What's good, indeed! I came to the realization this morning that I hadn't blogged in a while so for those of you who I haven't talked to in a while, and rely on this blog to keep tabs on me...I'm sorry. Since my last entry, post Vegas trip, I've been keeping pretty busy.
Soccer Coaching season has ended. Another great season, leading my boys' team to the top of the league and earning an All-Star coach selection. My all-star squad didn't fair as well, but that was more bad luck than anything. They played well. I'm looking forward to furthering my United States Soccer Association Certified Coaching Licensing this summer before the next season starts up again in the fall.
Flag football season just ended. My Hokies alumni team was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the playoffs this past weekend. So we'll take some time off before we start practicing and getting ready for the fall season again, I guess.
Work has been busy. As you all may or may not recall, I work at MITRE Corporation now. Switched over from Bearingpoint last December. Up until this point, I'd be doing baby coding and busy work, but with the upcoming deadlines for my project teams, I've been tasked with more complicated work lately.
I applied this week for the VT Masters in IT program. It's a completely online graduate program so that's good for me in terms of work, scheduling, etc. MITRE should be footing the tuition for me, so that's a plus as well. Hopefully they accept me so I can start in the fall.
Other than that, everything's more or less the same. I'm still going hard with the Barra Brava, showing support for DC United. This Sunday, I'm going to their game against the LA Galaxy. Here's hoping our boys in red and black put the stomp down on everyone's favorite mancrush: David Beckham.
Anywhoo, that was a quick update, I'll think of something more interesting to write next blog...for now, I gotta get back to work.
P.S. Screw Global Warming, tornadoes, and power outages. Also screw gas prices.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Viva Las Vegas part IV
So this past weekend, I took part in the annual guys' trip to sin city. This trip marked the 4th annual trip that we've taken since we graduated. It's actually the 4th trip in 3 years, but since we graduated half way through 2005, we were able to go late 2005 and that counts as our 4th. We've officially taken one trip each calendar year since 2005. Even if in sum, we've gone 4 times in 3 years worth of days. While Vegas never disappoints, I have to admit this year was my favorite trip that we've taken so far. I attribute this pleasure from this trip to a number of factors, but mainly I think it was because only 5 of us went this year, and all 5 guys were part of the original group of guys that have been going every year. As a result, all of our decision making was a little bit more relaxed and things just seemed to flow more smoothly. We also tried a ton of new places to party (LAX club at Luxor, Jet club at Mirage, Body English at Hard rock), places to eat (24-7 diner at Palms, Nove Italiano at Palms, Little Buddha at Palms, and our recurring favorite: Mandalay Bay buffet), and places to gamble so I think that helped to make the trip new and exciting. Las Vegas seems to be expanding exponentially. There was lots of huge construction going on while we were there, so next year, I suspect there will be like 5-6 new casinos that we'll have to try and visit. And finally, I won about $500-600 this trip. Can't be disappointed with a trip where you come home with more moolah than when you arrived, right? Aside from the very first trip we took, this was my biggest win yet in the city. I actually didn't pay for a single thing with my own money on the last two days of our trip. Woot!
Aside from the regular gambling, late night partying, and excessive drinking, Vegas was Vegas. We saw a lot of celebs again. Amare Stoudamire and Shaq were there for the US team training camp, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz were both there because of the UFC fight Saturday night, and Carlos Mencia (was performing at the Palms, so we saw him at the club partying it up). I didn't have my camera this year, so no Nicky Long papparazzi photos to share. I'm still in Vegas withdrawal right now. It's always like this when we come back...at least for a few days. Already counting down the days till next year's trip!
Aside from the regular gambling, late night partying, and excessive drinking, Vegas was Vegas. We saw a lot of celebs again. Amare Stoudamire and Shaq were there for the US team training camp, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz were both there because of the UFC fight Saturday night, and Carlos Mencia (was performing at the Palms, so we saw him at the club partying it up). I didn't have my camera this year, so no Nicky Long papparazzi photos to share. I'm still in Vegas withdrawal right now. It's always like this when we come back...at least for a few days. Already counting down the days till next year's trip!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Fun Weekend.
