Where ET Phones Home

Blog moving?

2008-08-25T23:11:00.002-04:00

I've decided to jump on the WordPress bandwagon and am in the process of transferring everything from here over there. You can check out the site here...we'll call it the beta version. So in the future, direct your readers over that way. You can also subscribe to that feed here.

Things to do with Athens-area free time

2008-08-25T15:28:00.005-04:00

My tennis PE class got canceled today. I have had nothing to do all day. So I took a run this morning from my place (it's actually lime sherbet, not blue) to downtown (it's scary running down MLK without any sidewalks), watched (am watching) multiple episodes of Entourage with our sweet On Demand in the living room and basically puttered around the cottage.

And, as usual, it got me thinking. What is there around here to do with my free time? As my last post pointed out, I finished my pleasure reading book recently, so I figured the first thing that I wanna do around Athens is find a hole-in-the-wall bookshop. Anyone know of any?

Feel free to comment below with any suggestions for other things to expand my knowledge of Athens in bits and pieces...I'm pretty much up for anything I guess, the more adventurous the better.

Sitting on my futon pretending I wasn't

2008-08-24T23:48:00.003-04:00

I just spent three hours finishing up John Grisham's Playing for Pizza, a book that was surprisingly engaging and non-lawyerly. It was delightful really. Basic synopsis: a washed-up NFL quarterback lands himself reluctantly in Parma, Italy and plays a season for the hometown Panthers who literally play the game of football americano for pizza and pride. Great book. Even a great shoutout for all the lovely UGA girls -- and AXO specifically.

And the book reaffirmed the fire that I feel for traveling. I don't think I've ever been pulled as much to do something with my life as I am being pulled to travel in the near future. I want to see Italy. I want to "spread my wings" as the saying goes. I want to feel out of place. I want to step off a train in Europe with a map, a couple Euros and no plans whatsoever. I think I'd need clothes as well, but those can always be acquired on the way.

In short, I'm inspired. It's weird. I should be excited for senior year football season here (face it, who isn't in Athens?). But I'm honestly more excited for what the world holds for me afterward. Where will it take me for Christmas break even? Then May after commencement? Will I actually intern in Australia? So many questions...we'll just have to wait and see.

For now, below is a copy of the email I sent my family. Since they're usually the only ones reading my blog anyway, this will be a rehash. Oh well. It's a lot of rambling, I know.

+++++
First off I want to apologize for stalking both of you so doggedly today on my roommates' phones, but it was a stressful day not being attached to my own phone. I think the AT&T support lady summed it up beautifully this way when I spoke with her: "I can see how your buttons not working would be a problem." I thought that qualified as a massive understatement.

I just finished off Playing for Pizza, that John Grisham book that y'all had at home -- I took the liberty of stealing (borrowing) it because I didn't have anything else to read. And with my phone playing dead for the day, I decided that today was as good as any to spend time reading. For lack of a better word, the book was delightful. All about Italy, football, finding yourself somewhere else and generally meandering through and enjoying life. Oddly enough the girl who enters the book 2/3 of the way through it as the sort of heroine rescuing our wandering, washed-up quarterback with her "miles of tanned legs," her insatiable curiosity, her enthusiasm and her youth is a UGA girl on an extended study abroad trip with some of her Alpha Chi Omega sorority sisters. I laughed and decided that it's definitely good PR for UGA and it's gorgeous "scenery." Just made the book that much more enjoyable. And also made any personal excursion over that way seem that much more plausible.

Are we still planning on/trying to go to Italy in May? Because if anything, the book has made me want to spread my wings over the country even more. It all just seems so romantic (in several senses I guess). I know it probably isn't nearly as I'm picturing it, but if any place would be, I have a feeling it'd be Italy. So regardless of whether we decide to make a family trip of it, I want to finagle my way over there somehow sometime soon. Maybe Christmas? That's probably much too soon though. Just thinking (typing) aloud (without restraint). I'm sitting barefoot out on our porch right now with my new favorite (linen) shirt, my iPod speakers playing some Counting Crows -- they were playing a little calmer Amos Lee while I was reading -- with my propped-up legs supporting my oh-so-hip(pie) Apple laptop. I'm trying to imagine that my futon is instead some cafe on the corner of some Italian intersection, my cup of water instead a glass of local wine and my iPod tunes instead the soft arias of some opera in the background. Or maybe the music would still be coming from my iPod. Either way. I think I could pull off the traveling-American-attempting-

to-blend-into-the-local-scenery part fairly well.

I thought the free time on every day but Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester (and probably next) would be a great time to catch up, work out, run, whatever. But it seems that it gives my mind a lot more idle time to think about the near-term future. Near-term as in I'm applying to be a Terry Ambassador this week, but also near-term in the fact that I can't get over the traveling bug that seems to have bitten me (and hung on for dear life). The stress and constant going of life in college/America gets tiresome...and I know that rings fairly hollow when you're working an 8 - 6 full-time job. But I'm beginning to feel the press of the end of school even these several months away, and I want to do something radically different to broaden my mind. Instead of being engaged in a textbook in Athens, Georgia in the US of A, I want to see if I can't apply whatever I've learned in a different setting. Something to keep me on my toes. Maybe literally. I don't know. The idle ramblings of someone deprived of sleep and overwhelmed with the reality that life decisions happen in my own life and not just others'.

I'll sign off now to let y'all return to whatever you were doing before I ambushed you electronically. Just a few thoughts I guess. I had no real point in writing this.

Love,
ET

PS: What are your thoughts about Barack-Biden '08?

Senior Project

2008-08-21T11:31:00.002-04:00

I've decided that my newfound interest in photography and my lack of time on UGA's campus create a perfect storm for a sort of senior project. I've decided that I'll be taking a single picture each Tuesday and each Thursday -- the only days of my classes on campus -- at the exact same spot on North Campus at the (relatively) exact same time until the end of next semester. Then I'll compile all the pictures, shrink them down and put them all in a frame as a sort of chronological mosaic of my senior year.

The catch: I haven't yet decided the place or the time. It'll have to be between 9:30am and 3:15pm because that's my class time, but I'm flexible (as long as it's during class change). And I have no idea about the location...the Arch has been overdone, the bell wouldn't bring in any nature, etc.

Any suggestions?

Pictures should begin next week, as I have to get my camera replaced at Best Buy today.

Matt Stafford...all growed up

2008-08-04T20:42:00.003-04:00

Chris Low over at ESPN has an SEC blog going on that's worth a look or dozen. He recently sat down with our quarterback for a two-part interview (Part 1...Part 2). And I've gotta say, it's quotes like this...

"I talked to the guys last night and told them, 'From here on out, it's just football 24-7.' We're locked up in the dorm and the hotel now, and it's 100 percent X's and O's all the time, and we're out there working hard. Everybody was on the same page when we talked about it. We had a walk-through this morning, and it was the same thing."

...that give me confidence for the upcoming season.

It'll be a good one, Dawg fans.

A few thoughts from Philadelphia International

2008-07-27T15:19:00.004-04:00

We're sitting in Philadelphia International with a flight delayed an hour (so far), and I figured I'd share a few thoughts on what's going through my head nowadays:

I really want to go to Tuscany, Italy. Or Napa Valley. It needs to happen.
Philly Int'l is the most unorganized airport I think I've ever been in, and I've even flown into and out of African airports. At least people there smile at you. "City of Brotherly Love"? I don't think so.
Funny how you can feel out of place at a family reunion. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast. But it's difficult to socialize when the only cousins close to your age don't seem to give you the time of day. I'm ready to get back to Atlanta now.
I have a Florida Gator fan in my family! And he didn't even go there. And he probably will never go there. He's going to a community college near Panama City. Oh well.
My sunburn is successfully peeling its way off my body.
I finally got a linen shirt yesterday -- we were all looking for them in Africa, but nobody seemed to be selling them. It's incredibly comfortable, and I feel so relaxed and laid-back.
There was a really hot girl in line at security right behind my mom, but we all got split up for a minute and she was gone. Unfortunate. She was the prettiest girl I've seen in this city...man, I miss Athens.

And that's all for now. I'm gonna go enjoy the free wireless here.

This is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time

2008-07-25T18:17:00.003-04:00

(image: DawgSports)

It seems Matt Stafford is terrorizing other teams even before the season begins. And being a gentleman as well. Incredible.

Tanzania: In pictures and in thoughts

2008-07-21T20:39:00.003-04:00

So I finally put some of my Tanzania pictures up for all the world to see -- and not just for you Facebookers now. I put some of my favorites into slides using Keynote and put in some of my own text and some borrowed, but you'll see that for yourself. Enjoy!

Tanzania: In pictures and in thoughts

view presentation

Frontloading this week's fun

2008-07-11T18:48:00.003-04:00

This is a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" (watch the original video...it's weird) that Dave and the boys performed this past Monday. AND I WAS THERE!!!!!111!!1!1 The concert was mindblowing. I got emotional and was on the verge of tears during the encore (I blame it on the heat and the dancing). It was an intense cardio workout.

LeRoi, the sax player, was injured earlier this summer in an ATV accident and is still in a Virginia hospital, so Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (and a lot of guest DMB spots) was filling in. Dave got the whole crowd to chant "We love Roi" for the cameras, so maybe this show will make it to DVD sometime. It was great.

There's a bunch of YouTube clips from the Lakewood Amphitheatre show here, and a bunch more from the tour itself here.

Things to accomplish in my life

2008-07-11T17:30:00.002-04:00

My previous post got me thinking on I topic I've actually given a lot of thought to lately (follow that?). It's one that I'm shamelessly taking from the phenomenal Morgangster, but it's also one that would be useful for everyone I think.

So here we go. My I-don't-know-how-many-items-long-and-ever-expanding list of things I want to accomplish in my life, great or (more likely) small. Call it my bucket list if you will.

1. Compose elevator music
2. Ride an elevator more than 100 stories tall
3. Attend the TED Talks
4. Give a TED Talk
5. Taste the local wines in Tuscany
6. Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
7. See a James Taylor concert
8. Play guitar with JT
9. Run the bases at the current Yankee Stadium
10. Run the bases at the new Yankee Stadium if I don't make it in time
11. Walk to work
12. Get a dog
13. Learn Swahili
14. Bench 300 pounds
15. Run a 6-minute mile
16. Lose ten pounds
17. Own a vineyard
18. Raise a family (wife and kids...just a dog doesn't count)
19. Meet Dave Matthews
20. Not faint or cry when I meet Dave Matthews
21. Balance my checkbook
22. Get a credit card
23. By a Ferrari...with cash
24. Go on a mission trip for longer than a week
25. See a UGA football national championship
26. Meet the Gym Dawgs
27. Catch a pass from Matt Stafford and/or tackle Knowshon
28. Be on ESPN's top 10 plays
29. See the world (whatever that means)
30. Read the whole Bible
31. Sing
32. Laugh
33. Do stand-up comedy (and get booed off stage)
34. Have someone actually read my blog
35. Be humble
36. Not settle
37. Graduate
38. Appreciate sushi more
39. Be good at photography
40. Complete a triathlon on my own
41. Be like my dad
42. Be like my grampa
43. Be someone's Best Man
44. Meet "the one" and know it
45. Drive a motorcycle
46. Get LASIK
47. Spend a summer hiking the Appalachian Trail
48. Learn to play golf
49. Figure out what to do with the rest of my life
50. Go back to Tanzania for an extended period of time with the locals

"The conductor doesn't make a sound!"

