Shenooligans

Zags are back!

2010-11-12T21:50:00.001-08:00

Zag basketball is back and I couldn't be more excited! The team is ranked #12 to start the season and the non-conference schedule delivers lots of tasty match-ups against the nation's best. I'm excited to see how the Zags stack up! If tonight's 117-72 season opening victory is any indication, it could be a special year. Here are three thoughts stemming from the big opening victory:

- It looks like the 2010-11 edition of the Zags will be able to score from the perimeter. The post scoring was never in doubt heading into the season, but the Zags drained 13 threes led by Gray and freshman, Monninghoff. If the Zags can keep teams honest on "d" with a decent perimeter game, the offense could be one of the nation's best...easily.

- To sandwich in a complaint amongst all the superlatives from tonight's blowout: the Zags played lousy perimeter defense, in my opinion. Too much collapsing into the paint and giving up open looks, and way, way too much fouls on three point attempts (I think we had four)! Against a stronger shooting opponent, that could be an achilles heel. I do have to point out: all our crashing the paint did was yield a 53-12 rebounding margin (in a word....domination).

- Dower is amazing. I can't believe he's a redshirt freshman. That he comes off the bench only serves to reinforce my excitement about our dominant frontcourt. Wow.

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Shenooligans, no more!

2010-11-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you living under a rock for the last 12+ months, I'm married. Cara and I have combined our lives, our finances, our living space, and our love of 80s music to create quite the team. It is now time for us to combine our blogs (Shenooligans and Creating Musing Gabble) into one (The Hoag Life).

You'll get the same content you've come to know and love from me and even better stuff from my better half. You'll get more consistent posting because Cara and I can now deploy a divide and conquer method for keeping our postings current, relevant, fresh and fun. Finally, you'll get to hear from Bounce on occasion. He's part of this family (or "pack" as we like to call it) and he wants a say too!

So, follow the above link to The Hoag Life (that's at: www.thehoaglife.blogspot.com). Find the button to "follow" our blog. Add the blog to your Google Reader. And sit back and allow us to entertain you with our amazing blogging abilities. Come on. You know you wanna...

Cheers,

Matt

MLS Playoffs Predictions

2010-10-27T18:53:00.001-07:00

The MLS Playoffs start tomorrow night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado. Here are my predictions for the first leg of the home-and-home ties (home teams are listed first). I'll post my predictions for the second leg of these ties next week.

Colorado Rapids 2 v 0 Columbus Crew:
Columbus brings a veteran lineup and a wealth of playoff experience, but their form has been poor of late. Colorado has looked very lethal on the attack with Cummings and Casey up front. Colorado cruises to a 2-0 victory at home. (Goals: COL - Casey, Mastroeni)

San Jose Earthquakes 2 v 2 New York Red Bulls:
New York rides into Northern California with the big guns and San Jose has not been overpowering at home this year. However, Wondo has thrown the team on his back and carried them all year and the Golden Boot winner will make it interesting in this matchup as well. I see an entertaining 2-2 tie (Goals: NY-Richards, Angel SJ - Wondolowski x 2)

FC Dallas 1 v Real Salt Lake 0:
Real Salt Lake are the defending champs and have been tough all year, but they're beatable away from home. FC Dallas has cooled off to end the season after a memorable unbeaten streak. Edge goes to FC Dallas at home in a hard fought, scrappy defensive struggle with Shea finding the back of the net for the Hoops. (Goals: FCD - Shea)

Seattle Sounders FC 3 v 1 L.A. Galaxy:
L.A. Galaxy were head and shoulders above the rest during the first half of the season and were able to hold off a late charge by RSL to earn the Supporters' Shield and the top seeding for the Playoffs. Seattle rebounded from two big losses to the Galaxy early in the season to win the third matchup between these West coast rivals in U.S. Open Cup play. Since then, the Sounders have been on fire, logging the best record in all of MLS during the second half of the season. The Sounders ride their torrid form to a 3-1 victory in front of a raucous crowd at Qwest field. (Goals: SEA - Montero, Zakuani, Fernandez LA - Donovan)

Things I love: Soccer

2010-10-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

I love soccer. Or, should I say futbol/football? That is, afterall, what the world calls this great sport. Whatever name you wanna call it, I'm all about soccer. In particular, I love:

(1) Seattle Sounders Football Club (Sounders) - Were named the 2010 Sports Franchise of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, beating out the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. I just its 2nd year in Major League Soccer, (MLS) the top-flight U.S. soccer league, the Sounders have won the U.S. Open Cup and qualified for the playoffs in each of its first two years. Perhaps more importantly, the Sounders pack the house, breaking the MLS attendance records and giving the league a definitive shot in the arm. Soccer snobs may continue to bash U.S. soccer, but the MLS is really beginning to pick up steam and the Sounders have been a huge impetus to the league's growth and success! If all that isn't exciting enough, the MLS Playoffs kick off tonight (Columbus v. Colorado) and the Sounders host the L.A. Galaxy in game 1 of their two game playoff tilt Halloween in Seattle. Qwest is gonna be rocking and I'm so bummed I won't be there in person, but you better believe I'll be decked out in Sounders gear supporting the rave green!

(2) Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs) - A few years ago, I initially started getting more interested in becoming an international soccer fan and figured the English Premier League (EPL) was the league to follow. Many believe the EPL is the top soccer league in the world top-to-bottom. I tend to agree - though that in no way disparages the excellent soccer played in Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A), and Spain (Primera Division). Whatever your league of choice, the EPL is clearly exciting football and the season is fairly recently underway. I decided I would start liking the Spurs on a bit of a whim, they have historically been a middle of the road type of team that has a tough time shaking the underdog stigma. Thankfully, my Spurs have found a recent vein of success. Currently, they sit near to top of the table (what they call the standings in England) and are also three games into their first Champions League campaign (Europe's championship tournament for top club teams) since 1962, which they qualified for with their fourth-place league finish last year. Currently, the Spurs sit 2nd in their group of four and are in position to advance to the knockout stages of this prestigious tournament. Between the EPL season and Champions League matches, I've got no shortage of Spurs football to follow!

(3) "Rec-league soccer"! Mostly, I love watching my sweetie out there tearing it up! I'd love to play more "rec-league" soccer, but the last pick-up game I played saw me run into the goal post. OUCH!! Soccer's not easy when you don't see too well. So, I'll leave it up to Cara to be the soccer star in this family!

Things I love: Cara

2010-10-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

I love Cara. You wanna know why? I'll give you three reasons:

(1) She's incredibly patient and understanding. Cara truly is the first person where I have felt comfortable being my true self. In previous relationships, I always tried to be PERFECT. Granted, I never was (and I'm still not) perfect, but I was afraid to let my guard down and show my insecurities, fears, anxieties, stress, frustrations, etc. I'm sure Cara doesn't always appreciate getting to see these less than perfect sides of me come out (and there have been many instances in the past year with the stresses of job searching and dissertation defending), but throughout, she has been patient and understanding. She is, without a doubt, a constant, steadying foundation in my life.

(2) She's spontaneous and fun. You see, I'm not a particularly spontaneous person. On top of that, I'm an accountant which is on the opposite end of the spectrum from fun. Cara, on the other hand, loves doing spontaneous, fun things. Things such as spontaneous dance parties. Or buying bicycles and becoming "quasi-cyclists". Then there was the time she up and registered us for a "Down and Dirty Mud Run." Okay, so she ran that one by me first and yes, we'll be mud-covered and exhausted this Sunday (more on that to come). The point is, she encourages me to live a bit more spontaneously and a lot more FUN. And I love that about her!

(3) She's my best friend. I don't have much to add to this one - it's quite simple. Whether I'm in a good mood or a bad mood. Whether we're engaged in serious conversation or watching brainless television. Whether I'm anxious and stressed or "on top of the world." Whether we're sitting down for a carefully orchestrated dinner, or eating fast-food on the go. From the highs of life to its lows and for everything in between, I cannot picture spending my life with anyone but her, my best friend, my wife.

I love you sweetheart! It's been an incredible first year of marriage - here's to a lifetime of incredible memories together!

Me and RP (Part II)

2010-10-26T20:57:00.001-07:00

Shortly after I graduated from Gonzaga, I started doing a lot of Internet research on eye conditions in an attempt to explain my clumsiness - that's when I stumbled across an eerily fitting description of the condition known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Mostly, I was doing this research to assuage my curiosity - I don't think I truly believed something was "wrong" with me at the time. You see, with RP, it's hard to really gauge the vision loss. As it turns out, my peripheral and night vision have been slowly deteriorating throughout my life, so there has never really been an "AHA!" kind of moment where I could 'put my finger' on any noticeable change in my vision.

I first brought up the possibility of having RP with my parents, who rightly pointed out that it seemed odd that I wouldn't have been diagnosed in the 15+ years I had been seeing an eye doctor. However, we all agreed it made sense to raise the question in my next eye appointment. Several months later, I dropped in to get a new prescription at a Pearle Vision in Northgate mall with my buddy Rock. I posed the question to the optometrist who pulled out his scope to examine my eyes more closely. He quickly saw some of the telltale physical traits of RP: "mottling of the retinal pigment epithelium with black bone-spicule pigmentation" (as described on Wikipedia). He followed up with a computer-aided photograph of my eyes that more clearly showed the characteristics of RP and referred me to the University of Washington (UW) eye clinic for a follow-up appointment. Over the next year, my family and I visited doctors at UW and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) who confirmed that I had X-linked RP, in addition to my mother and brother.

The symptoms of RP vary significantly from person-to-person. In my case (and my brother is similar), I have a working field of vision of approximately 25-30 degrees (90 degrees is "normal"). At night, my vision gets much worse to the point where I have significant trouble navigating at all (e.g., I am essentially night blind). One of the most critical elements of the condition is its impact on my independence, namely my ability to drive a car (I touch on this point in Part I of this blog). I am currently still legal to drive, but do so on a very limited basis and no longer drive at night. My initial diagnosis came about six years ago and it's been a rollercoaster of a journey since. There have certainly been some times where I've been left anxious, scared or depressed at the possiblity of losing my vision, but those times are relatively few and far between. Most importantly, I've got an amazingly supportive, loving wife, an incredible family support structure and some of the greatest friends a guy could ask for.

This past weekend, my family, Cara's family, and some friends all took part in the Oregon VisionWalk in Portland, OR, as a fundraiser for the efforts of the Foundation Fighting Blindness (team picture is below and Cara and I will post more on that later). I am also taking part in a clinical trial for a supplement that may help to preserve the retina and delay the slow degenerative vision loss. I'm also optimistic for several of the research projects ongoing with the FFB and it's affiliates, including gene therapy and retina transplants.

I could blog all night about my thoughts, analyzing, and experiences (both frustrating and uplifting) related to RP. But, this blog has already gotten pretty long. Before I end, I want to thank my beautiful wife, incredible family, and wonderful friends for supporting me, loving me and of course...for driving me around! Y'all are amazing!

Me and RP (Part I)

2010-10-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know I have retinitis pigmentosa (RP). RP is a genetic eye condition that leads to gradual vision loss, primarily affecting peripheral and night-vision (e.g. low-light and bright-light conditions). As I get ready to participate in the Oregon VisionWalk this coming weekend, I wanted to (1) describe an experience I had several years ago (this blog - Part I) which involves my vision (or lack thereof); and (2) share my personal thoughts and feelings about living with RP (next blog - Part II).

Without further ado, here's Part I (I apologize for the length in advance):

I've got many friends and family members who would agree that being a passenger with me behind the wheel is a nervy experience. I've always felt like a bit of a clumsy oaf; bumping into things, tripping over my own feet, struggling to navigate at night, these were all regular occurrences in my life. But, I didn't think much of it until I had a nervy driving experience all to my own. Until now, this is an experience that I have not shared with many people...

I was driving home alone from birthday gift shopping at the Super Mall in Auburn, WA and after a wrong turn, I ended up in an area I wasn't familiar with. Stopped at a red light, I noticed that the road crossed four railroad tracks ahead. The light turned green and the car next to me peeled off (high school kids out being crazy), while I slowly accelerated through the intersection and towards the railroad crossing(s). Something didn't feel right to me as the car began to pick up speed; a feeling that was reinforced by an ominous train whistle that pierced the air. I looked in my rear view mirror as I approached the first set of railroad tracks and noticed the cars behind me had stopped at a second traffic light that I had previously failed to notice; a light that was red to keep the tracks clear for the oncoming train. "Thunk-thunk". My car crossed the first set of tracks and I began to panic as I approached the second set of four railroad tracks. My first reaction was to hit the brakes as it began to dawn on me that I was playing chicken with a train. Train versus Corolla? Train wins and it's not pretty. But where was the train?

A second whistle pierced my thoughts (and if it's one thing I can do, it's analyze...probably to a fault) and I fought off the urge to stop; afterall, it's not wise to stop on railroad tracks. "Thunk-thunk." I cleared the second crossing and was coming up to the third crossing when it dawned on me that I needed to stop looking in my rearview mirror at the stopped traffic and start trying to figure out where this looming train was. I frantically scanned left and right as my front tires ("Thunk") and then the rear tires ("-thunk") cleared crossing #3. Another whistle. It felt like the train was in the passenger seat next to me. The earth rumbled from its proximity. But where was it? Why couldn't I see the train?

