A Saturday Grab-Bag

I have been planning this post for several days now as a Mid-Week Grab-Bag but now it’s Saturday and I was in a bind to do it before the weekend and my new “Ass of the Week” column which should go up tomorrow night (yes, I know it's a day late - sorry). And as always, I welcome ideas for that column there. If you hear something in the news or read something on the internet that you think is worthy of this esteemed web site (and really, what isn’t) then either comment on the most recent post with a link, or you can always e-mail me at gottjustin@hotmail.com and I will be happy to give you credit for the find. . .

But that’s neither here nor there. So much has happened over the last week or so and I realized that I haven’t updated you out there so much on my school (which is not overly difficult, but that drive 4 days a week is killer!) or work (well that there just gets me upset) or engagement plans (don’t circle any dates on your planner just yet) or movies (don’t see THERE WILL BE BLOOD – trust me on this one) or, of course, the SUNS (you thought I forgot, huh?). Well all that is coming in the following paragraphs in all of its non-chronological goodness. I do hope you enjoy as always!

And away we go. . .

- So I’ll begin I suppose with the news that you all heard and immediately thought of me after: the SUNS, my beloved team, traded 4-time All-Star and SUNS-lifer Shawn Marion (we drafted him) along with our back-up left bench. . . I mean point guard. . . Marcus Banks (don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out!) to the Miami Heat for veteran center Shaquille O’Neal. I’ll let that simmer for a second. . . Ok, so now that I’ve begun to boil, here’s what I’m thinking about the whole thing. I am extremely skeptical. In fact, when I initially heard that we were even discussing such a trade, I got upset and claimed that I would cry if we made the trade out of anger and frustration. Shaq is old. Shaq is slow. Shaq is the anti-Sun! Why would we take on this giant (literally and figuratively) contract – 2 more years at $20 million each – for an aging big man that has a questionable amount of gas left in the tank?

The reason that I was not as worried as some was because I knew it would never happen. First year General Manager Steve Kerr would not begin his career as a man in charge of a team with a trade that made this little sense, right?

Wrong.

We made the trade and now this is a fact:

But I’m coming around. I’ll admit I was upset that first day. I felt that we had permanently given up a chance of winning a championship during the Age of Nash. But after Shaq’s press conference where he was introduced as a SUN

I began to feel different and now I am border-line excited. Not only will Shaq improve Amare Stoudemire as a player (he will actually benefit the most out of everyone) because he provides Amare the ability to leave the paint without fear of no one in there to rebound. Shaq himself called his time as a Sun as the “Amare Stoudemire Project” so I’m ready for it to begin. We’ll see. As a fan, I’m an eternal optimist, even amongst skepticism (of which, there is plenty), but I still feel we have a chance to do some damage once the playoffs begin. Only time will tell. . .

- The next logical place to go is work. Unfortunately, it is deathly slow at the MW. Our annual sale is over (not that was lucrative) and it is as slow as it has been for the last two months. Unfortunately, this job has not been as financially stable as promised. I say “promised” because it was practically shoved down my throat that I would be completely comfortable once I began to get rolling. However, in a severe twist of fate, I have not had a pay check that exceeded the amount I would be making at the FL in the last two months. That is just plain frustrating and there are no other words to describe it. It’s not the fault of the people who recruited me – it’s supposed to be busier than this. But the amount of people that walk through our doors on any given day is miniscule and a good percentage of those people are extremely cheap, making it that much more difficult to sell enough to make any money at all. You see, the better the sale, the better my commission. So when Joe Nosuit comes in and just buys a $250 suit with nothing else, I make about $7.50. Wow, thanks. Now everything is wonderful!

It’s just really difficult. I was optimistic that this was the type of job that I could have for several years as I move through college. And with what they “promised” me, it was not even an issue. But now it is. And I’m about 2-3 more puny checks away from e-mailing my District Manager (who recruited me) that something needs to change. Unfortunately again, I can’t make more per hour, since every Wardrobe Consultant makes the same. It’s all about my sales. And I’m not having any. . . So, again, that’s nothing but frustration and it leaves me sitting at work, typing away at a blog, describing my frustration. Kinda makes it more frustrating. . .

- Now school. My classes are pretty all over the place. My Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday classes start at 1620 and go til 1850 while my Wednesday class is from 1800 to 2045. I have one class each day. So I drive about two hours each day; about 110 miles round-trip. Times four. That’s a good almost 450 miles a week plus my in-town driving to work and such and I easily top 500 miles a week. I’ll put it to you this way: my new car is about a month old. It already has 2000 miles on it. . . But the classes themselves are mostly interesting, at-times extremely boring, and altogether just a bridge to my future in teaching. I’m getting more and more excited about the prospect of teaching at a high school and coaching the basketball team. That’s a good picture J But here’s a quick recap of each of my classes and what they entail, along with the return of the Justin Teaching Grade Scale (JTGS) , where I evaluate my professor on the really important things. You know, like entertainment qualities.

Family and Consumer Sciences 230: Life Development (Monday)

Taught by Professor Rigney-Hill, this class is a trip through the life of all of us, from conception to coffinization. It’s mostly lecture, with an emphasis on group activities and such, which never excites me, as I would usually prefer to just go to class, do my thing, and get on my way home. And this is even more obvious to me when I know no one in class and I don’t meet anyone in the first couple of weeks that is necessarily worth making them “single serving friend,” to steal a line from FIGHT CLUB. But it’s ok. The teacher is nice and I think she has made a pretty simple class that I should have no trouble getting an A in, but I could easily coast to a B if I chose that road instead (which I don’t plan on doing). She’s got a semi-strong New Jersey accent and is pleasant enough, even amongst all of the Power Point goodness. Overall, just an average class. JTGS: 5 out of 10

Family and Consumer Sciences 330: Child Development (Tuesday)

Taught by Professor Giordano, this class is all about the kids. Three classes in and we are just now on the actual childbirth process. Luckily in this one, there are three people that I could see myself chatting up throughout the semester. One girl named Casey I knew from a couple of my Journalism classes last semester so we started re-living those classes and stuff like that on the first day. I also met another girl named Denise who is pretty cool and actually from Lancaster, no less! So of course we have the evil commute to discuss among other things. The one thing about my three FCS classes is that I am one of only a handful of guys in each of them. So in this one, a guy and I started making life a little more enjoyable for ourselves amongst all of the class discussion about things like getting your weight down after having a baby, the types of foods that you crave during pregnancy and a phrase that I never thought I would ever hear: “Frankenstein Vagina.” For those who want to know what it means, it was in reference to a post-birth mother and the way that her husband might look at her. . . I stayed quiet and just doodled on my note paper! But our teacher is nice, young, and funny and she does make the class enjoyable, even though it’s not her specialty. Again, I could probably get an A, (and most likely will) but a B can be achieved with little to no effort on my part. Overall, it’s one of my better classes. JTGS: 7.5 out of 10

Sociology 452: Sociology of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People (Wednesday)

