Together We're Giant - 2011 Giants season preview

By the time this blog post goes live I will already be getting ready to watch my first live Giants game of the season! Thank you coupon codes for $20 dollars seats (against the hated Dodgers no less!). It has been high school since I have watched a Giants game live this early in the season (oh good times). Of course this year is doubly special because the Giants is coming off their World (fcuking) Championship and are on a mission to defend it (there is already torture). 

I quite like the slogan of this year’s ad campaign - together we are Giant. It was much better than last year’s “there is magic inside”. However fitting it end up being as it may, I still think the magic inside slogan is quite cheesy and non to hilarious (as sports advertising should be - all the ESPN Sportscenter ads are very funny). In a way I always admired the Oakland A’s ad campaigns as they are always funny and usually puts their players in impossible situations (Tim Hudson’s pitch is so fast that it altered the space time continuum). I just was not feeling the slow motion style commercials of last year.

This year’s Giants ad campaign so far strikes the perfect cord. It honors fans like us that stuck with them and cheered them on to the championship. Of course those commercials are funny as well (imagine looking into your rear mirror and see Brian Wilson riding in the back, or Buster Posey bum rushing you (keep you pants on ladies) after you’ve closed a sale). I mean hey, a championship ball club deserves a championship level ad campaign.

But enough about the ad campaign. Baseball has been back for a little over a week now, and man has productivity gone down (curse you games for taking 3 hours). But then as any Giants fan would do, you multitask. Have the game on while doing something else and just listen to the broadcast and peak in from time to time (positioning is key). One of the reason baseball is my favorite sporting event is that there is a game literally everyday. Meaning there is also something happy to look forward to - unless the Giants lose then even if the girl you ask to marry said yes, it would still be a bad day. 

The past three days was the Giants first homestand which means all the ceremony of banner raising and rings giving was held. It was like the extension of the parade watching those ceremonies. When the championship banner was hoisted up like a pirate flag, I had chills down my spine. When the players, and especially Kruk and Kuip receive their rings, it was well deserved. When Posey got his Rookie of the Year trophy, he choked up when he thanked his lovely wife (so I don’t know ladies, how much more does a guy have to do to prove that is so far from available on the dating circuit?). It was wonderful seeing the celebration happen, and the fact that the games afterwards were dramatic was the icing on the cake (because not winning during a celebration is so Bonds era type stuff). 

Was sort of disappointed that they did not invite Bengie to the ceremony - seeing as he is just sitting on his ass playing with his kids in his home in Arizona. While giving rings to the Giants hall of famers is a nice gesture (listen, the site of Willie Mac finally get a ring is historic), I sort of hope that after 6 decades of not winning, the Giants would honor more players outside of the hall that played for the organization by giving them rings also (like Boston did back in 2004 when they won the championship for the first time in 86 years). I hope that perhaps they are doing so in private. 

Anyways though now that all the good hoopla is done with and we can finally wave the good vibes of 2010 goodbye, it is time to focus on 2011. Clearly the pitching staff is still tops in the league, though Zito’s two outings so far have been troubling to say the least. In a baseball sense, lefties can survive only having a 86mph fastball (looking at you, the great Jamie Moyer). But what they absolutely must have is location and command - something Zito has been lacking since after the all star break of last year. I understand he is fifth starter and all the pressure is off but did he not work on his game at all? I remember saying back last October that if Zito was any kind of a man, he would try to come back infinite times as hard to prove that he is good contributor to the team. Jury is still out on that one.

Am I the only one that like Zito’s new stache? It reminds of the Office episode when Jim, Dwight, and Michael covertly went to another branch to steal their copier (they wore stache similar to Zito’s as a disguise). 

But yeah other than Zito for now, the rotation and the bullpen is solid. The lineup is looking strong too. DeRosa the super utility man is back healthy. We have Cody Ross for a full season. Panda lost 40 lbs and is looking REALLY good on the plate. Rowand looks to be the best late inning pinch hit replacement guy on the planet (his 12 million dollar salary notwithstanding). Freddy is now hopefully fully healthy, and if so can have a monster year of gettings hits and being on base. Tejada (despite the roids connection) have always been a professional hitter, and he is without a ring so after seeing his teammates get theirs it should fire him up for the whole season. It might still look like a bunch of misfits, but man you can not pay for chemistry for its weight in gold (how is just buying a bunch of guys with talent working out for you eh BOSTON? - hurts me to say this because the AL team I root for is the Redsoxs).

