Sunday November 22st

Readers,

My burns have healed significantly in the last week. However, I have been hindered significantly by the burns on my wrists and the accompanying bandages. My lawsuit against the candle company is expected to settle out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and from this point on all "Polynesian Pineapple" candles will clearly admonish their users that contents may be extremely hot. My lawsuit against Parker Brothers was thrown out in court but you can't win them all. Enjoy the following pictures of my stint in the hospital.


The moustache is coming in strong and I have uploaded a picture of my progress to my moustache page. There are only seven days left to donate so if you like what you see, go ahead and do so. Or you should look at the picture of me in the wheelchair and give me a donation because you pity me. Even if you do not, it's for cancer and you're a terrible person if you don't. But anyways down to business. Today's Daily Topic: THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE RACE


In August, we at the Daily Routine mourned the loss of a great American, Senator Edward Kennedy. And while his shoes are impossible to fill, there is currently a special election race going on in the great state of Massachusetts. The Democratic Primary will be held on December 8th and the General Senate Election will be held on January 19th. Over the past several weeks, The Daily Routine has studied the candidates closely in an effort to determine who is best suited to represent the mighty Bay State.

Much to my chagrin, there is no candidate that can come close to being the Senator that Ted Kennedy was. His combination of charm, dedication, compassion and strength are qualities found in few on Capitol Hill and are impossible to replicate. Currently, there are four Democrats in the race for the nomination: Martha Coakley, Mike Capuano, Alan Khazei and Stephen Pagliuca.

Coakley, the current Attorney General of Massachusetts and the front-runner in the election seems to be a clear favorite. However, she has drawn criticism in response to her statement that she would not vote for any health care bill with the current ban on federal abortion funding attached. In this publication's opinion, this stubbornness scuttles any willingness to compromise on such a divisive issue as health care reform and furthers the growing partisanship of Washington politics. It seems as though Coakley is running because the spot is open, not because she necessarily wants to fill it.

Capuano, the former Somerville mayor and current Congressman of Massachusetts' 8th District, is running second in the polls, albeit by a significant margin. A staunch liberal who sticks to his guns on the issues he believes in, Capuano is known as a fighter in the House of Representatives. However, his fiery personality seems to go a bit too far sometimes, particularly in an incident described by the Boston Globe in which Mayor Capuano attempted to go after three dogs with a baseball bat after they came too close to his children. While Capuano portrays himself as the experienced Washington politician, he sometimes seems oblivious to the happenings that occur there.

Pagliuca is a self-made millionaire who, among other things, is the co-owner of the Boston Celtics. He made his fortune with the high-powered buy-out firm Bain & Co. where, ironically enough, he worked with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for several years. Pagliuca claims that his knowledge of private equity would enable him to tackle problems such as the financial crisis and health care reform. The businessman has failed to raise much excitement and also drew fire for stating he would be in favor of reinstating the draft if the United States' volunteer army ever proved inadequate.

Alan Khazei seems to be the most overlooked candidate. The son of an Iranian immigrant, Khazei's ambitions for public service began in college where he and his roommate conspired to form a domestic public service organization. While their attempts to pass legislation in the House of Representatives were unsuccessful, Khazei went on to found City Year, a Boston-based service organization that has expanded over the years to include 20 cities and 12,500 volunteers. City Year's successes also partially led to the formation of Americorp, a domestic version of the Peace Corp. During his time as head of City Year, Khazei worked closely with Senator Kennedy on service projects throughout Massachusetts. Khazei originally considered running for Senate in 2004 if John Kerry had been victorious in his bid for the presidency. Additionally, Khazei has refused to accept any campaign donations from lobbyists or Political Action Committees (PACs).

It is for these reasons that the Daily Routine is proud to endorse Alan Khazei in the Massachusetts Special Election. Although Khazei stands about the same on many political issues as most of the other candidates, his passion for public service and his outstanding moral fiber lead us to believe that he could best serve the interests of the state of Massachusetts in the United States Senate. While Khazei stands low in the polls because of his position as a "political outsider," we believe his competency as a politician is equivalent if not superior to that of either Coakley or Capuano.

It is increasingly rare to find a politician that is dedicated so profoundly to helping fellow citizens in a selfless manner and defending the rights that he or she believes all Americans are entitled to. Ted Kennedy was one of these politicians. We believe Alan Khazei can be another.

Regardless of your political preferences or affiliations, I encourage all those eligible to do their civic duty and vote. The democratic process is something that we often take for granted. The recent episodes in Iran and Afghanistan should make us all realize how lucky we are to have a vote that counts.

-ROF

Daily Food: Bagel and Egg Sandwich

Daily Activity: Mario Kart

Daily Song: Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac

Daily Attire: Cardigans

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Kennedy Barred from Communion by Bishop

Daily News No One Should Care About: eBay Outage Halts Holiday Shopping

Daily Life Goal: Elect Alan Khazei

Daily Complaint: Burns

Daily Drink: Gatorade

Daily Television: Family Guy

Daily Movie: State of Play

Saturday November 14th

Hello Readers,
For those of you who don't know, I'm bringing you this Daily Routine from Torrance Memorial Medical Center. This is a first both in my life and the life of the Daily Routine. And while my routines have been anything but daily for the last few hours, I'm doing alright. And this brings us to our Daily Topic: DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE


Okay, to be more specific, don't play with candles, but that just doesn't sound as cool. My hospital journey began early on Friday morning. Unwinding after a stressful week, I joined my roommates in a rousing game of Monopoly around 11pm on Thursday. After being thoroughly and utterly defeated in a two and a half hour game, I was anxious to redeem myself. We began our second game around 2:30 am, and that's when things got interesting.

