Dec 11 - The Company Holiday Party - This past Friday was the company holiday party and it was a great time. People snapped out of their daytime shell and turned it on for an all-out drunken blast at Shaw's Crab House. You name it, the company paid for it. The waitstaff wandered with trays of apps, wine, and champagne. The sushi and oyster bars were stocked throughout the night. Two full service bars kept beers, "martini shots," Washington apples, and other tasty beverages sliding down my throat. And to top it all off, the dance floor opened up half-way through the night and I did my best to pull everyone in. My marketing co-worker - danced with me. Attorney's secretaries - danced with me. Firm partners - danced with me. Even the shy librarian girl - I got her out on the dance floor. Photos will be available once I can "borrow" them from the firm.

Nov 8 - Last night, one of my softball teammates walks into the bar (aka batting practice) before the game and the first words out of her mouth were, God damn it, Blagojevich just won, visibly disturbed by the governor's reelection. Another teammate then asked, oh, did you want Topinka to win? ”And her response was, oh, hell no.” Super Tuesday had came and went. Any real surprises? No. Not one. Actually, the elections were utterly predictable. And I'm not even talking about the candidates that have won their positions in office. I'm also talking about the conversations leading up to and following the elections. Below are different aspects of the Illinois election and how you should have seen it coming.

Governor Rod Blagojevich beat Republican candidate Judy Baar Topinka
This lady proved to be a little nutty all throughout this campaign. One of her prominently televised ads showed her watching television with her dog. A Blago ad pops on the screen and her dog runs out of the room. Then, she explains to the camera, “The Governor’s ads are so negative, even my dog can’t bare to watch it.” This might work if she were running for high school student council, sorry Judy.

Political ads are and always will be negative
Blago ran a series of ads that you couldn’t hide from that displayed Judy Baar under a poor light. Every single ad ended with the tagline “What’s she thinking?” They talked about her ties to President Bush and how she worked in office under former Governor George Ryan (and for those who don’t know, Ryan was sentenced to prison time just recently for various scandals that took place while in office.) This surely didn’t help Judy Baar, especially in a state powered by liberal-democratic Chicagoan voters (everything outside of the Windy City is republican). But wait a minute, J.B., why are you crying “he’s so negative” when a series of your ads ended with a tagline “Had enough?” Hmm…

My ultimate favorite – People letting corruption influence their voting
As I mentioned before, J.B. was in office for Gov. Ryan’s mess. All Blago had to do was mention that and once he did, her steam toward unseating him was let out. Blago is no angel either. He’s still in the middle of wrongdoing in hiring, contracting and fundraising. People, isn’t that part of politics, or even life? You do a friend a favor, he does one in return for you. Anyway, the ultimate slimeball tactic was for Cook County Board President. John Stroger was the man in office until earlier this year when he suffered a stroke before the primaries. People swore he was ok and moved forward. In the primaries, he beat the County Commissioner, Forrest Claypool, for the democratic nomination. Meanwhile, nobody had seen John since the stroke. His “party” said he was ok but it went months before any actual sign came about. Finally, in late June, it was announced that he would not be physically able to perform his duty and he resigned. So who took over as the democratic nominee for the election? Not Claypool, but Stroger’s son, Todd. Oh, and by the way, Todd won yesterday.

Friends and random readers, please keep this in mind: you will seldom vote for who you want to win. It comes down to knowing who you really don’t want to win, then voting for who they are running against. Corruption and politics go hand in hand. How corrupt someone is is your opinion. Do you hold lying about the war more corrupt than hiring friends who donated money to your campaign? Do you see lying about your health so your son with little to no political experience can have a shot at office as a worse offense than say covering up the fact that someone under your wing is an alcoholic and has been molesting interns for years?

This all holds true for every election whether it’s Illinois, Michigan, or some high school student council. People are going to be pissed about the candidates and the outcome. We’re going to find problems with the nominees because that’s the system. We’re going to be influenced by the media because 99% of you have never met anyone running and have to take the biased opinions because that’s all we’re offered. We’ve complained about it all before. We’ll complain about it again in 2008. This time, don’t act so surprised by outcomes seen coming from miles away because I’m not going to buy it and neither should you. If you want to make a change, act on it.

