What does A-Rod bring?

YAY, the Yankees are finally winning some games. They've got a nice winning streak going but I'm not too enthused b/c it hasn't been against teams that were a real challenge. Yeah a win is a win but when they get back to playing teams in the AL East like the Red Sox or the Orioles and actually beat them then maybe I'll have more hope for the end of the season's final results.

In all this winning and all the run scoring they've been doing I'm surprised at something the sportswriters in NYC haven't been covering. That is, the fact that A-Rod's bat has been pretty much silent during this whole winning streak. In the past two or three games A-Rod hasn't even gotten a hit. Not only that but it's still so young in the season and he's been a disaster at 3rd piling up something like 8 errors already and they've been quite costly errors - costing a few games.

What a waste of $25 million.

In Need of a Laugh

KittenSurprise, originally uploaded by LykosAlpha.

As stressed out as I am when I came across this pic I actually laughed. How cute is that?

Red Alert

I am seething right now. Nothing's new about the cause - law school application process. I was informed by Michigan State today that they never received my student aid report from the idiots at FAFSA (free application for student aid). It's really no surprise because it's a federal agency that processes this but the level of ineptitude still amazes me.

I had faxed over to the morons at FAFSA (3/29/05) a list of additional schools that student aid reports needed to be sent to along with their school codes. I received notification from FAFSA that this list was received. Well, the morons at FAFSA only processed half of the schools on that list. Those left out schools included every school that I haven't received an admissions decision from yet (and Michigan State which I may attend).

What I also find amazing is that the schools that didn't receive my financial aid report did not notify me. Other schools that were missing information from me contacted me. The missing and ultimately late financial aid reports could have possibly caused me to miss out on some cash.

Interesting thing I found out from Michigan State - if you can get a 3.6 gpa you could get a half scholarship for 2nd or 3rd yr. 3.8 and up - possibly a full ride for the year. That's certainly motivation to be super nerd!

Oh, I almost forgot another example of a bureaucratic moron. One of the schools I am still waiting to hear a decision from is St. John's University. I have tried to call them several times over the past few days to find out the status of my application and the evil automated system directs me to this voicemail box that is full no matter what time of day and has been full for days. I decided to try to navigate around the evil automated phone system there and looked up the phone numbers of the director of admissions, the associate director and the Dean of admissions. I tried calling them all and all I got were voicemails. I couldn't get a hold of a live person. I eventually left one of those people a message. What a bad way of doing business when a student or potential student can't get a live person on the phone.

Implode?

Did you ever find yourself under so much stress that you felt like you were just going to implode? That's how I feel right now. This whole law school thing was supposed to be a great, happy, exciting thing. Well, it's not. It's now May 13th and I still do not know where I will be living and attending law school in less than 3 months from now.

Unfortunately, yesterday I found out for sure that I will be leaving Middle TN which has become my home. I didn't get into Vanderbilt law. I moved here in September 1998 and I thought I would hate it. I was just moving here basically to avoid having to look for another job b/c it was - relocate from NJ and work for the newly acquired subsidiary or be unemployed in NJ because the company was moving to Indiana and there was no job for you in Indiana (thank god!).

I had only started at that job 9 months before finding out I was facing unemployment. I did some research and found that moving to Nashville wouldn't be such a bad thing. Rent was cheap as all hell, my car insurance was cut in half, the apartments were developments with on site gyms, and they were huge, my office was a 6 min drive from my apt. I was home at 5:06pm from work. I had never been home that early from anything in my life - even high school. I had gone from commuting over an hour each way to 12 min. total each day. I actually went home for lunch some times. I hadn't done that since I was in elementary school b/c the school was right across the street.

I learned to like Nashville and the south. No traffic, it was quiet...laid back. In the almost 7 years that I have been here I haven't just acclimated, I've assimilated. I live right next to a dairy farm, I'll eat okra, turnip greens and even grits. I love the fact that it takes me less than 25 min. to get to Nashville b/c the speed limit on the interstates here is 70 and everyone really does 80-85. Rush hour is really just an hour. Winter, t hat is winter that I'm used to from NYC really is only about a month long then it's mid 40s for a bit and then it's spring like weather. By early May it's pushing 90.

