"B" is for boston...
those who know me best know that i am a survivor junkie.
survivor first started back in the spring of 2000. i was a senior in high school. the first season's finale (survivor: borneo) aired the night before i left for college. after 39 days of competition and probably the most infamous final tribal council speech of all-time from a bitter sue hawk directed towards richard hatch (winner) and kelly wiglesworth (runner-up)...
"i plead to the jury tonight to think about the island that we have been on. this island is pretty much full of only two things: snakes and rats. and in the end of mother nature we have richard, the snake, who knowingly went after prey. and kelly, who turned into the rat, that ran around like the rats do on this island - trying to run away from the snake. i feel we owe it to the island spirits that we have come to know to let it be, in the end, the way that mother nature intended it to be... for the snake to eat the rat."
...I WAS HOOKED!
a bunch of my friends were over and we all watched together in "upstairs the garage". for those of you menominee folk, you know and love the room i speak of. for those outsiders, "upstairs the garage" is the secret room above our garage. there was a couch, a fan, an old wooden nordic track (more currently updated to a fancy state-of-the-art treadmill), enough floor space to comfortably fit 17 sleeping bags (there were many sleepovers followed by a to-die-for G.O. early (and i mean EARLY) morning breakfast), and a tv that needed to "warm-up" before it could be used (literally, sometimes it took hours). but i've gotten ahead of myself... "upstairs the garage" is an entirely different story.
survivor. now i've watched every episode of every season. each episode i rewind numerous times to re-watch certain challenges or scenes and to re-listen to certain conversations and tribal councils. as the fates would have it... at central michigan university i met my survivor soulmate, jer. we analyze. we strategize. and our survivor "alliance" has carried over and proved useful in many other aspects of our lives. we even make survivor spreadsheets for the fridge (don't judge) for reference and to always keep a visual on the game.
the latest season, survivor: redemption island, began only 8 days ago. only 2 episodes down and this season not only looks promising but already has a few people in the running for "the ultimate crazy"... but most importantly, this season brings back my all-time favorite survivor for his 4th run to outwit. outplay. outlast.
rob mariano... aka: boston rob.
rob has dominated his seasons with his physicality in challenges and strategic game play. he's blunt, he's sneaky and he is one of the biggest villians survivor has ever seen. i love him.
rob's survivor stat sheet
*survivor: marquesas (7th person voted out)
*survivor: all-stars (although the season was deemed "rob's season" by host jeff probst, rob finished as runner-up to winner amber brkich, now his wife)
*survivor: heroes vs villians (8th person voted out)
*survivor: redemption island (season currently in progress...)
on one of my favorite seasons, survivor: all-stars, rob and another of my top 10 survivors, amber brkich, formed an alliance. an alliance that turned to love. rob proposed at the live finale just before amber took home the million with a 4-3 vote. rob and amber were married in 2005. they have two children, lucia and carina. i follow them both (rob and amber, not the kids) on twitter (THIS JUST IN: twitter is fricking fabulous!)
i just can't get enough...!
i was so close...
yesterday my friend sarah and i had a plan. we were going to see aaron rodgers on ellen. it was all lined up perfectly in our minds... it was early morning and we were on our way to warner brother studios in burbank. we were on a mission for the day of taping stand-by tickets. we kept calling. and calling. and calling. we arrived at lot 3 and talked to the production people. it didn't take long before our great plan was crushed. aaron was slipping away from me. i had to calmly talk myself out of throwing a little bratty kid tantrum...
today i had mixed emotions about watching aaron's appearance. i was still bucky about yesterday and having been so close yet so far away. but i also couldn't wait. the past 24 hours i have been teased with twitter updates from aaron and ellen. yes, i follow them both regularly (i also follow clay matthews - this will make more sense below). the updates went something like this...
AaronRodgers12: didn't get a chance to bust any moves on Ellen. Also no belt mention.
theellenshow: AaronRodgers12 came here to woo me today. He did a great job. I hope ClayMatthews52 doesn't find out.
ClayMatthews52: Ellen, don't let AaronRodgers12's materialistic gifts tear us apart...!
theellenshow: (to ClayMatthews52) Let's talk about this at dinner tonight!
FINALLY the time had come... ellen was on. aaron's appearance was coming up after the commercial break. OH NO, i was still at work and things in my athletic training room were busy... without hesitation, i called all treatments, rehabs and conversations to an immediate hault no questions asked. i instructed all kids, effective immediately, there would be a "no talking, no making noises, you are lucky i'm letting you all still breathe" policy in place until rodgers' appearance was complete. one student started to speak "ali, but what if..." i cut him off without saying a word. i simply gave a death glare and pointed to the door. he got the point.
without further adieu... something i've already watched 7 times...
(isn't he just adorable?)
uh huh, you know what it is. green and yellow...
about 19 days ago when i found out i was officially headed to the superbowl... my excitement went something like this... (don't judge me)
i believe there may have even been this exact reaction...
here's just a brief recap of the adventure of a lifetime...
