It's Here! I Warned You It Was Long and Crappy!
The HIGHLIGHTS of 2004. Beware: This list is comprehensive and LONG. If you don't have about an hour, break it into small chunks. And I promise: Only one of these every year.
Honorable Mentions (The Events That Were Close, but Second Tier)
Oakland A's games
Oakland A's games were amazing. Tickets were cheap, action was awesome, hot dogs were HUGE, and both times, my team won (Red Sox, Angels . . .). I had an amazing time, and even though Network Associates sucks to some people, I still like it. Oh yeah, bonus points here for the 25% off card I won to buy my Durazo tshirt with.
EuroCup 2004
My new obsession, soccer, became worse with EuroCup 2004. I would spend hours staring at the tv screen with Caswell, Muhibb, Jono, and Umar, watching soccer. I had no team, but it was still fun. And those GREEKS. Sheesh. Came outta nowhere. That ruined it for everyone else, but I loved the storyline, especially only two years removed from South Korea's miracle World Cup run.
Zelda 64: Ocarina of Time
I FINALLY sit down and beat this game. What a game. Great music, great graphics, great story, INCREDIBLY done gameplay (Z-Targeting, what what). The only thing missing was a hot princess, but hey, perfection is hard to come by. Plus, the Gerudos are cute. Since beating it, I've beat it three times more because the game is so good. You unlock different things, different quirks every time. And nothing is more beautiful than Epona's Song, I must say, when Malon sings at night when she's an adult (and far less cute). GO NINTENDO! What a game! I'm gonna dress up as Link for SURE one time, but I don't know, because I don't think I can pull off the Kokiri suit . . .
AP Exams DESTROYED
9 Exams. 42 total points out of 45. 6 5's, 3 4's. 4 on a Microecon test whose class I didn't even take. 4 on a Calc BC I thought I got raped on. 6 tests in one year, with 3 5's and 3 4's. I hate to brag, but guys? This was domination. Oh no, this wasn't perfect domination. But it's up there.
Last Year of German
After 4 years of quite possibly the best move ever in my high school career of taking German and not French or Spanish, German came to a close. I have great memories of that class, from Pocket Tanks to Slime sports. This was the class Burrows and I became close in. This was the only guaranteed class I had with Anne. This is where a core of us became pretty close. This . . .is DESPARD.
Turn 18
Normally, this would've been in my Top Ten, but it was such that it was pushed out. Regretting it now, because I want it #10, but the decision was made. Yup. I became legal. April 23. I had my first party of sorts in three years by having a bunch of friends go to a Dodger game, where I messed up the tickets and had to scalp one. My birthday wasn't as good as I would like because my mom actually got mad at me the day of my birthday, AND the day of the game, and in the course of planning the game, my dad got mad at me too. Parents. Go figure. But I didn't care, because my friends made up for it with some awesome gifts, we had an awesome fireworks show, a pretty good game, and I became 18, for cryin out loud.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving this year was somewhat muted, as my cousin James couldn't show up from Creighton, where he is a graduate student. But, it's consistency you want, and my mom is always consistent with an AMAZING Thanksgiving dinner. I can imagine myself in ten years to my wife: "No. Thanksgiving at MY parents place. End of story." What made Thanksgiving a little special this year was my cousin Catherine's baby, hanging out with friends, and also my first time as a returning college student. How special I felt. Tiffany, Izz, we always have such good times, and Friday was not the exception. The, uh, Erika Gang for lack of a better word. I also had a lot of fun! I should've hung out with you guys more in high school, but hey, that's what college is for.
Backwards with Debi
I am somewhat embarassed, but not ashamed, to admit that this was the first time I was asked out by a girl. I couldn't have asked for a better time. I can't dance, but she was cool with that. She had to be home by 1, and I was cool with that. We hung out with her junior friends, and I was cool with that. This was a dance where we both accepted our differences easily, still hung out as friends, and we were never uncomfortable with each other. I said this before, but Debi, I had an awesome time.
Media Arts: The Brady Group follows up with Larry the Golf Ball, Previews, and In Cold Blood
Our streak of churning out good movies ended with a nice run in Spring 2004. Our satirical and whimsical Larry the Golf Ball brought down the house, while our nonsensical parody on movie previews was just hilarious. In Cold Blood was a somewhat more serious work, but it kept in tune with the tradition set forward by Brutta Carogna Ratto. All in all, an amazing semester again for Brady Productions.