Throughout the evening, we had been setting the mood for our boardgame with a candle. By the wee hours of the morning, the candle had been reduced largely to molten wax. Aromatic? Yes. Safe? No. As I passed my hand back across the table, my fingers caught the rim of the candle holder and as I flipped the candle towards me, the wax splattered across my wrists and hands.

I jumped up, as the wax burned my skin, cooling in a vicious Jackson Pollock pattern across my arms. Immediately recalling my years of lifeguard training, I ran my hands under cold water and applied ice as I (the dedicated Monopoly player that I am) returned to the game. After several minutes, I realized that this was not your everyday candle-wax-burn accident.

I was escorted to the emergency room and my arms were washed and wrapped. The ER doctor made the decision that I should be transferred to a burn treatment center. At this point, it was 7 am and I had been awake for a good 24 hours. I took my first ever ambulance ride to the Torrance Memorial Medical Center and was admitted with first and second degree burns on the backs of my hands and on my wrists.

After answering a slew of questions, my burns were assessed, wrapped, and I was able to lay back in my hospital bed to contemplate my stupidity. Not having ever been to a hospital, I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out, it's even more boring than it's made out to be, and the food is even worse than that. Fortunately, I'm in the hands of the most capable and caring nurses and an even better girlfriend.

So as I sit here, barely able to type, I have been able to recall some of the more humorous moments of the last two days for your reading pleasure:

- I brutally lost both games of Monopoly, even though I had houses on Boardwalk and Park Place prior to the incident

- The DPS officer who drove me to the hospital told me that he had personal experience with burns since he had been branded for his fraternity. Absolutely insane.

-Because of the placement of my burns, I now have a hospital anklet.

- I managed to still have hair on my arms even after several layers of skin came off. I would recommend laser hair removal over waxing.

- Even though my ambulance driver went to UCLA, I managed to make it to the hospital alive.

- I have told most people that my injuries were the result of a "heated game of Monopoly"

- I have a channel on my TV that only plays scenes and noises of breaking waves and bird noises.

- I had to cancel my Tuesday appointment for a hand model audition

- Even after a shot of morphine, I was able to promote the Daily Routine to the nurses who were washing and dressing my wounds.

- Because I was unable to start as quarterback in USC's Homecoming game today, we are currently losing 21-7

I am scheduled to be discharged on Monday. After that, all cards containing bills over $50 can be sent to 922 W 23rd St. Apt. 204, Los Angeles CA 90007. All others will be returned to sender. More pictures to come. Also, my moustache remains intact. To donate click here.

Daily Food: NOT Hospital Food

Daily Activity: Recuperation

Daily Song: Candle in the Wind - Elton John

Daily Attire: Hospital Gowns

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: 9/11 Trial Poses Unparalleled Legal Obstacles

Daily News No One Should Care About: Palin Faithful Eagerly Await "Going Rogue: Sarah Palin"

Daily Life Goal: Actually Win a Game of Monopoly

Daily Complaint: Seriously?

Daily Drink: Whatever is put into me intravenously

Daily Television: Clearly the Wave Channel

Daily Movie: 16 Candles

Sunday November 1st

Daily Routiners,
I hope that you had a happiest of Halloweens. Unless you attend the University of Oregon. But as November begins, I felt compelled to bring you a new Daily Routine. First, UPDATE: I officially shaved today to begin Movember and let the Stachetasticness begin. I have raised $10 so far for testicular and prostate cancer. If you too want to sponsor my November moustache, click here. Next, I have put off writing about this topic since the beginning of the semester but I felt that I could wait no longer. So without further ado, here is our Daily Topic: TIME TRAVEL


As some of you may know, one of my courses this semester is titled, "Time and Time Travel." Up to this point, the focus has been disappointingly centered on the "Time" and less on the "Time Travel." However, since the midterm two weeks ago, we have moved on to the part of the course that I signed up for.

Lately, we have been discussing the paradoxes of time travel, which present some mind-bendingly difficult questions.

First, there is the question of loops. For example, in 2005 Mary steals John's wallet on the subway. When she reaches in his pocket to take his wallet, her ring falls off. Later that day, John travels back in time to 2003 and notices that this wallet is missing and finds the ring. He sells the ring to a jewelry store to make some money. Later that day, Mary's fiance-to-be walks into the store, buys the ring and later proposes to her. Where does the ring come from?

Time travel also calls into question the possibilities of affecting ones own free will and future. In our studies of an obscure movie called, "Back to the Future," we saw how time travel to the past could affect ones future.

But if I were to travel into the past, is it possible to change anything? If I do something in the past that will profoundly affect my own life, am I actually able to perform that action? Because I already exist as I am in the future to be able to travel back in time. Changing who I am in the past would have to affect who I am in the future, but my future self would be the one changing my past self who will later become my future self. So in the same sort of paradox, who could say what would determine your past, present or future if time travel is possible.

This brings about all sorts of moral and ethical dilemmas, along with the purely physical challenges of traveling time. Would it be possible to change the course of history, to change your own future or the future of others, or is the past, present and future predetermined? Do humans really have free will or are our futures already determined by our natures, our personalities or our surroundings?

Very existential, I know. But if it makes you feel any better, Albert Einstein, among others, doesn't believe that time travel is physically possible. So unless you have a 1982 DeLorean and a flux capacitor, these aren't things you have to worry too much about.

-ROF

Daily Food: Cheese and Crackers

Daily Activity: Shaving

Daily Song: Raindrops - Basement Jaxx

Daily Attire: Post-Halloween Costumes

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: With Karzai, US Faces Weak Partner in Time of War

Daily News No One Should Care About: Microsoft's New Retail Stores Look Just Like Apple Stores

Daily Life Goal: Time Travel, Duh

Daily Complaint: USC Football. Again.

Daily Drink: 7&7

Daily Television: Family Guy

Daily Movie: Oh My God