The R.A.N III Experience

Get It!

GET IT! Those are the two words fueling me right now. Last week I started my new career as a QA analyst for a subsidiary of a very large health care company and so far it’s going really well. I’m lucky because a guy that used to work with me at my former job is on my team and he’s a cool dude, helpin me out and getting me up to speed on all the stuff we gotta do. Speaking of my team, they’re all crazy, in a great way. There are a lot of making fun and practical jokes on the regular so it makes the days easier to deal with. As a sidenote, I love working downtown (minus the traffic going home but read next paragraph about that).

As I said above, the drive home from the new job is ROUGH. I mean, I guess it isn’t that bad, it certainly isn’t as bad as 696 westbound in Southfield or Ferndale at 5:30 PM in Michigan but it is a pain in the ass. I get off at 5 and apparently, so too, does the rest of downtown SLC so I figured it was about time to start going to the gym after work. First, if you honestly think that I hate traffic that bad, so much so, that I would join a gym, you’re wrong. No, I joined the gym because I’m trying to work out on a regular again. It just so happens that going to the gym at 5 and staying till roughly 6:45-7 really opens up my drive home. See, everything works out. I got a membership to Planet Fitness downtown, it’s literally like 3 doors down from my work. This is actually the first REAL gym I’ve ever been a member of (as in paying), previously I worked out at my parents house and the free gym at my old apartment complex. It was $23 bucks (one time fee) and it’s 10 bucks a month, not bad and I think the gym is really nice actually. They have a ton of cardio machines, lots of great exercise machines and a pretty amount of free weights. As of Monday I started hitting this up after work, I can tell you right now my arms/chest/legs are beyond sore. GET IT! Oh yeah, Mexico or Caribbean? Because one is happening in April/May! GET IT!

Oh yeah, I’ve put some photos taken during the Michigan trip up in the gallery, if you don’t have Facebook you can peep um there.

Murder Mitten in 1

Headin’ back to the Glove tomorrow! We got MSU vs Texas at Bdubs in the evening tomorrow, Festivus on Thursday at the GP, Christmas party at Marie’s on Christmas night, God knows what else. Hype to see the fam, my dudes, and my girls. Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and New Years! See you in 2011!

2010 Year In Review

I slacked on my year in review last year and I’m pretty sure I didn’t do one, although it is one of my favorite posts so I wanted to make sure I got to it this year.  There really isn’t a rhyme or reason for the bullet points, they’re mostly big news events and sporting event info but I think it’s pretty cool to see some of the big stories that came out in a span of 365 days.  They go in chronological order and side info and facts are taken from Wikipedia.  Without further adieu:

