#205 - thanksgiving trip

i'm not sure when the last time was that i was home for thanksgiving. maybe 2003 after i graduated from college? it's been awhile. in less than 24 hours i will be on a plane to hawaii, my boarding pass is printed and i am (not) packed. with the new baggage policy i will be just bringing a carryon. i don't need much anyway, swimsuit, some t-shirts and shorts, and slippers. what else would i need? i am gonna try to workout everyday since a lot of people will be busy during the day with things like work. other than that i have a few plans.

tuesday
arrive around noon
lunch with mom

wednesday
beach?
dinner with friends

thursday
thanksgiving!
brunch with family

friday
surfing?
mom's b-day dinner @ ige's

saturday
sister time?
UH football tailgate and game - go warriors!

sunday
golfing maybe?
tennis at night?

monday
beach?

tuesday
golfing with dad?
flight to maui

so i am trying to get in a lot of sun while i am there, store up some vitamin D. haven't been in strong sun in awhile. i have my oregon tan right now. all my plans with ?s are up in the air but strong possibilities. i haven't been working too hard on making plans because i know they will come together without me. things always workout in the end. i am looking forward to lots of things like seeing friends/family, surfing, golfing and eating. some foods on my list are big city diner, mililani golf course, loco mocos and ramen. also tokyo tei in maui! i am getting hungry just thinking about all this. so because of all this eating i need to be hitting the gym or beach everyday. if not, the plane won't be able to take off because of too much weight. hahaha

i always fill up my time in hawaii with lots of things so it goes by really fast. in no time i will be back here so i want to just make the best of it. i have been posting a lot about oregon state football but it is real now. we are playing the civil war on december 3 at autzen stadium. it's the biggest one of them all, and i am not just saying that. whoever wins goes to the rose bowl! the granddaddy of them all! it has been quite the season and we are just getting better. we have a little over a week to prepare and it is on!! i am so excited but unfortunately i'll be away from the state of oregon. not to worry though, i am bringing a lot of OSU paraphanelia and t-shirts. i will be representing and watching it wherever i can. hopefully with oregon state fans present.

see you all soon.

#204 - more football

okay there are only a couple weeks left in this season. this weekend will be big! oregon state has to take care of things at washington state, the worst team in the pac-10. we are favored by more than 30 points so it would be nice if we can demolish them like that. a bigger game going on would be oregon traveling to arizona. arizona just lost to california, so they dropped in the standings.

this is what the top of the pac-10 looks like:
oregon 6-1, 8-2 (will play 12/3)
stanford 6-2, 7-3 (OSU beat stanford)
oregon state 5-2, 7-3
arizona 4-2, 6-3 (arizona beat OSU)
USC 4-3, 7-3 (USC beat OSU)
california 4-3, 7-3 (OSU beat cal)

this week oregon plays @arizona, california @stanford (stanford losing would be interesting), oregon state @ WSU, and USC has a bye. oregon state got the key help/upsets last weekend that i predicted. this weekend, oregon should beat arizona, which will lead up to a crazy civil war where we would be #1 and #2 and play for the rose bowl. should the ducks lose to arizona, USC has a chance to beat them on 12/5. either way, we need to win the civil war! but we also can't look past WSU as an upset would be very embarrassing there.

GO BEAVERS!!

i want to go to pasadena for new years. please!

#203 - pac 10 football

this is always the most exciting month in football, november. october is a baseball month and while important in the football world, doesn't seem as huge. the beavers are sitting in a tie for second in the pac-10 with 2 losses. there are no undefeated teams in this conference, no real dominance and different players stepping up in each game. here is a look at the top half of the pac-10:

oregon (5-1,7-2) lost to stanford and boise state. they should beat arizona state easily but have arizona as an away game on 11/21. and of course end the season with the civil war, which of course the beavers will win. they could end up pac-10 champs or end with 3 conference losses. 6-3 or 7-2.

arizona (4-1,6-2) lost to washington and iowa. they have a tough four weeks ahead of them, with games @california, oregon, @arizona state and @USC. cal will have something to prove, having just lost at home to the beavers. arizona state should be a W. it is difficult to go into trojan stadium and get a win. 6-3 or 5-4.

