The Perfect College Football Playoff

So this year is the first year of the College Football Playoff, and as always, there was much controversy in the method to determine the best team in college football. TCU was ranked 3 going into the final week and won by 52 points. They fell three spots in the rankings. Now Ohio State and Baylor were both impressive as well, but it does seem a tad absurd. Everyone's initial reaction is to expand it to 8 teams, but then we are just arguing over the 8th-10th spots.

I have a much better solution. There is a specific committee that is flown into Dallas every weekend to discuss things, so clearly they must have their shit together. So instead of a 4-team or 8-team playoff, why not just let the committee decide how many teams will be involved. This year, it pretty clearly would have been six teams. The top two teams would get a bye (although it is absurd that Florida State was not ranked in the top two, but I could write a whole post on that), and the other four would battle it out to get it down to four teams. With this strategy, you get in all the best teams without any of the extra riff raff.

Now this would put a lot more stress on the committee, because they would basically be shitting on Mississippi State, but that's okay, as you can definitely draw a line between them and TCU. It works no matter how many teams you put in it. TCU, Ohio State, and Baylor all could have lost and Oregon would have played Florida State for the right to play Alabama in the national title game.

There would be some logistical issues about scheduling the bowls with when and where they would happen, but logistics should not be what stops us from finding the one true college football champion. This is what America needs to focus all of its resources on. The battle of these schools in proving their athletic supremacy is essential to what we stand for as a nation. This is a $100 million idea, and sorry student-athletes, there is no leftover money for you.

Thanks in advance for the check, NCAA.

Sensational Sherri Is the Greatest Woman in Pro Wrestling History

Pro wrestling, as a whole, has never been very progressive when it comes to its treatment of women. Even today, "Divas" are unimportant at best and are usually seen as a nuisance. Very few women have been able to rise above that level, but there are a few outliers. The Fabulous Moolah was probably the first, Trish Stratus and Lita managed to do it during the Attitude Era, and AJ Lee has had her moments as well. As great as these women have been, for my money, there's nobody that can top Sensational Sherri.

She was a manager that mattered. She was able to increase the importance of who she was managing while still letting the wrestler be the star. Her best run was definitely in the WWE where she took over Miss Elizabeth's role as Macho Man's manager and somehow kept pace with Macho Man during his promos. That alone makes her a Hall of Famer, because Macho Man was the most amazing combination of charisma, creativity, and insanity.

Macho Man would be the star in any pairing, but she added to the reasons to boo the man who was then known as the Macho King. After getting sent to the curb when Macho King lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior where Savage reunited with Miss Elizabeth, she became the original singer of the greatest wrestling theme music of all time, "Sexy Boy," as she managed Shawn Michaels.

Everybody remembers HBK as a guy who was amazing in the ring and compelling outside of it, but he had to work up to that point. He was always good in the ring, but he got better when he became a singles star and had to put on full matches consistently. On the mic, he was pretty weak early on. He kind of reminded me of Dolph Ziggler in that you could see the potential, but there was something that was just a little off where he didn't quite get the reactions that he should have. Sherri truly was Sensational as the crowd absolutely despised her and she brought Shawn up a level as his manager.

Although her WCW career did not always keep her in the main event scene, she made a pretty amazing impact at her debut at Clash of the Champions. It was a mystery who she would be supporting, and it wasn't until the main event where she came out in Sting face paint to show her support for WCW's top babyface in his match to unite the World Titles against Ric Flair. Late in the match, Flair pulled Sherri in front of him and Sting accidentally hit her. Sting was concerned, and Flair rolled him up for the pin. She then revealed that her and Flair were in it together all along. Sting got mad, Flair cheapshotted him, and Sherri leg dropped his nuts. Hulk Hogan came out to restore order, but Sherri slapped him in the face and escaped the ring before he could do anything about it (Side note: The entire time that Hogan was in the ring with Sherri, Jimmy Hart was screaming "Hit her" into his megaphone. That probably wouldn't fly today). Overall, it was a pretty awesome performance from the woman who was now known as Sensuous Sherri.

Just as impressive as her ability to help elevate the person she managed, her ability to get her ass kicked during matches and just bounce back like she was a legitimate fighter meant that she was on her own level as a woman in wrestling. She would take bumps from the likes of Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and the aforementioned Sting, but that would just knock her down, and she wouldn't magically go unconscious for an hour like most women in wrestling. She got back up to cause more havoc. She was strong enough to choke Hogan during matches, and she actually got credit for hurting men instead of just distracting them. Hell, she even jumped off a cage in WCW to deliver a double axe handle to Hogan. After that, she handcuffed Mr. T, but then took an uncomfortable amount of offense from Hogan. It was pretty rad.

