The Wildcat's Den

I really should find reason to post more often.

We just came back from the Delta boys' basketball game - talk about nostalgia!  I haven't been to the Palladium since before my mission (and that was my brother's senior year - he's been out of high school almost three years now).  It was an intense game - double overtime.  I think our boys could have pulled it out, but they got called for a ticky-tack traveling and made some goofy passes.  But it was fun anyway.

Today also marks halfway done with the school year (for the kids, anyway).  They sure do leave things to the last minute (oy...) - I'm going to be punching in final scores all weekend to get things done in time for next week.

The principal called me in his office yesterday - just to chat about how things are going, nothing serious.  He wondered if I would like to give teaching a try and do the alternative route to licensure.  I thought about it... for all of two minutes.  I really don't want to teach - there's too much stress involved.  It would be nice being at a small(ish) school, but I would likely get a job at a bigger school where it's harder to keep track of the students.  Plus, you know there are always going to be those kids that give you a hard time over the fact they haven't turned in their work and they want to make a big stink about having a bad grade.  And I have to do MORE school and incur MORE debt.  No thank you.  I think I will stick to being the librarian - still has its own set of challenges, but I think I'd prefer dealing with those.

Also - I'm trying to find this picture of me from when I was five years old (a certain one, mind you.  I didn't just wake up with a craving).  When I was five, I found this pair of red plastic glasses rims - probably from a pair of kiddie sunglasses with the lenses removed.  I started wearing them because I thought they made me look smarter (I kid you not).  I think I even wore them to school a few times.  There's a picture of me playing outside with my sister and I have them on and I look adorable.  I want to find it just because I want proof that I wore "brainy specs" before I even knew what the heck they were (I was destined for geekdom from the start - it was inevitable).

I should go to bed now.  The thing about double overtime games is that you get home much later than you intended (and cheering at basketball games is very exhausting).

Oh ... by the way - GO PACKERS! (my team's out of the playoffs, so I have to cheer for somebody.  I'll also be happy with the Steelers if they get through.)

Oh boy - classes are formally DONE!!! Even though I didn't have as much to stress about as the rest of everyone else, it still felt good to say "Sweet Mother Freedom!!"

But the Political Science class had to give me one last parting shot of stupidity. The topic of today's lecture was "Church and State" and why religion in the public sector has been controversial as of late. The lecture went on with the usual blather about "no one really knows what the Founders intended" and Supreme Court decisions about religion in schools and what-have-you, when some enterprising, "I'm-a-college-freshman-so-I'm-smarter-than-you" twerp raised her hand and asked (oh, and she was from "back East," if that tells you anything) "How do public schools in Utah get away with letting LDS students have religious instruction during the school day?"

The professor (who is from both California and Massachusetts and didn't raise his kids in Utah) confessed he didn't know anything about it, but then passed the judgment: "It's unconstitutional."

For those who don't know, in Utah (and perhaps in parts of Idaho - I'm not 100% sure) there is a program where public high schools allow students to take one class period as "Release Time" and they go off-campus during the school day to a nearby LDS Church-owned building for a religious class known as Seminary. This is completely optional and voluntary, but, as a Seminary graduate myself, it's a favorite time of day where you can just go and get above all the secular BS that exists in public schools. Outside of Utah (and in the little godless corner of Utah where I spent my senior year of high school) where they don't allow Release Time Seminary, they have Early Morning Seminary where high school kids get up early in the morning and go to either the nearby Church building or a member's home and have Seminary there. As far as Release Time is concerned, there is some accountability (like, you actually have to be where you say you're going to be or you won't be allowed to have Release Time anymore) and it's also opened for students who are doing internships or working during the school day. It's not just for religious purposes.

I'm sure something has happened and I just don't know about it - there are so many anti-Mormon idiots in Utah nowadays - but all we need is a Supreme Court case debating whether or not Release Time Seminary is unconstitutional. *sigh...* Some days, I wonder if Brother Brigham didn't have to the right idea when he tried to make Deseret its own country...

