Fate is a series of complexities

A mystifying entity that disassembles to the mere thought of it

It cannot be proven nor can it be dispelled

What makes fate so intriguing is it has no definition

No set of rules or guidelines in which an individual can follow

Anything is fate

The shirt you are wearing…. is fate

The thoughts swimming in your mind…. are fate

Even the mere existence of your soul and your location in life at the current time… is fate

At any second of anytime, fate can act

Fate can alter your perceptions of the world

Of those around you

It can introduce you to the love of your life

To a sin that will haunt you for all eternity

Fate is a funny friend

Because it is always by your side

Do I believe in fate?

To some extent

To some extent, however, you have to create your own “fate”

So go out and live life

For then and only then will you meet fate

Elevator Etiquette is something that most people don’t take into consideration. Although it may not seem like a lot, not following the rules will make you stand out and irritate others. The reason I’m writing this post is because everytime I use the elevator in the library, the same thing happens: people start to load the elevator before I am even out of the elevator. The rule is that you let everyone who needs to get out leave and then you enter, because if you are entering as the people are leaving, it will result in a traffic jam. These people that do not follow these rules annoy me to the highest degree, so please look at this website if you do not know some of the rules.

http://www.elevatorrules.com/

The expression “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is completely true. Although we may not find it true every second of everyday, it does exist. Garage sales, for example, provide prime opportunities to find hidden treasures, from a vintage picture that fits perfectly in your apartment to a CD you’ve been looking for since you were a kid. The other day, however, spoke to me more than a garage sale ever could.

I was cleaning my fraternity house one afternoon and had to take some trash out. I went to the back where the dumpster was located and saw a homeless man looking through it. I didn’t want to say move or anything because I didn’t want to be rude, but he was very polite and asked me if I needed to throw trash away right there. I said I did and he moved without me asking. As I was dumping out the trash, I noticed that there was a large amount of cans in this particular trash can, and as I looked at his face, his eyes lit up. It was as if I had been pouring out money, but to him, that’s exactly what it was. He said something to me along the lines of “this will hold me over for a couple of days” and as I finished he said thank you. This homeless man, who I had never met before and whose possessions went as far as the clothes on his back, said thank you to me. Thank you for taking out the trash. I walked away when I was done, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that thank you. Never before have I felt so much confusion from a simple thank you. It wasn’t as if I had separated the cans for him and gave them to him in a bag. It wasn’t like I went inside our house and brought him a plate of hot food. I took out our trash and dumped it.

A can goes a long way for some people such as this homeless man. To us, a can is nothing. A can is something we once used and will never use again. Although a can is worth 5 cents if recycled, we see this as nothing. Why do we see this as nothing? It’s because 5 cents isn’t worth the effort of taking it to the recycling center. It’s not worth collecting an entire car-load of cans for a mere 5 bucks. To that homeless man, that can meant he was 1/20 of the way closer to buying a cheeseburger to eat. 1/50 of the way to buying a hot coffee. 1/100 of the way to buying a decent meal. That can represented hope that society did not give him. Here we complain about the weather, about material goods not being good enough for us, and us not having enough time to live our lives. That man sleeps in the cold, has no material goods to his name, and doesn’t have a quality life to put any time towards… and yet he still said thank you. Those cans recycled hope for him.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than
the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more
important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a
company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we
cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot
change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one
string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is
10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes” – Charles Swindoll

A new NBA rule has been passed that a team’s bench cannot stand up for long periods of a time to root on their teammates. The 2007-2008 Boston Celtics did this quite often, the only way to show their teammates on the court support. The Cleveland Cavaliers did this quite often last year too. So what is the reason for this new rule?

The rich ticket holders who can afford to sit directly behind the team.

People had been complaining that if they are paying that much money for a ticket, they want to see the game up close, not the backs of the bench players. Thus, teams are forced to sit down so that a few individuals can see. This is an absurd rule because it takes away from the camaraderie and passion that basketball was founded on. What’s next? If a team wins the NBA championships on a last second buzzer beater they are forced to stand and be quiet because their celebration is too loud and wild for the younger audience? Here’s what the Laker bench did in their last preseason game to show their support for their team.

With preseason underway, it’s starting to get to that time that we make our preseason predictions. I will, with complete confidence say right now, that the Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA Championship this year. Here’s some reasons why:

1) Kobe Bryant- this guy knows how to win. He was become the team’s leader and their go-to guy in the clutch. His defence is impeccable as always and his shooting has improved. Nothing can stop his will and determination.

2) Phil Jackson- this guy also knows how to win. Winning his 10th NBA Championship last year (6 with the Bulls, 4 with the Lakers) Phil Jackson has encountered every possible scenario there is to experience. He has been in the playoffs up 3-0, down 3-1, has dealt with difficult injuries and troublesome characters (Rodman) so for all those doubters that an 11th championship is not on the way, you can just stop thinking that.

3) Starting 5- Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol, Bynum… what does this starting 5 NOT have? They have the experience in Fisher and Bryant. They have the defense in Bryant and Artest. They have the youth in Bynum. They have the size in Artest, Gasol, and Bynum. Throw in Odom into the starting 5 as well and you have biggest yet most agile starting 5 in the league.

