The Random Ramblings of One K-Dubs

Phatcorndog

Much like many other people my age, one of my favorite bands growing up in the 90's was Blink 182. Infectious pop-punk, but still with enough of an edge and messages in their songs that had something to say made them a worthwhile listen, much less one of the most influential bands of their generation (countless bands have followed their lead in the genre, and little to none have achieved the kind of success that they have).

The last Blink 182 CD, appropriately self-titled, was probably their best overall effort musically.  Noticeably absent were the really poppy songs that had consumed some of their earlier releases, and it was apparent that they had grown musically.  Because of this, it almost seemed like they had nothing more to prove.  A decade of being on the road and living the lives they had must have taken a toll on Tom, Mark and Travis.  It's much longer than most bands last, for sure.  A breakup early in 2005 signified that the days of Blink had come to an end.

But that hadn't meant that the B182 trio had stopped caring about music.  Tom was the first to reappear on the music scene, as he and his band Angels and Airwaves released their first full length album, "We Don't Need to Whisper."  Think Tom's vocals meshed in with U2 in the background.  Listening to the album gives one a feeling of flying through space; it's really hard to describe.  I was immediately hooked.

About a month ago, Travis and Mark also returned with a vengeance, as their new band Plus 44 released their first CD "When Your Heart Stops Beating."  Plus 44 essentially picks up where Blink 182 left off, except it contains some new elements, such as the use of electronics and piano in some songs.  It's definitely much more mature sounding than Blink ever was, and I've become a big fan of them as well.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that Blink 182 has moved on.  They've moved on past the point of being crazy kids who happen to play in an ultra-popular band to grown men who have grown both as people and as musicians.  It's taken them time, but they've transformed themselves into something better than what they used to be, which was already pretty damn good. 

So the final line of "Damnit" has become extremely prophetic, and probably moreso than Blink 182 had ever imagined it would be.  I need to figure it out myself, too.

Phatcorndog

I participated in a personal record high three leagues this year, two of which were money leagues.  Here's a recap of how I did in all of them:

Georgetown League, Yahoo (free): Landing LT with the third pick basically clinched me one of the top seeds in the playoffs (after all, LT did have the best fantasy season probably EVER in the history of the game), but the rest of my team was pretty solid too.  It was a weird league where I had to start 2 QBs, 2 K's, and 8 IDP's every week, so my normal draft strategy probably didn't work out to its maximum efficiency for this league.  However, I did well in getting two QBs late in the draft that, despite having poor seasons in real life, played well fantasy wise (Rex Grossman and Jon Kitna).  I was stronger than most other teams (who concentrated more heavily at QB) at every other position, so I had a pretty successful year. Finished the regular season 9-4 (3rd place) and with the most points scored, and then won my quarterfinal and semifinal playoff games before bowing out in the final.  Injuries caught up with me, as I lost Kevin Jones, Cadillac Williams, Greg Jennings, Jake Delhomme, Marcus Washington and Joe Horn all at some points down the stretch.  Final record: 11-5, SECOND PLACE

Sunday Fartknocker League, CBS Sportsline ($20 buy-in): Probably my best GM job in any fantasy sports league to date, as I had an average draft, but made up for it with some very shrewd midseason trades (I acquired Larry Johnson for Clinton Portis and Joe Horn in one deal, and Chad Johnson for Kevin Jones in another).  I started the season 1-3 and 2-4, but proceeded to catch fire after making the deals, going on a long winning streak and ending the season as the regular season champion (9-5) for the second straight year, which netted me $24.  I beat Bert in the semifinals, and beat Kevin (who I defeated in last year's finals) by a slim margin to repeat as the league champ for the second consecutive year.  My victory earned me $72 and what may be the beginning of an extended dynasty.  Final record: 11-5, CHAMPION

The Captain's Invitational, CBS Sportsline ($60 buy-in): I had reservations about how well my team would do in this league, being that it was a 14 team league rather than the standard 12, which makes it much harder.  My team in this league was ultimately strong in terms of depth, but lacked the star firepower that's necessary to win championships.  I started off slow (1-2), but after pulling off an early deal (Reggie Wayne for Thomas Jones), it was apparent that I was going to rely heavily on my WRs this year, which is never something you want to do if you want your team to be consistent.  The result was inconsistent performances, which netted me a playoff spot (4th, 8-5 in the regular season), but ended up in a semifinal exit against the eventual runner-up.  It was a frustrating way to lose, because I left points on the bench that would have given me the victory had I started different players (Steelers D and Reggie Brown instead of Seattle D and Chris Henry).  However, I bounced back the following week in the 3rd place game and won convincingly.  My third place finish earned me $100, as well as respect from the ECS crowd after a 2 year hiatus from their league. Final record: 10-6, THIRD PLACE 

