Christmas at the Hampson home

I know when it’s Christmas. 

I know I’m still like 12-year-old waking up at some ridiculous time in the morning to start the day. My grandparents are already awake after spending the night at our house. Not even 10 minutes later, my favorite smell travels throughout the house.

Pillsbury cinnamon rolls - it’s a Hampson tradition.

Honestly, Christmas could end there and it would be one amazing holiday. But Christmas is always special at the Hampson home. Throughout the year, my mom’s two sisters and brother pick holidays to be hosted at their respective house. Good thing we chose Christmas. 

Unlike the horror stories I hear of my friends’ experience with relatives, mine seem extremely normal and amazing. All of my relatives are within 10 years of each other and we all have the same sense of humor and personality. I’m all for getting the relatives together every chance we can. 

After my immediate family does the present opening and Christmas, it’s time to get ready for the relatives - which usually means that my brother and I play video games and music and get ready 20 minutes before everybody comes over. 

Recently, we all decided to do the gift exchange game. The good kind. Not the stupid game where the gifts are all jokes. You don’t even need to label our game “White Elephant” for us to know that we’re going to make some of the most ridiculous presents. What makes it better is that these gifts (most of the time slightly offensive and hilarious) are mixed in with some really good gifts.

Let’s be honest...about 90 percent of the fun that is involved in this game is the competition. Like most gift exchanges, every gift can get “stolen” twice. And let’s be honest about this too...our families are competitive while remaining light-hearted. 

The title of our game should just be called, “Gift Exchange: Family Battle Royale.”

Good thing there aren’t any newcomers coming to this game because they would soon realize the plots being made are perfectly skilled traps between families as each new present opens. You’d think our families would be plotting out the next war. As a matter of fact, in a couple more years Congress might want our four families to start plotting the next war.

Each family strategically uses the person that is going last in their family to rake in the present that the family really wants (and when I say family, I mean parents).

Steal by steal, person by person, this game gets louder and more intense. The kids are mostly all in college and have a keen eye on gift cards. What college student doesn’t need a gift card to Starbucks or Target? They are just too good to pass up and too easy to steal.

Then comes the curveball...a spork?

“Okay, who put a spork in the gift exchange?” 

Everyone laughs because this game is supposed to be fun and light-hearted. Side note: a spork was actually put in last year’s gift exchange. 

Deep down inside, we really don’t care what we get as a gift. We’re here to enjoy each other’s company and to make sure everybody is having a blast. The families are just here to prove that they can out-smart the others. A little competition never hurt anybody.

A little family time never hurt anybody either. Welcome to the Hampson home and Merry Christmas.

Another day of being thankful

It seems rather scary for most of the nation to use Thanksgiving as a day for a serious reflection on anyone/anything that they are thankful for. Being thankful and giving thanks shouldn’t be consolidated into one holiday.

Shouldn’t we have the capability to be thankful every single day and not wait until Nov. 24 to confess all of our thankfulness? 


1. God
2. Parents
3. Brother
4. Friends
5. Music
6. My band
7. My ability to ski
8. Random Instances
9. Starbucks
10. Facebook ...just kidding. Twitter ...uhhh. Sports

Every morning, I wake up and realize I made it another day on this Earth. I’m thankful and blessed for that. So much can happen in one day. You live and you learn. Think of all the things that happens in a typical day...it’s absurd how many people we want to talk to that make our lives more enjoyable. It’s absurd how many things we do in a day to get an education, to get be a better person, to further our career or to learn.

I’m thankful for my passion of music and how it led me to learn music on my own. Doing anything on my own is scary and fascinating at the same time. Who knew that when I quit the junior high band that seven years later that I would be playing shows with signed bands and sold out crowds? 

The man upstairs did. And quite honestly...I don’t think anyone else could’ve put money down on that. It’s obvious to me that there’s no way we’d all still be making music if we all weren’t thankful and appreciative of each other.

I have the four of the best guys I could ever think of to live out the same dream I have as a musician. I’m thankful for that.

Two of the four members in my band are related to me - which brings my to next point. I’m thankful for my family. I know what my parents have gone through to make sure I got involved in school, that I know how to read, taught me how to do things on my own, that I know how to crawl and that I know how to clean house. By house, I mean their house. Every time my parents make a meal for me, I say thanks. 

I know it’s something small, but think about it...what if your parents just decided to not make you any meals? What a miserable life that would be.

