After a couple weeks away from classes, I think I have finally reached the point where I am no longer stressed out.  I am sure that I was about ready to snap the last week, but I managed to pull through without killing anyone.  Now that summer is here again, everything seems to be alot slower and more laid back.  Not as much to do, and when there are things to do, it seems easier.  Plus, now that it’s summer, I have more time to work on my golf game, which has been pretty sad lately.  Summer has also shown me that there are a few things that I still hate.  One of these is Drew Carey.  It has been almost two years since he has taken over, and I’m still waiting for him to quit.  He is a horrible game show host.  He makes fun of the contestants and he usually has no clue what he is talking about.  I wish he would just go away.  Well, I’ll probably be heading out to the golf course this afternoon.  Hope everyone is having a good summer.

Till next time.

Crazy Eights is the best card game around. (actually the second, cribbage is the best)  It requires strategy, stamina, and speed if you are going to win consistently.  I’ll admit, it has been awhile since I’ve played crazy eights, until last night that is.  Yes, my Friday night consisted of playing a Nintendo 64 Star Wars podracing game and playing crazy eights for about 3 hours.  At first, this may not sound like the most exciting of Fridays, but it was actually pretty good.  Sometimes is can be quite fun to watch the drunk people stumble by your room at midnight, lost and trying to find their way to the front desk.  And if you’re lucky, you might even have a couple of them stumble on in and play a few rounds with you.  Such was the case last night.  The scary part was that they almost won.  That would have been embarrassing, except for the fact that they probably wouldn’t remember what happened anyways.  But playing cards allows you to do something that has become rather hard lately.  What is this you say?  It’s something called communication.  That little thing that people used to do before the internet and text messaging and whatever else there is now.  It’s not that I have anything against the internet or any other technological advancement, but I don’t carry my cell phone around with me, and I get along just fine in life.  I guess that I don’t have to know what everyone else is doing every single second of the day.  However, back to crazy eights.  Playing crazy eights was more about talking to the person playing, not about the game itself.  And in the process I learned a few things that I probably would have never known if I had had a conversation with said person in some other forum such as Facebook or Twitter.  The message.  Don’t be afraid to communicate, you just might be surprised at what you find out.

Oh, what a day.  I got pretty much nothing done, but I did watch the masters for 5 hours.  The ending was heartbreaking.  There’s no other word to describe it.  Perry had the whole thing pretty much wrapped up.  All he had to do was par one of the last two holes to win and he did par either of them.  Cabrera wasn’t doing much better than Perry down the stretch run, but he did enough to force a playoff.  And what a playoff it was.  Cabrera stymied by a tree and somehow finds a way to get it out into the fairway.  The sound that he made after he got it out made my day.  It was some kind of grunt/yell, but it was exactly the kind of thing Cabrera would do.  He’s lucky that he got it out after he hit the tree, but he did and he made par.  But Perry, oh Perry.  I still can’t believe how fast he managed to lose his iron game.  He was doing so well until the approach on 17.  Then he started spraying it all over the place.  What a shame. 

Anyways, this week for me will include an accounting test on Thurs. as well as an I-S test on Tuesday.  So there will be some fun times.  Also, I have the privilege of have my 4thmeeting with my academic adviser on Friday.  Hopefully this one won’t be as awkward as the last 3, but I’m sure it will.  It is the only time I see her the whole year, and she is supposed to guide me somehow.  Just let me pick my own classes.  I’ll be fine, I promise.

For the most part, I’ve been pretty tame out on the golf course this year.  I’ve kept the swearing to a minimum, and I’ve been calm for the most part.  Well, that all changed today.  I was doing alright until I got to #5.  For the most part, everything was going my way and I was playing bogey golf for the most part (I had a triple bogey on the first, but I don’t even count that hole anymore, I don’t think I’ve ever done better than a 6).  But once I got up to 6, I ran into a pair of hackers that were literally walking back and forth across the fairway about a dozen times before they hit the green.  And the best part was that these guys were oblivious to the fact that I was about 50 yards behind them on the last hole.  So I was on the tee box for about 5-10minutes waiting for them to get out of the way so I could play.  At that point, I was about ready to explode, and it showed in my golf swing.  I tried to hit the ball so hard, I shanked it into the tree about 30 yards away, and it bouced another 10 into the fairway.  But that was alright because I ended up putting up a snowman on that hole. 