My eyes darted left and right as I approached the last of the four crossings. I silently pleaded for my eyes to locate the train, but my vision didn't seem to work in my panicked state. Left and right. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Left and right. I was mere feet from the final set of tracks at this point. Left. Right...THERE. There was the train. Just as my front bumper crossed the track, I had finally spotted the train off to my right through the front windshield. It was close and quickly getting closer, dwarfing my Corolla as I crossed the tracks. I could see the engineer and we locked eyes. I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "what the $#%@ are you doing?!" I couldn't take my eyes off that looming train. That incredulous engineer. What was I doing? Time seemed to stop.

"Thunk-thunk." My back tires cleared the tracks and snapped me back into the moment. I was clear of the railroad tracks. I looked at my rearview mirror and just beyond my rear bumper, I saw nothing but the steel side of the massive engine car. The train had missed me by no more than a foot. Eyes back to the road ahead of me, I approached another intersection and another red light. I stopped. Those crazy high school kids were idling next to me. They had seen the train and decided to be crazy and cross the tracks anyways. The driver rolled down his window and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up. A thumbs up? They must of figured I had seen it too and had "out-crazied" them with my unintended game of chicken. The light turned green and the high schoolers peeled off. As they did, a passenger leaned out of the back window and yelled, "That was crazy!"

With these words echoing in my head, I slowly proceeded through the intersection and pulled over onto the shoulder. I put the car in park and instantly began to shake uncontrollably. That was crazy. I had just been inches away from a moving train. What's worse is that I didn't see the signal light OR the train until it was almost too late. My shaking turned to sobbing and I sat there on the side of the road shaking and crying until I had no more shaking or crying left in me. I then took a deep breath, collected myself and slowly pulled back onto the road to make my way home.

An October to remember...

2010-10-12T22:26:00.001-07:00

Cara and I are making sure we don't let our first October in Sacramento bore us. We've already had lots of great adventures and have more fun to look forward to:

(1) The first weekend in October, we met some good friends in Las Vegas for Garth Brooks at the Wynn. Poolside at the Mandalay Bay by day, seriously entertained by night, and good friends throughout. An amazing trip.

(2) October 15-17th brings our 1st wedding anniversary (love you, babe!) and we are headed to Napa to celebrate! We found a pet-friendly hotel too, so we'll have Bounce with us and we are super excited for our big adventure in wine country (this coming weekend - woohoo!).

(3) October 22-24th we return to the Pacific NW for the Oregon VisionWalk in Portland, OR. My parents, brother and his wife, Cara's parents, Cara's sister and family and some good family friends will all be walking with us in support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness' efforts to find a cure to vision loss. We are so excited for a great weekend with amazing family and friends, supporting a wonderful cause!

(4) Finally, we end October with a bang. On Halloween weekend, Cara and I will be doing the Merrell Down and Dirty run. It's a 5K complete with mud-crawling, obstacles and who knows what else. We can't wait!

And with all the craziness of our first October in Sacramento, something tells me our November is gonna bring a whole lot of "homebody syndrome."

Holidays 2009

2009-12-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

2009 was an exciting year for us! We got married in Spokane, WA in October and are excited to celebrate our first holiday season as “The Hoags”!! We were honored to have many of you join us for our big day and we certainly missed those of you who were not able to attend. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who surround us with love everyday. Although our year was certainly highlighted by our wedding, we had many other exciting adventures to share with you. So, here is a quick year-in-review of our 2009:

We rang in 2009 with friends in Seattle, WA watching the fireworks over the iconic Space Needle; a perfect conclusion to a wonderful (and surprisingly snowy) trip back home to the NW for the holidays (read more about this: here). The high of a wonderful holiday season soon gave way to the low of Cara re-injuring her right knee (on her birthday too, no less). But, Cara’s sister, Megan, and niece, Becca, paid us a visit in early April and helped Matt to lift Cara’s spirits. Cara was back on her feet in no time at all!

Summer in Knoxville brought many wonderful outdoor adventures; most notably a 4^th of July weekend camping trip to Edisto Island, SC and an awesome surprise zipline outing to celebrate Matt’s birthday. We also enjoyed celebrating Nana’s (Mary’s mother) 80^th birthday with relatives in the Atlanta area. Matt successfully defended his dissertation proposal and began interviewing for professor jobs at the annual accounting conference in New York City. Cara spent much of her summer travelling around the Southeast United States in her role as Enrollment Specialist for EdisonLearning.

Fall was a very special season for us. In September, we welcomed Mat and Alison to Knoxville for a Vols football game. October was dominated by all things wedding and we traveled to Mexico for our honeymoon. After a wonderful week of sun, sand and muy relaxation at an all-inclusive resort in Maya Riviera, we returned to Knoxville tan and a few pounds heavier! Matt immediately began interviewing around the country and in November, he accepted a professor job at CSU-Sacramento! We are so excited to be headed back west next summer and will be looking forward to hosting lots of visitors once we are settled (hint hint)!

As Christmas approaches, we look forward to spending the holidays with our family and friends on the west coast (Portland, Seattle and San Diego)! We take time to reflect on an amazing year full of incredible memories and special moments. Most importantly, we send our warmest holiday wishes to you and those close to you. May the holidays and New Year bring you all good health, peace, love and happiness!

Love,

The Hoags

Gish Hoag Wedding (Part II)

2009-11-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

Not to be confused with Gish-Hoag-Zaga. Heh. Inside joke...

I woke up bright and early on October 17th to get the biggest day of my life started on a good note. I had lots of little things to do...but it all paled in comparison to tying the knot at 4pm! And before I knew it, the "festivities" were underway! It all started with breakfast at Perkins with some of the fellas (groomsmen and friends) in town for the big event. I really wanted to go to Wiese's Place, which was one of my favorite bars/breakfast joints while I was in college...but I thought better of it. You see, we taught the Wiese's bartenders how to make a "Special Coffee" (which includes brandy, bailey's and amaretto...you're always one away from a special day), and well...it just seemed a bit dangerous to start the biggest day of my life off in the presence of such a dangerous concoction. Turns out, Perkins had mimosas afterall (surprise to all of us), so most of the guys were able to ease their nerves a bit before standing at the altar. I, of course, didn't need to...I was incredibly excited, and yet still as cool as a cucumber.

After brunch, it was off to change into our monkey suits (err, tuxes) for pictures, which got rolling a bit before 1pm. We got our photo shooting rolling with "getting ready" pictures. Wisely, Nikki (our photographer) spent most of her time with the girls. She did get a few shots of us guys and we were proud to show off our ingenuity as we had college football playing on the classroom screen in our room in Gonzaga's College Hall in our pics. After the "getting ready" photos, it was time for the "First Look". After not seeing my beautiful bride (to be) for more than 12 hours, I was excited to see her on our big day! And let me tell you...Cara looked stunningly beautiful. And the best part? I was going to be marrying her! During the "First Look" photo session, Cara and I exchanged gifts (more on that later) and exchanged more than our fair share of kisses (NICE!). And from that point forward, the rest of the photos flew by in a blur. Bridesmaids photos, groomsmen photos, wedding party photos, family photos...and then it was 4pm. Before I could even blink, I was back in the sacristy with the priests and (gasp!) about to get married!

When Cara walked down the aisle, I was walloped with such a wave of emotion I can hardly describe. I almost forgot to breathe. My eyes misted. I probably couldn't tell you what city I was in. All I could think about was that incredible woman that was walking towards me. She hugged her dad. Then, I took her hand and we did what we were put on this earth to do. Our marriage ceremony was an incredible event. Fr. Bruno (who headed the Florence program that Cara attended during her junior year of college) brought such an amazing energy/vibe to the ceremony and blessed us sll with incredible messages/reflections throughout. We particularly enjoyed his call to take time every Thursday night away from the hustle and bustle of life to sit down with one another and just lose ourselves in conversation. After calling for our parents to give us a special blessing (which was incredibly special), he said the words that Cara and I were both so excited to hear..."well, what are you waiting for? Kiss the bride!" So, we did.

MARRIED!

And you know what that means? It was time to PAR-TAY (Gish-Hoag Wedding style)!

(But, of course that's another story for another day...)

Gish Hoag Wedding (Part I)

2009-11-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've shared my innermost bloggings with the world. And by "quite a while" I mean 4+ MONTHS!! A lot has changed since my last blog post:

(1) I got married (October 17, 2009) in Spokane, WA.
(2) I turned 28 (August 25th).
(3) I started my campus visits/job interviewing.

These are the big events at least. As exciting as the campus interviewing has been, it's still ongoing. So, I'm gonna update y'all on that later. And, my birthday...well, Cara came up with an amazing surprise and has already told the story (here)! So, I'm gonna focus on the wedding...from my perspective.

For starter's, let's get one thing straight: Married living is amazing! Seriously, I've got the most incredible, sweetest, smartest, most loving wife in the world! It doesn't get any better than this! So, how did it all go down? Well aside from the shock that such a stunningly beautiful woman would even agree to marry me...here are some of the deets. We returned to Spokane on Monday October 12th to make sure we could get all of the last minute "to dos" wrapped up before the big day. On Tuesday, we headed to the Spokane county courthouse to retrieve the all important marriage license. That night, we met up with our good friends, the Kelly's, for dinner. Colin and Brenna both were a key part of our wedding (Brenna a bridesmaid and Colin a reader) and it was wonderful to have the time to visit with them before things got really crazy. Speaking of crazy, the Kelly's recently welcomed a new addition into their family (read: new baby)!

On Wednesday, we were caught up in the hustle and bustle of last minute wedding to dos, vendor meetings, and Cara's parents arrived into town. From this point forward, time was really going to fly by. That night, Cara and I went to Nikko's with her parents. The food was good, the wine selection marvelous, and the service....well, the service was so-so. We made the mistake of sending the server off one to many times before ordering (we were engaged in some pretty good conversation with the in-laws...yikes!) and so our server returned the favor by forgetting about us for about a half an hour. Once we were able to flag her down, we placed our order and the food hit the spot. That is, until the bus-girl spilled water all over Cara's plate while re-filling our water glasses. I don't think it affected the amazing food too much, but it was certainly a bit odd that we got no offer of a comp'ed/discounted meal. Oh well. We had bigger things to focus on!

Thursday brought Cara's bachelorette party, which kept her occupied and having fun for most of the day. I think she had fun (you be the judge: here). To keep me out of trouble, I got a pretty good honey-do list and spent most of the day running around Spokane trying to cross things off my list. My parents arrived that night and so I had dinner with my dad, soon-to-be-brother-in-law, and my adorable soon-to-be-nephews/niece. After dinner, I spent some good quality time drinking wine with the dads while each passed along all sorts of quality marriage wisdom. Two of my best buddies (Rock and Scottie) arrived that night and so I grabbed a few drinks with them at Fast Eddies and made the mistake of arriving back at the hotel room late after Cara had already returned from the piano bar. WHOOPS!

Whatever the case, we could definitely feel the excitement building as the wedding day was fast approaching! On Friday, Cara and I had lots of little things to work on and the day flew by much quicker than we anticipated. One of the big "to do's" that ended up not getting done involved a little surprise Cara and I had planned for our rehearsal dinner. Thus, we ended up busting out an impromptu "live" version of "Gish Hoag wedding" at our rehearsal dinner. It was pretty hilarious and unfortunately, there is video footage out and about somewhere. Overall, we had an amazing rehearsal dinner at Shenanigans along the river and before we knew it, it was time for us to say goodnight. Cara and I shared a special few moments to ourselves before we both headed off to bed to rest up for the big day. And, I'll save that story for another day...

Charlottesville Wedding

2009-07-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

On June 6th, Cara and I traveled to Charlottesville, VA for our friends' (Lane and Sarah) wedding. Neither of us had been to Charlottesville before, so we were both excited to see a new area of the country and since Lane and Sarah are incredible fun, we knew the wedding would be a blast!! Cara and I left early on Saturday morning to make the six-hour drive in time to make the 2pm wedding on time. I made a couple of fun cds for the drive and we rocked while we rolled up the highway to VA. We arrived in Charlottesville with some time to spare and so we were able to head downtown to find Cara a summer hat for the reception. The wedding was lots of fun - but the reception really stole the show. It was held at Ashlawn-Highland, which was home to our fifth president, James Monroe. The property was absolutely beautiful as we dined, drank and square danced on the back lawn. Lane and Sarah did a fanstastic job injecting some of their personality into the event, too. Lane had put together a whiskey bar and had cigars for the occasion. In addition, the two had various lawn sports (croquet, Cornhole, and Bocce ball), house tours, and of course the aforementioned square dancing. For dinner, we had some tasty barbeque and there were plenty of unique local and Brooklyn-based (the two lived in Brooklyn when they met) microbrews to wash down the fiery bbq. It was an incredible party.

The next morning, Cara and I had a delicious breakfast at the Cav diner. We then hit the campus of UVA to walk around and take in the stunning architecture and grounds. We toured The Rotunda, which Thomas Jefferson modeled after The Pantheon in Rome. Finally, we decided it was probably time to hit the road for the long drive back to Knoxville. Overall, the trip was incredible and Cara and I both hope its not our last opportunity to visit Charlottesville. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Jessica, Colin and Joe outside the Ashlawn-Highland main residence.

Cara, modeling her new hat.

Me, modeling my new beer.

Me, Joe and Colin smoking cigars and having some sort of a deep convesation.

Square dancing. I'm really getting into it.

While we were square dancing, Cara was taking awesome photos like this.

The peacock graced the reception with his presence as well.

I had such a great time, I had to "JUMP".

The whiskey/cigar menu and a neat whiskey served in a plastic cup.

Less than 100 days until our wedding. YES!!

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at The Cav Diner.

Cara is all tuckered out. And with good reason...it was an awesome party!

Finally, The Rotunda on the campus of the University of Virginia is a nice way to close out our trip in photos. Hope you enjoyed!

