What I keep hearing about this video is that schools across America would not allow their students to watch it. As a matter of fact, I have read a few articles that claim that some schools advised their students to not watch it at all, not even on their own time. I don’t understand this. I watched it and it sounds to me like Obama just told the children of America to get off there lazy fat asses and learn something. It sounded to me like he told the students of America that if they don’t make something of themselves then they have no one to blame but themselves. It sounded to me like he put the burden of self-improvement solely on the students of America. Personally, I have no problem with this. I have been preaching this to people for years. I look around at the youth off America and I fear for the future. Now let me tell you, I am no supporter of Obama. I don’t agree with many things that he has planned for the future. I applaud him for wanting to change many things that are broke in the country. He is one of the first to try to correct some of the problems instead of just talking about it. However, I think he is going about it all the wrong way, but that’s a conversation for another blog.

Back to the subject, this video. I listened to the video waiting for this “Call to the Hitler Youth” tone that I had been hearing everyone talk about, it never came. When the video was done I just looked to my wife and said “It’s about dammed time.” To sum it up, he basically went on TV and told the children that they need to get off their asses, get out from in front of the XBOX, PlayStation and Television and learn something. Make something of themselves by bettering their education. He even provided examples of other people their age (some older)how that have overcome adversity and have made something of themselves by applying effort and hard work to learning. He even pointed out that it is not easy, they will have to work at it and at times they may not like it. But the reward will outweigh the struggle. I only wish I had listened to my parents when they told me this years ago. I never liked school, all I wanted to do was draw and watch TV and movies. I was one of those students who said “I’ll never use this stuff in the real world” and never spent the time or effort to learn beyond what the teachers gave us. Hell, I barely learned what the teachers gave us. Now I struggle in life, I have had to learn everything that I need to get along in the real world on my own. Math, English, Grammar all of these things that I slacked off on in school I am finding that I need in order to do things in life. If I had listened to my parents, or had someone speak to the students of America like Obama did then maybe I would have turned out differently.

However, I had a choice. I was given this kind of speech from my folks and I CHOSE to ignore it. Most of the students of America had this choice removed. They were not given the opportunity to make up their own minds, they were not given the opportunity to think for themselves. A person within each of these schools decided that he or she did not want the students to think for themselves. These educators wanted them to continue to trudge along in life and not be something other than what they currently are. What if a student who is currently being pressured by gangs watched this video and decided that he had another option, then went on to create the cure for cancer. That option has been removed from his life now. He may now join that gang and not live past 25. What if another student is struggling with family hardships that are causing her to loose interest in school? Maybe this would have given her the strength to pull her head up and move past this and become the next President of the United States, maybe the first female President. That option is now taken from her because of someone else’s selfish actions.

Personally, I don’t see a problem with this video. I actually applaud it. I do now blame the teachers, principals and parents who kept their children from watching this video. The future that is going to be for your children is your making and I feel that by preventing them from watching this video you just darkened their future. Again, I am in no political organization. I lean towards no political party. I just feel that this was a powerful message that should have been heard and it’s an injustice to the children of this nation that the opportunity was taken from them.

Thank God for YouTube.

Read the transcript here.

You are reading Obama’s Education Speech and Ignorant Educators. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

Here are pictures of Brian and I at Carrabba’s from October 2003.

We eat there way, way, way too much. =P

You are reading Five Years of Eating at Carrabba’s. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

Shocker fans have seen the pictures and read the stories, but soon they can watch the National Championship Finals on CBS College Sports. The recorded-for-TV finals of the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships will air at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, starting with the women’s championship match between WSU and Pikeville College. The telecast of the men’s championship match featuring WSU will air at 7 p.m. Friday, June 6. Both telecasts will air on CBS College Sports, which can be found on Cox Cable on channel 260. Satellite subscribers can view the championships on channel 610 for DIRECTV and channel 152 on Dish Network.

You are reading Bowling Finals on TV. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

• Liberal Arts and Sciences
• College of Health Professions
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Fine Arts

And finally..

• W. Frank Barton School of Business

I’m about an hour into the video (in case you guys want to fast forward).

Commencement was probably boring for all the spectators but I had a blast. It felt good to be finished with school finally. I look forward to going back in a few years but, right now, I’m just glad it is all over.

Here are some stills from graduation. Enjoy!

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I had a chance encounter with Ann Konecny at Stooges on Saturday night. Konecny was this year’s keynote speaker during the spring commencement ceremony of the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University.

Ann Konecny is president and chairman of Foley Equipment Company, president of Foley Rental, and president of Foley Rebuild Center. She serves on the board of the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas and the board of the Cooperative Association of Tractor Dealers, as well as other industry groups. She is a member of the the Wichita State University Foundation’s Advisory Council, the WSU Barton School of Business Advisory Board, and Wichita Downtown Rotary. Amazing, right?

