Religion

This is will be like no other post I have written thus far. I would like to talk about my feelings towards members of different religions and the afterlife.

I have grown up in a Jewish atmosphere. Up until freshman year in high school, I didn't even know a non-Jewish person. Then, throughout high school, I probably was only friends with four or five non-Jews. This has changed my thought process.

What makes a Jew different from a non-Jew? Other than their mortal beliefs, how are we that different? What makes someone a better person than someone else. I don't think a person's afterlife is determined by their religion. It is determined by the kind of person they are. Are you a morally good person? Do you seek to help others? Do you try to limit pain and suffering among your family and friends? These actions determine what kind of person you are.

Therefore, people need to be more accepting of those who are different. Everyone is scared of something or someone they don't understand. We need to be more understanding and accepting, I myself included.

Update

Hello friends,

After a long break from blog writing, Jacob is back. Sorry for those who were looking forward to some intriguing posts during the first semester. Don't worry though, all memories have been documented.

This fall could be described as ups and downs. Let's go all the way back to my birthday. First off, it was made that much better by sharing it with A and EH (Despite that EH doesn't know how to talk to cops when she is drunk). That night was unforgettable. Except, it actually was.

By that time, school started to kick in. I guess this semester was just like the rest: hard at times and boring at others. However, this was the first time I had three or more tests in the same week twice. That sucked. Luckily I made it through.

There was also the job searching. First time I have done that in awhile, accept now, it kind of sets the path for my life. Unfortunately, I don’t have one just yet, but pretty soon, I'm going to get nervous. It makes me feel a little better that many other kids my age are in the same situation.

I also visited some schools this semester. It always fun to see old friends in different settings.

We also starting going to the casino in Peoria. We got some crazy stories there so far (Craps is the way to go).

In a couple of days I am going to the Dominican Republic with the family. I don't know why, but I'm not excited just yet. Hopefully it will hit me once I get there. It's always fun to drink on a beach with no responsibilities.

I also learned this semester that you always got to be careful who you trust. Most times, your instinct is correct, but that is not always the case. When your wrong, your wrong; you just got to get over it.

TV shows this semester did not disappoint. The best having to be Dexter. Crazy ending. The new and upcoming show would have to be Son of Anarchy. I strongly recommend it. How I met Your Mother and Entourage were both in a close tie for third.

And how about the food channel? Anyone who has never seen a show on that network needs to watch one. I guarantee there is at least one that you would like. I like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this summary of the semester. Please let me know what you think or if I missed anything.

Jacob out.

Business Fair

Today was the business fair at U of I. This was my first business fair. It basically was what I expected and the outcome was similar. Hundreds of students came out to basically lie to possible employers. I have done this and this and this is why I would be a valuable part of your company. Having the background of the industry is a plus, but really selling yourself is the key. How can one sell themselves? For some reason, when I think of this question, I think of the movie "Catch Me If You Can." This kid got all around the world by selling himself. He was a master of the art.

After today, I realized I need a lot more practice on selling myself.

Update

Hello all,

Sorry I have not been around the last couple of weeks. It is a lot harder to blog while at school vs. being home. I know this because other bloggers have agreed with me on this. Anyways, school is school. Work is starting to pile up. I’ve been going out more than I should be. The next two days is the career fair. I'm pretty nervous about this since it helps determine my future. I think I will be fine once it starts though. And after this career fair stuff is over, I really got to get into school. Next week is going to be hell.

I have three tests and three papers due next week. And I can not start these things until I finish this career fair. This means that from Wednesday through next Wednesday I will be doing solid studying and school work. How much will that suck? However, once that is all done, I think we are going to the casino again. That should be fun.

Some encouraging news I heard this week was young inspiring journalists need to have a blog and followers. Looks like I finally have a leg up on someone in my industry.

Best Current Athlete

Today while I was having a slow work out day, I started thinking about the best sport athletes playing right now. Right away, four names came to mind: Michael Phelps, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods. To decide, I will have to analyze each one at a time.