September 21, 2006 Receiver Andy Zalon celebrates after a touchdown. PTP! went on to win, 33-6. Wednesday was opening day for Chicago Sport & Social’s Flag Football League and Pump That Pigskin! came on strong from the very beginning. This preseason, many journalists had ranked them last in their power rankings due to rumors of poor team organization and lack of team chemistry. Though PTP! had some minor mistakes along the way, they proved many critics wrong in the opener, beating Wentworth Miller 33-6 at Candlestick Park (Field 4). PTP!’s offensive attack, led by QB Bill Dvorak, started slow going three and out on the first drive of the game. From that point on, “Billy the Kid” went on to sling four touchdowns giving PTP! a dominating 27-0 lead late in the second half. Backup quarerback, Maureen Malloy, even got in the passing attack action adding one more touchdown pass to the box score. Linebacker Mason Everett charges forward after his first interception of the season. The defense, led by linebackers Mason Everett and Wayne Milczarek, had Wentworth Miller shut out until the final minute of the game, giving up a hail mary touchdown caught by the “Asian Sensation,” Fo T. Tu. Next week, PTP! looks to go 2-0 against Looking to Score. Game time is 9:30 pm ct at Candlestick Park.

Sept 20 - Flag football begins tonight!

Pump That Pigskin! will be kicking off their season at 7:30 pm at the corner of LaSalle and Stockton on Field #4. It's going to be an interesting season for this expansion team. Most of the members know each other but team chemistry is already being questioned. Only five players arrived at voluntary mini-camp this preseason.

Check back to Mace27.com all season for in-depth Pump That Pigskin! coverage.

Sept 18 - Yesterday, I was treated to the Bears vs Lions game at Soldier Field by Jen and her family. They're season ticket holders and wanted to treat me to a Bears game against my favorite NFL team. So I went with Jen, her brother, parents, and grandparents. They are all great people and strong Bears fans so it made it fun. The Bears distroyed the Lions and the family had their fun with me... as I expected. But if I had to summarize the game outside of my experience with the in-laws, I'd say it "sucked." I've been waiting to use that word because I just heard it for the first time yesterday. I had never heard it before until Bears fans we're throwing it at me similar to how roses are thrown at Miss America.

I really love how fans think that if they make a comment to you, it's the first time you've ever heard it. I don't understand random people who walk up and say "Lions Suck!" or "You Suck!" right in your face. I look at them and you can tell by their expression that they thought they were on top of the world.

Also worth mentioning are the two guys who physically layed into me, one with his elbow, the other lowering his shoulder. To some, I guess the pure satisfaction of saying "you and/or your team sucks" just isn't enough. These people need to really drive home their point with an attempt at physical domination. Good job, buddy, you're 5'7" and easily 50 lbs less than me. I hope you enjoyed your power in numbers with your "boys" giggling around you like school girls.

Was I bothered by these assholes? Not really. I was bothered far more by all the penalties against the Lions, even violating rules I have never even heard called before (it's going to be a long year if you keep playing like that, boys). In a lot of ways, having that much trash tell me I suck made me feel good about myself. If that much trash wants to let me know that I suck and do not fit in with their style and views, then I'm obviously not trash. After the game, I went back to one of the nicest areas of the city wear I live and later ate a wonderful dinner with my beautiful girlfriend at a nice restaurant just a block from me.

I'm not saying I'm better than those people who felt the need to go out of their way to inform me I "suck" or my team "sucks"... because I don't have to. They said it for me.