2008-07-11T17:11:00.004-04:00

I watched another TED Talk that was linked up on the ol' Presentation Zen that I seem to talk so much about, and -- as usual -- it was awesome. It's the one sitting right above this paragraph if you didn't already notice. You can also watch it on the TED website here. But this one was a little different because the presenter, famed classical music conductor Benjamin Zander of the Boston Philharmonic, spoke all about classical music. And his love for it. And everyone else's love for it ("They just don't know it yet!"). There's a lot of great stuff to take away from the talk -- he hits on everything from Nelson Mandela to 7-year-olds struggling at piano -- but I wanted to highlight just one idea: "awakening possibilities."

Zander speaks in the latter portion of his talk about his realization that the conductor never makes a sound (all grunting and everything aside, I guess) during an actual performance. He relies on his players to realize his dream and vision. And the only way he says to do that is to "awaken possibilities" in them, to make them believe in themselves and to enable them along the way. It seems pretty basic, and it probably is, but it's a different way of looking at the idea of executing a strategy or vision, especially in the business world today. To make your followers' eyes shine.

For more on Zander from PZ, check Garr's book review here.
For more on the TED Talks from my boss EJ, click here.

(h/t as usual - Presentation Zen)

Support the 'Stache!!!

2008-07-09T23:06:00.002-04:00

Let's go, Yankees!

Happy fireworks and freedom!!!

2008-07-03T14:43:00.004-04:00

(image: www.selmanc.info)

I love the 4th. There's no better reason to sit around, grill some burgers, watch some fireworks and bask in everything that is America. God bless America, and God bless all of us in it. Today, tomorrow and every day forward.

You can begrudge them their money...

2008-07-02T21:21:00.005-04:00

(image: The Last Word)

But you can't say anything about their patriotism.

Yes, I know, that might be a little exaggerated, but say what you will about NBA players -- and professional athletes in general -- but they're doing exactly what we've set them up to do. We've glorified their existence to no end, we've snatched up any and all of their memorabilia, we've even watched them in the tabloids. But now we're sending them overseas to represent us. To represent everything that America stands for. And this round of Olympic Games is the perfect stage.

We're coming off stunning defeats in both the 2004 Summer Games and the FIBA World Championships. The world believes that they have caught up to us in the sport that we invented (yeah, he was Canadian, but he invented it in Springfield, Mass.) and have dominated since. They have the chance to come together as a team instead of simply a group of individual stars. And they can show the world how basketball was meant to be played.

I was inspired by tonight's installment of "Road to Redemption," a series about Team USA's preparations for Beijing, and I've gotta tell you...there's a great vibe going around that team. They seem to really have bought into Coach K's philosophy. They even listened to wounded American soldiers (from Iraq) speak about "selfless service." And there were tears coming to their eyes.

So here's to you Team USA. Bring it home for us this year. We're behind you.

A little tour around my summer sub-lease

2008-07-01T21:11:00.013-04:00

I had a little free time after hitting happy hour at On the Border today, so I decided to walk around my apartment and apartment complex -- 330 McGill Place -- to snap a few pictures. And here are my favorites. The rest are in a Picasa slideshow that you can view here or at the bottom of the post. There were people in the swimming pool, so don't expect any creeper pictures of them. A little too awkward.

Starting out on the little balcony outside my room. There isn't any furniture, but it's how I first saw that band at Butler Street Baptist, and it gives a good view of the Atlanta skyline at sunset, too.

Still out on that balcony, this is the porch light right outside the door.

I liked the porch light so much I decided to do a black & white also.

This is an illustration of what I do for most of the time when I'm not at work. Sad, I know, but I just can't get enough of SportsCenter sometimes.

I discovered that we have a mini fan on the floor by our TV as I was wandering around. I couldn't get a good action shot of the blade, so this will have to suffice I guess.

Yes, we have a beer pong table. But it does provide a good view out to the first-floor porch, which does have some furniture on it.

Here's a view up our staircase. Only one of these switches actually works, and that's the far one. It controls the stairwell lights, which also cannot be controlled from the top floor. More than a minor annoyance when the stairwell becomes pitch black at night.

I'm trying to teach myself how to cook, which means that I've basically lived off of frozen pizzas, Ramen, macaroni & cheese and sandwiches. But I'm surviving so far.

This warning reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day, and specifically the scene(s) when Bill Murray tries to kill himself repeatedly. If you haven't seen the movie, it's not nearly as morbid as it sounds.

It was raining outside yesterday.

My address. Fairly self-explanatory.
Who's ever heard of a speed limit of 9 anyway?

The first left inside the complex leads to my apartment. And that arrow is almost pointing directly at my door from this angle.

A pretty flower near the pool area.

I had to stretch pretty high to get this shot, but I think it was worth it. The view is looking out the front of the complex to Ralph McGill Blvd next to downtown Atlanta.

The latch to the BFI dumpster was left open. Looks a little more artsy than it actually was I think.

You have to hit this button to get out the front gate. Then you have to scan your card to re-enter. I, unfortunately, forgot my card, so I had to stay within the confines.

Perched on the bricks of the gate looking out onto Ralph McGill.

I still got a spectacular view of the sunset from inside the confines.

And again, this time with the sun playing a star-ring role. Get it?

I absolutely love the clouds in this picture.

This picture makes me want to have a dog that much more.

I hung on to the fenceposts by the gate for about 15 minutes getting various shots. Right as I was about to jump down I realized that I hadn't gotten a picture of the actual posts. So here you have it.

And I almost forgot this one on the other side also. That's an apartment building across the street in the background.

And finally, the entrance to the complex. Good ol' 330 McGill.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I had taking them. I got a few weird looks by cars passing by and pedestrians. I never would have imagined that so many good pictures could come simply from walking in a line about 150 feet from my doorstep. It all depends on whether you focus on the little things or not.

And here's that slideshow:

Things the world can get together over (or Heaven on Earth part 2.5)

2008-06-30T20:40:00.007-04:00

(image: Mail & Guardian Online)

I'm sitting on the couch watching vh1's "Top Songs of the '90s" and we're on number 6, which happens to be Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Maybe that's important, maybe not...but I digress. Number 2 is U2's "One"; much more fitting and beautiful.

The next show on vh1, though, is 46664, the concert for Nelson Mandela. And I'll admit, I never really had an appreciation for Nelson until I read "The Pursuit of Happyness" by Chris Gardner. Yes, the same Chris Gardner as I got a picture with and posted right here and here. If there's one book that could successfully guide you or me or anyone through life (besides the obvious one), this would definitively be it. It's one of those stories that will give you chills as you read it. Hang on every word, and cherish his story, because it's more than likely a far cry from any story that you will have to live out personally.

And now Chris is one of Wall Street's most successful investment bankers, and a banker with a mission (I just can't find a link to it). He's a guy who'll tell you exactly what he believes, and as such he's one whom you will trust from the outset. And when he credits Nelson Mandela as an outstanding influence in his own life, it's worth another look.

Even if you have no real idea of everything Nelson's been through (unfortunately, mostly speaking to myself), the words "Nelson Mandela" still hold an intrigue and an inspiration hardly rivaled by any others in any language. He lives the idea of Heaven on Earth everyday, constantly trying to improve not only his own life but the lives of everyone around him. The world is in each of our hands each and every day. And if you set out every day to "spread love," you just might be able to change the world (h/t EJ). I'd like to say the world could use thousands more Nelson Mandelas, but that might be dangerous. I don't know if this world could hold that much love at one time.

But if any of us could even approach Nelson-levels of love, the world would certainly be a much better place. A little closer to its perfection, Heaven.

Heaven on Earth, Part 2

2008-06-29T18:49:00.006-04:00

There's just nothing like holding a guitar in your hands and just letting the music come to your fingertips. In those moments all of your emotions can come out however they want. It's almost uncontrollable, but it's a catharsis, a release. Hours can pass without you knowing it. And in honor of those moments -- the moments when you get a glimpse of Heaven on Earth -- I give you my guitar.

If you notice, there's actually one broken string on my guitar, which is absolutely demoralizing whenever it happens. But it's very fitting in this setting, so bear with me.

Several months ago when I was just beginning my journey with my Athens Church community group, our leader gave us all blank sheets of paper and pens. He told us to draw a picture of our current relationship with God. Seemed like a pretty elementary exercise, but it worked. My picture was of a beat-up acoustic guitar with three broken strings. And since that night I've steadily (read: two steps forward, one step back) worked to restring those broken strings and return the "guitar" to its former working order.

It's an apt analogy the more that I think about it because the guitar had once been shiny and new, invigorating and energizing. And that typifies my continued relationship with God. I've been there before, in the "shiny and new" phase, the phase where you're simply on fire. Exuberant. Overjoyed. When all the strings were tight and the music was playing every day. For no other reason except that you feel so close to the Savior.

But that was many years ago in high school, and the years have loosened and broken a few strings since then. Life has come with its distractions, and I've gotten wrapped up in them far too many times. But in these past few months, months when I have decided to pursue a deeper relationship, it's very reassuring to know that I've been there before. That there's still a foundation under there somewhere. That I can do it, no matter how difficult it seems in each single moment.

So that's where I'm at now: restringing the guitar and trying to play the beautiful music of my life. The key is realizing that I am not the conductor, but He is instead. And he can compose some very, very beautiful music for sure.

Could this week get any worse?

2008-06-28T13:03:00.004-04:00

We already had to deal with this earlier in the week and this yesterday, now this. Uga VI, you were certainly a damn good Dawg. This next season's for you, buddy.

Final tallies:
88-27 record (76.5% winning percentage)
52-23 SEC (69.3%)
7-2 bowl games (77.8%)
(h/t Westerdawg)

A dark day...

2008-06-26T07:28:00.005-04:00

It's a wretched day for UGA baseball fans. My gameday-pants-at-work ploy didn't work. Gordon Beckham's solo shot in the 8th didn't work. Nothing worked. This one hurts.

At least it gives our football team a chance to fill the void.

Photo courtesy of the AP and RedandBlack.com

Heaven on Earth, Part 1

2008-06-24T20:06:00.012-04:00

This past Sunday at Athens Church, we listened to a message about how close heaven really is. Jeff Henderson, the Campus Director over at sister Buckhead Church, spoke about how heaven is not a reflection of this life as much as it is the perfection of this life. And whenever we experience a closeness to God through his creation -- or anything else for that matter -- it's just a tiny glimpse of what awaits us.

So without getting into the actual theology behind what's going on in this verse, I'd like to dedicate a few posts to pictures that typify the phrase "Heaven on Earth" to me. Here's my first submission:

This is Mt. Kilimanjaro as seen from a rice paddy about a mile or so from our hotel in Moshi, Tanzania (Kilimanjaro region...obviously). Funny thing, none of us really wanted to go on our rice paddy nature walk, and look how it turns out. Surprise, surprise.

These kids were at the Kili Centre orphanage that we visited. And if I had half as much life in my heart as each of them does, I'd count myself lucky. Heck, I count myself lucky just to have interacted with them. Just look at those smiles.

This candle was the only light in the holding cell of a former slave market in Zanzibar. Sobering to say the least, and awfully symbolic with any Jesus/light in the darkness parallels you might find.

I can't quite put this picture into words. Or explain why I think it fits. But at the moment I snapped it I felt so connected with it all, the sunset, these two girls and the whole of Africa. All of which are beautiful facets of God's creation. And I will always wonder what they are running toward...or from.

There are so many pictures I could pick from the Zanzibar sunset, but I like the effect of this one with the unmanned boats saluting the sunset, awaiting the night and the following sunrise. Even looking at this picture makes my heart skip a beat. Marvelous.

What a beautiful creature. Such a mirror of God himself (see: many places in the Bible), beautiful, powerful, fearsome.