No I did not forget he super rookie Brandon Belt. Sure he is struggling a little right now after the big homerun, but I hope management will see to give him all the time he needs, because from the the brief time I’ve had a chance to look at him, he is going to be a good player. The fact that he has a tremendous eye and can work the count is something that is unique in the Giants Lineup (over the past decade other than the guy name Bonds we have been notorious for being a swing happy team. For that reason alone is worth keeping Belt in the big leagues. Above average fielding and endorsement from Will Clark himself is just extra benefits. I really hope he works out because ever since JT Snow retired, the Giants have been searching for that cornerstone first baseman from the organization. Shoutout to those that came before Belt - the likes of Niekro, Ortmeier, Bowker, and Ishikawa.

And the team is still managed by the smart guy named Bruce Bochy (I am big fan because his head makes mine looks tiny in comparison - and I have a large head). So what more can I say, on paper we have a solid, division winning capable team that is worth watching every single day. This is probably the first year I am not screaming at the team to get a bat, though perhaps this year would be get us a fifth starter that can throw above 90 (is Zito the Todd Wellemeyer of 2011?). 

But there is one shortcoming of the team that I can find - the outfield defense (and Torres just strained his tendon!). I am semi ok with Burrell in left (power hitting that can’t field playing the left field has been a Giants tradition for years, right Barry?), but Huff can’t possibly play the right field well, especially during the home games at AT&T. The problem with the NL is that there is no DH so you can’t just stick guys like Huff or Burrell in that spot. The center fielder will have to cover a lot more room than normally required due to the limited range of the sides. Torres can do it, but do we really want him to have to? 

I guess the problem solves itself once Cody Ross comes back from injury, which brings the bigger conundrum: who are we kicking off the lineup? One would naturally assume Burrell, but as we saw his power is very valuable. My guess would be that between Huff, Burrell, and Ross that it would just be a rotation of sorts with a fine juggling act between starts and off days. And I have confidence in Bochy to do that. Huff should improve to at least average as he acclimates more and more going back to playing the outfield again. I mean a manger should never complain about having too many solid contributors on the team.

It is going to be a good season watching Giant’s baseball - America’s pastime, and the best distraction from “real” life. 

沒有你煩 我有多煩惱 - random thoughts

The sun can be really deceiving. I woke up this morning seeing massive rays of sunshine and said to myself that okay, today will be a warm day. Well of course I was wrong as it was a freezing cold day today (that wind gust sure helped a lot). Compounding the problem is me only having two layers on. Could have drove home after internship to get more layers but was too lazy and did not want to waste gas. I mean I am indoors most of the time. All I have to do is survive the trip to the car. A teacher just walked in saying its actually sprinkling outside as well. GREAT. 

So I took a week off of blogging as last week was my last and final spring break and I just did not have time to write (it makes sense, trust me). Overall I had a wonderful time during the break, even though I spend three days of it at my internship. But those three days was not lost as I immodestly say I was a big contributor to the company ramping up for its Groupon launch, which occurred Wednesday of last week. I mean hey, pictures don't take and edit themselves (in the future perhaps). 

During the three days I actually gain real world experience using photoshop for the first time. But you say wait, if I am a photographer, should I not be using photoshop already? The answer is not really. Photoshop is really for heavily image manipulating. For simple to semi intensive post processing on all my photos, I use Lightroom, also made by Adobe (lightroom - digital, darkroom - film. get it?). That being said, photoshop really is a wonderfully and powerful too - the point where some of the stuff you can do on it should be illegal (haha). 

Rest of the week I slept the prerequisite 10 hours per day and the other time I watched baseball (its back!). Cannot wait to go to my first live game of the season next season (thank you $20 bucks tickets). Also managed to sneak in some spring cleaning to my room. Basically I threw out anything that I have no touch in a year - surprising ended up with a sizable bag of stuff. Nothing like a clean and tidy room to relax and be productive in.

End of spring break means only 7 weeks until I am absolutely done with academia (for now). So now when I post the "I'm done!!!!!!" status (well tweet, since I do that now), it does indeed actually mean I am done - with the whole thing. Sad? eh maybe not really? Looking forward to it actually. Finishing everything up and having a blast at the entrepreneurship graduation ceremony. After that it is straight to debt counseling and unemployment line.

But honestly I don't know what I am doing after graduation yet. Well I do for the most part. The clear choice is get a job (probably cannot avoid this...) and work for a company using my business degree to gain experience, and then a year later or so file for graduate school to get my MBA (Berkeley? Stanford? Harvard? you like my 3.65 GPA? eh probably not). That path seems the logical and safe (?) choice (and one that my parents would approve, and as long as I am staying under their roof still, well...).