Aug 28 - Yesterday was my fantasy football draft with the league made up of guys I grew up with. 9 of the 12 guys in the league all rolled out of bed, half hungover Sunday morning and strolled into Eric's place for the beginning of what will be a thrilling season. The other 3 guys were conferenced in through the internet to make their selections. As always, when you get this group of our friends together, random thoughts, comments, and one-liners are going make the event that much more fun. Below are what I felt were the top 10 things said at yesterday's draft in order of occurance:

About 20 minutes before the draft starts, Travis walks in from the bathroom with the following proposal: "I'll trade a 10th round pick to anyone who goes to see what happened in there."

The draft gets delayed about 30 minutes due to technical difficulties and a late GM, but just as things are about to get underway, Eric's neighbor comes to the door. Eric, not happy with yet another delay, answers the door with, "Did somebody park wrong? What's up."

The draft is finally under way. Jason selects Larry Johnson with the first pick. Hogmire, conferencing in from Jacksonville through MSN Messenger, is now on the clock. For some reason, he's taking too much time for the 2nd overall pick in the draft. That's when it's clarified with, "Hogmire takes the most time because he's IMing 12 year olds to take their panties off."

Another one of the conferencing GMs makes their selection of Chester Taylor. A few of us look around the table and look at our lists with confusion. Finally Travis pops up and says, "Chester Taylor... who the fuck is that? I'm happy with that pick."

The first few rounds are done and people are starting to lose a little focus. Eric mentions that he still has WMU star Greg Jennings on his list. Howard replies, "If you're going with Greg Jennings, I'm going with Kyle Jennings." Then someone asks which Jennings has a better shot at playing in a Super Bowl. (for those that don't know, Kyle is a country singer we went to high school with.)

Scott's wife was around for the draft and she had asked why we have live drafts when Yahoo can just automate them. Eric's politely responds with, "Live drafts are fun... you can fart and stuff." Very fitting with the group of nine live drafters who were all out late the night before and were eating brats and nacho dip since a 3 half hour before the draft actually started.

Still in the first half of the draft, Bobby selects Matt Leinart. After an uproar over the selection of Leinart so early, Rolly says, "Who'd he pick? I thought we were only doing NFL!"

The bulk of the RB, QB, and WR stars had been selected, so it was time to move onto other positions. Then, Jeremy Shockey and Todd Heap go back to back. With a satisfying grin on his face, Travis says, "Ah, here come the tight ends."

Worth mentioning: 7th Round intermission for half the drafters to sing Cool It Now by New Edition

By this time, we're getting into the territory of some of the unheard-ofs. Along comes the selection of Dallas backup RB Marion Barber. Eric, not knowing who that is asks, "Marion Barber... wasn't she the lady on Happy Days?"

The final rounds had arrived and people were rounding out their teams with kickers. Kurt didn't have one and was scouring for who was left. Someone mentioned that Janikowski was still available. He comes back with, "I don't like a kicker fatter than me." But after a second thought, takes him anyway.

Aug 17 - I have become a fan of my friend Eric Stewart's blog, titled "An Estew Life." Recently, he was challenged to rank his alltime Top 50 movies. I have always been a fan of lists so I thought I'd attempt to tackle this challenge as well. Though it's a lot tougher than you would think, I believe my list is now fairly accurate. So here it is, Mace's All-time Top 50 movies (in order):

50. Point Break
49. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
48. Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
47. Rocky IV
46. Ring of Fire
45. Risky Business
44. One Hour Photo
43. American Beauty
42. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
41. The Usual Suspects
40. The Muppets Take Manhattan
39. The Breakfast Club
38. Rain Man
37. Best In Show
36. Drop Dead Gorgeous
35. Million Dollar Baby
34. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
33. Blazing Saddles
32. Fahrenheit 911
31. Back to the Future Part II
30. Team America: World Police
29. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
28. Old School
27. Endless Summer
26. Joe Dirt
25. Duets
24. The Shining
23. Big Fish
22. Field of Dreams
21. Clue
20. Pulp Fiction
19. Young Frankenstein
18. Saving Silverman
17. Psycho
16. Office Space
15. Elizabethtown
14. Magnolia
13. Blues Brothers
12. Vanilla Sky
11. Outside Providence
10. Airplane!
9. Animal House
8. Better Off Dead
7. Kingpin
6. Three Amigos
5. The Natural
4. Back to the Future
3. 61*
2. Bull Durham
1. The Jerk

