Looking up...

A few months ago I wrote about my troubles: job sucked, I wanted to live on my own, I kept getting parking tickets, I continued to be alone. Read my blogs from a few months ago and you'd have thought I was half-suicidal - I wasn't. But I was pretty down. I lacked energy. I lacked the motivation to try and improve. I even put so much pressure on my friends that I felt like I smothered them.

My job still sucks. I still live at home. I am still single. I don't get any parking tickets anymore, but I keep running into things - walls mostly.

But I feel better. I'm really learning to count my blessings. I just received a letter from my insurance company, which informed me that my car insurance would be $40 less per month. That's like $480 in a year. That's an XBox 360 and a game. Then my credit rating has increased so much since I actually started paying attention to it. It's at a 649. One more point and I think I'll actually have "good" credit. This is after years of being unable to procure even a crappy, high-interest card.

Then there are my friends. I have a good number of them. You know who you are... They are almost always there when and where I need them. Thanks be to God.

I'm working on not relying on those blessings though. I shouldn't expect my friends to be there ALL the time. I shouldn't expect them to call me right after I call them. I shouldn't expect them to say "yes" every time I ask them to hang out. I also shouldn't expect my job to be perfect all the time. This is something I'm working on...

Anyway, just wanted to post this in the New Year to tell y'all to count your blessings and to never give up. WITH EFFORT things usually get better.

Screw All You Haters

Before you USC haters start posting nonsense about Texas... GET A LIFE... Most of you who hate on USC are UCLA fans... when was the last time your team won two national titles in a row? Oh, it's never happened... when was the last time your team won one national title? oh, never happened. When was the last time UCLA beat USC... oh most of you were still in elementary school...

USC is the best team in the country... yeah they got beat... yeah Vince "Let me whine about not winning the Heisman" Young played a great game... but USC will be back next year. They will beat UCLA again. They will be in a BCS Bowl... again...

34 wins in a row is nothing to be ashamed of.

2 National Titles in a row is nothing to be ashamed of.

2 Heisman Trophy winners is nothing to be ashamed of.

12 future NFL players on offense is nothing to be ashamed of. The top 2 picks in the upcoming draft will be USC players.

8, soon to be 9, wins IN A ROW against UCLA.

Seriously, haters, get a life... What was invested for you in this game? Nothing! Other than seeing some USC fans happy. Only LOSERS, REAL LOSERS, get a kick out of other people being sad when they themselves have nothing involved emotionally...

Yeah, all I have left is one grandparent... wanna call me and laugh at that?

Screw you, people...

Sincerely,

Mike "I bleed Cardinal and Gold in good times and in bad" Del Muro...

I'm out.

USC will Win

My favorite shirt was a plain cardinal (red, for all you haters) with the words, "I'll mess with Texas" emblazoned over the image of that horrible land.

Did I say "horrible"? Yes. Texas is horrible. Look at what's come out of there. George Bush. Um, George W. Bush. And now, Vincey "I really thought I was going to win the Heisman" Young. And for this reason alone, I want USC to kill Texas tonight in the Rose Bowl.

I just walked across USC's campus and it was electric. "The Spirit of Troy," the Trojan marching band for you dodos, were playing. The band's long-time leader, Arthur C. Bartner, barked out instructions. If you ever heard him yell you'd know "bark" is the proper adjective to describe Bartner's voice. Everyone was wearing cardinal. Except for a guy who looked just like Keyshawn Johnson - could it be him? - who was wearing a white No. 1 jersey. Everyone had smiles on their faces. The line in the bookstore was wrapped around the bookshelves. You could feel a victory, if not a blowout, coming on.

This game is being billed as the "greatest college football matchup in history." But why? What has Texas won? Wasn't last year's Orange Bowl also the "greatest college football matchup in history." USC won 55-19.

Texas is being labeled as a more physical and tougher team. They're going to handle USC's offensive and defensive lines. I heard that last year too.

"USC won't be able to handle Vince Young," the experts have said the last five weeks. "USC won't be able to handle Adrian Peterson," they said last year before the national championship game. Peterson, 25 carries, 82 yards.

USC will win this game. If you think Texas is really going to win, you haven't watched enough USC games. USC's offense is fast, diverse, talented. All 11 starters, including the fullbacks, will be in the NFL eventually. At least a handful of the backups will be playing on Sundays as well.

The defense? It's the weak spot? Right? Well, at the beginning of the season, yeah. With mostly freshmen and sophomores, the defense had to learn to play together. There was no Cody, Patterson or Lofa. Well, tell UCLA and their less than 200 yards of total offense that USC's defense is the weak spot of the team.

USC will win this game because Pete Carroll is on his way of becoming the greatest college football coach in history. USC is an extra point away from having rolled off 48 consecutive wins. (USC missed an extra point in regulation against Cal in 2003 and lost the game in OT.) Give Carroll a week to prepare, you're Notre Dame in 2004, 41-10. Give him two weeks, you're UCLA, 66-19. Give him a BCS Bowl time to prepare, you're Iowa (38-17) or Oklahoma (55-19).

USC will win this game because they are champions. While Texas talks about being disrespected and having to prove a point and that USC is all hype, Trojan players talk like champions. Well Texas has closed practices, USC allows children, family members, Trojan alumni and the media to watch their sessions. While Texas Head Coach Mack Brown goes to a shrink to handle his stress, Carroll leads his team up the highest diving board on campus and is the first to jump.

USC will win today. And it should be a win that all of Los Angeles is proud of.