New School . . .New Set of Crushes
Everywhere I go! Cal was no exception. LCHS, I had my set. Harvard, I had Isabella. Cal . . .mmmm *dreamy sigh*. Hopeless person I am, I of course did nothing about them (I mean, a track record of four rejections out of four attempts isn't exactly heartening) but still. Hopeless crushes are fun. We should all have a few during our lives, and I am no exception. The feeling you get when your crush walks into the room is like no other. Like at Harvard, whenever Isabella walked in . . .*dreamy sigh*. Hmm. Wondering if this explanation seemed a bit too creepy . . .
(PS: I am NOT a stalker and I am NOT a sicko. Everything that girl said in court were lies, DAMN lies!)
Lightning Win Stanley Cup in an AWESOME NHL Playoffs
It what quite possibly have been the best NHL playoffs ever, the Tampa Bay Lightning eked out a win over the Calgary Flames to secure the Stanley Cup and give Dave Andreychuk his first every Cup victory. You have not LIVED until you have seen a triple OT goal to send your team to the championship series in game 7. My Kings didn't make it, but let's hear it for hockey. END THE LOCKOUT.
Now, take a quick break. And let the Top Ten begin in earnest.
10. Intern for Jack Scott
The word for this is trepidation. It was my first real foray into the real world, working as an intern for State Senator Jack Scott. At first, all I did was clip relevant sounding news articles and handle phone calls. But then I began casework, in which I actually began to help people with their problems. The one that really stuck out in my mind was the couple who didn't get their compensation check for a program involving both parents working with a child under a certain age. I was the one who took the case, called the program director, refiled their claim, and eventually got them into the program and receiving their check. It felt good to know that a guy like me could affect so many different kinds of people - the elderly women concerned rent would go up in their senior citizen apartments, the man asking about the soundwalls, the handicapped woman who didn't get her lawsuit money. For two months, I worked, I worked well, and I made connections with so many different types of people that I'm glad to have met and worked with.
9. Convention
I would've had this ten, but then Christine would've gotten mad at me. =). Key Club Convention was, in Norcal terms, hella fun. We just basically went to Sacto and chilled out for a weekend, with a few fun big Convention meetings interspersed. Food was also pretty good, too. The most fun I had, as always, was the trip. I got reacquainted with DJ Z-Trip and DJ-P both ways, had fun with my laptop, and talked a whole lot with Neil, Christine, and other cool people who went. My Lord of the Rings Two Towers DVD was a hit, and I also met this really hot Asian girl who went to CV but whom I was unable to keep in touch with later. Oh well.
8. JYG/Chinatown
This was one of the most intense basketball games I've ever seen. This was the JunkYard Gang, comprised of Josh Khankhanian, Marc Missirlian, Chew, Brady, John, Aaron, and Jennings (damn, I'm prolly missing some) against Chinatown, Jono, Eric, Chung, Ivory, Muhibb, Ching, and Kyle. I prolly missed some people, yeah, since some came for the first time. Stat line of the night: Ivory: 46 pts, 23 rebs, 5 asts. I would know, I was the stat-keeper. So many highlights: Ivory, getting grabbed around the neck, waving off the foul, and scoring anyway, Brady's Prince-esque block on Jono, the near fight between Josh and Jennings, and the total dominance of Ivory as he grabbed the game and took control. He scored 46 of Chinatown's 66 points, seemed to always be there to make a run-stopping basket, and was the emotional leader. Those 'we need to step up on defense NOW' yells . . amazing. As stat-keeper, I was also involved in some controversy as JYG protested my wave-off of Marc's buzzer beating three at the end of the first half . . .and eventually got it. And then there the four straight free throws Jono and Kyle missed, but in the end, Chinatown pulled it out 66-65.
7. Lakers Destroyed/Kobe-Shaq/Kobe-Phil/Kobe-Everybody
What an amazing story. What an amazing story. From the rape case, to Kobe forcing Shaq out of the Lakers, to Kobe and Phil having a 'psychological war' as outlined in his book, to almost EVERYONE hating on Kobe for just about everything. Ray Allen trash talking . . .Karl Malone sweet talking. . .the public just HATING him . . .All this as the Lakers imploded after an embarassing 4-1 loss in the NBA Championships. As a Laker (and Kobe) hater . . .HAHA!
