Christmas Traditions

The smell of cinnamon rolls and coffee swirls past my nose and draws me out of sleep, I snuggle out of bed wearing new Christmas pajamas I opened the night before as we watched for Santa’s Sleigh. Careful not to peak I walk past the hallway into my little brother’s room to see if he is awake. We wait for our other sister to join us so we can all walk out to greet the tree and an array of beautifully wrapped presents and stockings stuffed so full they had to be taken of their hooks and placed beneath the fireplace. We all look at our Dad who has been up since dark waiting with his camera in hand to take the first of many snapshots of surprised faces. My mom meets us on the carpet as we sit in front of the fireplace and start to open our stockings. Her face lights up with anticipation, months of preparation finally about to come to an end. Her smile is full of love, but tinted with the shadow of fatigue from staying up all night wrapping presents. I take a deep breath to take it all in, Christmas Morning.

Some things never change. Our family has many traditions. I know we will always have homemade cinnamon rolls. I know we will always get pajamas on Christmas Eve. I know my Mom will always be tired Christmas morning because she waits til the night before Christmas to wrap most of her presents and I know my Dad will always be taking ridiculously ugly picture of us that he likes to call candid as we open our presents in the morning.

This year many things will change for us though. This year for the first time when my Mom says don’t expect a lot from Santa this year I believe her. This year I will not need to go into my brother’s room so I can walk out with him to see the expression on his face when he sees what Santa brought or how many presents there are because he isn’t getting anything big. This year instead of opening presents until 2:00pm we will probably be done in the morning. These things I know will change.

Presents are not the important part of Christmas though and so despite the fact that this year there are going to be many changes, our traditions are not going to change. Our traditions are what make Christmas so special and personal. As long as those don’t change, I don’t need anything else. So, my Christmas wish is not for me. My Christmas wish is not for more presents under the tree. My wish is for my Mom. I want her to know it’s OK that Christmas will look different this year because as long as the 5 of us are together it won’t feel any different and that’s what is important.

Mom, we don’t need new presents and more things. You provide enough for us all year round and now it is time to celebrate our family and the love we have for each other. We are still going to wake up to the smell of your cinnamon rolls. We are still going to stay in our pajamas until we are forced to change because we are having company for Christmas dinner. Christmas will still be the same in our hearts.

I have this wish for all Moms, not just my own. Don’t worry about the presents, focus on the traditions. Traditions are where the memories come from. Good memories come from love not a pocket book and good memories are the best gift you could give your child.

I love you Mom.

Status Quo Thanksgiving

Spending Thanksgiving with my family this year made me feel more connected to my roots than ever. I guess you could say my family is the typical, “traditional” American family. My grandparents are the type of people who founded this country. You know what I’m talking about. The white, wealthy, stuck in their way, hard working, and republican type. As a student I often hear about inequalities in society and there seems to be a lot of animosity towards this type of person, but it is hard for me to join in the banter because I know this type very well, they are my family. My family dates back to the Mayflower. I am related to John Irish, one of the people aboard the Mayflower. Despite everything, this is something I am proud of.

When I say despite everything I’m talking about despite the fact that thanksgiving didn’t occur exactly how I was taught as a kid and despite the fact that the white people coming to America was probably the worst thing that happened to the Native Americans. In fact in school today kids aren’t celebrating the pilgrims anymore, now it is politically correct to celebrate the just Native Americans.

I will never forget the pilgrims though, and when I visit my family I will never forget how much we as a nation have changed and progressed.

I spent thanksgiving in Carmel Valley where my Mom’s parents have a house. My Dad’s dad also came with his girlfriend. My Mom’s aunt and uncle were also there, and my now very pregnant aunt came too. The black sheep’s of the group were my grandma’s friend’s daughter and husband who live in San Francisco. They were obviously liberal and lived there life the exact opposite way my grandparents believe in. The next morning when they were gone I was shocked to hear that everyone over the age of 60 thought that this couple was just ranting the whole night. I didn’t hear any ranting, but it just shows how different the generations are.

Celebrating thanksgiving for me is supposed to be about family and really appreciating the family you have and being thankful for everything, but this year it felt like just another meal, but with more people and food. This year I was more afraid of keeping my dog away from my grandpa so he wouldn’t bother him, more than I was focused on family. No one waited for everyone to get to the table to start eating; no one gave a speech or a nice toast. Everything was status quo just the way they like it.

