April Showers, Fools, and blasted I.D. Card-part 1

I had one of those "Ain't that a b^&%*" moments yesterday afternoon and through the evening. So the day got kicked off by me debating should I goto the weekly seminar series hosted by my department or go meet with the fellowship representative who happen to be on campus on yesterday over at the graduate center. Even though I actually wanted to go see this particular environmental law professor speak, I knew I had to go meet the representative from my fellowship consortium, cause you know, they are paying my way to be here (i.e. THEY ARE THE ONLY REASON WHY I EVEN HAVE FUNDING FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL!). SO I went, and she was there, along with the diversity coordinator for the graduate school and the student affairs rep. So essentially, the conversation was initially about protocol, paperwork, tuition and stipend being paid and so forth. And for some reason, I felt I had to give the people there a "Let me tell how I really feel" dialogue. I don't know what possessed me, but it seemed as if something in my mind was telling me its time to open up and express how I have felt thus far at this institution during my first year of grad school. And I tell you, I didn't realize how easy it would be for me to open up about my frustrations and growing sense (at times) of apathy for the institution, the department, and my program in general. Everyone seem to have this look upon their faces of wow, I did not know that was how you really felt. Now the diversity coordinator, I had talked to him on several occasions of certain incidents that occurred and he offered me advice. I hadn't told him of all the "wonderful" events that happened to me this semester. Needless to say, they were telling me that I should not feel apathetic, I should be receiving better mentoring from my adviser, that I should probably have some kind of definitive research topic by now and other things I brought up. Long story short, I have felt so much better, so much opened, so much, like my old me, that I had repressed in some way since I have been here.

It felt gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!! Anyway, so after that meeting, I headed to my research lab, and proceeded to get to work on this research paper for one of my classes that I got to get done. Then when it got closer to 5pm, I headed off to the soccer fields because I had an intramural softball game. Of course for a second Wednesday in a roll, the weather was just downright dreary and wicked with light sprinkles of raindrops. I was not totally a happy camper because I just washed my hair the night before and usually am not a big fan of getting wet because normally I get sick afterward. So I get to the softball fields, started throwing around with one of my teammates, ready to play,when we found out that we didn't have a game because one of the teams had been consistently forfeiting. So we ended up scrimmaging with each other, and I had a great time because I was catching pop-ups, and fielding good and throwing even relatively well. I miss playing softball, a lot. So after the scrimmaging and someone helping me get my softball back after it was hit into the construction site next to the fields, I proceeded to head to the main library on campus to check out books for my research paper. And let the adventure begin...

Something in the Spring Season

Other than the arrival of Daylights Saving Time, I actually enjoy the advent of spring. Not because of the thawing out from the cold weather, or the reappearance of leaves and flowers blossoming and blooming, but because the peak of the sports season is starting to pick up again. These spring summer events helps me to get through the summer of reruns and horrors of more invading reality tv shows. The NBA season is winding down and yet the arrival of the playoffs are coming. Will Boston repeat, will Kobe get his first non-Shaq ring, will a dark horse come out of nowhere? Then March Madness is starting to get ready to kick off. I love March Madness because any team has the chance to shock and just totally screw up the brackets. I should know, i have had quite bit brackets just trashed after week one. But that is what makes March Madness so great. As my late uncle used to say, any dog can have its day in the tournament. Then by April, my favorite, baseball (MLB) would be already to get going in high Every season i think to my self that it is the cubbies year and they somehow find a way to disappoint. But needless to say, its a sports fanatic dream come true, always a sporting event every weekend to get into...woohoo...i had a point to this story but its almost 2am and i am typing this with half my eyes only open...hmmmmm well til next time

The Steroids Era, aka MLB

So to channel my ultimate procrastination tendencies as I listen to Jill Scott, I figured to change up the tone of my recent posts (i.e. about woe is me) to woe of everything else. To get things started, my friends who know me really well know that baseball is my favorite sport to watch, whether on tv or at the baseball stadium itself. I know its a rare thing to meet a black girl who loves baseball as passionately but tis me. Regardless, I believe I must have started watching baseball when I was 2 years old because I remember (for some strange reason) being held my uncle while we watched baseball (and other sports too, but alot of baseball, especially during the hot summers in Houston). Thanks to my late uncle, I think I must know and love a great deal of the aspects of baseball, the good and bad sides of it. The newest bad side baseball to be paraded these past couple of years is the rampant use of steriods and human-performance drugs taken by a quite a bit of the players. Of course, using steroids is a form of cheating. NO IFS AND BUTS ABOUT IT! But I think what trips me out the most is the same people who are crying foul and boo-hooing about the use by players for at least the past 15 years were the same ones who were jumping for joy and praising the likes of Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa literally reviving America's favorite past time during the late 90's (i.e. mainly sportswriters and sport announcers). This was mainly because after the major baseball strike of 1994 (in which the majority of the season was lost and when the Montreal Expos used to be good, hahaha pulled that one out from you know what...) many experts believed that baseball being America's pastime was gone and lost forever. Alot of fans were turned off because of the impasse between the player's union and the owners and people just did not come to watching and going to baseball games. Attendance at the ball parks had been sharp declines after the season picked back up and people were wondering just how viable baseball would remain as the 21st century approached. Then came that summer in which the great homerun chase was back and forward between the two aformentioned sluggers who were competing to see who would break Roger Maris 1961 single season homerun mark when he was with the Yanks. I remembered when they did a story about Maris about how people threatened him because he was approaching and destine to break the "Babe" record. But I digress. Needless to say, alot of people were excited, fans were returning to the ballparks to see who would break the record and once the record was broken, people kept coming to see how far they could go. I don't recall during that glee anyone questioning with a loud bullhorn if those 2 were on anything. All you heard was constant praises, cheers,and non-ending highlights. Fast forward several years later,and a Mitchell Report,Congressional testimonies, Canseco versions of confessions and pointing fingers down the line, now everyone is upset and questions the integrity of the game. The ones I hear harped the most about the records this and records that is sportswriters. Its pretty funny and a bit hypocritical that so many people want to take the high and moral ground and act as if this was the first time this happened, how could have this happened and how could have this been advocated for so long? Haha, people can be so funny sometimes, especially when they seem to lack common sense.
But needless to say, its been going on awhile, even I could pick up on that last decade and I was not even a full fledged teenager yet. Until all professional sports get really serious about cleaning up their respective leagues (oh you don't just think steroids and HGH is only used in the MLB do you?) by running drug tests as thorough and dish out punishment just as severe(i.e. the IOCC), the problem won't be resolved. But then again its not like this is policy is going to be adapted and instituted just and swiftly. Why you may ask? Because look at all the entities who stand to lose (and I mean $$$$$$) if forced to clean up their respective leagues, and I just don't mean the players either. There alot of people who would not take too keenly to losing money. It just doesn't make $cents to them. And that just means that I would have to continue to listen to media and sports pundits discuss oh the records now the records oh the records and Cooperstown. Aaargh. Well things could be worse, we could be in a recession, 2 wars, possess tremendous amount of national debt, nations hell bent on nuclear weapons and nuclear materials...oh wait...