I lied. I had to post again about the Braves before I left! Their playoff chances are just too encouraging for me to pass it up. :) As I mentioned in my last post, the Giants and the Padres have to play each other at the end of the season, which makes things interesting because one of those teams will win the NL West while the other contends with the Braves for the wild card. It would get too complicated for the baseball websites to factor in teams' schedules when determining the magic and/or elimination numbers, but not so for me! Assuming both the Giants and the Padres win their two remaining games before their series against each other, the best possible records for the two teams (remember, both teams have to have better records than the Braves for the Braves to be eliminated) would be 92-70 and 91-71 if the Padres sweep or they take two out of three from the Giants. Obviously, if the Giants sweep or take two out of three, then their record would be much better, 94-68 I think, but the Padres' would only be 89-73. Anyway, worst case scenario is that the Braves have to beat a 91-71 record. Best case scenario is the Padres just lose all their games and the Braves win the wild card without having to strain their pitching staff to win games at the end. MLB.com and ESPN.com have the magic number for the Braves' wild card set at 4, meaning they have to win four more games or the Padres have to lose four games or some combination of the Braves' wins and the Padres' losses equalling four. And that number is correct if you're only concerned about the Braves and the Padres, but it's possible for the Padres to overtake the Giants and push them into the wild card race. Factoring in the schedule, the real number is three. I'm not worried at all about the Braves being able to take care of business and get a win or two or three in their final four games and clinch. Their final series is against the Phillies, which would normally scare me, but they will have locked up the best record in the NL and they'll have nothing to play for. Their best pitchers will be resting for the playoff push.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, I'm not sure how much faith I have in the Braves to go very far. I'm pretty sure they don't allow teams from the same division to play in the first round even though they may have the wild card winner and the team with the best record, so we won't have to play the Phillies right out of the box. I could see us beating either the Reds or the Giants/Padres, but after that I'm betting on the Phillies. They're just too good. They probably spent about as much money as the Yankees did, it's ridiculous. I really don't care about the AL; I think the DH is stupid and takes away from the strategy of the game and I think they just hit a bunch of home runs and don't play small ball. Not to mention the fact that there are two less teams in the AL, what's up with that? This is a completely uneducated guess because I don't follow that league but I'm picking an AL East team to go to the World Series. Either one. I just can't see the Twins sans Morneau getting there or the Rangers. I think their records are better than they should be because both of their divisions are trash. It's incredible to have two .600 win % teams in the same division like the Yankees and Rays. Especially when you consider that the Red Sox and the Blue Jays aren't that bad either. The Sox probably would have won the wild card or even some divisions in the NL. Bottom line: NLCS: Braves vs. Phillies; ALCS: Yankees vs. Rays. An all-east final is in the cards this year. Phillies will win in 6. You heard it here first.
9.29.2010
9.26.2010
Wake me up when September ends...
That's what the Atlanta Braves are sayin' right now. They entered September leading the National League East by three games over the Phillies, who were 1.5 games ahead of the Giants for the wild card. So essentially, the Braves were leading the race for a playoff spot by 4.5 games going into the final month of the season. Now they're 6 games behind the Phillies for the NL East and a half game behind the Padres for the wild card. Yes, you read that correctly. The Phillies gained nine games on the Braves in less than a month, thanks to their 18-2 start and the Braves inexplicably losing game after game to inferior opponents (a la the Nationals). The only good news is that the Giants are only a half game ahead of the Padres for the NL West and those two teams play a 3-game series at the end of the season, so somebody has to lose those games which will make it possible for the Braves to come back and win the wild card. Even though they're behind in the standings, the Braves still technically control their own destiny. Now if they could just stop sucking...
In other sports news, JMU beat Liberty in football this weekend by a score of 10-3. It was the closest anticlimactic game I think I've ever seen. The entire game was an exercise in futility for both teams. Liberty's only score came in the second quarter and that drive was kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty. The game was so bad that I don't even know how to characterize it. It wasn't that sloppy... one turnover and a handful of penalties for each team. It wasn't a bad weather game... the conditions were perfect for a good game of football. It wasn't a game shortened by long sustained drives... aside from Liberty's ten-minute scoring drive, both teams held the ball for a couple minutes before punting it away (twelve punts in all, six for each). The only thing I can think of is that it was a defensive struggle, but it really didn't seem like the defenses were that good. The offenses were just that bad. They combined to go 7 for 28 on 3rd downs. I'm glad that we won and it's nice to know that we can win a game like that, but it was painful and boring to watch.
