The Happiest Place on Earth

Over Memorial Day Weekend I made the not so long trek down to Anahiem. California to a visit a little place called "Disneyland" aka "The Happiest Place on Earth." This was my first ever trip to the land Walt Disney built. My trip began with a 4:45am wake up call, better known as an alarm clock, and on the road at 5:30am. My good friend David and I arrived at 7:30am hoped on the tram and made our way to the ticket booth, to purchurase our golden tickets, okay so maybe they weren't golden but for me it was as close to it as I was going to get. A short wait in a not horribly long line and we were officially in.

I was completely enjoying my experience as we made our way through the park land by land, and ride by ride. It had been so long since I had been on a rollercoaster that I forgot just how much fun they are. We spent the morning exploring Tomorrowland and Fantasyland before stopping for lunch in Toon Town.

After lunch we made our way through Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Quarter and Adventureland. I was actually very surprised by how short the lines were considering it Memorial Day Weekend.

By far the best moment of the day was Splash Mountain. We ended up waiting in line for about an hour, but it was all worth it because we got to sit in the first two seats, so obviously we got soaked, but the picture was most excellent and makes me smile every time I look at it. As you can tell we both lost ourselves in the moment.



The low point of the day was that even though I beat David twice in Astro Blasters I have no proof since our picture at the end of the ride didn't come out either time. Apparently it just wasn't meant to be. The day ended with the fireworks show which was extremely entertaining and fun to see followed by a rush to the car and the long drive back up to Santa Barbara. We had to stop halfway back for a twinkie and coke break to keep ourselves awake.



I'll post some more pictures from the day as they become available.

Lost Whales Find Way Home

I'm not sure if this has been a big news story in the rest of the country, but for the past three weeks we here in California, okay so maybe not everyone but at least I was checking on the progress of a Mother Humpback Whale and her Calf who decided to visit the Port of Sacramento. They were first seen on May 13th swimming circles in the Port of Sacramento each with a gash that marine biologist believed to have been from a boats propellar or keel.
They toured the Port of Sacramento for about a week before they decided Sac town wasn't the place to be and headed back toward the ocean. They travelled about 45 miles before stalling out at the Rio Vista Bridge. The decided to stay and delight the residents of Rio Vista for about another week and half before they decided to move on again.
News reports today indicate that they may have found their way back to the ocean as there have been no reported sightings in San Francisco Bay, and their last known location was 5 miles from the open ocean.
While in Sacramento they were named "Delta" and "Dawn." Here's hoping that they have made it back to the ocean and on their way to the Humpbacks summer feeding grounds in Alaska.

Just Keep Swimming!

I Madonnari

This past weekend I had my first expierence with I Madonnari an Italian Street Painting Festival that takes place in Santa Barabra every Memorial Day weekend at the Santa Barbara Mission.

I Madonnari is an italian tradition dating back to the 16th century. I Madonnari street painting artist use chalk to create their masterpieces. The international festival is held each year in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy.

It is amazing how real they all look.

Here's a look:

Too Good to Pass Up

It was an exceptionally slow day at work on Friday, so my co-worker Nina and myself decided to entertain ourselves by reading the campus newspaper.

This was the article that caught our attention.

"Search for Nuts in the SB Gardens: Nature Offers New Ways to Get Frisky"

Here are some of the better quotes:
" Gather your walking stick, binoculars, safari hat, condoms - whatever you need for an outdoor f*ck."

"The garden harbors all the ingredients for a romance sesh: chirping birds, buzzing bees, colorful flowers, shady tree canopies and there are even some stray kids and hapless old ladies to amuse..."

"Not wanting to send you horny guys and gals in there with no sense of direction, I went in last weekend with my f*ck buddy to conduct my own 'field research.' ...The first potential spot is you'll come across is this cute rustic-looking bridge. However, chances are it will already be taken. Don't fret! There's a nice big boulder nearby with this amazingly smooth, flat spot that's made for mounting your partner and poudin' it missionary style."

"Watch out for squirrels though - they like nuts."

Only in the UCSB student newspaper could their be such an intriguing and poinant article to stimulate the minds of all who may read it. Looks, like you could be getting more for your money than you ever thought by going to the Botanic Gardens.

Cute and Cuddly Sunday

Cute and Cuddly Sunday is my first official weekly post for you all to look forward to.

