• Am I going to get an sleep on this lake trip? Probably not but it will be a great time.
• Is the Allstar Game really going to make the town insanely crazy. The city sent out a letter to all companies within the city limits to try to reschedule any deliveries to and from your facility to reduce traffic. Really? Is there going to be millions of people driving around? Are companies going to deliberately lose money by not shipping products? Who ever wrote that should be fired for being an idiot.
• Finallly scored free Cards tickets and they are very good. Many thanks to KJ.
• My whole idea of getting in better shape for this trip went down the drain when I got sick. I tried to workout tonight but only lasted about 6 sets.
• My sholders and chest are still peeling from last week. I am really confused. I barely got burnt. Maybe I have a skin eating disease.
• Still loving the great deals I got on Sunday. Sounds like I came extremely close to buying a similar swimsuit as another guy going on the trip. That would have been a distaster. We already have a problem of all wearing white or black shirts every time we go out … lol.
• Has anyone watched the NYC Prep show? I just found out about it today. Sounds right up my alley but I can’t get it in HD so not sure if I can stand to watch standard definition.
• Looking forward to both the start of our sand volleyball league and baskeball league (for me) next week. Thanks for Sarah N. for designing the shirt. I came up with both funny names. Boutros Boutros Volley for vball and Boom Boom Pau for Bball. The bball name is a play of words for the Black Eyed Peas song but we will have a picture of Pau Gasol (of the World Champion Lakers)  instead of Pow.

No this is not a post about people and which phones they use but is more a rant about how they use their phones. I have a hard time understanding how some people I know do not answer their phones, check their voicemail or quickly respond to text (if even at all). There are two reasons that I don’t buy some of the responses I have received for their actions. (1) I wouldn’t get fired but it would definitely not help me out in my job status if I wasn’t always responsive to my phone. (2) I have heard a response that I haven’t looked at my phone in the past 12, 24, or even 36 hours. Isn’t anyone afraid of family emergencies? Speaking from experience, I know what its like to get a dreadful call in an emergency.

While I am on the subject I feel somewhat the same about emails. I think everyone should get Blackberrys so that I can then email everyone instead of leaving voicemails and texts. The world would be a better place. With that said, my friends would need to reply to the emails and hit “reply all” if it is a group email about plans. Something you can not do with a text. Also, if someone sends an email or a text asking about plans but you can not make it, be courteous and respond back that you can not attend.

• I am sore in really weird places from my first basketball game in preparation for the league we may or may not be starting in tonight. The Y let me bring in Ryan and Rengel for free. I was exhausted after playing two games of 2 on 2 then two games of full court 4 on 4. I did get jacked with an elbow so I have a swollen upper lip. I also got nailed in the face with a ball when I was playing defense but I shook it off. The backs of my hands are actually sore. I guess it is from the dribbling. I would bet that I would be mores sore if I had not been doing squats the past month. I did score more points that I ever have … even some fast break points but all my shots were layups since I was basically playing a low post position.
• I am on the fence about buying new golf clubs. I have never owned a complete set and really thing newer clubs could improve my game. With that said, I have not played golf in 3 years so why bother but it seems like I might pick it up now that school is done and a lot of my friends play.
• I have really gone to town with my newly purchased label maker and filing cabinet. I have totally organized my massive stack of papers that I have been piling up for a year. Now I just need to transfer the files I already have organized in my portable single file organizers. My one drawer is almost full so I will need to buy another one.
• I am excited about the new shows starting next week like Weeds and Nurse Betty.
• I bought my tickets for the St Louis Beerfest yesterday after I got screwed over for my work Cards tickets. Hopefully it won’t be a muddy mess like it was last year. It is supposed to rain all week so they better be prepared this time.
• I am excited about the Lakers game tomorrow. I am even more surprised that Jameer Nelson is in the 10 man rotation for Orlando after he has been out for a super long time and supposed to be done for the year. He did average something like 29 points against the Lakers but there is no way he could be in playoff shape after sitting out this much time. I did not know until this morning that Orlando won both games against the Lakers. I would have thought that they would have matched up well. I bet “TI” burned them too.
• Not overly thrilled about the recent murders around 20^th and Market. We walk through this area almost every weekend on our way to Harry’s. I am glad the StL police are stepping it up in that area. How can they not with Union Station right there?
• I am really enjoying the constant emails that have been going back and forth this week from a group of my friends. They really get on each and it might be the most hilarious banter you could ever read. I would post some of the conversations on my blog but I am afraid they are NSFW. People have stopped by my office this week and asked why I was laughing so hard.
• The news about Sheldon Richardson not going to MU anymore is crazy. How does someone not get at least a 16 on the ACT to get into college; especially when its a free ride? How can you be a 5 star recruit that is destined to be a future NFL star if he gets good experience in college not work his butt off to get the tutoring to get a 16? I would expect that the average 8^th grader could get a 16.
• The news about McEagle Properties plan for the rejuvenation for North of St Louis is a little outlandish in my mind. There is no way that we will ever see this even though they say it’s a 20 year plan. The vast wasteland of empty lots and burned or boarded up homes will continue to be there. I drive through this everyday on my way to work and it is amazing how there are huge areas where there are no homes for blocks. The reason why I don’t think this will work is because he would need to transform the whole area at once. Otherwise you would not be forcing the crime out and no one would want to move there. One thing I do not totally agree with these TIFs that are proposed to be used for this and the Kiel Opera house. How can the government give this much money for private enterprise? I am sure McEagle will make a ton if this goes through. He should have to give that money back after they do.
• I hate my Bold at this moment. I keep it on the charger at work and I can have it be dead by 10 o’clock at night. I am also having issues where Blackberry’s own internet browser, Twitter, and Facebook say I don’t have a connection but then I can hop on Mini Opera and it works. I then have to restart it which takes like 5 minutes. I am going to take it in this week.

