Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
New Life, Second Chance, Redemption
Call it what you want to call it, but that's what the Provo Experiment is quickly turning out to be. In high school, I was lazy and took way too much for granted. At home, I felt like I was stuck in the middle of nowhere; couldn't look back to my "glory days" and couldn't motivate myself to move to the future. Until one brilliant day working back at Dick's.
I remember thinking, almost panicking, about having virtually no chance at a career that I was, and still am, dying to pursue. Every option running through my head ended with receiving some sort of higher education. I realized, as I was greeting customers through the south doors, that it was high time to actually DO something about it!
I had considered moving to my friends' house in Ft Collins, but quickly retracted my thought process, knowing that the Fort would most likely have the same sad ending as my Lakewood life.
That's when the idea of moving to Utah crossed my mind. It wasn't the first time I've thought about living in Utah; in fact, I foolishly convinced myself I would be running for BYU in '06. It was a great dream, sure, but you actually have to put in a great deal of effort to even be considered at an elite, private school like the Y.
Through the rest of that agonizingly slow Sunday in February, I mapped out a plan of going to a two year college with every intention of transferring to BYU with my Associates.
After an informative talk with my parents, however, I ultimately decided on attending Utah Valley University and, depending on my experience, decide to become a Cougar.
It took an entire year before I could actually act on this new plan of mine, but, alas, that year has come and gone and I now no longer call 3OH3 home. I feel somewhat accomplished at finally reaching one of the many goals I have given myself, which leads me to believe that I have truly turned a corner in my time-to-grow-up stage.
I'm sure almost all of you know, but I wanted to move to Provo, above all the other reasons, to be around people who cherish the same morals and values as I do. It's not that I'll like you less if you party hard, I'm fine with people who drink, smoke, do heroin, etc. Just kidding about the heroin, don't do heroin, kids! But honestly, if that's what you want to do, then that's what you want to do, I understand that, maybe better than you know.
With that being said, I didn't want to constantly put myself into the "Designated Driver" position, so Provo was the easy choice for my new life, so to speak. Every time I mentioned moving to Provo to my friends and family, they would tease me about moving to "The Bubble," obviously meaning the presence of so many LDS kids tends to cut you off from the Real World.
If there's a proverbial bubble over Provo, then there must be a pretty darn big proverbial hole somewhere, because with what I've seen so far (which, admittiedly, is not much), it seems like a fairly normal college town to me. Well, not counting the drinking, smoking, etc., but you get my point. I was expecting this aura of haughtiness, this general understanding of "We're BYU students, we're the best, most righteous, most holy of all other kids." I have quickly realized, though, that if you have the right attitude towards people here, then you don't notice any kind of self-righteous atmosphere. If you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. I truly believe it's that simple.
While I'm feeling more at home now that I have finally moved in to a nice condo, there have still been some downsides to the Experiment. First, I put a lot of trust into somebody I shouldn't have trusted from the start and, had I not bolted from my last apartment, could have turned into a wicked bad deal for me, most likely resutling in a hefty bill that would have been quite difficult for me to pay.
I've also been working hard, almost too hard, at trying to make friends with a particular group, mainly because I had these grand expectations of something working out in my favor with someone in the group. But, as I learned on Thursday, with high expectations comes a higher risk of falling short, and, more often that not, there's not one thing you could have done to have prevented yourself from falling.
Even with a couple minor hiccups, things have been great so far in Provo. A big reason why it has, up to this point, been an easy transition is the unflinching help of my family members, most notably the Leamings, for letting me stay at their house until the whole contract situation was under control, and Kimbot, for letting me crash at her place whenever I needed a place to sleep. I can't thank you guys enough!
I just got an overwhelming feeling that I know this is where I want to be; not just where I want to be, but where I need to be. I have full confidence in my decision to move to Provo and I am more than grateful for the opportunity to be out here.
I remember thinking, almost panicking, about having virtually no chance at a career that I was, and still am, dying to pursue. Every option running through my head ended with receiving some sort of higher education. I realized, as I was greeting customers through the south doors, that it was high time to actually DO something about it!
I had considered moving to my friends' house in Ft Collins, but quickly retracted my thought process, knowing that the Fort would most likely have the same sad ending as my Lakewood life.
That's when the idea of moving to Utah crossed my mind. It wasn't the first time I've thought about living in Utah; in fact, I foolishly convinced myself I would be running for BYU in '06. It was a great dream, sure, but you actually have to put in a great deal of effort to even be considered at an elite, private school like the Y.
Through the rest of that agonizingly slow Sunday in February, I mapped out a plan of going to a two year college with every intention of transferring to BYU with my Associates.
