Catching Up

Batter Up? Catching Up? A coincidence I swear. It has been awhile since I last posted because I have been on spring break. I think I visited everyone that reads this at one point over vacation so I won't get into the details. Let's just say, it was hard coming back to the cold.

My first softball game is tomorrow and I am really excited. I try not to think about barely knowing only one of my teammates. I have no idea what to expect. I will let you know the final results of the game tomorrow night.

As you can see I have yet again made changes to the site. I am having fun figuring out how to do some general HTML work through trial and error. This whole time I thought giving up on my FrontPage experiment would stop the format changes but I guess I just can't let it go.

I finally broke down and bought MLB 2K5 on Xbox. I am getting really excited about the upcoming season and needed to get a fix somehow. For $19, I didn't think it was a bad deal.

I am going to see the Ring 2 tonight with some people from work. I have been anxious to see it ever since it came out. I hope it is a good sequel unlike most I have seen. Although, I also like Be Cool.

As you have probably seen on Rachel's site, we are officially set to marry on May 20, 2006 at The Grove. Next up finalizing colors, bridesmaid dresses and tuxes, although we may be close to all three decisions.

~SAG

Batter Up!

As you may have noticed, I am playing around with the title of my blog. I have a feeling I will never be satisfied and I don't know if I have enough ideas to warrant a vote. It is always the trivial things that get to me.

As I mentioned in Word Vomit, I want to join a softball team and it seams that I may have my chance. I mentioned my desire to a few people and Sarah asked around for me. She told me that Brett (from the very old Grasshopper Pointe pictures and intramural volleyball) had a team and gave me his phone number. After we talked he said I was welcome to play. After all the hype, I was struck with uncharacteristic nerves. What if I am not good? I haven't played baseball in a long time and thats a different sport. Sarah warned that these guys pride themselves on doing good and plan on winning. I need to go out and practice. When I am in Phoenix I am going to hit up the batting cages. Anyone wanna play catch?

Yikes!

~SAG

Damn You Blogger

By now, you all must have noticed that I made a change to the way you leave comments. I also made this change on GIC, Rachel's dad's websermon site. Although it was not the most difficult transition, I needed to find a new comment sponsor, in this instance Haloscan, to make it so comments pop up in a new window and does not prompt you to include Blogger account information. I have to say I was proud of myself once I completed it because it took some HTML work. However,today on Blogger's news wire I read this:

"Good news everyone! We've updated the way comments work. Among the many improvements are pop-up windows for comments and the ability for commenters to fill in their name and web site info—no Blogger account needed."

Are you kidding me? Now, if I want to change back the comments to the Blogger format, I wouldn't know how. Also, when I changed the comments the first time, I lost all past comments on both my site and GIC's. Arrgh. Maybe I should refuse to change it back since it took them so long to make this change in the first place. Or, maybe they made the change because they noticed everyone was looking elsewhere.

On a new subject, I am still on my "mix things up kick", thinking that through minor changes (bright colors) and some major ones (my major), my time in Flagstaff will be less painful and boring. For my newest alteration, I want to change the name of my blog. Although original, sag/blog just isn't doing it for me anymore. This also helps me in my quest to make this blog more inclusive and interactive. I love feedback so, I ask you for suggestions. These suggestions don't need to be titles in themselves, but maybe direction on what the title can be focused around. Once I come up with ideas, I would like to hold a vote for the favorite. I would like to know if Josh Shculz knows a way to create polls on Blogger or any other way. For instance, can I have a list of the choices and have everyone bubble in their favorite and submit? Kinda like an online survey. I know this seems like too much effort for juct a title change but hey, it's all I can come up with.

Note: I know Rachel and I both complain about how boring our lives are. I think about how bad that sounds because I wonder if it makes people think we have a bad relationship. That, however, is not the case. Rachel and I love each other and enjoy each others company, it is just the envirionment that is miserable. In all actuallity, we are in much better moods now that it is warming up.

UPDATE: Look to the right and you will see that I figured out a method for polling. If you think it will work for my purpose, vote yes, if not, vote no

~sag

You Gotta Believe!

This title has two meanings

1) "You gotta believe" is a phrase that Mets fans have used for a long while now. With spring training upon us I thought it was fitting. I love it because it is very vague. You gotta believe what? This year I will take it as "you gotta believe they'll do better than last year."

2) You gotta believe that changing my major will work. A lot of obstacles have presented themselves, trying to ruin my effort to switch to advertising. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy task to change my major with one year left and without taking any required advertising courses, but I have never been more determined. This was a long process so bear with me. First, I contacted the communications advisor via email and she responded with an academic plan that would set my graduation date back to the spring of 07. Not happening. From there, I decided to contact The main advertising professor, Rich Lei and asked to meet with him and work something out. With great effort, he told me that my plan to take certain classes concurrently would not work because some were prerequisites for the other. He did give me a scenario where it may work and it involved taking ADV 207 (the introductory advertising course) over the summer. After leaving his office, I researched everywhere for a summer course that would transfer as ADV 207. After searching through all Maricopa community colleges, NAU, Las Vegas community colleges and UNLV, none were offering a comparable course. Now, rewind to my senior year in high school. I received Glendale Community College credit for my Greenway marketing class. It transferred to NAU as MKT 271. I contacted the Professor Lei to ask if that could count for ADV 207 but he told me that it would not because marketing classes don't cover essential advertising material. Today I just about gave up hope. With one final desperate move, I asked if I could somehow do an independent study and takes the tests to receive ADV 207 credit or if I could petition to add ADV 207 this year even though it is almost halfway over. In response to that last email he responded:

I looked up the gcc web site and found the course description for mkt
271 (which you took and got an "a")..based on this, i will accept it
as a substitution for adv 207 (intro to advertising)...i hope this
helps you in your scheduling.

Hallelujah right?? Not so fast. I have one more hoop to jump through. I have to ask a different professor if I can take two classes concurrently that should be taken in sequence. Although this is something that the main advertising said could be possible, it is ultimately up to Professor Paul Helford. Coincidentally, I dropped professor Helford's COM 101 class a couple semesters ago. Let's hope he forgets. So, I have emailed professor Helford with the situation and wait nervously for an answer. If it works all is set and my next three semesters look like this: Summer = 9 credits, Fall = 15 credits and Spring = 15 credits. Not too shabby.

Although I have left Rachel out of the process, she played a huge role. She supported me, gave me the names of the condtacts I needed and figured out all the different possibilities that made this never ending process possible. Thanks Rachel!!

The only downfall to this is if somehow this doesn't happen, I am going to have a tremendous breakdown. Be prepared.

-SAG