There's no rhyme or reason at all to what I'm about to type-just stuff going through my head. And now it's in yours.
-Can we slow down on the celebrity deaths already? We just barely processed Ed McMahon when Farrah Fawcett died. Then Michael Jackson swooped in and stole all the attention, and today pitchman extraordinaire Billy Mays checks out. It's too much. Hell, I'm still mourning Dom Deluise myself, gimme a minute to catch up.
I'm going to avoid any cruel jokes here because you can get that other places, but I will pass along a funny comment involving Michael Jackson's death. When I got in my car Thursday night, I heard the disc jockeys talking about it, but they just kept using his last name. So while on the cell phone with my wife Valerie, I mentioned that someone named Jackson had died. Her reply: "Oh no! Farrah Fawcett and now Kate Jackson? It's a Charlie's Angels conspiracy...who wants to kill the angels?"
Okay, one more thing. Since Michael Jackson died VH1 has been playing nothing but M.J. videos all weekend. Does that mean the cable access stations will run a Billy Mays Infomercial marathon? I'd watch it.
-We went to a wedding last night for one of Valerie's co workers. Congratulations to Andy and Heidi and best wishes for a happy ever after. The ceremony was pretty, and the food at the reception was really good. Free booze and prime rib, can't go wrong. Also I got to hang out with drunk teachers all night which is always fun.
-Attention moviegoers: If you arrive after the previews have started YOU ARE LATE! It is then your responsibility to find somewhere to sit without disturbing those of us who showed up on time. Yes, this may mean sitting in the front row, or in the seat on the far left right under the speaker, but that's how it goes. I have no problem letting people in and out of the row but common courtesy should prevail. I've made people shut the hell up for talking too loud (often by yelling at them louder or having management threaten them with eviction), so I have no problem telling you to go to hell if you're being a douche. And don't give me any of this "two wrongs don't make a right" shit, because sometimes they do.
Okay, enough of my bitching. I've actually go t more to bitch about (Hardee's at Boone's Crossing I'm looking at you), but it can wait for its own post. It will come though, after all what's the Internet good for but looking up obscure trivial bullshit that you don't really need to know and bitching online about trivial bullshit that no one really cares about?
-I strongly suggest anyone reading to check out the self-titled CD by the band Tinted Windows. Crappy name, excellent music. If you like rock songs with catchy choruses, loud guitars, melodies that won't leave your head and music that sounds great blaring out of the window all summer than this is for you. For those who aren't in the know, Tinted Windows is made up of members from Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick and, um...Hanson. Don't let that last one bug you, because the MMM Bop kid has grown up and sounds good here. The only negative is that it's a side project so no major tour, and no guarantee of more music. Still, this could be the record of the summer, so check it out.
-Tessa update: Seven teeth now, two in one week. And there's a molar on the way. She's also beginning to show some early signs of counting-at 14 months! She can already say "two" and "nine" and there's something that sounds like "four-five". She's also mostly saying them in the right places, although "two" seems to come up a lot. Now having bragged, she probably won't do anything of the sort for months, but it's pretty cool right now.
That's it. I'm done for tonight. I'll check in a few times this week before I take my time off.
See ya.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
'Nother Update Post.
I've been meaning to update for a while now, but have been super busy here lately, so here's a quick update.
1. My great Aunt Stella had a stroke about two weeks ago. At first the doctors gave her only a fifty per cent chance of even surviving the surgery to stop the bleeding. Fortunately for all she made it through as well as can be expected. Apparently she's had a setback a few days ago but I didn't hear much info on it so I'm assuming it's a minor one.
For those who might not know, Stella lives in Arkansas with her two sisters, and she pretty much looks after them. Marge, the oldest, has been suffering from Parkinson's for years, and her twin, Clara is losing bone density (also her hearing). Stella is the only one who can drive and to the best of my knowledge the one bringing most of the money into the house through benefits. There are some other family members nearby who can help out for the next 6-8 weeks while Stella's in recovery and longer if need be. Still, trying times indeed.
This news all came out of nowhere, and was a shock to the system. When my brother called and asked if I'd heard the latest family news, I'd assumed Marge was gravely ill, but when he said Stella I was almost speechless. In fact I was surprised by how gutted I was. I'll be the first to admit that I don't do enough to stay in touch with that side of the family, but I love them all dearly. Just thought that needed to be said.
