another sam chan: the student blogger

In movies, there’s always a main character. Well, I shouldn’t say always, but those movies without a specific main character usually suck so I disregarded those in my statement. I’ve noticed that there’s always the same movie flow:

Phase 0

A – MC has been doing well with his/her life so far, experiencing success without having to undergo hardship in the past.
or
B – MC life sucks.

Phase 1:
Something (such as a spider) or someone (usually somebody hot, or a dumb kid) alters MC’s life.

Phase 2:
As a result of Phase 1, MC has new previously unforeseen goals and changes attitude.

Phase 2b:
MC undergoes hardship to meet those goals but always peserveres and breaks through.

Phase 3:
MC is met with waves of success and briefly feels like the top of the world until

Phase 4:
A: something from the MC’s past comes back to haunt him/her
or
B: A trap is set by the antagonist
which results in
the MC falling into a deeper hole than ever before seen.

Phase 5:
the MC crawls out of the hole, battered, bruised, but rises higher than ever and takes over their world.

Phase 6:
A: MC wins/lives happily ever after, with ever after being the last 30 seconds of the film
or
B: dies with pride, thus effectively ending the film (anybody seen crank?)

What I want to emphasize on is Phase 2B, the part where the MC works hard, peserveres and gets rewarded for it. The reason it is 2B and not 3, is because it is always a few short cut scenes, where they show that “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. You see it in Legally Blonde with Elle and her books, you see it in Mighty Ducks when the guys finally start to play as a team, and you see it in Coach Carter when the guys run lap after lap after lap, followed by 1000 pushups.  Like many other movie watchers, I always put myself into character when I watch movies and I see how they succeed…and think I can do the same thing. However, for the most of us, the majority of our lives are those few short scenes where we have to work hard and persevere. The MC always makes it look so easy, so smooth, so natural, where in reality, its a gruesome struggle. Sure makes me wonder if happily ever after is worth it, or is that a fantasy too?

Roberto Luongo just hasn’t been good enough. I have to agree with Alain Vigneault. Our best player needs to play his best and that’s the only way the Canucks will ever get anywhere. Now that the season is officially over, let’s take a look at his stats.

0 goals in 73 games? Vancouver’s best player? Are we freaking kidding? That’s worse than Alexandre Diagle and Steve McCarthy! Okay, maybe not Alexandre Diagle who’s moved on to greener pastures. Oh wait, Luongo’s a goalie, he gets paid to stop goals, not score them. Silly me. Wait, somebody explain something to me. Has anybody ever won a hockey game by stopping goals? Has anybody ever made the playoffs by stopping goals? As Mr. Woodcock would say:

Rhetorical

I’m not a hockey player by any means (google: asian, small, and protective parents as child) but I find myself always relating hockey (and most sports really) to life. I fully understand (or so I think) the concept behind putting a defense first system in a game. The idea is that when you have solidified your own end, no matter who you are playing against, you are in control because they have come into your house. It is a very logical concept and is used by many people in many different formations. There’s only one problem with this conservative method, its a vote of non confidence in your team. By choosing to defend first, you are electing to let the other team attack you. Even metal thins after you bang on it with a hammer. This is not a case of iron sharpening iron, it is a case of rubber puck versus human wall. Eventually, the wall will break. In choosing to attack first, you must be so confident in your attack that the other team has to run back and literally have no time to even THINK about touching your house. In the same way, many people spend their lives defense first. They buy backup after backup, you know, in case stuff. Why buy a 5 pack of pencils? In case the first 4 break. Why buy vitamins? In case you get sick. Take chances, attack, score goals, its the only way you’ll win because otherwise, the best case scenario if you have a freak like Luongo to protect your house is 0-0. But even Luongo needs to take a break sometimes.

