well, it's yet another 70 degree day of sunshine in macau. i'm starting to think my computer's thermometer is frozen. not even a 71 or a 69 -- just 70, every day. i had a moment this morning where i was in bed and just got the feeling that it was 30 degrees outside. it must just be the holiday season.
anyway, as part of the holiday season, my mother sent me a package this last week that included all of my sweaters, because i forgot them at home. i was thrilled. NOW, i can start feeling the holiday spirit. i got a chance to have a massive skype session with my family, who are down in Tejas for thanksgiving. it was really great to talk to them. what's even greater is that i'll be home now in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS i say! can you tell i'm counting down? anyway, the funniest part of my skype sesh with the family was that my uncle said that he really liked my gargoyle sweater. he clearly meant argyle, but gargoyle was what came out. i found this quite amusing, but then i thought about it. how awesome would it be if it WAS a gargoyle sweater, like a sweater with a sweet menacing gargoyle magnificently stitched in. once you get past how nerdy it is, it could be really sweet. in theory anyway. i googled gargoyle sweaters to see if there were any already in existence. there were not. oh well.
anyway, i have been ripping on my school a lot these last couple weeks (deservedly so), so i should probably throw it a bone. in just about every high school in the US, there are young adolescents finding their ways around young love and relationships. i'm not talking about all of them though. there is a specific demographic of high school relationships i'm thoroughly pleased i don't have to regularly witness. these are the really awkward kids who have really awkward relationships with each other. NOT the popular kids. the popular kids and the school's IT couples have the process down. they wait until the weekend parties to loosen up and get scandalous. the students i'm referring to walk from class to class holding hands and then share this really uncomfortably long hug before one of them goes into class and the other strolls off to his/her class. sometimes it's a strange kiss, depending how in "love" they think they are at that age. you never really see them with any other students. MAYBE they've buddied up with an equally strange couple, but for the most part, these two students are each others' only friend it seems. i don't know why, but these relationships always bugged me. i mean, i guess it's nice that they have each other, but it just seems sad. so, thankfully adolescent PDA hasn't made it to china. there's borderline inappropriate touching between students here, but not in the romantic sense. more crotch punches than anything. the students just have little concept of personal space. but it doesn't seem to phase them. i guess it's just the norm.
so one of the things about china is that people have some ridiculous hairstyles. strange colors. strange cuts. it's just odd. if i saw these people in the US, i would mock them incessantly (not to their face of course; that's just rude). some things cannot go unsaid though. a few weeks ago, i saw a man sporting the mythical faux-mullet. faux hawk in the front, PARTY in the back. and not a high school party where you take turns taking pulls from mad dog/mad dog or a stolen bottle of gin. an OOM-TSS OOM-TSS rave where everybody's on E swinging glow sticks from old shoelaces. it was epic! ---side bar--- while i haven't fooled around with my hair at all, i did go the entire month of october and some of november without shaving. not by choice, but because my razor got shorted out. i manned up and got a new one a few weeks ago, but just to trim. it's no bobby guise beard; it's more kyle orton level. i'll be returning to the states with it, but will go clean a few days after. chinese people can't grow facial hair, so in comparison, it's the best beard ever.
lastly, this just in, for the english club christmas party, yours truly is in charge of teaching a group of students christmas songs. we're going with: we wish you a merry christmas, jingle bells, silent night, and hark the herald angels, because the students have heard of them, or at least some of them. we may have to ditch hark because it has the biggest range, and i still stand by my previous statement that chinese people don't sing very well. anyway, i'm very excited. in the next 2 weeks, i'll actually get to do some of the things i actually wanted to do with teaching, teach writing (i'm in charge of the school writing workshop next week to generate student writing for the english writing 80th anniversary book) and dabble in some singing stuff. i have high hopes for both. building the resume. building the resume.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
holy crap, thanksgiving is this week...
one of the side effects of working in another country that doesn't celebrate the same holidays and repetitious days of 70 degree weather is that i have lost complete track of where we are in the year. i looked at the calendar today and had the epiphany that thanksgiving was 4 days away, a holiday that i usually count down the weeks to because of the lack of school/work and the bevy of incredibly delicious food to look forward to. this year, out of sight/out of mind really took over.