My real thanksgiving happened two days before the actual event. My sister, her boyfriend and I drove to Fremont from Sacramento to go home for the holiday. My sister had work black Friday at 3:30am so she wasn’t going to be able to go to Carmel for thanksgiving. She didn’t even know if she was going to be able to go home at all, so it was a last minute trip. As we were about to leave Sacramento I text my Mom and told her we were on our way home. Two hours later when we arrived at the house there was a turkey in one oven, a pumpkin pie in the other, and a fruit salad in the fridge. My Mom wanted my sister to have a thanksgiving with the family. This is what thanksgiving is about to me love, and despite everything I love my white, wealthy, stuck in their way, hard working, republican type grandparents. And although they are stuck in their ways they make me remember where I came from, which is another thing important to me on thanksgiving.

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl is like watching a modern younger version of Friends only the characters drink illegally, participate in drug deals and commit adultery. This series is based in New York. Most of the characters attend NYU. This is one of those soap opera-esk shows.

A little background information: Dan and Jenny live Brooklyn, there Dad is a washed up band member of Ethan Hawk. Dan and Jenny attend a private school in the upper east side of Manhattan. Dan falls in love with Serena Vander Woodson who is best friends’ with Blair Waldorf both of which are socialites. Blair dated Nate Archibald member of one of the wealthiest families in Manhattan. Blair later comes to the conclusion that her deceitful and manipulative way is better suited for Chuck Bass and equally manipulative and powerful entrepreneur whose father is killed, but not before marrying Lilly Vander Woodson Serena’s mother who eventually remarries again, but this time to childhood sweetheart Rufus, Dan and Jenny’s father.

Sound confusing? Well it is. To the average viewer just looking for a good show to watch periodically this is not it. Gossip Girl is the type where you miss an episode you are completely lost. Only the more dedicated viewer who plans to watch the show religiously should attempt this series, and after a couple episodes this won’t be a task too difficult.

The most recent episode was rather controversial with its college age characters having a three-some. This episode did however have a moral hidden beneath the subtext, but in this case it wasn’t be careful about who your friends are or don’t drink and drive as you’d expect from a teenage sitcom, the lesson seemed to be when you have a three-some, given that all college students apparently have three-somes, the third person is always someone that you don’t know. In this one episode other than the promiscuity, the viewer also witnessed the downfall of a high school student into the drug world and marital lines being crossed with a politician just elected to office.

Another helpful lesson learned in this episode was you can manipulate people and get what you want. If you persevere and use blackmail, lie and pull some strings you’ll win. What are we teaching our kids?!

This episode was almost pulled before it was aired because of the bad message it might be sending to its young viewers, but why this sudden moral boundary, that line was crossed a long time ago.
The acting in the series is great. None of the actors had major roles before this series but some have started to branch off because of it. Many guest stars appear fairly often. Hilary Duff guest starred for a few episodes and last episode Lady Ga Ga performed.

This show is a great way to get to know New York on a personal level. The scenes take place all around the city really depicting its true beauty.

This show is an inside look at Manhattan’s elite, and it really makes you wonder, do people really act like this?

This was an entertaining show, but I would defiantly say is at least PG-13, there was no message at the beginning of the show warning about adult content. Maybe that’s because it airs at 9pm? Do kids really go to bed that early? Parents, Beware!

I Love the Smell of Coffee

I love the smell of coffee, but at 3 am? Staying up until 3 in the morning to finish that paper that has been on the syllabus since the beginning of the semester, or studying for that really difficult test that requires an A in order to make up for some of the slack you let loose in the beginning of the semester can only mean one thing, the semester is ending and you are in frantic mode.

Every semester is the same story. In the beginning you get the syllabus telling you what assignments, deadlines and tests you have. If projects are not on the syllabus your professor gives you a lot of time in advance to prepare. So why is everyone always struggling with school work? Well I think we call it “Life”.

Unlike High School, college students don’t just have school work. Unlike professionals, they don’t just have to wake up, grab a newspaper, fill your to go coffee mug and head to work every morning. In today’s economical crises, most students get the pleasure of multi-tasking. In 2003 the number of working students reached 78 percent. And I am not just talking two hours a day or 20 hours a week. Many of them work and go to school full time.

When I was at my freshman orientation at Sac State a professor talked to the group of incoming freshman. This whole experience was more traumatizing then helpful. I barely remember anything of this seminar as important. What I do remember is how difficult my next four years were going to be. She told us studying, reading and working on assignments is the same as having a full time job. In order for us to be successful we were told we would have to work 10 hours a day, 2 hours for each class we took. As I enter into my senior year, I know understand the validity of what was being said four years ago.

Not only does work get in the way of school, but student procrastination is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome to reach a stress-free environment.

