Road trip pics back to LA

I said goodbye to my parents and we hit the road.


We couldn't get very far without some food, so we decided to stop at Sonic.


I started off driving and got us from my parents house in Dallas to Amarillo before stopping to fill up the gas tank and switch drivers.


Andrew took the wheel.


I took a nap.


Once we got to Amarillo, we started to see some weird things, such as nine pink Cadillacs that seemingly fell from the sky...


...a flaming truck...


...a truck driver who respects his roots...


...a big ball...


...tee pees...


...and flashing lights along the highway for decoration.


After driving in and out of rainstorms all day - including a torential downpour just outside Albuquerque that left us nearly stranded at a gas station that was out of gas during the storm - Andrew and I made it to the Continental Divide, which was kinda cool.


Here's Andrew's continental divide.


So I resumed driving responsibilities as we drove on. Andrew thought I was some sort of king and decided to make me a crown....and coke. Just kidding. But it did make a cool hat.


As we drove into the night, Andrew did what he had done so very well the entire trip...sleep. zzzzzzzz


We made it to Holbrook, Ariz. for dinner at Denny's. At that point, we had driven 875 miles from my parent's house in Dallas. I woke up Andrew and we went inside to eat. The less-than-gracious hostess seated us and we ordered our food. I was really excited about the nachos because of the picture. I shoulda known better. It was not what I'd call good eatin'.


As I slept, Andrew drove us 90 miles into Flagstaff, but really all I wanted was for him to get me "as far away from that Denny's as possible!" Thanks, Andrew. Once we got to Flagstaff, I went from inn to inn looking for a room, but for some reason they were all full. We eventually found a Howard Johnson Inn to crash at. It was a pretty sketchy place, but then again, our goal was to end up at the USC campus, so being in a sketchy place was just something we would have to get used to. After seven hours of sleep, we hit the road. It was 7am, and we were LA bound!


We did think about stealing a bike before heading out, but common sense - and the unwillingness to become buddies with a large man with a monosyllabic name who wouldn't care to learn ours as he destroyed us - told us to just get in the car and get back on the road.


Before leaving Flagstaff, we put some gas in the Prius (yeah, you actually have to do that once in a while).


We also put some food in our stomachs at Burger King. Hooray for french toast sticks!


In the Burger King parking lot, Andrew and I got to wondering where the front of this car went. Maybe we would find in on the way to Los Angeles.


As we left Flagstaff, we realized we had a long way to go.


I drove 147 miles from Flagstaff to Kingman, Ariz. before deciding to stop and switch. Andrew wanted to stop 15 miles earlier at a rest stop to go to the bathroom, but when we saw a billboard for a Cracker Barrel in Kingman just 15 miles away, he decided to hold it.


In Kingman, Andrew spotted a rehab center and decided to check in for obvious reasons.


But who was I to judge him.


When we got out of rehab, Andrew took the wheel and drove the 206 miles from Kingman to Barstow, Calif. where I had been planning on stopping since I left California in May. There, we would hit the first In-n-Out Burger on our route.


In California, we saw a weird golf cart with green flames painted on it.


The view was pretty good too.


Oh deer!


We found my street in California, but unfortunately we were still not in LA, so we continued west.


We rolled into LA 1433.6 miles and 31 hours later. It's good to be back.

Home Sweet Home

I have checked in to my apartment at USC. For the second straight year, I'm going to be living in Cardinal Gardens. The best part is, I'm going to be living in the exact same apartment. Not an apartment with the same floor plan. The same apartment.

When I checked in at the CSC and saw my name next to a familiar apartment number, I got really excited. I loved my apartment last year. The location was great. I was pretty sure any other apartment in Cardinal Gardens would be not as good. Turns out it didn't matter. I'm back to where I was last year.

There was definitely a feeling of security going back into my old apartment. It was weird though, seeing everything clean and not having people ask about the smell.

But it is my home, and I'm glad to be back. I'm really looking forward to another great year out at USC.

FIGHT ON!

Scholarship Race (update)

With only three weeks left in the summer campaign, it's becoming a really tight race for a scholarship. Both Jordy and I have solidified spots in the top 50 for now, but he is already back at school and I'm leaving Saturday.

Hopefully, we've both done enough this summer to each be a winner. Here's this weeks numbers:

DATE ******* NATIONAL RANK *** $OLD
JOSH'S STANDINGS:
June 24 ***** 106 *************** 11,025
July 1 ******* 42 **************** 16,523
July 8 ******* 44 **************** 19,114
July 15 ****** 34 **************** 23,162
July 22 ****** 30 **************** 27,123
July 29******* 27 *************** 30,647
August 5 ***** 29 **************** 32,055

JORDY'S STANDINGS:
June 10******140 ****************6,402
June 17******111 ****************8,854
June 24 ***** 102 *************** 11,232
July 1 *******140 ****************11,232
July 8 ******* 143 **************** 12,901
July 15 ****** 126 **************** 14,925
July 22 ****** 47 **************** 23,391
July 29*******33*************** 29,039
August 5 ***** 30 *************** 31,888

A costly typo

You've gotta read this story about a Kansas newspaper's typo leading to a woman's possession being stolen. Because of the paper, people took $3,500 worth of stuff and her kitty. That sucks.

Anyway, check it out.

Pictures from SCII

Josh gets his personal sales trophy from Lloyd Reagan at SCII. Push report: $7,454.


Johnathan Whitman (Oklahoma City DM), Brian Dunivant (Lewisville DM), Josh (SFSM Lewisville) and Jordy Bernhard (Lewisville SA) each celebrate an SCII victory.

• Whitman's office was the top new office for the conference.
• Dunivant's office won the second consecutive summer conference push.
• I took home top team-builder honors as my personal recruit (Zach Shor) and I beat second place by $5K.
• Jordy Bernhard did what everyone knew he could as he turned in a $15,000 push report to win the conference's personal sales push.

Josh and Anna enjoy cruising around Dallas in the party bus after Summer Conference II.

Scholarship race update

Vector released updated All-American standings last Friday, and I'm proud to say that I am one of two Lewisville reps on the list. Yeah, I know I'd be on it this week, but there's another rep in our office who's busted his ass this summer - Jordy Bernhard. This guy is a stud when it comes to shipping blades, and this summer he is getting the recognition he deserves.

Congratulations Jordy! Keep it up!

DATE ******* NATIONAL RANK *** $OLD
JOSH'S STANDINGS:
June 24 ***** 106 *************** 11,025
July 1 ******* 42 **************** 16,523
July 8 ******* 44 **************** 19,114
July 15 ****** 34 **************** 23,162
July 22 ****** 30 **************** 27,123
July 29*******27****************30,647

JORDY'S STANDINGS:
June 10******140 ****************6,402
June 17******111 ****************8,854
June 24 ***** 102 *************** 11,232
July 1 *******140 ****************11,232
July 8 ******* 143 **************** 12,901
July 15 ****** 126 **************** 14,925
July 22 ****** 47 **************** 23,391
July 29*******33*************** 29,039

Worst day of the summer

I'm so glad that yesterday is over because July 28 was undoubtedly the worst day of the summer.

It started out like most days this summer, with me waking up at 4 a.m. to get ready for my internship down at 570 KLIF. But when I left KLIF, I went home to change before my 9 a.m. demo. When I got to my demo, I realized I had forgotten my bluebook (the binder with all the pictures of the different knives), so I only sold half of what I should have to that customer.

After that, I made a quick stop at the eye doctor before heading up to Richardson for a group demo. For the record, I hate group demos. They are never as good as a rep thinks they'll be. I thought that this was going to be a great demo. As it turns out, I - like most people going into group demos - was disappointed.