When I was writing this, I was thinking of the Urge song “open all night” (Going to the liquor store) so you need to say the title with that tone when you read it.

Needless to say, I meant to write a quick post on my experience with going to the chiropractor but did not get a chance before I went to Jamaica then never did it when I got back … until now. To start off, my lower back had been really hurting for almost a year. It would always hurt when I woke up and if I was standing a long time. I was having troubles standing up at trade shows it was so bad. The weird thing was that it would go away for a short period if I just sat down for like 5 seconds. Because of that, I thought something was out of place and I needed to get it resolved. I finally decided to visit a chiropractor in Clayton. I had only been to a chiropractor once before back when I was 18 when I injured my hamstring during soccer camp right before try outs so I need a quick fix. I felt like an old man and had problems bending over when it hurt bad.

I did not know what to expect from my visit. I was especially hesitant after I was charged $120 the first visit and the doctor did not do anything. I went back two more times in a week in which I saw massive change. I always started the visit with electroshock on the back. I had it turned down the first visit but I really cranked it up the second visit. It was a weird feeling 20 minutes. I then got a full back massage. The massage by this tiny girl made me almost cry it was so hard. It was very similar to the foot and leg massage I got in Taiwan that hurt so bad. The second time I went I got a different girl and she was very gentle and almost seemed to be coming onto me because she was going pretty far down in her back massage (if you know what I mean). I ended both visits with the actual doctor cracking my back in which she actually had a hard time doing. I fell like I was going to fall off the table both times. I also thought it was weird that I was changing in front of a window in which the adjacent Clayton office could see me plus I was always walking around in a robe.

All in all, I had a little soreness the first week in Jamaica and it has never hurt since. I am amazed since it has been over two months. I was really worried that it was my expensive bed that I bought when I moved in. She gave me all kinds of exercises but I have done none. I also got new tennis shoes with better arch support but I have barely worn them since I have worked out so little so I know that did not make the difference.

On a side note, my secondary insurance covered it “by accident” the first time so I had to pay the $80 the last two visits so I would go to a different doctor the next time because I think she was claiming it wrong.

As of last Wednesday, I have completed my PMBA program at Washington University. I still need to officially receive my diploma but I am pretty positive that I passed my last class that I have yet to get a grade on. Its hard to believe that is had been 2 and a half years since I first started. Overall, I am very glad with my decision. It could have been a very different decision if it was not for a misunderstanding at work. I was accepted at SLU, Wash U, and UMSL but chose Wash U since my work provided 100% tuition compensation. I was contacted the week I was to deciding on which school by our HR department. They said there was a tax issue they were addressing that had to deal with the max of $5250 that could be deducted by a company each year. My first semester tuition was around $7000 so they said they were going to adjust my pay check to deduct the full $7000 without my take how pay changing. I left it at that and went on with my life. It was not until about half way through my first term that my company sent out a notice about the new tuition reimbursement policy where they only reimburse $5250 a year. I was shocked since they had just approved me only a month ago and nothing was mentioned about this. I then found out that they knew this when they originally approved me but thought that I was told about the future change. Obviously, this would have changed my decision if I would have known this prior to accepting the invitation to Wash U. I would have probably picked SLU instead. After I look back at it, I am glad for the outcome even though I am not looking forward to huge student load I am going to see in 6 months nor was I happy with how my company handled the situation. As a further update, my work suspended its tuition reimbusment program totally earlier in the week.