If I had to give this an official title, it would be something along the lines of "The Fingers of God." It reminds me of the circle of life from the Lion King.

So that's what I've got for now. If UGA wins tonight or tomorrow in the College World Series, I'll put money on a picture from that appearing soon. Hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think!

I think I'm going to outlaw the word "gamer" forever

2008-06-23T20:00:00.005-04:00

I swear, if I hear it one more time (or 6,2154 before this game is over, I'm sure) I'm going to [insert gross/angry/ridiculous action here] all over ESPN. These announcers are ruining the game for me. Here's how I think their pregame run-through probably went:

Orel "Bulldog" Hershiser: Looks like it's my dream College World Series! Now, who to root for on national TV without any attempt to hide my bias?

Mike "I wish I still did college football so I could make this kind of verbal love to Tim Tebow too" Patrick: If Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and the rest of our mother company's college football (and basketball, OMG!!11!!!!1!) announcers can do it for Tim Tebow, then I'll do Fresno State the same way.

Orel: Oo, oo, I call dibs on the word "gamer." Every time I use it during the game, you owe me $5!

Mike: Well, fine then. I'll just lavish any and all praise on them while ignoring Georgia all the while. Maybe then Fresno State will pay me for hyping them up and I can pay you back, O.

This is really getting ridiculous. I think ol' Orel's made almost $100 so far. If he doesn't have anything good stats-wise to talk about a Fresno kid, he just talks about how tough he is. Or how he's so athletic. Or how people always counted him out. Or how his coach is the only one who believes him. And Mike will chime in profoundly with something like "That's why they're a Cinderella. Against this nationally seeded UGA team. Boy, I'd take any one of them for my team." [Emphasis added only in font, not in voice]

Poythress just beat a throw to the plate with a tremendous facefirst slide, and all Mike can talk about is how great of an arm the rightfielder has. IT'S FREAKING RICH POYTHRESS THAT HE'S TRYING TO THROW OUT!!!! Rich - bless his heart - had hardly even rounded third, and the hit was a grounder the rightfielder could easily run in on.

And Lyle Allen made an incredible catch, leaping up and crashing into the leftfield wall, and (guess what?!) Mike and Orel were talking about how great the Fresno kids were at hitting balls well to the opposite field.

And when pitcher Trevor Holder took an only-PING!-with-PING!-aluminum bats shot off his shin and still threw to first for the out, you say? No mention of how Trevor came back to get the next two outs easily. They went back to how hard the little freshman shortstop had hit it. Great work.

And against Stanford, if you'd actually listened to Mike and Orel, you would have thought Stanford had two of their guys playing outfield for us. Mike did it several times over consecutive innings, even with the roster sitting right in front of him.

It almost almost (actually not even close) makes me wish for the days of Fox's Sugar Bowl announcing. I still don't know who "Nomar Moreno" is.

Oh well, in the words of the immortal Chad Hume (I just got off the phone with him):

"We don't need the popular vote anyway!"

Agreed. Let's go, Dawgs!

+++++
UPDATE: ESPN now has shown an all-Fresno State game highlight video montage after commercial break complete with a priceless scowl from Trevor after a home run, I'm sure. They've also debuted a series of interviews with the Fresno players that they showed before another Fresno at-bat. No sign of UGA as of yet.

UPDATE #2: Suck on that.

If this doesn't describe a lot of my feelings in Tanzania...

2008-06-17T19:01:00.006-04:00

...then I have no idea what does. From one of my favorite bloggers, Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen fame:

"Note: The digital postcard was made in Keynote (three slides). The video was shot with a tiny Nikon Coolpix. Video is imported as a Quicktime movie. The images of masking tape are set to about 70% opacity in Photoshop (could have been done directly in Keynote as well) and sit atop the video. Recorded with "Record Slideshow" feature (File menu) and exported as a Quicktime movie. Simple. The final slide says "From Oregon with Love" (Oregon Kara Ai) which was the title of a famous TV show in Japan in the '80s."

(major h/t: Presentation Zen)

GEORGIA BEATS #1 MIAMI IN THE 9TH INNING!!!!11!!1!!

2008-06-14T22:50:00.005-04:00

Picture courtesy of GeorgiaDogs.com

This game was breathtaking. Back and forth and back and forth. For starters, Miami is an incredible team. They have power from every spot in the lineup, they have 3 first-round MLB draft picks and they are head and shoulders better than any other team in America. At least that's what I'd heard.

Here's a little stat to ruin the ending (even more than my title): Miami WAS 45-0 this season when leading after 8 innings. Now, you can take that goose egg down. 45-1 sounds much better. The Dawgs did it.

We scored 4 in the top of the ninth, led by the bottom of the order no less. It involved just about everything a baseball fan could ask for (except that the home runs came earlier in the game): a passed ball 3rd strike single, a throwing error, a slap bunt attempt, and an underdDAWG clutching it out in the 9th. And in the rest of the game there were 4 home runs, a 2-strike bunt single, 98-mph fastballs (just from Josh Fields) and dedicated Dawg fans.

Those sure are some damn good Dawgs. So proud right now.

+++++
UPDATE: The Red & Black chimes in.
Not all Georgia baseball accolades come on the field. Congrats, Gordon and Josh!
Paul Westerdawg loves him some David "Jerry Bruckheimer" Perno.

My rowdy neighbors

2008-06-14T15:05:00.007-04:00

If you've followed me on Twitter then you know that I realized earlier that there was a "gospel/soul/jam band" playing across the street from my apartment. Here's the rest of the story.

I just went on a little run through downtown Atlanta -- by the way, there's some Beerfest going on in that area right now -- and realized that the band across the street is actually a jazz band fronted by one of the members of Butler Street Baptist Church. Which happens to be across the street from me. As I ran by on my way out, I waved and the band members smiled and waved back. I didn't think anything of it.

But on my way back I made sure to cross to their side of the street to wave again. And the bass player waved me over, saying that I should come enjoy some music and a hot dog or two. Not one to turn down free food and/or music, I gladly obliged.

So I hung out for about ten minutes, met the pastor and a few of the other members, who all invited me to come back for tomorrow's 11 am worship service. It was great! They were all smiling and welcoming me. Apparently it's their Men's Month, trying to get everyone in their congregation to celebrate the male leadership in their church and enjoy some good times together. I told them I'd definitely stop by some Sunday -- tomorrow I'm planning on heading to Buckhead Church. And they said they'll be having more gatherings on the lawn for the neighborhood and congregation to join together. I'm already looking forward to it.

Minor update

2008-06-07T20:33:00.004-04:00

So since the last time we talked -- or since I typed and you (whoever you are) read -- a lot's happened. I've met an Olympic sprinter in the Amsterdam airport (where I also paid $13 for a quarter pounder meal), landed successfully back in the States, dealt with major jet lag, recuperated in Athens and headed to Atlanta.

And in Atlanta I've moved into an apartment that I technically share with three Georgia Tech guys (I'll have to show a picture of the key I have to deal with this summer now), but none of them really live there for any extended period of time. So I've almost got the whole place to myself. And I started my internship with Marsh USA in Buckhead. It's an amazing experience, even only two days into it.

Be patient, I'll have plenty of things to say about Africa in the coming weeks as I sift through my pictures. Patience, my friends. And I'll keep you updated regularly on Marsh happenings -- those that I can talk about at least.

Until then...

And the Tim Anderson watch begins

2008-05-24T07:57:00.006-04:00

Tim, one of my former coworkers at the VC and a fellow OL '07, is taking "a year on" to work at Martha's Vineyard and backpack through Europe. He's currently planning to keep a blog updated on his adventures, so check it out periodically. It's fittingly called "Nomad for a Year."

Should be some cool stuff.

My post on the ILA blog

2008-05-24T07:45:00.005-04:00

Here's a repost of my blog entry on our ILA blog in its entirety. Feel free to read all of it if you want, or just head over to the official blog. The comment is from my dad.
+++++

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Back on U.S. Soil
Eric:

We started off like any other morning: omelettes, pastries, coffee, baked beans, ox tongue. Wait, your mornings don't start like that in the States? No ox tongue? Hmm...TIA, this is Africa. Chris LeCraw Sickness Update (CLCSU): Took medicine last night. Looks to be receding. Shirt collars still hurt. Anyway, we all piled in the bus and headed to the US Embassy. When we arrived, we stepped outside and smiled. Yes, that was American air we were breathing. Close-cropped American grass on which we were treading. American cement under our feet now. And American people greeting us. Okay, maybe none of that stuff is actually American. And we were actually greeted by Tanzanian doormen/guards. Details, details. We were semi-home again!

After the obligatory awkward moment when I set off the alarm -- Even plastic sunglasses have little metal pieces. At least it wasn't an improvised explosive device, which is expressly prohibited. -- we all grabbed our American badges and headed inside. The first man to show us around just so happened to be a friend of the Ambassador from way back in Green Bay. Yes, that's right. Home of the Cheeseheads, Brett Favre (not really anymore I guess), frozen grass and dairy products. That Green Bay. He said he came over here with Ambassador Green (more on him right...down...there) for a trial year and might end up staying longer. Douglas had a minor scare when he drank the fountain water, assuming it would be clean, safe American water, only to realize that, once again, TIA. No worries, it was safe.

The Embassy got right down to business, and Ambassador Mark Green strolled in, blue suit/green tie (with elephants I think) and all. He even had a coffee mug that was a gift from a local university. And his mannerisms were impeccable. A staunch Republican and defender of Dubya, he executed the thumb point perfectly, but he followed it with a very Obama-esque thumb-to-forefinger-to-form-an-O move. Pandering to both sides, eh?I could bore you with details of the talk -- which, from my third-row in the conference room of an American oasis/embassy weren't actually boring -- but I'll just give you some highlights. He said Tanzania is already one of the leaders on the continent, but we need to "lock in leadership" at the highest levels. In other words TZ must take the initiative both ideologically and politically in this part of the world. A few facts to take into account that will be a hindrance to such thrusts are the 100,000 Tanzanian malaria deaths per year and the 400 HIV/AIDS deaths per day. GWB and the TZ government, President Kikwete mostly, have already done a decent job addressing these issues through policy initiatives, but the problem (not problem, challenge, but we'll get to that a little later) is the Tanzanian people don't realize it. When Green first came on board, his sponsored events had banners from the CDC, USAID and others. But Tanzanians have no idea what these signify, so Green has now replaced those with a dozen banners that say simply, "From the American People" in both English and Swahili. Funny how Americans can seem so united from the other side of the world.

After outlining a few initiatives and goals, Green took questions. My question -- the only one I'm mentioning because it's my blog, sorry guys -- illuminated a point that has been present in several meetings this trip. Competitiveness. Tanzanians just aren't. When Kenya's Mombassa port closed due to the warring factions in the country, the ships housed there headed for Dar Es Salaam port in Tanzania. At this point the American embassy has this to say: "Hooray! Let's treat these ships better than Kenya ever did and earn their business permanently!" The Tanzanians responded in kind: "But we wouldn't want to hurt the Kenyans' feelings. Let's all be friends." There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both responses, but the easiest way to expand the national economy is to gain more business. And they missed the opportunity. Just an example. The final point that Green made related directly -- maybe too directly...he might have plagiarized -- to my personal journal from last night. What Africa needs is not charisma. She doesn't need words. She needs actions. And not only actions, but results. I called it the "fierce immediacy of now" in my journal, but I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere. Here's what I wrote in my journal:

"It's the idea that everything becomes magnified if it must be immediate. If it's on a time crunch. If it's crucial. If it can't be done at any other time. The people of Africa deserve results. They flat-out need them. And the effective leaders realize this. And they realize that their time horizon is very much abbreviated."