4) Depth- The Lakers have more depth, and quality depth at that, than any other team in the NBA. Their bench includes Odom, Walton, Farmar, Powell, Vujacic, Brown, and other guys who are experienced and can play when it matters.

5) Western Conference- There was once a time which the Western Conference greatly surpassed the Eastern Conference in terms of dominating, exciting, and powerful teams. The Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, Rockets, Jazz, and Hornets dominated the majority of Eastern teams excluding the Celtics and Pistons. Now, the East is taking over, with powerful teams such as the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Magic leading the charge. Although the West is not bad, there are truly no teams that can compete with the Lakers. For all you Spurs fans out there, acquiring Jefferson and McDyess will be helpful, but won’t stop the Lakers from reaching the NBA Finals

2009-2010 Predictions (in terms of wins)

1) Lakers

2) Cavaliers

3) Celtics

4) Magic

5) Spurs

6) Nuggets

7) Mavericks

8)Hornets

9) Blazers

10) Jazz

11) Hawks

12) 76ers

13) Suns

14) Bulls

15) Raptors

16) Heat

17) Pistons

18) Rockets

19) Wizards

20) Clippers

21) Bobcats

22) Thunder

23) Nets

24) Warriors

25) Timberwolves

26) Grizzlies

27) Bucks

28) Knicks

29) Kings

30) Pacers

Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen
No I.D. on the track let the story begin…
begin… begin

This is anti-autotune, death of the ringtone
This ain’t for Itunes, this ain’t for sing-along
This is Sinatra at the opera, bring a blonde
Preferably with a fat ass who can sing a song
Wrong, this ain’t politically correct
This might offend my political connects
My rap’s don’t have melodies
This shit make jackers wanna go n commit felonies
Ah, get your chain tooken
I may do it myself, I’m so Brooklyn
I know we facin a recession
But the music yall makin gonna make it the great depression
Ah, or your lack of aggression
Pull your skirt back down, grow a set men
Ah, ah.. nigga this just violent
This is death of autotune, ah moment of silence

la da da da… hey hey hey goodbye

Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen
No I.D. on the track let the story begin…
begin….begin

Holdup, this ain’t a number 1 record
This is practically assault with a deadly weapon
I made this just for Flex n Mrs. C,
I want niggas to feel threatened
Stop your blood clot crying
The kid the dog everybody dying
No lyin, your niggas’ jeans too tight
Your colors too bright, your voice too light
I might wear black four years straight,
I might bring back Versace shades,
This ain’t for Z100
Ye told me to kill yall to keep it 100
This is for Hot 9-7
The shit for clue for Khaled, for we the best n’
Nigga this shit violent
This is death of autotune, moment of silence…

la da da da… hey hey hey goodbye

Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen
No I.D. on the track let the story begin…
begin… begin

Holdup, this shit need a verse from Jeezy… ay!
I might send this to the mixtape Weezy
Get somebody from BMF to talk on this
Give this to a Blood, let a Crip walk on it
Get me foul to style on this
I just don’t need nobody to smile on this
You niggas singin too much,
Get back to rap you T-Pain’n too much
Ah, I’m a multi-millionaire
So how is it I’m still the hardest n—a here?
I don’t be in the project hallway
Talkin’ bout how I be in the project all day
That sounds stupid to me,
If you a gangsta, this is how you prove it to me
Yeah, just get violent
This is death of autotune, moment of silence

la da da da… hey hey hey goodbye

Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen
No I.D. on the track let the story begin…
begin… begin

Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, runners on first and second. At this point, the Los Angeles Dodgers were up 4 to 3 with their closer Broxton leading the way towards victory. Watching at this point, there was no doubt in my mind that the Dodgers were going to win. Ryan Howard already struck out the previous inning and all other hitting threats had vanished into the lineup. Somehow the Dodgers blew this opportunity.

Rollins at bat, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, runners on first and second. After getting a feel for Broxton, he connects into center field, bringing in 2 runs for a 5-4 victory over the Dodgers. The Dodgers desperately needed this game! Winning this game meant a 2-2 tie with home court advantage in their favor. Now in a 3-1 hole, the Dodgers need to win the rest of their games to make it to the World Series. I’m not saying it is not possible, but it will not be easy.

Why did we lose? Our pitching. Although our hitting isn’t where I’d like it to be, it is still pretty solid. Andre Either and Matt Kemp have been carrying more than their weight, and Manny and Hudson have had their moments. It’s our pitching though that gave up 11 runs the last game and giving up leads in the 9th inning. We need that go-to guy that most teams have… the Phillies have Hamels and Lee, the Yankees have Sabathia, the Cardinals had Carpenter, the Angels have Lackey, and almost every other team I can think of has their ace. Who do we have? It’s not Kershaw like people hoped, it’s definitely not Chad Billingsley, possibly Kuroda, Wolf, or Padilla? We have good pitchers, but not game winning pitchers. By good pitchers I mean they have their moments and strike out Pujols or Howard when they have to, but a great pitcher is someone who doesn’t make mistakes after pitching 5 solid innings, who has the confidence of a champion. I’m hoping that the Joe Torre can instill some confidence into his team and go out and win the next 4.