The Start of Something New

We’ve all heard the saying once before; “all great things come to an end.”

As a graduating journalism student, I started to look back on my time here at Sac State and this befitting cliché kept coming up in my mind. Granted, not everyone’s college experience can be labeled as a “great thing,” but I have to say that all the time I have spent chasing a piece of paper that classifies me as an educated individual has had a definite impact on my life.

As I was contemplating on my college career, I started to think about all of the late night studying, all the coffee that was consumed, and the pressures of completing all of countless assignments during the past years. Then I thought about all of the friendships I’ve made and all of the teachers that have inspired and taught me so much that it kind of made me sad that I’m about to close this chapter in my life.

I have to say that I’m glad that the obstacle of attaining an education is almost behind me, but it is difficult for me to imagine a life that wasn’t centered around school.

I’ve always known that gaining an education would be a way for me to have a better and more purposeful life. I also knew that I didn’t want to be working at a job that I wouldn’t enjoy or where I would be wishing I could be doing something better.

But if I ever had to put my education on hold, I think traveling would definitely be one of my top priorities. It’s a great way to learn many different things on your own and the freedom that comes along with it is something that I have never been able to experience.

The opportunity to write about my encounters with different customs and cultures is also something that has always appealed to me. The chance to broaden my perspective on life is another aspect that makes traveling and writing about my experiences hopefully something I can one day pursue.

Even though my educational journey is almost complete, I know that there are still many things that I must learn in order to be successful in the career. The process of growing both as a writer and journalist is definitely something I look forward to, but at the same time, being at the onset of a journalism career is quite intimidating.

For me, the uncertainty of being able to find work is definitely a cause for concern. The doubt that arises when one enters a new stage in life is something that has attributed to my apprehension in coming out of school and starting a career in journalism.

But as I’m about to start on this path that I have chosen for myself, a quote by Confucius comes to mind, which has served as my personal inspiration in being a journalist.

“If you love doing what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Thanksgiving Trip

For me, Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday of all. There’s just something about watching the Thanksgiving football games with your favorite brew or glass of merlot, spending time with your family, enjoying a meal that practically took the entire day to prepare, and heading out in the freezing cold to go Black Friday shopping. Who could ask for more?

This Thanksgiving, my family and I will going down to San Diego to spend time with our family and I couldn’t be more excited. In a couple of hours, we’ll be heading to the Sacramento airport to catch our flight and we’ll be in San Diego later on in the evening. While, I admit, I’m not too excited about the flock of people that I’m bound to encounter at the airport, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to see a famous movie star or artist within the midst of us normal people running around like turkeys with their heads cut off.

            

Ever since I was a kid, Thanksgiving has been the holiday that brings my entire family together from all over California. As an only child, I think that my love for Thanksgiving grew when it gave me the opportunity to see my cousins (my brothers and sisters from different mothers as I like to call them) that I would probably only a couple of times a year if it wasn’t for this holiday.

            

Looking back, I remember all the mischievous acts we would commit whenever we were together and I can’t help but laugh. I remember setting a couple of carpets on fire, running around and irritating our parents, and trying to convince my younger cousins to put them in a couple of wrestling movies that we used to see on t.v., all of which wasn’t my idea by the way.

           

Now that we’re older, calmer and less troublesome, I think my cousins and I have began to cherish all the time that we spend together. All of us have our own lives now so even though it might be hard to set aside time together, when we do find that opportunity, its feels as if we just picked up right where we left off. 

            

My family is a big part of my life and I feel that my life would be I completely different if I didn’t have them in it. I’d even say that they’ve shaped me into the person I am today. Maybe I would have gotten into less trouble but what fun would that be?

            

With the holidays just around the corner, planning a trip to spend time family is a great way to relax and forget about some of the stresses in life. Surrounding yourself with the company of your loved ones is what the holidays are all about after all. 

Restaurant Review: Fanny Ann's Saloon

Last semester, my roommate raved about a burger that could be comparable to President Gonzales of CSUS – almost never seen. Now this wasn’t just any burger adorned with all the common fixings like mayo, mustard or ketchup. This burger, in my eyes, had quite a unique ingredient that made me skeptical to say the least.

What was that ingredient you might ask? Well if you had to guess, I bet you would never come to the conclusion that it would be peanut butter. Who would have thought right?

I usually like my burgers plain and simple, but for this particular instance, I was feeling adventurous so I decided to pay a visit to Fanny Ann’s Saloon located at 1023 2^nd Street in Old Sacramento.

