I'm better now, friends. I swear, I'm better now. That's good news, right?

I had an uneventful Thanksgiving, kind of a sad one, but I'm better now. It was kind of a sad one because it was the second of my life spent without my family, and the first of my life spent without turkey.

(The first of my life spent without family was spent in Champaign, Illinois, watching terrible, terrible Big Ten football. However, the press box in Champaign provided us with a fantastic Thanksgiving breakfast-dinner. Also, on that trip, we saw the "God Bless America. Footlong Sub $3.99" sign - God Bless America, indeed! And I made fun of Flax for his love of a) Blink-182, and b) Geek Bowl, which was unfair, and I hope it didn't negatively impact his view of me. Also, Nemo put me on the spot, and said, "Will Jerry Brown get fired?" roughly. I hemmed and hawed. It was a great trip. Also, that night, I ate chili. And the next night, I saw Wilco. Thanksgiving 2001 was pretty cool, really.)

I made/had-made-for-me the decision to not go home, because family Thanksgiving was sort-of canceled, and because our office was inexplicably open on Friday, and because I've got the whole MBA thing to deal with. Did I get my application essays done? Of course not, but I'm much closer now than I was a week ago, and this has made me not-unhappy. Last Sunday, when I wrote, I was unhappy.

I literally stalled all day Thursday. I watched football. And I sent my sister an email. And I read the Tribune sports section online. And I started to start essays, but not really, really. And I eventually watched Sixteen Candles, which was available on demand, and which was pretty great. And I ate a feast of lamb chops and rice and peas. And I drank a beer or two. I briefly talked to my parents and to my brother, who apparently found a great tree, and found it quite quickly. I think it's awesome that my family cuts down a Christmas tree, really, and I think it'll be great when I see it a month from now.

So, Friday, I worked a bit. Well, I mean, I went to work, and then I was supposed to run on the treadmill after work, but I instead decided to watch LSU-Arkansas, which was mindblowingly good. Texas-Texas A&M was pretty good, but Stephen McGee is no Darren McFadden, and Darren McFadden is my favorite football player ever, maybe. He's just so talented, and I was happy to get sucked into his sordid little world.

[I'm serious - if you like football, and haven't watched Darren McFadden and his Arkansas Razorbacks offense, make sure you watch their bowl game. I am so serious about this. Their offense is so wildly primitive, while also being wildly innovative. McFadden's sometimes a tailback, and sometimes a single-wing quarterback. And Felix Jones, his understudy, is so darn fast, and the way that the offense gets these two guys the ball is just so creative. So, seriously, Arkansas' bowl game should be appointment viewing if you even like football a little bit. I don't think they'll play on New Year's Day, because I think they've lost four times, but you've simply got to watch their next game because, in all likelihood, it'll be his final collegiate game. And pro offenses won't be able to make use of him in the same way.]

But then, Friday night, I banged out a first draft, though I haven't looked back to see if it's credible or anything, but I hope it is.

Then, Saturday, I stalled all day. Literally, stalled all day. Two hours lying on my floor listening to the Cats hoops team lose. Then an hour, the interceding hour, watching the Bulls lose to the Knicks. Then the Irish and Stanford, and sometimes West Virginia and Connecticut, and the latter stages of Kentucky and Tennessee. (I love West Virginia, too.) Then Kansas-Missouri, though I fell asleep before that could end. All the while, I occasionally came over and looked at my computer and started to start to think about essays or brainstorming or something, but, generally, the football was just more interesting. So I generally got nothing done.

That said, late in the evening, I found a consultancy website with tips to get into top MBA programs, so that was nice. School-specific, even.

Today, Sunday, I still didn't get that much done. I emailed Mukie with the site that I liked, and he immediately emailed back and said that it looked pretty good, and then pointed me to a pretty good book with tips and whatnot. So, first I went to the library to see if they had it, and they didn't (though they did have Donovan CDs, and I had heard Donovan's "Catch the Wind" on a commercial this morning, and he's kind of great, it seems, though nothing I've not heard before), and then I went to Borders, and they did. And the cashier asked me if I needed gift wrap, and I responded, "Whoa, that would be, like, the worst gift ever." And we shared a laugh, and then I went home and watched more football.

(And the Bears were awesome. Devin Hester is the best ever.)

But, the point is, the tough part of this process is the story-crafting. The narrative-ing. The determining what you want to say, in a compelling way. And I'm almost there. I've done some note-taking, and I scratched out more of another draft today, and I know what I want to say. When will I get an actual draft done? Probably not Monday, and not Wednesday, but maybe Tuesday, or maybe Thursday, or maybe next weekend. But, you know what? I'm better today. I'm happier today. And I believe in what I'm about to write and, if my grades aren't very good (they aren't) or my community involvement is lacking (it is), shit, I'm compelling, and I can make them believe I'm compelling and, if I want to do this, I'm pretty confident I can. And I'm pretty confident I do.

Gurs said I sounded happier tonight than I did when we spoke ever-so-briefly on Saturday evening. He was right.