Michael Phelps - Some people might start off by saying that swimming is not a sport. I want to eliminate that right away. Swimming is not only a sport, but probably one of the most demanding sports. After all, it is the best form of exercise. It seems like everyday time this kid hits the water, he is breaking another record. The guy won eight or nine gold medals in the last Olympics. I mean how amazing is that? He is in such good shape; he gets to eat like 12,000 calories a day. Sounds to me like his workouts aren’t a walk in the park. However, is he the best athlete? NO

LeBron James - James will probably be the hardest guy to look at. Just looking at him, he is a pure specimen of a great athlete. He is lighting fast, can jump higher than anyone and can score at will. He single handedly took the Cavaliers from the bottom of the East to one of the clear favorites these past two years. However, and this will come up every time you have the Kobe LeBron debate, James has not won a Championship. In order to be the best, you must win Championships. Until then, LeBron can not be the best current athlete.

Kobe Bryant - What can you say about him? The guy has won four championships. I'm not sure, but I think he has two MVP's. The guy is turning the LA Lakers into a dynasty. He not only does it on offense, but he is also one of the best defensive players in the league. While doing that, he averages around 25 ppg, keeping in mind that every night the opposing team has their best defender on him. Every night, he has to deal with guys like Bruce Bowen, Ron Artest (not anymore I guess) and Shane Battier. For some reason, he just doesn't seem like the dominant athlete I want to call the best. However, he is my number two.

Tiger Woods - This guy is just amazing. Every weekend, it seems like he is winning another title. did you know that Tiger has won 27% of the tournaments he has entered? The next closest was Nicholas at 9%. 9%. Think of that difference. By the end of his career, he will destroy both the major title win and tournament win records. Just last year, he won the U. S. Open with a torn ACL. Are you kidding? That's like Kobe playing ball with a broken wrist. Tiger didn't make any excuses, didn't even tell the press, went out and won. Even today, Tiger is leading the way at the PGA Tour Championships. This guy just knows how to win and compete. He's got that killer instinct, ala Michael Jordan. Something LeBron needs to learn. Tiger dominates his sport like no other, and that is why he is the best current athlete.

Tiping

Any true Chicago sports fan must know the story of Patrick Kane by now. In case you don't know it, it was a late Saturday night, Patrick and his cousin was out for a night on the town in Buffalo, Kane's hometown. By 4 a.m. we can assume they were a little tipsy, considering they were in the "night life" district of Buffalo. Anyways, they took a cab home and had a little altercation with the driver. The fare was a whopping $13.80. Now even thought Kane made $875,000 this year, the most any rookie in NHL can make as a rookie; Kane did not want to tip the driver. The cabbie gave back one dollar from the 15 the Kane's gave. However, the driver did have the remaining $0.20. The Kane's decided to beat up the driver, break his nose and glasses, and took the $15 back. So there's story.

The point of this post deals with a person who called into the Danny Mac Show today on 670. This guy tried to justify the actions of the Kane’s. He then went as far to say that people have a right to walk out on restaurants went they don't enjoy the food. Danny Mac pursued to rip him apart. And I completely agree with him. People have to pay for food when they order it. Just because the customer isn't satisfied with the service or the food, does not give them the right to leave the place without paying. Customers have right to speak their opinion about the food and the service based on their tip. Tipping is the silent language between a customer and a server.

This brings me back to the Kane's. Patrick and his cousin have every right in the world not to tip the driver. However, no way in the hell do they have a right to beat up the driver over $0.20. This is the same for someone who walks out on a bill at a restaurant which cooked the steak too long or took too long to take an order. The restaurant and the cab provided a service, and the customers need to pay the minimum, which is the bill. Even though Patrick is a professional sports figure, in his hometown, drinking underage by the way, he has to pay the cab fare. We all do dumb things during these years, including me. However, we all take responsibility for our actions. Kane should be punishing himself. He should take him off the Olympic tryout roster. He should make it up to the driver. He should apologize. This is just another incident showing that athletes are not role models, but gifted individuals taking advantage of their talent.