November seems to make life even worse. Students always have a lot more work to do at the end of the semester and these long hours cause students to become stressed, overworked and eventually sick. Lack of sleep can cause your body to become weak and more susceptible to illness. Swine flu is such a big concern especially for students as they are more likely to get infected because of their age. The doctor recommendation is for students to be take it easy. Yeah right. Not in this lifetime.

I haven’t gotten sick yet this semester, but all my work is mounting. I have a 10 page research paper due in a little over a week and a debate after Thanksgiving both on the same subject: raising income taxes on the wealthy. Boring! I have another presentation plus 3 more big tests before the semester is over. All of these things have been in the back of my mind since the beginning of the semester, but they were still in the future. Now the future is about to arrive. Yikes!

I have also been working more this semester as a nanny which has forced me to manage my time better. I fortunately do not have to work full time. Looking at how much time school work demands, I have developed respect for people who have to work to put themselves through college and take a full class load.

Even though this part of the semester is extremely stressful and causes many students to lose sleep and get sick, I know there is an upside to all this character building work. I will graduate, taking all my skills of staying up late, meeting deadlines and cramming for tests into the world of another unknown.

Just a Couple of Misfits

Sometimes it's hard to sleep through the night because of Taz. When he can't sleep neither can I. When Taz wakes up he lets me know it's time for me to get up too. Sometimes he lets me sleep, but even if he sees me open an eyelid that's his que to start jumping all over me. He lets me know when he is hungry, which is always and he has to go to the bathroom at least every hour. He has so much energy and is always moving. He gets mad at me when I'm not playing with him and his main goal in life, besides seeing how much he can cost me in food each month is to keep me from graduating and getting a real job. That's the only explanation I can come up with for him walking all over my notes, covering my face when I try to type on the computer (yes he is doing it right now) and barking at me non-stop when I try to read a book.

Yes, Taz is my dog. My 18 month old, inquisitive (this is just a nice way for dog owners to say there dog barks at everything), 13 pound, overweight Min Pin.

Meeting him for the first time people usually get a little freaked out. Even though he is rather small he can jump pretty high. He has decided this is the best way to greet people he is excited about. Usually after the first 10 jumps people come to the conclusion he is a bad dog. If you are meeting him for the first time, unless he is completely exhausted, he will bark at you. I tell people not to take it personally, but I think people get the wrong impression about him.

Taz is actually the best dog in the whole world and I'm not biased at all. I think he does this all on purpose. He is seemingly annoying and disobedient so know one else will want him but me. This is probably my fault, I told him a story about how my aunt's min pin, that was totally adorable, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Now he saves his adorable moments for non threatening family members only. Oddly enough since then he has seemed to calm down around people who have nice houses and lots of treats.

He is the best cuddler, When he gets scared at the dog park he jumps in my lap, he likes to be held when he gets tired and when he gets wet he dries himself off by rubbing his body all over the carpet. When he gets tired he will try to stay awake, but if he's not careful he will fall asleep standing up because when he is having fun he doesn't want to nap and miss something.

One of the great things about Taz is that his best friend is a pit bull. My sister’s boyfriend has a pit bull. This dog is the exact opposite of Taz. His name is Jack and he is big. He is about 5 times bigger than Taz, and yet he is 5 times sweeter. Jack never barks, he never gets angry, and he has never snapped at Taz despite Taz’s many attempts to draw blood.

Jack’s favorite thing to do is sleep and given the chance he would sleep 24 hours a day. He is always hungry, but never begs and is happy with what he is given.

He is definitely the nicer of the two dogs and without a doubt less aggressive.

Any big dog that I feel safe enough to let my dog play with, full force is a good dog to me. Taz will play as rough as he can and Jack knows just how much force he should use to play back, but he wouldn’t ever hurt Taz. In fact he gets protective when Taz is around other dogs.

They are both just a couple of misfits, the sweet pitbul and the unstable but adorable, King of the Toys, Min Pin.

A Remodeled Man

Humor is something that is hard to create in writing. It has to be clever without trying too hard. This is how Bruce Cameron a syndicated columnist writes. He is a hilarious writer who makes fun of himself and his own life.

Cameron dreamt of being a writer while growing up in Michigan. At 16 years old he even sold his first short story, which was the first short story he had ever written. He says this is the worst thing that could have happened to him because it tricked him into thinking writing for money was going to be easy. Eight novels later he decided he was never going to be published.

He went to Westminster College and claimed to have majored in beer. After college he became a freelance writer, but needed to get a day job to support his writing. He has had many jobs ranging from selling insurance to driving an ambulance. He found himself waking up at 4:30am every morning to write before he would head off to work.