It’s absolutely amazing to see how people connect with each other to make it through this world a little bit easier. Think of how friendships are built and how your good friends genuinely care about you. They like you for who you are. Spending a little time with a friend could make a terrible day one of the best days you will ever remember. A text or a phone call could make a good day even better. It’s things like these that people use Thanksgiving to reflect on. Shouldn’t you be thankful or at least aware of it right after it happens?

I might sound like I’m a guy who’s always appreciative of everything. And for whatever reason, I know it will sound like I’m some arrogant guy who’s trying to impress his teacher for a column he has to write about being thankful. I’m not.

It’s really not hard to say thanks and actually mean it. Thanks Fitz.

Rainy days and waffle fries

Rubicon Brewery had the honor of hosting Katrina and I for a late lunch on a rainy Sunday. In what was an unfamiliar territory for a Granite Bay native like myself, eating in downtown Sac was something I rarely did.

But there was something about the rain that made this restaurant even more local-feeling than what it was supposed to be. In a seat yourself restaurant, Katrina and I grabbed a window table facing the overcast city.

Quickly after sitting down, fans at the bar cheered after a big play in the Raiders-Chiefs game.

I hate the Raiders, but I felt at home.

Our waitress brought over the extensive menu where 20 things looked delicious. You could compare the menu to BJ’s or a Chili’s, but Rubicon had some local touches to their beers and burgers.

Then when I decided to figure out what I wanted to eat, I noticed an item on the menu that was boxed in. I searched around the menu for more of these items. Only a select few had a box around them. 

What could this mean?

I took it as special. So I went with it. “I’ll take the pulled pork sandwich,” I said to the waitress. Always been a fan of pulled pork sandwiches in the past, but this one had to be unique. Katrina went with the chicken pesto sandwich. 

While we waited, we were able to relax by the window and watch some of the football game. I didn’t order a beer, but Katrina did. So I took a sip of hers. Her Monkey Knife Fight beer was not bad. A little bitter for my taste, but could go really well with the food we were about to devour. The wait didn’t take long.

The waitress set my plate down and I immediately focused on one thing and one thing only - waffle fries.

Waffle fries?!? I haven’t had waffle fries in years. I already knew this was going to be a fantastic meal. Then my eyes glanced to the right of the waffle fries. There it was. My pulled sandwich was just sitting there on its freshly-baked bun ready for the food review.

I took a bite and fell in love. I also felt like I had an alternate idea of what the box around the menu item meant. I definitely had a little kick to the sauce. Was it boxed in for “spicy”? I’ll never know. But I could handle the slight spiciness that it carried. The combination between the sandwich and waffle fries with ketchup was definitely a comfort meal.

With comfort food on a rainy day, came good hospitality. Our waitress took good care of us throughout our whole visit and she made it feel like she knew what she was doing. With a spicy pulled pork sandwich, my body went through two glasses of water. 

Our time came to a close after we hit our food comas. All we wanted to do at this point was take a nap. That’s a sign of a good meal. What also is a sign of a good meal is the price for the check. Only $8.99 plus tax and tip for a good quality meal. For a college student, I can deal with that.

But to anybody else that is strolling by midtown on any given day, Rubicon Brewery on Capitol and 20th will always be highly recommended by me. Heck, you probably should go out of your way to try Rubicon Brewery.

Three hours ahead of schedule

“When it all comes down to a sunrise on the east side, will you be there to carry home the remains of my wasted youth?” -All Time Low

For the first time in my life, I found myself on the east coast of the United States, amazed and curious in Louisville, Kent.

A trip that I had looked forward to for two months, before my mini-vacation, finally came and happened to fall on Halloween weekend.

Let’s just say that Louisville knows how to have a good time.

As some of the other editors on the State Hornet arrived at the Galt Hotel in downtown, we realized that the stress of the newspaper and grueling midterms all seemed to vanish. Yes, we were there for our Fall collegiate journalism awards convention.

But in our minds, we were there for a vacation. We needed it.

I’ve spent 21 Halloweens in the Sacramento area and honestly, Halloween 2010 was better than other 20 of them combined. 4th Street Live hosts a downtown gathering where live acts play in the middle of the blocked off street surrounding dozens of restaurants and clubs with a connected form of entertainment. 

After being in workshops for most of the day, we would go experience the freedom of downtown Louisville. So on most nights, 1,000 journalists and locals would hit 4th Street Live to see nationally touring acts in the middle of this alcohol and fun infested street. 

Any person 21 and up could enter in the chaos of a street. Sacramento has nothing that even compares. In 2010, Louisville brought back the very successful Halloween costume block party from a year ago. 