Of course I miss my family and my friends from home but Nashville/Murfreesboro has become my home and I'll mad as all hell that I have to leave. The circumstances of my leaving seem so strange to me - to not have a destination yet. What disturbs me the most is my options so far aren't any that I like. It's either go to Michigan, or Western Massachusetts. I could go to California. I got into a few schools there but those were "Hail Mary" applications b/c I was so scared I wouldn't get into any law schools that I applied to just about everywhere. California from my experience is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

Since California is out of the picture unless I get into one of my NYC metro area options it's either Michigan or Western Massachusetts. Western Massachusetts has been a front runner b/c I was offered a huge merit scholarship (I know, you don't believe me but it's true) so $48,000 less in student loans would be sweet. It's like winning money. However, I have researched the area up and down. It doesn't look very hospitable to me - I can't find an apt. that will take River within an hours drive in every direction from the school. I would have to live in Conneticut and commute to the law school in Massachusetts. According to mapquest, I'd have at least a 45 min. commute each way. Not exactly what I wanted to be doing in law school. Plus, living so far away would make socialization difficult and socialization would be important since I don't know a damn person there.

So, is my sanity worth another $48,000 in loans? So far, it seems so. I wasn't even going to put a deposit down on Michigan but luckily I came to my senses and sent it in today just in time. Michigan offers a plethora of apt. complexes similar to what I am living in now, within 10 min. of the school, cheaper than any rents in CT. I do not know if I have received any money from Michigan but I will find out tomorrow b/c they are idiots and haven't told me anything yet. If I can some how finagle some cash out of Michigan that'd be sweet.

Everything would change if I got into one of the NYC metro area law schools but I'm not holding my breath at this rate b/c it is so late in the game and from my understanding if you hear back so late from a law school it's either a rejection or a wait list.

For now, I'm researching Michigan. I'm not thrilled about what I've learned about the weather there. According to this Lansing, MI website the maximum temperature there all year round is 82 degrees in July. I'm not talking avg. the max! The highest average tempertures are seen in July also, a whopping 70 degrees. Damn, I've gotten totally accustomed to the warm weather here. Cold ass weather like that is even worse than back in NYC. January's average temperature is 21 degrees there. I dunno, maybe I can spend part of my winter break with friends in Nashville so I can defrost. I'd like to say instead that maybe I could vacation somewhere warm during winter break but I'd need to have money for that.

Best case scenario now is that I either get into Seton Hall or Rutgers Newark calls. Everything else at this point is just a nightmare.

Feel Like a Kid Again

It's like the mid 80s all over again. The NY Yankees suck because of Steinbrenner filling the team up with over the hill, overpriced hired "guns." The 80s new wave/British modern rock sound is all over the place. Soap operas are back on prime time (Desperate Housewives, the O.C.) and we have a republican idiot for President again.

Too bad I wasn't really traveling back in time because then I wouldn't have all these damn bills.

A-Rod = end of Yankee's winning ways

The acquisition of A-Rod and his monster contract is not the only reason that the Yankees suck worse than the Bad News Bears in the beginning of the movie, but I think his acquisition is the main reason.

The Yankees payroll is something like $203 million - $25 million which is A-Rods. If the Yankees had signed someone else, anyone else who had an avg. bat and avg. glove they would've had the money to sign Beltran and keep Lieber. The Yankees didn't go for Beltran b/c they wanted the money for pitching and they didn't want to go the extra mile payroll wise for Lieber which has so far biten them in the ass.

A-Rod is no longer the best player in the game. People can argue that Miguel Tejada is or what'shisface for the Cardinals (pardon my brain fart). A-Rod's last time at greatness was about 3 yrs ago. His stats has gone down every year since. Yeah, he's still a great player, but not the best, and not worth 25 million. He doesnt' hit consistently in the clutch. Yeah, his stats are great but what they dont' show is that most times he gets all those great hits in games where it doesn't matter, when his team is losing by too much to overcome or when they're winning by too much that his contribution doesn't matter.

