TheTakers and The Tooken

In the play "A Raisin in the Sun", one of the main characters, Walter, talks about the world and how we as people are all mixed up and jumbled up. And among this mess of people, there are pretty much two kinds of people. The Takers, and the Taken. Now this obviously arouses the question, what is he talking about? And some thinking, I've come up with my own interpretation of Walters words.


    To his refrencing of all of us being " mixed up", I think hes referring to us as humans being in this giant fighting ring known as the planet, Earth. And all of us being in this jumbled mess people and we all have to fight to survive. Which would lead to split of people known as Takers and Tooken. The Takers in this world are the people that take what they need to survive and to what it takes to get higher than everyone else in this world. The ones who's ambition drives them forward and hones there primal instinct to survive at any cost. And at the other end of the rainbow, we have the Tooken. These are the people, that in short, are the people who serve as the stepping stones or even the prey for takers. These are the people that the takers use or feed off of in one way or another, in order to benefit themselves. And once they've served there purpose, they are discarded and its off to the next one.

 As to the Walter's view of the world, I neither agree nor dis agree. I believe your view on the world strongly depends on your bringing up as a child. If you are brought up in a family who has a rather "healthy" income, then your view is probably a little bit more on the side of the world is yours to take, you just have to believe kind. Where as if you were raised in a rough place such as south-side Chicago where you have to learn to fend for yourself at seven or eight years old. Then your view of the world is probably a little for of the sink or swim kind. Which is why I stand torn between the Takers and the Tooken.

Rp: Appearance

"Appearance. One dilemma everybody shares. Whether it's a pimple, or the way you dress, appearance seems to be an issue everyone has to deal with, some more than others."

Now Amy Trieu, is one of the people that I truly care about and cant agree with more here. Appearance to me has slowly gone down the hill of me not caring over the last couple of years. When you do as much as I do on a daily basis, all you what to do is be comfortable in whatever you wear. now this doesn't mean that I wear sweats to school everyday, even though that would be awesome, it just means that I'm more prone to wear basketball shorts, high socks and sandals to school. now this is not a usual thing, its a one or two times a week thing. the rest of the time ill wear jeans and a tee-shirt, or sweater or something.

Now if you are the type of person who like to spend thirty minutes of your morning deciding between boots or ugs, you and I probably aren't the closest of pals. I admit I am fickle on my shirts and stuff, maybe it is part of my OCD or something but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. To me, I shouldn't have to impress people with how expensive of a price tag there is on my clothes rather than impress you with my personality.

Re: Frustrations in the NBA

Here was a current events post I was reading on my good friend Gendarme Docena's blog and also had some words to say on the topic. As the NBA lockout continues to go on with no solution, the fans grow more and more frusturated. We as the fans want to watch the high energy game of basketball and cheer our team on. And teens like me want to see our heroes like Stephen Curry, Kobe bryant, Russel Westbrook, and some nay others (not Lebron James) play. And they players are willing to reduce their pay in order so they can get out and play. However, just like it is in so many other cases in America, the wealthy CEO's want more and are willing to step over us and deny us until they get what they want.

Its is this way of thinking that has started the occupy protests and that will ultimately lead to the downfall of the rick and powerful. We just want ot see our heroes play and cheer them on, and the players just want to compete and use the girfts they were given in order to give back to the community. It shoes in there willingness to cut down there pay just so they can play. But with the wealthy and corrupt in charge, they want ot suck every penny they can get before they put there players on the court. As a HUGE basketball fan, it makes me livid to see this situation and have to wonder if im going have to watch Hockey for another effing season before I can watch my favorite season again.

Free: An Athletes Favorite Question.

Why? As I wake up mornings, some as early as four thirty, this seems to be the question I find myself asking before I get up and start preparing myself for the long day ahead of me. Why do I do this? Why do I get up so early just to have my ass kicked at practice? Why do I come back in the afternoon, just to go another round? Why do I come back the next day? These are all things that we athletes ask ourselves on a daily basis, and something that we all have our individual answer and motivation for. And since I've been asking lately, its really got me thinking. Why do I do it? And the answer I always come up with this two-part answer, "To become better and because I love it".

