My Final Semester

I should go back to school and I know it. I never intended to stop after the bachelor's degree. But, I can't think about school without thinking about my last semester in college.

My last semester was a nightmare for several reasons.

1. I was on my stupid three-year plan. In order to pull off the plan, I had to complete 32 hours this semester. Nine of those hours were simply paying for the CLEP hours I had already earned, so it's not as bad as it sounds. The rest of those hours were real classes, though! It was all upper-division stuff, including my departmental honors project.
   
2. Shawn had to go off and get married. It was good for Shawn, but it crapped up my world quite a bit. Good ol' Olivet assigned me a roommate that was a poor fit for me, to say the least. Dan, my new roommate, was a 22-year-old freshman taking 12 hours that semester. Don't get me wrong, Dan was and is a good guy, but we were just living in different worlds. At some points I just wanted to kill him, or at least the morons that put him in my room.
   
3. There was some planning involved in that idiot marriage of mine.
4. I was paying for this crap. Of course, I'm the genius who had to go to an expensive private school without any help. That was bad enough, but taking all those hours made it even more expensive than normal. Add to that the idiot wedding, the idiot car payment...
   
5. I was hell-bent on opening doors to my future. It wasn't enough that I earn my bachelor's degree, or that I earn it in just three years. No, I had to make sure I was all set to go to grad school when I got done. Dang it, nobody was going to limit my options, either! I would be totally pissed off if I got rejected by one of the crappy grad schools I had in mind--like Harvard.
   
6. If that wasn't enough to screw up a perfectly good semester of college, there was also the looming reality. I had to get a job when I was done with all this.

Well, long story short, I did it. I sometimes went two or three days without sleeping, but I did it. For the most part I got the results I wanted, too. I suffered a few A-minuses, but I got the departmental honors and the impressive GPA. I graduated on Saturday and started my new job on Monday. We had the idiot wedding the next month.

I won! There are many victories far worse than defeat.

It's been seven years. I should probably be over it by now, huh?

Play list

I've added a music play list to the main page of The Mike Lyons Show web site. The play list doesn't necessarily include all of my favorite songs, but it's close.

Warning: There are a few songs with naughty words. Watch out for Alanis Morisette (You Oughta Know), Eminem (Without Me), and White Zombie (More Human Than Human) if those things bother you. The radio versions were safe, but these aren't the radio versions. There may be more, but not that I've noticed.

I'd love to hear what you think about my delightful play list. What songs should I add? Which ones should I remove? (I suspect some genius will suggest removing Alanis Morisette (You Oughta Know), Eminem (Without Me), and White Zombie (More Human Than Human). We'll see.) So, let's hear it.

By the way, not every song is available online--there are a couple songs I would have liked to have included but were not available.

Let me know what you think.

Criminal Law Lesson

Do you know the difference between a robbery and a burglary? A robbery is when something is taken from your person. A burglary, on the other hand, is when someone breaks a hole through your wall, crawls through, breaks open your safe (which was impressive, by the way), and takes things from there.

The Ark of the Covenant

Life imitating art.

Fox News reports that a German Archaeologist is "on the trail" of the ark of the covenant. If that isn't Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, I don't know what is.

Seriously, though, it'd be the coolest thing ever if somebody actually found the thing. Last I checked, people who touched the ark of the covenant who were not supposed to were struck dead--weren't they? I guess that makes a pretty good litmus test for whether you've found the item you seek if you're the guy looking for it. Of course, according to the article, the archaeologist is looking in Ethiopia or something, even though we all know that the ark is safely cataloged and stored in a U.S. government warehouse... they say it will reappear in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

I'm an Indiana Jones fan, being an 80's child and all, but the title "the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has lowered my expectations. Well, that and the fact that Indiana Jones is like 60 now.