Here’s where the fun begins. Taught by Professor DeCrescenzo (spelling?) this class delves into the psyche of each of the communities listed above, as well as other similar types of individuals. No textbooks – only memoirs that have been written by members of these communities and the class time is taken up by discussion on the passages which we have to read each week going into class (on average about 75 pages – not a lot at all, especially since the memoirs are easier to read than text books). We are going to have guest speakers and we also have to lead a class discussion on any topic that we wish in relation, of course, to the topic of the class. Some might immediately ask why I would ever take a class such as this. That is actually the easiest of questions to answer. It would be naïve of Americans to believe that people with any of the above orientations have no effect on society and culture today. Having now been in the world of college for almost three years now, I can tell you that people identifying as gay or lesbian are quite common and quite influential. I have enjoyed many conversations with individuals like this and have learned a whole heck of a lot from them. And as far as I’m concerned, these are people. That may seem a bit obvious to some, but for others, I swear, it seems like anyone identifying as gay or lesbian are considered less than human. Again, until we discover that they are all chronic child molesters or are in fact robots, than they deserve the same respect as you want in return. Our teacher is brilliant, funny, and relatable, even to those of us in the class (I would say about half) who are straight. I look forward to the class each week and I’m excited to see my A go in the column at the end of the semester! JTGS: 9 out of 10

Family and Consumer Sciences 320: Family Resource Management (Thursday):

Taught by Professor Schlesinger, (again, I'm not sure about spelling - these teachers have difficult names!) this is my least favorite class. It's supposed to be about how to manage a family and the resources that comes with having one, I suppose. But instead, we have spent the first three weeks discussing, among other things, what values are. We are defining things that need not a definition, since we are all college students and not seven years-old. It's weird. Plus, her voice is literally grating to my ears. The only thing that gets me through the class is a former Desert Christian alumni, Hannah, who graduated in my class. Both her and her roommate are in the class and so we discuss how bored we are throughout the time we are there (which is the whole 2.5 hours - it's a doozy). It will be another easy B, but an almost assured A because of the simplicity with which the class is run. Overall, it will be a bit of a waste of time, but it will be an easy grade. JTGS: 3 out of 10.

And that's really it for school. The drive is tough, but it works. It is something that has to be done and it will pay off eventually. I hope.

- On the movie front, I'm gonna make a couple quick recommendations and a couple "Stay Away" comments for some others. But quick is the optimum word. I promise. . .

GO SEE:

ONCE - the independent film from earlier this year that caught all the critics by surprise is just brilliant. A true musical, I don't need to say anything more than just do yourself a favor and go rent it. It's under 90 minutes long and if this gets you going, then you should absolutely go rent it immediately:



NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - I saw it again a couple weeks ago with my dad after we both completed the book and I tell you right now: this film is a damn-near masterpiece. The only issues I have with the movie are trivial and are mostly regarding the way the book is brought onto the screen, but overall, it is a perfect adaptation of an intensely strong novel. If you don't have to have hope at the end of a movie to enjoy it (I still love that you hate this movie, Heather!) then try to find it in your theater.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS:

THERE WILL BE BLOOD - My dad and I went to see this after we both thought it had the potential to be a GANGS OF NEW YORK-like film, seeing that Daniel Day-Lewis is in the starring role. A gritty, true historical tale, perhaps? How about a frustratingly tedious mishmash of confusion and absurdity instead. I'm sure it's art to many, and I can see how it is getting the accolades when it comes to cinematography and such, but I cannot see the quality that is supposedly so present throughout the movie. Sorry.

FOOL'S GOLD - No, I didn't see it. Just please don't go. Promise me. My Canadian friend Mike said it best.

- Beyond that, I don't have much more to recap right now. I'm working from 1100-1800 tomorrow so I'm planning on coming home and writing up my "Ass of the Week" then. So expect it up some time tomorrow night!

Thanks as always for reading and enjoy your weekend!!!

Until later,

The Grab-Bag: The Things I Love Version

So it's been almost two weeks since I posted (which seems to me as impossible as that time has really flown by) and I feel like that's how I begin so many of my posts. . .

O well - I guess that comes with a busy life. And that is what I'm in the midst of at the moment.

I suppose my idea for this post is just to list some things that mean a whole helluva lot to me and throw in the reasons for their importance as well as their role in the last two weeks of my existence.

So enjoy another good ol' GRAB-BAG in all of its non-chronological goodness. . .

- HEATHER

You knew that one was coming :) my wonderful lady friend of 3 1/2 years and I were able to spend a couple days together in a row last week (Monday night thru Thursday morning) and it was completely wonderful. When the two of us actually get to spend a special length of time together, it is truly fantastic. What I love is the people who say things like, "You guys must be used to that distance thing that when you are together, it is either only great because you are actually together or you get tired of each other quick and just want to go back to being at a distance." Well, no and no. Of course it is great to be together just cuz it is finally true - but it seems to always be that great. The feeling I have when I see Heather for the first time is the same one that I have five minutes before she leaves. And I can tell you this in plain English: There is NOTHING better than waking up to the one you love. NOTHING. The first thing I see on those special mornings is her beautiful face and, if I'm lucky, her closed eyes, behind which I can only assume are the sweetest dreams ever. I cannot wait until I get to have that feeling every morning. . . 3 1/2 years down, 2 to go. . . hopefully!

- VACATIONS (kinda)

So why did we get to spend some time together? Well Tuesday was the much-planned family trip to Disneyland. Caleb is turning 6 in a couple weeks (the 19th) and that's what he wanted to do - he had never been to the Happiest Place on Earth! Do you remember your first Disneyland experience? I don't, now that I think about it, but I am pretty sure that he will. I figure that because we got him on pretty much every big ride at the park. He rode Splash Mountain (Twice), the Matterhorn (One and a half times - more on that later), Thunder Mountain, and of course the kiddie rides (like Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc.). No Space Mountain for him (too quick - and dark - for the youngin) or Indiana Jones (too scary). But time will cure those things. He really enjoyed himself and I was happy to be there for his first experience there.

So how did he ride the Matterhorn 1 1/2 times? Well, it broke down with us on it! We were at the top of the mountain (not too long after the initial hill) and the ride came to a screeching halt! There had been prior issues with the ride, but we tried it anyway. Well either way, we had to have two Disneyland workers come up and get us and we hopped off the "toboggan" and got to go inside of the mountain to get back to the bottom! We walked down several flights of stairs and saw all sorts of wires, hooks, and the like. It was worth it :) I really thought it was cool and certainly an original experience.

The rest of the trip was a lot of fun - certainly better than the last time that I visited Mickey and friends (That would be Grad Night haha!). I got to ride the new and improved Space Mountain not once, but twice (it was just awesome!) and saw a fantastic fireworks display. Good times all around!

- TRANSFORMERS

It's incredibly fantastic. Enough said. Grade: A-

- BASKETBALL

The working out has been going well (I am starting to feel improvement!) and the off-season in the NBA has led to a lot of talk, and absolutely no action (relatively speaking). However, my SUNS did make one move that I am very excited about: we signed an aging veteran with a lot to prove. Usually, that would not be exciting at all, except for who this is and what we are paying for him. A former NCAA champion, co-Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and a fantastic playmaker named Grant Hill. We got him for the veteran's minimum and I'm excited about what he is going to bring to both our team and the locker room. Very cool.