anyway, it's been a generally irritating week, so i could really use some holiday comfort food. my frustration with my school is at an all time high. it's almost laughable (if it weren't for the tears) how terrible my school is at communication. it's 2010 and my school doesn't have a school e-mail. shocking! i'm pretty sure "thou shalt not effectively communicate with your employees" is not one of the 10 commandments, so there's no excuse. as usual i have the dreaded english club on saturday morning, but i found out on wednesday (3 days warning) that all of the junior 1 (7th grade) classes have parent teacher conferences on saturday afternoon. did i mention that i also was not ever told what i needed to prepare? nor could anybody answer the question for me. the good news, which i found out 5 minutes before it started, was that i didn't have to do anything. i had to sit in the front row with the other teachers as the administrators spoke to the parents and then stand up when they refer to me and bow to the parents. simple enough. i missed my cue though and had an awkward late bow because they introduced me in chinese and not by name, so i only knew to stand when all the administrators were staring at me, nodding at me to coax me to stand. very awkward. then i just got to go home after the speech. not as painful as i thought it would be, but working all day on a saturday blows. i don't recommend it.
my classes are kind of going better, one anyway. J1A is making me happy. the other day, i was talking, and i had to pause for a split second, because they were actually silent. i was blown away. i didn't even have to say anything. J1B is still horrible. they are fun ruiners. they ruin fun. every lesson i do goes substantially worse with them because they won't shut up. they're really making me get creative with my punishments. every game i play is ruined because they won't shut up. even the students with good grades are bad.
which brings me to my next topic of anger. my contract situation. i was thoroughly amused at the simplicity of the contract i signed. it looked like a microsoft word document that a 5th grader put together. very basic and to the point. as a wide eyed young teacher fresh out of college, i shut down my cynic button. i should have known better. my school doesn't really care about the contract. they just do things, usually without telling me or giving me short notice. for example, my contract says i'm only supposed to work 5 days. i work 6. the thing that is really under my skin is that 2 days ago, i found out that i'm supposed to work all summer for summer school too. not just the single school year. i have other plans, like, being in the US interviewing and looking for a real teaching job. the job i want. the reason i became a teacher. my department chair is the one that dropped this bomb on me. basically, she told me it's fine and to just quit in june before summer school. very nonchalant. sounds like a plan. the repercussions though (which i don't have the answers to yet) are how this will effect my references and recommendations from the school AND my paycheck. i'm not too worried about my references. there are people in the school that will write me good ones regardless. also, i probably won't get my full year's salary if i have to quit in june. this is all speculation, but still they are very real concerns. i hope to find out more soon, but (as is the ongoing trend) i probably won't.
anyway, so i mentioned that i've been watching a lot of tv shows on my computer and i feel now is a good time to ask for more suggestions again. i'm just going to go down the list with some brief thoughts trying to avoid spoilers
dexter - a staple in my weekly schedule. i'm enjoying the season so far. not as good as last, but john lithgow is almost impossible to top. they've made up for it by enlisting the services of Robocop (peter weller). the original robocop is one of my favorite movies. it's incredible. weller plays a great bad guy. he's also probably going to get killed off because of his story arc, probably in a sweet way. he's learning too much.
boardwalk empire - the first show that i've followed from the start in quite a while. i love organized crime and the roaring 20s and prohibition, so it's really interesting. i recommend it. i don't really like steve buscemi though. he's just so ugly, i can't really take him seriously, especially in a lead role. i just think there had to have been better choices. apparently the guy he portrays was like 6-4 too. buscemi's like 5-10 and very unthreatening. he's just not very badass. it really is good though. check it out if you haven't already.
it's always sunny - i openly complained that i thought the first couple episodes were weak. they must have heard me, because the last couple weeks have been excellent. lethal weapon 5 was marvelous. so good.
modern family - i watched it a little last year and didn't really care for it. i didn't really give it a fair shot though. i've given it that shot and am completely on board. it's a great cast. and they work really well together. i admit that i'm partially on board because sofia vergara is a total knockout. those that know me and know my tastes know that i've always had a thing for beautiful latino women. perhaps it's just tan brunettes. but she is a specimen.
bored to death - got back into this. it's very funny. i always hated ted danson, but he brings it hard. zach galifianakis is always good.
eastbound & down - started weak, finale was awesome. solid sophomore season, not as good or shocking as the first.
psych - caught up pretty quickly. i have a slight crush on jules. she's just so girl next door. i also like it when shows call themselves out in their episodes when something gets annoying. psych does it very well. also, i got a kid in my conversation class to choose gus as his english name. dave, for the win!
