Posted 12:03 PM by Mike
Well, my fingers are now crossed. I officially applied for graduate school today. I'm hoping to be starting at the end of August at the College of St. Scholastica for their Master's in Management program. Scholastica is a top-notch private school located in Duluth,MN. In 2000, they opened up a St.Paul campus downtown where I work. I finally have had enough here at work. Don't get me wrong, the company is a great company to work for. But unfortunately, in order to advance here, you kinda have to be a bit of a butt-kisser which, to the people who know me well know, I am most definately not one. Plus, I've had my fill with the banking industry. Time to start getting back to my original goal, fitness centers. My ultimate goal is to become an Executive Director for a YMCA. A master's degree will definately help me towards that. This program is perfectly suited for me. Only 10 months of classes then two months of thesis work. Then done. Every Monday and Wednesday, 6-10pm. I know it sounds like a lot, but for 10 months, I can deal. So I'm hoping to get in, have my company pay for about 2/3rds the cost, then buh-bye. There aren't any rules for tuition reimbursement pertaining to having to stay a certain amount of time after completion.

Heading down to Rochester this weekend. I have a bachelor party to go to down there and Kristin has her cousin's wedding reception so it worked out. Madison has been pretty good, up until today that is. Kristin said she was insane this morning with chewing and running off. Obedience classes should help soon.

Posted 1:20 PM by Mike
I hate to say it, but NASCAR is starting to lose it's luster for me. I know it one of the most popular sports in the country, but to me, it's starting to become very stale. Maybe it has to do with the new sponsor, NEXTEL, or maybe something else. But for some reason, I've found myself flipping the channels during the race. It used to be that I looked forward to watching a race on Sundays live. But now, I think from here on out, I'm just going to tape the damn races so I can fast forward through the commercials and the endless amount of caution laps that have been happening recently while NASCAR tries to figure out what the hell they are doing under caution. After the race yesterday, Jeff Gordon said he wanted to appologize to the fans for the disaster of a race that just transpired. And for once (GASP!) I applaud Jeff Gordon for something that came out of his mouth besides the endless spew of sponsorship thanking (which it seems he has passed down to Jimmie Johnson!). Not even Dale Jr (my second favorite driver) leading the points is very exciting to me since that lead will be wiped away after race #26. Also, I'm getting tired of watching grown men turn into little babies and start running into each other on the track when they are mad at each other (like Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick yesterday). They are out there under caution turning their 3500 pound car into a weapon. But they don't care because they don't have to fix it. Like Jeff Hammond said after the race, either let it go or go behind the trailers and settle it like men!!
I just think I've become disenchanted with sports in general right now. My all-time favorite sport, hockey, which is the only sport I will watch just for the sake of watching hockey, no matter what level, is gearing up for a long stoppage unless the players and owners can agree on a new CBA. Maybe a season without hockey will be good for me since I hopefully will be starting grad school in the fall and may not have as much time to dedicate to watching hockey. But the fan in me will hurt alot if there isn't a season of NHL hockey.