After an informative talk with my parents, however, I ultimately decided on attending Utah Valley University and, depending on my experience, decide to become a Cougar.
It took an entire year before I could actually act on this new plan of mine, but, alas, that year has come and gone and I now no longer call 3OH3 home. I feel somewhat accomplished at finally reaching one of the many goals I have given myself, which leads me to believe that I have truly turned a corner in my time-to-grow-up stage.
I'm sure almost all of you know, but I wanted to move to Provo, above all the other reasons, to be around people who cherish the same morals and values as I do. It's not that I'll like you less if you party hard, I'm fine with people who drink, smoke, do heroin, etc. Just kidding about the heroin, don't do heroin, kids! But honestly, if that's what you want to do, then that's what you want to do, I understand that, maybe better than you know.
With that being said, I didn't want to constantly put myself into the "Designated Driver" position, so Provo was the easy choice for my new life, so to speak. Every time I mentioned moving to Provo to my friends and family, they would tease me about moving to "The Bubble," obviously meaning the presence of so many LDS kids tends to cut you off from the Real World.
If there's a proverbial bubble over Provo, then there must be a pretty darn big proverbial hole somewhere, because with what I've seen so far (which, admittiedly, is not much), it seems like a fairly normal college town to me. Well, not counting the drinking, smoking, etc., but you get my point. I was expecting this aura of haughtiness, this general understanding of "We're BYU students, we're the best, most righteous, most holy of all other kids." I have quickly realized, though, that if you have the right attitude towards people here, then you don't notice any kind of self-righteous atmosphere. If you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. I truly believe it's that simple.
While I'm feeling more at home now that I have finally moved in to a nice condo, there have still been some downsides to the Experiment. First, I put a lot of trust into somebody I shouldn't have trusted from the start and, had I not bolted from my last apartment, could have turned into a wicked bad deal for me, most likely resutling in a hefty bill that would have been quite difficult for me to pay.
I've also been working hard, almost too hard, at trying to make friends with a particular group, mainly because I had these grand expectations of something working out in my favor with someone in the group. But, as I learned on Thursday, with high expectations comes a higher risk of falling short, and, more often that not, there's not one thing you could have done to have prevented yourself from falling.
Even with a couple minor hiccups, things have been great so far in Provo. A big reason why it has, up to this point, been an easy transition is the unflinching help of my family members, most notably the Leamings, for letting me stay at their house until the whole contract situation was under control, and Kimbot, for letting me crash at her place whenever I needed a place to sleep. I can't thank you guys enough!
I just got an overwhelming feeling that I know this is where I want to be; not just where I want to be, but where I need to be. I have full confidence in my decision to move to Provo and I am more than grateful for the opportunity to be out here.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I Love Mondays
No, this is not a joke.
I think I might be the only kid in the Universe who actually loves Mondays. But I do, I eagerly look forward to the start of the week more than any other day, even more so during the months of January and February, which sounds disgusting, I know. I mean, how could anyone actually enjoy the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn after a tantalizingly short two days to yourself? For me, it's simple, really. It all comes down to three phrases: Top 25, Bubble Watch, and one of my two all-time favorite words...BRACKETOLOGY.
Every Monday, ESPN issues a new Top 25 in College Basketball and, usually beginning its weekly showing at the start of the new year, Joe Lunardi unveils his 65-team bracket. Those two gorgeous gems are enough to send shivers down my spine, but, in pure, vintage ESPN, they don't stop there; oh no, they know how to serve the luscious dessert to complete the engorging three course meal for college basketball crazies both young and old: Bubble Watch.
Bubble Watch does exactly what it states (for those of you who might not understand this phrase, college basketball calls its fringe teams "teams on the bubble"); it simply keeps a close eye on the bubble teams around the nation. This season is indeed a very bubbly season (It's 2 in the morning, and I'm having too much fun coming up with corny phrases, so...I'll try and be less corny, but I make no guarantees!).
It seems like no bubble teams want to step up this year. Actually, check that, it seems like NO TEAM wants to elevate its game to make a run at the beautifully boring NCAA Championship Plaque. Unlike previous years, no team is dominating its respective conference, with the possible exception of low-to-mid major teams win in weak conferences (i.e. Butler @ 11-0 in Horizon, Siena @ 10-0 in MAAC...two conferences who will not receive multiple bids).
And to make matters even crazier, two of last season's Final Four teams (North Carolina and UCONN) and the Number 1 Overall Seed (Louisville) are in serious danger of missing the tourney. I can honestly say I have NEVER seen three dominant programs stumble so fast in 10 short months. And this doesn't even include UCLA, or the entire Pac-10 Conference, for that matter.
