As I always do on Tuesday nights, I tuned into the most incredibly shocking show on television, Nip/Tuck. And as it always is, it was shocking. Usually it is Dr. Christian Troy who says something in the episode that sticks with me. He tends to say the most ridiculous, pompous, hilarious things you could ever think a filthy rich doctor would say, and I love it. The show continues to top itself with jaw dropping, "oh my god they actually did that", type of scenes. Here are some examples for those of you who have never scene the show; they showed a girl get hit by a bus last week, a character suffocated her burn victim mom...but it wasn't her mom, various sexual acts that make you wonder how the show hasn't been fined by the FCC yet, and the list could go on forever but I'll stop there.
Tonight's episode didn't stick with me like it usually does. Yes, there were some "oh my god" moments on the show, but the most interesting line in the show wasn't delivered by Dr. Christian Troy but by his much less arrogant partner Dr. Sean McNamara. The show was about their anistigiologist and trying to find her a kidney donor. McNamara was tested and lied about being a match for the operation, but in the end came around and when asked why he came around his response was "I made a list of people I would give a kidney to and it was pretty short, then I made a list of people that would give me a kidney and that list was even shorter".
I thought what if I made those respective lists and who would be on them. It's a very interesting exercise, try it...Go ahead...I'll wait...[elevator music]...Ok ready to continue? I wonder what your list looks like but I feel mine look similar to the lists' of Dr. McNamara. They look similar in the way that I believe that many people who I would give a kidney to wouldn't give one to me. If this conclusion of mine is true (and we'll hopefully never need to know if it is or not) there are several conclusions I can make about who I am now and who I have been in the past. These conclusions can either stand alone or be combined in any way; I am too generous of a person, I have lots of friends but not a lot of great friends, I haven't made the impacts on peoples lives I would have hoped I could have to this point, I value friendship more than others, I think of the rights and feelings of others rather than my own, I'm not that great of a friend, I need to be a better person.
I don't know what the proper order of the previous descriptions of my list is, but what I do know is the concept of donating kidney to a loved one or a close friend is intriguing. So I present the following questions to you, as I will ask myself as well.
Who would you give a kidney to?
Who would give you a kidney?
Is either one of these numbers too low or too high?
Is there a change in your life you can make to put more names on the list of people who would give a kidney to you? (It is more a list of who considers you a true friend or loved one...And isn't that what were all here for anyway?)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
The greatest game ever...
Currently on the UNM Lobos website you can post a story of the greatest moment you have witnessed in "The Pit". As a die hard Lobo fan my greatest moment was easy to think of. I submitted my story and here it is:
I'm only 24 years old, and a recent UNM graduate, but I've been a Lobo fan since I was old enough to go to the games with my dad. I bleed cherry and silver and live for the Lobo basketball season every year. I know there have been many great moments in "The Pit" that I haven't seen due to my age but this moment I will remember forever...
During the 1995-96 season the Lobos, after hovering right around the edge of the top 25 polls all year had put together a nine game win streak to end the season, including a triple overtime win against Fresno State in the semi-finals of the WAC tournament. On the night of March 9th, 1996 the despised Lobo rival Utah Ute’s, rolled into "The Pit" with a team that had been ranked in the top 10 all year and beaten the Lobos twice that season. The capacity crowd that filled the hallowed seats of the greatest college sporting venue in history was ready to jump all over the Ute’s. The crowd erupted with boo's and screams as the opposing team, referees and even the Utah cheerleaders came down the infamous ramp. I remember standing and cheering with my fellow Lobo fans throughout the warm-ups before the game even started. It was an atmosphere like I had never witnessed before.
Lobo fans are the greatest fans in the world and for that game my dad and I sat near the best collection of fans we could have ever hoped for. There were the guys behind us in their mid 20s, who probably had been out before the game. There was the guy in his 40s that had his head phones on and was dedicated to listening to every word the great Mike Roberts had to say…then relaying it to us (it was actually pretty cool, we got some good stats info). There was a family of four in front of us who were die hard Lobo fans. Then there were your usual “PIT” suspects; the face paint guy, the Lobo mask guy (and his Lobo masked girlfriend), the screamers, the boo birds, the doubters, but we were all fanatics and about to witness the greatest of all the Keith Van Horn vs. Kenny Thomas battles.