All Ive wanted to do is make myself better, for whatever reason it may be. But Ive just wanted to be the guy that others can look up to and the guy who seems to have no weakness. And of course I love the sport which is part of the reason I get up to do it every morning. No matter what sport you play, we all have this addiction to it and this competitive drive to be better and to become better at our sport. And I know I get this high when I'm in the weight room or having a great shooting day in the pool, its something that just cant be explained. Athletes no what I mean. We seem to just get this satisfaction while we do it, even though it sucks to get up from my bed in the morning. As hard as it is, i will continue to get up every morning and ask myself, "Why"?

Re: Taken for Granted

"The choices that some people make really confuse me. You're offered free education, something that isn't available to everyone and yet still decide to take it for granted." - Peter Nguyen.

I really believe that Peter nailed this one right on the head. It really gets under my skin that we are blessed to be given a free education and ultimately a chance to better ourselves, yet, there are individuals for one reason or another, that they believe they are to cool for school. Well have i got a reality check for you..... YOU'RE NOT. You have been blessed with a golden opportunity that not nearly everyone gets and you flush it down the toilet. There are people on this planet that would give everything they have for an education. And the worst thing I hear that makes me want to punch people in the face is "I'm tired," or "I'm to lazy." I HAVE BEEN UP AT 4:30, GONE TO PRACTICE, HAD SCHOOL, HAD A GAME, AND THEN HAVE GONE HOME AND DONE HOMEWORK. And you have the nerve to tell me that your to tired? get over yourself.

As you may be able to tell, this is something that gets under my skin. I feel the same way when i would see a polo player who is 6 foot 4  but doesn't have the work ethic to become a better player. I would kill to be that tall and have the physical build, but I don't, so I've been blessed with the work ethic of an ox, and I'm truly thankful for that. I guess the bottom line and the point I'm really trying to drive home is, you have been given something special and no one said it was going to be easy, but take advantage of the opportunity

Ce: Bombs in High and low places

Now we all know that there is Many terrorists who fight in action to avenge many fallen brothers as a result of war, but here is quite the peculiar case. Now, there are many ways I could take a stab at this, but my biggest question is, "How the eff did that get through security?" It seriously concerns me that after all the crack downs on security that people are still able to find ways to get bombs through. Point to humman inivativness. I guess im just more dumb founded that that they wont let you carry a shampoo bottle on a plane, but they don't bother to think that maybe as planted a bomb in their bloomers. But on a more serious note, there is a bigger issue here besides a man with a bomb in his under wear, it's what was his motive behind it.

Our bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had pleaded guilty to all charges against him, but had justified his attempts saying, "It was to avenge my fallen muslim brothers and inncoent Muslims who had fallen as a result to war". And he also said, "The US should be warned that if they continue to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims, then the US should await a great calamity ... or God will strike them directly." Which intrested me. He feels like the only way to stop the war is by taking other innocent lives rather than turning the other cheek. It's another strange iterpretation of God's word and a way to justify ones actions. Now I'm not saying im perfect and neither is America.....by far, but this is a topic that will have to wait for a future post. I actually made 2 current event posts last week, so this should count towards the next week.

CE: Torture In Afghanistan

There are many turmoil situations in Afghanistan. However, none are as cruel as the torture methods used to interrogate prisoners in order to gain there secret knowledge and obtain confessions. Now I can honestly say that this doesn't surprise me. Its not a shocker that men still use brute force to obtain the things they want. It had been a human instinct since our creation. However, it doesn't excuse the fact that this is truly inhumane and there are much better ways of extracting information and obtaining what you want.

Take this for an example. If you simply wanted to obtain information from someone, All you would have to do is lock them in a completely empty room with nothing but a bed built into the wall, a blanket, and a toilet built into a wall. From there, you simply wait. If you cut a human off from all any other human activity, it goes against there basic instinct to socialize and bond with others, thus making them mentally unstable and willing to tell you what you want. you don't need to use basic brute instinct and revert to animal instincts. it simply takes a little bit of time, patience, and isolation to get what you want. This method is much more ethical and a lot easier on your fists, not to mention much more cost effective. i guess in the end, it just doesn't surprise me how in some aspects of life, we thrive into the future, while in some, we simply revert to a caveman way of life.

