Burnout

Each and every day I'm feeling just a little bit more tired. It's probably because of working full-time and still attending school, but next week, it's all going to change.

This week, I'm finishing up with presentations and final exams for the two one-credit classes that I'm taking prior to my student teaching experience. Those required a lot of work, plus going in-and-out of the College of Education office with paperwork, so yeah -- I'm a little pooped.

I'm going into Chester a day early -- Monday -- to fill out some paperwork before my initial "get-to-work" plan on Tuesday. I've already received my cooperating teacher's class schedule, and basically it's all about MS Excel, some web development, and some networking. It'll be a piece of cake -- all I have to remember is that I'm going to be dealing with high schoolers so I can tone down the assignments a little bit (compared to what I'm used to at college).

But the big problem is work. I still need to make money to take care of the bills -- how am I supposed to accomplish this? I'm only required to be in Chester from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., then I'm out. I could pull into Mad-Town and work from 4:30 to 9:30, but I need to consider planning time for the next day's lessons and so forth. It'll be trial-and-error for this first week.

Overall, I'm fired up as I can be. I'm finally going to make it -- graduation!

Dealing Moss

Rumors have it that Randy Moss will be traded during the off-season? How true is this?

First, the rumors.

• Moss to the Raiders for Phillip Buchanan and the Raiders' 1st-Round draft pick.
• Moss to the Ravens for Ed Reed and the Ravens' 1st-Round draft pick.

Eh -- who knows. Mike Tice is in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl to do some scouting and he denies these rumors. But Tice is a known liar -- saying that Moss would play full-blown in games after his hamstring injury but he was used as a decoy.

If Moss goes, the Vikings will still have a solid receiving corps. When Moss was injured, receivers like Marcus Robinson, Nate Burleson, Kelly Campbell, and tight end Jermaine Wiggins all stepped up (although the Vikes lost 7 of the last 10 games).

The Vikings need DEFENSE and a rebuilt OFFENSIVE LINE. Injuries didn't help the Vikings this season, and hopefully they can improve.

That's my two cents -- but Moss should stay!

New DVD's

When I was in Mitchell, I picked up "Troy" and "Friday Night Lights."

I've seen parts of "FNL", but I watched "Troy" on Monday night. My impression? A damn good movie.

For one, it's based on Homer's "Iliad." I love that Greek mythology shit.

Second, Brad Pitt is one bad-ass mofo. Although you basically see his rear-end a few times in the flick -- I wouldn't mess with this guy.

And finally -- the cast! Katie was all about Orlando Bloom showing off his chest, but he played a puss-bag, which was my delight. But later on, he whipped out his Legolas-like skills and took down Brad Pitt's character, Achilles, with an arrow to the ankle (Achilles' Tendon -- now ya got it). Brian Cox was also great as Agamemnon, who was basically the king of kings of the Greeks.

Highly recommend this one!

Nicknames

In Mad-Town, we have a McDonald's. Everybody calls a McDonald's "Mickey-D's."

My nickname for a Taco John's is "Taco Schlongs." Why? I don't know. Pretty stupid.

"Taco Schlongs" closed at 7:30 p.m. last night. What the hell is that about?! I remember the good ol' days when they were open until 1:00 in the morning for a quick soft-shell.

I (along with Jewett) miss the Cajun McChickens from "Mickey-D's." Damn, they were good.

Oh, Hell

Chester vs. Clark -- The Corn Palace

Mitchell was a bust on Saturday night. Chester got their butts handed to them from the get-go. My mood wasn't that great watching the game because I had high expectations for the Flyers. Turnovers killed them due to sloppy passing. Clark was just too quick on both sides of the court -- as far as I'm concerned, they deserve to be #1 in Class 'A'.

Chester took a hit in the polls. As of today, they dropped from #2 to #5 in Class 'A'.

At the hotel, I managed to suck down a few beers in the privacy of my room while trying to avoid contact with some of the high schoolers who stayed at the hotel. Parents, coaches, and students alike from Chester stayed at the hotel. Everything was so damn loud that I didn't get to sleep around 4 in the morning.

Sorry, Bone! I did get your message on TonyTimes that Saturday, but I didn't have your phone number. Maybe next time, big man. We'll have to hit the Kongo Klub!

Physical Exam -- So Far, So Good

I went in this morning for my physical for student teaching. Everything looks good in-and-out!

