Merry Christmas

Well, yet another year that I work on Christmas Day. Hope everyone is enjoying the festive day. If you are reading this and you are Jewish, I would like to take this time to wish you a Happy Chanukah (or for those that are more formal.....Hanukkah).

I will be pretty busy for the rest of the year as I will be enjoying a standard Friday (pretty much just chilling out) until I go to work, then all heck goes crazy.
Friday - Clear Channel Work 9p-5a
Saturday - Work the Cuyamaca College Women's basketball tournament, Swing by the Single Spinners "Holiday" party, then back to Clear Channel for another (this time pure OT) overnight shift.
Sunday - Work day 2 of the Cuyamaca College tournament, crash
Monday - Work maybe a game at the tournament, then go to LA for the Kings game
Tuesday - Work the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Wednesday - Grossmont College Women's Basketball game, then go out to the desert for some explosive fun!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!!!! May 2009 be just as crappy for everyone then 2008, that way if it is better, you have exceeded my expectations!!

All Grades are in....

Well as most of you know, last week was finals week. I have finished all my classes and I have the grades, they are as follows (with what I was expecting in parenthesis).

Bus 120 - Financial Accounting (C) C - 70.55% (4 unit class)
Comm 122 - Public Speaking (A or B) B - 88%
Hist 109 - Modern US History (A or B) B - 88%
Posc 121 - Intro to US Government & Politics (C or higher) B - ?%

Semester GPA.... 2.69

So not too shabby if you ask me. I was completely shocked when I saw the B for US Gov't. I'm off until Jan. 26th. Enjoy the break ya'll.

One down, three more to go

Yes, I'm talking about finals.

So today (Monday, 12/15) was my first final, Modern American history, after pulling an all-nighter to write a paper that I didn't even know was assigned. So I got the paper done at 3:30a, a full 12 hours before it was due, and ended up getting an 86 on it (out of 100). Then I took the final and ended up getting 70 out of 80. When the dust was settled, I ended up with an 88% in the class, so one C or better down, three more to go.

On Tuesday, I have Public Speaking at 11:30a with a 20 question test preceded by an impropmtu/special event speech. This speech is my favorite of the entire semester simply due to the fact that it is the one that I have had the most practice with over my life. Going into this speech & test I have a grade in the high 80's (just like my favorite type of weather!).

On Wednesday, I will have my toughest final in Intro to US Government & Politics. I will finish the 5-page paper that is due then on Tuesday. As long as I get a C in this class, everything is going to be good to go.

Thursday, I will be doing my online final for Accounting, and I believe that I should do ok on this test. Right now I'm on the low end of the 70's, but I should be ok on this.

The day after....

Well, what a night as far as our country is concerned. And for that matter, can California make up its collective minds?????

I say the last portion, simply becasue the voting doesn't make any sense. The state votes for Barrack Obama, who is generally pro-life and also to the best of my knowledge open to Gay's right to marry. So what does the State do? They strike down Gay's rights to marry and they also strike down a measure that would have required doctors to notify parents of minors that are in the process of having an abortion. This doesn't make any sense to me. If anyone can figure it out, and explain it to me, please leave a comment and explain. I'm also surprised at how many local bond acts passed, actually they all passed putting the county further into debt. In the current economic situation the country is in, allowing yourself to get further into debt, I believe is a bad thing, but what do I know?

Election Day

So here it is Election Day 2008, the day that the Nation elects a new leader for the next four years. Now yes, I am blogging about the fact that we are voting today, but unlike many other people that blog constantly, I am different. I don't care WHO you vote for, just as long as you DO VOTE!

As far as how I'm voting on the important things here in the great state of California, I am voting NO on Props 1-10 and YES on 11 & 12. Now, I know not everyone who reads this blog is a math major, so I will spell it out for you....I'm voting against Prop. 8.

Not that I need too, but I will explain why I'm voting no on this very important proposition. Prop 8 (for those that are reading this from outside of California) is on Gay marriage. If you vote yes on it, you are voting to make sure that the California state constitution reads "Marriage is between one man and one woman." Yes, this is what I believe, however, it is not my place, nor in my opinion, is it anyones right to tell anyone else how to live thier lives. I'm not Gay, but Gays have just as much right to enjoy the happiness of being married.

Football & Show

Well, its here...Pats at Chargers...Week 6 on Sunday Night Football and I can't wait until the Patriots beat the Chargers. BTW, I will be having a quarter by quarter blogs during the game (providing I'm in the pressbox) otherwise I'll do a review after the game.

Also on Saturday, we will be having another LIVE show on youcastr.com (http://www.youcastr.com/profile/EC%20Radio) if you have any questions that you would like to ask drop me or Matty a line at cdavisinsv@gmail.com or mattgulbransen@clearchannel.com. The show MIGHT also have a special guest of Josh Lewin, play-by-play voice of the San Diego Chargers. We go LIVE at 1:45pm

New Sports Crew show this Saturday LIVE

The Sports Crew will go over the Major League's regular season, Live at 1:30p (PACIFIC). Drop your questions off at cdavisinsv@gmail.com or m_gulbransen@yahoo.com

What a trip and HC the Patriot season could be in trouble

Well, yesterday was certainly interesting. If you read the previous post, you will see that I went to Bakersfield to surprise my friend Andy who was calling for a club up there. That is the cliff notes version of the story, here is the full story.

I got up and went and picked up Julie and then worked the Grossmont Vs. Cuesta Women's Volleyball match. I will be honest, I was expecting a 90 minute floor sweeping of Grossmont, I was wrong. The match lasted 2 hours and Grossmont lost in 5 games.

After the match, my mom, Julie and myself all got into the car and took off for Lakewood to meet up with the May's. Well, around 4:30 we leave Lakewood for Bako. Obviously LA is full of freeway's and since the May's live there, they know them better than I, but talk about the Magellan route of getting to Bako and the dance. We left Lakewood and took the 91 West to the 710 North. From the 710 we got onto the 5 (I'm in the chase vehicle and thinking, ok we are done.....WRONG!!!!!). Once on the 5 we got onto the 2 northbound until we reached the 210 West which took us back to the 5. We get to the 14 connector, there was a sign on the side saying that there was a brush fire on the 5 with 2 lanes closed. At this point Jesse calls me and asks, "do you want to take the 14?" to which I reply "I guess" not really knowing the route at that point. Well, this is when the adventure really begins. I never realized that you could go from Lakewood to Bakersfield via Mojave....yes Mojave and Lancaster. To which now that I know who was playing at Lancaster, I would have never gotten to Bakersfield, I would have bought a ticket for the LE Strom playing at Lancaster in the Southern Division of the California League playoffs. We eventually got into Mojave for a bathroom break. We then got onto the 58 West which took us right into Bako and only 9 blocks from the dance.

Once at the dance, I walk in with everyone else behind me, and standing right in front of me is my friend Andy, I say "Hey Andy", he turns to see who said it, and this blank confused look comes across his face as he says "what are you doing here?" To which I say "surprising you!"

After the dance, the entire crew drove a couple of blocks to an iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Hop (you have to know me to understand that). We all had some fun while eating. After the meal, the May's left to go home. Julie, my mom and I however, went over to CSU-Bakersfield to check out the campus. Since that is where I'm transfering (if everything goes according to schedule) in a year and I had not been to the campus. I drove around getting the lay of the land and all. We got home eventually around 5am.

I woke up this morning about 12:30p and turned on the NFL to see Matt Casel as the QB for the NE Patriots. I had not seen the score, so I thought sweet, the Pats are WAY ahead of the Chiefs ....WRONG. It turns out like it is an ACL injury to the reigning MVP of the NFL. The injury happened when Tom Brady threw what looked like a deep ball when a Chiefs defender rolled into Tom's left leg. An MRI will be done on Monday to reveal how bad the injury turely is, some reports out of New England are saying that it might be season ending. One word on that: DAMN! or you could use SHIT, your choice.

Auto Club Speedway and the Boys

Well, I know it's Thursday night and I did it last Sunday, I should have written earlier. School remember....

So last Sunday, Matty, Phil, Stephen and myself all went to Auto Club Speedway for the Pepsi 500. We got up to Fontana and got our passes and found our way to the press box situated between the ESPN booth and race control. It would have been really cool to have watched the race from there.

From there we were kicked out, mainly because someone at the track didn't have a clue where we were supposed to be. So we eventually got to the correct press box above pit road, sounds better than what it actually was. From where I was sitting in the press box I was able to see about 5 seconds of racing every lap (the avg lap times were in the 39-46 sec range). The rest of the time I was either paying attention to the worlds longest fantasy football draft (another story altogether, look below) or cranking my head up and to the right so that I could watch the ESPN feed which was on HD, but also on a 7 second delay.

Now about the fantasy football draft.

The draft seemed pretty straight forward, 18 rounds for a 10 team league. So much for being a simple draft. There were a few rookies, usually no big deal. The big deal came when some of the owners where either not paying attentino to who had been drafted or just gave up only 5 rounds into the draft. The draft got underway as the National Anthem was being sung at the race. 4 hours later as the race was closing in on the checkers (finish), the draft was only in round 14. I finally gave up, and told everyone to just pick the best player available. A fantasy football draft, no matter how long it is should take more than 3 hours. Absolutely ridicioulous. I even asked for a clock to be put on the picks due to the talent pool being dwindeled down so far I was informed that they were going as fast as possible. That might be the truth, but when everything is looked at from a impartal viewpoint, after the 5th round, you should be able to make a pick (if you know who has been picked) within a minute at the most.

