If Businesses Were Run Like a College Basketball Program

Ok, a lot is said in the title, but allow me to explain.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my career in the past few months. I have recognized that there are some fundamental flaws with the way 95% of American businesses are run. People wonder why the Japanese are kicking the Big 3's butts year in and year out. Mmmm, probably because they don't pay some turd $19 and hour to blow compressed air into water jackets of a big block as it rolls by on an assembly line. My point is, what ever happened to people being proud of their job, working hard because it is the right thing to do, leaving work with a sense of accomplishment, pushing yourself to the limits?

If American businesses were run like a college basketball program I guarantee we would not be in the economic bind we seem to be in right now (Michigan especially).

Lets compare the facts. I will use my job as an example of how the health care field is ran. I am assuming there are many other companies out there ran the same way.

If I show up late to work, I get a point, 7 points makes a step, 3 steps I'm fired.( I can show up late 21 times per year before I lose my job)
If Show up late to practice, I don't play the first half of a game. I don't know what would happen if I were to show up late consistently because it never happened more than once, with any players.

If I work really hard at work and help 10 more patients than the therapist next to me, I get nothing, no one knows if I don't tell them.
If I score ten more points in a game, we win. I become more valuable to the team, I get the ball more, I am trusted by teammates, I am recognized in the paper, classmates give me a pat the back, etc.

At work I get a yearly evaluation that takes about 10 minutes, if I meet my goals I get 2.5% raise. (are you fricking kidding me, that doesn't even keep up with the cost of inflation!)
On a college team I am evaluated everyday; practices are recorded, every drill is monitored, points are tallied, tests are taken, grades are given, playing time is issued according to performance and hardwork. The rewards are true motivation to try hard.

At work I compete against no one, as long as I don't punch a patient in the face or set the carpeting on fire, I have a job.
In college I had to prepare for the next opponent every day. Eat or be eaten. If you don't take your role seriously, someone else out there is, and he will kick your butt when you go head to head with him. I was in constant competition with my teammates to hold my starting position, if I take a day off or perform poorly for a few days, there is someone else that is chomping at the bit to take my place.

At work there is a 3 inch thick hand book on rules and regulations to hold people accountable. If there is not a section in that book about coming to work drunk, then by all means, bring out the scotch.
In college we had three rules, 1. Do your best 2. Do what is right 3. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. We had one motto: Constant And Never-ending Improvement (CANI). People were held accountable for their actions, we didn't need a rule book to tell us what was right and wrong. If you did not know how to follow those 3 simple rules, you don't deserve to be on a team or attend a respectable college.

These are just a few examples, but I hope this illustrates the ridiculous lengths businesses go to to be counter-productive. I think Ross Pero said it best "If I see a snake I kill it, I don't form a committee on snakes". So true, how much productivity do businesses lose because problems are not nipped in the bud right away?
Now I know what a lot of you are saying. There are "workers rights" and other rules that managers have to abide by. I believe a major reason a lot of companies cannot run the way a college team is ran is because of unions. Principles of unions are out dated. In the 30's unions were necessary to protect workers. Now, all they do is protect lazy, undeserving workers. I believe if we do away with unions American business will grow once again.

Ok, I am getting off the original subject. I think you folks get my point though. Give workers a challenge and a feeling of self worth, and they will be productive, happy, a part of a team, reliable, and hard working.

Dickens Said it Best

I had lunch with an old friend today at a new restaurant. We did the standard holiday ritual, get together, catch up on new ventures, reminisce about old ones. I can't help but think how the ritual has stayed the same but the topic of conversation is drastically different. To compare a conversation a year ago, three years ago, five, ten, to the one today would be oceans apart in content. We talked about new jobs, money issues, family, you know, grown up stuff.

As I was driving home today I tried to imagine all the people elder than me going through all the same things that I am going through. Is it possible that my grandma had childhood friends? Did she lose touch because she had to tend to her kids, get a job, carry a load of responsibility... Grow up? Was she completley satisfied?

When you are younger you are constantly prompted to think about what you want for your future. When you get there and you have made all those things happen you spend all your time reminiscing about the past. Are we ever satisfied to be in the present?

Since I was 10 years old I knew some day I wanted a family. When I was 16 I knew someday I wanted to go to college. When I was 19 I knew someday I wanted to graduate and get a satisfying job to support a family. When I was 25 I wanted to go back to school and get my masters to provide a better life for my family. When I was 26 I had, or did, all of those things. There is something about time that dilutes your goals and expectations like too much water in a pitcher of Kool-Aid.

I have everything I have ever wanted since I can remember, I thank God every day. I have more than 90% of the rest of the world, but yet, at times I feel as though I need more. I am not talking about material goods, I am not talking about family issues. I am talking about personal hierarchy of needs. To put it plainly, I need a challenge.

Since we were all 5 years old we were constantly challenged, pushed to reach that next step. If you complete fifth grade, great, you move onto sixth. If you complete high school, great, you move onto college. If you got a B this semester, get an A next one. The list goes on. Everything I have ever known has told me to keep reaching, never give up, always set the next goal and not just achieve it, exceed it. I am a bread competitor. Now that I have the things I have worked for and am successfully managing them all am I suppose to turn that drive off like a switch?

It took me 27 years to truly realize this. I don't care if I am playing tidily winks with Connie Stienbach from down the street, I want to win. It didn't matter if I scored 4 goals in one game, if Gull Lake scored 5, I am still pissed we lost. I could score 25 points against a nationally ranked college basketball team, but if I would have made those two free throws I missed in the first half, we would have won. It is not enough to be good, you must be the best. Is this a admirable quality or a terrible burden? This is not to show triumph, it is to express personal nature. Day in and day out, there is something that drives us all. A list of motivational needs that must be met. I have achieved all the goals I have set for myself since the first time my brother beat me in basketball and I cried my eyes out because I never thought I would be as tall as him; so why do I still feel such a drive? Why do I feel complacent when I have had the same job for 3 years?

I know the answer to all these questions, I stated it before, I am a competitor. All the preparation to eventually get the job I have, has prepared me for a completely different job.

So did my friend and I talk about all of this at lunch today? We didn't mention it once, but with out talking about it once it has never been so clear how things have changed, but more so, how they have stayed the same.

I could never ask for a better wife, a better son, a better set of brothers, parents, sister, etc. I wouldn't change a thing about my past. I have "top notch" friends that have always been there for me. All this non-materail wealth under my hat. But yet I yearn for more.....in reference to the title....It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Suspence Over

no more waiting. I didn't get the job. This just means that God has something better in store for me. Keep on plugging away.

