What's, Up Dog?
Today was my final day of having to be on campus this term. I do have to stop by a teacher's office and drop off a final project and a reading journal on tuesday of next week, and I do have a meeting on friday as a wrap up for my internship this term. I have extended my internship for one more quarter, meaning that I have spent the entire school year in the free employ of the Portland Trail Blazers. The regular season ends next month. Hopefully Portland will play in the post season, but nothing is for sure just yet. As far as my involvment in the post season: I haven't asked. I assume that when the time comes I will be informed. I think it would be prudent just to wait and see. The gang in PTown is yet to admit that they are a playoff team, and I don't want to push the envelop. Hopefully I will get credentials for the playoffs. Hopefully. I was downtown today, and I realized that most of my friends have left Portland. Chris is in Korea, Jake and Carly are in 'Nam, Pat is in Seattle, Matt is in Seattle (for the next few days), Bobby is in Corvallis, other people that I used to hang out with are also gone. Its a drag. Sometimes I feel like a loser because I am so commited to living in this city. I want to travel and all that good shit, but more than anything I want to live here. I feel like that makes me unimaginative or something. I know that I am going to travel someday, and I would like to do it later when I am more finacially secure, if that day ever comes. I understand the pull of being somewhere exotic, but it just doesn't effect me. I've been to Europe three times, and I love it, and I want to go back and spend some time there. I just really like being here, even if all my friends are gone.
Yesterday Portland lost to Dallas, and it was a drag. Portland hadn't lost at home since the All-Star break. It was a great run, but they have to put it behind them because if they miss the playoffs after the way they've played this season heads will roll. There's no doubt that missing the playoffs means a failed season. I hoping for a playoff series win, but Portland has to prove they can compete on the road before that happens. Too bad Portland doesn't get to play Minnesota in the playoffs. They've had no trouble beating them four times. I should have a feature coming out on the website sometime soon. I finished a draft yesterday, and sent it to Casey to be looked over. I haven't heard back as of yet, but I'll see him tomorrow, and I'm sure he will let me know what he thinks. I feel like it isn't a lot of stuff that people don't already know, but we'll see what he says. I got some good quotes from Brandon and Nate that I think played right into what I wanted to write about. Its been fun getting to interview players and stuff, and if nothing comes from this internship, at least I will have had some experience talking to famous people. That's always good to have.
Speaking of working and stuff. I am in the process of searching for a summer job. I'm really half assing it right now. I want to do something fun, and I want to do something that doesn't suck. I know those sound like the same thing, something fun obviously doesn't suck you might be saying. I beg to differ. Last summer, and the summer before working for the PPR was fun but it also sucked. Working with kids is totally draining, my bosses were not the greatest, the money was lousy and the job ended too soon. All those things made for a fun job that sucked. I hoping some glamorous high paying job falls into my lap. Those things happen, right?
The kittens are getting bigger. They eat and sleep a lot, but I guess that is what kittens do. I am working on an iMovie of them, but, like many things that I start, I am having trouble finishing it. One thing about this feature, if it comes out. I've seen it all the way to the end. I came up with the idea, I did the interviews and the background research, I drafted the story, and when I get feedback, I will revise it. That has to be good for something. Somebody give me a job!
One more quick Blazer related piece of knowledge. Portland handed the Lakers their ass the other night, as everyone I'm sure is aware. One of the dudes on the Lakers is Jordan Farmar. I really like Jordan Farmar, except for the fact that he is a Laker of course. I really liked him before I found out he was Jewish. Finding out that he was a hebrew brother, with the same amount of Jewish blood as I have, was pretty excellent news. Everyone remembers Tamir Goodman, the Jewish Jordan as dubbed by Sports Illustrated in the early part of this century and then retracted by the same magazine after they realized that dominating a bunch of Talmudic high school students does not an NBA superstar make. I saw a movie about Jewish basketball players, at the Portland Jewish Film Festival no less, and its amazing that a group of people that had such a profound influence on the game are no longer a part of it. Ben from Blazersedge said, when we were talking about it monday pregame, that really the NBA only has room for one minority, and guess which one it went with? Watch the highlights of the Trevor Ariza inspired brawl, and you will see Farmar restraining his UCLA buddy from what would have been a very ill advised hay maker on Brandon Roy. My theory is that if someone were to strike B Roy or LaMarcus Aldridge or really anyone on the Portland roster, the offender would not only have to deal with the team, but with 20 thousand drunk Portlanders who would clear the bleachers to defend their players. There's no way that the fifteen security people would be able to handle all that. Farmar was the peacemaker, he was also the only Laker to see to Rudy who was almost dead under the basket. It was a good day for the Jews if it was a bad day for the Lakers. Here is a link to a Farmar article, and another to a Tamir Goodman where are they now style profile.
Farmar warming up pregame Monday, unaware of what is coming. Of course if he knew that LA was going to be embarrassed he probably wouldn't have bothered warming up. Kode didn't warm up. Obviously he knew what was coming.