Overall thoughts: I have to do a better job with drafting in the 1st round in my money leagues next year: Cadillac Williams in one league and Lamont Jordan in the other league threatened to kill my seasons before I could remedy both problems.  My best picks this year were Drew Brees in the 9th round and Ladell Betts in the 15th round of my 14 team league, and Ladell Betts in the 15th round and Marion Barber in the 17th round of my 12 team league.  The late rounds of a fantasy draft are always undervalued for their importance; it is there where often times you can give yourself a decided edge during the season.  I'm happy with my results this year, but I also feel like I let two championships slip away; I know it is not this easy year after year to put up good teams that make the postseason.  You have to capitalize on your opportunities when they present themselves.  All in all, though, a successful season. The Regulators went a combined 32-16 in three leagues, and my two money leagues netted me a positive return of $116.  Softens the blow of buying Christmas presents this year somewhat. :) 

Phatcorndog

Not.

I feel so loser-ish for blogging this late on a Friday night.  But with a ton of work to do and likely being out of the house both tomorrow and Sunday for New Year's festivities, some level of responsibility was required.  Blah.

Anyways, a few thoughts while I procrastinate:

We went out for sushi on Tuesday night at East Cafe, which is a Chinese restaurant literally down the street from my house that I haven't been to in about 10 years.  Sushi was pretty good, but nowhere near the quality of that at sushi buffets in Virginia or the kickass one in Vegas near the Aladdin.  Plus, it wasn't a buffet, so it got a little pricey.  It's a good thing one thing I don't mind spending money on is food.

I saw The Departed last week, and despite it being a little long, it was a pretty good movie.  Good performances in general by the star-studded cast (Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Jack Nicholson, etc.).  Besides the length, my only complaint was that there were a lot of unnatural Boston accents being used.

Work for the past 2-3 weeks has sucked major ass.  It's gotten incredibly busy, and there aren't too many days when I'm not staying for an extra half hour to an hour to finish my assignment.  Which isn't all that big a deal, until you consider that leaving at 5pm instead of 4pm means spending an extra 20-30 minutes on average on the road because of hitting the brunt of rush hour traffic.  All that overtime pay coming in upcoming checks is going to look real good.

I wish I was in DC for New Year's.  More than a few people will be there from out of town this coming weekend, and it would have been cool to meet up with them all at the same time.  Stupid MCATs.

Either really pissed off or really happy.  By 11 o'clock tomorrow or so, I'll find out which I'll be feeling.  Please win, Hoyas and Giants. PLEASE.
 

Phatcorndog

This was last year's list of New Years Resolutions (in italics).  Let's see how I did: 

1) Stay positive.  I tend to be a pessimist about a lot of things.  That's just the way I've been brought up: think of the worst and try to improve upon that.  I'm going to start doing the opposite; maybe being confident in instances where I shouldn't be will help out, and unexpected good things will happen. 

My time in Philly basically made it virtually impossible to stay positive.  I definitely didn't accomplish this goal, and I think pessimism is something that's just going to be a part of me for the rest of my life.  Sometimes, you can't change who you are.  FAILED

2) Don't waste time.  I'm talking about watching Sportscenter a second time for no reason.  Spending half an hour tracking the JMU basketball score because it impacts Georgetown's RPI by miniscule proportions.  Playing freeroll poker tournaments online.  If I can eliminate screwing around by about one hour a day, I'll be happy with myself.  That hour can (and should) go towards sleeping.

I've been a lot better about this.  A lot less nonsense TV watching.  I've gotten a lot better at multi-tasking in terms of daily routines (cook, do laundry, and do my usual surfing of the web all at the same time).  And as for online poker, I haven't played since late September.  ACCOMPLISHED

3) Be more efficient while studying.  I've decided locking myself in the library does not do me any good.  Neither does locking myself in my apartment.  I really do believe I need to study in a small group setting where all the members are focused.  I hope I can find one or two other people in my program this upcoming semester who are willing to do the same. 