Mar 26 - Daisy passed away this evening. As I was feeding the fish their dinner, I searched around for Daisy because I didn't immediately see her. Ever since the newer fish joined the group a couple months ago, she had become a loner. She spent most of her time by herself on the eastside behind the plastic greenery. Tonight, she wasn't there. I figured that she was probably camping out underneath the rock when I spotted her motionless in the grass. Normally, Daisy had a beautiful orange gleem to her scales, but when she was found, they were pale as a ghost. Currently, the cause of death is unknown. Some of the others have been acting suspiciously and they will receive questioning in due time. Daisy was the first fish to move into the community and she will surely be missed.

Dec 31 - Top 10 Photos of 2005

	Me, Howard, & Trav - the night of Rogers wedding, we broke away and had our own mini-party in the parking lot with Marie and Sara for a while. Just 3 guys who clean up pretty well.
	Last night of my final NRA Show - only a few people knew it was going to be my last show. Jamie and I partied with the best the DC office had to offer at Dick's Last Resort.
	Steve & I at the Bulls Game - Bulls vs Pistons just a couple days after the New Year. Merry Xmas, Steve-O!
	Brooke in the Hat - One of the defining moments of the Buckley Winterfest, Brooke in my hat with a can of Mountain Mist... we were all drained with a sugar high.
	Summer Booze Cruise - Meints and Trav came to visit. We celebrated Meints' birthday at Morton's with a nice bill and on this booze cruise. We're the only people in the photo with English as a primary language.
	Buckley Winterfest - Spent all weekend snowmobiling Buckley's city limits with this crew of people whose names I had only heard in stories.
	Jesus League - Schaumburg softball and a church team... yes you're wondering how I got involved with both. Well, I had a blast and would love to do it all again. Amen.
	Carolina Vacation - Brooke and I spent a week in my favorite place on Earth. The beach, parasailing, Wrightsville, cities named Clinton, and even a night with Greg. Awesome.
	Silly Hats - Dad and I were screwing around at Ron Jon's on a rainy day in Cocoa Beach. Though I never saw Steve play, we did catch an MLB spring training game... and NASA.
	Dustin's Wedding Night - I lived with the guy for 2 years and this moment in some ways summarizes the end of an era. No more Cubs in the backyard, no more 3 am burritos, no more "M&M's in the window." Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Foster.

Dec 12 - This morning when I checked my email at work (personal email always comes first), I had some mass mail from MLB.com. It was notifying me that tickets go on sale today for the World Baseball Classic. I clicked on it to see the different locations: Tokyo, Phoenix, San Juan, Orlando, Anaheim, and San Diego. Then I checked out the rosters and saw that a lot of big names were participating. So, as a long shot, I logged into the virtual waiting room (anyone familiar with buying tickets online for anything knows what this is) to see if I could score some. I figured my best bet would be the Phoenix games for two reasons: 1) Jamie Thomas, old high school friend, lives there and this would be ther perfect opportunity to visit, and 2) they host the first round where the USA plays. So, maybe 10 seconds of being in the VWR, and I get to purchase seats!

Fast forward five minutes: Jamie and I are now going to the first round in Phoenix, March 7-10, to see the US take on Canada and Mexico! I got us great seats too (1st level, Sec 114, Row 14).

Oct 29 - Yesterday was a good day. During lunch time, the Sox had their World Series parade downtown. I was not a bandwagon jumper and I routed for the Astros the entire series, but it's pretty cool to be in a major city when they've won a championship.

Then at night, I morphed into Stewie Griffin and headed to Cherry Red for my sexy party. There, I met up with my old roommate Superman and his wife, Supergirl. It was a good time as I'm sure you can imagine.