So this weekend, I'm going on yet another trip, I'm going up to "Don't forget the lyrics" in the mornign with my mom. Then on Saturday, after announcing the Cuesta Panthers Vs. Grossmont Women's Volleyball match, My mom, Julie (hopefully Mary) and myself all head up to Lakewood to meet up with the Mays and then to Bako to surprise a friend.

The Crew and horse racing

So for those that didn't see a new show is available for you to listen to over at youcastr (http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/ec-radio-the-sports-crew-nfl-division-by-division). You can listen to a shortened version of how long we actually talked about (we would've had a 2.5 hour podcast, I shortened it down to 55 minutes for you guys).

Today (Sunday, the 24th), I'm writing this blog from the press box at the Del Mar Thoughbred Club on Pacific Classic Day (the biggest race on the season schedule). It is 15 minutes to the 4th race, and I'm already done for the day. I brought $15 and blew it in two races (a trifecta box and a straight win wager), I lost both because Victor Espinoza has it out for me today. Damn you Victor!!!!!!

new show later today

The Sports Crew will be recording a new show later today and will be posted by 10pm PDT tonight.

Baseball, the Beach & Vegas

So last weekend, I went to visit my friends up in beautiful Lakewood, CA (Long Beach). I went to a baseball game between the Edmonton Cracker Cats and the Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles of California of the United States of North America including Barrow, Alaska (aka the Armada). The Armada won the game, and one of the people that I went with was absolutely amazed that I knew every single word of "Oh, Canada". I then followed it up with a decent rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

On Sunday, I went to the Croakers and then followed them to Seal Beach in Orange County. I had fun at the beach and enjoyed the company of the entire crew.

Then on Monday, after enjoying the coolness of the beach communities of Lakewood, Long Beach and Seal Beach I transitioned to the presumed heat of Las Vegas. In reality, Las Vegas was pleasent highs in the 100-103 range, hot but manageable. I had the fun of showing a Vegas Virgin around town along with Tommy, who now lives there. Monday night, I played craps at the Excaliber, I bought in for $180, I went down to $24, only to rebound to cash out with $719. At one point in the trip I was up to nearly $900, I am sitting at work right now, after getting back around 2:30 this afternoon with only $2 in my pocket and oweing Matt for breakfast this am.

Now this is the way to END the summer

So I found out a couple of hours ago that with a little moving and shifting of some shifts at work, I'll be able to go to a beach party and then after a day to recover, I will be taking off to Vegas for the 1st annual MORT (Men Of the Round Table) convention.

I will be driving to Vegas, while portions of MORT will be flying in and riding back.

Thats it for now,




BTW, for those that care, Phil won the monopoly game earlier, and I was the only one that was still alive at the end. Funny issue arose at the end of the game, I owned one entire side of the board and a couple of RR also, while Phil owned the rest of the board. There were a total of around 5 times around the board, where I landed on either Free parking, the utilities, my RR, or go to Jail. I did this for like I said about 4 or 5 times around the board. It got absolutely hilarious as I started to call out the numbers I needed and rolled it.

The Sports Crew is back

Well, gang the first show is on the net, you can hear the 31:51 episode is available at:

http://thesportscrew.podbean.com/

http://www.youcastr.com/profile/EC%20Radio/portfolio

So go check it out, I have also submitted the feed to iTunes, so maybe we will be available there soon.

CD

Sports Crew

For those that don't know, I'm one of the hosts for "The Sports Crew". Our redebut will be tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be posting the podcast at several different locations. The locations will be youcastr, here, and I'm trying to get it up on iTunes as well.

DOND (Deal or No Deal for those that don't know)

Last night, I along with Amanda and Jesse (which they will refer to me as "a friend") went to see a taping of Deal or No Deal (episode #409, for those that care....it will air the night before the election) in Culver City. Side note: The studio lot in which DOND is shot, is not an easy one to find. So without giving too much away, the models (and my they are beautiful) have special dresses due to the election the next night, and for those guys out there.....pay close attention to the RED dresses.

I can't really say much else cause it might give too much information away.

Eaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrthquake

Yes, we had another earthquake in So Cal today. No, I didn't feel it, as a matter of fact, I slept through it (the second consecutive earthquake that I have slept through, damn).

I just got done watching the early news here in San Diego. One of the last stories they had made alot of sense. If you have a family member that lives in another state than you do, you can use them to funnel information through, and text them instead of calling it is easier.

For example: my sister lives in Las Vegas, I would text her saying that everything is ok. My Mom and Dad would do the same thing, and tehn she would text back to us, that eeryone is ok. It would take as few as 4 texts.

Talk about eye opening

So last night, I went and saw a taping of "The Moment of Truth". For those that have never seen the Fox network show. The premmise is simple in theory, you are asked 50 questions of which 22 are available (21 actual questions, and 1 alternate). The first level there are 6 questions, if you get those 6 correct you have won $10,000. Answer another 5 correct and you have $25,000. After question 15 you have $100,000. Then 200,000, 300,000 and if you get all 21 questions you win $500,000.

The contestant that I saw for the show was a chiropractor and former body builder from Miami, Fl.

Usually while watching the show, the first five questions are basic questions. This guys first question was "Do you believe that chiropractors are real doctors?" The second question with his brother on the stage with him, "Are you a better chiropractor than your brother?". It was his third question that really showed you where the show was heading....."Have you ever charged an insurance company for more treatments than are actually nessecarry?" and from there, the questions ranged from being investigated by the DEA to "Have you ever dated a pre-op transsexual?" It was wild, and one of those times where you walk out of the studio so shocked that all you can say is "wow".

This Sunday, and next Sunday

Well as many of you who read this know, I'll be in Hollywood this sunday for a taping of "The moment of truth", and this just in....The Sports Crwe will be back on the air, starting next Sunday. Keep your eyes open for more information coming mid-next week.

Can you tell the truth?

Well, on Sunday I will find out if someone can. I say this because I'm heading back up to Hollywood to watch a taping for "The Moment of Truth". I'm not going with the same group (entirely) as I did on Monday. This time the group will be Mary O., Julie O., mom and myself. This time we are also makeing a pitstop at Del Mar so that I may recieve from the fine folks at DMTC a pair of beer glasses.

More on Monday....

Hollywood with a side of Annoyance

So Mom and I got up at the ungodly hour of 5am. We left the house around 5:30 and made our way up to Sarah's house in Menifee. It took us about 90 minutes to get there, and we were actually running early (a good thing considering that we were going to have to deal with LA morning rush hour traffic). So after waiting for Sarah and her mom get ready, we left her house around 7:45. So we head up the 215 and attempt to get off so that we can take the 74 to get over onto the 15. We took the 15 to the 10 West all the way to the 101 North to Hollywood.

After we left Sarah's house, it took Sarah's mom a whooping 10 minutes before she started complaining, and once it started, IT DIDN'T FINISH UNTIL I FELL ASLEEP ON THE WAY HOME. So first it was it was too hot (seemed comfortable for 9am to me), then she was snoring, once we finally got to the parking structure, they complained about my driving through the structure (as a point of reference, there were no cars on the level, and I went straight through what would be parking spots to a parking spot that was close to the elevators). We finally begin our Magellan route to get to the line for "Are you smarter than a 5Th grader?" line. We start on the wrong side of the building so we walk 3/4 around the CBS Television City lot. We come across the "Price is Right" line, and then continue around the the front gate of CBS TV city. Sarah & I get to the line and about 5 minutes later the mom's finally get there. We get inside and then wait and wait and wait. Then at 11:30am the audience coordinators come out and tell the audience that they need to go to the bathroom because we would not be able until at least 3pm.

Finally we got inside the studio (which is much, much smaller than what it looks like on TV) and upbeat music to get the audience pumped up is playing. Now after the Storm game a few weeks ago, I knew that Sarah's mom doesn't like modern (1990's to today) music. So as soon as I heard the music, I knew there was going to be more complaining. Sure enough, as soon as we sat down (in the of row of the balcony) Sarah's mom (who was sitting to my left, with Sarah to her left, and my mom to the right of me) leaned over to me and said "They can shut this crap off."