6. AP Chem
What a class! This was one of the most fun classes to go to EVER for me, not only because the material was pretty good and interesting to learn, but because of the people. The first table was awesome; Rachel, Parham, and Alyssa all mixin it up, aka, Abigail, Alvin, Boris, and me (Tami). My second table was just as cool, if not cooler: Justin, Isabel, and Tiffany, aka, J-Bro, Dizzy K, Tanchan, and me (Tami). Throw in J-Sam, Tracy, Mikaras, Luttkus, and the big Dubya (aka Mr. Weld) and you've got a spectacular class. Especially Sawwa Kim, who was so shy and quiet at first, but then shared her world domination plans with me. Really, I loved it. Every minute was just enjoyable, and after we moved to the bungaloes, it was always interesting to see who I would walk with after class: Would it be . . .Alyssa? The mysterious enigma who was all smiles (and lab-copying)? Or would it be Tiffany? The new girl who was all smiles (and advantage taking)? Really, when you had girls just falling all over you in that class, it was just a fun class to go to.
5. FINALLY meet SSP Gang/Yash Visits!
On the anniversary of our first meeting, we finally all met again, the CA people at least, at Paseo. June twenty whatever. After a very SSP-esque meeting, we all agreed to meet again sometime . . .and guess who decides to visit in August but our very own Yash B Joshi! (btw, I still don't remember what the B stands for). What fun that was! Chilling at Lili's mansion . . .making crank calls to Elisa . . .Buca di Beppo . . .Santa Monica pier . . .Olive Garden . . .chilling at Amy's palace . . .wow. What good times.
4. Yosemite
Yosemite was absolutely an experience to remember. It's almost impossible to describe how amazing it was. By a strange series of coincidence, I ended up in a cabin with Ivory, Jono, and Ching. And what a cabin we were. I can't believe we forgot the number, but from the epic battles, to gay hat day, to just . . .gay. The finger point we had going, the day that Rex was on fire, the struggles between the sexes in our group . . .to Trish just SNORING it up. I had an awesome time at Yosemite, I got a lot closer to people I didn't really know too well before, and it was just an amazing trip.
3. Enter Cal
A life changing experience. There was some doubt as to this and graduating being number 2, but, in this case, you stick with the old. I've met a LOT of cool people at Cal, and I think it really is changing me. From whip wars on the volleyball court, Jew jokes, dead-baby jokes, forcing people away from papers to go shopping with me, new music, and all new drama! And who could forget my new hobby - poker. I'm getting better, I swear. From the fun classes (Astro, IAS) to the not so fun (Rhetoric, Stats) to the classes that . . .were (Psych Seminar). To the funny people (Kevin, Gary, Albert) to the stupid (Kevin, Gary, Albert). To the awesomest roommate (Ryan) to the roommate that tells way too many dead baby jokes (Ryan) to the Jew (Ryan). Here's to old friendships (Tim, Jono, Josh, Eric, LC folks) and to new (Anand, Piseth, Mike, Yosub, Kevin, Ying). Here, especially, is to the lovely ladies of Stern (Sofia), Priestley (too long of a list . . .you know who you are), Norton (Leslie, Tiffany, Jojo, Sarah), and Unit 1 (Teresa). Football games . . .Asian Ghetto . . .want to go the frat and smoke out? GO BEARS!
2. Graduate from High School
Congrats, you've nearly made it.
High school, whether I liked it or not, was an important part of my life. I mean, c'mon, it's four years of your teens. It's important. There were a lot of people I met who I really feel happiness that I met. There were a lot of people who I regret meeting, and I wish they would fall off the face of the earth. Better yet, I hope a huge crack would open up beneath their feet, swallow them up into a pit of magma, melt them into nothing but a boiling blob of grease, and then close up again, never again to open. Hmm. Perhaps I'm still a bit bitter about high school. Regardless! There were times I felt good being in high school, there were times I felt like running away to never return. There were teachers that really touched me, there were teachers that were teachers, and there were teachers that I wished would get caught in traffic, get a ticket, and then not come to school. Forever. It would take too long to say what high school meant to me (that's another essay) but graduating from it was an accomplishment. It really was. Anyone who did, pat yourself on the back. You went through four years of hell. And it really was. But the feeling of accomplishment as you walk off that field/gym for the last time is just . . .wow. I felt like yelling "That's RIGHT bitches - I made it!" but my parents and the rest of the ultra-conservative La Canada elite was out. Come to think of it, I should've said it.
