good aaron rogers

so last weekend i got the 'good will hunting' itch. it comes around every 6 months or so. something will feel missing in my life and ill eventually realize that i havnt seen good will hunting in awhile. anyways, i was watching it the other day and there is this scene towards the end where matt damon and ben affleck are talking and ben affleck gives this nice monologue. the first time i saw it i thought the monologue was terrible because of the acting, but after a few ben affleck movies, i now realize that its just pretty typical ben affleck acting, actually its probably better than 'armageddon' or 'pearl harbor' ben affleck. especially better than 'daredevil' ben affleck.

anyways, at this point in the movie, matt damon, will hunting, who is a genius is telling ben affleck, his best friend that he plans on raising his family in boston and living next to ben affleck and his family and taking their kids to little league together and working construction together etc. ben affleck responds by telling matt damon that if he sticks around in boston he will kill him. he eventually tells matt damon that he doesnt owe it to matt, but he owes it to him (ben). he says that tomorrow he will wake up and be 50, but matt is sitting on a winning lottery ticket but he is too much of a wuss to cash it in. that he would give anything to have what will has (a genius brain) and that it is an insult for matt to not use it.

well, that was a long explanation, and not really important. (here is the clip from the movie if you care to see it. *warning* the clip is directly from the movie so it is unedited and uncensored. the language is VERY colorful). basically, i was sitting there and thinking about who is the will hunting in my life. and then i realized that it is aaron rogers. id feel bad about calling him out on my blog except that 1. im pretty sure he doesnt even know of my blog, and 2. all of my friends and i sit around and talk about him anyways and how we feel he is wasting away, so, if im going to do it behind his back, i should at least be willing to do it to his face (via the world wide web) or not at all.

so aaron rogers is super smart. when i was studying for the lsat, he started flirting with the law school idea, like everyone does at some point in their life. aaron sat down and took a practice test without ever looking at a test before and i cant remember exactly what he scored, but it was above a 168. somewhere in the 170ish range. which is an incredible score. that is not only getting you into any law school you want, but probably will get you a scholarship as well. add on his 3.8 or 3.9 econ degree and he could probably get in. he never pursued law school. which is fine. law school isnt for everyone. he ended up getting a job with an investment banking firm bain capital sometime after he graduated, but he later quit because he didnt like the hours.

anyways, i should finish this, im not really sure where im going. i could go on forever trying to describe him in an effort to figure him out, but ive done that plenty of times with other friends and we never really reach a conclusion. last i heard aaron is living in provo, ut bouncing around with temp jobs or working some job that he got from his roommate. and the analogy to good will hunting isnt quite exact. i dont want to say that he owes it to me to cash it in, because i dont feel like i dont have anything going for me in life. i feel rather talented and not quite like how ben affleck feels, although i do feel like i have rugged good looks like ben. but the bottom line is that regardless of whether im a ben affleck or not, aaron is sitting on a winning lottery ticket and he's wasting it away. he doesnt have to go to law school or slave away at some banking firm if he doesnt want to, but he's doing absolutely nothing with what he has. to do what he does with the brain he has is an insult. im not exactly sure to whom, but ben says its an insult when matt wastes his brain. i think to a degree we all are sitting on lottery tickets and not cashing them in, but we all have an aaron in our life, that is on a guaranteed lottery ticket and just cashing it in for whatever reason. and it gets frustrating. im not sure there is anything i can do. well, besides waiting 20 years to see if he is still living in provo and if he is, then be like ben and kill him.

tagged?

so i guess ive been 'tagged.' im fairly new to this whole blogging thing, but i guess that people answer random qeustions on their blog and then they 'tag' someone else and make that person answer the same questions. im really not sure how i feel about it. do people really care about my answer? is someone just out there making up questions and tagging people so he/she can see how far and long the tagging of 'their' questions will go? do you gain prestige with bloggers by making a 'tag' that continues on and on? anyways, my sister lark was tagged as well as my other sister paige, but both with different 'tags' or questions. paige was kind enough to then 'tag' me. if it was anyone else i probably would have sent them a plate of some george bluth special muffins in the mail, but she is family and was an inspiration to me starting a blog, so ill continue the tag.

last person i sent a card to: my mom will be so proud to hear this. i sent a card to judge hatter and the clerks. i sat down, and typed out letter thanking them for the experience of working with them this past semester. im not very good at remembering to send thank you cards, but thats not because my mom hasnt tried to teach and remind me to send them. anyone that knows shanon knows that she is HUGE on thank you card and just giving thanks. one time, i came home from byu with some friends for a weekend and this one guy was extremely courtious and helpful and kind to my parents. my mom fell in love. then, when we got back to utah, he sent my mom a thank you card. i didnt even tell him that my mom was big on them. shanon was in love. however, he was much to young for her and ron had the upper hand on him, but lindsey was still single. so for the next few months, whenever the subject of boys came up, shanon was always asking about kevin and recommending him to lindsey. good times. so i sent the judge a letter. he is my connection to palau. ive gotta keep him close.