• Alabama wins BCS Championship  – January 7, 2010 - I hate the BCS, let’s get that straight.  Although they seem to get the top 2 teams right (for the most party) every year there is always such drama with every other BCS bowl game, let’s get a playoff!  Anyway, I’ll step off my soapbox here.  On this day Alabama played Texas for for the NCAA college football championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.  Alabama started on offense and wasn’t able to get a first down on their first possession so they attempted a fake punt.  The pass on the fake punt was intercepted by Longhorn Blake Gideon.  Texas’ next four plays yielded 24 yards via a combination of passing and running plays, putting Texas in position to score the game’s first touchdown.  It was after this that Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game by Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus.  As McCoy fell he pinched a nerve in his throwing arm shoulder and resulted in Texas having to bring in true freshman QB Garrett Gilbert.  Gilbert made things interesting in the second half getting 2 touchdown passes to wide receiver Jordan Shipley, but ultimately, Alabama prevailed with a 37-21 final score.
• Haiti earthquake – January 12, 2010 – On this day Haiti was rocked by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and by January 24th at least 52 aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.5 or greater were recorded.  Approximately 3 million people were effected by this, of those, 230,000 died, 300,000 were injured, and 1 million were made homeless.
• New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV – February 7, 2010 - Drew Breeze vs. Peyton Manning, many people expected the Colts to go into this game and dominate (although, I picked the Saints) and for a while the game was pretty close. However, things changed in the second half when Tracy Porter returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown. The Saints win big in Miami, 31-17
• Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili dies – February 12, 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili was fatally injured in a crash during a training run at the Whistler Sliding Center in Vancouver British Colombia during the the 2010 Winter Olympics. He approached the final turn of the track where he lost control of his sled and was thrown over the sidewall where he struck and unprotected beam traveling at an estimated 89 m.p.h. He was airlifted to Whistler hospital where he later died of his injuries. The FIL (International Luge Federation) stated that his death was not caused by an unsafe track but as a safety precaution the walls at the exit of curve 16 were raised and the ice profile was adjusted. In addition, the start of the men’s luge was moved to the women’s starting point to reduce speed. The other seven members of the Georgian Olympic team wore black armbands during the opening ceremony, tied a black ribbon to the Georgian flag, and left a space vacant in the procession as a mark of respect. They were greeted with a standing ovation from the assembled crowd at BC Place Stadium during the opening ceremony.
• Canada wins the gold medal in hockey in OT – February 28, 2010 – Another heartbreaking entry here for me. The gold medal game at the winter Olympics in Vancouver came down to overtime. The player I hate the most scored the game winning goal, Sydney, er Cindy Crosby. Canada got the gold, USA the silver.
• President Obama passes the nationwide healthcare bill – March 23, 2010 – I hate that I have this in here but as far as news goes this dominated it for a while. This was the first time that a sweeping healthcare bill was passed into law, it is still a hot topic of controversy as many states do not want to adopt it and feel they should have the choice on whether or not they use it. Don’t get me started on my personal opinions on this.
• Duke wins the NCAA Championship – April 5, 2010 – I hate Duke so I’m not going to elaborate on this. The gist is that they beat Butler 61-59 in Indianapolis and then head coach, Mike Krzyzewski cried like a baby.
• Phil Mickelson wins the Masters – April 11, 2010 – This was Phil’s 3rd Masters win (2004, 2006, 2010) and he did it with a with a 16-under-par performance, giving him a three stroke win over Lee Westwood in Augusta Georgia. For many, this was an especially emotional victory as his wife Amy had suffered from breast cancer for the preceding year, along with Mary Mickelson, Phil’s mother. CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz’s call of the final birdie putt, “That’s a win for the family,” was seen by many as capturing the moment well.
• Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull erupts – April 14, 2010 - Don’t ask me how to pronounce that volcano name, I promise it’s real though.  On this day Eyjafjallajokull erupted, although it’s believed that the first eruption, occured on April 10th in the form of a fissure vent opening up under the glacier next to the volcano.  On the 14th the eruption began again, this time from the top crater in the center of the glacier, causing meltwater floods to rush down the nearby rivers, and requiring 800 people to be evacuated.  This eruption was so explosive due to the large amount of melt water from the glacier getting into the volcanic vent.
• Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP) – April 20, 2010 - This is probably by far the worst event, environmentally speaking at least, of 2010.  On this day the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded causing a three month long oil gusher at the bottom of the sea floor.  The explosion killed 11 men and injured 17 others.   On July 15, 2010 the spill was finally stopped by capping the gushing wellhead, unfortunately, not before it released an estimated 185 million gallons of crude oil into the gulf.  This spill wreaked extensive havoc on the regions ecology, tourism, and wildlife.  The U.S. government has held BP (British Petroleum) responsible for this accident and they will be held accountable for all cleanup costs due to the fact that an internal probe proved certain safety precautions weren’t taken on the rig.