Free: The Season Is coming to An End

As I go into today's game against Hercules High School, I cant help but feel a little sadness in me. I See our game today, then I look forward to the remaining hurdles in my path. All I see is one or two more leaps left and just beyond that lies the finish line. We play Hercules today, Bishop O'Dowd Thursday, and Pinole Valley next week. It wont be long before we're on the home stretch with all the other teams right on our heels.

As it stands, with Alameda barely holding on to our first place seat in the league, many teams our duking it out for second and third and looking to knock us off. And with the teams like they are this year, any team can win on any given day if the other is exactly on point with each other. So we can't take for granted our lead. We must continue to fight, scratch, and claw for every win. We don't have a major player this year who we can just go to for goals, we have to rely on one another and work together to earn our tittle.

With these thoughts running through my head, it brings yet another upon me, "The season is coming to an end". And as much as I would love to get to sleep in every morning, and have an extra three hours to do my homework, I still hate giving up high school polo for the rest of the year, and waiting for swim season to roll back around. However, the ending of the high school season means that i get to come together with the other high school guys and play club with them. So I guess I'm a little confused with where this leaves me. But what I am sure about is.....I'm ready for these last couple of weeks.

Re: Tired

"I feel so sleep deprived." -Cody Le

Simple and sweet as this quote may be, it is exactly how I've been feeling this week. Cody is fellow polo player and someone who I honestly love. he has recently been attending morning weight room workouts at six in the morning. Combined with afternoon workouts, games, and schoolwork in between, we struggle to find time to ourselves. And when we do, its usually to take a shower, or to get a meal in before we go to bed and get up at the butt crack of dawn, just to do it all again.

I guess the question really becomes, "why"? Why do we get up every morning, and push ourselves to our limits? Even though it goes against all of our instincts to just sleep in and be more well rested for the day. And the only answer I can conjure up is, "because we love it." We love the sport and are willing to put ourselves through hell and back just for it. Its like all athletes who are reading this, also sleep deprived. We simply love what we do and we're willing to sacrifice all personal time, for our sport. We have this drive to just push through pain and instinct to better ourselves and become the best student athlete we can be. And at the end of the day, I don't mind doing it. It gives me a release for all stress I accumulate during the school day as well as teach me self-discipline. At the end of the day, I will go to bed exhausted and overworked. However, I will continue to get back up every morning, knowing I get to do what i love

 

CE: The Death Of An Inivator

As you all know by now, Steve jobs, the co-founder of Apple, died this morning after his long battle with pancreatic cancer. As I mentioned, Steve was the co-founder of Apple. He started this life- changing business like any other, in his basement Making computers. He was a visionary who seemed to know exactly what we as the people wanted, before we did. he saw the world going into the digital age far before anyone could even process the idea of what a computer was. He started with computers the size of cinder blocks and as technology evolved, so did his products.

Steve brought us life-changing products such as the I-pod, the I-phone, the Mac Book, I-pad,and the game-changing ITunes. His visions quickly hastened the demise of CD's and changed the way we would listen to music, forever. His brilliance would soon skyrocket Apple to be the richest company, of all time. But like many brilliant people in the world, he had a burden to bare, Steve had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And even during his never-ending dance with death, Steve still committed his life to his work and giving the people what they wanted. This world has truly lost one of the most brilliant minds of all time, his actions shaped this world to send it into its digital idea. He will be missed for generations to come. Steve was truly a visionary whose view to better our wrold through technology will continue to live and inspire many for years to come.

Free: As the Weeks Continue To Role ON.

As I sit here in one of the many AHS computer labs listening to the masterpiece "Hallelujah" by the brilliant Jeff Buckely, I continue to think about the weeks going by. I think about the weather and how all I seem to want to do is lay down in bed, with the lights off, the window open, and listen to the wind fill my room. Polo takes up most of my time now so I really take advantage of any time I get to myself to just lay donw and think. However, before i get to go and do this tonight, I have one more obstacle in my way, the long-antisipated game against Encinal. To be honest, as much as i want to go home for the down time I long for, I am excited to see all the great guys on the Encinal team.

