The Light at the End of The Tunnel

So the end of the semester is finally approaching and the last minute stress is approaching
It seems like all I have been doing is sitting in front of my computer for hours, writing papers and making the last finishing touches to assignments and portfolios. But aside from the procrastination and the panic to get everything done and turned in on time, it still seems like this semester has flown by. It seems like just the other day I was walking into my classes after Christmas break and thinking how long it was going to be until Summer. But now it's here, and I am only one semester away from graduating.

I am super stoked that I will finally be done with college next fall, but It seems so crazy that 4 1/2 years of my life have gone by so fast. I have met so many people and made some really good friends in my time here at CSUMB. I guess the saying holds true that don't take it all for granted because it will pass you by. I feel that I have taken advantage of what has been offered to me here and I am ready to finish next semester with a bang! I am excited to get started on writing my capstone paper and getting ready to celebrate all my hard work and determination. I know that it is not over yet, but I am just looking for that shining bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Prank Wars

This video is soo funny! I heard about it at my work and I watched them as a break from projects and studying for finals. Hopefully you guys will find it amusing in light of all the stress we are under at this point in the semester.

so the first video is prank that took place a couple of years ago between these two friends who run the website collegehumor.com. The second video is the revenge from the first prank and it takes place a year later. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHidjDB_Uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI7AUgp5fPI

Perfect Night

Tonight was one of the best sports nights I think in a long time. The San Francisco Giants took the second game of the three game series with the Cardinals, with Barry Zito dealing on the mound tonight and the save by Brian Wilson, awesome. Then, an hour after the start of the baseball game, the San Jose sharks were on the way to winning the first round of the playoffs in Colorado. With the score tied 2-2 after the second period things were getting pretty intense. Joe Pavelski gets the go ahead goal in the third to take things to the next level. Colorado leaves an empty net to try and tie things up in the last remaining minutes of the period and the sharks close it out 5-2 to clinch the win!
It was so great, Giants and Sharks in one night! Man you gotta love the bay area sports action! I just hope that this kind of energy keeps up for the remainder of the playoffs for the Sharks and in the games to come for the Giants.

Is Free Speech Really Free?

Last Tuesday I went to a Giants Game and where I was sitting we were close to the visiting teams bullpen.
When the pitcher started to warm up some of the fans in our section began to yell rude things to them and make fun of their pitching abilities. Most of the comments were just in good baseball rivalry fun, but the guy sitting behind me and my group of friends took it to the next level. He started using foul language and personally attacking the pitcher from the other team by talking about his mom and saying things that some members in the crowd found "obscene". A few minutes later the ballpark security came to our section and asked the guy to step outside with them. He got very upset and started saying that he hadn't done anything wrong and that he had the right to say those things. The security guard thought otherwise and after some very loud confrontation between the guy and his group of friends and the security, he was escorted out of the section and ejected from the game. This got me thinking about is Free Speech really free? Other fans were poking fun at the pitcher too, but because foul language was involved with the other guy he was the only one ejected from the game. But people use foul language and profanity in public all the time, so why is it ok to do it on the street, but if you do it at a baseball game you can be ejected?
He was being very loud and distracting the other team's pitcher, but that is common in the major league baseball environment. It just doesn't seem right that he was the only one punished, when there were numerous other people doing pretty much the exact same thing. Something else that I thought was interesting is that security didn't even give him a warning, like " hey some of the things you are saying is offensive to other fans, so if you don't stop we will eject you from the game". Instead they didn't even give him a chance to explain himself or defend himself they just told him that he could take it up with the police outside.
This event just put some things into perspective for me that not all speech is free and that there are consequences for the speech we choose to say.

 

Baseball is democracy in action: in it all men are "free and equal," regardless of race, nationality, or creed. Every man is given the rightful opportunity to rise to the top on his own merits...It is the fullest expression of freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly in our national life.
~ Francis Trevelyan Miller

New Discovery

On Wednesday I went to a concert at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. I went to see a band that I had heard a couple of songs from before, but hadn't bought any of their cds or anything.The band is called Rogue Wave. Their song "Your Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack for the movies Just Friends.

They were one of the best bands I have ever seen live. Their music is fun and the lead singer has an amazing voice. They sound similar to the band Death Cab for Cutie, but infused with their own unique sound. 

Here are a few songs from their new album "Permalight"  provided by Youtube






these are just a couple of good songs, also check out "destroy", and "I'll never leave you". I was happy to discover this band that has actually been around for a while, but hasn't received much attention.

So check them out and see what you think!