I also got poked by a needle for my TB test. I'm going to have to go back in early Monday morning to find out if I have TB or not -- yeah, like I probably would be sick and dying already.

I had a pretty hot doctor. She poked and proded and I said, "Yeah, I like that. Feels good, no pain!"

Since I didn't have health insurance, she helped me dodge the costs of paying for the exam out of my pocket. Since I had an old sports injury (dislocated shoulder from playing softball years ago in Hanley Falls), she had the excuse of saying that she checked it out and looked it over, thus the college pays for it. Sweet!

As for the shoulder, I've tore something up in my left shoulder from when it happened. I never did get it checked out afterwards, something that I do regret. The shoulder is pretty stable, but it may get worse over time and that'll probably have to require surgery.

Overall, I satisfied with my overall condition. Although I think I'm a little overweight (which isn't so hard to lose before the wedding!). I'm standing at 5'6" and weigh 170 lbs. According to the BMI chart, I'm overweight. I should be at around 155 to 160 lbs. I could get there, but it's going to take some work. The doctor said that I have a lot of muscle mass and that contributes to the weight more than fat does, so if I get my body fat percentage down a bit, I should be fine.

New Die-Casts

Rusty Wallace and Brendan Gaughan -- Kodak die-casts, 2004

I've got myself a couple more die-casts to add to the collection.

The car on the right was driven by Brendan Gaughan for Penske Racing during the 2004 Nextel Cup Season (he is out of the ride, taken over by Travis Kvapil). This was his primary paint scheme for much of the 2004 season. I, for one, am truly upset that Roger Penske and Don Miller let Gaughan go, especially only after racing in one season in the Cup Series. This year, he'll be back driving in the Craftsman Truck Series, although it is rumored that he may be back in a Cup car this season.

The car on the left was a special sponsor promotion for Rusty Wallace, who usually drives the "Blue Deuce." Rusty drove this Kodak/Miller Lite Dodge at the road course in Watkins Glen, New York. Since Rusty and Gaughan were teammates and the Kodak corporation is headquartered in New York, Rusty gave Kodak a little bit more exposure with this car.

Upcoming Weekend for Tony

It should be a fun and exciting one, as Katie and I are heading to Mitchell to watch lots of the boy's basketball.

The big game is between Class 'A' state-ranked #1 Clark vs. Class 'A' state-ranked #2 Chester. Katie's two younger brothers both play for the Chester Flyers.

I'll be there with my Sony Cyber-shot, taking pictures left and right. Then, when I start student teaching in Chester starting February 1st, I'll wow the kids with my photographic abilities.

High school basketball always takes me back to the days when I was in high school. Although I didn't play basketball -- it was myself, Sean, Robb, and a handful of ladies occupying the first couple of rows next the floor to rip it up and heckle our own head coach.

I have attended a few Chester games this year and the atmosphere really brought me back into it. Chester is the defending Class 'A' champions. Chester lost a heartbreaker to Lennox last Monday night, coming back from 10-point deficit with 4 minutes remaining the in game to tie it up for overtime, but losing 70-69. It snapped their 17-game win streak, but a loss does them good. It'll bring them back to earth a little bit and it will only toughen them up. That was apparent when Chester came back on Tuesday night to drop Parkston.

But this Saturday, it'll be a good one. Clark has had played better teams, but Chester will be up to the challenge.

The Land of Suck, Part III

Dilbert comic strip from Jan. 18, 2005

Working part-time in manufacturing in a drama. I should be writing some of the crap that happens at work so I can make a movie of it someday.

In the above comic, that is basically what is happening. Due to an increased workload, the company is forming a 4th shift (this is all pretty complicated). The company is now accepting positions for the supervisor for this new shift.

If you have read my previous posts from a while ago regarding work (the "Land of Suck" posts), a long-time 2nd shift worker was denied the 2nd shift supervisor's position and it was given to a person who worked on 3rd shift -- a person who was fired and re-hired twice!

Now, it looks like the same thing is happening again. The same person who applied for the 2nd shift position is applying for the 4th shift position, but now there are talks that she will not get it. It will probably end up in the company hiring somebody outside the company and she will end up training that person in.

This is why I call this place "The Land of Suck." Things are damn unfair -- luckily for me I'm not a full-timer otherwise I should raise the shit-storm.

You see, upper-management thinks that they are gods. They basically look down on us workers like we're ants. The big difference is education. Upper-management have degrees in bull-shit, some of the workers only have a high school diploma or they do not even have one, and many workers have a criminal record.