Here's the first installment:

The End of Volleyball

The intramural volleyball season has officially come to a close as our team missed the playoffs.

Here's the run down on how it all went down:
Week #1 vs Cookiewich
This was our first match playing together and even though the point margin was close we ended up dropping the the first two games and the match.

Week #2 vs Cruisin to a Kill
Once again it was a tight first game with one too many shanks followed by a huge let down in the second game to seal our second consecutive loss of the intramural season. On the positive side I recorded my first solo block!

Week #3 vs Indy Team aka The All European team
By far probably our worst match of the year against a team that we should have played better and possibly should have beat, but it's hard not to be intimidated by a team consisting of the best intramural volleyball players at UCSB from every corner of the European continent. They we're fairly psycho with their short shorts, knee pads, and faux hawks. Our roster was short two because of travelling. This is how bad it was; halfway through the first game one of their guys rotated out and went to go play with another team on the court next to us. Needless to say we got smashed and as the match hit the second game they just started looking at us in this how is your team even allowed to play intramural. All bad and no good here people.

Week #4 vs Team Radical
Our roster was back at full strength and by this point we really just wanted to win one game this intramural season, screw winning a match, just one game! As usual we played the first game close, but still lost to this team of undergraduates that obviously just transitioned from the beach. Once again a meltdown in the second game killed any chance we may have had at achieving our goal of winning a game. In a side note on the second point of the first game I went to dig a ball that I should have just let drop and injured my wrist, I however played through the pain and well was less than effective in all facets of the game. I did however get to wear a fun wrist brace for the next two weeks!

Week #5 vs The Graduates
We had a severely depleted roster this week with 3 of our players travelling and one with the lame excuse of having to go to a study session for O-Chem. I mean seriously; O-Chem, that's got to be on the same page as High School PE Class. So any way they were down a player too so we played four on five. We were on fire the first game and actually won!!!!! Woohoo!! Then came the second game. We made it close but lost it in the end forcing our first ever game three, where picked up our second game win and our first every match win. Our teammates when texted were not convinced that this had actually happened and accused the other team of forfieting.

Week #6 vs Ballers
Another strong performance and timely serving helped us cruise to an easy first game win followed by a second game lapse in focus forcing another game three. We pulled it back together to win a well contested thrid game to extend our winning streak to two!

Week #7 vs Chuck Norris Goes Killing
We were excited about this match ever since we saw the team name, because we knew this was going to be the match that we got slaughtered; because as we all know Chuck Norris shows no mercy! By the shear numbers this would probably count as our most embarassing defeat ever because they had three players and we had seven for the match. Don't let the low numbers fool you this team had been observed warming up by doing a hitting line every week and they are no joke! Just for some context for those who know, their hits were very Mira-esque. Needless to say we got demolished both games to end our winning streak. Some of the positives were that I actually blocked one ball from their best hitter and got two digs off of him.

Volleyball ends in a 2-5 overall record and a total of 3 team injuries.
Our attention now turns to Flag Football and either Dodgeball or Kickball in the Fall!

Youtube Specials

First up is Noney:



And now something for the dog lover in all of us!



Okay, so that's kind of mean, but hilarious!

The Official Office "That's what she said" Tutorial

Well by shear genious thought on the behalf of Heather and an unnoticed "That's what she said" joke by the infamous T-bone comes this tutorial for "That's what she said" jokes.

First a History lesson. I believe the "that's what she said" joke may have started with Todd Packer. I mean lets be honest he does write some of Michaels best material. In any case it is now a Michael staple phrase whenever an inappropriate comment is necessary. That should bring everyone up to speed.

So when is it appropriate to use a "That's what she said"?

Here are some examples when it is well used:
"...put this matter to bed. That's what she said!"
"I want you think about this long and hard. That's what she said!"
"I need two men on this. That's what she said."
"That was a long ride. That's what she said."

Here are some examples when it does not apply:
"Wow, that coffee is hot. That's what she said."
"I am swamped with paperwork. That's what she said."
"My foot hurts. That's what she said."

For further information please review the following video.



As you can tell a corrrectly timed and used "That's what she said" comment can end in hilarious results, but when not used properly can result in nothing more than an akward silence and quite a few blank stares.

Now that you know, please be responsible and correct with your "That's what she said" usage.

