Lost my way...

I almost forgot how to get back to my blog...it's been so long. And unfortunately (for me and for my readers), I haven't had a whole lot going on.

I got a nice little boring break from work after bowl season. I'm still picking up some slack at the newspaper, but am waiting for my official start date at a new high school sports website that pays better.

Law school applications have been taking up all my conscious thought. I haven't worked on them as constantly as I make it seem, but they have been festering in the back of my mind for about a month straight. But, as of today, I am an official applicant. My papers are being processed at UCLA and Texas. Tomorrow, Arizona State, Berkeley, and USC will be getting theirs, too. Then, I get some time off before apps. are due at Maryland, Villanova, Boston U., and Colorado.

My constant struggle with these personal statements has been frustrating. When every school asks for me to write a personal statement that explains how my background and experiences will contribute to diversity, and asks for me to write all about the various hardships and adversities I overcame in my life to get me to where I am today, I'm really at a loss for words. I can't think of an upbringing more typical and American than mine. Very little adversity, very little hardships, very little diversity. My one diversity card that would normally work is being part Jewish. Obviously, at law school, being Jewish is hardly diverse. I'm slightly Native American, but not enough to claim/prove it.

So, my life is in their hands now. We'll see where I end up.

As for sports...a quick recap.

I hate the Giants. I especially hate Eli Manning. I hate that Peyton didn't win and his brother is in the Super Bowl. I hate that Brett Favre, with all his age and experience, folded under the pressure (and possibly the weather) and literally threw the game away. I want the Patriots to win by a huge margin.

Virginia Tech basketball is having a good season, considering our team is comprised almost entirely of freshmen. We just gave up a tough one to Duke tonight, but I'm proud of the way we played. We were missing our idiot inside post presence because he elbowed an official last time out in Atlanta.

I was happy to see Nadal go down in the semis in Australia. Rooting for Federer to take another title, but I like Djokovic. Very personable and charismatic. I think Federer is too good to lose. I might even go as far as saying Federer is the most dominant player in any sport at the moment.

That's about it. I don't have much to write about. I felt bad for not posting in weeks.

Leaving for El Paso on Monday for the Texas vs the Nation game (college football senior bowl game). I'll be there with Jay for a week. Hopefully, despite it being a dumpy border town, we'll have a good time.

Moving and shaking in Mobile

Welcome to the original home of Mardi Gras. Mobile, Alabama is where it all started. People describe the Mobile Mardi Gras as a family version of New Orleans. I'd say they have it just about right. I haven't been to Mardi Gras in NOLA, but I think I get the basic premise. Mobile is all the parades, the beads, the drinking, and the fun, with none of the gratuitous nudity and debauchery.

We (us GMAC Bowl officials) were reserved a balcony over the GMAC Bowl Parade on this second night of the three week Mardi Gras celebration. Turned out the balcony was four stories up, and we had more fun (despite the open bar) on the street level. I had a teddy bear and a moon pie (Mobile tradition to throw moon pies at the parades) snatched out of my hand, but I came up with several beads strands and some little novelty footballs. Highlight of the parade was the high school band drumlines. Pretty impressive.

The officials welcomed us in to their daily activities, which was nice. It gave our trip a little structure and a little more social networking. We had dinner at Felix's Seafood (we were told they had the best seafood in the country). I thought the food was average at best. The filet was fatty, and the crab meat on it was not tasty and was full of shell pieces. But the experience was nice.

Spot of Tea is our favorite restaurant. We have had lunch there twice now, and plan on returning tomorrow for a final Spot of Tea experience before we reluctantly depart from Mobile.

The hotel we are currently residing in is the Malaga Inn. On the outside, it looks rustic at best. However, its historic qualities make it an endearing place of residence. The central outdoor courtyard is cozy, with a fountain proclaiming itself the centerpiece of a well designed landscaping job. The rooms are a bit old, but in a nice way. The hotel was originally two townhouses built by brothers "during the war when the south was doing well" according to the pamphlet.

Bowl gifts were decent this time. I got a nice carry-on sized Nike duffel bag, and a souvenir football that will soon be autographed by all the officials. Andrew and I will have to fight over the watch and the noise-reducing headphones.

The Redskins, in what I considered an attempt to redeem the sport of football, laid an egg against the Seahawks. I was depressed after my Hokies blew an opportunity to prove their worth, and thought maybe the Redskins could salvage some of my faith in the sport. But, once again, it wasn't meant to be. I wish I could have grown up in an area where my team has been and always will be good. At least with the Redskins I wasn't expecting the Super Bowl.

