Boston and Oregon and Loving Life when Times are Good

In the sports world, times are god in Boston. Nobody is denying that. The Sox won 2 World Series in the past 4. The Patriots are looking for their 4^th Super Bowl in 7 years and are staring an undefeated season straight in the face. The Celtics have only 3 losses in 29 games behind the “Big 3” of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. The Bruins are even having a winning season and Boston College won its bowl game. Boston sports teams are winning and fans ecstatic fans can finally express their “Celtic Pride” (a mere C film in my book).

But let’s talk about something that hits a little closer to home: Oregon sports! The Ducks dominated South Florida in the Sun Bowl, despite losing their last 3 games. This is the first win of the season by the Ducks without their star quarterback Dennis Dixon. Justin Roper, a red shirt freshman, led the Ducks to the win, forecasting a bright future for the Ducks. And maybe (fingers crossed), Jonathan Stewart will return for his senior year. I’m not a Beaver fan (the sports team), but even they had a better-than-expected season, defeating the Terps in their bowl game.

But how ‘bout them Blazers? Preseason expectations were drab, with the Blazers losing their first-round draft pick Greg Oden for the season due to a then-seemingly untimely knee injury. It looked like another disappointing season, as Portland got off to a 5-12 start. Many had given up on the Blazers, but they had something different in store. They would go on to win their next 13 games. This streak is current. The Blazers will try to make it 14 in a row with a(nother) win over the Jazz tonight. So why the sudden shift in momentum? The Blazers are a young team and generally tend to outrun and outshoot the opposition. I was privileged to witness win number 17 against the Timberwolves. Brandon Roy was a huge part of the win. When the momentum would start to turn in the direction of the Wolves, Roy would score or make a big play. Anybody can score when a team is on a roll. Scoring when times are bad is a feat that is reserved for Jordan and Kobe, which is why they score(d) 35 points a game. Roy has the potential. Blazers have a bright future this season and it will be even brighter next season when Greg Oden joins the rotation. The success could also be attributed to their dropping bad-news, no-defense Zach Randolph, but that’s a whole different topic.

Times are good. I am now wearing my Blazers hat with pride; something that I could not do a year ago, or really since the Sheed-Sabonis era. It’s funny how when your team is winning, you are happy. I know it’s bad to place my happiness something that I can’t control, but I can’t help it. It’s engrained in me and probably will be until the day that I die. Skies are blue in Oregon, literally (dang, no more snow) and figuratively. Keep winning Blazers!

Oh, and uh...Happy New Year!

A Few Christmas Words

It’s Christmas. Have a ho-ho-ho holly jolly happy holiday everybody. It’s the birth of our savior Jesus Christ and we should never forget that. Now that that’s out of the way, I can get down to business.

First, it snowed today...in Portland. That hasn’t happened since the 1930’s. I always wished for a white Christmas and it never happened, until today. Well, kind of. It didn’t actually stick, but it snowed for like 3 hours solid and it may still snow later tonight. And it will be colder, so it might actually stick. Awesome. I’m not exactly 10 anymore, so I don’t know what I will do if the snow does stick. Well, I guess that I could steal some garbage can lids and go slide around at the golf course with my buddy Sam, but even that is pretty juvenile. Just as a side note, I’m eating cherry pie watching the Suns run over the Lakers right now and my sister is hounding me to change the channel. I would consider slide tackling her if she hadn’t given my “Frog and Toad are Friends” for Christmas. And if she wasn’t sitting down right now.

I put on some weight. I was at Sam’s house yesterday and he always puts me up to little competitions against him like seeing who can curl more, and seeing who can win at NBA 2K6, both of which he won. He also put me up to the “Biggest Loser’ challenge and forced me onto his scale. Now, in my defense, I was wearing a lot of clothes and I’m pretty sure he rigged the scale. Anyways, for the first time in my life, I broke the plane of 200 big ones. I have some serious running to do this next semester.