Athletic Training Awareness

I was forwarded a link by Heather a week or so ago about an article where Athletic Training was discussed in the media. Here is my attempt at educating the public:

Athletic Training:
Athletic Training is an Allied Health Profession that is requires the knowledge and expertise in multiple disciplines. Athletic Trainers are charged with the goals to Educate, Prevent, Evaluate, Rehabilitate and Facilitate Medical care for physically active people. Athletic Trainers work in numerous settings ranging from High Schools, Sports Medicine Clinics, Colleges/Universities, Professional Sports, Olympic Teams, Hospitals, and many other. Our number one concern is the health and well being of our patients. All Athletic Trainers are currently required to have graduated from an accredited four year college or
university or an entry level graduate program enabling them to sit for the National Certification Exam. Undergraduate Cirriculums encompass courses including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, Exercise Physiology, Sports Psychology, Orthopaedic Evaluation, Therapeutic Modalities, Therapeutic Exercise, Legal Issues, CPR/AED/Advanced
First Aid, as well as clinical hours at on campus and off campus locations such as local high schools, sports medicine clinics, and junior colleges.
The National Certification exam is composed of three parts; a written simulation, written exam, and an oral
practical. The written simulation takes the examinee through a series of situations assessing decision making abilities and knowledge of appropriate courses of action. The written exam assess the examinees breadth of knowledge. The oral practical portion of the exam requires the examinee to physically demonstrate specific skills required from all Athletic Trainers. One must pass all three portions of the exam to be a nationally certified athletic trainer. Although a Masters degree is not required to practice as an Athletic Trainer it is highly reccommended and is increasingly becoming the standard level of
education for all practicing Athletic Trainers. My program coordinator always told us that Athletic Trainers are "Jacks of all trades and Masters of none" and to one extent I do believe that she was right in that Athletic Trainers have a lot of skills at our disposal, but at the same time I believe that we all in one way or another are able to specialize in certain skills.

I know for the majority of you who may read this already know what an Athletic Trainer is and or does, but in the off chance a random blog reader comes across this I hope that you feel that you are more knowledgeable about the profession of Athletic Training.

Comments Problem

Hello valued reader,
I am sorry that I was illiterate when it came to changing the format of my blog to allow comments. I have now fixed the problem with some Blog Support from Heather. Feel free to post your comments for the previous two posts here. Thank you and hopefully this should not be a problem in the future.

Greg

75% Californian

With the recent observation of my 25th birthday and the coinciding expiration of my beloved Ohio Driver's License I have officially become a Californian, well almost.

Exhibit A:


As you can tell I was not very well informed as to the precise timing that this picture was being taken resulting in the "Der" expression on my face. Anyway, moving on.

Exhibit B:


Now this is actually a funny story. As part of the vechicle registration for vehicles first operated in California there is a vehicle inspection by a DMV employee; okay technically I was supposed to do this within the first 10 days that I drove my car in the grand state that is known as California, oops. Well in any case as this woman was inspecting my car I had to take off my Ohio plates, okay no big deal I'll always have them to remember the good times of cruising around Ohio and the cross country trek that my car, myself, and my Ohio plates had. When out of no where the lady tells me that I cannot keep them! I was obviously in disbelief and taken aback, as I think we all would. It was all very sad! I didn't even get to say good bye.

I don't have visual evidence of this but you are just going to have to take my word for it. I am now also a registered Californian voter. The only thing left to do before I am a 100% transplanted Californian is switching my insurance to Californian standards.

My transformation is nearly complete.

In a side note, because I know you are all curious:
I missed one question on the written exam

Giving it a try

Well, since this seems to be the day and age when everyone is blogging on the internet I've decided I better not get left behind and get in the race.

So Here it goes:

I'm bored at work again today with not much to do. At least I'm in a better mood today than yesterday. I've been at work for a hour and I've evaluated 2 people, treated one, and have given out 2 ice bags. We have officially hit the slow point of the year when almost all of the sports are in the off season and thus less needy than usual. With all this dead time I've been forced to devote hours out of my day to my Baseball Challenge Fantasy team, MSNBC Crossword puzzles, other various internet activities, and now I'm going to be trying out this whole blog deal.

Hopefully anyone who may read this might find it somewhat amusing and maybe at times hilarious, because lets be honest we all know that I am a funny guy!