I cannot begin to speak of how condenscending upper-management is. If you scrap a bunch of parts because it could be your fault -- they draw out the problem for a half-an-hour where it borders on public humiliation. It's like on that movie "Office Space," where a worker has 4 bosses telling him what to do. You just feel like reaching across the desk or table and slapping that guy up-side the head and telling him or her, "Yeah, I got it. Can I go back to work now?"

As for me, I do a job, I do it well. I will not be at this particular place long pending college graduation -- but I feel sorry for my co-workers who have to put up with this kind of crap. As I have always told them, they have the right as American citizens to organize and form a union. The company's response: if the workers organize, we're shutting this place down. Again -- bullshit.

Enough of that rant.

Damn Hypocritical Sportswriters

After the Vikings' defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Vikings have been constantly bombarded by every newspaper from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls.

Just that week before, when the Vikings took it to Green Bay and beat them 31-17 -- sportswriters were already talking Super Bowl for the Vikings, despite Randy Moss' antics during that game.

Now, it's McCombs' and Tice's head on a plate, with a little Randy on the side.

Like 'em or hate 'em -- make up your minds! Why do these people have jobs?! They cannot decide on anything!

I can tell you this -- when it comes to sports, nobody has or ever will have the right answer for success. Take a look at George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees. They have constantly over the past decade had the highest payroll in the Major League Baseball but have recently come up short to winning it all.

The successes are the Minnesota Twins with their shitty payroll who have managed to win 3-straight AL Central Divisional titles. They are the Anaheim Angels when they won the 2002 World Series. They are the Boston Red Sox who won the 2004 World Series. They are the New England Patriots who have won 2 of the past 3 Super Bowls.

Sooner or later, their day will come when they won't see success any longer. I just hope sportswriters in those town (except for those who write for the Minneapolis Star Tribune) can look back on the good times and live through the bad -- take it in stride -- and wait for another successful season.

Heat Wave

Watch out, folks -- here's comes some nice weather. We're damn near breaking the freezing point!

It's finally nice to see that the snow is starting to melt after our little cold spell that eastern South Dakota endured during the last couple of weeks.

Temps are topping out at around 35 degrees, but what really gets me is that people have the nerve to consider 35 degrees a tropical climate. People today on campus are wearing shorts and short sleeves. Are you nuts?!

Some people need to be shot. Kind of like last night when I saw this girl out jogging with a friend of her's -- WITH A CIGARETTE IN HER MOUTH. Yeah -- defeats the purpose, doesn't it?!

"Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego"

Yeah, I saw "Anchorman" on Sunday night.

The movie had its hilarious spots, especially when Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) threw a burrito out his car window and hit a man on a motorcycle (Jack Black), causing him to biff it. Later on, a confrontation occurs on the highway (which is a bridge, by the way) and Black punts Ferrell's dog Baxter off the bridge. Damn, that was so stupid -- but I laughed my ass off.

BUT -- I highly recommend this movie.

Dune-Buggy

I was going to touch up on this a few weeks ago during our first ice storm, but now I'm going to comment on it.

This is a question of mine that I have wondered for years during my time spent in South Dakota. I used to give my S.D. buddies a hard time about this.

Does South Dakota have a contract with Hawaii, California, or Florida for sand to be dumped all over the highways? I just have to throw it into 4-wheel drive just to get through the sand!

And of course, ol' John (Nee-Nee) says that we must have some salt mines in Minnesota ("oooh! nee-nee!" [hand motions]) because that's what Minnesota uses on their highways.

It comes, and it goes -- the battle between South Dakota and Minnesota.

The Vikings' Season Is Over

I knew it was coming. I really didn't give them any hope against the Eagles.

Oh, well. There's always next year.

Am I disappointed? Sure. They shouldn't have even been in the playoffs to begin with, especially after they dropped 7 of their last 10 games of the season.

My pick for the Super Bowl? If the Pats beat the Steelers next weekend, the Pats will win the Super Bowl for a second year in a row.

We're about to see some damn good Conference Championship games. Between the Eagles and the Falcons, I like the Eagles -- despite dropping the last 3 NFC Championship games. It's the Eagles time and I don't see Vick & Co. playing well in the frigid tempuratures of Philly.