After a speaker about the politics and economics of the country -- not much we hadn't already heard -- we toured the whole facility. Even the warehouse, where "they store all the stuff." A fairly direct quote from our guide. Did you know that if you work for the embassy in TZ you can shop at the embassy warehouse and get all-American furniture and electronics? Even tires? Wow. CLCSU: The second speaker has a medical degree. Thinks it might be shingles. "Couldn't help" because Chris isn't an embassy employee. I guess Chris must have stolen that cream discreetly.

Then came lunch. At one of the nicest hotels in all of TZ. Where Dubya and his posse stayed on their visit. Where suites are actually only $200 per night (hat tip to Bryan Pruiett for in-depth research). It was a six-course meal hosted by Mr. Reginald Mengi. Think Ted Turner of TZ. Or the physical embodiment of General Electric. The man has his hands in Tanzanite prospecting, Coca-Cola bottling, broadcast news, print media and many other things. Incredible guy who came from nothing up in Moshi. Dirt-poor at birth, through childhood, and through teenagedom (made up the word in order to not sound repetitive). Here's a laundry list of quotes and observations from the lunch:

"Business is just organized friendship." Tanzanians are very generous...with hospitality, with wine and with thank-yous. "You must tell yourself 'I can, I must, I will.'" R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" comes on as a sort of theme song. The same R. Kelly that had the legal troubles, but I still think of Space Jam every time I hear the song. "And if you fail, turn on Destiny's Child 'Survivor' and just survive." I love that song. Karaoke 101. "Your world must be your honor." Tanzanians don't rely on contracts like we do. So their word carries a lot more weight. Hence: "I can forgive you if you break a contract. But I won't forgive you if you break a promise." Wow, how non-American! But refreshing to say the least. "You must give back." Spider-Man knew that with great power comes great responsibility. The same goes for money in a developing country. Mengi's responsibility is to the whole country, and his philanthropic reach covers most of the land. "Put God first." Now, I've heard this before, but from Chick-fil-A mostly. It was interesting to hear it so matter-of-factly halfway around the world. He made constant references to his Christianity, and it definitely gives an example of faith interacting positively with business. Serious business. Moneymaking business.

Then off to the hotel again, where we were informed that Hon. Gertrude Mongella would not be joining us for dinner. If you want info on her, go to Google. She's pretty incredible. So we hung out at the pool. Douglas and Addie climbed on the roof. I bathed in bug spray. CLCSU: Remember when Luke was recovering from injuries in The Empire Strikes Back? Or when Keanu Reeves was injured in "real life" in The Matrix? That's Chris LeCraw. He even cut the collar of a t-shirt to make it more open. I think he should make up some stories to go along with it.

Now off to watch the finals of the UEFA Champions League! Pretty chill night in TZ. I love you Mom, Dad and Kevin! And give yourself a hearty pat on the back if you read all the way to here.

[Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Ambassador Mongella was called to a meeting in Mwanza and had to cancel. Plus, the UEFA Championship is tomorrow night, but the meeting with Mr. Mengi was featured on the national news and the newspaper. check it out at http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2008/05/21/114830.html]
Posted by ILA Study Abroad Program in Tanzania at 11:00 PM 1 comments

A few quick notes from the other side of the world

2008-05-20T11:00:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry that I have been so incommunicado. I didn't really get much of a response from my first email, so I figured the ones who are on the list I'll just encounter when I get back. Then I can fill you all in face to face. Which I'd much prefer anyway because I can show lots of pictures that way also.

Regardless, if you haven't already, head over to our official ILA TZ blog. My post should be going up later tonight. I won't spoil it by giving you details here early, but it's been a great day. I'll leave it at that.

Also, for those of you who know Brittany Lee (and for those of you who don't also), check out her blog right here. She's keeping a running tally of her personal wit and cynicism wisdom throughout the trip. It's even got some pics. Of her own. Note: I tried to jack a picture from Chris LeCraw's computer -- this one -- but the internet is too slow to allow me to upload it. It's of me playing with a kid at the orphanage who happens to be oblivious to me because he's playing with my camera. I haven't actually read her blog yet, but from what I know is on there, it should be a good read. I'd encourage it. And I'll put it on my blog roll over...there also.

I hope to talk to some of you guys soon. We're halfway done with the trip now, and it's absolutely flown by. So many stories. So many pictures. I've decided I'm going to Rosetta Stone Swahili -- if I can afford it -- when I get home and come back sometime. Anyone down?

Blogging from another continent!...?

2008-05-08T23:39:00.005-04:00

As of 4:40 pm EST tomorrow, I will be headed to Tanzania, Africa, for three weeks. Because I will not be carrying my laptop with me and because we will have our own blog for which we are responsible, there won't be much content to be seen on this site for a while. I'm traveling with the Institute for Leadership Advancement contingent along with Dr. G, one of my professors this past semester.

We will all of us students be responsible for posting on the blog, so I can't guarantee a certain amount of info from myself, but I'll guarantee that all of the posts will be interesting, insightful and humorous. Mainly because all of us fill all of those three traits. So head on over here to check it out, and let us know what you think!

Free beer!

2008-05-07T10:46:00.001-04:00

One and a half hours volunteering led to a free case of beer for each of us! Can you say free tailgating?

"$96 of beer in the car..."

The damage

2008-05-06T17:02:00.003-04:00

Some leftovers at quitting time...

Words for graduates

2008-05-03T11:28:00.009-04:00

As finals time begins, continues and, eventually, ends, I realize that some of my closest friends will be graduating and leaving. I have no idea if I'll see a lot of them again, and I probably won't get the chance to say any "last words," because I'm not very good at it and I usually avoid it. I hate good-byes. I draw them out awkwardly, in that I've-already-hugged-you-shrugged-my-shoulders-sighed-heavily-and-hugged-you-again sort of way. You know what I'm talking about. So since I'm terrible at "last words," I figured I'd share someone else's last words with you in my place.

Here is the transcript to Garrett Gravesen's 2003 commencement address. His picture is that crazy one up there. At the top of the page is this presumptuous title:

In what many have called the greatest speech ever given at the University of Georgia, Garrett Gravesen delivers the commencement Speech to the Graduating Class of 2003 encouraging everyone to be a HERO.

I was understandably skeptical at first glance, but do yourself a favor and read through it. You'll laugh out loud, struggle to not tear up and get that warm-fuzzy feeling inside. For those who don't know, Garrett -- along with Ryan Gembala -- founded HERO for Children, the UGA chapter of which is now a huge philanthropy. Check out their story here. And here are some choice words that I jealously wish I had come up with on my own...but I didn't.

"Regardless, there is one thing that connects us all. Within each and every one of us is a Voice. I am not sure where it comes from. Maybe it's the natural or the supernatural, maybe its from within or a land far away I don't know. This voice speaks to us when we are younger and we think we can conquer the world. As we get older, however, other people tell us everything we are un-able to do in life and sooner or later most people start believing this until one day that voice is gone and never comes back again."

These words about Voice harken back to an earlier post that I made regarding childhood dreams (refresher). It's incredible that a graduating college senior already has such words like this. Imagine being in the class of '03, sitting in Sanford Stadium, sweating beyond belief, hearing these words and wondering how your college career could have been different if you'd heard them freshman year. How did one of your peers find such an incredible passion? How did he give up everything the world thought important for a risk and a whim? And how in the world did that whim turn into such a life-changer, city-changer and nation-changer?

About that time you might realize that, no matter what you did or didn't do here at UGA, you've left your mark. It may not be as big or obvious as Garrett's, but you realize that you couldn't avoid impacting others' lives. It's why you were all accepted here and ultimately, it's why you chose to attend here. Because you knew -- somehow deep inside -- that UGA would give you that opportunity to change lives.

Then you snap back to the speech and Garrett comes at you with this:

"All I can say is that love is a work in progress. Never let yourself get so angry that you stop loving because one day you will wake up from that anger and the person you love will be gone. Remember that marriage is indeed a commitment, the wedding ring is a circle of trust and the time you spend with your significant other and those treasured moments you spend with the children you bring into the world are more important that any job you will ever get or money you may make."

Love is a work in progress.

Holy crap! So true! You give a little amen in your head, you nod approval, you maybe even clench your fist in confirmation. But you know. This man -- young adult, really -- is speaking about things much bigger than he is...and much bigger than any of us are. LOVE...a work in progress. Wow.

And you realize that it is true. Love is always something you're working toward. Not that you can never achieve it or that you can never find it or that you can never experience it. But that there's always more to it. There's always more love to experience. Whether it's in the realm of friendship, intimacy, spirituality, family or whatever, there's always more love than you can imagine. More than you can fathom. And more than you can wrap your head around. And you're comforted that again, no matter what you did or didn't do during college, you found love. True, lasting, deep love. From roommates, from your parents, from your professors, from your boyfriend or girlfriend. There's someone who'll be there for you. No matter what. And you ponder that for a second with a smile. And you again snap back to the present day.

And you see this amazing man leave the stage, the last few words you hear being these:

"As we go out and descend upon the world...Always leave more than anyone expects. Our lives are not all the same, but the voice inside of us is. Where it leads you-may all of you follow...There were friendships built and relationships lost, there were laughs that have brought us together and tears that have driven us apart, but it is all of this that has made college worthwhile."

And as you look around, at the crowd, at the faculty, at your classmates and at yourself you realize one last thing. This is what you've been working for. It's been (at least) 4 years probably, and you've been preparing for this moment. It's your time. And your childhood hero Dr. Seuss comes back to mind:

"Today is your day! your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way."

So now, class of 2008, you're all incredible. We've all been blessed beyond belief by your presence on this campus, and you'll be sorely missed. And, personally, I can't wait to see how much of the world you conquer by the time I graduate. We've got big shoes to fill.

And if you want to see another great UGA commencement speech, check out Kevin Scott's address from this past fall of '07 (in two installments):

Part 2:

Studying at Chick-Fil-A on Saturday morn

2008-05-03T10:04:00.003-04:00

I decided last night that I would wake up early this morning and yet put Chick-Fil-A's wireless for studying. So I set my alarm for 6:30, actually woke up after 7 and got here by 8. The wireless is fast and reliable, the atmosphere (and aroma) is great, the people are friendly. But I wish I'd worn pants because the Beechwood branch is unnervingly cold right now.

So if you're looking for an alternative to the SLC and don't need absolute peace and quiet (I have my headphones in so it's not bad at all), check out your local Chick-Fil-A. And since it's coming on 10:00 in Athens, I can't wait to see people I recognize and/or actual friends wander in here with stories from last night.

PS: This way I only have to make one total trip for breakfast AND lunch...genius!

--------------------
Update (10:06): Saw John Taliaferro and Brad Harris already. Good start.

Hell just froze over

2008-05-02T22:59:00.003-04:00

And pigs grew wings.

And the Hawks forced a game seven.

WHAT?!!?!!11!1!!!!

Looking back

2008-05-02T09:27:00.006-04:00

All right, I've just finished my first night of sleep back in my own bed in Athens, and I've gotta say, I'm not nearly as refreshed and/or rejuvenated as I'd hoped I'd be. Oh well, there's always time for a nap this afternoon I guess.

I wanted to share a little about what we did at the conference since the last real update, so hold onto your hats, here we go:

Back on Tuesday we went to Aon's reception at the House of Blues. It was packed! The opening act was a U2 cover band, so I went absolutely nuts. And Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the headliner, was great too. Their lead singer looks like a shorter version of Will Ferrell, no joke. The slideshow above has all the pictures I took from it.