After deciding he was never going to be published he decided to write his 9th novel, but for himself. He realized if he stopped writing to sell and started writing in his own voice he was funny. He decided to start his own online column which originally only had about 6 subscribers, most of which were family. This number soon grew to 40,000 subscribers in 52 countries.

In 1998 he showed his column to the Rocky Mountain News in Colorado and they began featuring his column weekly in the paper.

He turned one of his columns “8 Simple rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter” into a book that was number 14 on the New York Times best seller list. Disney then picked it up as a T.V show. A good example of how he writes is rule number seven of his column:

"As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process which can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?"

He then wrote another book called 8 Simple Rules for Marrying my Daughter.

In 2001 he was introduced to Creators Syndicate and he became a syndicated
columnist. The Rocky Mountain News is a folding newspaper, but you can read some of his columns on his website. He still writes a weekly online column for Creator’s Syndicate.

His newest book is called A Remodeled Man which is currently under production to become a movie.

He writes mostly about his daily life. His last two columns have dealt with his recent colonoscopy. One of his more popular columns is called “Chili Judge”. This is a hilarious column that after just recently reading I realized I had read it before. It was something I read many years ago, either from a mass email or from a family member.

In 2006 he was selected by the Society of Newspaper Columnists as the number one humor columnists in newspapers with a large circulation. Bruce Cameron has an interesting perspective and has a way a describing exactly what everyone is thinking, but in a funnier way.

Big Spoon Yogurt

Ice cream is generally thought of as a dessert, but what about its healthier, softer brother frozen yogurt? Frozen yogurt has become a very popular snack or even a meal. Self Serve, pay per ounce frozen yogurt joints have popped up all over the Sacramento area. The largest and most popular of these trendy eateries is Big Spoon Frozen Yogurt. It was voted the number 1 frozen yogurt place by Sacramento’s Best magazine.

Here you don’t just order a flavor, you create your own. The first step is to pick your size. They have 3 different choices. Then you have to pick your flavor. At the Big spoon on J Street there were 6 choices: chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, very berry, tart and raspberry. The best choice for the health conscience person worrying about the affects of eating frozen yogurt would be the raspberry which was sugar free and fat free. It was also delicious.

Next are toppings. Picking your toppings is the fun part mostly because the options are endless. Big Spoon is on the bigger side of frozen yogurt shops and with this comes more choices. Fresh fruit, raspberry sauce, caramel, fudge, pie filling and whipped cream. Then you can pick from 54 bulk candy and cereal options. The vast choices ranged from pop rocks to Cap’n crunch, jumbo sprinkles, M&Ms and jelly beans.

I mixed some of the different flavors, chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and tart. Then I topped it with whipped cream and strawberries. If you don’t know what flavor you want samples are offered. In fact you don’t even have to ask. After walking into the Big Spoon on J I was asked within seconds of walking in if I wanted a sample. The spoonologist as they are called was very friendly. She was prompt and talkative at the cash register.

So how much does this frozen treat cost? Well you pay per ounce; 39 cents will get you one. I had a small, but didn’t fill it all the way to the top of the cup and it was a little over 3 dollars.

This is an inexpensive way to eat out, but it you can still save more. If you purchase a Big Spoon T-shirt for 10 dollars and wear it into the shop you will receive 10 percent off. They also have stamp cards where you can buy 10 yogurts you get one for free.

I frequent frozen yogurt places often and would consider myself a yogurt connoisseur. This place has less yogurt flavors than some, less fresh fruit, but more bulk candy. It was clean and the fresh toppings were full. The only perk missing was the free cold water. The downside to eating frozen yogurt is that it makes you thirsty. Some places offer free water, but this place did not.

What does this place have to offer over other frozen yogurt places? The staff was friendlier than some. The candy options were more than normal and it was bigger. It also was decorated nicely. Walking in makes you feel like a kid in the candy shop and that is exactly what it looks like.

The Happy Hour Hop

“Hey lets go out tonight”

“Where are we going to go? I don’t have a lot of money”

“I don’t know, I can never think of anywhere”

“Neither can I”

Wanting to go out, but not knowing where to go and then not having money to spend when you get there is one of the biggest problems the average college student faces on a Saturday night. There is always going to be that restaurant that has such high prices you are afraid to order water, or bar that looks like so much fun, but then the words tab come into your mind and you cringe. I have two words that solve this dreadful problem: happy hour.

Sacramento has so many restaurants and bars and most of them have a happy hour. Knowing where the good deals are is one of the easiest ways to find something to do. Happy hours aren’t only on Saturday night; they are on everyday of the week. You just have to find where and when.

