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DECEMBER TWENTY SEVEN
Hope everyone's Christmas went well. Good luck with your New Year's too.
I guess I should have known that the horriffic car crash I saw coming back from Ned and John's would have been a pretty good precursor to how the rest of my night would go. What a wreck.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
DECEMBER TWENTY THREE It's almost Christmas Eve. And the ground is brown. That's more disappointing than I first realized. It's not Christmas without snow. Well, OK, it is....the malls are a zoo, everyone is out of everything that I need and people are driving around like it's the end of the world. I swear this last week adds 10 miles per hour to the speed limit. Cool off lady, it's only shopping! Women drivers + Christmas shopping + stress of having to cook for the relatives + that time of the month = the end of practicality, civility, relaxation, and the life of every man.
The Lord of the Rings 3 (will I get kicked in the shin by hobbits for calling it that?) is a wonderful movie. As long as you can get past how retarded the story is, it definitely has the best battle scenes of any movie ever. Better than Star Wars, any Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, whatever, LOTR beats it. Leaving the theater, I told Alison Ned and Adam that George Lucas should be canned and Peter Jackson should direct Episode 3. It would be better, guaranteed. He can tell a story and not make it entirely A) corny and retarded, and B) incredibly boring. Plus he takes a movie that presumably happens in a time before right now (i.e. bows and arrows and armor) and makes the computer animated
sequences actually fit into the scenes. There are no acrobatic space flights and time travel crap that may or may not actually happen in the future. Instead it's a bunch of trolls and ghost men battling to save their lands from invading mutants that have giant beasts doing all the work. See, LOTR is totally believable! Anyway, whether that last paragraph made sense or not, I'm glad I went. And we made AP's Christmas by buying her the Orlando Bloom edition GQ that's out this month. I don't think 3 bucks has ever made anyone so happy.
OK, so as long as I can get the rest of my shopping done tomorrow, I should be good. I know, It's Christmas Eve and everything is going to be picked over and the stores will be even more crowded than today, but whatever. There will be Christmas spirit in the air. Hopefully that will keep the pushing and shoving to a minimum when there's only one of those shirts (or that movie) left on the shelf....Isn't Christmas great?!
DECEMBER TWENTY ONE I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas....
Kansas lost today. Duke beat Texas by 30 yesterday. The Nebraska women beat Creighton. Nebraska men gave up 26 points. Good hoops weekend.
I have not purchased ANYONE'S presents yet. ANYONE.
My parents are now to only officially addressed as the FUN NAZIS. I'm 20. It's sad.
DECEMBER NINETEEN Let's just call it whirlwind. and Reunion Day, part 1. I got up this morning about 1030 and went shopping with my mom for most of the day...Crossroads, West O, Lowes, Best Buy....we went everywhere. I had a really good time too. Some catching up is always good to do. I miss everything about Omaha. Plus, we got lots of presents. That makes me excited. And tomorrow we're making cookies...even better. Christmas is in the air....If anyone knows of a good Christmas jazz or big band CD, let me know. I want to put it on my list...I know, I know, it's a bit late, but there's always something for the last-minute shoppers this way. Then tonight, since Chris and dad were out of the city...at the b-ball game in L-Town, mom and I went to the new Zio's for dinner. Much better than the old one. There aren't a bunch of high school kids (i.e. Central, Prep, Marian) hanging around doing nothing. It's upscale now. That is good and bad. Old crowd, not so much, new crowd, also a bit weird. Old place, dark, dusty, eclectic, new place, orange, bigger, same food, same help. Take that how you want to. It's cool and an improvement.
Today, like I mentioned, was also reunion day, also known lovingly as "damn, it's a small world" day. Melissa Meyer, Brian Raynor, Robert Fogarty, Matt Hausenager, Alison Hyland, Jennifer Escher, Andy Meidlinger, Maggie Ryan, Dara Pagano, Katie Breen, these kids that know Abbey from her pool. Mount Michael kids that know Ciaccio and Grennan and Cupich. Wow. It's so weird. Most of this reminiscing happened at Maggie Ryan's house. We were gonna go to Royal Tenenbaums at Dundee at Midnight, but we decided to chill with Mags and then were having a good time so we just stayed there instead. Then we went to Alvarado's and saw Wynn, who went to North and knew us from baseball and Abbey from cheerleading. It was insane. Overall a good eve...except I think I heard that North lost. So much for the bling bling...I think the Viking Ship is taking on water.
