One Quarter Down, Four More to Go

I haven't been posting very often recently and it's basically been because I've been busy finishing my summer quarter. Apparently, what most seminaries forget to tell you is that while an M.Div may take 3 years to complete, it would be 3 years, full-time, including summers. There's this weird expectation that, "Of course you'll take summer classes." So, while at times I wonder about the academic excellence required at the seminary level, I will admit that it is a gruelling 3 years.

I am kinda on the 3 year track. I started back in September 2004. I'm now slated to finish my schoolwork at around this time next year. Four quarters left to go (now that I've finished my final research paper for the Gospels class). Fall '06, Winter '07, Spring '07, and Summer '07 and I'll be done.

Yes, there will be a graduation ceremony. It'll be sometime in early June next year. It'll be more than likely on June 2nd at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park. I'll post details as they come. I won't be completely finished with everything then (I would still have a summer quarter to go), but hey, it's better than waiting one more year for the ceremony to come around again.

The Benitez Dilemma

After a merciless drubbing on my fantasy baseball team thereby ending my playoff hopes (the score was 0-10), I have now turned my attention to the football season. I guess I could continue playing fantasy baseball, but then the highest placing I could get would be 7th. I just don't think my ego could take playing fantasy baseball when 7th place is in stake.

So... on to football. My team isn't superstar laced, though I think it may be one of the deeper teams in the league. Basically, I'm expecting to get whomped on early in the season, but then as the injuries start racking up, I hope to make my push.

It also looks like I have a bit of a RB controversy in the makings right now for week 1 (a la Mike Shanahan). My RBs are Ronnie Brown, Willie Parker, Reuben Droughns, and Dominic Rhodes. Two of them are playing tonight at the season opener. There are two RB slots on my starting squad. Who do I choose?

Ronnie Brown is going against Pittsburgh, Willie Parker against Miami, Droughns against New Orleans, and Rhodes against NY Giants. I've essentially illiminated Rhodes from my list for this week. That leaves with three: Brown, Parker, and Droughns.

Brown's going against Pittsburgh, but then I picked him up as my first round pick. I really don't want to bench a first round pick especially in the first week. But well, I don't know. I think I'm beginning to understand Felipe Alou's mindset when it's a close game in the 9th inning. Do you go with what you think is right? Or do you go with the guy you paid a lot of money to?

Parker's going against a mediocre Miami run defense. But with Pittsburgh's running backs, the question seems to always be the same, who's going to get the touchdowns?

Droughns, well, Droughns is probably the weaker of the three but he's also going against the weakest defense of the three.

Which two do I choose?

Oh and by the way... I hate ESPN for taking away Monday Night Football. We've got ABC, PBS, NBC and a pair of rabbit ears. No cable. Boo.

ADHD Cure from the '50's and '60's

Pure awesomeness. Makes me laugh everytime I watch it.

Bed Manners

Sleeping in the same bed with someone else has taken a lot of getting used to.

For a while, I used to sleep on the right side with Alinna sleeping on the left side. The Giants' Beat LA sign from when they still used to play at the 'stick and a picture of SBC Park still grace the walls of the right side of the bed. But anyway, we slept that way for a while until we realized that when we sleep, we sleep facing away from each other. That is, we were sleeping facing outward.

So, we came up with a brilliant idea. Why don't we switch sides of the bed so that we would face each other when we go to sleep! So, I would sleep on the left side of the bed while Alinna would sleep on the right side. That way, when we sleep on our favorite side of our body, we'd face each other.

Well, it hasn't quite worked out as planned. While I face her now, she still faces outward. She changed the direction she faces. So now, I get to see the back of her head. What to do!

Of course, it probably doesn't help that I now wear a black football mouthguard when I go to sleep to keep me from grinding my teeth at night. I'm sure that looks really attractive.