It’s Monday night, feeling like sushi? Head over to Tokyo Fros for their Economic Stimulus Plan, between 3 and 6pm. They offer half off sushi and cocktails. This place has a fun atmosphere. They also have 1 dollar Coors Light and 5 dollar appetizers and rolls during Monday Night Football.

Later that night go out for drinks. A really good late night happy hour is at TGIFridays. You have to sit at the bar for the deals, but it will be worth it. Here you will be able to get 5 dollar long island iced tea, strong enough to make you feel your money’s worth.

Tuesday night if you feel like Italian head downtown to II Fornaio between 5 and 7pm. Here you can get free appetizers including pizza, deviled eggs and Italian rolls. Plus, 1 dollar off well drinks and drafts, also 6 dollar glasses of wine. This place makes you feel like you’re in Italy. If it’s a nice day sit on the patio.

One of the most popular restaurants is The Cheese Cake Factory, so Wednesday why not go there. They have a happy hour between 4 and 6 pm, you can get chicken pot stickers and Caesar salad for $3.50 and avocado egg rolls, sliders, shrimp summer rolls and fried macaroni & cheese for $3.95. Eating at your favorite place can still fit your budget.

There are so many places that we pass by everyday and think, I want to go there, well you can. Tex Wasabi has a happy hour between 3 and 6 pm then again from 9 to 11pm. Joe’s Crab Shack has one from 3 to 7pm and Roxy Restaurant & Bar has one from 2-9pm.

The most surprising restaurants to offer a happy hour are the upscale ones. Ruth’s Chris Steak House a pricey restaurant, by Fair Oaks blvd, has a Happy hour from 4:30-6:30pm. They have 2 for 7 dollar appetizers or 3 for $10.50. There drink specials include 3 dollar bottled beers and 5 dollar well drinks. Another surprising find is The Firehouse in Old Sac. Thursday this would be a great place to try. They have a happy hour between 2:30-6pm. This is a fine dining restaurant where you can get 8 dollar appetizers at the specified time. This is a restaurant where dinner for two will start about $150 including drinks so the inexpensive happy hour is a real deal.

After the Firehouse hop over to the River City Saloon, on Thursday nights they have no cover and 99 cent Captain's and cokes or Corona's. If you’re looking for a good night to go to a bar Thursday night is a popular night and you will be able to find the best deals. The River City Saloon has a cool atmosphere and some of the best deals around.

Almost every restaurant has a happy hour, but they are usually only on certain days of the week or at certain times, so next time you are trying to think of something to do on Saturday night or any other night of the week be creative and you won’t have to spend much.

CSU to UOPX

Everyone knows about those annoying pop-ups, and advertisements that plague the internet, fake scholarships, quizzes that promise results after you sign up with their partners and sweepstakes that lead you to a list of promotions. One of the most prominent of these ads on the Internet today is for the University of Phoenix. This for-profit university haunted me while trying to decide which college to attend. I had no interest in this mostly online University that would cost way too much for a non-existent college experience, but this annoying add was on every site.

Almost 4 years later the University of Phoenix has expanded; it now has almost 400,000 students. With California’s lack of money and high expenses incurred by state subsidized schooling the option of selling the CSU system and possible the UC’s to the University of Phoenix might be a possible solution.

People go to state colleges because they are the cheaper option. State Schools are about 25 percent more affordable than private universities. In California the average student debt right now is between 15,000-20,000 dollars. California’s debt might decrease with the sale, but student’s debt would most likely increase.

The idea might sound ridiculous at first, getting rid of state funded college, but after giving this proper consideration and a more realistic approach to our state’s debt, I was almost convinced.

The University of Phoenix has increased its enrollment by 300,000 students in 9 years. Because the school is for profit it will never want to limit enrollment, something the CSU’s would have to do.

Also the tuition would not be based on the state’s budget and would not have to be raised every semester. Tuition would however cost more money. The price is per credit and based on the degree you choose. In Sacramento it could cost up to $475 per credit on campus and $530 per credit online. Each class is about 3 credits.

If the University of Phoenix did purchase the CSU system it would be important to keep the campuses the same. The whole college experience is important to many people’s lives. Not everyone goes to college just to get a degree.

Potentially this could happen. The University of Phoenix could buy up the schools. They could keep the college experience and also allow for online education. They could keep the costs as low as possible and not raise them each semester; maybe they wouldn’t turn the campuses into large billboards.

This outcome would be good for everyone, but this is not a guarantee. The University of Phoenix is just another business. It can promise an outcome, but does not have to be accountable to it.

Tuition could end up increasing just as it is now and the school would also most likely end up losing its collegiate feel, something CSUS is so hard trying to recover right now by transforming it from a commuter campus to one where people live.