Tomorrow is shopping, cookies and Sienna Francis House in the evening and then Ned's for poker and March Madness 2004 for the rest of the night...Hopefully. We'll see what the parents say....
Yes, for all of those wondering, I'm 20 years old and can't stay out too late because my parents say so.
DECEMBER SEVENTEEN So, I'm home. Enough said.
Finals week was extraordinarily forgettable. I don't think I have ever been so stressed out. It started out from a weird (and when I say weird, I mean WEIRD...) visit from Ryan Sullivan, Dan Terry, and Megan Nanfito to my dorm room Sunday night (Monday morning) at 330 am. What the hell? I barely even know these people, and talk to them even less...and they called my room phone from the lobby and made me come down and sign them in so they could go run around the building (presumably bothering people that were SLEEPING.) it was real strange. the week included one all nighter (sunday to monday), monday night i got 2 hours of sleep and wednesday was pretty normal. went to bed about 4 got up at 11. final was at 1. it was geography. which was a real disappointment, well, at least from a "number of answers correct" standpoint. i think i probably missed 20 questions out of 85. yeah, that's bad. what's worse though, is that i'll get an A on the test. the curve is that ridiculous. i'm not a proponent of the curve system. it's gay. (i guess i should be happy about it, but i'm not) why should i be
able to miss 20 questions ( 20! ) and still get an A? what's the point of making the test hard at all then? it's so dumb. my history final went well. 25 multiple choice and then an essay. i'm pretty sure i got 23 right and the essay was good. poli-sci final on monday afternoon went VERY WELL. I seriously think I aced it. (25 m.c. and an essay, again). before that was the econ final. VERY HARD. I got an 80, but should still have an A in the class.
My print design final (the retarded one where we had to design 18 new letters to add to the alphabet. how gay is that?) probably was OK, too. I tend to think things didn't go as well as they actually did, so I'll get back to you when the grades come out.
Now that I'm back in O-town, I have to decide what to do with my time. I'm going to read over this break. I might walk to the library tomorrow. That would be a good activity. I need to shop too. Not looking forward to that one bit. I hate how college gets over just as it's too late to come up with really good presents for people. Since I have no time to come up with good ideas (since by the time they popped into my head, it would be too late to get stuff shipped here or whatever) I have to resort to the traditional gifts to friends and family. Those are good, but only to a certain extent. I always want to have a really good unique gift, but I end up giving the boring ones. I gotta find a way to change that.
As corny as it sounds, I want to shovel snow. And we need to have a snowball fight. Tonight's snow was perfect. I didn't want to waste it. So I got some stress out on the backyard tree when I was taking the trash out...
Chris agreed to go to LOTR: Return of the King with me. Good. AAAAND...Royal Tenenbaums is at the Dundee Theater this weekend. You can't get a good sense of the excitement from where YOU are, but just know, I'm hyped. Yes, hyped.
MUSIC of the Moment: DMX -- Grand Champ CD....Chris said it was good. It's not very good.
DECEMBER FOURTEEN Is it really possible that I haven't written on this thing since Wednesday? Hardly, but I guess the dates don't lie. Time flies when you're studying I guess. Like how in the world did it get to be 530 already? Damn.
This weekend was actually really a stellar one. Stayed home Friday night to study. Saturday, daytime....hmmm....slept until about 115. Got up, put on clothes, went to the basketball game. Mistake...Shouldn't have slept that late. We got there and had to sit up above the regular student section because the bleachers were full. Bummer, because it was a spectacular game. Played Tennessee...or should I say, beat them into submission. They made 2 shots in the first half. 2 frickin shots! (2 of 27, both were three-pointers and they made 11 free throws for a grand total of 17 points at the half. Quality effort.) Needless to say, there was no "Rocky Top" shouted from the rafters...Second half, more of the same. EXCEPT. JASON DOURIUSSEAU BROUGHT DOWN THE BACKBOARD ON A DUNK. It was the best thing ever at a basketball game. Plus, my new favorite player is Charles Richardson. I wore a wristband all weekend in his honor. After the game, more studying.
