The Lester

College Life

2011-02-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

Now my second semester as a Blinn Team student at Texas A&M University I continue to write for the student newspaper, The Battalion. I'm enjoying the job and focussing on school. I submit my transfer application at the beginning of March for full admission into A&M. The year has already been filled with some great sports moments and a few stories I've enjoyed along the way. Let's get to some sports.

Dallas Stars

The Stars made a big trade earlier in the season to bring Jamie Langenbrunner back to Big-D and it seemed other than the confusing owner situation and the pending Brad Richards negotiations nothing eventful would happen for the rest of the season. But this Stars team has seemed different in some way all season and they proved they were different than in years past by going on a hot streak and leading the Pacific Division for a majority of the year up until around the All-Star break where they began to slide. Sliding is all they have seemed to do ever since. They are now tied for seventh in the Western Conference and struggling with key players out due to injury.

Today the organization with seemingly no money made another move as they traded long time underachieving defenseman Matt Niskanen and the teams number three scorer James Neal to the Pittsburg Penguins in return for defenseman Alex Goligosky. The trade sees the departure of Niskanen (finally) and Neal, who most fans believed had the talent to be a top goal scorer in the NHL. He was a fan favorite and I enjoyed watching James Neal play as well, but it seemed as if through his entire time with the Stars he was stale. Ever since his breakout in the rookie tournament several years ago he showed great skill but no personality. It's no secret that a lot of hockey players aren't as boisterous as players in other sports but Neal seemed cocky at times and lackadaisical both on and off the ice. He didn't have much presence in the locker room and never found his spot at the top of the teams scoring numbers. He could score but not the way everyone thought he could.

In return the Stars get a third year offensive defenseman with four game-winning goals already this season. Goligosky is thought to be a top-4 defenseman on the rise but he also allows the team some cap room. This would open up negotiates with Brad Richards, one could only hope.

My final verdict: If the Goligosky helps out a struggling defensive unit and this team gets healthy bringing forwards back from injury and makes a run at the playoffs it is a successful trade. If the Stars sign Brad Richards and miss the playoffs, this is a good trade. It's a bad trade if Brad Richards does not return and now is without 2/3 of one of the best first lines in the NHL.

Texas Rangers

To me the Rangers off-season was one to reflect on. It was so much fun to watch and be a part of. Game 6 of the ALCS at the Ballpark in Arlington against the hated New York Yankees was probably one of my top-3 sports moments in my life to this date. Striking out A-Fraud out to send this team to it's first World Series appearance in club history was magical to say the least.

The off-season ensues and moves are made by the Rangers but not the ones everyone expected going into the off-season. The Rangers lost out on a tense bidding war with Cliff Lee in the winter but moved on signing third baseman Adrian Beltre and moving Michael Young to DH. It seemed like a smooth transition and the addition of former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb proved they were not done. But, weeks before spring training began Young decided he wanted to be traded. It was hard to keep up with and felt a little like a he said she said paparazzi story to be honest. He now has said he will play out the year without distraction and I couldn't be happier. He is the Mike Modano to the modern time of this franchise. It sure would be weird to see him wearing another teams jersey.

Aggie Sports

The Texas A&M football season ended remarkably with wins against ranked teams Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Nebraska game may be my favorite sports moment to date as the largest student section ever to attend a college football game threw their 12th Man towels in the air as a sea of white celebrated the 9-6 victory. The season though ended on a low note as the team lost in the Cotton Bowl on a huge stage to LSU. They proved they had a lot of room to improve and that the road to relevancy around the nation will take much more than a few top-10 victories.

Basketball season ensued and although the atmosphere at Reed Arena hasn't been what it was in years past, or so I've heard, I still enjoy the games. I've never liked basketball all that much but I enjoy a good sporting event. Some of the games I've enjoyed to this point have been against Washington, Kansas State even the monumental loss to Texas recently. The Aggie basketball team has the talent to go deep in the tournament but they have so much to figure out before they can do so.

Now as spring comes along Baseball and Softball have started and opening night at Olsen Field was exactly what everyone expected, magic. The pre-season No. 8 team in the nation sent pre-season all-american John Stilson on the mound in a potential trap game against Le Moyne a team that made it to a regional in the College World Series last year. Stilson was stellar and the team gave the large crowd a fun series to watch throughout the weekend sweeping the Dolphins. The atmosphere at Olsen is much different than a football game at Kyle, or basketball game at Reed. It's what people grow up with, it's baseball at it finest point where the talent is so high but the desire to play the game with no play is not compensated. This team has a chance to go far and they will certainly be fun to watch this season.