Finally, the sophomore girls have announced that they have something new to bring to the collective this next semester. Well I do too. But instead of keeping it a secret and making a glorious entrance at the next jam session, I’m letting the cat out the bag. Yeah, I left “of” out on purpose. I’m a thug. My parents asked what I wanted for Christmas, and since this would be my last Christmas break, they wanted to get me a sweet present. My first inkling was to get a snowboard, but I realized that I would only use that a few times a year. I want something that I can use every day! For at least 2 hours a day until I can perfect it! Which will take at least 3 months! That’s right folks, my parents got me a MANDOLIN! Now, in addition to plucking on guitars and a violin, we’ve got a mand-o too!

Well that’s enough for this post. I’m going to go annoy my mom the 3 cords that I know. Everybody have great day of eating and visiting with family and friends, and more importantly, watching the nationally televised Blazer game tonight! I know I will. Have yourselves a merry little Christmas! Peace!

My Average Christmas Break Day

Hi all.

My average Christmas break day goes something like this (this is seriously what I have done for the past 3 days):

10:00 - Grudgingly wake up
10:00 - 10:30 - Take a shower/doll up - (This was difficult before this morning because the hot water heater was broken. This meant 30 second showers.)
10:30 - 10:45 - Eat - This generally consists of either a muffin or cold pizza.
10:45 - 12:30 - Play Civilization IV
11:30 - Kick Buster just because.
12:30 - Get pissed when the Romans take Shanghai and decide to do something else.
12:45 - Hop on the bus and see where I end up.
1:00 - Get off the bus somewhere downtown.
1:00 - 1:30 - Walk around quickly so it looks like I have some place to be.
1:30 - Wind up at the Central Library.
1:30 - 4:30 - Find a corner and read War and Peace.
4:30 - Ditch the library when I realize that the walls are closing in.
4:30 - 4:45 - Do more hurried walking.
4:45 - Go into an expensive store and pretend that I want to buy something.
5:00 - Find a dirty lunch cart and buy a burrito or some thai food.
5:00 - 5:30 - Eat my burrito and sit in the rain, wondering what I've done with my life.
5:30 - Consider calling friends.
5:31 - Realize that I have no friends.
5:32 - Think about my friends back in Nampa.
5:33 - Sigh deeply.
5:45 - Ride the #12 back home.
5:50 - Try not to make eye contact with anybody on the bus (they will try to talk to you).
6:05 - Get back home.
6:10 - 6:45 - Browse the internet. This includes checking Alex, Andrew, and the other blogs.
6:50 - Turn on the TV expecting Jeopardy, only to realize that it doesn't start for another 10 minutes.
6:50 - 6:59 - Fume.
7:00 - Happily watch Jeopardy.
7:30 - Turn off the TV.
7:30 - 9:00 - Update my blog/play more Civilization.
9:00 - 9:15 - Scrounge for food.
9:15 - Eat a muffin or some cold pizza.
9:20 - Do some push-ups.
9:30 - Conduct end of day hygiene.
9:30 - 10:30 - Play guitar. Try to write songs. Realize that I have no talent. Curse the world.
10:30 - 11:00 - Lay in bed and wonder what Grant is doing at that exact moment.
11:00 - Sleep soundly.

Miles to go before I sleep

I'm going to be honest. These last 3 days have been rough. The rough days have actually stemmed from a serious lack of sleep. So this all started with my being wildly unproductive all day Wednesday. I had a final on Thursday morning and I had a paper that I needed to finish. I didn't start the paper until 1am. I finished it around 5am. Then I spent 5-8 studying for the test. Needless to say, I was tired. I came back home and slept for an hour. Then I had to get spiffed up in my Army Class A's and go stand in a formation for about an hour over at Boise State for an award ceremony. Off the record, either I'm growing or my clothes are shrinking because that uniform definitely did not fir quite right. I was struggling. Luckily, they provided cake and juice after the ceremony, so it wasn't all that bad.

