Rule #76: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion!: February 2009

Did you miss me?

Judging by the limited number of visits the blog has received during my week-long absence, I am going to guess no. It's all good, I probably deserve it. I should update more often and make this more interesting, right? Well, that's the goal at least. Sometimes (as you surely have noticed) this blog becomes a hybrid between a personal space (for venting, catharsis, etc.) and a public forum (for ranting and trying to make others laugh). In any case, I am back, and now I have to get everything caught up, so bear with this post, it is probably going to run a bit long. Let's see, where did I leave off? Friday January 30th was my last post, and a lot has happened since then. In the interest of patching this all together in the most coherent way possible I will do a day by day synopsis, along with a new Photo Recall pic (because I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind in that experiment now too).

Saturday Jan. 31st
I had my comprehensive exam on this day. What is that? Well, it is an exam that is a comprehensive, which contrary to the actual definition of the word "comprehensive", means "something covering a bunch of stuff that takes a lot of time to prepare for and is mandatory for you to pass if you want to graduate with your Master's degree". High stakes on this one. Of course this meant that I began to study at 1am the day of the exam, stayed up (thank you Amp Energy Shots...) until 6:30am, slept for about an hour, woke up and showered, drove to Panera for breakfast and last minute cramming, and then started the test at 9am. A recipe for success (pending I actually pass) if I have ever experienced one (I haven't). That was one of the poorer decisions I have made recently, which is saying something because I think in general my life is a web of poor decisions that I spin for myself and then eventually get caught and tangled in until I suffocate from all the stuggling and tightening grip of the web and a giant spider comes to devour me. Or something like that.

Photo Recall - Day 28

Tope and I at the RA Banquet my senior year at ECSU. Special guest: Garrett's hand, rocking out.

Sunday Feb. 1st
A day of rest, I slept forever.

Photo Recall - Day 29

I love this dog.

Monday Feb. 2nd
I went running in the morning for the first time in a few days. The pain was a nice kick in the butt however, when compared to the kick in the junk I took from the scale after my workout. It turns out that not sleeping, eating at all hours of the day (and night) and eating crap are not healthy and will cause you to gain weight. Consider yourselves warned. I gained around 6 lbs. in a week, so now I am up to 218. For reference I weighed about 195 my senior year (while I was still playing soccer all the time). My goal is to get back to 200. This is not the way to do it.

Photo Recall - Day 30

Am I looking down, scared because I am losing strength and am about to fall, or am I checking my deodorant to see if it is actually working? Both actually. Pull that rope tight! I need tension! Oww! Not that tight, I want children!

Tuesday Feb. 3rd
I received some bad news about a program I advise. Not surprising in hindsight because of the lack of support given to this program and the students who worked hard to put it on, but kind of depressing. Worse than the actual news was breaking it to the student leaders who have already worked a lot on it. No bueno. I also was getting sick. It starts in the morning when I have a headache (I attributed it to the bad news) and ends with me feeling feverish and passing out on the couch in my office because I don't have the energy to make it to my apartment. For reference my apartment is about 50 yards away from my office. So yeah, I didn't feel good. I made it to the meetings I had to be at and canceled the ones I could.

Photo Recall - Day 31 (1 month done, 11 to go!)

What Mom? I can't hear you over the thousands of people walking around during Walkaround at OSU's Homecoming 2008. Cheese!

Wednesday Feb. 4th
Another day fighting the sickness. I think I had the flu, but I'm not sure. It didn't last long enough for me to go to the University Health Services and get checked out (it would have had to be about 18 days of sickness for that to happen). I felt like death on this day, but still made it to the necessary meetings and then napped when I had free time (if you can call rolling around in a cold sweat semi-conscious with Henry trying to lick my face, a nap).

Photo Recall - Day 32

Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce a rare species, the man-toad. Seen here in it's natural habitat, this creature (half-man, half-toad) is placed in a defensive stance, ready to hop off into the dark night of Austin, Texas at the soonest sign of danger. My mom does not appear to be alarmed at the sight of this ugly man-toad, even posing for a picture with it. I am just waiting for National Geographic to come calling for this picture, as it may be the only visual evidence that the man-toad exists and lives among us.