"That's RIGHT bitches - I made it!"
1. Red Sox Win the World Series
Was there EVER a choice? EVER? This was incredible. So many people kept saying, this is our year, our chance, our opportunity. We have Schilling. We have Pedro. We have Manny. Nomah. Big Papi. We can finally beat the Yanks. 162 regular season games later, coming in a strong wild card finish, minus Nomah and plus Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewczxxczvz, we began the playoffs. We swept Anaheim, and things looked so up. And then Curt hurt his ankle. After Game 2 of the ALCS, I turned to my friend and said, "Historians will look at this year and say, Bucky Dent's bat, Bill Buckner's glove, Curt Schilling's ankle." He laughed, and said, "Red Sox always find excuses." After Game 3, it looked certain. It looked like I would have to wait another year to get the chance to wear my hat. But then . . .history. History happened. You all know the story, of the incredible comeback by the 'Idiots', of the Dave Roberts stolen base, the Ortiz homers, the Schilling pitches, the Mueller hits, and finally, just plain old DESTRUCTION by Damon . . .Every guy contributed. (Well, except Ramiro Mendoza. Screw you man). 0-3 comeback. World Series sweep. A GREAT series against Anaheim (has everyone already forgotten that one?). I had fun. That was the important part. They all had fun. And in the end, they finally brought a World Series Championship to Boston. GO RED SOX.
"The pitch . ..hit well by Ortiz to left field . . .It's going long . . .AND OVER THE GREEN MONSTER! ORTIZ IN EXTRA INNINGS TO SWEEP THE ANGELS!"
"Sierra grounds it to second . ..REESE HAS IT! HE THROWS TO MIENTKIEWICZ! THE REDSOX HAVE DONE IT! THEY ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!"
"Renteria hits it . . .AND FOULKE HAS IT! UNDERHAND TO MIENTKIEWICZ AND THE RED SOX ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!"
Good-bye, 2004. I predicted a very eventful year, but who knew just HOW eventful?
Honorable Mentions (The Events That Were Close, but Second Tier)
Oakland A's games
Oakland A's games were amazing. Tickets were cheap, action was awesome, hot dogs were HUGE, and both times, my team won (Red Sox, Angels . . .). I had an amazing time, and even though Network Associates sucks to some people, I still like it. Oh yeah, bonus points here for the 25% off card I won to buy my Durazo tshirt with.
EuroCup 2004
My new obsession, soccer, became worse with EuroCup 2004. I would spend hours staring at the tv screen with Caswell, Muhibb, Jono, and Umar, watching soccer. I had no team, but it was still fun. And those GREEKS. Sheesh. Came outta nowhere. That ruined it for everyone else, but I loved the storyline, especially only two years removed from South Korea's miracle World Cup run.
Zelda 64: Ocarina of Time
I FINALLY sit down and beat this game. What a game. Great music, great graphics, great story, INCREDIBLY done gameplay (Z-Targeting, what what). The only thing missing was a hot princess, but hey, perfection is hard to come by. Plus, the Gerudos are cute. Since beating it, I've beat it three times more because the game is so good. You unlock different things, different quirks every time. And nothing is more beautiful than Epona's Song, I must say, when Malon sings at night when she's an adult (and far less cute). GO NINTENDO! What a game! I'm gonna dress up as Link for SURE one time, but I don't know, because I don't think I can pull off the Kokiri suit . . .
AP Exams DESTROYED
9 Exams. 42 total points out of 45. 6 5's, 3 4's. 4 on a Microecon test whose class I didn't even take. 4 on a Calc BC I thought I got raped on. 6 tests in one year, with 3 5's and 3 4's. I hate to brag, but guys? This was domination. Oh no, this wasn't perfect domination. But it's up there.
Last Year of German
After 4 years of quite possibly the best move ever in my high school career of taking German and not French or Spanish, German came to a close. I have great memories of that class, from Pocket Tanks to Slime sports. This was the class Burrows and I became close in. This was the only guaranteed class I had with Anne. This is where a core of us became pretty close. This . . .is DESPARD.