After a superb dinner at the Dex, including many attempts to make me dance on the table, I went back to the house and slept for another 15 minutes. All day all I could think about was sleep. It was almost a lust. I was practically lusting after sleep. I was entertaining impure thoughts about sleeping. I wanted more sleep. But instead of sleeping, I made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, if that makes any sense. First, the gingerbread house was hit by shotgun blasts. Then it was hit by napalm. Then God (me) smited the gingerbread house with mighty candy canes from heaven. Andrew was pissed. Alex was indignant. Kyle was dropping candy down my crack. White Christmas (the movie) was playing this whole time. I hear Vermont is nice this time if year.

Sleep was still far off. Next, I went to Sheri's and bought some mozzarella sticks and a chocolate shake. After that, I went and watched I Am Legend for Ryan Cork's bachelor party. The movie was sweet. I reccommend it. I didn't actually get to sleep until 2:30am that night. I had to get up at 5:30 for work this morning. It physically pained me to get out of bed this morning. I was sluggish getting ready this morning. Alex drove me to the bus stop at the Boise State West Campus, and I caught my bus at 6:15. Sadly, I fell asleep on the bus. I slept for about 20 minutes and right passed my stop. I closed my eyes at St. Luke's and when I opened them, we were at Boise State. Weird.

So I got in to work this morning a little late at 7:30. Every passing minute is a struggle to stay awake. Do the math. I've gotten about 4 and a half hours of sleep in the last 3 days. I got a nice grande coffee at Starbucks this morning, but even that didn't wake me up. I've been slapping myself in the face alot this morning to keep myself awake. Mark keeps looking at me funny. Whatev. It's my last day, so no big.

Here is a poem by Robert Frost that is fitting for this occasion:

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there's some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Ode to Grant

So, I guess it's the new thing to devote entire posts to roommates. Andrew and Alex both wrote kind words about me, so instead of returning the favor I decided to pay it forward. So like the little kid from the 6th Sense, I am going to complement a roommate who has done nothing to me, neither good nor bad. You could say he is neutral; Swiss. A man of quality, like the Army knives and the watches. Here's to Grant.

Ode to Grant (tune of Ode to Joy)

Bruner, Bruner, is a runner
Individual toed shoes
He thinks that it is much funner
At ping pong to win than lose
He sells footware at REI
Once he worked in backpacks too
Grant has got a huge collection
Of sweet pics for you to view

Once while driving on the freeway
A ladder fell from a truck
Grant swerved to dodge the obstruction
He would have to have some luck
But he slammed his breaks on also
And he spun out of control
He came to rest on the shoulder
And survived, which was his goal

His father is also Bruner
So's his mom and sister too
They are one big Bruner family
You could say a "Bruner crew"
They had me over for Easter
I was quite thankful for that
I eat lots and gain too much weight
Grant eats and does not get fat

White Collar Blues

So I’ll be the first to admit that my job is not all that bad. I mean, I have a desk and a computer and my very own extension, and I’m only an intern! Somebody has started giving me candy every day. I don’t know who it is. I just show up to work, and there on my desk is some sort of a Christmas-themed goody. Today I got a little bag of chocolates. Yesterday, it was dog food-shaped gingerbread chunks in a little dog dish. There is a secret Santa exchange going on here in the office, but I sure didn’t sign up for it. I hope the secret giver knows that they won’t get anything in return. I have been asking around to find out who it is, and nobody will tell me. Mark, whose office I share, suggested that if I were to uncover stealthy Santa, they supply might just happen to run dry. A dry supply of Christmas treats is a bad thing. So maybe I’ll just keep my mouth shut as far as questions are concerned and keep it open when it comes to the sugary yuletide delights. But I would like to know who it is. Even if they don’t know that I know.
Anyhow, I am finding that I enjoy being at work. I don’t have to worry about homework. I can work on one project for a while and then switch over to another project. Really whatever I feel like. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I get in at 2:30. Most people are starting to leave by this time. So it’s always pretty chill. Not too much stress, no pressing deadlines, no supervisors breathing down my neck, just me working at my own pace. Good times. Maybe I just enjoy it because I know that it will be over soon. Maybe if this were my full-time job, I wouldn’t enjoy it quite so much. Maybe it’s just the feeling of being trapped that people can’t stand. My Commissioning date is quickly approaching, so I will soon learn what it is like to be sold to a single job, at least for 4 years. There probably won’t be anybody leaving candy on my desk in the Army, but that’s ok. I need to lose some weight anyways. As of right now, I am excited for what lies ahead. Bring it on.