However recently I have given thought to actually start doing photography seriously (meaning actual paying jobs), at least on a part time basis. This past year I have really grown to enjoy doing photography, even the tedious editing and publishing. It has actually become something I use to procrastinate with to avoid doing my actual school work. But what I am apprehensive about is that doing it for "real" will leave me burned out and actually turn hating the hobby which I really like. That is definitely not what I want.

Who knows really. I have been getting really positive feedback - but then again, they are my friends (haha). Digital photography is so incredibly assessable - with enough time and equipment you can practically emulate what any other photographer can do (and your wallet will suffer, believe me). So then what boils down to is each individual's style and eye for composition. Thankfully post process editing can tremendously differ between each photographer than finding your own style is not that hard. The reason I can blow through processing pictures at a reasonable pace is because I already have a set of "rules" that I know my photos will need to have and the rest is just finer tinkering to each individual shot. 

Anyways, this is not my photography blog, so I shall stop. Speaking of blogs though, recently I actually bought domain names for them! Of course I went with GoDaddy, because their overtly sexualized commercials did an absolutely fantastic job in enticing the key demographic that I am proudly a part of. Anyways if you look up at the URL instead of chenhealy.tumblr.com, it is now healychen.com (perhaps proving once and for all my name is incredibly unique?).

Why did I buy a url? because it is cool (duh!), and only cost me like 50 bucks per year for two domains. Besides if you are going to brand something and is sticking to it, you better lock up the .com url before someone steals it first. This exactly what happened with my photography blog - junctioncreative.COM was taken, so instead i had to settle for junctioncreative.CO (it was cheaper though). I'm not in the mood nor have the pocket books to contact and buy out whoever owns the .COM (turns out to be a flash engineer of some sort, the website is very minimalist). As for now is still just a hobby.

My computer of 5 years of age have been crapping out again. I think the hard drive is on its last legs (which makes sense, because hard drive are generally only warrantied for 5 years). The machine still works fine, and can rip through all my high definition files just fine. I would like to relieve it and buy a new Mac, but I just don't have the funds to swing it right now. But then you ask don't I already have a Macbook Pro? Well yes, I am typing on it right now. The thing is, once you have owned two computers simultaneous, you can never go back to just one, especially if one is a desktop and the other one is a notebook. The amount of multitasking is just tremendous for productivity. Not to mention when you are away from home the one that stays home can continue to do whatever you schedule it for (because video ripping and converting takes quite a long time). This phenomenon also applied when you starting adding multiple monitors. I maybe a converted minimalist, but sometimes you just need multiple machines to get the job done more efficiently. 

That 5 year old PC that is crapping out, I actually built myself. Back then I was very big into the whole build your own pc thing. It was not that hard to be honest, accept for all the tinkering afterwards. And it can be quite a mess with boxes, cables, and sleeves all over the place. Ultimately it was quite satisfying to having built something so relatively complete with your bare hands (nothing like pushing power and booting it up for the first time). 

But I am getting old, and I grew out of that phase. Nowadays I just want to buy a computer and turn it on without all the hassle (its why I buy Macs). Sure it is less satisfying then making something of your own, but as you find out time disappear faster as you age and there are some things that are just not worth the time to do when other people can do it perfectly (because time is money). Honestly I can see myself pretty soon even off loading the washing of my car to the machines (or someone else) because I just don't have the time to take out 4 hours of my day to do a full detail anymore (hence my car has not been washed since September - thank you rain!)

Anyways, the weekend is going to be a nice one. 

Proposal: how to fix the U.S. budget

Right... like that is going to happen. You know I don't even know why the US government refers to it's budget as a "budget" - everybody knows the spending will be much more than the income! As a business major I have been taught throughout the five years in the program that budgets are suppose to be balanced (not too hard right California?), meaning the outflows have to equal the inflows. No such luck with the US government, where not since the Clinton era have we even seen a positive balance between spending and income.

But what I am saying? Deficit spending is THE american tradition. Hell I have amassed a few credit cards to attest to that fact (all paid off every month in a very Chinese manner mind you). Well clearly the problem is that the US don't pay off the money it spends on credit (except for that interest payment to the "Federal" reserve, which is mighty fat), not because it does not want to, because they can't! The current government as a business don't make a profit! Never mind the fact that the body of governance in this sovereign nation leaves all its monetary matters to a PRIVATE entity (yes, THAT "Federal" reserve). Guess who is making all the profits then? Bankers and Lawyers.

