The Update

Well, not a whole lot of excitement down here in sunny and sweltering Bloomington, Indiana. I've spent the last week trying to keep cool as Summer II classes got under way. As stated in the previous update, I'm taking a class on Administrative Theory, and yes, it is as boring as you expect. That, and Intro to Computers, so now I can say that I know how to bold-face type on Word with the best of them. Needless to say, I'm ready to be done with classes.

Things are going well with the UK plans. I'm in occassional contact with the club, and they seem to be excited for my arrival, although probably not as excited as I am. I've also been chatting with Southend fans on their message boards, and they are all very stoked about the opportunity they have to play in League 1 this season, meaning the teams will be better and the stakes higher. My Blue Card application is complete and has been submitted, so now I am waiting to receive both my passport and the Blue Card, both of which should arrive in the mail this coming week. Michelle solidified her visitation plans last week, and she will be over visiting from December 19 through January 3. My parents are also setting their plans to come visit, probably beginning the day after Christmas. All other dates are still open for visitors!

Speaking of parents, ma and pa couldn't wait any longer and brought a new bundle of joy home on Saturday afternoon. It's a small female (black, of course) and about 8 weeks old. They're thinking of naming it either Lindy or Abby, but they haven't decided for sure yet. They adopted her from Planned Pethood, who was having an "Adopt-a-thon" at Anderson's on Saturday, and my dad heard about it and couldn't resist checking out. Of course, getting there meant he wouldn't be able to resist taking one home either, so they are back up to two dogs. Bentley didn't seem to care much, he just sniffed her and laid back down.

I just finished "Today Matters" by John C. Maxwell, a book that was a gift from my church congregation for graduating from college. It's one of those books that helps you set your life straight and helps you to organize and prioritize your life to get the most out of it. I found it enjoyable to read and was very quick to go through, and I did feel as though I took a few things from it. I don't expect any of you to notice any massive changes, but I am looking at things a bit differently now.

For those of you that are interested in where I'll be and what I'll be doing, check out these websites.

www.southendunited.co.uk

www.footballgroundguide.co.uk

The second site you'll have to find Southend United under League 1, but it has pictures of the stadium that I'll be working at as well as some interesting tidbits about the club itself (chants, songs, best nearby pubs, etc.)

So What's New?

Well, obviously my attempts at discussing hard-hitting topics did not work, so I'll just go back to what's going on here.

Schoolwise, I just finished up the first summer term, completing classes in The Sports Industry and Topics in Commercial Sports. My next term gets under way in full next week, and I'll be taking a class on Administrative Theory and Intro to Computers. I have to have a computers class on my transcript to get my Master's degree, and I'm probably the only person in America who didn't take one in undergrad, so I'm gonna be taking that next term. I finish all of the coursework up on August 12, and will be returning to the burg then to get ready for the big move.

Which brings me to the UK. Plane tickets have been bought, and I will be flying out on August 20 at 9:40 pm from Detroit. Yes, that's the same day as Mike's wedding, but I'll still be at the ceremony. Just not the reception. Sorry D, but if I wait until the first available flight Sunday morning the price jumps up about $130. I'm also in the midst of filling out my Blue Card information so that I can submit it. The Blue Card acts as my necessary visas and such so that I'll be legally there for up to six months. Still waiting for people to let me know when they're coming to visit!

As far as gaming, I've been enjoying EVE Online lately. It's a spaced-based online game, but it is based entirely around ships, not running around. The game is set up based on an economy system, so whatever minerals and items are being bought and sold heavily will show the greatest fluctuation in price at those space stations. Characters are able to explore any sort of career path, such as creating and running a mining operation, hunting down space pirates or rogue players or even founding an intergalactic corporation. It's been fun so far.

Last night I finished Y: The Last Man Vol.2 , and I have to say that's a very enjoyable read. The concept of the graphic novel is a plague strikes across the entire planet, killing everything with a Y Chromosome, except for one guy and his pet monkey. The world is now run entirely by women, many of whom have heard that one man survived and are trying to kill him. Meanwhile, a sympathetic woman scientist is attempting to determine what happened and bring the men back. It's really an interesting premise and I think that the creators really pinned down well what would really happen. Due to obvious things such as 95% of pilots being male, women have been set back in a lot of ways, but they quickly learn to survive, but groups of them also learn to hate other groups (Femi-nazis, for example, are trying to take control of the country).

Well, that's some of the latest going on here, if any of you are interested in borrowing any of my graphic novels, let me know and I'll try and get them to you. Here's the ones I have available if anyone's interested.

Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days
Iron Empires: Volume 1
Y: The Last Man Volume 1
Y: The Last Man Volume 2

Discrimination

Alright, my African-American professor felt it was necessary to talk about the discrimination of women and minorities in the sports environment. Now, ok, if this is a problem (which, by the way, I have NOT seen in my three sports internships, I've worked with Hispanics, Blacks and women), then we should be discussing ALL discrimination, because invariably he talked about the black man being held back. One of the statistics he showed was that the NBA was 90% black, but we don't talk about how whites are underrepresented.

Anyways, I don't want to come off as being a racist. Because that's not the case. Frankly, I feel that the most qualified applicant should be hired for the job, regardless of race, gender, credo, etc. The "old boy" network where older white men simply hire their friends and don't consider outsiders is going by the wayside in my opinion as these white old men retire or die, and they're being replaced by younger people who I feel don't really care about race or gender.

Where I think this issue gets out of hand is requiring employers to interview a certain number of minority candidates, even if they are underqualified. Why waste both peoples' time if the candidate is obviously not going to be seriously considered due to underqualification? It seems unnecessary.

Anyways, I want to know what everyone thinks about this issue. As I said, I personally don't care what race, gender, religion people that I work with as long as they are good workers. But am I in the "minority" on this one? Either way, I'm just curious about how other people come down on the discrimination in the workplace issue (gender, race, religion or whatever). Let me know your comments.

Doesn't that smell fresh?

Hey! Everyone else was doing it, why can't I? It seemed time to change from the ol' 565 design, so I went with this new dealie. Content and topics will remain the same, which is to say, whatever I feel like writing about.

Based on Dariano's comment, I decided to "bring you into my life" a little more, as evidenced by the new and improved sidebar, showing you what I'm reading, watching and listening to. I'm going to try and be diligent if any of that stuff changes. Obviously the books, games and music are all what I'm into now, and the films are the five most recent things I've seen. But what Brad fan doesn't want that extra peer into my life?

Anyways, comments and criticizms of the facelift will be welcomed in the comment section. Thanks.