For-profit schooling would change the mission of the school. The goal wouldn’t be primarily to educate society at an “affordable” price; it would be the goal of any business, to make a profit. Just like with their pestering ads on the internet classrooms would have advertisements on the walls and online lectures would have commercials.

So although one might say it can’t be any worse than it is right now just remember, prices always go up, the college community is important and big business doesn’t have to win.

Billboard Application

Driving down I-80 drivers will pass by a reminder of how bad the job market is right now. A couple in Sacramento who both lost their jobs decided they had to be creative to find work in this market. They put up a billboard of themselves with the saying “Hire Us”, along with both their email addresses.

They are not the only ones having such a difficult time finding work right now. This poor job market is a national problem, in fact the nationwide unemployment rate 9.8 percent a 26 year high. Sacramento County has a much higher unemployment rate at 12.3 percent.

Right now the economy is doing very poorly. The stock market starts doing better and predictions of economic recovery start to be heard from the media. People believe what they hear and the stock market falsely represents improvement, then it drops again because the economy really isn’t improving. A more realistic prediction is that, it is going to get worse before it gets better. In the past year, California lost 741,500 jobs. One of the largest sectors to reduce it’s employee base has been felt in the technology industry. Sadly, this phenomenon has bled into the housing market where we see foreclosures signs popping up daily.

People are now finding themselves looking for jobs that they are overqualified for. The service industry has been hit hard with applicants with college degrees, but even retail jobs are scarce. Food must be put on the table somehow!

Jobs that are usually always available are the minimum wage retail positions that start in November and end in January. Hopefuls waiting for the holiday season to start with the temporary positions will be disappointed this season. 40 percent of retailers are planning on hiring 5%-25% less than last year. Ouch! These numbers are especially bad because with rising unemployment rates competition for these jobs is fierce. Sixty-two percent of retailers said they received more applications than last year.

This is a cycle that needs to be broken. How can we expect these companies to hire people if no one is shopping in their stores, but then how can people shop in the stores if they are all getting laid off and don’t have enough money to spend.

Obama is working to alleviate some of the pressure on American families. Some of the proposed ideas include extending unemployment insurance benefits, extending a tax credit for laid-off workers who buy health insurance through the COBRA program, or extending a tax credit for first time home buyers.

The end doesn’t look like its near and it has affected every last one of us. Everyone knows someone who is unemployed. Over a year ago when I heard this from a professor I thought that was untrue. At that time I did not know anybody who was unemployed. I cannot say that today. A couple months after my professor said that, my Dad, a computer consultant was laid off after 30 years of service.

The couple with the billboard application is just a reminder of how bad it is right now for so many Americans. For one of them, thinking outside the box paid off. The wife was hired and is now working in marketing. Her husband however is still out of work. My Dad, still continues to push resumes out the door in hopes someone will call out his name.

Uncorked at Laguna Seca (Revised)

There was huge machine gun strapped to the car on my left. I sat there thinking about what I was about to do and how I can potentially mess up. The CHP car started to move toward the track. I did my best to hold the flag straight up and down. I tried to fasten it to the side of the door with my leg, but the weight of the pole made this too hard. The officers assured me we wouldn’t go too fast, but I knew even 40 miles an hour around the track would be hard and most likely cause me pain.

The sound of unrestricted race cars, the smell of racing gas, riding around the track in a CHP car and the feeling of being surrounded by millions of dollars is how I spent last weekend.

At Lagua Seca raceway there was an event called Uncorked. It was a no noise restriction event put on by Club Auto Sport, an elite club for the wealthier car junkies. All the proceeds of the event went to the Monterey SPCA.

There were many racing events this weekend. The most exciting was a historic Nascar race where people who now own actual Nascars, signed by the original driver, raced. Another event that took place was called, “Ride of Your Life”, where people previously bid on EBay for the chance to ride as a passenger on the racetrack. The cars of choice were the Bugatti Veyron and Indy Car with Danny Sullivan multiple winner of the Indy 500.

I arrived at the track before most of the Club Auto Sport crew, so I was awe struck when at 6:00pm Friday night million dollar RVs around 60 feet long, towing 40 foot trailers started showing up. Once they started unloading, the gems inside the trailers started appearing, Ferraris, Porches, Lamborghinis, Nascars and Indy Cars.

This event was free to the public, and took place Saturday and Sunday. I was there as a guest of family friend Jim Doyle, former World Champion Kenny Robert’s manager.


