Adam's Blog

Final Iowa game of the year...and snow!

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:27:00 GMT

November 16, 2008

This past weekend was the one that I had been waiting for all year. I had tickets to the Purdue game on Saturday in Iowa City and was excited because not only are they coming off of a huge win last week, but this is their last home game of the year. It turned out to be one of those games you don’t forget.

Waking up at 5 a.m. was the least of our worries for that day. I went to the game with my girlfriend, my brother and his wife. The drive didn’t take too long and if you have ever traveled to a game the morning of from the Des Moines area, you know that most of the people heading the same way that early in the morning are driving to the game. The big difference between this game compared to others….snow.

It snowed before we left town and didn’t let up. First the snow started very light and gradually become more heavy. We arrived at our usually tailgating area on the golf course on Melrose. To stay warm, I had 4 layers on with the last one being a sweatshirt. For some reason, I didn’t want to wear a coat. I got out the grill and started cooking some hamburgers and hot dogs while drinking a cold one and playing Bags.

Anyway, we hung out until there was about 40 minutes until game time and left to head towards the stadium. We found our seats and couldn’t believe the view we had. When I originally bought the tickets before the season started, I only spent $45 on each and they were supposed to be 30 some rows behind the end zone. During the season, they got upgraded to the other side of the field and to the 5^th row for no additional charges. So we got a pretty good deal out of it.

The game was like most of the others, Shonn Greene rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns with the Hawkeyes winning once again. They became bowl eligible after winning last week and now are building up their bowl game résumé. Next week they go to Minnesota and it should be a good game. If you don’t keep track of the games, see what I have to say about it next Sunday. I’ll talk about the results and some possible bowl game situations.

Go Hawks (finally)

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:25:00 GMT

November 10, 2008

As some of you probably know, Iowa pulled off a huge upset this last Saturday against #3 Penn. St. I was held on the edge of my seat for the entire game. It is an incredible time to be a Hawkeye fan. The one thing that I keep kicking myself over is that at the beginning of the season, I was debating between getting tickets for this Penn. St. game and next weeks Purdue game. I chose Purdue because no one thought the Nittany Lions were going to be any good this year and I didn’t want to go watch a blow out game.

As the season progressed, and an undefeated record was brought to Kinnick Stadium, some thought that I still made the right choice. They figured Iowa was going to get destroyed this game. Even though a little part of me started to feel the same way, I knew that Iowa still could pull it off. Besides last year, the Hawks have beaten Penn. St. 5 games in a row prior. Coincidentally enough, the streak started in 2002, when Iowa loss only one game that year and was ranked #3 in the country. The only loss that year, to Iowa State. Hawk fans will never forget that game. They could have been in the National title game if they had won.

Besides all of that, I have some more good news. Lately, I have been getting A’s on my past few exams. I don’t know how I’m doing it. When I get done with the exam, I feel like I did an ok job on it, maybe a B if I’m lucky. Everything seems to be going my way these last few weeks. No problems have come up like they normally do. There always seems to be some type of problem, whether it is car troubles or shots for my cat. Then just when everything looks up, a bill or two shows up in the mail. With all of this good news, I’ll stop while I am ahead. Superstitious?

Halloween

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:24:00 GMT

November 2, 2008

With this being Halloween weekend, I had to get out and catch up with some old friends. Friday night was one long day. A friend from Cedar Rapids came down and wanted to go to some bars downtown. We started out at Komodo Club and made our rounds until ending at 101. Most of the people at the bars were dressed in costumes but we just never got into the dressing up mood. We ended up going to another friend’s condo to continue the party. There weren’t a whole lot of people there, but it was fun either way. The night came to an end with a cab ride home around 5:30 in the morning.

Saturday night was more of the same. I went to a costume party just outside of Des Moines where the theme was hillbilly attire. I wore a bright orange hunting stocking hat, a flannel coat, a pair of gym shorts and my hunting boots with socks that went halfway up my leg. Not the best costume I know, but it was put together at the last minute. The party was ok but there weren’t many people that I knew there. The main highlight of the night was when one of the neighbors stopped by.

This man was as crazy as they come. He brought over a mini cannon about the size of a remote that he built himself. He actually filled it up with black powder and lit a fuse that was connected into the back of the barrel. It was louder than any gun that I had ever heard. I was sitting about 10 feet away from it and I felt a breeze from the ignition. He then told us that he also built a 3-foot long cannon, but it was back at his house. We tried to convince him to go get it and show us, but he passed on the idea. After that, the weekend was basically over. The only other thing I did during the weekend was write this. So that wraps up this blog until next weekend where hopefully I will have more to talk about.

Pheasant Hunting

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:22:00 GMT

October 27, 2008

This last weekend, I went to Pocahontas County to hunt for pheasants with my dad, brother and two uncles. Each of my uncles have their own dogs so we figured that we were going to get our limit relatively easy. As we were driving to a specific area that the two usually hunt, we saw a rooster fly across the road. This added to our positive thoughts.

Once we arrived at the area, we let the dogs loose. Right off the bat they flushed up 4 hens and we thought everything was going to be good. We drove around for the next 7 hours, walking through dozens of some of the best looking ditches I had ever seen and there were no roosters. We should have had our limit within a couple of hours, but we didn’t even see another bird until 5 minutes past shooting time. On top of that, they were on some farmer’s property so we couldn’t shoot them even if we wanted to.

With opening day a bust, my brother and I decided to try our luck the next day at a field outside of Indianola that was bought by the group Pheasants Forever. You would think that this would be a good area to hunt, right? Wrong. It was basically an entire field of thorns. You couldn’t take 5 steps without getting stuck by some plant. My pants received large cuts throughout them. The cuts were deep enough to give myself wounds. All over my kneecaps and upper thighs are bloody marks. My pants still have thorns on them that continue to cut me when I wear them. To top it all off, the winds reached around 50 m.p.h. This did not make for a good environment.

The Hawkeyes and Packers didn’t play this weekend so no new rant about them. The one thing I can comment on is, like I have been saying all year, Shonn Greene is starting to come up on some of the Heisman Trophy lists. He is the only running back in the country that has rushed for over 100 yards in every single game this year. Not only that, but Mitch King is in the running for the Bednarik award which is given to the best defensive player in the country. Finally, some of the players are getting the recognition that they deserve.

Mmmm, Mexican food.

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:20:00 GMT

October 20, 2008

I’ve finally gone out to eat at a good restaurant right around campus yesterday, El Rodeo. It’s a great Mexican restaurant with the best margaritas that I have ever had. Not only that, their lunchtime margaritas are some of the cheapest around and they come in pitchers as well. I got my usual beef burrito with enchilada sauce on it.

I was there along with my other siblings for my mom and dad’s birthday. My dad’s other children live on the west side of Des Moines while they are in Indianola, so they don’t see each other too much. This is why we have these dinners and we make sure they are always at this same place.

Let’s see, what else is new…. I just landed a new job finally. My official title is a lab research assistant, working for Pioneer in Johnston. Basically I will be conducting experiments on different types of corn kernels. I would be completing this by exposing these kernels to different types of weather conditions to figure out which specific criteria is needed for the kernel to produce the largest yield of corn. These are the seeds that Pioneer will sell to their customers.

A professor of mine told me about the position at a meeting I had with her so I figured why not. I filled out the application and got a call the very next day. I even got my interview that same night. The interview was set up where there were three people talking to me not just one. This was a little uncomfortable because I had never had an interview like this.

It must have gone well because the manager called me back that night and offered me the job and I accepted it. I was told that I will start this Wednesday and that was that. My union job still hasn’t started back up and more bills have started to come in. This new job came along at the perfect moment. I’ve been stressing pretty bad about not having a job come through lately.

Midterm Update

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:17:00 GMT

October 14, 2008

Well, the most recent events that have been happening for me are midterm grades were do yesterday, I’m still in the process of looking for a job since my internship is completed and my Hawkeyes/Packers both won this weekend.

Even though I did not receive a midterm, this is always a hectic time of the semester. Classes are just about over and homework is going to get even more severe. Up to this point, it has been pretty easy to maintain working, homework and a social life.

Once my internship was done, I figured that I would have a lot of time to complete upcoming homework while I search for another job. I was right about this statement, but I have been out of work for about a month and I am starting to worry once my bills start to come in. Even though I have a good amount of money to last me for a while, I still worry that it may take longer than expected to find new employment.

I have recently been in constant communication with some of Des Moines’ locals that I have been networking with through different activities. This is probably one of the best things you can do once you become upperclassmen. Getting your name “out there” even when you are not prospecting can help you down the road, you never know who you will bump into in the future.

Besides that, I have been seeing a similarity between my Iowa and Green Bay football teams. The Packers seem to duplicate the same outcome as the Hawkeyes do just a day later. I know it is just mere coincidence, but I decided to test this theory out this last weekend. I currently have an account on an internet gambling site and decided to bet $20 on Green Bay to win Sunday. After the game, I won $44 and couldn’t be happier, especially with no income coming in at the moment. I took into consideration that this may not be the best thing to be doing with my money at the moment and have/will not be back on there for a while. Now that I have vented for a little while, I’ll leave you to your thoughts. See you next time.