Don't get me wrong, just because they're my friends doesn't mean I wont hesitate to play my hardest against them, and I hope they feel nothing less towards me. I'm hoping that this game will break me free from the little bit of an energy slump I've been in. So other than the weather, life's been good, cant complain here. Been staying healthy, warm, fed, and more importantly, been getting to play polo.this game will cont inue to be running through my head until the last seconds of school slowly but surely tick away. And after a battle against some of my closest friends, it will finally be time to go home.

There are many questions in the world that we as the human race have accepted to just have no answer. One of these mind-boggling questions is: "What is the one characteristic that defines a human/ humanity?" Our lust for power and to become the perfect human being? Our need to bond and create a social web with others? Naturally, I was sent on a roller coaster of thoughts and emotion. However, after a long session spent in my room contemplating, I've come to a conclusion. Despite many tendencies in the human race, I believe the one thing that ultimately defines us as the human race is the many forms of diversity that is found in our world. Yes, many people will also be writing about this, but i truly believe that this is the one thing that collectively defines the human race.

There are many forms of diversity in our race. Religions, ethnicity, thought process, eye color,  everything down to the clothes you choose to wear every day, all come together to make you who you are. There's so much diversity in the world. But all of this diversity is good. Especially here in the United States. We have all kinds of ethnic influences and so many different personalities, even walking down the streets of San Francisco is an adventure. You see suits with not a hair play out of place, walking next to a super retro rave girl wearing neon green skinny jeans and rocking a pink Mohawk, and everything between. You may even see an Irishmen walking  down the street, holding hands with a Japanese women.The different variations we have, is endless.

There is also a great deal of diversion in our physical appearances. There's black people, white people, brown people, yellow people, and many different shades of skin tones in between. There old people, young people, and new Born's. There's there people who are 4 foot 11 to the people who are 6 foot 7 , and  the people who are shorter, to the people who are taller. You'd have people with dry skin, soft skin, ashy skin. people with big lips, people with small lips. people with short hair, long hair, curly hair, straight hair, nappy hair. And hundreds of other types of physical features that are on the face alone.

Diversity doesn't just exist in the clothes that we wear or the haircut we have, or even what we look like on the outside. It doesn't even exist completely in the color of our skin or how tall we are. It exists in great portions in our brain and in our individual thought process. It makes people do the things they want to do like jumping off cliffs for a living, or taking care of animals. It gives us a taste of what we think is good music, or what we think is in fashion this season. Its also what makes us choose occupations that we want to be when we grow up. There are so many thought processes from person to person, that we try to lump them and label them, like jocks or hipsters. But the truth of the matter is, no one individual is the same, on the inside as well as the outside, we are all the person we are, whether we choose to show it or not.

And diversity will never die, people of all nationalities will continue to breed with one another (fun fact: humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for fun.) for as long as the world will continue to exist. Think of the Earth like this. Continents and people were each there own species of flower that were grouped into one bush together and isolated from the other the bushes. And all 6 of these bushes (no one lives on Antarctica) were separated from each other but were in the same field or Earth if you will. And none of the bushes knew of the existence of these fellow bushes in this huge field. And along came bees or boats, that kept bringing different species to one another. And most would die in this new enviorment, but some would live to breed, thus, a new species of flower was born. And this process between the new flowers and old flowers continued to happen for thousands of years until now we have a field filled with thousands upon thousands of beautiful new exotic flowers. And as flowers die, there will be more to take there place.

Diversity has been with the human race since the our very first ancestors. Slight differences in things like foot size and thickness of hair meant your survival, and this process along with my flower example, combined together to help make us the complex and diverse creatures we are today. And it will continue to live on in each of us far long after we die. When I get older and have children, they will have half of my genetics and qualities as well as half of there mothers. And as these two genetics mix, along with there own thought process, we will have created something beautiful, and new species of flower. And as my flowers go on and have flowers of there own, and so on. Diversity will continue to live on in our world.