Overall, it was a great experience that I do not think I would have received at another St Louis school compared to what I know from people who have or are going to SLU, UMSL, and Webster for their MBA. I have to commend Wash U for their cohorts program. This was a tremendous way to introduce people which has gave me with a great source of business networks. In case you are not familiar with the program, it groups you in with 5 people with different skill sets and job experiences. For the next 1+ years, you basically take the exact same classes as your incoming class (PMBA 22) while being in this same group the entire time. This basically allowed me to have a pretty close relationship with at least half of the 75+ students in my class.

I had some great memories from the school and needless to say they all involve drinking.

• The first semester at the After Dark sessions on Thursdays. Half the class took part in the weekly free alcohol. What made this semester different compared to the the future ones was the combination of the keg with triple tap and the Cards in the World Series. I remember hanging out in the lounge trying to finish off the keg while watching the games then going down to PaddyO’s around midnight. It basically started my obsession with the ballpark bars.
• Going to Spyglass with Mike after one of the first After Dark nights of the year. All I can is that it got crazy.
• Going to Nick’s one Thursday in the first year for the $1 u call its. I remember chasing a shot with a vodka drink about every 10 minutes. Luckily I had a ride. The crowning moment was when I “accidentally” got “punched” by a great friend in which my tooth got chipped and had to be repaired the next day.
• Hanging out with the group on Thursday evening in Clayton after the Afterdark sessions.

How I am going to benefit.

• Going to a 20 top business school in the country has to give me some credibility. One of the whole goals of going to Wash U was so that I could go anywhere in the world and have my degree recognized as top notch.
• The network of people that I met and the resources that Wash U provides with its alumni department.

What classes I enjoyed most.

• As a side note, I thought I was going to do a marketing emphasis but all the classes started to repeat each other so I also took a lot of management classes too.
• I really enjoyed the sports management class. It was the first time offered at Wash U and had a tremendous list of guest speakers that ranged from the Director of Sports Marketing at AB (some said the most powerful man in sports because of the huge budget he controlled) to former director of the SEC and on the IOC to Selena Roberts who is writing the controversial book on Arod. There were many others. We heard amazing stories.
• I really liked the organizational design and science classes that we had first semester. I guess I liked them knowing how dysfunctional my current work is.
• I did take some good pricing and international marketing classes where I learned a lot that helps me everyday in my current job.
• I really enjoyed my Managing Innovation class. It was very relevant at the time since I was working on so many new products for the company.
• I also really enjoyed my communications class even though I also dreaded it. It was very good for me to have to get in front of a group for impromptu discussions while also being recorded so I could see my mistakes.

I hated:

• Anything that had to do with Econ, Finance, or Accounting. I look back on these disciplines and wish I would have taken more classes but they were so boring. I will probably take advantage of the half price Wash U tuition now that I am a graduate to go back and take some more classes.

What I am going to do with my new found freedom:

• get back in shape
• relax more
• regretfully probably work later
• travel more
• possibly move if the situation presented itself

I am glad to be done but I will miss it. Going to school and the people within it were such a crucial part of my life the past 2 and half years.

• Very disappointed in the results of the Lakers game last night. They were miserable from the 3 point line plus Gasol couldn’t make a bucket. All problems contributed to everyone hanging out under the basket making it impossible for Kobe to drive to the hoop.
• Didn’t know McGurks was so nationally popular. Esquire rated it as the #1 bar in Missouri. McGurk’s website also claims it is a top 15 Irish pub in the country.
• Super bummed about a grade I received in one of my last classes but was also surprised to find out that everyone I have talked to from that class received the same grade. Not sure what the professor was expecting.
• My company just took away tuition reimbursement. It is hard to say that I am lucky to be graduating now since they took full tuition reimbursement away from me two years ago.
• The Ankiel video of him running into the wall is scary. I hope he is okay. Our outfielders are not on a good run the past couple years. Anyone heard anything about Juan Encarnacion lately?
• Not sure what my plans for Cinco de Mayo are. The holiday seemed to lose its “gusto” with some of my friends. I think going to Hacienda for the event is one of the better times of the year. I would take off if other people would. I always see so many people that I know too. Its light a college and high school reunion all in one.
• On a mini shopping spree after my failed attempt at furniture and home shopping over the weekend. I bought two phone docks, chargers, external eSATA harddrive for my DVR, and a new internal harddrive to install the beta version of Windows 7.
• Only two more episodes of Lost this season. Hard to believe.

