SlideShow

Elite 8 - Bruins vs LSU to move on to Final Four

Wow, what happened to Memphis?  This was probably the worse they've ever played all season.  You got your star players not pulling through missing their shots and playing a poor defense fouling Afflalo and other great shooters (cept for Hollins, but he made it up for his dunks darn those 7 footers).  I mean I wanna say Hooray for the Bruins, but this game was just a struggle of wanting something so bad you hinder what you're all about and lose it.  Disappointing.

Anyhow, we have game #1 of the final four Bruins against LSU (don't you think Davis looks like a mini Shaq? lol).  My Predictions for todays brackets are: D.C. Bracket UCONN and Minneapolis Bracket will be Villanova.  However I am rooting for the underdog George Mason (#11 Seed pulled through!! We hardly see really low seeds pushing as far as George Mason has).

I can't believe this weather...it was so beautiful Thursday and Friday, then Saturday it's all overcast and rains during the evening. At least I did not wash my car.  The family had dinner at Islands - the new one at LBTC, the service is not all that great compared to any Islands I have been before, but thats ok since they're newbies.  Ben got his order for free when the cooks forgot to make it, and we also got a free dessert out of it.  But all I can say is...CheeseFries!! yum yum yum. 

March Madness!! Sweet 16 Craziness!!!

Thanks to Ben for getting me into the NCAA sports -- March Madness was something I often never paid much attention to mainly because Cal Poly did not have much to root for...so Ben is a Bruin and so I've been rooting for the Bruins throughout the season.  Pac-10 Champs and now the finals are getting crazy.

This last game with Gonzaga looked gloomy for the Bruins as Gonzaga was even at a 17 point lead over UCLA...but with the start of the 2nd half UCLA needed to pick up their game, as time ticks away the Bruins are not able to surpass Gonzaga's strong offensive with Bautista and Morrison makin the shots.  Luckily they turned over the ball many a time to help UCLA gain up point by point.  The last minute of the game was intense and they pulled their weight with Afflalo 80% free throw shooter to the line makes one but misses the other which gave the Buins a 2pt lead, as with a second in the game Gonzaga had a chance to hit 2 pts and it gets into the arms of "Big Daddy" Bautista and he hits the back board missing and causing tears to Morrisons eyes as that was his last chance to make it into the finals...

So I was pretty much screaming and jumping up at the last minute of the game...what a game.

Anyhow, now they'll be up against number 1 seed Memphis on Saturday to go head to head in the Oakland bracket to compete for a place in the final four.

As for the other games, they showed the last minute of the Long Horns and WVU game where WVU ties the game at the last 5 seconds of the game, then the Long Horns miracously made a 3 pt jumper at the buzzard to put them in the winning spot

LSU underdogs beat DUKE which Duke played a poor game at the last couple of minutes of the game to give LSU a big lead with careless fouling. 

Memphis had an easy game against Bradley..so not much to comment about that one.

Conversation is by far one of the most important elements of the human nature. Conversation in most relationships sometimes helps us to communicate and to solve the problems. It is after communication that meets one of our most important emotional needs, that is the inherent human need to talk to someone.

But, of course in a conversation, apart form what you actually talk, it the way you talk also that matters. Interesting topics of course add to the spice and make the atmosphere livelier and brighter, but the same interesting topic of conversation if not dealt with tactfully and with style can prove to be yet another wrongly barked tree.

There are so many great ways to make your conversation great. If you can incorporate these ways into your conversations that you have with people around you, then you can keep your conversation interesting as well as lively. The first important tip is to use conversation to investigate, inform and understand the person you are conversing with. Almost everyone has at least once found themselves trapped in a situation where being they have been faced with a complete stranger and have wanted more than anything to break the silence which stretches out awkwardly. It is in situations such as these that you need to have some sure-fire fallbacks guaranteed to break the ice and start a conversation. This is where it will be handy if you have some interesting topics of conversation up your sleeve so you can slice the ice with some skilfully manoeuvred conversation.