south park - season highlights...lampooning snooki and ripped the new lebron commercial. good work trey and matt.
mad men - don draper's getting married to a french canadian girl? that has about as good a chance as lasting as greg oden's knees.
community - caught up recently. i'm down. who knew racism was the key to chevy chase's comeback?
that's about it. californication starts again in january, which will be fun. i am looking for new shows again. i've been looking to get into the wire for a while, so as soon as i find a site that has all the episodes i'll get on that. i'm torn between giving a shot to how i met your mother or the big bang theory. any other suggestions are welcome. happy thanksgiving everybody!
anyway, it's been a generally irritating week, so i could really use some holiday comfort food. my frustration with my school is at an all time high. it's almost laughable (if it weren't for the tears) how terrible my school is at communication. it's 2010 and my school doesn't have a school e-mail. shocking! i'm pretty sure "thou shalt not effectively communicate with your employees" is not one of the 10 commandments, so there's no excuse. as usual i have the dreaded english club on saturday morning, but i found out on wednesday (3 days warning) that all of the junior 1 (7th grade) classes have parent teacher conferences on saturday afternoon. did i mention that i also was not ever told what i needed to prepare? nor could anybody answer the question for me. the good news, which i found out 5 minutes before it started, was that i didn't have to do anything. i had to sit in the front row with the other teachers as the administrators spoke to the parents and then stand up when they refer to me and bow to the parents. simple enough. i missed my cue though and had an awkward late bow because they introduced me in chinese and not by name, so i only knew to stand when all the administrators were staring at me, nodding at me to coax me to stand. very awkward. then i just got to go home after the speech. not as painful as i thought it would be, but working all day on a saturday blows. i don't recommend it.
my classes are kind of going better, one anyway. J1A is making me happy. the other day, i was talking, and i had to pause for a split second, because they were actually silent. i was blown away. i didn't even have to say anything. J1B is still horrible. they are fun ruiners. they ruin fun. every lesson i do goes substantially worse with them because they won't shut up. they're really making me get creative with my punishments. every game i play is ruined because they won't shut up. even the students with good grades are bad.
which brings me to my next topic of anger. my contract situation. i was thoroughly amused at the simplicity of the contract i signed. it looked like a microsoft word document that a 5th grader put together. very basic and to the point. as a wide eyed young teacher fresh out of college, i shut down my cynic button. i should have known better. my school doesn't really care about the contract. they just do things, usually without telling me or giving me short notice. for example, my contract says i'm only supposed to work 5 days. i work 6. the thing that is really under my skin is that 2 days ago, i found out that i'm supposed to work all summer for summer school too. not just the single school year. i have other plans, like, being in the US interviewing and looking for a real teaching job. the job i want. the reason i became a teacher. my department chair is the one that dropped this bomb on me. basically, she told me it's fine and to just quit in june before summer school. very nonchalant. sounds like a plan. the repercussions though (which i don't have the answers to yet) are how this will effect my references and recommendations from the school AND my paycheck. i'm not too worried about my references. there are people in the school that will write me good ones regardless. also, i probably won't get my full year's salary if i have to quit in june. this is all speculation, but still they are very real concerns. i hope to find out more soon, but (as is the ongoing trend) i probably won't.
anyway, so i mentioned that i've been watching a lot of tv shows on my computer and i feel now is a good time to ask for more suggestions again. i'm just going to go down the list with some brief thoughts trying to avoid spoilers
dexter - a staple in my weekly schedule. i'm enjoying the season so far. not as good as last, but john lithgow is almost impossible to top. they've made up for it by enlisting the services of Robocop (peter weller). the original robocop is one of my favorite movies. it's incredible. weller plays a great bad guy. he's also probably going to get killed off because of his story arc, probably in a sweet way. he's learning too much.
boardwalk empire - the first show that i've followed from the start in quite a while. i love organized crime and the roaring 20s and prohibition, so it's really interesting. i recommend it. i don't really like steve buscemi though. he's just so ugly, i can't really take him seriously, especially in a lead role. i just think there had to have been better choices. apparently the guy he portrays was like 6-4 too. buscemi's like 5-10 and very unthreatening. he's just not very badass. it really is good though. check it out if you haven't already.
it's always sunny - i openly complained that i thought the first couple episodes were weak. they must have heard me, because the last couple weeks have been excellent. lethal weapon 5 was marvelous. so good.