Even with my pathetic play on the 6th, I still was right behind them.  They somehow finished up the par 3 7th when I holed out on the 6th, so I walked up to the tee box thinking that I was going to turn things around.  Wrong!  Mind you, this hole is downhill, and only about 150 yards long, if that.  I took an 8 iron and pushed it slightly right.  However, it was really windy out, and since the 7th is literally right up against a bluff, the wind really swirls around the hole.  Thus, my slight push, turned into some kind of slice that ended up in the greenside bunker.  At this time, I felt like I got screwed because of the wind.  And it was so close to staying out, but it hit about a foot in, and I saw a big puff of sand pop out of the bunker.  When I saw the sand, I was fairly confident that it plugged right into the side of the bunker, and sure enough, when I got down there I saw that it was completely plugged.  Really,  I hit a solid shot, but the damn wind screwed me.  I ended up with a 5 since I had to hit the ball as hard as I could just to get it out.  Then I had a short chip and 2 putts.  I was angry at that point, but it got better.  After all that happened on the 7th, these two hackers were still on the 8th tee.  I finished up with a pair of 6’s to shoot a 52 on the front.  By the 9th, I was so angry, I wasn’t even taking practice swings at that point.  I just walked really slow, and hit it right away.  I didn’t even wait for them to get off of the green on 9 before I hit my approach shot.  I came up short though, so I don’t think they noticed.  I guess you could say that I’m just a little impatient when I’m golfing. 

So the front nine was a bust, but I pulled it together on the back nine.  I shot a 46, which I thought was excellent when you take into account the fact that I was almost yelling profanities at people on the front nine.  I guess you have to play with me to understand that I like to play at a quick pace.  I’ve tried playing slower before, and I don’t do well.  And on the back nine, I was flying.  Not only that, but I was also talking to myself quite a bit.  Once I got to 11, I didn’t really care what people thought anymore.  I hit a beautiful tee shot on the short par 4 dogleg left 11th.  It was perfect.  It had just enough draw to get around the trees and stay in the fairway.  I ended up yelling something like “About time you hit a god damn good shot”.  I don’t remember the exact verbage, but it definitely had profanity.  I know this because the people walking on the trail that I think goes to the bluff turned around and looked at me.  At the end of the round, I was at the point where I was having full conversations with myself aloud.  For instance, on 14, I shanked the ball again and it rolled for about 50 yards.  I then said aloud, “Why the hell did just shank that”.  I then replied, “Because your a damn pussy and you didn’t want to hook it into the trees.” (This even surprised me a little bit because it’s not to often that I use the word “pussy”.  I never use that word, but it just came out on 14.  I guess I was still a bit upset about the front 9)  To my defense, it is a tight tee shot that requires precision, something that I don’t have alot of when it comes to driving.  By 17, I was saying everything that came to mind aloud.  This included strategy and what I had to do for the rest of the day.  I’m quite confident that by the end of the round, everyone on the course thought that I was crazy. 

It would have been bad enough if it had just been the talking, but I’m afraid that this wasn’t all that happened.  I had alot of fun with my golf clubs after shots as well.  For the most part, I was gentle and the worst thing that happened was that I threw my club up in the air after an errant approach shot on 17.  Although I did stick my 2 iron into the fairway like an ax on the 18th.  The funny part is that I really made a good shot.  I was just angry that this was the first time I hit that club well the whole day. 

Overall, the point is that when it comes to just about anything, I get competitive.  I don’t even have to be competing for anything (really I don’t even have to be playing against anyone).  I want to do my best, no matter what.  And if I don’t think that I’m playing well, or if I think I’m getting bad breaks, watch out.  This is part of the reason why I don’t play with others on a regular basis.  I never have played well with others, and I don’t think that this trend is going to end anytime soon.  I could go into detail, but some of the highlights are the time I started I called another golfer “overweight” (I’m cleaning up the language here a bit), which almost led to a shoving match at Green Bay C.C. after a golf match or the time I threw a Mountain Dew on my own teammate in the hotel in Tomahawk the night before regionals.  The latter example happened more because I was tired and not because I don’t play well with others, but I think it could apply to both.  I guess today can be chalked up as just another example of “one who doesn’t play well with others”.

