The Final Farewell

       Well fellow bloggers, it has been a year filled with learning, new experiences, new interactions, new skills, and 73 blogs. Blogging for class ends at the conclusion of this blog, but I might tune in from time to time. I started my blogs with sports blog after sports blog, after sports blog. Then I started to blog about random things going on and haven’t blogged about sports for a while. So, without further ado, a sports blog to end the school year:

     The NFL draft wrapped up last month and rookie minicamps are in full swing.  The Packers drafted nine players with another nine other rookies being signed as free agents. These 18 players have been working hard in practice and head coach Mike McCarthy claims this is one of his favorite groups he has ever worked with. That being said, I am getting excited for the start of the NFL season.

     One drafted player that I am very curious about is former University of Iowa Corner Back Micah Hyde. I was surprised to see him go to the backers. Although a great player, I wasn’t sure he would be able to be too successful as a cornerback in the NFL.  After some thinking, I came to the conclusion that they might have drafted him with a kick returner in mind.

     The majority of the Packer’s kicks last year were returned by wide receiver Randal Cobb. As the injury prone Packer’s receiver corps took a hit with the injury to Greg Jennings, Cobb stepped up to fill that role. Needless to say, he wasn’t returning very many kicks anymore. With Jennings now off the team, Cobb will be a starting receiver for the Packers. There is no way he will return kicks. This is where Hyde comes in to play. He is a cornerback that most likely won’t be a starting, but he has a good record of returning kicks at Iowa. He was very elusive and could really break for some great returns. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back deep for the Pack this season as their main kick returner.

     It’s been a long journey bloggers, one I probably wouldn’t wish to repeat. I’ll still blog for fun now and again, but I won’t be having three blogs per week on the button. I look forward to blogging about whatever I want and having no requirements. Although blogging wasn’t something I was extremely fond of, it allowed me to improve my writing and therefore I am better off. (WC 422)

Wasting The Weather Away

There are only a few more weeks left this school year, and man is that exciting! With AP tests just about over, it seems although I have very little homework to do. And if I have homework, I have very little, to no motivation to get it done considering the weather is to die for! As all teachers say, just finish strong and you have the rest of the year to enjoy the weather; I on the other hand, defer that statement.

Right now the temperature is between 65 degrees and 75 degrees on a daily basis when it is around 65 degrees it is the perfect weather for physical activity outside. It might be a little chilly at first but it feels great after a couple minutes of moving around. And when the weather is on the upper end of that range it is a perfect day to just be outside the whole time. It isn’t too hot and not chilly at all. It is a perfect temperature to take the dog for a walk, or get some yard work done. Very rarely do we get into the high 80’s this time of year so it is the PERFECT month to spend outside. The only downside of this whole weather thing, is school. School is holding us back from enjoying this great weather!

Once we get out of May and into June and July, the temperatures begin to soar, 85 degrees, 90 degrees, 100 degrees, you name it, we can get there. During the summer it can become so unbearable! It gets to the point where just walking outside is dreaded because you break a sweat just standing there. There is very rarely a cool breeze, and even in the shade it is about 90 degrees. So pretty much summer weather can be unbearable many times throughout its duration. There are still some very nice days throughout the summer, but those are sporadic, the majority of the days are scorching hot.

If we got out of school at the end of April and started a month earlier that would benefit me more. That way we could get out when the weather gets nice and be able to enjoy it, rather than having to be tied down with school work. July is hot as can be so going to school might not be so bad. I know it is easier for me to study in April than it is now. Right now I want to be outside enjoying this weather. So teachers, no-we don’t have the rest of the summer to enjoy this weather, it becomes too hot. We only have about 20 more days to enjoy it. Consequently school ends in about that many days too… (WC 458)

Crime is Pride

I agree with the assertion made by Teiresias that, “all men make mistakes but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil: The only crime is pride.”  This assertion makes a realization that is so very true but is often over looked. This statement wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t start with, “all men make mistakes.”

Having the quote start with that phrase creates even ground and a closer distance between Teiresias and the reader. It declares that no man is perfect and no man lives life without ever doing something he shouldn’t.  Then the quote sates, “but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong.” This states that even when those guys who seem to be perfect mess up, they catch themselves. They stop in their steps and do not continue the unaccepted act. This leads right into the next part of this quote, “he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil.” In this section it is showing that that so called perfectly good man who just messed up is now going back to make what was known as is unacceptable act an act people will appreciate. Although the initial act cannot be erased, it can be mended. And mending is exactly what the phrase, “repair the evil” means.

