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Standing strong while others run a hundred miles....
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| Time to remove religion from the courtroom |
| 09.30.04 (2:12 pm) [edit] |
Something popped into my mind as I sit here in my computer class.
When they swear you in to testify truthfully in court, why do most judges add "So help you God?" Where does this tradition come from? Is it even necessary?
The last time I was in court for the divorce crap, the judge called me up, asked me to raise my right hand, and said "Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth?" I was suprised and impressed by this. In this area... the buckle of the bible belt, it is a bold move to remove any references to religion in the swearing in.
I also think its a realistic move. I think its time that the justice system realizes two things:
1. This country is not made up of soley Judeo-Christian people. There are people from all sorts of different religious backgrounds and faiths. You aren't always going to get a Christian or a Jew on the stand. The "so help me God" statement may end up being meaninless... or even offensive to them.
2. There are people who place no importance on religion in their lives. Thus, swearing to any god really means nothing to them.
Could you imagine if a defendent in a trail objected to swearing to God in the courtroom? Could you imagine the assumptions that would be in some of the jurors... or perhaps even in the mind of the judge, especually if he or she is religious. Fairness and impartialness would fly right out the window.
Or could you imagine the uproar if some judge started saying, "So help you, Allah?" or "so help you (insert other gods name here)?"
Some would argue that its an issue of religious liberty... but in the circumstance I just pointed out, we all know from experience that liberty is not a two way street....
The whole "So help you God" tradition is outdated and unnecessary. Swearing to God or gods or any dieties is not a guarentee that someone isn't going to lie. Heck, they may lie, and then simply ask for forgiveness later.
I went to court without having to swear to God that my testimony was the truth. I just had to say it was the truth. And guess what, my testimony was just as valid as any testimony sworn to God or gods or the neighbors chihuahua.
Organized religion has such a stranglehold on our lives as it is. And as I have said in the past, faith should be a private thing. I don't believe it has any place in the public record, so to speak...
Current Mood: 8)
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| Off I skip |
| 09.30.04 (12:04 pm) [edit] |
Yay, now I get to go take a standardized, scantron multipule guess test in my 100 level Biology class that I am not taking by choice and I am not really getting anything out of!
(bet you can't tell I am faking my excitement)
I haven't studied, but its a freshmen level class so I should roll thru it fairly quickly and easily.
I think there are either 10 or 11 weeks to go in this forsaken semester... but who's counting?
Its either 10 or 11... I have to check my planner. I started a countdown in it.... oh... I guess that means I'm counting. lol!
*edit HOLY CRAP! I finished the test in seven minutes!*
Current Mood: :?
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| Both sides, quit the tired rethoric |
| 09.30.04 (12:20 am) [edit] |
This election can poison even the most passionate political person. Between the ads on tv, the polls that say one person is winning one day... then the next day the other dude is winning... not to mention all the hate filled bile from supporters of both sides in the real world AND on Tblog... this election cycle is becoming unbearable.
I could tackle several issues... like the general asshole feeling Bush puts out or the uppity I-can't-connect-with-Joe- American vibe Kerry is radiating. I could spend several blogs going on about the people on both sides of the political debate who feel the need to fill the "recent blogs" column with "headline" after "headline"... sometimes repeating the same thing 5 or 6 times in a row.
But right now, the thing that irritates me the most is the tired rethoric.
And if I am mispelling rethoric, forgive me. Read my previous blog. Between cleaning shit out of the carpet, running the kid all over the damn place, and trying to save a book he decided to try to read in the bathtub, I am fucking tired. When I am tired, I can't spell, and I ramble.
Where was I? Oh yes, the tired rethoric. The same ol' generic insults/lables that each side tosses at the other. Lets look at the most tired of the tired:
[b]Tax-and-Spend-Democrat [/b]
Ok, I am sure that this tired line lights a fire underneath the asses of fiscal conservitives. However, it is not very damn likely that Democrats sit around thinking about ways to tax people, and then how to spend that money. I cannot recall a time in the past 20 years when Democrats came into power and made taxing-and-spending their priority. I have never seen a Democratic administration at any level that raised taxes more than a reasonable amount... and the items they spent any additional money on were either existing problems, or new programs that were helpful. The spending in general was never seriously frivilous, and both the spending and the taxing were not done willy-nilly. Hell, I have seen Democrats CUT taxes and spending in times when Republicans were proposing more spending... and even raising taxes.
So cut the crap. Voting for a Democrat does not equal automatic tax hikes and wild, uncontroled spending.
[b]Republicans are war mongers[/b]
There are few people that enjoy war. I do not believe that Republicans are war obsessed. Republicans do not sit around masturbating, thinking about which country we can invade. They do not get enjoyment out of sending fellow citizens off to foreign lands to risk their lives or to die. Defence and the whole "American way" philosophy are the nitche of the Republican party. They focused on it during the Cold War era, they focus on it now. I doubt they will ever stop focusing on defence. It puts votes in their column. However, they focus on defence... not offence. So please, lets stop with the whole "republicans are going to bring a war to every shore" thing, k?
The sad thing is, there are people who still buy this rethoric. I have heard people bitch about how Democrats will just raise their taxes, or how Republicans want to nuke everybody. Perhaps if we can stop the tired rethoric, we can learn more about what the parties TRUELY stand for, and make more informed decisions as a society.
And perhaps make the elections a bit less poisoness.