Turn 18
Normally, this would've been in my Top Ten, but it was such that it was pushed out. Regretting it now, because I want it #10, but the decision was made. Yup. I became legal. April 23. I had my first party of sorts in three years by having a bunch of friends go to a Dodger game, where I messed up the tickets and had to scalp one. My birthday wasn't as good as I would like because my mom actually got mad at me the day of my birthday, AND the day of the game, and in the course of planning the game, my dad got mad at me too. Parents. Go figure. But I didn't care, because my friends made up for it with some awesome gifts, we had an awesome fireworks show, a pretty good game, and I became 18, for cryin out loud.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving this year was somewhat muted, as my cousin James couldn't show up from Creighton, where he is a graduate student. But, it's consistency you want, and my mom is always consistent with an AMAZING Thanksgiving dinner. I can imagine myself in ten years to my wife: "No. Thanksgiving at MY parents place. End of story." What made Thanksgiving a little special this year was my cousin Catherine's baby, hanging out with friends, and also my first time as a returning college student. How special I felt. Tiffany, Izz, we always have such good times, and Friday was not the exception. The, uh, Erika Gang for lack of a better word. I also had a lot of fun! I should've hung out with you guys more in high school, but hey, that's what college is for.
Backwards with Debi
I am somewhat embarassed, but not ashamed, to admit that this was the first time I was asked out by a girl. I couldn't have asked for a better time. I can't dance, but she was cool with that. She had to be home by 1, and I was cool with that. We hung out with her junior friends, and I was cool with that. This was a dance where we both accepted our differences easily, still hung out as friends, and we were never uncomfortable with each other. I said this before, but Debi, I had an awesome time.
Media Arts: The Brady Group follows up with Larry the Golf Ball, Previews, and In Cold Blood
Our streak of churning out good movies ended with a nice run in Spring 2004. Our satirical and whimsical Larry the Golf Ball brought down the house, while our nonsensical parody on movie previews was just hilarious. In Cold Blood was a somewhat more serious work, but it kept in tune with the tradition set forward by Brutta Carogna Ratto. All in all, an amazing semester again for Brady Productions.
New School . . .New Set of Crushes
Everywhere I go! Cal was no exception. LCHS, I had my set. Harvard, I had Isabella. Cal . . .mmmm *dreamy sigh*. Hopeless person I am, I of course did nothing about them (I mean, a track record of four rejections out of four attempts isn't exactly heartening) but still. Hopeless crushes are fun. We should all have a few during our lives, and I am no exception. The feeling you get when your crush walks into the room is like no other. Like at Harvard, whenever Isabella walked in . . .*dreamy sigh*. Hmm. Wondering if this explanation seemed a bit too creepy . . .
(PS: I am NOT a stalker and I am NOT a sicko. Everything that girl said in court were lies, DAMN lies!)
Lightning Win Stanley Cup in an AWESOME NHL Playoffs
It what quite possibly have been the best NHL playoffs ever, the Tampa Bay Lightning eked out a win over the Calgary Flames to secure the Stanley Cup and give Dave Andreychuk his first every Cup victory. You have not LIVED until you have seen a triple OT goal to send your team to the championship series in game 7. My Kings didn't make it, but let's hear it for hockey. END THE LOCKOUT.
Now, take a quick break. And let the Top Ten begin in earnest.
10. Intern for Jack Scott
The word for this is trepidation. It was my first real foray into the real world, working as an intern for State Senator Jack Scott. At first, all I did was clip relevant sounding news articles and handle phone calls. But then I began casework, in which I actually began to help people with their problems. The one that really stuck out in my mind was the couple who didn't get their compensation check for a program involving both parents working with a child under a certain age. I was the one who took the case, called the program director, refiled their claim, and eventually got them into the program and receiving their check. It felt good to know that a guy like me could affect so many different kinds of people - the elderly women concerned rent would go up in their senior citizen apartments, the man asking about the soundwalls, the handicapped woman who didn't get her lawsuit money. For two months, I worked, I worked well, and I made connections with so many different types of people that I'm glad to have met and worked with.