- AARON SORKIN

I watched the series finale (only one season, though) of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, the NBC drama that I have plugged many times here in this space. Unfortunately, the show will not be returning for its sophomore season because NBC refused to pick it up. I don't know what both the hating critics (of which there were many) and the American viewers (of which there were not enough) wanted. I loved every episode of the show and I will miss it greatly next year. The chemistry between the actors (Especially Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford) and the witty writing from Sorkin was enough to have me begging for more every week. I will be purchasing that one and only season whenever it hits the streets in DVD form and my new goal is to rent the seasons of THE WEST WING, the Sorkin-written drama about the inside track of the White House (basically the same type of show as STUDIO 60, only with the White House as a setting). His prior series to that was SPORTS NIGHT, another short-lived show (two brilliant seasons) and I am a huge fan of that one as well. I will be watching whatever he does next, and I will guarantee that. Just let it be soon - please Mr. Sorkin!

- COMMENTS

Please everybody. . . It's SO simple!!!

- GOOD FRIENDS

I was able to have dinner last weekend with my good buddy George when he was in town for the day. We ended up staying at BJ's (I'm certainly allowed to eat there!) for nearly FOUR HOURS just chatting about life. It was awesome. Him and I click, I guess. We were never THAT close in high school, but we started talking more when we shared a certain College Algebra class back in the Fall of 2005. While talking, I realized something (and of course, vocalized): I have very few actual friends. The ones that I have known for a long time (e.g. Cy, Justin, Tom) seem to be just reliable friends. No matter how long between conversations or hanging out times, we pick right up where we left off. The difference is that none of us are all that close. I know a little about their pasts (like before we became friends) and I know their respective families (hell, I call Mrs. Serrano "Mama"), but we aren't that "tell anything to". The only one that really holds that title is George. I also have sports friends (e.g. Romique, Rico, Leshin) that I either played sports with or continue to work out with that I can just talk about basketball or go to the park and stuff like that. I do this with George as well. The other thing about a lot of my friends is that they all have other outlets. Cy has his countless church and volunteer-type groups that he is a big part of. Justin is very often down below, either for his internship or to see his girlfriend. Manny is married. Romique has so many people he knows, it's ridiculous. I just know all these people - I don't really have a group, per se. Neither does George. Down in Murrietta, all he really does is work and go to school. Most of the guys he works with are younger as well. So we have that in common as well. We also have common ideas about religion, philosophy, and those types of things. Essentially, George has become my best friend and guess what - he lives at a great distance. Why does that happen?!?! I see Heather once a week (maybe). I will see George almost never (he actually is going to Georgia for nine months in September). Why do I do this to myself haha - - -

- BOWLING

Which I will be heading to here in just an hour - - - the perfect game is coming. . . I just don't know when!

- HOLIDAYS

For the Fourth of July, Heather and I went to her dad's house down in San Clemente and enjoyed a day on the over-crowded beach, followed by a relaxing afternoon watching the unnoticed BLACK SNAKE MOAN, and completed by a fantastic dinner (tri-tip, pork ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, caesar salad with homemade dressing - Holy Crap it was fantabulous!) and the local fireworks show put on by the city of San Clemente. The entire day was a lot of fun (despite the sun burn!) and I look forward to the next time that I get to go down there - it's always good!

And with that, I'm gonna head off. Hope you enjoyed it - - -

Let me know what you think - - -

Have a nigh

The Week (Plus a Weekend) Grab-Bag:The Nearing the Finish Line Version

What's new, Ramblees? (Yeah, I don't really like that title either - - sorry)

So a lot has gone on over the last week (and a weekend!), hence the non-blogging. I apologize. . .

But now I'll catch you up as best I can (plus, I'll throw in some good old fashioned Insightful Insights along the way. . .)

Enjoy the as-always non-chronological goodness:

- So, the real Finish Line? Yeah, it's going pretty good. The training is going as planned and it looks like things can move forward in the next two weeks. The training is done through modules on the store computer and there are 40 or so to complete before you can go through the interview process for the A.M. position. The kicker is that you can only do six per day for some reason, so I have been doing six of these things every day that I work. It takes about an hour, so that is an easy hour at work, you could say. I have completed 30 I think (not sure off the top of my head) and I have three days' worth of 'em left over. I worked a lot this week (over 30 hours, actually) so I was able to get a bunch done. My GM (his name is Jose - now you know) told me that once I finish them all that he is gonna send me to the Northridge store (Future foreshadowing??? I hope!) to do my final training with the GM there. I'm crazy nervous about that, actually. I would hate to go through all this and then not be competent enough to be considered worthy of the job. . . Hmmm. I don't want to think about that. Well, anyway, I've been really tired this weekend cuz I was at work at 0600 on both Saturday and Sunday (yesterday and today) to prepare (Sat.) and do (Sun.) inventory. It happens quarterly I believe and it's quite a lengthy process, so I helped out with that. Busy week at the ol' FL. . .

- Heather is all moved in to her new apartment now. I was able to go down there Wednesday night and it's really nice. It is a two bedroom, two bath apartment with a washer/dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, fireplace, two balconies, and more. It's great! It just makes me long for the day that either a) I can move out myself and/or b) I get to get an apartment with Heather. It's so far away!!! I'm being very impatient. I am so very jealous of Heather and her ability to live on her own. I am o so ready to try my hand at it, but I have no way to do it right now. The promotion will help, but I will still require a roommate and those are hard to come by, seeing that I will be extremely picky. I don't want just anyone from anywhere. I want someone I know and trust and won't kill me (or me kill them!). That's not that much to ask. . . Either way, I have even been considering moving out in the Antelope Valley. However, that wouldn't work so well with the whole "saving up money for the future" thing so that's kind of out the question too. Maybe. Who knows. . .

- I have seen a couple movies in the last week or so and one was a surprisingly fantastic comedy, while the other was a predictably overblown sequel. The latter was of course the third PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film, which I absolutely hated. I think I would give it a D, which would place it just above GHOST RIDER and under TMNT on my 2007 rankings. I would call that a failure. . . I don't even want to talk about it any more. . . However, I got a chance to see a sneak preview down at ARCLIGHT last Wednesday for the upcoming (August 17th) comedy SUPERBAD, which was written by KNOCKED UP star Seth Rogen. It was HILARIOUS! I gave it an A. It was so immaturely mature, if that makes any sense whatsoever. I don't recommend it for any of my family (that is for damn sure!) but college guys are gonna love this film! A cool thing too was that the star of the film, Jonah Hill (he co-stars in KNOCKED UP as well) was just two rows in front of us (I went with Justin, Manny, and Jenn)! It was interesting to watch him laugh at the scenes that he acted in - he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Anyway, fantastic flick - you heard it here first (literally!).