Two of the ladies there weren't in the demographic we typically show Cutco to, the man there was more interested in the female rep there who had set up the demo, and the other woman probably would have bought a small set had she not been in a group setting where no one else was getting anything.

When I escaped that beating, I got on to the George Bush Turnpike to head over to Lewisville, which is where I was when I got pulled over for goign 75 in a 60. While 15 mph sounds like a lot over the speed limit, I was going with the flow of traffic. The ticket definitely helped to just ruin my day.

So when I finally got to Lewisville, Brian decided to take me to Six Flags in Arlington. We had fun for a while but when it came time for me to leave, I walked out of the park, and I reached into my pocket to get my car keys. Too bad the keys weren't in my pocket. I had left them in the park. I had left them somewhere in the huge amusement park. At this point, I was already late to get to Lewisville to run a meeting.

I tried to get back in to the park, but because I didn't get my hand stamped as I left, they weren't letting me back in. One guy told me that if I wanted to get back in, I should have gotten my hand stamped. I told him I didn't know I'd be going back in, but it was only because I lost my car keys. He said that's exactly why I needed my hand stamped. I paused and considered punching the guy in the head.

Eventually, I found a cop who agreed to escort me into the park to the lost and found. I waited at the lost and found in the line for about 10 minutes before being helped. When I got to the front of the line, I described my keychain and thankfully the guy had it. He put it on the counter and asked me to fill out some survey or something before I left because I needed to do something to take back my keys. Well, when the guy turned around to get something from a back shelf, I took the keys and took off. I definitely did not have time for that!

I bolted out of the park and to my car, where I got in and got going. While I was on state highway 360, I started feeling sick because of the roller coasters. I hate roller coasters. Yesterday was my first time on a corkscrewing roller coaster, and it was most likely my last. I decided to pull over to the side of the road, get out, and throw up. I definitely felt a little better after that.

So from there, I continued driving up to Lewisville, but as in-a-hurry as I was, I couldn't speed. I couldn't risk a second ticket for the day. I finally got to Lewisville, only 45 minutes after I was supposed to be there. When I got there, someone was already giving the talk I was going to give because they didn't know how long it'd be until I got there.

So I had basically driven up to Lewisville for nothing. Awesome.

I really hope I don't have another day like this for a while, because I really don't enjoy it. This definitely was the back-breaker of the summer.

Irregardless

This morning on NBC's newscast, there was a story by Brian Mooar, who I assume is just some networ nut who did his national story and sent it out to affiliate stations. The story was about Democratic senators cracking down on internet pornography, but that's really not the point.

The point is that at the end of this story, Mooar said the following sentence:

"Senator Lincoln's office maintains that this is good legislation, irregardless of Third Way's involvement."

Does he not know that irregardless isn't an actual word? It is improper grammar and just annoying to hear someone say. Don't believe me? You don't have to.

I looked it up on www.dictionary.com to find out what one internet dictionary had listed for the word. The following paragraph returned from my search:

[Probably blend of irrespective, and regardless.]
Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

No time for sleep

After Monday's Summer Conference II in Grapevine, I went out for a night on the town with a few other Vector reps and managers as a reward for being one of the top sales reps from the conference. The 20 of us (including top reps, winning managers and the division manager) boarded a party bus and went to dinner at Fogo De Chao. We drove around Dallas before going to The Dome in Reunion Tower.

The night that started just after the conference around 6:30 p.m. ended at midnight. At that point, I stayed up past 3 a.m. talking to another rep I met on the party bus, Anna. Apparently, when you combine the propensity for constant talking that we both share, no one gets any sleep. We talked until about 3:15 a.m. before I finally went to bed for 45 minutes - after all, I did have to wake up at 4 a.m. for my internship.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed talking with Anna a lot - although she did make me feel like crap because I never single-handedly tried to solve world hunger (she's one of the truly good people in the world) - but I hadn't slept since 4 a.m. Monday morning.

Now I was expected to go to my internship having slept 45 minutes of the past 24 hours. Needless to say, that didn't work out too well.

When I got to my internship, the lady I work for let me go after about an hour because it was such a slow news day and I was so tired. Thank God! I went home and got some much-needed sleep.

"Are you tired?"

This moring, a gas-station clerk asked me a question that I felt didn't need asking. As I paid for my chocolate milk and muffin (I eat the best breakfasts!), he asked me, "So, are you tired this morning?"

Am I tired this morning?

Well, yeah.

Consider the fact that if you look at a clock it will tell you that it is not yet 5 a.m. here in the Central Time Zone. As a general rule, I think someone should never ask the question "are you tired this morning?" before 6 a.m. Anytime before then, there's no need to ask.

Scholarship race

This summer, while working with Vector, I've been in a big scholarship race. Everyone who works with the company this summer and is in school has a chance to win.

Last summer, I came pretty close to winning, but because the scholarship race is based on sales, and because I went back to school two weeks before the end of the summer campaign, I got passed the last week of the summer and dropped out of the top 50.

This year, I hit the contenders list June 24, when I reached 11,025 in sales for the summer. I was 106 in the company with room to go for the scholarship. With only a month left in the scholarship running, I decided I'd post my progress with the scholarship competition:

DATE ******* NATIONAL RANK *** $OLD
June 24 ***** 106 *************** 11,025
July 1 ******* 42 **************** 16,523
July 8 ******* 44 **************** 19,114
July 15 ****** 34 **************** 23,162
July 22 ****** 30 **************** 27,123

I'll make sure to update each week for the rest of the summer campain to let yall know how I am doing.

Commenting on comments concerning Cutco

Once again, I feel the need to respond to someone who insists on posting comment after comment on my blog about Vector Marketing. This will, however, be my last response to these comments because - quite frankly - I'm getting a little tired of dealing with this guy who keeps doing this.

If you haven't been keeping up with this ongoing online "feud" just take a look at these past posts and comments:
Top Dog (June 21, 2005) + comments
Response to recent comments... (June 22) + comments
Defending Vector: a response to more comments (July 17) + comments

Please stop referring to this as a "job" with your retarded quotation marks. This is a job, regardless of how uncommon or unique it is and regardless of how much you don't like it.

You say that the company will take every single person, but that's not entirely true. Would the company like more sales reps, yeah, of course they would, but why would they want to hire a moron to show their product and make the company look bad. I'm sure there are some managers who hire anyone with a pulse, but I also know that some managers hire only truly qualified, clean-cut kids who need some extra money and are strongly motivated. How do I know? I work for one of those offices.

Now this next comment of your, I just don't understand: "The only ones they seem not to accept are those who are not young, naive, and inexperienced because they are the only ones who don't know any better."

First of all, just as a personal pet-peeve, don't use a sentence with a triple-negative. It's just tough reading.

Okay, so you're saying the company only hires young, naive and inexperienced people because they "don't know any better." Where do I even begin with this??? Okay, first off, young inexperienced people are hired by a lot of companies all the time every day. Someone has to get a first job somewhere. Mine happened to be editing an SAT workbook. For other kids, it's bagging groceries. And for some, yes, it's working with Vector. That's probably one of the greatest things about this company, the fact that no experience is necessary. It's a great resume builder.

As far as the naivity of new sales reps, what does that have to do with anything? People are told at the interview what the job entails. If they don't wanna show Cutco to people, they are more than free to walk out of the interview. They aren't chained down. We don't lock the doors. Walk out if you don't like it. But don't say that those who are coming to the office looking for a job don't know what they'll be doing when they leave. They know the details of the job.

The fact that you say that those hired "don't know any better" is insane. Some of the best Vector reps are personal recruits of a friend who works with the company. That rep tells their other friend who is looking for some extra cash about his job, so the friend goes in, knowing all about what this job is.