A Week of Nothing

This upcoming week could be great or it could end up being incredibly boring. This is mine, and many others, last week at home. I don't have to think about work, school or basically anything that requires responsibility. This is the week to let everything go; the week to prepare for the better one that will follow while at school with no responsibility as well. I'll get to do nothing. I can sleep in try to get in some shape, eat some good food and even go shopping. Don't worry the shopping isn't my top priority. Honestly, I am looking forward to this. The feeling of having nothing to do and no one to look out to, is a good one. I hope all the other kids who will be doing the same thing can enjoy the time before school starts. After that, the responsibility starts again. Keep in mind, for incoming seniors; this is our last time to not really worry about life. Enjoy it while it lasts.

I hope this was more of an uplifting post for Mr. JF

End of work

I am done with work. It was a a good time. I appreciated everyone who took the time to make my last day a good one. I would also like to talk about the small people in a business. Since I was a small person, one might think i'll have bias in saying that small people make a business. Let's think about it. First of all, who makes all the copies and faxes? Small people. Who calls the people that no one wants to wait on hold for? The small people. Who makes the most money for the comany? NOT the small people. However, the company doesn't run without the small people. Even though I was one all summer, I truly believe the small people make a company run. Thank you to all the people who made my summer worth while. DH, RW, MG, AW, SS, DK, GB.
Thank you for an intersting summer.


More to come.

One Career

I truly believe that everyone on earth is destined for one career. There are certain charachteristics that people are tuly blessed in. When you can find that one cereer that combines those traits, you have found your lifes' work. Like most 21-year-olds, I do not know where my fortuitous traits equal a profession. This is what I know: I am the hardest working kid I know. The only job that i have ever given up on came in high school and it dealt with athletics. I know if I find a good job and get the chance to the prove to my boss what I can do, I will make it in life.

The question is what type of job will that be. What type of career does true hard work really excel you? Could it be a lawyer? Everyone says law school is difficult, but that is what makes it worth it. Could it be an entrpreneur? I feel like the challenege of starting from scratch is a good first step for finding out who I really am. Could it be a journalist? Do I find to work those long hours, talking to stranger for not a lot of money in a lost industry, almost. Do I follow the path that I have chosen at Champaign? What is the answer?

The one thing I know fr sure. It takes time. I don't think anyone knows what they want to the do with the rest of their lives until they have experienced it. College can help with that, but it isn't certain. Only G-d knows what we will do with our lives. Hopefully, soon, He can throw me a sign to tell me where this consciousness kid should be looking.

Silence Really is Golden

So I went to the sox/cubs game this afternoon. Fortunately the Sox shut the out and took the series. But I would like to talk about the fans. Every baseball game, especially in the cross town classic, fans yell and scream anything that comes to their heads. My quesiton is why? What does it do? They say it is part of the game, but which part is that? I can see how sometimes it could affect the opposing pitcher or players by getting under their skin, but how often does that work? These guys are professionals. They play 81 games in opposing stadiums. I just have hunch that they are used to the slurs and verball beatings.

So how about people start shutting up and enjoying the game. Cheer when your team wins or hits a homer. Don't be obnoxious or an asshole. Silence is golden, even in the sporting world.

Radio

Today I feel like writing about the radio. First off, I absolutely hate the radio. Im sorry, but it is the most annoying thing in the world to hear the same 5 songs everyday and all day. What is the point of that? How easy is it to be a disc jockey? I thought the point of the radio is for people to hear the music they want and the music that is "in" right now. There must be more than five songs that people like to listen to.

My other complaint deals with the lyrics of certain songs. How in the world to these artists make a "boat" loud of money with these dumbass lyrics. For example, the boat song. How dumb is this song. All he talks about is partying on a boat. And today I heard a song that was a rapper just naming shots. That was the entire song.

We as consumers of this music need to demand more from these artists. We need to start acting like they need to prove something to us. Let's not throw millions of dollars their way just because th beat is catchy. Let's turn up the volume of these artists.

Good and bad days

I don't think people realize the importance of understanding how to get through good and bad days. Good days are easy. They go by fast and you did well at whatever you were doing. Bad days are tricky. People screw up a project, get a bad grade on a paper or even get fired. However, the lessons to learn from these days is that we can get through it. Just because we have a bad day at work does not mean we should quit. Just because we get a bad grade on a test does not mean we should drop the class. If everything in life was easy, where would fulfillment come from? Where would enjoyment come from?

Everything in life has a cost.