Here is a link to a great article that Matt Smith posted on twitter. I have already forwarded this article to some people but thought I would make a post about it since I thought it was such well written and got such great response on it. It is great to see such a class act article written about St Louis and its stadium in such a big arena like the New York Times.

Weekend

I went to our first Cardinals game of the season with the group. Our seats are in the back row in the lower bowl by the right field foul pole. They are pretty good seats. They would be especially good if it happened to rain since we are under the overhang. I did drink way too much that night. We went to Paddy O’s afterwards for a little bit then went to Rue 13 for 80’s night. It was an extremely late night. I stayed in Saturday night because of that. I watched Doubt. I was not impressed. My streak of seeing bad movies continues.

Blues

The first Blues playoff game was a disappointment. I was not that familiar with Vancouver before last night’s game. I was really upset and insulted when I saw that every ESPN analyst picked Vancouver to win (most in 5 games). I did not know that Vancouver was on a similar hot streak as the Blues plus they have a super hot goalie. The Blues did not have a lot of pressure on Luongo but he did make excellence saves (as Mason did also) that provided Vancouver with the win. Overall it was a very entertaining game due to its feistiness. Jackman was really getting in the middle of everything. I believe the Blues downfall that game was not scoring on the 2 man advantage and only scoring on 1 of the many powerplays. I am also very scared of the Sedin twins. That line was skating circle around us with the help of Demitra. I thought all along that we only needed to win 1 of the first two games due to our great home crowd.

Lost

Last nights episode of Lost was pretty entertaining. Like other people have indicated, these past 3 episodes all seem to be setup episodes for something greater to come. Unfortunately, we will not find out for another two weeks since there is a “clip show” next week. Below are my thoughts on the episode:

• Widmore did not hire “the Shadow of the Statue” people. I am going with the idea that they are the original people from the island. My only problem that contradicts this is that I think Richard is part of this group. I read an interesting theory that Richard is not on any side and is basically an intermediary that tries to help the “sides.”
• Miles is the son of Dr Chang. The weird possibility about this finding is that it is possible that Miles tells Dr Chang that the Purge is coming which basically saves his life and his mothers.
• Hurley is starting to be one of my favorite characters. He really is funny plus he says what everything is thinking and writing about in the various Lost blogs.
• Faraday did not go crazy. He must have gone back on the sub when Sawyer and Juliet had the chance 3 years ago. What I found weird about his moment was how cocky he appeared when he said hi to Miles.
• Pretty awesome that one of the workers died by basically having is whole filling pulled out of his head via his brain courtesy of the giant unknown magnet.

Random Thoughts

• Why do I have this cold (or whatever it is)? It is the worst timing.
• I am not sure about my fantasy team. The hitters stepped it up big time this week but my pitching still seems to be my weakness even though it should be my strong point. I only have the two Cy Young award winners from last year and a bunch of other great pitchers and closers.
• Only 4 sessions (2 weeks) left in grad school forever!
• I am not pleased with my phone. I have extreme memory leakage. I am confused about several things. I am reading forums about other peoples Bolds and they are talking about 128MB of memory where I only have 28 after a restart and goes down to 0 by the end of the day. I am only running WeatheEye, Twitterberry, Facebook, and Google Maps as of right now. I seem to be a lot worse than everybody else. I am going to probably exchange it for a new one if the backup feature in Blackberry Desktop allows me to easily transfer all my stuff from one to another.

TV Shows

We have been treated to a lot of new shows in the past two or three weeks. Below is what I am watching.

Tudors – I am watching this show just because there is not much else on Sundays lately. I gave up on it last year. It is okay but I am not sure how a show like this could get renewed when Rome, Deadwood, and Carnivale can not.

Unusuals and Southland – The thing that upsets me about these two cop shows is that both main characters have a rich past. We haven’t got the full details in Southland but it sounds like his daddy is rich too. So basically the only difference is that one is based in LA and the other New York … imagine that. Unusuals has more of an interesting storyline and I prefer ABC shows so this is my favorite so far. I also have branded the OC guy in Southland with his image from OC so I have a hard time taking him seriously.

Better of Ted – I did not like the first episode but I have grown to love this show. It really is funny. I like their fake commercials. With that said, I do not expect this show to make it.

Surviving Suburbia – I watch this show only because of Bob Saget. It has its funny moments but this show will not make it past the first season.

Kings – By far the best new show on TV. It has everything I like. I also like “Al Swearengen” in this role.

Below are a list of technologies and services that I love. They are not in any order. On a side note, I wrote this in early November but never posted it for some reason.

• DVR – This a big one. It has changed how I watched TV in the past 5 years. I use to plan my schedule around TV shows that I liked (which was very few since I did not have the time to dedicate to them and I am rarely home during prime time hours). Now, I can record whatever I watch and view them in my spare time. The addition of a 500 GB harddrive to my DVR made even more difference. Now I can record whatever I want in HD without worrying about filling my recorder. (Note: I lost this function but will be getting it back)
• HD – I use to laugh at my friends when they told me they only watched HD programming. I now do the same. The picture is amazing and it is impossible for me to go back. If only I could have some other service than Charter.
• Flickr – Not only can I share my photos with my friends but it also serves as a backup storage device for all my photos. It also allows me to post pictures on my blog without using a lot of download capacity.
• Netflix – I have been using this for the past 5 years. It is so convenient. I am not too impressed with the streaming ability with the 360 though.
• My Blackberry – All I know is that I rarely go to my PC at my house anymore so it has made a major change in my life.
• My car – I love to go fast and ride in style. It will be very hard for me to get something that does not have the performance my current car has. I am a person that can never downgrade.
• Ipod – I never thought I would say this but I love the thing. I like it even more now that I figured out how to put my mass collection of DIVX on it. I loved watching my collection of Ducktales on the plane ride home from Vegas.
• Internet – I get everything from it. News, emails, storage. Not sure how life would be without it.
• My blog – I love being able to put down what ever I am feeling. It is like my own personal diary.
• PC – I couldn’t do most of the things above without it.
• Planes – I love to travel and wouldn’t be able to quickly go overseas without them. Maybe one day we will have teleporting technology so I could go to the beach for the day without any trouble.

• I will post my blog entry on my trip to Negril this weekend. The entry is done but I do not get my pictures from the water camera developed until tomorrow so I wanted to wait.
• I am surprised I do not have warrant for my arrest. I just got notified by a law firm that I have an outstanding red light camera ticket from 2 years ago. I got it right next to my work which has cameras at each stop light. They said they sent the ticket to my Brentwood address since that’s where the car was registered to at the time. Luckily it is only a $100 fine and a non moving violation.
• Lost was decent last night. I feel like it has more of a season 1 flow now. I totally missed the image of girl in the background with Sun and Jack’s dad at the end of the show. I like how Sawyer is now the man instead of Jack.
• It is March Madness time. I am somewhat excited and basically only because MU is in it. I had a hard time filling out my brackets. All the good teams have really not been tested or they have hurt players so I think there will be all kinds of upsets even though I did not pick any. I expect the Big 12 to do well in the tournament. I will be taking a half day on Friday to watch the MU game. I feel sorta bad since I have taken so much time off in the past two weeks.
• My brother is selling a car alarm and two graphic cards on Craigslist if anyone is interested.
• I am so looking forward to sleeping this weekend even though I am going to F15teen on Saturday for a Wash U grad party/going away party for 3 of the girls from PMBA 22.
• My fast food binge is about to come to an end. I think I got it all out of my system. I also made some really good beef stew last night. I will go back to eating healthy in preparation for swim suit season after it is all gone.
• I am not sure I am going to get through all my DVR shows before I get my new one on Saturday. I have knocked out about half of the 19 hours I had on there. Luckily, I have been saving all the Showtime and HBO shows for last since I knew I could get them OnDemand even though it would not be in HD. I am super excited about my Moxi 2 coming this weekend. I feel like I am special for getting it.
• I got 4 tickets (thanks to Luke H.) to the Blues game vs the Blue Jackets on the 28th if anyone is interested in going with me. They are really good seats.