USC (4-2,7-2) lost to washington and oregon. USC is usually the team to beat but with two losses they are not in total control of their bowl destiny. they have perhaps two challenging games - stanford and arizona but an easy one against UCLA, all three at home. they will most likely close out the season with all wins, 7-2.

stanford (5-2,6-3) lost to oregon state, arizona and wake forest. they have a strong running game but two tough games ahead with a road game @USC and home against cal. while cal has a few losses they are a tough team. their last game is a non-conference one against notre dame which should not matter. i see them ending up at 6-3.

oregon state (4-2,6-3) lost to USC, arizona and cincinatti. as is traditional, the beavers will close out the season with solid wins. UW at home, washington state away and the ducks at autzen. we are just beginning to peak and will trample the ducks as appropriate with the rodgers brothers leading the way. 7-2.

we will be pac-10 champs and play in the rose bowl if:
#1. we win the rest of our games. (UW, WSU, oregon)
#2. arizona loses two of their four games. (cal, oregon, arizona state, USC)
#3. USC loses one of their three games. (stanford, UCLA, arizona)

i think there is a good chance of that happening, especially with the way this season has been. our best chances are oregon and USC beating arizona and stanford beating USC. otherwise, cal and stanford will have to step it up. maybe cal will be angry next weekend after the beavs killed them and tear a new one into arizona. all i know is the next few saturdays should be fun and i will be cheering for many teams in addition to the beavers!

#195 - fall!!!

it's been a month and a half since my last post. wow. i'm in the middle of a ruthless job search. i am kicking ass and taking names. actually, no, it is not very successful yet. but it will be. it has to! this isn't about my lack of a RN job.

it is about FALL! oh yeah. we had a little rain this morning. football season just started.. the oregon ducks went down last night to boise state! i could not be more tickled. the real football team in this state (OSU BEAVERS) will start its season this saturday against portland state. i hope its a good game, i plan to watch it at 24 hour fitness. i wonder how much cardio i can do while watching. i plan to bring lots of snacks for halftime. it could be pretty fun, better than going to a bar anyway.

i don't have any plans yet to see any of the games but i do hope i can. its always nice to go back to corvallis and pretend i'm a student again. that was the life! hit all the old haunts.

i have applied to numerous RN jobs and they all want experienced nurses. bollocks, i say! so for now i am still working as a CNA. i even worked a little catering gig with my friend. was pretty fun, a nice outdoor summer wedding with great food! it would be fun to do another but that's totally not what i went to school for. go figure.

but anyway i am glad it's finally fall and football is here again. it's like i'm whole. :)

#154 - civil war!

well here it is folks, the week we've all been waiting for. the battle for the state of oregon...civil war!! this is a tradition over a hundred years. oregon state versus oregon in what is the most important game of the year. you can be 0-10 but if you win the civil war then it is not all lost. whoever wins the civil war gets bragging rights and pride all year. the last two years the Beavs have been successful and before that it was back and forth, with the home team winning.
2006 - Reser Stadium

2007 - Autzen Stadium

2008 - back at Reser!
what's at stake this year is the rose bowl, yes the rose bowl. Beavers win and we go to the rose bowl on new years! since we beat USC this year we are actually at the top of the pac-10. we've gone through quite an exciting season, ups and downs. we had losses to stanford, utah and penn state. when we get to the rose bowl we will face penn state again and redeem ourselves. it won't be at their stadium and we have found our mojo on the field. when we played them at the beginning of the season we didn't quite have it together.

OREGON, YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!

GO BEAVERS!!!