Not as much as I had hoped, but I did get a little more efficient.  Definitely didn't play online poker and study at the same time.  ACCOMPLISHED

4) Stay in shape.  I always get in about 2-3 weeks of solid exercise, and then the process of staying in shape gets derailed by either sickness, exams, or just plain laziness.  After I return to Philly on Monday, I'm going to start going to the gym at least 3 times a week, regardless of the situation.  My most successful stretch academically this past semester was when I was in semi-decent shape and as a result, the least-stressed out.  That needs to continue.

I was so good for about a 2-3 month stretch this summer after I finished up in Philly and wasn't working yet.  Then, I started working full-time, and  that along with MCAT studying has basically chewed up any free time I normally would have.  This will continue to be a goal of mine, and I hope once the exam is finally over in late January, I can get back to getting (and staying) in shape.  FAILED 

5) Call my parents more often.  Granted, I am very busy most of the time when I'm at school.  But, I have been leaving my parents in the dark too often.  I plan to call them at least once every other day starting Tuesday.  They deserve at least that much.

They are generally two of the most unreasonable people I have ever met in my life.  If anything, my relationship with my mom has deteriorated (mainly because of her insistence to put her newfound "religion" ahead of everything else, including me sometimes).  So, I didn't get this done, but it wasn't my fault in the least.  FAILED 

6) Eat healthier.  This goes along with #4.  I'm setting a 1 cheesesteak limit per week, despite how good and cheap they are.  Less soda, more juice and milk.  And less late night snacking, which can easily be avoided if I accomplish #7.

Woo hoo!  I got this one done.  I've cut down on carbonated drinks by a ton, and I've done my best to eat healthy (occasional salads for lunch, less late night snacking).  ACCOMPLISHED 

7) Get no less than 8 hours of sleep a day.  It's taken me forever to learn this, but I do not perform well under conditions where I am sleep deprived.  Others can get away with it and be successful.  I am not one of these people.  By avoiding wasting time and being more efficient while studying, I can hopefully achieve this.

I wish.  FAILED

8) Write in my blog at least twice a week.  Even if I have nothing to say, it's a real killer when you've sat down at your blog and realize that you haven't posted in 2-3 weeks.  I want to make sure I chronicle my life so I remember months and years from now what exactly the hell happened.  And I do need to stop writing solely about times I've gone out, ran into people, etc.  A commentary about a viewpoint, a conversation, etc.  That needs to be added.

I have stretches where I'm productive in writing, but it's not sustained. So I can't say I kept this one.  FAILED 

9) Don't hold grudges.  Probably will never accomplish this one.  But as a friend bluntly stated to me a few weeks ago, "People are not perfect."  I'll probably go to my grave believing otherwise because I have been blessed with a group of friends and family who have never cross the boundary into imperfection.  But I need to be more realistic and forgiving than I have been in the past.  I hope this can happen.

This is a tough one to evaluate.  I've stopped hating several people whom I've held long grudges against.  I think time has healed many of those wounds, and if I saw them in person, I would have no problem being cordial to them.  Having said that, I think I've formed new grudges against several people (some of whom I considered close at one time) for not keeping in touch... at all.  Sure, out of sight, out of mind. But, don't blow me off every time I try to have a conversation with you.  I'm not stupid.  ACCOMPLISHED (I'm usually NEVER forgiving... at least now I'm somewhere above the level of zero in that category)

10) Play poker for real.  Enough with playing with chump change online and small friendly games.  I've got to realize that I am an above average player who can succeed at poker on a larger scale.  So here's to fulfilling my potential and cracking games I know I can be a force in, such as the Club Rick game, the 1/2 NL tables at AC, etc.  There's a good amount of money to be had in those games, and I need to take advantage as often as I can. 

No time, and although I did make a good profit during the summer bonus-whoring online, it wasn't enough to make a solid foundation to take with me to AC to build upon.  Add in the fact that the Club Rick game was forced to dissolve on account of shadiness, and this was a full-fledged no-go.  FAILED 

Someone remind me maybe in April if I've been keeping up with these resolutions.  My goal is to keep at least 7 of them.

By my count, I kept 4.  Some of them turned out to be slightly unrealistic, so that's something I'll have to keep in mind as I write up a new list for next year.  For someone who hasn't made life-altering changes in awhile, I think 4 out of 10 was a good start.  It's something to build upon for next year.  Hopefully I can do better this time around.

Coming tomorrow: 2007's list.