Warning! Hawkeye football rant!

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:04:00 GMT

October 6, 2008

Now that the Iowa football team has lost 3 in a row, I feel the need to vent my frustration to someone, and that lucky someone is you. If you followed the most recent loss to Michigan State you have probably started to think like I have, that coach Ferentz is getting ready to get canned. Only being down 16-3 with a few minutes left in the 3^rd quarter, the Hawkeyes push down the field into an area that would be an easily made field goal attempt. With the drive being 4^th down and 2, the coaching staff decides to go for it instead of making the field goal to be down 16-6 with a whole other quarter to go. Of course they fail and lose possession.

Luckily, the stellar Iowa defense holds their ground once again like they have all year and the offense finally put a touchdown on the board. Ankeny graduate Andy Brodell made a stupendous diving catch, much like the ones made by former Wide Out Ed Hinkel, in the back of the end zone to level the game at 16-10, instead of 16-13. The defense came up big on the next drive with Des Moines’ own Jordan Bernstein making a possible game saving interception to give the ball back to Iowa.

With no timeouts left and only minutes left in the game, Stanzi showed why he is the true starting quarterback and led the team back into field goal range with just under 2 minutes left IN THE GAME, I repeat, IN THE GAME! Now, the logical thing to do is kick a field goal when their drive stops to a 4^th and 1 and tie the game. The defense had the Spartans shut down all 2^nd half, so why not take the game into overtime and win it there. That would be too easy and not very exciting apparently because they decide to go for it again. How stupid can the coaching staff really be? I understand that you are away during a conference game, but come on…

So what happens? You guessed it. They were stopped and lost the game. This seems to be the theme during these last 3 games. In each game, one or two situations came up that a 10 year old could have made the right decision and the coaches chose the wrong. Why do they commit these dumb ass choices when they started out the start of the season so good? Hopefully Ferentz can turn things around and make another bowl game, unlike the little fiasco they had last year losing the last game of the season to Western Michigan in an embarrassing outing.

Bike night, school work and the end of my internship

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:02:00 GMT

September 29, 2008

After spending my Friday night at a birthday party, I went to a military appreciation bike night event in Indianola. I have a friend who is in the National Guard and his mom runs a food vending business during these types of things so we got to get some free food. I met a family friend while I was there and I talked to her about finding out the steps to take to get my coaching license. I am going to start putting my name out to high schools about coaching soccer for them. Since I don’t play anymore, I want to still have some type of connection with the sport.

Another thing going on right now is that my Communications internship is coming to a close this week. I’ve actually only been completing it for about a month, but they have me working quite a few hours per week. As long as you work a certain amount of total hours, then it doesn’t matter how long it takes. It has been a pretty good experience but with a minimal amount of writing which is what I was not originally told. The ad said the applicant would right internal memos and analysis reports. Instead, I am writing an article for a research magazine where I had to interview 4 of the top people in the company about the business and all aspects about it.

Schoolwork is starting to get crazy. Having 2 tests or quizzes every week, working 30 hour weeks and the usual amount of homework every night is no fun. Now with the internship ending, I have to include looking for another job to the list. I do have another job but I try to keep 2 at the same time at all times. It seems like a lot, especially working 65-hour weeks during the summer, but life gets expensive living on your own, even if you have a roommate. The only free time I ever have is on the weekends, but you eventually learn that that is just the way it has to be when you get older.

Sorry the entry this week is a little short, but like I just said, I’m a busy guy right now.

South America!

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:59:00 GMT

September 22, 2008

One of the main things that I took into consideration when looking at colleges was if they had some type of overseas education. I decided that I would try this by signing up to go to Africa this last May. We were going to go to Kenya and on a safari in Tanzania. Unfortunately, wars broke out in Kenya and the school deemed it unsafe to go. The group made a decision and the final verdict was a trip to South America.

We first started out in the northern part of Chile. We spent about 4-5 days there working our way south as we did. The culture was different, unlike anything I had ever seen before. I spent some time touring Europe when I was in High School, and this definitely was not the same. One of the days we took buses up an actual volcano that had a glacier over the very top of it. Besides feeling a little sick, it was a good day.