Around lunchtime another family friend who is a CHP officer rode his R1 replica CHP bike around the track along with two other CHP officers. They went out for the national anthem holding flags. This task turned out to be more difficult then expected given the long length of the poles. One of the CHP officers asked me to ride as his passenger to hold the pole, because he could not. The flag was attached to a 10 foot long PVC pipe and was very difficult, even as a passenger, to hold, but it was definitely worth the muscle cramps experienced later.

After the parade lap with the CHP officers the main motorcycle race took place. The most surprising part of the race was the winner. Out of 40 participates most of which were 20-40 year old men, a 15 year old girl won. She was only around 5 feet tall, yet could control the bike better than most.

This event was amazing; it’s not every day that I have to get out of the way of a Nascar coming of the track. The only downside was the charity of choice. The Monterey SPCA refused to come to the event which angered many of the higher-ups. The unofficial total raised for them was over 100,000 dollars and they didn’t seem to care, but they will pick a new charity for next year.

I knew the corkscrew was coming up, my favorite part of the track. I was secretly hoping before we got there the CHP officer would slow down enough to form a gap between us and the other officers, then he could accelerate to catch up. Fast into the first turn, Left, then a quick right. It’s so steep that even at 40 mph it felt like a roller coaster. Then we rounded turn 10, I knew the lap was going to end soon, just one more turn and we would pull off. By this point the muscles in my arm were burning, but I knew I could hold on for a couple more seconds. The flag was lifting of the ground fighting with me to be set free, but as the pace car that was once leading us pulled of the track I knew I did it.

Uncorked at Laguna Seca

There was huge machine gun strapped to the car on my left. I sat there thinking about what I was about to do and how I can potentially mess up. The CHP car started to move toward the track. I did my best to hold the flag straight up and down. I tried to fasten it to the side of the door with my leg, but the weight of the pole made this too hard. The officers assured me we wouldn’t go to fast, but I knew even 40 miles an hour around the track would be hard and most likely cause me pain.

The sound of unrestricted race cars, the smell of racing gas, riding around the track in a CHP car and the feeling of being surrounded by millions of dollars is how I spent last weekend.

At Lagua Seca raceway there was an event called Uncorked. It was a no noise restriction event put on by Club Auto Sport, an elite club for the wealthier car junkies. All the proceeds of the event went to the Monterey SPCA.

There were many racing events this weekend. There was a historic Nascar race where people who now own actual Nascars, signed by the original driver, raced. Another event that took place was called, “Ride of Your Life”, where people previously bid on EBay for the chance to ride as a passenger on the racetrack. The cars of choice were the Bugatti Veyron and a Nascar with Danny Sullivan as the driver, multiple winner of the Indy 500.

I arrived at the track before most of the Club Auto Sport crew, so I was awe struck when at 6:00pm Friday night million dollar RVs around 60 feet long, towing 40 foot trailers started showing up. Once they started unloading, the gems inside the trailers started appearing, Ferraris, Porches, Lamborghinis, Nascars and Indy Cars.

This event was free to the public, and took place Saturday and Sunday. However, I didn’t just come to the event as a member of the public. I grew up going to this track, track days, motorcycle races and charity events. My connection is one of the most well connected men in professional Motorcycle racing at the highest level. He is a good family friend who used to manage Kenny Roberts, a World champion. This man happened to be in charge of the motorcycle portion of the event so I was there as his guest.




Around lunchtime another family friend who is a CHP officer rode his R1 replica CHP bike around the track along with two other CHP officers. They went out for the national anthem holding flags. I rode in the passenger seat of the CHP car and held the flag. The flag was attached to a 10 foot tall PVC pipe and was very difficult to hold going around a racetrack, but it was definitely worth the muscle cramps experienced later. Laguna Seca is such a fun track to be on. My favorite part is the corkscrew, where you twist around at the same time as dropping two stories. This is the part of the track where motorcycle riders usually get air.

This event was amazing; it’s not every day that I have to get out of the way of a nascar coming of the track. The only downside was the charity of choice. The Monterey SPCA refused to come to the event which angered many of the higher-ups. The unofficial total raised for them was over 100,000 dollars and they didn’t seem to care, but they will pick a new charity for next year.



As we rounded turn 10 I knew the lap was going to end soon, just one more turn and we would pull off. By this point the muscles in my arm were burning, but I knew I could hold on for a couple more seconds. The flag was lifting of the ground fighting with me to be set free, but as the pace car that was once leading us pulled of the track I knew I did it.

Dine on a Dime

Want something to do on a Saturday night, but you haven't gotten paid since last Friday and you are craving a gourmet meal?

