In honor of Halloween, a comic that made me laugh

If you don't vote you have no right to complain.

There has been talk in the political spectrum about what is considered patriotic and what is considered non patriotic. Supposedly, there are different parts of the country that are more "American" than others, and being that I live in a metropolis my America is not the "Real America". But even the "fake American" that I am, I decided to exercise my patriotic right last night: I mailed in my ballot and cast my vote.
I received it about a week or so ago and after loosing it twice I decided to not press my luck again so I filled it out, deciphered what to do with the special little envelopes and sealant flaps, signed it, flipped it over and wrote in my name in the return to sender box and then I saw my problem. Postage was required.
Its been ages since I sent a letter.
I pay all my bills online, and who sends real cards anymore? (maybe this is just in fake America, right?)
So after attempting to look online for the current price of a stamp, to which all I could find was the price to send a large envelope, I decided to call my mom. She still pays all her bills the old fashioned way! She informed me that the current price of a stamp was 42 cents, but this was after I told her what I needed it for, and since she is a staunch republican I hate to admit it, but I had some doubts. It was too late in the game to be fooled by the other side at this point, so back to the internet I went and this time I was able to find the price of a roll of 100 stamps.. after a little math (you see, contrary to what some believe, math IS transferable to the real world) I found the price (and I already knew from prior experience that the postal service is pretty much the only place where you do not get a discount for buying in bulk).
Now, the only stamps that I have are these flag stamps that I bought to send out bridal shower invitations for my sisters wedding over a year ago, and they did not have a price on them anywhere... fearing that it would be sent back to me due to insufficient postage I decided to put two post card stamps (I always have these on hand), at 24 cents each, on the damn thing and called it good. Its worth the extra 6 cents for the peace of mind, and let me tell you, it felt good actually contributing the the cause and letting my voice be heard :)
Now, let the countdown to the celebration party begin!
T minus four days...

Ten rules of travel, Texas style.

(something I saw when going thru my myspace blog today, I still think its funny)

Some important things I've learned/saw/witnessed/learned on the journey of the four states:

1) If you don't want to be labeled as an "outsider" or someone "different" you must dress in sweatpants, tennis shoes and a beat up t-shirt (the dirtier the better). Dressing in a knee length skirt, knee high boots and a sweater will get you constantly stared at or gawked at and will cause people to completely stop what they are doing to stare at you and on some occasions they may attempt to talk to you (once they stopped stuttering of course).

2) Do not even bother asking where postcards are sold because no one will know what you are talking about.

3) The going rate of pay at McDonalds is $5/hr.

4) Always make sure that you check the floor when checking out of a Kroger hehehehe.

5) When it comes to hotels, driving for 2 hrs in the dark and torrents of rain, calling 4 different hotel chains, bartering the price in three different hotels, going from Duncanville to Grand Prairie to Duncanville to Grand Prairie all feels like nothing when you are finally sitting in the close to perfect hotel room.

6) Catfish is icky!

7) When it comes to LA you'd much rather be in the one that is all sun, shopping and pacific beaches.

8) Just because you see a Starbucks it doesn't mean you are in civilization.

9) There are towns that make Woodland, WA look like a vacation destination.

10) Tables, Chairs and Nightstands can make a very effective barricade.

Good riddiance to bad rubbish that somehow found its way into my pocket.

They say that all good things come to an end, but in this case something is just ending. Something that I thought was good in the beginning, that I thought was real, but in all actuality was nothing more than a distraction for the both of us to get back on our feet after a very dramatic event.
In the beginning of said friendship I allowed myself to see what I wanted to see. I saw the parts of her that reminded me of myself and allowed myself to be swept up in the notion that we were kindred spirits. Birds of a feather. We even went so far as adoring the ridiculous titles of twin, sister, etc, etc. In actuality there are more differences between the two of us than there are similarities; number one being how we treat our friends.
I go out of my way for the people that I care about and I do not think it is not too much for me to ask the same in return. I do not put men in front of my friends. And most importantly, I do not lie to my friends. I believe in blunt honesty and if that is not accepted then I move on. It is who I am and I will not change who I am for anyone.
There are very definite character differences between us as well, and its hard for me to sit around and watch certain actions that go against the things I believe in. Sure, I may not go to church every Sunday but that doesn't mean that I do not have morals of my own.
These things were ignored in the beginning, because I saw what I wanted to see. It was such a relief to me to feel that there was someone out there that understood me to that degree, but I believe that I felt that way because at the time I so desperately wanted to feel understood. Its empowering knowing this now, it makes the break easy because somehow I always seem to see people how I want to see them, and not how they really are.
Accept it or walk away? Obviously she didn't even take the time to notice that I had already put my running shoes on.

Micro Uzi's in the hands of an 8yr old boy. What did you expect to happen?

I am more than appalled at the moment.
Take a second to read THIS ARTICLE. Or, if you don't have an extra second, let me sum up the key points.
An eight year old boy was taken to a gun show in Westfield, MA where he was given a fully loaded, fully automatic 9mm Micro Uzi to fire. As the little boy pulled the trigger the gun recoiled, he lost control and ended up fatally shooting himself in the head.
Now, this isn’t the case a child finding a gun that was lying around somewhere. No, this gun was "prepped" by an instructor and given to him with his father standing near by.
I have nothing against guns. On the contrary, I believe that responsible people should be allowed to have them, but a Micro Uzi? What justification can any person have that would warrant the need for a gun that can fire up to 25 rounds in less than 30 seconds? Even more baffling to me would be why anyone in their right mind would feel it was appropriate for a child of that age to handle a weapon of that magnitude. And to be honest, when I realized the instructor had loaded the gun before handing it to him I had to read the sentence again.
Does anyone wonder why people call for more stringent gun laws? Its people like this that smear the good name and judgment of the rest of us.

A turning of the proverbial stone

After weeks of wondering if I should take action, after pondering over the repercussions, after deciphering why it was I wanted to do what I was contemplating (to no avail, at least at that moment), I finally decided to test the ratty old bridge and make my way across it. If it was to break, and I was to fall, I was to fall, but making it to the other side was worth the risk to me.

Now here I am, happy to be here, but whilst I thought coming to this side would put my mind to rest the opposite actually happened. One thing though, I thought that maybe I wanted to come here because I couldn’t, or because I needed to forgive and feel forgiven but in all actuality I know now I wanted to come because I missed being here.

Lots to think about, and believe me, my mind is reeling.

Clock watchers be damned

I do not understand why people cannot mind their own business. Unless something is directly affecting you, why does a person feel it is their right to complain? It date backs to the toddler years, I guess this particular person was never taught by their mother that it is not polite to tattle. I tell you what, it doesn't gain you friends... not in the least.

Please stay tuned for more on Midnight's Dream by Salman Rushdie..

I just started reading this book today and I have to say that although I am reading this book for a class and thus did not have any say in its discovery and my subsequent reading of it, but it is actually a very interesting and enjoyable book so far!
Happy is the day when I actually look forward to what I am reading, instead of having to suffer my way through a 70 page book about the journey to the heart of Africa for over a week (Heart of Darkness is the book I am referring to in this instance).
Since more than one person showed interest in this particular book I think I will provide a review of it when I am done reading.
Oh the anticipation!

Per Keane's influence, a Wordle of my own (Updated)

For some reason the first one wasnt really representing what was really said on the blog, and was pulling everything from the one post about the coldplay song. So.. I did it again :)


Much better this time, and much more entertaining. Curious as to why I said the word "time" so much.. and also that I have said the word "men" and "obama" the same.. lol

Some of my favorite emoticons (will be updated)

Lost

Maybe I am a little bit behind everyone with the newest Coldplay album, but I have a new favorite song..

Lost
Just because I'm losing
Doesn't mean I'm lost
Doesn't mean I'll stop
Doesn't mean I'm in a cross

Just because I'm hurting
Doesn't mean I'm hurt
Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve
No better and no worse

I just got lost
Every river that I've tried to cross
And every door I ever tried was locked
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

You might be a big fish
In a little pond
Doesn't mean you've won
'Cause along may come
A bigger one

And you'll be lost
Every river that you try to cross
Every gun you ever held went off
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the firing stops
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

I was told one time that everyone has a soundtrack. The soundtrack of life. And currently, in my life, this is the song that I am on..

Built to Last.

Today was a great day for me.
Not only did it get me out of the mundane cycle of life I had allowed myself to fall victim to, but it showed me that real friendships are possible.
No, not the ones that you think are real, the ones that get you caught up in the whirlwind debacle which in the end leaves you sprawled out on the ground alone. No, the ones that are time tested. The ones that you keep coming back to time and time again.
Its amazing that so much time is spent focused on the male/female romantic relationships, when really, basic friendships are so much more important. With them a person can feel so loved, appreciated, valued.. All feelings that people search for, long for..
Without them, it may cause a person to want those things so desperately that they settle for less in their romantic relationships just for a chance at feeling just a little loved, appreciated and/or valued. When, if they had healthy social friendships, they would know they were not alone and would be able to spend more time searching for what they really want in a partner without feeling that they are missing out, and without the constant societal pressure to not be alone..

And this was realized over a nice dish of Thai… Which reminds me, Pok Pok is a must try for anyone who is ever in Portland.

Nothing lasts forever.

Disposability. A concept typically associated with paper cups and banana peels is something that I am feeling directed towards myself at this moment. It is common knowledge that not all friendships last forever. Just look at your friends from high school. How many of them do you still speak with on a regular basis? I know for me that number is very small, and I would need a clarification on what “regular basis” would be. But to me, that would be every couple of days… which would mean I do not keep up with anyone from high school on a regular basis. Now think of your “best friends”. How many of these would you say is typical to have in a life time? Maybe a couple. And wouldn’t these friendships be more valued, thus less likely to disintegrate and diminish over time? I would think so. But apparently the answer to that question is no.
No on all counts.
What it really comes down to is the saddening fact that in the end the only person that you can really count on is yourself. Thus, it is imperative that you do what it takes to make sure that you are self sufficient enough to do so effectively…
Unfortunately.