I will be covering softball this season and I won't write much other than this is a fun bunch to cover and talk with. They are very good and the tradition of winning is huge in Aggie softball. Here are my stories in the Battalion about this years softball team.

Softball Season Preview: http://www.thebatt.com/news/lofty-goals-for-experienced-team-1.2004535

Pitcher Lindsey Sisk Feature: http://www.thebatt.com/news/sisk-handles-adversity-1.2004444

Opening Tournament Preview: http://www.thebatt.com/sports/starting-with-a-bang-1.1975188

On a different note the A&M football team signed 22 high school athletes this winter for a pretty good signing class. Here's the scoop.

http://www.thebatt.com/sports/signing-day-supplies-drama-1.1959247

Until next time. Keep truckin'.

The Lester

I'm Back

2010-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

After several post's last week I was caught off guard by a flurry of golf tournaments that cut my time on the computer in half. I am now back in the office for the time being covering a variety of things. I am tracking Jesuit golfer Jordan Spieth as he tries to win his second straight U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Egypt Valley C.C. in Ada, Mich.

Also I recently interviewed Parish Episcopal linebacker, Rob Hankins, who is a highly recruited athlete and committed to Arizona on June 20. Hankins had offers to over 20 schools and picked Arizona over Texas A&M, Cal, and Miami. He said he went with is gut feeling.
Read Hankins profile story here.

I was tipped about a story yesterday that involves a young girl who has committed to play volleyball at UCLA... she's only a junior in high school. She will be participating in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Be on the lookout for this interesting story soon!

Nathan Broussard Feature

2010-07-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

This week I feature a profile on Plano West linebacker Nathan Broussard who recently visited UCLA, Stanford and Cal on recruiting visits. The story ran as the lead for the high school sports page of the Dallas Morning News.

Nathan Broussard Story.

Also, the front page of the high school's section online.

Mike Young in then out of AS Game, HR Derby and the late George Steinbrenner

2010-07-13T07:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's news was headlined by the Home Run Derby but locally Rangers's third baseman Micheal Young was named as an All-Star, then he wasn't. Red Sox's third baseman Adrian Beltre who injured his left hamstring needed to test it out at an All-Star workout Monday evening. This came before announcements on ESPN that Young would replace Beltre. Beltre responded by saying he would only judge his decision to play in the All-Star game after he worked out. Needless to say he will play in the game and Young will not. The confusion put the Rangers at seven All-Stars but they will settle for six with the addition of Cliff Lee.

The Home Run Derby started off homer-less as it always seems to do. Opening hitters struggled to hit anything out of the park until Florida's Hanley Ramirez, Boston's David Ortiz, Milwaukee's Corey Hart and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera all advanced to the second round. Hart led the first round with 13 home runs. My pick, David Ortiz, was still alive and well as he lead the second round with 13 home runs. The home runs erased as the final round began against David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez each had 21 home runs in the first two rounds combined. Ortiz crushed 11 home runs to win the event and recorded 32 total homeruns, the third most all-time in the event. I think I made a solid pick.

The news this morning about George Steinbrenner's death is shocking to say the least. The 80-year-old certaintly wasn't aging and seemed to still be a fixture to the organization that he built, not Babe Ruth. He funded every single aspect of those winning teams and he's seen some great players go through the Yankee system. Although, his son does most of the business work for the Yankees now it is still sad to see a legend leave baseball like Mr. Steinbrenner. His presence will be missed, and I'm a Red Sox fan.

Josh Hamilton's Home Run Derby greatest of all time?

2010-07-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

This story just came out and re-captures the excitement that was the 08 Home Run Derby and other Derby's in years past. Who will win tonight? I'm going with David Ortiz. He's been their before but hasn't won and 7 of the last 8 Derby winners have been lefties.

Here's ESPN's story.

Mike Modano, retire? Puh-lease!

2010-07-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

After reading Mike Heika's take on Modano and this video, how can you believe that Mike Modano wants to retire?