No I am not going to talk about a private entity having more power than an elected government (it is thesis worthy), that is the not the point of today's post. As anybody that watch some glimmer of news knows, the US government is once again deadlock into passing a budget. The rhetoric is plastered all over the place - Liberals wants to do more spending and taxing, while the GOP wants to cut social programs and taxes for the rich and corporations (spending without taxing!). The following is my opinion on what congress should do regarding the budget.

So what happens when you are spending more than you earn (you declare bankruptcy!)? A sane person or business will naturally cut back on the spending and increase in the income to I don't know, BALANCE things out. Inevitably, congress will need to start looking at the US spending and start making some cuts, especially those that takes up a big chunk of the pie (yes California you have set a wonderful example). And the obvious first choice is...

Defense! Defense spending MUST be cut. Why are we still in the Middle East? Are we even winning? Bin Laden is most likely in Pakistan, and man I am telling you the US is going to go there and hunt... oh wait Pakistan has nukes okay never mind. I mean do you actually think US would actually invade Iraq if Sadam actually HAD nuclear weapons? All the WMD talk by the Bush administration was just smoke screen (probably the abili for W to finish the job his father started). As long as your country have nuclear weapons, the US will not dare to invade you! US is not really going to tolerate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all his farce if IRAN is not enriching their own uranium. The reason we and the rest of the world is turning a blind side to the human tragedy that is North Korea is because - you guess it, they have nukes. Ghadafi over at Libya (which is in the AFRICA and NOT the Middle East people, google maps is the best) is doing it wrong - should have gotten nukes then UN won't dare to impose a no fly zone. 

But come to think of it, what the heck have we been doing since World War II? What the heck is the US fighting for? Sure WWII had two nations threatening to imperialize the world, but what comes after that? Korea is still a divided country (thank you China), with the South being held hostage (next time ROK, you should think about building your capital city a little bit farther than 20 miles from the border you share with your worse enemy). Vietnam was a disaster. First gulf war did nothing. And now we have been stuck in Afghanistan and Iraq for close to a decade with no results. What the heck is the end game? Spreading democracy? What, is the UN chopped liver? the US have better things to worry about at home. Besides, the resent uprisings in the Middle East have proved that democracy is alive and well without the intervention of the US. STOP acting like you are the last bastion of democracy. 

So yes, pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and let the locals decide for themselves. The surrounding nations (and the Arab League) will see to it that whatever goes on inside will not affect anybody outside the borders. Besides, those two countries don't have nukes, so breath easy US. Don't give me the fighting terrorism rhetoric, as clearly the CIA and your local TSA agent is doing a fine job. As a matter of fact, pull our troops out of their stations in foreign countries. Get the fuck out of the likes of Japan (Okinawans hate you!), South Korea (right, because having troops there will prevent the North from provoking the South.. oh wait), and Germany (nobody received the memo that Hitler is dead and the wall already fell?). Cut back on manpower, while still invest in technological R&D to stay ahead of the game. Let most of the current troops retired, educate themselves (G.I. Bill!), and contribute to society in a more productive manner (because that my friends will raise the GDP).

Next on the list of cuts is everybody's favorite dead horse to beat on - Social Security and Medicare. First and foremost, it must be made clear that these are NOT entitlements (sorry GOP). These are setup to be insurance trusts - meaning they are self sustaining, and theoretically SHOULD NOT be part of any government's spending budget. In fact up until now Social Security inflows from taxation is actually HIGHER than the amount of premiums it pays out. You know that sizable amount we lose to those two programs in our paychecks every month? Well Social Security and Medicare is suppose to then invest that money into a portfolio of many different things to essentially "grow" the money. That is how these entities sustain themselves. They should not require any government money AT ALL. 

Well turns out bonds put out by the Treasury are also considered investment opportunities in the eyes of Social Security and Medicare. Guess what happens when the government is spending more than it takes in, and are looking for avenues to cover that deficit. That's right, being federal entities they are essentially impelled to invest the majority of their portfolio in government bonds. Because it is just too easy - like borrowing money from your parents. But hey this means that not only is the US borrowing heavily from China, but it is also heavily borrowing from you the working man! The only reason Social Security and Medicare is part of the spending budget is because both are government entities, nothing more. If separated out they are both self sustainable (for the time being anyways) with actual SURPLUSES,

Not honestly going to pare down Social Security and Medicare are you GOP? Again, they ARE NOT entitlements. Cutting down these programs while still borrowing from it is essentially robbing the general public! Now do those programs need reform in order to have long term sustainability? Of course (isn't the joke that my generation won't have any Social Security?)! Stop forcing them to buy treasury stock, let them invest in a diverse portfolio (like banks!) with much higher growth potential, and the problem will fix itself. But you say wait, people are living longer and longer! Social Security in the future cannot possible cover the ever enlarging retirement population (sorry Florida). The problem is not the amount of people, the problem is the COST to sustain them. And the number one cost would be - MEDICAL! Health care cost has sky rocketed in a rate much faster than increase in income. I am willing to bet a lot of it is artificial (hello big corporate drug and insurance companies!). Congress should do something about that, and I believe everything will take care of itself.

I don't think I need to mention at length about fixing the American epidemic of being FAT and its link to medical cost. 

Last thing I want to talk about in terms of cutting spending, is idiotic government subsidies and corporate tax loopholes. Why are we subsidizing things like corn? In fact, while do we have farming subsidies at all? I understand its history, but there is no reason we should still have them in this day and age. Listen, we have enough food in the US. In fact we have a SURPLUS of food (probably the only thing we have a surplus of). That on top of the fact we are a nation of eating too much! So lets make this clear - we make enough food to feed ourselves, and yet we still have subsidies to encourage food production? I understand the reason for keeping the prices low for the general public, but honestly how bad is it going to get if subsidies are done with? People will still buy gas at $4 dollars a gallon! The need for food is inelastic.

Cut subsidies to foreign countries as well. I am pretty sure it is kind of sort of not kosher under WTO regulations. But nonetheless, worry about the home first before helping other people. You don't see corporations making donations when they are not making profits (shareholders won't like that). 

So corporate tax loopholes. This one is easy to figure out. Just go look up the profits for companies like Exxon and General Electric and compare that to the amount of taxes they actually paid. It is an outrage when the US is home to many corporations with revenue that rivals some nation's GDP, yet the US is still crying poor? These corporations should be properly taxed! If a person made $250,000 a year and 33% percent of that went to taxes, there should be no reason that a corporation will have to pay the same rate, if not MORE. Come on congress, the US GDP is still plenty robust. FIx our tax codes, tax our production correctly, and just maybe we will have enough income to support our extravagant spending.

Speaking of taxes, get rid of the Bush tax cuts. How can a nation possibly justify a tax cut when we are in such debt with a negative difference between spending and income? I understand when Bush did it, because the Clinton year brought budget surplus - Bush could not have possibly predicted that after the tax cuts the nation will be fighting two war simultaneously and go through one of the worst economic meltdowns since the great depression. But to extend the Bush tax cuts while we don't have enough money? I don't like paying taxes as much as the person next to me, but since we are a nation of entitlements (but we are not socialist nor communist, no, NEVER), that money have to come from somewhere. I don't see how raising taxes back to pre Bush levels will somehow stop people from functioning as usual. 

So yes, cut spending and raise taxes. Because you the government have no choice when a private entity controls your entire money supply, and whom you owe A LOT of money to. 

Fatigue, farewell - random thoughts

It is bloody cold! After what seems to be 6 hours of incessantly rain today, it has finally given away to this bitter cold. Currently I am in a nice temperature controlled room of a toasty 70 degrees, and man is it comfortable. But pretty soon I will have to walk outside to go home and yeah that is not going to be fun. But you know this aluminium construction of a laptop does draws the heat from the internals right up to the surface and it does quite well to be a hand warmer while I leisurely type into this window.

So the past 72 hours have been quite the interesting. I think I have only been at home to shower and sleep for the past three days. It's like staying at a hotel, accept the bed is always comfortable and I don't have to pay a dime. Nothing like leaving the house at 9 and not coming home until around 11 for three straight days. But it is all worth it I guess, except for the fact I did not get any exercise in at all. 

Two of my entrepreneur classmates actually had the soft launch of their business last night (company is called Hubby & Lee, their blog is here - http://bit.ly/dJyDPa). Their business is beer tasting events, introducing beers and food pairings to the masses. Since I am the only one in the class with a photography background, I honored to be the event photographer for the evening. It all worked out, as I did not have to pay for the event, but taking pictures after you've had a few in your system is quite the different feeling I must say. 