Then after we went to a morning session or two on Wednesday, a bunch of us skipped the afternoon sessions and headed to the San Diego Zoo. Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of zoos, but this one is pretty cool. It's got lions, tigers, bears (insert witty comment here), pandas, polar bears, koalas, elephants, giraffes, and yada yada yada. The list goes on and on. This slideshow ^ first has a photo shoot with our coordinators Peggy and Fran. Without them, none of this opportunity would have been possible, so a huge shout-out to them!

After ordering some awesome pizza from Ciro's Pizzeria on 6th and Market, Then we headed to the Conference Center for something called "Cirque Dreams." For the record, I have no idea how anyone has the ability to do the tricks these people were doing. I can't even really describe them all either, so just use your imagination. I couldn't get any good pictures because of the lighting, however, so only a few pics in the slideshow are from there.

Instead of heading back to the hotel to pack like common sense would have said, we wrangled our way into an invite-only party hosted by Sedgwick CMS. It was at the Sweetwater Saloon in the Hard Rock Hotel and Lounge. More to come on that later. Jamie called just as we were walking in, so I had to enter after our whole party had already gotten in. Jonathan, a student at St. John's, had the invite, and he had already gone inside. Here's a transcript of how my conversation with the door guy went:

[guy in front of me gets rejected because he doesn't have an invite; acts incredulous; pulls out multiple business cards stating he is some VP of some large corporation; door guy turns him around and directs him out of line]
Door Guy: Who are you here with?
Me: I was with that group of kids who just got in here. I had to take a phone call so I couldn't go in with them.
Door Guy: So you don't have an invite. [statement, not question]
Me: No, but one of the guys who just got in does.
Door Guy: Let me see your ID.
[checks it over; finds it satisfactory]
Door Guy: You'll have to talk to him. [points at Sedgwick executive taking up invites]
Exec: Who are you and what are you doing here?
Me: I'm one of the college students attending the conf-
Exec: You said "college"?
[I nod hesitantly]
Exec: [smiling] Then get your ass inside!

I felt so cool. And once inside, we realized that the whole bar was open. Not just beers, not just bottom-of-the-barrel well drinks, but Crown, Grey Goose, Belvedere and Chopin. I have no other words to say about that. When last call came (at 11:20, no less!!!), we headed outside to figure out what to do. We never did figure that out though. So we climbed palm trees and ran up stairs like Rocky. Check them out down here.

Then it was lights out. Until breakfast the next morning, where only a select few students actually made it. And that was that...

What an incredible, words-can't-begin-to-describe weekend and week. I hate reality where you have to pay for drinks and food. I guess we were pretty spoiled and lucky...

And we're off

2008-05-01T14:36:00.002-04:00

Back to the land of paying for drinks and food...

Jungle risk management

2008-05-01T11:46:00.002-04:00

Risk management lessons from the African bush. Lesson: If you don't dynamically and effectively manage your risk..."you become lunch." Ways NOT to do this: head-in-the-sand, camouflage, agility reliance, etc.

PS: Cheetahs are sweet!

The last free meal for a while...

2008-05-01T11:18:00.002-04:00

The final remnants of our glorious student crew. The last memories from an awesome experience. There's so much else to say and write, but I'll hold off until I can sit down with my computer. Be waiting, and I'll see you all - you Athens folk at least - very soon!

Some breakfast table wisdom and another day's wrap-up

2008-04-29T23:13:00.002-04:00

But first, your daily slideshow. Near the end I went San Diego scenery crazy, so enjoy!

We had our sponsoring professor breakfast this morning, and there were a few nuggets of wisdom passed around our table that I wanted to share with everyone.

First of all here's my sponsoring professor; he was really busy and could only be here for two days. Such is life.

Our table consisted of myself, several other students, a guy named Rick who is currently in the industry and Dr. Charles Bennett from St. John's University's College of Risk Management (check out all his designations here). Here are the things we talked about.

Lead with questions. A direct offshoot of From Good to Great that I keep mentioning. Rick said, "Don't be afraid to say you don't have all the answers. Just tell them you'll find out the answers or let them know how to find the answers for themselves."
Differentiate yourself as a leader. The Chairman of insurance broker Willis, Joe Plumeri, differentiates himself by his wardbrobe and his personality. He rocks a short, pink tie like nobody's business, and he is one of the most boisterous, engaging, piercingly sharp people in any room. This picture doesn't have a pink tie, but believe me, he was working it last night. And his tie knot was HUGE. Ridiculous. But the takeaway here is that, to establish yourself as a leader, you have to find ways to differentiate yourself from the rest of your employees. Not in an arrogant way, but in an identifiable way that is at the same time endearing and empowering. Like wearing one of these to work like I plan on doing.

Talk shop: Don't just focus on talking business all the time. Talk college alma mater football, talk golf, talk politics (with a splash of humor to keep from stirring the pot too much), talk current events, talk music, talk anything. Be personable and persistent. Not annoying.

And since I've delayed posting this, I'll recap the day so far also.

The aforementioned sponsor breakfast.
Morning session on speaking risk management. It was all about how to communicate the urgency, the effectiveness and the relevancy of risk management to your boss, to your colleagues, to your employees and to your friends. It's a dynamic profession, and it's exciting. Don't believe me? Just ask!
THE MOST BORING KEYNOTE PRESENTATION EVER (!!!) for lunch. It started with a terrible spinach salad and ended with a dry, monotonous keynote presentation. Proof positive that, even if you have a Presentation Zen-style PowerPoint that is engaging, funny and informative, you are the one who makes or breaks the presentation. Ouch...nails on a chalkboard. I don't want to talk about it anymore.
Had an "educational roundtable" discussion which basically involved a hypothetical ("based-in-fact") case study of a junk foods company. Successfully cemented the fact that I will never be an employee benefits office because I can't deal with workers comp cases. Booooring.
Wine and cheese reception in the exhibit hall where we had our choice of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon or (gasp!) merlot. I hadn't seen anything but the former two all trip, so it was a decent change. I also got a hole-in-one on the virtual Tiger Woods golf game, but the video was of me following that up with a splashdown right of the same hole. Oh well.
Reception sponsored by the nation of Bermuda (yes, that's right) and their "capital of risk" financial campaign. Sushi, quesadillas, "Dark 'n' Stormy"s, prime beef cuts and all...great stuff.
We're heading to the House of Blues to check out Aon's reception with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as the headliners. I'll let y'all know!

For now, here's Garr Reynolds' take on a handy career advice book:

| View | Upload your own

Sometimes it happens

2008-04-29T16:23:00.002-04:00

Risk management can never truly compensate for the glories of human error, I guess.

Formatting sucks

2008-04-29T04:02:00.001-04:00

PS: I have no idea what the hell happened with the formatting on the below post. I apologize, but it's late.

Call this my multimedia post

2008-04-29T02:39:00.012-04:00

It seems like it's been forever since the last time that I actually wrote about anything on here. So I'll give you a little rundown with some text, a few slideshows, and some videos. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures from yesterday and last night. You'll see me with childhood friend and almost-graduated U of Bama student Vanessa Rolf. There are also some from the "Aquatic Odyssey" and the AIG-sponsored dessert reception at PetCo Park.

Went to the Aquatic Odyssey where they had mermaids, a girl with water fountain fingers, a live band, eight bars, more tables of food, two bars made of ice and thousands of risk management and insurance professionals. For the record, never ever drink a dry martini -- or any martini for that matter -- at a rate faster than calm sip. Trust me.
We got to walk on PetCo Park's infield grass and dirt. Well, we actually followed the security girl while she kicked other people off the field and took pictures when she wasn't looking. They also had a pretty sweet wiffleball cage and some amazing bananas foster. with Myers's Rum. Awesome.
Crashed something fierce on top of my bedsheets and woke up around 3 feeling awful cold.

These are from Monday morning through Monday night, tracing the breakfast, keynote, exhibit hall, dinner(s) and Hootie concert. The day just kept getting better.

Woke up at the crack of dawn for breakfast and Chris Gardner's keynote about breaking cycles. Quite possibly one of the most engaging presenters I've ever experienced. I got a book signed and a picture...I felt special.Yes, I rocked a bow tie. And it looked good. And the only other guy with one was also a Marsh employee. Good karma.
Yes, I rocked a bow tie. And it looked good. And the only other guy with one was also a Marsh employee. Good karma.
I love Marsh. Period. 'Nuff said.
Shmoozed around the UGA Night reception in the Hall of Fame Room at PetCo Park. It was sponsored by Willis, another global broker juggernaut. Filet mignon burgers are great, by the way.
Headed over to Marsh's event at Dick's Last Resort. I met two UGA grads at the earlier reception, so we palled around the city over to Dick's. They're corporate headhunters (insert vaguely villainous music here).
Came back and got pumped for the HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH CONCERT!!! It was awesome! Not only did they play all of their huge hits, they also threw in some "Get Down On It," "Champagne Supernova," "Losing My Religion," and a few more covers. I went absolutely nuts when they said our Athenians R.E.M. were the reason they started a band. I lost my voice as soon as I ran in the door (and I do mean ran).

And I'll leave you with some of the concert videos that I took. It was splendid.

The opening song

Hootie playing "Losing My Religion." That's me in the background screaming and losing my mind. Oh, Athens.

What a defining, classic song. Sorry I could only get 36 seconds of it for you guys.

Talk to y'all soon! As in...tomorrow probably!

Hootie!

2008-04-29T00:25:00.002-04:00

Front row at a middle school dream come true!

Chris Gardner's happyness keynote

2008-04-28T12:22:00.001-04:00

One quote: "Those guys spent $70 million recreating what I did with nothing." This guy is incredible!

Being stalked by Good to Great

2008-04-28T12:11:00.002-04:00

Above is the current RIMS president Janice Ochenkowski giving part of her opening remarks. And she just referenced the book From Good to Great by Jim Collins. So for you ILAD kids...it'll follow you wherever you go.

We're VIPs in PetCo Park!!!

2008-04-28T01:24:00.002-04:00

AIG sponsored a dessert reception for all the insurance people at the Padres' PetCo Park. They had bananas foster, my favorite dessert in my whole life! So we all ran onto the field while the security people tried to kick is off. And yes, that IS real baseball dirt on my shoes, thanks.

They have a bar made of ice!

2008-04-28T00:06:00.002-04:00

I mean, I've heard of an ice block, but an ice bar?! This is insane! There are mermaids, girls with fountains of water coming from their fingers, ribbon dancers...oh my!

Thoughts from the first day or so...and the first installation of my picture slideshow

2008-04-27T19:33:00.006-04:00

Picasa slideshow from my first two days so far. The pictures are from Evan (my roommate) and my walk along the marina boardwalk and our group's day trip to Coronado Beach. There's one picture I'll pull out of there and comment on below, so check that out also. Watch the pics, and I'll have a little commentary below.

And the lucky picture is...

That's me at the top of the steps mugging for the camera. Yes, I'm giving a thumbs-up. We're at the Hotel del Coronado at Coronado Beach right outside San Diego. The guy fading into the background behind me is what we like to call "tragedy." He's wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey, cut-off camo cargo shorts, hunks of product in his hair and lots of trashy tattoos up and down his arms. It's too bad you can't see him in all his glory. But, hey, I guess I can't say much because he's staying at a baller hotel on a resort beach in San Diego. Must be nice.