Saturday night was our last going out night of the semester. Had a good time with Brian. Met a bunch of freaky small-towners...You know the type...Plaid shirts tucked into tight, off color jeans with narrow legs and white adidas superstars (their one real connection to modernity) that are laced too tight. Wow I'm superficial. Ha. But seriously, you can tell these people from a mile away. And I got to see this huge fat kid put on another, skinnier kids shirt...Think Tommy Boy with a zip-up brown polyester shirt instead of the suit coat. That was hilarious. Fat, ugly people making out, and drunk "strippers" (minus the stripping...too bad) dancing on pool tables...I guess it was your routine college party. Too much smoke for me, we all had to air about after about an hour. Cigarettes are so gross. Shame on you! (directed only to the smokers who happen to be reading this...)
Sunday is study day, save for the hour I spent at the rec with Sage and Derra playing basketball. Actually, I didn't play basketball. Instead, you should call it, "turn the ball over and take bad shots for an hour straight, to the disgust of your teammates." But at least it was a break. Plus it was fun. Tonight I met Andrea at the union to discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict and nuclear terrorism. And now I'm reading about the international trade deficit and foreign currency exchanges. Woo! Only 2 hours to go! Oh, but wait, then I have to take finals...
DECEMBER TEN Off to Omaha to see some ruffled Bluejay feathers. And a bunch of pissed off old dudes with Prep sweatshirts on. And little kids in Kyle Korver jerseys crying. I hate CU.
Anyway, the Qwest Center is incredible. The concourse areas could use a little more excitement ( some murals or pictures of Creighton or UNO athletes or something ) but the actual arena part is unbelievable inside. Whoever designed this thing got the thing EXACTLY RIGHT. It is absolutely a pro-quality facility. If they could squeeze 3 thousand more in there, I'm pretty sure they could get the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament there soon. Maybe even without it...Traffic flow is a bitch, but I just sat in there in awe the whole time. It felt almost exactly like Market Sqare Arena in Indianapolis for anyone who has been THERE. ( aside from the entry way, of course. )
So, in summation, we lost. But it might be worth it. And it was only one game. I wish WE played our games" onmouseover="window.status = 'goto: games';return 1" onmouseout="window.status=''">games at the Qwest Center. Maybe I should transfer...
DECEMBER EIGHT Tonight Nebraska shot 73 percent ( 73! )in the first half, including 8 of 10 three pointers. That's just ridiculous. Bluejays -- ya'll better watch out. And John Turek got triple teamed! Yes, I'm cheering for getting triple teamed. When was the last time a Nebraska player was that much of a threat? Hmm...EVER? The Huskers are very possibly now a real basketball team. We have come to the point where, leaving for the game, people aren't like 'Oh great, it's time for another loss.' Three guys are averaging double figures and about 50 million people are actually getting playing time. But we're STILL 11th in the conference in scoring. SO, something's gotta give when the big daddies come to town. It starts with the rejects at CU in two days. Which, I might add, is already SOLD OUT! 15,000 stuck-up rich people are goin home disapponted when their beloved Blue Jays go home with a loss. I think they might actually call for Dana Altman's head if they lose. Or ask Kyle Korver to come back. Mop-topped freak. You Suck. I hate Creighton so much.
Well actually, I hate EVERY Big 12 team (Kansas the most), North Carolina, AND Creighton when it comes to basketball. As far as the school in general (i.e. the fans), Creighton and Colorado are at the top of the list. Jackasses.
Reason #33 why it would not be cool to be in a fraternity: Having to clean up after basketball games" onmouseover="window.status = 'goto: games';return 1" onmouseout="window.status=''">games.
Nate Johnson's son is awesome. Not just a cool kid, I think he's better than Tony Wilbrand at basketball, and he can't even talk yet.
4 inches of snow? WHAT? YES. That is tomorrow and that is wonderful.
Too many projects, too little time.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL THE RETARDS ON CAMPUS TO STOP WEARING FLIPFLOPS AROUND!!!!!! It's driving me freaking insane. Today's high, 39 degrees and people are walking around campus like it's goddamn springtime. Shorts and a tshirt and flipflops. I saw another guy with a tshirt and flipflops riding a bike. I almost threw a stick in the wheel. The guy next to me at the game tonight. Leather flipflops. I stepped on his foot on purpose. Take that, moron! It's winter. Dress appropriately.