Sept 2 - The past few weeks have been the biggest mess. I have been searching for new jobs, quitting the NRA, and trying to figure out where I should plant my feet, whether it be still in Chicago, in Kalamazoo, or elsewhere. I had finally rid myself of the NRA (except the 6 phone calls within the first 3 days I had quit) and I found myself waiting to see if either position I had been pulling for was going to pan out. I saw it as "if either of these end up as a bust, I'm living in Kalamazoo." Well my friends, with no place to live and boxes of stuff piled up in my parents' garage, the answer came to me in the form of a phone call about 10:15 am et. The law firm, my first choice in this whole matter, had called offering me the position! I gladly accepted. So now, my immediate future is half complete. I have found my new career path, I just need to find a place to live. I have a few ideas on where I want to be, plus if you know me in any way, you'll know that this has gone through my head about a million times already. I just wanted to share that it's official: I will be back in Chicago asap and will start work at a much better employer starting September 12th. BOOYAH! (Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!)

Aug 25 - So my last day at the NRA is tomorrow, can I get a hell yeah?! And with my lease up in less than a week, then a Coldplay concert in Detroit, a mini-vacation in Traverse City, and two companies want 2nd interviews, I don't know how the next two weeks are going to turn out. More importantly, where am I going to be? This has become such a huge guessing game, Vegas has gotten in on the action. Check out the odds below and check often as they fluctuate by the day.

Location	Odds
Chicago, IL Kalamazoo, MI Grand Rapids, MI Clearwater, FL Wilmington, NC Los Angeles, CA Erie, CO	3:2 3:1 4:1 50:1 150:1 500:1 1000:1

May 30 - My new baby! - Ovation CS257 Celebrity Deluxe

May 15 - Some dinner last night. I went out to Schaumberg with Dustin & Hannah and we met up with her cousin & his girlfriend (yes, another 3rd/5th wheel story, it's just part of my life). We were undecided between Chevy's and Uno's, so Han Solo helped us decide... Uno's.

Jeremiah was our server and he was the highlight of the evening. The dinner started off with me ordering a raspberry iced tea and finding a chunk of onion in the bottom. I let him know and he kinda joked "oh yeah, you don't want onion in there, ha ha," but I wasn't very amused. I believe that triggered his uncomfortable table appearances for the rest of the night. When we order our food, Dustin & I get our own specialty pizza without mushrooms and tomatoes. The kid tells us that there are small tomatoes chunks in the pizza sauce. We obviously joke with him that he should strain them out and he doesn't get it. He offers to substitute a different tomato-free sauce and we tell him it's fine. Very disturbed, he moves on.

The biggest moment is when he comes back later with our food. There are three pizzas on his tray, none of them look alike (keep that in mind). He gives Hannah her personal pizza, he gives the other couple their 4-cheese pizza, and when he goes back to his tray to grab our pizza, we notice there's a huge chunk of broccoli in it. When we question the piece of broccoli, he makes up a bullshit story of "oh, that's what the cooks do to let me know there's no mushroom or tomato in it." I couldn't help but laugh right there. Then to make matters worse, much worse, he digs in the pizza with his finger and scoops the broccoli out. Dustin and I were crying we were laughing so hard.

Hannah's cousin asked if he could have some marinara to dip his 4-cheese pesto pizza. Jeremiah said that was a good idea because, I quote, "that pizza's not very good, I wouldn't order that."

When he came back to the table to check on us, he said, "hey how is everything going? Have you found anything else that shouldn't... uh, I mean, well... you know, my name is Jeremiah, just let me know if you need anything."

Jeremiah, I do not need anything more. I received an onion, broccoli, and your ratty finger in my pizza, all of which I didn't order. But more than that, you gave me quite a laugh and quite a story, that's all I'll be needing. Check please?

Apr 1 - I get on the train today and since it's Friday, it wasn't very packed. I take a seat next to someone and start reading the Red Eye (my morning routine). When the train gets to the Addison stop, the person next to me gets off and on comes this bum. She's short, she's dirty, she stinks, grey hair, black fingernails, a lot of coughing. And as I see her waddle on, I knew right then she was going to take the seat next to me. There were probably 10 different seats she had to choose from, but she chose the one directly to my right.

