Football is intensifying. School is winding down. The holidays are approaching. It's my favorite time of the year.
These last two months are the best. Football games are getting better and better. My Dallas Cowboys are on a three game win streak and are looking sharp going into the later part of the season. Finals are almost here, which means the semester is almost over. I'm so ready for this semester to be done. These senior level classes are killing me. But on the bright side, Thanksgiving is like three days away. Can you believe it? Soon we'll be scarfing down turkey and stuffing and watching football on the couch. I can smell the apple pie already.
Then, before we know it, it'll be Christmas. My wife and I are getting excited. We've started watching movies like Home Alone and The Grinch. And we've got Bing Crosby blaring in the background. The shopping (madness) has also begun. I'm determined to get all my shopping done before Christmas Eve. There always seems to be that one relative I always forget about. It's the craziest time of the year, but I love it.
Hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Another mission
It's been five years since the last mission impossible hit theaters. Tom Cruise's hot movie career is currently running out of steam. But playing the role of Ethan Hunt has always proved to be a hit for the movie star. I for one am excited about the latest installment in the popular franchise. If you haven't seen a trailer yet for it, watch it now. It looks like a solid action film that stays true to the previous three.
There's a slew of potentially good movies coming out this holiday season: The Muppets, Happy Feet 2, Sherlock Holmes 2, The Adventures of Tintin, and of course Mission Impossible 4 are among the most talked about. Did you notice a certain vampire movie missing from the list? Good. It shouldn't be mentioned by name. We'll leave that to the crazy teenage girls.
I'm most excited about the new mission impossible. I mean sure Tom Cruise isn't the big star he used to be but you can't blame a guy for continuing to try. His character, Ethan Hunt, is always fun to watch because of his intelligence and his sudden bursts of rage/violence. These movies are always exciting and provide lots of cleverness and intense action scenes to keep you engaged. After you watch the trailer for the new one you'll discover that they've really raised the bar on the action and the stunts. And they've even added a rising star, Jeremy Renner, to the cast. Great move Brad Bird.
So does the world need another mission impossible movie? Is three not enough? In this sequel driven business, three is not enough. There have been awful sequels to great movies. Did anybody really like the 10 saw sequels? I mean wow. Yes one can, and most likely will, go into this movie with a sense of skepticism. But you can't help but think that maybe this one will continue the greatness of its predecessors and raise the bar once again to new heights. I think I'll be accepting this mission.
There's a slew of potentially good movies coming out this holiday season: The Muppets, Happy Feet 2, Sherlock Holmes 2, The Adventures of Tintin, and of course Mission Impossible 4 are among the most talked about. Did you notice a certain vampire movie missing from the list? Good. It shouldn't be mentioned by name. We'll leave that to the crazy teenage girls.
I'm most excited about the new mission impossible. I mean sure Tom Cruise isn't the big star he used to be but you can't blame a guy for continuing to try. His character, Ethan Hunt, is always fun to watch because of his intelligence and his sudden bursts of rage/violence. These movies are always exciting and provide lots of cleverness and intense action scenes to keep you engaged. After you watch the trailer for the new one you'll discover that they've really raised the bar on the action and the stunts. And they've even added a rising star, Jeremy Renner, to the cast. Great move Brad Bird.
So does the world need another mission impossible movie? Is three not enough? In this sequel driven business, three is not enough. There have been awful sequels to great movies. Did anybody really like the 10 saw sequels? I mean wow. Yes one can, and most likely will, go into this movie with a sense of skepticism. But you can't help but think that maybe this one will continue the greatness of its predecessors and raise the bar once again to new heights. I think I'll be accepting this mission.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A great trip
This past week my wife, Caitlin, and our families traveled to Colorado for fall break. For as long as we've been together, Caitlin has raved about Colorado. She would tell me stories about her trips to Colorado when she was younger. The place she mentioned the most was the Garden of the Gods. When I first heard that name my mind went crazy. I was suddenly trying to imagine this place in my head. I just couldn't wait to see pictures of it. Once I saw them I wanted to visit asap. Well a few years later I got the chance to. On Thursday we embarked, along with our families. Once we passed the incredibly dull state of Kansas, I could see the outline of a mountain in the distance. The excitement was building up. Then before I knew it, we were in Colorado Springs.