- - - - - - -

There have been several other eventful things, in their own way, over the past week.

Here are some of the highlights:

Car Battery Dying. It had a good life. 72,000 miles, 5 1/2 years, but, on Friday morning, it wasn't to be. So a coworker gave me a jump. And then, on Friday afternoon, it wasn't to be. So another coworker gave me a jump. And then, on Saturday morning, it wasn't to be. This time, AAA gave me a jump, and quite quickly. (Seriously, my wait time was, say, 45 minutes. Less even. It was awesome.) And so I had to get it replaced. It was ninety-something dollars, which sucked, but I really like the owner of the auto shop I go to, so I was happy to pay him. And he charged me for eight minutes of labor, which is pretty funny, and speaks to how car-illiterate I am.

I was listening to "Car Talk" in the car on the way over to the shop. Sadly, the owner is unfamiliar with "Car Talk." I hope you're not unfamiliar with "Car Talk," on NPR. It's truly fantastic, and truly hilarious, even though it's way, way, way over my head. You'd like them, though, if you knew them.

Ice Cream Purchased. I've documented my lack of willpower before. I last documented it in, say, August, when I spoke about eating a jar of peanut butter between my purchase of it on Saturday afternoon and the end of day on Tuesday. (I was really fat for a long time for a reason, after all, with that reason primarily being that the Rud family kept Girl Scout Cookies in the basement freezer. I loved those freakin' cookies.) For this reason, I generally do not buy sweets - they go too quickly, because I'm a freakin' glutton. However, on Saturday night, I really, really wanted something sweet. I didn't really have anything that fits that description, though I almost went and bought an ice cream cone. I chose to stay in. This morning, however, at the grocery store, I chose to purchase ice cream. I've never - never - purchased ice cream, since the start of my "adult" life. But I bought ice cream, the reduced fat kind, and it was on sale. I've devised my method for not gorging myself, however. I've written the date of my next ice cream purchase on the ice cream box itself. As a result, I will not be buying ice cream until Sunday, 12/23, (when I'll be back in the 'burbs, so it'll be Sunday, 12/30, or Saturday, 12/29) and this carton will have to last until then. This gives me disincentive to gorge, you see. I'll be strong.

My policy is, Each Carton of Ice Cream, In Half-Gallon Increments, Lasts Four Weeks.

Gym Membership. For the first time in my life, I also have a gym membership. This is because I broke the treadmill at my apartment complex, kind of. (Well, the belt broke, and it was a crappy, crappy, old treadmill anyway, and the belt was creased, and then I started running, and it got more creased, and then I tried to de-crease it, and it wound up ferociously gashed. But it was a piece of crap anyway.) I purchased this membership last Saturday morning, and I've successfully used it six of the nine days for which I've been a member. I'm quite intimidated by the elliptical, so I've been strictly treadmill-ing it. But, man, I get sweaty. I believe this is a good investment, though I probably would've been better off with the six-month membership. After six months, after all, I'll be able to go back outside. But I signed up for a year, just cause. (It was way cheap. $200.)

- - - - - - - -

I'd like to write ever-so-briefly about LCD Soundsystem. I shouldn't like LCD Soundsystem. It's dance music. But the guy isn't a DJ, dudes; he's a freakin' songwriter. With lyrics. Intelligent lyrics, or funny lyrics, or poignant lyrics or, yes, sometimes nonsensical lyrics that simply fit the rhythm of the beats.

Anyway, I got LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver shortly after it came out, say in February or in May or something of this year. I liked it. Lately, I've been listening to it quite a bit. So, I chose to buy LCD Soundsystem's self-titled record. I got it Tuesday night. It's pretty cool.

I'd like to write about "Losing My Edge," which was apparently LCD Soundsystem's first single. If you're a music geek, and I am (and no other readers here are, sadly), it's just absolutely hilarious.

It's about how he's not hip anymore...
Opening lyric: "I'm losing my edge. I'm losing my edge. The kids are coming up from behind."
...

Later: "I'm losing my edge to the internet seekers / who can tell me every member / of every good group / from 1962 / to 1978."

...

My favorite part:
"I was the first guy playing Daft Punk...to the rock kids. I played it at CBGBs. Everybody thought I was crazy." [I prefer to hear it as, "it was crazy," but everywhere reports its as "I was crazy."]

...

My other favorite part:
"I heard you have a compilation of every good song done by anybody." ... "I heard that you have a white label of every seminal Detroit techno hit / from 1985, '86, and 87."

...

My actual favorite part, which directly precedes him just naming cool hipster bands from forever (including Scott Walker, pere ubu, This Heat, Eric B. and Rakim, and Gil-Scott Heron):

"I heard that everybody that you know / is more relevant than everybody I know."

I love the word "relevant" so much. What an awesome hipster touchstone. My favorite use of the word "relevant" ever comes in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, the Wilco movie, when Jay Bennett is talking about turning a song into a big rock-and-roll two-guitar attack, and Jeff Tweedy pretentiously says, "I'm not convinced that that's not irrelevant," or something like that. It's so double-negative-y, and so pretentious, and it made me love Jay Bennett and hate Jeff Tweedy, but I can't hate Jeff Tweedy because so many of his songs are so good.

