Monday, March 26, 2012

To Whom It May Concern Pt. 2 - Repentance

Yesterday's blog was just to vent.  Entirely full of frustration.  I let shit get out of hand and rather than handling it properly I went all berserk on my keyboard and spat venom until I literally destroyed my life.  Am I still frustrated by the same things?  Yes.  It's nobody's fault but my own though.  I resolved last night with my angel and my brother to make some serious positive changes. 

Yes, I'm the world's worst house keeper.  Object one on the fix it list.  Steve and I have decided that what two grown ass men can accomplish in one hour can move mountains.  Well, there's mountains of shit to do around here, so we're moving a mountain a day.

I'm so out of shape it's ridiculous.  After we move mountains in the house, we're going next door to the gym to literally move a mountain. 

I need a damn job!  I'm devoting at least an hour a day to finding one.  Seems pathetic right?  Grizzly bears can accomplish tons of things in an hour.  Especially this one. 

Last but not least.  In fact, possibly most!  I'm sorry angel.  I let my anger get the best of me, and rather than communicate directly with you, I went all bug-fuck and spit venom into the world. 

Sunday, March 25, 2012

To whom it may concern..

Rage post was full of rage.. Venting accomplished.  Wrecked my fucking life with it.  Took until 3 AM to fix it.  Time to rebuild.  New post imminent.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

"Furlow Days?! WTF?!"

That pair of questions actually came out of my mouth the other day when my girl used the phrase.  For those not familiar, I'm about to learn ya.

When used by the Salem-Keizer School District, a Furlow Day is a day used to ease the financial pain of maintaining a full school year in order to remain cost effective and still provide education for the kids. 

I'm told that these happen fairly often. 

I believe that teachers should be paid an amazing salary (They aren't, btw.) because they work directly with our children.  Our children are our future.  Plain and simple.  When the Old Boys (and girls) die off, retire, whatever, our children are the ones that will be taking over the world.  Literally.  I firmly believe that if you work directly with the kids, you deserve exceptional amounts of money. 

That said, it's my thought that the school board is vastly overpaid.  If the teachers aren't getting paid what they deserve (at least in my opinion) and they still can't afford to keep the schools open every day they're supposed to, there's a HUGE issue. 

What could these issues be?

Lack of funding?  It better not be.  Our taxes increase yearly.  If our money is being funneled elsewhere, that's entirely garbage.  It's also likely true.

Increased overhead?  I might buy into this one.  With rising energy costs, and so many schools to accommodate a breeding explosion comparable only to a virus (Thanks Agent Smith for that metaphor), along with the cost of supplies, textbooks, and things of that nature, I could see this being a legitimate complaint. 

The school board is paid EXORBITANT salaries, and gigantic bonuses on top of that?  DING DING!  I think we have a winner.  Yes, these people earn their money by dictating what our kids learn, how often they learn it, and make decisions regarding the safety and education of our children.  I believe this is a service worth paying for, but not even close to the extent we're paying now. 

So what are our options as parents? 

We can embrace this (in my opinion) negative change and enjoy the extra time we get to spend with our children.  Not the worst idea ever, despite my opinion, because every second I get to spend with Cyris and Ninja is precious to me.  Especially with Cy, whom I rarely get to see. 

Deprive our children of the social aspect of school and teach them ourselves at home.  I do like this idea because of the time we get to spend with the kids, but as I mentioned, it does deprive them of the social aspect of school, which is almost as important as the curriculum itself. 

We can do some social engineering, demand alteration of the school board's collective salary, remove the ability to grant themselves bonuses at a whim..

Either way we go as parents, I think we might be kinda screwed. Your thoughts?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Is a real life Idiocracy not only feasible, but imminent?

Before I even get started, if you haven't seen the movie Idiocracy go now.  Do it.  This will still be here when the movie's over. 

Back from Netflix?  Fantastic!  Let's get to it. 

