Snow Wish

Apology?
I should apologize for my absence; albeit, should it really matter. The last couple of weeks have me in transport to Brooklyn at 5AM and leaving between 10PM and midnight. This mainly doing temp work for professors and assisting the softball program. It has been a tiresome time.

Snow Wish
At the moment, it's 5:06AM, and it is snowing. The suspiciousness of what I said is that NYC hasn't had a lot of snow this winter, and this being the first real snowfall, suggests fears of global warming, ozone depletion, etc. I'm for destroying the planet, but also for doing it at only certain levels. It has been ironic that it has been fairly wet, but rainy all winter, and that the temperature has been warm not to wear winter clothing as so much. Despite a few frigid nights, most of them haven't required winter wear.



Winter Wear
As I have gotten older, the actual look of winter wear has felt kind of lacking. My sweaters, fleece jackets, and coats have gotten thinner in wear. Body fat in adults is not the excuse. Temperature has been warmer. .8° from normal on the global scale is a huge difference. Because temperatures don't really rise or fall at the tropic levels, they're magnified at the poles, and throughout other temperate zones. Henceforth, it's been a lot warmer this winter than previous. Not to mention, the fashion industry profitted more on clothing in 2003 and 2004, when the temperatures were unbareably cold, and people would wear 5 or 6 layers to stay warm. More layers is more clothing and more money.




Winter Wear Coat of Now


Winter Wear Coat of Past

A Sense of Normalcy
At least knowing that there has been some real snow this winter, gives a little sanity that the weather hasn't gone completely out of whack. I remember April 1996, where it snowed in New York during the Yankees game vs. the Royals of Kansas City. I also remember two years ago, playing baseball in late March and about 5 minutes after the game it started snowing. More appaproe is that those winters were lacking in the snow department. Yes, it got cold, but it didn't snow. I'm assuming, as the characteristics of winter arise, the more comfortable I feel that things in general are not going completely out of whack.

Makes you wonder, could I ever survive in Seattle, or Denver? Apparently not.

Mets Fans: Be Wary

I write about this, because Mets fans high off off-season acquisitions.  At first I believed in the hype.  It felt nice to have a big named closer for the Mets; however honestly, I think the Mets and the Yankees are not as good as perscribed.  The Mets have serious pitching and defensive problems, not to mention questions on offense.

Why There Was Such a Hype?
Acquiring Wagner, Lo Duca and Delgado were huge.  By doing so, they immediately covered three issues they had faced all 2005: closing out games, offensive production and stability.  Wagner is one of the most coveted arms in baseball, as he constantly throws 100 mph fastball, Lo Duca is a veteran catcher who also provides flexibility of playing OF and 1B and Delgado is the masher they really needed since Dave Kingman (37 HR but .204 BA in 1982).

The Mets sought out to improve their bullpen woes by also acquiring Jorge Julio, Duaner Sanchez, Steve Schmoll, Chad Bradford, and Yusaku Iriki.  Combined with possibly Heilman, Wagner and Heath Bell, they have a solid bullpen even if Julio falters.

However, there are problems.  The Mets, first and foremost made one of the worst deals this off-season by trading Kris Benson for John Maine and Jorge Julio.  Maine is a 24 year-old had-been prospect, which seemed to fall out of Orioles favor and Julio has fallen out of favor with the Orioles for years.  Julio signed to arbitration, will be one of the focal points of this bullpen to pitch in the 8th inning.  I don't think Maine has much potential, and Julio has control problems.  This gave Zambrano a spot in the rotation, and moves Aaron Heilman's role into flux, alongside Aley Soler.

Zambrano is an injury-plagued pitcher throughout his career who has problem commanding the strike zone and has velocity issues.  An athlete by trade, these issues are difficult to overcome the strong NL East hitting (sans the Washington Nationals).  Also, Pedro Martinez has an lingering injury--a toe injury which causes him pain while pitching.  Not to mention, you don't know what you are going to get out of Tom Glavine (age) and Steve Trachsel (inconsistent throughout career).