what i ate for lunch: i havnt had lunch yet. not sure what ill have. something quick. i try and go to lunch as late in the day as possible. that way, when i get back, the day is almost over.

something i just learned: pass.

favorite song: when? of all time? from yesterday? excuse me mr. or ms. tagger, your question is vague. does anyone have a favorite song of all time? is that possible? i dont think it really is. dont songs come and go with phases and moods in life? for instance, i remember that my favorite song senior year of high school was 'flagpole sitter' by 'harvey danger.' but that isnt my favorite song now. although it is a timeless classic. during christmastime i really like 'greensleeves.' i also like josh grobin's 'o holy night.' christmas wrapping by the spice girls is pretty good too. if im at a dance party at new horizons east, then my favorite song is 'freestyler' by 'bombfunk mc's.'
but since i dont know have a favorite at the moment, ill just go ahead and give a plug for the new 'white stripes' album 'icky thump.' i really like the white stripes. i think they are incredibly talented and true musicians. some arent too high on meg, the drummer, but their sound is excellent. whenever you hear a white stripes song, you know its white stripes, even though their songs never sound alike. unlike a band like 'red hot chilli peppers,' they are constantly changing their sound. some songs are just a hard rock like zeppelin, other songs have a very southern, blues sound, some songs are just weird pop, or mexican mariachi. anyways, to me, they are like a band like radiohead, never will be extremely main stream because they just sound too different for the masses, but they are good musicians so they will always pump out quality music, and there will always be appreciative fans like me to receive said music.

other stuff: dave introduced me to 'the national' a little bit ago. more mellow and a really nice sound that all will enjoy. you can listen to their music on their myspace page. i also do like that new nelly furtado song. totally trendy with jr. high kids and you can hear it about every 15 min on 4 or 5 different stations in l.a., but whenever i do hear it, sometimes i might crank up the volume and relive glorious jr high memories. except that, yep, thats an oxymoron.

last book i read: i think it was 'ghost soldiers.' im starting the mitt romney 'mormon in the white house book.' my con law professor, hugh hewitt, is the author. im planning on doing just a quick skim. i also just bought 'blink' by malcolm gladwell. i enjoyed his other book, 'the tipping point,' so im excited to start this one.

what im wearing: business casual. lame. do you really care tagger?

last phone call i made: to kim iverson. another lame question though.

inside i dont feel very different when i was: alive and healthy (?)

favorite tv shows: i am in love with arrested development.

i did grow to like the american office this past year. i boycotted it for awhile. while the british version will forever hold a special place in my heart, i think that the american version has done a decent job at recreating what the british version already did. yes. recreating.

30 rock is a great show.

real world/road rules challenge. even though no one but connie will watch it with me.

and of course man vs. wild. just outstanding. if you havnt ever seen it, i dont want to spoil it. its on the discovery channel. look it up and watch an episode. you wont be disappointed. the show rules.

last restaurant: so this is a large reason why i decided to answer this 'tag.' sorry this is already so long. but i was going to rant and make a post earlier, and this question sort of goes along with the rant, so i decided i could just combine posts and please everyone.

dating is expensive. it really is. ive gone on a few dates over the past few weeks and i totally broke the bank. now im not the best budgeter or the best when it comes to finances, so i probably could have saved some money here and there, but overall, dating isnt cheap. and im not upset at women for this. i dont think it is their fault at all. its my fault. or i dont even know if there is fault to be placed. its just the way it is. i mean, you are going to take the girl to dinner. and of course you could always take them to some cheap drive through diner or some lame joint if you never want to go out with them again, but assuming you do, you will try and take them somewhere nice. doesnt need to be incredibly fancy or anything, but its going to be a sit down restaurant. you will both get meals ranging anywhere between $10-20. add on an appetizer because i love snacking and they always look and sound so appealing. plus, food takes forever to arrive and i get antsy. and its easy conversation. 'wow, these southwestern egg rolls are delicious. mmmmm. have some. how bout that avocado. man, isnt avocado so good? yeah. i know. i love guacamole too. what else to you like thats green?' anyways, after tax and tip there is no way dinner is less than $30. which is fine, im not bitter about that. its just the way it is.

