Ahhhhhhh... finals are over!  This was the fall quarter from hell for so many reasons, but, as always, the grass is sprouting up green after so much rain.  As summer came to a close and football season started I had so much to look forward to and so much to dread.  Another year of class was upon us, but, more importantly, my final year.  One last chance to live it up at UCLA.  I have looked forward for so long to this year.  I got all my tough classes out of the way early, so this was gonna be the year to relax and pad my GPA.  It wasn't to be, though.  I started chemo 2 weeks before fall classes began, and we lost to Utah shortly thereafter.  Not the start I had dreamed for my senior year.

As the weeks counted on I struggled to get through what were often 17 hour days of school, work and student organizational activities.  Too many nights I have woken up vomiting from the drugs, and too many days I have thought I didn't have the strength to walk home after class.  But I knew I could I always look forward to Saturday.  Life is an adventure, and hard times come and go.  Through it all my Bruin family gets me through.  The losses piled up and the embarrassment mounted, but every week I got to see my dad at the game.  Every week I was able to have a beer with my friends.  Every week I was able to scream at the top of my lungs from the student section "F@*k YOU, DORRELL!!"  And every week I felt a part of something great.  I am a Bruin, and I am so proud to be able to say that.  Now that the quarter is past and the holidays are upon us, it is time to get back to what it means to be a Bruin.

We need to cheer up around here.  Dorrell is gone!  For all the nasty things I have said about him I am not sorry, but I am grateful that he has returned to being a Bruin.  I was proud to see him out on the hunt for a new job.  Duke didn't work out, but Bruins aren't quitters and Dorrell has shown something in the last 2 weeks that has earned back some respect.  He hasn't bad mouthed the program or his assistant coaches, and, unlike Toledo, he clearly has no intention of sitting back and collecting the University's money.  He's gone on fighting like a Bruin should.  Dorrell was an awful head coach, but he's young.  Bruins wont always succeed on their first try, but we persevere.  I for one am glad to see him interviewing for coaching opportunities and wish him only the best for the future.

It is time to move forward, Bruins!  We have so many wonderful reasons to be excited about the future.  There is no time in life to spend angry about the past.  We can, and will, learn from the mistake of hiring Dorrell, and grow from it with our next hire.  We cannot, however, spend our holidays being angry over a man who can no longer affect our program.  I want to spend the next couple weeks with my family and know that DG will do the right thing.  Let's continue to make our demands clear that we want an experienced and successful head coach, but let's do it without the hate directed towards candidates we don't want.  I love to read the diaries that offer insightful analysis of the candidates for our next head coach, but too many are turning to name calling and wild speculation to critique certain candidates.  It is not becoming of our Bruins Nation and it is not productive.  The passion and love we share for this University can be conveyed without the hate.  Continue to fight, but fight the right way.

On that note... I'm going to go take a nap.  My keyboard batteries are dying and I am tired of retyping words.  Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  It's gonna be a great one!