For the Fans...

I'm finally getting back around to posting on this thing. Sorry to those fans of mine (heh) who have been put on hold over the past couple of weeks.

A quick update: my fantasy-draft Vikings went 15-1 during the regular season and lost to the Pats in the Super Bowl. Depressing. But this year, I hired a new offensive coordinator, Daunte came out of the preseason with a QB rating of 133, and because I was able to pick up Marshall Faulk from free agency I could trade Deuce MacAllister (last year's MVP) and two draft picks to the Colts for Randy Moss. My depth chart now rules on offense -- Daunte behind Matt Birk, backed by Marshall Faulk, throwing to Randy Moss, Hines Ward, Nate Burleson, and Muhsin Muhammed. On defense, I held onto Sapp, Lynch, Smoot, and Brian Williams. And I picked up a rookie linebacker that had an incredible first season with the Bucs. Overall, I'm excited for this next season. There's only one way to move up from the last.

This week will be me studying for P-Chem. Test on Friday, and I need to play catchup. My first exam score of 71 just won't cut it to get me the grade I want. I also need to get my Oregon Health & Sciences University med school application out tomorrow. It's due next Monday. Also, there's that nagging research proposal summary, now on its fourth draft, that needs to get to Sigma Xi's grant committee. ... Then, I need to go to the optometrist. I FINALLY get to get new glasses! Yay for insurance.

There're the minutiae. Now for something completely different:

My view of St. Peter is absolutely stunning at night. It's such a great little town, I can't believe that in not even 8 months I'm going to leave it and (probably) never come back. I've been thinking about where possibly I'm going to be living for the next four years, and with the exception perhaps of Duluth: Milwaukee? St. Louis? Portland? New Haven? Houston? Rochester? All of them are pretty big cities. I mean, I've done the Aberdeen thing, I know how to get on in a city, but there's definitely something positive about small towns like Hibbing and St. Peter. It's great waking up in the morning (most mornings) and being able to hear birds, trees rustling, or just nothing at all. I like not feeling crowded. I guess I should enjoy it while I have the chance.

Well, I gotta go. I'll post more this week, so keep a sharp eye.

I might as well face it

I'm addicted to Madden. I have gone to bed at around 2:30am the past few nights in order to play that next game with my fantasy draft team. Here's the lowdown of how they're doing.

Daunte is doing -all right-. He could be doing much better; I'm wondering if they somehow programmed his INT streak into the game somehow. Two games have shown that he can go without a turnover, but in the Week One game against the Buccaneers, he threw six of them. We won by 13, only because our first-round pick Nnamdi Asomugha (CB) had a standout game with picks and a fumble recovery -- he was the Defensive Player of the Week pick in Week Two.
The defense, led by Warren Sapp, Fred Smoot, Brian Williams, and John Lynch, stands at #1 in the NFL. On the offensive side of the ball, Daunte is "driving the car." The past two weeks have put us up against some of the best pass defenses (other than our own) in the league -- Derrick Brooks' Bengals and Archuleta's (and their linebacker Davis's, who intercepted Culpepper 3 times) Buccaneers. That being said, Deuce McAllister has been getting some yards the first two weeks.

I'm really happy with the team. I feel so proud.

Too bad the real Vikings can't do this good... and by 'this good,' I mean they can't get two W's, which I now have. Sigh.

Well, real life can wait for a different post. What is this post anyway? It's like an e-Press Conference. Or something.

I need sleep. Later people.

New Developments

I got Madden 2006 today. In fact, my guys are finishing out my 2nd preseason game while I type. My guys, of course, are the Vikings -- fantasy drafted. Daunte's still 'driving the car,' but instead of Moss he's throwing to Hines Ward. And with Deuce in the backfield (I passed on Portis) the running game is working. On the other side of the ball, Sapp, Smoot, Lynch, and Brian Williams are keeping the 3-and-outs coming. That said, my first preseason game was a loss -- but it was a good one. Before the strings switched at the half, we had accumulated 21 unanswered points. Then Doug Flutie and his crowd of chimpanzees took over.

We lost 24-21.

OK. So my Madden season really is my own coming to terms with how the -real- Vikings are playing. At least I have a week of peace.

But this post won't be all about football, don't worry. A lot happened this last week, actually. Professor Niemer let us out of lab early on Monday. I started Study Buddies on Tuesday at a local special education room. Wednesday I returned to the St. Peter Pound to volunteer. Loca, the black lab pup, was gone -- I hope she was adopted or returned to her owner. Don't want to think about the alternative. They now have two other dogs -- one is another black lab-type, the other a Rottweiler (sp?). Both are only about two feet tall.

Wednesday night was a great night. I had spent one of my two hours tutoring at the diversity center when Raj, the director, approached me and said I should go to the fast-breaking celebration for Ramadan in the international dorm. I had work when it started officially, so I went early and had some time to talk with two of the guys there about Ramadan and Islam. It was just fulfilling in some way, I guess.

OK. Enough random thoughts. Got to go to sleep.