On a daily basis, through various mediums I'm exposed daily to just how badly our society (as a general blanket statement) has regressed.  We've gone from grunting cave dwellers that paint on our walls with blood and flowers to the architects of legendary monolithic skyscrapers on a regular basis.  We've gone from the abacus to building computers that are actually smarter than we are (Watson.  Google it.). And yet every day, there's some blast of utter stupidity.  Are we truly the last generation of people capable of using their brains?!  In my current employment, I deal with many 20-something individuals.  On a one to one basis, they're pretty solid.  They're still kids comparatively, and party as hard as they work.  Nothing wrong with that at all.  But once in a while, there's something that gnaws at me like a thorn in this old bear's paw. 

Ok, maybe my title was a little extreme.  But I do feel that people have forgotten the meaning of discretion.  The fact that despite the social networking sites, there's some things people just try to keep private.  Discretion is a lost art to most.  Just yesterday on a friend's status post about going to a bar in Keizer, Oregon for quarter beers, one of their friends was like "THOTT U WER PREGGO?!" Obviously, if she went for quarter beers, she's not knocked up.  She's not that stupid.  I'm also fairly sure she thanks you for having so much faith in her intelligence. 

Seriously, if as a species we're losing such crucial parts of human interaction as respect and discretion, I'm truly frightened what's next.  I'm also terribly scared of the days when we're revered as geniuses in history books nobody will know how to read while people water their crops with energy drinks, staring at someone like they're high when they suggest using water.  "But it has electrolytes." 

Maybe the title wasn't so extreme after all..

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Holy hell, it's been a while!

So much has happened in the last few weeks.  Whirlwind of change style.  Go ahead and grab your coffee, monster, soda.. oh hell, it's lunch time for most of you.  I just crawled out of bed!  iFail!  Remix!  Grab your cheeseburgers, tacos, or whatever mad scientist alchemy you can pull out of your fridge and buckle in.  Ready?  LET'S GO!!

Major happenings!

I've reconnected with the one woman that truly makes me feel whole.  She's literally my other half.  My drive, my happiness, my pride and joy.. my angel.  This brings me happiness beyond measure!  I'm still the same ol' me.  I should still come with a warning label that says "CAUTION:  I do dumb things!" but to prove to her that she means so much to me, I'm making a huge effort to cut down on my stupidity.  I'm also making a massive effort to break out of the stagnant shell I was wearing.  I was a TERRIBLE house keeper (Working on it!), I work about fifteen hours a week.. come the fuck on!  I need income!  I cheated on her about a bazillion times.. never again.  In fact, when my friend (an ex girlfriend) said she really needed a place to stay, I consulted her before I even sent a reply... and it was her that sent the reply, not me.  Yeah, she's a keeper.  I intend to behave accordingly!

That brings me to the new roommate!  She was entirely up shit's creek without a paddle.  I'll leave the situation for her to discuss if she decides you need to hear about it.  It wasn't cool at all.  Since my brother had been living with his girlfriend for quite a while, I asked if he minded cleaning his room up so that I could offer her a place to stay.  He one-upped me and actually moved 90% of his stuff out.  Part of that was a miscommunication, because other people were trying to handle my business (A direct result of him not responding to my texts except for a phone call a few days later.. par for the course for the guy.  He's pretty busy lately.) and we've since talked, and I explained that to him.  BUT!  I have a roomie that pays bills, and I rarely see, even when she's here.  The latter part is because she likes to have a place to hide and decompress, but she says it's to stay out of my way.  How much in my way can someone get?!  I go room to fridge/coffee pot to computer.  That's about it, unless I'm either going to work or looking FOR work, and most jobs post their openings online now which works out marvelously for me.

My book has been COMPLETELY neglected, unfortunately.  I'm working on fixing that too.  I started writing the other day, but the words were coming very slow due to massive distractions.  My phone was going off, I wasn't listening to the right music I usually write to, and then my girlfriend came over.  Not very beneficial to productivity, but if I said I wasn't ecstatic about it, I'd be lying.

I realized through a bit of spelunking on my favored spiritual website that I've actually been taking a Year and a Day class!  Yes, this means I'll be paying much more attention to "Day X - Subject".  I caught up ENTIRELY last night, save for consecrating some "holy water".  As I don't have a container with a lid that fits the description, if I'm going to need it for something, I'll plan a few days in advance. This also alters my consciousness a little in other ways.  Typically, I viewed Sundays as my day to screw off due to the quote "Sunday is the day of rest."  Well, now it's "Saturday is the day to play." 

On my birthday, I plan to begin the "No Excuses Workout", also offered by Old Ways.  You can find this at http://oldways.com/features/noexcuses.html and watching Jeffrey's transformation has been rather incredible.  That tells me that it works!  Happy Monday to me! 

Oh yeah.. I turn 32 Monday.  No big deal, but I think my angel and my brother are conspiring.  We'll see what happens. I'm not so big on my own birthday.  Last year was the first birthday party I'd had since I was 17 and sold my Super Nintendo to get a half gallon of vodka.. which I drank by myself.  I didn't even tear it up on my 21st, just went out with my dad for a few drinks.  I'll be pouring out a Guinness Extra Stout on Monday in his memory.  If you ever met the man, I invite you to do the same.  That was his favorite. 

My intent for today -
Go outside and welcome today, express my intent to the sun, and thank the sun and the day for coming.  Come back inside, read today's lesson, then get to work.  My plan is to scour Craigslist for suitable jobs, then hit a few websites.  My aim for a new job is something part to full time to supplement my current income rather than replacing my job at the bar.  I know I can handle two jobs, so why the hell shouldn't I?  After spending at least two hours looking for work, I'll dig into some housework and try to catch up the festering mess that is my apartment.  I know I can get at least the carpets done today, and I'll go over the parts of my house that are already clean as maintenance.  After housework, I plan to finish writing at least the chapter I started on Friday, and possibly bang out a second. 

I leave you readers with a random observation that I meant to actually write about last night.

My roomie bought a loaf of French bread the other day to eat with her dinner.  I openly admit I've had a few slices myself. lol YUM!  Anyway, Friday, she left it out of the bag, and the cut end was starting to dry up.  Like rock hard starting to dry up.  I poked the top, there was no give at all.  No awesome fresh bread squish.  Having grown up dirt poor, this initially frustrated me to no end.  YOU DON'T WASTE FOOD!!  But then I stopped and thought about it.  The hard part couldn't be very deep after only two days.  I cut a few small slices off, maybe an eighth of an inch thick until I found the squishy bits.  I thought about saving those for croutons, but the likelihood of me eating a salad in the next few days is imaginary.  Sadly, that's two wasted slices of bread.  On the bright side, the tougher crust from being exposed to air surrenders even better to a good knife and the bread holds up it's shape when you slice it instead of squishing!  I might actually do this to EVERY partial loaf of French bread that enters the house.  Especially if I plan on a salad on day two!

Well, that's it for today!  Blessed be, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Happy Holidays from the NBA? I'm on board!

After a whole lot of work lost to greed on both ends, the NBAPA and the league owners came together and made it happen.  We won't lose the whole season.  In fact, the 66-game season starts tomorrow.  Merry Christmas from the NBA right?  Hell yes, I'd say!  I've always said football was my first love.  It's true, to humanize these sports, football's my wife.  She's been with me since day one, always had my back.. but she knows about my secret on the side flame I see when I'm out of town.  Basketball.  Yeah, sports are that serious to me.  So when the NBA lockout cost us about four months of sports, news, and ultimately happiness, I was PISSED.  Now?  I'm excited.. on the edge of my seat with misty eyes.  That said, what am I looking for out of this season?  I'll tell you.

I've been a Kevin Garnett fan since he was drafted.  Now, he's an old ass man by NBA standards, but until he's traded or retired I'm screaming GO CELTICS!  I know for a fact their window of opportunity slammed shut.  KG can't hack it nearly as well anymore.  Ray Allen's still killing it, legitimately the best shooter in the NBA.  Paul Pierce is aging too.  He can carry a team, and he's the heart and soul of the C's, but he's showing his age from doing exactly that until they picked up KG and Ray Allen. I understand the philosophy of picking up the aging vets that have proven themselves, but it's time the Celtics go young.  That said.. my pick for the east is Miami (again).  D-Wade, King James, and Chris Bosh together just serve to legitimize the fact that NBA teams need a three horse stable these days to compete, and these three young men are some of the best at what they do.  I love my Celtics, and I have MAJOR respect for the Bulls, but Miami's going to the finals again.