Sherri Martel had many nicknames through her time in pro wrestling, Sensational and Scary being the most notable. And both of those were fitting. The latter, because she could actually do damage to those who opposed the wrestler she managed. And the former, because she was likely the greatest woman in the history of wrestling. She truly was Sensational.

Why CM Punk Will Never Fight in the UFC

This past weekend, the UFC announced that CM Punk had signed a contract for the UFC to fight in 2015. This was a big time news story for the UFC and will undoubtedly get them a lot of mainstream publicity. If CM Punk steps in the octagon, it will no doubt be one of the UFC's highest selling PPV's of the year. However, I still do not think CM Punk will ever fight in the UFC.

To become a mixed martial artist at the caliber of the guys in the UFC, it takes incredibly difficult training that involves a ton of pain and misery. Don't get me wrong, pro wrestling training is on the same level as UFC training, so it is not that I don't think Punk is tough enough. It's that he's 36 years old and has a body that has been ravaged by pro wrestling industries. With that against him, it will be incredibly tough to make it through a proper training camp.

Punk seems like a guy who is doing this to do his best, and I think his body will not allow him to do that. He is making the step up from hobbyist to fighter, and that is an incredibly large leap. He has primarily focused on jiu jitsu, but full honesty, jiu jitsu is one of the easier martial arts. It's fairly easy to stay injury free as the people you are training with are looking out for your health. Most people can handle that, and I think Punk can probably handle the striking aspects as well. But man, that wrestling part is brutal. Mentally or physically, wrestling will break you. It breaks everyone. A guy with no real wrestling experience cannot go through the proper training in one year to prepare himself for a fight in the UFC.

And that last point is the biggest issue. There is no way to train for a year and be ready to fight in the UFC. The UFC will do everything they can to make it happen, but I have serious doubts he will ever get in the cage. Even if he does, it will only be a UFC fight by name. It will not be the caliber that people are used to seeing in the UFC, because no athletic commission will give him a legitimate UFC fighter. He's going to be fighting a guy with a couple pro fights and no elite skills. And that's best case scenario.

Nothing against Punk, but I don't think he'll ever end up fighting. I think he'll struggle with injuries and realize that he can't put on a fight that is worthy of his own high expectations. I know this post seems negative, but it is nothing against CM Punk. He has an incredible opportunity, and it makes sense for him to take full advantage of it. I hope he proves me wrong, and if he does, I can guarantee I'll be watching.

11 Things That Could Go Wrong For The 2015 Chicago Cubs

Guys, for the first time in a while, I am excited about a Chicago Cubs team. Like, I'm super pumped. Speaking of pumped, I need to pump the brakes on my excitement. And when looking at the Cubs, it is really not that hard to find places where they could disappoint. This team is full of question marks, so there is a lot that can go wrong. I am going to go through the team to find the 11 things that could go wrong this year from most likely to least likely.

1. Javier Baez
Baez seems as he will be getting plenty of playing time this season, but he hit .169 last year. He is going to strike out a lot, and although he has been able to adjust to the minor league levels, he is facing a different beast when it comes to major league pitching. If he can't find a way to make more contact, he could be on a plane back to Iowa by May, and as someone who grew up in Iowa, that is not a desirable outcome.

2. The Bullpen
The bullpen has been really bad these last few years. I think they have pieces that have potential to work out, because bullpens are a fickle beast. But with that fickality (totally made up word), they could just as easily fail again this season. They don't need a great bullpen, but if it isn't at least average, they are facing a steep climb to make the playoffs.

3. The Catching Situation
The Cubs acquired Miguel Montero to help shore up the catching situation along with Welington Castillo. Montero put up a good three year stretch, but that stretch ended in 2012. The past two seasons, he has struggled at the plate in what is a good hitter's park in Arizona. He did rate as a good pitch framer, but although I see value in pitch framing, I do think the value may be exaggerated. With Castillo and Montero, are the Cubs guaranteeing anything beyond a replacement level duo?