A quick update

2009-07-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have received some serious flak (and deservedly so) for neglecting my blog these past months. Shame on me. I have finally had some time to devote this past week and a half, but I've been daunted by a large list of topics and updates and an overwhelming urge to post the perfect blog in order to atone for my sins. Well, the procrastination must come to an end. I'm not going to post the perfect blog and it certainly will not be very long. However, I do want to provide a quick update in hopes that doing so will spur a flurry of Shenooligans blogging activity in the weeks ahead. Here goes:

(1) On June 19th, I successfully defended my dissertation proposal. Since then and in the weeks ahead, I will be diligently preparing application materials, inquiring about possible job openings and setting up interviews ahead of the American Accounting Association Annual Meeting August 1st-5th in New York, NY.

(2) Cara and I just returned from an excellent weekend camping on the South Carolina coast. More to come on this shortly.

(3) Wedding season is upon us - Cara and I had a blast at Jon and Trina's and Lane and Sarah's weddings in May and June respectively. Up next, we are looking forward to a 2-for-1 wedding day this upcoming Saturday. Whoohoo! And after that? OURS!! Cara pointed out today that we are almost below the 100 day threshold. YAY!!

(4) My bachelor party is fast approaching! July 18th in Portland, OR. Oooo boy...I'm excited! More to come on this after the festivities!

(5) The Sounders FC success continues and the Mariners have been one of the more surprising success stories (albeit moderate success) in MLB. I'm loving up my Seattle sports - they've been a welcome and needed distraction during my hectic summer!

Okay, so I've broken the ice. I'll really get cooking soon! Until then, take good care!

Matt

Seattle Sports Fan

2009-04-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

I love Seattle sports. Let me correct that: I am obsessed with Seattle sports. Cara gives me a hard time about it and points out that I devote way too much time and energy to this obsession. And, I totally agree...but, I'm sucked in! I can't help it! So, I turn to blogging in an attempt to give my obsession an outlet. Maybe it'll help slow me down. Then again, maybe it'll only make my obsession grow. And grow. Poor Cara...

My obsession started innocently enough. As a kid, I loved sports and stats. I got a baseball video game (Bases Loaded II: Second Season) and never looked back. Since the game did not calculate statistics beyond one game itself, I christened myself league statistician and did so myself. There I was, a 9-year-kid crunching away batting averages, ERAs, on-base percentages, etc. Nerdy? You bet. The sports obsession seeds were planted.

I grew up loving the Atlanta Braves. I think this is largely because I could listen to every game on the Turner Radio Broadcast in Gaithersburg, MD. And listen I did. I would stay up late with the radio down low getting my fill of sports and stats. Feeding the growing obsession. Other than that, I can't recall being particularly obsessed with any one team in particular. In fact, it wasn't until I moved to Seattle that I really started feeling pride for the home town teams. And it has only been since I moved to Knoxville a few years ago that this pride has turned into obsession. I am obsessed with NW sports.

I think that the root of this obsession is that it connects me with the NW. I miss my family, friends, the weather, the sights and sounds. Following NW sports obsessively helps connect me to the NW. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But, I probably could stand to turn it down a notch. Here's a sampling of what drives Cara crazy:

Seattle Mariners: I watch all of the M's games on MLB GameTracker and simultaneously refresh the M's Live game blog page at the Seattle Times website (see the blog, here). So, under the pretense of "work," I am typically keeping a watchful eyes on my boys in grey and blue. So far, the M's are off to a surprisingly hot start at 8-5, leading the AL West by 2.5 games. I'd like to claim this is due to my obsessive vigilance. But, Cara has convinced me that is poor logic. So, I'm gonna try to keep a slightly less obsessively vigilant eye on the M's.
Seattle Sounders FC: Ever since the expansion Seattle Sounders FC MLS team was announced, I have eagerly snapped up any information on the new hometown franchise. And now the dream is a reality. The Sounders stormed into their first season as an MLS franchise with three straight wins. And I was (you guessed it) keeping a watchful eye out the whole way! Well, sometimes it was a watchful ear I guess. The games are broadcast online at KIRO radios website, so I've taken in a game or two with headphones in my ear. In fact, there have been a couple of occasions when I had both the Sounders AND the M's to stimulate my sports/stats obsession!! Awesome!! Nevermind my first professional/semi-professional soccer experience was when Cara took me to a Timbers game in Portland. She claims that I have to be a Timbers fan. I have a blast proving her wrong and cheering for the Sounders that much louder! It'll be even more fun when the Timbers join MLS in 2011! A rivalry is born! Now I just need a jersey!
Seattle Seahawks: In reality, my Seahawks obsession is more of a fantasy football obsession. I posted about this obsession here. It's a long blog. So, I'm just gonna leave it at that.
Gonzaga Bulldogs: I would say that the Bulldogs are probably my healthiest obsession, in that both Cara and I are passionate about our alma mater's basketball team. So, at least we can share in the obsession. Within our first 12 hours of dating, we were snuggled up on the couch watching our Bulldogs in the 2008 NCAA tournament. And the "fan-dom" continues in Knoxville. ESPN2 and the WCC have a suh-weet deal where a handful of league games are broadcast nationally. Unsurprisingly, Gonzaga hogs the spotlight which is perfect for us! So, we get to see quite a bit of our Zags in Knoxville! The game times are killer, usually starting at 11pm EST. So, Cara watches the 1st 4 minutes and falls asleep on the couch. I promise to go to bed at halftime if the Zags are blowing their opponent out. The Zags dominate the 1st half. I proceed to watch the ENTIRE game anyways. Then I wake Cara up and we go to bed around 1am EST.

Bottom line. It's exhausting work. But, that's the life of a SUPER fan. Make that an obsessive, super fan. I'm trying to drop the obsessive part. But, I've got a ways to go. Well, I gotta run. M's are on GameTracker...

Kidding.

"How I Met Your Mother " Poll Results

2009-04-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I ran a poll of your favorite "How I Met Your Mother" character. The runaway winner was Barney Stinson, and for good reason. His character provides sure-fire comedy night-in and night-out (click for example). I chose Marshall Eriksen. His character is awesome. He is such a dopey, loveable guy. Kind of like...umm...me! And if you want comedy, he delivers. Just check out the Smacksgiving episode (here)!

Knoxville Bar Review - Toddy's

2009-04-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I promised to rate some of the Knoxville watering holes (see my blog, here). And now I deliver on this promise. I’ve chosen several of Knoxville’s finest bars, taverns, and/or pubs and I will review each of them in due time. For each, I rate the ambiance, furnishings, food, drink, and prices. This all adds up to a total score (out of 25) and I’ll conclude with my brief take on the strengths and weaknesses. And without any further ado, the first location up for review is:

Toddy’s Back Door Tavern: This hole in the wall on Kingston Pike was founded by former Vols basketball player, Ted Cook. The name Toddy’s is a play on Ted’s nickname, Joe Toddy. The bar has earned the vote of two local legends, Peyton Manning and Justin “The Accountant” Gundy. Says Gundy, “Hot Dog Bar!” Need I say more?

Ambiance (3 out of 5): A definite hole in the wall, but it’s got a cozy, down-home kind of feel to it. The back porch is awesome, especially on a nice day. The bar itself is a little bit small with an awkward layout. The barside has a good feel to it with decent television screens.

Furnishings (3 out of 5): Definitely nothing to write home about. The furniture and amenities could be improved. But, at the same time the furnishings give the place its charm. And it’s got a lot of that.

Food (2 out of 5): The hot dogs are where its at. Problem is, they used to be free and now they’re not. However, they are tasty and there isn’t much that goes better with a tall, cold one than a hot dog. Rest of the menu is limited.

Drink (3 out of 5): The beer flows here and they’ve got Shiner on tap. That alone should make the Texans in the area pretty excited. I gotta admit, Shiner Bock is pretty darned good.

Prices (4 out of 5): The beer is cheap (and so are the hot dogs, despite no longer being Happy Hour giveaways). However, the place doesn’t take credit cards and I find that annoying. I must just be a snob or something.

Overall (15 out of 25): Weaknesses – Limited food options, no hard alcohol selections (it’s a tavern), does not accept credit cards and overall the place could use some TLC. Strengths – At the end of the day, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I’ve always had a great time at Toddy’s. Cold beer, hot dogs and a patio on a nice, sunny day? Now, that’s living, folks.

On the Home Front...

2009-04-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Owning a home can be both maddening and exciting. The past two weeks have been a prime example of this dichotomy. Cara and I had a blast hosting her sister (Megan) and adorable niece (Becca) a week and a half ago (see Megan’s blogs here, here, here and here for deets). A big part of the fun was showing off OUR house and all the work we’ve done since Cara moved here last October: new paint, new carpet, new kitchen table, rearranging the rooms, etc. etc. However, during Megan’s visit we had two major appliance blowouts illustrating the maddening flipside of the home-ownership coin. First, we were doing laundry and I went downstairs to change loads only to find the floor soaking wet. Ugh! Broken washing machine?!? The verdict is still out, but I’ve done a couple of small loads since and I’m fairly certain it was more of an overload flood, than a leaky or malfunctioning washing machine kind of flood. So, I think we’re safe there. Whew!

Little did we know, we could have used all of that excess water a few days later when our oven nearly started an electrical fire! We had just cooked up a delicious baked macaroni and cheese casserole and were sitting down to eat at the dining table when we all heard an odd crackling sound. I got up to check the office, where we all believed the sound to be coming from. Once there, I quickly realized it was the kitchen and opened the oven (which we had forgotten to turn off) to find it glowing from within. The crackling sound was the baking element which had broken and was arcing electricity. It looked like a welder’s torch! I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and probably burned out a few retina cells as I tried to figure out what to do. Turning off the oven didn’t work and so we sent Megan downstairs (Cara still being hobbled from her knee surgery) to grab the extinguisher (just in case) and to flip off the breaker (Cara’s great idea). The breaker shut-off did the trick and we were officially without a working oven.

So, the next step when you’re a home owner (of course) is to fix the problems. And that’s where the costs start adding up. Cara and I had a few other “fix-its” around the house, so I set out to tackle the stove and the garage door (which has been out of commission with a dead garage door opener since late last summer). So, off I went to Sears and $850 later we had a new garage door opener and a new stove purchased and ready to be installed. The garage door opener installation was scheduled yesterday. As it turns out…I’m an idiot. The installation contractors got here and quickly determined a late summer electrical storm had flipped the breaker on the grounded outlet sourcing the garage door opener. The original one wasn’t dead afterall and the installation (and new opener) weren’t needed! So, they instead – to make the service call money worthwhile – installed a bar along the top of the garage to keep it from buckling over time and I got to return the opener and have the full price (and installation) refunded! Whoop whoop!

The new range was installed just this afternoon and it looks great. It’s nice to have a shiny new oven in place and this one has even got a utility drawer underneath which gives us much needed additional storage space in our tiny kitchen! After doing the self-clean all afternoon – and nearly dying from the fumes of all the oils that coated our new range burning off – we are now ready for cooking action once again! Oh, and while all this madness was going on…we bought an indoor plant as well. It really ties the room together. It’s a Schefflera Arboricola or “Dwarf Umbrella Tree”. Suh-weet!

Engaged Encounter Weekend

2009-03-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

Cara and I are looking forward to our wedding in Spokane on October 17, 2009. In an earlier blog, I wrote about our recent progress in the wedding plans. Well, we have checked another big “to do” off the list since then. On March 6th through 8th, we attended our Catholic Engaged Encounter (“CEE”) weekend in Carson Springs, TN. Carson Springs is located about 45 minutes east of Knoxville in the Smoky Mountains and it was beautiful, serene setting for our retreat. Cara and I had heard lots of good things about the retreat from our friends (Scott & Hanna and Colin & Brenna), so we were looking forward to it.

For those of you unaware, the CEE is retreat is a required pre-marital step for a Catholic wedding. The goal of the weekend is to give couples an opportunity to explore and discuss their faith, views, perspectives and goals with a focus on the marriage as a lifelong commitment and sacrament. Our particular retreat had 8 “participant” couples, 2 “presenting” couples, and a priest to help guide us through the “journey.” Overall, the weekend was not quite what we expected. There was very little time provided for discussion and sharing in a group setting with much more of an emphasis on individual and couple time to think/write/talk about the topics and issues raised. Although, this was certainly a great time for Cara and I to grow closer to one another (and we did), we would have enjoyed an opportunity to be exposed to multiple other viewpoints and perspectives. Even the presenters seemed a little bit guarded and scripted in their presentations (they read all of the presentation materials), which created a bit of a dampened energy. However, we were told from the onset that the weekend would be “what we put into it” and it lived up to the billing. Cara and I enjoyed the time away from the mad rush of our lives to focus on us. It was a perfect weekend.

To top it all off, we met a friendly couple that also lives in the Knoxville area, John and Elizabeth. Cara and I had a great time socializing with them in-between sessions during the retreat weekend (John was my roommate) and we left for home with plans to meet up soon. And meet up we did. Two weeks ago, we took them up on an offer to grab some sushi at Nama downtown. It was an awesome night all-around. Good food. Great drink. Wonderful company and conversation. Cara and I are excited for our next “engaged encounter” with our fun new CEE friends!