Is it true that some people go in to the interview not knowing exactly what they'll be doing? Absolutely. But that can be said about many positions where you don't know the specific details of a job until it is explained to you at an interview - which is exactly what Vector does.

Me personally, I went in to the interview not knowing what I'd be doing, but who cares. The manager explained the job to me. I thought it sounded like fun, so when he offered me the job, I shook his hand and said "thanks" because I wanted to do this. Other people don't take the job because they don't like it, but if someone doesn't want to do the job, they don't have to.

I really don't feel like answering any more of your bickering comments, but if there is some reason you feel so strongly against this company, I've gotta hear this personal vendetta. Did you get a job with Vector, not do well, blame it on others, and set out a mission in life to destroy this company? Or are you just jealous that friends of yours can make $20K in a summer while you bust your ass and make $2K? I don't know your life's story. I don't care about most of it. But why do you honestly feel the need to - in your mind - educate the world about what you think are the "evils" of a good company?

How 'bout them triplets

When I heard the other day that the triplets - the original triplets - were going to be inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor together, I thought it was one of the best calls Jerry has made since buying the 'Boys.

Troy Aikman. Emmitt Smith. Michael Irvin. The triplets.

There may have been others, but none were better. Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins. Irvin put up Jerry Rice-like numbers until an injury cut-short a Hall of Fame career. And Smith ran his way into the record books with 18,355 career rushing yards.

When the three amigos are inducted into the Ring of Honor, I have made it a point to fly back to Dallas for the game, a Monday Night Football game against the hated Washington Redskins in the home opener.

Growing up watching the triplets do there thing and do it well was one of the greatest experiences ever. As a kid in Dallas, nothing was bigger than the Dallas Cowboys, and on the Cowboys, no one was bigger than the triplets - not even Jerry.

They got to Dallas in consecutive years. Irvin was drafted in 1988 - and when he left the NFL, he was last player to play for Tom Landry to retire. Aikman entered the league in 1989, and Smith made his way to Dallas the next year as part of the Herschel Walker deal.

Until Irvin's untimely retirement, the triplets dominated football. The beginning of the end didn't come until Michael didn't get up from the solid turf of The Vet as half of Philadelphia cheered his injury (don't get me started!).

People talk now about Peyton Manning, Edgerine James and Marvin Harrison being the "new triplets." Until they do what the Cowboys' version of the triplets did, they will be nothing more than three good football players on the same team.

Any team can assemble three good football players, but until they can come together to dominate their positions at the same time while dominating the entire National Football League, they will not compare with the triplets.

HOW 'BOUT THEM COWBOYS!
HOW 'BOUT THEM TRIPLETS!

Defending Vector (a response to more comments)

If you don't like the company, them you can probably live a life without Vector and Cutco. I'm not saying it's a job that EVERYONE can succeed at, because I believe it does take some special skills, but don't this idea that the company wants its reps to quit after selling to family and friends is legit either. Go to any Vector conference and you'll see.

Secondly, the job is NOT for everyone. That's why not everyone interviewed is hired, and that's why not everyone hired starts.

Also, as far as the comments on the sample kit deposit, I could turn my kit in tomorrow and get a FULL REFUND if that's what you want to call it. People do it every day.

When it comes to sales reps not getting paid, don't think people try to scam this company when they start out all the time. Reps will turn in full forms of 10 people they "went to see" but they will all be no-sales. Out of 10 people, no one bought anything.

Managers then have to call the names and numbers of those people to see if they really did the demos. If the people never heard of the kid or never saw the demo (which happens virtually every time someone hands in a 0-for-10 sheet), then that rep should not be paid and chances are will not be paid.

Forging paperwork won't earn you crap with this company and in life. Those who think they've done such a clever job of filling up a sheet with 10 names of strangers or fake people but then come back to Advanced Training with a full bag of rope and leather they were supposed to cut up on the presentation have no reason to be paid because they didn't do their job.

I'm not saying you have to love a company that you don't work for - that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying that there are students who succeed at this job every day. About 60,000 college-age kids will work with Vector this summer, and those who don't will be missing out on something that can truly change lives.

I don't know who your are because you keep posting annonymously, but you seriously need to just drop it. This company isn't going away soon. I really think you should focus your attention elsewhere.

Instead of hating a company you don't work for, why not try finding a job with a company you won't hate? Who knows, you might actually enjoy working for that company, despite what others think about it, and then you'll know how I feel.

[READ THE RECENT POST BEING DISCUSSED AND ATTACHED COMMENTS]
[SEE THE POST THAT SPARKED THIS DISCUSSION AND ITS COMMENTS]

Air time

FYI - my internship helping to do news at 570 KLIF also includes helping to do news for 99.5 The Wolf because the two stations share the 16th floor at 3500 Maple here in Dallas.
This morning I was listening to The Wolf's broadcast as I was putting together my week's schedule for Vector, my internship and 4th of July weekend. I wasn't really paying attention until all of the sudden I heard a story about the Wilmer-Hutchins school district that sounded really familiar. I brought up the story I had just written - including the audio clip I wanted with the story - and noticed hey! that was the story I wrote with the sound clip I wanted. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll have a voicer on the air.

We are the champions

For the past two weeks, the Lewisville office did not work out smartest and did not work our hardest. We had been in a push contest for those two weeks, and after the first week, we were losing. We were down.

We have the smallest team, but poud-for-proud, when it comes to productivity per rep, we are the best. We went into week two trailing Arlington and Dallas by at least $4,000. We had to get going. We had to pick up the pace. We had to come together.

We did.

At the conference, I won the individual sales rep push ($12,862) by about $4,000 as the Lewisville office, as the team, not a team, but THE team chanted and cheered for me. It was one of the greatest feelings ever, looking out at over 500 other sales reps and knowing I was the best. And that wasn't even the best part of the day.

Not a half-hour later, during the office push-countdown to see which was the top office, that "greatest feeling ever" was multiplied infinitely. As they counted up, and other managers stepped forward, we were in the final two. It came down to Arlington's office and us.

Arlington has an army. They have well over 100 reps who have worked with the company for more than three weeks. Our team is not only half the size, but we have a lot more inexperienced reps - and it didn't make a damn bit of a difference.

$95,000 - Dustin (the Arlington District Manager) and Brian (the Lewisville manager) stood still, waiting for the other to move first.

$96,000 - Our team was silent. We watched and hoped that the hard work we had put in over the last two weeks (but especially the past weeked) had paid off.

$97,000 - No one stepped forward and the tension grew.

$98,000 - There was a slight pause, then Dustin stepped forward. WE HAD WON! WE BEAT ARLINGTON! WE CAME BACK FROM NOWHERE TO BE THE TOP OFFICE!

$100,000 - We were the only office to top $100K for the push, finishing with $100,053 for the two-week push.

Brian, office staff members Shea, Mike, Steven, Jordy and I jumped up and down as we made our way to the front of the conference to accept the trophy with Brian. We looked out at the crowd. Every single person on our team stood tall on their chairs, cheering as hard as they could, knowing they gave it there all, and that it was worth it.

At last Thursday's team meeting, Brian said that if we were to come back and win this push, it would be one of the greatest stories the company has ever seen. We did not work our hardest. We did not bring our best for the full two weeks (or really even one week), but over the final two days, we came to play.

$100,053! Summer Conference I champs!

Lewisville Summer 2004 - the legend was born

Lewisville Summer 2005 - the dynasty continues

APPLY TO BECOME A PART OF THE LEWISVILLE TEAM! (even if you live somewhere else in the D/FW metroplex, this is the office - the team - to be a part of)(LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKING WITH VECTOR)

Remember to watch...