Oh well, enough political crap - it's picture time!!! I'm a day late and a dollar short, but here are the pictures from the basketball game on Wednesday (cut for picspam):

( Show Me the True-Blooded Aggie! )

I'm trying to listen to the radio on my computer, but my speakers keep fritzing out. I think some internal component of my speakers is worn out. I'll be listening to something and all of a sudden, the sound will cut out. I have to press down on the right side of my laptop until (if) it comes back on. Just one more evidence that I need a new computer (sigh... Well, Chris pointed out that Christmas is coming and I could ask Santa for his credit card and get something nice for myself ^_^)

It's just my luck. You know, I've cheered for the Utah Jazz and the Utah Utes (football and basketball) all my life. I've seen these teams have success, but never win any championships. They've come close, but never got there, much to my disappointment and many tears (ask me about a Jazz Finals game I went to when I was 13. Heartbreaking...).

So, in order to be more "diverse" Davey Checketts brings Euro-trash - I mean, soccer - to Salt Lake. And wouldn't you know it, they would win their retarded championship. The one pro team in Utah I hate - and they win their championship (after having a losing season, it seems). There is no justice in this world. This idiotic Real Salt Lake team has only been around for - what - five years? The only people who will be celebrating are all the illegal Mexicans. What about us white folk that have been holding out for one of our American teams to do well? This is SO not fair!!

How the crap do you win by tying? What kind of stupid game is this? What kind of stupid name is Real Salt Lake? Can't you at least have a real team name? This isn't Spain - this is the Wasatch Front. We're not trying to impress people here. If you want to be accepted in this country, have a name like - Tigers or Bulldogs. We're not France or England or any other stupid country in Europe. And we're sure as heck not Mexico (contrary to what some people might think).

I hate soccer (or as I like to call it, Cat-Herding). Because it's popular in Europe and the "world" likes it and they tell Americans that we have to like it, I hate it. I could be more tolerant of it if they weren't so snotty about it.

I will say this: at least they don't have "Utah" in their name. I don't have to cheer for them. I don't live in Salt Lake. They have no claim on me and I have no claim on them. Just like I don't live in Provo, so I don't cheer for BYU (there are other reasons, but that's the relevant one right now). If it was Real Utah - I'd move to Nevada.

Now the Jazz need to win the Finals. It's only fair. They've been in town longer and they've been denied for more years. More importantly - I've been denied for longer than soccer's been around. Cough up, NBA, NCAA.

(Barring that, Davey Checketts can fork out some money and give Utah an NFL team. If the Rams still stink it up in St. Louis - they can move to Salt Lake. They wouldn't even have to change their initials. Checketts owes us for this humiliation).

Now it's been over a week?  In my defense, I have been away from internet access since last Thursday.  Plus, I spent last Wednesday and Thursday substituting at the school again.

So, yeah, here's my life since then.  Be warned: it's long.  Just pick a cut link and here we go!





Oh stink, Fred Thompson's out of the presidential race.  Well, maybe Romney will make him the VP candidate.  In the meantime, I need to go thaw.

Sheesh, I check my f-list for the first time all weekend and nobody's done a thing.  You'd think it was summertime.

I got the Lappy back on Friday (and there was much rejoicing in the land).  She's almost good as new, but I have to figure out how to get the backup files installed back onto the hard drive.  I have most of the important stuff back, but Microsoft Office is being a whore.  I was going to take it to my uncle over the weekend, but he was sick with heatstroke or something, so I'll have to wait on that.

Anyway, the story of how I braved insane Wasatch Front drivers to secure the hostage: CompUSA called while I was at work, so I decided to take a slight detour (oh... about ten block detour) after work, but the problem is that I forgot that it was Friday and everyone would be eating each other trying to get home for the weekend.  And there was construction in a number of places.  It was quite the harrowing experience, but like all such experiences, you learn to leave work at 4:00 and go straight home away from the psycho Friday 500 races.

Then my brother's basketball team was at the U for summer basketball camp.  It was fun to go watch them play against teams from much bigger schools and even more fun to see the family.  Except that my dad volunteered me to take some of the boys halfway home on Saturday after the camp was over (my mom met me at the halfway point, so I didn't have to go all the way to Delta).  I wouldn't have minded, except I was kinda planning to go to the park with some friends on Saturday afternoon and my dad didn't even ask me if I could play chauffeur.  By the time he even informed me I would be performing this service, it was too late to tell the coach that I couldn't.  Blech.