The very last phrase of the excerpt is the most difficult to interpret. “The only crime is pride.” That phrase alone could be the whole excerpt. How I viewed it is that having pride in yourself and your actions is what can sometimes get you into trouble. For example, if I go out and do graffiti on the side of a bridge, I might be very proud and prideful in my art work, when in all reality, I committed a crime. Therefore, pride can be crime.

One thing I feel really gives this statement validity is that fact that like I said before, it reaches common ground. It doesn’t just say that all men make mistakes and do nothing about it. It brings out the good side and the bad side. The good side being that a good man goes back and mends his mistake where as a bad or undesirable man would be too proud of himself and his actions to go back and make anything better.In his mind he did nothing wrong. In a good man’s mind, he stops the act, and makes it better. Because the statement touches on both good and bad, I fell it holds a lot of validity. (WC 430)

Fun Had by All

Well I survived the hype and excitement of prom, and I am awake to tell the story. I had a great time, and everyone in my group did as well. There were a lot of people going to different places throughout the afternoon/evening, but we all got it to work out.

The day started at 4pm when we took pictures. At this point in time we had nine out of the eleven people in our group; one of the couples was in Vinton eating dinner because the guy goes to Vinton (who’s prom was on the same night) so they ate with his friends. Next, we went to grand march. At grand march we had seven of the eleven people; another couple was eating dinner with the guy’s friends from Kennedy (whose prom was also on the same night). Next we went to dinner with the same group we went to grand march with. We ate at White Star Ale House down town. The atmosphere, food, and service was fantastic!

After dinner we went to the dance. The dance is the one and only time our whole group (eleven people) was together. We were there for about two hours before we got incredibly hot, and tired, and were ready to go. So we left the dance, and headed to after prom with nine of the eleven people. We originally went to Jefferson’s post prom. They had post prom at the bowling alley. It was soooo boring and stupid that we just got our free pizza and left. Because we had a Kennedy senior in our group, we were able to get our group into Kennedy’s post prom!

At Kennedys post prom was where we all agreed we had the post fun. There was tons of free food, inflatables, and a hypnotist.  The hypnotist was the best part. It was pure comedy. We were all fascinated and couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous some of the hypnotized people were. That lasted about an hour and a half and then we all went to my date’s house for post post prom. Here we played the Wii, ate more food, played other games, and watched a movie. We then, around breakfast time, had waffles, cinnamon rolls, sausage, and fruit. That was the perfect ending to an already great night.

When I got home I took a nap and now I feel fine. There is nothing else I want to do right now than to get outside and enjoy this 70 degree weather! I can’t wait until my prom next year…I hope it is as fun as it was this year. (437)

Change Sucks

Today I got the opportunity to be part of a student panel to interview one of the five principal candidates. Today’s candidate was Mr. Stecker, the Athletic Director here at Kennedy. It was a good experience to get to know him a little better and here what he plans to do him he is chosen as the next principal here at Kennedy High School.

I was very impressed with the way Mr. Stecker handled himself and every question he was asked. Us, the students, asked some very tough questions and he answered them very well. One of the most important questions to me was why does he want to be the principal of Kennedy High School.  He said that he wants to be the principal because he wants to be able to continue the fun traditions of Kennedy and it just feels like it is where he belongs. That was the exact response I was looking for. Many of us are worried about the transition from Dr. W to the new principal, and Mr. Stecker made it seem like her would make the transition the most seamless. This is important to all of us, so I hope he meant what he said.

Having Dr. W leave Kennedy will suck, there is no question there. She has built Kennedy to where it is now, THE number one school in Iowa. Without her, we wouldn’t be where we are. It is hard for students to believe that Kennedy won’t go backwards with a new principal. We just don’t want to accept change and are very very scared for what the future holds. Kennedy without Dr. W is like a river without water…a dry wasteland. She is the life of this school, the voltage behind the battery, and the reason for everyone’s success. Dr. W is Kennedy, and Kennedy is Dr. W

However, after the interview with Mr. Stecker, I believe a transition without drastic changes is possible. Stecker knows what Dr. W did to make Kennedy go; therefore I believe he would be able to continue those traditions, morals, and ways going. He also had some good thoughts on what we could improve here at Kennedy to make sure we don’t take a step back, rather a step or three forward. To me Mr. Stecker should be the next principal here at Kennedy. He provides the best opportunity for Kennedy to continue to succeed and continue to be the #1 school in the state. He might just make us a top 100 school in the nation. (WC 424)

The Stress of Prom

As a junior, I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to Prom! Although I won’t be attending Kennedy’s prom, it is still a prom! I will be attending Jefferson’s prom, and all of their festivities. I can’t wait to go, however there is a lot of stress building up because of everything that has to get done and arranged for the night to be fantastic.