Thursday Feb. 5th
I still felt sick on Thursday, although I could also tell I was turning the corner because I didn't feel feverish anymore. Headaches and the sniffles, yes, but I can handle that. I had begun my day with office hours and occupancy, along with starting my reading for class (for that night) when I received great news for a change. I applied in December for the NCAA Internship program, which is highly competitive (check the link), as well as a change of pace from my current career track of residential life/student affairs. I hadn't heard anything yet and had kind of put it out of my mind because I had been sick, when I received a call from a strange number. Usually I ignore unknown numbers but I picked this one up for some reason, and it was someone from the NCAA offering me an interview. What, jackpot! I fly to Indianapolis (where the NCAA's National Office is located) to interview with about 40 other finalists for 19 spots in the program. I am getting more excited the more I think about it because it is such a unique opportunity and would be an amazing experience. I also wonder what would happen if I switched into the field of Athletics Administration, especially since I have been so focused on getting a job in student affairs to this point. Who knows...

Photo Recall - Day 33

I have no idea what is going on here, or why the picture was taken even, but this is Dan and I in our cousin Leonardo's room in Colombia. We are true millennials and could not go even a day without connecting with others (email, facebook, espn.com, etc) through the internet. Thankfully Leonardo did not mind us barging in each day to use his computer, because otherwise someone might have gotten hurt as we all were getting a bit bored and stir crazy in our Grandma's (Mama Flor) apartment.

Friday Feb. 6th
Now that I have gotten the good news about the NCAA interview I also got good news about the other part of my job search as i schedule a couple of phone interviews, as well as a mock interview to get some practice in. The call on Thursday made me snap out of my funk (mainly the sickness) and realize all the work I have to do before I go through all these interviews. So much to do, so little time. I thrive under pressure so I think it will be okay, but I need to start prepping. I spent today in both of my internships, and spent time during both researching the governance structure of the NCAA. I also got a call that night from a former OSU football player who went through the NCAA Internship process last year and offered me insight and advice on the whole deal. This all got me pumped up and I spent the late evening (and early morning) updating cover letters and applying to a bunch more jobs. A night well spent (for once). And a bonus: I watched the finale of "Bromance" online and Luke won! Can this day get any better (without me becoming Brody Jenner's best friend)???

Photo Recall - Day 34

This picture was taken from the field at Ole Miss' football stadium, before their game against Vanderbilt. This shows part of the student section (Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty!). How did I manage to get on the field? Let's just say I know some pretty important people.

Saturday Feb. 7th
Today I slept in. Not! I felt a lot better today (only coughing now) and tried to go to the gym at 9am. Then I realized the gym didn't open until 10am (rookie mistake I know). I worked out (basketball and racquetball) and then showered, ate at Quizno's (delicious), got a haircut, filled up my car with gas (as opposed to the other things it could have been filled with) and hit the road to OKC. Destination: Men's Wearhouse at the Penn Square Mall. Mission: Buy a suit (maybe two). Result: I bought two suits and two pairs of dress shoes, both buy one get one free. Did I get good deals? Abso-freakin'-lutely (that looks weird typed out, but is very fun to say out loud). Did I spend a ton of cash money? Hell yes. Enough to wear I still get a queasy feeling when I think back to when they told me the total price of everything. But it is an investment (so I have been told) so I shouldn't worry too much. And I look pretty fly (for a white guy) if I do say so myself. I'll try to post pics when get the suits back from the tailor next week.

Well that was my week in short. Sorry for being gone so long, I promise it won't happen again (for awhile...). Here is the final Photo Recall, enjoy!:

Photo Recall - Day 35

This picture is from an exhibit at the Benis Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska. I wandered around downtown Omaha for a few hours by myself and ended up here at one point. I actually really enjoyed this particular artist's work, I am not sure why. It seemed to mesh well with my aesthetic tastes I guess. This artwork was about 12 feet high (for reference) and was only one piece of the whole room, which was filled with pictures and wall paintings like this one. Sadly I did not meet Warren Buffet during this trip to Omaha, nor did I gain any of his astute financial instincts or wisdom, so I am still broke. I did get this cool pic though.