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Another choke

I didn’t see or hear the game, but from what I could glean from Sportscenter, the Gators let another one get away today. Apparently, we had a lead late against LSU, but we choked it away in the last few minutes. I expected us to get beat up a little inside (their frontcourt is solid, while their backcourt could use a lot of work), but I ultimately thought we would pull this one out, especially since we were playing at home. I thought wrong.

I noticed an LSU player doing the “Gator Chomp” just before time expired… I’m not sure what compels players to mock our Gator chomp, but I find it ironic that other teams never mock it before they get a win. Why? Probably because they know we can beat any one, any time if we bring our A game, and who wants to look stupid mocking our chomp and then gettin’ beat? I guess am entertained by how flamboyant other teams come after they squeak out a win against us… where’s all that confidence before the game, fellas?

Switchfoot

They have a new song–Meant to Live, I think–being played on the local alternative station, and I think it’s a fantastic song. Here are the lyrics:

Fumbling his confidence
And wondering why the world has passed him by
Hoping that he’s bid for more than arguments
And failed attempts to fly, fly [Chorus]
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we’ve been livin with our eyes half open
Maybe we’re bent and broken, broken

[Chorus]

We want more than this world’s got to offer
We want more than this world’s got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live
We were meant to live

I think they’re playing it on the radio because it’s a great piece of music… but I’m glad to hear that Switchfoot is making a breakthrough into the maintsream on the wings of this particular song. The lyrics are powerful and it’s difficult to listen to the song without asking, “Why are we meant to live?”

More Target time

So, I went back to Target tonight to exchange a couple lamps I bought. I ended up spending about $150 and making two trips instead of just one. I had been keeping a list of stuff I needed, so I took this opportunity to cross some things off that list. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to write a little about what all went into moving–logistically, financially, etc.–and I’m definitely including this list. The list has things I never would’ve thought about until I lived here for a while. Hopefully it’ll save me some trouble later on, or maybe it’ll help someone else. That’s coming soon.

Snow

I went to go play basketball this morning and I was greeted by several inches of fresh snow. I think this was the first time I’d ever woken up to see fresh snow on the ground (unless I include the Winter of ’89 when it “snowed” a little in J-ville; it was mostly just ice). I took several pictures, but didn’t realize until after it stopped snowing that my camera was set to the lowest resolution (1 Megapixel), so I’m not sure how they’ll turn out. I hope to post them on JoshDoody.com pretty soon.

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NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge

After Mike retired for the second time, there was a very distinct lull in the NBA, particularly regarding viewership and fan interest. Since then, many players–AI, Kobe, Vince Carter and others–have come along that prompted people to say things like, “This guy’s gonna’ be the next Michael Jordan.” I never really saw it in any of those guys and, while I don’t see it in any players entering the game today, I do see guys that may be able to have a similar impact on the sport to that of Mike, Bird and Magic.

I don’t know the stats, but I’m guessing viewership is on the rise, thanks to Melo and Bron and their abilities as showmen and athletes. As I watched the game tonight, I realized that these kids could have a tremendous impact on the popularity of the NBA and maybe even eventually on how the game is played. Of course there was a good bit of showboating tonight, but there was also a lot of team play (at least on the offensive end of the floor) and I saw guys working together to create spectacular plays almost every trip down the floor. I had to keep reminding myself that these guys are rookies and sophomores and a few of them aren’t even 20 years old.

It’s hard to imagine how good this group of guys might be in five years. I think Kobe and KG are the current poster-children for young kids being successful in the NBA, but I think there will soon be a changing of the guard as some of these new guys start taking over. Kobe can score, but his defense is weak and his team-play has always been suspect (flashback to his run of consecutive 40-point games last year where it was obvious he didn’t care as much about winning as he did about padding his stats). Bron can score, but he can also pass the ball with almost anyone in the league right now. What’s more is that I think in the next few years, he’ll emerge as one of the better defensive players in the league; I think his size, court sense and speed make it virtually inevitable.

I’m excited to see how these new kids affect the game and I hope the NBA starts getting some more primetime viewership. I miss all the hype that Jordan brought to the game and I hope the rookies can revive some of that.

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Update

Some friends of mine have a website where they post updates submitted by alumni from those who’ve been involved in Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Florida. I’m about to send in my update and I thought it would be appropriate to post here as a summary of where I am and where I eventually hope to be. I think it’s hokey and It’s mostly rehashing what I’ve already written here, but it’s a good summary nonetheless:

Hello friends and fellow Gator alumni!