Thursday Night Pints

2009-03-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

We accounting Ph.D. students are a fairly tight knit bunch. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. I think you’ll find that any small group of individuals subject to the same set of rigorous and oftentimes stressful circumstances will tend to band together in support and camaraderie. One of our recent graduates did an incredible job of reaching out to me and the other “newbies” to properly acclimate us to the program. His graduation left the program without a true leader for achieving a similar level camaraderie. Well, that changed when Lane entered the program last Fall. Lane is hands down one of the most inclusive and social individuals I have met. He quickly ascended to the ranks of Ph.D. program social chair and set to work trying to pull the “F.U.N.” out of “Financial Accounting Standards Board” (trust me, it’s in there somewhere).

One of his first acts as governing social chair was instituting Thursday Night Pints, which we students affectionately call “T.N.P.” The premise of T.N.P. is simple. We meet at a Knoxville watering hole at 6pm, kick back with a few pints and some bar grub, and socialize for a couple of hours. Cara is quick to point out that school topics tend to dominate the social time. Though we try our best to steer clear, we always end up back on the topic of school. And Cara never fails to let me hear about it. Lane’s fiancée, Sarah, makes it out to join us most of the time, so she and Cara have happily bonded in their avoidance of accounting Ph.D. program boredom. Lucky them.

Early on, Lane did a bang-up job of mixing up the locations to keep the environments fresh and fun. However, late last semester he found his T.N.P. “Mecca” and he hasn’t looked back since. So, I’ll have to try and push for a little bit of variety to keep things interesting. In the meantime, we have ourselves the official T.N.P. headquarters of the Business School Ph.D. program. Before I “let the cat out of the bag” and name our current headquarters, I thought it might be fun to tour (and review) some of the more memorable T.N.P. hot spots. Here is a quick list (to whet your appetite):

• The Roaming Gnome
• Toddy’s Back Door Tavern
• Cool Beans
• Long Branch Saloon
• Downtown Grill & Brewery (DGB)
• Half Barrel
• Sidestreet Tavern
• Aubrey’s
• The Crown & Goose

Note: The above list of nine includes the name of the current T.N.P. headquarters. But, I’m keeping that a secret for now. I’ll review these prior T.N.P. destinations in a three-part mini-series in the coming weeks right here at Shenooligans, concluding with our current “world headquarters.” Oh boy!

Game Night

2009-03-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

There are a ton of reasons why I love Cara. One of these "ton" is that she shares my love of board games. Though our tastes do not mesh 100% (I love me some "Risk" - she does not), we do share quite a few favorites: Scrabble, Scattergories, The Game of Life, and Yahtzee to name a few.

For all my board game experience, Cara has "upped" my games repertoire quite a bit since joining me in Knoxville. She introduced me to the electronic version of Life (Twists & Turns), which is nothing short of incredible. Apples to Apples is a great party game that Cara raved about and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed a rousing game with Scott and Hanna until the wee hours of the morning while we were back in the NW for Christmas Break. And I never quite appreciated Scrabble until Cara and I started dating - it now has a special place in my heart (and I would be remiss if I didn't throw Josh some love for also expanding my love for Scrabble).

The current "most played" game in our house is Yahtzee and in the past week, Cara and I have thrown down on the Yahtzee "field" on a couple different occasions. My early Yahtzee luck has not been good as Cara started things off with a four-match win streak. In the fourth match, Cara rolled three - count 'em THREE - Yahtzees and won in dominating fashion 419-290. Most of the time 290 is going to win a game of Yahtzee. But, it's not going to beat three Yahtzees! My luck did not change in Game 5 - our first of the five we played - as she, once again, emerged victorious. However, my rolling heated up and I took the next four games in a row to make the "season series" a nip-and-tuck 5-4 in Cara's favor.

Tonight, I had been busy working most of the night away and Cara suggested I take a break so we could play another match. I gave her a guilt trip about how I'd have to stay up later, but said that I would be happy to play a round if she didn't mind the guilt. She didn't. We played. She won. 276-260. The series is now 6-4 in Cara's favor and she's got some needed breathing room in our season series. It was such a nice break. I can get pretty consumed in my work at times and I love, Love, LOVE that Cara is quick to offer a distraction. Especially a board game distraction! I can't wait for our next game night!

What is your favorite board game?

Dream On

2009-03-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

I tend not to be able to remember my dreams, however I also tend to be quite the "dozer" in the morning (see Cara's blog here and here), so there are times I wake up after dozing with a recollection of my recent "dozing" dreams. A recurring theme I've had involves running, typically running from something or someone. Not necessarily a bad -thing or -one, but still running. Running away.

The setting differs drastically each time, but the theme/mood is the same. I cannot make my legs move fast enough. No matter how much I look down at my legs and think "MOVE," I get no response. No burst. No speed. I cannot help but to plod through my dreams while my "chaser" slowly gains ground.

So I "Googled" dream analysis and clicked through to the following site: (http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/r3.htm) to see what it had to say about my dreams. Here are the pertinent excerpts:

"To dream that you are running away from someone, indicates an issue that you are trying to avoid. You are not taking or accepting responsibility for your actions. In particular, if you are running from an attacker or any danger, then it suggests that you are not facing or confronting your fears."

"To dream that you are trying to run but cannot make your feet move as fast as you want them to, signifies lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. It may also reflect your actual state of REM paralysis while in the dream state."

Interesting stuff. I know I do not ooze self-confidence, but I wouldn't say that I lack it either. Could I use more self-confidence at times? Sure. I'd love to be more confident overall. I think it's a positive trait as long as it doesn't become over-confidence or cockiness (which I find totally unappealing). The self-esteem thing may be on point though. Cara has pointed out to me that I can tend to beat up on myself sometimes. And it's true. I am REALLY hard on myself. I tend to let life's minor stresses and anxieties build up until I can't any longer and then I blame myself for not being organized/productive/smart/athletic/funny/happy enough to have dealt with whatever stressors finally got to me. And unfortunately for me (and Cara), the Ph.D. program is flush with stressful moments and anxiety-inducing events.

The first part (me running from someone or something) suggests there may be an issue I am trying to avoid. I openly admit that there are numerous "issues" I am trying to avoid. Taxes, for instance. I do not want to do my taxes. Does that make me any different than 99.9% of the rest of the population? The key issue is that I have NOT done my taxes yet and it is stressing me out. So, I need to "take the bull by the horns" and do my taxes (and any other similar undesirable tasks that I've got on my "to do" list).

I want to point out that in my dream this morning, I was the chaser. It was similar in that I was chasing and running with legs of molasses. But, I was the chaser. Maybe it's a sign that I'm gonna do my taxes today. Maybe it's bigger than that. Perhaps, my mindset is starting to change? Maybe it won't be long before I'm running at full speed in my dreams!

Legen…(wait for it…)

2009-03-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

I only recently discovered “How I Met Your Mother” and I cannot believe it took me so long. The show is unbelievably witty, funny, and light-hearted. The characters are fresh, entertaining, and endearing. Most importantly, the storytelling is totally creative. Each episode seems to entail new storytelling angle and I love it. It certainly is a good cure-all for a blue kind of day. In an effort to encourage a little “audience participation,” I am publishing a survey of your favorite “How I Met Your Mother” character. It is a really close competition between my top two. I don’t even know who I’m going to pick, so you’ll have to check back soon to find out.

If you have not seen the show before, I highly recommend it for a light-hearted and fun “escape” from the real world. If you are already on the “How I Met Your Mother” bandwagon, then please cast a vote in my survey! Happy voting!

…oh, and before I forget. DARY! High five!

Wedding Checklist? Check, Check (again), and Check (back later)

2009-02-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not completely finished, but we checked quite a few things off the "to do" list yesterday afternoon:

Wedding bands. Cara and I returned to Markman's (the store where I purchased Cara's engagement ring) to price our wedding bands. I had Cara's engagement band designed by the in-house jeweler so we will have him special design her wedding band to exact match and fit and we are waiting on his price estimate and some CAD images! Turning our attention to my band, we started browsing the selection not planning on making any quick decisions (however, I do have to admit we were both leaning to getting all of the rings from Markman's). Well, we ended up making a quick decision afterall selecting this fancy little number (see left inset). The ring (for those wondring) is 14K white gold and Cara and I both think it pairs amazingly with her bridal set. After making a small down payment, we've got this little guy on layaway for the big day! After seeing it on my finger, I am so excited to get further acquainted. It feels and looks awesome...and most importantly...I am thrilled to officially become Cara's husband! Status: CHECK
After surprising ourselves by getting the rings checked off our "to do" list, Cara and I ventured out to the local Men's Wearhouse to get me fitted for my buddy Quinn's upcoming wedding and to look at tuxedo rentals for our own wedding. Long story short (I'll spare the gory details to avoid bad-mouthing anyone in such a joyous blog!), we barely got my measurements before we couldn't stand the poor service (hopefully just a bad day for the store/associate) any longer and hit the road. In the end, we wrote a scalding email to the Men's Wearhouse customer service department and we're back to square one trying to figure out what we'll be doing for tuxedo rentals. Men's Wearhouse is on thin ice at best right now for our wedding business. Status: CHECK (AGAIN).
The last wedding update item actually has nothing to do with our Saturday afternoon errands. Cara scheduled us for our Engaged Encounters retreat a few weeks ago and the retreat weekend is fast approaching (March 6th-8th). We have heard great things about the Engaged Encounters retreat from our friends (Scott and Hanna) and we are both looking forward to the experience. I'm sure Cara or I (or both of us!) have a story or two to share about the weekend on our blog(s) after the big weekend! Status: CHECK (BACK LATER)

So there you have it. Another weekend closer to the big day. Another "to do" list item or two checked off the list. Another 236 days and I'll be Cara's hubby! WOOP! WOOP!

For the dogs?

2009-02-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hey gang. Matt AND Cara here reporting on the exciting "married couple" kind of day we had:

Last night Cara suggested that we head downtown for the annual doggie parade, aptly named "Mardi Growl". "The parade starts at 11am," she said. "Hmmm," I thought. I was planning on shooting hoops with my classmates starting at 10. Taking note of my hesitation, Cara quickly suggested, "you can play basketball for 45 minutes or so and we'll head straight there a little bit late." I thought this sounded fair, so I agreed. As it turns out, my knee was not feeling up to par this morning so I scratched basketball altogether and off to the parade we went.

The dog parade was truly a sight to behold. Led by the grand marshal, Marley (well, the dog's real name isn't really Marley, it's Rudy, but he was one of the 18 dogs who p layed Marley in the hit movie "Marley and Me"), the dogs were eager to strut their stuff. And when I say dogs, I mean lots of dogs! Last year over 350 dogs turned out for the parade.

We thought we might be a little odd, showing up to a dog parade without a dog. But we happily met our friends, Mike and Jennifer who brought along their two daughters and their golden retriever, Molly. Molly got a lot of attention as she recently became a 3-legged dog due to bone cancer and is still undergoing chemotherapy.
Since it was Mardi Growl, dogs (and sometimes owners) were decked out in costume. The winner for best costume definitely deserved the prize:
We, as Zags, love Bulldogs and they were definitely out today! Here's one that was crammed into a stroller and looking quite cute and pathetic all at the same time.
And introducing the rest of the cast...

The Shagmiester

The Sass-ma-tass

The Prim & Proper Pup
The Pimped Out Ride

A Hot Dog
One HUGE pug (I call him "Pugs Mahone")
AND we couldn't pass up a picture of a cute, decked out boxer pup!

After the dog show, we enjoyed a delicious Southwestern feast at Moe's and then spent the afternoon out and about around Knoxville (which was quite eventful - more on this later!!) Overall, the dog show was a blast and it definitely helped to maintain our excitement for adding a cute little four-legged friend to our family in the not-to-distant future!!

And speaking of Mardi Growl/Gras; Lent starts soon! We're giving up sweets for Lent! What are you giving up?

Teaching for Life, Part II

2009-02-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

In an earlier blog, I posted about my first semester in the classroom. I am now well underway into my 2nd semester of teaching and I feel like I'm really starting to come into my own. Yesterday, I was reflecting back on my first semester of teaching the Accounting 200 class. I couldn't help but find it amazing that I had been up in front of a class of 75-100 students three days a week at 8am.* There I was teaching an amazing group of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (ok, this "bright-eyed, bushy-tailed" part is a stretch) students the ins and outs of accounting.

Reflecting back on the memories of my first semester of teaching seemed absolutely surreal to me...and not for the reason I would have expected. You see, there were times during the semester when I couldn't believe that I was standing in front of such a large "audience". I would flash back to my junior year of high school when a shy, quiet, skinny cross-country runner stood in front of his high school to give a "Vote for Matt Hoag as your ASB Treasurer" speech (Side note: I was the only person running, so the speech was a formality). At the time, I preferred very much to operate behind the scenes. It's not that I wasn't social. I'm certainly an extrovert now, so I had to have been back then. I must have been an extrovert in a bit of a shell. Well, long story short. I won in my "campaign" for ASB treasurer (again, no competition, so this should not be a real shocker) and shipped off to Leadership camp. Surrounded by a bunch of loud, energized, hyper "super-leaders" I felt a bit gun-shy at first. But, by the end of the week I was firmly out of my shell and I haven't looked back since. So, I always believed that any surreal feelings about teaching in a University would be along the lines of "I can't believe that shy high schooler really did this teaching thing!!" Instead, I was shocked when the surreal feelings I felt yesterday was more along the lines of "What the heck took me so long?!?"

The college classroom is where I belong. While the first semester was not without some emotional ups and downs, the second semester finds me much more acclimated to the classroom. I love being able to share my passion and excitement for learning and life with my students. I get such a high out of being in front of the class and I really enjoy challenging myself day-in and day-out to be a better teacher/mentor/advisor. This semester I have two sections of a business capstone course, which I lead on Friday afternoons. Yesterday, I covered a morning section for one of the other instructors who had to be out of town so I found myself in the classroom from 10am until just after 5pm (Note: I was supposed to be done at 4:30pm but for the second straight week I found myself staying after to chat with and mentor my students). I was completely exhausted but it was that good kind of exhausted. I am in my element when I'm in the classroom. I can't get enough of it and most importantly I could not be happier that I am well on my way to fulfilling my life's calling; Professor Hoag has a nice ring to it.