This upcoming May marks 3 years that I've been out of college and in the working world. I feel like now more than ever, my weekends blow by way too fast. Friday comes around, I'm blast out of work, and next thing I know, it's Monday morning already. So being that the weekends seem to last so short, I've been keeping especially busy trying to make every minute count. This past weekend was especially fun.
Friday night, I went out to Happy Hour with Andy, Stella, Leo, Mike, James, Gaan, Yoshi, and Keith at TGIF in tyson's. Originally, the plan was to go to Top Golf in Kingstowne after HH to continue drinking and get some games of top golf in. But, we didn't leave tyson's till after 10 PM, so we scrapped the idea. So I headed home and watched a dvd before I went to sleep. Boring, I know, but at least I didn't go to sleep early.
Saturday morning, I wake bright and early to coach my kids' soccer game. They were 2-0 going into this game, and this season more than any other, I felt like they would go undefeated the whole season. Needless to say I showed up to the game only to find out that many of our players would not make it. So we played one player down for the entire game. Fortunately, I've trained my kids well enough that they didn't get too gassed throughout the game, and somehow, they pulled out a 3-2 win in the scorching heat. I was blown away. Couldn't be more proud of them. Afterwards, I took them out to our regular post-victory pizza party.
Immediately after pizza, I sped home and quickly showered. I then grabbed $600 in cash from my desk and headed out the door to pick up my best friend Will to head up to Atlantic City for the night. Normally, I have football games Sunday mornings, but this week was a bye week so I took the chance to go party with my friend up there. 24 hours later, I was $600 poorer, but pleased with a fun trip to AC as always. Drowning my financial sorrows, we stopped by Philly on the way home and picked up cheesesteaks from Pat's. It was awesome. I bought like 4 which I've eaten over the couple days since coming home. I also bought 4 to split amongst my cousins.
After returning home, exhausted from AC, I again took a quick shower and headed right back out the door to meet my friends at Sweetwater Tavern for some quick dinner before the Chris Rock show in DC. I had never seen Chris Rock perform, and I don't think I've ever really watched his entire show on HBO or anything before either, so this was a brand new experience for me. As you could imagine, he was eff'in hilarious. I had tears at moments in the show cuz I was laughing so hard. His opening act was awesome too.
So then I came home and laid to rest another great weekend. Not nearly as exciting as my days used to be when I was in school, but seeing as how life seems to be settling down these days for me and my friends, I'll take this great weekend anytime.
Friday night, I went out to Happy Hour with Andy, Stella, Leo, Mike, James, Gaan, Yoshi, and Keith at TGIF in tyson's. Originally, the plan was to go to Top Golf in Kingstowne after HH to continue drinking and get some games of top golf in. But, we didn't leave tyson's till after 10 PM, so we scrapped the idea. So I headed home and watched a dvd before I went to sleep. Boring, I know, but at least I didn't go to sleep early.
Saturday morning, I wake bright and early to coach my kids' soccer game. They were 2-0 going into this game, and this season more than any other, I felt like they would go undefeated the whole season. Needless to say I showed up to the game only to find out that many of our players would not make it. So we played one player down for the entire game. Fortunately, I've trained my kids well enough that they didn't get too gassed throughout the game, and somehow, they pulled out a 3-2 win in the scorching heat. I was blown away. Couldn't be more proud of them. Afterwards, I took them out to our regular post-victory pizza party.
Immediately after pizza, I sped home and quickly showered. I then grabbed $600 in cash from my desk and headed out the door to pick up my best friend Will to head up to Atlantic City for the night. Normally, I have football games Sunday mornings, but this week was a bye week so I took the chance to go party with my friend up there. 24 hours later, I was $600 poorer, but pleased with a fun trip to AC as always. Drowning my financial sorrows, we stopped by Philly on the way home and picked up cheesesteaks from Pat's. It was awesome. I bought like 4 which I've eaten over the couple days since coming home. I also bought 4 to split amongst my cousins.