But in really good news: I found an apartment to move into!  It's in a fairly nice complex in Holladay (with a pool! My bedroom overlooks it, which could be good or bad, depending on who's down there at the time) and I can actually afford it.  I'm planning on moving the weekend of the 13th (seeing as how the Order of the Phoenix movie got moved up), but I probably could move earlier if I wanted to.  The funniest part is that the girl I'll be rooming with was actually my neighbor in Logan last summer.  I didn't know it her advertising until she answered the door when first I went to see the place.  Funny how these things work out...

My sister went home to the desert with the rest of the family, so I'm on my own for the weekend.  I've just been making friends with TV Links and re-watching "24" season 4.  The problem is that some of the eps don't work and I've been deprived of the major Tony/Michelle moments of that season (which I am a shameless sucker for) and even some of the more tender Jack/Audrey scenes (which everyone is required by law to love and I don't care who you vote for).

Holy crap! It's quarter after eleven and I have work at eight tomorrow morning!  I just realized I'm tired.  G'night!

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

PS, The infamous politically charged rant?  Scroll down a few posts if you really want to read it.  Just to advertise... you don't have to...

THE UTAH JAZZ ARE BACK IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS AFTER A NINE YEAR ABSENCE!!!!!  This certainly merits a Chinese-Firedrill-Type lap around the house in complete and total fan-giddiness!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

I know I ought to be asleep, but who cares?! (blame it on TNT scheduling us for the late game)  I have to post my happiness to the world!!!

The last time I was this excited  was when John Stockton made that three-pointer in the Conference Finals against Houston to send the Jazz to the NBA Finals the first year (the second year, we all knew we were going to cream the Lakers, but it was cool anyway).  This is almost just as fantastic because everyone has been predicting the Jazz would flop out the first chance they got (they tried a couple of times -- I guess they like to keep things interesting for the fans).

This Jazz team reminds me so much of the teams that went to the Finals.  First off, you've got your extremely well-rounded roster of players.  It's not just one or two players running the show.  We have the starting five (Boozer, Williams, Kirilenko, Fisher and Okur -- who my dad affectionately calls "The Goon Squad" [they may not be pretty, but they get the job done]), but then we've got Harpring off the bench (who is brilliant when he's spot-on), Dee Brown who can pick it up when the other guards get in foul trouble, and Paul Millsap (who I want to bake cookies for and I'll explain why in a minute).  Our bench is so deep for when we need to make changes in the lineups or when they just need a break.  Now, back in the day, we had the legendary Stockton-to-Malone, but there was also Jeff Hornacek, Antoine Carr, Bryon Russell, Adam Keefe and even the lovable goober, Greg Ostertag (we never said the center position was our best).

Paul Millsap is a rookie, but he reminds me so much of John Stockton in his attitude and his character.  Maybe it's just because he's a rookie and still learning the ropes, but Millsap can come out, kick your butt and make you like it.  He doesn't show off or anything; he just goes out there and gets the job done.  If he gets a double-double in the process, that's just because that's what's going to win the game for his team.  And he is freaking amazing on the court.  I sincerely hope the Jazz keep him and I hope that he stays this awesome because that's what I miss about Stockton retiring.  I've never liked the NBA going to this showboat-alley-oop-circus-jungle-ball style just to sell tickets.  When Stockton retired, I thought we'd probably lose the last shred of dignity the NBA had, but as long as players like Millsap come along, I think things will be fine. </gush>