I finally graduated from UF in December with a BSEE and a BSCEN (Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering) and quickly moved out to Plano, TX to start working for Raytheon Company. I was a co-op with Raytheon in Summer ’01 and again in Summer ’02, so I am familiar with the company and this area–Dallas, TX. I’m still getting settled in–I’m writing this from my computer chair, but using my TV as a monitor and my lap as a keyboard tray–but the Lord has been faithful to provide me with many strong friendships both back in Gainesville and here in Texas. Those friendships have kept me grounded, encouraged and probably a bit in denial as I don’t think I’ve realized the gravity of this huge transition.

I plan to continue working for Raytheon for at least a few more years as I pay back the Fed for all the money I borrowed in my half-decade stint as a poor, pasta-eating college kid. While I’m working, I hope to earn an AA in Acting for the Camera (no, I’m not kidding) so that I can eventually move out of the world of engineering and big business and into the world of cinema and television. If all goes according to plan-and, of course, I doubt that it will–I hope to move out to El Segundo, CA (a few minutes south of L.A.) and continue working part-time for Raytheon as I try to delve into the world of acting.

I realize that I sound pretty confident in what I’m writing, but the truth is I couldn’t be more terrified and I am constantly seeing more of a necessity to depend on the Lord for my future. I don’t feel that I would be happy doing engineering for the rest of my life, but I also understand how difficult it is to be a Christian in profession such as acting. I find great motivation and inspiration in Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel’s project The Passion and I hope to have even a fraction of its impact in the business.

Of course, this is all pending His blessing, so I’ll continue in this direction until He either closes the door or pushes me through it. I’ve been keeping a weblog for a couple years now and I’ll continue updating it in the future for those of you who may be more curious than a yearly update can satisfy. Soon, I’ll be moving the weblog over to JoshDoody.com as I get more organized here in Texas.

I hope you are all well.

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The Horse and His Boy

I started reading a new one and it’s pretty good so far. I really enjoy C.S. Lewis’ storytelling ability; his writing seems equally appealing to children and adults alike. That seems like a difficult thing to do properly.

I think I’m going to try and wrap up all the books I’ve only partially read. There’re probably 5 or 6 of them on my bookshelf and I feel like I need to finish those before I start reading new stuff. I don’t think it’ll take me too long to get through them.

Legacy Church

I went to a local church today and enjoyed it quite a bit. The teaching was good and I felt like the worship was good, too. My only beef was that the people in the church seemed almost bored and not very “into it”. I think I’ll eventually end up going back and hopefully I’ll see that they were just having a somber Sunday or something.

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Proud new camera owner

My camera arrived today via FedEX. I played with it a bit and got a feel for the basic features, but I’ll have to wait until the weekend to get into the instruction manual and figure out what it can do. For now, I’m glad I have a way to get pictures of “here” sent back home so my family and friends can see where I live. JoshDoody.com should soon be up and running and will be where I eventually put some pictures online…

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Long, relaxing evening

Today’s my day off from workin’ out, so it seems like I’ve had an extra long evening. In reality, I had a normal length evening rather than the typical short one I get after workin’ out and running all over Plano to buy stuff. Fortunately, I’m starting to get into a routine and that routine doesn’t include spending copious amounts of money on stuff.

I guess what’s more important than the duration of my evening is how I used the time it afforded me. I’m sorry to report that I wasted every moment doing useless things and staring at the television. However, I did guess the answer to “What was it before it was deep-fried” on Letterman (“it” was a pair of mini binoculars), so that’s gotta’ count for something…

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Need to start gettin’ out

I’ve been spending entirely too much time staring at my TV lately. Last time I was here (Summer 2002), I spent a lot of time reading and wasting money at Starbucks; I figure I might try getting back into that racket. I might burn a few extra bucks on Frappuccinos, but I figure the knowledge I’ll gain from all that reading is priceless (I should consider getting Mastercard to sponsor my blog).

Fast day at work

Today went by so fast, my head spun. I’m not sure what happened, but I lost (or really gained) about two hours some time this morning. Now, I’d like to think that the time went by so quickly because I was having fun or really buried in my work, but really, I think I totally zoned out for a bit. I just hope I didn’t fall asleep or something. Nothing could be more embarrassing than “the new guy” passed out, face down on some circuit board with drool drippin’ on my shoes.

Speaking of passin’ out… I’m headed to bed.

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Psuedo-visit

I didn’t exactly go to a local church today, but I did listen a sermon from a church that’s about five miles from here. I realized that I could learn a lot about a church from just hearing a sermon (and by hearing one by the senior pastor), so I downloaded one and had a listen today. I decided I’ll visit that church next Sunday morning, so I guess the screening process was good.

Bought the camera

I’m the proud new owner of a FujiFilm Finepix F700 digital camera. It’ll be here in 7 to 10 business days via UPS Ground. I also went ahead and ordered a 256MB picture card, so I’m not cramped for space on the 16MB card that comes with the camera. I just hope I use it a lot and I don’t ultimately feel like I wasted some cash. I am fairly confident that I’ll use it plenty because I can think of numerous occasions when I wished I’d had a digital camera handy. Now I will, so hopefully I’ll use it.

Wrappin’ up the Wardrobe

I figure I’ll be done with Wardrobe by Tuesday (maybe sooner), and then I’ll get to move on to the third book. I’m lovin’ this stuff.

Blog ideas

A friend of mine requested that I write my opinions on the Gator basketball team, so I’ll probably do that in the next day or two. I wish I had seen all our games this year, but I feel I’ve seen enough to formulate educated opinions. I’ll also summarize this year’s team and compare it with teams from the past few years.

Also, I realized that one of the toughest things about the move to Texas was that I had no idea what I was getting into. So, I think I’ll write up a little entry on what all went into my move–planning, cost, things I bought, etc.–so that I have it for future reference. Also, I guess many of my peers will be experiencing a similar transition soon, so maybe they’ll find some useful information here.

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S.W.A.T.

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

Final decision on digital camera

I’ve all but decided I’m buying the FujiFilm FinePix F700. It’s a good camera, good specs, good price. I’ll probably order it tomorrow and I hope to have it by next weekend (that’s an optimistic estimate).

Back to basketball

I played basketball this morning for the first time in almost two months. Things went about as I expected:

I came out shooting early and made most of my shots, but, as fatigue set in, my shots started going long. My defense was a little better than I expected, but I gave up several jumpers because I wasn’t closing out well on the perimeter (I was afraid I’d get beat off the dribble because I’m outta’ shape and slow). In my last game, I had three good fastbreak layups and a few nice assists. I expect I’ll be improving as I continue to work out and get into shape. I hope I can go back in a few weeks and show those guys that I’m not normally as bad as I was this morning.

Computer desk shopping

I’m about to mail off my claim forms for the computer desk that was busted up during my move. I figure it’s about time to look into replacin’ it. I’m not sure what I want–corner desk or regular one–but I’ve pretty much decided I want something in cherry wood (or at least vaneer or finish). Hopefully, I’ll find something soon, so I can continue getting settled.

Church tomorrow

If all goes well, I’ll be at a local church tomorrow morning at 10:45. It’s less than five miles away and it looks like a decent church… but I’m learning that one can never be too sure before he’s in the doors.

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Weekends have new meaning

As a college student, weekends are really just part of the regular week. Fridays and Saturdays have hardly any unique significance. In fact, as an engineer, I found that my weekends were generally more difficult than the regular school week because I was trying to get caught up with my assignments and usually had a lab or project to do by the next week.

But now that I’m working full-time, I’ve found that weekends suddenly have a real significance again. I actually look forward to Friday afternoon and, although I don’t have much to do during my weekends, the prospect of just sitting around and relaxing is very appealing. It’s nice to enjoy weekends again.

Cleaning up

I’m finally beginning to clean up my apartment. Unfortunately, I don’t have much furniture, so cleaning up will be an incomplete task at best. Regardless, I finally decided I couldn’t stand seeing so much junk in piles all around my apartment, so I’m trying to organize things, throw trash out and tomorrow I’ll begin breaking down all the boxes filling my dining room. I also need to go out and find a computer desk to replace my broken one, so I’ll probably start looking for something tomorrow. As it turns out, the exact model desk that I had before is still on sale at Staples, but I don’t know if I want to replace it with an identical one. I’m not really sure what I want, but I guess there’s no rush, so I’ll take some time and find something I like.

Still deciding about the camera

I’m pretty close to making a decision, but I haven’t ordered anything yet. In the meantime, I went out yesterday and bought a disposable camera and got some shots of my apartment, just in case I don’t get anything soon enough to capture the disaster that is my home.