Like every person on their morning commute does, I'm listening to my mp3 player, reading the paper, and trying to ignore my surroundings. Normally, I try to make eye contact with others, not completely shut myself off to the world. Not today. I was slightly leaning forward, reading some nonsense about rappers pushing products in their music, and the whole time trying to time my breathing so there wasn't some funk with every inward breath I took.

Occasionally, I would glance up at the people sitting across from me and one girl kept staring at my situation. With every stop, Belmont, Fullerton, North & Clybourn, her stare was more intense. I was about at my breaking point at how much of the smell and the coughing I could handle so I leaned back to look around and see if there were any other seats available. As I did, that's when I realized why the girl across from me had her look of horror... the bum had her arm around me!

With my headphones on and my face in the paper, I hadn't noticed the bum pulled the ol' movie theater date trick. You know, the one where you yawn and slowly place your arm around your date. She got me. April Fools Day prank right on my shoulder. At the next stop, Clark & Division, I stood up, smiled at the poor girl across from me that probably wanted vomit from watching this scene and feeling helpless, and changed cars.

I'm sure many April Fools Days will pass, but none will be as memorable as the one I shared with my bum.

Feb 19 - Mace-A-Palooza 2 once again proved to be the hottest event that black history month has to offer. In a Woodstock fashion, people traveled from all around to come together for one festival of beer, bowling, and burritos. My friends were all able to place faces with the stories I had been telling.

The weekend started Friday night with some dancing action at Casey Moran's. Katy bought round after round as Dustin and I got our pictures taken with the raunchiest couple on the dance floor. From there, we ventured to El Burrito Mexicano because that's just what w do. Plus Matt needed to experience the Chicago ways I've taught Meints and Travis on their weekend visits.

Saturday afternoon, Meints, Trav, Matt & I had lunch at Murphy's. We walked the Clark strip and headed back home since two of the people in our group couldn't be away from a toilet for more than 30 minutes. (That's why I stay away from the jalapenos guys, so that doesn't happen to me.) We mainly just hung out around the apartment most of the afternoon. We watched Scary Movie 3, comedians on tv, read magazines, and napped. Yeah, we're not going to talk about the napping, it just happened.

Saturday night, the fun began. We rolled into Southport Lanes and grabbed tables right away. As the night went on, people came and went. Bowling was all it cracked up to be and then some. No one got oblivious, but there was one crying incident and one knocking-over-a-table incident. Other than that, everything was smooth. By the end of the night, Katy wanted to dance real bad and wanted to go to Beaumonts. Why nobody said no, I have no idea, but we went anyway. Upon arrival, no one was in a dancing mood... except her. So we hung out for a little over an hour, but took off before we got kicked out for either Katy falling all over the place or from Matt falling asleep at his chair.

Matt went with Katy & Jamie and Dustin, Trav, Meints, and I went straight to where we wanted to go all along... EL BURRITO MEXICANO one last time! Booyah and happy birthday to me!

Jan 23 - After working out today, I ran into Walgreen's real quick to pick up a few things. In between the store and the bus stop, a girl and I made eye contact; she smiles, I smile back. After a few steps past her, I hear "excuse me, excuse me." I turn around and she asks, "can I ask you a question?" Sure.

Hi, what's your name? (with a cute, gap-toothed smile)
Um, A.J. (why wouldn't I answer A.J.?)
Hi, A.J. I'm Shauna. So, do you date?
(couple second pause)
Yeah, I do. (thinking if I tell her I have a girlfriend, she'll get the hint)
Ok, so do you wanna go somewhere?
Wait, no, not that kinda date. I thought you...
Yeah, that's what I mean when I say date.
Sorry, but good luck with that.
Thanks.

Ok people, when you're in the city and a girl asks you if you date, she's hookin'. As I sat at the bus stop, I had one thought repeating in my head: I wonder what her rates are? ;)

Jan 2 - My friends, we've made it to another year. Congrats. I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year's Eve. Mine was filled with ups and downs, mostly ups though. As I look back at how my night went, let's hope 2005 follows the same map.

