Sunday Observations - Jan 25

- Not to sound to cliche, but Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President will be one of the defining moments in American history. What a great country we live in. For the first time in history, a country with a white majority has elected a minority candidate to lead the nation.

- I miss football season already. And I am just not excited about this year's Super Bowl. Maybe Bruce at halftime.

- Knights wrestling went 3-0 last week. The highlight was a 36-33 win against rival West Henderson. The Knights were down by 3 going into the last match and won a pin in :27 seconds to claim the victory. With the win, the Knights remain undefeated in the conference and tied with Pisgah for first place. Tuesday's match with Pisgah might be for the Conference Championship.

- Time flies. February is nearly here already.

- Life is hectic... wrestling is heading into the final stretch and there's a lot to do with playoffs and regionals (which we are hosting) coming around. Also, last week was the end of our semester so we had exams. They were made more chaotic by Martin Luther King Day and then an impromptu snow day on Tuesday. This week, we have a workday on Monday and I get new classes on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday I am in Chapel Hill for meetings. In between, we have home wrestling match on Tuesday, away on Thursday and Conference Tournament on Saturday. Yeah... busy week.

Crush of the Week:
Lost is back! The new season premiered this week! Admittingly, I didn't watch it. I never watch anything when it comes on because I am never home to. But I will (Netflix rocks, so does ABC.com). It's one of the greatest shows ever. Every episode is a captivating, well written, suspenseful and features Evangeline Lily as Kate Austen. I'm a season behind, so please don't spoil things for me. So here's Evangeline, this week's crush:

Sunday Observations- Nov 16

1) I went to Boone yesterday to see my alma mater, Elon, play Appalachian State in an important Southern Conference showdown. Elon was ranked 10th in the country and ASU ranked 2nd. It was a great game, even if Elon lost 24-16. I loved the game, it was cold and wet. Rain and, at times, snow were blowing into our faces. This is football. People around me were whining but I was in bliss. It made me feel like I was in Lambeau or Buffalo. I'm glad we made the trip, I haven't seen Elon play in about 5 years. Elon has come a long way since the days of playing games at Williams High School.

2) Random encounters are so neat. We walked into Mellow Mushroom in Boone and a young lady walked up to me and asked if I was Heang Uy. It was a girl I went to high school with. Then she turned to my friend Dave and asked, "were you in a band?" Dave used to play in a band called Dirt Poor Authority. You can find them on itunes. That encounter made Dave's day and made him feel like a rockstar. Dirt Poor hadn't played in over 5 years and someone from "the day" remembered him. Good times.

3) I love my iphone. I will admit that I am a bit addicted to it. That's part of being a geek. Now that it's cold, I have found one fault with it. The touch screen works on heat, not pressure, so I cannot use the phone with gloves on. Unfortunately for me, I am a glover when the weather is cold. So if you call and I don't answer, it might because I am fumbling my phone out of my pocket then taking off a glove and then unlocking the phone...

4) I would not recommend Geno's in Boone. We stopped there for dinner. The food was amazingly slow to get there and the selection bland. I'm to the point also that I don't want to eat where they allow smoking. The most amazing thing was when my friend asked for chili cheese fries and the waitress said they couldn't do it because the kitchen would be mad. She could, however, bring cheese fries and a side of chili for an extra charge. But bringing french fries, chili and cheese on one plate was not possible.

5) Discipline was the topic of the week at our youth leaders meeting and at church this morning. Read Proverbs 3. The Lord disciplines the ones he loves. When you are as egotistical as I am, discipline can be a very disconcerting thing. Who am I that I need to be disciplined? God's word humbles me.

Man-Crush of the Week: Jeremy Gillespie. Why? 1) He wanted to be it. 2) He let me bring my wrestling team to Camp Arrowhead for North Henderson Wrestling's boot camp. 3) He was pretty rocking when leading worship at Grace this morning. 4) His other identity (don't tell anyone, shhh) is Superman.

Sunday Observations

This blog continues to evolve. Instead of a weekly post devoted to my crush for the week, I am replacing that post with "Sunday Observations". Sunday Observations are just my short, random musings of the previous week (if I can get to it). The "Crush" is not going away, there are too many people I like-- it will just be grouped into the "Sunday Observations". Without further adeiu, this today's observations:

1. Through Facebook status updates, Internet forums and comments left by readers to online articles, there are a lot of people who think we need to pray for our country since Obama was elected President. My question, if McCain was elected President, would we not need to pray for our country?

2. Texas Tech is really fun to watch on offense.

3. Georgia should have lost, unbelievable ending. They stopped Kentucky on 4th down, but were called for a facemask. Kentucky's next play was an interception by a defensive lineman who was being blocked. See the clip below.


Alabama should have lost. What was Jarrett Lee thinking on that pass? Your defense blocks a game winning field goal to force overtime and then you throw an interception to give yourself no chance to win the game. Rediculous!

4. Thank goodness I am not a Tennessee fan. Homecoming loss to Wyoming?

5. I was measured for a tux today for my college roommate Jeff's wedding in December. I am a 31 sleeve, 31 waist and 48 overarm. I won't tell you the rest because I don't want you to make life size voodoos of me. You'll have to guess the neck, underarm and all the other random measurements.

Proof that God Exists:
Last season, Bobby Petrino, in the midst of a terrible first season in Atlanta, abandoned his contract, commitment and team and took the head job at the University of Arkansas. He didn't even meet with his team. He left them a letter. Packed his office and left them letters in their lockers. It was gutless.

This year, Arkansas is 4-6 and 1-5 in the SEC (last in their division), including beating might football powers Western Illinois and Louisiana Monroe by a combined 5 points. The Falcons, one of the worst teams in the NFL last season, is 6-3 and second in their division behind rookie Matt Ryan's marvelous play. Justice is served.

Crush of the Week:
Jennifer Pharr Davis. Check this post. How can you not like Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine's Person of the Year?