After the taping, which ended around 3:30p or so, we waited for my mom to go to the bathroom (no problem, since we hadn't been able to go since 11:30a). Sarah & her mom both said that they needed to go but since the line was so long, they didn't go...keeping in mind that there were a set of porta-potties WITH NO LINE...no go, they didn't go. Instead they wait until we get back to the parking garage. We leave the garage, and Sarah tells me to go back the way that we came in...well as I was about to turn onto Melrose to head east and back to the 101. I see a 76 gas station with a store. I stop in the store so that I can buy drinks for my mom and I. As I made an exaggerated U-turn to go back onto Melrose (mainly cause I knew that Melrose & the 101 crossed, which they do), Sarah I could see out of the corner of my eye was getting rather ticked off at me, cause I was not following her directions. A couple of blocks later, I saw a subway restaurant, which was great for me, cause I was REALLY REALLY hungry!!! I pulled into the parking lot, Sarah went in with her mom, and then her mom came out was eventually told me that she was going across the street to a Del Taco to use the restroom. My mom went in to ge the sandwich that we ended up sharing. While they were in the shop, I called Matty to complain about the bitchyness of the females not related to me in the car. I also called my friend Tommy who now calls Vegas home, but grew up in the LA area. I asked him other than the 101 to the 10 how could I get to the Inland Empire (the 101 to the 10 route would be horrible that time of day). Tommy told me that if I took a route that he laid out for me, I would be able to knock off at least a 1/2 hour, obviously I took his route. We had gotten onto the 210 freeway, I was falling asleep behind the wheel, not wanting to get into an accident (and since we were in the backup of another accident), I asked my mom to swap spots with me. As most of you know, I'm very picky when it comes to who I let drive my car, very rarely is it anyone other than me! So when the backup stopped for more than just a second, my mom (who was sitting right behind me) switched spots. I fell asleep and mom drove the rest of the way to Sarah's house.

From what I heard, I was saved from more complaints. We eventually dropped Sarah off at her house, and her mom off at her house in La Mesa. making our way over to our house, where I can now get a good nights sleep. On the way home, it was looking like we might go back up on Friday when Larry The Cable Guy is supposed to be on the show, but after thinking about my work schedule this week, I decided against it. So since I'm really tired, I will say good night, and talk to everyone later.

well that was an interesting day

So we (Mom, Dad and (obviously) me) got up and left the house for the adventure that was my birthday. We went to Sonic in Fullerton to grab some lunch and then over to Croakers in Garden Grove. While at the dance, I was presented a cool cake from everyone (thanks Jesse and Cheryl for purchasing it). On the cake was a baseball diamond and all the candles...including sparkling candles which none of my b-day cakes have ever had. Also there was a NASCAR candle that kept playing a sound of cars passing at high speed. Of course by the time that the cake came out, Dad was in the car, because as we all know, if he isn't having fun, he is not going to be hanging out.

So after the dance, the May's, Davis', Carpenter's and CJ all made our way over to Lake Elsinore to watch the Storm do battle against the Quakes. With CJ being the only Quakes fan in our group, he was very passionate in favor for his Quakes. The problem with this, is that Thunder (the Storms main mascot) heard CJ and CJ then became Thunder's target. Before the game, while I was attmpting to get some broken bat knobs for the hat rack that I'm trying to make, Thunder left the group sitting 10 rows from the field, and went down to talk to his helper on the field. At this point, I was thinking, Oh boy, CJ, you are going to get hit be some silly string by the end of the night. The helper went into the clubhouse and grabed a bottle of silly string. She came back out and handed it to Thunder who tryied to hide the bottle of silly string. He meandered back up near CJ and the gang, and then he sprayed him with nearly half to all of hte can on CJ.

During the ninth inning of the game (in which the Storm ended up losing 5-0) CJ, Amanda, Elizabeth C., Eric and myself all went up to the the Storm radio booth to see and talk to Sean McCall. Amanda, Elizabeth and Eric all got something from Sean (Eric a friesbe, Amanda & Elizabeth both got MLB baseball's)...Thanks Sean, you are the coolest!!!!

Tomorrow, look out Hollywood, I'm coming up to be apart of the audience for "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?"

Well, another year older

Greetings from work. So another year has passed, and the old saying of "you can't trust anyone over 30" is starting to run through my head. I have many people in my life that don't get that statement.

First of all, ITS A JOKE! The saying is basicly saying that if you are under 25 you can't trust anyone that is 30+. I disagree with the statement, but the thing is that I can see why the "youngsters" are thinking that.

A blog is where you are supposed to get things off your chest and an on-line journal or somethign right? Well, this I guess is where I'm supposed to grow up since I'm turning the big 3-0 on Sunday. I guess I really need to start thinking on how to get my shit together.

Baseball, I love the game

Well, as mentioned in my last blog, I went to the Lake Elsinore Storm game on Monday. While at the game I caught my first foul ball (ok, so the 3rd baseman threw it to me, but I did catch the ball!). The game was fun and cheap for Nothing Night...No tickets were sold, No parking charge, No consecions, No Music and No Announcing. Just a baseball game. I went with CJ & Elizabeth Carpenter. At times the game was fun, and other times the people around us were stupid and dragged the fun level down.

I'm typing this blog from the pressbox at PETCO Park during the third and final game between the two clubs this year at PETCO. The Padres are currently trailing at the end of 4 by a 3-0 count. The good news out of this game so far is that a friend of mine (Mike Jacobs) has hit a 2-run home run. The picture is of PETCO Park from the pressbox.

Tomorrow night, life back at the Diamond with the LE Storm hosting the Lancaster Jet Hawks. I will be going with my good friend Sarah and her mom along with my mom. Sarah & I bring our moms along so that they have someone to talk to.

Wow, work on Sunday :0

So greetings from work, a rare Sunday night/Monday morning shift. I'm just filling in for the weekday guy, but an extra 8 hrs on the time sheet always looks good.

While I'm here at work, I have contacted several friends to see what they are doing tomorrow night, and as it turns out they will be joining me for Nothing Night at the Lake Elsinore Storm. Nothing Night is when the Storm do nothing but play ball. No Anthem, No tickets, No concessions, basically just the ball game, not even a Public Address Announcer. It should be kinda cool and quiet. Zach, CJ, myself and hopefully Katie will all be going.

So I shall take the camera and get many pictures so that I can put some up.

Later.

wrapup to the vacation

Yes we are home, and the house was in one piece for those that were wondering if Matty kept it standing. j/k Matty :)

Last we left, we were leaving Wichita. We meet up with some former neighbors at a Denny's in Wichita before we left town. We then took the Kansas Turnpike up to Topeka to see the Kansas Capitol. We got back onto the " 'pike" and got off to see the territorial capitol of Kansas about 25 miles East of the present capitol. After seeing our 5th territorial or present day capitol of the trip we went to a KFC/A&W to have dinner on the far NW outskirts of Lawrence, KS. After dinner, we went through the center of Lawrence which as those that know the Big 12 (XII) Conference know it is the home of the University of Kansas (Home of the 2008 NCAA Basketball champions).

Eventually, we got into Overland Park where we stayed for the final night in the Midwest. We stayed at an Embassy Suites, which even thou I no longer work for the Hilton Corp. I still believe that ES is the best damn hotel chain in the world (that I have stayed in).

On Monday, Mom & Dad went into a JoAnn's fabrics store, since Mom had not been in any craft stores in the Midwest. After that, we went to a Gates BBQ just a couple of exits down the road. After that we eventually got into downtown KC again. We went back to Union Station to get some daytime pictures and the WWI memorial just on the other side of the street. We went up a hill to get the other side of the memorial, and pictures of the KC Mint. As we were taking another picture of a seperate statue commemorating fallen soldiers, I got a phone call lettin me know that my friend Elizabeth had her baby about an hour before the call. I would later find out that she was admitted to the hospital around 10:45a on Monday and had her daughter around 2:15p. We left downtown KC and went back to the airport. We got on the plane and eventually got back to San Diego (YEAH!!!!!!!!!). We got our bags and called our ride, who we thought would be in the cell phone lot just 3 blocks from the terminal......wrong. She hadn't even left her house and had yet to pickup our car.

Then on Tuesday, I went to the Sugarland concert at the San Diego County Fair. I attempted to see them, I along with Sarah ended up listening to Sugarland because ofthe fact that the concert was a pay in addition to the Fair.

Tonight, we (Mom, Julie, Mary and myself) went to see Little Big Town. The concert was a really good one, out of the seven songs that I really wanted to hear, I heard six.

Thanks Wichita

Well Wichita, I'll be honest, I thought you would be able to pull off the 57th NSDC, but not a big thing. I appologize, you did a fine job, I'm sure there were many "fires" that needed to be taken care of, but for the most part those fires were kept out of the sight of most dancers.

As far as next years 58th NSDC, we need to get alot of people to register, because we are still way low on numbers the last I saw we had only 2,355 registered. I believe that I saw that the bare bones break even point is 6,000. Wichita had 6,025 but had many more advantages than we do in Long Beach.

Tomorrow, or later today, we packup to go back to KC in order to come HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love traveling, but as anyone who travels knows, some of the best moments in traveling is coming home. :)

I will update pictures and more information once I get home and rest. That probably won't be until Thursday at the earliest as I'm planning on going to the Fair on Tuesday & Wednesday to see Sugarland (Tue) and Little Big Town (Wed).

Going down....

Well we went to the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. Located just outside of Hutchinson, Kansas which is only an hour away from Wichita. The gang (The Mays, The Davis, Phil Farmer's son, CJ, Pauline, Gary, Sherley and Thomas -- 14 total) made reservations and paid for our tickets. We then went about 6 miles back towards Wichita for breakfast at an Amish restaurant. Decent food if I do say so myself, large portions of hash browns and biscuits. We then went back for the tour, there were only 3 of us that took jackets along for the tour, we probably didn't really need them, but they were nice to have.

