got back to my apartment tonight, I checked ESPN to see how them Cal Golden Bears did against New Mexico St.. I was once again very pleasantly surprised. Given, New Mexico St. isn't a football powerhouse, but Baylor was picked as one of the worst 10 teams in Div I football. The commanding win against New Mexico St. was equally impressive. I don't think Cal ever scored 34 points (was that how many they scored today?), in any game that I watched as a student. I've seen them score more back when I was in high school, selling cokes at Memorial Stadium... but that was back when they actually made bowl games every now and then. Russell White. Dave Barr. Skip the years with the dominating defenses led by Regan Upshaw and... i forget... but anyway, as a student at Cal, I don't think they've ever scored 34 points. The closest might have been 20.
So, looking at the schedule, to see how they play next... i was horrified. Michigan St.. Wow. Aren't they ranked? It's time to really showcase the brand new Tedford era. Which reminds me, with these passed two games, it is now completely solidified... Holmoe will never get a head coaching position ever again. Some might argue that his head coaching career was over with the 1-10 season last year. But people could point to his players and say that he didn't have the talent to win. "Maybe Holmoe was just a bad recruiter... that doesn't take away from his ability to coach." But after seeing how this squad put up 70 points last week and 30+ points this week... there's no doubt. Holmoe was a horrible coach.
Well, they're going against some real power next week. Roll on you bears!

Every Saturday, at the church, we have an English coffee house. In it, we start with a previously chosen topic, and talk about it in English. At the end we do a Bible study in English. The importance is that it's all in English... so basically, it's provided for people who want to practice speaking the amount of English they know... and maybe learn a little more along the way. Anyway, somehow or other, today, we ended up talking at length about dish washing methods. You see, most Japanese people don't have dishwashers... and so, everything is hand washed. Apparently, there's a correct Japanese way to wash dishes. I had no idea. I thought it was up to the person who washes the dishes. But i was mistaken. Lemme explain.
First, you take out two fairly large bowls. You fill up one of the bowls with regular water and dish soap. This is station #1. Station #2 is the sink with the faucet and running water. The other bowl is station #3. You fill up this bowl with hot water. And finally, the dish rack is station #4. So, this is how it goes.
You take your dirty plate/cup/whatever, and dunk it into station #1 with the dish soap. Pull it out and bring it to station #2 (the sink) to rinse off the soapy residue. Then, you send the plate/cup/whatever to station #3 with the hot water and dunk it. This is for the sake of sanitization and drying purposes. Finally, you bring the thing to station #4 (the dry dish rack) to dry it.
This just seems like a waste of time and space to me. But apparently, anything less, is considered unsanitary by Japanese standards. Amazing. The standardization of behavior here in Japan never ceases to amaze me. This goes way beyond folding garbage into pretty little bows (see 8/20).

So, I'm almost finished with the Book of Proverbs in the Bible now. I finished all the proverbs of Solomon (up til chapter 29). Yes, chapter 31 about the virtuous wife is still left unread this time around. But that's besides the point. Everytime I read through proverbs, a get a sense of a running theme. The thing is that, each time I get a different theme. For example, the first time I read it through, I remember feeling like the theme was in my own words of course, "Listen to people who correct you." Another time, it was "God has a plan for your life... let Him lead it." This time was kind of crass, "Shut up and listen." Yeah, those exact words aren't written anywhere in Proverbs or in the Bible for that matter. But it was like God was highlighting all the verses about knowing when to speak, the virtues of keeping my words to a minimum. As it is later written in the Book of James, "be quick to listen and slow to speak."
I'm sure some of you out there are probably rejoicing after reading this, saying something like "Hideyo's finally got it! Woo hoo!" I know here in Japan, this is an area of my life that I've been working on. But then, it's easy to be quick to listen and slow to speak when you're in a foreign country. I don't have a firm grasp of the language so, I don't... lemme correct that, I can't speak my mind all the time. So naturally, I'm a lot slower to speak. I guess the true test'll come when I come back to the good ol' U.S. of A.
So here's a notice to all of you. Keep me accountable to this "new" lesson. If, at anytime, I become obnoxous because I'm talking to much, lay down the law like Mr. T. "Quit yo jibber jabber." Or go Different Strokes style with "Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" Or go Biblical, "Proverbs." Say something so that I'll remember what God has taught me through his Word. And so that I'll be less annoying.