Look out for Brad on the soon-to-debute show:

Mind of Mencia

Primieres Wednesday, July 6

10:30pm, after South Park

on Comedy Central

Response to recent comments...

To the person who left the links to articles about the "scam" that is Vector Marketing, I have the following response:

The articles you left links to say that students were mislead about the job. As a student who has worked with the company for over a year now, I have seen first-hand how district offices are run, and I can honestly say that these articles do not come close to the truth.

One article says that when students call in about the position that they are given no details, when in fact they are told verbatim that they will be working at an "entry level customer service position...working with Cutco products."

Also, the article says that anyone who decides to work with Vector to sell Cutco is "required to buy sets of cutlery products for $145 to use" on demos. The fact of the matter is that students are putting a deposit (and a heavily discounted one at that) on the products that they can get back if they return the sample kit when they leave the job.

If someone starting with Vector doesn't want to get the sample kit, they don't have to pay $145, but they can still work with the company. Granted, you will be able to have more success if you have the product to show the customer.

Also, one of the articles cites one young man's story where he would work "five to six hours per day, and his weekly paycheck was about $100." Maybe that's the case, maybe not. But he was only making $100 a week while putting in 25-30 hours a week (or 35-42 hours if he worked weekends like some sales reps), then he was not doing the job the way he was taught to do it in training.

The company is set up to allow students to succeed, not to fail. For the company to set up its sales reps for failure would not make any sense. As far as this kids paycheck is concerned, if he ran his business (and it was his business because all Vector reps are independent contractors) the way he was instructed by his managers, he would have succeeded. I have seen firsthand for more than a year dozens of kids succeed just by doing what they are told, and their paychecks have a few more digits in them to show for it.

The articles also claim that reps were or are required to go to meetings for which they are not compensated and that they must pay to go to conferences. First off, those conferences are now free, so that is no longer a problem. Secondly, as far as these meetings, they are instructional and informative to help sales rep build their business and be successful.

I spent Thursday nights last summer at the Vector office I work for in Lewisville, TX learning how to be a better rep. No, I did not get paid for being at that meeting, but the things I would take away from that meeting would help me have more success in the following days. Basically, going to the meetings and learning to do a better job is worth it. You learn something new or how to do something better, apply it during a presentation, making a bigger sale and make more commission.

The fact remains that this company - despite what critics and unhappy students who couldn't cut it may say - does not mislead or scam its reps or its customers. The product is good. The work opportunity is better. The potential is virtually unlimited. The self-inflicted failures of a few students do not represent the company as a whole.

So please, whoever you are that left me the links to these stories, do keep in mind that this company, this "scam" as you call it, is probably the best work opportunity for students across the country.

Last summer, I made more than $10,000 as a 19-year-old college student. Every cent I earned, I was paid. Not one penny missing. I earned that through hard work of making phone calls, attending meetings, and listening to my office's management staff. Perhaps if others who work with the company did the same, I wouldn't have to respond to stupid "scam" allegations like this.

Top dog

Over the last seven days, I recorded my personal best in weekly sales for Vector: $7,049 worth of Cutco. For the first time this summer (and maybe for the first time since I was promoted to Field Sales Manager), I made the company Top 10 list for Field Sales Leader/Field Sales Manager of the Week.

Take a look:

Bad boy Brendan Higgins

On the NBC 5 morning news show in Dallas-Ft. Worth this morning, news anchor Brendan Higgins issued the greatest line I've ever heard on a newscast. Higgins was talking about the fake-reporter squirting Tom Cruise with water a the London premier of "War of the Worlds." Cruise could be heard on the tape repeating to the fake-reported (who turned out to be working with a British Comedy Show) "You're a jerk."

It was Higgins, however, who displayed the most aggression, by issuing the following statement:

"I thought he was pretty calm, 'cause I woulda jacked the guy hard, right in the friggen face!"

Now if that doesn't make you wanna wake up and watch a 5:30am newscast on a Monday morning, not much else will.

Stupid Tsunami Sightsee-ers

Yesterday there was an earthquake - a 7.0 earthquake - just off the coast of California, prompting officials to issue a tsunami warning. On the news this morning while watching this story, they said that the warning was for the entire west coast, from Mexico to Canada.

Then the news station said "...but not everyone felt the need to evacuate," and showed a quick clip from an interview with a guy whose response to the tsunami warning can only be described as the antithesis of reason. Before he starts talking, you can hear the report clearly ask "What are you doing here tonight?" Here is what the guy said, word for word:

"Well about 9:00, 9:05 I heard uh on the news that there was a tsunami warning for the whole coast and everything so I had to come down here and check it out."
-Dean McFarland, California Resident

Now, maybe Mr. McFarland happens to live in Southern California, farther away from the epicenter of the quake than others, but I don't think that justifies his inability to comprehend what happened less than a year ago around the world.

Look, buddy. Tsunamis are dangerous. I realize that a way never hit and the warning has since been cancelled, but if you are dumb enough to want to personally go down to the beach to "check it out" then you clearly have no use for a rational brain. What the hell is going through this guys head???

Didn't the entire world just watch south Asia get decimated by a tsunami?

I have seen footage of people being washed away. We all did when it happened. We heard about people who didn't understand what was going on when the tide went out really really far and some people didn't realize why. We saw those same people, who were unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, become casualties in one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.

And now, I've seen someone express complete disregard for what happened in south Asia by having the thought of wanting to check out the tsunami first hand. Personally, I'm glad there wasn't a wave. I have a bunch of friends in California who I wouldn't want to have to deal with that type of disaster, but I wouldn't have minded if a wave came and took this one moron away.

4K in a day

Every few weeks, Vector has a two-week "push" where offices in the division and the region go all out leading up to Summer Conference I (SC I). The company gives out maybe a dozen trophies to the top sales reps of the two-week push as well as trophies for the top office in the region.

My goal for the SC I push was to sell somewhere around $10K of Cutco (which is pretty cool when you think about 50% commision). Well, here's the thing: the SC I push started yesterday and I'm already over $4K! I guess my goal was kinda weak. I guess I need to up the ante.

Here's how it all happened:

11:00am
I started the day off with a demo at the biggest house I've ever been inside. I got there, put the Homemaker+8 set on her table, and she said "I'm gonna need two of those." After another gift pak, the total order came to $1803. Nice way to start the day!

CPO (amount I sold on which I get paid commision): $1803

1:00pm
The next appointment I had was in far far north Dallas, and unfortunately it was a no-show. Lesson to all Vector reps: listen to your manager when they say not to book a demo more than two days in advance.

CPO: $0

3:00pm
When I was at my 11am appointment, the lady was nice enough to give a few of her friends a call to make sure it was okay for me to set up appointments with them. I ended up booking this 3pm appointment with one of those friends of my first customer of the day.
This lady already owned the Homemaker+8 set, but when I showed her the garden tool set, the sale was on. After she decided on a first other pieces for her daughters, some kitchen tools, a pair of vegetable peelers, and a few other pieces, I was staring at a near-$700 order. But because she wanted a new whitewashed block for her knives, I told her to trade in the one she had and I'd give her the new block for free.

CPO: $608

5:00pm
I went back to the house of a lady I saw sunday because her daughter who's getting married this October had just got in town. I helped them set up an online gift registry worth maybe $2,000. While I didn't make a sale while I was there, I will make full commision on anything purchased from that registry.