The tour was about an hour long, very interesting and if you are claustrophobic, be in the second group of 14 in the tour group, last in to the elevator, first out! They took us through the mines for about 30-40 minutes on a tram explaining some different things. Very interesting like I said. Then you can take a short walking tour of the different areas of the active mine that is about 2 miles away within the same tunnel system. At the end of the walking portion you are introduced to the Underground Vault area where all of the major motion picture houses send at least one copy of every film they make and many of the costumes and props. Check out the pictures over at myspace.

We came back, and dad was pissed at me because of the fact that I officially told him that his stupid jokes were starting to piss me off. He stayed in the hotel room the rest of the day while my mom & I went over to the convention and had fun. I need to get to bed, we have a 8am (CDT) wake up so that we can see the presentations from both OKC and Spokane to see who wins the NSDC for 2012.

And then it was summer

WOW, my fears of Wichita in June came true today.....HOT and kinda sticky.

I woke up today late (10:30) and took care of the standard morning things. We found a Denny's for breakfast and then came back to the hotel. I called the Mays and since we were all going to be going to the same places, we did it together. We went to the NSDC to get our badges, and while the Mays were taking care of some problems they were having with the badges, we shopped at the NSDC booth (since it was the only booth open, it was not a hard choice to see where we wanted to shop!). From there we migrated over to Sheplers here in Wichita. Sheplers is a big time western catalog business that has a few actual stores (LV & Wichita to name a couple). The Mays found some stuff, I found a really sweet looking Budweiser shirt, but they did not have it in my size (I found the only one and it was a small, there is no way a small is going to fit me!!!!). After that and the group seeing someone get pulled over by Wichita police we went to a local eatery (Town & Country) to have dinner. I had a mesquite grilled catfish plate, mom had Beef brisket, and dad had wait for it...... a salad!!!!!!!! During dinner (since I know Jesse will bring it up) I was eating mom's jello that had fruit inside of it. I made a few wrong turns and quite a bit of it ended up on either me or the floor (refer to the May's P.A.D. possibly for more information).

Finally dance time came around, neither mom nor I did a lot of dancing (Mom 0, Chris 1 -- Tip scoreboard) mainly because we were as tradition, getting all of our ducks in a row for the rest of the convention. We were trying to find where the L&F booth is (really hidden behind two different halls, ours will be more in your face) and finding out what time we are going to be working the 58th NSDC shop (it was never open tonight, so we still have no idea).

Anyways so now it is time to go to bed cause we need to be at the Mays RV around 8 so that we can go to the Salt Mines about 1 hr NNW of Wichita, and when we are up there, we are going to an Amish restaurant for breakfast (hope mom can find something to eat). Later!

P.S. If you care, Fresno State ended up winning the CWS tonight after defeating Georgia 6-1. Zach Stone (son of NBC 7/39 Sports reporter/Weekend Anchor Jim Stone) bothered me tonight during the dance to let me know that the Central Valley Bull Dogs ended up winning the game with the guy form RB closing the game out. Memo to Zach, who give a bleep. It was not Wichita State, Miami, or Rice in the finals. Both Bull Dog (Dawg for Georgia) teams got hot at the end of the season, Fresno State was only 4 games above .500 going into the conference tournament, they really should not have even been in Wichita. They got there the only way they could by winning the WAC tourney, and then getting luck in the CWS tourney.

Traveling in Nebraska and Kansas

Well today we crossed into Kansas as is deminstrated by this picture below. Yes I'm being a goof ball, but every once in a while aren't you allowed to be?

We left Council Bluffs around 9:30a and got into Omaha around 4, with a 30 minute stop at a truck stop in Salina, KS. So we finally got into the hotel, and they were nicer than any other hotel that I have been to. This would be a hotel that I would be proud to work at, as long as things work as smoothly as check in did.

So I met up with the May's and Mom and I took Amanda over to a trail dance for the NSDC, with the convention actually opening on Thursday. We spent at least an hour after the dance at the May's RV just talking about random stuff.

Rosenblatt Stadium

So today, we originally were supposed to go over to the Air & Space strategic museum, but after rearranging the itinarary for our trip down to Wichita. Dad doesn't want to go to the greyhound (dog) HOF, so we are going to stop over at the museum and then continue on the I-80 West to US-81 South, and it will take us straight into Wichita.

We went over to a Super Wally to grab a couple of things. After that we came back and got ready for the College World Series and for the travel for tomorrow. We left the the hotel around 4 for a 6pm game. I got us to the stadium around 4:20 after traffic and all. I got to my General Admission section right before Fresno State had BP. During the ballgame I struck up a small conversation with a couple of good looking girls that were sitting in front of me. I didn't find out until later that they "need some seasoning". Georgia ended up winning the game 7-6, they won when Brandon Burke (Rancho Bernardo) gave up a 2-run HR and the game tying RBI Double. If Georgia wins tomorrow (6/24) they will be the National Champions.

Tomorrow, Wichita. If you are going to Nationals, I'll see you there.

Sunday in Iowa/Nebraska

So we started out with a trip around Downtown Omaha to get a few day time pictures. We then went to the Military park on the riverfront and looked at a few displays that they had there. After that we went onto a river cruise. We went 15 minutes up river from the departure point, then flowed down the river with the tide to about 3/4 mile from the hotel. The cruise then turned around and went back to base. While on the cruise I struck up a conversation with a couple that lives in Omaha and they explained a few things about the riverfront. After the cruise, we traveled south down 10th Street. 10th Street ends at Rosenblatt Stadium and the Omaha Zoo. We eventually got on I-80 East and almost immediately transitioned to I-29 South, we got something to drink and eat and hopped back on I-29 South. 48 miles later we got off and turned right headed towards Nebraska City for the VF Outlet store. For those that know the Davis' well, you know that VF Outlet is our families favorite store. There are not many stories where you can save 66% over regular store prices. We returned from Nebraska City, and went to Harrah's Council Bluffs for their buffet. Now we are bracing for an adventuresome day tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Air & Space Strategic museum in Nebraska. After that, we are Rosenblatt Bound!!!!!!

What a day

Wow, two states, many sights, and two capitols in the same state.

Now that I got your attention, lets review day 6 of "The Trip". We got a late start and didn't wake up until 10:30. I woke up with a small migrane headache as did Mom. We both took some pain reliever for the headaches. We started out for the Iowa Lincoln memorial on one of the many hill sides here in Council Bluffs (CB). The Picture below is the view of Omaha, NE from the Lincoln memorial.

From the Lincoln Memorial we went over to the Lewis & Clark Memorial. Lewis & Clark made thier first meeting with the Indians of the region here in CB. I have a video of the view from the memorial for your viewing pleasure on myspace.

From there, we went to the spot that the US Government will tell you that nothing happened, but in reality it is where the Golden Spike that really connects East and West Coast. This is were the Union Pacific began their trek to the West Coast.

From there we came back to the Hotel for me to change from sandals to shoes. We then made our way to the location in Nebraska that many many years ago where the Oregon and California trails converged. After that we went to the Teritorial Capitol of Nebraska in Omaha. From there we crossed town to see the birthplace of 38th President of the USA (Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.).

After a quick stop to get drinks, we headed off for the current capitol of the state of Nebraska, Lincoln. It was about an hour drive from Omaha. Everything went quietly today as far as Mom & Dad were concerned. Once in Lincoln we went to the Capitol (known in these parts as "The tower of the plains"). After that we traveled cross-town to see what on 8 times a year is the 3rd largest city in the state of Nebraska, Memorial Stadium. Which is home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team (again, I have pictures and a video over at myspace). We came back to the hotel to get directions to this steak house with a non-steak house name (Pizza King). Real old-school flavored steak house with an Italian twist, from what the front desk here at the hotel was saying pretty much all of the non-chain steak houses here in "the metro" (CB & Omaha) have an Italian twist who knew there was such an Italian base here? We went over to Pizza King and had dinner, Dad had Prime Rib (HUGE portion), Mom ordered Steak (she asked for it to be Well, it came back Medium, she wasn't happy) and shrimp and I ordered a Steak Tips and Rice. It was kinda on the expensive side, but it was overall good.

We came back to the hotel after dinner and watched the rest of the UNC/Fresno State game from 4.7 miles away (UNC won, final game on Sunday to decides who plays on Monday when we go). We got directions printed out and went over to see where the riverboat that we are going to be on in the morning is so that we know where to go. On the way over we found this really sweet looking Union Pacific Railroad memorial, unfortanatly the pictures really didn't come out. We asked a few people (include a cop) where the sign that says Omaha that ESPN always shows during the coverage of the CWS was and really no one knew where it was we got a couple of guesses, and one of them got it right, the picture is on myspace, but I'm going to go back and get another one during the day.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to go on a riverboat cruise, and then down to Nebraska City to checkout the outlet stores down there (50 or so miles South of Omaha), then for dinner we are going to the Buffet that I prommised my Dad that we would go to. As of now, it looks like on Monday we might go 30 Miles or so into Nebraska to see a Strategic Air Meuseum that we saw signs for on the way to Lincoln. Later.