Watched the Brew Crew today.  I’m not going to brag, but I did say that the Brewers were going to come back in the bottom of the 9th.  And just as apple pie goes well with ice cream, the Brewers made Miller Park magic again.  Even better, it came from the person you would least expect.  Rickie Weeks.  I’m not sure what got into him today, but I hope he keeps it up.  As some of you know, I have said a few very harsh things about Rickie Weeks in the past week.  I’m not going to take it all back just yet, but lets just say that he is on the path to redemption.  However, while Rickie was the star, I think that my favorite part was Mark Attanasio watching the game.  Every time FSN goes to a shot of Mark, he always looks like he’s entertained, no matter how the Brewers are doing.  It doesn’t matter what happens, he will always have a smile on his face.  Dave Bush could give up a grand slam tomorrow and Mark will be sitting there, laughing it up.  I don’t know why, but I find this kind of humorous.  I’m not even going to try and explain. 

It seems as if just about everyone in LAX has left this weekend because of Easter.  I don’t know, but I guess my family never really celebrated Easter like everyone else.  Sure, we had a nice meal, found our eggs, etc., but we never spent a whole day celebrating.  We did the egg thing in the morning and that was it.  Listening to other people talk about their Easters makes me think that I missed out on something.  Or maybe I lucked out, I’m not sure.  Anyways, this Easter thing is leading to a rather boring weekend.  Good thing the Masters are on, otherwise I’d go crazy.  Speaking of golf, I think that I’m going to head out for a quick 9 before the big tournament.  I should be able to fly through the course since I’m the only one in La Crosse this weekend.  Maybe I’ll be spontaneous and go for the whole 18.  Now there’s an idea. 

Oh and lastly, Vince Shlomi (the Shamwow guy) now has a Facebook fan page.  This is just what I want to see on Facebook.  A man who sells sketchy towels on TV and was arrested for beating up on a prostitute now has a fan page.  Perfect.  Good night.

The only thing that is keeping me going right now is caffeine.  And lots of it.  Right now I think I am on about 3 cans a day, plus whatever I drink for lunch and dinner.  Really, I don’t even count that anymore because it’s all watered down and can barely be considered soda.  It has gotten to the point where if I don’t get my caffeine, I start to get headaches.  Bad I know, but hey, it helps me get through the day.  Days in which I really need to get through. 

Honestly, I get just enough done each day to get me ready for the next day.  And this week seems like it has been worse than the rest.  I know everything that needs to be done, and I can usually plan my day accordingly, but this week seemed to be harder.  I had more to do, and an infinite amount of random things came up that just dragged my whole week down.  It’s like somebody has thrown a bolt into my finely tuned machine.  I was clipping away just fine until this week.  Now I am desperately trying to get back on track, but to no avail.  I’m too tired and basically have no motivation.  I’ve tried, but every time it seems like things are getting back to normal, something else happens.  Today could have been a day where I could have gotten some things done, but I took a break.  This Friday is the first day in a long, long time where something isn’t going to be due and I’m not having a test.  Maybe this is where things will turn around, but I doubt it since another barrage of tests will be coming up next week.  If people would just get out of my way, I probably would be better off, but it seems as if everyone is out to sabotage everything I do.  Some of the things that happened this week I honestly cannot believe.  It really wasn’t even anyone’s fault, just bad luck.  But hey, that has been the story of my life so far (for the most part).  Bad luck and especially bad timing.  At least when it comes to smaller things.  I guess relatively speaking, I’m doing very well.  I’m here in college, doing well for the most part, but I feel as if I could/should be doing better in the short term.   