To start out, I had to go fins a tux. This was difficult because we couldn’t find a tux that both I liked and that would match her dress. Finally, we found one and could move on. Next I had to make reservations a month ago because there are four proms on the same night here in the Cedar Rapids area. I then have had to call back three times to change that reservation due to indecisive prom goers.  On top of that, I and my date had to find time in our already packed schedules to go get flowers. I’m glad she knew what she wanted because I had no idea what to pick!

The next step is to pick up my tux tomorrow. They said it could take up to three hours since there will be so many people getting their tux at the same time. So I have to find a time that works for both my dad and I, and then go waste my night away. Next, it is all for show. I have to clean out the car, vacuum it, wash the windows, shine the interior, make it smell good, and give it a car wash. That is the part I’m dreading the most because it is pretty messy and dirty!

Finally after all the planning and everything, it is time for pictures. We will then go from the pictures to Grand march, to downtown for dinner then to Prom. I just hope all of those things go smoothly with minor delays. After that is post prom…here’s where it gets tricky. Some of our prom group members go to Kennedy and want to go to Kennedy’s after prom, and others want to go to Jeff’s. So here is the plan. We are going to Jeff’s for an hour and a half and then high-tailing it to Kennedy’s after prom. After the after prom, we are going to someone’s house, all ten of us, to have a post post prom party. This will go until 8 am the following morning. So all in all I will be up for about 26 hours. Other than the extreme tiredness, I’m sure prom will be a fantastic experience for all. (WC 440)

So Much Hate

There is a lot of hate in this world. People have malicious thoughts and don’t have a conscience smart enough or sane enough to tell them to stop.  This was extremely relevant in this past week. Monday, America was under attack. At the Boston marathon two bombs went off, separated by only 12 seconds. These explosions happened around 1:50pm on Monday afternoon. Thousands heard the blast and many were injured. If it weren’t for the heroic acts of American civilians, many many more lives would have been lost.

The explosions killed three people and wounded 170 others. Doctors, nurses, everyone still able rushed to the scene or stopped running the marathon to help aid the wounded. Many people lost limbs, and others lost a lot of blood out of their horrific wounds. However, Americans acted, and we as a notion, got those people to the hospital in a timely manner in an effort to stunt the death toll at three. Stories keep emerging about the people who rushed to the scene to help and the inspirational stories of how different situations unfolded. This is how it should be. We should be hearing news about the wounded and the ones who helped out, rather than the bombers. Of course everyone still wants to know the latest on the bombers, but our main focus should be on the people affected, not the criminals.

Many times people’s motives are never known, and this might be one of those occasions. What could possibly possess someone to set off two bombs at a marathon where thousands are gathered? Who knows? All I know is that it is an absolute act of god that only three lives were taken. A bazaar twist in this story is that the bombers thought they would get away with this! The younger brother who is currently in custody attended classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He even went to a party Thursday night before images of him and his brother emerged.

Once they were pursued, it was obvious they had no get away plan. They just tried to hide in town, thinking they wouldn’t get found. They didn’t try and get the heck out of dodge. Matter of fact, after the shootout, the younger brother just hid in a boat. How long was he thinking he would be able to stay in there before he would have needed to get nourishment? Well, in all likelihood he probably was planning on dying in that boat, given his condition when he was found. I am just very impressed that the WTPD was able to capture him alive, I thought he would be found dead, for sure. (WC 444)

Game Day Poem

Game Day

 