4. Kris Bryant
Kris Bryant is the sexiest prospect in the minors right now. Velocity is sexy, tools are sexy, but there is nothing sexier than home runs, and Bryant brings those in abundance. But he does struggle with contact, and he has yet to get a single hit in the major leagues, so until someone does it at the top level, there will always be question marks. There have been plenty of top prospects who failed to live up to the hype. Many Cubs fans seem to already be penciling him in for 30 home runs but counting on that production could leave them with a bitter taste in their mouth as the rookie struggles to adjust.

5. The Outfield
The outfield currently consists of Jorge Soler, Arismendy Alcantara, and Chris Coghlan. That isn't going to inspire a ton of fear in opponents. Coghlan had a bounce back year after struggling for a few years after winning Rookie of the Year in 2009. Although he could continue that positive momentum, he is turning 30 this season, so he seems like a pretty decent bet for regression.

Alcantara showed flashes during his time in the majors, but he never found the hitting groove that had Cubs fans excited about him while he was in the minors. He's not an elite prospect, so his ceiling is only an above average regular, but that's his ceiling, which means it is pretty likely that he falls well short of that during his first full season in the majors.

Jorge Soler is definitely the guy to be most excited about as he came up at the end of last season and acclimated himself incredibly well. Still, it was a very small sample size, and it would be foolhardy to be confident that he could repeat that performance. Soler could follow the Gregory Polanco path of getting off to a hot start but then struggling for months.

In summary, there isn't a single guarantee that any outfielder on the Cubs roster can even provide average value.

6. The Starting Rotation Outside of Jon Lester
Cubs fans feel as if the starting rotation is a strength, as it performed very well last year. It could be, but it is not hard to imagine it being a weakness of the team as well. Jake Arrieta had a breakout year, but sometimes these breakouts turn out to be just flashes of greatness, and it seems as though the best case scenario is a repeat of his performance, which leaves a whole lot of room for regression.

The Cubs also brought back Jason Hammel who excelled for them, but quickly imploded after being sent to Oakland. Depending on Hammel going back to that first half glory instead of the second half gory that he had in Oakland may prove to be a poor decision.

Are you buying Kyle Hendricks? No offense to Hendricks, but his season seems a tad unsustainable for future years.

And that is followed up by Travis Wood who fell off a cliff after having a great year in 2013 (Fun fact: I saw him hit a home run in San Francisco that year). His true talent level is probably somewhere between his performances from the past two years, but that may only be good enough to be a fourth starter.

The Cubs starting rotation has been one of the few bright spots from these past few years, but expecting it to continue that way is far from a guarantee.

7. Starlin Castro
After falling off a cliff in 2013, Castro bounced back to his previously established level of play in 2014. He seems to have settled at the level of good, not great, shortstop. But the guy has never been known for his intangibles, so it wouldn't be that shocking if he fell back this season.

8. Jon Lester
Lester is the ultimate prize of this free agency period, so the Cubs are counting on him to supply great performance and lead the pitching staff. We are just a couple years removed from a 4.82 ERA from Lester. Although I think that will continue to be an outlier, what if he is only a #3 starter and not a 1 or 2? That's not that hard to imagine, and things are only going to go downhill as he ages. There's a decent chance that he supplies a 3.50 ERA instead of a 2.50 ERA. That's good, but it might not be good enough to lead the Cubs to the playoffs.

9. Anthony Rizzo
He could fall back to a .233 average? I mean, that is a possibility. But yeah, I'm definitely to the stages of grasping for straws at this point.

10. Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon has never won outside of Tampa Bay. Does he have what it takes to succeed or will the bright lights of the Windy City overwhelm him into managing like Dusty Baker? Okay, it will be tough to come up with one more ridiculous than that.

11. The Cubs Are Cursed
But yes, this one is more ridiculous.

So there you have it, 11 things that could ruin the Chicago Cubs 2015 season. Before I went through all these things, my prediction was 162-0 while sweeping through the World Series, but I have to temper my expectations. After going through all of these potential issues, it is clear I was a tad too optimistic, so 150-12 while only winning the World Series in 5 games. I have to stay realistic; I hope you can too.

What It's Like To Be A Temp Worker

Last week, I talked about how the unemployed lifestyle ain't all it cracked up to be. It was kind of a bummer piece. But even though I haven't gotten a full-time job, I have been working temp jobs to fill my time and make some money. Let me just start by saying. temping isn't awful. It isn't great, but it is way better than not working at all. I have been very fortunate in that I have worked with really nice people in all of my positions. The biggest downside of temping is everybody sucks when starting a new job, and right when you start to get in a groove with things, your time there is done, and you are forced to start over somewhere else again. I'm not sure if anybody remembers the show "The Pretender" where the main character had a different job every week like fighter pilot, emergency room doctor, or bounty hunter. But temping is a lot like that, except WAY less exciting.