It was really great to get to see my JMU friends before I leave a week from today. We were reliving our glory days by ordering pizza (mmm Chanello's) at 2 AM and then staying up playing video games until 4 or 5. I'm still the king of NBA Jam for the SNES but Rob has definitely surpassed me in Halo. I guess the days of me only allowing myself one bullet to kill him with couldn't last forever. Of course it was awesome to go to one last JMU home game and tailgate with some good friends and good food. We got to sit in the student section even though we're not students anymore and listen to the band play and watch the streamers being thrown whenever we scored (or whenever something good happened since we barely scored; penalties in our favor got streamers it was so bad). Also, there was a four-minute fireworks display after the game which I caught on video and will be showing to Costa Ricans along with some pictures and other videos I took at the game. They need to know about American football and how awesome JMU is at it! But the fireworks were a little too much if you ask me. There were about thirty seconds of them for each point we scored. If they did that for Ohio State, Wisconsin or Michigan, they'd have a full July 4th display on their hands after those blowouts. Just sayin'.
That was definitely my last big thing before leaving, so now I have to face the music and start the packing process. I've said all my goodbyes besides my family and it's time to go... I know this is something I'm meant to do and I still want to do it, but I'm sad right now to be honest. It's not like it happens very often that I get to see all my friends together like that, maybe once a year, but it's still hard knowing that it won't be possible again for 2 to 3 years. And by then we might not have the luxury of all of us still living in VA. While I'm gone, I'm sure to miss out on some reunions. I already know I'll be missing Rob and Shelley's wedding. There may be others that haven't been set yet that I'll miss or one of my friends could have a baby or something. And those are the good things. God forbid something bad happens while I'm away. But that's just part of the deal when you decide to go overseas. Luckily, I didn't miss out on too much the last couple times I left. The only thing I missed out on when I went to Ghana was Rihanna's umbrella song and I didn't feel like I missed out on too much there. Same with Korea: Twitter, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson's death, Twilight and the whole vampire craze were the only things I missed and I didn't care about any of it. Between Korea and Costa Rica, I'm strategically missing most of Obama's first term, which is nice. I think he'll probably get re-elected, so maybe I'll go on some more trips after this one haha! Just kidding, he's not that bad. I'm gonna end this post before things get too political around here.
I may not post again before I leave so just to let everyone know my traveling schedule... I'm leaving Roanoke next Sunday for D.C. where my orientation begins on Monday the 4th. Early Tuesday morning, we leave the hotel to go to the airport and connect in Miami before arriving in San Jose. After that I know next to nothing except that I will be living with a host family and training for the next two and a half months. They won't tell me where my site is until about a week before training ends, but I've heard that the TEFL program will be working primarily in urban settings. That's literally all I know up to this point. But maybe that's how it should be. It definitely makes it hard to develop expectations that will probably not be lived up to anyway. Buenas noches!
In other sports news, JMU beat Liberty in football this weekend by a score of 10-3. It was the closest anticlimactic game I think I've ever seen. The entire game was an exercise in futility for both teams. Liberty's only score came in the second quarter and that drive was kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty. The game was so bad that I don't even know how to characterize it. It wasn't that sloppy... one turnover and a handful of penalties for each team. It wasn't a bad weather game... the conditions were perfect for a good game of football. It wasn't a game shortened by long sustained drives... aside from Liberty's ten-minute scoring drive, both teams held the ball for a couple minutes before punting it away (twelve punts in all, six for each). The only thing I can think of is that it was a defensive struggle, but it really didn't seem like the defenses were that good. The offenses were just that bad. They combined to go 7 for 28 on 3rd downs. I'm glad that we won and it's nice to know that we can win a game like that, but it was painful and boring to watch.