Speaking of I should study this week, and even though I feel as if I won’t at all, I know that I will because I always do.  I will fight the uphill battle and hopefully come out victorious.  I will watch the Masters, go golfing and hopefully life will get back to normal.  But it won’t.  But hey, maybe this is normal.  I hope not, but it just may be.  If it is, I hope that normal will change sometime in the near future because I can’t take much more of this continual grind.  A grind in which there is no sight, and not much to look forward to.  If this is normal, I choose abnormal.  I don’t think it is though because everyone else seems to be happy.  Everyone else seems to be getting along just fine.  Perhaps they are just better at handling it, but perhaps they don’t have any problems.  Who knows.  It’s not worth talking about, I can’t control it anyways.  Sorry for the long, unedited, and extremely negative post. 

I can’t end all negative because believe it or not, there are good things going on still.  Okay, this first part isn’t positive, but I just thought of it.  I had I-S today and once again Brian failed to get the example right.  Surprise…not.  But I heard a song today that I haven’t heard in a long time, and I really think that this is what helped me get through the day.  It’s funny how such small things can make such a big difference in your day.  Just a few days ago, my accounting prof. was talking about how a bent paperclip that someone used to hand in their assignment helped him stay focused and finish grading our assignment.  At the time, I thought that this was humorous, but today it makes alot more sense.  Now this post has gotten ridiculously long.  Here’s the song.  Good luck.

The Masters start tomorrow.  That means that it’s prediction time.  The obvious choice would be Tiger Woods, but in order to keep it interesting, I’ll pick someone else.  So who else could possibly win.  Going straight down the golf rankings, here’s how I feel about the top five.

2.  Phil Mickelson- Always has a shot, but I don’t think that it’s going to be his year.  I don’t think that he’s been playing good enough in order to win the Masters.

3.  Sergio Garcia – A choker in the truest sense.  He will never win a major championship.

4.  Geoff Ogilvy – I think that he really could do it.  I like his Puma shoes, so that’s another plus.  Out of the top five, I think he has the best shot to do it this week.  He played well last week and leading in meaningless FedEx points. 

5.  Padraig Harrington – Last time I predicted a tournament, I had him winning and he let me down big time.  So even though I am a big Harrington fan, I’m quite confident that he won’t do well.  Overall, he has struggled this year and even though this is for major number three in the Grand Slam quest, I don’t see it happening.

So for me, the weekend starts tomorrow.  If I’m feeling up to it, I just may go golfing, but there are some things that need to be done first.  Plus, I’m not sure when Tiger is playing.  If he’s on TV, I’ll probably have to watch him instead.

Otherwise, not much new today although I did learn the Bus Stop and the Hustle today in dance appreciation.  I already knew the hustle, but the bus stop is a nice addition to my dancing repertoire.  It has been decided that a disco dancing night is a must in the near future. 

Well, good night and hopefully the Brewers can hold onto this lead.

Things are not always as they seem.  You may think they are, but they aren’t.  The question is, however, would you rather know the truth, or stay ignorant?  On one hand, you could go on living your life, thinking you know everything but really you would know nothing.  On the upside, you would be happy, but is it real?  Personally, I think it could be, but some may disagree.  On the other hand, you could know the truth, but with that truth comes inevitable misery.  Some may argue that the truth will make you happier, but my limited experience in life has shown me that more knowledge usually causes problems, thus making life uncomfortable.   Which would you pick? 

It’s hard to say.  I feel that I would rather have the second choice, truth with the possibility of misery.  I need to know what’s real and what’s not, no matter what the truth may bring me.  However, I am very confident that I’m currently living the first choice.  I’m blissfully living my life with little knowledge of what is going around me.  I should be asking questions, but I’m not.  But asking questions isn’t enough because the answers you receive could (and probably are) lies.  You have to depend on yourself.  You have to investigate.  You have to use your critical thinking skills.  Do this and eventually, you will stumble upon the truth.  But before you do this, make sure that you know what you are doing because once you start this search, you cannot turn back.  You cannot unlearn this knowledge.  Be careful as you wind down this dark trail.  If you feel uncomfortable with what you’re seeing, don’t be surprised.  I warned you, remember. 