The topic of conversation you choose should depend on the kind of setting you are in and the kind of crowd you are surrounded by. For instance if you find yourself at a party or a get-together where you don’t know too many of the other guests try and steer the conversation towards some object at hand. If you're a hat person, then narrate a great story that goes with the hat you are wearing and if you have no interesting stories to narrate then make one up. Or if you are wearing an unusual accessory or piece of jewelry that might catch people's attention or imagination and incite them to ask you some trivia about it, then make sure you try various avenues to continue that bit of the conversation. If you are taking a gift to a party, make sure you add an eye-catching touch to the gift- wrapping, which is a sure-shot way to inspire some other creative soul or the other to ask you about your unique wrapping technique. Objects of Conversation provide a great and non-threatening way to start a conversation.

And also keep your antennae sharpened at occasions. There might just be something that can trigger off a conversation with the stranger standing next to you. There might be something interesting or striking about the decor, an interesting book lying around somewhere, a fascinating wall-hanging or a painting or simply a photograph on the wall.

And if you find yourself in a place where there is no scope to strike a conversation about environmental objects then the safest avenue to explore would be food or drinks as a starting point.

And of course the handiest and yet the most interesting topic of conversation is invariably the nightly news. Keep your general knowledge polished and a working understanding of the current breaking news issues. These definitely provide great conversation starters when all else fails. And if you are not the kind to stay up to date on the current affairs, then some good knowledge of the latest celebrity gossip can also dole you out of stretching circumstances.

And coming to a few serious uses of having interesting topics of conversation stacked in your head, if you're going to a professional function which represents a networking opportunity served to you on a platter then it's definitely worth your time to do some good research into the industry as a whole. Make sure you understand some of the concepts and don’t forget to pick up some of the jargon.

Well, these few techniques of striking up a conversation with a stranger are will definitely stand you in good stead and there is absolutely no need for you to dread this simple social task. Just plainly doling out a few lines of conversation and asking open-ended questions will find you in the midst of some good company.

Oh my! LOL, I have not posted this long and I see they've added new features of the of the entry box!  Nice.

Anyhow.  I have had an interesting couple of months the past couple of months.  A lot of which was work.  To be passionate about it...I realize that I really enjoy what I do.  The day starts and ends quickly to the point where I say to myself, "Ah gosh it's 5:30 already!"  Or when I meet people who ask me about my job and I spend an hour or two talking about it.   I am not bragging about oh yes, Janet has the best job in the world.  But I mean it took me a really long time to figure out what would be an ideal job, going into recruiting I was not sure if I would like it, but am lucky to have found something that takes the best of my skills and applies it everyday.  So yes, if my dad weren't carpooling with me, I would be at work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week...but for now it will be kept in control, and I won't be addicted to work. 

Speaking of work, I just got back from my first trip to the East Coast.  Boy was it really nice there.  I went to Baltimore MD.  The only thing I could complain about was the whole jet lag and awkward sleeping patterns.  It was a 5 hour direct flight from LA to Bmore.  I ate crabs but did not get to eat crab cakes   I should have just ordered that.  The city is really beautiful, lots of green!   I really like the view from the plane, being on top of the clouds they look like fluffy white cotton candy moutain peeks.  I got to Vegas at night, and it was pretty neat just this island of lights.  I got to see a friend from HS whom I have not seen since graduation, we got to catch up on old times and we drank and sang kareoke which was really fun! I met so many people from all over the states.  I even met someone that was born in the same hospital as me which was insane! 

As far as my personal life goes, my family is doing really well, my younger bro and sis just started school.  My parents are still doing the same, and older bro making the $$ at his jobbie.  And myself, still healthy and single.  I guess it is a good change of pace to be single, time for myself.  But I do miss being able to have a "best friend" and share and do things with the other person.  Where's my other half?  hehe. 

Alright well...I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Listened to this song on the radio, such a sad song "If You Were Mine":