#141 - giant killers III

i blogged a couple weeks ago about football season since we had just beaten hawaii. i wrote about the upcoming game against #1 USC and what we needed to do to beat them...well, we did it! oregon state 27, usc 21! it was our house and we defended it, we played with respect for USC and what they can do and just played beaver football. it was 21-0, oregon state at the half and i knew this usc team deserved to be #1 for a reason. they dominated the 3rd quarter and came back to within a touchdown, were going for another when greg laybourn intercepted mark sanchez's pass and ran it to the USC 2 yard line. the superstar of the night, jacquizz rodgers (a true freshman!), ran it in easily to put us up 27-14. of course they wouldn't stop and had a nice quick drive to pull within 6 with 1:19 to go. onside kick failed and it was history!

i wasn't there. (tear!) i didn't even watch it. i was in a meeting and had my friend texting me with updates. i was so nervous and clammy my whole meeting! when it was finally done i ran to a restaurant with a tv and stood outside cheering. it was crazy and i will definitely get a hold of a replay sometime. this team will be known as giant killers III. the original team was a dee andros team in 1967 who beat #1 USC 3-0. OJ simpson was on that USC team, it was historical. since then we have not beaten a #1 ranked team but we did beat them two years ago (i was there!) when they were ranked #3. although they weren't #1, many still consider it a giant victory. many thought that this year's USC team was the best and that sanchez would win the heisman. i am not sure if i doubt that now, if i say they aren't then maybe it's not a big a win as it seems. i want them to win out, i want them to play for the national championship (pretty slim chance i think) and i want to say that we were the only ones that could beat them this year. sure there are better teams than the beavs but we have a lot of heart. we've got an awesome quarterback with amazing energy. you can just feel it the way that he leads his team. he's a real leader.

sometimes i think i can believe in them hard enough so they will win. i think that maybe my cheering and believing actually makes a difference. who knows?! while i respect every opponent that dares to come into reser stadium, we will put up a fight. we will play our hearts out. we will prove that we belong here. and we will show you that just because you live in LA doesn't mean you're awesome. corvallis may be a sleepy little town, but it's a college town and it's all about the BEAVERS!!!

#136 - football season

ahhhh, fall. changing colors, (supposedly) cooler weather, and football! well i went to my first (and probably only) football game of the season. it's the third week already and this was the first game i've seen all season. what's that about?! well i've been on the road, went to canada where they don't pay much attention to football and just hanging with the parents. so the purpose of their trip was to see me, but they planned it around this football game. hawaii @ oregon state.

the last time the two teams played, OSU went to aloha stadium and won 35-32 at the end of what was an amazing season. we beat USC that year and won the civil war with UO. our last game was at hawaii against colt brennan and company. it was such a good game that was close all the way, with the Beavs coming out on top. that's what i was hoping for yesterday but it just wasn't meant to be. the warriors lost many key players to the NFL or graduation, including colt and his receivers. so hawaii scored first, a touchdown and i thought it'd be a great game. unfortunately there were a slew of hawaii injuries and the oregon state defense came alive. here are 10 mins of osu highlights.

so my parents were a little disappointed cause they came all the way to see this game, especially since the warriors didn't even play well. we went to eat chinese food after the game and al afalava and family were there eating too. he's from kahuku and had a big family come over for the game. in one of the newspapers he was quoted as saying if osu loses he can't go home, so now he's free to go and have bragging rights i guess. he's our hard hitting safety and a really nice guy despite his intense play on the field.

one of his hits last year at the civil war:


well next up is #1 USC on the 25th. they just spanked formerly #5 (overrated) ohio state 35-3. it wasn't even close. i am shaking in my little beaver boots. now i am in no way a fair weather fan but i seriously doubt my teams abilities in what might be the best USC team in the pete carroll era. they are deep, fast and good. this is a great football team that will be in the national championship game this year. no doubt. the last time the trojans came into Reser stadium they were ranked #3 and we won, 33-31


we've got some play makers and a decent quarterback-leader in moevao, speedy quizz rodgers and his brother james. sammie straughter is due for a breakout performance as well. the defense needs to step it up. while they did well against the warriors, the line is gonna really need to get some pressure on the QB sanchez and stop the run of the many many talented backs that USC has. we're gonna have to force many turnovers like last time and just play really well. we gotta bring the A game!

GO BEAVERS!

#44 - travel in style

it was just announced that horizon air is going to repaint four planes, one for each of the northwest teams! it's gonna look something like this:



that would be great incentive to fly somewhere! unfortunately i'm not sure if you can choose to fly on a certain plane. i would totally refuse to get on a plane painted in the green and yellow of the -ucks. the article didn't say anything about where the planes will fly in and out of but i'm assuming the uo one will fly out of eugene. the beavers plane maybe out of portland? in any case, that would be one sweet ride!! it would be awesome if they pimped the inside to be totally black and orange! i don't think i'd ever get off that plane.

if i ever got a car i'd paint it orange so i, too, could travel in style. go beavs!

