Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Just in case somebody just finished their dinner and felt like popping in to check on the Off Topics tonight, here it is, one with Minnesota volleyball player, Alex Blatt! Alex was pleasant enough to discuss a wide range of topics, and was honest enough to admit that she wasn’t sure whether the Daily had a sports section. (I felt good about my job at that point.) Read on, and enjoy this one! And thanks again, to Alex. On to the Bio:
Name: Alex Blatt
Year: Freshman
Position: Setter
Number: 1
Full Bio: Gophersports Bio
Mark Heise: So just to start off, it’s Thanksgiving weekend, and you’ll be here in Minnesota, not your home of Illinois. Any plans?
Alex Blatt: For Thanksgiving, I’m usually with my family, so it’s weird being here and not being able to go home. But I’m going to Ashley (Suapaia)’s house and my boyfriend’s house, so it won’t be that bad.
MH: Thanksgiving is all about the food… What’s going to be on your plate?
AB: Traditional stuff. Turkey, stuffing, that kind of stuff.
MH: Anything you don’t like?
AB: um… not really, I like everything.
MH: Even that purple…
AB: I don’t like the cranberry stuff, I don’t like that!
MH: Ashley was the one that nominated you for this, and with that she also gets to ask you a question. Here it is: Why are you so unlucky?
AB: She told me she was going to say that… Basically for like 2 weeks, I literally had the WORST LUCK. First off, I lost my car keys and I didn’t have a spare set. Then my mo-ped… what happened to that… oh, it had a flat tire so I had no way to get around. So I drove Ariana (Filho)’s mo-ped and it got towed. I was borrowing it for class and within the first 20 minutes a cop pulls me over and asks for insurance. And I was like “I don’t have insurance” because I was trying to just tell him it was my scooter… and I got her thing towed. Then I took somebody else’s mo-ped and the tire went flat….
MH: That was the second flat tire?
AB: Yeah. So my luck was just horrible.
MH: Wow… that’s pretty bad… do you at least know how to change a flat tire now?
AB: …No… (laughs) I just had some scooter people pick it up and fix it.
MH: Wow.
AB: Yeah, it was a bad week, but I thought, it can’t get any worse than this, so I got through it.
MH: Probably a good way to look at it. Talk about Alex Blatt Hair Day.
AB: That’s embarrassing… yeah I always wear my hair like this and have always worn it like this (For those who have not seen, it is kind of like a really high-pony tail or high “bun” or a cross between the two.) and I didn’t think it was that weird, and then I got here. They make fun of my high-bun, then one day it looked really bad, and someone was like ‘wow, your bun looks ridiculous today.’ We were in the locker room, and they decided to just do an “Alex Hair Day.”
MH: So that’s just how you wear it?
AB: Yeah, it’s comfortable and out of my face.
MH: That works for me… I don’t think about hair too much. Today I watched a movie in class. In honor of that, what is the best movie you’ve seen in a classroom.
AB: In a classroom? Oh gosh…
MH: You didn’t have a teacher that ever showed movies?
AB: No, I can’t think of anything… I feel like I’d either fall asleep during them, which sounds bad, or… yeah I’ve never watched a good movie probably. Not one I can think of right now anyway…
MH: Really?
AB: Yeah. Well there was one… I don’t know what it’s even called….
MH: Explain it.
AB: Is it about basketball? Or no… what is it?… Coach Carter? Maybe? I don’t know.
MH: Coach Carter is a basketball movie… you saw that?
AB: It was something like that. I’m not good with movies, or movie names. Everyone says that I never see any movies. It’s a bad question for me.
MH: Fair enough. What about a favorite TV show?
AB: I don’t really have a favorite… but right now there’s a funny one, it’s called The Pickup Artist?
MH: Yes! I know that one.
AB: It’s hilarious, I’m just obsessed with it.
MH: Do you have a favorite quote from that? I have some friends who are obsessed with it.
AB: Really?! Um, I don’t think I have a quote, it’s just hilarious watching those guys!
MH: My favorite line my friend had put up on his facebook: “You have to break some eggs to make an omelet.”
AB: That’s so funny!
MH: It’s a good show. I was going to ask if there were any downfalls to owning a mo-ped, but I think you’ve covered those…
AB: Yeah. There are a lot of downfalls!
MH: Ok. So here’s a question I like better. So they say you can tell how far lightning is away by how soon you hear the thunder following the flash… The closer the light and sound is together, the closer the lightning is. My question: by that logic, if you get struck by lightning, do you hear the thunder at the same time?