The game, as most great Utah, New Mexico games usually are went down to the wire. The stars for their respective teams took over and each team went to them every possession. Van Horn scores, Thomas scores, back and forth they went like a heavy weight title bout. With the Lobos up by 2 points and little time on the clock, Utah called a timeout. I don’t know how they got anything accomplished in that huddle considering I was in row 8 (that’s 8 from the top) and had to cover my ears (while screaming) it was so loud. We all knew what they were going to do, the Lobos knew what they were going to do, they were going to Van Horn…again. Then right before the ball came in play the twenty something’s behind us started yelling “I’m gonna hug Kenny, I’m gonna hug Kenny when we win!” Being sports superstitious I was pretty upset with them, but as it turned out that was only temporary. The crowd came to a deafening roar, the level of sound that shakes your stomach if you haven’t had enough to eat that day, or seems to vibrate so much through your veins that it feels as if the other 18,017 Lobo fans are making your heart pulsate in rhythm with one of the many Lobo chants. Utah throws the ball in and they find a way to get the ball to Van Horn at the top of the key…seconds seem like hours…a ball fake…crossover…he takes his defender to the rim. Unfortunately for Keith Van Horn, that defender was Roland Hannah a defensive specialist who offered smothering defense on the future NBA player. Hannah was in his face but stumbled at the top of the lane…keeping a hand in Van Horn’s face he was able to throw off his shot (he may have had a handful of jersey, but that’s neither here nor there). Kenny Thomas got the rebound and the victory was all but sealed with only a couple seconds left. Thomas hit his free throws…Utah threw a 94 foot prayer…and the Lobos has just beaten the 10th ranked team in the nation in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The crowd seemed to jump in unison in jubilation. The students, and what seemed to be everyone in the pit (myself included) stormed the court, before it was the cliché it is now.
That night will forever live in my mind and my heart as the best moment I have ever witnessed in the world famous PIT. I tell people that don’t know about “The Pit”, of its greatness, and of the spine shuttering, bone chilling feeling I get every time I walk in the doors of that great arena. Although I tell people about “The Pit”, every chance I get, it takes a game like that or a lifetime of Lobo basketball fanaticism to truly know what “The Pit” is all about.
Oh yeah, that guy DID hug Kenny!
I'm only 24 years old, and a recent UNM graduate, but I've been a Lobo fan since I was old enough to go to the games with my dad. I bleed cherry and silver and live for the Lobo basketball season every year. I know there have been many great moments in "The Pit" that I haven't seen due to my age but this moment I will remember forever...
During the 1995-96 season the Lobos, after hovering right around the edge of the top 25 polls all year had put together a nine game win streak to end the season, including a triple overtime win against Fresno State in the semi-finals of the WAC tournament. On the night of March 9th, 1996 the despised Lobo rival Utah Ute’s, rolled into "The Pit" with a team that had been ranked in the top 10 all year and beaten the Lobos twice that season. The capacity crowd that filled the hallowed seats of the greatest college sporting venue in history was ready to jump all over the Ute’s. The crowd erupted with boo's and screams as the opposing team, referees and even the Utah cheerleaders came down the infamous ramp. I remember standing and cheering with my fellow Lobo fans throughout the warm-ups before the game even started. It was an atmosphere like I had never witnessed before.
Lobo fans are the greatest fans in the world and for that game my dad and I sat near the best collection of fans we could have ever hoped for. There were the guys behind us in their mid 20s, who probably had been out before the game. There was the guy in his 40s that had his head phones on and was dedicated to listening to every word the great Mike Roberts had to say…then relaying it to us (it was actually pretty cool, we got some good stats info). There was a family of four in front of us who were die hard Lobo fans. Then there were your usual “PIT” suspects; the face paint guy, the Lobo mask guy (and his Lobo masked girlfriend), the screamers, the boo birds, the doubters, but we were all fanatics and about to witness the greatest of all the Keith Van Horn vs. Kenny Thomas battles.
The game, as most great Utah, New Mexico games usually are went down to the wire. The stars for their respective teams took over and each team went to them every possession. Van Horn scores, Thomas scores, back and forth they went like a heavy weight title bout. With the Lobos up by 2 points and little time on the clock, Utah called a timeout. I don’t know how they got anything accomplished in that huddle considering I was in row 8 (that’s 8 from the top) and had to cover my ears (while screaming) it was so loud. We all knew what they were going to do, the Lobos knew what they were going to do, they were going to Van Horn…again. Then right before the ball came in play the twenty something’s behind us started yelling “I’m gonna hug Kenny, I’m gonna hug Kenny when we win!” Being sports superstitious I was pretty upset with them, but as it turned out that was only temporary. The crowd came to a deafening roar, the level of sound that shakes your stomach if you haven’t had enough to eat that day, or seems to vibrate so much through your veins that it feels as if the other 18,017 Lobo fans are making your heart pulsate in rhythm with one of the many Lobo chants. Utah throws the ball in and they find a way to get the ball to Van Horn at the top of the key…seconds seem like hours…a ball fake…crossover…he takes his defender to the rim. Unfortunately for Keith Van Horn, that defender was Roland Hannah a defensive specialist who offered smothering defense on the future NBA player. Hannah was in his face but stumbled at the top of the lane…keeping a hand in Van Horn’s face he was able to throw off his shot (he may have had a handful of jersey, but that’s neither here nor there). Kenny Thomas got the rebound and the victory was all but sealed with only a couple seconds left. Thomas hit his free throws…Utah threw a 94 foot prayer…and the Lobos has just beaten the 10th ranked team in the nation in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The crowd seemed to jump in unison in jubilation. The students, and what seemed to be everyone in the pit (myself included) stormed the court, before it was the cliché it is now.