1.       Its game day.

2.       The tools of my trade are few

3.       shoes, glove, bat, and ball

4.       It is game time.

5.       The smell of fresh popped corn diverts. Wet grass and anticipation

6.       As I hear my name, snatch my glove, take the field

7.       I am alone in my thoughts, the warmth of the sun, flight of the hawk overhead

8.       Easily distracted like a child at zoo

9.       CRACK…. The ball is dancing in the air

10.   The wind tearing through the stadium

11.   I’m searching for a small white object in a sea of blue

12.   Running, eyes searching, arm outstretched

13.   The force of the torpedo against my palm

14.   As I gaze at the white sphere nestled in its bed of brown

15.   He’s OUT….

16.   The game is over.

17.   The game is won.

5. Diction- “The smell of fresh popcorn diverts.” This word is at a different level of formality than the poem is written. I used it to make this more powerful, because the smell of popcorn lingering while trying to play a game is very very distracting.

8. Simile- “Easily distracted like a child at zoo.” I am comparing my distractedness to how a child acts at a zoo by using the word like.

9. Onomatopoeia- “CRACK…” I use this word to portray the sound of the ball hitting the bat

9. Personification- “The ball is dancing.” We all know a ball cannot dance. Therefore I gave the ball the lifelike ability to dance, even though it can’t perform such activity.

13. Symbolism- “The force of the torpedo against my palm.” I use a torpedo to symbolize the baseball in this situation. I do this because a torpedo most accurately describes how a ball comes at you when playing in the outfield.

14. Imagery- “As I gaze at the white sphere nestled in its bed of brown.” This line paints a vivid picture of what has happened.  I look down and there is a ball in my glove, as if it caught me by surprise.

16, 17. Anaphora- “The game is over The game is won.”  I use the same phrase, “the game is” to bring repetition into the fact that I just made the out that won the game for my team.

The Dreaded Overlap

With track coming to a close, baseball is quickly approaching. There is no break in between, matter of fact, the overlap my about two weeks. It isn't desirable, but I'm not going to complain too much because it is a decision I made, and because of that I don't have much room to talk. Having sports overlap like that has both its advantages, as well as its disadvantages.

One advantage is that our baseball coach is pretty understanding. This means that when the rest of the baseball players are doing a conditioning workout, us well conditioned track guys get to do a lighter workout. That is always I nice added bonus. Another advantage is that we show up too baseball practice a bit late so the practice that is three hours long is now only two hours for us! That’s so ideal, and sometimes we take an extra-long time getting from track to baseball, that way our muscles have a chance to relax a bit right before we put them to work once again!

Unfortunately there are many negatives as well. One of those negatives is all of the energy it takes out of me to participate in two sports at once. Usually baseball goes until about nine and when i get home I have absolutely no energy to do homework or anything. So once track is over it will be nice to just have to focus on and worry about baseball instead of both sports. Also, baseball takes up my whole summer. It starts in April and goes until the very very end of July. It makes it so i can only go out of town very scarcely and usually can’t do anything until the weekends. I’ve gotten use to this, but every once in a while it gets old because most people have no big obligations. 

Overall having baseball and track overlap isn't too bad. It is only a couple of weeks and the workouts are never too hard. The only big negative is the amount of time it takes. Come august, however, I am free as a bird! That is when I do most of my fun things in the summer like weekend trips, day trips, and other fun adventures! So what I am trying to say, is that I can’t wait for august after a summer full of baseball. it is nice to have about a month to wind down and relax right before school starts again. (WC 411)

Let College Visits Begin!

I have officially been on my first college visit! On Friday my dad and I went down the the University of Iowa and took part in Hawkeye Visit Day. I wasn't sure what to expect because I have never gone on an official visit, and the only time I am at the University of Iowa is for football games. I, already a Hawkeye fan, am trying to go into this college decisions process with an open mind. Just because I am a die hard Hawkeye fan doesn't mean the University of Iowa is the right college for me. Maybe it is, I will have to visit more schools before I can tell.

The visit was very beneficial for me. It allowed me to see the campus, enjoy lunch, and explore a vast array of majors that I didn't even know existed. I then went to the Tippie School of Business building and listen to a professor speak about what all goes on in that building, as well as what to expect in a business major, and all the places a business degree can take someone. That got me really excited to explore all the things I might be able to do with a business degree, and all of the unique paths I can take.

There were a lot of things I liked about the University of Iowa. Some of those things include, Kinnick Stadium, the Business building, the food, and the B1G Ten feel. Being on a B1G Ten campus thinking that is where I could be living is a really cool feeling. It makes you feel like you are a part of something special and something that not everyone gets the opportunity to take advantage of, and here it is at the tip of my fingers.