In the range of 5,000 people, some of the most original, mind-blowing costumes came to 4th Street for one purpose - fun. 

I was still trying to fathom how exactly 5,000 people fit in this one street. But somehow it managed to work out. The whole purpose for the block party was for a costume contest. It sounded to me like Louisville was just looking for another excuse to party.

But the city had some people with creative minds. The best costume winner went to Aquaman. Not just any Aquaman. This Aquaman had full body paint, fins that shot bubbles and a fish tank around his waist - with live fish inside.

After day one of being there, the journalists realized Louisville liked to party. Louisville liked to drink. Louisville liked to be friendly. Locals actually started conversations even though they had absolutely zero idea who these random people were. I mean, we were all dressed up in ridiculous costumes that probably shouldn’t be worn in public. But they were genuinely interested if we were being treated well.

There was just something about this city that made me want more when I flew back home. I missed seeing music being appreciated on such a high level. 4th Street Live and the locals made tourists feel like one of them.

Sacramento doesn’t do that for me. Especially on Halloween. 

Tell me where in the Sacramento area that they have a huge block party that gets permanently blocked for entertainment purposes only...I mean, a costume party.

Thank you mom, dad and Starbucks

When I turned 16, finance has always been something I’ve taken seriously. Like father, like son. My dad has always been a stickler about how to spend money. 

Ever since I’ve started up a savings account in the fifth grade, my parents made sure that putting some of my earnings in savings was a wise decision...and that I would thank them later.

Thank you. 

Growing up, there were only a few things I had to pay for. Car insurance, cell phone bill, credit card bill and gas were about the four things I had to fork out money for. This is not because some teenager was “spoiled” and got whatever he wanted. 

My parents made me a deal: Hold a job and they will pay for college.

Like any intelligent student with any clue about how fast money can get spent, I said yes to the deal.

Working full-time for three years while going to school full-time was rough, but was worth every penny. Also, paying for tours, equipment and merchandise for my band was something that I could now have the luxury of doing.

Most people don’t realize that $600 for a new bass, $2,000 for a keyboard, $400 for new shirts and $800 for a new amp goes rather quickly and would seem detrimental if college wasn’t being paid for.

But balancing school, work and a social life was getting ridiculous at the time. When I was 20, I decided to step down my work load from full-time to part-time. So I started working at the nearest Starbucks.

Before I got hired, I was considered a regular. I made the trip almost every morning for the previous two years before school to get my $3.00 drink. Let me tell you, it adds up quickly. But I already worked so many hours the last three years of my life that, once again, I had money on the side to spend.

Starbucks was one of the greatest financial gifts that has ever crossed my life. 

Not only did I get all my drinks for free, but I also was able to save my parents a ton of money with their coffee. Every Starbucks partner (just another silly name for employee) got one free pound of coffee a week.

Let’s do the math. 

Since every pound of coffee is at least $10 and I worked for the company for a year and a half, I saved my parents $780.

My drink of choice (grande peppermint mocha) runs for about $3 per drink. Over a year and a half, I saved myself around $1,440.

Thank you Starbucks.

And even now that I don’t work there anymore, I still get free drinks or huge discounts on my drinks from fellow co-workers. But last semester, I got the the talk from my parents that I thought I would be getting a year earlier.

“We can’t afford to pay for college anymore.” Those were the exact words.

And with tuition prices going through the roof, I would once again like to thank my parents for teaching me to save.

Their lesson became valid as I’m now trying to pay around $6,000 a year without taking any loans. I shouldn’t have to take out loans to finish my education. I made it this far already, so why stop now?

I still have a job and finance is still very important to me. The only problem now is figuring out how I can graduate without getting in debt.

I think I might know two people in my life that have already been through it. 

Don’t worry, I’ll thank them again in a year.

A fan with a cheer louder than the rest

Jayson Stark loved every moment of the Philadelphia Phillies being in the postseason.

As the Phillies faced the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS, Stark extends his passion for another year. The Philadelphia native and senior writer for ESPN.com has covered his favorite team for 21 years before he joined ESPN.

Stark was the source for Phillies baseball. At the Philadelphia Inquirer, covering the Phillies was his beat. In an era when a typical journalist fills in for different sections at their respective paper, Stark never strayed away from what he knew best.

In fact, in two different years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, he was named Pennsylvania’s Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

His awards weren’t given to him for standard writing skills. His ability to write standard news stories with a new twist, rose him to the top of the journalism realm. Stark adapted a way to mix captivating stories with knowledgable opinion. 