modern family - i watched it a little last year and didn't really care for it. i didn't really give it a fair shot though. i've given it that shot and am completely on board. it's a great cast. and they work really well together. i admit that i'm partially on board because sofia vergara is a total knockout. those that know me and know my tastes know that i've always had a thing for beautiful latino women. perhaps it's just tan brunettes. but she is a specimen.
bored to death - got back into this. it's very funny. i always hated ted danson, but he brings it hard. zach galifianakis is always good.
eastbound & down - started weak, finale was awesome. solid sophomore season, not as good or shocking as the first.
psych - caught up pretty quickly. i have a slight crush on jules. she's just so girl next door. i also like it when shows call themselves out in their episodes when something gets annoying. psych does it very well. also, i got a kid in my conversation class to choose gus as his english name. dave, for the win!
south park - season highlights...lampooning snooki and ripped the new lebron commercial. good work trey and matt.
mad men - don draper's getting married to a french canadian girl? that has about as good a chance as lasting as greg oden's knees.
community - caught up recently. i'm down. who knew racism was the key to chevy chase's comeback?
that's about it. californication starts again in january, which will be fun. i am looking for new shows again. i've been looking to get into the wire for a while, so as soon as i find a site that has all the episodes i'll get on that. i'm torn between giving a shot to how i met your mother or the big bang theory. any other suggestions are welcome. happy thanksgiving everybody!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
***SPORTS*** 2.0
so last week, i just spent 4 days at the sports stadium over in taipa (again, the island next to macau) for the intra-catholic school track and field meet, which i'll comment on. and in the spirit of sports, i'll take a bit to comment on the world of sports, since i haven't for a while.
so this sports week, was one of the most boring weeks i've had in a while. i tried to watch when my students were running or jumping, but i basically just sat reading books for 4 days. yeah, me, reading books. for those of you that know me well, know that i probably set the record for the least amount of reading done for pleasure by an english major. when i was growing up/homeschooled i wasn't really aloud to watch tv, so i did read a lot. but then i reached the age where i got to be a bit more mischievous and figured out how to make the tv in my room get a tv signal. then i was hooked on the formerly forbidden fruit. to this day, i just like tv more. i'm a product of my generation you can say. in the last 6 years, i've read maybe 2 books for pleasure. yeah, the internet has made actual book reading less popular and in college there's not a whole lot of time to read anything BUT all the texts for class, but still. this is a habit i've been actively trying to kick though. i came to macau with a bunch of books so i can try to force myself into a new habit. since i've arrived, i've now finished 3 books and am on to my 4th. in less than 3 months. i'm somewhat proud. aghh, that was a monster digression.
so sports day offered little excitement. to make things less interesting, most of the races were done on the other side of the track from where my school had to sit, so i could barely even tell if my students were even running. the highlight of every day though was right after lunch. on our side of the track, there was a relay race between some students of a primary school (elementary school) and their parents. the kids would go halfway before passing the baton to their parent to finish the race. why was this hilarious? because at least 1 parent ate it in the homestretch every day, guaranteed. the first day, at least 5 parents face planted, hooking me for the rest of the week. it was glorious. other than that, nothing happened, but it was a week free of my stupid students, so for that, i'm grateful.
************************************************************************************
now for some much needed commentary on the world of AMERICAN sports.
BASEBALL
congratulations to the san fransisco giants for removing themselves from the "chicago cubs/cleveland indians" club of hopeless losers. you are also safe from the "worst team to win the world series" conversation, because the 2006 cardinals will hold that title for quite a while. honestly, i didn't care who won. some of you thought that i would be pulling for the rangers with the whole born in TEJAS thing working for me. but, i don't care for the rangers or most anything that comes from big D. also, i'd be lying if i said i wasn't happy that the rangers didn't capture a championship before my Astros did. so the baseball season is over right? god no. the hot stove is one of my favorite times of year, where i can fantasize about how improved my teams' rosters will be going into next year. (please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee) when i was bored in class, i used to put together a full astros offseason plan of available players, potential trade candidates, and other things. then i would project the stats over a 162 game season. yes, i'm a huge baseball nerd. and i know it.
FOOTBALL
i'm not nearly as in the loop with the season so far for obvious reasons, but i think that so far i can say that i definitely picked a good year to miss. it's a cliche, but the parity in the NFL is out of this world. this is the first year in a while that there isn't a well-defined super bowl favorite. hell, the last unbeaten team was the kc chiefs. THE CHIEFS! and they're sure as hell not looking super this year, regardless of how many former patriots are running things over there. week in and week out there's seemingly a new top team, when then promptly goes the next week and loses to an inferior team. it reminds me of the 2007-08 college football season where there was a new BCS number 1 team every week because the current number 1 kept losing right away. it's good because most teams still have a chance i guess (cough, the bears). it will definitely make for a whirlwind end of the season with teams fighting for wild card/division bids, which will be fascinating to watch.
speaking of los OSOS, what a stupid roller coaster they're taking me and the rest of the Chi on. while they are technically easily still in it, i can't ignore the quality of their winning record. the first win was to detroit (a L everywhere but the scoreboard). the second win was against dallas (bottom 3 team). the third was against green bay (fueled by hester, but most legitimate of the Ws), the fourth was against carolina (bottom 3 team). and the fifth was the buffalo (bottom 3 team). so you can understand my skepticism. if they beat the vikings, i could be singing a different tune. needless to say, only 1 team is walking off the field sunday with hope for the season. i almost hope the bears tank so they can just clean house and get a good draft pick to fix one of their glaring holes.
finally, i just want to weigh in on the hot topic of the season. big defensive hits. i can't describe how annoyed i am with the commissioner right now. first, changing rules midseason is ridiculous, period. these are players of habit. they've been playing the same way all their life. asking them to change on the dime is unfair. i understand how big of an issue concussions are (you'd have to be foolish to ignore the facts), but these mammoth fines are absurd. especially, coming down without an impartial player opinion. there are hits that are malicious and hits that are accidental and unfortunate. there has to be a difference. also, why just defensive players? plenty of RB lead with their helmet, without consequence. finally, how DARE the nfl plan on expanding the season, subjecting their players to even more wear and tear than a grueling 16 game schedule, and then turn around and say they only care about the players' well being. unfortunately, this is an issue that will haunt the league for many years, and it will not end well.
BASKETBALL
david stern must be the happiest person in the world right now. i can't remember the NBA being this popular and exciting since jordan and the 90s. it's really quite fantastic. there's more drama day-in/day-out than an episode of the hills. it's phenomenal entertainment. the best reality tv out there right now. there are so many talented teams out there, each one matching up differently with the other great teams. the west is ridiculously stacked with great teams with championship pedigrees, but the east features some of the most electric/dominating players out there thirsty to finally put it together.
the bulls are looking good so far, but the daunting circus trip is around the corner. i do think they can get home with a 4-3 trip though, which would be great. even 3-4 would be acceptable. rose has stepping things up to another level so far. joakim noah has been a beast everywhere. thank god he wasn't traded. barring injury, he'll be owning the paint in chicago through the decade. as the season continues, basketball will get more face time. especially once the trade winds pick up and the booze cruise finally joins the lineup.
i can't end without commenting on the early cloud over south beach. the heat are looking extremely flawed so far, and it doesn't appear as if the flaws will go away any time soon. the heat of lost 4 games so far. the common trend...each team featured an electric point guard and a big man that had their way and abused the heat. bodes well for the bulls right? rondo/garnett twice, paul/okafor, deron/millsap. especially with boozer back, i think the bulls match up incredibly well against the miami HATE. joakim/boozer should maul bosh/joel anthony up front. rose will abuse arroyo/chalmers. it should be interesting to see if any team will consider working a trade to help out the heat if pat riley calls, or if they're just ignore him and say screw you and good luck. i'm hoping the latter.
HOCKEY
blackhawks...to quote the great vince lombardi, what the hell's going on out here? i think all of chicago expected a little more this season, even with all of the roster overturn. things just aren't clicking yet, anywhere. it's still very early in the season and i do expect them to start turning things around soon, but there's a lot of work to do. the prospects that we thought were going to be around to fill in the depth haven't done it yet. it's not as exciting a time. this team is too good to keep muddling around though. they'll get it clicking in a month or so. i'm confident
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
just a weird year for football in general. can we really be looking forward to an Oregon/Boise State national championship? i say that because i can see auburn getting thumped by 'bama at the iron bowl in 2 weeks, and TCU will probably drop after a tough game against SDSt and with Utah getting crushed by the haplessly mediocre ND. i do like seeing new faces atop college football. i'm thrilled actually. it just sounds a little odd. i'll maybe weigh back in a few weeks from now to see if some of these things work themselves out and give a BCS preview.
phew, that was long.
so this sports week, was one of the most boring weeks i've had in a while. i tried to watch when my students were running or jumping, but i basically just sat reading books for 4 days. yeah, me, reading books. for those of you that know me well, know that i probably set the record for the least amount of reading done for pleasure by an english major. when i was growing up/homeschooled i wasn't really aloud to watch tv, so i did read a lot. but then i reached the age where i got to be a bit more mischievous and figured out how to make the tv in my room get a tv signal. then i was hooked on the formerly forbidden fruit. to this day, i just like tv more. i'm a product of my generation you can say. in the last 6 years, i've read maybe 2 books for pleasure. yeah, the internet has made actual book reading less popular and in college there's not a whole lot of time to read anything BUT all the texts for class, but still. this is a habit i've been actively trying to kick though. i came to macau with a bunch of books so i can try to force myself into a new habit. since i've arrived, i've now finished 3 books and am on to my 4th. in less than 3 months. i'm somewhat proud. aghh, that was a monster digression.
so sports day offered little excitement. to make things less interesting, most of the races were done on the other side of the track from where my school had to sit, so i could barely even tell if my students were even running. the highlight of every day though was right after lunch. on our side of the track, there was a relay race between some students of a primary school (elementary school) and their parents. the kids would go halfway before passing the baton to their parent to finish the race. why was this hilarious? because at least 1 parent ate it in the homestretch every day, guaranteed. the first day, at least 5 parents face planted, hooking me for the rest of the week. it was glorious. other than that, nothing happened, but it was a week free of my stupid students, so for that, i'm grateful.
************************************************************************************
now for some much needed commentary on the world of AMERICAN sports.
BASEBALL
congratulations to the san fransisco giants for removing themselves from the "chicago cubs/cleveland indians" club of hopeless losers. you are also safe from the "worst team to win the world series" conversation, because the 2006 cardinals will hold that title for quite a while. honestly, i didn't care who won. some of you thought that i would be pulling for the rangers with the whole born in TEJAS thing working for me. but, i don't care for the rangers or most anything that comes from big D. also, i'd be lying if i said i wasn't happy that the rangers didn't capture a championship before my Astros did. so the baseball season is over right? god no. the hot stove is one of my favorite times of year, where i can fantasize about how improved my teams' rosters will be going into next year. (please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee) when i was bored in class, i used to put together a full astros offseason plan of available players, potential trade candidates, and other things. then i would project the stats over a 162 game season. yes, i'm a huge baseball nerd. and i know it.
FOOTBALL
i'm not nearly as in the loop with the season so far for obvious reasons, but i think that so far i can say that i definitely picked a good year to miss. it's a cliche, but the parity in the NFL is out of this world. this is the first year in a while that there isn't a well-defined super bowl favorite. hell, the last unbeaten team was the kc chiefs. THE CHIEFS! and they're sure as hell not looking super this year, regardless of how many former patriots are running things over there. week in and week out there's seemingly a new top team, when then promptly goes the next week and loses to an inferior team. it reminds me of the 2007-08 college football season where there was a new BCS number 1 team every week because the current number 1 kept losing right away. it's good because most teams still have a chance i guess (cough, the bears). it will definitely make for a whirlwind end of the season with teams fighting for wild card/division bids, which will be fascinating to watch.
speaking of los OSOS, what a stupid roller coaster they're taking me and the rest of the Chi on. while they are technically easily still in it, i can't ignore the quality of their winning record. the first win was to detroit (a L everywhere but the scoreboard). the second win was against dallas (bottom 3 team). the third was against green bay (fueled by hester, but most legitimate of the Ws), the fourth was against carolina (bottom 3 team). and the fifth was the buffalo (bottom 3 team). so you can understand my skepticism. if they beat the vikings, i could be singing a different tune. needless to say, only 1 team is walking off the field sunday with hope for the season. i almost hope the bears tank so they can just clean house and get a good draft pick to fix one of their glaring holes.
finally, i just want to weigh in on the hot topic of the season. big defensive hits. i can't describe how annoyed i am with the commissioner right now. first, changing rules midseason is ridiculous, period. these are players of habit. they've been playing the same way all their life. asking them to change on the dime is unfair. i understand how big of an issue concussions are (you'd have to be foolish to ignore the facts), but these mammoth fines are absurd. especially, coming down without an impartial player opinion. there are hits that are malicious and hits that are accidental and unfortunate. there has to be a difference. also, why just defensive players? plenty of RB lead with their helmet, without consequence. finally, how DARE the nfl plan on expanding the season, subjecting their players to even more wear and tear than a grueling 16 game schedule, and then turn around and say they only care about the players' well being. unfortunately, this is an issue that will haunt the league for many years, and it will not end well.