Dexter

After seeing only a couple segments of a couple episodes, I've decided that I have a disturbing level of fondness for the show Dexter. For those of you who haven't seen the show or heard anything about it, it's about Dexter Morgan, a serial killer whose victims are (mostly) serial killers. It's got some interesting elements to it. I'm certainly no fan of serial killers--I'm quite opposed to them, actually--but I don't have a lot of problems with someone who kills a serial killer.

I'm so confused.

Today's Survey

Alright, I haven't done one of these surveys in a long time, and I'm just in the right state of mind to do something that ridiculous. Enjoy.


60 things you didn't know about me until you read this...

What is in the back of your truck/car?
Stains. I'm blaming the kid.

What color is your toothbrush?
One is blue. The other is yellow. (Don't ask.) But the bristles on both are white. Go figure.

Name one person that made you smile today.

Bree

What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Probably getting dressed? I don't know. Who keeps track of this crap (on a Saturday, especially)?

What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Watching hillbillies race cars in circles.

What is your favorite candy bar?
Mounds. (Almond Joy's got nuts; Mounds don't.)

Have you ever been to a strip club?
No. Wait. No.

What is the last thing you said aloud?
"Not in Istanbul."

What is the best ice cream flavor
That's like asking me what restaurant makes the best burger. It's whichever one you're willing to buy for me!

What was the last thing you had to drink ?
Gatorade.
Gatorade is thirst-aid for that deep-down body thirst.
Be like Mike.
Is it in you?


What are you wearing right now?
A few extra pounds.

What was the last thing you ate?
Besides my words?

Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No. Nor last week, nor the week before that, nor the week before that.

when was the last time you ran?
To the best of my recollection, it was September 28, 2007. I'm pretty sure it was a Friday night, and Las Vegas was on TV. http://notcelebritynotfitclub.themikelyonsshow.com/2007/09/running-on-cherry-pie.html

The last sporting event you watched?
I saw some NBA action last weekend. I said action.

What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
I thought popcorn was the flavor.

Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on my space?
Your mother.

Ever go camping?
Duh. (For those of you in Miami-Dade County, that means "no." I know it was like eight years ago, but if you don't know how to vote you've got some serious problems.)

Do you take vitamins daily?
No. My crack dealers says it's got all my essential vitamins and minerals.

Do you go to church every Sunday?
I try.

Do you have a tan?
No. I wears SPF 50 when I'm inside.

Do you like Chinese food over pizza?
Is it Chinese pizza?

Do you drink your soda with a straw?
What's "soda"?

What did your last text message say?
"Done"


What are you doing tomorrow?
Church and family stuff.

Where is your dad?
Home.

Look to your left, what do you see?
A clock that is probably worth more than my whole life.

What color is your watch?
You mean my phone? It's gray.

What do you think of when you think of Australia?
"No kangaroos in Austria!" Go figure.

Do you use chapstick?
Rarely.

What is your birthstone?
I think it's a kidney stone.

What is your favorite number?
3

Do you have a dog?
I have two buried in the back yard. Does that count?

Last person you talked to on the phone?
Greg

Have you met anyone famous?
I met myself.

Any plans today?
Same thing I plan every night, Pinkie; try to take over the world!

How many states have you lived in?
One... unless you count states of mind...

Ever go to college?
Once or twice.

Do you dye your hair?
I'd rather dye.

Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
As if you don't know already!

Last song listened to?
Time for Me to Fly, REO Speedwagon

Can you say the alphabet backward?
"The alphabet backward." Sure.

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
I'm not gay enough to have a favorite pair of shoes.

Are you jealous of anyone?
I'm so great I'm jealous of myself.

Is anyone jealous of you?
Almost everyone, I imagine.

Do you love anyone?
All night long, baby.

Do any of your friends have children?
Yes. I even have friends who don't!

Do you eat healthy?
Who's healthy?


What do you usually do during the day?
Take a shower. Other than that it's pretty random.

Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
Just a little bit.


Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
Hello! Of course!

What color is your car/truck?
Gray and dirt. The gray is supposed to be there.

Do you like cats?
I like big cats.


Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Ype.


How did you get your worst scar?
I jumped into a creek.