Final Four

Good Morning…
I thought I’d start this post with an exuberant
GO STATE!
It’s hard to believe that in the 9 years that T. to the IZZO has been coaching he has taken MSU to the final four, four times now. Not to mention the fact that he how has the best NCAA tournament record of all active coaches. All this and I still don’t feel like Izzo gets enough credit.
Anyways, so I rediscovered that I really don’t like coffee again this morning. Usually I’m a Diet Coke in the morning kinda guy, but today I was just really dragging ass so I thought I would take the step up and have some coffee. Yep… still don’t like it. I would literally cringe after every sip, and this is after dumping a bunch of coffee mate into it. I decided that the best way to actually get though the cup was to “chase” each sip with raisins (they were the only thing I had at my desk). So this is me this morning…
Sip,
SHUDDER
Raisin.

Sip
SHUDDER
Raisin.

How do people drink this stuff!?!?!?

On the banks of the Red Cedar, there's a school that's known to all...

I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to have my NCAA bracket totally screwed up. You see, I had Duke going the the final four and winning it all. Wow and I glad that I was wrong. MSU really showed me something last night. They played up to the level that I knew they should be playing at since the season started. The Spartans always seemed to show up against the smaller schools, but when playing ranked opponets they just didn't have the heart and would fade away. Not last night. Last night they played with fire. Even when they were trailing for most of the first half, they were battling. Duke never got off a clean shot and never had a clear passing lane. This was Spartan Basketball. Even if State dosen't make it to the final four or win it all, they showed me last night that they could show up when it mattered.
One more basketball note, I hope all the sports writers who have been knocking the Big Ten as a weak conference will notice that 3 teams in the Elite Eight are from the Big Ten. Yeah, the Big Ten sucks, they never have impressive records, but that's because they spend the regular season beating the crap out of eachother! When it comes to playing someone who isn't in the Big Ten watch out!
Well I'm in Canada for the weekend and thus I am without my cell phone :( So of course a million people have called me. I was in Michigan all last weekend and nobody gave me a ring, but the moment I leave the country... *sigh*
Well I hope you all have a good weekend!!!

GO GREEN!, GO WHITE!

Happy Cesar Chavez (sp) day!!!
Yep, no religious bias on this blog :)
So I’ve decided that this working thing kinda sux. They expect me to show up ever day and work… no more staying up till 3am watching movies… no more late nights at the bar on week nights. This isn’t like collage where I could go out all night and then just roll out of bed and into class and look like you are paying attention… no, I actually have to be productive!!! WHAT THE HELL!
Anyways… now a late night for me is 10:00 because 6 am comes way too quickly. I am such a loser,
So my friend Maria from Inglewood CA (Inglewood, always up to no good), called last night, and I am sorry that I didn’t get a chance to call you back… once again I’m a loser and had fallen asleep… and she left a message regarding dealing with obnoxiously rude people when you are in a customer service business. I must say that is one of the big things that I do not miss about working retail. People who are rude for no reason whatsoever. I’ve had my share of obnoxious people but this dude that Maria described was just on beyond crude. I try and keep this blog PG-13, you know, for the kids (nothing like a good “Hudsucker Proxy” reference to brighten the day), so I won’t repeat it here. Of course she is welcome to elaborate in the comments because they are, and always will be open to whatever anybody wants to say. The point is, people suck and I’m glad I don’t have to deal with them in that situation anymore… I have new and exciting ways to deal with people, like when your boss is in a pissy mood for no reason and is just on the warpath or having to just sit there and take it as a judge rips you a new one just because he can. *sigh*
Onto a happier note, MSU plays DUKE tonight at 7:10 PM EST!!! This is a huge game because Duke has really had State’s number for years but I think that Duke is really vulnerable this year so they have a shot. Actually, they always have a shot but for some reason MSU has the amazing ability to lose games for no reason at all. It’s a skill, what can I say.
GO GREEN!

Monday, Monday

“Sounds like somebody has a case of the Monday’s”
-- Office Space

I don’t think I have ever had a day that felt so much like Monday as today had.

“How could so many things go so wrong so quickly”
-- The Birdcage

It’s not so much as things are going wrong, it’s more that I’m just running at full speed in a circle. I’ve had 900 major crisis today and I cannot wait for this day to be over. Nothing major, just A LOT of things due… and 2nd edits are coming back on things that I did last week and, and, and… *sigh*

On a lighter note though… Michigan State advanced to the sweet 16!!! They are going to have to put on some kind of special performance on Friday to get past Duke but I think this team has it in them. They have enough experience and Duke is nowhere near as deep as the Spartans. If they can get JJ Reddick in foul trouble then the Blue Devils are done.

Oh, and it has also come to my attention that my cousin Jen has been checking this blog so I thought I’d send a special shout out to her!
HEY JEN!!(It's one of the simple pleasures of blogging... I get to call out my friends and family on the internet)
She’s a silent one, but it’s always nice to know that family is out there :)

Latah

Court

Howdy!

Well I have some big news… I appeared in court for the first time today!!! Of course since I’m the low man on the totem pole I was there to do some really crappy motions. Basically I just stood up there and hoped that the judge wouldn’t sanction my firm too much for us being late on some medical thingie. The great thing was, I didn’t even find out that I was going to court until about 8:00 pm last night! Good times. Anyways, it was a really cool experience and hopefully I’ll get to do more soon… and hopefully the next time I’m not just there to plead with the judge to not hurt me too much ;)

So tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve never really been a big fan of St. Patty’s day, can’t really tell you why… just never been my thing. The most entertaining thing about St. Patty’s day for me was when I was in Law School and we would all go out to the bar and see how long it took for my friend Pete to get kicked out… HA!! Pete is a double threat… he’s Canadian and he’s Irish. In other words, he didn’t have a hope in hell. It didn’t help that the bouncers in East Lansing were very Nazi-esque when it came to kicking people out on busy bar nights. Guess they thought it would help the turnover. Bastards!!!!
I guess I just don’t need a holiday to tell me it is OK to drink :)

Sports Guy

Greetings blogger people!
One of my favorite internet columnists of all time is Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) on ESPN’s Page 2. I really can’t get enough of his incite into not only the world of sports but he is also very well versed in all things pop culture. I mean not everybody can flow seamlessly between the Boston Celtics, The O.C., 2 Pac, and still find time to reminisce about Hollywood Hogan and the nWo in the same column. A man after my own heart. Anways, he recently posted some thoughts comparing Nirvana to Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins that I seriously felt the need to respond to… because he cares and all… NOT! (BTW, my attempt to bring Wayne’s World colloquiums back has been a complete failure)
You can read the whole article HERE if you would like…

Sports Guy Writes:
(please note that this article has been formated to fit your television screen. It has also been edited for content because it was just too damn long and this is my space dammit!)

Not only were [Nirvana] the defining band of that decade, their ceiling was higher than anyone else's ceiling at the time. But that doesn't change the fact that Cobain's death was the best possible thing that could have happened to them…

Not to mention the best thing to happen to Courtney Love!!

College radio stations started playing Nirvana's album right away because they had credibility from their first two albums, but Pearl Jam's album took nearly six months to gain any momentum. When it finally did, "Ten" was just as big as "Nevermind," with the big difference being that "Ten" was rollicking and enjoyable, whereas "Nevermind" felt like a grander achievement, like something had happened. Nirvana was like John McEnroe; Pearl Jam was Jimmy Connors. That's the best way I can describe it. Connors was great, but he was no McEnroe.
Anyway, Pearl Jam released "Vs." (their second album) in October, 1993, one month before Nirvana released "In Utero" ... and absolutely crushed Nirvana with it. Look, I was there. People were disappointed in "In Utero" at the time; everyone loved "Vs.," which sold more records, received superior reviews and had twice as many good songs. By any criteria you can come up with, Pearl Jam was the biggest rock band in the world in 1993 and 1994. Meanwhile, Nirvana was teetering along because Cobain was slowly going crazy – because of his destructive relationship with Courtney Love, his drug problem, his death wish, his aversion to fame – capped off by the mediocre "MTV Unplugged" album in December of '94, which actually made me sad when I watched it for the first time. It was like the end of an era.

Now this is where I really need to say something. I’m not sure how things were where Mr. Simmons grew up, but most everybody I knew HATED “Vs”. This was the first in a very long series of disappointments from Pearl Jam. I have to admit that I bought each and every one of their albums up to and including “No Code” (who’s idea was it to include trading cards anyway!?!?!). In my eyes there was very little redeeming about any Pearl Jam album post Ten. If anybody’s legacy could have been enhanced by the death of a lead singer it would have been Pearl Jam. Had Eddie Vedder off’d himself right after “Ten”, Pearl Jam would have been right up there with Sublime as bands that released a great first album and then never had a chance to experience the Sophomore Suck. But alas, the members of Pearl Jam had already endured the lose of Andrew Wood (their lead singer pre-Vedder when they were still called Mother Love Bone) so going two for two on lead singers just wasn’t in their fate.
Anyways, a very interesting article. Well my computer is starting to act a little wonkey so I want to post this before it deletes my article again (blogspot.com has been having some problems lately if you haven't already noticed)
Byeeeeeee

March Madness

Hey there!
Well I do this every year so to most of you this isn't a surprise at all... but it's March which means that it's NCAA basketball time again!!!
If you are interested, here is the link to the group that I set up on ESPN.com. It's free, no prize money or anything (unless that is you win the ESPN contest), just alot of smack talk :)

Group Name: jaydedspartan
Password: guelph

Hope to see you signed up!

Jay

Helpful links:

Create a new account:
https://r.espn.go.com/espn/fantasy/register?level=4?appRedirect=http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

Already have an entry?
Join your friend's group: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/groupinfo?groupID=43838&password=guelph.

ESPN Men's Tournament Challenge
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=43838

Garden Music

Just a quickie…

Check out this blog:

http://music.for-robots.com/

There is a band on there called The Hysterics that are getting some really good buzz on MTV right now. If you liked any of the music from “Garden State” then you should definitely check them out.
So go grab their two MP3s before somebody signs them and you have to pay to get them :)

Back Again...

Howdy!
Well it has been a little while since I have updated and I am sorry about that. I don’t have an internet connection where I’m living so if I’m going to update this it has to be from work and things have really picked up around here. I came in a little early today so I have some time….
Anyways… Quick update for all who care… my sister, Katie, is doing just fine. My parents left London yesterday and are now back in Anaheim and she was doing great! Still quite sore but she is progressing nicely and I am sure that she will be back and running at full speed in no time.
I’m pretty much settled into my little place in Mount Clemens, MI. My good friend Vito (Mike) was kind enough to let me crash with him until I can find a place of my own and it has worked out just great so far.
Work is getting really, really crazy. I have assignments piling up and there really isn’t an end in sight. This law stuff is hard! They don’t show the people on Law and Order hunched over their files and computers for 9 hours a day, and for good reason. It would be boring as hell!!! I can say that the days are going much quicker than expected. I have no idea where this week went… must have something to do with the fact that I have a Case Evaluation, a Narrowing of a PIP, and a Request to Admit all due tomorrow… Yikes!
Quick observation:
The people in Detroit drive very different than people in LA. In LA they are obnoxious and rude but they are generally very skillful with their cars. Sure they will cut in front of you if you leave even the slightest amount of space between you and the next car, but they do so with precision. People in Detroit will try and do the same thing, but they suck at it and end up playing bumper cars with one another.
Furthermore, although people in LA NEVER use their turn signals, you can generally figure out what people are doing once you get into the flow of the highway. Here in Detroit, however, I have had to dodge people from turning right into me… oh they had their signal on; they just thought I was invisible.
Well I’ll leave you today with some words of wisdom from Mitch Hedberg,

“I was at a casino last night and the security guard came up to me and told me I had to move because I where I was standing, I was blocking the fire exit. I asked him, ‘if there was a fire do you think I would still be standing here?’ Generally, if there is a fire, and you are flammable, you will not be blocking the exit, anymore.”

Good night, don’t forget to tip your waitress….

Notes From The Cube

Good Morning!!!

Well it’s Thursday and the week is drawing to a close, and I can’t say that I mind one bit! Although I have been working for less than a week, I do have some interesting thoughts in a little segment I like to call:
“Notes From The Cube”

- Although I have worked in an office before it was mostly temp stuff. Spent a summer as an office clerk at the Easter Seals Society, worked as a law clerk for First Look Media and for Verizon Wireless, but this is my first at least semi-permanent position and it is a very strange feeling. First off, people actually take the time to get to know the permanent people whereas when you are a temp you are lucky to be talked to let alone invited you to lunch.
- There are distinct differences between working in an office than working in other areas. I often find myself reverting to my old retail habits of trying to do everything as fast as possible and absolutely ALWAYS be doing something productive. Many times over the past week I have whipped myself up into a furor trying to plow through everything as fast as possible. That’s just not the way office life is. You work at your own pace; take a break here and there. So long as you get your work done by the deadline nobody really cares what you are doing.
- Speaking of deadlines… they are nothing like they were in school. I have a case evaluation due on Friday and they have already offered to extend the deadline a week if I need it… I didn’t even ask for an extension, things were going fine. They just didn’t want me to feel rushed. I’m sure they will begin to bury me with work once I figure out how to do more things, but for now everything is very laid back.
- This is also my first experience working in a cube. I’ve had offices in my previous jobs so this is a new experience. I’m feeling a little left out not having numerous pictures of my kids/spouse/cat all over my space. There is one woman here who has nothing less than a shrine to her baby topped off with a poster sized picture of him laying completely naked. Yep, every time I pass by her cube I get an eye full of Baby Ass and for some reason that kinda freaks me out.

Well back to work!

Workin On The Railroad

Good Morning!
Well I’m here at work, waiting for a meeting so I thought that I’d post something real quick to let everybody know that even though I’m a big time lawyer type guy now, it doesn’t mean that I have forgotten all of you out in Blogger-Land :)
Work is OK… the learning curve is a little steep right now, but I’m sure things will come around real soon. The hardest part is just trying to find people that have time to sit down with me and explain what the hell they actually want! I hate the training process. I like it when I know enough to just work along and get things done without having to ask a million questions along the way.
Quick update on my sister… she goes home today!!! YAY!!! She still has a very long road to recovery, but I know for a fact that she is looking forward to getting back to her own place and most importantly, out of the hospital!
So I was driving to work this morning when I observed this strange phenomenon… I have observed this numerous times when I was in California and I guess it is pretty much universal… it’s the “drive real slow so you can see the accident on the side of the road” syndrome. Now I understand if it is blocking a lane or you want to show respect to the workers by not speeding by them while they work on somebody on the shoulder, but why do we need to slow down on the OTHER side of the highway!?!?!?! Have we never seen an accident before? Do the flashing lights of the EMS vehicle memorize us so much that we are inexplicably drawn to them? Just like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop... The world may never know.

Well… back to work :)