The GMAC Bowl is tomorrow, then I head home early the following morning (the 7th) for the first time since late December. The New Years Resolutions begin promptly upon my return.

First order of business is to reintegrate myself in to a satisfactory social life. Gym time and a healthy diet are also on the to do list.

Warm for the holidays...except not

Miami was supposed to be my quick summer getaway in the winter time. Sunny and warm on South Beach. But instead, we brought with us the windy chill of Blacksburg. Coldest night in Miami in 5 years last night. It didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves though.

I met up with several other Hokies (and randomly ran in to a couple I didn't expect to see). Also hung out with an old Seminole fan from back in my Melting Pot hosting days.

After set up at the stadium took three times as long as expected, Justin and I headed back to our resort and got cleaned up. This Doral Golf Resort and Spa is absolutely ridiculous. I can't count the number of heated pools, hot tubs, waterfalls, palm trees, man-made beaches, or anything else I can list to describe paradise. Indescribable. I took a bunch of pictures last night, hopefully they turn out. I haven't taken any in the daylight, and, unfortunately, may not. So we'll cross our fingers and assume the night shots look good.

So...nothing really to do today. I got another bowl gift watch (all I seem to get, which isn't bad, but a sweatshirt or something would be nice).

Heading to the stadium around 4ish. For the time being, I'm just relaxing and thinking about the Hokies bringing home an Orange Bowl championship.

Here's to a good next year

I'm writing this while I should be sleeping. It is 1:30 in the morning (central time, where I am in the Music City), and I have a 7:40am flight. But I'm just not that tired. I figured I could do a recap of 2007, with all of its ups and downs (lots of downs are sticking out).

In no particular order, here are my most distinct memories of the past year. Might want to grab a tissue.

I gained and lost a puppy. I was lucky enough to have her in my life for 3 good months before she was hit by a car. Right around the same time, I lost a grandmother, and then shortly after, my alma mater was traumatized by a massacre that will forever be remembered as one of the worst mass shootings in US history. I lost peers, and my friends lost friends and loved ones, but I didn't know anyone personally. I almost regret that I didn't, because I wish I could have shared some of the burden that some of my closest friends and brothers had to endure. My Redskins family lost Sean Taylor, whom I compare to Lawrence Taylor as a player who would have changed the game forever.

On the other end of the spectrum, I was witness to some happy things as well. I made some great friends, people that I will (hopefully) forever keep close to me. I grew closer to others whom I already knew. One of my resolutions from last year was to open up a little and let people get closer to me, which I think I started to do a little bit.

I got to see Virginia Tech's basketball team win a game in the NCAA tournament. I got to see the Hokies football team earn their 3rd ever BCS bid. I got myself out of the miserable rut that was a part time restaurant job and decided to make something of myself. I'll be in law school in less than a year, and hopefully from there will go on to be a successful member of a sports firm.

I grew closer to my siblings (including my sister-in-law), and it became official that I will soon have a brother-in-law as well. We were never distant, but now I feel closer than ever to all of them. I think it comes at the perfect time, since I may be living 3000 miles away soon, and will need to keep friends and family closer than ever.

As usual, I have learned a lot about myself and about other people. This is a practice I began in college. I consider myself a people watcher and a pretty good judge of character. Each experience I have, I store in the back of my mind as a lesson about the quality of people. I am less judgmental and more observational than I used to be (which was one of my resolutions from last year).

Thanks to this blog, I have finally started to write again. My brother and I have discussed collaborating on a short novel in the near future, and I am very excited to get started on it.

As I sit here in my hotel room alone in Nashville reflecting on the past year, I realize there are countless things I would like to have done differently. But there is no sense in looking back and regretting my mistakes. I can only hope to do it better in 2008.

I rang in the new year with complete strangers who welcomed me in to their circle for the evening. I'm not sure I would have shown the same kindness to a random person in a bar a year ago.

So I can safely say my new year started on a very high note. I have begun 2008 seeing the best in people. My new resolution is to return the favor to as many people as I can throughout the coming year.

So, happy new year, and here's to a great 2008.

Witness to history...and other Nashvillain news.

See title.

For anyone who considers him or herself a fan of football and the NFL (and I really mean a fan of football, and not just a fan of their team), tonight was a spectacle. The Patriots rolled in to the Meadowlands with everything (except their playoff chances) to lose, and even more to gain. The Giants, having already clinched their playoff spot, and having no shot at improving it with this game, merely had to not be embarrassed. It was up to Coughlin and his G-Men to decide whether they would let the Pats roll and make history, or if they would fight their hearts out and try not to be posterized by destiny.