That wasn't that brief. Sorry. LCD Soundsystem is so good, really.

- - - - - - - -

Oh, I'd like to also briefly write about the Wednesday night dinner club. Basically, me and three others have dinner at a friend's apartment on Wednesday nights. Somebody makes a pork tenderloin. I bring over mashed sweet potatoes with apple and nutmeg. We drink wine. Then we go to dollar pints night. Wednesday nights are so awesome.

This Wednesday will be our third consecutive non-holiday Wednesday, which is a pretty good start.

So that's the Wednesday night dinner club. It's pretty fun. And that was brief.

- - - - - -

Okay, I've got nothing more.

Sorry about that last post.

This is more fun:
That's Halloween. I wish the picture were better, and that I'd've found a better wig.

This is probably more fun:

Thanksgiving. That's my mom. The one with the beard.

Actually, this is most fun.

This is Halloween 2003. I'm Joe Borowski.

Happy Thanksgiving. And belated Halloween, I guess.

So I came to a rather startling and fringe-depressing conclusion today: I'm, essentially, driven by nothing. I like hanging out and talking to people and drinking beer and listening to music and watching football and reading about most things, but I'm not [fill in the blank]-oriented. I'm not goal-oriented. I'm not career-oriented. I'm not...oriented. Not at all.

The MBA program thoughts have come mostly as a means to an end: Make some bank. Invest a six-digit number in a two-year term, come out able to pay back that number much quick than I'd be able to pay that number back were I to continue on my current path (which is to say, never.)

And, of course, it's not true that I'm not oriented at all. It's just that I'm not oriented towards things that MBAs should be oriented to, like "money" and "success." (Or, rather, I define success differently as what the person driven to get an MBA might define success.) I like to think I'm family-oriented, or friend-oriented, or happiness-oriented. In fact, I'm most certainly all three of those things.

When it comes down to it, I don't think money is that important to me. But, shit, if that's the reason I'm considering an MBA (and it is), it's probably not worth it.

So, if I stop here, what have I done / not-done?

I've taken on a challenge, which is to say the GMAT, and I've fought and I've fought and I've fought, and I came out kicking ass. That was satisfying - it's probably the thing I've worked hardest on since...maybe I started dropping weight, or maybe since I started running.

I've assessed where I am as a person, which is to say, not anywhere interesting. I'm floating, not Zen-like, but just floating-like. Is that okay? Not really. But is it terrible? Not really, either.

I've also invested ...hardly any money. $40 on a prep book, $225 on the test itself, and $56 more this weekend to send out my scores to previously out-of-my-league schools (among them, yes, Northwestern). To continue the process, I'll have to invest at least $600 more, exclusively on application fees.

What have I not done, then? I've not gotten any closer to getting rich. Which is the reason I started this damn process anyway.

Here's what happened: Today, I connected with Mukie, who is where I think I'd like to be in a year. Or, where I thought I'd like to be in a year. Mukie was accepted to the program eight months ago, which is a fantastic challenge and is certainly quite an accomplishment. He now hosts prospective students, takes them to lunch and whatnot, and generally is one of many "faces" of the school to this prospective student. He is probably not the most attractive face, but he may be one of the friendliest.

I've not gotten so deep into the applications yet, but I know there are some difficult-to-answer questions, even in the form of the fill-in-the-box questions. Things like "What position would you like to have upon graduation from business school?" I have no idea, but you can't write "Guy Making Six Figures." Then, there's the part about "Personal Statements," which generally state, you know, "I want my MBA because..."

My question to Mukie was..."So, what the hell do you write for that?" And his response was precise and intelligent and indicative of something that he has that I don't, which is A Plan. A Goal. Something To Be Accomplished. I have none of the above, nor any idea what I'm interested in, other than Northwestern Wildcats sports and the music of The Hold Steady.

I remember talking to Nemo about this, at the very earliest state of consideration, say, mid-June or early-July. "So why do people do this?" was my question to Nemo, who has far less "publicly" considered this. "To make more money." [The conversation didn't go exactly like that, but there was that conclusion point, either stated in question form by me and affirmed by him, or jointly determined.]

And that seemed to be satisfying. But, really, it's not a sufficient reason to do this. Is it?

The other part was when Mukie played, of all things, counselor. Let's be honest, I've never given Mukie credit for being perceptive...he's a Tech-guy, after all. But he asked exactly the right questions during our conversation, which lasted 40-some minutes. The whole Why? thing. The whole What are you, ultimately, seeking? thing.

And then he brought up things that he had to be focused on, and things that he had fallen behind on, and upcoming obligations. These included things like "Coffee Chats" and "Getting caught up on networking" and lining up his summer internship with some company that I'm supposed to be very impressed with but about whom, really, I couldn't care less, and things that are very impressive and very business school-oriented and, really, kind of nauseating to me. I don't like "Networking," and not because I don't like people, because I like people, quite a lot, but because I don't like the falseness of it. And we know it's false, and that's okay, I guess, but it's not something I'm into.