That night will forever live in my mind and my heart as the best moment I have ever witnessed in the world famous PIT. I tell people that don’t know about “The Pit”, of its greatness, and of the spine shuttering, bone chilling feeling I get every time I walk in the doors of that great arena. Although I tell people about “The Pit”, every chance I get, it takes a game like that or a lifetime of Lobo basketball fanaticism to truly know what “The Pit” is all about.
Oh yeah, that guy DID hug Kenny!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Books or Covers?
I'm am sure that all of you have heard the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover". Well this weekend I was told the same thing about a young man I was about to meet. This person was important to someone else in my life so I agreed to meet him. When someone tells you that prefacing the meeting of an individual...That can't be good right?
Well I've sat on the decision of what is more important in this world and today after 4 days of thought I have come to my conclusion. I base this conclusion not on what I feel is more important, but what in reality is more important. The "cover" I have decided is more important than the "book". Now I know some of you may say this is a very narrow minded and stereotypical view for myself to hold...Well it's not my opinion but the opinion of the world we live in. If it were up to me color, nor creed, nor outward appearance would mean anything but an expression of ones self or some other detail of a human life.
Unfortunately I am not the word or the way (wouldn't that be scary?). So this young man who I met, I believe is a good person and definitely falls under the book and cover analogy. He's very respectful, looked me in the eyes when he talked (very odd these days), shook my hand (also unfortunately odd), and was well spoken...BUT. His "cover" needs some work. To me it's fine, I could care less the way someone looks, even though I too am a culprit of stereotyping people, it's hard not to. For that reason and the way of the world this young man will yield his success to society until he conforms or creates a niche of conformity for himself and his image. It is a shame that a person must look like everyone else to succeed, but that's just the way it is. He has aspirations of being an architect...Let me ask you this...When is the last time you saw an architect with multiple facial piercing and a Mohawk? I'm sure he is talented and I'm sure his work is fine but a firm will not send someone to represent them with a client who looks like a candy bar for a metal detector.
In this free society we live in, every now and again we find ourselves in places without or lacking freedom. We say we have the freedom to dress, pierce or say what we want..."IT'S A FREE COUNTRY". Well that it is, and for the most part I agree (I saw a man holding a sign protesting the current government on the street the other day...Wow...We don't realize how important acts like that are) but in this free society we live in we have decided on norms that shape the way we do business and proceed with the basic functions of commerce. So live your life, express yourself, but pick your battles, maybe a clean cut image isn't the end of expression if you have sky scrapers littering the skies in the land of the free and the home of the....BRAVE!
Well I've sat on the decision of what is more important in this world and today after 4 days of thought I have come to my conclusion. I base this conclusion not on what I feel is more important, but what in reality is more important. The "cover" I have decided is more important than the "book". Now I know some of you may say this is a very narrow minded and stereotypical view for myself to hold...Well it's not my opinion but the opinion of the world we live in. If it were up to me color, nor creed, nor outward appearance would mean anything but an expression of ones self or some other detail of a human life.
Unfortunately I am not the word or the way (wouldn't that be scary?). So this young man who I met, I believe is a good person and definitely falls under the book and cover analogy. He's very respectful, looked me in the eyes when he talked (very odd these days), shook my hand (also unfortunately odd), and was well spoken...BUT. His "cover" needs some work. To me it's fine, I could care less the way someone looks, even though I too am a culprit of stereotyping people, it's hard not to. For that reason and the way of the world this young man will yield his success to society until he conforms or creates a niche of conformity for himself and his image. It is a shame that a person must look like everyone else to succeed, but that's just the way it is. He has aspirations of being an architect...Let me ask you this...When is the last time you saw an architect with multiple facial piercing and a Mohawk? I'm sure he is talented and I'm sure his work is fine but a firm will not send someone to represent them with a client who looks like a candy bar for a metal detector.
In this free society we live in, every now and again we find ourselves in places without or lacking freedom. We say we have the freedom to dress, pierce or say what we want..."IT'S A FREE COUNTRY". Well that it is, and for the most part I agree (I saw a man holding a sign protesting the current government on the street the other day...Wow...We don't realize how important acts like that are) but in this free society we live in we have decided on norms that shape the way we do business and proceed with the basic functions of commerce. So live your life, express yourself, but pick your battles, maybe a clean cut image isn't the end of expression if you have sky scrapers littering the skies in the land of the free and the home of the....BRAVE!
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