The last day of instruction has arrived. Everyone, including me, celebrates. Then it left. Now it's just a couple of days until the reality of finals sets in. Then, as you ruffle through your scribbled notes and crumpled up old homeworks, you ask yourself, where has the time gone? Maybe I cut one too many classes? Did I really do 12 weeks of homework? All these zeroes don't add up to much. Then you go to a review session, where your GSI tries to sum up 100 hours of the course into 1 or 2 hours, a great idea, but not executed very well. I already went to my first one, a Stats one with my GSI on Thursday night. That was a big bust. Concepts I actually knew about were covered first leaving the other iffy questions I had in the dust. I ask him if I could ask questions on a later date and he says in a heavy European accent, "no, I'm leaving Berkeley tomorrow." So now I have to rely on my professor with a heavy Indian accent to get me through this. I've got two more review sessions on Monday and Tuesday. That's two more days of going to campus when I don't have to but feel like I do.

In more news and notes, I'd never heard of the movie Equilibrium with Christian Bale and Taye Diggs, but suffice it to say, judging by its ad, I'm not planning on seeing it. The ad is an obvious ripoff of the Matrix, but the big quote on top says to forget the Matrix because this is the next big action movie. Not only that, it also proclaims that Vin Diesel should move over because Taye Diggs is the next big action star. For some reason, these two statements really made me laugh. REALLY made me laugh.

Winona Ryder was sentenced to three years probation, a fine, and 500 hours of community service. It is said that this service also includes work with the blind. I must ask, is this really safe? She could steal their belongings and nobody would know.

The Sharks went out and won their first game under head coach Ron Wilson with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. While it all sounds good, it's anything but. The first period was a jumbled mess as players weren't making anything work including giving up a shorthanded goal. It looked as though Wilson shuffled the lines and that got a spark out of the team and as a result, got a few lucky goals off a bad goaltender. They also traded Marcus Ragnarsson for Dan McGillis. Yes, they needed another tough defenseman, but the trade of Ragnarsson really surprised me.

Once the Sharks game was over, I switched over to the Lakers game. People can deal with me being an Orioles fan but the Lakers? Yes, it's true. (Did you know I've mentioned the Lakers more in this blog (4) than the Orioles (3)? But nothing beats the Sharks at 13 times.) At halftime, they trailed by 28, a blowout in the making, and 27 entering the 4th quarter to the surprising Dallas Mavericks. I admit, I didn't have too much hope. But then something amazing happened. They came back. Yes, they overcame a 28-point deficit to win by 2, an amazing feat, and a NBA record. Maybe this season won't be a disaster after all.