Joe Posnanski on LeBron

2010-07-12T10:20:00.001-07:00

I've really began to follow Joe Posnanski, a sports columnist for Sports Illustrated who frequently post's 1000+ word entries on his blog and his writing is very interesting. His take on LeBron was one worth reading. Check it out along with the cover of the Cleveland Plain Dealer the morning after the news.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/07/08/the-lebron-decision/

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/07/09/one-word-gone/

Next Big Thing - John Wall's first game as a Wizard

2010-07-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Very impressive debut by John Wall in his first summer league game. Nice story that has different opinions from around the league. Also, the video to go with it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/17987/day-three-las-vegas-summer-league-roundup

http://espn.go.com/video/category?id=2459788

WJMC DAY 4

2009-07-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Got to go to the capitol even though we found out after returning that there was a shooting on capitol hill hours after we left. The capitol is such a cool place but has such strict security!!! It is nuts!! We got to hear Chuck Todd spoke today and it was mediocre. I was expecting him to be better than his speaking was, granit he did fly to other countries with Air Force One, and was with him to throw out the first pitch a tthe All Star Game so he was going on like 3 hours of sleep when speaking to us. We got to go to the mall at the pentagon, and it was really impressive because apparently it is the second biggest mall in america. The day was successful and we had a lot of fun. I'm still having a great time and getting to know a lot of interesting people.

WJMC DAY 3

2009-07-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday! We finally made it this far in the week and it was a day to remember. The day started with yet another early morning. We opted out of breakfast today and got straight to the bus. We started our journey through D.C. and made our first stop at the National Press Club to hear our speakers. We were there to hear from a former editor of the Washington post, a Washington post writer, a politico.com writer, and the moderator who is also a writer. They were very insightful, and told us that in the next ten years our news will come predominately from phones, and that the future of newspapers is "grim". We also got to know that the "Beauty of the job is that you never know what is going to happen". The entire conference has told us that time is of the essence. It has been stressed that "Online news allows stories to leak faster," but that the problem is finding ways to pay for this technology. We left the press club to see the smithsonian museums. We got to see the Natural History Museum, American History Museum, and the National Air and Space Museum. The museums were amazing and I will work on getting some pictures up. I loved seeing all the things that I will never see anything like it ever again. We left to go to the Arlingon Campus of George Mason and got to listen to a speaker of choice. I chose the sports writer from the Washington Post Ms. Kathy Orton, who I got to introduce. She was very informative!! She got to tell us to find the story and to inform the reader. I was honored to introduce her. We left there to go see the monuments. Seeing the Lincoln, FDR, and Einstein memorials and monuments was so cool. It was a sweet experience!!! I loved the views! I hope all of you get the time to come here someday. We went back after that and went to bed. It was the end of another great day. I liked the experience of seeing the monuments and it is like no other sight I've seen before. I'm off for the night. See you tomorow

WJMC DAY 2

2009-07-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

If I can stay up then I will try and touch on everything. It will be brief but it will let everyone know what I have been up to the last couple of days. Monday was the first full day of the conference. The morning started early. I woke up at 6:45 and headed to the dining hall for breakfast where I managed to scarf down eggs sausage and potatoes with some captain crunch to wash it all down. We then met with our groups and then went to see our speaker, who was a light speaking man who's message was good, but delivery was sub par. It honestly seems like we have been here for a week already, but it's been two whole days. The days are so long, that we are always occupied but I like it. We then traveled to DC and went to the Newseum. It was the coolest museum I think I've ever been to!!! The 9/11 exibit was heartracing. Upon walking in you are greated by a two story wall of newspaper covers from September 12 from all over the nation and the world. It was crazy to see the terror and anger that our country felt on that day. I was only in the fourth grade so I had no idea it was anything like this. My understanding grew for the event when the centerpiece came to my eyes, the radio tower from the top of one of the towers. Ripped to shreads, it showed how great of damage was done that day. We saw an 11 minute video on how reporters fended for themselves on that day. It was such a big day for journalism. Our field was at the epicenter of the greatest American tragedy in recent history. Camera men, and reporters, and radio hosts, all at ground zero with a story to tell and a shock of disbelief to convey to the public. We also saw the Pulitzer Prize winning photos that are on display at the newseum. It was just as moving as the 9/11 exibit. The pictures capture you and make you think so much!! I will post pictures of those ASAP. Those were the highlites of my day and will update later. I'm in desperate need of some sleep. Goodnight all. See you next post