So, today's gonna be an update on my eyes... or what used to be them. It doesn't look like I have Jabba the Hut sitting on top of my eyes anymore with all the folds in my eyelids, but because of all the wiping, and drying, and whatever, I sort of look like a raccoon now. Jabba or raccoon? I dunno which looks worse. All the folds made it hard on me... but apparently, everybody thinks it looks worse now. Looks like I'm gonna go to the hospital tomorrow to get it checked out. Oh boy. My first adventure to the hospital in Japan. They'll probably won't speak in conversational Japanese, and so, to start I won't understand most of what they're saying. But that's not my biggest concern.
Back at Berkeley, I almost finished a public policy minor. One class away. Because of that I think I'm the biggest slacker (or idiot) in the world. Anyway, one of the public policy classes i took was devoted entirely to health care. And we compared the US system (go capitalism) to other systems around the world. Japan was one of them. I don't remember a whole lot of specifics about Japan's health care system but i remember coming away from the class wondering what Japan policy makers were thinking. I mean if you think the FDA takes forever to pass drugs through... here in Japan, the Japanese equivalent of the FDA is yet to make Tylenol over-the-counter. Acetaminophen still remains prescription. Don't tell any Japanese people, but I've got a stash of Tylenol in my bathroom. Illegal drugs! Doesn't really matter. I don't think the police station has a narcotics department. Or a homicide department for that matter.
Anyway, add in the "horror stories" we read in class about ALL the paper work, ALL the bureaucracy, the LONG waiting time for an exam room, the SHORT time seeing an actual doctor, sometimes not getting a private exam room, and I think it's nuts. This is all before I even step into one. We shall soon see if everything I learned about Japan's health care is true.

Dude, my eyes are killin me. So, Saturday, as soon as I walk into the church, I start sneezing uncontrollably. This is 3 PM. This goes on until 11 PM. 8 hours of sneezing, watering eyes, and drippy nose. Fluids were leaking out of me. I have the trash can full of tissues to show for it. The next day, Sunday, was a lot better, but once again the tissue box was my best friend. I wake up on Monday, and try to wipe away that nasty stuff that builds up around your eyes sometimes when you go to sleep, for no real reason. Well, this time, they don't wipe away. I walk up to a mirror and see that the skin on my eyelids are peeling! They're peeling! I was like, "YUCK!" And because they're peeling, I noticed that my eyelids don't fold the right way anymore, and so, it forever looks like I just woke up. This started Monday. It's now Wednesday night. The Visine I got from my mom not too long ago has helped with the itchiness, but I seriously gotta find a way to get my eyelids to fold the right way again. And on top of all this, they itch too. I've tried some vaseline skin moisturizer on it... and it helps soothe it, and maybe it's doing something for the peeling, but it still feels like I have 4 eyelids everytime i blink.
So, it's official. Allergy season for Hideyo Satake has started. It's just too bad I don't know what I'm allergic to. It's great. Recently, when someone sees me, they either a) recoil in fear, b) do one of those look-at-the-weird-eyes-but-pretend-like-it's-not-a-big-deal things, or c) start itching their own eyes. After which, they ask "What are you allergic to?" It's amazing. It's a guarantee. I don't think I've held a single conversation with someone without them asking me what i'm allergic to. And because i don't know, I say that I don't know and that's the end of the conversation. Well, sort of. There's no more talking, but the other person usually ends up reverting back to one of the original reactions listed earlier... with a tendency toward choices b and c.
As a side note, a kid today asked me, "Why are your eyes purple?" I thought about talking about my allegies, but decided to not to.

The kids and youth of my home church, East Bay Free Meth are known for the most part, in our conference, for being kinda strange. But I think the label is somewhat unfair because half of the time, it is us older guys, the youth workers who egg them on and "challenge" them to showcase their abnormal behavior. All for the sake of good laughs (and maybe fellowship?)... and more often than not its all worth it for everyone involved. Of course, things involving food are a favorite... considering all the bbq's we host, along with after service luncheons. One of the more "famous" is the Chubby Bunny game "East Bay Style." For those who are not familiar with the original version, the game consists of a group of people stuffing marshmallows into their own mouths one at time. After stuffing an additional marshmallow, the person is required to say the phrase "Chubby Bunny," hence the name of the game. Of course, toward the end of the game, there'll be two people battling it out with puffy mouths and drooly cheeks. Basically it looks like the two remaining people got their wisdom pulled out... well, except that in the case of the game, they're smiling.
So, what makes it "East Bay style" is that instead of using marshmallows, we use pieces of luncheon cake. Sometimes at the end of a luncheon, there'll be a layered cake in honor of someone or some event, and always at the end, there'll be at least 7 pieces left over. In the relatively short history of the game, I am yet to see anyone break the two piece barrier.
Anyway, the point of the entry. Don't worry there's a point! I'm not just being nostalgic. Obviously, I can't get a group of people in a church in Japan to do most of the stupid/crazy things we did back home... but I can gradually get them there right? So after Sunday service this passed Sunday, I got four different brands of cold milk tea from the local convenience store, and set up a taste testing contest. Considering that most Sundays, after worship service, everybody went their own ways... this is a major step. Why milk tea? I've always noticed that Nobuo, the pastor's son and Gospel choir director, would always be drinking a specific kind of milk tea made by Kirin, a drink company. I knew that there were a bunch of different brands and so I always thought that it was odd that he'd get the same brand of milk tea when they all tasted the same to me. He of course, claimed that they all tasted different, and the one that he always buys is the best tasting one. At the end of worship service, we found 3 others who wanted to participate! And so, the contest was birthed. I found four different brands, and did a blind taste test. They had to guess which brand went with which cup. Nobuo was indeed the milk tea champion and was able to correctly match 2 of the 4 brands. It was a hit. So it looks like this may be the beginning of something very entertaining at the church in Date. Oh, and here's an aftermath picture. I think it'll be easy to figure out which one Nobuo is... after all, he won.