So what's the point here? Maybe I've taken this train as far as it can go, for me. Or maybe I just don't want to write those fucking essays.

- - - - -

Oh, crap. I just let the heavy stuff get to its heaviest.

- - - - - -

In other news, I asked for recommendations on Tuesday. They were nice conversations, generally. The highlight was when my conservative-looking, early-50s and totally awesome supervisor and I were finishing our conversation. He muttered..."...didn't think you were gonna do that well...you're fucking brilliant." And he said "fucking," and it was out of this world hilarious. And, thankfully, I could tell that he wasn't angry with me for considering this, which is nice enough.

- - - - - -

Thursday, Barry Bonds was indicted. I think it was Thursday. PTI was canceled to cover the breaking news on ESPN. Steve Phillips, who is an idiot, was brought on to comment via telephone. He was asked what Bud Selig's reaction would be. Steve Phillips talked about how Bud Selig had stayed behind the scenes during Bonds' run this summer and had been very reserved in any celebration of the accomplishment, obviously, and that he and Major League Baseball were feeling "a little bit of satisfaction" over the indictment.

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

This is the "most hallowed record in all of sports" and it was broken by an obvious cheater, but an obvious cheater who had passed every drug test ever administered, and who, therefore, was not a cheater in the eyes of baseball. But anyone who is not a complete, complete idiot knows precisely that he's been cheating, and has a pretty good idea of when it started.

And, sadly, that record's in the books.

And Bud Selig's "satisfied"? Yup, I'm sure.

It was also, at this point, that I turned off ESPN. What a waste of a beautiful concept.

- - - - - -

I don't really want to write about Northwestern-Illinois, so I won't. Much.

It was a disheartening loss, mostly because it was painfully apparent that a) Illinois is more talented and b) Illinois wanted it more. Both had quite a bit on the line, though Illinois probably had a bit more on the line (A New Year's Day Bowl or the Alamo Bowl as compared to nothing or the Motor City Bowl), but there was no excuse for NU to get so thoroughly smoked.

Duke and Purdue could have been wins. To an extent, Michigan could have been. Iowa was a better team than NU, so I don't consider that a "could-have-been," even though it could have been. Certainly, Illinois and Ohio State were the only games where NU clearly did not belong on the same field as its opponent. With Duke and Purdue, let's say 8-4 was reasonably attainable.

On the other hand, Michigan State could have been a loss (had MSU just run the ball in overtime), and Nevada and Minnesota should have been losses. So, by the same token, 3-9 was also attainable.

This rambling is to no end, for the record.

I think we're at a good point when 6-6 is a disappointment for NU. When I started following the Cats, 6-6 would have been reason for elation. Or, at least, something approaching happiness.

This is what we call progress, kind of.

- - - - - - - -

I've not seen NU basketball this season. Due to the Big Ten Network, I'll probably not see them more than three or four times. (Dish is confirmed impossible in my location, sadly.)

However, Michael Thompson is awesome. This is reason for optimism.

I hope they win more than four conference games this season.

They're a very young team, kind of. Their upperclassmen - Moore, Williams, Okrzesik - are inferior to their underclassmen - Thompson, Coble [when he's back, and word is he should be back], Ryan, Capocci [we hope]. This is a good sign, we hope.

That's as deep as I'll go with NU hoops analysis (though not really). I wish they had beaten DePaul on Saturday.

A friend of mine had a friend of his up this weekend. This friend is from the UP, which means that this friend can drink. My God, I, as old drunk baseball men say, "got after it" for two straight nights, which is cool, but led to a Sunday spent in pajamas and the 2003 TwinsFest long-sleeved t-shirt. I got some laundry done, and I got to talk to my sister, but, other than drinking three Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Peppers and one Guinness, I accomplished nothing else.

I really like those Diet Dr. Pepper commercials where they show things like people drinking cupcakes or reaching into a 12 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper and grabbing a doughnut. The thesis of these commercials is that Diet Dr. Pepper is so tasty, because it contains 23 flavors. Does this mean, then, that Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper contains 25 flavors? I was thinking about this. It's an interesting question.

[Of note, Blogger considers 'doughnut' a misspelling. It considers 'donut' to be the correct spelling. Mrs. Hastings, my third grade teacher, would be quite disappointed. So would Webster's, I'd imagine. Unrelated, is 'anyways' a word? I think 'anyway' is the word, right? I hate the use of the word 'anyways,' a word that one of the most frequent NU message board geeks uses regularly.]

- - - - - -

One of the poorest-conceived hangout ideas in recent history turned into one of the most fun Cats-watching experiences I've ever had. This was Saturday, and it helps that it came during a victory.

Roughly the plan:
"You drive Southeast for two hours. I'll drive North for two hours. We'll meet at a sports bar in The First Index Finger Knuckle. We'll watch Wildcats football for 3 1/2 hours. We'll drive home."