WJMC DAY 1

2009-07-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Day one of the conference! Early morning was full of tons of worry. Mom was super worried about me leaving. She never said it like normal but I could tell. Maybe it was the yelling across the security check-point that told me it was true. Love you mom! Anyway, the flight was smooth but very long! Arriving at Reagan, I was greated by Autumn, one of the supervisors at the conference. I was instantly waved down with little confusion. I got my baggage as more kids showed up. As the beginning silence began to break I started to learn names, and favorites, ,and teams. Instantly I could tell we would be gelling very easily. They were from all over. Cincinnati, Missouri, Georgia, Iowa, and even Texas like me. We talked sports on the bus ride to campus. I thought I was doing good by meating 7 new people. Arriving on campus we checked in and got room keys. My key didn't work and had to do a run around to fix it. I met my roomate, Dale from Cleveland. I let him know that my family was from near their, and we talked about the browns and indians. I grabbed a bite to eat with him and got my key fixed. We had to set up our blogs across campus because the server went down for us to do it in our rooms. After that we met our advisors, and group members. Little did I know that I was amongst my other roomate, Jason from Georgia. We dressed and ate a fantastic dinner before listening to the keynote speaker Brian Lamb. He interviewed 20 students about journalism and THEIR views on it. He talked about the future of journalism and stated that we are the future of journalism. He incouraged us to join a small town paper and make your own pathway to success. His message was short but his insite was so useful. It was nice to hear someone so involved in the field talk to us. Lamb is the CEO of C-Span. After that we went to our group discussions. We have decided that our group is the best! There are no real competitions but we have decided if there was one we will win!!! Our advisor Tammy Pyle, a.k.a. T-PY, is so cool. Her phone went off during discussion and it was playing Boom Boom Pow, it was hillarious! She is the coolest! She says her nickname is like J-LO, T-PY! HAHAHAHA! Our dorms are nice. They are bare but it's alright. I like it. It's almost curfew so we are headed to bed. Tomorow will be sick! Newseum! Here we go! Let's go people!

Life, So Fragile

2009-07-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

Life. Born in mear ounces, we develope into the people we are and devide among our peers. From a young age we decide who we are, and what we are going to do with our lives. Our plans are made, and our bags already packed for every adventure in life. We are a society so wrapped up in our phones, our friends, our gossip, all the littlest things in life that we have no time for the real. Not the reality, but the real. What is right before our eyes every single moment of our day. Not like a reality on TV but the things that truely do happen, like tears, and feelings in your gut that no actor nor actress could ever portray. I was a part of an eye opening experience today that was so earth shattering for anyone that I am sure it will last a lifetime in my memories. I saw life flash. I felt feelings never felt before for people I've never met. I witness reality and the surreal fragility of life, and the pressence of it.