AB: I mean, I probably wouldn’t be thinking about hearing the thunder, because I’d be getting electrocuted, but… I don’t know! I haven’t been struck by lightning. I’m guessing no though.
MH: Ok. What are your feelings on bottled water?
AB:I actually hate drinking tap water. I feel like it’s dirty, so I never drink water out of the sink. I also don’t really like water in general, which is probably a bad thing, but… I prefer bottled water.
MH: Are you from the city, is your tap water city water?
AB: No, I’m from the suburbs.
MH: So… you drink city water…
AB: I don’t know. (laughs)
MH: Ok. You live at University Village.
AB: Yes
MH: Ok. I lived there last year…
AB: Yeah… did YOU like it?
MH: It’s…roomy…
AB: Yeah…
MH: A lot of nice rooms, but beyond that…
AB: (laughs) Yeah.
MH: I was praying every time I got in the elevator.
AB: (laughs) Oh, that’s hilarious…
MH: I guess MY question is, what’re your favorite/least favorite parts of living over on that side?
AB: I mean, it’s nice… better than living in the dorms, for sure! When I was looking here, I thought I was being treated like a princess living there. But living there now, I don’t know. It’s not really like college life, really. I don’t see normal college kids in the halls, ever. It’s more like weird people.
MH: Grad students, yeah. You don’t get to meet anybody there.
AB: Exactly.
MH: Moving on… Ties. What is the appropriate length for a man’s tie, and at what point does it become annoying?
AB: Isn’t it supposed to go right below the belly button? Is that right?
MH: Yeah I think so.
AB: And then…I think if they’re short it just looks awkward.
MH: Sounds good. Another new topic: if you lose your phone for a day, how useless would you feel?
AB: Um… I’m not really like… well I need my phone, everyone does, but I’m not one of those crazy people who are always on their phone texting…
MH: Describe “crazy people”
AB: Like constantly texting. Like Ari (Filho) is always on her phone. So is Jess (Granquist)
MH: And Lauren Gibbemeyer?…
AB: Lauren, yeah.
MH: Most played song on your Ipod?
AB: I actually just lost my Ipod, so…
MH: Back to your luck…
AB: Seriously! That was part of my bad luck! I forgot about that. I don’t know, I listen to weird music, I don’t have one favorite song, I couldn’t really tell you.
MH: Ok. Is there a sport or a game you’re surprisingly good or bad at?
AB: Hmm…(looks towards the volleyball court.)
MH: Not volleyball.
AB: I was going to say that… um, no, not that I can think of. The only sport I’ve ever been good at is running or gymnastics. Anything with my feet I’m horrible at… soccer… baseball, I’m horrible at…
MH: What about board games?
AB: I’m not a big board game person, or like Playstation person, videogames, or cards. (laughs) I’m sort of boring.
MH: great… do you say bless you to strangers if they sneeze?
AB: If I’m in class I’ll say it…I’ll say it to strangers, yeah.
MH: Question of the year: Travis Busch and Zach Eisendrath have an online TV blog called The What Else? Show, where they sit down and do a talk show, discussing anything they really feel like talking about that day. If you had an online TV blog, what would it be and what would you call it?
AB: They told me to think about this question… It’d probably be giving people makeovers… I find it interesting if I could look at somebody in class and tell them, if I did your makeup and hair and… everything…(laughs) you know… it’d probably be a makeover show like that, that I’d like to do.
MH: So you’re one of those people that dress up for class?
AB: In high school I used to, and I thought I was going to when I came here, but now I’m like, hmm, should I even wash my face today?…
MH: Ok… and what would the show be called?
AB: Oh gosh, I don’t know… I’m not creative at all! Alex’s makeover show.
MH: And I’m not even going to ask who your first guest would be.
AB: yeah, that’d be mean…
MH: What do you get the Daily for?
AB: Um, I don’t really pick up the Daily… I don’t know where to get it at! I don’t know, I picked it up… isn’t there Sports in it?
MH: There might be…I don’t know…
AB: (laughs) I don’t know… that’s embarrassing…
MH: Alex, thanks for the interview, it’s been lots of fun. It’s your turn to pick who will go next week, and what question you would like them to answer.
AB: That’s a hard one… I’ll pick Jessica Granquist, and what should I ask her… She says she doesn’t have any embarrassing stories, but I doubt it. Ask her something along those lines…I’m not creative! I don’t believe her. How do you not have ANY embarrassing stories?!
Thanks for reading everyone, don’t forget to check back later in the week, I’ll be posting another one Saturday.