I received my evaluation scores from my accounting class a few weeks ago. There were times when I flat-out dreaded getting my scores. I was sure they were going to be low. There were so many things I knew I could have done - should have done - better. I realize now that I was being ridiculously hard on myself. It was my first semester and I have a lot of "growing" to do for sure in improving as a teacher. In the end, the scores were certainly not high. My class did not do particularly well overall, so that really shouldn't be much of a surprise. But, I did score highly in two areas that really stood out to me, "enthusiasm" and "availability of extra help when needed".

I know that I will make lots of improvements in my lectures (both style and content) as I gain experience. But, I pride myself in being approachable and enthusiastic about what I'm doing and I am so happy that this was visible to my students. Teaching is going to be such an incredible life journey for me and I am so happy that the journey is now well underway!

(*depending on the day, my "official" class size was 120 at the start of the semester and 109 at the end)

Voice of an Angel?

2009-02-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Cara and I just returned from church this morning at the Catholic "Center" here on campus. We both love going to church and feel like it's such a good way to start our Sundays together. So, we are trying our best to make it part of our routine (which is tough given that it largely hasn't been for either one of us since our days at Gonzaga). The upcoming Lenten season definitely provides a great opportunity to make weekly mass a regular part of our lives.

One of my favorite things to do at mass is sing. Those that know me well, know I really do like to sing (I find myself undeniably drawn to karaoke bars). So at church I really like to belt out the songs and make my voice heard. Today at church - when we all exchanged the "sign of peace" handshakes with each other - the lady in front of me commented, "you have a really lovely voice." I was flattered and I probably turned a little bit red. But nonetheless, it was a nice compliment. What makes this seemingly inconspicuous compliment truly noteworthy was that it wasn't the first singing compliment I had received at St. John XXIII. In fact, the last time Cara and I attended mass (three weeks ago) the lady in front of us said to me at the end of mass, "I just wanted to let you know that you have a gorgeous voice!"

Different lady. Different description. Same gist. Now, I am rather proud of my voice. I know I don't have any Grammy's waiting for me, but I do enjoy singing and sharing my voice with the world. But, I find it humorous that I've received only one other such compliment on my voice (not including family/friends) at mass in over 20 years of being a mass-goer.

So, has my voice improved considerably with age? Or is it perhaps the close seating quarters at the University church space? Maybe it is the sweet Southern hospitality and personalities thatU make Southern folk more outgoing in doling out praise to strangers? Or, perhaps the acoustics are really just superb in St. John the XXIII?

I'm stumped. What do y'all think?

Mario Kart....Wii.

2009-01-31T09:29:00.001-08:00

Last summer I was at a BBQ hosted by one of my old seniors/managers at KPMG. He was off to greener pastures as Controller of a local real estate/investment firm and was hosting a farewell party. There were a lot of new KPMG faces and I remember some of the newer KPMG associates were ranting and raving about the addictive capabilities of Mario Kart Wii.

Fast forward to present day. Cara and I got Mario Kart Wii and it has struggled to find playing time against the likes of Wii Sports, Mario & Sonic Olympic Games, Mario Galaxy and the current fave...Wii Fit (which is always in our Wii!). However, the more Cara and I have Karted it up, the more I find myself drawn to this goofy, cartoony game with the suh-weet little steering wheel. And then I discovered you can connect to the 'Net and play folks from around the world 24/7, race ghosts, take part in tournaments, even find friends and play them head to head in Vs. or Battle modes. Throw this on top of all the cool race tracks I've been unlocking as I play through the game and you can color me addicted. Such an awesome game. If you don't have it, get it. And send me your 12 digit license number when you do, so we can "Wii it up" in the not too distant future.

Holiday Letter 2008

2009-01-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you that didn't receive the holiday letter I put together this year (kind of last minute), I wanted to post it on my blog. I hope you enjoy it:

Happy Holidays from Knoxville!!

As 2008 draws to a close, I reflect on what has been a very exciting, eventful, and joy-filled year for me. I am blessed to have wonderful friends and a supportive, loving family with which to share the wonderful experiences that life offers. I rang in 2008 with close friends in Las Vegas and I will bid 2008 farewell and ring in 2009 in Seattle in much the same manner. However, the theme for this year’s New Year’s celebration is certainly love and commitment! I am blessed to have my amazing fiancé Cara (more on that later) to share New Year’s with this year and we will at that time be celebrating the recent marriage of two dear friends (Scott and Hanna) and the engagement of two others (Josh and Lacy)!

Cara and I met last year at Battle in Seattle, where our Zags played the Tennessee Volunteers in a much anticipated basketball match up; the game was exciting for me because I have recently adopted the Vols as my 2nd favorite basketball team as I work towards my Accounting Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Cara and I both attended Gonzaga University (she being one year under me) and though we knew of each other, we had never formally met. Once we did meet (thanks to Kate O. for introducing us!!), neither of us could have predicted how quickly our relationship would grow! We started dating long-distance in March and it did not take long for us to realize we had something truly unique and special on our hands. When Cara visited Knoxville in August of this year, I proposed and much to my excitement, she said “Absolutely!” We quickly settled on a wedding date for next Fall (October 17, 2009) on campus at our alma mater, Gonzaga University, in Spokane, WA. Cara found a great job with Edison Learning in Knoxville in October and made the big move across the country to join me in Eastern Tennessee. The two of us have enjoyed turning our little townhouse into a home with painting, some intense interior decorating, and new carpet installation planned for early 2009! We welcome anyone who may be headed to the SE U.S. to stop in and visit us!!

My graduate studies continue to move along on schedule. I completed my comprehensive exams this summer and attended a Ph.D. student consortium in Lake Tahoe, which provided me with a great opportunity to network and idea-share with some of my fellow students from throughout the United States. This semester, I had my first opportunity to teach and I enjoyed being in the classroom very much. The teaching experience really energized me and I look forward to wrapping up my dissertation and graduating in the Spring of 2010 so I can begin life as a university professor! This summer I will attend the Annual Accounting Academic conference in New York City which will mark the beginning of what is sure to be a long and interesting interview process! Cara and I hope to return West and have our sights set on Oregon, Washington, or perhaps Colorado as our “dream destinations” so that we can be close to our friends and family! I encourage you to follow along with my blog, http://shenooligans.blogspot.com/, as another way to follow the goings on in my life.

Cara and I wish you all health, love, and happiness this holiday season and for the year to come! We hope very much that our paths will cross in the year ahead, but if not, know that we hold a special place for you in our hearts and that we look forward to the next time we are able to sit down and share some good food, drink and/or conversation with you all in person!!

Wishing you a very happy New Year!!

Matt and Cara

1st Blog of 2009

2009-01-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009!!

Wow! I can hardly believe we're already 11 days into the New Year! And this is my first blog?!? What a slacker!!

I thought I'd kick off my 2009 blog-series with a brief synopsis of the holiday travels and then give my New Year's resolutions. So, without further ado...

Cara and I had an amazing trip back to the NW! Even with some wintry weather throughout the country (and surprisingly in Western Washington too!), all of our travels via planes, trains and automobiles went without hitch. This being the first holiday season either of us has been engaged, meant we both experienced a "dual-family" Christmas season for the 1st time. So, after taking in a great Gonzaga basketball game for Battle in Seattle (a loss, unfortunately!), we loaded up in the car and headed South for Vancouver/Battle Ground, WA to spend a few days with Cara's parents and the Sarvelas. Our trip was made much more interesting by a surprising blast of winter weather, which caused train and flight cancellations/delays. So, we had Kate O'Farrell join us for the drive and we all made it safe and sound. I had so much fun visiting with Cara's family! We split our time between her parents house in Battle Ground and her sister's house in Vancouver. So, I got lots of great time with her parents, sister and brother-in-law, and of course her adorable nephews and niece! Cara's sister, Megan, wrote a great blog that really shows how welcoming Cara's entire family has been to me. I may not "officially" be part of the extended Gish/Sarvela clan, but I certainly feel like I'm already in the mix!

After enjoying some of the white stuff (snow!) with a little sledding, snowman building and slip-sliding on the backroads of Hockinson, WA, Cara and I ventured north on Christmas Day to spend a few days with my family. We arrived around noon and enjoyed a day full of presents, good food, and lots of games! Cara and I received a Wii Fit for Christmas and our new toy received lots of attention from the whole family! We aso discovered Blokus (an awesome game) and had a rematch of Up and Down the River with my parents (a card game we both enjoy!). That weekend, Cara headed south for a few more days with her family and I travelled East to spend some time with James (my brother) and Ada (his wife) in Ellensburg. I returned to Federal Way for another couple days at home with mom and dad before Cara took the Amtrak up to rejoin me in Seattle for an excellent night spent ringing in the New Year with friends!

We took a red-eye flight back to Knoxville on the night of the 1st. Cara and I were both pleasantly surprised when we were upgraded to 1st class seats on our first leg to Cleveland. AWESOME! We returned to Knoxville and after a day of R&R to recuperate from a busy holiday, we set to work getting ready for a new year/semester of work/school! All-in-all, we decided that this was our best holiday ever! It was so wonderful seeing all of our family and friends! And while it is certainly hard to be across the country from some of those closest to us, we are both blessed to have an amazing amount of love and support from friends and family at all times! And finally, what would any good "1st Blog of 2009" be without some New Year's resolutions? Cara started blogging in themes of "five" with her last two blogs (1 and 2), so I'm gonna give five resolutions in similar spirit:

(1) Exercise more! No this isn't your typical "hit the gym" resolution. I've got a wedding coming up, which means I've got to get myself in shape for the wedding and honeymoon! We'll certainly be headed somewhere sunny and warm (read: beach!), so this is like the "Spring Break" push on steroids!!

(2) Eat better! I have slowly started to adopt this resolution. I do love my sweets and fast foods, but I'm slowly cutting them out of my diet and replacing them with more fruits and veggies! Mom would be proud!

(3) Get organized! I've always had my own organization system that to most could only be called "organized clutter." As we start planning for a wedding, I realize I need to get more organized in several facets; our budget, our bills, our mail, our wedding planning, my schoolwork, and basic home organization in well!

(4) Relax! I've had several aspects of my Ph.D. program that have really been creating a lot of anxiety and stress, leaving me on edge and easily frustrated at times! I need to be able to better "let things go," and realize that being stressed is not good for my health. Also, I think succeding in my 1st resolution will help me achieve this resolution tremendously!

(5) Finally, a few years ago I made a life's "To Do" list. I want to tackle some more of the items on this list. So, shortly I'll elaborate on this in a later blog and share my plans for 2009!

Once again, Happy 2009 to everyone and thanks for reading!!

Love from Matt!

The Fine Art of Procrastination

2008-12-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Procrastination. Others may have it, but Cara and I have made an art form of it. Whether it's NOT getting out of bed in the morning to start a new day, finding things to do besides working on dissertation/thesis papers, or our latest work of procrastination art...avoiding painting our office for the entire weekend; Cara and I have skillfully figured out how to avoid doing those little things we don't really want to do for as long as possible. Here's how it played out.

(Scene opens to find Matt and Cara in the upstairs living room.)

Matt: So, I guess we better start prepping that office for painting. (He continues reading "Marley and Me".)
Cara: Yeah. (She continues to play Wii Tennis.)
Matt: Maybe an Irish Car Bomb will get us motivated. (Together, they leave the room, presumably to have an Irish Car Bomb. They return moments later and resume their previous activities).
Cara: Let me finish my tennis match. Then we can paint.
Matt: Cool. I want to finish this chapter real quick.

(Two hours pass. Now Cara and Matt are playing Wii together.)

Matt: Baby Mario!! ARRRGHHH!!! You're my nemesis!!
Cara: (Rolls eyes. Mutters under her breath.) What have I gotten myself into?
Matt: What was that?!?
Cara: I said, should we just prep AND paint tomorrow?
Matt: Oh. Yeah. That sounds good...(yelling at game)..COME ON!! I HATE YOU BABY MARIO!!!

(The scene fades on Cara and Matt playing Mario Kart into the "Wii" hours of the morning...)

(The next morning, Cara's cell phone alarm blares "So What" by Pink....for the FIFTH time. It is few minutes after 11am)

Cara: Where's my pillow?
Matt: Zzzz....
Cara: Pillow thief! Where's my pillow?
Matt: (singing along) Gave it to Jessica Simps.
Cara: Oh you're hilar. (Punches Matt in the chest).
Matt: I don't want to paint today.
Cara: Me neither. I'm gonna go do some Christmas shopping.
Matt: Sounds good - I'll "prep" a little bit.
Cara: By prep, do you mean set your fantasy football lineup?
Matt: No. I'll prep. I promise.
Cara: Mmmhmmm...

(The two climb out of bed to get their Saturday underway. True to form, no painting gets done. Cara shops. Matt actually does manage to do some prepping. That evening, the two them don their holiday festive wear for a Christmas Party at Lane and Sarah's house. They return, exhausted, and head to bed.)

Cara: Are you sure you want to paint tomorrow? We could just paint when we got back from the NW.
Matt: Don't tempt me.

(The two drift off to sleep. The next morning, they are again roused by the catchy Pink tune, "So What".)