It really is quite an amazing thing when you think about it. How the collective differences from person to person, together serve as the one thing that defines us as the human race. It also amazes me how people continue to say one person is different from them as if its a bad thing and shouldn't be accepted. These slight differences and variations not only in physical appearance as well as personal hobbies and intrests should be celebrated. They should be celebrated and appreciated. I just will never get over the fact out of how different we are as a human race and how far we've come from being isolated bushes in a fast field. So next time you see a person you think is weird looking or does things that is different weird, think twice, because its your differences, their differences, along with all the other beautiful unique flowers in our field, that define our species as a whole.

RP:The Departing of Someone Special

"There's only one word I could think of to describe this situation, bittersweet."

I found this from my good friend Amy's blog. And the post was about her sister leaving to go away to college. And I can completely understand and sympathize with her. The other day I was thinking while laying down on my bed, and i thought to myself, "Wow, this is going to be Bobby's last year of high School." And For those of you who don't know, Bobby is my older brother who I love to death. One of the very view, solid guys that i can depend on to pull through for me when I need him the most. And at the end of that thought, I choked up a bit. You know, he is one of my go to guys when I need some one to talk to and cant go to the other members of the fam bam. And i can always count on him. So I did get a little down at the thought of him leaving.


But then I thought about what was ahead for him in his life. And how hes going to go on and take all of the necessary steps for him to become a firefighter. And as competitive as it is in that field now, I know he will do great. And he will go on to put his life on the line to save others, that to me is the definition of a hero. And he will be going on to something that he loves in the end, so it would be selfish of me to want him to stay. So after a while of thinking about the situation, I came to this conclusion. As much as the situation sucks, I'm OK with it and will be here to return the favor for my brother if he ever needs anything.

Ce: The execution of Troy Davis

http://youtu.be/GFPaPn3uL4A

I wont give you the whole back story on this, watch the video to catch up and then proceed and read the following. In my opinion, the state of Georgia did execute the wrong man. When you have no murder weapon, and members of the jury and original testifiers claiming that they were pressured by the police to lie (SHOCKER) and are now telling that it wasn't him, I'm certain that you have the wrong man. Now I can debate on why we shouldn't or should have the death penalty. But it seriously all depends on  the case at hand. As cruel as the death penalty is, I believe that there are a few individuals that deserve it. But Troy Davis, was not one of them.

When you are considering sentencing an individual to the penalty, you better be damn sure that they are the killer. The state of Georgia let another innocent man rot in jail before they gave him the ultimate sentence. Till the moment he died he pleaded innocent, and no one listened to his cries for justice. Instead the state tuned him out like he was an animal that just needed to be quiet. But he wasn't. he was a fellow human being who was wrong convicted and was killed for it. It makes me sick to think tat this is what goes on in the world. And it makes me strive to want to be a better person, and one day, fix the way we handle cases like this one. that way, another man like Troy Davis, has to sacrifice his life for no reason.

Fe: Fetigue at its finest

Today and yesterday the polo team has had the pleasure of playing back-to-back games. On the varsity side, we won both games. One against American High School, and the other against Piedmont High School which happen to be our first league game. So it was nice and very uplifting to have both wins, especially one being a league game. But the physical toll it takes on your body, is definitely not the business. My legs feel like there about to fall off, and Ive thrown out my shoulder. On top of it, My vision has faded on me and gone blurry. Today and yesterday the polo team has had the pleasure of playing back-to-back games. On the varsity side, we won both games. One against American High School, and the other against Piedmont High School which It is it worth it? Hell yeah it is!!!

Its also very uplifting to have our starters go in and play like a well-oiled machine. Its lets us know that we're on the right track to where we want to be at the end of the season. It doesn't change the fact that shit still needs to get done out of the pool. As many sport players know all to well, it's extremely hard to balance your schoolwork on top of games and practices. But the point I'm really trying drive home is that I love this sport and don't plan on giving it up anytime soon. Even though this sport and school put me on a roller coaster on the daily, its a ride that i will keep hopping back on until i throw up, then ill get back on and go again.