3 weeks from today, I'll be boarding a plane headed for the US. It's weird. The reality of it hasn't set in yet. I know I'm going. But at the same time, i don't believe that I'm going. It's like this. Everything points to me going back home for vacation, but the excitement isn't there. After coming to Japan a year ago, and moving to Hokkaido 6 months ago, the thing I want most is to see familiar faces. It feels like it's been a straight year of introducing myself and meeting new people. And so, I should be jumpin up and down at the thought of coming home for vacation. Have i turned so japanese that I don't express my excitement anymore? Hahaha... I find that hard to believe. I donbeeleef.
Actually, i think i'm just wrapped up with all the things I have to take care of before I leave. English class stuff, church stuff, Day of Prayer stuff. I don't know. It just struck me this morning as being odd, that I'm not all hyped up.

Today was amazing for a bunch of reasons. First and foremost would have to be that a non-Christian gospel choir member came to church today for the first time, and became a Christian after the service. Absolutely amazing. It wasn't a "special Sunday service." The only thing that made it "special" was that we had communion today. But in Japanese Christian churches, communion is almost always done on the first Sunday of the month. It's a regular, calculated time. Amazing. That's really all I can say.
So, after everything... I come back to my apartment, turn on the computer, get AIM running, and almost immediately I get three people IM'ing me about Cal football. Hey, it's the beginning of the college football season. Of course, all three people are Cal alum, but our football program is far from being our pride and joy. I mean, most people in the nation don't even know that Cal has a D-1 football program. And there's a reason for that. I was a season football ticket holder for all four years of my learning at the institution. Being a season ticket holder, I got to see all the home games and the game against Stanford. As far as I can remember, that meant 7 games a year. That's a total possibility of 28 games over 4 years. I missed a few games because of school stuff, but i went to most of the games. I know for a fact that I can count the total number of football wins I've seen as a Cal student on both hands. My problem is knowing whether or not I can count it on one hand. I don't have freak hands. I'm a normal person... well, in this way. I have 5 fingers on each hand like most people out there. 4 years!
Why I kept buying season tickets is beyond me. It's one of those inexplainable things. Actually, come to think about it, I bought em thinking in a "just in case" mode. Not just in case Cal makes it to a bowl that year, because that would be beyond possibility. It was always, just in case Cal beat Stanford that year. And of course, I was thoroughly disappointed every year. Hmm... no that's not true. Half of the reason was "just in case." The other half was because it was fun to go. True, more often than not, we lost. And that's not fun. But student seats are on the 50 yard line! And it was absolutely fun heckling our own team when the score got really ugly. It was so easy. "Bring out the defense... we need to score." "4th and goal, go for it... our place kicker can't kick it in from 20 yards." "Hey, don't you get 7 points if your place kicker hits the goal post more than once in a game?" "Lemme guess, screen pass to Bobby Shaw... whaddya know, I got it right. (Repeat)" "(Referee announces an offensive penalty on the opposing team) Roll on you bears!" "Hey Vedder, didn't you see the safety covering him?... I guess its hard to when you can't see over your line!" The list goes on... I guess you'd have to be a Cal student during those painful 4 years from 1997 til 2000 to understand the humor and how true these statements were. When that got boring, there were always the "mic-men" to heckle... the guys who were in charge of leading the student section in cheers. Often, that was even easier than the team. Good times...
So, when I got 3 people IM'ing me about Cal football, I braced myself for the worst. Needless to say, i was very pleasantly surprised.
Well, if you don't know how Cal's football season started this year, here's the ESPN.com game recap link. Somebody should go check the temperature in hell. Cuz i think it just froze over.