Cara: We should probably get up.
Matt: Zzzz...
Cara: How are you still asleep?
Matt: What are you talking about? I'm awake!
Cara: Mmmhmm.
Matt: Can we hit snooze just once?
Cara: I've already hit snooze 4 times.
Matt: Oh. Hmm...I suppose we better get up then.
Cara: Time to paint.
Matt: Or we could not paint.
Cara: If we don't paint, we definitely need to go to church.
Matt: Why? Procrastination isn't a sin!!
Cara: Nice try. Church?
Matt: Sure. But I don't want to paint.
Cara: K. We'll paint one evening this week. We have to!
Matt: Sounds good. Tomorrow night the procrastination ends. We're gonna get that room painted no ifs ands or buts!)

(Off to church they went. After church, the two hit Panera for lunch and then enjoyed a lazy Sunday complete with chores, some napping, and some leisurely reading/Wii playing. Matt finished "Marley and Me" and stole an occasional glance at the NFL games. Cara increased her pro-status in Wii tennis and blogged about the adorable card her cute nephew mailed us. All-in-all, it was a relaxing last non-workday in Knoxville before the holidays beckon the young couple home to the NW. Will the office get painted? Will the procrastination madness continue? Stay tuned!)

Fantasy Football Flop

2008-12-12T07:01:00.001-08:00

Every year, I look forward to the fantasy football season. When I started playing fantasy football a few years ago, I found it to be much more exciting then I could have imagined. I don't know why this came as such a surprise, seeing as I always loved sports, statistics, and playing the role of manager. Travel back in time to my formative years as an apsiring young baseball GM. I think I was about 10 years old and I had an early NES baseball game, Bases Loaded 2 (which, according to this review is quite the crappy game). No matter what "The Video Game Critic" says, I rather enjoyed that the game only tracked stats for each game on an individual basis. This gave me a prime opportunity to keep track of the stats myself for each of my players and the top players on other teams. So, I religiously and meticulously kept stats; calculating batting averages, on-base percentages, ERA...and even doled out post-season awards based on the year-long performances I had kept track of. And you wonder how I became an accountant...

Needless to say, I am a bit of a fantasy football junkie. On top of giving me my "stats fix" the league I have joined keeps me in contact with friends back home, which is also a plus. As if this wasn't enough, there is money involved and the top team each year bring home nearly $400. I placed 2nd a couple of years ago and scored a cool $190. After a flop season last year, I hit this year charged and ready to dominate. I got the #3 pick in the draft, a good spot with 14 teams in our league. I drafted with an emphasis on running backs, as I wanted to lay the foundation for a strong playoff push (running backs pick up steam as the year goes on and the weather starts getting ugly). I also drafted Eli Manning for his late season heroics last year (though, I really cannot stand the guy) the gritty Pittsburgh Steeler defense (more on that later). My receiver picks were admittedly quite week. Overall, here is how the draft played out for me (overall pick # in parentheses):

1st Round: Brian Westbrook, RB (#3)
2nd Round: Lawrence Maroney, RB (#26)
3rd Round: Thomas Jones, RB (#31)
4th Round: Dallas Clark, TE (#54)
5th Round: Hines Ward, WR (#59)
6th Round: Eli Manning, QB (#82)
7th Round: Pittsburgh, DST (#87)
8th Round: Sidney Rice, WR (#110)
9th Round: Ray Rice, RB (#115)
10th Round: Deuce McAllister, RB (#138)
11th Round: Vince Young, QB (#143)
12th Round: Ernest Wilford, WR (#166)
13th Round: Neil Rackers, K (#171)
14th Round: Matt Jones, WR (#194)

As the early season unfolded, I hit the waiver wire (signing free agents and dropping current players to make roster room) like a banshee. At $0.50 per transaction fee, I may have exceeded the GDP of some small nations in revenue for our free agent pot. It didn't take long before my current roster looked nothing like the draft-day roster. As the playoffs opened last week, only 7 of the original 14 players remained on the active roster (and it would have been only 6 had I not picked up Matt Jones again recently - I dropped him earlier in the season when he faced suspension for possession of cocaine...yeah, he's a winner). All of this moving and shaking did pay off to some degree. After a bit of a slow start (which was plagued by injuries, earning my team the name Westbrook's Walking Wounded, or "WWW"), my team began to pick up some steam. As the regular season drew to a close, I climbed steadily to the top of the standings and finished with a #1 seeding heading into the playoffs. "WWW" was by no means dominant. My regular season title was helped greatly by the easiest strength of schedule (meaning I played my opponents, on average, during weeks when they scored most poorly). But, with Westbrook returning to form after an injury-plagued early season and Thomas Jones serving as a much needed workhorse, I felt good about my chances heading into the playoffs.

My team's #1 seeding would be an empty victory if I couldn't convert wins in the playoffs and claim the top prize. In week 1 of the playoffs, I geared up for a gritty re-match with "Obnoxious Hawkfan," coached by none other than Jeff Hyatt. As his name implies, Jeff is a Seahawks fan through and through. Obnoxiously so, in fact. His team was eager to avenge a narrow (0.60 pt), and frankly quite ridiculous come from behind Week 4 victory for my squad when our teams squared off in the regular season. This narrow victory was fueled by the Steelers defense who rallied late in 4th quarter of Monday Night Football to score 15 of my teams 60 pts that week. To be fair, I should not have won that game. I knew it. Jeff knew it. We geared our teams up for what was sure to be a hostile battle.

As our much anticipated playoff matchup drew near, I began looking over my roster to decide my starters for the week. Fueled by my running game, my team had the edge on paper as early favorites. However, my vaunted Pittsburgh defense (who have been absolutely dominant all year) had an ominous match up against Dallas' high-powered offense. I began to think long and hard about an alternative. So, I looked at my bench and made a decision I would come to regret. Out came Pittsburgh's DST and in came the DST for the New England Patriots. The hated, despised, god-awful New England Patriots. I could hardly believe what I was doing; placing my playoff hopes in the hands of the Patriots defense and Eli Manning. Odd, considering I can hardly stand seeing either of these "entities" succeed in any way, shape, form or fashion. So, why would I do such an odd thing?

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. I made a plain and simple indefensible decision. I made a decision that defies all logic in a fantasy football league filled with die-hard Seahawks fans as I squared off against obnoxiously vocal supporter of the boys in blue and green. But, after much reasoning, I made a decision I felt would propel my fantasy team to a 1st round playoff victory based on the following justification:

The Patriots injury-plagued defense was squaring off against the lowly, meek, and offensively-challenged Seahawks and surely they would perform better than Pittsburgh's defense.

I was so sure of this, I was willing to bet against the Seahawks. That's right - I was betting AGAINST my home team. It makes me nauseous now to even read those words.

People like me are the reason fantasy football gets a bad rap. Critics argue that playing fantasy football forces you to go against your allegiances and make decisions that contradict what is the best for your home team. The criticisms are well explained here. And here. I could go on, but I'll spare you all the wild Internet goose chase. In short, my story is not unique. Fantasy owners face this trap week in and week out. Do you choose what is best for your fantasy team (which may have a real financial impact) or do you sacrifice your fantasy team for your "real world" team loyalties? I both faced and fell into the trap.

The morning of our big matchup, I had a severe case of "second thoughts". The guilt nearly got me to bench the Patriots in favor of Pittsburgh. But, I didn't. I couldn't. I guess that I needed to learn a lesson. As the matchup got underway, I had a sinking feeling that Bad Karma was going to strike. Boy, did it ever.

The Bad Karma seemed to strike Obnoxious Hawkfan first. As the sun rose on our playoff matchup, Jeff's team was confronted with injuries to both of it's starting RBs. He quickly installed back-up RBs and at the last minute named Matt Schaub starter at QB. These critical last-minute moves gave Obnoxious Hawkfan a spark right out of the gate. Matt Schaub outscored Eli Manning (my QB) 26 to 9 (thanks Eli!!). It was a gap that my team would not make up. In this case, I didn't DESERVE to pull out another ridiculous come from behind win. The same Steelers defense that had carried my team to a razor-thin margin-of-victory against Jeff's team in Week 4 sat on my bench as the stupid-head Patriots took the field against the Seahawks. The Seahawks scored a TD on their opening drive. A sinking feeling set in as I watched Pittsburgh's defense run roughshod over the hapless Cowboys. The stark reality of the situation hit me. I had bet against my Seahawks and I deserved to lose...and I was going to lose. I was so certain, I changed my team's name to Bad Karma.

As the Seahawks scored another TD, I cheered. I realized that losing my 1st round playoff matchup would be a small setback as long as the Seahawks scored a million points on the Patriots. Who cared if I lost my matchup and the chance at the 1st prize. At least the Seahawks were going to beat the Patriots. Bad Karma was going to strike my fantasy football team, but at least it didn't get a hold of the Seahawks. I felt a twinge of relief.

Unfortunately, this relief was short-lived.

When the dust settled on the day, the Steelers defense posted a dominant 24 point effort against Dallas. New England could only manage 3 points against a surprisingly feisty Seahawks offense. However, the %&@$'ing Patriots returned to New England victorious with a last minute victory over the now 2 and 11 Seahawks. ARGH!! The Bad Karma of my decision echoed from Knoxville to the Emerald City. A quick survey of the damage reveals:

The newly minted Bad Karma (fka Westbrook's Walking Wounded) lost to Obnoxious Hawkfan by 14 points, no small margin. However, considering that my team lost out on 21 points because I IMMORALLY picked the wrong defense, victory was certainly within reach for me on that fateful day.
My team lost the 1st game of the playoffs and now only plays for pride.
I lost out on the prize money, which is no small thing for a starving graduate student who is trying to save up for a wedding next Fall. Especially considering that I contributed a small nation's GDP worth of cash to the free agent pot in my league.
Most importantly, I lost a little bit of my soul because I bet against my beloved Seahawks.

Rest assured, I've learned a valuable lesson. Never again will I bet against my boys in blue and green. From this day forward, I will not let my quest for Fantasy Football gold come at loss of my better judgment. I will return next season, ready to once again pursue the vaunted 1st prize. But this time around, I'm going to do it the "right" way.

Go HAWKS!!

The Kick'n Chick'n

2008-12-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

About a week and a half ago, my classmate Lane and I hit the local cigar bar, The Knoxville Cigar Company for a special whiskey tasting and cigar night. The price of admission (a mere $25) bought a cigar, five whiskey tastes (see picture), and some delicious sausage gumbo for dinner. I have to admit, I'm not a huge whiskey OR cigar guy, but it sounded like a good night out and Cara was out of town for work, so I figured it'd help distract me from missing her too much. The whiskey tasting was put on by the master distiller for Wild Turkey, Mr. Jimmy Russell HIMself. I hadn't heard of the guy MYself, but I guess he's the beez-neez. He was certainly a charismatic fellow. My favorite part of the night was when one of my fellow whiskey-sipping, cigar-wielding comrades hollered "Kick'n Chick'n - WHOOO HOOO!!!" That got me pretty good and fired up.

Jimmy Russell is a nice, older guy. One of those grandfatherly types you just feel comfortable around. He had lots of fun stories about how much he enjoys his job. "I would go to work, taste a couple hundred sips of whiskey, and go home and pour myself a glass as a night cap." He also enjoyed telling us childhood stories. "Out where I lived growing up, grandma would mix some whiskey, sugar, and little bit of lemon, heat it up, and call it cough syrup. I learned pretty quick that I could fool her faking a cough every time - until I started trying to do it during the summertime." Definitely good for a chuckle or two. I don't know if you can actually tell what's going on very well in the picture at the left, but Jimmy is in there...somewhere. He even signed a few tumblers at the end for everyone with some fancy paint pen. I have to give my respect to the guy - his signature on a glass with a fancy paint pen is better than mine with a regular old pen and paper writing on a flat desk. The guy has got talent. Fo sho. I just don't know how I felt about this little old drink he was peddling.

I have to admit, I was more than a little bit intimidated at the thought of downing five tastes of Wild Turkey. You see, the Kick'n Chick'n and I have a little bit of a rough history. We don't necessarily see eye to eye. It's been a while since we've visited with one another, but back after my sophomore year of college, I had my first experience "tasting" Wild Turkey while camping with some friends. I admit I was still relatively "green" when it game to drinking (for my parents possibly reading this blog, please PRETEND this was the summer after my senior year of college), and I did not have the proper "maturity" to enjoy a whiskey as fine as Wild Turkey.

I mixed a few drops of wild turkey in a two liter bottle of coke, took a sip, and what h appened next is forever etched in my mind. My eyes crossed. My vision went blurred. My stomach t wisted in knots. And I spent most of the evening trying to stay as far away from that disgusting stuff as I could. The battle lines were drawn. The kickn' chick'n and I were to be enemies for life. That is, until this whiskey tasting. You see, my buddy Lane (pictured at right), wouldn't have any of it. So he scheduled this little rendezvous and next thing I know, I was sitting there face-to-face with my sworn enemy.

The enormity of the situation did not fully hit me until I settled into my bar seat, casually puffing on my cigar. The rest of the crowd dissolved into the smoky recesses of the bar, leaving me and those five shots of Wild Turkey caught in a long and tense stare down. Me. Wild Turkey. Mano e whiskano (x5). "Alright chick'n," I thought to myself. "Tonight, I'm gonna do the kick'n." So, as Jimmy Russell explained the nuances of the Wild Turkey whiskey distillation process, I got reacquainted with an old friend. My tastes have definitely grown up quite a bit in 7+ years. And as I sipped that whiskey, I reflected on how my life has changed in the last 7+ years. I can hardly believe the journey I have had that lead me to Knoxville and that bar stool with a good friend and classmate that particular evening. And, it was a wonderful evening. I actually enjoyed that whiskey. The cigar and the food were the perfect compliment, as Lane and I visited and met new friends. It was an experience I will not soon forget. And I've got the signed Jimmy Russell whiskey tumbler to prove it. And something tells me it won't be another 7+ years before I sit down and "visit" with glass of Wild Turkey.