The Suspense is Killing Me

Ok, as most of you out there know, I am in the process of finding a new job. That means I am looking but no bites yet. I had a great interview with Merck pharmaceuticals last week and the wait to hear back from them is eating at my brain. Filling my every thought. I must have replayed every second of that interview in my head 132 times. Is it strange to put that much emphasis on an interview, it is only determining the rest of your career life, that's all. I have had interviews before, I have had to wait for responses before, but this one is different. I laid it all on the line for this on. I had to drive to Grand Rapids, go through a three hour interview with 3 different people (one hour with each interviewer). There wasn't one point I didn't hit, not one angle I didn't attack, I was on. I felt so confident, I was convinced I had the job when I left, a week later, I am starting to second guess myself. If I didn't get this job I am very doubtful I have much to offer any other employer. Funny how time works, it is starting to make me think I missed something, I said something they didn't like, when a week ago I was sure they wanted to started the first Quentin Hunt fan club.
oh cruel time!! I just want a call at this point, good or bad, at least I will know and I can move on with the rest of my life.

Return From the.... Shed

First and foremost, I believe it is important for me to say, "sorry". I have been gone a very long time and have let down the 3 people out there that actual read my blog. I have been extremely busy with school and trying to find a new job. ok, that's not the point, just the intro.

As some of you know, I hunt for about 5 days every fall. My wife , Gibson and myself take a trip to the magical wonderland of McBain, if you have been there I am sure you can sense my sarcasm. Never-the-less, I enjoy my time there and I always anticipate bagging a buck.

This year my father in law was gracious enough to allow me to use his deer blind. I love using his blind because it has plenty of room and a nice warm space heater. As I enjoyed the artificial warmth of propane against my legs, I looked out over the snowy tundra. With every sweeping glance I hoped to see two huge bucks interlocked in battle. Instead I sat there and didn't see a dang thing. It was getting dark, so I started to gather my things when out of the corner of my eye I saw a buck nibbling on the bate pile. I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my trusty British 303 from WWII, and assumed the position. I opened the window of the blind so I could take aim at the beast. I was much too tall for the window so I had to bend over in a very awkward position. I wanted to get down on one knee but the heater that was once my friend is now a thorn in my side. I didn't want to chance moving the propane tank and startle the deer, so I just bent over at the waist and tried to get a decent shot off. With my knees shaking and my back twisted in a way that rivaled scoliosis, I nestled my eye up to the scope. I had the buck in my cross-hairs for spilt seconds at a time. The buck was about 200yrds away and I couldn't keep the barrel of the rifle steady. I knew what I had to do, take the shot as the cross-hairs of the scope passed by the breast of the buck, steady or not, here I come. BANG, the shot startled me because there is so much play in the trigger of this old rifle, I can never tell when exactly the gun will fire. I see two deer run off, did I get it? Where did it go? I quickly jump out of the blind and start to track the deer. The deer was too far to run after on foot so I took my father in law's truck across a creek to the bate pile. When I got to the bate pile I didn't see any blood, did I miss? Wait, there's a spot of blood right there on the ground. I felt something warm and thick streaming down my face. The blood I found was from my foreheard. The kick back from the rifle drove the scope right into my forehead, leaving an inch gash right between my eyes. Feeling like a complete turd, I hopped in the truck and headed for home.

I didn't have to drive far, I was in my in laws back yard. I pull the truck around and made my way up the drive-way. As I approach the garage I push on the brakes and nothing. The truck didn't jerk or slow down at all. NO BRAKES. I pushed the pedal to the floor still nothing. I am headed straight for the house with nothing but the side of the garage to slow me down. I experience horrifying pictures of the truck ending up in the living room. I braced myself for impact. Here we go. CRASH! I run directly into the side of the garage. It sounded as though an explosion went off. Kasey, Beth, and Kaitlyn all came running out of the house as though a meteor landed in their front yard. I put the truck in park and got out to assess the damage. Some how the truck only busted a few panels of siding, no serious damage. My "married into" family looked at me as though I just shot their dog. There I was, blood running down my face, my feet muddy to my knees, looking like I just hit their garage, because I did.
I started to stutter, there was nothing I could say to explain what just happened.

my mother in law started to give me the third degree before I could tell her the brake went out, as though she would believe it any way. Turns out, when I went through the creek the water froze around the discs and would not allow the brake pads to engage. Result, me hitting the garage with great force.

I was the laughing stock of McBain for that weekend. For a few different reasons, one, missing the deer, two, the nice Harry Potter scare on my fore-head, and three, deciding the garage was more like a speed bump.

Thank you for taking a look at, yet another, episode in my life.

WNBA Team Vs. Boys JV

Ok, I have been meaning to write this opinion down for some time. Though it may upset some women out there, my observations must be known.

I went to a WNBA game a year or two ago, free tickets, I couldn't pass it up. I was watching the Utah Starz against some other team. First of all, the place was empty, the crowd was dead, and I felt uncomfortable patronizing the event. There are many different hypothesis on why nobody goes to a WNBA game.
1. It is a new concept and it will take time for it to catch on.
2. Price determines value, if the tickets are free then people think the game and talent level is sub-par.
3. There is a stigma about women's athletics and if we can only shift that age old paradigm we will be able to enjoy women's sports just as well as men's.

I have a response for all three of these "educated guesses". BOLOGNA! Allow me to address each point made above.
1. The WNBA has been around long enough for it to "catch on". If the sport is quality, people will realize it. They have tried it on TV, and people turned the station after the novelty wore off. They have tried marketing live games and people were not fooled by all the glitter that dressed up this less than spectacular league, you can spray cologne on poop, but in the end it still stinks
2. People think that since the tickets are cheap or free that show isn't going to be good. Ok let see what happens when you try and sell WNBA tickets for the same price as NBA tickets. There would be about 3 people in the stands. I seriously think you have a better chance at selling Varsity boys tickets for $20 than WNBA for $20. No amount of marketing and pricing is going to give the perception of value in this case.
3. Yes, there is a stigma, but for good reason. If women's basketball was the same as men then they wouldn't use a different sized basketball, they wouldn't have a different shot clock(college) and they wouldn't be on separate teams, the men would play with the women. I hate to break it to the die hard feminazis out there, but on average men are just more athletic than women; ok, I said it, the secret is out.

Enough about my opinions, lets get to the facts. I was looking at the roster of the Utah Starz team and it looked something like this: Guard 5'7" Forward 6' Center 6'5". That looks exactly like the line up for my highschool JV boys team, the only difference is our 6'5" center could dunk. As I watched the game I tried to pick out differences from the Starz and my JV team at Comstock highschool in '95. The guards were quicker on the Starz, the forwards could shoot a little better. My JV team was stronger and could jump much higher. These are the best women players in the world, and they compare in size and ability to my JV team? Granted, these women know the game much better and are smarter with the ball, but that doesn't put butts in the seats. Another thing, if sports center had a highlight segment for every JV boys dunks around the country the show would take about 2 hours a day. Since they highlight all the WNBA dunks the segment takes about 15 seconds a season.

For all you people out there saying, "women's basketball can be just as exciting as men's". I agree, in some instances. I have seen a few close women's games that have knocked my socks off, I was cheering like a lunatic. I was cheering because of the suspense, the closeness of the game, not the sheer athleticism. The game was not good until the final two minutes. At Lake Superior State University many, if not all, of the women's games had more people in the stands than men's. They won more games than us, they had close games and they were playing for the conference title every night. They had a good following, but when I go to see a game, I want to be wowed by athleticism, amazed they are out there doing something that I could never do. If a male college basketball player shoots an air ball, the crowd rides him the rest of the game, chanting "air ball, air ball". If a female college basketball player shoots an air ball, they simply get back on D as though it was just another missed shot, no biggy. I seriously counted 8 air balls in a Division II women's college basketball game at Lake Superior State. There is something to be said about that statistic alone.

My point is, there are differences between men and women athletically, (body structure, muscle/fat quantity, muscle fiber type, etc.) it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but it does take some pretty hard headed people to deny it. Proprietors of the WNBA; don't be mad at the public, or the men, or the social climate about women's sports, or the grossly disproportionate pay between WNBA and NBA, when people don't respect the league, nor does it perform, nearly as well as the male counterpart. If my boys JV team can give some of the best female players in the world a run for their money, than they deserve about as many fans as I did in '95.

Titanic, Hindenburg, My Interview

As some of you may know I am currently looking for a new job in pharmaceutical sales. I have some pretty good connection that put in a good word for me at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK is the second largest pharmaceutical corporation in the world, just behind Pfizer. They are the big times. Well, they called me the other day to come on in for a "screening". Nothing major, not a real interview, just a "screening", they said. I translated that into "we just want to make sure you are not ugly and you can put sentences together without drooling". I felt pretty confident that this was just the first step in my many follow up interview with GSK.

I got there early, 9:10am. Two other jokers in black suits showed up about 10 minutes after me, just in time for me to size them up before I go in. Too fat, too bald, ran through my head as I smirked with confidence. "Next", they had called me into the board room. I felt like was sitting infront of Trump and hoping he wouldn't say "your fired". I was being interview by a pretty young lady and a older gentleman, both seemed very serious and too the point. They said "we just want you to go over your resume with us and put it into your own words." No problem, I have gone over my resume a million times, I made myself seem really smart, hard working, all the things that people want to hear before they put you to work. I work in a hospital and I told them that I deal with medications and drug reps quite frequently, which I do. So then they started drilling me with questions about the medications. I thought I handled them pretty smoothly until the final question. (I think it was the final question because I blew it so bad) The pretty lady asked "tell me how you would explain the side effects if I were a patient on your unit." 'Oh crap' I thought, I usually have a hand out to go by when I talk to my patients, I was flying solo here, no cheat sheets. So I started to explain a common drug used on our unit, Depakote. I started going over all the side effects that I knew about this medication, I said "it is an antipsychotic and it can cause weight gain, ah ah ah.... " (long pause, with me starting to sweat) The lady said "it is a what? an antipsychotic?" I went blank, I started to realize that I was describing Zyprexa, a drug of the same color. I was confused, was it Zyprexa (an antipsychotic) or Depakote(a mood stabilizer)? Which is which? They are both Purple!! Both of the hand outs look the same!! They are two very different drugs though...Which way to go? I could feel my face start to boil and turn red.... I wanted to say "you got me, you win, I blew it, thank you for your time, good luck with the brain teasers!" and run the heck out of there. After the long pause I sputtered out a few more generic side effects, "ah it can cause, ah diarrhea, ah, vomiting, and maybe some sleep disorders." That was the last question, they both looked at eachother and said "yeah, we will be in touch" I felt like a crook in an old movie when the cops come in and say "ok buddy, the jig is up" I felt like the wizard after Toto pulled back the curtain in Oz. I walked out of there praying the guys in the lobby pissed their pants, or shaved off there eyebrows or something, anything to give me a chance!

I will keep the people of this Blog posted. Who knows, maybe they want a guy that is willing to humiliate himself infront of professionals. I will be getting a call today. Wish me luck.

Just Not My Day

OK, I have been having one of those days. Much like the "Snow plow" story. I went to the gym this morning, like I do every morning. Which is another story all together, how I find the will power to keep dragging my lazy bones out of bed at 6:30am is beyond me. Back to the subject at hand, I was shooting around at the local fitness center when a couple of buddies suggested we play 21, the popular out of control basketball game of our youth. We started to play, my buddy Jason was guarding me, I had the ball I guess I was feeling kind of "and 1-ish" so I tried a really stupid move toward the basket, at the same time he lunged toward me to steal the ball. The end result is me on the ground with my face bleeding. We bumped heads and I have a gash over my left eye. Ok, it hurt, but no biggy. I figured I would just shower up and go to work. Well, the local "know it alls" in the locker room apparently can contribute a little more than just walking around naked showing off their saggy balls, one suggested I get the cut looked at because it could need stitches and may leave a bad scare.

Figuring this guy didn't get to where he was in the locker room hierarchy for nothing, I took his advice. I went to my local physician. She said I needed stitches, but she could not give them to me. That would take a whole new visit to the ER and a entirely new, larger co-pay. Sweet, thanks for charging me $106 to tell me I need stitches but you can't put them in. That is like charging me to tell me I am on fire but you can't put me out!

So off to the ER I go. They tell me it is going to be a whole other set of bills for them to put the stitches in, of course, why wouldn't it be. So I sit on my previously soiled ER bed and wait for my inadequately trained resident to sew me up like a Raggedy Andy doll. She said, "I am going to give you some local to numb the wound". I thought, sweet, no pain. Boy was I wrong. If somehow getting kicked repeatedly in the groin would have fixed my eye, I think that would have been less painful. I got three stitches and I felt every needle, every pull, every thread, I felt like Rambo in First Blood. Now mind you, this is after 5 liedacane shot, that obviously didn't work one bit. Every time she tried to give me a numbing shot it dripped in my eye and burned like a red head in the desert. To add insult to injury, no pun intended, the stitches are blue so I get every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming up to me and asking me "What happened". The stitches might as well be neon lights. I need to tape record this and just hit play.

I am at work now, so that doesn't make my day any better, but atleast I get to write it all down for you fine people. I don't want sympathy, just laughs.

Led Zeppelin: Preachers or Prophets?

Ok, we all know about what is going on in New Orleans right now. Tragedy no doubt. I am not writing to make fun of that event in any way. But, I can't help think of Led Zeppelin every time I turn on CNN; for some reason I always think they will cut to a comertial with the song "When the Levy Breaks" playing in the background.
Did Led Zeppelin know something that we didn't when they wrote that song? Was that levy so obviously weak that a song had to be written about it before it broke? That is like Gordon Lightfoot writing the Edmund Fitzgerald before the ship went down!! Is this just coincidence?
OK, now that I asked all those questions, I will shed some light on this enigma wrapped in a mystery.
Led Zeppelin, being the super power they were, and are, obviously have greater abilities than any mere mortal. To tell you the truth, I would be down right flabbergasted if the levy in New Orleans didn't break in the hurricane, just because Led Zeppelin said it would in a song 25 years prior.
Nay sayers can claim what they want,... But for me and my house, we believe.
I could go on all day on this topic, but I must run. ... work work work

School Days

Ok, I am back in school now. For those of you who don't know. I am in the last two semester so of my masters. I just started classes this week so I will not be able to write much any more. I am really busy with work. Sorry for the long hiatus. The work out is going good now, I have gained about 7 lbs already (in muscle I hope).

