No Idiots Allowed.

Never In A millionyears.

Not Interested Atall.

Nothing Is Acceptable (with you).

Not Important Application.

Neanderthal-esque Incompetence: Affirmed.

Never Inquire Again.

No Importante Abogado.

Nominee Is Awry.

NIA.

So tonight I went to a UVA Alumni event…a Crab Feast. It was a good time. Hard to say it was worth the $30. I had a good time though, and I got to catch up with Kim, so it’s all good. I ran into a bunch of people from work. It’s nice to not be completely alone at an event like this, but on the flip side, I just wanted tear through some crabs. About a dozen crabs in, I decided that, given the giant pile of crab carcasses, I should probably take it down a notch or two. I also kept cutting in line, haha. Yeah, I don’t think the people liked that so much. But the line was reaaallly long. I just went around on the other side of the table and got my food from over there. It’s not my fault they didn’t think about going around. Ha, suckers.

Also, the chump across from me apparently did not know how to crack open a crab. I mean, I had never done it before either, but I was able to look around and get a feel for it pretty quickly. Just peel on part off, then separate the shell from the body, then split it in half. 1-2-3 done. The chump used the mallet thingy to try to crack open the shell. Needless to say, he made a mess, I laughed at him, then left without telling him how not to do that again. Ha.

While we were there we got to hear Jack Blackburn, Dean of Undergrad Admissions, and Dom Starsia, Head Lacrosse Coach, speak. I found it interesting to know that for the 12th straight year, UVA has had the highest graduation rate among African Americans. Also, UVA shoots for 67% in-state, 33% out-of-state. And to round out today’s trilogy of statistics, legacies make up approximately 13-15% of each incoming class, and their grades and such generally are lower than out-of-state admits, but higher than in-state admits. Now don’t say I never told you anything interesting.

Tonight I got to listen to Dom Starsia, Lacrosse coach, speak at the Crab Feast.  He’s an alright guy - down to earth and all that jazz.  He seems to be (shocker!) excited about the upcoming group of guys we’ve got for our team.  I can’t remember all the details, but one stand-out comment was that we’ve got a pair of twins in the entering class.  This I found interesting.  I wonder if they are both truly that good that they were both recruited for this national championship team (3 in the past 7 years, after all), or if they were really good enough that they were worth recruiting because of marketing and PR.  After all - what’s better than one stand-out player?  TWO stand-out players.  And what’s better than that?  Clearly, twins.

I don’t think our LaX team gets enough credit.  Aside from leading the nation in shots taken, score margins, groundballs, and a whole slew of other categories, we lead the nation in number of academic All-Americans, at 3.  Coach also made a good point - our three All Americans weren’t the bottom-of-the-roster walk-on bench warmers.  They were three of our top players — Matt Ward, Michael Culver, and Matt Poskay.  We’re talkin’ cream of the crop here.

Aside from that Dom was very humble, but wouldn’t say much about next year other than the usual crap coaches say about how they think it’ll be promising and they’ve got a good group of guys and all that stuff.  My thoughts are that either (a) he doesn’t want to jinx it or (b) he’s worried.  I hope it’s (a).

As you all probably know by now, the ACC Preseason Poll was released today. Virginia, per usual, is falling pretty much in the middle of the pack. On the plus side, everyone expected UVA to be ranked #5 in the Coastal Conference, but the media put us at #4, a mere 1 point ahead of UNC. Shocker of shockers, every voter put Duke at dead last.

So what are my thoughts on that?

1. Everyone is happy that Virginia Tech is not ranked #1 in any of those categories. The Chokies didn’t get a pre-season player of the year, and that is awesome. Of course, it comes as no surprise that the Hoos also didn’t get any pre-season player of the year votes, as no one really knows who our standout player will even be.
2. I would prefer Virginia to have gotten the #5 spot. Everyone knows UVA does not like to perform when ranked any higher than last. Just take a look at the ‘05-’06 basketball season.
3. Per usual - I like Miami, they treated me nicely when I applied to law school.  But I don’t see them winning the title.  I predict an FSU over Miami title game.

