Turkey vs Sides

The Today Show debated which part of Thanksgiving is best - the turkey or the sides. I have to say, my choice is turkey. There is nothing like the smell of the house on Thanksgiving when the turkey and dressing is in the oven. Where do you stand?

Here's the clip from The Today Show.

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Poor Parking Job!

I'm still not sure if this is real, but it's one of those things you can't look away from. Maybe the driver was texting :)

Surviving Finals...

It might be hard to believe, but the semester is almost over. That means final exams are right around the corner and it’s time to start preparing. There are a few things you can do to help lessen some of the stress and anxiety that comes with finals.

Set a schedule and start now: Cramming and all-nighters don’t work very well. You might remember a few things, but it will likely only be short term. And it definitely isn’t effective for more than one class at a time. Set a schedule for starting to review material now.

Get organized and prioritize: Organize your notes for each class and get them in order. Prioritize your study schedule according to what you need to review the most. Give yourself enough time that you can still meet with a tutor or with your professor if you have trouble areas.

See where you stand: Your syllabus should have the grading scale for the course and how your grade is calculated (for example, 40% homework and 60% tests). Take that information and see where you stand going into the final. Know your current semester grade and what you need to make on the final in order to make the grade you want. This will also help you prioritize.

Know what to expect: Which of your final exams will be comprehensive? Were you given a study guide or list of topics/concepts that will be covered? In what format will the test be (essay, multiple choice, production/application)?

Rework your notes: If your notes are handwritten, type them up. It will help you remember material better than just rereading your notes. Make an outline that can also serve as a study guide. Make an audio recording of your notes and listen to them on your way back and forth to school, when you work out, go for a walk, or between classes.

Manage tech tools: During your designated study time, turn off you cell phone (off…not just on vibrate). Calls, emails, and texts will eat up much more of your study time than you might think. If you are using the computer to complete a semester project or paper, don’t get sucked into email, facebook, myspace, or other social networks or gaming Web sites.

Take care of yourself: Eat healthy, get enough sleep, take breaks, and go for a walk or workout. Don’t rely on sugar, caffeine, and energy drinks to keep you going. Breathe…anxiety can cause you to hold your breath and you might not even realize it.

Do you best and then let it go: Once you have prepared and taken the test, let it go. It’s over and you can’t do anything else at that point. Don’t beat yourself up over a missed question or a forgotten fact.

Finals can definitely be a big source of stress and anxiety, so make a plan and take the steps to help you be more successful.

When The Game Was Theirs...

’ve been a basketball fan for a long time. I looked forward to The NBA on CBS all week long and remember struggling to stay awake long enough to watch Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, and the Trailblazers win the 1977 NBA Championship (the games were tape delayed and aired after the 10 p.m. news then). Just two years later, a couple of guys would give the league a shot in the arm it desperately needed and leave historical marks on the game itself.

Now, in the interest of full discloser, I bled green for the next two decades. When the Sunday afternoon game was on, it was good that we lived in the middle of nowhere, because we got loud. It was blue collar versus showtime when the Celtics played the Lakers, and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson never disappointed. Their rivalry is one of the biggest in the history of the game.

Converse brought the two of them together for a commercial in 1985; it was filmed at Bird’s home in French Lick, Indiana. That was the ice-breaker that started an unlikely friendship. When it came time to break for lunch while filming that commercial, Magic said he thought he was going to his trailer to eat, but Bird had other plans. He told Magic that his mom had fixed lunch, and he was going up to the house to eat with them. Their lunch conversation continued the rest of the afternoon, much to the chagrin of the film crew who continually had to interrupt them in order to get the commercial finished.

I watched a great interview with the two of them on CBS News Sunday Morning recently where they talked about their new book, “When the Game Was Ours.” The interview got very emotional when Magic talked about the day that he announced his retirement due to contracting the HIV virus and Bird being the very first call he received. He also got choked up when Bird talked about him being the one person he knew he call anytime, day or night, if he ever needed anything.

The two were also on the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brian last week, and the interview was very funny. I posted a link to it from YouTube. [These links were disabled, but you can search for them on youtube.] It is in two parts and is a little over 10 minutes all together, but well worth watching. “When the Game Was Ours” is now on my reading list for Christmas break…if I can wait that long.