Oh, last week….what a week it was. LSU and the Saints dominated their opposites. First, let’s begin with LSU. They destroyed Auburn. 393 total yards to Auburn’s 248. Defense was magical. Claiborne and Brookes, Mathieu’s replacement, stepped up and definitely met expectations. This shows that even without the Honey Badger and Ware, we have depth on both sides of the ball. Both Lee and Jefferson each threw a beautiful TD pass to Randle. It seemed like everyone on the team got a chance to rush the ball. Four ball carriers, even without our starter. That’s right, I said 4. A couple of hits on special teams will still be felt three generations later, I’m sure. LSU ended the game 45 against 10 for Auburn, the biggest spread in the history of our many meetings. I carried the glow from this game through half the week. The chant at the end said it all – We want BAMA! Another week until the game of the year – #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama.
Then, on Sunday, I watched the decimation of one of the finest teams of the last decade or so by my beloved Black & Gold. Colts were handed a good ole fashioned beating – Saints 62, Ind. 7. All I can really say is wow. To have your entire season go to crap because of one player on injured reserve. Granted, Manning is a spectacular QB, maybe even one of the greatest. But still, somebody needs to step up. New Orleans played with fire in their bellies and looked unbelievable. Black & Gold Superbowl, baby.
OK, away from sports. I also subbed Monday, Tuesday, and the day that comes after Tuesday at the aforementioned high school where I was quite critical of some of the students. I got to know some of the students a little better and have come to revise my previous opinion. I decided that I would let them hold a mop to clean the floor. Maybe. Despite them acting like bonobos on crack, they are not all bad. Except one kid. He is just annoying. How annoying? I considered homicide, profanity, and momentarily even strong drink (and I don’t mean Sprite). He annoys the other teachers, the other students, no doubt the janitors and lunch ladies, etc. What’s sad is that he doesn’t even realize it, probably. I will not break his heart – high school is difficult enough. The other kids were all most enough to make up for this one blip.
On to some great news – I found out that I passed the Foreign Officers Service Test. I passed the written part and skimmed through barely on the essay. When I say barely, I mean that I think I left a little flesh behind. I had a 6 out of possible 12. The Lord was surely watching out for me. Thank you. The next step is 6 biographical essays due on November 16th. If I pass that (I will find out in late Jan.), then the next step is the Oral Interview. I can but continue on, faithful.
Tonight, I had a really good discussion with my roommate on our jobs and futures. We are in the same boat…well, same trailer literally and same boat proverbially. Both of us do not make enough to cover beyond our basic expenditures. We needed to take a long, hard look at our paths and make some decisions. It was a good first step.
I have decided to finally endorse a candidate for President of the United States of America. I initially supported one candidate because of his religious affiliation, but decided against him for several reasons. The only Mormon presidential candidate that would ever get my initial endorsement would be Yeah Samake, who is running for President of Mali. His website is 
The games this week turned out to be very interesting – both good and bad. LSU once again proved that it is dominating force in the SEC. The offense looked really good and the defense played outstanding as usual. I especially liked beating Tennessee because of last year’s debacle where we almost lost the game, but were saved by a penalty against the Volunteers for having 12 men on the field. This year, there was none of that and LSU put them down with a 38-11 victory. Next weekend is Auburn.
I know that this is a late post, but I have to put it out there. Last weekend was equal parts estascy, equal parts misery. First, as I have always done, lets dispense with the misery. I had a nasty sinus headache that came on Sunday and stayed with me till Monday. I had been house-keeping for my dad and think that Jolie’s ample hair (my step-mother’s dog) affected me as I haven’t been around her this much since I moved out. The bad part of it was that I missed work. I really hate missing work as we are a bit short-handed now.
I have long been a fan of Korean food. Now, as I try to increase my culinary repertoire, it is only natural that I go to that cuisine style that I have so joyfully embraced. For my first dish, I picked a simple one that I learned about through my Youtube subscription 
My sister-in-law, Marianne, is one of my favorite people to talk to, especially about food. I like my other ones as well, but she is the one I have had the longest. More importantly, she lives the closest to me. This means that I can go and mooch off her when she allows. This past Friday she was without my brother as he was working a double at the Firehouse. I successfully ingrated myself to her when she said she wanted to cook a little Indian food. She has raved about it before and my ears perked up like Georgia (her German Shepard) when I heard Indian food. I even volunteered to help her collect the fixings. So off to the store leaving my two nephews to watch over the home front.
Recently, a story broke in which a Dallas pastor, who after introducing Gov. Rick Perry at a fund raiser for his presidential campaign, slammed Mitt Romney for being in a “cult” – Mormonism. Admirably enough, the official response from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was that it would not respond to comments made at a political gathering, appropriately separating religion from politics. Later, Anderson Cooper interviewed Pastor Robert Jeffress. He defended Romney and later Barack Obama on the question of their religion. The video of the interview is 
Yesterday, I had the Foreign Service Officers Test for employment with the U.S. State Department. It was divided into 4 sections – Informational, Biographical, English, and an Essay section. I feel that I did really well on the first three sections. The essay, oh man, the essay. It was an almost complete disaster. I think that a monkey with its hair on fire could have written a better one than I did. It seemed when I finished a blathering unorganized mess. The topic was not that difficult and I knew quite a bit about it due to my studies. I just flopped. I am hoping that it turned out better than I remember it. Also, if it did, that the department may overlook it for some of my better qualities. I find out in four to five weeks. If I did fail it, I have to wait 11 months to take it again. Suck!
In the winter of 2006, I accompanied two friends on a journey through Southeast Asia for three weeks. We spent a week in Thailand, one in Cambodia, and a final one in Vietnam. During this time, I found paradise. When a man finds something close to heaven, it is difficult to replicate if it is not at the same place with the same people. Me and one of my friends – a beautiful, young lady – visited the Temple of Confucius in Hanoi. Outside of one of the gates, we sat down on a little curbside cafe operating out of a small stall. There, I had the best Ph? that man can taste. Heaven. Later that night, we attended a wonderful opera that capstoned the experience.