Day Two of The Work Out

I have been waking up at 6am now to work out for about 45 minutes before I go into work at 7:30. I feel good. I think I can keep this up. I am soar as all get out, but that is the price you pay, right?

Whose Body Am I In?

I was looking at some old pictures yesterday. Not too old, about 5-6 years. I was a sophomore or junior in college. Then I looked in the mirror. Not impressed.

For some reason my body did the exact opposite of most college students after graduation. I lost weight and look puny. I used to weigh about 215lbs. Now I am barely pushing 198lbs. I can't bench half what I used to. I have had a number of people say "Man Q, you really have lost some muscle, what did you do?"

Is this ok? Should I just say "well I am married now, who do I have to empress" or "I am not playing competitive bball any more, who cares if you aren't as strong". Or should I say what a real man would say "There is no reason you can't be just as fit as you used to be, you are still young, make your wife happy and get in the gym a few times a week you slob." I don't want to become a bulging meat head or anything, just get fit, like I used to be. I want to be fit for all the right reasons, feel good, be a good example for my son and wife. Not so I can wear a vintage t-shirt that is three sized to small at the bar and walk around as though my arms simply will not straighten out and rest at my side.

It is my birthday on Aug 11th, another year down. I am too old to pass as a college athlete but young enough to perform like one. So what am I waiting for? I am going to start today!! No more looking in the mirror and wondering who the turd is that is staring back at me!! Cheer me on gang, tell me "ONE MORE REP". I have a long row to hoe but I am going to give it a shot in this 27th year of life.

The Island.....A Must SEE

I went to the movies for the first time in about 3 months this weekend. I had to choose my movie wisely. I decided on a movie called The Island. Man, did I make a great pick. I don't know if it was because I went by myself, or that I hadn't seen a movie in so long or what. But I LOVED this movie. It is a must see. I don't care what the critics say, it was a great flick. I never really cared what the critics said before, but now I really shun their nonsense opinions. Go see this movie. If you liked the Matrix, Logan's Run, or any other futuristic Sci-Fi thriller, you have to see The Island. Ewan, couldn't be any more convincing, Johansson couldn't be any more cute and innocent, but still quite vicious when she has to be. A true master piece. I give it a thumbs up. Let me know what you think.

Every one Look at ME

I have a homepage now. take a look. there is also a link on there that you can email me. so if you like it, drop me a line. it is homepages.wmich.edu/~q4hunt don't put a www infront.

What Does the 'M' in MTV Stand For?

This is a rhetorical question. I know the M in Mtv is suppose to stand for music. Does Mtv even play music any more or have they played to the lowest common denominator yet again!? I can't remember the last time I saw an actual music video on Mtv. What happened to the days when you were sure to see a twisted Nirvana video or a crappy glam band waving their blow dried hair around every time you turned on the tube?

Where Mtv is concerned I don't know what came first, the chicken or the egg. Does Mtv cut across the gain and that is why they are hip, or do they only try to show the stuff that they think is already cool? I believe it is the latter of the two when ever I watch their every growing array of reality shows. Someone, please tell me, is Laguna Beach a reality show or just a spoiled teeny bopping show with soap opera type acting? I caught and episode of "That 70's House", come on, are you serious....They are really scraping to fill air time now. "That 70's House" is a reality show that puts 10 late teen early twenties people in an old Brady Bunch style house and everything they do, eat, say, wear, has to be 70's. If they are not "70's" enough they get kicked out, the winner gets a poke in the eye or something.
I even saw a show called, "date my mom" or something like that. If you haven't seen this show make it a point to do so. It is so staged it is embarrassing to watch. You will laugh out loud at this obviously choreographed "reality" show. When I watched it I seriously got an image in my head of a crazy haired director behind the camera saying "ok, now ask the mom if her daughter wears a thong." It truly made me cringe.

And Viva La Bam.... More like Viva La Bad Acting and Writing. There is no way this is a true reality show. It is more staged than my fifth grade play.

My point is, MTV should change its name or logo or something else. They should be the reality network for wanna-be hip, drama driven, do anything to be cool, "give into peer pressure because everyone is doing it", people out there.

Ok, I know what you are saying "you make fun of it but you are obviously watching it!" why do I patronize a channel that is so fake?......I guess something inside me still thinks I may see a music video if I watch long enough.

My Brother Is Getting Married!

OK, most of the people reading this post know that my older, shorter, brother is getting married next week. I also know that a lot of you out there are whispering to yourselves "its about time".
what exactly does marriage mean to a brother? I wonder if it meant the same to Randy as it does to me, when I got married. Did he feel as though I was leaving him, as though I wouldn't have time for him any more?

I am happy for Randy, don't get me wrong, but I can't help feeling that I may lose my best friend. Randy is only 18 months older than me and he has been my bestfriend, role model, companion, best man, hero, comic reliefe, and most of all, my brother for a very long time. We would even think up stupid dance moves in our basement together and perform them infront of the whole school for lip sync contests(we are undefeated by the way).

Even though I am extremely proud that Randy is my brother, I would often forget he is my brother and veiw him as though he was above me, like I couldn't possibley be related to this guy. When I was about 13 I remember coming in the house crying because I was convinced I would never be as good as Randy, or never be able to compete with him and his friends in basketball. No matter how good I get, a part of me will always feel that way. I still get impressed when I do anything athletic with Randy.

I frequently think of Randy when ever I play soccer, run, work on my house, need help with something, do anything by my self that we used to do together. I think of him becuase it brings a smile to my face to think of how we used to play soccer together or race eachother in highschool and college and how I used to over hear people talking about how unbelieveable he is atheletically. A few times people would see I was wearing Comstock highschool stuff and ask if I knew Randy Hunt, they had no idea who I was, so they would tell me about how great he was and how they have never seen anything like him. Then when they were done with their rant, I would get a big cheesey grin and say, "Randy is my brother". Then they would call me a liar and walk away. I acutally think it was better to watch Randy smoke other school's best athletes in a race than for me to beat them myself. Randy made track a spectators sport, he was a spectical.

I think of him when I need help because I have always veiwed Randy as smarter than me. I give him a hard time about being short but he towers over me intelectually.
Many of you out there probably have similar memories of your older brother, but none of you have a brother like Randy.