In the field defensively, there are still two glaring holes: second base and catcher.  If the season started today, Kaz Matsui or Anderson Hernandez is your starting 2B.  Hernandez is a rookie, with talent, but wasn't able to translate it in his September call-up.  Kaz Matsui has been the talk of trades.  Nobody wants to take on his contract, nor the issues of injury.  He's a big a bust as Sammy Sosa, Juan Gonzalez and Mike Lowell last season.  In addition, neither of these guys produce offensively or this season expected to.

At catcher Paul Lo Duca is an arm upgrade over Mike Piazza; however, I'm an upgrade at catcher over Mike Piazza.  More indepth however, Lo Duca has a propensity to break down throughout the season, as his stats become worse as the season progresses, both offensively and defensively.  The Dodgers and the Marlins used him at other positions throughout the season to keep his bat in the lineup, however, it didn't prove helpful.  For the Mets, he's unlikely to do so, unless he knows how to play second base.

The Mets have one issue with Delgado.  His ability to not make contact.  As a regular he has never had a season under 100 strikeouts.  They need to worry about maintaining health of Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran and whomever is to play RF (Victor Diaz, Xavier Nady, Endy Chavez?).

The last offensive issue is of the top of the lineup.  Jose Reyes as talented as he is, does not get on base enough.  The Mets have the worst BA from the 1 and 2 spots.  Carlos Beltran did hit well with RiSP, but it's hard to improve those stats when nobody is on-base.  The Mets don't have a soul speed guy past Reyes, although Beltran, Floyd and Wright can steal 10-20 bases a season (in Beltran's case 30).  Most importantly, if Jose can not get on base, the Mets can't get into the post-season.

But they'll challenge with the Braves and Phillies.  As Omar Minaya does, he puts out a competitive team; but is it really playoff or World Series calibur or building blocks; I have my doubts.

Job Thoughts

From the January 23 post:

le sigh.
change is often exciting. too much excitement is no good for us guys. we go limp easy. =\ lol

but yeah... i'm taking my time joining folks on the whole adulthood thing. we were officially deemed adults a year or so ago. it's fucked up.

ima take it slow after i finally finish poly.. work part-time for a while......the most important thing i realize now... is to not be lazy. can't afford to be as lazy as i am now. step 1, DON'T BE LAZY. step 2, keep moving forward... and the doubts/fears/insecurities tend to minimize and shovel emselves away.

- Posted 1/24/2006 at 9:38 AM by abed©

Taken to heart, I'm taking a job working with softball on February 1st. I'll keep your keys in mind Abed. I won't be lazy.

I decided to take thepath of starting from the real bottom. Meaning, I took a $7.00 per hour job (may be more) at the bookstore. I start on Monday. Granted if you remember that minimum wage is $6.75, I'm pretty close to there. After ranting and raving on the phone Wednesday on how life is unfair and crap, I decided that may be this is my place right now, and if not, for life. Apparently, I am of blame.

According to all my friends and parents, working for Athletics, nor my job at Beach Channel were not real jobs. It obviously not the real world, and no matter what I did, it was too unspecified. Henceforth, I didn't deserve to even be looked at. I think it was the idea that companies didn't see me working that kind of workstudy job to further better myself in that field; I was unqualified.

Yesterday, my mom was home early and first thing saw me was in bed, online. So, she started by first wanting to use my laptop to check her e-mail at work, then brought up the whole debacle of my future (something my dad brought to her attention). I think my mom was trying to be apologetic to my plight; meanwhile, it did not really do any good. I was listening to the same old same old again. Apparently the conversation ended with me realizing that I'm doing this until I land something better. But nobody actually believed in what I thought was true of me, that the jobs I had for Athletics meant something. Or at least I made it out to mean something.

That's the end of that crap.

Recommended Flash To Watch:

"Gong Xi Fa Cai" by daklewijd™

Chickens Sweat Out Over Unknown Assailant

The Unknown Assailant

The Unknown Assailant is a Dog!?! Will the chickens meet a foul fowl? Only way to find out is watch the flash!

Flash presented on Newgrounds™.

A Popularity Faux Paux

Everyone says that popularity never resolves all issues; matter in fact, popularity causes more stress in peoples lives between the ages of 5 and 22 more than anything else.  Popularity is not about who knows you, it is about who knows your name, your vogue, and your establishment in a society.  Considering HS, I had none.