The Foreboding Jungle

Running, sweat dripping, feet blistering and blood leaking it's way through his socks, slowly forming a puddle of warm and squishy liquid in his shoes. He trips and stumbles on every twig and protruding root in his path, and hits his face on each and every branch , each leaving its on cut upon his face. He finally decides to stop and take a breather. As the puddle in his shoes slowly becomes greater and the blood mixes with sweat as runs down his head and past his cheeks. His head pounding with thoughts. Like each thought is its own horse and all he could hear was the hoove noises of a thousand horses. He can see nothing, the darkness of this jungle surrounded him, filling every oraphis on his body, he can feel it sinking into each of his pores and even settling down behind his eyes.

But none of that matters now, all he knows is that he has to find a way out of this dark place. So he relaxes his minds and begins to think. The sound of the whistling wind accompanied by the thunderous noise of the animals in the forest, creates the sweet symphony that fills his ears as he collects his thoughts. After A moment of serenity, he clears his mind and decides that its time to go again. He soon realizes that he is in more trouble than he thought. He gets up to realize that he can barley move, his left foot. He quickly tears a sleeve of his shirt to tie around the gruesome cut on his foot as it gushes out warm blood. he knows it wont last long, but it's the best he can do for now. With this, he has caught the second wind in his legs. With a deep breath, letting the sweet tropical air fill his lungs, he sets out for another push to the end of the jungle.

As he slowly but surely makes progress, more aware of branches and roots, the loud squeals and gawks serve as a very intimidating reminder that he is not safe here and most constantly keep his guard up. His heart at this point, could beat a V-8 dual-exhaust engine in a race. His face stings with every slight warm breeze that comes and fills the cuts on his cheeks. The wrap around his foot has stopped the bleeding now, but there's no guarantee on how much longer it will suffice. At this point in time, he has become his own worst enemy. With the little angel on one of the shoulders, the little devil on the other keeps whispering  thoughts of suicide and death into his ear. However, our hero pushes forward, ignoring thee oh so tempting ideas.


As he continues to walk with the sharp pain that fills his all whole body, he is abruptly stopped. But not by a another branch or random root, but by a wall- like thing. Taken back by this massive thing. He decides to give a push against in attempt to try a budge it. He lifts his battle-weary arms, the pain is almost unbearable. In one quick move, he pushes and suddenly has landed face first in the warmest, finest sand that he has ever seen. He has pushed right threw the barrier of heavy forestation and landed right on the beach that surrounds it. As the blinding white light creeps away to fill his teal eyes for the first time, a wave of sweet relief washes over him. As he feels the warm feeling of home and safety around him, it is quickly followed by another feeling. The blood loss from the two giant cuts on his feet, and the combined loss from the gashes on his face, are too much for his body to handle. With the serenity that came with just kneeing on the warm, sandy beach, he collapses near the ocean. Now, the beach and the ocean play a game of tug of war for his body. slowly pulling back, he is the oceans prize to claim. As the water engulfs his body, the young man is swallowed by the ocean. But he died with the warm feeling of relief, a smile on his face, and more important, light in his eyes.

CE: French Enforces street prayer ban

The French Street Prayer Ban was some thing that I find very interesting and almost unconstitutional at the same time. Yes religion is a very sticky subject, but I'm going to go ahead and dive right in. To me, everyone has the right to say what they want to say and do what they want to do, whether its right or wrong, its a different story. This Muslim worshipping community is being driven into an even smaller corner than what they were already in. The Muslim worshipping community is so large in France, and with the lacking of temples established for the sole purpose of worship, this community is forced to pray wherever they can. And the fact that France has told them that not even that is allowed, is basically not only a slap to the face, but also another example that we as humans can not even obey the rules that we put forth towards society as a whole to keep the peace.

Call it ignorance, but I don't see what the problem is with someone going out to a public area like a a park  for instance, a doing some praying and meditating. It may not be for you, but that doesn't give you the right to take it away from some one else who does find it right for them personally. In the end, all France is really doing, is driving a huge part of their population into other parts of the world, where there beliefs and customs are excepted.I guess my problem is not so much one with France, as it is with the fact that we as the human race, continuously strive to take more and more away from the others around us, for no beneficial purpose to ourselves. I could go on for days on this topic, but I'd really like to save it for a bigger post when I'm looking for some inspiration, so stay tuned, the topic will arise sometime in the future, I promise.