Des Moines to Council Bluffs

So we left Des Moines this am and took out on I-80 West. We took that to US-6 in the outskirts of Atlantic, Iowa. We stoped at the Valley Cafe at the intersection of I-80 and US-6. The 3 of us had a 1/4 hamburger (Dad), Grilled Cheese (Mom) and a French Dip (Chris) add in two drinks and the entire bill came to $17. Compare that to dinner here in Council Bluffs at a casino that cost $60. Back to the trip. We traveled South on US-6, which joined up with US-59, continued on US-59 until we got to the outskirts of Carson, Iowa where we transitioned to Iowa 92. From there we rode IA-92 all the way into hotel (A short two exits on I-29) in Council Bluffs.

Way, way too much arguing between Mom & Dad over how to drive. Most of the arguing coming from Dad and was because of his blood sugar that he has never really gotten control over.

Final day in Des Moines

Well, today was all about my Dad and seeing where he grew up here in Des Moines. First we went to Aunt Minnie's house (?). We then went over to Aunt Hey's house (again ?). From there we went over to the Govenors mansion and the Clear Channel office that is just a block away from the mansion. We then went to the state capitol (we were there late last night, and were tailed by a Iowa State Patrol cause we pulled into the service driveway for too long apperantly, we only took two photos). After that we went to my dad's old neighborhood and found where he used to live and where he used to go to school. From there it was only two blocks to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Mom found a bead store and went into the store with Dad, while they were inside, I stayed in the car and listened to San Diego traffic and weather on Sirius satalite radio in the rental car, it was cool to hear what was going on back home.

We went to dinner at Applebees around the corner from the hotel. After that we decided to take a look around a Super Target. Then I came back to the hotel, and getting ready to take off to go to Omaha and Council Bluffs.

Day 2 in Des Moines

Well day 2 in Des Moines found the Davis' going South back towards KC...no we didn't decide to forget teh rest of the trip, we were just going 45 minutes to the South. For those of not familiar with the greater central Iowa region, 45 minutes South of Des Moines is Madison County. Within Madison County is the famed covered bridges. There are a total of six bridges, we decided to see five of the six with the only bridge that we didn't see being the Cedar bridge. Check more out about the bridges here.

After we got done with the bridges, which took about 5 hours to complete, as the bridges are not anywhere close to I-35 and are widely spread around the Winterset community. The Imes Bridge whihc is the furthest SE on the "bridge road". From the Imes bridge to the Holliwell Bridge it took about 45 miunutes (mainly gravel roads). The Holliwell bridge was one of the two main bridges used in the movie. We then went to the Cutler-Donahue bridge which is in the city park of Winterset. After that, we went to the birthplace of John Wayne (Pilgrim!) where my Dad took the tour, and he was very happy since he is a huge John Wayne fan. The second to final bridge that we visited took us an hour to the West of Winterset to find the Roseman Bridge which was the other bridge used extensively in the movie. We made our way back to Winterset to have lunch and then finally to the only bridge that you can drive through the Cedar bridge. The reason why it is the only one that you can drive on is because it was torched by an arsonist in 2002, and was rebuilt with the same design as the original, and with the same materials.

We came back to the hotel for a few seconds and then went to Fudruckers for dinner where all three of us had Buffalo Burgers (YUM!!!!!!). We then toured Des Moines and found the Govenor's mansion along with the Capitol building and the first signs of actual damage in the downtown district. I will have more pictures up on myspace with all of the downtown areas and the area that my Dad grew up in East Des Moines.

Til later, c ya

MY BAD

Ooops, sorry, had so much fun in KC last night (not to mention I was trying to adjust to Central time) I forgot to blog.

Monday -- Left San Diego on Midwest Airlines on time (12:30pm). We got into KC right on time as we had wheels down at 3:30 (PDT)/5:30 (CDT). We got our rental car (a White Dodge Charger) and drove the 20 minutes to our Hotel. We got checked in and as we were driving into the hotel we saw that there was not only a Super Wal-Mart across the street from the hotel, but we also saw where we ended up having dinner. The resturant in question......Waffle House. This was the first time that my mom and I had ever even been inside a Waffle House, while it was the first time in more than 20 years. After dinner, we decided to go tour downtown KC. If you check out my myspace page you can checkout the pictures.

Tuesday -- Left the hotel NE of KC around 10:30am and arrived in West Des Moines around 4:30pm. In that timeframe, we drove around and attempted to find the location that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails met (we couldn't find the marker though). After that run around, we continued North and then took a side trip to Davis City, Iowa....yes a city that has my name in it COOL!!!!! While on the way to Davis City we passed an Amish buggy on the way there. After that we stoped in Osceola to gamble alittle at my sisters hotel company. While at the casino I lost, while my father (JOKING HERE) the bastard won over $150 on the penny slots. We drove by where we will be in the next couple of days, the covered bridges of Madison County & the birthplace of John Wayne. We are in West Des Moines until Friday, so if you have any questions on Iowa, drop me a line. I'll try and figure out the answer.

OK, its time to go

Well, in just about 24 hours I will be in Kansas City, Mo. to begin "the adventure" known as a major trip. The itinarary in case you don't already know has the family leaving San Diego with a non-stop flight to Kansas City. Stay the night (Monday) in KC to get used to the time zone and everything. On Tuesday, we travel to the dry part of Des Moines, IA and stay in the "flood zone" (Des Moines) for a few days. After that we take I-80 West to Council Bluffs/Omaha for the College World Series. We will be in attendance during game one of the best-of-three championship series at the CWS. After our fun at Rosenblatt Stadium, we make the journey down I-29 South to I-70 and finally US-81 to Wichita for the National Square Dance Convention.

It will be an interesting trip, Dad is happy that we will be touring the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas. My Dad used to run Greyhounds at Caliente in Tiajuana and other locations here in the US. Talk to you from the road.

I can die happy now

WOW, that is really all I can say. I just (11:00am) met my idol, the Hall of Famer Vin Scully! I am working the Padres/Dodgers game today for Metro Networks. So before the game, I went over to where I thought Vin Scully would be and coming out of the booth was one of the Dodgers media relation guys. I asked him if Mr. Scully was in the booth, he said yes and asked who I was and where I was from. I stated that I was from KOGO here in San Diego and he said hang on a second. He went inside and I'm guessing that he asked if it was ok for me to come in and talk to him for a few seconds.



He came back out a few seconds later, and said to come on in. I walked right up to Mr. Scully and shook his hand. I later told him that the only Dodgers that I liked where Orel Hershiser and Him. I then said that in reality I hate the Dodgers but I loved him. He smiled and said I'm glad that I'm in the select few. I told him no sir, you ARE the few, since Orel in now with the World Wide Leader in Sports (ESPN).



So really nothing important on this blog other than getting to meet one of my idols.

The second 50 begins

Well, 50 posts down, a whole lot more to go! So much for my College World Series predictions.

For those that care, the CWS field consists of:
1) Miami
2) North Carolina
4) Florida State
6) Rice
8) Georgia
Stanford
and the winners between UC Irvine/(7) LSU and Fresno State/(3) Arizona State

As far things outside of College baseball, everything is ok, I'm going to officially start gettin ready for the big trip tomorrow with the fun stuff like washing clothes. I will begin packing on Friday for the trip. I have been put on notice that I might have to work the Padres game on Thursday. I hope that I get to as it will be my first Padres game of the year.

Super Regionals

Well here we are at the middle stage of the College World Series. The Super Regionals will decide who will get to play in Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt stadium. I'll go SR by SR. (All SR's are best of three)



Arizona Wild Cats (41-17) @ (1) Miami, Florida Hurricanes (50-8)


Arizona is coming into the Super Regional after sweeping through the Ann Arbor regional. The Wild Cats steam rolled over Eastern Michigan (13-7), Michigan(4-3), and Kentucky(5-3). The Cats finished 4th in the Pac-10 this year, and the conference still has three team in the field (including Arizona). UA has 8 hitters batting over 300, and the team is hitting .305. On the bump, the staff is led by reliever Daniel Schlereth (who was drafted by Arizona in the 1st round of the draft on Thursday) who has a 1.81 ERA (which for a college pitcher is minuscule), the starters have a combined ERA of 4.08. For starters a 4.08 combined ERA is decent, but the stat that really jumps out at me is that UA is hitting 50 points higher than the opposition and have out homered the opposition by a 2-1 margin.

Miami, just saying that to anyone who knows college baseball knows that that is enough. For those who don't know Miami is a baseball machine, almost on the same level as the football team. The 'Canes also have 8 hitters over 300, and 3 guys that have 10+ dingers (that is in the WOW territory). On the mound, Miami has five guys with sub-3 ERA's and to add on top of that, the pitcher that started out as the Saturday starter has become the Friday starter (best starter on the team) and is 11-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Chris Hernandez is the gentleman that I'm speaking of and brace yourself, he's a freshman. Miami had 3 players drafted in the first round of the MLB draft on Thursday.

Prediction -- Miami in a sweep.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (50-12) @ (2) North Carolina Tar Heels (49-12)

Coastal Carolina has been sneaking up on teams all year, well they can't sneak up on UNC due to the fact that the two teams have already faced each other this year. In the lone game that these two schools played CC won 11-4. It was a midweek game, which means they won't see the same pitcher unless its in relief. Coastal Carolina has seven players hitting above 300, and the team is hitting .326 (good for 19th in the country). On the mound, the teams three weekend starters are a combined 22-4, with an ERA of 3.77. Those are some good stats, the team has out homered the opposition by 24 and has 47 more doubles, also the opposition is hitting 60 points fewer than CC.