I would also like to acknowledge that the San Francisco Giants are currently undefeated in the NL West, may this be a preview of whats to come this season!

One Year Older

Over Spring Break I had my 22nd birthday. I was excited about turning one year older, and it was cool to turn 22 on the 22nd day of the month of March, because it only happens once. I kept getting the question "so do you feel older?' and I honestly didn't know how to respond. I feel like 21 whizzed by in a flash, it was fun at first, but it got old real fast and people tend to not take you seriously once you tell them that you are 21.

So ya in a way I guess I do feel older.  I hope that being one year older is full of fun, friendships, and new adventures!

Baseball Season!

Yes! It is finally here, the moment that I have been counting down for. Tomorrow at 4:00 pm the Giants officially start the season with the opening game against the Astros! I love this time of year, the loud crowds, the crisp air in the ball park, the sea of orange and black blanketing the crowd, sunflower seeds, hot dogs, beer. It is just awesome. And to top it all off, my favorite player Tim Lincecum will start things off on the mound.

With baseball season starting, it means that hockey is coming to a close. The San Jose Sharks just lost tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, which comes as a low blow with the playoffs right around the corner. Hopefully it won't turn out like last year's debacle. The Sharks entered the playoffs with the best lead in hockey and end up loosing in the first round! Heartbreaking. But with leading offensive man Joe Thornton back on the ice from a previous injury, hopefully the Sharks will gain momentum and come out strong in the next ten days leading up to the playoffs.

This month is filled with sports action. I get to watch my favorite baseball team battle it out on the field, and witness my other favorite team, The Sharks, in the playoffs. Here's to the start of a great season and and a hopeful clinching of the Stanley Cup!

Spring Training and It is Freezing Outside!

So it is now less than a month away, this is my personal countdown, until the first game for the 2010 Season for the SF Giants and the best time of the year, baseball season! I have already bought my first ticket and will be right there ten rows up from the first base line on April 13th! With the season changing and the time moving one hour ahead it seems like the weather would realize the change as well right?

Well, I guess not considering that it has been either raining or sunny with 25 mile an hour winds! What is that about ! It is almost Spring Break and there has not been any warm weather, how am I supposed to get a tan and sport my new bikini?, Ok that was a little exaggeration. But seriously is ever going to get warm? Granted I know this is Monterey and it is never really warm, but I can recall around this time last year it was getting warm enough to wear shorts or skirts and spend an afternoon at the beach, without getting pummeled by the flying sand. I hope that it gets here soon, I am sick of the rain and the freezing cold wind and crappy days.... I need some sunshine and a relaxing day at the beach!

New Hobby-

Ok, so on to something new.  I have recently taken up the sport of tennis. I was pretty excited about this because it one of the only sports that I have never learned to play. I have had a little bit of practice hitting the ball around, but I didn't know the rules or any of the basic routine of the game. One of my friends, who is pretty good agreed to help teach me how  to play. So today after work I met up with him and  we decided to play. This was now my third time playing, so I am starting to get  the hang of things and am finding it  to not only be fun, but a great work out too, which is an added bonus :) So we start playing and I am doing pretty good for only my third time, I am hitting the ball back and we start a small rally across the net. I loose the first game, so now it is my turn to serve. The last time I had played I picked up on serving pretty quick and was getting over the net and in bounds,.which was an accomplishment (my first serve ended up in the pool).

So this time I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, well I was wrong. I couldn't seem to get the ball over the net, and when I did I hit it too far and out of the serving square. I started to get frustrated and the harder I tried the worse I got. I was upset since I had just lost three games in a row, you get two chances to serve  and if you mess up then it is the other persons point. I just couldn't figure out why I was having such a hard time and I have to admit that my competitive edge was getting to me, I was tired of loosing. My friend was starting to tell that I was not having a good time and then gave me a little pep talk. He said " Carly, It is only your third time ever playing, and you are hitting some really great shots! I know you want to win and play your best, but your not going to just walk out onto the court and be a Maria Sherapova! You are doing way better than most of the beginners that I have worked with, so quit giving yourself such a hard time, and have some fun!".

I had to take a deep breath for a moment, he was so right. I had just started to learn the game, how can I expect to serve like the pros on tv or even play the game like I had been doing it all my life. I guess growing up playing sports, you just automatically assume that because you are good at other sports, this new one shouldn't be any different. Well the pep-talk put some things into perspective for me. I have decided that I am just going to take it step by step and enjoy learning how to play tennis. I am not going to let my competitive side get the best of me and I am going to see where this new hobby takes me.