2. We have officially moved back into the basement. The regrading of the yard seems to have worked--no leaks! So we've moved all our furniture back into the basement family room, and even rearranged a bit. So the leaking is gone, but while mowing the yard tonight I found three new rabbit holes. They won't leave me alone, it's like I'm their king or something. Wow, what a lame thing to be king of. Even if I built myself a giant rabbit army, how far could I get? Oh sure, I'd be rolling in produce, but that's about it. Anyway, I need to fix this problem soon as one of the holes is in the regraded part of the yard, right by the house, where the leaks were. Ah, the joys of home ownership.
3. Father's Day was yesterday. I got some nice new t-shirts (black, white and maroon-useful and always in style), and I also got new cds by Tinted Windows ans Silversun Pickups. Valerie made me an awesome card and took dictation from Tessa as to what was written inside. The girl loves me more than cheese, which is good as cheese is just about her favorite food on the planet. Although we just introduced chocolate so that might change. All in all, a good day. And I got my cake!
That's pretty much the main points of the last few weeks. More soon. As always, thanks for your patience and for reading. Love ya!
P.S. The Father's Day/cake thing will never stop being funny to me. You'll suffer through it every year. I'm not sorry.
1. My great Aunt Stella had a stroke about two weeks ago. At first the doctors gave her only a fifty per cent chance of even surviving the surgery to stop the bleeding. Fortunately for all she made it through as well as can be expected. Apparently she's had a setback a few days ago but I didn't hear much info on it so I'm assuming it's a minor one.
For those who might not know, Stella lives in Arkansas with her two sisters, and she pretty much looks after them. Marge, the oldest, has been suffering from Parkinson's for years, and her twin, Clara is losing bone density (also her hearing). Stella is the only one who can drive and to the best of my knowledge the one bringing most of the money into the house through benefits. There are some other family members nearby who can help out for the next 6-8 weeks while Stella's in recovery and longer if need be. Still, trying times indeed.
This news all came out of nowhere, and was a shock to the system. When my brother called and asked if I'd heard the latest family news, I'd assumed Marge was gravely ill, but when he said Stella I was almost speechless. In fact I was surprised by how gutted I was. I'll be the first to admit that I don't do enough to stay in touch with that side of the family, but I love them all dearly. Just thought that needed to be said.
2. We have officially moved back into the basement. The regrading of the yard seems to have worked--no leaks! So we've moved all our furniture back into the basement family room, and even rearranged a bit. So the leaking is gone, but while mowing the yard tonight I found three new rabbit holes. They won't leave me alone, it's like I'm their king or something. Wow, what a lame thing to be king of. Even if I built myself a giant rabbit army, how far could I get? Oh sure, I'd be rolling in produce, but that's about it. Anyway, I need to fix this problem soon as one of the holes is in the regraded part of the yard, right by the house, where the leaks were. Ah, the joys of home ownership.
3. Father's Day was yesterday. I got some nice new t-shirts (black, white and maroon-useful and always in style), and I also got new cds by Tinted Windows ans Silversun Pickups. Valerie made me an awesome card and took dictation from Tessa as to what was written inside. The girl loves me more than cheese, which is good as cheese is just about her favorite food on the planet. Although we just introduced chocolate so that might change. All in all, a good day. And I got my cake!
That's pretty much the main points of the last few weeks. More soon. As always, thanks for your patience and for reading. Love ya!
P.S. The Father's Day/cake thing will never stop being funny to me. You'll suffer through it every year. I'm not sorry.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Vance, Me, God and The Homeless. LONG Post..Sorry.
Disclaimer: all quotes in the following post are as accurate as I can recall.
Something's been bugging me all week that I've tried to write about but haven't been able to figure out how to say what I want to say. I still don't really know, so let's just see what happens.
On Monday, I found myself in the middle of a political themed discussion at work, which I try not to do, but sometimes it's unavoidable. I try not to judge people because they have different political opinions than I do, in fact I have some good friends and family who are on the other side of things than I am, and that's okay. I believe most conservatives are good folks, I just happen to whole-heartedly disagree on some issues. Usually, it's just the issues that get under people's skins, not the people, but sometimes you just have to wonder.