North Carolina has some numbers that pop out at you when you first look at the stats. Namely the fact that the Heels have two guys hitting over 400!!! As a team they have 6 guys hitting over 300, and a team average of .324. The bump has some interesting numbers as well. For instance, every other team in the field of 16 has at least three pitchers that qualify for pitching stats (thrown at least one inning per team game played), UNC only has two, grant you the Sunday starter is only 1/3 of an inning away from qualifying, but still.... The weekend starters have a combined 24-6 record and a 3.21 ERA. UNC certainly has a power advantage over the opposition this year as they have racked up 84 more doubles, 15 more triples and 34 more homers.


Prediction --- Even though UNC has the power numbers, I'm picking Coastal going the entire distance.




Fresno State Bulldogs (40-28) @ (3) Arizona State Sun Devils (48-11)

The Bulldogs come in after winning the Long Beach regional and are the only 4 seed from the regional round to still be alive. The boys from Central California defeated San Diego in the "if necessary" game by a 5-1 margin. FSU has five hitters over 300 and a team average of .297. Pitching wise the staff is led by Junior Tanner Scheppers with his 2.93 ERA in 12 appearances and an 8-2 record. The weekend rotation of Allison, Wilson, and Miller are a combined 16-12 and a 4.18 ERA. It would not surprise me if Scheppers was the starter in game one, Allison in game two, and Johnny Allstaff (the entire pitching staff) in game three.


Arizona State is in a great spot as eight of the nine starters are hitting over 300 and a team average of .341 will work very nicely as it is 5th in the Nation. Pitching will get the job done for you if you are a Sun Devil fan. The staff ERA is 4.51 and somehow they have a pitcher that is 12-0, yet he has yet to start a game, it doesn't exactly add up, but I trust the SID office. Interesting note on the Sun Devils, when they have the lead after four innings, they are 42-2.



Prediction --- ASU in a sweep.





Wichita State Shockers (47-15) @ (4) Florida State Seminoles (52-11)



Pitching match ups: (Thanks to Wichita State's game notes)
Friday: Rob Musgrave (WSU, LHP, 11-1, 2.21) Vs. Elih Villanueva (FSU, RHP, 7-2, 3.61)
Saturday: Aaron Shafer (WSU, RHP, 11-3, 2.67) Vs. Matt Fairel (FSU, LHP, 11-2, 3.67)
Sunday: Anthony Capra (WSU, LHP, 9-0, 2.87) Vs. TBA


Just by looking at the pitching match ups, I don't think I really need to go to in depth on this SR.


Prediction --- Even with the best offense (batting average, FSU) in the country .... Wichita State in a sweep.




Stanford Cardinal (37-22-2) @ (5) Cal State Fullerton Titans (41-20)


The Cardinal, what can you say about this Bay Area team? First they are the 5th most winning team in NCAA history (2554-1600-34 in 115+ seasons (.614 WP)). They have also won five SR's, but this years team they are hitting .300 and have a team ERA of 4.43. The weekend starters started the season pretty rocky but have managed to come back and finish the season strong. Erik Davis (7-3, 4.59) and Jeffery Inman (7-2, 4.22) are the two at the top of the rotation.


The Titans are coming off an regional that they hosted and had to come through the losers bracket after losing to UCLA in the winners bracket final. In the regional championships the Titans payed the Bruins back by scores of 11-8 and holding them off 5-4. The rotation for the Titans looks to be Jeff Kaplan (RHP, 11-2, 4.37), Daniel Renken (RHP, 5-5, 4.11) and Cory Arbiso (RHP, 12-3, 4.21). That is a pretty good rotation.


Prediction -- The Titans feel very comfortable in Omaha, and Rosenblatt Stadium will have Blue & Orange in it again this year, Fullerton will run their very impressive SR record to 8-1 (sweep).



Texas A&M Aggies (46-17) @ (6) Rice Owls (45-13)


A&M is coming off a regional that saw them score 15, 22 & 13 in the wins, pretty impressive. The Aggies certainly have the power numbers as they have three hitters with at least 12 HR's. The weekend rotation includes Brooks Raley (LHP, 7-2, 4.33) is scheduled to start Saturday. The remaining portions of the weekend rotation include Clayton Ehlert (6-2, 3.41) and Barret Loux (6-2, 4.27).

Rice is on a roll, prior to the two and out in the Conference-USA tournament the Owls had reeled off 10 straight wins and 22 of 23 to finish the regular season. Six hitters are over 300 and the team is hitting .308, while on the mound the weekend starters are a combined 18-6 with a ERA sub-3.50.

Prediction --- Rice should be booking plane tickets to Omaha.

UC Irvine Anteaters (41-16) @ (7) LSU Tigers (46-16-1)

Projected rotation:
Scott Gorgen (RHP, 11-3, 2.31) Vs. Ryan Verdugo (LHP, 9-2, 3.81)
Daniel Bibona (LHP, 9-3, 3.03) Vs. Blake Martin (LHP, 5-3, 4.88)
Bryce Stowell (RHP, 8-2, 2.77) Vs. TBA
Game three starter last weekend

UCI might just have the wackiest nickname in all of college athletics. The 'Eater Nation is in the supers for the second consecutive year after sweeping through the Lincoln regional. UCI took out Oral Roberts twice and the host Nebraska in a 3-0 sweep of the regional. As you can see the rotation for UCI is a pretty darn good one, hitting wise there are 7 Anteaters that are hitting over 300 and the team is hitting at a .306 clip.

The #7 seed LSU also swept through their regional taking out Texas Southern in the first game and Southern Miss in back-to-back games. The LSU Bayou Bengals have outscored the opponents 192-122 in the middle three innings, and I would suggest the the Eaters to make sure that they are not trailing after the 7th inning. The Tigers are a very nice 38-2-1 when leading after 7. LSU has seven batters over 300 and the team is a .305 hitter as a whole. The team has a 3.83 ERA.

Prediction --- This SR could go either way, but I'm going to go with LSU simply because they know how to close games out.


North Carolina State Wolf Pack (41-20) @ (8) Georgia Bulldogs (39-22-1)

The NC State ball club are a self-described "Road Warriors" as the Head Coach described them during a recent post-practice news conference. If Georgia wants to have a chance they better keep the game close as the Pack is 22-2 in games decided by 5 or more runs. The team is hitting 300 and seven hitters over 300 with at least 110 AB's. Pitching is a mix bag as the two leading pitchers have a combined record of 12-7. It could get interesting for the Pack.

The Bulldogs had built the 2008 season on pitching and defense while scratching out a run here and there to get the win. Then came last weekend, when the Bulldogs outscored the region 64-27 coming out of the losers bracket. The good thing for Georgia is that they are battle tested facing 10 nationally ranked teams. Stats wise, the team is hitting .306 with five players over the 300 mark. The pitching staff is led by the stopper of the staff Josh Fields who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners on Thursday with the 20th pick in the first round. Field was 2-2 with 16 saves and a 2.27 ERA. The rotation is suspect on the stats side of things with a 16-10 record and a 4.62 ERA.

Prediction --- Another SR that could go either way, I'm going with NC State with the SR going the distance.

Your CWS field:
1 Miami
2 Coastal Carolina
3 Arizona State
4 Wichita State
5 CSU-Fullerton
6 Rice
7 LSU
8 NC State

Concert and working out

Well, the first wednesday after classes certainly was intersting.


I told my friend Matt, that I was going to workout Wednesday morning on Tuesday night. Well, since for some unknown reason I didn't wake up until almost noon, I didn't workout in the morning. I lounged around the house until it was time to go to the concert up at Viejas.

Gary Allen (Country) was performing and since it was in the outlet center up there, I went up alittle earlier than I needed to for the concert since I needed another pair of shoes for the trip. So since there is a Nike outlet store there, I went shopping for a pair of shoes. Tell me if I got a good deal or not, the shoes that I bought sell in the stores regularly for $75, but at the outlet store I got them for $35. I thought it was a good buy so I got it. Mom was with me, and she wanted to see if there were any other shoe stores in the center. Reebook has a store so we went over and she looked at shoes, while I looked at everything else. I found a jersey from the Golden State Warriors that was on sale for like $26. I'm not normally a big fan of the Warriors and probably won't have gotten the jersey, but when the name on the back matches my name, I got it.



We then went to the concert after dropping the bags off at the car. Even though security said no pictures, here is one anyway. The way I look at it is since they had a professional taking pictures that will end up on the web, why can't I?

Got home from the concert and went and worked out for about two hours. I have good news, I'm down to 269.5 pounds :) only 19.5 more pounds to lose before school starts again in August. On the workout front, I'm up to 300 crunches.....not bad for a guy who really couldn't do more than 50 a month ago.

Welcome to summer!!!!!!!!

Last week was pretty quiet from me for the simple reason that it was FINALS WEEK. I technically as of this posting still have one more final period remaining, but since I took the final the final week of classes, I don't really need to get into the classroom this evening.

Obviously it has been summer for a week (unofically) on the calendar. The real start is coming up in a couple of weeks here, but I have my first sunburn of the season. After spending most of Saturday at the beach for a birthday party. This was the longest that I had been at a beach for three years. I had a good time and the look on teh birthday boys face was priceless when the surprise guest.

