Easter Ramblings

            Easter is a weird holiday. It’s kind of like a half-assed Christmas/Thanksgiving combination. I grew up Jewish, so I never really experienced the religious aspect of Easter. My mom’s side of the family usually comes over to my house and we all sit down and have a tasty dinner together. It always gives us a good opportunity to catch up and share stories of funny and interesting stuff that has happened to us since Christmas- the most recent time (usually) that we had all been together to eat and have a conversation.

            Another great part of Easter is definitely the food. My mom always makes a big honey-glazed ham, which is dope because we usually don’t have ham at all, never mind honey-glazed. This year we had a small crowd for Eater, and my family didn’t eat much of the leftovers, so I can proudly say I ate well over half of a full ham during the past several days. On second thought, I am really not proud that I ate so much ham, and I don’t think I will ever be able to be kosher again, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

            I don’t think colleges give students Easter off as a holiday (obviously you get the day off because it’s a Sunday, but I don’t think they give you any days on either end of the weekend for travelling. It will definitely be weird to not be home to celebrate, but my family will make up for it with Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Misster RMHS- A Ballad

As I sit in the PAC,

I prepare for my act.

The first of April looms ahead.

How will the crowd react?

Last year my dance went off quite well,

The audience enjoyed,

When we all took our costumes off,

Our bodies filled the void.

This year I plan to do it all;

I’ll sing, I’ll act, I’ll dance.

The whole show will be fabulous-

Go if you have the chance!

The Champions League

            Today I am watching a soccer game between Barcelona and Arsenal in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. The Champions League is actually a very cool concept that is missing in American sports. In Europe each country has its own league, with the leagues of England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy being historically the best five. At the end of each season (August to May), the top few teams in each league are selected to go into the Champions League the following season, giving the club an opportunity to gain fans and lots of TV money. All the teams that are selected for the Champions league are broken into eight groups of four teams each. Between September and December these teams play all of the other teams in their groups twice, and are awarded three points for every win and one point for a draw. The top two teams of each group then go onto the round of 16.

            This is where things start to get interesting. Teams are seeded based on how they did in the group stage and are placed into the 16-team bracket accordingly. The round of 16, quarter finals and semifinals are all played in two “legs” (two games). The scores of the two games are added together and the winner progresses to the next round. If the teams are tied, the team who scored more goals while they were playing away (one of the games is payed at one team’s home field, while the other game is played at the other’s) goes through. If the teams are still tied after that, they go to a penalty shootout. The final is played in just one game, with two half-hour overtime periods and then a penalty shootout to serve as tie-breakers.

If this was confusing (and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t), here’s a few links that may help clarify the process:

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/9/11/6135491/uefa-champions-league-guide

https://tizod.wordpress.com/uefa-champions-league/

And a 3-minute video if you’re tired of reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlT5pZjCqKI&ab_channel=TYTSports

Summer Music

             It’s so warm out today (Wednesday), and with this first over-70-degree day will surely come a whole new wave  of senioritis, and more importantly excitement for Summer (even though we haven’t even seen Spring yet). Summer for me has always had its own playlist- songs that I only really listen to when it’s really nice out. While we still have a ways to go before it’s like this all the time, I figured I’d share a few songs I know that help the nice-weather mood.

Anna Sun by WALK THE MOON

Jubel by Klingande

Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean

There He Go by Schoolboy Q

Stay (feat Matt Noyes) by Kygo

Tongue Tied by Grouplove

Cecilia and the Satellite by Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness

Free and Lonely by X Ambassadors

Kids by MGMT

Tennis Courts (Flume Remix) by Lrde

            Do these songs make you feel like it’s summertime? What songs do you listen to during the Summer? 

The Office

           As I sit on another Thursday night, the threat of a blog post once again looms overhead. At the moment I am sitting in my living room, watching reruns of The Office with my sister. The Office was a great show in its day (except for maybe after Steve Carrell left, when it started to get weird).  Every Thursday my family would gather together and watch the newest episode of The Office, laughing non-stop until the episode was over. Even as it started to get weird at the end, my family and I stuck with it, determined to see how the writers wrapped up the story.

            The ending to The Office truly was one of, if not the, best endings to a show I’ve seen. It was equal parts funny and sad; bittersweet in a lot of ways. The show had been a part of our lives for the better part of a decade, and it was sad knowing we wouldn’t be watching the show together anymore, leaving a void that we would have a tough time filling. Watching the reruns is definitely funny and entertaining, but nothing compares to sitting around with your friends and/or family watching an episode none of you have seen before.