I was bored. After a long holiday weekend spent mostly at the Sweedish furniture store that is IKEA, I was ready for nothing more than to just go home. No excitement was happening. The restaurant where I worked was dead, and had been for an hour or so. I was cleening tables, trying to kill time until five o'clock rolled around. I began cleaning a table in the back of the restaurant, making the rounds to try and get them all spotless. A woman walked by me and told me that she liked my mohawk. I appreciated that, as I almost cut it off a few days before so it gave me a little boost of confidence that maybe my day was going atleast a little toward the right direction. As I was reflecting on my split decision between urban mohawk and buzz-cut, I was approached by the same woman. She was obviously more troubled this time around. Before I could realize she was in need of assistance, I looked up and began to ask what may I help you with when these words came out of her mouth, "A man fell down at the top of your escalator! You need to call someone now!" I glanced at her face, and the concern in her eyes told me this was no lie. My initial response was to atleast see if it was true. I looked over at the escalator and a group had began to huddle around the fallen man. I knew what to do so I said, "Ok," and ran. I ran to the register where the nearest phones were and called the receptionist, the only person that could help me without looking a ton of extensions. A womans voice answered that I couldn't really associate with a face saying, "Reception!" I proceded with extreme scare, "There is a man, who... He fell and it's at the top of the lobby. The stairs. A man fell at the top of the escalator from the lobby. You need to call an ambulance!" After a couple of questions it was over. Initial response had been sent. I had hoped that I wasn't the only one who had known about this. Surely someone with more importance knew about this. I'm only seventeen, how am I supposed to fix a man who has fallen down? I ran to the scene to see three strong men struggling to lift a man to his feet. He was a ragdoll.
I was instantly approached by a woman, who appeared to be with the man in some way, asking if I had called for help. I told her I had and that 9-1-1 had been called. The men had now lifted the man onto a traditional IKEA sofa. He was in obvious pain and was breathing heavy. I learned that he had passed out on the way up the escalator. I asked instantly if there was anything I could do for the man and the woman who appeared to be with him. I asked if he needed anything to drink and was told a coke would be fine after the man responded when the woman asked if a coke was ok. I sprinted through the restaurant trying to find the best way to our glasses, which had so untimely ran out. I had to go to the dishroom and grab one clean one. I got the coke to the man and upon arrival, our Loss Prevention team had arrived to make sure everything was ok. It had only gotten worse.
The man now had a bag to his mouth, throwing up. Upset and confused the woman did not appear to want the soda anymore, as the event had become much more severe in the moments I was gone. I asked if a water would work better. The man was recieving treatment from a customer who happened to be a doctor, and was checking the mans pulse. "Tom," the woman yelled, "Can you hear me?!" The woman, his daughter, was yearning for his attention as she asked for a bottle of water. I bolted to our frig to get the bottle of water. Arriving back only to be told that orange juice would be better. The incident couldn't have happened at a worse spot, but it couldn't have been in a better spot. I arrived with the orange juice and a crowd had began to form. As the customer began to ask more questions to Tom, something dramatic happened. Tom's head bobbed, and in a blink of an eye he was unconscious. Mayhem seemed to ensue in the following moments. LP began calling the ambulence telling them to get there asap. A mad rush ensued as man from LP emergency stopped the escalator running down stairs for the heart defibulator. CPR was flying around like mosquitoes in summer, everyone was asking who knew it and who didn't. He ran up the stopped escalator fighting through a crowd of people. The crowd was staring as Tom's daughter and kids, his grandchildren began to cry. I could do nothing but watch and find ways to help. I shooed people away like flies to get people away from the staring contest and through the store. This was not something to "Stop and Stare" at, no it was time to begin asking "How to Save a Life". I was directed by more co-workers from LP, and now the assistant store manager, to keep the nearby elevator open so that when the EMT's came in they would not have to wait. Tom regained conciousness, although I'm not sure how or when. At this point I am shooing and blocking off an elevator, all while a man's life could be ending in front of our eyes.

Paramedics showed up, eventually wheeling Tom off on a stretcher, breathing, and responsive. Everyone kept moving, and the pickup efforts began. Many of the LP co-workers moved on. Just another day. Personally, I walked away with a few thank you's from some important people at my work, but other that that I walked away confused. I was scared. I had just witness a man nearly die, and watched his family screem his name in absolute terror while his granddaughter cried. I had just seen the fragility of life. It was so easily mistaken by my co-workers when I went back to working. "Our hero!", "Good Job!", "Dang, nice!". It wasn't like that though. I felt like there was something more I could have done. I felt like I didn't succeed. I felt like I had let it happen on my watch, although the whole time I couldn't help but think "oh no! Not on my watch!". I wanted to know the outcome, I want to know if Tom is ok. I want to know if those men who are doctors tell anyone about what they helped do on this day. I want to know if the granddaughter got to see her grandfather ever again. I want to know if one of the women who was there the whole time got to see her pastor, Tom, preech again.

I learned so many lessons today that my world has changed, thanks to Tom. I learned that in a moment like that, you can't help but wonder what heppened to the person, but all you can do is know that you did the right thing and did all that you could to improve the situation. I wasn't satisfied at first, but now I am. I know I did the right thing, and that I helped in the littlest way.

I also learned what this isn't about. This story isn't about me. This story isn't about my moment of glory at work. It is about the absolute strangers that banned together to help save one mans life. I couldn't figure out why all these people were there, but I realized every single one of us had a purpose of being there right down to the guy who let the customer borrow his watch to check the pulse. It all panned out just right. If I hadn't have had my mohawk and been in the back of the restaurant, who knows how long that search for help takes. It couldn't have worked out anyother way. We had to be Tom's angels.

Finally though, I learned this. No life is worth taking for granted. I will never leave without saying I love you. I will never take anything for granted ever again. Tom had to be in his 80's but his life was fragile as is all of ours. It could have happened to any of us. And we can all only hope that our angels happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Thank you Tom, for opening my eyes. For making me a better person. A stronger person. I now I have a differnet outlook on life to a point. I owe it all to a man I never got to introduce myself to. Maybe, just maybe, life will pack my bags and lead me down a path to see Tom and thank him for what he was helped me understand on this day.

