Having your team lose in the Super Bowl makes all of the post-game festivities just miserable to watch. But at least they weren't my team, and the loss is something like watching Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart's USC team lose to Vince Young's Texas in the National Championship. They aren't my favorite team, but I wanted to see history made by a team I can like. After tonight I don't want to think or see football till next season. Over the last few weeks I've been reading more articles written by strictly sports commentators as opposed to the ones who attempt some social/political insight, and I have to say it was an unfortunate time. If we were to have modern day soothsayers, they would be former football players in sport suits and cyber jocks with a tendency towards hyperbole. The good thing, and I should say the great thing about losing a Super Bowl is it should make you question how important the game is within the grand scheme of life. And while I think most people, especially the players and coaches will continue to exagerate what this should mean to them, I also think this could a rare opportunity for self-reflection. Well I guess that's really all I have to say about the game itself, thankfully. Go niners.

The commercials. I passed out sometime in the first quarter, so I didn't see most of the commercials, but from what I could tell they were again lackluster- and perhaps especially so. I made up for it by watching the clips online afterwards. Seeing all of the best of the commercials compounded into a stream of clips made them seem better as a whole, but when I watched the worst of the advertisements, I was again surprised by how bad some of them really were. I don't know what Under Armor was going with in their commercial. They went from a small company that used to provide a unique product to athletes through mail order catalogues to some kind of hulking sports apparel business that lacks Nike's taste. If I saw their motif in a movie, I would think they were the bad guys set on world domination through might makes right, nationalist motivations. Is that the culmination of blue collar work ethic? Sales Genie brought out the worst commercials, and not because they were simply not funny. These were the ads that had the animated Indian salesman and a family of Chinese panda bears. Typically, I shun use of the race card, since I think people tend to hide behind it instead of being honest about it, but these commercials were somewhat upsetting to me. I've seen more offensive content before, butI am suprised that Sales Genie had the gall to use this sort of thing for a Super Bowl commercial. I doubt there will be public outcry against Asian and Indian discrimination in the media concerning these ads, but I can't help but wondering what would have happened if the cartoons were Black caricatures. Most people probably just thought that they weren't funny, and hopefully won't bother to endorse a company that lacks creativity; which I guess is a good thing. But if I was Indian or Chinese I think I would have been a little red in the face after watching; I'm only half Filipino and I'm embarassed.

It's Monday morning again, and I'm actually okay with the idea of getting ready for work soon. I think knowing that I plan to put in a honest work effort is making it easier to head off to what has been typically a dreadfully boring experience. I'm glad that I woke up early again for a chance since I have time to shake off the effects of Super Bowl snacks. James and I bought a 24 pack of Corona, that turned out to be in cute 7oz bottles instead of the real size. Half the beer twice the bottles oops. We only finished half of them, but that's probably cause I passed out from staying up all night again. We had chips, dips, salsa, and a 12-piece bucket of fried chicken. I woke up during the 4th quarter and all that good health eating caught up to me. My finger was swelling up so I stoned myself on Ibuprofen and Indocin. I hope Katyana didn't mind my medecine head babel on the phone. I'm feeling better now, and my finger is moving freely. Guess I'll have to start taking Allopurinol more regularly again.

A few things are coming up this week. And now that I'm just running over them in my mind, the only thing I am personally involved with is Lent. I decided to give up video gaming websites. I can waste as much time on those as the real thing, and having those around is a trigger for a wowlapse. But I'm glad I'm doing well in that respect; I still have a long ways to go as far as productivity and work- I really need to get those papers done and out of my life- but that can't happen if I'm melting my brain over those kinds of things. Overall the surge is working. I also need to pick a Saint name for confirmation. At the beginning of the RCIA classes we discussed gifts of the spirit, and I chose Courage as the one I wanted to work on the most. Many of my classmates had chosen it as their strength, but for me I think it is a very hard thing to stand where you know you should stand, and trying to live life in the way it should be lived is a fearful undertaking. I wanted to pick a saint who embodies Courage in the way I am thinking of it- Augustine comes to mind, but I want to do more looking before I choose. I am pretty excited about confirmation since I am getting closer and closer to the rite.