Beyond that, here are some impressions I've got from my first two days:

If you're ever invited to attend a free conference, GO TO IT! We've already had an open-bar reception, and there is at least one more per day for the next four days. The wine selection may not have been great, but I'm not complaining. The going rate for our hotel room is upwards of $450 per night, it's all free, it's in a great location and everyone's incredibly nice. So if you get the chance, hop on it pronto.
I've always heard the California girls are the best girls in the world. But if they were a football team, they'd be the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors so I could shout "Overrated!" at them. They just don't compare to this...or this...or simply the average night in downtown Athens...not even close. Guys, hear me on this one: WE HAVE IT SO LUCKY. You have no idea. I can say I've been to the West Coast where the "beautiful people" are (not LA where the fake plastic people are though), and Athens tops it easily. Stay as long as you can.

"Fratty" in Athens means ambiguously gay or old most anywhere else especially here. I only found one other guy with a swimsuit above his knees on the beach today. Nobody had Croakies, no one rocking Sperrys (hardly any flip-flops either, if you can imagine) and no visors. Every guy had a tight t-shirt and board shorts on. Nothing wrong with that, just an observation. No short shorts outside UGA, I guess.

And that's all I've got time for right now, but I'll keep it coming tomorrow!

More pics from SD

2008-04-27T19:12:00.003-04:00

My view looking up from a poolside lounge chair at the palm trees. You better love this pic, Adam!!! This is also the new background on my phone.

More palm trees, but now in front of our hotel building. This is the North Tower, and my room is on the 11th floor around the other side looking half out on the bay and the city. By the way, here's a link to our actual hotel, the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina.

Not that I am looking for nice guys or hosting such an event, but maybe they were inviting me. If so, I hear nice guys finish last, so I think I'll pass.

This is the Hard Rock Hotel/Lounge/Cafe. Apparently it's "the" place to be in SD, but there was a private party so we couldn't get in.

The views from our room and the pool

2008-04-27T15:10:00.003-04:00

Here's our pool that sits between the North and South Towers. Those tent things in the back are the various spas and massage facilities. And to the right, just outside the frame, is a fake waterfall with a bar on top of it.

One of the many views from our 11th floor balcony.

Looking out over the marina from the balcony.

San Diego skyline...

This is a random fountain across the street from our hotel. There are actually trolley tracks that go through it. Interesting...

This place is incredible! Definitely the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in.

We're here!

2008-04-26T15:56:00.003-04:00

The airport knew we were coming! Some interesting things to write about the trip so far, so look for an update soon! It's beautiful here!

Soldiers on vacation

2008-04-26T10:28:00.002-04:00

A whole company of soldiers sitting at the gate to leave for St. Croix for a well-deserved vacation I guess. You're all much appreciated. Go chill and unwind. Y'all deserve every bit of it.

The journey begins

2008-04-26T09:33:00.002-04:00

Out of bed at 6:45...on the road by 7:45...airport by 9:15 after a Chick Fil A stop. Thanks again for driving, Adam!

I've been to the Atlanta Airport many times, but I've never noticed the dinosaur skeleton at Terminal South. So I took a picture of it. A little ironic that we have something so ancient juxtaposed against the modernity of the airport...a little non sequitur I guess. More to come soon! Game on, San Diego.

Of marketing to younger kids

2008-04-25T16:49:00.003-04:00

On Rocksprings and Broad

Creative...go after the just-turned-teen girl market. Genius. There's a joke about more bars in more places here, but I won't make it.

Tom Cousins - UGA Grad, Businessman and Baller Extraordinaire

2008-04-25T12:44:00.015-04:00

Today at 10:10 marked the last ever ILAD class session that I will ever take...at least I think so. We'll have to see about that one. But we hosted Tom Cousins, the Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Cousins Properties, Inc., probably the largest real estate developer in the Atlanta area and in a big part of the Southeast.

Now, he spoke for about 30 minutes at the Law School and took 20 minutes of Q & A, but I'll just list a few of the highlights and standout quotes from his talk.

ON RELATIONSHIPS: "One day you will be thankful for that, if nothing else." He said this was the primary benefit he received from his days at UGA. In talking about his experiences with WWII veterans, he said they taught him "how to drink, party, play poker and hitchhike." And these relationships he cultivated with the vets are what he remembers fondly.
ON FORMER BUSINESS LAW PROFESSOR A. ALDO CHARLES: "If you don't wanna get 'did,' don't go amongst the doers." I'm not totally positive what this means, but I believe it probably ties in with the next point somehow...
ON INTEGRITY: Question he always receives from students: "Don't you always have to step on people to succeed?" Answer he always gives: "I cannot tell you how contrary that is to fact. And I hope you will listen to what I'm saying." CPI committed itself in the beginning to a culture of integrity, of keeping both written and unwritten commitments, or not bragging but following through. And when you walk into the CPI offices "you can feel it," the notion that everyone is working together to do the right thing.
ON REPUTATION: The ups and downs of the market, the tough times for your company, "that's where your reputation really pays off." That's wear you build your reputation by not selling yourself out, by not cutting the corners and by soldiering on in spite of it all."If there's confidence in you then you'll be needed at these times...and outstanding people will be drawn to you." Good stuff.
ON INTEGRITY (AGAIN): Never say "It would have been legal. Don't just do the legal thing, do the right thing. Don't fudge on the expense account even if everybody does it. Just be different." This last part he says is the key to both financial and life success.
ON CHARACTER: "It will eventually show up, folks!" His example involved an employee he had hired to be the next CEO of CPI. Tom took him to play golf at Augusta National, and he noticed an oddity about the other man's game. When the man would spot his ball, he would place the marker in front; then when he went to put his ball back, he would place the ball in front of the marker. He was fired at the end of the trip simply because this small act showed his true character. Update: The fired man has since been the CEO of a large bank in Texas which is bankrupt. He is also now divorced because he was "running around with his secretary." Go figure.
ON GIVING BACK: "Get involved in community service." All of the employees of CPI had in internal drive that said they "ought to give back," not they they had to or should, but that it was a natural thing. When combined with integrity, service is the key to guaranteed success, he said.

If you've ever been through Atlanta and noticed the East Lake district, the momentous revitalization is one of Cousins' crowning achievements. The Atlanta police chief even said this once violent and desperate community is now statistically safer than even Buckhead. Here's a link to a CNBC video about the development. Check it out, it's amazing.

There's so much more I could write, but I don't want to make this exorbitantly long right now. So I'll leave you with a quote and a stamp that Cousins put on the UGA campus.

"Whatever you do, do something you enjoy. Because once a day's gone, it's gone for good."

Of Nike shorts and springtime in Athens

2008-04-23T16:44:00.007-04:00

My roommate Joe and I decided this morning that we would take on a Herculean task: counting the number of girls wearing those Nike running shorts that are so popular right now. It's not that either of us has anything against them, per se, we were just astounded at the number wearing them just at our bus stop (there were two or three). And so the game began.

By the time we had taken the Milledge bus to Snelling, the count had risen to the double digits. The Milledge bus stops are a hotbed of running shorts, so maybe our sample was a little biased. Nevertheless, we were having a lot of fun. Until...

We got on the Family Housing bus to the SLC. Here's what played out:

Buildup: My friend Tamara got on the bus. I pointed out another girl with the shorts to Joe. Tamara asked what we were talking about. I explained our game...
Me: We're counting the number of girls who are wearing those Nike running shorts today.

Girl Wearing Those Shorts Standing Right In Front Of Me: They're really comfortable, okay. They have built-in underwear! [Tangent: that might come in handy for guys sometimes]

Me: I'm not saying I have anything against them.

Girl, Getting More Annoyed By The Second: They fit just right because they're not too short.

Me, Attempting Humor: They might be too short on me! [no response] Because...I'm...a little bigger. [crickets]

Girl: [huff and turn away]

Me: [glad to make it out alive]

And by the end of the day, my count had reached 37. Joe, who had been at work at East Campus Summit all afternoon, contributed 18 more, plus 4 more on his bus ride back home. And just to top off the day, I saw a friend running on my way back from work with the shorts...making our total reach a magical 60. Wow.

At $28 a piece...the things I could do with $1,680 dollars...

Disclaimer: The author has nothing at all against girls in running shorts, especially girls in Athens in springtime. This "game" was just that, a game.

---------------------------------
Update: Joe came back and added 8 more to the count. It now sits at 68...we'll see if we can't add a few after dinner tonight.

---------------------------------
Update (2): The number now rests somewhere north of 80. I lost count during the flood of girls at East Campus. So there you have it.

My first attempt at mobile blogging

2008-04-23T13:29:00.003-04:00

So here's a picture of our incredible new hammock outside our apartment. I've spent several hours on it and, no, I don' exceed the weight limit. Perfect for napping on a glorious day like today...

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Correction: "Tyler's hammock." Are you happy now?

My Blog Roll, Part 1

2008-04-22T19:48:00.006-04:00

And so begins my gradual description of some of my favorite blogs, the ones that I have chosen to link on my sidebar over... <-- there. And instead of just saying, "Hey, check these out, they're cool," I'm gonna highlight a favorite post, give some more good suggestions and hopefully by then I'll have roped you into subscribing to another blog. These entries will be in no specific order because the links are organized alphabetically, and I wanted to start with one near the bottom: Presentation Zen.

The Skinny
This is a blog by a guy named Garr Reynolds -- check out his website for some more bio -- who is a world-renowned speaker/presenter. Yes, he teaches at a university, but for the most part he gives presentations...oftentimes about giving presentations. Below is what he would claim is "a 7.5 out of 10," but more than effective nonetheless.

The Highlight
This post is one of my all-time favorites. It's about Carnegie Mellon computer scientist Dr. Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" presentation. Basically, Pausch was diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer, a fatal form of cancer that is currently incurable. Yet, as you can see from the picture to the left, he absolutely exudes joy, happiness and life. It's incredible. And instead of wallowing in self-pity, he says that he began "building safety nets" for his family. These safety nets would catch them when they fell in the coming days when he would not be there for them.

If we're Facebook friends, you might have already noticed that I have a quote by Randy on my profile: "Brick walls let us show our dedication." When life shoves an obstacle or "brick wall" between us and our goal(s), that brick wall is only a proving ground for us. We can either look at it and say, "Man, I can't get through that," or we can look up and say, "Maybe I can go over if I try hard enough." The key is that reframing of the problem into a puzzle and a goal in and of itself.

The Last Lecture revolves around the central concept of achieving your dreams, your childhood dreams, your wild out-of-this-world dreams. And also about helping others achieve theirs. When you watch the presentation -- it's very long, but every second is worth the time, believe me -- you can feel the love in the room flowing from all the students, coworkers, family and friends who have all achieved some semblance of their dreams directly or indirectly because of Randy. And his ever-present smile shows the inner peace and joy that he carries with him. Awe-inspiring to say the least. And I dare you not to get emotional when he brings out the surprise for his wife. I triple-dog dare you.

To Dig Deeper

Brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's enrapturing narrative of her own stroke. Simply, wow.
About Will.I.Am's musical rendering of Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech. Amen.
Some presentation tips from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, a master presenter regardless of his off-stage presence.

So there you have it. A little piece of my psyche. More to come...

"But inspiration does not come from mere words, it comes from actions and behaviors. Words matter and words and speeches inspire and stories can change the world. However, it's not only the stories we tell, it's really about the stories we live." -- Garr Reynolds

When did this happen?!

2008-04-21T16:44:00.006-04:00

How many times have you unsuspectingly walked into class on a normal Monday morning and heard this: "Hey [insert your name here]! Nice picture on the Terry Amazing Student website!" If your answer is anything more than zero times, then congrats. I -- after today in ILAD5100 -- can now chalk it up as once. Stellar.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was fairly excited. Excited in a sort of how-in-the-world-did-this-happen-and-why-didn't-I-know way. Maybe not too excited. I love the picture, mind you; it's one that I've used several times since it was taken last year for Orientation (that's right, the link doesn't work because I am now a washed-up OL07...such is life). But there are a few things that I took issue with.