I also must say that I am not drinking cheap beer again. Or drinking beer alone for the matter. Premium beer is just like wine - you have to know how to taste it properly, and pair it with the correct food, to get the full enjoyment. I learned a tremendous lot during the event, and afterwards cheap beer pong beer just taste like water. Oh yeah, drinking 6 different beers and all the finger foods that goes along with it is a recipe for extreme bloat-ness - especially if you have just ate dinner before the event (had Greek food for the first time!). I mean what can you do, you hear finger food and all that pops into your mind is not enough portions.

Ah yes my spring break has started! Though it will not be much of a break since from next Monday through Wednesday I will be at my internship full time since the company is ramping up the website redesign to finish in time for the Groupon launch on Wednesday. Well at least I get the rest of the week off. I just hope the weather is not as crappy as this week so that I can get some modicum of fresh air if and when I go outside. But honestly I have been so busy I almost forgot next week was spring break. Lots of WHAT THE FUCK moments in class when teachers say there is no class next week haha.

Now I have AT&T DSL for the past half decade, and they have treated me well and never failed to get me that copy of *insert incriminating name of certain software things*. But news have surfaced that AT&T will begin capping their previously unlimited DSL service. From infinite all the way down now to 150GB's per month. Now normal users unlike myself, this should be no problem. But for me when certain things online by itself is around 10GBs then yeah that is going to be a problem. Not to mention I share the internet connection with two other computers. Sure I can be dictatorial and block my little brother from using the internet, but I do not think my parents will be all too happy if I ban them for watching their videos on Tudou.

I don't know what I am going to do. Comcast is only marginally better at 250GB per month. I want my unlimited back! How do broadband providers expect people to stay within those boundaries, especially with all the streaming TV and movies that are now available? Even if I don't download a single piece of whatever and just stream everything, I don't think I will have trouble passing 150GB per month at all (because remember it is me and two other computers). Internet is fast becoming the de facto avenue to deliver ALL media content, and yet providers are now going to put in caps? Of course it is a money grab, just like how there are no unlimited data plans from the big two mobile phone companies. It is all counterintuitive - as people are using more and more digital data then ever, now is the time to put a cap on it? It makes no sense for the consumer.

So Verizon say I am eligible to renew my 2 year slave contract with them and get a new phone! But damnit it is only late March, and the next iPhone do not come out until June so I guess I will have to wait until then to switch. There is nothing wrong with my current phone (LG ENV Touch) as it perform its function well (texting!). But I think it is time for me to upgrade to a proper smart phone - you know, to play angry birds all day and get nothing done. Now I could just get the current iPhone 4 now and be happy with it. But hey those people at purchase iPad 1 just before iPad 2 came out is kicking themselves. Would I be that impatient to not wait for the new one, especially when I know for sure when it will be out?

Three and a half years of working at my current job finally paid off as I finally got a substantial raise (I can finally buy that ring she wanted!). Sad part is I can no longer work here after I graduate, which is only 8 weeks away (good times). No I am not complaining because as my professor say, cash flow is the most important thing to a business or person, especially when it is positive. Too bad this newfound wealth have already been earmarked long ago due to previous spending. Though I have been enjoying the fruits of those spending for some months now, thank you very much. And IRS, where the heck is my tax return?! Yes I know I can check online, but don't they know how busy I am?

Very excited that baseball is only 1 week away. Now I finally have something to watch while I do homework at night. Looking forward to the Giants defending their World Series championship. Still don't know when I will be able to watch my first live game of the season, as I still need to see how rotations and lineups set up before choosing the appropriate game to go. I am however for sure going to the big showdown with the Phillies in early August, as the respective pitching staffs are said be to be tops in the league. My main hope is that the Giants' arms can stay healthy and strong, because pitching one extra month due to the post season is not a joke on someone's arm. No matter how many Poseys show up in the big league, pitching still wins championships.

Me and a few of my entrepreneur classmates (wait sorry, I mean a few of my entrepreneur classmates and I) have started going around eating ethnic foods the Bay Area have to offer. Probably just as an excuse to hang out and eat (because soon we'll graduate and be gone). Last week was Vietnamese food, the week previous was Indonesian, this week will be Filipino, and next week is Burmese. Interesting how so far it has all centered around the southeast Asia area. Pretty soon I will get to represent and show them Chinese food. And the only place in the city to go for that kind of stuff is of course the expensive as hell Koi Palace. It is the Chinese restaurant I recommend every time I get ask the question: "where is the best place to get Chinese in the city".

Well, on to the rainy weekend.