Mountains were everywhere. The air was cool. Caitlin and I were grinning like crazy. The next day we met up with our families at the Garden of the Gods. I was brimming with anticipation. We got into our cars and made our way into the mountains. The view was spectacular. Beautiful colors, combined with enormous rocks and cliffs, surrounded us. Climbing the rocks was just awesome. I can't describe it any other way. The excitement of climbing higher and higher is just an amazing feeling. Every few minutes I would stop and just stare at what I had just climbed. After hours of climbing and hiking, the kids went to the zoo. My wife and I love going to the zoo. It's one of our favorite dates. The zoo had this balcony that overlooked a dozen or so giraffes. The giraffes would come up and get fed by people with crackers. After the zoo, we all packed up and drove another five hours to our last destination, Ouray. Ouray is a small town that sits inside the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see.
The guys, led by my father-in-law, drove up the mountain. This was my favorite part of the trip. We got up to about 12,000 feet high. The view was breathtaking, once again. We'd stop every few minutes and just gaze at the mountains. God is such an incredible designer. I was taking pictures left and right of the yellow trees and the tranquil streams than ran along the mountains. We even got high enough to see some snow. Words like "sick", "wow", and "ridiculous" were echoed throughout the mountains.
Thinking about it is making me want to go back asap. Colorado is such an incredible place. The weather was perfect. The people were friendly. There were deer instead of squirrels roaming the streets. The pictures and videos I took just don't do it justice. You really have to experience it for yourself. I hope to live there someday with my wife and our family. It's one of our goals and dreams.
Thanks for reading! Hope you guys have a great week!
Mountains were everywhere. The air was cool. Caitlin and I were grinning like crazy. The next day we met up with our families at the Garden of the Gods. I was brimming with anticipation. We got into our cars and made our way into the mountains. The view was spectacular. Beautiful colors, combined with enormous rocks and cliffs, surrounded us. Climbing the rocks was just awesome. I can't describe it any other way. The excitement of climbing higher and higher is just an amazing feeling. Every few minutes I would stop and just stare at what I had just climbed. After hours of climbing and hiking, the kids went to the zoo. My wife and I love going to the zoo. It's one of our favorite dates. The zoo had this balcony that overlooked a dozen or so giraffes. The giraffes would come up and get fed by people with crackers. After the zoo, we all packed up and drove another five hours to our last destination, Ouray. Ouray is a small town that sits inside the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see.
The guys, led by my father-in-law, drove up the mountain. This was my favorite part of the trip. We got up to about 12,000 feet high. The view was breathtaking, once again. We'd stop every few minutes and just gaze at the mountains. God is such an incredible designer. I was taking pictures left and right of the yellow trees and the tranquil streams than ran along the mountains. We even got high enough to see some snow. Words like "sick", "wow", and "ridiculous" were echoed throughout the mountains.
Thinking about it is making me want to go back asap. Colorado is such an incredible place. The weather was perfect. The people were friendly. There were deer instead of squirrels roaming the streets. The pictures and videos I took just don't do it justice. You really have to experience it for yourself. I hope to live there someday with my wife and our family. It's one of our goals and dreams.
Thanks for reading! Hope you guys have a great week!
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Kite Runner
"There is a way to be good again." That's one of the many poignant lines from the novel, The Kite Runner. The book is written by Khaled Hosseini, who is from Afghanistan. Mr. Hosseini was born in the 60's and lived in Afghanistan until he was 12. His family fled to France when news broke out that the Russians were invading. The news soon reached them that the Russians had indeed invaded Afghanistan and war had become reality. Khaled and his family remained in France for years until they finally moved to California. Khaled was a bright kid who always loved reading, writing, and flying kites. He went on to become a doctor and eventually got married. But after nearly a decade, he grew bored of his job and started writing. That's when The Kite Runner was created. There's some background on the author. Now to the book itself.
I had heard about this book from my uncle and cousin a while ago. They raved about it. I did some research and suddenly became interested. I didn't know much about Afghanistan prior to reading this novel. I mean I knew where it was on a globe and that Al-Qaeda was prominent there. I went into this with a sense of curiosity. I wanted to know more about this country that has become unanimous in the U.S.
The book is about a boy named Amir who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. He's a bright young boy who lives with his wealthy father. His mom had died years ago. Amir isn't much for sports - much to his father's chagrin. His father has two servants, a father and his son. They do everything for Amir and his dad. The young servant's name is Hassan. Amir and his father are Pashtuns and the servants are Hazaras, who are viewed as inferior to everyone else. Despite the mockery of others, the boys remain good friends. Kite running is THE sport in Kabul. It's very intense and involves kids from all over the area. Amir wants to win so badly for his father; he is constantly wanting to make his father proud. A tragedy ends up happening that shakes the friendship between the boys and their fathers. Amir is left guilty and ashamed. After the tragedy, the Russians invade Afghanistan. This sends Amir and his father to America. The story continues with Amir facing his past and searching to redeem himself after what had happened.
That's a brief summary of the novel. So much occurs. I wish I could tell you more, but I want you to read it for yourself. This is one of my favorite books for so many reasons. The storytelling is just amazing and keeps you engaged. It also has all the elements you want in a novel: Love, hate, friendship, betrayal, and redemption. You learn a lot about a country that may seem vague to you. It was to me at first. But now I know more about what this country was like before the Russian invasion and the rise of the Taliban. The book is hard to read sometimes because of the violence and struggles people had to endure living in this country. But once you start reading, you get lost in the story about these characters that are so diverse and so interesting that you just can't wait until the next chapter. I highly recommend it and hope you will give it a chance.
I had heard about this book from my uncle and cousin a while ago. They raved about it. I did some research and suddenly became interested. I didn't know much about Afghanistan prior to reading this novel. I mean I knew where it was on a globe and that Al-Qaeda was prominent there. I went into this with a sense of curiosity. I wanted to know more about this country that has become unanimous in the U.S.
The book is about a boy named Amir who lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. He's a bright young boy who lives with his wealthy father. His mom had died years ago. Amir isn't much for sports - much to his father's chagrin. His father has two servants, a father and his son. They do everything for Amir and his dad. The young servant's name is Hassan. Amir and his father are Pashtuns and the servants are Hazaras, who are viewed as inferior to everyone else. Despite the mockery of others, the boys remain good friends. Kite running is THE sport in Kabul. It's very intense and involves kids from all over the area. Amir wants to win so badly for his father; he is constantly wanting to make his father proud. A tragedy ends up happening that shakes the friendship between the boys and their fathers. Amir is left guilty and ashamed. After the tragedy, the Russians invade Afghanistan. This sends Amir and his father to America. The story continues with Amir facing his past and searching to redeem himself after what had happened.
That's a brief summary of the novel. So much occurs. I wish I could tell you more, but I want you to read it for yourself. This is one of my favorite books for so many reasons. The storytelling is just amazing and keeps you engaged. It also has all the elements you want in a novel: Love, hate, friendship, betrayal, and redemption. You learn a lot about a country that may seem vague to you. It was to me at first. But now I know more about what this country was like before the Russian invasion and the rise of the Taliban. The book is hard to read sometimes because of the violence and struggles people had to endure living in this country. But once you start reading, you get lost in the story about these characters that are so diverse and so interesting that you just can't wait until the next chapter. I highly recommend it and hope you will give it a chance.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Closer and closer
Being a senior is pretty weird and awesome at the same time. You're so close to graduating and ready to leave school behind. I'll never forget that feeling on the last day of high school. It was euphoric and satisfying.
Now I'm a senior in college. I'm awaiting the last day I step inside the Business building at UCO. I'm on the 5 year CPA plan, so I still have another year after next spring. It may sound like a while, but I'm so looking forward to getting it done. I'm just ready for it to be over and have a job.
It's hard to believe it. I'm getting closer and closer to not being a student anymore. That day will be strange when I no longer have to prepare for class. I won't have to worry about doing some extra studying the morning of the test or panicking when I've forgotten to print out an assignment. You live and learn.
I'm ready to close one chapter and start a new one. I'm not sure where you're at in your life. If you're just starting a new chapter or if you're ending one. I hope you're living it out and taking advantage of each moment. I've learned to really slow down and look at life. It's really tough sometimes because life doesn't slow down. It stubbornly keeps going and going. You can't change that. But you can savor it.
You kinda get an idea of where my mind is at right now. I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future and examining my time spent at school. You learn and go through so much. I'm at the end of a chapter, and I'm eagerly waiting for what the next one has in store.
Friday, September 30, 2011
They just don't make them like they used to
When was the last time you saw a good movie? I mean a really good movie. One that really stood out to you and had you thinking about it on the way home. Can you think of one?
Now don't get me wrong, there have been many good movies over the past decade. Films like The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, Finding Nemo, and Inception might come to mind. But when compared to the movies of the 90's, 80's, and 70's, there's just something missing.
This past decade was filled with "blockbusters." Movies that made box office history and featured the latest in special effects. But when you watch them, most of them seem to lack something. When I watch older movies like Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and Braveheart, there's more of a cinematic feeling with them. I don't know if it's the obsession with special effects and 3D that's caused this downgrade in hollywood. Or maybe it could be the plethora of unnecessary remakes that keep coming out every year. Movies nowadays just lack the passion and the "wow" ingredient of older movies. Movies like The Lord of the Rings and Avatar have helped perpetuate that feeling, but they still lack the originality of the movies that preceded them. These films in the 80's and 90's are classics because of their freshness and their ability to produce classic scenes and memorable lines.
There are still a handful of movies each year that do surprise and dazzle the eyes. But good old fashioned films are a thing of the past. Moviemakers now focus on the special effects and what is "popular." As a movie fan I want to see more movies like Inception that are different and stretch the envelope. There are people in hollywood who want to make good films again. They just need to be given a chance. Filmmakers like Michael Bay need to step down and let guys like JJ Abrams have their shot at movie history.
Now don't get me wrong, there have been many good movies over the past decade. Films like The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, Finding Nemo, and Inception might come to mind. But when compared to the movies of the 90's, 80's, and 70's, there's just something missing.
This past decade was filled with "blockbusters." Movies that made box office history and featured the latest in special effects. But when you watch them, most of them seem to lack something. When I watch older movies like Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and Braveheart, there's more of a cinematic feeling with them. I don't know if it's the obsession with special effects and 3D that's caused this downgrade in hollywood. Or maybe it could be the plethora of unnecessary remakes that keep coming out every year. Movies nowadays just lack the passion and the "wow" ingredient of older movies. Movies like The Lord of the Rings and Avatar have helped perpetuate that feeling, but they still lack the originality of the movies that preceded them. These films in the 80's and 90's are classics because of their freshness and their ability to produce classic scenes and memorable lines.
There are still a handful of movies each year that do surprise and dazzle the eyes. But good old fashioned films are a thing of the past. Moviemakers now focus on the special effects and what is "popular." As a movie fan I want to see more movies like Inception that are different and stretch the envelope. There are people in hollywood who want to make good films again. They just need to be given a chance. Filmmakers like Michael Bay need to step down and let guys like JJ Abrams have their shot at movie history.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
He can still do it.
Following a week filled with criticism and jokes, Tony Romo rebounded from last week to deliver a career defining performance. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I can say that that game on Sunday will have a profound impact on this team going into week 3. I'm in the minority of fans who still believe this guy can lead us back to the Super Bowl. As of late, I haven't had much evidence to support my belief. But that game on Sunday provided plenty of evidence that this team, led by Romo, is ready to take the next step.
It's been a rough decade. Just when things start to look good for the Cowboys, something dire happens. A season filled with hope and aspiration soon comes tumbling down with no way to bounce back. Since 2006, Tony Romo has been the starting QB for America's Team, and with that comes the spotlight. Being on this team puts you on every sports station and in every football conversation. The critics and the analysts are after you because of what's on your helmet. The star reminds us of the players that came before like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Roger Staubach. They've all led the Cowboys to Super Bowl victories. The road to victory is an ongoing, burdensome road for Romo. He takes the heat every week. Even though he's broken numerous Cowboy records and holds the 4th best career passer rating, his record in the playoffs is a meager 1-3. That playoff record is the one that counts in the NFL.
I still believe in Romo. He plodded through that game, despite having a fractured rib and a punctured lung. He displayed the kind of toughness and leadership that great quarterbacks possess in late game situations. Romo hasn't silenced his critics - just kept them off his back for this upcoming week. As a Cowboy fan, that's what you want to see out of him every week. Romo is human, and he will continue to make mistakes. But if he continues to play like that every week, I can see these guys finishing with a good season. Now I'm not talking Super Bowl; we've had enough of that talk for the past 3 years. We'll be lucky if we make it to the playoffs this year. But with this win, and the way it was played, you can go into week 3 with some hope and confidence. I know I will.
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