Fall 2001, I went to Polytechnic University, and by Fall 2005, I had established a popularity.  Not well known, or snobbish or anything, but recognizable amongst peers.  People knew my name, they knew what I politically stand for and knew who I was.  I achieved popularity.

What makes 2006 different from 2001?  ...different from 1997?  ...different from 1995?

Popularity is in all cases destructive.  It's a method of upholding an image.  From 0-17, attempting to achieve this made me feel jealous of everyone else.  However; 18-21 makes me feel self-conscious of maintaining popularity to that it becomes destructive from what I was known from 0-17.  Eventually, I would never be the same person.

Popularity makes others attempt other absurdities: like closure.  I had a couple of those moments of closure, since HS; none the way I hoped it out to be.  Eventually, I come to learn very harshly that those who remember you remember who you stand for (and not vogue), who you care for (not who you know), and who is friend (not who is acquaintance).  Sadly, it cost me a few friendships, a couple of narcaissicstic confessions, and a lot of soul searching.

The worst and foremost; people remember your brother because of who he cared, what he stood for, and who was friend.  People only remember you as "his brother."  In my case, I'm "Tarik's brother."  Nobody knows if you are older or younger, if you are talented and skilled or a friend or a nerd.  Popularity was my killer.  At least now at 22, popularity is no more since politics rules our lives.

"Friends don't let friends be popular."

Rights are Legislated

Well, all I'm saying is that you, yourself as an individual try to stand up for yourself on an issue that nobody agrees with you on. Try it. Watch people, walk away, pretend you don't exist and not give two shits for what you think. That's what government treats individual quarrels and complaints when whom also happen to be just a peon. Nobody gives a flying fuck, and may be I should agree with those who are the ones who (a) control my livelihood and (b) pay my check.

Sometimes there is only one job for that individual and may be that job is their career. If you are in a job that you want to work--because of love for it--you wil do anything to make your dream happen--even if you fail. For example, my high school gym teacher lived three hours away, back and forth, and he had to leave his family to work at my high school, coach soccer and track & field to a bunch of high school misfits, because he couldn't get a job on the island. He did that for 30+ years until he retired. Imagine seeing your sons may be twice a month (if lucky enough) just to satisfy a bunch of school kids whom later on would work mainly "civil servant" jobs and be called thugs (because I have the feeling Bloomberg would say nigger, but he's a public icon, they know better). There are many people who do this, just so their family can live a good life, go to a decent school, and may wind up at a "UNIVERSITY" and then learn occupational politics so that they can control others in the real world.

All, I'm saying is that, when we get our degrees, become executives at age 25, or run for public offices; to run in positions of power and positions to abuse power, or to become engineers being the influencers and bosses of some design project which can either kill millions or make billions, what is understood is that there is political freedom--and the result of it--affectual freedom. Whatever misinterpretation of our rights that is left (if the Bill of Rights is just a pile of bullshit meant to be smoked as a Cuban cigar) is what really means for us. Us people, whether you have it all, or hope to have a piece just to keep you living sanely for another week, or if you have nothing at all, the affectual freedom that allows people to do something, to voice a message, whether it's illegal or not, that people are free to do this with their own volition. Amendment 1 of the US Constitution allows this: except for when it endangers the lives of others. If this strike really endangered the lives of others, why weren't terror alerts didn't make the federal government kick into this situation, why did the politicians and executives of the MTA stoop to namecalling of TWU and MTA employees? Where is the professionality in that?

Personally, I didn't care, and honestly I gave a flying fuck if they went on strike or not. What I cared about is what actions that were happening and the results that came from it? Imagine if our President really gave no damn about the students of Polytechnic University. Honestly, nothing would really happen. But imagine if our President really gave no care about the administration, his e-board, and the rest of those that make Poly work at his level, will he have a job at Poly? No. It's all about politics.

Understand politics, and understand rights. May be we're no longer fighting for rights, but we sure as hell have to be a majority for them.

So understand: a voice + representation = you may be heard!