CPO: $0

7:00pm
And then, the part that I couldn't even begin to comprehend...
I went over to a customer's house whose name I got from the lady at my 3pm demo. She called this friend and I set up the demo for the same night because she said that's the only time she had. I didn't really want to do a 7pm demo because of how early I have to get up for my internship (4am) but I figured "What the hell!" because it's a push week.

The lady, who described herself as the "biggest redneck in town" was so nice. She ended up buying a fishing knife, petite carver and the super shears. Then she got on the phone with one of her neighbors, asking her if I could do a demo for her. The neighbor decided to just come on over, so then I had another demo in the same house.

7:45pm
This lady already owned a few Cutco pieces, but it was all stuff she got from her wedding. She wanted to get a few other pieces and a few other table knives, so I helped her upgrade to a near-full set. The only problem: she was an OU fan, and I'm a USC student, so for some reason she didn't want to talk to me about this year's Orange Bowl. What's up with that???

8:15pm
Then the lady whose house I was in had another neighbor come over to see the knives. This lady sat down, saw the set I had on the table, acknowledged that she had never owned good knives, and said she wanted the set. I showed her the super shears that had cut a penny in half, the kitchen tools, and some other accessories (entertainers pak and garlic press) that she decided to go ahead and get.

Somehow, I had been sitting on the same couch from 7pm to 9pm and managed to make three sales.

CPO: $207
CPO: $444
CPO: $1240

When I got home, I called my district manager and asked him how much the office had sold today not including any sales I had already told him about. Brian said that the office not including me sold $5,200 for Tuesday. Then I let him have it. My exact words were Damn it! The office beat me by $900! And on the other end of the phone was something I'd never seen, a speechless Brian! It was an absolutely amazing day, and it was only the first day of the push.

The day's total CPO: $4,302

Loud mouth

I'm at the KLIF studio right now for my internship. The past few days I've been here, I've been doing "voicers" (writing up stories and then recording them to be played on the air). I've only been doing it for practice, but apparently the two I did today were good enough for consideration. I guess we'll see what happens. It's just cool knowing that I may be on the air in a few days reading some news stories I wrote up.

I'll let you know.

Pictures from HAWL

This Memorial Day weekend, my dad, sister and I went out to my grandma's lakehouse about 90 miles east of Dallas in Hide-a-way. It's a fun place to be. We got out on the lake sunday afternoon but because of the weather monday morning, we decided to just head back to Dallas early.

Anyway, here's some snapshots from the weekend:

the lakehouse


me, on the world's most comfortable couch

the boat house


me in the boat house

Dumb dentists

Today at my dentist appointment, I realized that I didn't know which was more painful:
(1) waiting in the waiting room
(2) getting poked with the metal hooks
(3) having to come back because the hygenist doesn't know her right from her left

First, I got there for my 1:00pm appointment, but didn't get in until about 1:15pm because the entire office went out to lunch. That was brutal only because as I looked around, I saw every magazine for women ever created. Not one Sports Illustrated. Not even a Newsweek. The only copy of Time was already claimed by another helpless victim of the waiting room.

I finally got into the room, and the hygenist got to work picking at my teeth with those metal hooks. The problem for me is that I have permenant metal retainer wire things on the back of my upper and lower front teeth. It was glued directly onto the back of those teeth with no room in between.

I've had that retainer there for 4 years, and the hygenist - the same one I've had all these year - must always try to get in between the wire and my teeth with that hook. It's never once worked, but every time she has to try digging into my tooth in order to try to get in between.

And it freakin' hurts.

Naturally, when something hurts at the dentist, I - like most other people probably do - say "ouch" or "ow" to let her know. So she digs in to my gum or my tooth or some part of my mouth that didn't think it felt good, so I let out a "ouch!"

"Oh, did that hurt?" she asked me.

Did that hurt? Did that hurt?!? Why do you think I said "ouch!"? Please stop trying to kill me by trying to get between a wire and my tooth, which is something you've never been able to do!

As if that wasn't bad enough, when the dentist came in, he told her to retake my upper-left x-rays. She re-did it, but while she was doing it, I thought it was weird because she was x-raying my right side. I just assumed that even though I thought I heard the dentist say "left" that it must be the dentist's left, not the patient's left.

So I got the x-rays done and left. I had just hit the road when I got a phone call from my sister (who was at the dentist's office waiting on her appointment). She said I had to come back to the dentist's office. At first, I thought she was kidding, but she insisted.

I got back and the hygenist said that she had to redo the x-rays because she didn't do the correct side. Thought so. Turns out, when the dentist says "left" it does mean the patient's left. That's great.

Don't you just love the dentist? You know I do :-)

Congratulations, Matt!

Today is Matt's graduation from St. Marks, where he's been for 12 years (not because he's dumb, it's a K-12 school, so don't worry). Just wanted to say...

Congratulations
Matt!

See you next year on the left coast!

In honor of Matt's graduation, here are some fun pictures from Matt's visit to LA last February...



After a night of fun...


...Matt was pretty tired.

Grade "A" pics

Here's some random pictures of Alice and me I decided to post for no reason other than, why the hell not.

Enjoy...



3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (Feb '05)
Thanksgiving break 2004
Alice's spring 2004 'SC visit
Happy Alice - No, really. She's been in a good mood before ;-)
Crinkled car (March '05)

Hometown Heros 2.0

Here's the story I told yall about yesterday where a barbershop owner and employee helped save the lives of kids after the daycare disaster.

This is the Dallas Morning News article about the barbers-turned-heros!

Hey, infidelity fanatics...

I read an article in the Dallas morning news about new gift cards specifically made for cheaters and couldn't believe it.

According to the company's Website, the Secret Lover Collection "is designed to capture and express the unique emotional bond and intensity between lovers involved in an affair, allowing them to express their feelings for the first time through inspiring, emotion-driven, “me-to-you” greeting cards featuring distinctive original artwork."

Uh....what???

I understand that our country has a 50% divorce rate, but now there are specifically made cards for people having affairs!!! Does anything about that bother anyone else? The impressive/disturbing thing about this product is that there is clearly a market for it.

I've never been a big card person. I usually look to give someone a funny card, and then I'll write a more personal message in there. If you take a look at those card racks at drugs stores and grocery stores, it seems like there's a card for everyone.

Apparently there wasn't.

Don't worry though, because with these new cards, you can find the perfect way to say "I love you" to that special someone you never want your girlfriend to know about.

Aww...how sweet.

What a friggen joke!

Chappelle's Show fallout

The following is part of a conversation I had with Brad about the how start of Carlos Mencia's new show on Comedy Central "Mind of Menica" was changed because of Dave Chappelle's freak-out:

USCdwarf: isn't it strange that his story ACTUALLY affects me
JFeld127: HAHAHA!
USCdwarf: i would never think that anything chappelle did would directly affect me

Make sure to get inside the

"Mind of Mencia" starting July 6

at 10:30pm (9:30 central) after South Park
on Comedy Central.

Roy's rule

With the NFL execs voting 27-5 to outlaw the horse-collar tackle (a/k/a the Roy Williams rule) after a season where Williams alone caused three injuries with the move, I have mixed feelings on how this will work.

I do think it is good that this rule will help protect the health of the players, because when big-name players get hurt (like TO) I think it hurts the league. Had Philadelphia not made it to the Super Bowl and TO not had a chance to play, all offseason the Eagles would be talking about how that injury ruined their season (because for them, it was Super Bowl or bust!).

Granted, you are still allowed to use this move on a quarterback in the pocket or a tailback in the tackle box, but the severity of potential injury in those situations is not as great as in the open field, where a receiver would get caught from behind. Which leads me to my greivances about this decision.