Since Stark has been around the organization for so long, he took on the role of telling his honest opinion about his favorite team. 

After game two of the NLCS, Stark acknowledged the fact that the Phillies had little hope in the team winning any away games this series.

“The Phillies hit .175 as a team in AT&T Park this year. They've played 38 games there since the park opened -- and won 14 of them. So had they lost this game, it wouldn't have been another rendition of "High Hopes" they'd have been listening to afterward. "Taps" would have been more like it. But fortunately for them, the man they handed the baseball to didn't seem to think that losing was an option.”

With stats backing up his opinion and Stark being around the organization for longer than most people, makes him reliable to his readers. He writes multiple columns a week for ESPN.com. Not all of them pertain to the Phillies, but all of them pertain to baseball. 

His columns are easy for readers to catch his points, agree with his facts and see a new light to an already spoken topic. And if readers want more of a personal take on baseball, Stark also keeps up with a blog. His blog called the “Useless Information Department” relays more opinion in his published works.

However, his blog is found on the “Insider” section of ESPN.com. This means two things.

1. ESPN labeled him as an “Insider”. If the most regularly watched television network labels someone as an insider, the public subconsciously thinks of him as somebody who knows his stuff. Apparently ESPN would agree.
2. Being on the “Insider” section means a writer’s knowledge is valuable. ESPN charges people to read his blog. This could stray away some readers.

But America does know one thing. He is a baseball guru.

Most people can catch him doing baseball analysis on a few of ESPN’s television shows. Baseball Tonight and Mike and Mike both feature Stark on a weekly basis - usually for his knowledge about Phillies baseball.

His face has become well-known to America. Seven years into being at ESPN, Stark released his first book called “The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History.”

His second book honed in on his expertise. “Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies” allowed the public to see the baseball season (when the Phillies won the World Series) as a die-hard Phillies fan.

And with the Phillies currently in the postseason, he’ll keep writing about them until somebody tells him not to. That’s what happens as a senior writer. Tough job.

Why does this CD only have seven songs?

The fact that buying a physical CD is slowly going out of style has bands thinking.

Young girls stood in line for hours before the midnight release of the newest Backstreet Boys album in hopes of finding a new favorite song that they could have on repeat in their car and listen to the catchiness until their ears bleed.

And then less than two years later, the same fans repeat the same super-fan thing for the new album. The hype comes full-circle in a short time.

You don’t usually see a band going more than two years before they release new material. And that interval seems to get smaller and smaller.

Ever pick up a CD with less than 10 songs on it? No, the band didn’t just put seven songs on a CD because they couldn’t think of 5 more songs to write. The typical 12-song CD days are slowly coming to an end.

The faster a fan has new music in their hands, the happier a fan is. With iTunes and Amazon, music stores make it easy to have someone just buy a single song instead of a full CD.

Universal Records product Forever The Sickest Kids is currently taking the new trend of shorter CDs (an EP) and running with it.

Instead of writing a full-length CD, they are creating three EP’s within a year in a half. The band is currently just about to release its second of three next month.

But why else would any band do that? Don’t they know that fans want to listen to a longer record? Glad you asked. And the answer is yes, they are well aware of that.

Unfortunately, that’s not how labels work. Like any other smart business, they produce a product to make them money. With a decline of physical CD sales and the power to release more material in less time is just another way of thinking about efficiency to a company.

Releasing an EP is good for bands and labels for two main reasons.

1. A cost standpoint

First of all, most signed bands usually aren’t a part of multi-million dollar contracts. The band gets a set amount of time or songs for the new album they produce - written in a contract. With less songs, the band is able to have enough time to get all of its songs done in the time period allowed and not spend any of its own money to make more songs than a contract allows. And the band also doesn’t have to throw more money a band’s way to use for recording.

1. A marketing standpoint

With material being released every eight months to a year, fans always have something to grasp onto. Whether its a new music video, a new single from the album or new shirts with a design of the album cover, the Backstreet Boys fans finally feel like they are apart of the band with so much getting thrown their way. 

Sure, they always thought Nick Carter was singing all the lyrics to directly to them. Fans are crazy like that. But they feel a sense of belonging with their favorite band.

From a labels perspective, it gives them something to do. Sounds obvious. But giving the label something to do means they are making money from the current music video they are producing or another project they are working on. No business wants to see a lull for a year. You’d have some bored marketing directors.

So the next time you pick up a new CD with less songs than you want on it, just know that you fell for the trick.