Traditionally, the Pac-10 is the most respected conference in College Basketball. No other conference owns more National Championships than the West Coast Powers. As great as the Pac-10 has been, that's how bad they are this season. Every team has suffered what I like to call a Beautiful Tragedy (phrase stolen from an excellent song by In This Moment); for example, USC, who owned the best chance of receiving an at-large bid to the dance heading into conference play, was put on probabtion for violating NCAA rules involving recruiting. Part of their probation is to forgo any postseason play this year. UCLA, like virtually every other western team, lost immense talent to the circus (formally known as the NBA). Cal and Washington were ranked in the preseason, but simply forgot how to win in the regular season. Ironically, the current co-leader of the Pac-10, Arizona, lost at San Diego State, at home to UNLV and at home, BY 30, to BYU. All three victors over the Wildcats are sitting in the upper echelon of the Mountain West Conference and two of the three will most likely be dancing come March.
It has been the wildest regular season that my tiny brain can remember, but it's been a magical season - so far - for BYU, who survived a scare over the summer involving their head coach, Dave Rose. Rose was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June, but miraculously defeated its deadly opponent within a few months. The Cougars have clearly rallied around Rose, which has them sitting pretty at 21-1 and looking at a possible 3 Seed come Selection Sunday.
Above all the craziness, BYU's excellent play has me most excited for the next Monday to arrive. So, like I said before, I LOVE MONDAYS.
I think I might be the only kid in the Universe who actually loves Mondays. But I do, I eagerly look forward to the start of the week more than any other day, even more so during the months of January and February, which sounds disgusting, I know. I mean, how could anyone actually enjoy the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn after a tantalizingly short two days to yourself? For me, it's simple, really. It all comes down to three phrases: Top 25, Bubble Watch, and one of my two all-time favorite words...BRACKETOLOGY.
Every Monday, ESPN issues a new Top 25 in College Basketball and, usually beginning its weekly showing at the start of the new year, Joe Lunardi unveils his 65-team bracket. Those two gorgeous gems are enough to send shivers down my spine, but, in pure, vintage ESPN, they don't stop there; oh no, they know how to serve the luscious dessert to complete the engorging three course meal for college basketball crazies both young and old: Bubble Watch.
Bubble Watch does exactly what it states (for those of you who might not understand this phrase, college basketball calls its fringe teams "teams on the bubble"); it simply keeps a close eye on the bubble teams around the nation. This season is indeed a very bubbly season (It's 2 in the morning, and I'm having too much fun coming up with corny phrases, so...I'll try and be less corny, but I make no guarantees!).
It seems like no bubble teams want to step up this year. Actually, check that, it seems like NO TEAM wants to elevate its game to make a run at the beautifully boring NCAA Championship Plaque. Unlike previous years, no team is dominating its respective conference, with the possible exception of low-to-mid major teams win in weak conferences (i.e. Butler @ 11-0 in Horizon, Siena @ 10-0 in MAAC...two conferences who will not receive multiple bids).
And to make matters even crazier, two of last season's Final Four teams (North Carolina and UCONN) and the Number 1 Overall Seed (Louisville) are in serious danger of missing the tourney. I can honestly say I have NEVER seen three dominant programs stumble so fast in 10 short months. And this doesn't even include UCLA, or the entire Pac-10 Conference, for that matter.
Traditionally, the Pac-10 is the most respected conference in College Basketball. No other conference owns more National Championships than the West Coast Powers. As great as the Pac-10 has been, that's how bad they are this season. Every team has suffered what I like to call a Beautiful Tragedy (phrase stolen from an excellent song by In This Moment); for example, USC, who owned the best chance of receiving an at-large bid to the dance heading into conference play, was put on probabtion for violating NCAA rules involving recruiting. Part of their probation is to forgo any postseason play this year. UCLA, like virtually every other western team, lost immense talent to the circus (formally known as the NBA). Cal and Washington were ranked in the preseason, but simply forgot how to win in the regular season. Ironically, the current co-leader of the Pac-10, Arizona, lost at San Diego State, at home to UNLV and at home, BY 30, to BYU. All three victors over the Wildcats are sitting in the upper echelon of the Mountain West Conference and two of the three will most likely be dancing come March.
It has been the wildest regular season that my tiny brain can remember, but it's been a magical season - so far - for BYU, who survived a scare over the summer involving their head coach, Dave Rose. Rose was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June, but miraculously defeated its deadly opponent within a few months. The Cougars have clearly rallied around Rose, which has them sitting pretty at 21-1 and looking at a possible 3 Seed come Selection Sunday.
Above all the craziness, BYU's excellent play has me most excited for the next Monday to arrive. So, like I said before, I LOVE MONDAYS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)