Random Musings

2008-11-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!

After flying out of the gates with blog, after blog, after blog - I seem to have lost momentum. I need to try and get back into a good routine or I am going to start "losing fans" as Cara has warned me! So, here are a few musings - my lack of blogging certainly has not been due to a lack of material! I like putting my blogs into some sort of theme - so today I'm organizing my musings according to the annoyingly catchy camp/kids song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

Head. I'm in a really good place right now. The semester is winding down - I have my last class next Monday when we return from Thanksgiving break and the final is one week after that on December 8th. It's been a good semester of teaching - not without its stressful and draining times, but energizing and exciting above all. I met with the doctoral program coordinator (Terry - yeah, we're on a 1st name basis here in our program) yesterday about my dissertation and he was really optimistic and positive about my idea. So, I set to work now on circulating my idea document with my intended committee members and with luck I will have my committee formed before I fly home to the NW for the holidays. I suppose at that point I will officially be in the "dissertation stage" of this crazy journey that is the Ph.D. program. I was feeling very exhilirated about it yesterday. This combined with a long Thanksgiving weekend ("our first Thanksgiving" for Cara and I!!) and I'm a happy camper. Very happy. This head has visions of dissertation completion running through it...and that puts a smile on my face. A big smile.

Shoulders. Cara and I have sore shoulders and it's probably from all the painting we've been doing lately. We painted the upstairs hallway and staircase a bright, cheery yellow and are very happy with the result. Our upstairs looks awesome and is officially complete until we decide to do the bathroom which probably won't come until sometime next year. This weekend, we plan on turning our attention to the kitchen/dining room/downstairs hallway in order to have our painting wrapped up by Christmas break. Wish us luck!

Knees. Or more specifically, knee. My right one. In my last blog, I gave an update about my knee. I went to the doctor last Tuesday and had some x-rays done. The doctor, who's the primary sports doctor for all of the UT athletes, diagnosed my symptoms as a deep knee bruise that is starting to "go fibrous." She noted that I had full range of motion (limited somewhat as I am the least flexible person alive) and little pain so she was not particularly concerned. X-rays confirmed that there was nothing terribly wrong with my knee and she was confident she could see the fairly substantial hematoma (bruise) that I'm battling. She prescribed anti-inflammatories (Aleve), stretching, and ice and asked that I schedule an appointment in three weeks so she can see how I've progressed. So, I would say this is good news -- it definitely made me feel better about everything. The only problem is that I have been positively awful about stretching, icing, and consuming Aleve. I'm sure that I'm headed towards a stern lecture from the doctor if I don't get my act together!

Toes. Cold toes, to be exact. It has been positively chilly in Knoxville, which had me in the doghouse initially. I had Cara convinced that it would not be so cold in Knoxville that she would need a winter coat until after the Christmas holiday. So, she left her cold weather attire back at home in the NW and is not too pleased with me for providing the poor information. In reality, we are just having unusually cold weather, but that doesn't help Cara stay any warmer. This last weekend she picked up a fancy purple wool coat at the mall. I must say, it is pretty sharp. I am sure she will be posting pictures of it at some point, but she is a must happier camper now that she is warm and snuggly in her new coat. On top of the cold weather, our furnace has been acting unusual. It will come on for some period of time (could be hours, could be days) and then it will randomly shut off. I've done my homework and I can't figure out if I've got something wrong with the pilot light (or ignitor), the thermostat, or the supply of gas to the house. We just had our best span of 2+ days of functioning furnace and warm house, but last night it shut off again. I hope it's just some early season "kinks" that the furnace and I can work out between ourselves. I am not digging the idea of paying to have someone come out and take a look at it. Ahh...the joys of home ownership.

Knees and Toes (read "odds and ends"):

Cara and I have thoroughly enjoyed our Wii. We highly recommend the Wii to anyone who doesn't own it. Our goal is to find a Wii Fit for the holiday weekend, but they are not easy to come by. So, we'll see if we can scrounge one up or not. Whatever the case, we're looking forward to a weekend of basketball (Go Zags!), movies (we're off to see "Four Christmases" on Thursday), good food (cooking up our 1st Thanksgiving meal together!), games and puzzles (you know, old boring couple-y kinda stuff), and some painting, cleaning and chores. It should be an awesome weekend.

I clinched a spot in the playoffs with my Fantasy Football team...the 1st step on my road to the Championship and the $300+ 1st prize.

Holiday travel plans are set. We travel home to the Northwest the evening of December 19th and return to Knoxville on a red-eye flight on January 1st. We'll make good use of our two weeks home celebrating the holidays with family and friends (Cara's parents and my parents are going to meet for the 1st time!). We've also got plans to attend the Battle in Seattle (the anniversary of when Cara and I first met!) and to spend New Year's Eve celebrating the arrival of 2009 with friends in Seattle!

Look forward to a post this weekend sharing the fun and excitement of our relaxing 1st Thanksgiving weekend together in Knoxville!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Love from Knoxville!

Phone the Doctor...something's wrong with my knee

2008-11-12T19:22:00.001-08:00

Last Friday after my 8am A200 class, I noticed a weird bump just above my right kneecap. (Note: the picture at the left doesn't do it justice, but it gives you some idea of where this is all going down.) I didn't feel any pain, had no trouble walking, and I climbed the stair to my office without any soreness. I did feel a bit of a twinge of pain when I was bending my knee to pull up a document on my laptop during my Forum presentation. But, I iced my knee that evening and everything seemed fine. No pain, no soreness all weekend. But, the strange bump did not go away. So, yesterday I called the Student Health Center to set up an appointment with the on-campus sports medicine doctor. She didn't have an opening until next Tuesday, so I wait...hoping my knee will get better before then. Yesterday evening and now again this evening, it's clear that it isn't getting better. It is definitely sore...not painfully so, but tender sore. Kind of an aching pain. Most distinctly, I can tell something is "off." Although it hasn't slowed me down at all at this point, I fear that there is something out of sorts that ain't getting better. I hope it's not anything too serious. It seems my collision with the "rock that rocked me" a few weeks ago may have done more damage than I thought. I'll keep y'all posted.

The fun news is that I can phone the doctor on my brand, spanking new cell phone. No sooner did my contract with AT&T Wireless end, and I jumped ship to join Cara with Verizon. I got a Samsung Alias, which came with some decent recommendations. I've been extremely happy with it so far. It feels solid and durable. The menus, interfacing, and functionality is intuitive. And, it's got the "wow" factor in that it opens both vertically for calls and horizontally for texting. Pretty cool. So far, 26 hours into my contract with Verizon...I've been impressed. Change is fun. Now, if my George Strait ringtone would just arrive already!! Here are a few pics to document the exciting new change in my life -- a new cell phone AND a new cell phone provider!! The next time I call you, it'll be from my new phone!!

Flips open vertically for phone calls - puts a smile on my face!!

Flips open horizontally for texting - easy on the fingers!!

Home is where the heart is...

2008-11-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

Cara and I have had our share of exciting times as we settle into our home together. Not all of these exciting times have been "good" per se, but you've got to take the good with the bad I guess. At the end of the day, it's been so much fun turning this house into a home with Cara!

At the end of last week, I was working from home on Thursday afternoon (10/30) and I was taking a quick work break so that I could get some wedding "to dos" checked off the list. I was on the phone with a potential DJ and the Photographer called (whom I was trying to connect with so I could get our deposit squared away). Just as I was getting ready to call the photographer back, I heard a dripping sound. Turns out, the dripping sound was water falling from our kitchen ceiling and cabinets and into our sink (see the photo to the left). Ugh! I guess water dripping from your toilet is a bit of a problem. Because, water will tackle anything in its path on its way to the sea. Next thing you know you've got a blown out ceiling in your kitchen, a nice plumbing bill, and some contracting work waiting to happen (new sheet rock in the kitchen ceiling). Yahoo.

Crazy plumbing mess aside, Cara and I decided we are going to get the condo painted to make it look a little bit more cozy inside. So, we picked out some paint colors - a good dark tan, crimson red, and a bright and cheery yellow. Picking out the colors was the easy part. First, we prepped -- no small task. Paint prepping involves sticking blue tape EVERYWHERE. I guess the rule of thumb is: 'tis better to paint blue tape than to paint things you don't want to paint. Next step, remove outlet and light switch covers. Cara took care of this - she's pretty handy with a flathead screwdriver! And finally, you've got to move furniture. We both took care of this task. With all the prep work done -- it was time to do some painting. Finally! All this work took some serious energy. So, we made sure we were appropriately caffeinated! We got energy drinks on the way home from a Lowe's run. Cara didn't like her Monster, so I took it (being the wonderful fiance that I am). Between the energy drinks and a little 80's music (gotta love Comcast music channels), we had plenty of energy to spare.
We started painting our living room/family room. It turns out, it's a SLOOOOWWWW process. In fact, we spent the entire last weekend painting two, count 'em, TWO rooms. We haven't even painted the closets yet - so, we still have our work cut out for us! The bad news...I don't do well with painting. I was an absolute brat for a good chunk of the weekend. Painting takes time. It's a mess. And it's exhausting. I just could not handle it. I don't know how Cara put up with me, but she did. The good news... the two rooms look absolutely awesome for our efforts! And we did manage to have some fun too! Below is a montage of photos of us prepping, painting, and our finished efforts. Oh, and I've got some video footage of Cara dancing as well...heh heh. You can't hear it...but it's 80's music..."Straight Up Now Tell Me," in fact. Love it!

Next up...we're painting a coffee table blue to round out the family room. Well...not totally rounding it out I guess. We still have the closet and then we'll have a finished room! We'll plan on wrapping up the closets and the upstairs hallway shortly and then turn our attention to downstairs. If we're lucky, we'll wrap up sometime before Christmas. Hard work...but well worth it. We'll make this house a Hoag home afterall!

Weekend Shenooligans

2008-10-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post, I talked about all of the fun and adventure Cara and I had in store for us last weekend. And then I fell off the map. Hopefully none of my adoring fans thought the weekend left me lying in bed recovering from exhaustion. Certainly not the case! In fact, it was a perfect dose of fun and adventure. Now, let me tell you about it.

On Friday, Cara and I went to the Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts concert at Thomson-Boling Arena (where we'll watch our #11 Zags battle the Vols in a few short months!!). We got all "gussied up" as Cara would call it and headed to the concert which started at 8pm. Of course, we left at about 7:45 figuring traffic wouldn't be too bad. We were mistaken. There was a steady stream of last minute concert-goer traffic so we were about 20 minutes late and missed some of Taylor Swift's set. I must admit, she puts on quite a show. Her stage presence is fun - very light-hearted - and her songs are kinda catchy. Some of them are even pretty good -- "Love Story" is my fave. Wow - just now I saw a bit of my manhood disappear in admitting that. I'm sure it's at some bar sipping whiskey, watching sports, and soaking up some classic rock; recovering from the Taylor Swift-ness I just ambushed it with!

Okay, so now that the cat is out of the bag - I'll move on to my review of Rascal Flatts. I like some of their songs - "Here's to You" is one of my all-time favorites. You can bet your britches I danced, rocked and bounced along when they played that one. Otherwise, I spent most of their set thinking about how badly my feet and legs hurt from standing the entire time (we were in the General Admission "Bob Your Head"section. That's either a sign that (a) I'm getting old and crotchety, (b) Rascal Flatts does not put on a great show, or (c) both. I think the answer is (c). The other day at the doctor's office I was writing my age as 26 on all the forms. Clearly, I seem to have forgotten my recent birthday (August 25th) which I share with Sean Connery, Rachel Ray, Regis Philbin, and Elvis Costello among others. Newsflash: I am now 27. I write that more to hammer it into my own head than to broadcast it worldwide. The reality is, 27 is not THAT old.

So, Rascal Flatts must not put on a great show. And that's a fact. I think they are worth seeing once - concerts are a fun experience. And they do have a few songs that really get the crowd enthused. But, overall their show seemed to be low on energy, a bit fake, and the bad kind of cheesy that leaves a bad taste in your mouth (e.g., not good cheesy - which is something I have made into an art form as is clearly evidenced in the photograph to the right!). Also, Rascal Flatts makes full and blatant use of text messaging during their shows - they must get some serious revenue from the text messaging service they use because they had the whole arena texting. Before the show you could text a message to have it shown on the arena jumbotron and you also had a chance to win backstage passes after the show. Cara and I both texted and neither one of us won, nor did we see our respective messages displayed in the arena. What we did get was enrolled into the Rascal Flatts text message fan club - so we've been receiving sporadic, gimmicky, and annoying text messages from Rascal Flatts telling us about other offers and chances to win tickets. Annoying! About halfway through the show, Joe Don told the concert goers to text him at his special text number for a special gift. Cara did that - and to this day still hasn't received her gift. And if he thinks singing a special song was the special gift, well than I got the special gift too without having to text him...so ummm...yeah. Kinda lame. The icing on the cake? The encore consisted of two songs complete with confetti and balloons. Two songs?!? Balloons and Confetti?!? What kind of a lame-o encore performance is that?? By that point I was just wishing we were in the car headed home. But, don't let my cynicism fool you - Cara and I had fun and I'm glad we went. I just wouldn't do it again for Rascal Flatts. For Taylor Swift? Maybe. Just don't go telling anyone I said that. My manhood has taken enough of a blow with this blog already.