On a somewhat similar (lies, the only thing similar is the stupid hockey theme) topic, The after hours on the radio after the Edmonton/Vancouver game talked about a pretty interesting topic: Where does heart (in a hockey team, for those that don’t watch hockey and have been lost throughout this entire rant) come from? Both broadcasters seem to agree that it comes from leadership. When the leader pours his heart and passion out, the rest of the team follows. When the only guy without pads on who pours his heart and soul out is Alex Burrows, you’ve got a problem. Let me just say I love Markus Naslund. (not in a I want to bed him way). He’s a complete (cliche coming…wait for it) class act on and off the ice and the type of guy I’d want my kids (or somebody I don’t hate’s kids) to look up to. You’ll never catch him spearing or spitting on somebody. In fact, you can’t even catch him blaming Steve Moore for his injury all those years ago…which ultimately led to the demise of Todd Bertuzzi and Vancouver’s best chance at a championship since 1994. However, does he have heart? You take a look at the the difference between Naslund’s interview and Luongo’s interview after the Edmonton game. Luongo was holding back tears, throwing out frustration, anger, sarcasm and was generally a nasty guy to talk to. Naslund looked glummy and threw out the “we have to blame ourselves, we’re really disappointed, blah blah blah” Newspapers will jump all over this and continue to say that Naslund has no heart, check out Luongo in tears, etc. etc. etc. While its no doubt that Luongo cared so much to be in tears, does having heart give you the right to be a jerk? Does being polite and throwing out “disappointment” cliches mean you don’t care? While I don’t mean to defend Naslund, it’s pathetic that you have to be pissed off and tear up to show you give a damn.

Considering I have a considerable amount of papers left to right, it makes no sense that I spend an hour’s worth writing 700+ words on here. However, without crying, swearing, or giving you attitude, the time spent should show you how much I care about this blog, knowing full well that since university students are on the brisk of exams, procrastination is on full bloom and I will take advantage of that in order to gain more views and achieve world domination.

It’s funny because I’ve put off putting my first post for more than a week. I haven’t forgotten about it, or was too lazy or what not. The fact of the matter is that when you click on my site, its quite clean and free of trash. I didn’t want to screw it up by posting. I do the same thing with exam papers. But as I sit here staring at my blank page, I realize that nobody will read this anyways so why not ’screw it up’. Regardless of what I type or not type, its my mess anyways and besides you, nobody will read it. Anyways, lets have a moment of silence for a once clean blog.

So, its elections week at the U, and I want to talk about how ridiculous the trash has been. I’ve never been into politics, and generally would like to keep it out of this blog, but I’m not ignorant enough to think that’s possible. The big debate this week is whether or not our jail of a university should separate ourselves from the pack by leaving the big national federation. I’m not going to get who I voted for or who you should vote for, that’s your own damn business and I honestly could care less. The trash I’m talking about is just that. Flyers, EVERYWHERE. In the classrooms, on the walls, in the toilets, on the ground. Every corner I turn, there’s a happy go-lucky smiling dude or dudette giving me some flyer about how much money the fed is wasting or how to vote yes. I voted early to avoid all this junk! I’m all for standing in what you believe in but this is overkill. By the time this mess is cleared up, nobody’s going to want to come to school period regardless of who wins the fight. The NO side talks about how much money we would save (insert something with 6 digits) if we left; I wonder how much money we would save if we didn’t have this thing. Now haters will probably be raving and telling me how this is the real world and I should learn to live in it. They will argue that those guys are doing the right thing, getting you informed as a student, and that I should stop whining and make the right choices. Oh well, there’s the x button (top right for windows, red button on top left for macs) hit it, don’t let your computer freeze on the way out. This is my blog, where I will rant about my pointless antics without having a 3rd world war about it. If you don’t like what I’m saying, let me just tell you that I already told you this post was going to be full of trash at the beginning. Although, since nobody reads this, I shouldn’t have any haters. hmm….

and my last and only reader just left the building…

seems like a good start to the blog!

Kickin out,
Sam Chan