Fantasy Basketball

I don't know where or when my love for basketball started. Was it the pick-up games during recess, or the crazy horse games after school, or that silly game called knock-out. I was never particularly great at the game. I have some memories of me, the husky kid with glasses, running up and down the court not fully sure of what I was supposed to do except put the ball in the hoop.

I didn't grow up watching the game missing all the ESPN Classics that are now being replayed. I only started watching the NBA playoffs during high school. Then I went to my first Warriors game in 2004-2005, and for some reason I was hooked. I'm not sure if it was the Bay Area swagger of the fans in the nosebleeds, or just having an underdog to root for. Nevertheless, the ups and downs of the Warriors have been difficult to defend amidst the Laker fans I am currently surrounded by. I supposed I can always elaborate on basketball later.

I was first introduced into the world of Fantasy Basketball in college. I played for bragging rights, and I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun. Paying attention to the statistics of the players on your team, and learning about up and coming players that weren't as well known gave me a better understanding of the game, and an appreciation for other teams in the NBA. Since then, I've been in other leagues, where there are buy-ins. The reason I am posting this is just because I want to write about how time consuming this can all be especially when some money is on the line.

Following the playing time, injuries, tendencies, and knowing the strength and weaknesses of your team can be overly demanding. It does take away time from studying, and almost places all that information and the desire to create a competitive, winning team ahead of my desires and time for the Lord. My will to win, and fear of losing sometimes creeps ahead of my priority to just remembering the grace of God during my days, and relying on Him for the struggles in my life.

As much as I love all aspects of basketball, God is so much greater and He deserves more than I can ever amount to or give.

Thanks, Mom!

So I was meaning to make this post earlier, but with finals and constant studying, I really haven't set aside the time to type this out. But currently my clinic schedule is Monday 2-6, Wednesday 4-8, and Saturday 8-4. Wednesday was my long day with exams at 8 am. So I was almost at school for about 12 hours.
Knowing this I would prepare dinner for several days on Monday nights, so I wouldn't have to worry about thinking of what to eat on my long Wednesdays. That was always an ideal situation, but didn't always work out. So one week, I found myself exhausted after my long Wednesday and from staying up on Tuesday night studying. I was just debating if I wanted to cook, which I did have the groceries for, or if I wanted to take the easy way out and feed on some Mexican food or L&L.
I did decide to cook, since I'm trying to make sure I'm spending my money wisely. But during that food dilemma, I realized how much I haven't appreciated my mom in the past.
Call me spoiled if you want (I'm an only child), but after my rigorous schedule, I could relate to how exhausted my mom would be from work (every day!), but still manage the energy to put 2-3 entrees of food on the table. My mom doesn't have a knack or love for cooking as much as I do, but she still prepared meals from scratch almost every day. So I'm sure many of you may have realized this about your own lives already, but I am that much more thankful that my mom did this for me while I was home.
This is kind of like an early Mother's Day post, but I felt like I wanted to write this rather than just hang on to it.

Giant Coffee and KMK

This will be the new Treta from Starbucks. It is a 31 oz. plastic cup designed to hold iced coffee, iced tea, or iced tea lemonade. 31 oz. is ridiculous; I don't think anyone can finish that in one sitting without having to pee incessantly. I also recently read on a blog (OC Weekly) that Starbucks plans to alter their logo, and rebrand themselves without the coffee moniker. The article said that Starbucks is thinking of expanding their products to items other than coffee.

I could care less about Starbucks because I don't think their coffee is very good. They are just a HUGE chain, and unfortunately one of the few coffee options that are local to where I'm living right now. There are many more quality, and privately owned coffee shops in the Bay Area, which I am proud to be patrons of. When I order a coffee from Starbucks, I don't expect much, and it is often watered down. I often opt to brew my own coffee at home using grounds from Weaver's Coffee, Peet's, or Philz's Coffee. Starbucks is Starbucks, and as long as I have a gift card or for some reason I can't brew my own coffee, Starbucks will have to be my go to.

This past weekend, I participated in KMK, which is a private review group, which presents and summarizes the material test on the National Boards Exam for Optometry (NBEO). It was a grueling 4 days (Friday to Monday) averaging 8 hours each day. I'm glad I did it because it was definitely helpful, and it painted a good picture of what to expect. But I was definitely exhausted. My week isn't over yet, but yeah it's game time.

I'm realizing that I'm quickly approaching a time in my life where I need to make significant decisions in how I plan to live out my life. The key is "how I plan" and not how God has planned my life. I definitely need to rely on His sovereignty, and trust that He knows what's best. I still make decisions, but I need to make them based off the wisdom provided in the Bible. I want to have a successful and fulfilling life, but that isn't all about me. It's about a life that worships God as well, and I need to figure out what that is for me.