There’s always some sort of angst and competition between the two largest institutes of higher education in our state. That can be in the athletic arena, the education arena, and more often than not, in the familial arena. In the state of Washington, you pick sides, play favorites, and ultimately, talk shit. Families are divided and curse words are thrown. I have had the fortunately and unfortunately dubious honor of attending both for each one of my degrees.

In my humble opinion, which is always correct here, is that you declare your allegiance to the institute where you earned your undergraduate degree. Why? You spent the most time on campus and in the classroom for that milestone in your life. You are a part of the culture and the fabric of the university. My second degree, while arguably harder due to time commitments and personal/professional obligations, came by taking night classes on a branch campus in one-third the amount of time as my undergraduate degree. Proud of this advanced degree I am, but ashamed that I had to ‘slum’ at the other university to achieve its accolades.

All competitiveness aside, both universities do much for the local and the global community. It would be hard to deny the immense value that the Medical Sciences colleges at University of Washington has created with its relentless pursuit of medical and life science breakthroughs. But inarguably, one of the greatest innovators across multiple sciences and a diverse cross section of industries is Washington State University. Of course, I am somewhat biased in this regard but I would strongly suggest that before you cast my assertions aside that you research and do your homework on both schools. The resumes of community involvement and technological innovation at both are world renowned. However, WSU has a pride and tradition in pushing the boundaries and raising the bar of expectation in a diverse set of researches that are well recorded.

Equally so, Washington State University is extremely creative in their branding and promotions. Their work is classic in design and efficient in communication. The creative marketing group at WSU works extremely hard to deliver the key messages of the University in all of its collateral and at all touch points. The brand identity of the university should be that of the classical topics addressed by HBS. Below are the Ad Spots which play on television to illustrate many of the projects in which the university is currently involved. Each succinct, very relevant, and poignant:

ORIGINAL AD SPOTS

Economies of Developing Countries


Bioremediation of Water Resources


Bone Replacement


NEW AD SPOTS

Drought-Tolerant Crops


Antimatter


Animal/Human Health


Biofuels


I am very proud that my undergraduate alma mater is heavily involved in the betterment of societies around the globe. The university is truly focused on leaving this planet better than it found it. I applaud my fellow alumni, the classes of students in all of the colleges, the world-class faculty and facilities, and the donors and sponsors who provide the means to execute on the fundamental goals of the university. While I’ve had the opportunity to attend both major educational institutions in this state, my heart and passion still lie with the university where I spent my most collegiate days, learned life lessons, studied extremely hard, developed life-long friendships, built a brotherhood of men, and bled crimson over every related activity. There is something indescribable and indisputable about the culture and atmosphere of the university and its surroundings. This can not be duplicated easily, or even worse, described accurately to do it any justice or explain to the uninitiated. Go Cougs!

One thing I have never been able to understand, or even control, is my innate ability to be an ass. While it works to my benefit in social situations where I distinctly do not care about what other people think of me and may be trying to sabotage, it tends to backfire when I am spending time with family and want our time to last forever. When the latter of these two scenarios happens, I get fairly overwhelmed with guilt and regret. It is completely unfair to those I love to act this way.

Today was one of those days that seem to eternally haunt me. It started out quite productive by working in the new-son-to-be's room. I had hoped to get the space completed before his birth. Unfortunately, it has been an uphill battle with painting, molding, and decorating. However, I reached a satisfactory level of completeness where I could pick up later. Why I am explaining this will make total sense later, trust me. Back to the story, I moved on, had some breakfast, and waited for my brother in law to arrive.

My brother in law and I took off to the local professional football game. As a season ticket holder, I generally find a lot of joy in watching these matches. I feel like I have some vested interest or ownership in the team. This year has been no different, but the team has been less than competitive. Lately, I have felt like I am paying for some sort of faulty, half-ass product with an expired warranty being put on the field. So I pretty much get pissed off while I am watching. This is not good for anyone around me. I am an ass. We have some people who sit near us that we generally are friends with. Today, I was decent to them. Why? The team was competitive and my mood upbeat. A week ago, this was not the case. The team was losing, the people around us were dirt bag drunk, and I wanted to punch some of them in the mouth. Needless to say, I was much better this week. Hooray for me in acknowledging my ass-like behavior.

The team still lost. Whatever. It's been like that all season. So we headed home. My parents were waiting at my house for me to get home. My father and I were going to work a little more in my new son's room. I came home with a fairly decent attitude (non-ass-like). But that changed. In an instant, I just seem to lose focus and get bitchy about nearly everything. Approach me about a topic I do not want to discuss and immediately I shut down or respond rudely. It is completely unacceptable to behave this way toward the people I love. It happens and I can not seem to run a preemptive strike on it. Then I am coldly reminded by the guilt and regret I feel later after my loved ones leave.

We worked on the projects in my son's room. Things went relatively well considering I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and have an unreasonably high sense of perfection. As a side note, I would warn against EVER working on a project with me because of this. My father is a trooper though. We pounded through this and despite my feelings of imperfection, lost temper, and complete disregard for the level of skill the project required. It turned out well even though I cussed like a sailor along the way. I get frustrated and ultimately the world becomes my toilet bowl. Tonight was no different. My parents understand me but this does not give me the green light to act like an ass. I know that they find a lot of fulfillment in helping around our house and I am very appreciative. But I get fairly upset when projects do not come together or plans do not work out the way I had envisioned. My parents headed home hours ago and I am feeling completely guilty for not being pleasant. I am a dirt bag when I am in a bad mood. This routinely happens and you would think I would have some control over it. Nope.

I hope that I can work on this moving forward. My emotions have been complicated for a few years now, especially when it comes to family. I am an ass. They do not deserve this. Many times I have crawled back with my tail between my legs apologizing. They are very accepting of my attitude. I am fortunate. I know that I make things out worse than they really are. But I must be aware of this issue I have. I can't keep saying well there is always next time. I need to be on top of it now. I love my family. It is all I have.