The best time there was the very last night when another student and I decided to go to a local bar that we nick named the Big Face. After a couple of hours, we ran into two other Americans that were living abroad there teaching English. One of them was from Washington and the other Oregon. While in the middle of a conversation with the two, a local girl came and started dancing in between us. Only knowing her for 20 minutes, we decided to get into a cab with her and her ex boyfriend, and go to a club.

Making our way to the cab, I needed to go to the bathroom. The girl instantly pointed to the nearest door on someone’s home. I thought that she was joking, but she was serious. She said that is what they do there, so I unzipped, and we were soon back on our way. Arriving at the club was unlike I anything I had ever seen. There were about 40-50 locals waiting outside to get in. The girl we were with said she knew the guy working the door and told us to wait. After a few minutes, she waved us to come towards the doors. This is when things got interesting.

A group of 4-5 locals surrounded myself and the other student I was with. They started shouting and yelling thinking that it was unfair that we got to go in and they didn’t. The girl came rushing down and broke the incident up and took us inside.

This club was basically a big rave. Hundreds of people were dancing and having fun, and it was around 5 a.m. at this point. I can safely say that I doubt that there is anything that can be compared to this place in the United States, not even in the movies. That is how crazy this club was. After some more dancing and drinking, we decided to call it a night. We had to wake up around 6:30 and drive all day to Argentina, which I wasn’t looking forward to. We took a cab back to the hotel and went to bed, only to have the alarms go off not too long after. With only 1 out of 3 countries down and only better things to come, I’ll leave it at that until next time.

Warning! This is all about Hawkeye football...

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:07:00 GMT

September 14, 2008

I know I promised to talk about my South America trip this entry, but it will have to wait again. I was hoping that my pictures would have been accessible by now so I could post some of them on here, but this is not the case. My computer has the folder they are in frozen or locked so I can’t reach them. Weird. But not to fear, I have some good material to write about today.

Hawkeye fans and myself have something to cheer about after this weekend. An easy win over state rival Iowa State had every follower flashing the black and gold whenever possible. I made the trip to Iowa City on Friday night and people were already tailgating around 4 a.m. My friend was nice enough to late me stay with him that night, and we only got a couple of hours to sleep before we headed to the stadium.

I went to the Homecoming game last year against Indiana and yet this still didn’t compare. Even with the constant rain and drizzle, tens of thousands of fans were out supporting their team. There was one instance when I felt bad for some of the State fans. While driving through Melrose, the main partying area for those who don’t already know, I saw one lonely fan wearing red and yellow and a mob of Hawkeye fans proceeded to run over and pour beer all over him. A lot of people got a kick out of that.

Once I was able to park, we set out the lawn chairs and started the grill. There really isn’t anything better than cooking hamburgers, drinking a cold one and playing bags at 8 in the morning in the rain nonetheless. After we got done eating we made our way back towards the stadium originally just sit outside of it and listen to the game. I suggested we try to get on top of one of the parking garages nearby to see if we could get a better view. We made it to the top of one and set up camp again. You couldn’t actually see the players, but you had a clear view of the jumbo-tron and you were close enough to get the atmosphere of being in the stadium. Overall, it was a really good spot to be if you didn’t have tickets.

With a 17-5 win the stats for the team continue to rise. This is the part where I go on my rant about Iowa. After the first 3 games of this season, Iowa is averaging 35 points per game whereas their opponents, a measly 2.7. For the second straight year, they haven’t given up a touchdown during these 3 games. Running back Shonn Greene is averaging 119.7 yards per game and is 5 pounds larger than the average of opposing teams linebackers. He has the speed to run around you and the strength to run you over. I expect good things from him this year. New starting sophomore quarterback Ricky Stanzi has got everyone wondering where this kid came from. He struggled a little bit this weekend with 2 interceptions, but a win is a win, especially when it’s against Iowa State.

What still cracks me up is that State can’t seem to get a kicker worth a scholarship. Missing 3 field goals all within 50 yards really hurt the team. Out of four deep trips into the Iowa red zone, the Cyclones only came up with 1 field goal. That just wont cut it in a rival game. I do remember, however, that State beat Iowa last year by kicking 5 field goals. It seemed that that was the only time kicker Bret Culbertson could make anything.

The team has replaced him with freshman Grant Mahoney this year, and it doesn’t seem to be helping. The kid has got to be a decent kicker if he is starting Division 1, but that’s not always the case. Cyclone fans remember having to deal with walk-on Culbertson for 4 years and the troubles he had. But enough with this bashing, the main storyline is Iowa beat Iowa State and the Cy-Hawk trophy heads back to Iowa City for another year. As long as Iowa keeps winning, you will be reading a lot more of these types of comments from me, so be prepared.