Playoffs

2009-05-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hawks tie it up!!! Overtime!

Titan Baseball

2009-05-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Game tomorrow night to make it into the final playoff spot. Playing an underachieving Frisco High team a week after the original schedule date. Some of my family should be going to see the game along with the couch brigade! Let you know how it goes

Red Sox

2009-05-07T19:12:00.002-07:00

I'm watching a coming home show on ESPN2 for josh hamilton and at the bottom the ticker shows the Red Sox going up 4-2. Then there is a score update. 6-2. Next thing I know it was 13-2!!! I love it. No papi even!

Rangers

2009-05-07T19:12:00.001-07:00

Ok so they got beat. They are human. Just wait until Hamilton is back in rare form.

Playoffs

2009-05-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone called it. Ovie and Crosby but heads. Three goals each is rediculous. The pens get themselves back into the series but I still think the caps have the upper hand. I've been watching the Hawks Canucks game. The blackhawks are so good and so young, but this series shows just what a great goaltender will do for a team. Maybe the stars should start taking notes. Vancouver is up 1-0 halfway through the 3rd. Think they can tie it?

Rangers

2009-05-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Rangers win 3-2 to move into....... FIRST PLACE?! Naaahh really?! Maybe there's some hope for Dallas sports yet

Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 2

2009-04-30T19:45:00.001-07:00

My playoffs have gone good so far. A surprise from Carolina was predicted by yours truly. Detroit, Vancouver, and Bruins advance with ease. Carolina beat New Jersey in a heated 7 game series, and I'm not afraid to go on the record saying that Eric Staal has to be in the top 5 players in the league discussion. 5 goals 2 assist in the first round if I'm not mistaken. Boston is still my pick to win it all, having been dominant in the first round sweep. Watch out for Vancouver, that's all I'm saying. Chicago wins against a very solid Calary team that just didn't get the goaltending they normally do. Chicago is so young and fast that the Vancouver matchup will be a great one. Detroit destroyed any hopes that Cinderculumbus ever had. They go on to play the david team of Anaheim who simply out played the Goliath Sharks. The two former cup champions will face off in a decent series. Then the series everyone is, and should, be talking about. CAPS vs. PENS! Yup, Alex-the-great vs. Sid-the-kid. Malkin, Semin. Fleury, Varlamov. The list goes on. All young, all hate one another just as much as the first guy. I'm with everyone else, I'm pumped for this series. I want to see pretty boy Crosby get lit up by grinding Ovie. This is the drama and rivalry the NHL needs. It's finally here. This is Round Two. This the new NHL in front of your eyes every night. If you haven't been sucked in already, take 10 minutes and watch the determination by all these guys. It's rivaled by no other sport.

My Picks:

Wings over Ducks: 6 Games

Canucks over Hawks: 7 Games

Bruins over Hurricanes: 5 games

Caps over Pens: 7 games

A Thursday Night. A TAKS night

2009-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

Not much comes to mind on TAKS week. It's a boring week. Along with the tedious 70 question tests every day it has been the worst weathered week that I can remember. Nothing but continuous rain. So not only are you taking tests all week that determine if you graduate high school but it rains all day so you can't even go nuts once school is out. It's weird taking the last TAKS test off my high school career. It's always been a symbol every year of the final stretch. But this year is different. The symbolism is so much more important, real, and life changing. This time next year I will be on my way to the "real world". It's something our parents always tell us about but we never understand until it gets here. No underclassman can understand this feeling until your junior year of high school. It's where to fork in the road begins. I take my first SAT this weekend as well. Coming off the longest week of the school year too, go figure. I'm excited but sceptical at the same time. College is right around the corner and it will be surreal and awesome. Hopefully next years dual credit courses will help with the college process and allow me to get a feal for the environment. Until next time, be easy.

The Lester

First Blog

2009-04-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am up sending out thank you letters for the Journalism Confrence in D.C. so I figured I would start my first ever blog. HELLO WORLD!!! I went to a confrence in Austin this past weekend for journalism with my school. It was very informative and I learned a lot. I'm excited for next year, and being the editor of a school newspaper will be cool, interesting, and fun. I'm going to get to sleep and expand on these thoughts later.

The Lester