January

"I forgot to remember to forget her
I can't seem to get her off my mind
I thought I'd never miss her, But I found out
Somehow I think about her almost all the time"
--I Forgot to Remember to Forget, Johnny Cash

I may as well start naming these posts after the months in which they appear, since they are appearing monthly, at best (I noticed this morning that I've posted exactly four times since the end of September--aargh). It's already been a good month, 12 days in, so there's plenty to write about, and plenty to look forward to. Let's start with the past:
- The Rose Bowl was the best game I've ever viewed in which I did not have a true rooting interest. I wanted SC to win, of course, but wasn't devastated by the defeat as I may have been in, say, the '04 NBA Finals or the '97 Elite Eight (or the Week 17 Chargers-Broncos debacle in the rain in San Diego--I was there, of course--that saw us fall to 9-7 and lose our quarterback--thank goodness for Shawne Merriman, he's real good).
- Christmas (and its accompanying break) was wonderful (I did see "Walk the Line" last month, leading to the above lyrics and a mini-obsession with Cash's music--Johnny, not Walter). It wasn't just taking a full week off that was so nice, but spending that time with family (mostly just playing video games, but still) and recapturing the ability to sleep in. Waking up at 10 or 11 every morning was so different and so sweet--I really thought I had lost the ability to sleep past 9, but it seems I just need a few days to get used to it.
- Not sure who watches Desperate Housewives, but it's obviously a pretty good portion of America, so it would have no doubt been more exciting for that segment of the population than it was for me to have James Denton (a plumber in the show? maybe a gardener?) hanging out at our editorial meeting yesterday. Cool guy, actually (made a few rather humorous remarks directed at one of our producers), and just another in a rather lengthy list of pretty darn cool things about working in television.
- One of the not so cool things about working in television, however, is the impermanent nature of employment, and we went through another series of "trimming the fat", as it were. Lost a good eight people from the show staff, and we'll be losing several more from the crew (cameras, sound, wardrobe, etc.) in the near future. All part of a concerted effort to keep the show viable and making money (which means it's a good thing for those of us that aren't going anywhere), but it still sucks because there are people involved--people I like.
And the future:
- 24 starts Sunday. 24 starts Sunday. 24 starts Sunday...
- The UCLA basketball team is on the verge of something great. Despite the loss of Josh Shipp for the season (the story of me meeting his brother Joe's girlfriend on a plane is a good one--I'll tell it sometime), we're led by an amazing sophomore backcourt (Farmar and Afflalo) and our top eight guys are still just freshmen and sophomores. I've been to two games thus far (and will hopefully be attending more in the near future, based on my re-connect with assistant coach Kerry Keating), and in the second, we beat up on Stanford without a junior or senior playing a single minute. The old guys suck anyways, so they won't be missed when they graduate.
- From various work sponsorships, I've now obtained a number of new DVD's that need to get viewed at some point: Cinderella Man, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, Airplane (already seen) and Office Space (already seen). Saw Wedding Crashers in the theater and seem to recall that the first hour was as funny as any in cinematic history--I'll probably need to revisit that possibility at some point this weekend.
- I think I might be going to England. Just sort of thought about it as I was looking at our upcoming dark week schedule (two full weeks in February for the Olympics and a week in March for conference basketball tournaments), and recalled my desire to see Alan Shearer play once before he retires at the end of this season. I'm going to take in two or three matches in a week's time (one of which will definitely include big Al), which will be more than enough to quench my thirst for live European football. Can't wait...

Looking forward to bible study tonight--first installment of the new year, and always a lovely way to spend a Thursday night. God bless...