Back to my original point. when I gain a sister in law I usually lose a part of a brother. I am the youngest of five brothers and I have already seen it happen twice. Does moving on with your life mean giving up what used to be important? I sure hope not. I know all this sounds selfish, but thinking of Randy getting married and starting a new chapter in his life makes me a little nastalgic about when it used to just be "Quentin and Randy". Here's to you Bro. I hope you future is exactly how you picture it.

Randy was rarely labelled as being "Quentin's brother" usually it is the other way around.
What used to bug me, now makes me proud. Randy's my brother, and my brother is getting married.

OREO...I love you, but you are not milks favorite cookie

OK, the title pretty much says it all. Allow me to set the stage. I was chillin at my parents house, celebrating my first father's day with my family. I was playing cards with my brother, mother grandmother with my wife and son cheering me on. I was getting hungry for some muchies, and we all know the parents house always has better muchies than your house. I go into the kitchen and grab a bag of Oreos. Real Oreos, no the generic Miejer's brand Double O, but Oreos. That is when I dicovered one of the biggest conspiracies this world has ever known. Right there on the bag of Oreos it says "Milk Favorit Cookie". Can this be? Have I been wrong all these years thinking that chocolate chip was milks favorite? I needed answers! So I started a poll at work. The more answers I got the madder I got at the question! I had no idea that so many people thought that Oreos are, in fact, milks favorite cookie. The poll was almost split right down the middle, with Oreo people on one side and and chocolate chip people on the other. The chocolate chip people (CC gang as we like to be called) glaring at those cream loving, moler rotting, Oreo eaters!!! And those Oreo people (the O factor as they liked to be called) looking over at me, judging me, looking down on me, critisizing the chunkiness, the soft bake, the smooth taste of chocolate chunks.
Before certain war brakes out I have one more thing to say to squelch this whole baked goods battle.......
Lets ask the Milk

What Would You Take?

You are left on a deserted island(that is of course equipped with a TV, DVD, and CD player)and could only take one of each item, what would it be and why?

1. CD= I would take Led Zeppelin, House of the Holy. Great album, though it doesn't have a ton of songs on it, the songs that are on it are timeless. If you would have asked me this question from 95-2003 I would have said Metallica's Master of Puppets, for obvious reasons THEY USED TO ROCK!!

2. What book= It would have to be a book I could read over and over again and not get board. The critics will have my hide for this....but I would take the Book of Mormon. I think I could read that book over and over and not get everything.

3. One Drink= Even though and ice cold Pepsi is ultimately refreshing I would have to say Sobe.

4. One Dinner= Prime rib with crab legs.... Sorry about the pause I was drooling on the key board(Homer Simpson style). Oh man, I love surf and turf of any form. I could live on those two things for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.

5. One Person= You know, a lot of people would automatically start thinking of a celebrity. They are morons!! do you know how sick you would get of person complaining about not having there Yacht, or limo, or huge estate? Really sick!! Sure they are hot, or cool, or you love their movies, but they are a person just like you and me and they have many many faults that you don't know about, and when you are on a island with them, those faults come to the foreground pretty darn quick. So without further adieu, I would take my wife. I already live with her, how hard could it be!! lol

6. One Movie= This is going to sound stupid, but it would be a movie I haven't seen before. At least I don't know what is going to happen the first time I watch it.

The floor is now yours, comment on the "one" things you would take.

Now That I Know......I Will Proceed

Well well, it seems I do have some readers out there. that is very nice to see. I thought I was basically writing to myself and I would someday look back at this like a journal and nothing more. It is nice to know that I have some staying power. Ok, here come some more "point-challenged" stories of my life.

Check, Check,.... Is This Thing On???!

I don't know what the point of leaving blogs if no one reads them or comments on them? Is any one out there?!?! Does anyone find these things enjoyable?? I suppose I can be as politically incorrect as I want because no one will see it and get affended, now will they?

Top 5 Reasons March Madness is Better Than NBA Playoffs

Ok, I already wrote this blog once and it got deleted some how. But I really liked it so I am going to take the time to do it again.
The great thing about this blog is how mind-numbingly obvious it is. This one is a no brainer. All I have to do is state the facts and put a few commonly observed remarks by them. The differences between March Madness and NBA playoff is something we have all noticed. Come on, we have all filled out a bracket in our day. Here we go.

5. Popular By Association- Most of us have been to college,(if you are smart enough to get on the internet and read this blog) weather it be for just a semester or two, or seven years. No matter how long you were at college you were a part of something bigger. Of course the longer you were there the more of a bond you may have with your school. That bond transpires into everything associated with that school, including sports. If your school is in the big dance you feel as though you will be dancing too. That is why the fans are so rabid. No one can say, "I attended University of LA Lakers". They may live in LA but they really aren't a part of the Lakers, nor will cheering really really loudly make them any more a Laker.

4. Crazy Coaches- The college coaches are nuts!! They are emotionally involved with the game and the players. They don't want to win for the sake of winning, they need to keep a job. This is their livelihood. How many other professions do you know where a person puts their career in the hands or 19 year olds? You had better believe I would be throwing chairs on the court like Bobby Knight, or pushing players around like that other coach..Ok, that was Bobby Knight too. With every game a college coach watches the progress or demise of his career. NBA on the other hand, they will just go to some other team if they lose, or just retire because they make a few mill anyway. No biggy

3. Filling Out a Bracket- There is no bracket for the NBA finals. Need I say more? No, but I will. No matter if you are an ESPN Specialist of a mother of 3 that picks due to team colors, you have a chance of winning. There is a sense of empowering when filling out a bracket, I always think I am so smart when picking those huge upsets, like I know some future telling secret and I will be considered a genius amongst my peers for picking a big upset. How the heck are you going to make a seven game bracket?!?!?

2. Heart- I know NBA players are more talented than NCAA players, but there is something about how hard they play, the intensity, that is so appealing. There is something about still having a white guy make an impact on the game that is somewhat thrilling. You can only get that in March Madness. I think NBA players rely on there sheer athletic ability to get them through the games, but college athletes have to make up for lack of ability in pure hustle. Give me five hustlers over five show boats any day!!

1. Win or Go Home, NOT Win or Play Again, And if You Lose, We Will Play Again Just to be Sure, Then Maybe One More Time, Then You Might Go Home- I saw a commercial the other day on TNT advertising the NBA playoff, it had a little black kid saying "Win or Go Home" at the end of the commercial. It really made me laugh out loud (lol). If TNT wanted a literal catch phrase that little boy would have said "Win or we can play again, if you don't win that game we can play one more, and if you still don't win, its ok we will play again, and then one more time for financial reason and so our sponsors can get paid and we can really drag this thing out, but if you lose that game, you will go home!! BOOOYAHH!!". Now that is an NBA play off slogan. March Madness is the only playoff system that is true to the "win or go home" phrase. They bust their butts every game in fear of going home, not in fear of having to play the same team four more times! I seriously hope I am not the only one seeing humor...or shame in this, depending on how you look at it. Please, please, for all of us ADD people, go to a one game play off system!