BASKETBALL
david stern must be the happiest person in the world right now. i can't remember the NBA being this popular and exciting since jordan and the 90s. it's really quite fantastic. there's more drama day-in/day-out than an episode of the hills. it's phenomenal entertainment. the best reality tv out there right now. there are so many talented teams out there, each one matching up differently with the other great teams. the west is ridiculously stacked with great teams with championship pedigrees, but the east features some of the most electric/dominating players out there thirsty to finally put it together.
the bulls are looking good so far, but the daunting circus trip is around the corner. i do think they can get home with a 4-3 trip though, which would be great. even 3-4 would be acceptable. rose has stepping things up to another level so far. joakim noah has been a beast everywhere. thank god he wasn't traded. barring injury, he'll be owning the paint in chicago through the decade. as the season continues, basketball will get more face time. especially once the trade winds pick up and the booze cruise finally joins the lineup.
i can't end without commenting on the early cloud over south beach. the heat are looking extremely flawed so far, and it doesn't appear as if the flaws will go away any time soon. the heat of lost 4 games so far. the common trend...each team featured an electric point guard and a big man that had their way and abused the heat. bodes well for the bulls right? rondo/garnett twice, paul/okafor, deron/millsap. especially with boozer back, i think the bulls match up incredibly well against the miami HATE. joakim/boozer should maul bosh/joel anthony up front. rose will abuse arroyo/chalmers. it should be interesting to see if any team will consider working a trade to help out the heat if pat riley calls, or if they're just ignore him and say screw you and good luck. i'm hoping the latter.
HOCKEY
blackhawks...to quote the great vince lombardi, what the hell's going on out here? i think all of chicago expected a little more this season, even with all of the roster overturn. things just aren't clicking yet, anywhere. it's still very early in the season and i do expect them to start turning things around soon, but there's a lot of work to do. the prospects that we thought were going to be around to fill in the depth haven't done it yet. it's not as exciting a time. this team is too good to keep muddling around though. they'll get it clicking in a month or so. i'm confident
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
just a weird year for football in general. can we really be looking forward to an Oregon/Boise State national championship? i say that because i can see auburn getting thumped by 'bama at the iron bowl in 2 weeks, and TCU will probably drop after a tough game against SDSt and with Utah getting crushed by the haplessly mediocre ND. i do like seeing new faces atop college football. i'm thrilled actually. it just sounds a little odd. i'll maybe weigh back in a few weeks from now to see if some of these things work themselves out and give a BCS preview.
phew, that was long.
lord i was born a gamblin man
not really, it's just been stuck in my head and i haven't been able to think of a better post-casino...uh...post.
so yes, i finally made it out to the casinos. my buddy woody came to visit with some of his friends from his teaching program in shenzhen so we went out to the casinos. first we went to the venetian, which is over in taipa (the part of macau that is across the bridge). my main focus of the night was the drink in my hand, since i consider spending money on drinks the safest bet i could make. either way, i win. i let the people i was with do most of the gambling. they bounced between poker, roulette and other machine games. it was the night before halloween, so we actually suited up, which i enjoyed because i brought about 6 ties with me and hadn't worn one yet. they were looking for the cheapest minimum bets, so we actually bounced around to some other casinos. the city of dreams, the next casino we went to, featured a buy 1 get 1 free oktoberfest deal when you got to drink out of a sweet beer steins, so needless to say, i was hooked.
anyway, we headed back over to macau, since i wanted to show them some of the other casinos in the area. we stopped by the grand lisboa (which is the casino that all of the locals HATE because they think it's really ugly. it kind of looks like a giant lit up turnip. i like it.) then we swung over to the wynn, where i actually did some gambling. maybe because the wynn gave gamblers free drinks. i lost ha, but it was ok. i really don't know how much i'll really be frequenting the casinos unless i have guests visiting. there's just something about going to a casino alone that rubs me the wrong way. i went looking around for sports betting, since i would do that, but they don't really gamble on real sports here. at least the sports i know enough about to feel comfortable placing a good bet on. i'll get more into sports in the next post
......................................................................................................................................