My friend and I arrived at Fanny Ann’s just before its 11:30 a.m. opening so as we were waiting, we checked out the menu posted just outside the entrance. As I was skimming the menu, the burger that I wanted to conquer was placed directly in the center, almost as if it was taunting any hesitant customers waiting to try the Jiffy Burger.

Fanny Ann’s has a wide selection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, hot dogs and appetizers to go along with a bar that greets customers as they walk in. The bar itself would be reason enough to entice any college student for lunch or downtime meal since all of the entrees are all priced at around $8 and are served with a choice of a salad or curly fries.

After much conflict within myself, I set aside my fear and decided to go with the Jiffy Burger (since the menu promised that the peanut butter wouldn’t stick to your mouth) and my friend ordered the more traditional bacon burger.

Once the orders are placed, customers are allowed to sit in any one of the five floors for seating as they wait for their orders to be called over the speaker. The top floor of Fanny Ann’s has an arcade room to occupy their waiting customers and they also have another bar at the lowest level that opens later in the evening.

When it came time to grab our orders and walk to our seats, excitement, anticipation and a tiny hint of apprehension began to run through me. As we both took the first bites of our burger and fries, the chatter between us suddenly came to a halt and all my skepticism flew out the window.

The peanut butter that was placed on top of the pepper jack cheese, the hearty strips of bacon, and juiciness of the burger made me a believer. The combination of every ingredient was so unique that, to my surprise, I enjoyed every piece down to the very last bite.

A downside to the whole experience, however, would simply be the age of the establishment. The entire place seemed so old that I found myself walking around with caution in fear that I was going to fall through the wooden floors. The old fashioned bathroom also stuck me as odd/weird in that they only had one stall and a community urinal that lacked privacy many are used to.

The food, however, more than made up for any issues I had towards the establishment, and I would without a doubt come here again. For those bold enough to try a not-so-typical burger, Fanny Ann’s is definitely the place for you.

The Walking Dead

If the streets of our beloved nation ever became filled with the living dead, what’s the first thing I would do to survive?... Head to Costco.

That’s just some of the random things that the show The Walking Dead made me think about after watching the series premiere.

After a couple of friends raved on how good show The Walking Dead is, I decided to check it out for myself.  Though the show is already in its second season, I was able to catch the very first episode on my Netflix account just to see if this zombie series is really something to get excited about.

The foundation for the story begins when the sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) awakens from a coma and finds himself in a hospital bed after being shot by a runaway criminal. 

Grimes then decides to venture around the hospital after not receiving any attention from his would-be nurses. With bullet holes decorating the walls, flickering lights at every corner and a cafeteria door reading “don’t open, dead inside,” Grimes realizes that, to say the least, the world is not how he remembers it.

As the protagonist, Grimes ultimately comes to the realization that a zombie epidemic has swept the nation, and he then attempts to find his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and his son Carl, meeting other survivors of the zombie infestation along the way.

The show is filled with suspenseful encounters with flesh-hungry zombies at almost every turn. With all of the drama, it made this first-time viewer imagine if I could survive in a world with zombies trying to take huge chunks out of my body.

The zombies are shown in an amazingly realistic fashion, and the special effects, such as the blood-splattering after a zombie is shot, accents the killing of zombies very well and adds a another dimension of realism.

This show is very unique in that there has not been any shows, pertaining to zombies, though there have been many movies based on the topic.  The make-up, special affects, and thrilling zombie confrontations make this show very comparable to its big-screen counterparts like Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead.

If you ever get the chance, I would suggest that you make a trip to Barnes & Nobles and purchase the book The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead before it’s to late (yes, its a real book).

The History Of Fantasy Football

This world is full of many talented and brilliant inventors that have shaped society into what it is today.

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb that helps us see in the dark, Steve Jobs created a cell phone so advanced it seems like aliens made it, and it got me to thinking… Who’s to blame for all the wasted time in a sport junkie’s life by having created the world of fantasy football?

Instead of disclosing my horrible and almost embarrassing fantasy football record for the entire world to see, I thought I’d do a little research and I came across a guy named Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach.

In the 1950s, Winkenbach was a limited partner with the Oakland Raiders by having a financial share with the team, however he did not have any say in the teams football operations regarding the players on the team.

Winkenbach was known as a sports fanatic, always talking about sports wherever he was. The idea of fantasy football came to Winkenbach after developing two previous fantasy sports in both golf and baseball.

Though the official birth of fantasy football is unknown, it is said that it came out of womb, so to speak, within 12 days of Halloween in the fall of 1962, which would make fantasy football around 49 years old.