My co-worker, we'll call him Vance, was complaining about the current President as usual. That doesn't bother me so much, I complained for the last eight years so I guess it's someone else's turn. Besides, Obama's not perfect and to be honest I'm not 100% sure about all of his decisions myself. Anyway, Vance starts in on how he hates how the government is mandating that we all pay to help "professional mothers" on welfare and the homeless in the streets. A common complaint, but it didn't stop there.
Some of us pointed out that we felt those people should be getting help, not the welfare abusers mind you, but the people out on the streets. After all, we're all Americans and we look after our own. He then shot back by saying that it's not the American way to be required to help someone. The American way in his estimation is "if you are poor I can choose to help you, but I don't have to." Essentially, it's up to the individual to make it on their own and handouts are not guaranteed nor should they be. So far it's a classic ideological argument, right? Okay, here's where Vance went a step too far.
He said that if a person is out on the streets and draining the public funds we should just "let them die."
"Let them die?" I asked, to make sure he said it.
"Yes. I place no intrinsic value on human life." Nice talk from a Republican. Vance then said something to the effect of if you can't get with the program "take yourself out of the equation."
The conversation went on from there, with much more rational people trying to trap him with questions like "where do you draw the line" and comparing his ideas to China's killing and mutilating babies to control population, but I removed myself at that point. I had work to do, and Vance had already made my head hurt so I just threw up my hands and saved the arguing for a time when I might actually be able to talk some sense into someone.
You see, the thing that disturbed me about the whole thing is how serious he was. It would be one thing if the comments were a bad attempt at humor or ramblings of a drunk, but that's not what this was. A man gets a look in his eye when he's speaking his true beliefs, he's telling you what he feels in his heart of hearts (icy though it may be), and no amount of arguing is going to by-God change a thing. You can't fake that look, and you can't escape it either. Over time those ideals may change but in that moment he's right, you're wrong and anything you say or do will only prove it in his mind. There is no arguing at that point, so don't waste your breath.
I didn't.
But it still bothers me that a man can actually think that way. The sheer lack of empathy for fellow human beings just blows my mind. I mean, I've heard people say "Get a job ya bum" when encountering the homeless, and I understand the "make your own bed and lie in it" philosophy of life, but wishing death on people is just wrong. Morally, logically and theoretically wrong. How much hatred and arrogance can a person be filled with to feel so passionately about leaving others to die? This goes way beyond any political affiliation and gets into psychological instability. There are probably others who feel the same way but I've never met one before.
Then again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Most people think Vance is kind of a prick, and he'll be the first to say so (which in a weird way I kind of respect). However, in the past year or so I had begun to think that Vance wasn't necessarily a bad person, he just wasn't very good at the whole social aspect. He has had a few experiences that soured him, and I've tried to take that into account all along. Now though, I just don't know. In the end I'm not the judge, God is, but my opinion has been altered and it's a shame because I really have been making more of an effort to get along with Vance. So the rest of the week has been fairly normal and I've even joked with him a little, but it's been weird.
The other weird thing is that I didn't keep up the argument. I'm not usually one to back down, but there have been a few instances in the last year or so (not involving the same person) where I have chosen to step aside. I have turned the other cheek even though every fibre in my body was screaming to do the opposite. Obviously at work I've subdued myself so as to not endanger my job in this economy but there were other times I didn't have to back down but did anyway. Maybe it's because I'm a dad now. Maybe it's because I'm getting better at picking my battles. Maybe it's because I'm older and smarter...well, older. Or maybe, just maybe, God's working on me to help me be a better person. I haven't been seeking after God like I'm supposed to do, but sometimes when you're not reading the Bible and sleeping through church and your head is filled with other things, that's when you hear God the loudest. I guess even though I'm not always seeking after Him, He's always seeking me.
So it's been a weird week, but it's given me a lot to think about. Sorry this got so long and weirdly religious at the end, but I wrote this as a sort of catharsis and I do feel a little better having worked through it all. And, hey, at least you didn't have to read about Mr. Big again, right?
Something's been bugging me all week that I've tried to write about but haven't been able to figure out how to say what I want to say. I still don't really know, so let's just see what happens.