What's Worse, the Disease or the Cure?

I recently was put on a new medication to take care of a small rash I have on my back. The rash was only about two inches in diameter and didn't really bother me much. My wife on the other hand thought I should go check it out, because like a good wife, she cares about me and doesn't want it to get worse. So I go to the Dr. and she prescribes the medication. She said it may cause dizziness or headaches. I thought, no biggy those are rare side effects. Man oh man was I wrong. I ruined a perfectly good weekend on those pills. I started to take them Friday and they left me crippled the rest of the weekend.

I formed a headache Saturday morning, not too bad just enough to take some Tylenol. By the evening my head was pounding so bad I couldn't even see straight. I had to go to bed at 8pm on a Saturday night. I feel so bad for my poor wife, having to take care of two babies on a Saturday night, instead of just one. Sunday was a complete nightmare. Forget the rash at this point, I have to deal with healing myself from the medication that is supposedly "the cure". I got out of bed just long enough to go to church and it felt as though someone put an Acme anvil on my head every time I stood up. So, to deal with the pain I took some Excedrin migraine. It gave me some head ache relief but my body had a reaction to it and my airway, tongue, lips, and eyes started to swell up. When it rains it pours folks. So Kasey, my wife, quickly ran out and got some Benadryll to take care of the reaction. By Sunday night I had more drugs on board than Robert Downey Jr. and Jose Cansaco put together. I went to bed at 8pm again, my high school counselor was right, drugs do make you a loser.

Needless to say I stopped taking the rash medication,(I only took 3 pills) the rash is going away on it own. So the question I ask myself and all my readers; did I need to put myself through all this crap in the first place? No, probably not. Sometimes the cure is way worse than the disease. Give me a rash any day, just please, no more pills!!

Top 5 Nostalgia Songs

We all have songs that bring up good memories when we hear them, as though they were written just for that moment in our life. This blog is a tribute to the songs that shape my memory and define a specific time and stage in my life.

5. Blind, Korn-I can't say I am a huge Korn fan, but I do like this song. It always makes me think of the time I was helping my buddy Dan move into or out of a tiny little apartment that he shared with Bram and two girls. It was only for a summer so when I helped move them in I knew I would be helping move them out in three months. Dan popped this song in and we put down the boxes we were holding and just started to get nuts. We didn't care who could see or hear us we just jumped around and yelled as though we were Jonathan Davis himself (I think we have better voices though). When the song's beginning climaxes with "it's on!!!", What a release. We finished sweaty and fired up...But with nothing better to do but move boxes.

4. One, Metallica- Believe it or not, I didn't hear this song for the first time until I was a sophomore in highschool, in '94. I remember Metallica was coming to Wings Stadium and I didn't really care too much. Then I heard 'One' and my life changed. The song was so intense, so fast, so different then the crap they played on 103.3. I wanted to hear all of their music, all the stuff I had been missing out on since 'Kill 'Em All' in the early 80's. I remember standing in the living room of Jon Jankord's house watching MTV. Jon and Evar making fun of me about never hearing that song before when it came on. Everything stopped for the 8 minutes it took for the song to play and it was one of the most intense 8 minutes of my life. (cue the dramatic music)

3. Only the Strong Survive, Flaw- Many of you out there may not know who Flaw is, take my advice, look into it, they rock. The first time I heard this song it was on a CD that a girl named Kasey let me borrow. I had never heard of Flaw up until this point. I loved the song so I quickly ran out and bought the Flaw album, ofcourse it made me think of this really hot Kasey girl everytime I listened to it. I gave her a copy and she loved it too.... so I married her.

2. Welcome to the Jungle, Guns 'n' Roses- I was in fourth grade the first time I heard this song and I remember thinking "This song is evil, I shouldn't be listening to this". I was at Evar's, my best friend's house. I listed to a lot of music at his house but this one really has meaning for me now. When I was a kid I didn't really realize that Evar's mom was an alcoholic or that Evar lived in poverty and deserved better. It is ironic now because the song was literally welcoming me to the jungle of Evar's life, it just so happened that I was too naive to understand. I was a G 'n' R fan in highschool, that is when I finally realized the literal meaning of that song and the irony of where and when I first heard it. I also think of the movie "Lean on Me" when the teacher gets his head bashed by one of the students. Really freaky when you are a middle school kid that is afraid of most of your teachers. One more, my car broke down to this song on the way back from the beach with Dan and Bram, man, what a day.

1. Landslide, Smashing Pumpkins version- Man, what a great and ageless song. I could listen to this song over and over and it would never get old. There is no one specific memory I have linked to this song. It just reminds me of any good time in highschool and college really. I share a common bond with this song with my buddy Dan. We would pop this song in at any random time and it would both make us mellow and philosophical or something. This is the song that can make even the most macho man turn into a melodramatic fool. This song also reminds me about taking a good long metaphoric look in the mirror, get my life straight. I think if I listened to this song long enough I could figure out, war, peace, and world hunger in a matter of hours. That is the power of Landslide.

there you have it, bring on the feedback.

Can't Con a Con Man

I have a very interesting serendipity type story to share. Years ago, about 7 to be exact. Episode I of Star Wars came out in theatres and Star Wars geeks around the globe united in joyous glee. There glee consisted of camping in front of every movie theater in the nation for 3 nights to get tickets for opening day. I like Star Wars but there was no way I was going to wait in line for 3 days to see anyone or anything. So did the next best thing. I took a video camera and set up fake interview with the many geeks camped out the day before tickets went on sale. I met all kinds of people but there was one particular person that stuck out, and he is still sticking out. His name is Skyler Stone. I remember this particular interview, for one, because he has the same name as my nephew and two because he had a great story for my mock interviews. I was telling people I was doing a college study on the impact of media in today's society. These SW geeks ate that up like Cantina steak. Skyler had a huge moving promotional sign infront of his camp. The sign showed little Adikin Skywalker running and eventually turning into Darth Vadar, really cool. I asked, "where did you get this sign" he said "Well, I let me tell you. This is a promotional sign right? You can't buy this an in any store. The sign was sitting at Meijer infront of a bunch of Star Wars merchandise. I really wanted the sign so I went to the poster section took the bar code off a SW poster and put it on the promotional item and went through the scan-it-yourself line and bought this puppy for $3.99!" Great story.

Here is where it gets good. I thought I was really doing a great con on all these people. Tricking them into answering ridiculous questions for a mock interview. Questions like "do you think Brittany Spears will do the soundtrack for the new SW?" oh man, that really made some die hard geeks mad. Anyway, I saw the same Skyler Stone on TV the other day getting interviewed by news 3. I guess he is a host on a Comedy Central show that cons models into thinking they are getting a serious interview and then he asks them ridiculous questions. This guy is now famous! I couldn't place the face at first but I eventually realized where I knew this guy from and that he is now doing the same thing I did to him 7 years prior, but on a much larger scale. Skyler, if you are reading this, way to go man and I hope you still have the SW promotional sign.

