Project X to March Madness

Ode to Crosswords:
"Joy, joy!" We all exclaim,
when a word or phrase
fits right in place.
Four letters for luminous circle?
Gee whiz, it has to be halo!
A bullring bull? Toro, toro!

"Ole, ole!" We all exclaim,
The puzzle is coming to an end.
With a talking pen your brain is rockin'
smashing hints,
deciphering code,
It's a second language.

"Ahh, ahh!" We all exclaim,
There is just one final clue
but the letters won't come to you.
A treadmill enthusiast?
Frustration seeps from skin until, at last-
EUREKA!
It's a hamster!

Beauty is nothing less than a finished crossword.
*Inspired by Eugene and the Philadelphia METRO

What I'm Doing: Watching my roommate, Joel, play his electric guitar.

212:
On a day to day basis we look at the world differently. Things change, ideas change, people change. Even inside the most headstrong man or stubborn women, something is changing. It could be a teenager growing a quarter of an inch. It could be when a baby girl takes her first steps across the soft carpet of her parents new home. The point is, the world changes. As members of the world we change with it.

I always somehow manage to talk about the weather in this first bit. Maybe because I started this blog in late February and since then the seasons have been changing like mad. Then, the snow was just disappearing from the concrete. Now, it's 60 something degrees and I'm sweating in a t-shirt. I've heard some people say that the weather is bad small talk, but I think it's fantastic. I love talking about the weather.

Happy St. Patrick's.

Instead of discussing one more serious issue in depth, this post will cover many different things that have been coursing through my head the past week. I call it, "Project X to March Madness."

Shaun White. The first thing that comes to mind when you hear his name is probably close to snowboarding phenom. He killed it at the Olympics this year with outrageous new tricks, including the Cab Double Cork 1080. If you saw his run down the half-pipe, you may have wondered how he could pull off such a trick. Project X, that's how.

A private half-pipe hides (sponsored by Red Bull) hides deep inside the mountains near Silverton, Colorado. It's incredible. Scenic trees sprout from a flush, snow ocean. The land curves and flows naturally, providing a beautiful backdrop for a breeding ground of new tricks. A couple factors made this very special, besides the aspect of it's rural location. It was made out of fresh, real snow. Most half-pipes are made out of a combination of man-made and natural, but this board-paradise was created from the pure stuff. Secondly, a huge foam pit was built and brought to the location, placed strategically so White could practice new tricks without the worry of injury.

If you want to check it out, here's the link for the video:
Shaun White Project X

I've always cherished and loved the feeling of movement. The connection between the rough calluses of my feet against wet grass, the piston-action of my legs as I sprint for a bus. The perfect action and motion as I bend my knees, and release a ball for a three-pointer. Swish.

In today's society, many tasks become fast paced and people often become impatient (yes, this includes me as well!). When we rush through things, we tend to lose that majestic feeling of movement because we only concentrate on the goal, not the immediate process. During longer days or in hard times, I find myself looking forward to those thirty seconds that I dash up a staircase, or for the grip of a football's leather skin. It's those tangible feelings that really make us feel alive, and that is why we become so attached to them, why we relate them to memories.

Speaking of memories, remember the game where you would make the OK sign with your hand, and try and get someone to look at it below your waist? If they did, you would get to punch them in the arm. You could also defend against it by sticking your finger through the "O" before the other person could retract their hand. It's one of those goofy, there's-no-point kind of games.

Well, the students at the high school I work at are obsessed with it. Except, they don't play by the below the waist rule. Maybe, in the middle of class they will throw an arm up, as if to answer a question. But really, they do that hand-sign, and then burst into laughter. You could be walking down the hall, heading to your next class. All of a sudden, you see that damn OK signal. They got you. One of the most ridiculous adaptations of this game is the picture method. I remember a student drawing the sign on a piece of paper, then taping it to his chest (after labeling the paper "dick"). This game is, for some reason, infinitely amusing, and I think I can blame it on its simplicity and stupidity. It's gone so far as to spread to me and my teammates (what City Year calls, a "ripple"..) and now, when we are all alone waiting for the bus after a long day, we get each other with random tricky methods. A personal favorite of mine is the cell phone picture. Think of Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give you Up" (Rick Roll) except in person. I think you all should start doing it too. Spread it around. It's all good fun anyways.

I got you. See? Good fun.

Quotes I've Heard in Philly:
1) "This school is so DUMB! It's... it's... UGH!"
2) "The boy did yesterday and everyone wants to make him a trend. But his dead face on hoodies, notebooks.."
3) "He's a fuckin' pirate!"

I hate to transition from something silly to something morbid, but I feel this must be said. A student from my school was shot and killed this past weekend. He was 16 years old. Although I didn't personally know him, some of my teammates did. It is a tragedy- yet an act of strategic, random violence. Many of the kids I work with knew him, and you can tell that it isn't exactly shocking for them to have a friend die. It obviously makes an impact on them, but they are able to shoulder it off and pretend like it didn't hurt. It's a sad thing.

The last topic I'll mention is March Madness. I'm too obsessed with college basketball not to. As I'm writing this final portion, I'm even watching the NIT game between Memphis (3) and St. Johns (6). ESPN blares from my television from the time I get home until the time I sleep.

The deadline to turn in brackets is tomorrow. But, hopefully they're already in. There's some mega-powers in this tourney- Syracuse, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke. These are number one seeds that even I can't restrict from a trip to the final four. I do, however, believe that Ohio State will be upsetting Kansas. I think that the J-Hawks are going to choke under the pressure and Evan Turner will lead the Buckeyes to victory. Who's going to win? My best guess is Kentucky. But you never know- they could lose to anybody from Texas to Cornell to Wisconsin to West Virginia.

All I know is one thing. It's going to be exciting.

As Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Remember that as the day progresses it is always possible to make a comeback and fix a mistake. It is always possible to fight for your dreams. And when the NCAA tournament begins with an 89 hour blitzkrieg, remember anyone can win the tournament- not just the one seeds. Why?

Because it ain't over 'til it's over.

-TWO-12