On Sunday, I spent the day at home and either watched on tv or on the Internet coverage of the NCAA baseball championships. I am keeping an even more intent eye on the championships this year since I will be at the World Series championships.

So now it is full speed to the big trip later this month. In case you have been living under a rock, or I just haven't mentioned it to you. I am going with my parol officers to Des Moines, Iowa (where my dad grew up for three years), then over to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series - Championship game #1. After I watch some great college baseball, the family will be making the 6 hour drive south to Wichita, Kansas with a stop in Abilene, Kansas to checkout for my dad the Greyhound (dogs, not the bus company) Hall of Fame.

been a week

It's been a week since I have bog'd, but since I'm smack dab in the middle of finals, it is going to be another couple of days before I release a full fledged blog.

My final final is on Monday, if I haven't blog'd by then, I will do a blog while in the final. Since I've already taken the final, I will be able to just blog while everyone else is taking the final.

pitcures that I promissed

Well it is not "later today" but here are the pictures from the storm. The first is a shot of the driveway leading out of the apartment complex. The second (Vertical) pciture is a shot of how the hail looks like snow from a winter snow storm. And the final one is a wider shot of the same roof.

Talk about a full bag

WOW, what a weather day in Southern California!!!! Contrary to what Albert Hammond sang in the 1970’s it does rain in Southern California. There was hail, snow, thunder and lightning, and even a tornado touched down. All of this cold weather activity just a couple days of it being over 100 degrees. I was scheduled to be in attendance at the Lake Elsinore Storm game as they hosted the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Well, with all the crazy weather in So Cal the game was rained out and the Storm/Quakes will play a double header on Saturday to make up for the game. Meanwhile, 14 Miles to the Northeast, there was a very crazy storm going on. Lightning (which to those who know me well, know I HATE!) and thunder was going on. Then came hail, and more hail, and more, and more. I will post a picture later today so that you can understand what kind of storm I’m talking about. Once we left my friend’s apartment complex it felt like I was back in Denver driving in snow, just not as cold. So even though I along with everyone in the party that I was in had called the Storm’s front office to find out if the game had been rained out or not, and we were told the umpires would make the decision at 7:00. Well, we got to the stadium around 6:40 and cars were already leaving the facility. So our party went down the road to the IHOP in Murrieta and had dinner. We enjoyed dinner and then went back to the apartment. Once leaving the apartment, my friend that works in the Quakes front office (who had gotten us tickets to the game) called me after his radio program and he told me that there was a tornado just 7 miles from the apartment complex. I’m glad I found this out AFTER it had happened. Had I have known about it while it was happening, I’d be totally freaked out.

As far as other things, the English instructor did not change my grade on my beloved term paper. She did give me a print out of my grades and she insists that if I rewrite one of my earlier papers she will give me a passing grade for the class. As far as other things are concerned, I’m just 10 days (as of the posting) away from freedom for the summer.

Nothing new in SV

Well, here it is 12:35am on Tuesday and I'm just hours away from confronting my English instructor on my absolutely herendous grade that she gave me. I am simply going to present the fact that six other teachers or English majors said that they would give me at least a B on the paper. Plus when you also figure in that my anthropology teacher gave me a grade of C, it is absoultely unimagionable that I could be that bad in the English portion of the paper.

In other news, I found out this evening, that even though my Intro to Computers class is scheduled to have a final on the 2nd of June, the option of taking the final on Wednesday has been presented to the class, and I will be taking full advantage of this opportunity. Also, I have been informed that I will be the CIF-SDS Lacrosse Championship announcer. For those that are not familiar with what CIF is it is the California Interscholastic Federation (the High School governing body for sports). So that will be going on Saturday at Rancho Bernardo (Northern San Diego). Also, I will be in attendance for 2 Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball games this week, Thursday and Sunday.

Greetings my fellow Bloggers

Well here it is on Friday and I'm just barely over the fact that the other 3 or 4 people that I have asked have graded the paper on the B level even makes me madder (is that a word?).

As far as other things in my life are concerned. This weekend will see me on the road alot. Saturday will see me on Coronado and at helix High in La Mesa (please notice that I purposefully did not capitalize the name of the school, not a big fan of the school) to view some HS lacrosse as I found out earlier today (Friday) that I will be the announcer for the HS championship games next weekend for both the Boys & Girls. So that I'm not going in to it completely blind, I thought I would go out to a couple of games. Also on Saturday I will be attending 3rd Saturday Round-Up which is a monthly square dance in Balboa Park.

On Sunday, I along with Mom and Matty will be making the 102 mile sojourn to Garden Grove and the Croakers. I'll be enjoying the fun and then coming home to have fun at "Las Vegas night" at a San Diego square dance club (Sundown Squares). While in the midst of all of this, I must read three essays for English on Monday.

So if you need to get a hold of me this weekend, give me a ring.


Only 17 days (as of the posting of this blog) until I'm free for the summer.

Not a happy camper

Well, I got my research paper back from my instructor today. D+ was the final grade. Compare this to what the perosn who helped me on the paper said she would have given me a B and you will see why I'm not a happy camper.

For those of you who haven't been paying attention, my English class is apart of what Grossmont College refers to as "Project Success". PS is when you have an english class connected to another disciplne that allows the english teacher to help you learn two subjects and have them connected so that yo can understand the information in both. For me this semester it is English & Anthropology. Since these two classes are connected (or at least they were) if you take one class you are forced to enroll in the other. At the beginning of the semester there were a total of eight people in the English class and since Dr Yoshida opened the Anthro class up, there were 15 in the Anthro. Well, since about 6 weeks ago, there have been 4 in English, and 6 in Anthro (a teachers dream, small classes = more individualized attention). So you would think that we each would have a very in depth review of our rough drafts. We got the ol you need to work on this, this, and this. When we asked questions we were told, oh you don't need to worry about that. Well, if I don't need to worry about it, then why in the bleep did you mark me down for it?

In more positive news, as of Monday night (5 days since I had joined the gym) I had lost 3 pounds. I will be returning to the gym the next three nights before my next off night of Saturday. That is all for now. See everyone later.

O M G, how pathetic

Normally, I don't write blogs that don't realate to me, but sometimes you just have to get things off your chest.

A friend of mine told me to check his sisters wedding website (kevinlovesmindy.com) out and tell him what I thought. Well, friend, here it goes.

I'm not a very big romantic, so the whole make a website for a wedding thing is so "reverse digestion" it (in the words of my sister) isn't even funny. Why in the world would anyone put a website up about there wedding?

What a day

Greetings to all in Internet land.

This has been a very interesting day. As usual, I worked the overnight last night, and therefore "got off" at 5:00 am (didn't leave the office until 5:30). So I got home around 6 and got to sleep. I woke up thanks mom at 12:15 and did the normal moring routine (shower, shave, etc). I then went out to the car and cleaned out the front seat.

After making sure that everything was good to go, I went back into the house to put on my shirt (I had on an undershirt) and out my shoes on. I went over to Sarah's house and picked here up as she was teh reason for the trip. She had a coupon for a purse store that you will hear about later on. As we were beginning our journey to the O.C. we called Matt to see if he would like to join us. As it turns out he did want to join us, so we swung by his house and picked him up.

Our first stop was, brace yourself, Sonic in Fullerton for lunch. After lunch we went over to South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. That was a culture shock for me as I have never been in, let alone heard of, at least half of the stores in the second largest mall in the US. I went into the Porsche Design store, and was floored with some of the prices (an all leather laptop bag - $575, a key-chain $185). I did end up buying a CD at the USC spirit store. I almost bought a $150 shirt for only $40.

The ride home was interesting as I waa talking to my good friend Tom about what Matt bought. Keep in mind that Tom & Matt were roommates at one point. Matt took his fandom of the USC Trojans to the next level today. He bought of all things, a toothbrush with the USC logo on it. Yikes!!!!!!

ouch, that hurts!

Well, just as I expected the day after the first workout in 5 years, there was some aching muscles. The one that I can't figure out thou is why my right elbow is hurting. My left one is fine, it is the right one that hurts so much. Ah, who knows.

I gave my speech on College Textbooks and the prices that are out of control. Out of a possible 100 points, I got an 84. It would have been a 94 had I've just kept my hands out of my pockets, and kept my speech to under 9 minutes (I ended up going 10:02).

Earlier this evening I played the "Here & Now" edtion of Monopoly. We play it a little different at my house, as since the makers of Monopoly have yet to make extra paper mone for the H&N edition, we use poker chips to supliment the money. White chips = $1 Million, Blue chips = $5 Million, Black Chips = $10 Million, and Red chips = $50 Million. I ended up winning with a grand total of property and cash of $358.35 Million dollars. Since I have gotten this game (Christmas of 2007) I have kept a scoreboard of the final totals, and that #358.35 puts me in the top spot! :)

If you ever want to play, just let me know. Sometimes if everyone is up to it, I play where everyone puts in like $5.00 and who ever wins, takes all the cash. Now that is monopoly at its finest!

Tomorrow, I will be goin to the zoo to do a project for Anthropology on monkeys....did that just for you CJ!