Wow, what a weekend.  We went to Atlantic City for Matt’s Bachelor’s party and uhhh…yeah.  I’m really tired.  I don’t want to give too much of it away, but I’ll do what the teens do nowadays when they have a crazy weekend….I’ll just say random phrases and let you assume the rest:  David getting hit on by drunk hookers, gay strippers, and 18 year old dudes.  Heavy on the mud, easy on the slide.  Aw man, now I got foot mono!  Sad dude screaming into a telephone, “It’s fucking 6 am and I’m standing on the fucking Atlantic City boardwalk in the fucking rain with no one around me but 5 frat dudes (us)!”  Onancock, Assateague,  Chincoteague, Dick Ennis.  $121 ferry ride.  Steamed up van.  David randomly shirtless.  “All I want is to win 20 bucks to get a hooker!”  (Five minutes later)  “Woohoo!  Hooker time!”  Mr. Pillowpants and Listerfiend.  Another mudslide!  Mad Dog.  Leung drinking Busch.  I got Athlete’s Chest.  Gambling Splenda.
There’s a lot more but I can’t remember a lot of it at this point.  To answer everyone’s burning question, I made a few hundred bucks from the gambling.  It was sweet, had a blast.

That having been said, I saw that someone reached this site by googling “brian leung blog” — this worries me, haha.  This means that employers have now received my resume for next summer.  This is good because this means my resume survived the GPA test and deserved a close look.  This is bad because they are going to read everything above and assume the worst.  So if you are an employer, first of all, hello.  Second of all, don’t assume the worst.  haha.  (Seriously.)

Pictures are up from the weekend.  Nothing scandalous there

I had a good weekend. Friday we had a little dinner party at one of the associates’ house. It was a good time - good BBQ, good alcohol, and good company. Sunday the firm took us fishing, and that was cool just to be out in the sun and on the water. Something about being in the sun surrounded by water makes your tan always look better. I think the water’s reflection does something there. I’m going to look into that and have an amazing scientific discovery. Then I’ll open up an “all natural” tanning salon. It’ll be great.

Today the firm took us to Busch Gardens, and that was fun. Except, oh yeah. It was freakin 105 degrees out there with the heat index! Absolutely disgusting. But it did get to a point where you’re like — well it’s hot, but I’m not in the office, so it’s hott. haha. I’m funny. Anyway, I learned that Busch Gardens has this “Beer school” kind of thing now. It’s just like wine tasting, but you get to try a few beers (and some specialty drinks they had, if you chose that line). Some cool things about this: (1) It’s free. (2) It’s indoors and air conditioned. (3) You also get a little plate of fruit, chocolate, cheese, and crackers. It was cool indeed. Unfortunately, one of the summers, Michael, left his wallet in the car and didn’t have his ID on him. He’s 25, but they apparently needed the ID anyway (he doesn’t look much older than 21). So he just had to sit and watch. That sucked for him, I’m sure. But at least (1), (2), and (3), supra, still applied. Did I just say supra? I think I did. That’s a sign that this post needs to end. Haha

Let’s see here. What else didn’t I cover last night? After exploring the Arena, there was a sort of formal program that involved speeches made by Dirk Katstra, Craig Littlepage, Barry Parkhill, and Leonard Sandridge. The Arena has really surpassed all expectations as far as fundraising goes. As the single largest privately-funded Arena (at $118 million compared to the previous record of $58 million held by NC State), they had some big bucks rolling in - they expected just a handfull of $1M+ donations, but received 13. They also exceeded expectations in each category down to the $10K+ level: 112 donors of $100K - $1M; 123 donors of $50K - $100K, 254 donors of $25K - $50K, and 321 donors of $10K - $25K.
After the formal program, we were allowed on the court for a champagne toast to celebrate the opening of the new arena and indeed, a new era of Virginia Basketball. I found it appropriate that the first event held at the JPJ involved copious amounts of alcohol on the court. Surely indicative of the good times to come.

I was able to speak with Littlepage a little bit after the program. I remain hopeful and enthusiastic about our basketball program over the next two years and will bet money that we will be making the 2nd Round of the Tournament within the next 2 years. Littlepage told me he sensed the excitement coming from me and could see that I could barely contain myself about the new Arena. Huh. All night long I had been trying to look like I belong haha - I tried to hold it in and smile, but not be giddy and jump up and down. Apparently it didn’t work.

Alright, I thought I had more to say, but as 4:00 AM rolls around I’m finding myself at a loss of words.

I had taken the tour in June of last summer (2005) when the Arena was just beginning to take form. Then, on a tour led by Dirk Katstra and Barry Parkhill, I found myself become extremely excited about the place. But it had left me with many questions as to whether it would be completed in time, whether it would look as good as it sounded, and whether fans and alumni would be willing to throw enough financial support behind the project to make it work. After Thursday’s first class event, it appears as though my questions have been answered. The arena is glorious.

If you have any questions about the arena, leave a comment and I’d be happy to answer it in my next post!

Wednesday morning, 10:00 AM, I receive a phone call from an “Unknown #.” I thought to myself, “Self - who really blocks their caller ID nowadays.” Being at work, I thought I probably shouldn’t answer my personal cell phone. But curiosity was eating away at me in the form of vibrating pants. So I answered it. ‘Lo and behold, it’s the Virginia Athletics Foundation on the other side. Last I checked, I wasn’t a student-athlete, so I became intrigued. The person on the other side was inviting me to the John Paul Jones Arena Sneak Preview donor event! Unfortunately, it was the next day and I needed to respond by 3:00 later that day. I told the person, “Unfortunately, I do have to work tomorrow and can’t make the drive to Charlottesville. Thanks for inviting me.” And so ended the conversation, around 10:07 AM.

I think by 10:13 AM, I was on the phone with the VAF again. “Hi, yes. I was just speaking to a gentleman inviting me to the event tomorrow night? I’d like to go ahead and change my RSVP to an affirmative.” Screw it - I’ll take half the day off and enjoy what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! So by Thursday at 2:30, I was on my way to C’ville.

When I got there, I was nearly overcome with glee. Walking into the arena for the first time, I could hardly contain myself. We were instructed to wear tennis shoes so that we would be able to step onto the court for the champagne toast, so I felt goofy wearing a nice dress shirt, khakis, and sneakers. But looking around, there were people wearing 3-piece suits and extravagant tennis shoes, so I felt better. I even saw two women wearing neon orange high-toppers with their dresses. It was great. Having dismissed that goofiness feeling, I then became somewhat insecure. Everyone around me was significantly older, and probably had a significant chunk of money to donate. I had no doubt whatsoever that I was THE youngest donor in the arena that night.

As I first stepped foot into the building, I had to take a deep breath. I can’t explain the feeling that passed over me as I truly felt the spirit of Virginia Basketball flow through my blood. Seeing the new sights, breathing that new air, hearing the new sounds. It was simply amazing. I checked in and begin exploring. The court is impressive, and the $7.5 Million audio/video system, the best in the country, seemed to be well worth it.

Naturally, my curiosity led me to one of the drinks and food stations. The food served that night was truly impressive - jumbo shrimp cocktail, lamb chops, crab-stuffed mushrooms, pistachio covered salmon, roast beef…everything was perfect. Also, the liquor was flowing as the open bars were the most popular stop of the night. In all this edible glee, I nearly forgot that I needed to explore the Arena!

The first thing I noticed was the seats on the second level. Elevation-wise, I was very impressed! Being in the front row of the 2nd level, you’re a little further back than you normally would be in U-Hall if you were in a first-row seat on the second level. But you were significantly closer to the court, I thought. I looked up to see how far away the upper-most seats are, but it was quite a ways up and I was in no mood to run up all those stairs.

Among other things we got to see…the President’s box is no different from all the other suites (which reminds me - Williams Mullen, my current firm, purchased one of those suites!! Excited much??), except that it’s a double wide and has a nicer bar. The lockerrooms were yet to be completed, but the visitors’ lockerroom was done. I was a little disappointed. It seems to me that you want to do everything you can to get into the opponent’s head. Including bright orange tiles and ceilings. But alas. Looks like UVA is taking the higher ground - the lockerroom was a calming blue. Somewhat disappointed.

I was also disappointed in our coaching staff and players. Not a one of them showed up last night. I understand that Dave Leitao, Debbie Ryan, and both their respective staffs are out on the recruiting trail right now, but it seems to me that they could have taken a night to meet and mingle with the top donors of the new facility (I mean the real upper echelon donors, not me). All I have to say is that we had better get a strong recruiting class next year!

We also got to go down to explore one of the practice courts. The new arena has 2 full-sized practice courts, 2 half-courts, and of course, the main playing court. With this, the athletes have no excuse for not having a court on which to practice. Previously, the men’s and women’s teams could not practice together for lack of facilities, which caused all sorts of problems. Now, with the plethora of courts, the on-site student-athlete dining facility, showers, and study hall, the athletes probably never have to leave the Arena. The women’s team was talking about having a sleepover there.

Alright, well unfortunately I didn’t get to bed last night until 2AM and had to be up by 6:30 to get to work. I’ve fallen asleep a couple times while writing this post, so I shall sign off for now and will continue tomorrow. Do check out the photo gallery though - pics are up!

We’ve had a decent slew of quarterbacks recently.  Spinner, Schaub, Hagans.  Each had their own thing going and could hold their own, though none really wowwed the world.  (Sure we had the Schaub for Heisman campaign, but you can’t expect to win a Heisman if you sit a couple games out due to injury and the rest of your season is merely above-average.)  With Hagans having left, that left me wondering who the next signal caller would be.  Apparently, it’s Christian Olsen.

Talent-wise, I think Christian’s got some skill.  At 6-3, 216, he went 10-12 for 88 yards last year playing backup for Hagans (five games), including 6-8 for 47 yards against then undefeated FSU.  That’s not too shabby.  Nothing stellar, but not shabby.  I do hear that he had at least one very impressive throw against Duke.  But, I mean, it’s Duke.

Anyway, like I said, I’m not concerned about Christian’s skill and I think he’s got the stuff to make a decent QB next year.  But what about after?   We can’t keep up this one-and-done routine with quarterbacks.  Our team needs someone who can be there for at least two years — if for nothing else, for consistency.

What are people’s thoughts on Kevin McCabe, the junior who was the #78 recruit on Rivals100, a 4-star recruit on several lists, and was overall a very very highly regarded recruit?  Does Groh realize he’d be wasting this incredible potential we’ve got here?  Oh wait.  We can have another senior first-time-starting QB in 2007.  We can’t keep this up.   Granted, McCabe saw only a little bit of playing time in 2004 and went 4-9 in 4 3 games for only 23 yards.  Weak, sure.  But with such little playing time, what do we know?

All I’m saying is this:

1. Keep a close eye on Olsen this year.  If he’s not performing to his peak and to our expectations, we need to pull him fast and stick McCabe in.
2. Most people are seeing this year as a rebuilding year.  If the coaching staff is seeing this the same way, why not go with McCabe as QB to set us up for a nice 2007 season?

My last schtick for the day is this:  We’ve got 12 games this season, which means that we can lose 6 and still potentially, though not likely, make a bowl game.  But why are we looking at it from that angle?  Without having done too much research yet, I’m looking a potential 9-0 start?  I’m not bold enough to make that call yet, having not seen us in action and not knowing anything about the prospects of our opponents next year.  But…9-0?

Yesterday the firm took us to Colonial Downs after a day in Richmond learning about the firm, its practice areas, how it’s like to be an associate, etc.  I learned a few things from this little adventure.

1. One associate was describing the two profitable firm business models.  The first is a low pyramid where at the bottom you have a huge base.  Here, he said, “And what you want is a whole infantry of associates, each a fungible commodity.”  The second was where you had a huge pyramid, and each associate, or “widget” as he described us, has a pyramid of clients on his own.  It’s nice to see that after $100,000+ worth of debt,  I am nothing more then a fungible commodity…a  widget.
2. When you go into the day saying, “I’m going to bet on horse #3 to win,” you should follow through.  The first race I bet, I went up and said, “Horse #3 to w…show.”  The odds were 10:1.  As it turns out, he ended up winning it all.  I ended up making $16.50 on my $5 bet, but still.  That could have been $50.
3. I will not bet based on jockeys.  Just because he has a high win percentage and has yet to win a race, it does not mean that he is due.  I repeat, it does not mean that he is due.
4. The bartenders in the suites at Colonial Downs are a lot of fun.  Plus, it’s a open bar and they know how to make their drinks right (i.e. strong).
5. Equally fun as betting on horses, it is fun to stand in front of the window looking into the next suite and begin betting on people.  “$1 says that man is the first to leave the room.  OK, I’ll take that - I’ll put $1 on the woman.”  “$1 says the woman is the first to touch the bottle of wine.  OK, $1 says it’s the man.”  ahh, yes.  Good times.  Ever see Rat Race?  It’s just like that.  But with less zeros on each dollar figure.