It was really great to get to see my JMU friends before I leave a week from today. We were reliving our glory days by ordering pizza (mmm Chanello's) at 2 AM and then staying up playing video games until 4 or 5. I'm still the king of NBA Jam for the SNES but Rob has definitely surpassed me in Halo. I guess the days of me only allowing myself one bullet to kill him with couldn't last forever. Of course it was awesome to go to one last JMU home game and tailgate with some good friends and good food. We got to sit in the student section even though we're not students anymore and listen to the band play and watch the streamers being thrown whenever we scored (or whenever something good happened since we barely scored; penalties in our favor got streamers it was so bad). Also, there was a four-minute fireworks display after the game which I caught on video and will be showing to Costa Ricans along with some pictures and other videos I took at the game. They need to know about American football and how awesome JMU is at it! But the fireworks were a little too much if you ask me. There were about thirty seconds of them for each point we scored. If they did that for Ohio State, Wisconsin or Michigan, they'd have a full July 4th display on their hands after those blowouts. Just sayin'.
That was definitely my last big thing before leaving, so now I have to face the music and start the packing process. I've said all my goodbyes besides my family and it's time to go... I know this is something I'm meant to do and I still want to do it, but I'm sad right now to be honest. It's not like it happens very often that I get to see all my friends together like that, maybe once a year, but it's still hard knowing that it won't be possible again for 2 to 3 years. And by then we might not have the luxury of all of us still living in VA. While I'm gone, I'm sure to miss out on some reunions. I already know I'll be missing Rob and Shelley's wedding. There may be others that haven't been set yet that I'll miss or one of my friends could have a baby or something. And those are the good things. God forbid something bad happens while I'm away. But that's just part of the deal when you decide to go overseas. Luckily, I didn't miss out on too much the last couple times I left. The only thing I missed out on when I went to Ghana was Rihanna's umbrella song and I didn't feel like I missed out on too much there. Same with Korea: Twitter, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson's death, Twilight and the whole vampire craze were the only things I missed and I didn't care about any of it. Between Korea and Costa Rica, I'm strategically missing most of Obama's first term, which is nice. I think he'll probably get re-elected, so maybe I'll go on some more trips after this one haha! Just kidding, he's not that bad. I'm gonna end this post before things get too political around here.
I may not post again before I leave so just to let everyone know my traveling schedule... I'm leaving Roanoke next Sunday for D.C. where my orientation begins on Monday the 4th. Early Tuesday morning, we leave the hotel to go to the airport and connect in Miami before arriving in San Jose. After that I know next to nothing except that I will be living with a host family and training for the next two and a half months. They won't tell me where my site is until about a week before training ends, but I've heard that the TEFL program will be working primarily in urban settings. That's literally all I know up to this point. But maybe that's how it should be. It definitely makes it hard to develop expectations that will probably not be lived up to anyway. Buenas noches!
9.23.2010
Getting Ready to Go
Sometimes it feels like I just got back from Korea and other times it feels like I never left at all. Like I never spent five years in college or visited Ghana or South Korea. I think it has something to do with the fact that I've lived in the same home my entire life and I will probably feel similarly once I return from Costa Rica in 27 months. Of course, the house itself has gone through many changes during my lifetime and I've long since realized that it's not the house of my childhood any longer, but still, I've lived here my whole life, in the same room even and it seems like a blur sometimes. Sometimes. If you read my aspiration statement, you will remember the awkward introduction before I got down to answering the questions (which the Peace Corps definitely did not ask for by the way, haha) in which I talked about my mixed emotions. I feel the same way now as I did when I wrote those words. Leaving the country and coming back and leaving again... it's always so bittersweet. You're excited about experiencing new things, meeting new people, learning a new language, trying new foods, maybe you're even excited about the challenging times ahead. But leaving your friends and family is something that is never easy. I try to play it cool and shrug it off like it's no big deal, but it really sucks sometimes. For instance, I left for Korea in February 2009 and one of my best friends left for China literally two weeks before I returned. Now, seven months later, I'll be going to Costa Rica for 27 months. Barring a vacation down to Costa Rica to see me or a trip home during my service, which is entirely probable, don't get me wrong, I will have gone almost four years without seeing him... 4 years, that's insane. That's the amount of time it takes to get a college degree and I won't have seen him for that long. And that's just one friend. I may have had the opportunity to visit most of my other friends and family in between this trip and the last, but just because it breaks the chain of consecutive months without seeing them, that doesn't really make up for the fact that I will have been away for three years of my life. Don't worry, I'm still going! I just wanted to let anyone and everyone who happens to read this thing know that I do miss you guys and your support while I'm gone is crucial (hint: comments on here or emails).