• Calvin Borel wins Kentucky Derby – May 1, 2010 – Calvin Borel is an American horse racing jockey whom, on this day, won his third Kentucky Derby.  His previous victories came in 2007 on the horse Street Sense (9-2 favorite), 2009 on Mine That Bird (50-1 long shot), and 2010 on Super Saver (8-1 favorite).  He became the first Kentucky Derby jockey to win three times in a four year span.  After winning in 2010 he promised that he would win the Triple Crown, but lost in the following Preakness Stakes.
• Armando Galarraga’s not-so-perfect perfect game – June 2, 2010 – ARGH!  This was so heartbreaking for me and the rest of Detroit.  During a game verse the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers pitcher, Armando Galarraga was one out away from pitching a perfect game and being the 21st pitcher in MLB history to do so.  Indian batter, Jason Donald, hit a ground ball between the mound and first that was scooped up by Galarraga who stepped on first base right before Donald got there.  First base umpire, Jim Joyce, ruled that Donald beat him to the bag calling him safe.  After the game Joyce felt horrible as he knew he blew the call and cost Galarraga a perfect game.  He has said it was the worst call of his life and left him sleepless at nights.  After the game Galarraga handled the call with poise saying, “[it] was my best game, so far,” and said that Joyce “probably feels more bad than me. Nobody’s perfect. Everybody’s human. I understand. I give the guy lot of credit for saying, ‘I need to talk to you.’  You don’t see an umpire tell you that after a game. I gave him a hug.”  After this call much debate came back on if baseball needs an instant replay system.  This game is sometimes referred to as the “28-out perfect game,” the “Imperfect Game,” or simply the “Galarraga game”.  Galarraga finished the game facing 28 batters and threw just 88 pitches (67 strikes and 21 balls), striking out three.
• Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup – June 9, 2010 – The Blackhawks went into the post season with a regular season record of 52-22-8.  In the first round they played the Nashville Predators and beat them in 6 games.  In the next round they faced the beat the 3rd seeded Canucks, also in 6 games.  The Western Conference Finals matchup was against the San Jose Sharks, whom they swept in 4 games.  This was the first time they had made it to a Stanley Cup Finals since 1992, they faced the Philidelphia Flyers and beat them in 6 games.  Patrick Kane, the captain of the Hawks, scored the game-winning (and Cup-clinching) goal in overtime.  It was the 4th Stanley Cup and the Blackhawks’ first Cup win since 1961.
• Los Angeles Lakers win back-to-back NBA Championships – June 17, 2010 - The Lakers along with Kobe Bryant won back-t0-back NBA Championships on this day.  They played Oklahoma City (won 4-2) in the first round, Utah in the second (won 4-0), the Phoenix Suns in the third (won 4-2), and went on to play the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.  They beat the Celtics, who had previously beat them in the finals in 2008, in 7 games.  It was the first time the history of the Celtics franchise that they lost a game 7 in the finals.  This championship was Phil Jackson’s 11th title as a coach and Kobe Bryant’s 5th.  Kobe was named Finals MVP for the 2nd year in a row and this championship was the Lakers 16th.
• Spain wins the World Cup – July 11, 2010 – I really enjoy the world cup even though at times soccer can be boring.  But, there is something about all the best soccer teams in the world coming together to play for this championship on a world-wide stage that only happens every 4 years that gathers brings excitement to the game.  This years final was pretty cool because Spain was a ranked #2 at the pre-tournament rankings and the Netherlands was ranked #4.  What’s great about it is the Netherlands was a bit of an underdog from the beginning of the 2nd round as they were paired up to play Brazil, which no one thought they’d beat.  They did, 2-1, and after this they went on to play Uruguay in the 3rd round and beat them 3-2.  They lost to Spain in the championship 1-0 in extra time to take 2nd place in the tournament.
• Copiapó Mining Accident – August 5, 2010 – This was without a doubt my favorite story of the year, obviously not because a mine with 33 men 2,300 feet below ground collapsed, but because every single one of them was rescued a whole three months later! To me this is astounding, for 69 days these guys lived underground while food and supplies were delivered via some sort of tube that was drilled from the surface. The rescuers even sent them down a video camera so that they could videotape messages for their families which of course became public and broadcasted throughout the world on just about every media outlet which drew even more attention and public support for them. On October 13, 2010, in a capsule named Fénix 2, Florencio Ávalos was brought to the surface as the first rescued miner. An estimated 1 BILLION people watched this live (including me) and it truly was an amazing thing to see.
• San Francisco Giants win the World Series – November 1, 2010 - I feel like no one watched this World Series.  I know I saw probably 10% of all the final games.  No, it’s not because the Yankees or the Sox weren’t involved it’s just that the matchup and teams were kinda boring.  Giants vs. Rangers.  Really?  The Giants won in 5 games, they beat the Rangers in Arlington, 3-1 in the fifth game.