After returning home, exhausted from AC, I again took a quick shower and headed right back out the door to meet my friends at Sweetwater Tavern for some quick dinner before the Chris Rock show in DC. I had never seen Chris Rock perform, and I don't think I've ever really watched his entire show on HBO or anything before either, so this was a brand new experience for me. As you could imagine, he was eff'in hilarious. I had tears at moments in the show cuz I was laughing so hard. His opening act was awesome too.
So then I came home and laid to rest another great weekend. Not nearly as exciting as my days used to be when I was in school, but seeing as how life seems to be settling down these days for me and my friends, I'll take this great weekend anytime.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
DC Sports
I consider myself a sports fan. I follow most of the major sports relatively well enough to know the general status of most teams. Being that I've spent entire life in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), obviously I got love for DC teams. Last year, Boston/New England had a great year in sports...and this year I'm hoping it could be DC.
The Capitals just won the Southeastern conference championship...propelling them into the playoffs. I don't know much about hockey, and I couldn't name 5 players on the Caps if my life depended on it...but I can't remember the last time the Caps did something good, so this is exciting. What I do know...is Mr. Ocho himself, Alex Ovechkin, is a beast.
The Wizards are in the playoffs too. I've been a DC basketball fan since the days of the Bullets. I still wish they had never changed their name, but that's another story completely. I've been to a lot of games this season and it's been exciting to actually see my team winning. Gilbert Arenas is back from injury, as is Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Deshawn Stevenson. Even Brendan Haywood, the goat of the team, whom I joke on all the time...is have a career season. He's even making free throws. Now the team is in the race for home court advantage. *fingers crossed*
DC United has just started a new season. With a practically new roster that includes new goalkeeper Zach Wells, midfielder Marcelo Gallardo (who is replacing former league MVP Christian Gomez who was traded), and a package of new young defenders and attackers; this season is like watching a brand new team. I'm optimistic that this is the year we make the playoffs and actually succeeed there instead of choking like we usually do. I'm excited cuz this season is the first season I'm watching the DC United as a member of the Barra Brava. These guys are the crazy DC United fan club that waves the flags, and throws the smoke bombs at the home games. It's a completely new and awesome experience watching a game with these guys. For $30, you can join this awesome club, get a free jersey, and get premium discounted seats to any game you wanna go to. http://www.barra-brava.com. Vamos United!
The Nationals. I pretty much know almost nothing about baseball. I don't follow it at all, I don't play it at all (except for one season of t-ball when I was like 8), and I don't talk much about it at all. Quite honestly, I find baseball extremely boring and if it wasn't for the fact that there's a new stadium this year, I probably wouldn't give the Nats another look. Baseball has just never appealed to me very much. Most of the game, the players are motionless. I've never seen any other sport where so many players look almost overweight...chewing tobacco while they play. But, all baseball hating aside, it looks like an exciting season for DC's team. The new stadium is causing a lot of excitement in the city. Since I know nothing about the team or its players, I don't know what their chances are of winning this season, but here's hoping they succeed.
And finally, the redskins. The season is still months away but I'm looking forward to a new season. The loss of Joe Gibbs is still a bit painful, but the players and organization seem optimistic that new head coach Jim Zorn has the abilities necessary to bring this team back to the postseason. Additionally, with the big NFL draft coming up later this month, I'm hoping the skins make good use of their picks and make some smart moves. Signing free agent Jerome Mathis is one step the skins have taken. We'll see if that step turns out to be in the right direction next year. Hail to the redskins! **side note. Congratulations to the Redskins Cheerleaders for being chosen as the hottest cheerleaders in the NFL**
The Capitals just won the Southeastern conference championship...propelling them into the playoffs. I don't know much about hockey, and I couldn't name 5 players on the Caps if my life depended on it...but I can't remember the last time the Caps did something good, so this is exciting. What I do know...is Mr. Ocho himself, Alex Ovechkin, is a beast.