My first position was working in the marketing department of a local college, and they thought they would find something for me until they realized I was more talented than they initially thought and we mutually agreed it was not going to be a good option.

After that, I had a week off until I took a different job at the same college where I worked as a receptionist. On paper, it was a sweet gig. I just had to sit up front and could do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to cruise the internet, go ahead, pop in some headphones and learn Spanish, sure, I even wrote a book (with drawings) for my wife for our anniversary. The problem was that I was stuck there. Outside of going to the bathroom and taking a lunch, I had to sit out front and be present. It definitely sapped my motivation as time went on. They offered me the position full-time, but I'm not sure if I could have made it another month, as I was anxious every day from being forced to sit still.

My most recent position was an events position for a nonprofit. Everybody there was really nice, and I fit in the culture really well. It was a temp-to-hire position, so it was actually really promising. On my first day, my boss told me that if I proved myself, they would probably be willing to offer me the full-time position in two-to-three weeks.

I started tackling projects to the best of my ability, and somehow this backfired on me. After two days of working with my boss, she told me that I was too talented for the position. In all reality, the position was totally fine by me; it was basically just like my old full-time job, and I enjoyed that position. It was a job that would make sense for me from what my past experience was. Telling me I was too talented was the ultimate mindfuck. How can I properly respond to that? How do you tell someone that you're not that great, and this is the position for me? Do I assure them that I will fuck stuff up from time to time? I tried to agree with how great I am (it was not that hard), but at the same time saying that I would like the opportunity as I am not in the position to shoot for the stars at this point in my life.

They were concerned I would leave the position, I told them that I would stick with them through their busy period at the very least before even considering any other positions. My boss wanted to offer me the position, but the President wanted to do her due diligence and interview other people while also considering me.

It took two months for them to finally get around to the interviewing process. In that time, I had done every assignment incredibly well and just about everybody loved me there. In a building of 20 people, half of those told me how much they wanted me to get the job or assured me I was a shoo-in for the position. I figured they'd bring in a few token candidates before offering me the position. Instead, they decided to interview nine people for the position.

Still, this was a slam dunk opportunity. The first interview was with my boss and the HR lady. I presented myself incredibly well, and it was a breeze. If I was in a frat, I would say I crushed it, or slayed it, or possibly combined the two and crush-slayed it. But it went well. My boss told me that I made it to the final two, and I politely thanked her while thinking to myself, "No shit, Sherlock; there was no way I wasn't going to make it to the final interview."

And that brings me to another point. One of my weaknesses is not being great on paper, my other issue is confidence. Most people will tell you to try and be confident during an interview; this has never been an issue for me, but the opposite has been. I am too confident when I go into interviews. Even jobs I have gotten in the past, I was told that my confidence worried them. Basically, I walk into my interviews like I'm interviewing for a porno and I'm packing a footlong in my pants (Speaking of that, maybe bringing in a $5 footlong from Subway for the interviewers would help my chances). So, yes, confidence is an issue for me, but not in the same way as other unemployed people.

Speaking of that confidence, my next interview was with the President of the nonprofit. We hadn't talked a ton, but I had the ultimate advantage as she was a fellow alum at the University of Iowa. Hawkeyes stick together, so this interview should have been even easier. And it was an easy interview. The only weird thing was that she said she was looking forward to getting to know me better on a personal level, and then proceeded to only ask me work-related questions. If I don't mention my wife, pup dog, or pro wrestling, it is probably not a personal conversation. Still, I had proved myself for the last two months, so as things were winding down, I was only wondering how much money they were going to offer me.

Welp, that didn't quite work out, as they gave the position to the other candidate. Through the grapevine, I learned that my confidence was definitely not seen as an asset. So now I'm back on the hunt for my next opportunity. Should I try to tone down my confidence? Sure, I should, but change is hard, and I'm a snowflake, and they should appreciate me for being special in my own way.

Long story short, unless my Mom is in charge of hiring, I'm probably going to be bouncing around temp jobs for a while longer. 