On the other hand, there were somethings I didn't like as well. Some of those things include the dorm rooms and residence halls, the size of the student body, and how spread out the campus is. The biggest downside is the size of the campus. To get from the two farthest points it would be like a 45 minute walk. Granted there is a very good bus system that takes me anywhere, but I would still be able to to walk everywhere, because I feel like that is the typical college feel. I want to feel close, and taking a bus to class wouldn't satisfy that feeling. (WC 404)

The Time Can't Come Soon Enough

Today marks a big day in my life. Today, I sent in my Green Bay Packer season ticket waiting list request form. Yes, I sent it in at age 17. Why, you may ask. Well the answer is simple....there are already 88,000 names on the list. This means in about 30 years my time will come and I will finally be a season ticket holder. People think I'm crazy, but in all reality, I am just thinking way in the future and being smart.

Most people decide they want to get season tickets when they retire and have more time. Well, if they are a Packer fan, they are out of luck. Plus, there is a certain sense of excitement that will come each ear I move up a couple thousand spots on the waiting list. With any luck, I will get the tickets when I am about 50 years old. This will be perfect for many reasons. One reason being that by that time I will be (hopefully) financially stable and in a position where I can afford tickets. It would really suck if your name was up to get tickets and you had to pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity because you weren't in a place financially to go forward with them.

My history teacher just got his season tickets this year! He has been on the waiting list for thirty years, and has been through two stadium expansions before he got tickets. He advised me to get on the waiting list now because the waiting list keeps getting bigger and bigger and the rate of names coming off of it is lessening. I'm hoping lots of people don't renew their tickets this year so a couple thousand names get knocked off of the infamous waiting list.

I'm thinking if the Packers have a really bad season lots of people will give up their seats. Although I wouldn't want them to have a bad season, if it means I get tickets sooner, then I am all for it. I am a quite impatient person, so waiting close to 40 years for something is one thing I am not used to or can even fathom right now. Oh well, there is nothing I can do to speed up the process, so I will wait. Each year I will receive my postcard telling me how many spots I move up. One year, many years from now,I will get one informing me that they have accepted my season ticket request form! Oh man I can't wait for that day!! (432)

Quickly Coming to an End

As much as I am not a fan of track, the season as flown by! We only have three more meets left. Last year it seemed like we ran a bazillion meets and it never stopped, this year, that isn’t the case. This year, thanks to the rain, we have had three meets cancelled! That never happened last year. A cancelled meet is probably one of the best things that come out of the season. It lowers my stress level, and allows me to get more sleep. More sleep is something I will always be in favor of.

As I said above, we have had three meets cancelled thus far. That number is expected to rise next week. Just like this week, next week’s forecast appears to have rain almost every day. We have meets on Tuesday and Thursday. I am assuming the Tuesday meet will be on, but the Thursday one will probably get cancelled. Having meets on Thursdays is really rough. Most homework assignments are due on Fridays, and Friday tends to be international testing day. Therefore, having meets on Thursdays doesn’t help me academically one bit. I tend not to get enough studying in, and my grade usually slips just a bit.

For that reason, it is nice to have cancelled meets. It gives me an opportunity to catch up on work and get my grades up again. Along with a boost in grades, I am able to get to sleep a few hours sooner than on a track meet night. This allows me to be more alert during the school day, and therefore more attentive and willing to learn. SO there is another way cancelled track meets result in my grades improving.

On nights with track meets I usually get hope around 10:15. Then I have to shower, eat, and fill my parents in on how I did. Once all three of those things are completed it is usually around 11:15. Then I do my few hours of homework and go to bed around 1am. Just a blink later I am waking up and heading to school at 6am for lifting. Needless to say, Fridays after a meets are a train wreck waiting to happen. Once Friday night comes I have no energy and all I want to do is sleep. That’s why I absolutely love when people have movie nights because that is a convenient way to hang out with people and also catch a few Z’s before the night is over. Luckily, we only have one more Thursday meet to go! Then the season is over. (WC 433)

Summer is Almost Here!

Summer is only two months away!!! That is one sixth of a year, 62 days, eight weeks, however you want to look at it, away! That isn't that far away at all. I cannot wait for summer and all it has to offer. Although i am tied up with baseball most of the summer, it is still the best time of the year. Not nearly as many worries, nice weather, fun outside, water sports, pools, and sundays are no longer dreaded as the last day before we go back to school! Summer is awesome.

This summer I am extremely excited to go on lots of little trips and go on adventures. I love doing new things and being outside. If I could camp multiple times a summer...I would. There just isn't enough time with baseball to go camping at all. When camping you get to experience all of the fun things that take place over the summer. Some of these things include Bon fires, s'mores, hiking, going boating, swimming, sleeping outside, and staying up late talking with friends. I just can't wait for summer.

Another fun part of summer is the Fourth of July. Every time my family get together with family friends and have a big dinner. After that we have our annual baseball game followed by dessert. Then we go watch fireworks and have more food that night. It is always a great time had by all and is always a highlight of summer.

The last big bonus of summer is no homework. The stress and burden all of this homework really takes a toll after 9 months of school. During the summer the stress is minimal and everyone is usually pretty carefree and relaxed. I wish it was like that all the time, but sadly, that isn't the case.

Well folks, only two more months! We can do it. In a month ap tests will be done and school should become a tad bit easier. Having a relatively relaxed last month of school is very helpful. It is really hard to study for finals the day before the last day of school because you know summer is right around the corner. However on the bright side, once we get through finals it is summer! Two months of freedom then we start or senior year. We can do it folks, it is just a matter of getting this year under our belts, and doing it I. A quick fashion. (WC 413)

AP Anxiety

With AP tests in exactly a month from today, there is no such thing as free time. If I am not doing homework and studying, I am running in a track meet. If not a track meet, i am playing baseball, and if not baseball I am fast asleep on the couch because I have no energy left.There is simply not enough time in the day to get everything done.

This past week was absolutely horrible. I had a total of eight tests, a track meet thursday, ap chem test friday, as well as a track meet friday, on top of track practices and other little things to do. Needles to say, the chemistry test did not go well at all. It is hard to be a student athlete when the athlete part takes priority over the student part. Sadly, that is what is happening.

What if people cared as much about doing well in the education realm of things as they did about doing well in sports? If that were the case, there would be a lot more great students in this country. However, coaches often times prevent that from happening. Every coach says, "School is a priority" but then when you say you cant make a practice because you have to make up a test, the are disappointed.

This makes everything extremely hard now that AP tests are almost here. It is so hard to get all the studying in required to do well. I would be curious what would happen to students test scores if sports were non existent for a year. By no means am i suggesting this happens, but I am curious how sports effect our test scores. I know some people say that being involved in things makes a better student because they manage their time better. I disagree because if you aren't involved in anything, you have all the time in the world to whatever you want, and study more!

If education was a priority in a school rather than their sports, I'm sure we would have a much brighter and better educated nation. Sports take us out of school to go compete, why cant school take me out of sports without consequence? Needless to say being a student athlete at the end of the year can get to be very rough. Trying to finish strong is hard enough, and it certainly doesn't help when your time is very limited. (WC 408)

Iowa Basketball on The Rise Despite Loss

Tonight Iowa flopped. The Iowa basketball team has struggled year after year to even put up a fight against most of their opponents. Recently, Iowa has started to give every team a run for their money. This year especially, Iowa has really shown up to play. They have had the best season they have had in many years, and actually sold out Carver Hawkeye Arena multiple times!

This year Iowa played well until the end of the game. They managed to blow 10, 15, even 20 point leads.  They were about one win short of getting invited to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  So, they were shuffled into the NIT tournament. Not as impressive, but post season play nonetheless. The Hawks showed up, they showed up big.

Iowa had grown as a team, and made the adjustments needed to finish out games. When I say finish out games, I mean blow out teams. Once they got up, that lead kept getting bigger and bigger. They never let up, and as a weary Iowa fan that was great to see. It gave us hope for the rest of the season, but most importantly gave us hope for the future of Iowa Basketball.

As the tournament continued, the team continued to improve, game after game, play after play, hope was being instilled into Hawkeye fans around the world. Then they got to the championship game. This was not pretty. There was a lacking desire to win, and they just looked tired. They lost pretty badly, but that doesn’t overshadow the strides they took this post season. There is still a large amount of excitement for Iowa Basketball next year and everyone cannot wait to see what the team and the organization has in store.

