Merriment or Profanity?

Sundays are typically the day people use to relax.  It is the perfect day to catch up on sleep, do some homework, and for some people, watch football.  I was never really one to watch football until I came to college, where everyone is very competitive and gung ho for their home teams.  Mondays are the day where everyone compares scores and good plays.  So, I decided to watch a game so that maybe on Monday I could contribute, or at least relate, to their conversations. Because I was in Dallas I decided to watch the Cowboys vs. the Redskins.  While the game was hard to follow, there was one thing about the game that was impossible to miss, the celebrations.

         After a touchdown the players would point to the stands, make the sign of the cross, or even pound the ball at the ground.  I can understand the adrenaline rush after completing a crucial pass or running half way down the field but, I couldn’t help but think that the post-play celebrations were a little over the top. So, I decided to look up some of the various celebrations that players had performed over the years and how the league, and fans, reacted to these oftentimes-profane actions.

To my surprise, the celebrations were worse in the past.  I came across a news story from The Hilltop Online, Howard University’s newspaper about Randy Moss mooning the Green Bay fans after scoring a touchdown. (To read more go to http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2005/01/18/Editorials/Nfl-Getting.Too.Tough.On.Player.Touchdown.Celebrations-834391.shtml) I was happy to see that the NFL was taking a stand against the professional athletes who weren’t acting professional.  I think that the rules are necessary and fines should be issued to those players who don’t comply. Everything seems to becoming bigger and flashier than ever these days.  Celebrities don’t drive cars; they drive Range Rovers and Bentleys.  Athletes have more bling bling than anyone should be able to afford due to their large salaries. But, flashy doesn’t have to mean trashy.  Why can’t athletes stick to the traditional “hand slap” or “chest bump” post-play celebrations? 

If you don't exist can you have a Birthday?

was sitting on what my roommate and I refer to as our “love shack”; a twin sized mattress surrounded with a million silky silver and black pillows trying to come up with something new to blog about when I decided to enter www.google.com into my browser.  Whenever I need to find something, Google is my go to website.  You can find anything you want on Google, and even things you don’t care to know.  My favorite part about Google is the decorations that the have so that you know something’s going on, for example fireworks made out of the letters on the Fourth of July, or pumpkins to signify Halloween.  But, today instead of some national holiday or event, Google was decorated with the number 10 and a birthday cake. I was taken aback by this change in layout and hoped that Google had not given up on its quirky but perfect designs.  I scrolled down to read that Google was celebrating its 10^th birthday.  I immediately asked myself how it was possible for something that was never “born” to celebrate birthdays?  No one I know celebrates the 4^th birthday of a calculator they used through out high school.

I then started thinking about birthdays in general.  There are some birthdays in history that everyone knows about and celebrates such as Jesus’s birthday, December 25^th.  The only birthdays I know that are celebrated are those of family members or close friends.  But, here Google is, my favorite website, asking me to celebrate with them.  It’s not like we could throw a birthday party for a computer program.  So why even equate the word birthday with non-animate objects.  Why wouldn’t Google say that it’s their 10^th anniversary like schools and organizations do?  I’ve always been one who loved birthdays and all that they entail. The waking up early and opening presents, getting cards and hugs from friends close by.  But Google can’t receive hugs. 

I guess we can just be grateful that Google has made it for ten years.  I know that without it half of my high school papers would have been impossible.  So I feel more than happy congratulating google.com on its success but feel like something is being taken from the special celebration that a birthday entails. In my opinion, if you never had a birth and aren’t living you shouldn’t celebrate a birthday.  So, with my irritation I closed my google.com browser and will try and use it again tomorrow, hopefully the decorations on the homepage won’t be celebrating Google’s 10^th year 1 day birthday because then I’ll have to refrain from using my once favorite website. 

I can't figure out the blog linking, but her blog is found at http://misssunshine823.blogspot.com/

I commented on Paris's blog about taking attendance in classes.  I think that she had a good point about the fact that attendance shouldn't be taken, if people miss class they'll only hurt themselves but sometimes you have to get a few more hours of class which may cause you to  miss a class.  

I commented on Lauren's blog. her post about college and the new challenges and reasons for going to class were interesting.

I commented on Patrick's blog. I think what he said about Palin's privacy and the elections in general were very enlightening.

The "Mrs. Degree"

The anticipation for that first day of college is one that all of us can now relate to.  We've all experienced thoughts filled with doubt, fear, excitement, and hope.  But what is it that we’re excited for?  If you’re an engineering major you may be excited to invent a smoother running program for the power plants, if you’re a communications major you’re probably looking forward to being published, but what about those of us who aren’t attending SMU to become the best in a field?  There are many girls, and even some guys, who have admitted to going to the prestigious Southern Methodist University just to find someone to spend the rest of their life with. Who wouldn’t want to go to a college with reputation to have a population of students with money to spend and houses to vacation to?

At first, I was a little intimidated by this reputation, but as I thought more about it, I couldn’t help but be excited. SMU is not only a fun University that is improving more and more every day, but it’s a place where I have a very good chance of finding someone who would measure up to mom and dad’s standards.

 After attending classes for a week, I’ve learned that it will not be too hard to pursue my dreams of earning a “Mrs. Degree” as my uncles love to call it.  All I have to do is read a couple pages each night and dress to impress.  And while I haven’t run into “Mr. Right” yet, I know he’s out there somewhere.