then there is entertainment. even if you go with the standard movie, thats $10 each in l.a. area, so now you are at $50. tack on some ice cream later and youre somewhere around $60. or like the other night, i was with a girl and we went walking through a book store. as we were walking in i said, 'lets pick out a summer reading book for the other person.' a fun and stupid suggestion. why? because after picking them out, we went to the register, and although she insisted on paying, i have too much man pride and i had to front the money and buy her the book.

which is why dating is so expensive. man pride. im sure girls will say that they dont have to be wined and dined. that if the guy is 'fun and entertaining, then it doesnt matter what you do. as long as you are spending time together.' so cute. but thats just not how guys think. well, i dont think that way at least. i understand that if im dating a girl, or if ive got her locked down and interested, then i can do something cheap and casual, but before that point, im going to wine and dine. even after she is locked down, every once in awhile i still have to break the bank and wine and dine her. why? because i want to show her that she's not some throw away. a girl may not 'need' to be taken to these places, but as a guy, i 'need' to take her out to a nice dinner. im not trying to prove i have money, they usually figure that out once i say im a student. i realize that even if we just went for a walk down to the pier that i could get to know her and still perhaps win her over with a few witty jokes. but if its a first date or an early in the courting process date, then im spending some money. i could just say, 'hey girl. youre neat.' but it would probably come out that smooth, so instead i figure that a nice bowl of pasta and a new book will send the same message.

anyways, its all messed up. well, at least it is in my head. once again, i dont blame women at all for this. its just the man pride. and until i can swallow that pride, ill keep on spending the money i dont have just to make sure that the girl feels like she's special (nice spin eh?). in any event, im pretty full at the moment, so i dont think much will be changing anytime soon.

well, i guess im supposed to 'tag' someone else. i think that if i tag 25 people and they all tag 25 more people and it continues for like 10 years or something then ill get postcards from all over the world and ill be in the guiness book of world records or something. so ill 'tag' zach. he never posts and so maybe this will give him something to post about.

ganamos!

thats right, we won. not they won. but we. im a part of the team. i told you they were a team of destiny. im happy beckham got a championship before he left. im really a fan of beckham. he plays hard and really isnt as much of a primadona as many may think. this is also roberto carlos' last season with the team. while that is good since he is a waste of space, and never gets back on defense or marks anybody, he has been with the team for many, many years, and in his prime he was a valuable asset, so its nice to see him win another championship before leaving. anyways, its been 4 long years (essentially how long since i left the country - showing i am a part of the team or a valuable morale asset), but its nice finally see the planets realign in their correct formation and have everything back to status quo with real on top and barca not. vaya madrid!



here is an article about the title
video highlights

team of destiny

i meant to write this at the beginning of this week, but i didnt have the time, but i still wanted to just give a quick update on real madrid for anyone who possibly cares. la liga (the spanish first division) has been exceptional this year with things coming down to the final game. real madrid made a late season surge to put themselves on top of the division. they are currently tied with barcelona who has been dominating the league for the past few years. barca won the champions league last year and easily won la liga last year. no one was even close. real hasnt won the division in over 4 years. they have been in quite a drought but they have great chemistry right now and the futbol gods are definitely on their side. they are truly a team of destiny. real and barca are tied at the top of the division with 73 points a piece, but real has the tie-breaker advantage because they beat barca more times during the season. anyways, last saturday, with 2 games left to play, real madrid was down 2-1 to zaragoza (or tharagotha) and ruuuuud van nistelroy scored the equalizing goal in the 89th minute. and to add to the drama, on the other side of the country, barca was winning 2-1 over espanyol when espanyol scored the equalizing goal in the 89th minute as well. so the teams are still even with one game left to play. sevilla is in third and only trail real and barca by 2 points, but they tied as well last sunday so they missed out on their opportunity to jump atop the division. if you watch the highlights below, messi for barca clearly cheated, which isnt good karma for barca. real's last game is this weekend against mallorca at home. they control their own destiny, but its been too dramatic of a season for them to blow it now.

real v. zaragoza

barca v. espanyol

'now i ain't sayin she's a gold digger...'

but you know what kayne? i think im a gold digger. and i am perfectly fine with this. the other day my friend joe told me how much he doesnt like working and how much better it was when we were in high school and didnt have to work or worry about working. and i completely agree. i dont want to work. i want to retire. now. i cant though. because im not rich. but i want to be rich. so i dont have to work. for awhile i fought this attitude. not anymore, and here is why i am fine with it:

1. 'but before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kindgom of god.' it doesnt say i cant seek for riches, just that i should be sure to seek for the kingdom first. great. ill keep that in mind.

2. i am probably not going to love my work, so i would like to make money and get out of it. and i am fine accepting this fact. i realize that some people LOVE their jobs, but the majority just dont. do i hate the law. no not at all. in fact the place where i am working isnt that bad at all. but i cant think of many things that i would LOVE. well, perhaps being a striker for real madrid or a sportscenter anchor, or being paid to just follow people around and make commentaries about their lives, but those opportunities have passed. so if im not doing something i just LOVE, and i have to do it all day, then i want money out of it. otherwise i should just start training, move to spain and get ready for tryouts.
2.a. even if i did LOVE it, i would probably get sick of it. one of the things i do LOVE, is teaching. i taught sunday school for 4 years. somehow, my calling always involved sunday school and subsequently teaching sunday school. but as much as i loved it, after 4 years, i wasnt sick of it, but i wasnt loving it as much. it was still very enjoyable, but i realized, that it was still great because i didnt have to do it each and every day, and that as great as it was, it wasnt as good as when i was first doing it. so even the great things will get old.
2.b. no matter what my job is, or how much i enjoy it, i know i will always rather be at the beach, traveling, or just spending time with my family. my work will keep me from those things that i really love and cherish (cutestory?). if i have to be kept from those things i would rather be doing, then im going to pursue money. screw you world. making me work. fine, ill play your little game and go to work. but im going to get money while im doing it and take my family on vacation to spain, or ibiza if im still single (just kidding mom....well, probably kidding) and sit on the beach, and then we'll see who is calling the shots in life.

3. i like to sleep. money will facilitate that. so since i am going to be doing law, i better make money to compensate for the type of work i will have to do. because in law, you are basically helping the good guys or the bad guys. the good guys are truly innocent people or people that have been legitimately injured by another person and are deserving of some type of compensation for it. the bad guys are of course the people that hurt others, or insurance companies. it appears, that i may be working for insurance companies. here is an article about one of the cases i was assigned. my assignment: figure out if there is any case law out there that would somehow make it so the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. 'basically,' says the partner, 'we want out of this case, see if there is any way out.'

'oh yeah sure. alright. that sounds great. basically, lets see if we cant get out of it so that this poor girl's family wont receive any sort of consolation or compensation for our boulder crushing their child. clearly the boulder came from the property that we insure. yeah, that sounds like a project i'd love to take on. it makes my conscience feel good. ill get right on that.'

if i was representing the good guy, id sleep fine at night. that may not always be the case. if i really have to represent the insurance company here, i better have a sweet bed, luscious pillow, and other posh and unnecessary amenities to rest on at night to help me escape from what i have to do during the day.

4. im going to have problems in life anyways. i dated a girl that came from a good chunk of change. and it made me have some reservations and concerns. and i think that its because i didnt come from a ton of money. we were definitely comfortable, but not buying helicopters or horses. so i think i viewed money as some sort of evil and something that would cause problems or, well, im not exactly sure. i think i felt that people with money are more heavily tempted or susceptible to be lead away by the devil or something. im not exactly sure, because that logic is flawed. here is what i do know, no matter who i am or where i am at in life, im tempted by the devil. i have a ton of debt right now and zero wealth, im totally broke. im the opposite of rich, yet im tempted. rich and poor are going to have trials and temptations. no money doesnt equal no problems. and sorry biggie, but actually, mo money cant equal mo problems, just different ones. there will always be problems in life, and id like lack of money not to be one.

5. money will score me a wife. so im not old, im only 26, so we havnt really hit desperation dating times or measures, but honestly, when didnt money help guys score babes? im not saying all women are gold diggers. i am a gold digger. but not all women are. but when was the last time you ever heard a woman say she didnt want money? never. they may not seek after it, but all women want financial security. it can only help me. either, ill score a legitimate woman and she will be even more attracted to me because i gots the benjamins, or ill score a trophy wife that is only marrying me for the money. either way, ive got a wife. and isnt that the underlying principle? get married. must it be for love? well, probably should, but those types of requirements become secondary when you move into desperation times. and im totally fine with the woman only wanting me for my money. 1. im a lawyer, ill protect my assets. 2. im a pretty entertaining guy. im sure that even if shes not in love with me at the start, that i can get her to come around. ill just remind her that she has to eat every day, and so if she is going to eat, then she might as well go with me to dinner, since im going anyways. and im sure after enough times of taking her out, she'll eventually grow to like me, heck, maybe even fall in love with me. if not, ill just buy her that baby blue volkswagon convertible beetle shes been wanting.
so am i lusting after money? no. and lust is such an ill sounding word and makes money sound evil or something, which, as illustrated above, its clearly not. lets spin that. basically, i am realizing that obtaining money comes down to lots of hard work and utilizing your talents. i may have a talent for obtaining money and i feel i should look into it. lusting? no. actively dedicated to developing my talents, progressing and improving myself by effectively utilizing my time and energy? ah, yes. definitely.