DECEMBER SIX As I said before, today was great. Got up and went to the Husker game. Well, first, we went to brunch and my N-Card got denied. They said I was over my meal plan limit. I have a 14 meal plan, and I have eaten no more than 7 meals so far this week. So it was peculiar. But whatever. You have to take what they give you (and 'shake what your momma gave you'). So the Huskers were really playing well today. Disposed of South Florida, 75-52. Then we came back and found out that Duke won and saw Kansas lose. It was perfect. Then Abbey and I went shopping. Then we rented The Italian Job and watched it with Kevin and Adam and Jenni (well, she was sleeping). It was really good. Better than Ocean's Eleven. Partially because it had Mos Def and Marky Mark, partially because it wasn't full of old geisers...good times (and 'good vibrations'.)
Can college football just get over already? I'm tired of you. I want all basketball, all the time. I decided this today walking out of the Devaney Center when I realized that I got more excited about Bronson Schliep scoring a basket than watching Jammal Lord complete a pass. Not to say that I hate football or anything, because I don't. I love Husker football, but I'm ready for THIS season to be over. Steve Pederson soured me. I hope he didn't sour everyone in this state. I'm depressed about football.
Creighton and Nebraska is sold out ( SOLD OUT! ) on Wednesday at the Qwest Center. Damn. I'm going anyway.
DECEMBER FOUR Today was a monumental day. I had a job interview with Apple. I'm competing against 3 other people for the Campus Rep position. Best part about that, if I get the job, I get a free POWERBOOK! That brightened my entire week (maybe even life). Then I found out that Britney Spears is going to be Omaha on March 17 (a Wednesday) at the Qwest Center. Then, to top off that week, the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds in Kansas City (Friday and Sunday). It will be an expensive week, but a wonderful one, nonetheless.
The Steve Pederson hatred continues to grow here in the Capital City. Now people are TAKING OUT ADS IN THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR to tell him how much of a dumbass he is. That makes me smile. And want to hurt him even more.
What else? Oh yeah, today was also a Counting Crows song...So I'm walking past Selleck this afternoon after my interview and, boom, half of our Quad (I call it a Quad, but it's more of a big open green space, not the storybook quad like at Yale or something, but anyway...) is now a parking lot. YES. Right in the middle of campus, there is now a parking lot. Straight up blacktop right next to the Union. Beautiful. They paved paradise...
The Lakers have beat the Mavs 46 out of the last 51 times they have played each other. Wow. And the Magic suck. No, it's more than suck. Losing 18 games" onmouseover="window.status = 'goto: games';return 1" onmouseout="window.status=''">games in a row is downright pathetic. Come on now guys, you have Tracy McGrady and you can't win a damn game?! No excuses, you blow.
I have started the large task of ranking all of my music in iTunes. I'll let you know how that goes in a week or so. 1 to 5 stars, every single song. The leader in the clubhouse for best album is Leaving Through the Window by Something Corporate. I need to find my Christmas music...Aside from the required Mannheim Steamroller album (only the original 1984 one, not the newer, suckier ones) everyone should go pick up Christmas Caravan by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Quality listening experience. I promise.
DECEMBER TWO Priority Number One for tomorrow...MY DAD'S BIRTHDAY! Here's what to do. Pick up the phone and call him and wish him a Happy Birthday. Yes that means YOU! You know the number and if you don't I am expecting you to call me and get it. I'm not kidding either. It would make his day to have my friends call him and wish him a good one. So just do it. It takes like two minutes...
"Hi, can I speak to Mr. Vankat?" "This is him." "Mr. Vankat, Happy Birthday. This is ________ Ben's friend. I hope you have a good day." "(moment of stunned silence.) Thank you so much." "Sure, anytime. OK, bye."
See, how much easier can it get? Honestly.
Let's just make this clear. If there was rumbling in the state that people weren't satisfied with Solich's performance the last two years, that noise has been entirely silenced by the firestorm that Pederson has created with this firing. People are absolutely incensed. Like literally on fire about this. ( Well, those that know the difference between the endzone and the sideline anyway. There are of course the people who don't really follow the news. They're retarded and should be put in a dirty mudpit and left to eat each other anyway. They suck.)
Don't forget to call my dad....
DECEMBER ONE Finally back from Colorado. Had a great time. Too bad it's done already. And what do I come back to? Stress...blah. School sucks these last three weeks. The football game on Saturday was probably the highlight of the entire vacation. The rest of the time we shopped or hung out around Tim's house. I think I'm going to put up a few pictures. Check those out. I don't know what else. It's last right now and I don't want to think anymore.