The Western Conference is a whole different breed.  There's so much parity in the West it makes the NFL look sloppy (Parity is why they moved Seattle to the NFC West, btw).  The perennial powerhouses are still in tact:  The Lakers look great.  The Spurs are showing their age, but still getting the job done.  Dallas is gonna be a tough team for anyone this year.  Portland made some key pick-ups too, and they're my Home team.  If you've never been to the Rose Garden for an important Western Conference match-up, you haven't LIVED.  But there's upstarts.. Insurgents if you will.  The perma-struggling Clippers now have that three horse stable I mentioned.  Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeShawn Jordan.  That's two VERY good big fellas in the paint, and one of the most dangerous point guards in the NBA, along with Eric Gordon at the 2.  I'm sold.. In fact, I think the Clippers will make the playoffs this year.  However, I very strongly feel that the West is gonna come down to two teams.  Dallas and (Drum roll please...) MINNESOTA!  That's right.  Our Lake Oswego native, Kevin Love, who showed stellar play last season, averaging a double-double (I think he was averaging 17 PPG and 15 RPG) and currently holds the longest streak of double-doubles in the NBA, got himself an amazing little Spaniard.  Ricky Rubio's young, flashy, and absolutely brilliant in what I've seen of him.  Even showboating like he's playing on the black top, Rubio's play looks fluid, effortless, and most importantly, EFFECTIVE.  While my last NBA post mentioned wanting to see Kevin Love come home to Portland (I still wanna see that, by the way!) he's a great fit for the Timberwolves.  Face of the franchise in the post-KG era.  I wish him nothing but the best, and if Rubio keeps up the amazing level of play he showed in the preseason and in Spain, they'll have an amazing season.

This also gives me an idea for tomorrow's blog!  Stay tuned.

Societal Rejects: Why I want to hit them like they're grown men.. and can't. :(

Preface:  Pardon my language.. or don't.  I really don't give a shit right now, and I'm not gonna censor myself.  If you can't handle that, this is a great time to stop reading.

The cause of this whole frustrated post is a very simple action:  The Sack Tap. 

Typically reserved for good friends when you're feeling exceptionally spiteful, or malicious lovers that wanna see you squirm (You know who you are. ;)).  It can be performed forehand or backhand and either way, it really kinda sucks.  Who likes getting hit in the balls with anything other than female parts mid-coitus? 

When you should NOT sack tap someone:  When they're already a mutual dislike and alcohol involved. 

Seriously, what the FUCK kind of childish idiot, knowing (or not.. who knows?) that the only logical reaction to getting smacked in the nuts is for the recipient to try to cave your stupid-looking face in, thinks that this is a good idea?!  If you two already don't like each other, start with a KICK to the nuts.  Boom.  Game over.  Am I right fellas?  But to just tap a guy in the nuts hard enough to be a mild annoyance, you're gonna get mashed on.  Hard.  Like you have a pair yourself, which you obviously fucking DON'T or you would have just socked the other guy in the mouth. 

This is supposed to be the happiest time of year.  People enjoy the company of their families (Assuming they have some), give and receive gifts, and feast like Gods!  Instead, as Christmas draws closer, people seem to want to fight that much more.  I'm sorry, but that tells me that your life just plains SUCKS in your opinion.  Wanna borrow mine?  I thrive on stress that would cause most people ulcers or drive them to drugs.  I deal with so much emotional pain from deaths and other losses that a lot of other people would have already figured out exactly what the barrel of their favorite pistol tastes like a hundred times over.. and repainted their ceiling by suck-starting the damn thing.  I still wake up at least twice a week and grab the phone to call my mom.. and she's IN A FUCKING URN.  Everybody wave to the pretty ocean scene on top of my entertainment center.  So forgive me if I have so little compassion left for your petty bullshit that all I wanna do is hit you people like you're grown men.  I just wish people would act like they really are grown folks.

So ask yourself, why is it that I haven't ground your faces into the parking lot until they're just pulp on the concrete?  The answer is simple.

I have bills to pay, and I can't do that from a prison cell.