Why not try something new. Stay in and still eat at the five star level for the same price as a pizza from round table. Try blackened tuna steaks with a mango salsa. One of the trendiest fruits right not is the mango. It's a super fruit which means it has great taste, it's nutrient rich and it has antioxidant qualities. So use this fruit in a tasty recipe that will make anyone look like a great chef.

Now in order to make this recipe for fewer than 20 dollars there are a few places you need to go to get the cheapest ingredients. The first stop will be the 99 Cent store. Here you will be able to find all of your seasonings.

Next go to your regular grocery store and pick up the rest of the ingredients. These are all the ingredients from the produce section. The mango is the main ingredient in this recipe so it's important you find one that is ripe. The mango needs to be soft. The softer it is the sweeter the taste.

Now for your meat of choice, this recipe is designed around Ahi tuna steaks. Buy yellow-fin tuna because it has a lower per pound price. You can find it for as cheap as 6.99 a pound or as much as 9.99 a pound, but don't let this scare you because each steak is only around a quarter of a pound. When you buy tuna one of the most important things to ask is if it's sushi grade or not. To get the sushi grade tuna you need to ask the person behind the fish counter for frozen tuna. What sushi grade means to this recipe is that you can eat it raw, so you don't have to cook the fish all the way through.

For those of you that don't feel like being that adventurous and trying tuna or maybe you want to lower the price even more you can substitute it with chicken. It is cheaper and still tasty.

When you get home start defrosting the fish or chicken. Once it's thawed chop up some garlic and put it in a freezer bag with some olive oil, lime and the meat then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. When the meat is marinating you can make the mango salsa. You chop all the remaining produce and mix together in a bowl. Everything should be in small pieces like a salsa. Put the salsa in the refrigerator and then make the dry rub. You simply mix all the dry ingredients together. When the meat is done marinating rinse it off. The marinade is meant to absorb into the meat not coat the outside.

Now would be a good time to start the rice. You want enough rice to have about a cup per person after it is cooked, not before.

Coat both sides of the meat in the rub and cook in a skillet with some oil. Don’t worry about burning the meat because the point is to blacken it. Once the fish is blackened it’s done, but the chicken will take longer. Remember the tuna should be sushi grade so don't worry about under cooking this. You can eat it raw.

After the meat is finished so are you. To plate this impressive meal put a cup of rice on the plate. Then plate the meat on top of the rice, after that scoop the salsa on top of the meat. The meat will be spicy and the salsa will be sweet. Have some people over to premiere this gourmet meal. You can still have a fun night without spending too much.

To find the full recipe go to http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blackened-Tuna-Steaks-with-Mango-Salsa/Detail.aspx

Campus Rally

To the students that were at the rally on campus Wednesday supporting the fight against budget cuts and fee increases good for you. Unfortunately I am only talking to about 100 students. To the rest of the students that go to Sac State, maybe you don’t care about this issue. Maybe your parents pay your tuition so the fees don’t affect you and furlough days, all that means is less class, but my guess is that many of you do care, and still just didn’t go. Even though the student turnout was pretty low many staff members and professors were there. In fact there were more staff members holding signs saying, “Save our education” than students. Maybe if it was students salaries and jobs being cut versus just classes and budget the resistance would have been stronger.

Other than the low turnout the rally was very motivating. Chants of, “They say cut back, we say fight back” could be heard around campus. The message was definitely received by everyone in attendance. We as students are paying 32 percent more and the teachers are getting 10 percent less. This means the amount of work being put into our education is lessening. It is ridiculous how much tuition has gone up over the years. In 7 years it has gone up over 182% and 250 teachers and staff members have been cut. One of the worst things that have happened this year because of the huge cutbacks is that some people at orientation could not get any of their classes. So some students have to pay 32% more to not further their education.

The most emotionally convincing part of the rally was when a student talked about why she is fighting back. Her reason was her little brother. He told her it doesn’t matter anyway because he was just going to end up in jail. As she talked about how much this issue means to her personally she started to tear up, as did other members of the audience.

This issue is personal to a lot of people, but others don’t care as deeply. At points of the rally it was almost impossible to hear over the chatting students in the back talking about activities that seemed to truly matter to them, like lunch.

The only downside to the rally was that after everyone finished talking about the issue at hand the rally turned into a liberal rant. Yes, fighting cutbacks and fighting for the teachers rights and against their pay cuts is generally more of a liberal thing to do, but this issue needs to push past party lines in order to get things accomplished. The speakers at the end of the rally didn’t help this idea. Speakers veered away from budget cuts and were talking about progressive politics, veterans for peace and the freedom party. It’s important for the students and teachers to come together on a non-political playing field and work together to have any kind of a real chance at taking back control.