Here is a song that I wrote for the occasion; it’s called “White Collar Blues”:

Work and such had got me down
Gotta leave this place downtown
Plain white walls are all I see
Shirt and tie’s got a hold on me
Shirt and tie’s got a hold on me

Gonna flee from all these walls
Gonna run throughout these halls
Screaming that you must break free
Shirt and tie’s got a hold on me
Shirt and tie’s got a hold on me

Gonna sleep out in the woods
Cooks myself the finest foods
Want to climb the highest tree
But shirt and tie’s got a hold on me
Shirt and tie’s got a hold on me

So I this is my first official blog. I hate to get on and complain, but that’s what I’m going to do. So for Thanksgiving, I decided to DRIVE home to Portland. What a great idea. 8 hours of Frappuccino, road lines, and tons of different local radio stations (because I don’t have an ipod)…and cops…what a blast. First off, in my defense, my car doesn’t have cruise control, and when you’re on the road by yourself at night without cruise control with another 4 hours to go, you tend to speed a bit. So I got pulled over and I just so happened to be going the fastest that I had gone all night – 96…in a 65. I had been trying to keep it below 75 the whole night, but I must have just gotten carried away. So I get a speeding ticket just outside of Pendleton (Oregon) for a whopping $427. Mind you, this is the first time that I have been pulled over. No warning, no reduced fine, just $427.

So I was pretty angry about this the whole weekend and I felt that I didn’t have much to be Thankful for. To make matters worse, the Dixon-less Ducks get shut out by UCLA, but that’s another story for another time. But nothing could prepare me for what would happen on the trip back. The trip back to Nampa was a long one, so when I was going through the pass just before La Grande, I pulled off at a random exit and drove down a snow and ice partially-covered road. There were a bunch of trees and I wanted to cut one down and take it home, but I didn’t have anything to cut them with. So I tried to bend the trees until they would break, but it didn’t work. Trees are surprisingly resilient. Here are some pictures I took while I was out in the middle of nowhere:

So I was able to find my way back to I-84 and continue my journey. The trip was going fine and the time was flying by, until… I had crossed the Oregon boarder back into Idaho and I was almost to Caldwell, and suddenly my car lurched and white smoke billowed from my hood. Luckily there was an exit, so I took it. I coasted up the offramp and around the corner, where I parked and shut off my car. My car hasn’t turned back on since then. Luckily, my Grandma bought me AAA so I gave them a call. I quickly explained to them where I was what my car looked like. I did this quickly because as soon as I got out all the information, my phone died. I was stranded at the Sand Hallow exit of the freeway with no phone and no car. Apparently the AAA lady thought that I said I was still on the freeway, so it took the tow-truck driver an extra 20 minutes or so to get to me. It was probably twenty-something degrees and I was cold. But I had to wait outside near the freeway offramp so that I could see the driver when he arrived. So he arrived and it turns out that my AAA completely covered the tow, so I didn’t have to pay for that.

So now my car is parked in front of my house (at school) and I’m pretty sure the engine block is cracked. I have gotten a few estimates and the cheapest one is about 2 grand. I hate my life. So anyways, I just paid my ticket today and got it “reduced” to $350. But since I was going over 90, I guess I will have to take some online driver’s school crap next semester. I think that if a person’s car breaks down, that person should not have to pay any tickets that the person received while driving that car. It’s really just adding insult to injury…or vice versa. So that’s my story.