Winkenbach developed the idea in, what was then, a Manhattan Hotel room in New York with two Oakland Tribune reporters - beat writer Scotty Sterling and sports editor George Ross.

"Though I was involved, Winkenbach deserves the lion's share of the credit for developing the game," Sterling said. "We chipped in with rules, but the germ of inspiration was these earlier games he played with golf and baseball."

"It was Wink's idea," Ross said. "It came out of his having played these other games and out of his interest in football. He threw out the idea and we played around with it."

The three tinkered with the rules of the game one night and developed the foundation for the game we see today because of the excitement that the three equally shared for the sport and their idea.

When Winkenbach, Sterling and Ross returned to Oakland, they created an 8-team league comprised of friends from the Tribune, the Raiders and other football-competent acquaintances.  The name of the first ever fantasy football league became known as the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League or GOPPPL (sounds much more respectable than my current league name of “Toilet Bowl”).

Little did the founding fathers know that their idea of fantasy football, something they created to simply have a little fun, would develop into what it is today. 

"It surprises me," Winkenbach said in a 1991 interview. "We were the first to start it, and it just mushroomed from there. There's a lot of offshoots to fantasy football. Oh yeah, I'm surprised at how big it's gotten."

Unfortunately, neither Winkenbach, Sterling nor Ross received any financial profit from their idea, which is unfortunate because of all the money that fantasy football generates.  It's a shame became Winkenbach never benefited from his idea that makes life much more interesting for millions of fantasy football owners.

Mr. Winkenbach… I salute you.

Greed Is Good?

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted something you couldn’t have? Maybe it was some candy or a new toy that just hit the shelves, but someone said “no,” causing you to pout or go into a tantrum.

Now I’m not saying that the men and women in the Occupy Wall Street protests are like children, trying to gain something they can’t have. All I’m saying that it is highly unlikely that protestors are going to get the corporate owners to break their habits. 

It’s simply all just comes down to greed, and it seems that there is no end in sight.

After reading about all this Occupy Wall Street stuff, the first thing that came to my mind was the movie “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” starring Shia Labeouf, and the parallels that show up.

In the movie, Labeouf’s character tries to take down a corporation who had a part in taking down his own. Towards the end of the movie, Labeouf’s character brings to light some of the dishonest practices that the Churchill Schwartz investing firm took part in, which included making bad investments and expecting the government to bail them out.

The government needs to step in and find a way to stop these businessmen from taking all these bonuses and expecting the government to bail them out while the regular folks see no money from the profits some of these corporations are generating.

In the 25^th day of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protestors are, however, getting more recognition for their cause. Some may criticize OWS protestors for not having a defined set of demands (something I too had trouble finding), but is that really such a bad thing?

Organizers of the protest made it known that one of their goals is to keep the protest going for two months, and it seems their on their way to meet that goal.

The longer this protest lasts, the more people it can potentially reach. This movement also gives those without a voice a way to channel their efforts along with those in similar situations. If Occupy Wall Street continues to grow, who’s to say that they can’t achieve a better financial situation for the entire nation as opposed to just a measly 1% reaping all the benefits.

In an article found on cnn.com its states that, “ Occupy Wall Street’s real goal has always been simple: Draw focus to the concerns -- and anger -- many Americans have about the country's growing economic gap, plant the seed of an organized voice, and let the protest evolve naturally.”

While we may not see change right away, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Feeling the Pain

Stingy defenses inflicting crippling hits, superstars playing at the top of their game and captivating comeback victories, almost all fantasy football fanatics have had something to cheer about during this past week. It’s just a shame that my mediocre team has yet to produce me fantasy points with their lackluster play.

With already three games into the NFL season, and a 1-2 record to show for it, I can only hope that my team shows up in the upcoming weeks.

I can recall in week two, when I gain my first victory, I felt like I was on top of the world. Even though my team, the San Francisco 49ers, suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Cowboys, I still felt like I had a bounce in my step as the days moved closer towards week three.

Then, I too experienced a crushing loss of my own when I lost by a measly 3 points to my opponent this past week. To make matters worse, only one of my players did well, adding to my misfortune.

With my current seventh place standing, I started contemplating about all those in the same position as me, and also those fortunate enough to be able to boast winning records in their respective leagues. 

A friend of mine in my league has a great start to the season with a 3-0 record, and he has already flooded the messages section with smack talk saying that he is going to win it all.  But can tooting your own horn really help you sleep better at night?

In fantasy football, pride is huge influence in the lives of many. Some people can take winning almost too seriously.  Surely in some leagues monetary gain can contribute to this, but bragging rights over your peers can also be a driving factor to something like fantasy football.