On Monday, I found myself in the middle of a political themed discussion at work, which I try not to do, but sometimes it's unavoidable. I try not to judge people because they have different political opinions than I do, in fact I have some good friends and family who are on the other side of things than I am, and that's okay. I believe most conservatives are good folks, I just happen to whole-heartedly disagree on some issues. Usually, it's just the issues that get under people's skins, not the people, but sometimes you just have to wonder.
My co-worker, we'll call him Vance, was complaining about the current President as usual. That doesn't bother me so much, I complained for the last eight years so I guess it's someone else's turn. Besides, Obama's not perfect and to be honest I'm not 100% sure about all of his decisions myself. Anyway, Vance starts in on how he hates how the government is mandating that we all pay to help "professional mothers" on welfare and the homeless in the streets. A common complaint, but it didn't stop there.
Some of us pointed out that we felt those people should be getting help, not the welfare abusers mind you, but the people out on the streets. After all, we're all Americans and we look after our own. He then shot back by saying that it's not the American way to be required to help someone. The American way in his estimation is "if you are poor I can choose to help you, but I don't have to." Essentially, it's up to the individual to make it on their own and handouts are not guaranteed nor should they be. So far it's a classic ideological argument, right? Okay, here's where Vance went a step too far.
He said that if a person is out on the streets and draining the public funds we should just "let them die."
"Let them die?" I asked, to make sure he said it.
"Yes. I place no intrinsic value on human life." Nice talk from a Republican. Vance then said something to the effect of if you can't get with the program "take yourself out of the equation."
The conversation went on from there, with much more rational people trying to trap him with questions like "where do you draw the line" and comparing his ideas to China's killing and mutilating babies to control population, but I removed myself at that point. I had work to do, and Vance had already made my head hurt so I just threw up my hands and saved the arguing for a time when I might actually be able to talk some sense into someone.
You see, the thing that disturbed me about the whole thing is how serious he was. It would be one thing if the comments were a bad attempt at humor or ramblings of a drunk, but that's not what this was. A man gets a look in his eye when he's speaking his true beliefs, he's telling you what he feels in his heart of hearts (icy though it may be), and no amount of arguing is going to by-God change a thing. You can't fake that look, and you can't escape it either. Over time those ideals may change but in that moment he's right, you're wrong and anything you say or do will only prove it in his mind. There is no arguing at that point, so don't waste your breath.
I didn't.
But it still bothers me that a man can actually think that way. The sheer lack of empathy for fellow human beings just blows my mind. I mean, I've heard people say "Get a job ya bum" when encountering the homeless, and I understand the "make your own bed and lie in it" philosophy of life, but wishing death on people is just wrong. Morally, logically and theoretically wrong. How much hatred and arrogance can a person be filled with to feel so passionately about leaving others to die? This goes way beyond any political affiliation and gets into psychological instability. There are probably others who feel the same way but I've never met one before.
Then again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Most people think Vance is kind of a prick, and he'll be the first to say so (which in a weird way I kind of respect). However, in the past year or so I had begun to think that Vance wasn't necessarily a bad person, he just wasn't very good at the whole social aspect. He has had a few experiences that soured him, and I've tried to take that into account all along. Now though, I just don't know. In the end I'm not the judge, God is, but my opinion has been altered and it's a shame because I really have been making more of an effort to get along with Vance. So the rest of the week has been fairly normal and I've even joked with him a little, but it's been weird.
The other weird thing is that I didn't keep up the argument. I'm not usually one to back down, but there have been a few instances in the last year or so (not involving the same person) where I have chosen to step aside. I have turned the other cheek even though every fibre in my body was screaming to do the opposite. Obviously at work I've subdued myself so as to not endanger my job in this economy but there were other times I didn't have to back down but did anyway. Maybe it's because I'm a dad now. Maybe it's because I'm getting better at picking my battles. Maybe it's because I'm older and smarter...well, older. Or maybe, just maybe, God's working on me to help me be a better person. I haven't been seeking after God like I'm supposed to do, but sometimes when you're not reading the Bible and sleeping through church and your head is filled with other things, that's when you hear God the loudest. I guess even though I'm not always seeking after Him, He's always seeking me.
So it's been a weird week, but it's given me a lot to think about. Sorry this got so long and weirdly religious at the end, but I wrote this as a sort of catharsis and I do feel a little better having worked through it all. And, hey, at least you didn't have to read about Mr. Big again, right?
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