Speaking of email, I got a laptop today! I really wasn't planning on bringing one, especially since I don't have one and have never had one before, but my mentor (the Peace Corps sets you up with the email address for a volunteer who is currently serving in your host country = invaluable resource) told me that he and every single volunteer he knows either brought one or bought one and that it's basically necessary for you to do your job adequately. So... I got one! After much thinking and researching, I realized that I don't need to get the best one out there. I'm a desktop guy; I don't care about the portability of laptops. What I do care about is getting the most powerful machine for the cheapest price so I can own in the video games I play. But this was a completely different circumstance than any other time I had gone computer shopping. I realized that all I needed was a computer that had Microsoft Office (which isn't cheap... $100!) and could access the Internet. I probably could have saved a lot of money by going the netbook route, but I think I would get really frustrated with a computer that small. I had narrowed it down to four computers: 2 Toshibas, a Gateway, and an HP. One of the Toshibas was sold out and I heard bad things and read bad reviews about the other so it came down to the Gateway and the HP. The Gateway had superior reviews, both customer and expert, a superior processor and more hard drive space. So I went with that one for $550. Of course, that was before Microsoft Office, the anti-virus software and whatever else they charge you for. I also have yet to buy a case and am already over $700. Laim <-- you know who you are.
I also got a camera today! This decision was made much easier after I found out that the camera we had used in Korea was actually only a 5x optical zoom and not a 10x as I had been thinking. I knew that I wanted more zoom and it's kind of hard to find a pocket-sized digital camera that offers more than 10x and doesn't suck in some other category. I had been considering more medium-sized cameras, you know the kind that doesn't fit in your pocket but isn't huge either, because the stats were just so appealing. 30x optical zoom and all the other bells and whistles were almost enough to make me go against my better judgment on the size issue. Lugging around a camera case around my neck and the possibility of it getting lost or stolen were too much in the end. So I ended up with the Sony HX5V. Hopefully, I will be taking lots of pictures and videos and posting them to this blog before too long! Just like the laptop, this purchase skyrocketed in price after adding all the little things you truly need that don't come with it: memory cards, a case, an extra battery and a battery charging station.
Among the lesser purchases I've made or hope to make before I leave are Nike Dri Fit shirts, a nice rain jacket and rain pants (it rains about 3x more there than in Roanoke), a new pair of shoes and a water filter so I can drink the local water and not have to buy bottled water all the time. The Dri Fit shirts were recommended to me by my mentor, so I definitely had to give them consideration. They're meant for running, but sitting around in Costa Rica is probably as hot or hotter than running in the States. They're sweet because they're cooler than normal shirts, they dry faster and they don't stretch. All of which are extremely helpful in the tropics because it's hot, there are no dryers and drying racks stretch clothes really bad as I experienced once before in Korea. We'll see how they hold up.
I had been going back and forth on whether or not to write about this, but the overwhelming support of my guy friends made the decision for me. I noticed a change in myself last week. A thought had occurred to me that had never occurred to me before. While I was at the gym, I saw a girl that I thought was really attractive. So attractive that I would be scared to talk to her because I'm a wuss. Now maybe it was simply because I'm leaving the country for 27 months and I've got nothing to lose but I actually thought about asking her out on a date. If you don't know me, this is something I have never done before and it had literally never even crossed my mind - to ask out a girl that I had never met before or been introduced to; a complete stranger, knowing nothing about her except that she goes to the Y. We will call her YMCA girl as I still do not know her name. My other theory about why it crossed my mind is that living in a foreign country, learning the language, interacting with people in broken English or broken Spanish or broken Korean, has somehow changed me in such a way that I'm at least partially immune to the fear of people. Just the other day I had a pleasant conversation with a random guy in Wendy's. That would have never happened before. But that's not as interesting as YMCA girl - sorry Wendy's guy. I wanted to get the opinions and advice of my friends as I had never done anything like this before and was at a loss for how to go about it exactly. Do I wait for the perfect opportunity or do I make one for myself? Do I bump into her or meet her at the water fountain or just walk straight up to her and ask her? Surely one of my friends would have had experience with this sort of thing and could tell me what to do and what to say. Maybe if I was friends with a bunch of meatheads I could have gotten some terrible pickup lines or something, but not one of them had ever gone up to a random girl and asked her out. I could have easily been discouraged by this, and the old me definitely would have been, but now I feel like it's my duty to ask this girl out. I honestly don't even care what she says in response. Actually, if she says yes I may be more scared about the actual date than I was about asking her in the first place lol. The interesting thing is that although none of my friends had ever done it before, they were all urging me to do it. Some said I had to do it. "Dude, you have to do it," they said. "You've got to." We may never know what YMCA girl's name truly is or what she would have said if I had gotten the chance to ask her (I've only seen her like three times in two months so chances are slim I'll get another chance), but one thing is for sure: overseas travel has changed me, for the better I hope!