Fortunately for football fans everywhere, they chose the latter. In what was one of the better NFL games I've seen all season, both teams left everything on the field. Typical late-game heroics on the part of Tom Brady and the rest of the Beantown kids sealed their fate in the history books. Trailing late, and looking pretty down and out, the Patriots all of a sudden decided it was time to take control. A long bomb to Randy Moss looked like it would be the game-changer until he dropped it out of his wide open finger tips and settled for an anti-climactic jog back to the huddle. Next snap, the play was identical, only this time Moss scooped the ball up in perfect stride and trotted in to the end zone to set four simultaneous records (50 passing touch downs for Brady, 23 TD receptions for Moss, most points scored in a season, and most touch downs scored by a team in a season). Moss had the audacity to do a little end zone dance and toss the ball on the ground. THE ball. The record breaker itself, he casually chucked it aside like it was nothing.

Of course, the Pats went on to win it. 16-0. I was witness to history today. Unfortunately for everyone, the amount of New England fans is going to increase 10-fold after the Sox recent success, and now the Patriots, and even the Celtics (whom I will be seeing in person against the Wiz on January 12th).

In other news...

I'm in Nashville, staying at the Renaissance Hotel downtown. Very schwanky hotel. It's no Opryland Hotel, where I initially thought I was staying, but it's no slouch either. Right off Broadway in the heart of Nashville, the Renaissance looms large in the home of country music. On my way to the hotel (in a bit of a roundabout detour), I saw a wax museum, three different Dukes of Hazzard themed stores and bars, two replicas of the General Lee sitting road side, several square dancing bars, horse and buggies, and all sorts of other country goodness. If this isn't the good old south, I don't know what is.

I asked my bartender what was fun to do around here. She lives in Nashville by way of Kentucky, and had little to say about the allure of Nashville. She did tell me that there is no shortage of jeans and cowboy hats at every turn, and that I could expect that and only that if I wandered down Broadway where the hot spots are for the night life here.

Along with the Kentucky and FSU entourages, there is a campus outreach convention here full of young, impressionable Christians from southeast region colleges, all staying at my hotel. I've never seen so many kids (and they do look very young, yet another sign of my gradual aging) drinking coffee and carrying bibles in a bar/lobby lounge.

For the time being, I am going to bore myself to sleep and hope that tomorrow provides a little more social excitement. At the least, I should have enough free time to watch my Skins take on the Cowboys for a playoff berth. Hope it's on TV here.

Happy Holidays

My sister and I decided to kick off this Christmas with the first annual Christmas Eve Day Flag Football Tournament. We are searching for a more...contemporary name. That one is a little long-winded, but it can't get much more appropriate and informative. We held the games at Severna Park High School. The turnout was a lot better than expected (about 20 people), but it wasn't quite enough people to make three teams for a round robin tournament. So we played two games with the same teams. Of course, the Renaut team won both games. The first was on a series of plays that could only be described as a Christmas miracle. After leading most of the game, our quarterback (yours truly) threw a costly interception that led to a score on the ensuing drive. Trailing 16-12 with 20 seconds left, we put our speed team on the field for the kick return. The ball went out of bounds, giving us one shot at the end zone from our own 20. It began as a totally botched play, with the pass rush coming in virtually untouched to get me. However, a quick-witted, sack-avoiding pitch back to my eligible center opened up the field for a little trickeration. A wonky duck-bomb by the former BYU safety fluttered downfield and was somehow snagged by one of our receivers on the 2 yard line. He tip-toed in to the end zone for the game winning score.

Game 2 was a different story. We jumped to a quick lead and never looked back, finishing a shortened second half with a 27-6 victory.

We all parted ways satisfied, and Christmas festivities ensued. Christmas eve dinner at my sister and her fiancee's house was delicious. We had a polyphase (that's a purely phonetic description, someone please correct me) roast and fried oyster casserole along with some hot cider with mulling spices and green beans sauteed in some sort of sweet Asian sauce. Pumpkin pie was the perfect dessert. We opened a present each, as is the Renaut tradition, and then settled in to watch the end of the Chargers win.