New Die-Cast

My newest die-cast: Newman's SPEED Channel Driver of the Year -- 2003 Silver Chrome

I got this new die-cast off eBay on Friday. This is a special edition, a tribute to Ryan Newman when he was voted SPEED Channel's Driver of the Year in 2003 after his 8-win, 11-pole position season.

This has got to be one of the best die-casts in my collection. Staying true to the 2003 paint scheme, it boasts a sleek silver chrome that looks very, very nice.

This is the first of many die-casts that I should receive over the next week, as I picked up more Rusty Wallace paint schemes from 2004 as well as Brendan Gaughan's (former teammate of Ryan and Rusty) paint schemes from 2004.

With my new trusy Cyber-shot, you should be seeing them shortly!

Ryan's New Ride

Ryan Newman's New ALLTEL/Mobil 1 Dodge Charger

With Daytona Testing in full-swing, Ryan Newman unveiled his new 2005 paint scheme in Daytona.

The paint scheme itself is somewhat an improvement, with more sweeping blacks and blues while staying true to the all-white hoood. The most notable change is the body of the new Dodges this year, as the Intrepid was finally retired and the "new" Charger was implemented as the new body.

The front of the car resembles the Chevy Monte Carlo with its "scooped" headlights. This should help the front downforce of the car on fast, curvy tracks -- but this might hamper the car at restrictor-plate super-speedway tracks like Daytona and Talladega.

Overall, a damn fine automobile. It should see its first running during the Budweiser Shootout a few days prior to the Daytona 500.

(Yawn)

Nothing much to say today. I'm pretty busy, going for 12 hours straight between school and work.

But damn, it's bloody cold out there today. I woke up and it was -2 degrees below zero with a wind chill of around -256 degrees. That's what it seems like!

I got the Cyber-shot yesterday from UPS. I had to charge the batteries last night and got to play around with it a little bit this morning. Katie didn't particularly care for it, since I got a shot off with her just wearing ... ah, nothing.

I was quickly instructed to delete the picture, at which I promptly did!

My New Toy

I'm getting my Sony Cybershot, a digital camera, tomorrow from UPS.

It's a bad-ass piece of work, with 5 mega-pixel resoluation and 3x optical zoom. With a 64 MB memory card, I can store up to nearly 900 pictures!

With this, hopefully I can take more personal shots and have them seen on this blog. Now, I will not have to take pictures the old way, wait a couple of hours to get them developed, scan them in, and finally post them.

I'm also going to work on a DVD movie for our wedding reception -- my new Windows XP Pro has a Windows Movie Maker on it and I'm already having fun with it. Bad news is that my notebook doesn't have a DVD burner.

Note to Bone (or "Turkish"): Movie Maker has the classic "Star Wars" scroll on it. It would have come in handy when we made our movie years ago!

Simply Disturbing

Sitting in last semester in my Human Growth and Development class, our professor directed us to some web sites that are "unsuitable" for children. No, we did not view any porn, but just some sites that are "adult only."

One such site is JFK Reloaded. You are Lee Harvey Oswald and you are sitting in the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building on November 22, 1963.

See where I'm going with this?

Yep, you have the opportunity to do what the Warren Commission says -- Oswald gets off three shots at the presidential limo, killing President Kennedy and injuring Governor John Connally.

If you can be as accurate as possible, you are awarded points. If you pay the $10 for unlock the whole JFK Reloaded, you have the opportunity to have 10 chances to put up the highest score possible for the chance of winning $10,000 or even maybe $100,000. Crazy!

There is a free demo if you want to check it out.

I've already heard stories from newspapers that this site is BAD NEWS -- it's even being sued by the Kennedy Family. But there are some that argue that this is of historical significance, but it's up in the air.

People in Minnesota will probably know my obsession of the JFK assassination from my junior high years and on, reading the books and studying the Zapruder film. This site, although somewhat disturbing, has drawn my interest.

Check it out -- if you're mature enough.

Where Do I Start?

Man, there are just so many things that are bugging me right now, I just cannot separate them all and tackle them one at a time.

For one, I need a physical for student teaching. I wanted to head back to Minnesota this weekend to get it taken care of, but the clinic there is a joke. I just might as well stay here in Mad-Town and let them look me over, even though they have the reputation for being, well -- BAD.

I'm starting to work full-time now during the school, the first time in my history. Right after class at 12:00 p.m., I go to work at 1:00 and run till 9:30 p.m. Man, I need the money. I've got bills up the Wang-Ho River to pay off some holiday debts.