How is a defensive back supposed to catch a speedy receiver from behind. If Randy Moss is streaking down the sideline with some spare DB having no chance to make a legitimate tackle, the "horse-collar" move is one of that defenders very limited options for a TD-saving tackle. While the defender could try to dive at the receiver's feet, hit them into each other, and hope he trips, if that offensive speedster stays up, it's six points.

The horse-collar move was good because it gave defenders a way to catch someone from behind and hold on to them to bring them down. Taking that away will lead to more break-away plays in the secondary.

Part of the ruling does say that the defender can't grab the collar and immediately pull them down by the collar, so if they hold on, is the tackle them legit? And if that is the case, why would a defender wait to pull an offensive player down when at the time he'd be giving up valuable yardage.

I think there is a simply way to deal with this rule. Fine a player who does it. Don't make it a 15-yard penalty, because if you do, the defenders will either (1) not make the tackle and give up big yards, or (2) use the horse-collar move to bring them down, which would end up giving the offense the yards anyway via a 15-yard penalty!

The defense can't win with this rule having an on-the-field effect, but if you fine a player who does it after the game, then it won't have a direct effect on the outcome of the game.

I know it sounds like I'm flip-flopping on this, but the truth is I can see a legit reasoning for and against this rule. I think the only real way to determine if this will be a success will be a season spent with this rule in effect on a trial basis.

Giddy up!

Hometown Hero

I'm here at my internship at 570 KLIF where they just had Richard Howell on the air. That name may not mean much to anyone outside of Dallas, but after yesterday afternoon this man's life changed forever.

The Ankarlo Mornings show just had him on talking about his heoric efforts after yesterday's tragic daycare disaster where a car crashed through a window into the main play area of the Dream House Learning Center.

Howell, who owns a barber shop across the street, rushed over after the crash and helped get two trapped children out from the car. He and four others lifted the car, allowing others to get the children out from under the car.

This morning, Howell spent some time on the radio telling about what happened yesterday in the aftermath of the crash. He seemed pretty humble about it all. Darrell Ankarlo, the morning show host, allowed Howell to plug his barber shop (The Platinum barbershop). I've never met Richard Howell, and I most likely never will, but for his actions in the wake of yesterday's disaster, I have the utmost respect for him.

Sissy Sith

Revenge of the Sith was great with one glaring exception:
Darth Vader

Think about how intimidating Vader was in Episodes IV, V and VI. The main reason for that fear-inspiring persona resulted a great deal from the voice of James Earl Jones. Without that, Vader sounds like nothing more than a squeaky nerd in a helmet.

When James Earl Jones as Vader spoke, anyone watching that movie could feel Vader's presence. You can't have Darth Vader without him. It's be like having Ace Ventura without Jim Carey. Jones' voice defines that character. Episode III - despite bridging the gap between between the first two movies and the trilogy released 20 years ago - lacked the true presence of Vader because of Jones' vocal absense.

For 'The Best'

It looks like the overwhelming schedule I am faced with this summer will cost me more than sleep. I'm trying to deal with the fact that my girlfriend of more than two years - Alice - and I are taking some time apart this summer. This actually happened last Thursday.

At first, it was really tough for me to deal with, but after almost two weeks of being "on a break" I'm getting used to it. I mean, I know it would have been almost impossible to fulfill the commitments I'd made to my internship and Vector this summer while having a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have tried to cut back on some of those responsibilities for her - because I would have.



It's not there was one big reason for this, though. I guess Alice put it best when she said that it was just time. It was for the best, and - as much as I really hate to admit it - she may be right (after more than two years, now she's right about something, hehe).

It'll be weird though. We still talk a lot, and we still hang out from time to time. It doesn't necessarily feel that different either at times. I know that many people try the whole "being friends" thing, and I know it doesn't always work out. Granted it's been less than two weeks, but I am gettin' the feeling that this "being friends" thing may just work out.

At least, I hope it does. It would suck not have her as a part of my life. Bottom line, she's a good friend to have, regardless of if we're dating or not. And I think it'd be "for the best" not to break off all ties.

Stupid schedulers 2.0

Just a few days ago, I posted an entry about my feelings towards customers who make appointments with me and then no-show. Basically, I'm not a fan. I actually posted that entry in direct response to a certain customer - who shall remain nameless - telling me at the door that she forgot I was coming by and was on her way out the door.

As frustrating as it was to face this woman telling me that I wouldn't be making a sale to her today, I still set up a time with her for me to come back and do my demo. Unfortunately the time we set up didn't end up working out, so two days ago I called her to reschedule for today.

When I got to her house today, the lady's son was in the driveway on his way out. He asked what I was doing at his house, and when I told him I had an appointment with his mom, he told me that she wasn't home. FANTASTIC! So he got her on the phone, and she said that I could call her tonight to set up a time.

Ideally we can get something set.

Ideally.

Making the cut

After a week of being back with Vector, I've gotta say it's good to be back. It's good to be back at a company where I know I can have some fun, make some money, and make a difference. This year I'm the Lead Field Sales Manager for the Lewisville Vector office. It's a pretty nice job. I only spend 12-15 hours in the office each week while doing 12-16 demos.

Since I've been back, I've been closing around 83%, but my average order isn't what it was last summer...for now. I guess I'll have to work on getting that back up.

This summer, our office is gearing up for what we hope to be a record-setting summer for our division. With an extremely-talented six-man manager staff, we have the leadership we need, but we just don't have the reps to help get the job done. Yesterday, though, we did sign nearly 30 people to the team. Over the next few weeks, our team's size should double. (By the way, if you're looking for a job and wanna join the team, go to www.workforstudents.com to apply)

I'm really looking forward to a busy, but for the most part rewarding summer. I plan on selling $40,000 - $7,000 more than last summer - while at 50% commision (which ain't too shabby). If I can do that, and if the rest of our office can do their best effort, we should end up having a $750,000 summer.

And just a warning to the offices of Garland, Arlington-HEB, Ft. Worth and Dallas: look out because the only thing more impressive than Lewisville Summer '04 is gonna be Lewisville Summer '05.

Stupid schedulers

For my job with Vector, the one thing I'm not a big fan of would have to be customers who schedule appointments with me, but then either no-show or cancel at the door. It just doesn't make sense to me how someone can book an appointment without thinking about any other obilgations they may have at that time.

Ass-whip

As a life-long Dallas Cowboys fan, there is one aspect of the organization that I have never really been a big fan of. Not the fact that former star Michael Irvin got in some off-field trouble. Not the fact that former coach Barry Switzer was caught at DFW airport with a hand-gun in his bag (Jerry Jones told him it was a hair-dryer - zing!). But the Cowboy's mascot Rowdy, or Ass-whip as he is referred to on a local sports radio station, makes me want to puke.

He has been an embarrassment to Cowboys fans across the country. Think about it, how many mascots do you know get ejected from a football game...twice??? Head coach Bill Parcells even kicked him out of a practice for what Parcells called "time management" issues. Other teams have good, respectable mascots. I think it's time America's Team got a mascot that fans can respect (or at least tolerate).

I think that Cowboys fans across the world should rise up and protest Rowdy's existance. Plus, we all know that the true Dallas Cowboy's mascot is Crazy Ray, the guy in the endzone who always came dressed to impress in the Wild West.

The busy summer ahead

Wednesday I'm starting my internship with 570 KLIF helping out with the radio station's 5-9 a.m. newscast. I'll be putting in about 20 hours a week writing news stories, monitoring breaking news, and doing numerous other jobs I don't yet know about (which should be interesting).

Along with this internship, I will also once again be working with Vector doing direct sales. I hope to sell $10K more than last summer's $32K of sales. I will also be spending two afternoons each week in the office working with more advanced sales reps. On Mondays, I will lead meetings at the office for advanced reps. I am really looking forward to it.