Current Mood: :!:
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| The fridge, the sink, the shit from hell.... |
| 09.29.04 (1:45 pm) [edit] |
After a couple of months of badgering, I finally got the landlord to come fix my sink and get someone out here to fix my fridge. Both on my day off, both at the same time.
Things go fairly well repair wise, especually when what I told the landlord was wrong with the sink... that he denied... turned out to be wrong. ha!
The highlights: My landlord shows up. He is one of those upper middle class people. Thinks everything must be middle class clean all the time. The appartment is fine, but the dude decides to show up right after I fed the tot pizza rolls for lunch. The kid is covered in pizza sauce. Naturally, the dude makes a comment about how messy the kid is, and shakes his head disapprovingly. oye.
And it gets better. As the guys were working, my son decides that when people are visiting is the perfect time to take a monster crap. Now, normally I let him wear the diaper for awhile... I have been told by several sources that once kids connect the icky feeling in their diaper with the stuff that comes out down there, they will want to use to toilet more to avoid that feeling. But with the wonderful smell of shit in the air, along with the possibility that the guys might call Child Services, I have to alter my parenting. So I call the tot into the other room, saying its time to change his diaper.
Thats where the fun begins. See, he has been trying to be a big helper. When he needs a diaper change, he will actually take his diaper off now. This is an important step in potty training and in personal developement. So, he drops his diaper right there near those guys working in the kitchen. I was trying to get him away from them... after all, other than the kids parents, who wants to see a kids shit covered ass.....
Well, I call to him again. Ohh.... now it clicks that I want him to come to me. Well, here he comes running, shit filled diaper around his ankles. I run up to grab him, and he tries to shake the diaper off, stepping in his shit and tracking it across a throw rug.
Yah! More laundry!
A quick smack on the ass and a rince in the tub lead to him screaming like I was trying to punch his face in. Yah... that helps.
But now the fridge is fixed, the sink is fixed, and the throw rug is in the dryer. All is calm.... for now.
Current Mood: :roll:
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| Getting things done |
| 09.27.04 (5:50 pm) [edit] |
I am really looking forward to next Thursday and Friday. I have those days off of school, and at least one of them off work, and I am going to get things done.
How do I know I am going to get things done? I will send the tot to daycare.
Thus, I will be able to go to the dentist and get everything done... since those bastards dont like to do xrays when you have a kid with you. I will be also be able to shop in peace. And most importantly, I WILL finish my writting project that I have been working on for a couple of years. I have set Oct 10th as my deadline, and I am NOT moving it back again.
Of course, I wouldn't mind if I got MYSELF done that weekend too, if you know what I mean... lol! But thats another post....
I just look forward to catching up on all my backlog of work. After all, you have to get caught up before you can get ahead.
Oh, speaking of head, I have two female friends who work in the same department that I work in who are fucking managers.
Gee, to be 19 and have firm tits and a tight round little ass, then maybe I could get ahead at work.... lol!
Current Mood: 8)
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| Clown sex |
| 09.25.04 (6:15 pm) [edit] |
The thought popped into my head today... have you ever fantasized about having clown sex?
I suppose it could be done two ways. You could both dress up like clowns, and have hot sex. Or you could just have your partner dress up in clown gear and try to seduce you.... by... um... juggling? Making ballon animals? Honking a bike horn?
Eh, I am sure a person could be turned on by a clown... somehow.
Perhaps there could be some role play too. You could pretend to not have any money to pay the clown for entertaining at your kids birthday party, so you pay the classic porn way. Or maybe you pick up a "stranger" in a bar, and they happen to be a clown. Or there is the whole clown and "ring master" fantasy.
I don't know. I think having clown sex would be interesting. It would be something different and unique that would spice things up. Bike horn honks that get faster as the sex gets hotter...instead of one dildo, they pull out twenty like clowns out of a clown car.... and a unicycle just HAS to be involved somehow...
But then again, we all know what the orgasm face of the clown would look like:
I am not sure if seeing that would make me laugh or cry.....
But then again, at least I would be getting some...
Send in the clowns, baby!
Current mood: :shock:
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| Door to door "voter registration" |
| 09.24.04 (6:55 pm) [edit] |
As I was cooking din din for the tot, there came a knock at my door. I peep out the whole, and there is an old lady outside. Curious, I open the door.
"Hello, I am from the local Republican Party, and I was just going door to door to make sure we could count on your support for George Bush on November 2nd."
Boy, did the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. What a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. You claim to be a supporter, and you get on the Republican begging-for-money- mailing list. You say you don't support Bush, and you name goes on a different list... used for purposed I don't want to really think about in the post Patriot Act world.
I told her I had not decided. She asked if I was registered to vote. I am registered but I told her no, thinking she would go away. Her responce:
"Well, I can register you to vote right now if you think you are going to vote for Bush on November 2nd."
Heh. This amused me. I jokingly asked her if she could register anybody, or did they have to be Bush supporters.
Her reply...
"Well, legally I can register anyone, but I am only going to register loyal Bush supporters. I am paid by the Republican party, so I am out to register people who support our platform."
I am not sure if that kind of partisan democracy should make me laugh at its insanity, or cry at the state of american politics.
I informed her I would register later, and she wandered down to the next appartment. I looked out the window, there were people wandering up and down the street going door to door, doing the same thing.
They knocked two more times. I didn't answer. For the first time in a long time, I fear the voting process. I don't like a partisan spin on voter registration... and I sure as hell don't like people taking lists of who supports who...especually when its linked to my address. Who knows how that info may be used.