I HAD NO IDEA!!! I guess they can publish things about me whenever they want, but I would at least like to be given a heads-up of some sort.
Nothing in the whole story was from me personally. All the information was taken off the now-defunct Orientation website, including the picture. Other spotlighted students at least got to put in their two cents.
I don't deserve this...AT ALL. I can't compare with a Rhodes Scholar, Chicago law student, founder of a global charity or one of "the best marketing students in the country." I can talk to freshmen about college life. I got a paper published during my freshman year and subsequently dropped out of that club. Oh well.
I HAD NO IDEA!!!

That's a short list. Here's an excerpt from the email I wrote the Amazing Student contact:

"I realize that the story of my publication in CITS's "Monitor" is probably the most unique informational soundbite that could be on such a website, but I would also like for the story to note my involvement in such things as being a Freshman Orientation Leader this past summer, my current position as a Student Government Association Senator representing Terry, a seatholder on the University Council, a member of ILA's LEAD Certificate Program, recent induction into Blue Key Honor Society and upcoming invited attendee of the Risk and Insurance Management Society's Annual Conference in San Diego beginning this Saturday." -- sent 1:38 PM on April 21st.

We'll see how it goes. I'll update you guys later if you want.

Of tragedy striking way too close to home

2008-04-21T14:08:00.003-04:00

So this story came on top of the fold for today's issue of The Red & Black. I had heard vague descriptions of the story last night at our Visitors Center spring banquet, but the magnitude and truth didn't hit home until this morning when I woke up to a text from her Orientation Leader this summer. Without revealing a name, he said she was one of the freshmen who stood out during the sessions, and he had seen her many times on campus.

Nothing else could have so successfully put my stressful upcoming week into quite the right perspective as this. But the timing of the accident is what struck me most. In community group last night we talked about the concept of God painting on a canvas too large for us to comprehend or even recognize. The lesson came directly from an incredible talk by one Louie Giglio, a pastor who targets college-age students. If you're interested, the whole talk entitled "When Life Hurts the Most: An Anchor of Hope" can be found in its entirety here. It's amazing, but almost 45 minutes long, so I'll give you a single highlight.

Louie talks about times when you have troubles that are so bad they can wreck you; so bad you don't think you could ever get past them; so bad that you can't believe that a God could even exist. But he says that there is also an "anchor of hope" (hence the title of the talk) that is the fact that God loves us and that he is painting on the aforementioned humongous canvas. We may never (and probably will never) know, in this life, what He means by everything, by all the troubles and by all the hurt. But he is always in control.

I have no idea what Tierra's religious beliefs are/were or if they existed at all, but I know there will come a time when we will see what it all means. Until then, how could God not be watching over someone like this:

"She had this ability to make an individual connection with everyone she met." -- Nissa Shams, freshman and good friend of Tierra.

Q: Where have I been this whole time?

2008-04-20T16:09:00.004-04:00

A: I have no idea. And no excuse. Now, I don't want to underestimate the impact that my blog absence has caused for all of you guys -- or the two or three of you who have ever actually read this blog. Oh well, I've decided that I will try to do better from now on. For now indulge me as I give y'all a few updates, thoughts, observations, and predictions:

UPDATES

I'm heading to San Diego in six days for a Risk Mgmt conference! I'll try to give some daily updates -- with pictures -- for all you guys who will be in Athens studying for finals. :)
I successfully got into the Terry Real Estate program!
I have three tests, two projects and two papers due this week!
We now have an official hammock at our apt!!!!1!11!!!!!1
All of our roommates are now officially 21!
I love exclamation marks!!!111!1!!!!!!
I actually joined an Athens Church community group...which is really exciting for me. And I'm trying to get back into the whole "Christian walk" thing, so I'll occasionally let you guys know what's up.
I just subscribed to Twitter. Follow me. We'll see how this goes.

THOUGHTS

Not sure...I don't know why I included this category in my list above. I don't really have anything to put here.

OBSERVATIONS

The weather here in the ol' G-A is annoying. Annoying like the fat guy who always has the seat next to you on a long plane flight. Annoying like the crumbs and such at the bottom of a cereal box that, no matter how you try to avoid pouring them in your bowl, always seem to flood the top and get mushy with the milk. That annoying. Seriously, high of 58 two days ago, misty and windy yesterday morning, beautiful tropical weather today. What's the deal?
Sometimes you get what you ask for. And sometimes what you ask for turns out to not be what you wanted at all. Case in point the Target case study for my leadership class. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to win a $3,000 scholarship for the group, but I'd also love to keep my sanity this week (see above). I hate it when this happens.

PREDICTIONS

We've got a lot to look forward to for this season's Dawgs. Below is just one reason.

Holy crap! And how about this one?

Get excited. I'm buying red pants. Debate ensues. I look good regardless because I still have these. Be jealous. And I don't have any Friday class(es) next semester, so I'll be rockin' the UGA class all across the great Southeast. But not to Arizona State, because I'm poor.
The Yankees will right the ship...soon...hopefully. Boy, I hate the Red Sox.
I will somehow survive this semester and have an incredible summer in Tanzania and Atlanta.

And that's all I've got for you guys. Time for a Visitors Center spring banquet then my community group. If I blog from San Diego, then I've made it through this next week. If not, then I'm probably just being lazy. Sorry for the lack of pictures...I'll try to fix that. In the meantime, chew on this:

"Georgia is a powerhouse right now, and they were at the end of last year with the way they displayed it in their bowl game." -- Mike Aresco, CBS' senior vice president of programming.

Witnessing my childhood crumble before my eyes

2007-12-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

So the Mitchell Report came out today...and I have no idea what to say. First, maybe a little background is in order:

Some of my earliest and fondest memories of childhood involve the Yankees and my dad. It's not the typical "my dad took me to my first Yankees game when I was three and I've been a fan ever since" kind of story -- mostly because we have lived in Alabama ever since I reached the ripe old age of one-and-a-half. It's more like a "my dad is my dad and I've been a Yankees fan ever since birth." You could call it brainwashing, or you could call it devotion, but I'll always be a Yankees fan, no matter what happens. And, though I'm not really one for packratting all my things through the years, I still have my Yankees World Series Champs 1996 poster in my room back home. Complete with Andy Pettitte front and center. And at that point in my life, my dream was to be a pitcher for the Yankees. Sure, I would go on to wear out my shoulder from overuse, and yes, I would eventually grow to idolize Bernie Williams because I would switch to centerfield. [Tangent: Maybe Bernie and I have a deeper connection than I imagined after looking at his website. I play guitar...he plays guitar...he's tall, dark, and handsome...and I stunted my growth with asthma medicine at a young age. But I digress...] But I was always drawn to Andy's folksy attitude, his laid-back Texas drawl and his knack for coming up big in the biggest spots. So now fast forward to the present...

I'm sitting here more than a decade wiser from that magical '96 season, and my fond childhood memories are quickly deteriorating. Now the details might state that Pettitte didn't even consider using until well after that season -- and the following seasons in that great dynasty -- but that means nothing to me now. Pettitte's reputation will forever be tarnished by this, now much more a Western outlaw instead of the righteous Texas cowboy. And that, my friends, is the travesty of this situation. While I definitely can't agree with John Kruk's examination of the Report [paraphrased: "MLB should have kept the Report quiet and in-house so as to not damage the images of the players involved."], I realize that there are many more people who will hold my same opinion(s). Much like I mentioned earlier, I will always love Andy Pettitte -- Roger, I'm not surprised you were implicated in this, and, I'm sorry, but I don't hold you in the same personal esteem as your buddy, Andy -- whether he admits his use, denies it completely, or allows it to just blow over. But instead of being akin to one of heaven's angels, he'll probably have to be content as simply a man with more ability and talent than myself.

And let me revisit those comments of ol' Krukky for just a second. Quite frankly, they don't make any sense. You made your millions playing -- and are making millions broadcasting -- solely because the game of baseball is so constantly in the public eye. If the nation didn't care and didn't have a healthy stake in this whole ordeal, then your job would have been marginalized long ago. Simply put, no sport can capture the attention and ire of the whole nation quite like Major League Baseball -- excepting, of course, this -- and that is precisely the reason that the American public deserves to be informed to the fullest extent about what is going on. If the freaking Congress can get involved -- the same Congress that is supposed to represent the interests of, you guess it, the American public -- then I think this issue is big enough to keep that public involved. On the other hand, Bud Selig could have kept it quiet, could have called the named players into his office privately, and could have handled the whole situation without involving any outsiders. And then where would that leave the league? Still with a debilitating steroid scandal, but now also with a crooked commish who covers up embarrassing issues, a more suspicious public perception, and -- probably not avoidable even with the Report out in the open -- a vicious cloud hanging over each and every player, named or unnamed by some Report. So I guess, looking at every possibility, "keeping it quiet and in-house" would be the best option, right, John? Maybe you could stick to standing up in the batter's box. Or maybe to plugging your products on TV [listen closely...I don't think it's a joke]. But again, I digress...

Bringing it back full circle:
1) No, this does not tarnish the Yankees' reputation as a whole and, no, it does not invalidate their legitimate championships before Andy started using.
2) Yes, it tarnishes every single one of the named players' reputations, probably forever, regardless of what comes of this debacle.
3) I don't want to hear the "Oh, but they haven't been proven guilty, and since this is America, you should be innocent until proven guilty" argument. It doesn't matter when you're being tried in the courts of public opinion. You can be cleared of all charges but still be seen as scum by the public [see: "If the glove doesn't fit, you've got to acquit."].
4) We're still the Yankees. We still have A-Rod -- who, by the way, was NOT implicated in the Report, and we still have Joba, Phil, Ian, Melky, and Robby. So, Yanks' fans, don't worry, we'll be fine for years to come. Just grit your teeth and bear it for now, and we'll get through this together. At least we don't have to deal with Manny or Varitek everyday, right? Maybe next time he'll take the mask off like a man.

Check out this reaction to the Report from a guy who's feeling it as much as I am.

Until next time...
ET

UGA's Road to the National Championship

2007-11-22T23:43:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while -- a very long while -- since I last wrote anything on this blog. And this post won't be a long update on where I've been all this time. It's just a simple plea to the college football gods: All I want this Christmas -- and I'd be damn thankful for it also -- is for these few things to happen over the next few weeks:

1. USC beats #6 Arizona St. -- UGA moves to #5
Done; I just finished watching the game. USC looked like USC used to, and Arizona St. looked exactly as I thought they would whenever I finally got around to seeing them play.
2. UConn beats #3 West Virginia
After the '06 Sugar Bowl I'll never count myself as a WVU supporter, and this game is no different.
3. #4 Missouri beats #2 Kansas...badly
Who are these teams anyway? The worse Missouri beats Kansas, the further KU falls in the polls, 'nuff said.
4. Kentucky beats Tennessee -- UGA goes to SEC Championship Game
This is the key to the whole scenario, and I haven't been this huge a Kentucky fan since...wait, I've never been a Kentucky fan. Sorry.
5. #7 UGA beats Ga. Tech
Just like last year...and the year before...and the year before...and the year before...okay, you get the point. The Dawgs must win convincingly to persuade the polls to drop Kansas behind us.

End of play for this week: UGA locks up a place in the SEC Championship against LSU; West Virginia, Kansas, and Arizona St. all fall behind the Dawgs in the BCS standings, leaving UGA at #4 (behind LSU, Missouri, and Ohio St.).