Response: To my boy Rowland

"Gaming is a part of life."-Rowland Markheims Blog

This was an idea that I kind of had a different point of view on. When you think about it, isn't life itself, set up to be like a video game? Most of us, the noobs, start out with nothing, and work to get everything that we have. Like most games, we choose an occupation of some kind and make some kind of profit doing that. And as we work longer and that profession, we gain more insight and skills in that job.And the overall point of the game is to become the best character you can become and to gain as much money or tender as you can. But on the other hand, there is also the people who play just for fun, and to experience everything that the game has to offer. Just like there people who go through life to enjoy its experiences and to indulge in everything this world has to offer to us as players.

And unfortunately, we all will come to end in the game and be deleted, just like we all must die. And when we get bored with this game and are deleted, we will move on and find a new game to play and enjoy and follow whatever path we choose. Just like in life when we die, we move on into another life to start again in whatever way we choose. The overall idea is still the same. We, as a majority, are born with nothing, we work for everything and choose a path of some kind. And as we follow that path in life, we live and learn and gain experience. And as we go on, we will eventually come to an end move on to the next life. Maybe its just me, but these are the kind of things I see and have opinions on.

FREE: Polo this Saturday

As the week is slowly ticking by, the thought of polo are slowly creeping back up on me. This weekend we are participating in a polo tournament out in Novato. Both the junior varsity and varsity will be participating in the tournament. Varsity Will have 2 games and junior varsity will have one. I'd be lying if I told you that it was going to be an easy weekend, and I'd be lying if i told you that it was going to be a difficult weekend. Truth is, I don't know exactly what to expect from each team. Frankly it doesn't matter. No matter who you play against, you play until you either hear a whistle, or the buzzer that marks the sound of the end of the fourth quarter. And its good to see the team coming back to where we were at last year.

Were slowly becoming more aware of the pool and everyone one around us, and using that information leads to smarter passes, and ultimately, better and stronger shots at the cage. As always, I have nothing but the highest standards for us as a team. We're not a couple guys playing together. We are six teamates who must learn to work in complete unison in order to complete or ultimate goal of winning the A.C.C.A.L Championship. In the great words of Marshall Dortch, "You can get to high on the wins, and you cant get to low on the losses. Just take what you know now, and use it to make yourself better."

RESPONSE: My response

This is something that I totally agree with my boy Cody on. Its very simple, so be aware.

I think the classics are the best.

I could totally not agree with Cody more on this subject. As great as technology and all the advances we've made today in the modern world, there is just nothing that can quite compare to the classics. Theres nothing like sitting down to watch an old American war story, or the timeless beauty of Broadway. These are all such a small, yet beautiful piece of American history. When people think of America, I don't want them to think of us as a lazy, inpatient, country with grease pouring out of its pores, I want them to think of us as the land of opportunity and a place where even the soil is enriched with culture, history, and art. I personally love to sit down, and watch the classic cartoons, like X-men, loony toons, and the original batman series.

Now and days we have all of these cartoons that are built on nine year olds farting. And its no wonder why people think were an ignorant country. But that's a debate for another time. Point being, there is simply nothing better to me then waking up at 9 on a Saturday morning to see my favorite Batman and Robin go out and kick some bad guy ass. It is a part of my childhood, as well as the childhood of America that i hope continues to stay with us for many generations to come. I guess, to really sum it up, there really is nothing that can even compare to the classics.

CE: 9-11

Now I'm sure as most of you know, The very tragic anniversary of the horrific day of 9-11 is coming around on Sunday, and everyone is posting about it and there feeling and thoughts on the subject, and i would love to give you guys mine. First off, every time i think about what happened and how the simple actions of one man, and the reaction of another have had such a negative effect on this country, its truly amazing if you ask me. Osama had sent a letter telling what was going to happen exactly one month from the day, and the cheer ignorance of the ex-president just let it go. And where has that gotten us? So far down the toilet, its going to take us awhile to get everything unplugged and make it all right. And its also sacrificed the lives of innocent people for no reason. Now theres SO much the be said about this, and most you can find other blogs, but i would like to talk a little more about a point that i don't believe is always properly addressed that is kind of significant.