On Saturday Cara and I got up and did some serious cleaning and reorganizing to make ready for my old roommate Quinn to stay the night with his fiancee Deborah, who were coming into town for the UT vs Alabama game (which has come to be known as the Third Saturday in October, down here in SEC football country). The two met while in the MAcc (Masters in Accounting) program at UT and are getting married next May 2nd. I am honored to be a groomsmen in their wedding.

On an unrelated note, I'll have to try and get some good pictures of the reorganized house up soon. It looks pretty good. Cara and I are going to try and tackle some interior painting this weekend. She's even started with the blue tape. Wish us luck! And you can count on a few pictures and a blog to keep you updated on that excitement...whoo hoo!

Quinn and Deborah arrived around 4pm with Deb's adorable little Maltipoo, Snuggles. Snuggles and I had quite a bond back in the day, so it was a nice little reunion. It was awesome to see Quinn and Deborah too! After catching up for a bit at the house, we all headed out to a pre-game tailgate across the river from Neyland Stadium. The evening could not have been nicer! Sipping whiskey and coke, a few cold beers, and eating some delicious bbq with friends and foe alike (Deborah is a huge Alabama fan...grrr!!) was the perfect way to prepare for the big game. And for Cara, it was her first experience with Tennessee footbal. See Cara's take on the game in her earlier blog. As the game drew near, we got in line for the water taxi that would ferry us across the river for the game. Due in part to misjudgment by us and conservative passenger limits (only 19 people at a time, no ifs, ands, or buts!), we waited for 45 minutes to board the water ferry. The game started to the roar of the crowd. We waited. But, we didn't let the wait dampen our spirits. Cara and I kept each other warm and the the evening was too perfect to be stressed. When we finally did board the water ferry to head across the river, it was really starting to get cold and Cara and I were both excited to get into the stadium for some SEC football! The water taxi ride was brief and afforded us an awesome view of the Henley Street bridge, which they had all lit up in orange and white for the big game. All in all, a pretty impressive sight, wouldn't you say? The view from our seats wasn't bad either. Well...unless you count the way the Vols played. They got manhandled by the visiting Crimson Tide, much to the satisfaction of the houndstooth cap wearing, cigar smoking Alabama fans in front of us. The final score: Alabama 29, Tennessee 9. BOOO!!! Behold a photo montage of the game (the stadium, the 'Bama fans, the halftime show, and a picture of Cara and I - blog storyline follows below):

As the closing seconds ticked off the clock, Cara and I had the distinct honor of hearing firsthand one of the more hated traditions in all college football - the dreaded Rammer Jammer cheer. That video is from the game. I did not shoot it. But, you can tell how loud and boisterous the visiting 'Bama fans are. There were quite a few of them still there celebrating as the dejected Tennessee fans streamed from the stadium. I can tell you one thing -- I will ALWAYS root against Alabama after hearing the Rammer Jammer in Neyland Stadium. Go Vols! "It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!" After the game, we all hit Cool Beans (a local watering hole) for a few drinks and then headed home, thoroughly wiped out from an eventful day.

Cara and I woke up the next morning and had brunch with my buddy Adam and his wife, Katie. We went to the Crown and Goose and the food was awesome. The mimosas weren't too bad either. Or, are they called molasses? Marmelade? Adam couldn't seem to get it right. We all had a great time visiting and were sad to see the time come for Adam and Katie to head back to their cabin (they were staying in the Smokies for their one year wedding anniversary). Overall, Cara and I had an incredible weekend. My fantasy football team (Westbrook's Walking Wounded) even managed to pull out a big victory and the high score for the week, which was a big step in securing my team a trip to the Fantasy FB playoffs. On that note, I've ranted, rambled, and raved for far too long by now. It's time for me to get back to course prep. I'm taking the afternoon at home to get some errands done around the house and also to get some research done! Wish me luck!!

Teaching for Life

2008-10-29T20:05:00.001-07:00

Now that my dad is showing me up in the blogging department, I figured it was about time for me to hop to it and post a blog.

My semester of teaching has really been an awesome experience -- but, it has certainly been busy too! My Accounting 200 students had an exam last night and of course the week or so leading up to the exam was filled up with tutoring, getting make-up exams sorted out, and all sorts fun administrative mumbo jumbo. On top of that, my BA353 section (where I'm a "business coach") had their Business Plan presentations last Friday (10/24). These count for 25% of their grade in the course so I also had my hands full in the week leading up to the big day to say the least. All in all, I had an extremely busy week and a half to two weeks that is just now starting to simmer down to a low boil...just in time for me to prepare for my 1st early-stage dissertation presentation next Friday.

I'm still struggling in some ways to find my niche in the classroom. I absolutely love teaching, but I still feel like I don't have an identity. I imagine that will develop over time. I get a rush of adrenaline from standing in front of the classroom and I especially enjoy working through problems with students one-on-one or in small group settings in my office. But at the same time, I feel majorly bummed when my students struggle and I take poor exam scores way too personally - it's hard not to have a vested interest in how my students perform. After the first exam, I spent hours examining and analyzing the test scores. I compared my students scores to the scores of students in other sections. I talked to classmates, professors, and even my parents about the emotions that flared up in response to having my students struggle with the material. And at the end of the day, I beat myself up quite a bit over things I could have done to better prepare my students for the exam. With the exam results from the second exam looming, I fear I may be headed down a similar path if my students do not perform up to their expectations.

The ups and downs of the semester have me feeling like I'm on a roller coaster at times. To compensate for the bummed out times, I pour a lot of time into teaching - a whole lot more than my allotted 10 hours a week for Accounting 200. This leaves me shortended on research and feeling a little bit anxious and uneasy about the prospect of trying to juggle all of the academic expectations in the future. I suppose that is part of the learning curve that I must follow - I certainly am learning a lot about myself and the nuances of teaching this semester. And I certainly do not ever plan to stop trying to learn, grow, and develop myself -- it is why I find the academic lifestyle so appealing in the first place.

At the end of the day - this has been one of the more challenging semesters I've faced in the Ph.D. program. I must say I'm more than little bit surprised about that -- I thought my Fall 2007 semester with Economics, Math Economics, and Multivariate Statistics would continue to reign supreme atop my heap of most challenging academic semesters. But, this semester has been surprising -- emotional, energizing, stressful, and all-in-all pretty amazing compressed into a few short months. I love the journey that I am on and most importantly, I have wonderful family and friends who love and support me every step of the way. I would be remiss if I didn't give Cara a big "shout-out" too...she has been such a wonderful strength and support for me in these emotional months. Thanks sweetheart -- I love you more than words.

Weekend Mania

2008-10-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

Why is that weekends always seem to fill up so fast?!?
(not that I'm complaining)

Here's what Cara and I have on tap for this weekend.

Friday night - Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift concert (7:30pm until ??) followed by a classmates' 30th birthday party (?? until the wee hours of the morning).

Saturday - Quinn (my old roommate) and Deborah (Quinn's fiancee and my old honorary roommate) come into town at 3pm. We tailgate for the UT/Alabama game until the start of the game at 7:30. We then will watch our Vols try their best not to get crushed by #2 ranked Alabama. And afterwards, we may hit the Strip for some shenooligans.

Sunday - Roll out of bed. Go to church to try and make penance for any sins we may have committed the night before. Have brunch with my friend Adam and his wife Katie at the Crown & Goose downtown. (Brunch Menu). I know what you're thinking. Mmmmmm...

Somewhere in all this, Cara and I must clean, continue to organize and straighten up around the house, prepare for painting (which is on our slate for the not-too-distant future), and get some rest!! Before we know it we'll be into a new week....YIKES!!

You can bet there will be some stories and pictures to follow the crazy adventures of this upcoming weekend. Check back next week for the full report.

The Theme of the Day is ROCK

2008-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

So, I'm talking with Cara about my exciting new blog yesterday and I use the phrase, "Now that I'm a blogger..." to start a sentence...Cara wasn't buying it. She pushed me and teases, "You've posted one blog!!" She makes a good point. I still have some work to do to quote "become a blogger." I'm working on it.

In case you didn't know it, I rock. I've decided that is a good mantra to start a new week with. Accordingly, I've themed today's blog around that mantra.

The rock that rocked me

In my post yesterday I told you about the garagantuan, gi-normous, and granite grey (I got on a "g-theme") rock that took me out during the touch football match. I bet you're dying to see what this rock looked like. So, here it is. This picture still makes my knees ache.

I know. That rock is huge. How didn't I see it? Well, those of you that know me have a pretty good idea. I just know that it's a good thing I have superior bone density and structure. Because I am a big clutz. A bull in a china shop, if you will. No matter...I still rock. But that rock definitely rocked me.

Pumpkins that Rock

In my last blog, I promised photos of our rocking jack-o-lanterns. I've got pics of the whole fam-damily for your enjoyment. Presenting, the Jolly Rocker, T-Rockz, and a date that rocks (10-17-09 - our wedding date)...in all their beautiful, glowing-orange splendor:

Our happy little pumpkin family rocks. What did you carve (or what are you planning to carve) this year? Feel free to comment and send pictures!

Rocking the Knoxville Nightlife

On Friday night, Cara and I went out to dinner to celebrate our -1 wedding anniversary. Yep. You heard that right. Our one-year PRE-wedding anniversary. Pretty cheesy. Accordingly, we went to the melting pot for some delicious, cheesy fondue. I hear their chocolate fondue isn't too bad either...so we sampled some of that as well. A salad and the cooking fondue entree rounded out the middle of a very big meal quite nicely. The night made two things official; (1) Cara and I are now less than one year and counting to our wedding day, and (2) Cara and I were both officially uncomfortably full after eating the four-course Melting Pot feast. The following photographs provide stunning proof of point 2. Notice the glazed look in our eyes:

Look at me, I'm already calling wedding photographers. Or was it a taxi cab? Hmmm...

Cara and I rock. And we are both excited to rock (and roll) with friends in family in Spokane next autumn!! Woop woop!!

One final note. Since last Friday was our pre-wedding anniversary, I presented a wedding themed lecture in class. Seriously. How cool am I? I mean, teaching assets, liabilities and expenses using wedding reception site deposits - does it get any more awesome? To quote Barack Obama from the Al Smith Fundraiser Gala Dinner, my greatest weakness is that "it's possible that I'm a little too awesome." By the way...if you haven't watched video of BOTH McCain and Obama from this event. Do it right now. (Barack Video) (McCain Video). Hilarious.

On that note. I'm gonna sign off for today. In the spirit of today's theme, I encourage each of you to "rock on!"

My First Post

2008-10-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

First of all, let's all take a moment to congratulate me on my 1st blog post. It's a momentous occasion. I've finally joined the world of blogging and I am excited to share my insights, adventures and experiences with my friends, family, colleagues and whoever else may find this blog of interest. Okay, now on with the show:

Cara has now been in Knoxville two weeks and we've kept ourselves very busy. Last weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch for the perfect fall experience. We did a corn maze, hayride and we picked out three perfect pumpkins to make a happy little pumpkin family. I'll pop on in a later blog to describe our fall themed weekend and to post some pictures of the finished jack-o-lanterns...so feel free to be excited about that.

Yesterday, I did some cleaning around the house while Cara baked some fall-themed muffins. She made funfetti muffins with orange coconut topping and chocolate muffins with chocolate frosting and candy corns. Mmmm...mmmm! They were good. Mike's wife, Jennifer, even referred to them as very Marth Stewart-esque...she wasn't kidding. They were a hit at the cookout we went to last night, but there were sweets galore, so we brought quite a few home! I'm definitely looking forward to satisfying my sweet tooth!!

The cookout was good fun - Ernie Cadotte (a marketing professor) hosted at his beautiful lake house. The sunset speaks for itself...could you handle this view to wrap up each day? I could.

The night started with an interesting game of touch football. Being the competitive guy that I am, I joined the game (in-progress) the moment I arrived. The rules made the game a bit more like rugby in that forward passes were allowed (and encouraged!) even ahead of the line of scrimmage, which allowed more folks to get involved. It was all good fun - until that rock got in the way. On my team's second drive - we drew up a tricky double reverse play. The center snapped to our quarter back who handed the ball off to a player who swept around from the left. I swept around from the right and took another hand off and sprinted off to the left. Just when I was about to be touched, I flipped the ball off to Ernie. Knowing that we could continue to lateral the ball, I figured I had a wide open sideline ahead of me as our opponents swarmed Ernie. So, I took off sprinting, intending for Ernie to flip the ball back to me so I could "house it." I didn't make it that far. Just as I was accelerating and calling for the ball, I felt my legs being swept out from underneath me..and it didn't feel good. I had run smack into a gigantic rock. Next thing I know, I'm lying on my belly on top of this momentous boulder that someone had strategically placed directly on the field near the sideline. A bit dazed I rolled off the rock and surveyed the damage. My knees were both bloodied and I also managed to scratch my arms up quite a bit. Yeah. Not a smooth move. What my collision did do, however, is provide a pretty darned good distraction. While half of the other team was watching this spectacle in complete disbelief and awe, my teammates were able to take the ball all the way down field for the score - our only of the game. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. And I was carried off the field as a hero. Okay, maybe I just imagined that.

After the game, we feasted on burgers, pasta salads, and desserts aplenty. We then gathered around the campfire to stay warm. The fire more than did it's job.

All in all - a great evening. Though I could've done without the broken kneecaps!!

Cheers all - more to come!!

MH