That’s about as much as I could gather!  These year in review posts take forever to do so I hope you enjoyed it.  I’m sure I missed some stuff but hey, I only have so much time and effort available.

The D-L on S-L, Right Now

Life has been crazy the past two months or so!  In case you weren’t aware I moved into a house in Draper with my roommate, Carrie, who just so happens to also be from Michigan and an MSU alumni.  She was basically the first person I went to see via classifieds from KSL for people looking for roommates and when I saw the basement and met her I knew it’s where I wanted to go.  The basement is finished, it’s quite large, actually the biggest place I’ve lived in since being in Utah so I’m pretty ok with it!  She has a dog (Greg) and two cats (Natty and Burrito).  Burrito is my favorite since she’s a kitten she likes to run around non-stop and play.  The house I live in is right behind a big ass field with all kinds of wild life.  I’ve seen deer, an owl, pheasants, and I’ve heard there is a fox back there as well, so that’s cool.

Living in Draper is pretty alright, I literally live across the street from where I used to work but unfortunately my company was bought out by Symantec and our offices moved south to Lindon (gag me) so moving to Draper was ideal since it cut my commute down quite a bit.  Although, I must say, I miss living closer to SLC and my peeps that live that way.

Last week I finally finished getting my bike ready for winter.  It took a while because we got bombed with snow and it was ULTRA cold (single-teen digit temps) thus it took a while.  Getting the bike ready for winter basically consisted of changing the oil/filter, cleaning the chain and re-waxing it and putting some fuel stabilizer in.  It was a learning process I’ll give you that.  Taking the bike’s fairings off the first time was nuts but I enjoy doing stuff like that myself so it was cool.  As soon as Carrie and I get the couch and chair moved out of the garage (this weekend?) I’ll move the bike to some corner, take the battery out, then cover her up.  I’m hype to have a garage to park my bike AND car in no more snow cleaning at 6:40 AM!

I may have some interesting news coming up.  I can’t say a lot right now because nothing is for sure at this point but I’ll say that if it goes down I’m going to be one happy boy.  For now, that’s about it!  I am going back to Michigan on December 22 for the holidays and I can’t be more excited, I need some Mitten in my life (and some Bdubs … and some Coney Island….mmmmm).

Until next time, hollar!

Oh Spartan Basketball

As you know MSU basketball is everything to me, at least in the world of sports .  MSU football is pretty alright too.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of them too and hey we had a hell of a season (11-1!).  Granted, being 11-1 and getting hosed out of a BCS title game doens’t sit well with me, but we do get to go play in the Capital One Bowl against Alabama and our old coach, Nick Saban on New Years Day.  But MSU bball is where it’s at for me.

Lately, MSU has played an insane schedule jumping over to the Maui Invitational, then to the late night Duke game, and then to Madison Square Garden to play Syracuse (not to mention the smaller non-profile games in between these).  There are a two things that stick out like sore thumbs (or achillies tendons) to me as I’ve watched the Spartans play their first nine games or so:

1. We seem like we haven’t practiced a lot.  The team as a whole looks like they are completely cold as they try to run sets or improv plays.  I have to assume this is due to the ridiculous amount of traveling that’s been going on since the season started.  They definitely need to get some practice going and start meshing with each other like they could do so well last year.  The othr thing that goes along with this (and the amount of traveling) is turnovers and freethrows.  Turnovers can be attributed to both mental and physical fatigue (travel) while free throws is more or less mental and flat out practice, both of which we really haven’t had.  I mean, we had 20+ turnovers against #1 Duke and they only beat us by 5 points.  If we can limit the turnovers and start nailing the FT’s things will fall into place much more.
2. Kalin Lucas is definitely not 100%.  I read last week that his Achillies was sore, which according to the docs, is a normal part of the healing process especially with the amount of time he spends running up and down the court.  Izzo talked about needing to watch his minutes a little bit more, obviously Lucas wants to play in these big games but can we really risk him re-injuring that tendon or another body part?  No.  Yes, I want to win every game, yes I want another Big 10 championsihp, but what I want more is for MSU to go DEEP into March with a completely healthy Kalin Lucas who can run, drive, and explode, there really is no doubt that this has to happen in order for us to make a big March Madness run.

Either way I’m a die hard MSU fan til the end, even when sometimes watching them KILLS me and I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack!  As much as I’m (totally) worried about them at the moment I have faith in Izzo, I know he’ll get them to where they need to be and I know that Lucas’ tendon will eventually get better.  Big Ten play starts the last day of December, let’s get um boys!  GO SPARTANS!