Now it always amazes me how the single actions of one man has done this to one country. He has literally put us in a sink whole. But if the actions of one man has done this to us. Why cant the same thing happen again? Who is to say that the single actions of one man cant bring us out of this whole. Or better yet, why cant the actions of this country, united under the sole purpose to better the world that we all or born into and will die in, bring us out of this mess? I just find it absolutely mind numbing how this country has so much to say about this topic, and has so much built of anger, emotion, and so much to converse about, yet we are not willing to work together to get us out of this mess in order to reverse the effects of this tragic day. Who knows? maybe one day we will all drop our selfish wants and desires, in order to come together, and better this place we call, "home."

FREE My freedom post

Hey, guys. Seeing how this will be my freedom post for this week, and we had a water polo game today, i figured it would be a semi-good idea to tell you guys how we did, and how I'm feeling about it. So today we went out to Union City to play James Logan High School. Usually I'm super hyped on game day, but for what ever reason, i wasn't feeling it today for whatever reason. So anyway, we started out in the first half and it was 2 to 2. However, fatigue slowly sets in after two kick outs in the first half, and eventually getting rolled out of the game by the start of the fourth. So Logan slowly ended up pulling ahead to whoop our asses, ending with a score of 8-3. This was a very, very minor cap of the game.

Now, no one loves to have there asses kicked, especially when there going for there third A.C.C.A.L Championship, however, it is very humbling and lets us know where we stand as of now, and what we have to do in order to be back on top by the end of the season. Basically we need to get sharper on Offense and execute as one cohesive unit. Otherwise, it wont be us bringing that banner back to Ahs, it will be someone else.  I do look forward to next weeks practice to work on my Whole set skills and shots. As the smallest guy in the water I'm going to have to learn how to put some more dirty tricks up my sleeve to get to where i want to be as a player. Comments? Questions? regarding polo, leave for me and ill try to get back to you on them, the best way i know how to. Thanks guys.

My First Blog

Hi there, my name is Benjamin Ingram. I'm a student at Alameda High School. And one of my class assignments was to create a blog for the entire year, and post on it frequently on virtually whatever we'd like. So this being my first blog, I'm going to just go ahead, dive right in, and wing it by telling you about some of my hobbies. I'm a varsity water polo player and swimmer for the high school. We are currently in the middle of trying to get our third straight A.C.C.A.L championship, which has never been done in AHS history, which is pretty exciting stuff if you ask me. I fell in love with the sport two years ago when I first started playing for the Alameda Water Polo Club, and have been hooked ever since. As much as i love playing sports for the high school, the classes itself are a different story. School has never exactly been my favorite. Its not that i do poorly in school, its just that I haven't found the passion for it, yet. I'm sure once I do, there will be no stopping me. Now many people that no me, no that i can be very sarcastic and cynical. however, I can also be very active, and full of life. But the one thing that never changes about me, is that I'm motivated. I'm very motivated in everything I do, and I have a huge work ethic. I Believe that if you want things to happen for you, or if you want to better yourself, you have to be the one to do it. Being only five foot eight and 145 pounds, I'm not exactly the most ideal polo player. So i make myself work harder to be as good as the guys who are 6'4 and have a huge wingspan.


 Another thing that people should know is that my brother and I are very close. I believe family is one of the very few things that you have in this world, and you should keep it close. As a result, my brother and jokingly created what we like to call "The Wolf Pack". Basically, its just a reminder to my brother and I that we will always be there for one another, and nobody should come between that. Now that i have given you some of my background, I want to tell you about some of my future goals, in and out of the classroom. As far as in this English class, all I'd really like to do is polish my writing and make it look much nicer. As far as outside is concern, I'd really like to carry out my remaining years here at AHS and go on to play polo at u.c Berkley, Davis, or Santa Barbara. I know it is a bit of a long shot, but I have never been the type of person known to give myself easy goals. I'm still debating on what I'd like to major in, but I know its going to be something in the biology field. I'm looking forward to blogging more on all of these topics. So there will be more to come. Hope you all have a good day, take it easy.