Iowa is currently projected to be ranked in the top 25 next season! I can’t even remember the time Iowa was a top 25 team. I’m pretty sure it was in 2004, they were ranked eight I believe. Next season should be an exciting one! My only hope is that they don’t get overconfident and cocky and end up blowing those expectations. Everyone is expecting a great team with great energy next year. If that isn’t what is produced, there will be some very upset Hawkeye fans next year. They have a great run going; it would be nice to see them go deep into the NCAA tournament next year. I would be satisfied with a sweet 16 finish. That would be quite an accomplishment. (WC 418)

Tropical Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave folks! This week it could reach 58 degrees!!! Last year at this time we were running with our shorts off at track, this year we are still in sweats. This cold weather won't go away. 58 will feel so good compared to the 30s we have been feeling. If only we could have a tropical heat wave and get up to the 70s...then we would be talking!

Running track when it is in the low 40s is less than desirable so a little (or big) warm up would be very very very nice. Then we can start doing things outside and improving. The cold weather has stayed around to long. Now watch, we will get to mid July and have 100 degree weather with no rain in the foreseeable future. That's when we will be wanting the 40s back. It's funny how our Iowa bodies at this time think 60 degrees is awesome but in Florida they would be in wool coats.

Also, a warmup means all of this snow and water in our backyard will disappear so I can let the dog in without having to whips his paws. No matter what the reason, it is time for these cold temperatures to disappear and a warm front can move in and stay. But, that is wishful thinking. We will be lucky if it is 65 degrees by then end of April.(WC 238)

Found Memories From Mexico

As many of you know, I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico over spring break. That is right up there as one of the best vacations I have ever been on! The weather, people, adventures, activities, food, and atmosphere were all unbelievable. We left Iowa a cold morning where the thermometer in the car read 10 degrees. We touched down in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (after a stop in Dallas) six hours later where that thermometer read 85 degrees! A 75 degree change…I’ll take it!

I want you to picture paradise. Shut your eyes (after this sentence of course) and imagine what paradise feels like and looks like. Now that they are open…that’s where I was! Everything about it was like paradise. The view from our suite was of mountains, palm trees, sand, and the ocean. The sand on the beach was smooth, and the water was a comfortable spot to cool off. We could not get over the fact that we are there, in real life, the definition of paradise.

On this vacation we did an activity a day, as well as a lot of beach time in the sun. Each night we had a fantastic dinner, and then would lay on the beach again at night. The first full day in Mexico we went zip lining. There were 14 different lines and one was 300 meters long suspended 700 feet over a canyon river. I went upside down on that one! That was a fantastic activity for the whole family.  The next day we went on a large speed boat out to deep sea, and went whale watching. All of us were very unoptimistic, and right as we began to doubt we’d see a whale…one jumped out of the ocean right in front of our boat! The third full day everyone but my mom went parasailing off the beach at our resort. That was super relaxing and cool to see the whole city. The last full day there we went into town to do some shopping, site seeing, and then ate some authentic Mexican Topas!

The only set back of the trip was the fact we always had to drink bottled water. Other than that the trip was one to remember. I would go back in a heartbeat. We met so many people with such heartfelt stories that we didn’t want to leave. They might have convinced us to go back next year! One guy in particular named Rueben was awesome. He was our waiter at dinner the second night we were there and we got to talking with him. He works so hard, and is one of the sweetest guys. He always does whatever you ask of him, and is always willing to talk about his culture. We ended up having him as our wait a few more times. The last night we had another exceptional guy, Tomas, as a waiter. He asked us when we were leaving, we replied, “Tomorrow.” He told us to hold on one moment. He walked inside and came out a minute later with Rueben. Rueben had written us a little note and wanted a picture with us before we left. This sealed the deal, and made this vacation, the best ever. (WC 540)

Who Writes Letters Anymore?

In a sense, social media is ruining our communication. Not only because we are drawn in to it, and consumed in the latest tweets, and posts, but we are using social media as a main source of communication. For many people, if they haven’t seen a friend in a long time, they hop on Facebook, see what they have been up too, and send them a quick personal message. A decade ago, that wasn’t a thing. People would write those friends letters and send them in the mail, not over the internet. Sadly, hardly anyone actually uses a pen and paper for communication these days.