The Wizards are in the playoffs too. I've been a DC basketball fan since the days of the Bullets. I still wish they had never changed their name, but that's another story completely. I've been to a lot of games this season and it's been exciting to actually see my team winning. Gilbert Arenas is back from injury, as is Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Deshawn Stevenson. Even Brendan Haywood, the goat of the team, whom I joke on all the time...is have a career season. He's even making free throws. Now the team is in the race for home court advantage. *fingers crossed*
DC United has just started a new season. With a practically new roster that includes new goalkeeper Zach Wells, midfielder Marcelo Gallardo (who is replacing former league MVP Christian Gomez who was traded), and a package of new young defenders and attackers; this season is like watching a brand new team. I'm optimistic that this is the year we make the playoffs and actually succeeed there instead of choking like we usually do. I'm excited cuz this season is the first season I'm watching the DC United as a member of the Barra Brava. These guys are the crazy DC United fan club that waves the flags, and throws the smoke bombs at the home games. It's a completely new and awesome experience watching a game with these guys. For $30, you can join this awesome club, get a free jersey, and get premium discounted seats to any game you wanna go to. http://www.barra-brava.com. Vamos United!
The Nationals. I pretty much know almost nothing about baseball. I don't follow it at all, I don't play it at all (except for one season of t-ball when I was like 8), and I don't talk much about it at all. Quite honestly, I find baseball extremely boring and if it wasn't for the fact that there's a new stadium this year, I probably wouldn't give the Nats another look. Baseball has just never appealed to me very much. Most of the game, the players are motionless. I've never seen any other sport where so many players look almost overweight...chewing tobacco while they play. But, all baseball hating aside, it looks like an exciting season for DC's team. The new stadium is causing a lot of excitement in the city. Since I know nothing about the team or its players, I don't know what their chances are of winning this season, but here's hoping they succeed.
And finally, the redskins. The season is still months away but I'm looking forward to a new season. The loss of Joe Gibbs is still a bit painful, but the players and organization seem optimistic that new head coach Jim Zorn has the abilities necessary to bring this team back to the postseason. Additionally, with the big NFL draft coming up later this month, I'm hoping the skins make good use of their picks and make some smart moves. Signing free agent Jerome Mathis is one step the skins have taken. We'll see if that step turns out to be in the right direction next year. Hail to the redskins! **side note. Congratulations to the Redskins Cheerleaders for being chosen as the hottest cheerleaders in the NFL**
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Super Smash
The title says it all. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros series came out over the weekend for the Nintendo Wii. My cousin had it reserved. He picked it up Sunday. Between Sunday and Yesterday, I put it at least 20 hours of play. It's an awesome game.
Aside from my video crack, what have I been up to? Not much. I joined Barra Brava (the DC United Fan club...one of the largest in the MLS). They're the ones who sing and jump up and down all game and throw smoke bombs when DC scores. They're also the best tailgate in DC for United games.
Soccer coaching starts this week. Looking forward to getting back on the pitch with the kids. If they're half as successful as my teams have been over the last year, I'll be ecstatic.
Snowboard season is more or less done for me. I only went on 3 trips this year. 2 day trips and one weekend trip. It was a very slow year for me. I blame the warm weather, me getting sick, and too many other weekend obligations. Oh well, there's always next year.
Wedding season is approaching. Early congratulations to Alice (Lee) & Chris as well as Pammie & Hee. Also almost time for graduation. Congrats to everyone graduating from Tech (and other schools as well). You guys are officially the last group of people to graduate from school that attended undergrad with me...so welcome to the real world. I'll see you at Happy Hour.
March Madness is almost here. Time to study my bracketology. *single tear drop* for my Hokies who fell slightly short of the Big Dance this year. Looking forward to big things in the future from this young squad.
Aside from my video crack, what have I been up to? Not much. I joined Barra Brava (the DC United Fan club...one of the largest in the MLS). They're the ones who sing and jump up and down all game and throw smoke bombs when DC scores. They're also the best tailgate in DC for United games.