"I Want a Fake Face" An MTV series

I was watching TV last night and I stumbled on a show called, "I want a famous face" I am sure you have heard of it. It is an MTV series the documents people ridiculous obsessions with famous people's looks.

What has this world come to? Seriously? The episode last night was especially disturbing. A 26 year single, divorced mother of two children, wanted to look like Jennifer Aniston. She was very pretty as is, but she said "since my kids were born I haven't been able to wear cute things, I have been ugly." It sounded as though she resented her kids for making her have stretch marks and gaining some weight. This woman's appearance became the center of her life. The show was a half hour long and it may have showed her kids (about 4 and 2 years old) for 5 seconds. She had a boyfriend that thought she looked fine, all her friends thought she was very pretty, but she could not please her toughest critic, herself. People like that could have all the plastic surgery in the world and they will not be happy because they did not take care of the psychological part of it. Self image has almost nothing to do with looks, it has to do with confidence and self esteem. She should be able to take a look at her beautiful kids and loving boyfriend and say, "It doesn't matter how I look because I have a beautiful family". Granted, everyone wants to look nice, but looks are all relative. This was an above average looking woman, very cute, yet she thought she was ugly. Her problem is not her looks.

The surgery cost her $23,500. Are you trying to tell me she couldn't use that money to better her kid's lives at all? She couldn't use that money to see a psychiatrist? I truly feel that people like this are mentally ill. They may not have dementia or psychosis but they are suffering from severely distorted self image. I hope this woman and others like her find help that doesn't involve a knife and bandages.

Friends In Mirror Are Further Than They Appear

It is really strange how a person can go from talking to their roommate everyday for years in college and then not talk to them for years afterward. It is really sad what happens to our lives and our relationships when we become "grown ups". I know I can't be the best friend to everyone that I have shared a laugh with along the way, but it is sad to think I don't have time to reach out to people that were really important in my life at one time. I only talk to two of the five guys that stood up for me in my wedding (on a regular basis) for heaven's sake, one of them is my brother. Is this my fault? Is it theirs? How does this happen? If I were to call them would we have anything to say more than "yeah, I worked this week, same old stuff".

When my life became fuller due to an addition of a wife, son, house, and job, did everything else become empty? Do I multiply my love when new things come into my life or do I divide it? Is there a finite amount of love a person can feel, if one person takes more of your love does someone else get less? I want to say no,.... But it feels as though I divide sometimes.

I have/had a friend named Webby in college that I lived with and hung out with everyday. I spent thanksgiving with him, he stood up for me in my wedding. We were two peas in a pod. Great guy, I have never had a bad thing to say about him. So, why after moving 5 hours away and starting life after college, have I only called him about once every six months? Would it matter if I lived five minutes away? Is distance the only thing separating us or is it something bigger. It is not just Webby, it is all the people that have meant something to me in my life. My old soccer buddies, my old college teammates, my high school friends, the list goes on for all of us.

I am sorry if this blog has left you with more questions than answers, that wasn't what I was getting at. If you have any answers, let me know.

Motorcycle Miracle

I have an uplifting story that is worth sharing with the masses. It all started last fall when I sold my prized possession, and ESP Kirk Hammet (lead guitarist for Metallica) signature electric guitar. I bought it for $900 about 4 years ago and I was hoping to get atleast that out of it on eBay. I have plenty of guitars but my wife did not have a piano, so to even the score I wanted to sell a guitar and buy her a nice digital piano. Well the guitar sold for $1900 to my surprise. I bought her a really nice piano and used the left over to buy an old fixer upper motorcycle for $400. I had all winter to work on it so I thought I may be able to sell it for a profit this spring.
After many hours in the garage I had the bike running well. True to my word I put a for sale sign on the bike the day I took it out of the garage for spring riding. I started the price at $1500; that is a win/win price. If it doesn't sell because the price is too high than I get to ride all summer. If it does sell than I make more than I ever thought I would on the bike. That is the motorcycle part of the story, now for the miracle part.

I have been riding the bike for about two weeks now, not long. As the bike was sitting in my front lawn a man pulled up in a big blue truck and wanted to take a look at my 82 Honda CB750K ( are you impressed with my motorcycle lingo?) He said, "I really don't want a bike like this but I am batting it around in my head." he left with very little more said. I went inside and didn't think much of it. The man returned about two hours later and asked to take a test ride. I said sure and handed him a helmet. He was gone for about 15 minutes and when he returned he said he liked it and wanted me to hold it for him. He gave me a deposit of $100 to hold the bike. I told him I was planning to put about another 200 miles on the bike for a weekend trip up north. He said that was fine and he would have the money on Monday when I returned.

I was excited to tell my wife that we made a huge profit on the bike. She quickly grounded me by saying she didn't think I should take the bike up north. She said "Quentin, what if you wreck the bike, what if you get hurt, what if the bike breaks down and you can't sell it. I have a bad feeling about this." I said "Honey, I have been planning this for weeks and I would really like to have a 'last hooray' on the bike". Basically, I was going to take this bike come Hell or high water. Whenever Kasey and I don't agree on big topics like this I suggest a prayer and ask for guidance from the ultimate advisor, God. That night I prayed for some type of answer on the trip, if I should ride the bike or just drive. I figured the ride was less than 24 hours away, anything barring a miracle, I was going to ride it. I fell asleep and woke up at 6:30 in the morning for work. I have to be at work at 7:00am so I have about 15 minutes to get ready. When I went in the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal a big blue truck pulled into the driveway. The sun wasn't even out yet. The man came to my door, he said "I was hoping you would be home, how about I go to the bank and get $1500 in cash and we take care of this thing at lunch today?" I said, "I don't know I have to move some things around". When I paused to think an overwhelming feeling of "the sign" came over me and the words "please give me an answer" rang in my head. I quickly stopped the man from leaving and said, "you get the money, noon will be fine". Never have I received such a blunt sign as that. I am at my house for no more than 15 minutes in the morning. He was simply driving by and saw me in the window, two minutes more in bed and he would have missed me and I would have road up north.

I sought after the Lords counsel and he replied when he knew he had to, at the perfect time.
who knows what would have happened if I took the bike, I could have made it fine, incident free. I guess I will have to trade finding out for $1500, a happy wife, and my safety.

The Lord my not care about motorcycles and the cost, but he does care about families and keeping them together.

My New Membership, For My Old Club

Conversion is a powerful and strange thing. Whether it is conversion to college or conversion to satellite TV instead of cable, or conversion to a new religion. The latter of the three is the most serious and important.