9. Convention
I would've had this ten, but then Christine would've gotten mad at me. =). Key Club Convention was, in Norcal terms, hella fun. We just basically went to Sacto and chilled out for a weekend, with a few fun big Convention meetings interspersed. Food was also pretty good, too. The most fun I had, as always, was the trip. I got reacquainted with DJ Z-Trip and DJ-P both ways, had fun with my laptop, and talked a whole lot with Neil, Christine, and other cool people who went. My Lord of the Rings Two Towers DVD was a hit, and I also met this really hot Asian girl who went to CV but whom I was unable to keep in touch with later. Oh well.
8. JYG/Chinatown
This was one of the most intense basketball games I've ever seen. This was the JunkYard Gang, comprised of Josh Khankhanian, Marc Missirlian, Chew, Brady, John, Aaron, and Jennings (damn, I'm prolly missing some) against Chinatown, Jono, Eric, Chung, Ivory, Muhibb, Ching, and Kyle. I prolly missed some people, yeah, since some came for the first time. Stat line of the night: Ivory: 46 pts, 23 rebs, 5 asts. I would know, I was the stat-keeper. So many highlights: Ivory, getting grabbed around the neck, waving off the foul, and scoring anyway, Brady's Prince-esque block on Jono, the near fight between Josh and Jennings, and the total dominance of Ivory as he grabbed the game and took control. He scored 46 of Chinatown's 66 points, seemed to always be there to make a run-stopping basket, and was the emotional leader. Those 'we need to step up on defense NOW' yells . . amazing. As stat-keeper, I was also involved in some controversy as JYG protested my wave-off of Marc's buzzer beating three at the end of the first half . . .and eventually got it. And then there the four straight free throws Jono and Kyle missed, but in the end, Chinatown pulled it out 66-65.
7. Lakers Destroyed/Kobe-Shaq/Kobe-Phil/Kobe-Everybody
What an amazing story. What an amazing story. From the rape case, to Kobe forcing Shaq out of the Lakers, to Kobe and Phil having a 'psychological war' as outlined in his book, to almost EVERYONE hating on Kobe for just about everything. Ray Allen trash talking . . .Karl Malone sweet talking. . .the public just HATING him . . .All this as the Lakers imploded after an embarassing 4-1 loss in the NBA Championships. As a Laker (and Kobe) hater . . .HAHA!
6. AP Chem
What a class! This was one of the most fun classes to go to EVER for me, not only because the material was pretty good and interesting to learn, but because of the people. The first table was awesome; Rachel, Parham, and Alyssa all mixin it up, aka, Abigail, Alvin, Boris, and me (Tami). My second table was just as cool, if not cooler: Justin, Isabel, and Tiffany, aka, J-Bro, Dizzy K, Tanchan, and me (Tami). Throw in J-Sam, Tracy, Mikaras, Luttkus, and the big Dubya (aka Mr. Weld) and you've got a spectacular class. Especially Sawwa Kim, who was so shy and quiet at first, but then shared her world domination plans with me. Really, I loved it. Every minute was just enjoyable, and after we moved to the bungaloes, it was always interesting to see who I would walk with after class: Would it be . . .Alyssa? The mysterious enigma who was all smiles (and lab-copying)? Or would it be Tiffany? The new girl who was all smiles (and advantage taking)? Really, when you had girls just falling all over you in that class, it was just a fun class to go to.
5. FINALLY meet SSP Gang/Yash Visits!
On the anniversary of our first meeting, we finally all met again, the CA people at least, at Paseo. June twenty whatever. After a very SSP-esque meeting, we all agreed to meet again sometime . . .and guess who decides to visit in August but our very own Yash B Joshi! (btw, I still don't remember what the B stands for). What fun that was! Chilling at Lili's mansion . . .making crank calls to Elisa . . .Buca di Beppo . . .Santa Monica pier . . .Olive Garden . . .chilling at Amy's palace . . .wow. What good times.
4. Yosemite
Yosemite was absolutely an experience to remember. It's almost impossible to describe how amazing it was. By a strange series of coincidence, I ended up in a cabin with Ivory, Jono, and Ching. And what a cabin we were. I can't believe we forgot the number, but from the epic battles, to gay hat day, to just . . .gay. The finger point we had going, the day that Rex was on fire, the struggles between the sexes in our group . . .to Trish just SNORING it up. I had an awesome time at Yosemite, I got a lot closer to people I didn't really know too well before, and it was just an amazing trip.