Current Mood: :arrow:
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| A have-to day |
| 09.23.04 (5:52 am) [edit] |
Today is one of those have-to days.
I have to get my TB test read, otherwise I can't start my practicum on Friday. I have a once a week class that if you miss more than once, the teacher can fail you... she says its "university policy". I have to go to a career fair today for another class... not to mention my typical class load.
So of course, what better day for my tot to get sick?
I had to skip my first class to take him to the doc. He has tonsilitus AGAIN. And he has a fever. So that means no daycare this morning and a trip to the pharmacy.
Right now, I have the tot sleeping in his stroller. I am waiting for the career fair to start and for his perscriptions to be filled. Then I get to run him home and hope his fever goes down enough so I can ake him to daycare tonight so I don't miss my night class.
THEN I can dope him up and pray he can make daycare tomorrow so I can go to work and my practicum...
Right now, my ex is complaining about not being able to sleep in til noon today. Fucking cunt got woken up early, and is tired after another long and important night of gaming! Now she might be so tired she will have to sit around watching tv all day, instead of sitting around gaming all day.
"Gee gnomie, have you seen any child support lately?" you ask......
Nay, I say. I haven't seen suppot of ANY kind raising my child lately.
But thats ok, as long as life is easier for her... thats what matters.
*cough*
Current Mood: :evil:
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| Coach this |
| 09.22.04 (6:13 pm) [edit] |
Ok, think back to high school, and tell me a few things about your Social Studies teachers.
Go on...
I can wait.
Interesting.
Now, while I didn't hear a damn thing you said, I bet your first few words were along the lines of "Well, Coach ____ was my History teacher..." or "The football coach taught geography in my school..."
Most likely, when you think about your Social Studies teachers, you think about coaches. It seems that when schools hire coaches and insist that they pretend to be educators and attempt to teach something, they pick social studies.
While I play alot of sports casually, I can coach about... none.
Well, I can coach alot of sports, but the teams won't be very good.
Why am I mentioning this? Well, earlier I was doing a job search. Yes, I realize that most teaching jobs are not posted until March. However, I like to practice the search... and I like to see whats out there.
I had no real luck... until I came across one site with one job listing under social studies. I was excited to find it! Until the page loaded...
And the job listing was for an Assistant Football Coach.
Current Mood: :roll:
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| A high school moment |
| 09.21.04 (3:39 pm) [edit] |
So I had my Biology lab this afternoon. Its a once a week piece of hell. The G.A. can't teach his way out of a wet paper bag... yet at the same time, he thinks his class is so important that he wants to keep us the entire time.
Well, he left the lab for a minute, and I looked at the clock. Then I did something I haven't done in years. I climbed up on a chair, and moved the clock ahead about 8 minutes. Got down and sat down... and the GA comes back in. Nobody in the class says a word.
And what do you know... we got out 8 minutes early. lol!
Ok... it is high schoolish. But I will admit, its not the first time I have done it in a college class.
I think its people like me that inspired the university to install radio controlled clocks in some classrooms.
Current Mood: :)
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| Halloween standing strong |
| 09.21.04 (6:40 am) [edit] |
I remember going to the grocery store the last couple of days of August, and being suprised to see Halloween candy.
I went to Target on Sept 1, and I saw they had their Halloween decorations up for sale.
At work, we started getting our limited Halloween selection on the same trucks that we got our oodles and oodles of Xmas stuff.
Yet, none of it clicked with me until after my trip to the oil change place on Sunday. As I was driving around, there were two different people in costumes at two different places in town, holding signs that informed passers-by that the Halloween shops were now open for all our costume and prop needs. A quick trip into KMart confirmed that Halloween was going full blast.
Its really nice to know that Halloween can hold off Xmas. Yes, many stores are putting out their Xmas trees and decorations already, but they also have a nice section for Halloween stuff. Most sections I have seen are a bit bigger than last year.
Looks like Halloween is becoming more and more popular every year. That makes me very happy. I am glad to see it standing strong, and carving out its own area of domination.
I actually think that Halloween and Xmas really compliment each other quite well. Heck, considering that they were both based origionally on Pagan holidays and spiritual traditions... they play off each other quite well. In contrast there is balance... so to speak.
Of course, there are people who feel pity for Thanksgiving, especually since it has been swallowed up by Xmas. However... I am not one of those people. I never did like Thanksgiving. lol!
Current Mood: :lol:
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| Minus 20 |
| 09.20.04 (5:21 pm) [edit] |
I weighted myself last night. I am down to 180! I have not been 180 for several years.
Since my ex left, I have lost between 15-20 pounds. A combo of less stress, more control and effort on my part to keep an eye on what I eat, and cutting soda 95% out of my diet has trimmed me down.
Not that I was looking to lose weight, or did I start a "diet." I am just amazed at what a change in lifestyle has done.
In other news... not sure if I have blogged about this already or not... I found out that I was basicly the "back up plan" for a girl I was interested in. Of course, she won't put it like that. However, its amazing how she went from being totally into me to hardly saying a peep after she met some.... now get this... twenty year old guy.
Its deja vu all over again. lol!
Aw well, time to check the mail. Have a pile of it to sort thru. Hopefully I will have time during my computer class on Tuesday to post. I find myself with little concentration to post intellectual posts at home.
Gee, wonder if a toddler has anything to do with that. lol!
Current Mood: :o
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| The oil change that spun out of control |
| 09.19.04 (5:32 pm) [edit] |
Well, over the past two or three years, I have had a bit of a dark time in my life. One of the effects of that dark time is a lack of car maintainence. I really let the car go... looks and running-wise.
Well, I would say around a year and three months ago, I started to turn things around. I moved to a better place with better jobs, I decided to return to school, and I started taking pride in my car again. Of course, by this point it was an old beater. A toddler in the back seat and an accident prone wife will destroy a car pretty fast.
I kid you not, she was a bad driver. However, thats another post for another time.
But none the less, I started to clean the car up. I was not gonna get it into new condition, but it wasn't going to be a ghetto sled anymore either. I was gonna start with the appearance, and as I saved up the money, I would start getting the car mechanicly back into shape.
Then my wife decided she didn't want to be my wife anymore... and I lost my motivation for a few months.
As the shock of that faded, I started getting back into the mindframe of fixing the car up again. I went out and got some stuff to clean the stains out of the seats. Thats as far as I got because then... in classic fashion for her... my ex wrecked the car AGAIN.
After she was gone a couple of weeks, I was sitting in the car at work, and I realized that it was destined to be an ol' beater. There was no way I was ever gonna fix it up to look nice again... or have it be a reliable, "lets go on a roadtrip on a whim" type of car again. I decided to start the long process of saving up to get a new car.
But until the great day when I can drive off the lot of a car dealer with a new car... and call the tow truck to take my old p.o.s. to the junk yard.... I have to drive the p.o.s. And that p.o.s. needs maintainence. Bad.
So I decided to start with an oil change, since I haven't gotten one in almost 2 years. With a coupon in hand, I head off to an oil change place.
Well, it starts as an oil change. I decide to let them give me a tire rotation, since they do them for free on Sundays or something. So they crank it up onto their litte lift, and I saw the guy's jaw drop. Let me list the things they found that they fixed.
* On one side of the front end, I was missing the rubber boot over where the tie rod connects to the wheel. I knew it was going out for awhile now. All that was left was about half of a rubber ring. Without that boot fully in place, the grease that lubes up that joint won't stay in place. Got that replaced.
* Had a link pin bushing that was almost gone and another one that was cracked. Got those replaced as well. Also, one of the pins was damaged, so got that fixed too.
* My power steering pump is slowly dying. Apparently, it has a pretty bad leak. Since they were doing some other work, I got them to top off that for free. Hopefully that Fix a Leak stuff will slow down its death...
Oh, there is other stuff they found wrong down there. Some of it trivial, some of it I know is legit. I got out of there for around 80 bucks with just the repairs listed above and the oil change. If I would have fixed all they found wrong, I would have to invest over a thousand bucks. They made the offer to fix it all today... but by golly, I just don't shit gold bricks often enough to take them up on their repair offer.
But at least I got my oil change.
And they invited me back in three thousand miles.
The odometer works only about half the time. So I should reach the need for an oil change sometime... oh... in the next two or three years.
I just hope I don't drive this car by then.
Current Mood: :?
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| Dirty tot |
| 09.17.04 (4:53 pm) [edit] |
I can't figure out how the kid gets so dirty at preschool. Its not like they throw the kids in piles of mud.
It took me a while to get all the dirt off and out of him during his bath tonight.
Now he is just playin in the bubbles.... he is so cute.
Current Mood: :)
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| UPS, Mac loving teachers, and wannabe players... |
| 09.16.04 (8:56 am) [edit] |
I'll take "Things that suck" for 500, Alex.
Well, after the nightmare of trying to use the UPS website to track my package (its a nice concept, WHEN IT WORKS), driving out to the main UPS depot to confront them about the lies they posted in my tracking on their website (they said they have been by to deliver the package but nobody was home... WHEN I WAS HOME), they apparently radioed the truck and told the UPS driver that they have better swing the package by my apartment before their next union break or I would cause more trouble.
Thus, I have my nice new memory stick... or Jump Drive... or whatever people are calling them these days. I ran into about twenty different names for the damn thing when I went shopping for it. I just call it a memory stick.
Would you like to touch it? Go on, pet my stick.
Please?
:lol:
Anyway, I got my package. I am happy. Still won't shop at Circuit City again. Understocked bastards.
Moving on, I went to download a document from a teacher who claims to be a tech wiz. Turns out, the "wiz" forgot to add the extentions to ALL of her documents she uploaded for class use. When I tried to add them myself, half of the documents were gibberish.
Oh well, so much for the extra credit in that class.
I sent her a nice email, explaining her error. Hopefully this will cut her down a few notches.
Then again, she is a Mac user....
Speaking of mac.. or should I say mack.... I am watching some guy get his mack on with some chick in the computer lab. The lab is empty... and I don't think they realize I am back here.
She is friendly enough with him, but I think she is getting annoyed with all his attempts to amuse her.
Oh... wait... he is asking for her email or phone number.... and.... and.... OHHH! She says she doesn't check email, and she "hasn't gotten around to getting a local phone yet."
REJECTED!
Now he is whispering.... WOW, she slapped the shit out of him.... and there she goes storming out.
And he calls her a bitch as she leaves. Harsh. Dude, when you play the game, you are gonna get rejected now and then. Don't take it so bad when it happens. Thats part of the challange.
Oh well, better get SOMETHING productive done with my spare time....
Current Mood: :idea:
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| Waiting for the damn UPS fucker |
| 09.15.04 (7:33 am) [edit] |
Well, I went to buy something from Circuit City on Sunday. It was a real bargin.
And of course, being Circuit City, that means that they were way understocked.
Honestly, I hate Circuit City. Between their poor selections, shitty service, understocking, and their general attitude... they just suck. I really hope Best Buy will run those fuckers out of business.
However, I am not one to turn down a good bargin.
At any rate, I got to the store, and they were sold out as usual. So they offered to ship it to me for free. And I accepted. Now all I have is a reciept and a tracking number from UPS.
Dealing with UPS is almost as bad as dealing with Circuit City. Right now, my item is on a truck in town, ready for delivery. Its been on the truck since 6:15 am.
Which means I may see it in the next three days.
I am being sarcastic. However, I hate the fact that UPS will go to all their business clients first. I am a little over a mile from the UPS depot in town... but since I am an individual, I am low on their priority. I imagine that sometime around 7pm tonight the UPS dude will be on his way back to the depot. The UPS dude will drive by my apartment, slow down to about 15mph, toss the package in the tree out front, and if i am lucky... he may honk his horn.
Seriously, I have had the fuckers come to my door, knock once, and when I get up to the door, they are climbing back into their truck. I have had to chase one of the fuckers down to get a package.
Knowing my luck... the fucker will show up when I am gone with the tot at therapy.
Oh well... on a lighter note, the tot brought in a can of peaches. So I opened them, and put some in a bowl for him. He takes the bowl and runs over to the microwave... opens the door,and tries to put the peaches in.
A gormet chef he is not.....
Current Mood: :idea:
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| I'm a terrorist |
| 09.14.04 (11:36 am) [edit] |
As I enter my second practicum this semester... and as I go towards my semester of student teaching in the spring... I am required to obtain classroom liability insurance. This insurance is required by the school so I will be covered in case something bad happens, or I am accused of something bad, in the classroom.
This also gets my university off the hook from being sued.
Yah, I am sure they are looking out for MY best interests *cough*
Anyway, after shopping around for liability insurance, including stuff that would help me cover lawyers fees, I decided to join the National Educators Association. The good ol' NEA.
What does that mean for me? That means I get between 1 to 2 million dollars of liability insurance, legal representation and advice, plus a whole laundry list of other perks that I have not even begun to look thru yet for about 20 bucks a year. Not too shabby... especually considering how much the insurance alone would have cost me.
However, according to Education Secretary Rod Paige, I am now a part of a terrorist organization.
Funny, I have not felt the urge to blow anybody up over the past few hours. Additionally, I have looked it over a couple of times, and the NEA homepage mentions nothing about flight training. It offers great CD rates for investments, but it doesn't offer courses on how to use box cutters to take over airplanes and buses.
Perhaps its that 15% discount that I will get at Avis when I rent a car that makes me a terrorist. Or do the low-interest credit card offers I will get put me in bed with Bin Laden?
I signed up for the NEA during my computer class. After all, why not do the dirty deed on a college campus, where we get a liberal arts education... the foundation of terrorism. I was concerned about Ashcroft leading an armed assault on the classroom... so like a good American, I went up to my teacher and informed him of the terrorist activities I was taking part in during his class. He just laughed and mentioned he is a member of the NEA as well.
Holy crap! We terrorists be everywhere! Watch out!
Current Mood: :wink:
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| Breakfast food sucks |
| 09.14.04 (6:25 am) [edit] |
I have one break on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It starts at 9:15 and ends at 11. If I don't eat during that time, I won't be able to eat again until damn near 6pm.
However, the problem with this time of day is that all the restaurants on campus are serving their breakfast menues... you know, the food for the sadistic fucks who actually enjoy getting up and eating this damn early in the day.
Omlets... waffles... breakfast "burritos".... it all sucks, IMO.
Luckily, I found a restaurant that will let you get grilled cheese sandwitches and tator tots this time of day.
No fries, mind you. Has to be tator tots. Even tho fries are basicly the same as tator tots, for some reason there is apparently some law that states you can't cook fries before 10:45a.m. Perhaps people can't digest long cut up potatos before noon... but chopped up potatos in little balls are somehow ok.
At any rate, not only do I hate the smell and taste of most breakfast food, I also hate the fact that it takes forever to prepare. And naturally, I eat at a place that has to serve people in order. Thus, while my food takes about a minute to make, I must stand and wait for other orders that are before mine. I twist in the wind as they pour out the batter for whatever breakfast slop comes out of a milk carton and is fried on a grill. Then they must take all the time to cook it, and the bacon and the sausage etc etc. Then they must summon the sacred chicken to lay the sacred eggs for the sacred omlet... and that typically involves a virgin sacrifice... after all, the chicken is SACRED. And let me tell you, its not easy to find a virgin on a college campus... and when one is tracked down, those fucking virgins don't die quickly, either!
They just need to cut all the bacon/omlet/hash browns/eggs/coffee crap out of their menu. Just serve microwaved Eggos and Jello.
Or better yet, serve the damn lunch menu all day long.
Current Mood: :shock:
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| I miss the media |
| 09.12.04 (4:37 pm) [edit] |
As I have been working thru my teacher certification lately, I have found that I am starting to miss my days of working in radio and tv.
Don't get me wrong, the teaching stuff is great. However, there is something nice about sitting in a radio station, talking into the ether and playing music for the masses. I miss making commercials. I miss spending hours on a thirty second spot, trying to make it perfect. Heck, I even miss the radio culture.
I also miss editing video. I am probably the only person I ever met who found the editing to be the best part. I love freestyle shooting video... from a bunch of different perspectives... then getting into the lab and editing it together.
I guess thats the artistic part of me coming thru.
I am in a really uncreative part of my academic career, I guess. Right now, its not about the art of teaching. All we focus on this semester in my teaching courses are the standards... the rules... the nitpicking regulations. And my other classes that aren't teaching related... they are on the opposite end of the spectrum of creative. I mean... Biology for Non Majors! Woo Hoo! I can really use my creative side in THAT class.
*cough*
I hope all this will pay off, and I will be able to find a teaching job at a school that has a radio and/or tv program. My dream is to use both my social studies certificaiton and my journalism certification. Teach stuff like geography and tv production. That way, I can combine my interests.
In the meantime, I may look into a couple of volunteer radio stations we have in these parts. Its better than nothing.
Assuming I can ever find the time....
Current Mood: :?
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| car wash |
| 09.11.04 (6:21 pm) [edit] |
The big event of the day was taking the tot thru an automatic car wash. Some place in town had a grand opening featuring buck car washes, and I couldn't resist. The kid LOVES riding thru those things.
The bad part about getting to the gas station with the car wash was getting thru all the Harley riders. Seems that there is some statewide convention in town this week, and they are EVERYWHERE. And every stereotype for bikers you can think of... swerving, changing lanes at dangerous times, taking stupid risks, rubbernecking... I saw them all.
Plus, they sat along several of the roads in town, just looking at the traffic go by. It was a bit un-nerving.
Oh, and to top it off, they decided to have a parade on the spur of the moment down the street where the car wash was. So there was this line of several thousand bikes, running red lights so they could stay in line, driving down the road. Traffic was backed up in most parking lots and streets for a long time.
In the parking lot of the gas station, there was a line of morons trying to turn left. I had to do some manuvering, but I was able to get around the SUV's that were in my way, and I snuck out the back of the lot and down a side street.
Yah, that four wheel drive does those SUV drivers alot of good when they are too chickenshit to use it. lol!
Finally, I got home and got a message from the lawyer. I should be getting my divorce decree in the mail any day now. I can't wait to get that dark cloud from over my head.
I mean, my car is clean... I would like to have my social life clean as well. lol!
Current Mood: 8)
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| Cry a river for Florida |
| 09.09.04 (8:57 am) [edit] |
While I am not one who tends to celebrate in the tragic events of other's lives, I must admit I see a sence of irony in the weather over the past few weeks.
Many times have I seen Floridians on message boards and in chats making fun of Northerners during the winter. Here is how it will typically go:
Cold Person 1: Man, its snowing here! Its 10 below zero.
Cold Person 2: No snow here, but we have some ice and its 5 above zero.
Floridian Jackass: Man, I am freezing. It got down to 59 degrees last night!
Cold Person 1: F*@k you!
Floridian Jackass: What? I had to CLOSE my windows last night!
Cold Person 2: ...
But now, Florida has been treated like a skinny white dude in a prison shower who has dropped the soap thanks to the hurricanes.
Now the conversations go like this:
Cold Person 1: Man, its 75 and sunny today here.
Cold Person 2: Its nice, we got some sprinkles earlier. Gonna be in the 80's today.
Cold Person 1: Where is Florida Jackass?
Cold Person 2: Well, I don't know, but judging by the Weather Channel, they are under a 10 foot tidal surge right now.
Cold Person 1: Oh yah, and with those 90MPH winds, its kinda hard to keep the power lines up. Ha!
He he he!
At any rate, scored a phone number from a chick at work. I don't see much happening from it. But hey, she seemed pretty cool, and she will make a good friend. And if more happens... who am I to question?
Oh crap, the teacher wants us to work in class. WTF. lol!
Current Mood: :)
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| The Dentist |
| 09.08.04 (4:36 pm) [edit] |
I finally found a dentist who would see me. It has been about three years. But this is a new dentist in town, and they are taking everyone they can.
Well, I think they are a bit too new. I got there for my appointment at 11. In the lobby there were people who had appointments at 9:45. They had no real organinzation, and the office was a mess. The best part was when the landlord came in and wanted the rent, because they had forgotten to pay it.
Well, I got back into the dentist chair finally... only 45 minutes late. Since its been a long time, I needed the full run of xrays. They haven't gotten their external xray machine, so I had to do the bitewings. I only puked once.
With my gag reflex, thats pretty good.
In any case, I have a treatment plan with them now, and I am locked in as a patient. And hopefully they will be able to find an oral surgeon who will take me to cut my wisdom teeth out. It is VERY hard for people in my income bracket to find an oral surgeon who will work on us. They are some of the greediest people I have ran into... But thats another rant for another time.
Otherwise, the day was full of running the tot to his therapy, then I had to make up a test I missed on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, more tests and homework and petty attendence requirements. Then... I can look forward to two full days of working! Yippie!
From the countdown I did in my notebook, after this week there are only 13 more to go this semester... wee!
Anywho, I need to work with the tot on dressing himself. Lots of fun.
Current Mood: 8)
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| In Loving Memory |
| 09.06.04 (12:41 pm) [edit] |
Bow your mother fuckin head for a moment as we honor the memory of Shawn Squirrel.
*not really a pic of Shawn
Shawn was born on the cold, mean, heartless streets. He was just another ghetto bastard, and he never knew his dad. All he had was his mom and his 26 brothers and sisters.
Being the oldest, he would work to help his mom put berries on the table. He didn't have time for school. He didn't have time for play.
His entire family was killed when a road construction crew came thru and cut down his home in order to expand the size of the parking lot at the fairgrounds. Luckily for Shawn, he was out gathering grass for his 17th sisters birthday party. However, the pain of his loss ripped his heart apart. He found comfort in a half empty can of Old Gold he discovered in the gutter.
Shawn's only home was the streets. His teacher was life. His homies became his family. His clique included a fox squirrel named T-Dog and C-Money...a chimpmunk. There were many times they would hop in C-Money's phat ride ( a roller skate) and go cruising down the hill to the park where the best trash cans were. Slanging walnuts, sippin on discarded 40's, and roughin up punk ass robins were daily activities.
And since he was a squirrel, Shawn was always out to get his nut.
Then one day, T-Dog and C-Money disappeared. It goes that way, least thats what they say when you play the game.
Indeed, Shawn sat up at night, thinking about how he would die. Would it come from a pest trap? Or a drive by shooting? Would a neighborhood cat gank him from behind?
It didn't matter to Shawn. He just wanted to go out like a man.... or at least a manly squirrel.
Well, Shawn met his end this morning. It wasn't in a shoot out, or a cat, or a gang fight. Shawn saw some fly hoochies on the other side of the street. He was getting his groove on, and they waved him over. Nobody ever told him to look both ways before crossing the street... and thus he met his end under the passanger side tire of my car.
Shawn Squirrel. Born on the streets, lived on the streets... died on the streets.
Rest In Peace.
*pours a 40 of Kool Aid out on the ground in memory*
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| How college profs treat adults like kids |
| 09.05.04 (5:11 pm) [edit] |
Well, on Tuesday I will have to take care of some financial matters, and I will miss a class or two. And because of this emergency, I will miss out on some "in class activity."
You know, stuff for points to 'encourage' students to attend. I find its the most pathetic teachers in the most basic level classes who resort to petty points games when it comes to attendence.
I had one of these last semester. I know his story.... or stories like it. He got tired of the fact that students could skip all his lectures and still get an A on his tests. Thus, punitive attendence measures were in his plans.
This semester, I get alot of the "partisipation points" teachers. Again, more of the people who can't teach well enough to get good attendance on their own, or who's subject matter is so basic that a person can learn much of it on their own....and thus they have to resort to other measures to get good attendence... and make themselves feel important.
The more I go to school, the more I realize the old saying is somewhat true:
Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach...are college professors.
Current Mood: :roll:
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| Another example of the problem with organized religion |
| 09.04.04 (5:40 pm) [edit] |
I saw this charming little work of art on another blog:
As a very independent minded person, this disturbs me to my core.
Read the five lines of though.
The first one, I have no problem with. I feel that faith is a personal matter, and if you have faith in a certain path of salvation, you need to develop it into something that fits your needs.
Number 2 isn't so bad. It makes alot of sence. But I wouldn't call it "ministry," I would call it common sence. Every religious path has that... the fact that this particular faith considers it a mission of sorts makes it go beyond the one on one common sence, and shapes it into a "tool" of sorts.
A tool for what? Glad you asked.
Numbers 3 and 4. At that point, the faith goes beyond the one on one interaction. It even goes beyond the intimacy of a few people gathered together to share their thoughts willingly. Three and Four turn faith into a marketing campaign. For this church, its not about a person or people getting together, coming of their own free will and finding their path to that gathering on their own to share their faith. Now its all about getting asses in the seats. Its about going out and finding people and trying to "save" them, and bring them into the flock.
Here is the intersting thing. Most people who are "saved" via conversion by those who go out and do it because their church tells them they have to do it... those who come into the flock are brought in one of two ways.... they are either found in a moment of weakness/confussion and the "answers" they are told by these groups fill some "need". But one must wonder... if you come to answers in a time when you are not strong... and you let that mode of thinking into your life... are they really the answers you seek? After all, if you are in a time of weakness (youth, depression, loneliness etc etc), you typically don't have your logic at full capacity. The "answers" that group gives you... and one must wonder about their true motivation in the first place... might really be lies that you make up for all that you lack at that moment.
Is that really the answers people need?
Of course.. the other way this type of salvation comes along is via force... faith delivered from the end of a gun or a sword.... or via taking the essensials of survival, and only returning them in exchange for loyality. I have noticed this has been a part of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition... its an ugly part that people seem to ignore. Don't get me wrong... perhaps Hindu's or Buddists or Wiccans have converted people with the idea of "follow my way of thought or you will die." Although I can't really think of any examples. In any case, one must really question what good this kind of "salvation" does for the "converts" who are evangelisized by those in power, and who are added to the fellowship by choosing to bow to the will of others.
Finally there is #5. Take a look at it. It says, "Teaching them to obey." Does the threatening tone of that send chills down the spine of anyone else?
Several questions come from that statement. First and foremost: Obey who? That form of faiths version of a god or gods? The preacherman/church that has taken you in via numbers 3 and 4? The text of the faith?