Being the nerd that I am, I took advantage of the photo op. Movie stars don’t really do anything for me. Successful business people are the ones who really impress me.

Had Brian and I left with everyone else — Mike was getting bored so Darcy, Mike, Joni, Travis, Lori, and Wade all left Stooges to continue the party elsewhere — we would have missed the chance encounter. Brian and I were going to go home after everyone left, but we decided to stick around for another set so we could dance.

When Konecny walked in to meet her friends, Brian and I instantly recognized her. Brian urged me to say hello and introduce myself, so I did. She was nice enough to agree to getting a photo with me. I thought that was really neat. I mean… How many people can honestly say they got a photo with their graduation ceremony’s keynote speaker at a bar on the same day as commencement? Not many, right?

Anyway, Stooges was doing a fundraiser for a veterans’ association that night and so they were raffling off free hotel stay in Vegas. Brian and I regretted having forgotten to ask for the others’ tickets before they left. That would have been six extra chances. Then, we thought that we’re not lucky enough to win anyway so six extra tickets probably wouldn’t have made the difference.

Ann Konecny arrived just in time for the drawing. Sure enough they drew her ticket. What are the odds? She is super nice, though. Not only did she give Brian one of the cigars she brought with her, she gave us the free three-day and two-night hotel package.

Stooges was the perfect end to the perfect day. Receiving the prize from Konecny was way better than winning the raffle outright… And I got a photo with her to boot! I am so glad that I introduced myself!

You are reading Ching with Ann Konecny. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

I can’t believe graduation is less than ten days away. Grad school has gone by pretty quickly. As Etaf mentioned in a recent note, it seemed like we were at MBA orientation only yesterday. Everyone has been like, “You won’t know what to do with your time” or “What’s next?”

I don’t know, really. It was such a relief to get my bachelor’s degree. After dropping out of college the first time, I felt really satisfied to have graduation. I thought, this college thing really isn’t too bad. I should go to grad school. LOL.

I sometimes joke that my primary reason for going to grad school is to postpone paying for my student loans. To some degree that is true. But I also set a goal for myself to get my MBA before I reach the age of 30. If you want to be technical about it, I really didn’t achieve that goal. Although, I am still 30. So if I revise the goal to say that I want to get my MBA by age 30, then I made it.

So what’s next? Well, I realized that I really enjoy going to school. So I’m thinking that I will eventually go back for my doctorate. Dr. Ching has a nice ring to it. Let’s set this goal for by 40. I’ll have to think about this one, though, because it will require a two-year sabbatical from work — probably more. I don’t think I can afford to not work, with all of our bills and my student loans and all. Anyway, I’ve got at least five years to think about it so I’ll let you guys know what we decide on that.

For now, Brian and I need to finish up our home remodel so we can finally get out of here. Maybe we can make a lot of progress in June — if we don’t get bogged down with other stuff, which always seems to happen. It seems like there’s something going on every weekend.

Last weekend we had Iron Man. Couldn’t miss that. Brian said he’d been waiting for it to come out for the last two years! This weekend we’ve got Mother’s Day plans. Next weekend is, of course, commencement. The weekend after that we’ve got a couples massage and then we are heading up to Harrah’s in North Kansas City for a post-graduation celebration. Hey, it’s Memorial weekend!

Then Brian’s parents are leaving to go on a 13-day European cruise. They leave the day after Memorial Day. That’s basically their anniversary celebration this year. Their wedding anniversary is on June 2nd. They return the day before Brian’s birthday, which is on June 13th. Then we’ve got an exhibition on the 14th where I’m supposed to dress like a Viet Cong soldier… And on and on and on… You get the picture. Things just always seem to come up.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to being done with school and seeing what “free” time is like. Although, as you can see — there’s really not much “free” time even with school out of the picture.

Hope to see you all at commencement! If you can’t make it, then you can watch the ceremony on the web at shockervision.tv — my undergrad commencement from May 2006 is still on there actually. =P

You are reading Time Flies When You’re Having Fun. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

Well, Liliya wasn’t the only familiar face. A few of my past professors were there. Larry Spurgeon, Dean Headley (and his wife Esther Headley), and Rick LeCompte were all present. I took Spurgeon’s Business Law class as an undergrad. Dr. Headley was my Marketing Research and Analysis (MKT 803) professor (Fall 2006). I took Dr. LeCompte’s Investments class (FIN 620) last semester.

Brian, David, and Donna attended the reception with me. I tried to get mom and dad to go, but it takes an act of God to get them out of the house. My Beta Gamma Sigma induction is a pretty big deal, so it’s a shame they missed it.

After I introduced my family to my past professors, Donna asked if Dr. Headley is the dean of the university or the business school. I was like, “What do you mean?”