Soccer coaching starts this week. Looking forward to getting back on the pitch with the kids. If they're half as successful as my teams have been over the last year, I'll be ecstatic.
Snowboard season is more or less done for me. I only went on 3 trips this year. 2 day trips and one weekend trip. It was a very slow year for me. I blame the warm weather, me getting sick, and too many other weekend obligations. Oh well, there's always next year.
Wedding season is approaching. Early congratulations to Alice (Lee) & Chris as well as Pammie & Hee. Also almost time for graduation. Congrats to everyone graduating from Tech (and other schools as well). You guys are officially the last group of people to graduate from school that attended undergrad with me...so welcome to the real world. I'll see you at Happy Hour.
March Madness is almost here. Time to study my bracketology. *single tear drop* for my Hokies who fell slightly short of the Big Dance this year. Looking forward to big things in the future from this young squad.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Eff the Flu.
Eff it indeed. So last week I was the latest victim of this serial flu going around attacking everybody. I have never felt so helpless in my life before. I began getting sick Tuesday evening. The following 3 days, I was a zombie...drifting in and out of sleep and hocked up on all sorts of medicines. At one point, I was probably on a cocktail of 5 or 6 drugs at once. It sucked. After coming into work Friday to put in half a days work (just to clear stuff I had missed), I sped home and leapt into the bed.
Saturday was the first day I began to feel better, but even so I still suffered from coughing, stuffy nose, and sporadic headaches. Even today, 6 days after my initial onset of the flu, I still have a stuffy nose and cloudy head. That virus is no joke. Eff that bitch.
While we're on the subject of effing bitches, I'd like to eff the American medical system as well. Thanks a-holes for diagnosing this year's flu bug incorrectly. For all of you who don't know, the way that the flu shot works in our wonderful country is that every year, the doctors try to play Miss Cleo and predict the strain of flu that will make its way across that winter. They then choose the appropriate vaccine to prevent it, and distribute it for preventive use that year. This method is flawed for 2 reasons. First, as we've observed this year, when the flu bug is not predicted accurately, we get the wrong vaccine and the flu runs rampant. Second, and this is even more important, the flu virus gets stronger every year. Once we are treated with a vaccine for one strain, the virus just mutates and gets a stronger strain the next year. This may sound flawed on my part, but here's what I think the US doctors NEED to do. Wait each year with several flu vaccines prepared. When the first flu hits, diagnose it and determine the CORRECT vaccine that should be used....then prescribe it. This way, we get an accurate flu shot for millions of people. Call me crazy, but I like to pay for drugs that will actually keep me from losing a week of my life to illness. That's just me.
Other than that, life is hunky dory for me. Looking forward to recovering completely.
Saturday was the first day I began to feel better, but even so I still suffered from coughing, stuffy nose, and sporadic headaches. Even today, 6 days after my initial onset of the flu, I still have a stuffy nose and cloudy head. That virus is no joke. Eff that bitch.
While we're on the subject of effing bitches, I'd like to eff the American medical system as well. Thanks a-holes for diagnosing this year's flu bug incorrectly. For all of you who don't know, the way that the flu shot works in our wonderful country is that every year, the doctors try to play Miss Cleo and predict the strain of flu that will make its way across that winter. They then choose the appropriate vaccine to prevent it, and distribute it for preventive use that year. This method is flawed for 2 reasons. First, as we've observed this year, when the flu bug is not predicted accurately, we get the wrong vaccine and the flu runs rampant. Second, and this is even more important, the flu virus gets stronger every year. Once we are treated with a vaccine for one strain, the virus just mutates and gets a stronger strain the next year. This may sound flawed on my part, but here's what I think the US doctors NEED to do. Wait each year with several flu vaccines prepared. When the first flu hits, diagnose it and determine the CORRECT vaccine that should be used....then prescribe it. This way, we get an accurate flu shot for millions of people. Call me crazy, but I like to pay for drugs that will actually keep me from losing a week of my life to illness. That's just me.
Other than that, life is hunky dory for me. Looking forward to recovering completely.
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