Granted this summer I'm going to be extremely busy and most likely sleep-deprived. With the internship from 5-9 am (and I'd probably have to be there at 4:30 a.m.) and Vector for the rest of the day, I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to get enough sleep. But I really don't care. The fact remains that I'm gonna be doing things I enjoy this summer. I wish the internship was paid, but I guess I'll have to deal with that by trying to make more with Vector this summer.

By the end of the summer, I am going to buy the massage chair from Sharper Image that I've been eyeing for a year or so. I probably won't be able to get the chair back to my apartment in California for the school year (unless my brother drives it out in his Tahoe if he brings that to CalTech). But if I buy it by June 30 (when the $100 off deal going on the chair expires), I'll at least get half a summer with it.

DAMN THAT LOOKS COMFY!

That'll be relaxing...unlike the hectic summer I have ahead.

The Royal Flush

Despite the fact that in this picture Jeff looks like a complete moron, he is the only person I have ever seen get a royal flush. HE GOT A FREAKIN' ROYAL FLUSH during our last poker game of the year (April 30). Granted, he won only 85 cents, but that is still amazing.

Congratulations Jeff on your 85-cent victory. This does prove, however, that you can win more with a royal flush than your regular old straight flush, right Eddie? Hope you haven't spent all of that 35-cent winnings.

Happy Orgasm Day

Here is a story from the Los Angeles NBC news website about Rio De Janeiro, Brazil celebrating a new holiday known as Orgasm Day. That's right. It's Orgasm Day today, so get your girlfriend or a hooker and observe this holiday.

Could this be a politicians way of trying to get a little more out of their marriage? Last I checked, Bill Clinton found a solution for that. Actually, the city's mayor says they've been celebrating Orgasm Day unofficially for years. Maybe they're on to something...

I made it

1500 miles later, I am back in Dallas (just in time for the start of the Mavericks-Suns second round playoff series). I am not looking forward to making that drive again any time soon. I left around 10:30 p.m. Pacific time on Friday night, and after mutiple stops for gas and two overnight stays at roadside motels, I arrived in Dallas around 2 p.m. Central time yesterday.

More surprising than surviving the half-way-across-the-country drive was the fact that I survived the last semester of the year with 18 units during what was supposed to be the hardest semester of a journalism major's 4 years. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy. Actually, the stress got to me around April when the work began to pile up and club volleyball became more intense as nationals got nearer.

This summer should provide a much needed break from the stresses of Los Angeles and USC. I can't wait to be back there because by that time it will be football season, but until then I don't mind taking some time to be back in Dallas.

I've already got a decent job with the same marketing corporation I worked with last year. I have an interview set up for a local radio station and should get the position. I do, however, need to find some time to get in shape if I want to have a shot at making the varsity volleyball team next year - something I didn't do a great job of last summer.

It's amazing to think that I'm half way through my college career. We'll see how the second half of that goes starting next fall, but until then I just plan on relaxing and enjoying my summer.

FIGHT ON, 'SC!
BEAT THE RAINBOWS!

Wrap Party

Who really needs words for these pictures. Just be glad it wasn't you...this time!

Let the madness begin...






You know it's a party when Mike shows up...










Which paper did you think Albert would read...






When you gotta go...


Jeff's plans for self-defense involve pretending to be an ostrich...




With so much paper inside the car, there was really only one way we could think of to make sure the doors didn't just BUST open...








Aww...


With exams over for me, this may have been my swan song for the year. It's been fun. And - I guess - that's a wrap!

Easy information

Yesterday I was studying in a room in WPH - a building on campus - and Brad was going to bring me food from Wendy's. Apparently, Brad didn't understand the directions I gave him to this building, so he asked a friend of his who I'd never talked to before to relay the building's location through him to Brad. When I "guessed" Brad's friend's name, he was amazed. He shouldn't have been, though...

CheesyAtOSU: Hey, tell Brad where WPH 207 is
JFeld127: huh?
CheesyAtOSU: brad wants to know where WPH is
JFeld127: who is this?
CheesyAtOSU: I'm a Beaver
JFeld127: i figured as much
CheesyAtOSU: USC Men's Volleyball sucks
JFeld127: i'm gonna guess tim rodman
JFeld127: yeah it does. we haven't won more than 7 games in 4 years!
CheesyAtOSU: that's a pretty damn good guess
CheesyAtOSU: pull that one out of the air?? :)
JFeld127: or off your profile where it says "facebook me"
CheesyAtOSU: damn profiles
JFeld127: yeah
JFeld127: anyway i gotta get back to studying but enjoy your afternoon and be gald you aren't stuck with the work i have.
CheesyAtOSU: got a lot, eh?
Auto response from JFeld127: party in WPH 207. damn it brad, you know where this is!

Should Jackson return, O'Neal got burned

According to ESPN.com, former Lakers coach Phil Jackson will meet with Kobe Bryant later in the week which could potentially lead to Jackson's return to the bench at the Staples Center. In his book "The Last Season" Jackson had refered to Kobe as difficult to coach.

If I remember correctly, only three days after losing game 5 to the Pistons in last summer's NBA finals Jackson and Lakers owner Jerry Buss "mutually agreed" that he would no longer be the coach. It's no secret though that Jackson had told Buss that he could no longer coach Kobe, so one of them would have to be gone by next season.

When Jackson left, the big Aristotle - perenial all-star center Shaquille O'Neal - demanded to be traded, questioning the decision of Buss to get rid of "the man." With O'Neal's Heat holding the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Shaq - along with Dwayne Wade - is in position to win a fourth championship.

But simply being in position doesn't mean a thing.

While he was here, Shaq owned Los Angeles. And it's not like the fans dislike him now that he's gone.

If Phil Jackson were to return to the Lakers after a season off, there will be no one more frustrated than Shaq. What would have been the point of O'Neal's trade to Miami? There wouldn't have been a point. Shaq demanded a trade because of two key reasons: 1) he was upset with the Lakers' decision to get rid of Jackson, who O'Neal in an interview with ESPN refered to as "the man"; and 2) he couldn't get along with Kobe Bryant.

Something tells me that if Jackson would have stuck around and been able to work things out with Kobe, Shaq would have stuck around and not switched coasts and conferences.

"We could be in the fucking playoffs right now," said my Laker-fan roommate Brad. "Even a disfunctional Kobe and Shaq could make the playoffs."

With Phil and Kobe, yeah the Lakers are a playoff team, but with Phil, Kobe and Shaq they are an automatic championship contender. So what was the point of this season off? If Phil comes back, what the hell was the point of this past season?

Did he have something to prove? Did Phil just want to take a year off to show that Kobe was wrong in order to go back to a situation where he can now say "I told you so!"? That doesn't make any sense.

If Phil returns to the Lakers for the 2005-06 season, it will be the biggest waste of a season and biggest missed opportunity I have ever seen. This past season, the Lakers finished so far out of the playoffs that they were just happy to be the best team at the Staples Center - and for the Lakers, that's not acceptable. If Phil had decided to co-exist with Kobe (which from the looks of this meeting he is apparently now willing to do) after last season, Shaq most likely would have stayed. That's an automatic championship contender.

Instead, Phil would be returning to a team whose coach (Rudy-T) quit before the all-star break and whose superstar is just now figuring out how tough it is to be "the man" without "the big man." I don't know if that's an ideal fit for Jackson or not, but I do know that if he does decide to return, I'd have to plan my life around next season's Lakers-Heat match ups to see how Shaq handles it.