6. #4 UGA beats #1 LSU -- SEC CHAMPS!!!
I'll guarantee a victory in this one if we make it to the game (come on, Wildcats!) because there's no way LSU's now-porous run D can stop Knowshon and TBrown. Or just Knowshon.
7. Oklahoma beats #2 Missouri in Big 12 Championship
OU wins the Big 12 and life returns to normal...but only if USC can win the PAC-10 again, just like the whole past century.

End of play for this week: Ohio St. comes in at #1 in the BCS by default because they don't have any more games to play, and -- you guessed it -- that would be the Dawgs sitting pretty at #2 and poised for an incredible BCS Championship victory.

Now I know this might be a long shot, but the first step has already been completed right on schedule, so I don't see why the rest can't shake out. And there's seven steps necessary in this scenario, and seven is a lucky number...and Stafford's number...

We'll just have to sit back and see.
GO DAWGS! Sic 'em!
ET

Midsummer Musings (aka Sports According to Eric)

2007-07-20T15:50:00.000-04:00

I've realized recently that ESPN has become more soap opera than actual sports news source. Witness the coverage devoted not to David Beckham -- whom I will address later in this post -- but to his wife, former and forever Spice Girl Victoria (Posh Spice). While I am a huge fan of neither, I would much rather hear about David's mutinous left ankle than Posh's failed attempt at a reality show. Maybe it's just me...

While we're on the Beckham topic, I'll go ahead and introduce Topic Numero Uno: the man himself, David Beckham. Why is it that when you Google his name to look for images, finding a shot of him actually playing la joga bonita is more difficult than finding a Falcon fan who still supports Mike Vick? When you are set to become the richest soccer player in the greatest country in the world, and there is scant photo evidence that you even attempt to play your sport, you need new priorities. He's turning into a male hybrid of Danica Patrick and Ana Kournikova. Except with a much more fragile body apparently. The list of Beckham injuries is endless. While Danica has to endure the heat, pressure, testosterone, and speed of Formula 1 racing, ol' Dave is brandishing his bottle of IcyHot to calm his aching ankle. Even Ana has to live with the memory of Enrique's bulging mole. What's the worst trial Davy's had to conquer recently? Maybe...which other Spice Girl he wishes he'd married now? Or how about which end of the bench to sit on? Or possibly even how one soccer/football player could possibly be worth $250 million dollars? On second thought, maybe he does need that IcyHot. And throw in some Aleve, Vicodin, and Morphine. And while we're at it, maybe a hearty pat on the back for putting up with any of the Spice Girls. Good luck, David; maybe you'll do more than wander around the field this next season.

Another issue that seems to be popular nowadays is the always lovable Barry Bonds. Now, I've made the proceeding picture much larger than the previous ones because I want you to take a good look at it. It's like a time warp. Or those before-and-after pictures that clog up my TV every afternoon. Except it's more like watching the transformation of Popeye, but with different spinach. Don't get me wrong, I love a good long ball just as much as the next rabid baseball fan, but the experience is cheapened when it seems like the Incredib le Hulk is taking the plate. If only Ken Griffey, Jr. hadn't been injured so often...or if Barry had stayed with the Pirates...or if Barry hadn't acted like such a jerk...or if he had morals...or if he would just retire. The greatest record in all of sports is about to fall to a man who looks like a comic book character. I hope commissioner Bud Selig has fun watching the culmination of his tenure.

And finally, the most disgusting story I've ever heard involving a sports star: Michael Vick's dogfighting debacle. The only word I can use to describe this is revolting. It makes me want to throw up. The pictures of these events are sad and horrible. Sad in that there are actually people who pay money to watch these fights unfold. It's cowardly, horrific, and pathetic. The great Colin Cowherd summed up his opinions thusly, and I'm paraphrasing a bit: "Anybody who participates or enables the act of dog fighting is a bottom-feeder...scum." Couldn't have said it better myself. And as I watch this nightmare unfold, the only silver lining I can think of is that maybe -- just maybe -- DJ Shockley will actually step on the playing field for the Falcons. I'm tempted to find the irony between Vick's involvement with dogs and Shockley being a leader of the Dawgs. But that would be mean and inappropriate of me.

Last comments about sports in general and a few things in specific:

I still wish I knew how to play cricket.
I'll be content with ping pong though, because it's much more prevalent and has much less confusing rules.
Watch out...! The Yankees are making a run on the Red Sox now. I miss the years when we didn't have to make a second-half push to win the division or the wild card. Here's to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Phil Hughes, and all the rest of the Yankees past, present, and future: Let's return to the glory days, and win a damn championship soon!
I just heard about this and wish I had time to write more. Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee has been accused of betting illegally on games that he officiated over the course of the past two seasons. Donaghy allegedly fixed his calls in those games to affect the point spread. Another sickening story, but not in the physical sense. This will scar the NBA for years to come if the allegations prove true because -- from here on out -- all losing playoff teams will wonder, and perhaps justifiably, whether the refs punked them out of a game/series/championship. Looks like Bud Selig has some company in the Commissioners-in-Tight-Situations Camp with David Stern. And maybe the players aren't the only ones you need to control, eh, Sterny?
GO DAWGS! A tentative television has been released, and we are projected/confirmed with 4 CBS 3:30 games: Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn. Now all we have to do is prove that we're worth the electricity required to broadcast the games.

And so I will leave you and, in the process, take this post full circle. Check out this moment of zen from the quote machine herself, Victoria Beckham:

"It's just so hard to be this fabulous."

Until next time...
ET

How To Be a Creepy Lurker 101

2007-07-18T15:11:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Creepy Lurker class!

This post is officially dedicated to Adam Gobin and Jessica Jaret (pronounced Jah-ret, with the emphasis on the first syllable and with a thick Northern accent):

First off, let me define exactly what a "creepy lurker" is. A creepy lurker is any person who makes the people around him -- and it's usually a him, let's be honest -- feel the way Adam and Jessica feel in this picture. Basically, you are "that guy."

A lurker is that guy in the corner of all of your pictures who, even though you've never met him before, tries to act like he does. He's usually looking straight at the camera and making a gang sign. Or winking. Or licking his lips. Or leering seductively. He could even just be walking by the group at the time and be staring awkwardly into the lens. You know who I'm talking about. Check your Facebook pictures for him. He's there. I'll guarantee it.

A creepy lurker could also be someone who eavesdrops on other people's conversations and chimes in at opportune, awkward moments. Or you could compulsively poke people on Facebook, even if you're not even friends. Or you could be a feral cat that sits outside and waits for Jessica Jaret to walk by. Or you could have just said a semi-creepy comment at an inopportune moment. You don't even have to be an animate object. Like you could be the creepy car lurking behind Milly at Bennie's Red Barn in St. Simons last weekend.

And I know you're probably thinking, "Oh no! I've been in other people's pictures...I've thrown up gang signs...I've made creepy, awkward comments. Eric, harbinger of all that is true and right in this world, am I a creepy lurker?!" The answer unfortunately, is an emphatic YES. But, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings -- I've never been, but they sound interesting I guess...not really the place I want to be though -- admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery. And yes, saying creepy lurker comments is addictive. I know, I was once an unabashed addict. But I am now a recovering addict, which means I just have a good excuse when I make a lurker comment.

If this post describes you, though, there is hope! Not this HOPE and not this Hope, but this hope. Which means that you, too, can become a recovering creepy lurker addict. All you need is a little willpower, self-control, luck, and chicken noodle soup. Well...maybe not the soup, but it couldn't hurt. Unless you're vegetarian or allergic or something. That would be no fun.

But I digress...

My last comment is a disclaimer: Don't be offended if someone calls you a creepy lurker. There are rare occasions when it is actually used as a term of endearment. In all other cases -- 99% of the time, I suspect -- it is used simply as a warning of sorts. A polite "You are weirding me out and it's not cute." So if you hear that comment applied to you, don't be offended, just know that you are just like everyone else. Because everyone has their creepy lurker moments. I know I do. So if you ever "feel me creeping and you see me from your shadow" -- as Akon so eloquently said -- look behind and say hello. Call me a creeper. I'm right behind...

Until next time...
ET

Quotes, quotes, quotes!

2007-07-18T13:27:00.002-04:00

So recently I've become a fan of cool inspirational quotes. I know, you're thinking, "How lame is this guy? I read that first post and he sounded so awesome, but now I'm not so sure." Well, if that's what you're thinking, then I don't know how to assuage your concern. But, since this is my blog, I'm going to ramble about a few things that I like to talk about. So hold onto your hats, buckle your seatbelts, and enjoy the ride!

I left you last with a little one of my personal favorite quotes, so if you're too lazy to scroll up to the last post, I'll just restate it here:

"Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things." - Denis Diderot

That's the quote that's at the bottom of the information cards that I handed out to most of my orientation groups, so if it looks familiar, then give a little shout and rep good ol' group 7! Denis Dide rot was a French philosopher -- whatever your biases against the French, and I know that a lot of Americans have some -- put them aside for a little while. Diderot was a prominent thinker during the Enlightenment, so he might be a familiar name to other people who haven't read my information cards.

But that's neither here nor there...

The subject of this quote -- passion -- is one of my favorite topics. My basic philosophy in life lines up pretty much parallel with this quote in that I've realized that I will accomplish nothing if I am not passionate about what I'm doing. I spent the majority of my first year in college trying to make it mirror my senior year of high school. Not such a good idea...I got way too involved in way too many things, without realizing that I was stretching myself too thin. I overcommitted to a few organizations, and it came back to hurt me during my second year. When I finally realized that I didn't have the desire to commit my time to those clubs, I found that it was much more difficult to quit them than it should have been. Because I had gotten so heavily involved -- executive boards and committees -- during freshman year, I couldn't exactly just make a clean break and be done with it. The process was heartwrenching, and I definitely made more enemies than friends, but eventually I found that, because I was finally following my passion, I was much happier in the end.

So basically, after all my meandering comments, what I want to say is: find your passion and run toward it. Find what makes you "come alive" and go do that. If you've heard of the artist Michelangelo -- no, not the Ninja Turtle, but that would be awesome, too -- then you might recognize this quote. Again I will leave you with a profound quote, this time from the aforementioned artist -- and again from Orientation.

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."

So go ahead and pursue your dreams, follow your passions, and make a name for yourself. Not being overly corny, but that's what we were all meant to do, SO DO IT!

Until next time...
ET

So I have no idea what I'm really doing with this...

2007-07-16T14:37:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the wonderful world of me. It's a world full of awkwardness, sarcasm, laughter, guitar, and overall awesomeness. I hope you enjoy it. If you don't, feel free to send the hatemail to Adam Gobin. He'll take care of you. And now...on with the show!

So I guess this would be my first ever official blog post. It feels kinda weird, as I've always been the sort of guy to sneers at bloggers and the blogosphere in general. And now here I am, beginning my very own blog. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I have no idea what to actually say on this, except to give a little shoutout to the brilliant Morgan Cogswell who, without any knowledge on her part, has inspired me to create this blog. I was reading her blog -- which I discovered from the Facebook, first of all -- the creatively titled morgangster while waiting for the Orientation placement test results in the wonderfully air-conditioned but still atmospherically suffocating Clark Howell Hall. Yes, I do Facebook whenever given the opportunity. But that's enough rambling for now. My battery is dying, and I need to stop typing before I become too incoherent. If you've read this far I should give you some sort of prize for tolerating my verbosity, but for now, I just hope you don't feel like you've wasted these past two minutes of your life. Maybe the next few posts will be more interesting...

For now I'll leave you lovely readers with one of my favorite quotes...maybe I'll talk about it in my next post:

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.
-- Denis Diderot

Until next time...
ET