The same can also be said in almost all aspects of life. Some people brag about salaries, grades or some can even gloat who has the most extravagant lawn in the neighborhood.

Whatever the case may be, pride can certainly be an integral part in one’s life. It can motivate someone to achieve greater things, but it can also be detrimental one’s well being as well. Surely there has been a time in everyone’s life when their pride has gotten the best of them. I recall several times in my life when I would go out of my way to prove a point rather than let my pride get hurt, but we’ll save that for another column.

So as week four rolls around, I just have a couple of words of wisdom for all those in fantasy football land. If you’re lucky enough to have a winning record, I’d keep the smack talk to a minimum because you never know what the upcoming weeks will bring, or if that star player of yours will get afflicted with a nagging injury. And for those in the same boat as me, I feel your pain. But don’t fret, the season is still young.

Bay Area Flavor

With a lively night scene, numerous sports teams in the surrounding area and a temperature that is far more comfortable than what those in the valley experience, living in the bay area definitely has its advantages.

The bay area is like a haven for sports fans. Football, baseball, basketball and even hockey are all represented by their respective teams for different sports enthusiasts to enjoy. 

Sports columnist Monte Poole may have one of the most enjoyable jobs on the face of the earth because his duties include writing about teams in the bay area like the 49ers, Giants, and Golden State Warriors. Depending on the season, Poole writes about two to three columns a week, which can be found in the Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times and even on foxsports.com

In his columns, Poole addresses many different topics that relate to the teams in the area. At times they can include memorable or unimpressive performances of a particular team, distrust towards a particular quarterback, or even “angst” (have to give credit to my professor for using this word during class) felt by fans for their beloved teams.

Poole’s style is something that first attracted me to his writing.  His conversational flow of writing is something that is easy enough to read for your average sports fan to comprehend, yet it provides enough depth even for the most experienced sports gurus.

After reading a couple of columns by Poole, I found myself wanting to read more and more of his work.  I even had to monitor myself in fear of getting sidetracked and not being able to finish this column.

Another aspect of Poole’s writing that I enjoy is his reporting.  When Poole does an interview with a player, the reader gets sense of what that player is thinking.  I particularly enjoyed this part in his column where Poole profiles quarterback Jason Campbell of the Oakland Raiders.  Here, Poole goes into how Campbell has had to prove himself all through his entire football career and this subtle detail gives readers a better understanding of Campbell’s past.

"In high school, people said, 'The only reason you're going to play is because your daddy is a coach.' So I had to go out and prove I was better than that," he recalls. "Then I went to college, and everyone said, 'Well, he came from a small high school. Can he really lead an SEC team?' So I became the winningest quarterback in Auburn history, helped lead the team to an undefeated season and had one of the best years Auburn has ever had.

"Ever since I was a child, I've always been doubted. I use it as motivation."

Poole’s writing, not to mention his job, is something that I aspire towards in my journey to become a better journalist.  In the mean time, I’ll just read more of Poole’s work to better improve my writing and hope that if Mr. Poole is reading this, he will not hesitate to shoot me an e-mail about a future job opportunity.

In a World of Fantasy

The first, and probably the most difficult, step in overcoming any addiction is admitting to the problem at hand.

Well here goes.. My name is Anthony and fantasy football has taken over my life.

For those who may not be familiar with fantasy football, it is a place where individuals are able to act as general managers of a professional football team by drafting and managing players of their choice.

Success in this game is measured by those specific players providing points to the manager based on how well their performance is during a given week. 

Managers compete online and may join a random league or create a league of their own to include their friends.

This is my only second season participating in fantasy football and I honestly believe that I have developed a sort of obsession.

During class, I sometimes find myself pretending to listen to the professor (of course, never in my magazine or column writing class) when I am really keeping up-to-date with different player injuries and searching for better players to incorporate into my team.   

I’ve also started to notice other students with their laptops out during class with the familiar background labeled “Yahoo! Fantasy Sports” placed on the top of their screens. At least I’m not the only one.

One student in my class had a rather clever technique while he was looking up football statistics on his laptop.

Every now and then he would look up from the computer and pretend to listen to the teacher for about 5–6 seconds and then go back to doing his research.  I found it hilarious because while discussion was going on, he would even nod his head as if he was agreeing with the topic at hand.

These tendencies may seem bizarre to a person outside of the world of fantasy football, but to a person who is in a fantasy league, these actions are important in order to be successful.

Though fantasy football, or any fantasy sport for that matter, can be detrimental to ones academic standing in school, productivity at work or maybe even their relationship with their significant other, there is a silver lining to all of this.