WhiteOUt

This past week, with the NFL draft occupying most of my attention, I was so focused on all the Trojans being drafted, or the picks of the Dallas Cowboys, that I didn't even notice one man who was left OUt of the whole thing: former Sooner QB Jason White. White, a two-time title game loser was one of 16 Sooners who entered the draft, but he was not one of the 11 actually drafted.

Okay, maybe teams just weren't willing to gamble a draft pick on a prove choke-artist (and Sooner fans, don't disagree with me because if you're still in denial about the past TWO seasons' title games, you clearly can't be helped). Look at White's college stats, they are fantastic. But the stats don't show the two biggest collapses a player could have. As if that wasn't bad enough, what about the K-State game. Also a big-time choke-show!

Even USC backup QB Matt Cassel - who never started a game in his collegiate career - was drafted by the NFL Champs, the Patriots in the seventh round. Clearly, Cassel was seen as a better choice than White. I don't remember seeing Cassel choking in the Orange Bowl. Are you listening Jason?

Granted, I was pretty surprised to see White go undrafted, but not as surprised as I was to see that NFL teams were more impressed with career backups like Cassel (which is what he'll be doing for Tom Brady, so it's a perfect fit).

And don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm trying to rip on Cassel. Hell, he made it to the big show without ever taking a starting snap while at USC.

Isn't it amazing what three lousy loses will do to a guy? Just three loses of Jason White's collegiate career may have cost him a shot at the NFL. I'm sure someone will pick him up as an undrafted rookie, and - who knows - he may even go on to have a decent NFL career. But for those three loses, White is left with a lifetime of wondering "what if...?"

Day 3 - UCLA sucks

In the first round of the Division I gold bracket, the USC club volleyball team suffered a tough three-game loss at the hands of UCLA.

fucla!!!

The third game was knotted at 8 each when a crucial, momentum-killing play took the wind out of our sails. On a freeball, our middle drew the UCLA blocker and left our outside hitter with a one-on-one situation. As he jumped up to hit, I noticed in my peripheral vision a ball rolling onto our side of the court - nowhere near any of our guys - as we all charged in to cover the hit.

Our outside hitter, ripped the ball down off the arms of a bruin passer, who shanked it off his arms, over the dividing netting and out of bounds. Meanwhile, the down-ref, just after the ball hit the passer's arms, blew his whistle to stop the play because the ball on the court. He was calling for a replay.

After two days of the tournament, and a few tough calls, it was told to us that a ball not affecting the play would not be ruled a replay, however, after a conference with the down-ref, the up-ref overturned his previous call (giving us the point) and called for a replay. We lost the next point along with most of our momentum.

We hung tough after the replay call but lost 15-12 to our crosstown rival. The loss was difficult to take, but we had made it to the gold bracket - which most of the team viewed as a great accomplishment after last years winless performance.

Who knows what next year will bring. Who knows if I'll even be on the team next year. Who knows what kind of team we'll have - we do lose both starting outsides, our defensive specialists, our coach, and potentially our setter. It should be interesting.

Who knows. Maybe I'll figure a way around my schedule and come back. Wouldn't that be somthing.

Day 2 results

Here are results from the challenge round we played this morning. We played Rutgers at 8:00 a.m. and defeated them in two games.

After the early match, we played a pool with San Diego State and Utah Valley. San Diego State confused our team with a mop, so they wiped the floor with us, including a 25-8 loss in the first game. Immediately after the loss, we played Utah Valley in a three-game thriller.

After splitting the first two games, it came down to the final points. With the score notted at 16, our setter Kyle roofed Utah's big outside hitter. We won the next point to take the match.

With Utah Valley's loss to San Diego State, we advanced to the gold bracket. Tomorrow morning we will be playing - go figure - UCLA in the first round of the gold bracket.

FIGHT ON! BEAT THE BRUINS!

Day 1 results

After one day of the national volleyball tournament, the USC men's club volleyball team is 2-1. We dropped our first match to Marquette, the second seed in the tournament, losing 15-13 in the deciding third game.

We won our second match and third matches, both in two games, to take second place in our pool. We play tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. in a challenge pool to see if we can get into the gold bracket.

Click here for the results from today's pool

((Tournament Website))

End of the road

Tomorrow I leave for what may very well be my last volleyball tournament. After a dismal year with the club team, and with virtually no chance of being able to get back to the NCAA team, I'm probably through with volleyball.

Yeah, I enjoy the game, but it hasn't been the same since July 2003 - the last time I took the court for the Addison Volleyball Club.


Since then, something's been missing. Maybe it's been "ma setta" Brennan,


or a shaggy-haired libero in the back row.


Or a 6'5" Ukranian who's never hit the ball past the 10-foot line, or a Belgian with a 40-inch vert. There's no 15-year-old middle blocker lost among 18-year-olds. There's no sea-walking Ryne. And there's certainly no Craig.



Eh, it's probably none of those things. It's most likely the lack of Roby, Randy and Shanks, the coaching trio that helped me even get to this level.

The game just hasn't been the same since playing next to those guys.

Next year, I'm stuck taking journalism classes when the club team usually practices, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to play for them. Like I said: even if I wanted to. At this point, I'm not so sure that I want to.

Nothing personal against those guys on the club team, but I don't feel I was given a fair shot at the beginning of the season for playing time. I know I was one of the top two middles on that team when the year started. Now, who knows. I'm probably not seeing as how I haven't played in a match for more than four points since January.

Before this season, I was never one to complain about coaching or playing time or anything like that. I just practiced hard, worked at my game, and hoped I'd be put in when game-time rolled around. That just hasn't been happening this season (which is probably why I've ended up griping about this season more than playing in it: The Stranded, No Practice, Clubbed over the head, Mismanagement).

I'll still probably play pick-up games back home with former AVC teammates, but it's just weird knowing I'll never be playing volleyball at a high level again.

Well, as my former tennis coach Pierre Craig once said, "When it's all said and done, it's over."

"Git down on it!"

A Masters-piece

MEET THE MASTER

What a comeback

Just watch this

As painful as it is, make sure you see the Pacers highlight when he gets to it.

Piling it on

With the end of the semester looming, so are finals. At first, I was looking forward to this semester's finals because I have only one exam during finals week. The rest is all projects due in class. The only problem with that: they are all due the last week of class.

With three weeks to go in the semester, I have to turn in two broadcast journalism projects, one print reporting assignment, a computer-assisted reporting project, a marketing exam, a marketing final paper, a business communications case study on diversity, and a business communications exam. That doesn't include the political science final the week after classes end.

Yesterday I woke up and did 5 hours of solid work. I was so proud of myself ... until I realized I still had another 10 hours of crap to do (and none of it got done).

So today, it's back to work. I'll probably spend another good solid 5 hours working until I get distracted and don't finish. Great.

Bad weekend for transportation

I moved my car to the main parking lot outside my apartment building in order to take chairs to Eddie's for the poker tournament. Between the time I moved my car (mid-day friday) and the time I left for the tournament (5:30 pm friday), some DPS officer was nice enough to leave a little present under my windshield.



Fuckin' ey.

How the crap do I get a ticket on a Friday afternoon just a few hours before it's legal for me to park in that lot. What the crap.

Well, yeah, that's bad, but it's only a $35 ticket. I can live with that. What I can't live with is the sight I saw this morning when I went outside to leave for my volleyball match. I walked down the stairs and realized something didn't seem right.




How depressing does that locked up tire look?

That's right. My bike frame got mad at me and left. Who steals a bike on daylight savings night when you have one less hour to get the job done? CRAP!

I think I'm gonna have to permenantly park the car and make a unicycle out of the tire for transportation, because clearly I am not ready for any other mode of transportation (plus if you steal a unicycle, you're a fuckin' loser).