Christmas morning was more of the same. I was a little late getting to Liz's for the 10:30 start time, but I pulled up at the same time as my mother and grandmother, so all guilt was washed away. The base of the tree was surrounded with presents, and we quickly got to work. I got a good haul, bringing in everything I asked for and more. Tops on the list were my white, authentic 75th anniversary Sean Taylor jersey and a 21 towel from the tribute game at FedEx Field (thank you J/B). I also got some great Under Armour gear and my first set of *used* golf clubs so that I can pick up a new hobby (thanks E/Z). I got more sports memorabilia wall art than I know what to do with, and am now very excited to move in to a place with more wall space (read: buy my own house and decorate my sports/gaming room) (thanks M/D). In the meantime, I am loaded up with health foods and workout supplements to get my act in gear come New Years resolution time (thanks M/E). I also got some good airplane reading (Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick) that I will open as soon as I finish Lloyd Pie's A Darker Shade of Red, about the truth behind redshirt football players back in the 50s and 60s when football was an entirely different sport. I think the most unique gift is the Easton family (one of my ancestral lines, very prominent family from Rhode Island, that claims the first governor of Rhode Island, appointed by the King of England) coat of arms I can now proudly display on my wall when I rearrange my current situation (thanks D).

Lots of candy and toys in the stocking, too, that I will regret enjoying all week.

On a darker note, I am feeling old. My half birthday is on the 27th, which puts me that much closer to 25. Nothing like the holidays to make you feel depressed about these kinds of things. Fortunately, I'm still a child at heart.

Creole Good-ness in the NOLA

Apologies to my faithful readers, but there was no internet in my hotel room in New Orleans (I know...it's 2007, and it was the Intercontinental. Ridiculous.) No traveblogumentary action until now. But as repentance, I will include pictures of the trip in this post.

I landed in New Orleans, and it was like any other airport. Got my 4Runner and headed over to the Superdome to set up shop in the NFL Replay Booth used by the Saints. What a dump. I understand the tradition and the lore of the Superdome, and it's had some rough moments (see: Katrina refugee camp) in its past, but for such a famous stadium, it is pretty unkempt. The replay booth itself was cramped and stuffy. But installation went smoothly and I was out in about an hour or two. Time to hit the town. Except that didn't happen at all. I went to my hotel and stayed there for the rest of the night...not knowing an available soul in the entire city and not feeling adventurous enough to rough it solo.

So the fun had to wait until Jay arrived during the monsoon on Thursday. Apparently, the levees broke again (too soon?), because the 10 mile drive to the airport took about an hour due to highway flooding and bad drivers. Whose idea was it to settle on a swamp and turn it in to one of the most desirable party hot spots in the nation?

Regardless, Jay and I headed back to the 'dome to test out all the equipment, which all worked fine. We were out by 6 and headed back to powder our noses before really hitting the town Thursday night. Jay's friend Colleen (unfortunately, she's a UVA grad, but we let that slide) met us outside of Harrah's and we walked to Acme for dinner. Raw oysters for an appetizer, and a shrimp po' boy for the main course. Delicious. I love Cajun food more and more every time I go there. For the sake of parents who might be reading this, I will conveniently forget to include the number of drinks we had throughout the course of the night. Mostly because I couldn't remember if I wanted to, but also because they would be ashamed of me. We'll just say it was enough to enjoy myself.

From Acme we hoofed it to Pat O's (O'Brian's for the non-locals) to get some world famous Hurricanes.

The drink says "Have fun" so we did. There is a very cool fountain in the Pat O's courtyard, but the picture didn't turn out very well, so I won't post. We were supposed to meet the game officials at the Pat O's piano bar, but they were nowhere to be found. I think we missed them.

Next, we trudged up and down Bourbon street enjoying the scenery and the atmosphere. We ran in to Memphis fans and FAU fans alike, and always had a different story for why we were fans of one or the other. The Memphis fans were out in much stronger force, and had much more enthusiasm. It wasn't enough for their team, who lost pretty soundly the next day (after some serious injuries to key players, unfortunately).

Eventually, we got hand grenades from an actual hand grenade.

After a few walks up and down Bourbon St., we were shamefully enticed in to a slovenly little dive full of false promises that we never would have even considered in a sober state. Again, parents, please skip this paragraph. We decided the ads for a live sex show were pretty intriguing. Inside was a different story. What...a...slum. There was no sex, just strung out women trying to earn a living from the 3 or 4 people dumb enough to actually walk in there expecting something spectacular. Very disappointing. We promptly left after our required 1 drink purchase.

The dance club was next, which was the most fun in my opinion. Drinks were 2 for 1 and the music was good. There was a good size crowd. All in all, the night was a great experience. We stumbled back to the hotel around 1 or 2 AM 'cause we're old and that's as long as we could last.

The game itself was disturbing. The trio of knee injuries made me sick to my stomach. These were serious--almost McGahee quality--knee blows. Having blown out my knee, I definitely have a special place in my heart for those kids.

Next trip...Nashville on the 29th. Stay tuned.