I think A-Rod has a no trade clause but I'm sure if Steinbrenner wanted him out he'd go. Use A-Rod as trade bait to get some younger and better pitching and get a center fielder with an arm and put Matsui back in left.

While they're at it.....get the lawyers to void Giambi's contract b/c obviously he's nothing w/o the 'roids or just release him b/c no team would want him or send him down to the minors. Yeah, they'd take a hit in the wallet by releasing him but he's doing nothing for them. Consider Giambi the cost of doing business. Also, dump Brown and/or send him down to the minors as well.

The Yankees have nothing, zero as trade bait in the farm system but A-Rod is plenty trade bait. They Yankees would more than likely have to pay at least half his salary - but once again consider it the cost of Steinbrenner wanting over priced Free-Agents on his team. Didn't Steinbrenner learn anything from teh 80s? That was the overpriced free agent era. The Yankees only started winning when a core of talent from their farm system came up with a hired hand here and there. Rivera, Posada, Jeter, Williams, Pettite. The hired hands then were hardly ever super super stars. They were good players who found greatness with the Yankees: O'Neill, Brosius, Tino. If they were superstars they get them kinda on the cheap and didn't sign them to ridiculous long term deals like Giambi. Then instead of repeating the formula Steinbrenner had to have immediately greatness to replace his great players who had found greatness with the Yankees and in the process trading away the farm literally.

I knew the acquistion of A-Rod was the final nail in the coffin but I was hoping to be proved wrong.

Bonds is Done

I thought I wrote that Bonds was done into my blog when the transcripts of his grand jury testimony came out last year. I'm disappointed that I didn't make that entry but I did go on record with many people as saying so.

Bonds is done - a 3rd knee surgery since January on the same knee? Stick a fork in him. Even if he didn't have 3 surgeries on the same knee he still wouldn't be back. He'd have to be off the steroids, he would be a shell of his former self off of the 'roids just like Giambi. Bonds would never take the risk of embarassing himself like that and ending his career like that - he has too much of an ego.

The lack of steroids has shown Barry's true age. His knees have broken down just like McGuires did after too much of the 'roids. Now that he can't take the 'riods he doesn't have them to help with the quick healing..

Barry himself stated that he didn't know if he'd be back at all this season or at all if I recall correctly when it was first revealed that he had to have his 1st of 3 surgeries on that right knee. All the sportswriters were saying - Oh, Barry will be back. I knew he wouldn't. His injured knees had given him an out he was probably looking for. He had no idea he would subsequently need 2 additional surgeries on that knee when he made those statements.

The knee surgery gave Barry an out, he just didn't realize the excuse would turn out to be reality.

Babe Ruth's record and Hank Aaron's record are safe from steriod infused jerk.

HERE LIZARD LIZARD LIZARD.....

gila monster, originally uploaded by LykosAlpha.

Starting June 1st a new diabetes drug called Byetta is going on the market. This drug is derived from the saliva of a Gila Monster.

Ok, that's great and all but could someone please explain something to me? How the hell did these medical research scientistS find out that the saliva of a poisonous lizard could help with diabetes? Who got the bright idea of messing around with poisonous lizard spit to help with diabetes? How does that idea even come about?

Does this mean there are going to be job openings for people to collect poisonous lizard spit? Where do I sign up?

Sexy Bitch!

man in speedo, originally uploaded by LykosAlpha.

Yummy....man boobs, mullet, ugly tattoos, beer gut, neon green speedo - what more could you ask for?

Speedo Ban Lifted

Cape May, N.J. has just lifted a 30 year-old ban on men over the age of 12 wearing speedos on the beach. They've also done away with a ban on men being shirtless on the beach front promenade.

These bans haven't been enforced in quite some time but c'mon....this isn't something that should be done away with, it should be enforced!

Anyone who has been to the beach, any beach that is, knows that the only men that wear speedos and/ or go shirtless off the beach are the only ones who should not! No one really wants to see nasty, old, and/or overweight men wearing their banana hammocks. EEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!

These bans should not be repealed. I think that every beach should write that ban into their books.
Also, who really wants to see the old fat man or the guy with carpet on his chest AND his back walking on the promenade or boardwalk shirtless? They're the only guys who seem to go shirtless.