Good for me

Well I guess this is one thing to do when you can't sleep, blog. This could be an interesting blog, who knows how much sense it will make as I'm writing it at 3:10 in the morning (PDT).

Well, to catch you up on what is going on in my life. Single Spinners had their first open week in class last night, we had 8 people come by, obviously we are hoping for more to come over the next two weeks. Since I'm the VP of Spinners, that means I'm also the class coordinator. Lots of memorization of names over the next few weeks. The plan I have for this class is to have a hands off approach for the first month. If I see any cliques forming I'm going to break them up, unlike the last few class coordinators we have has at Spinners.

After the dance, instead of coming home and working on homework, I decided to swing by the 24Hour fitness in College Grove (a shopping center in SD for those that don't know) and signed up for a membership. Not a bad deal either, normally with the initiation fee and processing and all the other junk, it comes out to be about $185 & $40/mo. Well, the guy that I talked to gave me a real deal, no initiation fee. Just first / last and a small processing fee of $24 for a grand total of $72 w/ monthly $24 dues. The only draw back to it is that it is the one club only, if I want to up grade to all clubs, I'm guessing it will jump up dramatically.

Well, I'm going to again try and fall asleep, I went to bed originally around 12:30.

absolute BS

Why is it that people in high places in business don't let new people break in?

I just found out that the former head coach and current teacher at Grossmont College has found out that I was working on a media guide for the upcoming football season, and has now told me to basicly cease and desist from creating a media guide.

This teacher has had it in for me ever since I wrote in the school newspaper back in I think 1999 that his team could not get a first down even if it was 1st and 1/8 of a yard. I wrote this statement (or something pretty close to it) because the team was 0-the season. They couldn't do anything right, and since I am a reporter that writes what I see, I wrote that they stunk.

Every since then the teacher (who was the coach at the time) has done everything in his power to screw me.

Greetings from a very happy house

So, today was the day. I turned in my term paper, and then I had to sit through a wonderful presentation on Marge Pierce. A very feminine activist that has no bearing on my life.

After that, I departed Grossmont College for the season finale for SD Christian College baseball. The Hawks ended up losing 10-8 to finish the season 19-26. A disappointing season, but I look at it as the sophomore slump. Hopefully, in what might (you never can really tell what the future holds) be my next to final season with the Hawks. As by the time the 2010 season comes around, I will be at CSU-Bakersfield and working in that Sports Information office.

After the game, I drove the 1 mile back to the casino. I had withdrawn some money on the way up to the field. I usually play either poker or craps, I chose craps and stood on the opposite end than what I usually do. I lost my first bet on the "Don't Come". As soon as the number was made (the reason why I lost my "Don't Come" bet) I started playing on the "pass line" (that is the line that most people play). I started with $200, an hour and 10 minutes later, I was up over $200 dollars. I took that money, and went to play my favorite slot machine "Texas Tea". On the first spin I hit the bonus for close to 400 credits. I pretty much stayed even, and cashed out with $125. I took the ticket from that machine to another machine of the same type, and fell down to $85, but eventually raised it back up to $135. I got that cashed into bills, and did something that I've never done before I played a $1 Jacks or better vp (video poker for those that didn't know). I ended up actually winning on that machine as well and walked out of the casino up close to $350. So not a bad day overall.

So tomorrow I will be having the extreme pleasure to sit through two different Political economics speeches. And then turn in my outline for my persuasion speech in Public Speaking.

I'M DONE

I'M DONE, I say. All I have to do now, is print out the actual term paper, and have one more person read it through and make the small editorial changes that they suggest, and teh most boringest paper that I have ever been assigned will be in the past.

Of course, when that is over, I get to write three more papers, two are re-writes, and one is a paper (3 paragraphs max) on how some monkeys act at the zoo.....Hey CJ wanna come with, I'm going to be watching the mon-keys!! :)

Just thought I would let everyone know that I'm finihsing the paper basicly for me about 32 hours ahead of time.

WOW!!!

I can't believe that I'm in this class....Intro to Computers in case you were trying to figure out which class I'm speaking of. I have been working on and with computers since I was in the 6th grade. I really wish I could have just taken a test that shows that I know what the heck they are telling me already.

Also, good news, I finished my research paper after the _ _ _ _ _ of a teacher changed the way that she wants the class to turn in the crap. I have a friend that has a degree in English that said that she would look at the paper and will look at it. I asked her to grade it VERY hard since that is the way that the English instructor grades.

I love him, but damn if he isn't the biggest ass

Any guesses on whom I'm talking about? If you said my dad you are correct.

My dad doesn't have any hearing in his right ear. No big deal, if he were to just deal with this. He has had this issue for close to two years now, and he is no where near accepting it.

Here is the situation this afternoon. He walks in from doing his laundry at the laundrymat, my mom doesn't want him to wash his work clothes in our washer and dryer, why I have no idea, but she doesn't. He asks me a question, and I answer him in a normal volume. He turns around and says "what?" I exhale (in a semi-pissed off way) and begin to repeat the answer and he just goes off. He claims that I mumble and don't speak clearly, and all of this other crap. Now, if he were to actually give in and wear a hearing aid, he would have heard me without any issue. But since he is so damn conseded that "he doesn't need hearing aids, you just need to speak up". Well, the problem with that is that when I do speak up and talk alittle louder so that he can hear me he claims that I'm yelling. So there really is no way to win in this situation. I'm either yelling or I'm mumbeling ... there is no middle ground.

Any ideas out there?

YES !!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I have finally crossed a major checkpoint in my English/Anthropology term paper. I have reached the 10 sources used in my paper. With the title page, and works cited page I have reached the 8 page mark. In reality the way that this teacher (English) looks at things I have barely six pages. When the paper is due at the end of the first week in May, I will need to have typed at the least 10 pages of actual report or 12 pages total. So off to bed here at 2:40 in the am so that I can wake up no later than 1000 in order to take a shower and go meet with the _ _ _ _ _. I'll let you fill in the blanks.


I guess I'll talk/write/type later. Oh if you know what my car looks like and you live in the Northern portion of SD County or in the OC look for the "Silver bullet" on Thursday as I get the pleasure to go to Vanguard University to watch the Hawks take on the Lions. My prediction is that an animal that usually preys on others will win.


Hint: the third letter is a T.

What a weekend....

So, for those that actually care (I know Jesse doesn't but bear with me buddy), the SDCC baseball team swept a doubleheader from Westmont College in Santa Barbara by scores of 5-4 and 2-0. The team has five games remaining in this season, the team right now needs to win out and have quite a few other teams lose at least two games in order to get into the playoffs. Taking a quick look at the potential 2009 season schedule some interesting opponents are shaping up for the Hawks. If the potential schedule that I have been hearing rumors about are true, then the Hawks will be taking on Lewis & Clark State, Sioux Falls, Occidental, San Francisco State, UC San Diego, CSU-Bakersfield, and in what could be a very questionable matchup.....San Diego State.

Now about last weekend. We (my Mom, Matt, and I) left San Diego and flew Virgin America to San Francisco International. First let me say, Virgin America blows my former employer OUT OF THE WATER. Some of the finer points of the VA experience are the fact that TV is free (unlike my previous employer), music videos, and chattin within the plane. Every single seat is covered in leather, and the seats are made by Ferrari (you can't get much better than that). We arrived in San Fran at 3:45 pm on Friday. After a 2 stops on our way to Sacramento that totaled maybe 10 minutes, we arrived at our hotel at 8:15 pm. We got settled in and got ready for the dance and went to the dance. After the dance some friends and I went to Denny's for a post-dance hangout.

On Saturday, we went back to the convention, and had fun during the day dancing and hanging out with friends. I was chosen to coach a square in the annual Youth compitition against my good friend Jesse. Jesse going into this weekend was a clean 5-0 against me, well, you can now make that 5-1 as my square finally got me off the schnid.

Saturday at the after party, Robert Woodard stepped up to the stage to call. For those who don't know, I do know how to call, but thanks to everyone in SD not giving me a chance over the last four years. Andy Allemao who graduated in the same class as I did is now not only calling throughout the state, he is getting out of state gigs now as well. Me, nothing since no club will give me a shot at practicing in front of live squares. That is all for my venting.

On Sunday, Mom, Matty, and I all left Sacramento after driving by the state capitol, and then making our way to Vacaville to visit the Outlet Center. After purchasing a few items there, we went to a great Italian place, where the sexiest looking woman in all of Northern California is working. She is So Cal quality trapped in nowhere-ville in Nor Cal. Wow, I'm still thinking of her two days later.

We made our way down to "the city by the bay" and stopped in the middle of the bay on Treasure Island. This brought back some memories for me as I spent two weeks on this base when it was still a Naval Station.

We took a few pictures from the middle of SF Bay and then we went down the Embarcadero in SF I have no idea how I did it, but I found Lombard Street, and went down that famous street. Saw the TransAmerica building from several different angles.

From there, we made our way over to SFO (the airport code for San Francisco International, in case you didn't know). We flew home to SD and then fell into bed.

This is a great warmup for me as this summer I will be traveling to the Mid-West. On that trip my Mom, Dad, & I will be visting Des Moines (where my Dad grew up) then over to Omaha to watch some CWS action, and then down to Whichita for the National Square Dance Convention. It should be fun. Til I write again, Later.