Hello again, its been too long, too long, too long, hello again...

Its been a decent amount of time since i posted last, ive been travelling almost every week for the past 6-8 weeks and when im not travelling, im swamped with work/doing things i need to do at home. There was a period of time where in 7 days i was in 6 DIFFERENT states. I left dallas on friday, flew to chicago, then to south bend, then off to columbus for a few days, then drove to pittsburgh by way of west virginia. Its been kind of nutty, let me get to the story telling.

Ive been doing some pretty neat work(of which i cannot discuss where/when/what because of new policies in our department) and been gaining some great experience. Travelling is getting pretty old. At first, it was neat to be able to see some different parts of the country. Since ive been with crowe, ive gone everywhere from small farm towns in western illinois, to dallas, texas, to my current job in the chicago area, to a little town south of houston, new york, columbus, eastern ohio and other places. Its been interesting, but living out of a suitcase gets kind of old. Its also really easy to feel like you dont accomplish anything in the line of work that i am in, seeing as we come in sunday night/monday morning, work through the week, look for any sort of findings, present our findings on thursday or friday, then head off and repeat the next week. I guess im finding out that i like to be more of a problem solver than problem finder. The long term job ive been on and off of in columbus/dallas has been pretty nice because we get to create relationships with people and work with them to solve problems. Its not a fly by night sort of thing, remediation of their issues is what is starting to be more fulfilling to me.

Consulting takes a definate mindset. You cant get frustrated easily, you cant mind living on the road 5 nights a week and you cant mind nearly living with your coworkers. Relationships at work play a HUGE part here, not only how you conduct yourself with your coworkers, but how they act towards you. Dont get me wrong, you will have politics everywhere you go, but sometimes, people take it a bit far. Its somewhat discouraging to see some people willing to do anything they can to get ahead, even say or do things to discredit people they work with.

I guess what im getting at is that i never thought id be doing what im doing today or where im at today 6-8 months ago. I guess i didnt really didnt have a good idea what i was getting into at crowe. While that is both good and bad, it is what it is, and im working with it. Trying to do my best and seeing where i can go and what i can do. If there is one thing that ive been able to find out, its that i dont know where im going in 6-8 months. Who knows what could happen from now untill january 1st. Things could change, they could stay the same. Again, it all is a matter of time and opportunity.

One thing i do know, is that I'll be in columbus. My transfer date has been approved by the powers that be at Crowe, and as of october 1, ill officially be in the Columbus office . Spending time down in columbus lately, being around the city, going to see Tom and Les, its been great. Not only do i love that city dearly, but it will be exciting to be there with Katie and be able to start getting ready for the rest of our lives. Im so excited for that.

So besides all the ranting about work, what else have I been up to? Well, its june, so i celebrated my 23rd birthday on June 8th. It came and went without much fanfare. I guess thats the difference between being 23 and being 13. 10 years really can suck the opportunities for parties with games, prizes and other festivities. Not to say that party hats are overrated, but i spend the day working from home, petting the cat and on conference calls all day. Definately not how i celebrated my birthday last year, and nowhere close to how i celebrated my 21st. However, it was nice to go home over memorial day weekend, spend some time with my family, go out to eat and just relax for a while. Getting older is no fun, i remember when i was in high school, and all i wanted to do was be on my own, working, making money, being successful, etc etc etc. Now here i am, and i guess its not the shining marvel i hoped it would be.

Katie comes home this weekend. She has been on the field camp trip she took last year, but this summer she was a teaching assistant for it. Sounds like it wasnt all she hoped for either. But i know she enjoys being out there overall, and loves doing what she does. Itll be nice to see her this weekend, spend a long weekend with her(hopefully) and hear the stories shes been trying to tell me for a while now. I cant believe its been close to 2 months since ive seen her. She left around memorial day, but due to my work schedule, other things that came up, we havent seen each other since early may. I think we are definately due for some quality time.

Also, since it is june, i had to partake in my summer vice. Dave Matthews Band tour came around, and while i couldnt go to as many shows as i normally do because of work, travel, etc, i was still able to go to 3 shows. One of them was in columbus, and i took Red. Good time was had by all. While i wasnt overly impressed with the energy of that nights show, it wasnt bad. I got to hear some of the new songs they have been working on. While i heard them for the first time after downloading them off a message board, they keep getting new twists and turns. Hearing them live is a whole different ball game. It was nice to go to Germain Ampitheatre again, but the real kicker was the 2 nights in Burgettstown, PA. I drove out and spend friday - monday morning with Sloka in Pittsburgh, had some good times, saw some sights, and went to the 2 shows out there. First night, had decent seats in the front part of the upper pavilion, and the 2nd night...4th row center. It was insane. Seeing DMB play that close to the stage is a whole different experience. Facial expressions, clarity of vocals, seeing Dave do his traditional feet dance up close...its amazing. Its going to be hard to ever top that show.

Now im in the chicagoland area, staying with my folks and working on a job out here. Its been nice to see my parents, got some new clothes, spent some time with Missy and her husband. Also, coming home means i get to mess with networking stuff for my parents, including their new wireless print server and laser printer they picked up yesterday...the print server turned out to be a complete pain in the ass for cross platform printing. There has to be an easier way...

Whats up next? Hopefully going to spend time with katie this weekend, then off to columbus next week, then spending 2 weeks in south bend for our official training. You may ask yourself, didnt you start at crowe 7 months ago? The answer to that would be yes. However, this is how they do it, so i get to spend 2 weeks in south bend doing that. Who knows, it could be a good time.

Hopefully ill post less information more often. However, travelling kind of wears me down, hell, i dont know who even reads this thing anymore.

Leave me a note, call me, IM me, whatever. Hope all is well with everyone.

BW

Rest in Peace

Ronald Reagan Memorial Foundation

He will be missed.

Idiots everywhere

My Way News

Wow. Just to show you that more education does not mean you are smarter.

Another day another Dollar....or in my case, another day another 600$ in hotel costs and 1200 hilton honors points...

So, as a slight caveat, i tried posting this last night, but the wireless connection in my hotel has been pretty goofy. So here goes.

Hope this finds everyone doing well. Again, ive been travelling like mad, spent 2 weeks in columbus doing some work. Things were going very well. I met some new people from IRM, worked with some existing people i have a great relationship, got to see Tom(a friend/fellow intern from AEP) and spend 2 weeks in one of my favorite cities in the world. Columbus. Im also about 99% sure that as of october 1, ill be transferring to the columbus office. I cant even put into words how excited i am. Katie will be down there working on her grad school things, ill be down in columbus, we finally wont have to travel over 2 hours one way to see each other. Itll definately be good....especially since we need to start planning a wedding soon ;-)

So all in all, things in columbus were going well....



Then i got reassigned to a client i worked on before. However, the good part of the deal was i didnt have to actually go on site for this job. Working out of the clevleand office for the next few weeks, which is nice since i actually have a good network connection to get work done and cleveland is a decent city. Working with Paul is a riot again. The only Senior Manager in our group who will sing to me, then burp, then sing again while we are working. What a character. I thought the work was only going to go about 2 weeks, but now its looking like closer to the middle of june. Middle of june, hmm...sounds like me birthday time w00t0rz.

Turning 23 on june 8. Whaaaa...when did i get so old. *sucks*

Katie leaves for her field camp trip next week. It *should* be easier to deal with this year since ill be alot busier, and im used to going weeks at a time without seeing her. However, going without talking to her either on IM or on the phone will be a chore. Well get through it, we always do.

Callie is getting declawed in the next few weeks. It will sure be nice to have a lap cat that doesnt cut me up 6 ways to sunday. From there, she will most likely be going to spend some time with my mom untill my travel schedule dies down a bit. Hopefully ill spend alittle time in the office in august to prep for my move. Time to start looking for a place to live in columbus. Yay :-)

On a sad note, everyone please pray for Al. Her mother just passed away, and shes going through a real rough time. Shes a great gal, and deserves the best. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happy note, im now a contributing writer to www.ipodgarage.com and soon to www.billpalmer.net. Bill has brought me on as a writer, i dont know what he was thinking. Finally i can have a place to write about Apple stuff without the hassle of running my own website. Those of you with ipods should really check out ipodgarage.com. We have some good info on there, good ads for you to check out, and some sweet forums to participate in. Let me know if you want any info.


Hope all is well, im really trying to post more regularly. But when i have a choice between star wars galaxies or blogging....those of you who know me know what im going to choose.

Take care all.

Another week of fun...

Hello all -

Just got back from another week of fun. I spent the past week doing an internal penetration assessment for a bank in ohio. It was pretty fun, very secret agenty, very spy-esque. Learned alot, had a good time.

Went to another formal this past weekend, went to the SAI/PMA formal. Saw alot of good friends this weekend and had some very good times. There are some funny pictures on katies website, http://homepage.mac.com/katieabell Check em out.

Heading out tomorow to columbus for 4 month job there. I love columbus, so it should be great. Spending every week away from home, now thats another thing. Although, things are looking good for my eventual transfer to the columbus office with Crowe. More news on that hopefully soon.

Hope all is well with everyone, send me a note, bjwaggoner@mac.com.

Take care.

Strange weather, car vandals, FBI agents and other things...

Hello all!

I just returned from a week in Oswego, New York. Its about 45 minutes north of Syracuse, on Lake Ontario. It was nice, and did some good work.

The weather was mostly trash out there, upstate New York seems to always be cold. Thursday, it got above 50 degrees, and idiots were running around with shorts and t-shirts from SUNY-Oswego. The best part of the trip was the fact that Ryan and i got stopped twice while out and about in our suits and people asked us if we were with the FBI. Ryan still had the best answer for that.."Im not sure i can tell you". It was great.

Things are going well at Crowe. There are some good opportunities for me on the horizon and im still doing everything i can to help me be able to move to Columbus around the same time Katie goes out there to go to OSU for grad school this fall.

Also, last week, some idiot decided to break into my car during the night, and tore the dash apart, stole the stereo out of it, smashed the drivers door window and did a ton of other damage. I spent a few days trying to get it taken care of, but instead decided it wasnt worth the money or time, and bought a new car. I got a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. They are very cool, and very affordable. You can check them out at . I havent had much time to drive it, but it rides like a dream, i fit great in it(even my monkey legs) and i got a sweet deal on it.

I spent last weekend with katie's extended family for easter. It was interesting to say the least. All in all, a good time was had, including the drive back from cleveland to take her dad home to BG with their dog Myles in the backseat. What a weekend....although, the lamb cake turned out extemely well if i do say so myself.

Tomorrow (since i dont travel enough) im driving out to Bowling Green to go to the Tau Beta Sigma formal with Katie. Im making dinner for the group we are going with, that should be interesting. Heres to making something that doesnt suck.

Time for some Tony Bennett and Bed. 6 hours of travel today wore me out big time. Talk to you all soon!

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Long time no see. I hate to apologize ever time i post again, but this past month has been insane. First off, theres work.

Work has been great. Im learning tons, going to alot of great places such as Houston, TX, Lexington, Kentucky and soon, New York, Tennesee, Michigan, etc. Lexington was a definate change for me. It was a long 4 weeks, but i met alot of great people, and did work ive never done before. It was great. My team was awesome and we had a great time. 4 weeks, though is definately a long time to be away from home. All in all, it was a great experience, but im sure glad to be home for a while.

Im starting to feel much older. People always told me i act much older than my age, but im really starting to feel it now. I dont know how it will affect me, maybe good, maybe bad. But i do know that im changing. Attitude, outlook, etc.

Oh well. Living on my own out here has its good and bad points. I cant tell you how much i love living in my OWN APARTMENT, especially after my last string of roommates. However, it would be nice if i had some people to spend time with that are closer than 2 or 3 hours away. Thats the biggest down side. My family is 2 hours away and my friends are close to 3 hours away. It tends for some lonley nights and weekends.

Ive been trying to keep tabs on politics as usual, which is what sparked my title for this entry. It means in latin "In Time of War, Law is silent". Im getting kind of worn out of the bickering. I know its early, but jesus. Its going to be a long trek to november.

Hope all is well with everyone, leave me some love.

Howdy Kidz

Well, ive been waiting for alot of things to die down before posting about this. But i think now its a good time to put it up here for all my friends who dont know to see.

I got engaged!

Yes, its true. I proposed to Katie this past weekend when she came out for valentines day. This is a very happy time for us, there were a few "logistical issues", but now it all seems to be working out fine. I just want to say how much i love her and how i wouldnt be the person i am if it werent for her. She has really changed my life from one of the darkest points i was ever in, and has made it the brightest it has ever been. She has made me a better person, and for that i love her and thank her.

Ok. I had to get that out of my system. Work has been going pretty well, ive been learning more and more every day. Next week, i am travelling again, im heading to Houston, TX for a week to do a network security assesment. Its going to be sooooo haaaard! ;-) Highs in the low seventies all week...sun....people with a texas accent...i dont know how im going to handle it. LoL. Seriously, im really excited about this. Its a type of job i have never done before, and its travelling. Minus the layover in cleveland, this hopefully will be a very enjoyable time.


Leave some chatterbox love!

Sword and Shield - Sister Hazel

Just when the sky runs out of rain
Just when the sun runs out of light
Just when the earth is ill with pain
Just when your body is out of fight
I will be there
I will be the smallest piece in everything
And I would give my life before I break this promise to you

Melt in to me
Don't you want to be the ones that last forever
I'll be your everlasting
And enemies they take your will but they won't last forever
I'll be your sword and shield and
I'll be your sword
I'll be your shield

Just when the ocean starts to dry
Just when the air is sick with smoke
Just when the statues start to cry
And fallen angels they lay broken
I will be there
I will be the smallest piece in everything
And I would lose my life before I break this promise to you

Melt in to me
Don't you want to be the ones that last forever
I'll be your everlasting
And enemies they take your peace but they won't last forever
I'll be your sword and shield and
I'll be your sword
I'll be your shield

I'll be your gracious angel
I'll be your favorite stranger
I'll be the mortar holding your walls
I'll be your army

Just when the sky runs out of rain
Just when the sun runs out of light
Just when the earth is ill with pain
Just when your body is out of fight
I will be there
I will be the smallest piece in everything
And I would give my life before I break this promise to you

Melt in to me
Don't you want to be the ones that last forever
I'll be your everlasting
And enemies they take your peace but they wont last forever
I'll be your sword and shield and
I'll be your sword
I'll be your shield
I'll be your sword
I'll be your shield
I'll be your army

Strange Cup Of Tea - Sister Hazel

Sometimes I wake with a weary head and
I wonder how I'll ever get through
Then I think of the things you said
how you told me to my self be true
My faith in things unseen,
My belief that it'll all work out
May seem like a strange cup of tea,
but if its all right with you than it all
Right with me

Oh my feet I walk, with my legs I run
In my arms I'll hold another day
With my head I think, from my heart I sing
And with my hand to my face I pray

There's times I feel with the stains of life
I could just turn around, turn around walk away
Then a strength like a beam from above
lifts me up by the hand and it leads me to say
Good things for good people you see
good things they seem to all work out
May seem like a strange cup of tea but
if its all right with you well then its all right with me

Oh my feet I walk, with my legs I run
In my arms I'll hold another day
With my head I think, from my heart I sing
And with my hand to my face I pray

Getting by ain't enough for me
I know what I like I like what I see
I'm not only flesh and blood but
I'm heart and soul I know

Sometimes I feel at the end of the day
was it worth while or have I settled for less
I sit back and your there by my side sincerely you say,
we're both so blessed
Count your blessing count them one, two, three
don't give up cause it'll all work out
It may seem like a strange cup of tea but
if it's all right with you, it's just fine with me

Oh my feet I walk, with my legs I run
In my arms I'll hoild another day
With my head I think, from my heart I sing
And with my hand to my face I pray

Back again, and something of a regular schedule of posting, OMG!

Its been a pretty wild day. Nutty stuff at work, bleeding everywhere from a gash i got from callie, slipping on ice outside tgi fridays(thanks for the bad karma, morgan) and messing up my ankle and knee among other things.

I gotta tell you guys, ive always been a sister hazel fan, but lately, they have been growing on me more and more. I just got their new live CD "Live, LIve" which is awesome. Most people know them from their radio hits, which are awesome, but the rest of thier stuff is awesome. They are one of the most consistantly good bands ive ever heard. Thier first live DVD just came out too, called "A Life In The Day" which has a hilarous documentary about their travels all over the nation, their concerts, the rock boat cruise they started a few years ago, and all the great stuff they do with their fan base. I love the fact that they are popular enough to get good billing, tour enough, but not have huge ampitheatre crowds and enough time to still do everything they can to meet and talk to their fans. Ive made a decision that im going to The Rock Boat this year, since they head it up, and other bands i love are playing as well. This year, Pat McGee Band, Edwin McCain and Will Hoge are going on the cruise with a bunch more bands to be announced. Last year, among those, Virginia Coalition played. Wow. 4 days on a cruise in the carribean with these bands....like Ken Block said in the documentary on the DVD, "Its like spring break for people with jobs!".

Im gonna go head off to bed, hopefully not get scratched by callie again tonite and not fall on my ass again tomorrow at work. Good news is that my mom and missy are coming out tomorrow night to spend some time out here, and they are going to help me get a couch and coffee table!
FINALLY!

In other news, everything is now unpacked an in some sort of arranged sort here. I finally went through, created a bill filing system, as well as seriously put in hanging files in my filing cabinet. Is this something worthy of blogging? Not for most of you, but before, i could fit all my critical information(bills, statements, pay stubs, etc) in an accordion folder...but when i started to do that here....it got too big to close. So, looks like i had to upgrade to adult filing. Especially with my big kid moment of the day, i got my own car insurance starting in 45 minutes! Its so wierd to have all these bills to myself. Im just glad i have a good paying job to help me with it.

Also, ive gotten a new email address for everyone to use. I figure i have it, so i might as well start using it, and start phasing out all my other ones, since this one aint goin nowhere.

Brian@BrianWaggoner.com is it for you all. Send me love!

Hope all is well for everyone else, but if i seriously see one more away message about BG not cancelling school because of snow, im gonna start shooting. The weatherman JUST SAID that in the last 48 hours, we have gotten between 12-20 inches of snow over michiana(the wierd ass term they call the northern part of indiana and southern michigan, apparently its not enough for indiana to have their own wacky ass time zone, they want to have a new state or something. I really dont get it. I digress). So yeah. No complaining. Its not that BG "doesnt care about your safety" or that "they dont think before making a decision" its more along the lines of....you are adults now, and can decide if your safety is really at stake and if its worth risking your safety to go to class. In my 4.5 years at BG, not ONCE did a teacher not sympathize with a commuter because of a short term(less than a few days) weather issue, and i saw some students abuse it. So RELAX ABOUT THE STUPID SNOW DAY.

Ok, im done. Good night.


*whistles to callie to tell her to come to bed*

Of Snow, Peanuts, Cabinets, videochats, hacking and Indian food...


I know it has been a long time since I have posted, but im hoping to change that. Alot of stuff has happened since the last post(s), and Im going to do my best to break it down(chicka wooow-wooowww) for you. So here goes!


Im sitting here posting from South Bend, Indiana at my desk, on an IBM thinkpad eating peanuts and preparing for an exit meeting.

What?

I think im getting ahead of myself.

A person said to me once, "Dont grow up all at once, else youll lose all the fun." I tried to live by that motto, slowly easing myself into adulthood and responsibility. Well, arguably a few of the most important things in my life have happened within the past month. So much for all at once. On paper, it looks like i grew up extremely fast, but to me, its been a smooth transition.

Its true. I passed calculus(got a c with the grace of god and jimmy lesko) and therefore graduated from Bowling Green State University with an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Computer Technology. What should i do with this degree? Honestly, stuff i hate. Circuit design, mechanical electronics, manufacturing systems, etc. To that, i said...no thanks. I focused on network security, hardware, network administration. No degree program at BGSU really focuses on any of those areas, so i took as many classes as i could as well as did internships with those topics. Having a resume that rivals people 10 years older than me, I started looking for jobs.

While I had many prospects, and in retrospect, a few offers, one of them really stood out from the crowd. My number one pick was an Information Security Consultant position with Crowe Chizek, an accounting and consulting firm. Ive known the name for a while, seeing as how they have had a major office 5 minutes north of my parents house for as long as I can remember, i talked to them at the BGSU job fair. Not thinking i had much of a chance because of my background, i went in with a "nothing to lose" attitude. I gave them my resume, expected that to be it.

A few days later i was asked to do an interview on campus with their representatives. I met with 2 people from their Information Risk Management group, and had the same sort of attitude. I figured they were looking for people with much higher GPA's than myself, internships with the big 4 consulting/accounting firms and other huge professional accolades. Now, my credentials are good, but i didnt think they were in the niche they were looking for. After meeting with both interviewers, I was very interested in their position. Its part james bond, part hacker. Take the movie Sneakers and mix it with the movie Hackers. Thats the job. Testing network security, doing external penetration tests (a.k.a. Hacking) and doing internal penetration tests(a.k.a. lying to people about who you are to get critical informationby way of social engineering). I figured i had a decent interview and would get a thank you note in the mail, but nothing else.

Around 5pm, i got a call asking me to come to their headquarters in south bend, IN for an on site office visit. They were very impressed with me and my interview, and brought me out to south bend in mid november. I visited for 2 days, met with everyone, interviewed with the partners(one of which is a BGSU graduate) and then played the waiting game. In the end, the thursday of exam week....i got my offer call from the partner. I accepted, and had to find a place to live within 2 weeks, with christmas and new years sitting square in the middle of those 2 weeks.

I took a trip out here to south bend with katie, i found a nice place to live, moved in and got settled in to start work on the 5th of january. South Bend gets a boatload of snow, since we are in a lake effect snow zone, and the first night i lived here, we got 4-5 inches. Since moving in, ive been working here, loving every minute of it, and letting people know all the cool stuff i do(that i can talk about because of security reasons and confidentiality agreements). I was able to get my own cat, a black domestic short hair named Callie who is one of the most interesting animals i have met. She loves to open and close all cabinets in the apartment. Shes a good cat, very affectionate, even when im in the middle of things.

The people i work with are very interesting. We all have drastically different backgrounds. Everyone eats different things, does different stuff, knows different topics. One of the crew's favorite places to eat is an indian resteraunt that i didnt really care for ;-) but its good to try different things.

I spoiled myself a bit since i got a good job with a great salary, bought myself some neat toys. The best is probably my iSight camera that i got so that i can still see and talk to Katie and my parents from the comfort of my Mac. Its great, makes phones useless. If anyone has a mac with iChat AV, i suggest getting one of these. It will change the way you communicate.

Starting today, im going back on the Atkins diet. I was very successful with it before and hope to repeat that performance this time. Being back on a somewhat 8-5 schedule is easier for that, rather than working/class everyday from 11-10pm. I really want to get my health in order. I figure thats a good way to get started while i wait for the dietician from St. Joes Med Center to call me back.

I have definately learned alot in a month. Relationships have changed, people have changed, i have changed. I try to keep in touch with my friends, and have been dissapointed with some people doing what they can to screw me over. Its sad to see some people become everything they hated about someone else, but there is nothing i can do. Things are definately hard on the relationship front being 2.5 hours away from Bowling Green, but anything is possible. People never cease to suprise me, but they also never cease to amaze me.

Be looking for more updates soon. I promise im going to keep up on it, since i cant talk to everyone id like to, but im sure trying!

For those of you who i didnt send the information to(did ya get that memo?) I have new contact information. Email me at bjwaggoner@mac.com for it!

Climbing up on solsbury hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night

He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
I had to listen had no choice

I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.

To keeping silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut

So I went from day to day
Tho’ my life was in a rut
’till I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut

I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.
Yeah back home

When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free

Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes, but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me

Today I don’t need a replacement
I’ll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, I said, you can keep my things, they’ve come to take me home.

An hour before game time, fertel gets his picks in.

He picks...


Packers
Bucs
Panthers
Dolphins
Chiefs
Browns
Seattle
Broncos
Vikings
Eagles
Jets
Pats
Colts
Rams
Cincy
Titans

Well see...

SATUDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!

So i was 10-6 last week, not too bad, if i do say so myself. However this week, Fertel and i are going head to head on the picks. Here are mine.

Panthers Vs Cowboys - Will be tough. Im going to give the edge to the panthers, having played better teams so far. While i want parcells to win, i think the cowboys have been too lucky this season. If they win, they will be for real, otherwise, i think its been luck

Lions Vs Vikings - look for the vikings to spring back this week.

Colts vs Bills - Colts to win

Jaguars vs. Jets - hard to say, would like to see leftwich do well, but the battle of marshall QBs will prolly end in a jets win.

Pats vs Texans - battle of red white and blue. Goes to Patriots.

Eagles Vs Saints - Eagles on a row. Mcnabb is back.

Browns vs Steelers - while i hate to say it, its going to be the browns. Steelers need to kill this slump. How great would it be to do it against the browns?

Seahawks vs Ravens - good matchup. Good seattle offense vs good ravens defense. i think the defense will be too good for seattle and hold them to a loss.

49ers vs Packers - battle of lost potiential. Green bay should win if they keep themselves together.

Bears vs Broncos - Broncos. *tear*

Rams vs Cards - Rams. Hands Down.

Raiders vs Chiefs - id say chiefs hands down, but the bengals rocked em last week. The raiders are still a shadow of their former selves, and chiefs will bounce back to win this one.

Bengals Vs Chargers - bengals. Will win their division too.

Titans Vs Falcons - Titans. Go mcnair

Skins vs Dolphins - Dolphins to get some momentum now.

Giants Vs Bucs - I cant believe the bucs now. What they did to keyshaun is so stupid. Barber boys will play well, but bucs will win.


There ya go, have a good sunday NFL day!

SATURDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!

Ill make this short and sweet.

Browns over Cardinals - Browns need to rebound after last week. Cards dont pose much of a threat for browns.
Saints over Falcons - Vick is back in practice. Ok, but that wont save a team with 2 wins.
Ravens over Dolphins - Ricky vs Jamal, will be battle of the run defense. Ray lewis at the helm, Ravens have the lead on this one.
Bills over Texans - Bills can rebound from last week. Will be a pretty ugly game.
Titans over Jaguars - Titans are on a roll, keep it comin. Id love to see leftwich do well, though...
Chiefs over Bengals - COME ON. If you are the chad johnson going against a 9-0 team, dont guarantee a win. Jeez
Eagles over Giants - Eagles are back on track. No shockey? Who cares.
Rams over Bears(i know, i know...) - Rams are too good. Bears are too bad. I still love my bears, though.
Panthers over Skins - Most people didnt know carolina had a football team, let alone a winning team.
Colts over Jets - Peyton will bring it home with all the tools at his disposal. No repeat of the 41-0 loss in the playoffs last year.
Broncos over Chargers - Last week was a fluke for flutie. Broncos will win. PLUMMER IS BACK!
Seahawks over Lions - Hawks at home. Hawks win.
Packers over Buccaneers - Bucks aint what they used to be. Only thing they might have are GB turnovers, but the GB offence is in sync.
Vikings over Raiders - Vikings will be focused and ready to spring back after their 4 game losing streak.
Cowbows over Patriots - Low scoring defensive game. Parcells will do it. Hes incredible.

Monday -
Steelers over 49ers - Steelers are back on a roll...cmon pitt!

6-7 In picks last week, lets see how i do this week! Tell me what you think in the chatterbox!

Hello again!

Again, sorry for the posting delay, but this has been an extrordinarily busy week. Calc exam, preparation for the job interview im going on for today and tomorrow...its been tough. However, i wanted to give the recap on the NFL picks i did as well as the Bears v. Lions game i attended.

Cardinals V. Steelers
I actually picked well for this game. I knew the steelers had it in them to come back and get a win. Lets hope they can keep it up for the rest of the season.

Falcons vs. Giants
Alright, my bad here. Who would have thought the Falcons could win this game. Good for them, but also good that vick started practicing again yesterday!

Browns vs. Chiefs
I figured it would be a shut out, i was wrong. However, i knew the chiefs would go 9-0. My boss picked the Browns. I dont get him sometimes.

Texans vs. Bengals
Right again. Kinda wish i could have seen the game though.

Colts vs. Jags
Uh. jaguars beat Colts? Noone saw that coming

Dolphins vs. Titans
Tennesee shut out the Dolphins. Right. What a week for upsets. Good god, though. Steve McNair is a god. Another wrong pick for me

Seahawks vs. Redskins
Another bad pick. I didnt see spurrier as having that good of a team. BUT, Hawks suck on the road. Should have seen that.

Bucs vs. Panthers
Well, the bucs didnt win this. So they dont deserve to go to the playoffs. What an upset.

Vikings vs. Chargers
AGAIN with the upset. I cant believe that the CHARGERS, the team the bears blasted last week beat the vikings. Wow.

Bills vs. Cowboys
Atta boy parcells and crew. Way to keep bledsoe in check. Dallas at 7-2. Wow.

Jets vs. Raiders
Picked a winner in an OT terrible game here. Go raiders. Go HOME.

Ravens vs. Rams
Rams win. Now, on like 100 yds of offense? What a game of turnovers. man.

Bears v Lions.
Anyone who saw this game knows what im going to say. Lions win by a joke field goal with 30 seconds left in the game. Terrible. Nice stadium, nice fans. Thats all im gonna say.


So i was 6-7. not bad with all the crazy upsets this week. Ill try to do another pick set this week.


Other than that, im heading to south bend for 2 days for an onsite interview with Crowe Chizek. They are an accounting/consulting firm that are interviewing me to work in thier IT Risk Management department. Gonna be a very very cool thing if it would work.

Ill be sure to keep you all posted here on my job status if it changes this weekend!

SATRUDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!

As most of you know, im a huge NFL junkie. So i thought id put that to good use, and take the weekend to make my predictions for sundays games. Here are my picks to win sundays NFL games.

Cardinals V. Steelers
I think im going to have to go with the steelers on this one. I know they havent really been playing that well this year, but they do have alot of potential. All Arizona has is....a has been running back and a bunch of other mediocre players. Plus, being at Heinz Field should give the steelers a slight boost coming into this game.

Falcons vs. Giants
No contest here. No Vick, no Falcons. Im not saying that Vick is the only thing that the falcons have, but without him, they havent been playing well all season. It may not be his athletic ability but his leadership this team has been lacking since the preseason. The giants arent knocking my socks off, but Kerry Collins and Jeremy Shockey are a pair that are hard to beat.

Browns vs. Chiefs
Sorry browns fans, you arent gonna be enough to hand the only unbeaten team left in the league their first loss. Sorry, just not gonna happen. Ill eat my words if it does, but it doesnt look likely.

Texans vs. Bengals
This could be one of the more interesting games. Marvin Lewis has done some good things to the bengals, but the texans are about at the same point. They need something big to happen to rally the team so that they can play better. I wish i could catch this game, it seems like it could be a matchup, but i think im gonna give the bengals the small edge on this one.

Colts vs. Jags
Colts. Playing so well this year, they really are coming together as a team. Jags got ALOT of work to do.

Dolphins vs. Titans
Dolphins need a win here and i think they are gonna get one. They play well, but i think there is too much crap off the field with these 2 teams. Plus, they rely on ricky williams too much to run the ball for them while not spreading it around the field. However, the titans arent much. But lets hope mcnair has a good game for all you fantasy players out there.

Seahawks vs. Redskins
Hawks. Playing REAL well this year, not stellar, but enough to get them to the postseason i think. Redskins arent terrible, but arent great. I dont see them really shining this year. I dont know if spurrier is still adjusting to coaching in the NFL or what, but something isnt gelling with that team.

Bucs vs. Panthers
If the bucs dont win this, they dont deserve to go to the playoffs. Thats all im saying on this game.

Vikings vs. Chargers
See above post for thoughts on what the Vikings need to do.

Bills vs. Cowboys
Cowboys. Parcells is a god among men. I odnt know how he does this with teams, but man the cowboys look good. Maybe the bears should hire him, lol. nah, but seriously, this Dallas team looks great this year for such a turnaround. I hope they do well, i really do.

Jets vs. Raiders
Battle of the dissapointing teams this year. Ill go with the jets just because of all the drama in oakland with woodson talking about all the problems and team infighting. Raiders. Wow. Werent you in the super bowl last year? Fooled me.

Ravens vs. Rams
2 of the top teams in the league. It will be interesting to see if the rams can keep up their streak or if they are just lucky so far. I think im going to pick the rams on this one, because they are an all around good team. Id love to see the ravens do well since they have potential, but it will have to be seen.

Ill leave the monday night game untill sunday night. However, the game of the week for me?

BEARS vs. LIONS
Yes, folks. The bears could hit a 3 game winning streak. Lets hope they turn it around. Away from home and in detroit, this could be interesting. They played the lions 2 weeks ago and beat them, so this could be an easy game for them. What will make it better?

ILL BE THERE.

Expect a full recap of the events when i get back!

GET YOUR GAME FACES ON, FOOTBALL FANS!!!!

Christ, sloka has posted more than i have lately....


Stupid 40 hours of work a week...stupid full class load....stupid trying to graduate in december...stupid trying to find a job....stupid.....a;lsdkhfla..

Its been really stressfull lately, and i havent had a chance to update. No, scratch that, ive had the time, but ive spent it trying to regain my sanity. Every day for me is at least 11 hours long with no break(11am to 10pm) and when i get home, the last thing i want to do is recap all the shit i did that day.

As my time at BG is winding down, ive been focusing on my future, trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. Career, personal life, etc. I guess i just dont know. Too many uncertainties. I am very happy though that i have been out on my own, having to pay my own bills, live on my own, take care of myself, etc so i have that level of maturity. I know alot of people who dont have that sort of mental attitude, and real life is gonna be a big shock when it hits them.

Big thing on my plate right now? Interview with crowe chizek. Check them out at www.crowechizek.com This could be a real good job, id be doing IT consulting, doing alot of travelling and alot of cool tech work. I want this job soooooo badly. I interviewed with them a few weeks ago, and almost immediately got offered an on site interview in their headquarters in south bend. Im going out the 13th of November(lucky 13) for 2 days, they are paying for me to travel and stay out there as well as interviews, meetings...and a 20 minute all or nothing interview with an "Executive". *holy nervous*

I think i should do ok. Ive had more job interviews in my life than almost any other college student i know. My resume rocks and i have GREAT interviewing skills. Is that cocky? Maybe, but its all i got...so let me be.

New season of 24....so good, so good...

Other than that...same shit is on my mind...dont know what i should do with anything...anyone have any bright ideas? Let me know....

Hes Alive!

Yes, I know again its been a long time since ive posted, but man my life has been busy lately. Working full time and being a full tiem student at the same time can be a real bear. Im so ready for that whole thing to be over with.

Got some job interviews as of late, things are looking good for a december graduation date. All i have to do is pass calc, and that could be a chore. However, my teacher said i can do it. So lets see what happens.

Some new cool things came out from apple. iTunes for windows came out today, so all you windoze users who said they wish they had itunes can now use it. Good for you all...one step closer!

Have had alot of heavy stuff on my mind lately, havent talked to anyone about it, but its been that time of the year. Trying to figure out what i want to do with the rest of my life, where i want to start it, what i will and wont do or will or wont go, making sure im doing what i want to do rather than what someone else wants me to do or what someone else wants to do. Its hard. Trying to get started is hard enough, but making sure that start is the right one for the rest of your life is definately one of the hardest things to ever do.

Flag football tonite. Playin sig ep's C team. Should be a good game.

I read some good quotes in my cousins profile that bear posting.

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.

Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there.
What you choose to do with them is up to you.

Don't settle for the one you can live with, wait for the one you can't live without.


Thanks les.

Im audi.