SUPERBOWL: XLV
it all started like this... "and with the first pick of the 2011 draft, the green bay packers select ali jeske, athletic trainer, laguna hills hawks"
packer fans traveled from far and wide...
they bonded together to tailgate like only packer fans do...
there was a stadium...
we entered that stadium...
there was a game...
that game ended...
PACKERS 31, steelers 25
there was a celebration...
a celebration that wouldn't be complete without some video of my man aaron showing off the championship belt...
there was a trophy... and that trophy was finally back home. back home that celebration continued...
and in case you missed rodgers on letterman...
ATTENTION ALL CLAYMATES: tune into ellen today for clay's appearance. (fingers crossed he shows up wearing only his ellen underwear...) here's a little preview of what we can expect...until next time, i leave you with this...
everyone needs a rap name. EVERYONE...
tonight i was on the phone with my friend lexi. all of a sudden she busted up laughing. there was snow blizzard-ing in her apartment through her window AC unit. in case you missed your local news tonight, lexi's apartment was part of BREAKING NEWS: BLIZZ 2011...
see for yourself...
can you believe it? i know... SNOW.M.G!! (we're so clever..)
yeah, that's right, it went there... we used "snow" puns. and we didn't stop there... snodacris, fat snoe, snotorious b.i.g, snoni braxton.
it got me thinking... back in high school my friends and i all had rap names. we were so cool. (we still are). we didn't take the task of giving someone a rap name lightly... we took each person's name into careful consideration while pondering potential famous rap associates. we deliberated. we voted. it was a process. "but on one weekend, as america and the world watched, a group of remarkable young women gave the nation what it needed most - a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe".... in rap names.
the crew:
ali... notorious A.L.I.
lexi... DMLex or funkmaster lex
tracy... tra-rule
cathy... c$
jami... jamenile
ellen... foxy el
bridget... bridge puffy combs
tra-rule currently resides in london.
she has a friend lewis, known in the rap world as lew-pac.
keenan-palooza...
i've mentioned him before... and i'm mentioning him again.
keenan cahill.
there is a fascination i have with him that i still can't quite explain. it could be the fact that he is the world's worst lip sync-er. or quite possibly it's my strange attraction to his abnormally large head. or maybe it's simply that i find his videos hilarious and frankly just can't. stop. watching.
here are 3 of my latest faves. see for yourself...
things i love...
things i love that other people just don't get...
1. library books
2. going to the movies by myself
3. radio personality delilah
4. survivor
5. toothpastefordinner comics
6. tori spelling
7. the weather channel
8. writing snail mail letters
9. watching the same movie on repeat for weeks/months at a time
10. cutting grass
11. christmas music year-round
12. fran drescher and re-runs of the nanny
13. sleeping in sweatpants/sweatshirt... year round.
things other people love that i just don't get...
1. skinny jeans
2. dogs
3. the harry potter or twilight series
4. the "business" world
5. tyra banks
6. the obsessive thrill of las vegas
7. high heels, pumps, etc...
8. being a vegetarian
9. answering the phone of an unknown number
10. playing rock band
11. jersey shore
12. the NBA
13. shopping
and here's what you missed...
forgive me, my followers, for i have sinned. it's been 68 days, 12 hours and 21 minutes since my last blog... let's recap:1. i made a trip down to qualcomm (chargers stadium) to watch my utah state aggies play san diego state. sadly, the aggies got thumped, but a good time was had by all. and it's never a bad day when you can step foot on-field of an NFL stadium.
2. the jeske family took southern california by storm and ran the thanksgiving day dana point turkey trot. (no records were broken)
3. my hawks had an undefeated football season and made a run deep into the play-offs only to lose in a heartbreaker in the semi-finals (most of the state of california blames my parents. which, i agree, is entirely an appropriate direction of blame. our entire season we hadn't lost. things were always the same... pre-game, post-game, the fans, we had a routine and it was working. then came our only loss on the year and it seemed only one thing had changed - greg and carol jeske were in the stands. just a coincidence? we think not. even weeks later at our banquet, the "jeske parents curse" was brought up again... their presence next year will most likely have to be pre-approved... high school football - it's a harsh world.)
our season in review...
4. there was snow in southern california. and when i say "snow", i clearly mean manufactured snow. either way, i had to see it. so my friend kelly and i headed over to balboa island for the "snow" and "tree lighting" festivities, which also included a band composed of all the local santas. (you'll notice two uses of quotations... 1. "snow" - although, we've already established it was manufactured it did not stop this 29 year old from plopping down and snow angel-ing the crap out of it. and 2. "tree lighting" - a decorated tree that was ceremoniously lit and which was quite possibly the ONLY non-palm tree on the island (either that or charlie brown's tree was borrowed and flown in for the occasion. i'm still undecided)
5. the auburn friends circle was completed. that's right, tiger fans, ali and jeremy officially met and hung out (and it only took 5 years). we were instantly bros. there was a sign, a local 6-pack beer exchange, an irish pub, "doug" the bartender, red dragons, texty texts, some dancing, a trip to the beach in the pouring rain and a taxi driver who may or may not have been named ranjit. basically, our own personal episode of himym. bottom line: what was had was F-U-N. (guaranteed 2 out of 3 times)
6. a series of packer wins! two of which included my attendance and launched the pack into post-season play. and two more HUGE road wins securing a spot in the nfc championship game. GO PACK GO!
7. one crazy weekend...
WHO: auburn family
WHAT: weegle weegle weekend reunion
WHY: a national championship, of course!
waaaaaaaaaaar eagle!
and that brings us to the present. never again will such a hiatus take place, i simply won't let it. so sit back, enjoy the rest of your sunday and put your minds at ease because... I'M BACK, BABYDOLL!
it's nothing personal...
my friend kara recently began her own blogging adventure... she was inspired by yours truly. (yay me!!) kara is a fist-pumping jersey shore loving, power napping, coupon clipping girly girl who can't carry a tune. but i love her. so when she decided to take her fun-loving and reality obsessed blogging ideas and redirect her energy towards a motivational running forum... well, i thought, hey "it's nothing personal" (also her original blog's name). now, kara's "i run for you....." is where she details her running adventures in hopes of inspiring others. it kinda makes me want to puke... and thats because i'm mostly just jealous. kara loves to run. and she's good at it. then there is me... i also love to run but i'm awful at it. someday i'll be a good runner. but for now, kara, you are expected to motivate and inspire me just like your blog promised. so put on your running tights, lace up your shoes and crank out those miles...... i'll see you at the finish line, my friend.
R.I.P. "it's nothing personal" ... when kara re-vamped her blog she deleted her first entry. and i find that sad...it was hilarious. and confusing.
confusing was the part about loving the jersey shore. i just don't get it. it is possibly because i've never watched the show and am completely baffled at how so many people are totally obsessed with these overly tanned, always drunk, greasy haired skanks who apparently love to do laundry. i just don't see the thrill...
hilarious was the part where kara added a parody video mocking one of jersey shore's characters. snooki. ok ok, so i'm not an idiot... i'm aware of snooki. and her poof. and i once saw a preview for an episode of the jersey shore where this snooki girl said "eating fried pickles was a life changing experience". now...having lived in alabama and having had the life changing fried pickle experience for myself, well....naturally i was curious. so i peeked at this parody video. i don't understand all the inside jokes that were obviously going on, but on the surface, the video is hilarious. everyone loves a good youtube video and therefore it must be shared with you all.
added bonus: those of you who follow my blog regularly may recall my fascination for keenan cahil, the big eyed, lip syncing kid with an abnormally large head. tonight, my friends, keenan will appear on chelsea lately. so set your dvr's...you won't be disappointed. (special thanks to julie garrett for bringing this scheduled appearance to my attention. you rock!)
come on and just say yes...
i'll admit i was never the biggest oprah fan... BUT a force greater than myself sparked the curiosity within and i decided that i would be dvr-ing "oprah - the farewell season" in it's entirety. so now each night, i read the latest show's bio and decide if i'm watching or deleting. (i've watched more than i've deleted) dare i say, i'm officially on the oprah bandwagon??
tuesday's bio said the show was an interview with ricky martin. i didn't need to read any further - i was hooked. i mean, really, who doesn't love ricky martin? (if you answered "me! i don't love him" .... then i'm sorry but you are just, well.... loca) you get it, right? livin la vida loca... funny, i know.
my favorite part (and latest itunes download) was his world premire of "the best thing about me is you" duet with joss stone.in case you missed it...
i love lynam. (and you should too)...
one of my all-time favorite bands is an american hard rock band from birmingham, alabama known as lynam. the band is heavily influenced by def leppard and has drawn comparisons to wolfmother. they are a whole lot of punk with an aura of glam rock. not only do they have their own music, but they are also, hands-down, THE best cover band i've ever heard play.
band members include...jacob bunton - frontman, principal songwriter, vocals, guitar, fiddle
mark dzier - bass, vocals
david lynam - drums, vocalson october 5, 2010, lynam announced that their live cd, thank you and good night!, would be their final album. the members want to "explore different opportunities outside of lynam" ....but don't you worry, lynam lovers, the band stresses that they are not breaking up any time soon and will continue to play shows.
(.......phew!! remember the name, people...LYNAM! they will be playing at my wedding (fingers crossed)... now i just need to find the guy...)to check out more about lynam go to: www.lynamsucks.com
lynam
my favorite lynam t-shirt
ME in my lynam tee holding a miller (in an auburn coozie!)
me and lynam's jacob and david
me and my friend alyss outside of lynam's tour bus
and just when you thought it couldn't get any better............
LYNAM IN LAMBEAU!!















