The Streak is Over

Well, I had a good run of about 2 years without any sign of illness but yesterday morning I woke up with a sore throat and today it's a full-on cold (or flu). I'm sure it was from going to the damn classes. They pack 25 of us in a room the size of my living room. At least I don't have to worry about missing work. I just hope I'm feeling better by Sunday so I can play some hoops.

Speaking of classes, my spanish class kinda sucks. I think one of the biggest problems is that half the students in the class have had some spanish before so all this stuff is review so the teacher thinks the whole class knows it and just keeps zippin' along. It also doesn't help that the teacher is one of the most unorganized teachers I've ever had. She's really nice but she can't remember what she assigned the previous class or what was included in that assignment so she accuses the class of not doing their homework because we don't know the definition of a word that wasn't even in the chapter. She claims that she doesn't speak english even though she's lived here for 10 years (she's from Madrid). The first day she also told everyone that if they have taken any spanish before that this class is not for them and then procedes to rattle off 3 sentences in spanish. She's a little fruity. She also has dyed red/orange hair which would look somewhat normal if she was from Ireland but it looks a little crazy on a chick from Spain.

I like my other two classes, web site design and Quickbooks. They should be useful. Work on the business is coming along slowly but surely. I don't know if I've mentioned it before but it is a pain in the ass and expensive to set-up a business in IL. MI is a lot easier. No wonder there are all sorts of consultants out there charging a fortune to help people starting and running businesses. I think you need a masters degree just to find what you want on the damn Secretary of State web page. Needless to say this part isn't a lot of fun but I'll get'r done.

Stay warm and try not to get sick!!

Victory is Ours!!!

It was a good weekend. As you might have guessed from the picture above (well maybe you didn’t guess it) but I was victorious last weekend in the Dream League World Series played at Kevin’s house in Michigan. It was especially sweet because I came from the 4 seed and pulled upsets to win both rounds in convincing fashion, 4-0 and 4-1. The other picture shows the moment Kevin beat my brother for his first ever Dream League regular season title after 14 years of trying. Yes, we are geeks but we have a good time nonetheless (or is it irregardless?). The best part of the weekend, however, may have been Kevin’s wife Wendy making us dinner every night. Maybe there are benefits to being married. Their baby Parker was even fun to be around all weekend. Matt and I snuck out of their just in time though because the power went out the morning we left due to a big ice storm.

I have my first Spanish class in a few hours. I excited to get my learn on. The textbook came with several CDs and DVDs and a little pocket dictionary so I have plenty of study resources. Hopefully some of the stuff I learned from listening to that CD as I drove around the country earlier this year stuck. We’ll see. I have two other classes starting next week, web design and Quickbooks.

For the movie and history buffs out there I have a movie recommendation. I put the movie “The Message” in my Netflix queue because about 6 months ago Entertainment Weekly came up with their list of the 25 most controversial films and I put the ones I hadn’t already seen in my queue. Some have sucked so far but some have been good. The Message was a very good one. It was made in 1976 and is about the beginning of the Muslim religion. It was filmed with different actors in English and Arabic. I watched the English one starring, as Kramer would say, “screen legend Anthony Quinn.” Anyway, it was made by Muslims and it is supposedly certified historically accurate by some university in Egypt. It is very informative (at least to non-Muslims) and also entertaining. I guess it is a similar concept to The Passion without the graphic violence. It’s worth checking out if you have Netflix.

PS - The last picture is at Buckingham Fountain on New Year's Eve.

Great quote.

I came across this quote while reading an article today. I thought it was right on.

John C. Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Funds, states in his book The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, "When we have strong managers, weak directors, and passive owners, it's only a matter of time until the looting begins." Bogle has spoken out this way because the mutual funds industry is legally looting money from investors.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

That title was still in my queue from last year. I kept it low key as usual on NYE. Dragan, Zoran, and I went out walking in the beautiful 50 (maybe 45) degree temperatures to watch the fireworks and drunks in Grant Park. It was a little different than watching from my old apartment on Mich Ave. My Christmas in Michigan was great. Too many great presents again. I got to see everyone in the Phelan family and even got to attend the TPG Christmas Party for the first time in many years. I even went to church and not midnight mass at the usual spot so that was a little different. There was a birthday party for a friend I haven't seen in over a year so that was great. I got to see lots of friends I haven't seen in a while. I also have a little problem with the Canadian custom officer when I went in for my Nexus interview. Nexus is like a speed pass for customs when crossing the border so you can cut in front of traffic and not talk to a customs officer every time. Anyway, apparently she thought I was high risk because I didn't have a family, or a house, or a job, or anything else keeping me from fleeing to the great north country. After a little back and forth she gave it to me because, of all things, my brothers were getting them. I guess it was a blessing to have brothers.

Did anyone watch that Boise State game last night? That was the most excited I've been watching a football game since Marine City beat Allen Park on a last second Hail Mary back in '95. Matt and I had Boise State in our pool, too bad we played ourselves out of the contest a week ago. At least I'm winning big money against my friend Kevin in our annual bowl picking.

I made a list of goals for 2007 but I'm not going to list them this year. However, I did accomplish 7 of my 10 goals last year which sure beats the 4 for 10 from the year before. That trip around the country allowed me to check off about half the list. Obviously, my biggest goal for the new year is to get my business open and running smoothly. I'll post my contact info for everyone out there when I get the doors open sometime next quarter so you can start sending the referrals my way. ;O)

Well, I hope everyone has a great 2007 and share the wealth with others (and I don't mean me).