Those pics...

HERE are some pics from Atlantic City. They have a pretty nice boardwalk there that is bordered on one side by casinos and the other by carnival attractions (ring toss, centrifuge rides) One fellow was begging us to play his "win a goldfish" game. It was kind of drizzly and I'm sure he was bored.



The one game I did play was the "get a back massage for ten minutes" game. The great thing about this was that everyone wins! Yay. Don't I look comfy? Matt got one too but seeing as how he's actually trained as a masseur, he found the flaws in their technique (Matt can give a powerful massage).



And a pic from one of the fights. This was a pretty good fight. The fellow on the recieving end of that knee is Ryan McGivern and he ended up winning the fight by decision. Kudos to the Silverbacks for their win.

The tunnel just got a little longer

THAT metaphor "light at the end of the tunnel" rings true for me. I really felt its significance as I approached graduation. That excitement knowing that soon again I'll be out in the "real world" perhaps for the first time in my life. I've felt for some time now that I've been in school for too long. Institutionalized is a word, a chilling word, that comes to mind. There are a few things that I can compare it to. I don't want to be one of those people who never escape school, and like a comet streaking by a passing star gets sucked into its gravitational influence. Doomed to ever cirlcle around it.

Somehow (I don't remember how), I got in the habbit of holding my breath during car trips when we would go through tunnels. The idea is that if you can hold your breath for the entire length of the tunnel, you get to make a wish. You get a tingly sensation knowing that you soon will be able to exhale and make that wish. Or when you have to use the bathroom (again lets say during a car trip) and you can hold it as long as you know that there is not a toilet nearby. As soon as you see that sign "REST AREA AHEAD" your need to go quintuples to an unbearable pressure. Imagine now that you pull up to the rest area only to find that it is closed for repairs. The tunnel traffic suddenly jams up. The star... gains mass. Then you are left as I am. Lungs aching, knees qivering and comet... orbiting. Blast!

Well, from the look of things, (the look mind you) I will be graduating in December instead of August. A pencil and a prayer... I have much work to do.

On punching a man in the face

ATLANTIC City: The Las Vegas of the East Coast. It was actually a pretty nice city. A lot less trashy than I was expecting. I went with my friend Matt McDowell to see a IFL (international fight league) tournament at the Taj Mahal casino. The trip heralded a few firsts for me. First time to Atlantic City; first time inside a casino; first time I saw a rear naked choke put on a 6'10" man. Despite the groggy weather, it was a great trip. I discovered that spending a dime at a time can still add up pretty quick when you are playing the slot machines. I turned $20 into no dollars in less than 5 minutes! I think I'll stick to neighborhood poker for the time being.

If you asked me three or four months ago what my favorite sport was, I'd probably reply, "I don't know. Basketball maybe." But the world of MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting that I have been exposed to in the subsequent months have solidified it as the premier sport in my mind. Not only is it easy to get pumped up while watching it, the guys who do it are easily among the finest atheletes in the world. Matt McDowell, our most generous host for the weekly sci-fi nights got me into it when we started watching the UFC reality show following an hour of Star Trek. It appears that I'm hooked now. Aside from the fights themselves, I also enjoy participating in the impromptu fights that usually break out among my friends after watching a match.

But none of that compares to seeing it in person. It certainly feels more real on the stadium floor than it does from the couch. You get a better sense of what consitutes a real fight. Fights aren't pretty like they are in the movies with both players standing around blocking and punching the whole time. There is a lot of messy grappling too. The 6'10" guy I mentioned in the beginning was a brick, but somehow the smaller fighter mounted his back and choked him out. It's all about the skills. I'll try to get some pics up soon.