There were no hitches, however, and the afternoon was perfectly-spent, so perfectly-spent in fact that, ever-so-briefly, we considered a repeat performance.

Things learned about Damon's Grill, which was nice enough to put the Cats on one of their four giant screens (Michigan-Wisconsin, Michigan State-Purdue, and NTN Trivia got the other wall-sized screens):

1. Stay away from the Aztec chicken sandwich
2. Stay away from the loaded baked potato with peppercorn Gorgonzola sauce
3. In fact, don't choose a baked potato if you're doing a "half-and-half" lunch special
4. Ask for the cheesecake with drizzled strawberry syrup, instead of drenched
5. Probably, just get a cheeseburger and wings. Or ribs, if you're a big spender.

But, despite the fact that I blew it on 50 percent of the items ordered ($2.50 22-ounce beers, a two-refill-in-six-game-minutes coffee, and the 1/2 onion loaf were successful orders), the game experience was fantastic.

The game was interesting. The company was fantastic. And the waitress didn't flinch - much - when I made a semi-off-color joke about all the excitement that happened when Nemo and I shared bunk beds as off-campus students.

Needing something to do after the game, but not something that would take a real long time, we settled on Lost Pirates Adventure Golf, which was a fine, fine mini-golf experience.

It was indoors and, therefore, darker than I would like but, other than that, a fine mini-golf experience. (I'd like to link to a BigFlax post to show you how a true mini-golf review should be done but, alas, I can't find it.)

It was close throughout, with former Ypsi Putt-Putt champion Nemo taking an early lead with an opening par to my bogey three, but with me taking the lead as Nemo posted back-to-back double bogeys on the third and fourth.

I lost single strokes on the sixth and eighth, and went out with a one-stroke lead and a three-over 22. But Nemo was unflappable as, after we both opened the back nine with bogey threes, he played one-under golf for the next six holes, effectively ending the match.

The key came on the 13th when, with my ball nestled behind a tree stump, I theatrically got down to my haunches to analyze whether I had a putting angle. I then, fishing for laughter, got down to my chest to analyze further. (Nemo, in his competitive groove, did not laugh.) And I had an opening and an angle. Barely. And a one-stroke lead. And my backswing was pure, and my putt was online, but I babied the two-footer. I lost the stroke, and my composure, and it was over.

We were tied, but it was like the '69 Cubs or the '07 Mets. I was toast. Mentally defeated, and, while it took my double-bogey on the 16th to confirm that on the scorecard, it was over.

As a former Ypsi Putt-Putt all-star, he'd been there before. He had the composure. Mentally, I was a wreck, and it showed.

Next time, friends, next time.

- - - - -

Let's break down the Cats.

Saturday was the most satisfying win of the year, because it was borne, at least partially, of defense.

The offense was good enough, but the defense, relatively speaking, bottled up one of the nation's top receivers and perhaps the conference's biggest quarterback threat. Ngene and Gill were very good. Kadela played, perhaps, his best game as a Northwestern Wildcat. Phillips laid one wicked hit. I noticed Prince Kwateng on the field for the first time all season, and Fast Eddie, of course, made the game's crucial play with his INT return for a TD. After a noticeably awful game against the Hawks, McManis was fantastic, matching up with Hardy and keeping him largely quiet.

Offensively, we fought through two INTs in the end zone to get a win. Lane had a not-great game, and Peterman was relatively quiet. But I thought Rasheed Ward played well, and Thompson closed his Ryan Field career with a solid, solid performance. The O-Line allowed not a sack, and was in solid enough condition to run run run on the game's decisive drive.

Most satisfying, though, was the game Garrick McGee called. He ran the ball, even late, even needing a late drive. He used his best player. (Sutton is, doubtlessly, the Cats' best player.) And his best player showed up big-time. I loved the designed run from Bacher on that last drive. I loved the return of the option, in some form.

I have a quibble with the Statue-of-Liberty Halfback Pass, which was cool, and which worked, but which was close to a third pick in the end zone. (I think the trick plays we try are particularly tricky, but I'm not sure that they're always the most potentially successful trick plays. But, in general, I'm still a fan of trick plays, especially when they result in touchdowns. There have been several trick plays this season, the SoLHP, the Hook-and-Ladder, which worked, and last week's Flea Flicker, which got picked.) I also have a quibble with the pass for the clinching touchdown, as we had two chances to get two yards, and then four more chances for the touchdown. But Lane got open and, as he does, he caught another game-winner.

Let's do power rankings, with the understanding that transitive law of victory does not exist, and that I'm grading entire body of work, as I can remember, with no additional research. That is, these power rankings are largely bunk, and I'm continuing to explain because I'm not sure if Ohio State is still in its own class or not, so I'm deciding as I write. Because the decision is, of course, Illinois would have to be the team in their class, because they just beat the Bucks in Columbus, but that that would also mean that Michigan should be in that class, because they beat the Illini in Shampoo-Banana, but what would that mean for Wisconsin?