I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints my entire life, born in and baptized at age 8. I went to all the classes, I went to church with my family every Sunday. Reluctantly kept the Sabbath day holy by not playing bball or going out with my friends on Sunday. I was under my parents roof, I had to obey their rules. Why did they make me do all of those things that I didn't personally believe in? That was the question I asked myself then, and this is the answer I give myself now. Because they loved me. Because they knew any traveler in a strange land is lost without a guide or map. Why is it that the more future you have to plan for the more nearsighted you are? Why, when I was young, couldn't I fathom the idea that my parents gave me rules because they loved me? I suppose because I knew it all, I could take care of myself. right?

The saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, never rang so true after I started to educate myself. All my parents rules were a mystery to me because I wasn't educated, I didn't understand what I truly believed. The basis of my faith was education. I don't mean school book education. I mean listening to people older and wiser than you, not just hearing them, truly listening. Reading books they don't let you read in school; Bible, Book of Mormon, History of the Prophets, Jesus the Christ, Gospel Doctrine, etc. Through this religious education was the only way I could know how I got where I was and where I would go from there. I read night and day, I asked questions of who ever seemed to understand more than me. I was a spiritual sponge hoping to absorb anything good, pure, and true. Even though I lived my whole life as a Mormon, I was not a true member until I educated myself and truly understood what I believed. That is the only way to true faith; knowing what you believe in and why. It took me nearly 24 years of my life to see what was right in front of my face the whole time. I guess the spiritually blind only see what they want to see. I am not perfect by any means, but now I know I am not and can work to eventually get there. No one is perfect (except my brother Todd)but everyone has the potential to be.

If you don't know what you believe or lack purpose or meaning, pick up a religious book and educate yourself about where you came from and where you hope to end up and why.

Free advice from a person that used to not take any.

My Top 5

If you have seen Hi fidelity then you know what I am talking about. Basically anything in life can be broken down into a top five. Movies, dates, friends, books, schools, teams, etc.
I would like to post my top fives and see how they differ from anybody who may stumble upon my blog. I will add more periodically

Top 5 Unattainable crushes:
1. The Spice Girls- for some reason I could not get these girls out of my head in 1997 and 1998. I didn't even like their music, I just loved their accents. It was hard not to love them, they were everywhere. I think I liked them more when the everyone else started to like them less.
2. Brittney Spears- Come on, everyone had a crush on this girl when she hit the scene in 98. It was kind of like a guilty pleasure, like Desperate Housewives...oops, did I just admit to watching the DH? Just think, all the time I could have had her if I were a washed up wanna-be, that has two kids, and really really bad facial hair, like Federline. How did I not think of that?!?
3. Shannon Miller- that's right, Shannon Miller from the 92 Olympics, she was hot. She made me a gymnastics fan. I was really close to trading in my basketball for a pommel horse just to impress her.
4. Carmen Electra- The weird thing about Carmen is she became hotter after she was taken by Dave Navaro. That guy rocks and the fact that she has good enough taste to go after a rocker is really hot. She made the list for her good taste ofcourse, not for any of her physical features.
5. Marcia Gross- For those of you who don't know, she is the red head in desperate Housewives. This one is funny just because my wife knows I had a thing for red heads so she always gives me a hard time when we watch the show. My wife is blonde by the way.

Top 5 Movies:
The Matrix- I will never forget the first time I saw this movie in theaters, it blew me away! I literally had a shortness of breath during the action scenes. I don't know if I will ever feel the same way about another movie. I saw it 3 more times in the following 3 days.
Back to the Future- This was the first time travel movie I had ever seen. It really made me think, the space time continuum is a heavy concept. Great story, great acting, I could watch it a million times over.
RAD- This movie was not just another cheesy extreme sports movie. This movie is revolutionary. Cru Jones races Hell Track, what could be better than that? Nothing else was like it at the time. Nothing else has been like it since.
True Lies- I just think this movie has a great blend of humor and action. The plot was great and Jamie Lee Curtis is classic. I just like the flow and storyline.
Sixth Sense- I really liked this movie, but it isn't the kind of movie you are going to watch over and over like the others. I just really liked it the first time I saw it.
Extra Credit- I would put irobot on the list but it hasn't stood the test of time yet.

Talking 'bout My Resolution

For those of you that have not read "Getting Plowed by the State of Michigan" go to the bottom of the page and read that first.

It has been almost 6 months now and the State has still not sent me a check for the damages. I claimed minimun damages of about $950 total. Nothing big, just enough to take care of what they wronged. What they did do, was send me a letter saying they will eventually send me a check. So by the time I get the money it may be in the form of a social security check!
Also, I found out, by the help of a law student, it is a state law that you can't sue the state! what kind of communistic move is that?!?!? Talk about being a bully. This isn't over yet, I am still fighting for all the little people that the widow maker (snow plow) has left in it's wake.

Reality Check; Don't believe the hype

I have been playing basketball all my life and have played at a few different levels: middle school, Highschool, AAU, Camps, 3 on 3's, DII college. Three years ago I graduated college and no longer had an opportunity to play competitive team basketball. So I was exiled to the realms of local pick up bball. A funny things happens to your self-image when you go from playing competitive bball in college everyday to playing local pickup once or twice a week. As my old roommate would say "even glass looks like a diamond in a pile of poo". Basically what he was saying was I thought I was getting better and better while playing against lower level players. It was fun, I didn't have to hustle if I didn't want to, I didn't play defense very long, all the things that can be a drag when playing with a coach. It was really fun because I was not just another 6'6", 215lbs college guy, I was the "big man". I had people telling me how great I was every time I went out to play, instead of "Dang it Q, you aren't working hard enough" yelled by my coach on the sideline. Which leads me to the whole point of this story. I tried out for a semi-pro team. The first day I tried out I thought I was going to die. My lungs have never burned like that in my life, and I hope they never do again. I felt out of shape, (in actuallity, I was) I felt small, I felt slow, inadequate, and all of the other things a freshman feels like at his first day of high school. I seriously felt as though I was in fourth grade again and I was having trouble dribbling the ball. Did I get that bad that quickly, did I eat something that day that made me slow or tired? NO, the bottom line, I am just not that good. Basketball ability, or any ability for that matter, is relative. It is a tough pill to swallow, but the proof is in the pudding. I think every man, at some stage in their life, realizes that there are somethings that are out of his control. As hard as he may have tried to manipulate or perfect that elusive thing or ability, ultimately, it is out of his control and the way he deals with that is what defines that man's character.

Personally I had to realize this a few times. When I realized I am not a good enough guitar player to be a rock star, I am not a good singer, I am not good enough to be payed to play bball, I am not cool enough to date the most popular girl in high school (the elusive Kelly Carls, that one was really tough, but I tried over and over). But through all that "realizing", I came to the conclusion that I would much rather not be the best at those things than be bad at the things that matter. I am a good dad, I am a good husband and I am a good son, brother, grandson. I am a good churchmember. Best of all, it doesn't take an NBA scout or a record contract to prove I am a good person.