Breaking Down the WWE's ICOPRO Commercials

One thing that is abundantly clear when watching early episodes of Raw is that Vince McMahon really wanted ICOPRO to succeed. It was around this time when Vince created a bodybuilding league, because McMahon was and still is obsessed with physiques but is unfortunately in a very small minority when it comes to that. Still, with that obsession with bodybuilding, he also got into the supplement game with ICOPRO.

Now you may be asking yourself: ICOPRO, that's six letters, this must be an incredibly long name, but don't worry, it actually stands for Integrated COnditioning PROgram. He would have gone with ICP, but let's face it, McMahon is not down with the clown and would never pledge his allegiance as a Juggalo.

The most important part of ICOPRO is that it led to wrestlers being involved in awkward promotions for the product with the simple catchphrase of, "You gotta want it." Let's first check in with Bret Hart.

He had the opportunity to speak the most, but only mixed in the catchphrase within a full sentence in the middle of his nine second soliloquy. He also mentions that an "integrated approach to training" is what ICOPRO is all about instead of saying an Integrated COnditioning PROgram, which is what ICOPRO is actually all about.

And that is just about what he said. It is much more important to talk about what else is going on in this commercial. He has an ICOPRO tank which is understandable. His hair is wet, but Bret Hart was in a consistent state of wet hair, so I can't complain too much about that. Leather workout gloves? Come on, Bret, you are better than that, and to be fair, Bret proves that he is better than that as he is holding onto the WWF Title, which I guess he is using as a weight belt? If so, that is about as boss as it gets.

Next up, we have Lex Luger.

Lex delivers his line very well, and I at least give him respect for not wearing workout gloves. But I do wonder why anybody would need an outfit change for a workout? What I'm guessing is that bodybuilding tank actually started off as a shirt, and it eventually just shredded to the point where he had to go to his black ICOPRO shirt. Also, some shorter shorts would have helped, as I got way too intimate with Lex's "total package."

Finally, the bad guy, Razor Ramon.

Out of Bret Hart, Lex Luger, and Razor Ramon, you would assume that Razor would be the one guy you would want speaking, but it was the opposite as the bad guy didn't say anything. He did get the Lex Luger treatment with a wardrobe change, but that makes sense when he switched from curls to military presses. Still, Razor remains a true baller as he works out with a toothpick in his mouth. That's a boss move.

And those three guys make me want to give ICOPRO a try. I can work out with a toothpick in my mouth, a title belt around my waist, while letting the ladies know my circumcision situation without ever uttering a word. Unfortunately, ICOPRO has not been made for about 20 years. But this is the cause that a wrestler needs to take up and make happen. CM Punk failed with the ice cream bars, but couldn't Cesaro bring back ICOPRO? Why Cesaro? Well, I'm guessing that whatever was in ICOPRO can no longer be legally manufactured in the United States, so Cesaro is the perfect guy to open up the European markets. Come on, WWE, you've gotta want it.

The 3 Best Jobbers in WWE History

There are some times where I will wax nostalgically on the past. This happens most often when looking at the WWE, or the WWF as it was known in the good old days. Watching the early days of Raw long for the days of jobbers. They are nearly extinct when it comes to WWE television, as the closest thing that they have really had were a variety of skinny guys that Ryback would beat up a couple years ago. Some would argue that Heath Slater is a jobber, but he wins occasionally and has a real gimmick where he speaks. That man is a superstar, and I'm looking for true jobbers.

Because of that, I would like to look at some of the best jobbers during the glory days of wrestling. Now there are people who will look at guys like The Brooklyn Brawler or Barry Horowitz, but those guys are way too mainstream and even had some victories. I want my jobbers to be total losers, and none personified the term better than these jabronis.

3. Reno Riggins
Riggins probably has the second best jobber name of all time. That's not just for jobbers; that's for wrestlers in general. Reno Riggins is strong. It may have even inspired Lorenzo Lamas's character in Renegade, Reno Reigns. Although he had a fairly good career in smaller organizations, he was strictly brought in to get beaten down when he made it to WCW and the WWE. Here is the definition of a squash match.

Things we learned in this match:

1. Reno Riggins is not related to John Riggins (helpful).
2. Reno Riggins is also not related to Christopher Columbus (I don't know why I would have thought he was).
3. Mabel is not related to Barney, even though they both wear purple (that's not how relation works).

Commentary in the 80s and 90s was truly a wondrous thing.