Speaking of email, I got a laptop today! I really wasn't planning on bringing one, especially since I don't have one and have never had one before, but my mentor (the Peace Corps sets you up with the email address for a volunteer who is currently serving in your host country = invaluable resource) told me that he and every single volunteer he knows either brought one or bought one and that it's basically necessary for you to do your job adequately. So... I got one! After much thinking and researching, I realized that I don't need to get the best one out there. I'm a desktop guy; I don't care about the portability of laptops. What I do care about is getting the most powerful machine for the cheapest price so I can own in the video games I play. But this was a completely different circumstance than any other time I had gone computer shopping. I realized that all I needed was a computer that had Microsoft Office (which isn't cheap... $100!) and could access the Internet. I probably could have saved a lot of money by going the netbook route, but I think I would get really frustrated with a computer that small. I had narrowed it down to four computers: 2 Toshibas, a Gateway, and an HP. One of the Toshibas was sold out and I heard bad things and read bad reviews about the other so it came down to the Gateway and the HP. The Gateway had superior reviews, both customer and expert, a superior processor and more hard drive space. So I went with that one for $550. Of course, that was before Microsoft Office, the anti-virus software and whatever else they charge you for. I also have yet to buy a case and am already over $700. Laim <-- you know who you are.
I also got a camera today! This decision was made much easier after I found out that the camera we had used in Korea was actually only a 5x optical zoom and not a 10x as I had been thinking. I knew that I wanted more zoom and it's kind of hard to find a pocket-sized digital camera that offers more than 10x and doesn't suck in some other category. I had been considering more medium-sized cameras, you know the kind that doesn't fit in your pocket but isn't huge either, because the stats were just so appealing. 30x optical zoom and all the other bells and whistles were almost enough to make me go against my better judgment on the size issue. Lugging around a camera case around my neck and the possibility of it getting lost or stolen were too much in the end. So I ended up with the Sony HX5V. Hopefully, I will be taking lots of pictures and videos and posting them to this blog before too long! Just like the laptop, this purchase skyrocketed in price after adding all the little things you truly need that don't come with it: memory cards, a case, an extra battery and a battery charging station.
Among the lesser purchases I've made or hope to make before I leave are Nike Dri Fit shirts, a nice rain jacket and rain pants (it rains about 3x more there than in Roanoke), a new pair of shoes and a water filter so I can drink the local water and not have to buy bottled water all the time. The Dri Fit shirts were recommended to me by my mentor, so I definitely had to give them consideration. They're meant for running, but sitting around in Costa Rica is probably as hot or hotter than running in the States. They're sweet because they're cooler than normal shirts, they dry faster and they don't stretch. All of which are extremely helpful in the tropics because it's hot, there are no dryers and drying racks stretch clothes really bad as I experienced once before in Korea. We'll see how they hold up.