3. Enter Cal
A life changing experience. There was some doubt as to this and graduating being number 2, but, in this case, you stick with the old. I've met a LOT of cool people at Cal, and I think it really is changing me. From whip wars on the volleyball court, Jew jokes, dead-baby jokes, forcing people away from papers to go shopping with me, new music, and all new drama! And who could forget my new hobby - poker. I'm getting better, I swear. From the fun classes (Astro, IAS) to the not so fun (Rhetoric, Stats) to the classes that . . .were (Psych Seminar). To the funny people (Kevin, Gary, Albert) to the stupid (Kevin, Gary, Albert). To the awesomest roommate (Ryan) to the roommate that tells way too many dead baby jokes (Ryan) to the Jew (Ryan). Here's to old friendships (Tim, Jono, Josh, Eric, LC folks) and to new (Anand, Piseth, Mike, Yosub, Kevin, Ying). Here, especially, is to the lovely ladies of Stern (Sofia), Priestley (too long of a list . . .you know who you are), Norton (Leslie, Tiffany, Jojo, Sarah), and Unit 1 (Teresa). Football games . . .Asian Ghetto . . .want to go the frat and smoke out? GO BEARS!
2. Graduate from High School
Congrats, you've nearly made it.
High school, whether I liked it or not, was an important part of my life. I mean, c'mon, it's four years of your teens. It's important. There were a lot of people I met who I really feel happiness that I met. There were a lot of people who I regret meeting, and I wish they would fall off the face of the earth. Better yet, I hope a huge crack would open up beneath their feet, swallow them up into a pit of magma, melt them into nothing but a boiling blob of grease, and then close up again, never again to open. Hmm. Perhaps I'm still a bit bitter about high school. Regardless! There were times I felt good being in high school, there were times I felt like running away to never return. There were teachers that really touched me, there were teachers that were teachers, and there were teachers that I wished would get caught in traffic, get a ticket, and then not come to school. Forever. It would take too long to say what high school meant to me (that's another essay) but graduating from it was an accomplishment. It really was. Anyone who did, pat yourself on the back. You went through four years of hell. And it really was. But the feeling of accomplishment as you walk off that field/gym for the last time is just . . .wow. I felt like yelling "That's RIGHT bitches - I made it!" but my parents and the rest of the ultra-conservative La Canada elite was out. Come to think of it, I should've said it.
"That's RIGHT bitches - I made it!"
1. Red Sox Win the World Series
Was there EVER a choice? EVER? This was incredible. So many people kept saying, this is our year, our chance, our opportunity. We have Schilling. We have Pedro. We have Manny. Nomah. Big Papi. We can finally beat the Yanks. 162 regular season games later, coming in a strong wild card finish, minus Nomah and plus Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewczxxczvz, we began the playoffs. We swept Anaheim, and things looked so up. And then Curt hurt his ankle. After Game 2 of the ALCS, I turned to my friend and said, "Historians will look at this year and say, Bucky Dent's bat, Bill Buckner's glove, Curt Schilling's ankle." He laughed, and said, "Red Sox always find excuses." After Game 3, it looked certain. It looked like I would have to wait another year to get the chance to wear my hat. But then . . .history. History happened. You all know the story, of the incredible comeback by the 'Idiots', of the Dave Roberts stolen base, the Ortiz homers, the Schilling pitches, the Mueller hits, and finally, just plain old DESTRUCTION by Damon . . .Every guy contributed. (Well, except Ramiro Mendoza. Screw you man). 0-3 comeback. World Series sweep. A GREAT series against Anaheim (has everyone already forgotten that one?). I had fun. That was the important part. They all had fun. And in the end, they finally brought a World Series Championship to Boston. GO RED SOX.
"The pitch . ..hit well by Ortiz to left field . . .It's going long . . .AND OVER THE GREEN MONSTER! ORTIZ IN EXTRA INNINGS TO SWEEP THE ANGELS!"
"Sierra grounds it to second . ..REESE HAS IT! HE THROWS TO MIENTKIEWICZ! THE REDSOX HAVE DONE IT! THEY ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!"
"Renteria hits it . . .AND FOULKE HAS IT! UNDERHAND TO MIENTKIEWICZ AND THE RED SOX ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!"
Good-bye, 2004. I predicted a very eventful year, but who knew just HOW eventful?