Maybe It Won't Be That Bad

With graduation and everything coming so fast I am kind of overwhelmed. Not only do we have finals next week but we also have the regional baseball tournament. After that there is graduation and then I head straight to work. It's all coming at me like a 90 mph fastball.

Now that all of my complaining is done, it's time to look at the glass half full. My finals this year actually won't be too bad. Creative writing is going to already be done before finals week so I can check that one off. Gym and independent living finals will probably be really easy like they usually are. After those three and off hour I really only have three finals to take. I love baseball so I don't even know why I complained about that one. There go two of my problems.

Graduation is always given the stereotype of being a hectic day, but I honestly think it will be relaxing and exciting. For those who don't think it's possible to be relaxed and excited at the same time, it is. I have no idea when graduation starts or when we're supposed to be there but I do know that I'm sleeping until I have to get up. After the ceremony there'll be a bunch of pictures and then off to my open house (right across the street). Here it will be fun conversing with all my friends and family, eating, and best of all getting gifts. I don't see how this day will possibly be bad. Off with problem number three.

Finally, the big kahuna, work. It's tough to be optimistic about this one, but I figure "How bad can it really be?" It might be tough getting up so early but I used to do that for red flag all the time; and that wasn't even for money. Money is the motivation. Not only is it for money but it also seems like it won't be too hard. I predict that most of the time I'll just be sitting on a riding lawn mower cutting the grass. Once put like that it doesn't sound like work at all. Ok, now I can calm down. Everything has been put into perspective and it's looking good.

Maybe It Won't Be That Bad

With graduation and everything coming so fast I am kind of overwhelmed. Not only do we have finals next week but we also have the regional baseball tournament. After that there is graduation and then I head straight to work. It's all coming at me like a 90 mph fastball.

Now that all of my complaining is done, it's time to look at the glass half full. My finals this year actually won't be too bad. Creative writing is going to already be done before finals week so I can check that one off. Gym and independent living finals will probably be really easy like they usually are. After those three and off hour I really only have three finals to take. I love baseball so I don't even know why I complained about that one. There go two of my problems.

Graduation is always given the stereotype of being a hectic day, but I honestly think it will be relaxing and exciting. For those who don't think it's possible to be relaxed and excited at the same time, it is. I have no idea when graduation starts or when we're supposed to be there but I do know that I'm sleeping until I have to get up. After the ceremony there'll be a bunch of pictures and then off to my open house (right across the street). Here it will be fun conversing with all my friends and family, eating, and best of all getting gifts. I don't see how this day will possibly be bad. Off with problem number three.

Finally, the big kahuna, work. It's tough to be optimistic about this one, but I figure "How bad can it really be?" It might be tough getting up so early but I used to do that for red flag all the time; and that wasn't even for money. Money is the motivation. Not only is it for money but it also seems like it won't be too hard. I predict that most of the time I'll just be sitting on a riding lawn mower cutting the grass. Once put like that it doesn't sound like work at all. Ok, now I can calm down. Everything has been put into perspective and it's looking good.

Best Summer Yet? Doubt it.

"I really think you should take it. It's a great opportunity," my mom pounds it into me.
"Well I think you should take that offer and shove it," I say to myself, "ain't nobody got time for that." Don't worry I didn't say that out loud instead a soft, "Sure," came out.

Every summer for just about the past five years I have run my own small lawn mowing business. Only three or four lawns, until last year when I took on seven! To me that was enough. I felt like I never had any time between mowing and baseball. Now I realize what a luxury it was. This summer I am working out at Otter Tail and let me tell you what, I am not looking forward to it at all. Sure the money is good, but it's just not worth it. "It'll look good on applications," they say "a great experience, you can get some money built up for college." Oh cool, now that you put it like that I'm so darn excited to blow my senior summer working.

If you couldn't tell, I got a little sarcastic at the end of my last paragraph. But come on! I'm still a kid in my books and I deserve to be as free as an eagle in the summer. However, now that it's pretty much set that I'll be working I've made a plan for how my week will go during the summer.

First off, I'm working 10 hours a day, four days a week. On top of that I will have practice Monday through Friday if not a game. So there goes four days of my week. On days that I work, I plan to be boring. I know that will be tough for me but that's how it has got to be. I start work at six and end at four. After that, practice will probably start at 5:30 and run until about seven. After this I will head home and eat supper, no matter what fun activities present themselves. I will set my bedtime for nine so I can get nine good hours of sleep. No one wants to go to work tired.

Now the fun part, here's where having a four-day week will come in handy. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night I will stay up as late as I can and make sure I am always hanging out with friends. Friday and Saturday will be filled with all sorts of fun lake activities. Then, when Sunday rolls around I can just nap all day and prepare for the next week of work. You see, I'm just trying to make lemonade out of lemons here. Just because I have a job doesn't mean I can't have fun. After all YOLO!

Tecca Nina

I will start off by apologizing for this being so late. I went to a Tech N9ne concert tonight and didn't realize it would be so long. I probably should have done it yesterday but hey, I'm doing it now.

Now, for the good part. My topic of choice for this week is obviously my experience at the Tech N9ne concert. It was an awesome time and definitely worth the 40 dollars I paid for the ticket.

First off, it ended up being about four hours which is a lot more than I expected. The other thing that caught me by surprise was the amount of talent that was there other than Tech N9ne.

It started off with a guy named Big Reeno who was actually from Bismarck. I had never heard of him but he really impressed me. It's crazy how he started from the bottom and now he's here. They did a good job of setting the tone for the rest of the concert.

Then came the big guns. All of the lights and lasers on stage were turned on and the show began. Rappers Ces Cru, Kutt Calhoun, and Brotha Lynch Hung came to stage one at a time. I had heard some of there music before so I was amazed that they were actually in front of me playing it. It made me realize how big of a difference there is between live and recorded music. It was simply amazing. If the show had ended there I would have been pleased. However, it was far from over.

Finally, the grand master arose accompanied by Krizz Kaliko, who was a show all by himself. He was constantly making funny faces and doing crazy dances. They performed some songs unfamiliar to me at first but then got into the "fan faves." The most popular songs included Am I a Psycho, Dysfunctional, and Caribou Lou. They got the crowd jumping.

After a while, they slowed down. They took more time between songs but they did do a great job of making the crowd laugh. Even after they did slow down, they kept going. Finally, after about four hours of madness they finished with a brilliant ending. It is called the Tech N9ne gun salute and it got my adrenaline going as I left the building.

Spring Fever

Every year it late February the wave hits me. I start getting jitters. Sportscenter starts showing highlights of spring training and I can't help it. I jump out of my chair an yell, "I want baseball!" Ok, maybe I don't do that, but I have to try really hard to contain myself.
I see that first special baseball edition Eastbay magazine and I'm off to the basement where I won't be seen for the next two hours. Although I rarely ever buy anything, I still scavenge through the pages and make my list of "things I would buy if I was rich." Then come the first baseball Sports Illustrated's, which I actually read instead of just look at the pictures.
My next assignment is to get my gear ready. I dust off the mitt and make sure it's nice and oiled up. Then, I dump out all of the dirt left in my shoes from the past season. Now the wait begins. I pray that the snow will melt as fast as possible.
Finally, the first day of practice rolls along and I'm more than ready. Too bad it starts indoors. Yes it's still fun, but it's just not baseball if it's not outside. For about the first week the indoor practices quench my thirst, but after that, I need more. I just can't contain myself anymore. I'll go out there with a blow dryer if that's what it takes. I just want to play some baseball.

I'm a Fanatic

I'm sure all of you have heard about the recent opening of Fanatics. It is behind the AmericInn in the old Looney Bin building. It is a sports bar and grill type of restaurant equipped with plenty of TV's in the main dining area. In the back there are a couple of bigger tables for larger groups. Also, a pair of electronic dart boards and pool table are nestled in the back. If you haven't been there yet I suggest you check it out.

I may be somewhat biased toward it since I am a die hard sports fan, but overall it is a really great place. I'm not sure on the exact numbers but I think there are five normal TV's and three huge projector ones. A sports fan's dream! However if you are not into sports, I still think it's an awesome place. If you don't want to have the loud music or sounds of the games you can ask to be seated in the back.

A couple things that I do think could be better are the menu and the seating. The menu seems somewhat small so I would like to see that expand. Seating is also pretty minimal, and maybe it is just packed because of its recent opening but I dont think any extra seating would hurt. Even with these two small complaints they really don't push me away. The items on the menu may be few but they are fantastic. It also looks like they are adding more seating in the back so I don't think that should be a problem for too long.

Now that we have this excellent restaurant in Beulah I hope we can keep it. Sure Country Kettle and The Grand View are good places to eat but it gets old after a while, and I'm not made of money. Fanatics gives I good price range and quality that is sandwitched right between that of the other two joints. I think it is just what Beulah needed and I hope it gets the support it needs to stay running.

March Madness Baby!

"Yeah baby!" Dick Vitale's raspy voice echoes through my ears. It's march, you know what that means. March Madness! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "March Madness", or just don't really know too much about it, it is the nickname for the NCAA Division I mens basketball tournament at the end of the year. Another common name is "The Big Dance."

It usually begins in mid to late March, hence the name "March Madness", and continues into early April. Sixty-eight of the nations top teams get a chance to play in the tournament. They can qualify in two different ways, either by winning their conference tournament or by being picked by the selection committee. After that they are ranked 1-16 and placed in one of the four divisions: Midwest, South, East, and West. Two teams from each division are given the same seed and must play in the first round of the tournament. It's sort of like a play in game, but don't call it that, the teams in it might get offended since they are actually "in" the tournament already.

After the first round teams must remain undefeated through six games to crown themselves the champions. Lose and you're out. Each round gets more gets more difficult as weaker competition is filtered out. Although the championship is every teams ultimate goal, the winner of each division advances to the Final Four which is a great achievement for any team.

Every year I prepare myself for March Madness by watching conference tournaments and a littles extra Sportscenter to decide who's in it to win and who's not going anywhere. I normally don't watch much college basketball but it is necessary for me to watch "The Big Dance." My reasoning, Bracketology. Bracketology is a common practice of millions of Americans. It's really simple, all there is to do is grab a bracket and fill out who you think is going to win. Some people do it for fun, just to see how much of an expert they really are. Others, however, do it for money. I am actually in a $5 league right now.

Each person has their own unique strategy for picking their winning bracket. Some of the more popular ones are following the experts, going with the higher seed, or picking ones' alma mater. Other, less famous, but still popular strategies include flipping a coin, picking which mascot would win in a fight, or picking favorite colors. Mine is to just go with my first instinct. No matter what strategy you use it's always a blast checking how your bracket's doing and rooting for the teams you picked.The fun action-packed tournament always brightens up my March because with 67 games in a 20 day span, I never have the excuse, "There's nothing to watch."