- I have to mention this whole Kobe fiasco in the NBA. So he wants to be traded, huh? Well from talking to a few Laker fans, they want him to go with all the crap that he's relayed upon them through this offseason. So I've come up with 10 trade possibilities that work with salaries (and, I believe, for both teams potentially) thanks to the ESPN Trade Machine. . . (it's in order from least likely to most likely and the teams in bold are the three teams that Kobe himself has said that his list contains - - - it's true)

Enjoy:

10. Kobe to Boston for Al Jefferson, Paul Pierce, and Gerald Green and the 5th Pick in the 2007 Draft

9. Kobe to Seattle for Ray Allen, Nick Collison and the 2nd Pick in the 2007 Draft

8. Kobe to Washington for Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Darius Songalia, and the 16th Pick in the 2007 Draft

7. Kobe and the 19th Pick in the 2007 Draft to Portland for Zach Randolph, Jarrett Jack, Martell Webster, and the 1st Pick in the 2007 Draft

6. Kobe to Golden State for Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and the 18th Pick in the 2007 Draft

5. Kobe to Atlanta for Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and the 11th Pick in the 2007 Draft

4. Kobe to New York for Channing Frye, David Lee, Jamal Crawford, and Quentin Richardson

3. A Three-Way Trade: Kobe and Troy Murphy to Chicago; Jermaine O'Neal, Luol Deng, and Ben Gordon to Los Angeles, and Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmonovic, and the 9th Pick in the 2007 Draft to Indiana

2. Kobe and Vladimir Radmonovic to Phoenix for Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Marcus Banks, and an unprotected first round pick in the 2008 Draft

1. Kobe and Sasha Vujacic to Chicago for Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace, and the 9th Pick in the 2007 Draft

What do you think? NBA execs, you heard them here first!!! (That three-way trade is the best all-around deal for all three teams - it's nearly perfect if I do say so myself)

- I'm off to CSUN tomorrow for my academic advisement, which is very exciting! Wish me luck!

Well that's it for right now - - -

I'll post more this week - - -

Until then,

Adios

The Weekend Grab-Bag: The Things That Suck Version

As much fun as it has been being off of school (and believe me, it has been FANTASTIC not to have to turn anything into any type of teacher!) there are a few things that are irking me. And I just have to let you know about each of them. . .

So here we go, with another installment of the GRAB-BAG series that runs back o so far (by the way, the two year anniversary of A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING is in just two months and I can't believe it!).

So enjoy the as-always non-chronological goodness:

- In ALL honesty, one thing that everyone can agree on as sucking is diarrhea. And in ALL honesty, I have been suffering from said terrible problem the last two days. Not that you really needed to know that, but you gotta KNOW that it sucks. Seriously, why is it that the waste product feels the need to rush out so damn fast? Does it really desire to go from inside me to outside of me in such a hurry that it does not get to know my intestines even a little? Seriously guys, you should meet. Exchange pleasantries. Tell life stories. Whatever. Just hang out a bit longer and maybe band together before you decide to depart from me next time, ok? Thanks.

- Reason Number 86 why my faith in the goodness of anything around here exists: My ever-dancing sister Aimee was at dance practice last week and did a move resulting in her rolling her ankle. Turns out, after an X-ray, that she fractured a bone in her foot and she has to be fitted for one of those walking boot things tomorrow. Not only is her year-end pageant in four weeks (which she will possibly miss - - I think she should try to dance on it that week and see if she can go - she worked too hard all year to just not be able to participate) but she was going to take summer school dance classes at AVC and those begin in just two weeks. It's just ridiculous. The last person on this Earth that deserves to miss out on her passion is my sister. She works too damn hard and wants so much to be a dancer (plus, she is REALLY good!) that I have had to watch her fight back tears all weekend whenever the topic is brought up. Meanwhile, she crutches around the house and is basically playing the waiting game. As a dancer, she was bound to get this injury (or a similar one), but why now? It's just not right, and no one can convince me othewise.

- Death. It sucks. Heather's grandmother Shirley unfortunately passed away last Sunday. I only met her five times (or so) but she was such a wonderful woman. I grew to love her and her fantastic personality after the first lunch I had with her. I was a junior in high school and in over my head in my relationship with Heather. We went to Olive Garden with both Shirley and her husband Bill and the first question I was asked once we sat down was "So what do you want to do with your future?" Bill was already grilling me and I was scared shitless (too bad I cant have that condition now. . .). At the time (and seriously, name me a HS junior who knows exactly what he or she wants to do!) I wanted to be a film critic and so I went with that. Mistake #1. I was told how I should attempt more secure employment opportunities and the like. Bill was looking out for me (and subsequently, his granddaughter) but was also being kinda scary. . . But I remember Shirley smiling at me from across the table and even giving me a wink or two to let me know it was going to be ok and that I was doing ok. . . I hugged her goodbye that day and thanked her again for lunch. She smiled and said anytime and I felt like I had been victorious that day. Not because I had somehow won her gparents over or anything, but because I had met a phenomenal woman. Over the course of our three years together (now almost 3 1/2. . . wow!) we were able to to see them occasionally, but Shirley had been sick the last six to eight months off and on and was the type of lady who had to have everything perfect for a guest to see her or her house. Thus, I did not get to see her. I believe the last time I saw her was after Heather returned from Australia last August. . . But I'm not sure. I had the chance to see her in the hospital the week before she passed away but I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand the thought of seeing this strong, independent woman weak and living through machines. So I passed. Do I regret it? Kinda. But not really. I would rather think of Shirley as the winking, strong, wonderful woman that she was and be thankful for the few meetings that we had. So I guess that makes me a lucky son-of-a-gun. I met Shirley Ann Acuff. And that was an honor.

Shirley Ann Acuff: 11/20/28 - 5/27/07






















- Movies that aren't KNOCKED UP. Well, I don't know about that exactly, but what I do know is that the aforementioned movie is freakin' awesome. Maybe I'll write a formal review (just to keep my writing skills sharp) later on this week, but for now, just know that it is not only ridiculously funny, but it is also very sweet and endearing. . . Another success for Judd Apatow and Company. . .

(Grade: A)

- Distance. Heather's last finals are tomorrow, but it doesn't really matter. She lives in Pomona now, and even if we are able to somehow see each other more than once a week because we are both out of school, it will be under not only quick (not always, but often) but gas-guzzling circumstances (being 90 miles apart is a bit of a problem for cars too). Bleh. I hate being so far apart. . . Summer 2009 is only two years away, but you know what, it is also two freakin' years away! It's so far, yet so close. . .

Damn.

- The NBA Playoffs. I'm so fed up with how the playoffs played out. Not only are the evil San Antonio Spurs in the Finals (they coasted against the Jazz of course) but the god-awful Cleveland Cavaliers are their opponents. My Phoenix Suns would have destroyed the Cavs (just like the Spurs are going to do) and it just means that its another wasted opportunity to bring a championship back to the desert. . . And now, we lost an assistant coach to a head coaching position in Memphis (good for Iavaroni, though) and are also ready to hire Steve Kerr as our new General Manager (replacing Head Coach Mike D'Antoni so he can focus on coaching). I don't know. . . I just have no idea what is going to play out this summer in the NBA. So many players are going to be wearing new colors next year, and it is going to be VERY interesting how it all ends up going down. . . More to come at a later date on all of this.

But that's it for right now - - -

Hope your Monday is better than a usual one (I'm speculating, of course). . .