So, understanding that the Power Rankings need not reflect transitivity, and understanding that Michigan and Ohio State will obviously sort it out this weekend, I thusly present:

1) Ohio State (1st last week, 1st tier)
2) Illinois, because Juice might be great (4, 2)

3) Penn State, purely due to attrition (3, 2)
4) Michigan, because they don't have a backfield (2, 2)
5) Wisconsin, though I feel they could be higher (5, 3)

6) Purdue, a body-of-work rating, rather than a loss-to-MSU rating (6, 3)
7) Iowa, because they beat MSU and Northwestern (7, 4)
8) Northwestern, purely out of blind love (10, 4)

9) Michigan State, who killed Indiana but hasn't beaten a team above them, I don't think (9, 4)
10) Indiana (8, 4)
11) Minnesota (11, 4)

Six wins hardly guarantees NU a bowl. In fact, owing to enrollment and potential for travel and national interest, I'd suspect that six wins will not get NU to a bowl. This is why I hate Duke, more than I hate the loss to Purdue or the loss to Iowa. (We were bad against Iowa, as they were better for all but the first quarter. We were better than Purdue for three quarters, but that was on the road.)

A win, combined with expected losses by six-win Michigan State (home, Penn State) and Indiana (at Purdue) still wouldn't guarantee a bowl, as Iowa will likely beat Western Michigan and the Big Ten probably won't get two BCS berths, even if Michigan beats Ohio State (who would then be coming off of two losses, a blowout loss in a bowl last year, and would have been out of the public eye for 45 days due to the Big Tens 'no games after Thanksgiving' schedule, driving down interest). Still, NU would likely get a berth to a non-Big Ten bowl in this situation, potentially Las Vegas or Emerald, it sounds like.

But, anyway, let's just hope for the best.

This week's picks:
Ohio State over MICHIGAN
IOWA over Western Michigan
Penn State over MICHIGAN STATE
Purdue over INDIANA
WISCONSIN over Minnesota

and, because I can
Northwestern over ILLINOIS

I'm excited that NU-Illinois is an ESPN game. The Cats are 0-1 when I watch at home (Ohio State), but 2-1 when I watch at someone's home (Nevada, at Nemo's; EMU, at coworker's), and 1-1 when I simply follow the game from home (Northeastern, on internet radio).

So, they're 3-1 when I'm in a domicile.

Gosh, I hope they do it.

- - - - - -

I've not done a NU hoops preview previously. I love NU football more when it's NU football season, and NU basketball more when it's NU basketball season. Maybe I'll try to write a preview Tuesday. Or maybe tomorrow night. They've certainly got a tough opening schedule, with Stanford then DePaul. (DePaul's got a true freshman as a captain this year, which is truly remarkable. Stanford's a tourney team.)

It's tough to be real optimistic about the '07-'08 Cats hoopsters, but I'll do my best.

- - - - - -

There's some level of turnover at work, and there are frequent new hires, owing to both the frequent turnover and to the fact that we're a pretty successful company. [Trivial Pursuit would call us an outfit.]

Recently, there's been a nice melding of departments, in terms of "people hanging out with people they don't work directly with," which is a good thing as, it is my belief that, at my age and life state, most of my friends will probably come from work. The nice thing about hanging out with people from outside my department is that, because we don't actually share work experiences, it's far more difficult to spend an entire night talking exclusively about work. Therefore, we talk about music, or just yell about nothing.

Point is, on Friday, I was hanging out with three people for, essentially, the first time. We were talking about how, "Hey, this is fun!" and about how we didn't really know each other. And one said, about me, roughly, "Yeah, you're all laid back and disheveled, but it's clear that you're secretly brilliant." And I was all, "Bitch, I'm openly brilliant," but with a smile. And then we took shots. It was unhealthy.

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I'm an Alltel customer. There aren't many of us, but the quality of their network in The Ring Fingernail came highly recommended and, indeed, I don't think I've had a dropped call since I've been with them.

Alltel also recently updated its security system, and they've moved far beyond "What's your mother's maiden name?" or "What's your father's middle name?" as security questions. The newest security system requires successfully filling out two security questions, one from section A, and one from section B. And these security questions, let me tell you, are tough to have answers that will stay static.

Among the questions:
Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
What was your favorite movie as a kid?
What is your favorite board game?

...and, basically, six more that I don't remember but that I don't think answers are constant to, or easy to remember.

I was able to find a static, I'll-never-forget answer on "What is the name of your oldest cousin (father's side)?" which some might have trouble with, and I chose to believe that Trivial Pursuit will always be my favorite board game, or at least will be my favorite board game until Alltel updates its security questions.

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Fringe-excited. Dinner with a coworker from Summer '06 on Monday night. Should be blast-tastic.

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I want to get out of this writing once a weekend rhythm, but I just don't think it's feasible. I mean, once a week is nice, I'm sure, but more than that is better. I just need drama in my life, or a nemesis.