I had been going back and forth on whether or not to write about this, but the overwhelming support of my guy friends made the decision for me. I noticed a change in myself last week. A thought had occurred to me that had never occurred to me before. While I was at the gym, I saw a girl that I thought was really attractive. So attractive that I would be scared to talk to her because I'm a wuss. Now maybe it was simply because I'm leaving the country for 27 months and I've got nothing to lose but I actually thought about asking her out on a date. If you don't know me, this is something I have never done before and it had literally never even crossed my mind - to ask out a girl that I had never met before or been introduced to; a complete stranger, knowing nothing about her except that she goes to the Y. We will call her YMCA girl as I still do not know her name. My other theory about why it crossed my mind is that living in a foreign country, learning the language, interacting with people in broken English or broken Spanish or broken Korean, has somehow changed me in such a way that I'm at least partially immune to the fear of people. Just the other day I had a pleasant conversation with a random guy in Wendy's. That would have never happened before. But that's not as interesting as YMCA girl - sorry Wendy's guy. I wanted to get the opinions and advice of my friends as I had never done anything like this before and was at a loss for how to go about it exactly. Do I wait for the perfect opportunity or do I make one for myself? Do I bump into her or meet her at the water fountain or just walk straight up to her and ask her? Surely one of my friends would have had experience with this sort of thing and could tell me what to do and what to say. Maybe if I was friends with a bunch of meatheads I could have gotten some terrible pickup lines or something, but not one of them had ever gone up to a random girl and asked her out. I could have easily been discouraged by this, and the old me definitely would have been, but now I feel like it's my duty to ask this girl out. I honestly don't even care what she says in response. Actually, if she says yes I may be more scared about the actual date than I was about asking her in the first place lol. The interesting thing is that although none of my friends had ever done it before, they were all urging me to do it. Some said I had to do it. "Dude, you have to do it," they said. "You've got to." We may never know what YMCA girl's name truly is or what she would have said if I had gotten the chance to ask her (I've only seen her like three times in two months so chances are slim I'll get another chance), but one thing is for sure: overseas travel has changed me, for the better I hope!
9.14.2010
JMU 21, Va Tech 16
I know this blog is supposed to be about my trip to Costa Rica, but c'mon. How could I not take this opportunity to rub it in to all the Tech fans in Roanoke who just never seem to shut up about Tech football? Every year they come into the new season with an inflated ranking and national title aspirations and every year they lose a game or two they "should" have won. And the worst part about it is that the ACC is so weak that they usually make it to a BCS game anyway! This year could very well be no different. It's true, Tech is 0-2 for the first time since 1995 but they have yet to play a single conference game. They could easily run through their ACC schedule and represent the Coastal division in Charlotte. And let's not forget that in 1995 Tech ended up going to the Sugar Bowl and beating Texas. So I'm not here to say that Tech's season is over or that they're a terrible team, but I sure am glad they lost to my JMU Dukes - and the earlier in the season the better. As if hearing about it all off season isn't enough, Tech fans take it to a whole 'nother level when they're undefeated after a few weeks.
I hope this win will shed some light on how great the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is and how terrible the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is. Once again, I'm not saying that the CAA is better than the ACC, but the CAA is by far the best conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the ACC is arguably the worst major conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). I don't follow the mid-major conferences but fans of the Boise State's and TCU's of the world could probably make a strong argument for the WAC or the MWC being as good as the ACC. Let's take a look at the Top 25 of each subdivision, shall we? The ACC started the season with five ranked teams. From the Roanoke Times' Sports section on Monday: "After two weeks, those five members have combined for zero wins over Division 1-A teams; four losses to Top 25 teams; one loss to a 1-AA team; and one loss to a team that had been beaten by a 1-AA foe." All that losing leaves the ACC with just a single team in the Top 25. It's really weird looking at Miami's schedule on ESPN.com and not seeing any rankings beside their ACC opponents for the rest of the season.
The CAA has fared much better in the FCS polls with seven of its ten members being ranked. All seven teams are actually within the top 16 of the poll this week. The CAA can also boast six of the top 12 and two of the top 3. You may be surprised to learn that JMU is not the #1 team in the FCS; rather, its defending champions Villanova. Speaking of champions, the CAA has produced four different national champions out of the last seven years and the CAA has been represented in the championship game six of the last seven years. Now I know what you're thinking. What does the success of the CAA in the inferior FCS have to do with being able to play with FBS teams? My point is that the CAA is the SEC of the FCS and all those great schools playing each other every year makes them better and they're not scared to play anybody. Top to bottom, I think any sane sports fan would have to agree that the ACC is better than the CAA, but over the last two seasons the series is tied 3-3 with one of the ACC's wins coming in OT against JMU... makes you wonder!