This week in fantasy baseball: Losing to Elbert 3-6 (in 6th place and fighting for a playoff spot)

Frugality

Cheap or Frugal?
So a while ago, I went to the Recycling Center to recycle the small collection of cans and bottles that we had amassed. Over four pounds of glass bottles, a good number of aluminum cans, and a few soda bottles. Drove out to the other side of Sunnyvale, went to the Recycling Center, pulled up by the curbside drop off point, dumped and separated the junk, and I get a receipt from the lady working there.

I go to the building next door where I guess they handle the sales. I had the lady there the receipt, she punches a few numbers in the computer... $2.61. I don't know. This gives me little incentive to recycle. If it weren't for being indoctrinated in elementary school and watching Captain Planet, I would want to throw bottles and cans directly into the garbage can. I'd completely ignore the note on the label of each bottle saying "Please recycle this bottle", and laugh like the bad guys in Scooby Doo.

Regardless, it was $2.61. What did I do with that booty? Went to the Oroweat Bakery Outlet just down the street. Thomas English Muffins and Australian Toaster Biscuits. Remember those? Do they still sell the Australian Toaster Biscuits in normal supermarkets? I haven't seen them around in years! They're much softer than those hard English things....

Note: I have since gone to the recycling center one more time. The total? $4.37. Is it worth it?

Team Speakers

Been away for the last week.  And now, well, I'm just plain wiped.

CEBC camp.  6 days.  10 messages.  CRAZY.  Never heard of such a thing.  Tiring as expected.  But surprisingly, had a good time too.  Junior high boys are a lot of fun.  And these junior high boys, well, they were almost freakishly good.  Never met such well-mannered kids.

Thanks friends.  Wouldn't have been as fun without you guys.

Going to the Dentist

So, I went to the dentist earlier this week. A rather non-event, certainly not worthy of a blog post. Except for the fact that it was my first trip in over 5 years. The last time I went to the dentist was for a teeth cleaning right after graduating from college.

With some trepidation and Alinna's prayers of "Lord, no cavities please, we can't afford cavities", I went. Results? Nothing. Not one thing. A little gum recession because I brush too hard, but I knew that already.

And I quote from my new dentist. "It'd be good to brush your teeth like this... but then what can I say? Five years and it looks like you're already doing a good job."

In honor of Chase Utley's 34-game consecutive hit streak, I am proud to announce to the world that I have a 17-year consecutive no cavity streak.

This week in fantasy baseball: Tied with Jason 3-3 (currently in 6th place... a playoff spot perhaps?)

Celebrity Face Recognition

So, as I am innocently going to check up on my fantasy baseball team... something catches my eye on Yahoo! news. Apparently, there's a website called www.myheritage.com that specializes in building and making family trees. Well, the website has a fun little app called celebrity face recognition.

Myheritage.com has a database (a pretty wide one i might add) of about 3200 celebrity faces with which they'll match your face. Basically, you upload a picture of your face and it'll compare it to its database of celebrities and tell you the top 10 celebrities you most look like.

Who do I most look like? I look like Pol Pot. I look like a murderous dictator! To add insult to injury, the following celeb was Ruhollah Khomeini. I think it's the eyebrows.

This week in fantasy baseball: Beating Mike 8-2

How One Family is Combatting the Heat

Hilarious.  Well, I guess if it works for car windshields... why not homes as well?

Us?  We're boring and conventional and have a fan.


This week in fantasy baseball: Beat Ted 6-4 (in 7th place)

YouTube Junkie

I've officially joined the bandwagon and become a YouTube junkie. That's right. When I should be studying/reading/listening to lectures for school, I'll often be surfing around YouTube for things in the past that have just made me laugh out loud. Jon Stewart Daily Show clips, the episode on Fresh Prince where Will and Carlton enter the dance competition, clips from my favorite Japanese television show Karakuri TV, and the Joe Mikulik incident.

And so, for your viewing pleasure. Oh... it makes me laugh every single time I watch it.