“He introduced himself as Dean Headley,” she said. I had to explain that Dean is his first name. LOL. That’s not to say that Dr. Headley isn’t a big deal. He’s actually a very important figure at Wichita State. He’s an Associate Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and the Chair of the department.

By the way, David wondered the same thing. He thought that Dr. Headley mean “Dean” as in the Dean of the college, rather than “Dean” as in his first name. I’m sure it probably happens all the time, working at the university and all. Dr. Bart Hildreth (also present at the induction ceremony) is actually the Interim Dean of the Barton School.

Anyway, I was very happy to finally become a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. I wasn’t good enough in undergrad because of the horrible grades I got in LAS and Engineering. It is a huge accomplishment to finally be eligible. I’m really looking forward to wearing my lapel pin and cord at graduation.

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These were taken at one of the Viega dinners at the Hyatt during the week of their national sales meeting. We had a blast! Brian’s boss bought us into the Western sales region’s poker tournament that night. I ended up taking second, but I’m thinking if I had another hour I might have taken Scott down. The hotel staff made us wrap it up, though. Then again, it was well after midnight and they needed to pack up and clean the ballroom.

I gave my winnings to Brian to donate to the Relay for Life fundraising event at his work. They’re having a money war. Brian said he gave the money to Darrell. I’m not sure the $100 will make a difference toward the inside sales team winning against the marketing department. Brian tells me that there is no way that marketing will be able to catch up. Even though they didn’t need my help, at least the money is going to a good cause.

By the way, I was inducted to the Beta Gamma Sigma today. I will blog more about that and post pictures later. Speaking of recognition ceremonies and receptions, I was invited to the multicultural graduation celebration on Sunday. I asked Brian several times if he wanted to go, but he said no and told me not to ask anymore. I’m pretty much over the whole “boycott” thing. However, Brian’s apparently not. He still hasn’t forgiven them for slighting me so we will be absent from the event. Oh, well.

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I received my official commencement invitation today. We got the short stick this year. Our ceremony is at 8:00 am, which means graduate check in is at 7:00 am. Way too early.

I told Brian that we need to buy my graduation regalia this Saturday. The WSU bookstore is open until 2:00 pm. I should be done with the Green Team thing well before noon so Brian and I will have plenty of time.

I thought I would be smart and save my cap and gown from undergrad. I figured I would save some money this way. WSU is a lot smarter than I am. The masters graduation regalia is different than the undergrad regalia, unfortunately. This means I have to spend $50 out of my own pocket. Maybe someone will be nice and donate some funds to my Paypal as a graduation gift (hint, hint).

Anyway, I will be well-decorated this year since I am part of Golden Key and Beta Gamma Sigma. Go me!

The only downside is that Jen’s graduation is the same day as mine. I’m guessing mom and dad will go to that one. I will have Brian, Donna (Dave has something going on that day), and Jan in my corner at least. =P

No word yet on a graduation feast. You figure that I deserve it with this being a masters and all. Call it a fee for missing my graduation.

Anyway, those who cannot make it can watch commencement webcast on Shockervision.tv (click on the Commencement link). Select the May 17th, 8:00 am ceremony.

P.S. You can go here to view past commencement videos. Click on the Search tab, then select the May 13, 2006 Barton School of Business commencement video to watch my undergrad commencement video from two years ago.

You are reading Official Commencement Invitation. Read more at A Well-Documented Life.

I know mom says I don’t really need someone to give me a pat on the back for doing well academically, but I took Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) up on their invite. I’m being inducted into the organization on April 20th.

I received a bunch of informational stuff about BGS as an undergrad. They kept sending letters saying you’re doing great, keep it up, and maybe we’ll invite you. As you know, you have to be in the top 10% of your graduating class (as an undergrad) to be eligible and my GPA was not good enough (due in part to my bulakbol days as a Comp Sci and Engineering major). Since they look at your cumulative GPA, I just couldn’t overcome all those bad grades the first time that I went to college.

I think my business GPA was a 3.8, but I ended up with a 3.2 cumulative GPA after you consider my 170-plus credit hours. Needless to say, a 3.2 is not good enough.

Anyway, the nice thing is I get to start over in grad school. So I have a clean slate. I don’t have to worry about those miserably unsuccessful Engineering and Programming classes. So far in grad school I’ve only received one B — but that’s okay, because it’s in Operations Management, and everyone knows that class is horrid. Hopefully, I will get an A in my last class and I’ll keep my 3.9. Either way, I’m being inducted into BGS so I’ll be okay if I get a B. I’ll be disappointed, but it won’t be the end of the world.

I got invited to Golden Key last year, but I had reservations when I read about some of the corruption that has tarnished the organization. I found out today that my invitation is still open so I went ahead and joined. What the heck. Why not?

So now I’m a member of both BGS and Golden Key. I’m $200 poorer for the membership fees and such, but I feel ten times special. Let’s hope the $200 will prove to be a good investment. Only time will tell.

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