#38 - bowl games

congrats are in order.

i read that washington losing to hawaii this weekend was the reason that arizona state didn't make a B-S game, which in turn put them into the holiday bowl and oregon state in the *gasp* emerald bowl in san francisco. the beavers deserved the pac-10 #3 spot which was the sun bowl but since we got there last year we were bumped down and the -ucks got into the sun. imagine that, losing your last three games and being invited to the sun bowl?! although i am not pleased with that decision and it's slap in the face to my beloved beavers, it is okay. why? because the university of hawaii rainbow warriors are playing in the BCS sugar bowl in new orleans!! i am pumped up and will be watching with my family in hawaii.

warriors performing the ha'a, the hawaiian version of the maori haka chant/dance:


although the warriors had the easiest schedule in the country (119/119!) it is difficult to go undefeated in the regular season no matter who you play. UH is 12-0, WAC champions and playing in the sugar bowl. there could not be anything better! colt brennan is a superstar and loves hawaii. he loves the people and that is why he came back for his senior season. he may not have been a top pick last year but he would've gone and done well in the NFL. he has all the tools. but he stayed and lead the team to the best season EVER!



he is an outstanding quarterback and was nearly perfect against UW - 42/50 passing for 442 yards and five TDs which puts him at 38 for the season. that is playing partial games due to warriors being up by so many TDs and also being hurt for parts of the season. what a magical season for the bows. yes, i am still calling them rainbows even though officially they are the "warriors". i am in denial. there was nothing wrong with rainbows.

why change from this:

to this?:


yes maybe more masculine but lame. just like oregon state changed from cute adorable benny:

to angry rabid beaver.

#35 - football!!

first things first, congrats to my home team, the hawaii (rainbow) warriors!!! they are now 11-0, the only undefeated team in college football. they are ranked #10 and #11 depending on the poll. the only reason they aren't higher is that they play in the WAC, a non-BSC conference that is supposedly weak. the only team they played that was ranked was boise state, ranked #19, and they beat them 39-27. their quarterback, colt brennan, is a total stud. he's passed for a whole bunch of records, including all-time TD pass leader. read more on warriors. next up: university of washington. it's the last game of the season before a bowl game. if UH wins they seal up a spot in a BCS bowl! go bows!!



next up: civil war 2007 - oregon state beavers @ oregon ducks.
the home team has won every year since 1997 but that is all about to change.
location - autzen stadium, eugene:


the oregon ducks had been in the national title hunt up to the arizona game two weeks ago. what happened? their star quarterback and heisman hopeful, dennis dixon, was injured again. he had been playing with a partially torn ACL when it finally gave out.



so on to backup brady leaf (younger brother of former WSU star turned #2 draft pick (behind peyton manning)/laughing stock ryan leaf). although bl is a pretty decent quarterback he couldn't get the job done against arizona. they lost 34-24. yesterday the ducks played ucla, who has been sucking. they lost to ND for crying out loud. anyways brady leaf gets hurt in the first quarter, didn't have any offense and scored a big fat 0. now they are tied in the pac-10 with OSU. the winner of CW will be in 3rd place unless ucla beats usc (highly unlikely). so a lot is on the line.

bad news - yvenson bernard underwent minor arthroscopic surgery on his knee a week ago. our big time player who's involved in almost every offensive play may not be 100%. it was good we had a bye but we'll see how healthy he is is. we need him to really be effective but we've got two backups who can move the chains. not as well but they can. our defensive rocks. hopefully the O won't be putting them in bad situations but i'm looking for the D to have some big plays and put some points up on the board.



with sean canfield (our first string QB) out with a shoulder injury and questionable to play in CW, all eyes are on lyle moevao who isn't the best thrower but got the job done last week @WSU, 52-17. here is a clip of him against UW the week before. he totally lays out a defensive end on a reverse play! oh yeah baby that's what i'm talking bout!



