Cubs in 2006??? ... Try 2014

The Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, exercising their demons with the New York Yankees and sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the process, winning their first championship in 86 years.

The White Sox just got finished sweeping the Houston Astros last night, breaking the Black Sox curse, and winning, in historic fashion, their first championship in 88 years.

With these two curses finally exorsized, the question must be asked - with two curses taken care of in two years, can the third be taken care of in 3? Can the Chicago Cubs, victims of the dreaded Billy Goat Curse for 97 years, take that big leap and end it once and for all in 2006?

My answer, my friends, is simple: No.

"Why not?" I can hear hopeful Cubs fans cry out. Well, there are a couple logical reasons, and one, not so much. Just hear me out.

First of all, they don't have the personnel - in the front office, that is. I don't believe that, as long as Dusty Baker is manager of the Cubs, the Northsiders of Chi-town will win a World Series, even if they do get there. I don't blame Bartman for that 2003 NLCS Collapse at the hands of the Florida Marlins. Some of that blame goes to Baker - he could have easily passed it off as a fluke play, made his team shake it off for Game 7, and forget the whole thing. But, he was the one who perpetuated it after Game 6. Not a Championship Manager move. And, lest we forget, The Giants got to the World Series in 2002 with Baker at the helm. Did he lead them to the Promised Land? I think not.

Then, there is the pitching staff. Do I have to spell it out for you? Maddux is aging, Wood will never be the pitcher Cubs fans saw such promise in, a few years back, and Clement's with the Red Sox. I'm sorry - there's not much there.

Granted, you guys have Derrek Lee. Quick - name me another big-league hitter who can carry games when Lee is struggling ... didn't think so. I'm sorry - there's not much there, either.

Now, finally ... on to my final point. Why don't I think the Cubs will exorsize their Billy Goat/Bartman demons in 2006? It just wouldn't make any sense, symmetrically. "What are you talking about?" you ask. Well, you see, the Red Sox won last year, and the White Sox this year. Boston's last title was in 1918, and the Southsiders', 1917. Now, symetrically speaking, since the time between the White Sox' last title and the Cubs' last title is 9 years (remember, they won their last in 1908), add 9 to 2005 and ...

I declare that the Cubs will win the World Series in the year 2014. Now, that's partly based on symmetrics. That even makes sense, from a business standpoint, doesn't it? Look - the Cubs Organization will have to do a complete turnover at least once more before the Northsiders get back on the right track. New manager, new front office, new talent - hitting and pitching. By 2014, I think they'll have the talent and management needed to win it all.

So, all this talk about the curses being over with? Let's not get carried away, here. After all, without the Cubs being the loveable losers that they are, who else is there?

The Giants? :)

Life as a College Student Pt. I

It has been two months since I've begun this journey, as an actual University student. Ugh. "Journey". I apologize for using such a cliche' term. To be honest, though, I'm not sure how else to explain it. I mean, it has been two months of ups and downs (mostly ups, thankfully), new experiences and new friendships.

I guess I should start at the beginning. Where that is, I'm not so sure. So, give me a second.

Okay. So, it all started in a little town in the Philippines called Laguna --

No, wait ... too far. Fast forward ...

I had just finished my first and only year in Solano College, after two years at Sac City. I kept myself busy that last semester at Solano - Speech and Debate Team, the school choir. Plus, to top it off, I got straight A's to finish off my Community College career. It was nice. I also found out a few months earlier that I was accepted into UC Davis. So, obviously, I was pretty excited.

Then, I found out the initial disadvantages of being an international student.

Oh, that's right, folks. I am an international student. That wouldn't seem too strange, under normal circumstances. That didn't apply to me, however. You see, most international students are exchange students, meant to study here for a year, then go back to their home country. Almost all of them are brand new to this country, and have a limited understanding of the English language. As for me, I have lived here since I was six months old. Technicalities with immigration, various visa stati and such have prevented me from becoming a citizen of this country. Technically, I am still a Filipino citizen. Because of this, I was forced to enroll into UCD as an international student.

I have to admit, I was quite hesitant to attend the International Student Orientation, which, I later discovered, was mandatory. To be quite honest, I was pissed that I had to go - I felt that I didn't need to. It was a good thing I went, though.

At the orientation, I discovered it very amusing as I explained to person after person I met about my extremely unique situation, and gauging their reaction:

"So, how long have you been in America?"
"Oh, well, how old am I, 21? ... hmm ... 21 years, this December."

It was a nice primer for getting to know people - you know, getting them interested in you and your situation. It's how I met some of my new friends - Yoo-Jin Lee, for one. Korean exchange student who grew up all over Europe, from what I understand. She was fluent in English, which I found to be a pleasant surprise. We hung out for most of the first day. David Dry, an Econ major from England, secondly. Met him while Yoo-Jin and I were at dinner with a group of other int'l students. Good guy to talk to - I learned a lot of things about the legal drinking age in England. Pranita Praveen, thirdly, from Australia. She was an Indian (from India, not Native America), which I thought to be interesting. The thing was, I couldn't place her accent at first. She gets that alot, apparently. There was Conny and Daniel, a couple from Germany who I met while at an Asian Teahouse. Considering they were raised in Germany, their English was surprisingly fluent.

And, so, it came to pass, that I made some new friends at International Student Orientation. I was ready for move-in day, which was to come in about a week. For that, I will leave you to Part II. I dunno when I'm gonna write about it, but just look for it.