it's been a while, but not much has been new, probably why i haven't posted in a few weeks. that and laziness. and, i haven't had as many hilarious movies to watch. i've watched sister act twice the last few weeks and now we're watching freedom writers. both aren't as fundamentally hilarious and flawed as some of the other movies.
i'm firmly in a weekly routine around here, which is making time roll by. i mean hell, in just 5 weeks i'll be back stateside for christmas break. i'm brimming with anticipation. after graduating, i definitely thought that is would be nice to get away and remove myself from the routine i established in college. i just didn't think it would be in china. to be honest, i always wished i could have done this exact same job, but in europe. china's interesting and all, i just like europe way better. i'd kill for a chance to go back to spain or italy, or finally visit motherland germany. if nothing works out in illinois again, i'll probably turn my attention to the european side of things.
i'm already practicing integrating my experiences here into interview questions for when i start bombarding illinois school districts with resumes this summer. for example, during my interviews this last summer, i could never really answer questions about classroom management tactics, because during student teaching, i didn't have any problems at all. now, classroom management is a daily focal point. also, i going to severely over hype my duties as an english club sponsor as well as my role in editing and publishing the school's writing publication. i mean, i am doing work and all, but in the end it will sound better than it actually was. never say never, but there's a very slim chance i return to macau for another tour of duty.
that being said, if the stupid job market doesn't heat back up soon, it will almost be time to start thinking about grad school to get the good old MFA in writing. hmmmm, college, i'm really beginning to miss you, except for the whole actually having money thing. i like that.
so yes, i finally made it out to the casinos. my buddy woody came to visit with some of his friends from his teaching program in shenzhen so we went out to the casinos. first we went to the venetian, which is over in taipa (the part of macau that is across the bridge). my main focus of the night was the drink in my hand, since i consider spending money on drinks the safest bet i could make. either way, i win. i let the people i was with do most of the gambling. they bounced between poker, roulette and other machine games. it was the night before halloween, so we actually suited up, which i enjoyed because i brought about 6 ties with me and hadn't worn one yet. they were looking for the cheapest minimum bets, so we actually bounced around to some other casinos. the city of dreams, the next casino we went to, featured a buy 1 get 1 free oktoberfest deal when you got to drink out of a sweet beer steins, so needless to say, i was hooked.
anyway, we headed back over to macau, since i wanted to show them some of the other casinos in the area. we stopped by the grand lisboa (which is the casino that all of the locals HATE because they think it's really ugly. it kind of looks like a giant lit up turnip. i like it.) then we swung over to the wynn, where i actually did some gambling. maybe because the wynn gave gamblers free drinks. i lost ha, but it was ok. i really don't know how much i'll really be frequenting the casinos unless i have guests visiting. there's just something about going to a casino alone that rubs me the wrong way. i went looking around for sports betting, since i would do that, but they don't really gamble on real sports here. at least the sports i know enough about to feel comfortable placing a good bet on. i'll get more into sports in the next post
......................................................................................................................................
it's been a while, but not much has been new, probably why i haven't posted in a few weeks. that and laziness. and, i haven't had as many hilarious movies to watch. i've watched sister act twice the last few weeks and now we're watching freedom writers. both aren't as fundamentally hilarious and flawed as some of the other movies.
i'm firmly in a weekly routine around here, which is making time roll by. i mean hell, in just 5 weeks i'll be back stateside for christmas break. i'm brimming with anticipation. after graduating, i definitely thought that is would be nice to get away and remove myself from the routine i established in college. i just didn't think it would be in china. to be honest, i always wished i could have done this exact same job, but in europe. china's interesting and all, i just like europe way better. i'd kill for a chance to go back to spain or italy, or finally visit motherland germany. if nothing works out in illinois again, i'll probably turn my attention to the european side of things.
i'm already practicing integrating my experiences here into interview questions for when i start bombarding illinois school districts with resumes this summer. for example, during my interviews this last summer, i could never really answer questions about classroom management tactics, because during student teaching, i didn't have any problems at all. now, classroom management is a daily focal point. also, i going to severely over hype my duties as an english club sponsor as well as my role in editing and publishing the school's writing publication. i mean, i am doing work and all, but in the end it will sound better than it actually was. never say never, but there's a very slim chance i return to macau for another tour of duty.
that being said, if the stupid job market doesn't heat back up soon, it will almost be time to start thinking about grad school to get the good old MFA in writing. hmmmm, college, i'm really beginning to miss you, except for the whole actually having money thing. i like that.
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