2. Tony Roy
Tony Roy had potential as he was in great shape for a jobber. But that hair? That hair is the hair of a full-blown jobber. The most successful person to have that hair is Spark Plug Bob Holly, who always got beat as Spark Plug, and then shaved his head to finally become somewhat relevant. Tony tried the shaved head thing and became Antoine Roy, but you probably don't remember that gimmick either. For relevant videos, I could have gone with something from his WWE days, but this seems most relevant.

Just firing frisbees up into the crowd to get completely over with the crowd. If you're looking for some WWE material, here is an epic match against IRS.

1. L.A. Gore
So this man is the reason that Reno Riggins only has the second best name in jobber history. L.A. Gore is about as perfect as it gets. He is the perfect combination of Hollywood and raw violence. He is all that is man. He managed four matches on Raw in 1993, which may have given him more appearances on WWE's flagship show in that first year than Undertaker and Hulk Hogan combined. Here is his epic match against Mr. Perfect.

L.A. Gore did not do his homework. You simply can't go for a back body drop against Mr. Perfect as it is the easiest setup for the Perfect Plex. Gore took a four year break from WWE before making a one match comeback to lose to Scott Putski.

L.A. Gore, you may have been forgotten by many, but for my money, there's no better jobber than you.

Being Unemployed Sucks

Being unemployed sucks. I have been without full-time employment for nearly a year and a half. That sounds bad, and it is bad, but it could be worse. I got a severance package from my last position, so I was still getting paid for a few months, and then I collected unemployment for a few more. In May, my wife got a job and we moved, and in June I began taking temporary positions. Still, after nearly a year and a half and nearly 1000 positions applied for, I remain unemployed.

One thing I like to do is read about the unemployment statistics and stories. Well, I don't really like doing it, but I do it, and this is definitely a case of misery loves company. At first, the one thing that surprised me was the number of people that had just given up on finding a job, but as time has gone on, I understand it more and more. I have been able to stay motivated at most times, but there are days where I just don't want to look at open jobs, because I have already convinced myself that there is nothing out there for me. Those are the sad moments, which happen slightly more than the angry moments where I get mad at nothing in particular, just my inability to move forward.

I only have myself to blame. I have made irresponsible decisions when it comes to my career, and this is the side effect of those decisions. In 2010, I left a job that I enjoyed in minor league baseball to move to Albuquerque to get my ass kicked every day training in mixed martial arts. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, but it doesn't exactly pop on a resume. Combine that with the long stretch of unemployment I had after leaving my last job in Iowa, and there are definitely some red flags for potential employers. I suck on paper, and it prevents me from proving how great I am in person, but whining about it won't help. It's nobody's fault but mine, so all I can do is suck it up and keep plowing forward.

90% of the time, I keep a positive attitude. Logically, I understand that feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help, so I might as well keep a good attitude about things. As I said, this works 90% of the time, but there are other times where it gets super fucking depressing. Like, holy shit, what is wrong with me? I'm not gonna lie; I've had a couple days where I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep, because the only thoughts on my mind are about my inability to get a damn job. It is that sense of failure that just weighs me down. I know that sulking isn't going to help, but sometimes, it has gotten the better of me, and I give in to start new the next day.

I'll admit that seeing that in writing is pretty sad, but I'm still fine. Everybody gets depressed here and there; Most people have it way worse than I do, so I am definitely not looking for a pity party. I just have one area that causes me a ton of grief. I'm incredibly happy to be married, as my wife helps me feel like the luckiest unemployed guy in the whole world. If I was not married, I would really be struggling, but she has been beyond great the entire time (I could probably write an entire post that just focused on how great she has been). Also, shout out to Casey the Dog as she helps me get outside to play with her. Just getting out and breathing in that fresh air is really helpful, and it is something that I would be lazy about and avoid if I didn't have the dog forcing me to play.

I am actively failing to find a job every day, but eventually I will succeed. Will that make it a more enriching experience when I do find a good job? I'm not gonna bullshit you; it won't. It will simply be a feeling of relief, because in the day-to-day struggle, it can be pretty miserable. Still, in the grand scheme of things, I'd say I'm still coming out ahead. I have a great wife and dog, I live in Florida instead of the Midwest; so my December has 80 degree weather instead of 8 degree weather. Being unemployed sucks, but it's not the end of the world. Now if you'll excuse me, my dog is pestering me to play ball. I could use the fresh air, and this is one job I plan on keeping.