In recapping this past weekend with Gurs, I shall repeat a statement which I wrote or implied my last significant time with Nemo: I am at a point in my life where doing nothing is a completely acceptable form of entertainment. I believe Gurs and I did largely nothing for all of Saturday, and for large parts of Sunday, and for large parts of our time together Thursday, and, really, for much of Friday and, really, it was some level of perfect. A fantastic time.

To the recap, though briefly:

Thursday saw Gurs working during the day, and me departing the Ring Fingernail at 6 a.m. A quick connection - I got one of the last spots on an earlier plane to the Twin Cities - got me into Minneapolis at about 8:30. Gurs' impeccable directions and a brisk (both quick-paced, and slightly chilly, the only part of the weekend that could be considered chilly) walk across the Grain Belt Bridge got me to Gurs' place by 9:30. A bowl of cereal, some unpacking-type things, and a 2 1/2 hour nap had me back out the door by slightly after 1. Destination: The Walker Art Center, because I'm nothing if not cultured, and because it was a nice walk and, well, what else was there to do anyway? Now, the rock band Art Brut, who I would see later that evening, once (including that evening) barked "ModernArt. MakesMe. Want-to. Rock out!" Modern art doesn't make me want to rock out, but it was a pretty good way to spend a few hours, and the Walker's got some Warhol and some Roy Liechtenstein and some guy who drew marker sketches all over the wall of a staircase area, including the wise inscription, "Forget Art. Watch Your Step," above the first step down. Probably saved lives.

So then I walked back to Gurs', and he got home from work, and we went to dinner (french fries & cheese curds & gravy & pickles - not as delicious as you'd think) and then we went to the weekend's chief entertainment - The Hold Steady.

Was it great? Yes, it was some level of great. They're a great, great band, and the crowd was totally into them. However, it was unlike any indie rock show that I've ever seen, as it was in the State Theatre, which is to say there were assigned seats and a poorly-staffed, slow-moving bar.

The upside is that the sound was great. The band was receptive and interacted pretty well. Craig Finn was his charismatic self. And they rocked. And the songs are awesome. The downside is that we were both behind tall people. And we couldn't really move freely, both restricted by the seating, and by the dorks in our vicinity. At a normal rock concert, with general admission floor seating, the sweaty, bouncy folks gravitate to the front, and the "I just want to watch the band" folks gravitate to the back, and it all works out. Here, we were next to boring types. Surprisingly, there was never any filtration to the aisles, so we just let the power of the songs carry us through the evening.

And they did, including three new ones (two great and poppy, one a bit slower), a fantastic rendition of "Southtown Girls," and a set-closing and, indeed, killer, version of "Killer Parties."

I think The Hold Steady will, forever and always, put on a great show. I do hope they get longer than 90 minutes. They've got the back catalog, and they've got the charisma to pull off a two-hour set. Next time they're within four hours of me, I'm definitely there. Definitely.

(Also, John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, who played in town the previous night, was in attendance, wandering the aisles. I kind of recognized him. Then I definitely recognized. Someone really recognized him, staked him out, stalked him down, and showed him what was apparently a Mountain Goats tattoo of some sort on her left arm. He was touched, it seemed, and took a camera photo.)

I said I'd be brief. I've not been brief. After the show, Gurs and I went to his cool down-the-street rock bar, then to his apartment to watch The Office - "Besides having sex with men, Finer Things is the gayest thing about me" - and then to sleep.

Friday saw the daytime hours at Benning State Park, about an hour north of the Gurs pad. A hike around the Kettle River, mostly just hanging out.

Friday night, however, saw the anticipated meet-up with Cookie, a former Quad Cities coworker, and, really, one of the greatest kids in the world. Only one regular reader here has met Cookie and, really, I can't describe how awesome this kid is. But, anyway, it was great to see him. He's a runt.

Gurs had a few first-class residency friends there but, really, it was Cookie's show. It's always Cookie's show.

Let's describe our watering hole, a fine establishment called Liquor Lyle's. They played Weezer. They boast seven happy hours through the day (roughly, noon-2, 4-7, and 9-11). If you order a drink during Happy Hour, which is a 2-for-1 special, they just bring you two of 'em. After all, it's Happy Hour. And, even at regular prices, they were cheap. And strong.

We were there for the start of the 9-11 segment and, well, Liquor Lyle's had gotten the best of me by the end of the 9-11 segment. My fatal decision came when our waiter said "Last call for 2-for-1's," and I, stupidly, did a 'seven-fingers seven-fingers double flash' indicating that I wanted, nay, needed, two more 7-and-7's. At Liquor Lyle's, that's roughly the equivalent of, say, six more 7-and-7's.

This kid can't hang anymore, not that I could ever really hang. By 10:30, I was a babbling idiot. By 11, I was a babbling, sleepy idiot. And by midnight, roughly, I was just asleep.

Saturday saw us watching the Cats, playing some hoop, going to dinner, touring the many unseen parts of Minneapolis and the entirely-unseen city of St. Paul, stopping off at The Happy Gnome, and heading back home to watch the tail end of Madden Nation.