Now, I am a dedicated Jazz fan (having watched them rabidly since I was gumming Gerbers), but I do know a challenging situation when I see it and I know when the boys need a little tough love from the fans (not that they're ever going to hear it, but they make enough bone-headed mistakes that it makes me feel better).  We're going to end up playing either Phoenix or San Antonio, neither of which is going to be a cake walk, especially since we won't have home court advantage no matter who we end up playing.  All season long, the Jazz have played a lot of close games.  Some they won, but some (especially in the home stretch at the end) they gave up.  Tonight was pretty darn hairy.  For a few minutes, it looked like the only two who didn't want to go back to Golden State were Fisher and Kirilenko (how do you miss a set of three free throws from flagrant and technical fouls?!)  If we get San Antonio, history is not on our side.  I don't think the Jazz have won on the road in San Antonio since 1994 (I could be wrong on my year, but it's somewhere in that general area).  Phoenix is wickedly amazing and either one is going to be tough to beat.  I certainly don't think we'll be scared, but looking at the situation realistically, it's going to be hard and I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't make it (surprised, no; disappointed, yes).

On the other hand, if we did win and make it to the Finals, I would be able to turn and go NEENER, NEENER to all those fair-weather fans who only follow the Jazz when they're good and who told me that it was stupid to cheer for a team when everyone I grew up watching was gone and that it was stupid just to cheer for a logo and assorted other bullshit that I hate taking from all these retarded bandwagon jumpers.

I can dream, can't I?

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

PS, I have another reason for wanting the Jazz to continue: Anything to keep Dave Checketts and the incredibly stupid Real Salt Lake soccer team off the major sports headlines.  The only good thing about this asinine venture is that the team bears only Salt Lake City's name and not Utah's.  I'm not from Salt Lake City and hence, have no obligation to cheer for them.  I am from Utah, so I can happily cheer for the Utah Jazz, the Utah Blaze arena football, the University of Utah and Utah State University.  See the difference?

For those of you wondering, the first few lyrics go "I'm all alone, there's no one here besiiiiide me..." From the first Shrek movie, compliments of Donkey.

So, yeah, the last Utah State home game is tonight against Fresno State and I's probably going all by my lonesome since little miss shellic has her senior project to work on.  I guess I can handle going by myself, but it's so much more fun to know that someone is going to be high-fiving you when the team wins.  There is no way in anywhere bad that you can think of that I'm missing the last USU home game before my high-and-mighty graduation.  No freaking way.


Today brought a happy surprise: my aunt and uncle were in the neighborhood and called me up to take me out for ice cream.  I wasn't expecting them to show up and it sounds like they really weren't planning on it, but they had to come up to Ogden to give my cousin her wedding present, so they figured they'd travel the extra 45 minutes to Logan to go to the cheese factory and load up on Aggie ice cream and come visit me while they were at it.  I was very touched...

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

Countdown to Spring Break: Six Days!

Whee!!! Utah State won in a nail-biter against Boise State last night!  And I actually got to storm the court this time!  I might have been on TV, but I don't know because my parents jinxed the game in the second half by turning on the TV and decided not to watch the rest of the game (feh...)  I'm pretty sure I was on TV because I ran right across the camera on my way down to a rousing rendition of a one-handed, mid-court Scotsman (I had to carry my coat).  My throat still hasn't recovered.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll be the topic of another blog down in the Wasatch Front saying how freakin' obnoxious Aggies fans are (just because we called George Karl's son a "daddy's boy"?  C'mon, he came to Utah to see a basketball game; he ought to know better, having been a coach in the NBA's Western Conference).

I was pretty sure we were going to lose, though.  Boise State could do no wrong (dang it).  They were hitting wild three-pointers and all their foul shots and getting rebounds.  On the other hand, we were... not.  I think it was right after the KJZZ broadcast showed that the Aggies win when Jaycee Carroll gets more than 20 points in a game that he started kicking it into high gear (can someone explain this to me: why is the big screen showing the TV broadcast of the game we are attending?  Is Larry H. not selling as many butt-ugly hybrid cars or whatever these days?)  That was when the game had about two minutes left and we were down by about eight points and Boise State was kicking our butts.  Some people were even leaving early (what's wrong? Don't you believe?)

Well, we won despite the really good Boise State team and the terrible officiating.  When one team have 5 fouls and the other has only 2, there is a problem.  But that's all I'll say about that.

Since, my one and only Friday class was canceled today (the one that I was stressing to get everything done for... bleah) and I'm leaving for some family deal this weekend, I'm going to try to get some homework done before I leave.

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat