Thursday, January 21, 2016

Introduction to an NBA Nutcase

I absolutely love the NBA. I grew up watching it since middle school and have never stopped. I love basketball in general (watching, playing, etc). Although, there is much more that I do. I enjoy being active in general, playing disc golf, football, soccer, tennis and more.

I'm also in my last semester before I graduate with a bachelors of science in Management Information Systems. Learning and dealing with computers is a passion that I have. I'm excited to start my full-time work experience once I am able to find a job.

I am happily married to a wonderful girl and can't wait to start a family with her. I come from a large family that I am very close to, so that is why I'm so excited to start my own. I have 5 sisters and one brother who are all married except for my youngest sister who is a freshman in college.

I also lived in Argentina for 2 years while I served a mission for my church, which resulted in me becoming fluent in Spanish. I'm always looking for opportunities to speak the language, but I can definitely tell that I can't speak as smooth as I used to. Another random fact is that I love Will Smith movies: I Am Legend, The Pursuit of Happyness, 7 Pounds, Men in Black.

My favorite amusement park to go to is Silver Dollar City. If you don't know where or what that is, it is an old fashioned type amusement park where everyone is dressed up in bonnets and overalls with some awesome roller coasters. My wife and I's favorite time to go is in November, so we can ride the roller coasters throughout the day and then get hot chocolate and look at the lights in the evening. Some of my best memories are at that park.

I also recently got hired on at Gulfport Energy. Now I am extremely eager to finish this semester, so I can start my new job. I don't think I have ever been so excited to start a job. I guess that's a good thing though since it is what I will be doing for the rest of my life!


Christmas in Branson - Flickr





25 comments:

  1. Nice to meet you, Nathan! I also love the NBA, and basically every other sport there is on Earth. I played soccer in high school and every now and then too. It’s so awesome that you want to have a big family with your wife. Family is definitely the most important thing in life! I would love to visit Argentina (or basically any country—I want to travel a lot!!). Also, I completely agree with you--Will Smith’s movies are amazing and hilarious. He is such a talented actor!

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  2. Hey Nathan!
    It is so nice to see another student married! My husband and I have been married for 5 years this May. Branson sounds magical! Last week I just set up all the details for out vacation there for Spring Break! If you have any suggestions of things to do while there, it would be greatly appreciated.

    It was nice getting to know you!

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  3. Hi Nathan! Thank you so much for sharing all the information. Living in Argentina must have been really exciting. I also looked at your Favorite place post as I have always wanted to go there. My brother lived there for a year too and hearing him talk about the place always made me want to go sometimes. Anyways it is nice knowing you.

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  4. Hi Nathan! I am so impressed you can speak Spanish fluently. I have taken many Spanish classes and I find it very difficult to pick up. I guess there is no classroom like being in a foreign country. I also love Silver Dollar City. My favorite childhood memories are spending time with my family there. Also, you can never go wrong with Will Smith!

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  5. Oh, it is exciting to have an MIS major in the class, Nathan! I obviously depend on technology to do my job, and the changes I've seen in the web-based tools for teaching over the past 15 years have been AMAZING. In some ways this is the "same" class I've been teaching since 2002, but having all these web-based tools is fantastic. It used to be a big deal to crop and resize an image, special software required, etc. etc. - and now you can just do it in your browser on the fly with a hundred different apps. So easy and fun!

    And listen, here's a kind of weird idea, but it might be fun for you: For a storytelling idea some day, you might try imagining an amusement part with rides inspired by the Indian Epics. The whole "Pirates of the Caribbean" phenomenon from Disney has shown what a powerful back-and-forth there can be between amusement park rides and storytelling (I rode on that ride way back in the early 1970s when I was a little kid, long before the movies: Pirates - the Disney ride)... you might see what happens when you blend Silver Dollar City and Indian Epics somehow — some cool story might emerge!

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  6. Nathan,

    I don't know how you management information system guys keep up with your workload. From everything I have heard around campus and from other MIS majors I have met, it is a very hard degree to get. Silver Dollar City sounds interesting, I'll be on the lookout for a chance to visit. Good luck graduating and finding a job.

    Andrew

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  7. Hello Nathan. I like watching basketball with my dad. Our favorite NBA team is the Mavericks. What’s yours? I don't think I have ever heard of disk golf but I am sure it is really interesting. It is awesome that you learned how to speak Spanish fluently by being in a Spanish Speaking country. I heard that is always the best way to learn. Have you seen the new Will Smith movie Concussion yet? I heard it was really good. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the rest of your last semester!

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  8. Nathan, that is one hard major you have! My father is an IT director for a medical care company in Dallas and I never understand half the computer based knowledge he has! I also love Will Smith movies. I remember watching him on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and ever since I've wanted to see anything he acts in. That amusement park sounds like so much fun. Going to fairs, carnivals and amusement parks are great in the fall. Best of luck to you and your wife and I hope you find a job you love!

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  9. Hi, Nathan. Let me start off by saying that I else enjoy basketball. I hardly ever miss a Thunder game. Im watching the All-star games Right now! Pretty intense! It is also interesting to know you lived in another country. I have lived in Mexico but never down in South America. I have always been interested in traveling to Argentina especially because I have seen many documentaries about this country!

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  10. Hello Nathan,
    It is great to see someone related to computers. I am Computer Science major. I am also a huge fan of basketball. It is great that you are fluent in another language. I took Spanish in high school just because we had to take a foreign language. It was nice knowing a little about you. Thanks for sharing your personal information.

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  11. Hello, Nathan!

    I think it’s so cool you’re about to graduate with an MIS degree! I feel like that is a really burgeoning field, and I’m sure you’ll have a bright future ahead of you—especially since you already have what sounds like a wonderful little family!

    I’m actually taking a trip with my boyfriend and his nephew’s over spring break! I am so very excited—I love Silver Dollar City, too! We have season passes, and I can’t wait to use them.

    So nice getting to know you, and I hope your last semester goes really well!

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  12. Growing up with my dad coaching basketball, I’m naturally a fan as well! I’m so happy we have a professional basketball team in OKC now. You seem to have done quite a bit in life so far. Learning Spanish – or any language – by being in that country would be an amazing experience and great way to learn! Argentina would be fun to visit!

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  13. Hi Nathan! I also am a big sports fan and love almost every sport. I am a huge rockets fan because I am from Houston. I hope the best for you in your last semester and good luck finding a job. That’s great that you are already married and want to start your own life. It is very cool that you lived in Argentina on a mission trip. It was good to read more about you.

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  14. Hey Nathan!

    It is nice to meet you! I love me some NBA too! I love the OKC Thunder and go to their games any chance I get! I also absolutely LOVE Silver Dollar City! My grandparents have a time share in Branson, so growing up we would go every year! It has gotten to the point that I don't need a map there any more! I know where everything is! However, I have been too busy the last couple of years to go. I have missed it! Good luck with your new job and congratulations on graduating in May!!

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  15. Nathan,

    It's great to meet you! I too love the NBA or just the Thunder I suppose. I really enjoy watching all sports but primarily football, basketball, and golf. I think that MIS is such an awesome degree. I have a friend that just graduating with MIS and is just a wiz with computers. Wow that is awesome that you were able to spend 2 years in Argentina serving, so rewarding! Congratulations on the job! I have heard great things about Gulfport and they are doing very well right now considering the low oil prices. Best of luck on this last semester!

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  16. Hi Nathan,

    Congrats on already having a job lined up after graduation! I'm impressed that you're fluent in Spanish. Were you able to pick it up a lot faster by being in a Spanish-speaking country instead of just learning it in class? I've taken a couple semesters of Spanish, but those didn't result in me actually being able to speak any of the language...

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  17. Hi Nathan!
    Basketball is awesome! I don't play, but my younger brother has been living and breathing it most of his life too. He is a coach for his kids teams now. How neat that you went to Argentina for your mission. I have never been there, but it looks really neat. I have been to Silver Dollar City. I used to live close to there just before I moved here to Norman. That is too cute that you and your wife love going there for the holidays. Congrats on your new life after graduation!!!

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  18. Hello, Nathan. Thank you for sharing a little info about yourself. MIS is a great program. Our world is only going to get more technology dependent, so I am sure that you will always have a job. I must feel great to be so close to graduation. I can't tell if I'm more excited or more relieved to be done. I definitely look forward to not having to do homework anymore! You mentioned disk golf. I think that I have been disk golfing three times. It was a blast, but two out of the three times one of my disks ended up in a pond. One of the times I went in after it (it was an expensive one and also not mine), but couldn't find it. I'll never understand why they put a disk golf course around a pond.

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  19. Hey Nathan!

    Nice to meet you! It sounds like you have everything you need to start a great life after graduation! HaHa, a job a wife and a house! Done and done! That is funny but so great for you! I am so excited for your prospect of your future! Good Luck in all of your endeavors.

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  20. It’s nice to meet you Nathan! I’m a big NBA fan too although I haven’t been one as long as you have. I just got into it at the end of high school. Will Smith is a personal favorite of mine too. I think Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the best thing he has been on. I went to Silver Dollar City when I was really young, but I haven’t been back since. I look forward to interacting with you throughout the rest of this class.

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  21. Hello Nathan!

    It is very nice meeting you! I have got to apologize but I absolutely hate sports. I do sometimes enjoy watching football with a group but I would never do it on my own time. It is really cool you lived in Argentina! My dad live in Italy for three years and I love seeing other cultures.

    Ollie

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  22. Hi Nathan,

    It is nice meeting you. Congratulations with the upcoming graduation and having a job lined up, which is amazing! After reading your introduction, I had to google what disc golf was, and after seeing the images a thought came to mind “oh that’s what those things are”. It seems like a fun sport. It’s pretty cool that you were able to spend two years in Argentina.

    Congratulations again and best wishes on the opportunities that wait ahead!

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  23. Hi Nathan,

    It surprises me that even though we are almost done with the semester, there are still introductions that I have not read yet. Well, it was nice to meet you via your blog. My best friend is an NBA nut. He has a tattoo of the Chicago Bulls logo. He's a crazy addicted fan. Congrats on having a job lined up already! Must be nice to have that in place already! I wish you the best of luck to your future.

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  24. Hi Nathan,

    Congratulations on your upcoming graduations. That's exciting to already have a job lined up. Sounds like you have some cool hobbies and travels. Argentina sounds interesting. Was it easy to pick up on the language? Can you expand a little on some of the things you did in Argentina? I have had a chance to work in Honduras and it was a life changing experience. Good luck on your future plans!

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  25. Hello again Nathan!

    Aren’t huge families great? My mom grew up with six siblings and always wanted a big family. Needless to say, now I have 7 other siblings (Some are step!) It looks like from this read that I will need to visit Silver Dollar City. My by friend and I just went to Frontier City and had a lot of fun….as much as you can there!

    Nice meeting you!

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