Show up, wonder around, realize that I'm not going get anywhere or meet anyone unless I just get out there and start talking. Some people I meet aren't going to be worth meeting, move on. I'm going to meet some good people in strange places, like in line for the urinal. Then these good people will introduce me to other good people, and better looking people!

At some point, the ball will drop and I will have no one around. Suck it up, move on. Find those good people or new people and rebound. Eventually, I'll realize that I need to live by my own favorite piece of advice. Then I'll make the most of what I have, finally connect with that person I've been eyeing all night and she'll kiss me goodbye.

And my advice, in case you were wondering: If you want something to happen, make it happen. The more you rely on fate or everyone's favorite cop-out "things happen for a reason, I guess it wasn't meant to be," the more you'll regret what you could have had.

It's a new year, people. 2004 was a great one but let's all make 2005 even better.

Booyah.

Dec 25 - Top 10 Photos of 2004

1 - Defenition of My Summer	6 - My first time touching the Pacific Ocean
2 - Luis Gonzalez and I hangin’ out before the game	7 - Alex Rodriguez & Derek Jeter
3 - Matt & I with the Memphis Redhots	8 - Kerry Wood After Getting Ejected
4 - Dog Shit Smeared On Dan’s Car	9 - Heart Attack On a Plate
5 - Halloween at John Barleycorn	10 - Sombrero Time!

Nov 28

Nov 3 - Do people actually realize what they've done? I could rant so long that I could write a book. I will write a book on life someday, possibly soon, and this will be a chapter. I just want to share a few things. Take them as you wish. Judge me if you like. If your opinion of me changes, then so be it.

• The top issue determining who people voted for wasn't the economy, wasn't homeland security, wasn't environmental policies... it was moral values.
• During the first three years of the Bush Administration, the unemployment rate increased 1/3, 2.2 million jobs were lost, the country has gone from a $281 billion surplus to a $521 billion deficit, and debt has increased from $5.7 trillion to $7 trillion. (Source: NY Times)

I guess we've come down to throwing actual policies out the window. You know what will stop the unemployment rate from increasing? Or what will save the ozone layer? Or increase the quality of our educational system? It's obviously not a policy. It's obviously not a plan. Just get on your knees. Pray a little. Pray a lot. It's faith that will find your friend or family member a new job after they've been downsized. It's faith that will stop pollutants from destroying our environment and will miraculously save us from diesel emissions, lead poisoning, oil spills and PCB. It's faith that will build new schools and fund programs.

It's going to be a long 4 years. When you face a problem or hardship, don't look at me, look to the heavens.

Oct 12

Sept 26 - A little while back, my mom had sent an email to Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner and host of ABC's The Benefactor. She had told him about how much she had liked the first episode of his show and how it was the talk of the office. She also mentioned that I am a huge fan of his and mentioned a page of my website that I had made about him (Hero Profile: Mark Cuban).

Within a few hours, he had written her back saying thanks for being a fan of the show and he also said to her, "Wow.. tell him I said thank you.. Im honored. Do you have his address, I want to send him something fun :)" So she wrote back, amazed that he had acknowledged her, and gave him my contact information. At this point, she had contacted me, forwarded on the emails, and just shared the excitement.

Time had gone by and I just happened to check the mailbox today after not looking all weekend. Inside, there was a large tyvek envelope from the Dallas Mavericks. I opened it up and inside was a card reading, "Mason, Mark really appreciated the Hero Profile. Enclosed is his jersey and he hopes you will stay a true fan. Thanks" along with a Mavericks football-style jersey signed by Mr. Cuban himself! (Check it out)

Thank you, Mark Cuban, for everything. I will always be a true fan and I look forward to seeing the Mavericks rock the NBA this year.

Sept 20 - This weekend, I found out that my good friend Brooke Hansen will be losing her job within a month. As a good friend, I swore I would do my best in helping her find a new one. Well, Brooke, here's the list: