Things I've learned in the past few days

- You can never be everything to everybody. Try as hard as you want, but you'll always end up leaving someone behind

- If you just meet adversity head on, things generally work out in the end

- Ron Artest was punished for being human. Are you telling me you wouldn't flip out if some drunken asshole was throwing stuff at you? He didn't even throw a punch until the fat idiot in the wallace jersey came out on the court (my opinion: on the court, you are fair game).

- Regarding the fight: the look on the face of the guy Artest first went after was priceless. In the Pantheon of faces, it was only slightly below the Steve Spurrier "I'm way overmatched in the NFL face". Also, Jermaine O'Neal clocking the aforementioned idiot on the court is hysterical every time I see it.

- Regarding Ron Artest: Did you know when he was with the Bulls, he actually applied for a job at Circuit City (or some other major electronics store) so that he could get a discount on merchandise? He listed his GM, Jerry Krause, as a reference. How could you not like this guy?

- Be thankful for all that you have, especially friends and family because they are the ones who are still there when you are not even sure where your own self is.

- And finally, never underestimate the power of a good book; a used bookstore is perhaps the cheapest form of entertainment available.