CIVIL WAR 2007 - DECEMBER 1ST 1:30PM ON ESPN2!

#24 - beavers football

so we didn't beat USC. is that a surprise? not to anyone, including me. why?

• sean canfield can't scramble


• sean canfield can't throw the ball away


• yvenson bernard is hurt - he is the utility guy, running and receiving everything, he is usually involved in every play


• the o-line has some injuries


• the play calling sucks.


• the receivers are young, pretty good but young


• no sammie stroughter - out whole season with bruised kidney


• no kickoff or punt return threat

notice nothing about defense. our defense rocks. they are the only reason why the score was 24-3 and not 50-3 or worse. from the line to linebackers it is solid up and down. the corners and safeties are not too bad but make some mistakes and aren't that big/tall to challenge some receivers. but they mostly get the job done. next two weeks should be good - UW and WSU, both at the bottom of the pac-10. canfield better improve this week. then december 1...civil war baby!

usc was not all that great and definitely aren't a top of the pac-10 team. uo is playing like crazy right now, asu hung with them but clearly weren't as good. cal is decent and ucla didn't deserve to beat us. i see the ducks coming into the civil war at 10-1, and osu at 7-4. yv will be healthy by then and canfield at the top of his game. the defense will be even better and the receivers will be stepping up. the streak for home team dominance i think is at 8 years or something. this year we will rise up and break it! dixon is mobile, poised, experienced, focused and smart. canfield will be eventually but not for a season or two. in order for us to win we need to establish the run, deep threats and consistency on special teams. defense will definitely be there. UW will be good practice for defending a mobile quarterback, although locker is only a freshman he is pretty good.

GO BEAVERS!

#15 - OSU football vids

oregon state vs. #2 cal (october 13) - OSU 31-cal 28

goal line stand:

last play:

some of the most amazing football i've seen. defense rules!! i get teary just thinking of it.

speaking of kick ass oregon state football, brings back memories from last year. OSU 33-USC 31

one more...civil war 2006, OSU 30-UO 28

can't forget hawaii, OSU 35-UH 32

and of course the gutsy call at the sun bowl vs. missouri to go for 2, OSU 39-mizz 38

#11 - my osu beavers beat #2 cal bears!

it was one of the best games i've seen in awhile, when it came down to the end it was oregon state 31, cal 28. the way that it happened is sad for CAL QB, kevin riley from beaverton (that's what he gets for not going to OSU). on what should not have been their last play, with probably 12 seconds or so, he made a freshman mistake of scrambling instead of throwing away the ball, which would've given them another play or two. he played a heck of a game but that one mistake cost them.

the beavs led by 10 with about 6 minutes to go when cal put together a nice drive and scored a TD with about 2:30 left, which included a 64 yd pass to lavelle hawkins, who just really killed us. then we got the ball back after an unsuccessful onside kick. we couldn't get a first down but ran the clock down to 1:19, at which time cal proceeded to march all the way down to osu's 12. 1st and 10 with 12 seconds and he ran. but you can't beat our defense, we are too fast, strong and good. we fly around!

kevin riley

but enough about them and how they messed up, this game was about the beavers. we won it in a great fashion. we didn't lay down at halftime. it felt like 2006 vs USC all over again. coming into the game as 14 point underdogs to the #2 team in the nation you have nothing to lose. we finally put it all together. although we were getting killed by justin forsett and hawkins we never let the game get out of hand like in previous games. and of course, MY DEFENSE!!! there is just nothing as exciting as the OSU defense.

here are a few highlights:
* offense, defense and special teams all showed up to play
* the best goal line stand I've ever seen (cal was 1st and goal at the 2 and tried to get in four times. we stopped each and every attempt)
* gerard lawson who fumbled 3 times in a row against ucla redeemed himself with great positive run backs, even one that went for 39 yards
* alexis serna with a 52 yd field goal
* alexis serna punting pretty well
* OSU swarm defense baby! hard tackles, an interception and multiple sacks. these boys are good
* sean canfield for stepping it up and playing like a champion
* yvenson bernard for being the go-to guy and that flying TD
* OSU o-line for giving bernard huge holes





GO BEAVERS!!