If the answer to any of those is yes, then one must toil with the questions of which version? Yes... the beauty of many organized religions is that there are several versions of everything! Which version of the text do you choose? Which translation? Which preacher... the one that is orthodox, or the one across town with a different perspective? Which congregation? Which set of holidays do you follow etc etc......
And perhaps the most important 'which' of all: Which verison of god? Vengeful? Loving? Co-Ed Naked Volleyball playing? Do you chose the one that has three parts, or that has two... or one... or ten? A Son or no Son? From all the things you have been told, what do you choose? Are you even allowed to choose? After all, the churches fifth pillar is to obey.....
I don't know... perhaps beyond the Orwellian ideas that the fifth statement brings to mind... I also bristle at the childish way that statement treats the followers. It takes away their independence. Obedience turns the followers from people of faith who have minds of their own into drones.
Examples of this can be seen in many organized religious sects. Take certain parts of the Southern Baptist Convention, for example. One of their tenets from a few years ago was the idea that women should be subordinant to their husbands. Of course, they found text that they interpreted for the people that supported this idea.
Question: How does this help a woman practice her faith? If you work to sqash her voice and make her inferior in the church... and perhaps in her personal life... via the teachings of the church... how does putting her down help her faith?
The same could be said for any religion that makes women inferior. Hell, any religion that shows prejustice against any of its members. Heck, one could go so far as to say that any religious sect that is not open to... or at the very least respectful of... other forms of religious thought, ideas, and practice of faith.
I live in the bible belt. I see it everyday. Especually among those churches who are really into ideals like the five that I listed in the picture. I have heard many things along the lines of "Ahh, you are a Christian. Thats good. But you are not the right KIND of Christian... thus you are going to hell." How does condemnation of others help those peoples' faith? How does trying to convince them that they are wrong and you are right help them?
How does closing your mind to other ideas and paths help YOUR OWN faith?
After all, there are many different paths that spirituality can take. There is no way of knowing if any of them are "right" or "wrong." Heck... what would be the point of labeling such a personal matter?
So there is no way of knowing if the path you have chosen via your church is the "right" path. You can believe it is the "right" path... and perhaps it is... FOR YOU. But what good does it do you... or anyone else... to try to convert/force/convince/pu rsuade/prey upon/drag along others to join your way of thinking... and ultimantly to give up their freedom of thought and have them "obey?"
IMO... spirituality is a personal matter. It is something that should bring you freedom, joy, intellectual growth... perhaps even a sence of peace. I really don't see how a faith with the notion of "obey" in any part of its 'bylaws' promotes any of those things.
Current Mood: :idea:
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| Birth Control fat isn't your main problem.... |
| 09.04.04 (4:33 pm) [edit] |
There were a couple of girls talking about birth control at work today. One of them has a cyst in her falopian tube, and the doc has put her on birth control to help keep it in check buntil they can opperate on her (they have to do more tests and stuff). She was sitting there complaining about getting fat because of the birth control.
Another girl, 115 pounds and very sexual active, agreed... saying she wasn't on birth control because it would make her fat. She said her and her guy were "careful".
Gee... I would think getting fat from being knocked up or potentially dying from something in your tubes would be just a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit worse than gaining five pounds from the pill.
Geez.
Current Mood: :roll:
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| Womens shorts |
| 09.03.04 (5:24 pm) [edit] |
I saw two women today who had part of their asscheeks showing out the bottom of their shorts. These were the big buttshowing daisy dukes... these were just peeks of the bottoms of the cheeks.
It made me wonder how women can ever be comfortable wearing such short shorts. Womens shorts are alot shorter than mens shorts. I don't think I could wear shorts that short.
The only men who do are football coaches. lol!
Current Mood: :arrow:
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| Which class has more class? |
| 09.01.04 (8:37 pm) [edit] |
The longer I go thru my teacher certification classes, the more I miss grad school.
The professors were more respectful to graduate students. They seemed to take grad students more seriously.
Then again, grad students don't whine when they get a 5 page paper. Heck, I can crank one of those out in an hour after doing grad school. LoL!
I hope I don't burn out on school. After I finish my certification (hopefully this school year) and after I establish myself as a teacher for a couple of years at some high school and/or community college... I would like to think about doing my doctoral work.
Part time, of course. Not sure I could sit thru much more full time schooling. lol!
Anyway, speaking of school, I better get to bed. I have to leave early tomorrow, since my parking lot that I normally park in will be closed so all the football tailgaters will have a spot to get drunk.
Current Mood: :shock:
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| Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle AHHHHH! |
| 09.01.04 (11:02 am) [edit] |
I love my kid... and I like "twinkle twinkle little star" as much as the next person. But after the 20th time in a row of my tot singing it, I think I am about to lose my damn mind.
And that was before noon. He woke me origionally at about 7:30ish by knocking the gate that goes across his door down. I checked, he was still asleep, so I went back out. He woke up at around 8:20 and went out into the living room. I got up to turn a game on for him, then went back for another 40 or so minutes of sleep.
Hey, I will take that over getting up and having to get out the door by 7:40 to get the tot to daycare so I can go to work/school. I like these days off.
On the flipside, I found myself making a countdown of the weeks left in the semester in my planner yesterday. Normally I don't do that until about 1/2 to 3/4ths of the way thru the semester. Not a good sign.
Oh well, time for lunch. Today is my day, and I don't feel like cooking. So its off to Taco Bell.
Current Mood: 8)
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I AM 75% EVIL GENIUS!  |
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