Then, there's the wedding. It's not stressful on me too much, but I can tell it's taking a toll on Katie. She's heading down to Sioux Falls with some of her bridesmaids to do some more registering for gifts -- she can do that! I tried that once -- didn't care for it -- instead, I bought me "Age of Empires II" plus the expansion "The Conquerors." Great stuff.

I miss the free time that I had, but on the other hand, I was literally getting fat for being so damn lazy. I gained 10 pounds since I was laid off in November. Now, I'm starting to work out again so hopefully I can be down to a trim 160 in time for the wedding. Sure, it may not seem like a big deal to some of you, since I'm such a little guy -- but after walking three flights of stairs in East Hall, I'm literally dying and out of breath.

But overall, I'm happy with my station in life. I'm doing the best I can, although my impending nervousness for student teaching will increase for the next couple of weeks, but I'll be alright.

Ah ... NASCAR

Daytona testing starts today, as the SPEED Channel will air highlights at 6:00 p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. tonight.

Besides Ryan Newman gearing up for another year in Nextel Cup, I'm looking forward to seeing the new Dodge Charger that all Dodge teams will run this year.

I'm really hoping that Newman can improve his performance on super-speedways like Daytona and Talladega, since it seems that those are the two tracks he consistently struggles at.

I'm Finally Employed, Again

Starting this past January 3rd, I'm back at the old shop, doing my boring and typical thing of standing around and making sure things are nice.

I put in 48 hours last week, which will add up to a nice paycheck due to the overtime.

My next "project" will be that can I handle 40 hour weeks during school? Probably. Since I've only got two stupid classes, I can probably pull it off.

Plus, I need the money, since I have holiday bills to pay off and I just bought me a Sony Cybershot.

Well, I'm Back

After a short Christmas vacation and a nice little time off from the ol' Blog, it's time to fire it back up.

Today is Registration Day at college. I did receive a nice little check back from my loan, so that'll keep me going through the spring. Tomorrow, school starts. I've got two one-credit classes that will run every day of the week until the end of January, then student teaching on February 1.

I would like to reflect back on my past holiday experience, but it wasn't that great. The people, too much food (I gained 10 pounds), the hassle of last-minute shopping in Sioux Falls -- it was all just too much. I thought Katie and I would come to blows -- she wants to look at everything, I just want to get the hell out.

Anyway, it's cold, there's snow on the ground, and I need an oil change on the truck.

Mr. Moss

Yesterday was a great day to be a Minnesotan.

The Vikings beat up on Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card playoffs at Lambeau Field (of all places!). Two of the scores came from Randy Moss.

This guy, Mr. Moss -- he just keeps on stepping in the horse shit. For one, I really do not care about him walking off the field early during Washington's game. I do not doubt him, the Vikings simply sucked that day.

After the Green Bay game, I agree with Randy saying that "(the media) blew it up." That incident was blown so far out of proportion and everybody hounded him about it. BIG DEAL.

Then, after Moss scored his second touchdown reception, he "mooned" the Green Bay fans. Sure, it was class-less, but the Green Bay/Minnesota rivalry is something intense -- and it's just Moss' way of "thumbing his nose" to Green Bay in the playoffs despite two regular season losses.

In a way, I'm defending Moss. Sure, it was a stupid act (and listening to the FOX guys, namely Terry Bradshaw, make me want to kick his ass), but I would love to have Moss play on my team, ANYDAY.

Wasn't ...

During the Christmas Eve football game between the Vikings and the Packers, I noticed a commercial on TV that nearly floored me.

Some of you South Dakota boys, like Bone and John, will have to verify this.

All of a sudden, I'm seeing a bouncing head -- exhibiting all of these goofy facial expessions.

"Damn," I said. "He looks familiar!"

Wouldn't you know it, it sure looks like Jerrid, a good ol' fella that I knew from college.

"What the hell is he doing?!"

Advertising for some tax company in Sioux Falls. Good Lord!

Wonderful ... Another Year

Yep, it's 2005 -- what can I say?

It's down the homestrech for me now, which student teaching on the horizon and graduation in May. I wish I could be more excited, but I know that my work is cut out for me.

I'll have to go into full detail about my holiday weeks later on ... I quite busy at the moment with preparations for student teaching (fingerprints, physical exams, etc.), I'll be back later on my frustrating holiday season.