Things that make me excited about Illinois Basketball this year

Yes, I love Illinois Basketball. Yes, I bring it up to my students when Illinois plays and wins. (I feel justified in teaching them that there are universities past USC, UCLA and CSUN that they can consider.) So why do I love them so much this year?
1. We don't have anyone going to the NBA. I think it's obnoxious when teams recruit one-and-done players to get the championship. Who doesn't want to see an underdog team win?
2. Along the same lines, we were supposed to be bad. Last year we were bad, and this year we were supposed to be bad, but we put in the practice and now we're getting noticed.
3. They took the names off the jerseys. I used to think this was a cheap trick. I mean who really cares if the last name is on the back of the jersey? But hey it's been working and who am I to argue with something that could have been taught in psych 101?
4. Chester Fraizer is awesome. I know it hasn't been the most popular thing to say (neither was saying that you liked Derron Williams until his junior year,) but I like that he proves his worth in ways other than scoring. I think when players are good in ways other than scoring it improves the game of basketball. I also like that he makes no pretenses about what he wants to and can do- he wants to coach. Good fit.
5. We're deep. We have four guys on our team that average over 10 points a game and they aren't our 4 starters. National Championship team was great and the Flying Illini were great, but it's cool to celebrate the whole team.
6. Our fans stopped booing. That was embarressing and frankly those people who booed our team in Assembly Hall shouldn't be allowed into Assembly Hall. If you're that upset, boycott the game. Let your empty seat show your disgrace. This year? The booing has stopped.
7. We play the whole game. Nothing more frustrating than watching a team self-destruct in the final 10 minutes of a hard fought game. It's nice to see us lasting the entire time.
Go Illini!

Things I want to try in LA this year

Now I feel like I've done the basics of moving in (finally have car insurance set up!) so here is a list of the things I want to do to really get settled:
1. Find a community theater to be a part of.
2. Take an acting class.
3. Try out for a symphonic band.
4. Find a spiritual community.
5. Take a ballroom dance class.
6. Go camping.
7. Visit LACMA.
8. Go to Berkeley/San Francisco
9. Learn at least five places to take people to that are more off the beaten trail.
10. Get more people to come visit- COME VISIT!!!

Things that were not on my to do list

I'm at home but quite a few things have come up that I was not planning on...
1. My plane was landing in Chicago when oops! there is too much snow on the long runway. Let's go to St. Louis to refuel and land a couple hours late (I am glad that I landed safely)
2. First night here, the pipes froze in our upstairs. Odd since the house was built 4 years ago. We have no idea if they broke.
3. My hard drive died. Now the question, is it worth the $199 to get what I'm missing? Haven't decided on that one yet. (and that is only if they can get the stuff off)

Holiday movies I watched as a kid

Here is a list of Christmas specials I would watch every year as a kid:
1. Garfield Christmas
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original animation)
3. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
4. Charlie Brown Christmas
And my favorite (Although 4 is really close):
5. A Claymation Christmas!

Short list, but longer than I would like

Governors I've had that have now been arrested:
1. George Ryan
2. Rod Blagojevich (quoted yesterday as saying "People wearing recording devices? That smells to me of Nixon and Watergate..." well yes, and Nixon resigned as President of the United States- really the example you wanted to bring up?)

Words of the year

One of my favorite professors just posted his word of the year post so I thought it would be time for me to list the words I think qualify as the top 5 words of the year:
1. Recession: We've been hearing it almost all year and especially in the last few months.
2. Hope: While Prof. Baron picked Obama, I'm going to avoid the proper nouns in favor for hope which certainly was heard more often during this election than any other.
3. Change: This goes with hope, the word became the catch phrase of this election.
4. Staycation: between gas prices and the economy, the staycation was probably the catchiest new word of the year.
5. Foreclosure: We've been through the dotcom bust, but that seemed temporary compared to the current mess with foreclosures.

Any words you would add?

Things to be thankful for

Yes it's kinda boringly traditional but sometimes you need the traditional. Tomorrow I'll be cooking so here is my post for Thanksgiving:
1. I love teaching. I do not take for granted that I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated.
2. I live by family. I know I have moved far from home, but I have never moved far from family.
3. Cell phones are an amazing invention. We were watching Jerry McGuire where they have rather large cell phones and I started thinking about how far technology has come in my life. It's wonderful to know that even though I'm half-way across the country doesn't mean I have to leave anyone behind.
4. My kitty greats me every day. I'm used to a human room mate but my cat helps make the transition easier.
5. My friends have great friends. People struck out to LA before I did, and luckily made some awesome friends that I enjoy meeting.
6. I have mentors identified at school. Teaching is a lonely profession. You spend most of the day with 14-18 year olds and the movement towards collaborative teaching is a slow one. I have some great supports set up though in the 140+ staff at our school.
7. I have a steady job for this year at least. The budget crisis in this state may mean I have to find a new job next year but with the economy the way it is, I appreciate that I have a job for this year at least.
8. Someone taught me to read. Being in classrooms with people who really struggle with reading,