The reason many people don’t write letters is because it isn’t fast. It would take at least two days until they got the letter and another two days for a response. It is so much easier just to get on Facebook, twitter, or email, and shoot them a message there. The problem with that is it isn’t exercising our social skills that much. When you write a letter on paper, it takes a lot of thought. If you mess up, or decide you don’t want to say something, you have to start completely over, so why not just use social media?

Whenever someone gets a personal letter in the mail they usually get pretty excited. On Facebook if you get a message, it is just another day. You get Facebook messages way more frequently than letters. Because of this, a Facebook message doesn’t hold the same amount of meaning as a letter. If I were to write a letter it shows I care about that person and what they are doing enough to take the extra time and hand write a letter. By doing that I open myself up for them to see my imperfect spelling, imperfect grammar, imperfect punctuation, and imperfect handwriting. That all adds to the meaning of a letter.

Social media takes that meaning away. It allows us to escape all imperfections and talk to someone with not much thought at all. In twenty seconds you could write a comment, hit post, and it is for all to see. In a letter, it is an intimate conversation between the writer and the reader, not the world. That is how it should be. We all should take some time, and the next time we want to send a message via social media, stop. Sit down, write it out on paper, and send it in the mail. I bet that conversation will be one of the best you have had in a long time. (WC 432)

Speak English, People!

There are two places in the United States where I, a caucasian male, feel like the minority. Those places being Disney World and airports. As I was walking through the Dallas/Ft Worth airport, I realized spanish would be a very good language to pick up.

Here in the airport I am sitting at my gate waiting to board. This Asian flight concierge worker repetitively said the same conglomeration of words over and over and over again. This got extremely annoying and to the point it was comical. Then it came time for our flight to board and the spanish concierge worker kept announcing boarding assignments. It would have been nice if I knew what she was saying, but i had to take my best guess.

To me, if I am in an airport, in america have you, the workers should speak english. In Mexico they should speak spanish, and in Germany, they should speak german. It really bugs me when I am am trying to order food in America and i cant understand a single word the worker is saying. This is America people, speak the native vernacular please.

Im not saying the workers cant speak spanish or any other language at all, but they should first speak the native language, then go into the translations. Just because i am going to Mexico does not mean i am able to speak spanish.

Disney world is a whole different story. There is barely anyone, worker or visiter, that speaks english. Its either spanish, or Chinese, or Vietnamese, or german, but rarely english. I just don't get it one bit! Why does no one speak english on vacations? Maybe if i traveled to like Wisconsin the would speak english, but then a gain, if i go to the Dells, they all speak spanish. There is absolutely nothing wrong with spanish, i just would rather they speak english here in America. (WC 319)

Spring Break Here I Come!

It is hard to believe that spring break is only a day away! I cannot wait for this time off, and time on vacation. This spring break my family and I will be basking in the warm sun of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! I can’t wait to get out of this bipolar weather of Iowa, and into the consistently warm weather down south. This is probably the most excited I have ever been to go on vacation.

                Last year my family went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon over spring break. That was a super fun vacation, however my spring break didn’t line up with my older sister’s college break, so we both ended up missing half a week, which really sucked when trying to make up work. This year our breaks line up so we won’t have to miss any extra classes. Vegas was usually between 60 and 70 degrees, which is better than Iowa, but still a bit chilly. We won’t have to worry about that this spring break. Shorts and a t shirt will suffice all day long. With highs near 85, we will be racing for the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean.

                My aunt is currently in Puerto Vallarta and is informing us of must sees and must dos. She always talks about how great the food is and how much fun this town is. Each email gets us more and more excited to arrive in Mexico! On the first day we are there we are going zip lining through a rainforest. I guess they say the monkeys will literally swing right in front of you and other rainforest creatures are always around. I think that will be the best part of the trip, except for the food. I’m guessing that will be pretty great as well.

                Another activity we have reservations for is to go parasailing. I will be parasailing over the Pacific Ocean with my sister as my other sister is swimming with the dolphins. I think that will be right up there with zip lining through the rainforest, but on a different level of fun. Both will be exhilarating, but parasailing will have a very scary aspect to it, considering I’m over the freaking ocean!

                I hope all goes well in Mexico and this is the best spring break ever! Nothing can get me more excited than a week off of track, and a week in a foreign country for my first time! Not to mention the weather will be to die for! Leaving this 40 degree weather of Iowa will be so nice and to arrive to an 85 degree sun will be even better. I CAN NOT WAIT!! (WC448)