Fantasy football has changed the way we look at the game. I remember a time when football fans would only root for their favorite football team and despise all the others who would stand in their way.

Fantasy football has also allowed us to become better fans of the sport because it has turned us into supporters of different players as opposed to just entire teams. It has provided us a way to become more fanatical about the sport by being inclined to follow a wide array of topics from player injuries, coaching changes, or even how long a particular player has to stay in jail.

What can college do for you?

From the time of our childhood days, many of us aspire to be many things in this life.  Some of us aim doctors, policemen, or maybe even a writer for a well-known newspaper or magazine. 

For me, college helped me to find what I wanted to do with my life.  

Just like many teenagers coming out of high school, I had no idea what career I wanted to choose.  One thing I did know was that I wanted a job that could help me become financially secure. 

Ultimately, I told myself that I would go into the medical field.  Everyone I knew was doing it so I figured, why not? To do this, the first thing I did was sign myself up as a biology major and I started taking classes at my local community college. 

At the time I entered college, a friend had just graduated from a prestigious pharmacy school.  Being a pharmacist struck my fancy because they make insane amounts of money and all they do is just count pills all day?  Well that was enough for me gear all my efforts towards being a legalized drug dealer.

As I was going through my prerequisite classes, all I could say to myself was, “Damn, this stuff is hard.”

I found myself studying almost all day and after all that studying, all I could manage was a measly “C” in most of my classes. After a couple of semesters, I got to thinking that if I am struggling so much this early on, what more down the road? I decided to stick with it, just hoping that I could succeed by getting by with a “C” average.

It wasn’t until my girlfriend asked me what I wanted to do with my life when I really started to think about a different career. At the time, I was still unsure about choosing a different field because I felt that I would disappoint my parents.  They were so proud of me when I decided to become a pharmacist and I didn’t want to let them down. 

When my girlfriend asked me what I was good at, the first thing that came to my mind was writing.  In all of my classes, writing always came easy to me.  So easy that I would almost always wait till the last minute to write my papers.  Despite the procrastination, my papers always came back to me with above average grades.  It was at this point when I decided I would to transfer to Sacramento State and pursue a career in journalism.

For me, I could honestly say that college was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It has given me the opportunity find direction in life, and it has also shown me a career that I am excited about pursuing.

College is, and should be, an important aspect in everybody’s life.  It can give us the opportunity to find out things about ourselves and also help us mature as men and women.  If college can help this teenager, who could only think about making money, find a craft that he really loves and enjoys, then it can do the same for you.

First Week Of School

You know when they say patience is a virtue? Well during this first week of school, I've found that patience is not a virtue that I possess.  

In the Fall of 2009, I moved into an apartment about 5 minutes from campus. This semester, I find myself waking up at 6:00 a.m. every day just so that I can make it to campus before my 9:00 class. Every Monday through Thursday I travel from Stockton to Sacramento, and during my long journey, I am greeted with traffic at almost every turn.

Once I leave Stockton, I drive to Elk Grove to pick up my girlfriend and then head to campus.  From her house, a supposedly 10-minute drive turns into a 35-minute drive because of the traffic that surrounds her neighborhood and the school.  On the third day of school, I decided to be caviler and take a different route than what my girlfriend told me was the "fastest way" to get to school.  I've lived in Sacramento for about 2 years so my pride told me that I knew a better way than the path she was directing me.  Boy was I wrong.  

We ended up about 30 minutes late for our 9:00 class, and I haven't heard the end of it from my girlfriend.  In my mind, I figured that taking the long way would be better than just staying in stop-and-go traffic.  

When we finally got to our class, a video about the different women in art was being played in a dark, crowded room of my classmates.  As we got settled, I glanced at my girlfriend, and she gave me "the look." She didn't have to say anything because I already knew what she was thinking.  

She probably said in her mind, "This boy (shaking her head). Why can't she just listen?"

While the video was playing during class, I started thinking about all the times that my pride has put us into situations that could have been avoided if I had just listened to her.  Of all those times, I've always, for the most part, admitted that I have been wrong and explained to her that that is just how guys are made when it comes to driving.  We always think that we are right, no matter what.

After this experience of mine, I have just one piece of advice for all the guys out there who find themselves in a similar position:  Just listen to the girl.

The reason why I say this is not because I've learned from my own experience and have decided to lower my pride, but it's because it's just simply the smart thing to do. 

When you listen to the girl, you avoid any unwanted bickering with your significant other, you keep them happy, and most importantly, when they're wrong (and they eventually will be) you will have the opportunity to rub it in their faces and you will be able to give them "the look."