An excellent interview

I saw this online (I rediscovered my love for Hulu this week) and thought it was a great interview. It gave a nice insider perspective on what is going on in the Middle East. Wish we had more world leaders like him! Be sure to watch part 3 if you watch it is the best one.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-25-2012/king-abdullah-ii-of-jordan-pt--1

Thanksgiving break

So I just solidified my thanksgiving plan. I am flying to Washington DC to my Aunt and Uncles on Wednesday and my sister and parents will meet me there. I am coming back Monday morning and hopefully I will get back in time for my 12:40 class. Either way I am very excited should be a great Thanksgiving Break.

Great to be back

Well too my pleasant surprise I have kept must of my tennis skills to a reasonable level and thoroughly enjoyed my hour and a half of hitting. I think all the body weight exercises I've done has kept my body moving as a system that you need to power a tennis ball and that has helped a lot. A lot of my shots were falling very short in the court due to poor contact but I did not make many errors and it is a big relief that I can not play for awhile and pick it back up and still enjoy a high quality of play. Hope to play again soon!

Getting back into it.... kind of

About to hit the courts again for the first time in about 2 months. Originally had plans to hit Sunday but my hitting partner slept through his alarm so I hit the weights instead. Hopefully the weather holds (and my strokes). Results of this experience to come later tonight.

Take home test: the harsh reality of graduate school

So this weekend I had my first take-home test in Systems of Genetic Analysis. The professor told us in class he expected the test to take us about 2 hours since we had access to our notes and internet and we could answer in 1 to 2 pages (tops). This was completely untrue I spent the entire weekend and most of monday only to struggle to answer the last three questions. It was a long, mentally grinding experience but I hope over time this helps prove my creative cognitive function. I think I prepared reasonably well and I certainly set the necessary time so I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

World Cup Qualifier in Columbus

So the U.S. decided to host a World Cup Qualifier in Columbus Ohio and I couldn't be more thrilled. Although the structure is unimpressive by itself, it produced an electric atmosphere that spurred the U.S. to victory. I got tickets with a roommate from Spain and one of his buddies and got to see another roommate at half time. The U.S. won 1-0 (I managed to get the goal on tape and posted below) and overall the atmosphere was awesome. Should the U.S. advance and it is expected they will, I will check the cities for the next round and if one is in a reasonable distance I will likely try to go again. It was an awesome experience! Also I found out you can get Columbus Crew tickets at the student union for less than $10 which I'm sure I will also be taking advantage of.

US Men's National Team Practice

So Saturday night I was watching the news and found out the US Men's National Soccer Team was hosting a free training session on Sunday morning and being a big fan, I decided to stop by. The session was inside the Columbus Crew Stadium where Tuesday's World Cup Qualifier game is (which I am also attending).

The coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, had a short interview thanking the crowd for the support.

5 on 2 game, similar to what we played growing up and La Masia Academy (Barcelona) does tirelessly.

Build-up play and finishing practice. After viewing this I now understand why we do not score many goals.

5 a side short field game.

Free kick practice at the far end

Maurice Edu

Clint Dempsey

A pleasant surprise

http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/09/04/10-colleges-that-get-greek-life-right/

So obviously this is a very subjective ranking and there is no real way to measure this, but regardless I am humbled to have my school mentioned on this list. As a former VP, Treasurer and a long-time member of our executive committee (to name just a few of my roles) I only hope that I contributed to this and paid what I learned forward to the next generation of Lambda Chi members.
Lambda Love <3 and="and" p="p" roll="roll" tide="tide">

My visit to New York

So this past weekend (labor day) I flew out to New York City on Friday night to visit my sister until Monday morning. Minus the rain delay at the US Open and lengthy flight delay in Baltimore it was a great trip. I managed to see lot's of cool places and even make it to all 5 boroughs in 2 days! Here is a sampling of the 200+ photos I took.

This is 42nd Street in Manhattan which is right by Times Square.

Eating some famous New York pizza.

Some photos of Times Square.

Yankees game vs the Orioles. Great seats but very hot. Spent a lot of the game standing and watching from the standing room only area and eventually we moved a row back into the shade. Yankees started slowly but ended up winning 4-3. For the record I am not a Yankees fan but I couldn't pass up a chance to go to this stadium.

The Brooklyn Bridge.

Tom's restaurant, famous for being in my favorite 90's sitcom Seinfeld. The inside was different but great pictures from the show and good, affordable food (a rarity in New York).

Columbia University. I never pass up a chance to visit other notable college campuses.

Central Park.

Columbus Square with the infamous Trump Tower.

The mall there had a touch screen.

Ferry to Staten Island. I took the ferry and essentially turned around and came back but it had a nice view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan.

World Trade Center site. Apparently you need to reserve tickets ahead of time but I got to go into a small museum nearby which was nice. Easily the quietest place in New York, the only place where drivers cut off by mobs of pedestrians didn't honk and swear. I hope to go back and see the memorial inside and the museum they are building.

Here the main attraction for me, Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open!

We're inside!

Photo sent to my coaches and teammates to taunt them.

Sharapova vs Nadia Petrova. Great hitting from both players in Sharapova's rain-interrupted 3 set win.

View's from the stadium itself (we were in the very top row).

Drying the court after the rain delay.

Phillip Kohlscreiber

John Isner. We left after set 2 (tied at 1-1) because it was nearing 1 am. After the hour long commute to my sister's apartment they were just about to start the 5th which Isner apparently blew up at the chair umpire and ultimately lost. The match tied a record finishing at 2:26 am. I was not too upset we left early.

Grand Central Station. We decided not to transfer here but to get out and take a cab. Surprisingly my sister had never seen it because she never came upstairs and only transferred here. It wasn't quite as spectacular at 1 am (and with no cartoon Madagascar animals) but it was still a great site.

Overall an awesome trip! Now attempting to refocus and do some school work. In short, it is not going well but I will find my focus soon and get to it!