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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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Strange Coincidence

The program I work on splits its responsibilities between two locations: here in Dallas and out in El Segundo, CA. We often send people back and forth for different reasons like troubleshooting, fixing broken stuff, consulting on various problems and planning strategies for the future of the program. For the past couple days, a guy from El Segundo has been helpin’ us out here in Dallas and I spent a lot of time working with him trying to solve problems and such.

Yesterday, during lunch, I asked him about the L.A. area–what it’s like living there, how accessible L.A. is to outsiders, the cost of living, etc.–and I eventually told him a little about how I’m hoping to get into acting in the future. I told him that my ideal situation would be to transfer to El Segundo and keep my job as a part-timer so that I could train and try to get work as an actor. Turns out he knows a guy that is trying to break into acting, mostly doing extra work, but also shooting some commercials and such. Anyway, my co-worker said he would put me in touch with his friend if I wanted, so that I would have a contact out there and could discuss the business with him and whatnot.

I was really surprised how easy it was to meet someone on the “inside” and I’m glad to have a contact like this one. Hopefully, after I’ve completed the two-year program I’m looking at here in Dallas, I’ll be able to call on this contact to help decide if I want to make the transition to L.A. I never thought I’d get a good contact for acting while working as an engineer, but I guess that’s why they invented the word “surprise”.

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Scrubs

I’ve been watchin’ this show for a couple years now and it’s always really entertaining to me. On tonight’s episode, Michael J. Fox showed up in an interesting role. I think there’s a fine line between acting and temporarily becoming a character or even portraying oneself with a stage name and a slightly different personality; Michael J. did a great job of straddling that line on this episode. It was interesting because he played a doctor suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and I couldn’t ignore the thought that his “character” was venting some of the frustration felt by the player as he battles Parkinson disease.

I guess that was neat because it gave real credibility to his character and I couldn’t help but believe and sympathize with him. But what was even more impressive was that he did such a great job of containing his ailment and working with it in the role. I was specifically looking to see how “afflicted” he seemed on the show and, if I hadn’t known he had Parkinson, I probably never would’ve guessed it. The only hint that I saw was that his character seemed to constantly move–not in a jumpy or jerky way, but he simply seemed to be perpetually moving.

The coolest thing was just seein’ him working again. I watched Family Ties when I was younger and I own the Back to the Future Trilogy on DVD, mostly because he made them so entertaining, whimsical and almost believable. I’m glad to see him back on camera.

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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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Gator Basketball: Vandy vs. Florida I predicted that we’d win by 25–10 gained in the first half and the other 15 gained in the second half. After hearing that we’re only leading by 3 after the first half, I realize that we’re a little behind my prediction, but I still think we’ll win by 25. Obviously, that’s going to require quite a run, but I think we can pull it off. I think it’s possible because the Gator’s have been missing a lot of shots that would normally go in. I think if we keep hustling like we’ve been and our shots start falling, we’ll destroy Vandy. I mean, we should anyway, but it’s tough when the shots just won’t fall. Second Half Well, we won, but only by 10. I think we could’ve beaten them by 25 if our shots had fallen and they hadn’t shot over 50%. We obviously still have weaknesses in our post defense and I think today’s game demonstrated that we have problems with our post offense, too. The good thing is that our guys seemed to be playing a lot scrappier–chasing loose balls, creating turnovers and workin’ hard on the boards–and I think that’s something we’ve needed but lacked all season. If we can continue being productive from the 3-point line and shore up our post position, I think we’ll be a real contender in the Tourney in March.

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The book buying begins…

When I was here a couple summers ago, I spent most of my free time at Barnes & Noble, either reading or buying books. Well, I went over there today to buy a copy of The World According to Garp and though I couldn’t find it, I managed to find some other books that needed buying. Here’s what I left with:

  • J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
  • Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man
  • Wendy Northcutt’s The Darwin Awards
  • The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
  • Stephen Viscusi’s On the Job: How to make it in the real world of work
  • Gabriele Crepaldi’s The Impressionists
  • and a copy of Car And Driver magazine

I also went to Target and bought a few things including two lamps for my end-tables. I’m afraid the lamps might be a little small, but I have receipts and time, so I’ll get it right eventually.

It’s a Wonderful Life

I am back to watching classics and I really enjoyed this one. I realized that I’ve never watched the entire thing before, mostly because I would gripe and complain any time it was on. Turns out it’s a really good movie that makes a good point in a clever way. Ironically, all I remembered about the movie was the sequence where Clarence, George’s guardian angel, takes George around town to show him what the world would be like if George had never been born. I didn’t realize that was only the last twenty minutes of the movie. It seems there’s also a pretty good hour and a half of movie before that. Who knew?

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Finished Wardrobe

I finished The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe tonight and I’ll be starting The Horse and His Boy tomorrow. I’m not moving through the series as quickly as I’d anticipated, but only because I’ve found other things to occupy my time. I decided I’m headed to Barnes & Noble tomorrow to pick up a copy of The World According to Garp since I began it last semester, but never finished it (the copy I was reading was borrowed). I figure that’ll give me something else to read. I also have a book on poker (The Theory of Poker) to finish up and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. I’m sure there are others I’ve partially read, but those are the only ones that come to mind.

Basketball: Vandy vs. Florida

We play Vandy at home tomorrow and I think we’re going to trounce them. I’m predicting we’ll win by 25 points or more. I think we’ll be up by 10 at the half and we’ll get the other 15 in the second half.

Time to sleep.