One last jab at Tech before I post: JMU 11, Va Tech 0 <--- the number of AP poll points this week
I hope this win will shed some light on how great the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is and how terrible the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is. Once again, I'm not saying that the CAA is better than the ACC, but the CAA is by far the best conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the ACC is arguably the worst major conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). I don't follow the mid-major conferences but fans of the Boise State's and TCU's of the world could probably make a strong argument for the WAC or the MWC being as good as the ACC. Let's take a look at the Top 25 of each subdivision, shall we? The ACC started the season with five ranked teams. From the Roanoke Times' Sports section on Monday: "After two weeks, those five members have combined for zero wins over Division 1-A teams; four losses to Top 25 teams; one loss to a 1-AA team; and one loss to a team that had been beaten by a 1-AA foe." All that losing leaves the ACC with just a single team in the Top 25. It's really weird looking at Miami's schedule on ESPN.com and not seeing any rankings beside their ACC opponents for the rest of the season.
The CAA has fared much better in the FCS polls with seven of its ten members being ranked. All seven teams are actually within the top 16 of the poll this week. The CAA can also boast six of the top 12 and two of the top 3. You may be surprised to learn that JMU is not the #1 team in the FCS; rather, its defending champions Villanova. Speaking of champions, the CAA has produced four different national champions out of the last seven years and the CAA has been represented in the championship game six of the last seven years. Now I know what you're thinking. What does the success of the CAA in the inferior FCS have to do with being able to play with FBS teams? My point is that the CAA is the SEC of the FCS and all those great schools playing each other every year makes them better and they're not scared to play anybody. Top to bottom, I think any sane sports fan would have to agree that the ACC is better than the CAA, but over the last two seasons the series is tied 3-3 with one of the ACC's wins coming in OT against JMU... makes you wonder!
One last jab at Tech before I post: JMU 11, Va Tech 0 <--- the number of AP poll points this week
9.13.2010
Aspiration Statement
Welcome to my new blog for my upcoming service in Costa Rica with the Peace Corps! I hope I am able to update this thing on a regular basis, but access to the Internet is not guaranteed once we are placed in our assignments so updates may be infrequent or non-existent after the first of the year. I apologize in advance.
For those of you who don't know, I went to South Korea for a year to teach English and that trip made me realize how much I enjoy living abroad and experiencing new people, places and cultures. My ex-girlfriend and I kept up a blog while we were there: www.katieandorbrian.blogspot.com. If you don't have time to read the entries there is a link on the right side of the screen to our picture albums! Enjoy!
Once a Peace Corps applicant has been selected for service, an updated resume and an aspiration statement must be e-mailed to the Peace Corps staff in your host country. The aspiration statement is meant to give the staff with whom you will be training shortly a better idea of who you are and why you decided to join the Peace Corps. It also gives the individual writing it a chance to really think through the thoughts, feelings, desires and goals that led up to this point and it serves as a reminder once you begin your service as to what in the world you were thinking before you began! It is split up into five topics:
A. The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.
B. Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.
C. Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.
D. The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.
E. How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.
I don't think my statement is very well-written; I'm posting it so that people will know why I decided to go to the Peace Corps and what I hope to accomplish in Costa Rica. So without further ado, here it is:
For those of you who don't know, I went to South Korea for a year to teach English and that trip made me realize how much I enjoy living abroad and experiencing new people, places and cultures. My ex-girlfriend and I kept up a blog while we were there: www.katieandorbrian.blogspot.com. If you don't have time to read the entries there is a link on the right side of the screen to our picture albums! Enjoy!
Once a Peace Corps applicant has been selected for service, an updated resume and an aspiration statement must be e-mailed to the Peace Corps staff in your host country. The aspiration statement is meant to give the staff with whom you will be training shortly a better idea of who you are and why you decided to join the Peace Corps. It also gives the individual writing it a chance to really think through the thoughts, feelings, desires and goals that led up to this point and it serves as a reminder once you begin your service as to what in the world you were thinking before you began! It is split up into five topics:
A. The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.
B. Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.
C. Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.
D. The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.
E. How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.
I don't think my statement is very well-written; I'm posting it so that people will know why I decided to go to the Peace Corps and what I hope to accomplish in Costa Rica. So without further ado, here it is:
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