The Weekend Grab-Bag: The FTS Version

The post is rated R by the Blogger Association of America (or BAA). . . If there was one. . .

Well this past week has been good. . . and bad. Mostly bad. But good too. . . Anyway, onto the Grab-Bag, and as always (wow, it's been awhile since I've said this. . .) expect the wonderful unchronological goodness:

- Well I have to start with the title and its meaning. The T stands for the this/that and the other two letters stand for profanities. Get it? Got it. Good.

- I basically had that mentality several times during the weekend that has just been completed. It happened mostly during work at BJ's (which, believe me, I will get to momentarily) but also during a recliner-kicking, folder-throwing loss (because, well, that's what I did after the game) by my SUNS. What a tough game. . . We are now in the second round against the Spurs and today was Game 1. We lost 111-106 after an unbelievably competitive game that featured lead change after lead change. Unfortunately, our MVP Steve Nash got a nasty cut on his nose with a little under three minutes left (from a nasty collision with Spurs guard Tony Parker - that's Mr. Eva Longoria to you). This did not seem that bad at first and Nash actually hit a three and a layup over the next 45 seconds. But then, the bleeding would not stop! It was terrible! Nash ended up sitting the rest of the game as the training staff tried everything but taking his nose off to get it stop bleeding. See:





















We ended up losing because we missed a couple shots (Note to Amare: Use the damn backboard!!!) and our general was not on the floor at crunch time. That's it. Game 2 is a must-win for us and then we have to steal one in San Antonio to get back the home court advantage. . . I think we win the series in seven games. . . but who knows! Also, here are my other second round predictions: Warriors over the Jazz in six games, Nets over the Cavs in six games, and the Pistons over the Bulls in five games.

- Enough basketball (well, not really - - in my mind, there is NEVER enough basketball!) for now. On to my lack of Heather-time. It has now been one week since we have seen each other and it will continue through Thursday night. I am taking Aimee down to Arclight to see SPIDER-MAN 3 (don't tell me anything - - I was apparently the only American not to see it this weekend!) on Thursday (for HER birthday but on MY birthday - - confused?) and Heather is meeting us there! I'm excited! I am also excited to report that whenever we decide to get married (which is looking more and more like 2009. . . woohoo!) that we have ourselves a minister. Dr. Roland, my favorite teacher from high school besides Mr. Thomas, and I had lunch on Thursday of last week. I had wanted to ask his advice about my and Heather's situation and all that jazz as well as ask him if he could actually perform the ceremony, whenever that might be. He said he would be "honored" (when it's actually the other way around) and would even "pay his own way to get wherever it was we got married" (if it was far away). I couldn't be happier about that. . . But it is still over two years away, so I have to deal with this no-Heather thing for a little longer :( . . . and to that I say: FTS

- O yeah. . . a quick aside about basketball. This one is about me though. I have been playing basketball almost every weekend (either by myself or with a bunch of people at the park) and am loving the excercise. Not only have stories risen from the fun (BEAT TEAM!!! -- That's for literally one person to understand!) but I am always improving my game (especially with the amount of ball I'm watching!). George has actually been in town both of the last two weekends and we have played one-on-one each time. We are pretty even players skill-wise, so it is extremely competitive and brings out lots of: a) sweat, b) swearing, c) hard work. Yep, good times. . .

- I cleaned my room this weekend! No joke! Well, it's almost all the way done, but it is certainly more presentable then it was before :D

- I know what I said about a Summer Movie Preview, but the problem is that a lot of the big summer films are losing their luster in my eyes. Besides SPIDER-MAN 3 and KNOCKED UP (the new comedy from the guys who brought us THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN), I could live without seeing the rest of this year's offerings. . . But I still will. So, until I actually do a preview (Which is unlikely. . .) here is my list in order from lowest to highest in my opinion (click the title to head to the film's info page!)

20. SUPERBAD (08/17) - written by KNOCKED UP star Seth Rogen
19. BUG (05/25) - crazy psychological thriller
18. SURF'S UP (06/08) - surfing animated penguins
17. 1408 (07/13) - starring John Cusack!
16. TALK TO ME (07/20) - starring Don Cheadle
15. THE INVASION (08/17) - a remake starring Daniel Craig
14. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (06/29) - the fourth DIE HARD film (maybe rated PG-13!)
13. CHARLIE BARTLETT (08/03) - Robert Downey Jr. baby!!!
12. THE EX (05/11) - darkish comedy starring Zach Braff
11. FANBOYS (08/17) - a must-see for any STAR WARS fan
10. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLDS END (05/25) - not nearly as excited after disappointment of the second film
09. TRANSFORMERS (07/04) - looks pretty good, but Michael Bay directed it. . .
08. 28 WEEKS LATER (05/11) - sequel to the great Danny Boyle film 28 DAYS LATER
07. EVAN ALMIGHTY (06/22) - love Steve Carell!
06. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (07/13) - looks dark, cool, and exciting. . . can't ask for much more!
05. LICENSE TO WED (07/04) - marriage comedy starring Robin Williams as a priest and THE OFFICE's John Krasinski and Mandy Moore as the groom-and-bride-to-be
04. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (08/03) - final Jason Bourne film?
03. OCEAN'S 13 (06/08) - looks MUCH better than OCEAN'S 12
02. KNOCKED UP (06/01) - looks absolutely hilarious!
01. SPIDER-MAN 3 (05/04) - no contest. . . although the so-so reviews scare me. .

- Now onto the work front: I am quitting BJ's. Yes, I know I have been there barely a month. Yes, I realize I have only worked one "real" (meaning since we have been open) shift. Yes, I understand that it will PROBABLY get better over time (although right now the Server Assistants are making practically nothing compared to the amount of work we do) . . .

However. . .

FTS!!!

I worked on Saturday from 1500-2330 and it was an absolutlely terrible eight hours. Terrible! I dreaded going into work and I was right to think that. I can't explain it to anyone who is not working there though. Everyone that I've talked it over with at BJ's (former servers at JC's that moved over to BJ's) agrees with me and wishes they could do the same (they have to stick it out because of responsibilities and such). . .

So, I'm gonna do it.

It comes down to this, plain and simple-like: I'm not happy at the job. Period. End of story. Sure, I know that in the future I may not like a job and won't be able to quit or whatever. Well you know what? That's right: FTS! I can quit this job. I have another one! And I don't have time for this one right now - - I'll still go eat there (and will advise others to do the same) but BJ's is not the place for me to be employed. It's just not. . .

- Wow! It's 0100! I better get to sleep! Gotta work at the FL tomorrow (or today. . .)

Happy Anniversary Parents - - 24 years, right? Congratulations!

Goodnight all - - -

The Weekend Grab-Bag: The "Long Time, No See" Version

Good evening ladies and gentlemen - welcome to A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING!

It's been since Thursday of last week that I blogged as I have been preoccupied since Friday night. You see, my wonderful Heather came home on Friday night! It had been two weeks since we had seen each other, but the last two time we have seen each other were for merely hours at a time. It had been about a month since we had had any quality time together and both of us had displayed our displeasure about that fact over the previous week or so.

But this weekend I was the happiest person there could be as Heather made it home and we were able to spend most of the weekend together. She got home later Friday night but we hung out almost all of Saturday and Sunday (including a viewing of 300 and long periods of doing nothing!) as well as Monday night and this afternoon (my Racism 101 class was cancelled again!).


Let me just tell you right now (if you haven't noticed it already) - - I truly yearn for only a few things. Counting down:

3) A Phoenix Suns NBA Championship

2) To become what the media calls a "household name"

1) To get to stand up in front of family and friends and publicly express my love and commitment to one Heather Lynn Acuff and spend the rest of my breathing hours dedicated to making sure her life is one filled with joy, security, and most of all, love.

(Yeah, that's marriage. . .)

I can't wait to spend forever with her. I get a taste of it on weekends like this when we get to spend extended periods of time together as well as wake up next to one another (she is the only sight I want to have when my eyes open up). It's the best! I highly recommend finding someone that you care for more than anything material.

So I guess this is not as much of a GRAB-BAG as it is a declaration of my love. Heather headed back to Pomona this evening and I immediately entered "wreck-mode". I eventually got some work done (my review for 300 is just about polished enough to print) and was able to fully enjoy my SUNS dominating Minnesota tonight (about damn time!) to earn their third straight division title. . .

But Heather. . . I miss you!

And. . . I love you! See:





















The beach says it all. . .

Goodnight everyone - - -

The Week Grab-Bag: The Bicentennial Version

Welcome everyone to the 200th post in the history of A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING! I really can't believe that I've made it this many posts! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me all 200 times I've published my thoughts onto this website and to all those who this is their first experience with my writing. I hope I'm around for another 200!

On another note, I am not really sorry that it's been since the first of the year that I've posted. Not only have I worked every single day since 01/01, I have been to every practice and game that the girls basketball team has had. I have been a very busy bee to say the least.

So without further ado, allow me to get to my week in review, also known as the WEEK GRAB-BAG. Veterans of ARR, rest assured that the following will be in all ways non-chronological!

- I have been working my tiny white ass off at the FL. In fact, when I go into work in the morning, that will be my seventh straight day being at the FL. Three of those days I had off, but was either called in (and could not say no because I'm trying to make a good impression, which, lo and behold has worked - my GM moved my status from seasonal to permanent!) or were covered shifts for someone else. After further review of the job, I'm still happier than I ever was at JC. It is head and head and shoulders above that awful restaurant. And yes, as I mentioned before, the money is not nearly as good at the FL. But you know what? I don't care. Sure, it's going to be a little tougher on me financially (especially after I spent over $600 on Christmas and Heather's birthday - the 27th of December - combined) but I'll deal with that when I need to. Right now, I'm content, and you really can't ask for more than that!

- On Tuesday of this week, league play begins for the Desert Christian basketball teams. The girls come riding in with a record of 8-3 and winning for reasons that escape us coaches. We defeated Paraclete in the most hyped game of the year (we won by 3 in a tight game, so I guess it was worthy of all the hype) and that's an outstanding lead-in to league.

- My plan in the morning is to head to AVC and more specifically the transfer center to get them to send my nearly-final transcript to CSUN. With this submission, I will be admitted into CSUN for the fall semester of 2007. And so the fun begins. . .

- I have been bowling a little more recently and I'm continuing to proudce excellent scores. I recorded a brand new high score (219!) and my average is now usually over 160 (although my most recent night gave me a 155 average). The last time we went, Chris beat me for the first time (5 games to 4) and I did not take it very well. I bowled another game by myself, recording a 180, just to prove to myself that I could still do it. I'm such a bad loser. . .

- The amount of 2006-released films that I saw now sits at 50 and what follows is going to be a list of them with the letter grade that I gave it. Anything that received a (B-) or higher is a film that I would recommend. The others are not necessary to be seen, but have some merit (although the ones at the bottom have no recommendable factors at all). I divided them up into groups by the grade they got with no order necessarily in their groups. The films in italics are comedies are graded on a different scale so take that into consideration too. . . So here you go:

(A+)
None

(A)
Stranger than Fiction
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking
Casino Royale

(A-)
The Illusionist
Mission:Impossible 3
Lucky Number Slevin
V For Vendetta

(B+)
The Descent
The Departed
The Prestige
Clerks 2
Dave Chapelle's Block Party

(B)
Jackass Number Two
The Last Kiss
Wordplay
The Da Vinci Code
Happy Feet Over the Hedge The Break-Up
Slither
Snakes on a Plane

(B-)
The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Cars
Superman Returns
Final Destination 3
The Holiday The Devil Wears Prada
A Scanner Darkly
Saw III
Night at the Museum
Idlewild

(C+)
Hollywoodland
My Super Ex-Girlfriend American Dreamz
Inside Man
Lady in the Water

(C)
Ask the Dust
Curious George

(C-)
Brick
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Omen
Scary Movie 4

(D+)
The Hills Have Eyes

(D)
Miami Vice
Strangers with Candy
Hostel

(D-)
Click

(F)
Date Movie

There's my verdict. What's yours???

- Don't ask about the football pool. I'm still upset. . . (that means I didn't win a single week and I didn't place at the end. . . AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!)

- Ok, let's see. . . I have Thursday and Friday of this coming week off (at least at the moment). I'll do the FIRST THIRD MOVIE PREVIEW on one of those days. Don't worry. I've decided to do 15 films and one wild-card and only two have January release dates - - and they're late January at that. Just look for it soon!

- Had some fun with Chelsea's new computer (Christmas gift) and a program that manipulates pictures. Check it out:
































It was fun. . .

- New Year's Eve was pretty fun. That's all you really need to know I guess. . .

- Heather is just about settled in her dorm at Cal Poly Pomona. She has made some friends (something that she really didn't have in the LB) which makes yours truly very happy. I love that she is being forced to be social. This is where she is going to make life-long friends (seeing that her high school girls are kinda loosey goosey and don't respond to Heather's efforts) and that makes me happy. She is also loving her classes (one is an Animal Handling class and her first class was spent entirely on learning how to examine rabbits - this is Heather's heaven!) and I'm so glad for her. I also learned this week that the Ontario Mills Mall (an awesome shopping center) is just 10 miles from Pomona, so we have a date central now! All in all, it's going to be awesome and I know it. I KNOW it!

- Random older movie recommendations:

NARC (A dark, gritty cop drama - not for the faint of heart. Excellent performances and just an all around great film. Also, as a caution: it's an open ending, so don't watch it unless you can handle a lack of closure.)
LOVE ACTUALLY (A really good rom com. Heather loved it and I was not bored. That's a great film if you ask me!)

- And finally for tonight, a video of one of the greatest dunks in the history of the NBA (in my opinion) and the biggest reason that Kevin Johnson was, is, and always will be my favorite basketball player of all-time:



What you need to know about this:

- K.J. is 6'1''. Hakeem is 7'0''
- The Suns were down by almost ten in the waning minutes of this game, the clincher in the series for the Rockets. The game was over. K.J. was not giving up.
- The passion after the dunk. Priceless.
- O yeah, and EAT IT HAKEEM! Eat that elbow!

I hope you all continue to check in with me. I'm trying to do my best at blogging and I don't want to get away from it. I just like my posts to be meaningful and not just short blurbs.

Either way, I'm done for tonight. . .

Have a good week all and I'll see ya when I see ya - - -

Goodnight -

The Weekend Grab-Bag: The Veg-Out Version

Happy Monday everybody! I have today (and, happily, tomorrow as well) off from work and practice (the two teams have off this week from all practice) so I'm heading directly into veg-out mode for these next two days. Why? Well I've had a pretty darn busy last four days and I'm physically and mentally spent. You wanna know all about it now, don't ya? Well alright then. . .

Enjoy this Grab-Bag, folks.

Enjoy it in all of its non-chronological goodness :D

- I worked at Finish Line (from now on referred to as the FL) each of the last four days. Thursday was my first day! I got there at 1200 and spent about three hours doing orientation things. I watched videos (among the titles was DIVERSITY, a look at how to not be a bigot at work), did some online reading of the employee handbook, aced some quizzes, and received my FL t-shirt and lanyard (we wear a lanyard with a placard attached to it - it's our nametag). I took a break (I ate at GREAT STEAK: Mmmm!) and came back ready to see what else I needed to study. Well, my manager (his name is Jose and he is a really laid back guy with a great attitude toward his employees) told me to go out on the floor! I was so scared! So I went out there and the dogs ate me up right away. I spent the next three hours getting shoes for people and trying to find them in a quick manner. Altogether, I enjoyed myself and met some cool new people (the other employees are all really cool). I worked a total of 20-some hours over the last four days and I am getting better every day. Yesterday was the craziest day yet. I worked from 1000 (when we opened) to 1800, with a half-hour break around 1400. I don't know how much I sold, but my guess is somewhere around $1500. I was doing really good and I enjoyed myself for the most part. I'm liking this new gig, and I'm forever grateful to Manny for giving me the opportunity to get the hell out of JC and into a new place of work. I work Wednesday-Saturday of this week and we'll see how it goes from there! Come see me :D I might just convince you that you need those shoes you try on!

- Final grades came out on Saturday for the semester that just ended and mine were exactly what I had guessed. I have 3 B's and 2 A's and that is just peachy with me. It makes my cumulative GPA a 3.67, which is pretty darn good if you ask me :D

- I went to Alumni Chapel on Friday. It's a tradition at DCHS that on the last Friday before Christmas vacation they have a chapel that invites all of the alumni back to see what has been going on and whatnot. I did not attend last year (for several reasons, one being that I just didn't want to) but I did go to this one. Aimee was singing with the choir and I had yet to see them perform this holiday season. I also wanted to be there since I have been coaching recently and wanted to see if people would go to the game on Saturday. Either way, chapel was kinda weird (it has been a really long time since I've been in Chapel!) but I was glad to have gone. The game on Saturday was good. Both teams won handily and it was all-in-all a fun time. There are only two more games left before league begins, so I'm excited to see how the season turns out!

- I have prepared my FIRST-THIRD MOVIE PREVIEW and it will appear here before the year ends. It has 25 films on it, but could really only be about 15. We'll see if I go through with all 25. I'm REALLY excited about 9 of these films and so FANTASTICALLY EXCITED about the TOP 5, that I might just say that these 5 films outweighs the Summer films (well, maybe not Spider-Man 3. . .) that are coming up as well. I hope you all enjoy this movie preview :D

- I forgot to get my football picks up before yesterday, but believe me when I say I went 10-5 with the big Cincinnati/Indianapolis game tonight (I picked my on-a-roll Bengals) to be played. I'm so close to the top 3 again, but I, being a very cynical person, believe that I'll finish just out of the money yet again. But we'll see. . .

- And now for the biggest news of the month (I suppose): THE WORLD SERIES OF POP CULTURE, a television gameshow event that had its first season about a year ago, is having auditions for its second season in January and February. The Los Angeles audition is January 26-28 and guess who has an audition? Yep. Justin, Cy, and I will be heading to Beverly Hills that weekend to hopefully earn a spot on the show, which would be taped (in freakin' New York City!) in March. Head to the link above to get more info (I won't bore you with all the details here) but I will tell you what the ultimate winner walks away with: $250,000!!! Yep, that would be split four ways (the three teammates and Uncle Sam) but it would be incredible to walk away with all of that! Wow!!!

- O and I still haven't gone Christmas shopping yet. . . Uh oh!

- I already used my employee discount at the FL! I bought a couple pairs of shoes for myself (I know, I know, but there was a sale going on) and they are pretty darn nice. Plus I spent about $70 total for shoes that would have run me almost $120. A pretty good steal if you ask me!








































- What do you think???

Alright folks everywhere, that's the GRAB-BAG. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you come back to read my upcoming posts. There will be four more before the end of the year (that's a promise - I'll explain why later) so check back frequently for updates on everything going on in my world.

Happy Pre-Christmas everybody!!!

Justin

The Month Grab-Bag: The My Terms Version

Wow.

That's all I really have to say about how long it has been since I have done this. It will be a month tomorrow since I have blogged (although it will actually only be a day since I have last blogged tomorrow since I'm blogging today, but you know what I meant). The last month has been, in a word, exhausting. It has also been exciting. And lesson-bearing. And interesting. And helpful. And strenuous. But never monotonous (that is, if we are not talking about some of my classes. . .). So what I'm gonna try to do is give you a quick review of all (or some) of the things that have happened to yours truly, the deeply apologetic Rambler, since the 14th of November. And believe you me, there has been much to report on!

So, here we go!

- Let's start with school, shall we. I'm done! My Fall semester (the third of four at AVC) was officially over as of Thursday, December 7th. I don't get to find out my grades until Saturday, but I believe they are as follows: History (A); Journalism (A); Psychology (B); English (B); Biology (B). That would be good for a 3.4 GPA, which is about where I've been in all three semesters. The last three or four weeks of school were extremely hectic! I wrote so many papers (the page number total has got to be close to 30) that I started going a little nutty there towards the end. Either way, I finished it all out strong and I believe that I got the grades I deserved. I didn't work as hard as I could have, but as long as the GPA is good, then I'm happy with my performance. And hey, at least I'm consistent. I enjoyed a lot about the classes I took, but I also disliked some elements as well. I am so glad to have met some new people (especially Gary Carter, my Journalism teacher who I will be taking again next semester, and John Toth, my English teacher who challenged me very often to do better - I was lazy in English - talked with me a lot about sports, and even went so far as to compare me to Oliver Miller, which was a brilliant comparison at the time - non-sports fans, don't worry about it!) and I can't wait to see what next semester brings! I'm off to my final semester! Wow, time has sure flown by! It seems like just yesterday I was pleading with my fellow graduates to go and be the best they could on a Thursday night in June. Now it's December of 2006 and I'm already working on plans to move out in (gulp) June of 2007! That's only six months away!!! Don't tell Aimee, she's not all too happy about that :D

- What about work? Well now, that is an interesting thing to bring up! It is official: I no longer work at Johnny Carino's Italian Restaurant. After nearly 16 months (yep, it's been that long) I have finally had enough of a plethora of things, namely Charlie (my, I swear bipolar, General Manager) and his bullshit. I was sick of it. This is simply my opinion, but I have many people that agree with me on this theory, so go with it: Charlie wanted to fire me. I may have started out a little difficult to deal with and as kind of a thinks-he-knows-it-all, but I realized that I didn't. I turned it all around. I became a hard-working employee who simply disagreed with a lot that went on at that place. A lot of people did. Either way, I was a good employee. I was rarely late, called in sick only once, and was usually available to pick up shifts and was frequently flexible when it came to different scheduling things (I even gave some ideas about the schedule, one of which Charlie really liked). I believe that Charlie just didn't like me (call it personality conflicts) and was honestly partially intimidated by someone who did not back down to him, despite him being about 6'6'' and weighing in around 350 (a guess). Charlie would constantly poke at me, trying to get me to say something back at him, thus giving him a reason to fire me. Once I realized this, I simply returned his remarks with witty remarks that made him look silly, but at the same time were light-hearted enough to not be considered disrespectful. I'm good like that. Either way, a few weeks before I quit, he decided to throw about four of five more responsibilities on the TTs, which were absolutely ridiculous. They would result in us being there way too late and I didn't feel they were necessary. So, I made a decision one Sunday night: I was going to quit. I wanted it to be on good terms (and, more specifically, on my terms) so I would turn in my two weeks notice, work during that time, and then leave quietly, with only hugs goodbye to all those people I will truly miss working with.

So I left. No mas, as they say. I talked to Manny (who, as you remember, works at Finish Line) and he said they were hiring, or at least he thought so. I filled out an online application on Sunday, my last day at Johnny Carino's. Manny called me that night telling me that I had an interview the next day! I went in (dressed all sorts of snazzy and looking a little like Justin Timberlake from his new cd cover) and was told (by Manny) that I didn't need an interview because he had vouched for me as a good employee. That was cool of him! I actually begin work there tomorrow, and I'm pretty darn excited! A new thing for me to learn! I'm looking forward to gaining a new kind of experience in the working world and can't wait to see what pisses me off about this job. . .

- Let's see, another thing I can tell you about is my wonderful Heather. We are closing in on our three-year anniversary (end of January) and we couldn't be happier. Well, actually we could be way happier if we could either be a) Engaged or b) Married. We are suffering from what I refer to as "Futurenow," a disease that affects those young adults who just want to be adults already. You may have heard of it and thought it didn't exist. You were wrong if you thought that. It does exist. And it hurts. Anyways, we have been working on moving her stuff out of her apartment in the LB to prepare for her move to Cal Poly Pomona (referred to, by me, as PoMOOna because of the multitude of cows around) on January 1. She got her dorm room number, roommate's name and number, and all that sort of jazz, so I guess she is ready. I'm excited as can be for her, but I'm still dealing with the fact that she's leaving the LB. I love the LB! O well. Guess I gotta learn a new town!

- Basketball is going very well right now. As you might remember, I am an assistant coach at Desert Christian High School (my alma mater) for the girls Varsity team. We have o so much work to do, but I love the girls and only want them to get so much better. We are 4-2 right now and have a game tonight as well as Saturday night. All in all, the girls seem to respond to me really well and I am enjoying coaching alongside my coach, Mr. Thomas. I am really having a blast and don't mind at all the amount of time that it is taking out of my schedule. Come by and see us sometime! Tonight we play at 1800 and Saturday our game is at 1600 at home as well.

- I got some movie recommendations (and some to avoid) for you all:

Whether You Want To Or Not:
- - - CASINO ROYALE (I've seen it twice and all I can say is "Fantastic!" If you have not seen Daniel Craig do his thing as Bond James Bond, then you need to stop reading this right now and go watch it. You won't be disappointed!)
- - - STRANGER THAN FICTION (one of my top 5 films of the year - o yeah, a list of my top and bottom films of the year will be coming soon - beautiful, odd, and just a lot of fun)
- - - LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (rent this sucker if you are a fan of witty banter, Tarantino-like violence, and enjoyable movie experiences)

If You Want:
- - - HAPPY FEET (as I said in my review that appeared in the EXAMINER, "Happy Feet is not the greatest movie of all time, does not feature the world’s greatest performances, and will not win any screenplay awards, but I dare you to walk out of the theater without a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and a bad case of the “taps,” a refreshing disease that attacks the feet of its victims." This film is a lot of fun to watch and that is all I can really say)
- - - WORDPLAY (an interesting documentary about the New York Times crossword and those who excel at completing it - not at all boring, actually, and pretty entertaining)
- - - THE HOLIDAY (A true, by-the-book, chick flick with some entertaining moments for the males out there. I liked the teddy-bear-like Jack Black and the end was pretty sappy and good like that. Take your girl out to it and hug her while she cries! You'll get brownie points, trust me ha ha!)

Hide Your Eyes:
- - - MIAMI VICE (call me very disappointed in Michael Mann. I could not even finish this garbage imitating as cinema)
- - - STRANGERS WITH CANDY (I guess it's an acquired taste in humor. I didn't get it.)

Some other entertainment recommendations:
- - - SPORTS NIGHT (I am so unbelievably hooked on this show. I can't believe it only lasted for two seasons! I'm already done with four out of the six discs - thanks Netflix - and I'm looking forward to finishing it up next week. If you need a last-minute Christmas gift for me, go ahead and get the entire series at Best Buy - it's $50. I'll be happy. . .)
- - - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (the novel and the film - I finished the book a few weeks ago and then re-watched the film. The book is incredible and the film is almost as good. They are different, though, so be prepared for a much different experience with the book)
- - - Amos Lee, The Exit, The All-American Rejects, Justin Timberlake, Audioslave, and Marty Stuart (all of these musical artists have been played thru my computer the last couple weeks).

- Ok, so now realize that the year is almost over and that means several things. But one thing it definitely means is that my FIRST-THIRD MOVIE PREVIEW will be coming shortly. It won't be as long as the others, but it is still coming. Look for it in the first couple weeks of 2007.

- O, my football picks! Well right now I sit in a tie for fourth, just a game out of third. I'm so close, even after a dreadful 8-8 week last week. I only have three weeks left, so we'll see how that ends up. . . And Fantasy Basketball? I'm in first in my league, have won every matchup thus far, and have no signs of being stopped. Which leads me to. . .

- My Phoenix Suns!!! Last time we talked they were struggling at 2-5. They now sit at 14-6 and are going to DESTROY the defending champs (without Dwayne Wade) tonight in Miami. This will be their 12th straight win and with it, the Suns will be in a tie for first in the Pacific Division (Finally!). And you heard it here first: We won't again be in second! The division is ours for the rest of the year - even if the Clippers trade for Allen Iverson, which I don't think they will do. Keep it up boys!

- Well I have some more news (including some AWESOME news about me and my boys, Cy and Justin) and my football picks, but I'll save that for tomorrow or Friday.

I'm back everyone! I missed blogging and I won't be gone that long again for awhile. So check back in every other day or so for the next installment!

Hope you enjoyed it all!

Talk to you again soon (I swear!) - -

THE RAMBLER