Sunday saw card-playing at a coffee house, Dim Sum with some more associateds at a Dim Sum establishment, a quick trip to Minnehaha Park, and an all-too-quick return to the airport.

All-too-quick but, ultimately, satisfying.

A few other notes from the trip:

1. I really love The Chicago Tribune.
I got a Trib at O'Hare on Thursday morning. I couldn't take my eyes off of it all weekend. I paged through the obituaries, the entire sports section, the story of the new Millennium Park piece for this winter, the story on imminent CTA fare hikes, and a few stories on a less-imminent casino project. The Trib was a big part of my formative life, my 8 through 22 years, and I really love it a lot. Some say the Trib sucks. It gives me exactly what I want. If I ever move back to a major market, I'm definitely subscribing to the daily paper. I love the daily paper, far more than the daily paper website.

2. Only ever take one fortune cookie. Two fortune cookies is greedy, and you definitely get what you deserve.
We ate Thai food on Saturday night. My first fortune cookie was fantastic, both with the "in bed" suffix and without: You will always be surrounded by those who love you. That's beautiful. It was also a fortune cookie, so it tasted really good. So, on the way out, I grabbed another. This one was less awesome, both with the "in bed" suffix and without: Keep your idealism practical. Dream small, dude, dream small.

3. Candy is really good.
Gurs had a bucket of leftover Halloween candy when I arrived. He had far less than a bucket of leftover Halloween candy when I left. I liked the Caramel Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, more than the White Chocolate Reese's. I loved the Peanut Butter M&M's. The Starburst double-pack is fairly satisfying, while the Snickers Fun Size is eternally satisfying. But, when it comes right down to it, the simple bag of M&M Mini's was the most satisfying, in terms of a) amount of candy, and b) taste of candy. I'd call it an upset but, when it was all said and done, I think I got the most joy out of that little turquoise bag.

4. I spent about five minutes in a bathroom stall in the Minneapolis airport.
It took all the willpower I could muster to avoid yelling, "Who's up for some anonymous sex in a Minneapolis Airport bathroom stall?" or to just simply play footsie with somebody in an adjacent stall. If only I had that willpower around candy. Or 7-and-7's.

Out of 10, an A+ trip. That's all.

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With basketball season approaching, and the outlook for the future bleak, I'm very seriously considering Dish or DirecTV. It looks like I can get the Big Ten Network package for $29.99 monthly on dish, though it'd be extra for local channels. I'd imagine I'll be able to skethily get local channels (and cable channels) in my bedroom if I maintain my cable internet and add a splitter. It looks like the package with Big Ten Network costs me $44.99 through DirecTV. However, it also looks like I can get internet via my current provider for as little as $14.99, which seems inconceivable - after all, I've got a 'deal' right now, and I pay $90 for internet & TV.

I think I'm willing to accept a slight price increase, as I'll most certainly spend a few bucks a weekend to see afternoon conference games if I can't get the games at home - I'm a sucker for the Cats, after all - but I need to contact my leasing office about the feasibility of it. Can I install satellite here? I sure hope so, because I'm not any closer to getting the BTN via cable. The BTN kind of sucks, but they're the ones with the power.

I'm sure I'll keep you posted.

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Saturday's Cats loss was really frustrating. NU is as good or better than Iowa talent-wise, I really believe, and you should beat teams that you're as good or better than at home when bowl eligibility is on the line. You certainly shouldn't go from dominating the first quarter to flopping the rest of the way, and you certainly shouldn't abandon the run after the 12-minute point of a one-score game, which is what the Cats did.

McManis played terribly. Gill was awesome. Bacher was terrible. Peterman was awesome, then didn't touch the ball in the second half. Amado missed a few big field goals that could have changed the complexion of the game.

I think that whole "throwing up four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter" thing is comical. Dominant programs dominate the fourth quarter. Middling ones don't, even if they sometimes stage comebacks against powerhouses like Nevada or Minnesota in that quarter.

Gosh, we went into these final four saying they were all winnable and all losable and, two games in, they're both losses. I've not looked at the line, but I'd imagine that the Cats are slight home dogs against Indiana (of note, Notre Dame is a home dog against Air Force, my dad reports), and the following week looks to be a tough one at Champaign. Two wins is the only way to a bowl, I think.

Power rankings:

1) Ohio State (1st last week, 1st tier)

2) Michigan (2-2)
3) Penn State (3-2)

4) Illinois (4-3)
5) Wisconsin (5-3)
6) Purdue (6-3)

7) Iowa (8-3)
8) Indiana (7-3)
9) Michigan State (10-4)
10) Northwestern (9-4)
11) Minnesota (11-4)

Gosh, I'd shoot myself if I were a Michigan State fan.

This weeks winners:
NORTHWESTERN over Indiana
Penn State over TEMPLE
Michigan over WISCONSIN
PURDUE over Michigan State
IOWA over Minnesota
OHIO STATE over Illinois

Gosh, the Cats are on ESPN Classic this week. Does anyone get that. I hope they get it in Saginaw. Go Cats.