Good luck on your search for absolute truth.  The journey will be long, hard, and will probably lead to a feeling of emptiness.  What are you going to do with this new found knowledge?  Really, I’d like to know.

Finishing up on some thoughts from last night.  Yesterday, pretty much all I did was work on homework, which equals me doing accounting.  For the most part, I think that I got it right, but one can never be completely positive.  I guess I’ll have to wait to see.  But for a couple hours, I was at the front desk working on the assignment with my roommate and a couple others and there I realized that I don’t really work well in groups when it comes to doing an individual assignment.  When it comes to an actual group project, I’m alright, but when it comes to reviewing for a test or working on an accounting project I think I’m better off doing it by myself.  I guess it boils down to the fact that I am horrible at trying to explain what I’m doing.  Example:  Working on assignment yesterday, I attempted to try and explain how the Accounts Receivableaccount would come out to 0 at the end, but I couldn’t get my point across.  I know that it does, and I know why.  I just can’t put it into words that would make any sense to anyone else.  Good thing my roommate was there, otherwise I probably would have just gotten into an argument over it.  Alas, the point of this rant is that I have now yet another example why I should never be a teacher and why I should just work alone.  However, the whole front desk fiasco wasn’t a complete bust because I did find out that I did the Warranty part of the project wrong.  So there is a silver-lining in the whole situation.

Speaking of getting things wrong, I thinking about changing my major.  Yes, I don’t think that accounting is the right path for me.  This weekend I came to the realization that I should become a meteorologist.  It’s about the exact opposite of an accountant.  An accountant must get everything right while a meteorologist can say whatever he wants and it’s considered the truth.  An example is this weekend.  In LAX we were supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow on Sunday.  Guess how much actually got this weekend.  None.  What other job could you have where you can be wrong about half the time and still have job security?  Thus, I think it’s time for a major change. 

The other delight of this weekend was yet another treat from the survey software from hell, Select Survey.  In an attempt to send out my group’s survey on the REC, it took me a total of three tries to get the email to say, Dear (fill in your name here with ugly capital letters).  E.g.  Dear,  JOHN DOE.   It may have been the most agonizing experience to date with Select Survey, although I think my experience with it at the REC still tops this.  Anyways, after I finally send out the survey, I get yet another treat.  Yes, I get about 15 emails from the “System Administrator” saying that so and so’s inbox is full and that they can’t send the email.  Horray!  Now, not only are their inboxes full, but so is mine.

On a positive note, today is Opening Day in baseball.  I can’t wait for the Brewers to start play tomorrow.  I hope they win.  Oh, and my closing sentence is for Alex.

I HATE Bob Uecker!

I’ve been pretty busy this week.  But today has been the busiest of them all.  If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that today was a weekday with how much I actually had to do.  And best of all, I still have alotto do.  However, there is one thing that is going to get me through this week.  The Masters baby!  That’s right, the best week of the year.  You may not realize it, but we are already benefiting from this wonderful week because all of the cable channels are playing every golf movie ever made this week.  I’ve already seen Happy Gilmore and Caddyshack on TV this weekend, and it’s only Sunday.  But even though I have alot to do, at least I have something to look forward to.  Other things this weekend, I went golfing on Saturday and shot a 44.  It’s definitely the best I’ve played this year.  Surprisingly, I actually was semi-consistent with the driver.  I even sliced the ball on one hole, something I haven’t done in about two years (Literally, I think it has actually been two years).  However, I think the reason I played so well was because I was slightly hung over from Friday.  I went in the afternoon, so I didn’t feel to bad (just a slight headache) but it was enough to distract me from constantly analyzing my swing.  I just went out and played.  And I know what you’re wondering.  Hung over?  Yes, I did drink.  Shamefully, it wasn’t even that much, but apparently it was enough to give me a massive headache the next morning.  It also gave me a wonderful video of myself giving a wonderful commentary on the Milwaukee Brewers.  Let’s just say that nothing good came out of Friday.  I have so much more to talk about, but alas it is time for bed.  There will be more tomorrow, hence the title double entry (an accounting reference to those not not familiar with the accounting “lingo”).