So it's been months since I've really drank. Until last night. I've been sitting on the bottle of Absinthe that I bought in Germany. Waiting for the perfect time to try it. That time was last night. It was me, Chambers and Pickett. One bottle of Absinthe, some cool water, a little sugar and a spoon. Two shots each. It was very black-licorice-ey. Not my favorite taste, but does that really matter? Anyway, I maintained my consciousness for at least an hour after we drank it. After that, I have no memory. I woke up the next morning, on the couch, with my shirt on backwards. I drove home and only after getting there realized that my face was covered in lipstick. And I don't mean somebody kissed me all over. I mean someone marked all over my face with lipstick. I have no idea who, how or why. Plus, the extreme right side of my face, by my eye and jaw, are sore. Did I fall? Did I walk into something? Did I get into a scuffle? I have no idea. Lesson learned.
P.S. I'm totally addicted to Lego Star Wars on my Wii.
Playing: Lego Star Wars on the Wii
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
What a great economy to start a job search in!
There's no more reassuring feeling then to be counting down the days to your liberation from the military, and to also be counting up the number of articles about our doomed economy as they increase each day. But, I've always said that I was getting out whether I had a great job to go into, or a job as a whopper flopper at Burger King. And I meant it. And I still do.
I just got some bitter-sweet news too. At first I was frustrated, but it may actually be a good thing. My senior capstone/seminar class required in order for me to graduate and get my bachelor's will not be offered in the Spring. This is frustrating because I emailed my advisor (who has also been my instructor for three classes now) a couple of times over the summer with a list of questions, and one of them was whether or not that particular class would be offered in the Spring. In both of his responses, he answered every question but that one. He's a good guy, and a very good teacher, AND a very busy guy, but it would've been nice to have gotten an answer. I gave up asking, assuming his silence to mean, "Of course it's offered in the Spring!" I was wrong. Guess some more persistence on my part would have helped, because if I would've gotten the answer I would've taken the class this term and gotten it over with. I sent an email to the department chair asking him if there were any alternative options open to get the class taken care of in the Spring, but he responded with his apologies and a subtle "no." But, as I said, it may be a good thing. It'll give me more time to consider my graduate school options (I'm still thinking law, but I'm also considering mba, or a combo law/mba degree). I'm also open to other fields, so maybe I'll take the extra time I'll get waiting for next Fall to take a class or two in fields that I'm curious in. The downside is, obviously, I won't have a degree for another year. Which could hurt me in a job search. I'm hoping my security clearance is as valuable in the job market as everyone says it is!
I've found a couple of companies that I want to work for. I've actually found job opportunities in New York City that I want to apply for. I have also figured out the salary I will need to live comfortably there--a salary that might be easier to demand with a bachelor's, but we'll see. I've also looked in Chicago, San Francisco, and Phoenix, and I'll pursue those if nothing turns up in my dream locale. It's odd, but I'm looking forward to spending some time at home when I get out. But that may change after a month with my family. I love 'em, and they love me, but Lord knows we drive each other nuts sometimes.
I've also been checking out rottweiler puppies! There's a breeder in Phoenix with a website containing pictures and pedigrees of the dogs they breed. They're asking for $2400 per puppy, so those dogs better be shittin' gold! Or something otherwise wondrous. I'll check with them, and with other breeders, to see if they have any 'discount' puppies. I'm assuming that they ask so much for those dogs because they are show quality. But all litters have their duds, and I'll be happy to take one off their hands for a cheaper price. I'm also watching the Rottweiler rescues, so we'll see what turns up.
And the fun don't stop there--but you'll have to stay tuned for the rest.
Oh, I just watched one of my unseen dvds yesterday. It was a comedy called Scorched, and it had Alicia Silverstone, Rachel Leigh Cook, Woody Harrelson, and John Cleese in it. It's about a group of bank tellers who each, independently and unbeknownst to each other, decide to rob their own bank. Great concept, bad movie. The comedy was subtle at best, and lame for the most part. But, it did have a cool Eels song in it that I'd never heard. I'm actually downloading it right now, and I wish UTorrent would hurry up about it already!
I'm also half-way through my book "The Kite Runner" (thanks again, Erin). It's very good, but not at all what I expected. I hadn't even heard of it before, but I guess it's been on the NYT bestseller's list for 15 billion weeks now or something. Anyway, check it out if you haven't already and you're up for a good story.
I'll be home in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait. In the meantime, I hope everybody is doing well, and I hope to hear from y'all soon.
Reading: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I just got some bitter-sweet news too. At first I was frustrated, but it may actually be a good thing. My senior capstone/seminar class required in order for me to graduate and get my bachelor's will not be offered in the Spring. This is frustrating because I emailed my advisor (who has also been my instructor for three classes now) a couple of times over the summer with a list of questions, and one of them was whether or not that particular class would be offered in the Spring. In both of his responses, he answered every question but that one. He's a good guy, and a very good teacher, AND a very busy guy, but it would've been nice to have gotten an answer. I gave up asking, assuming his silence to mean, "Of course it's offered in the Spring!" I was wrong. Guess some more persistence on my part would have helped, because if I would've gotten the answer I would've taken the class this term and gotten it over with. I sent an email to the department chair asking him if there were any alternative options open to get the class taken care of in the Spring, but he responded with his apologies and a subtle "no." But, as I said, it may be a good thing. It'll give me more time to consider my graduate school options (I'm still thinking law, but I'm also considering mba, or a combo law/mba degree). I'm also open to other fields, so maybe I'll take the extra time I'll get waiting for next Fall to take a class or two in fields that I'm curious in. The downside is, obviously, I won't have a degree for another year. Which could hurt me in a job search. I'm hoping my security clearance is as valuable in the job market as everyone says it is!
I've found a couple of companies that I want to work for. I've actually found job opportunities in New York City that I want to apply for. I have also figured out the salary I will need to live comfortably there--a salary that might be easier to demand with a bachelor's, but we'll see. I've also looked in Chicago, San Francisco, and Phoenix, and I'll pursue those if nothing turns up in my dream locale. It's odd, but I'm looking forward to spending some time at home when I get out. But that may change after a month with my family. I love 'em, and they love me, but Lord knows we drive each other nuts sometimes.
I've also been checking out rottweiler puppies! There's a breeder in Phoenix with a website containing pictures and pedigrees of the dogs they breed. They're asking for $2400 per puppy, so those dogs better be shittin' gold! Or something otherwise wondrous. I'll check with them, and with other breeders, to see if they have any 'discount' puppies. I'm assuming that they ask so much for those dogs because they are show quality. But all litters have their duds, and I'll be happy to take one off their hands for a cheaper price. I'm also watching the Rottweiler rescues, so we'll see what turns up.
And the fun don't stop there--but you'll have to stay tuned for the rest.
Oh, I just watched one of my unseen dvds yesterday. It was a comedy called Scorched, and it had Alicia Silverstone, Rachel Leigh Cook, Woody Harrelson, and John Cleese in it. It's about a group of bank tellers who each, independently and unbeknownst to each other, decide to rob their own bank. Great concept, bad movie. The comedy was subtle at best, and lame for the most part. But, it did have a cool Eels song in it that I'd never heard. I'm actually downloading it right now, and I wish UTorrent would hurry up about it already!
I'm also half-way through my book "The Kite Runner" (thanks again, Erin). It's very good, but not at all what I expected. I hadn't even heard of it before, but I guess it's been on the NYT bestseller's list for 15 billion weeks now or something. Anyway, check it out if you haven't already and you're up for a good story.
I'll be home in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait. In the meantime, I hope everybody is doing well, and I hope to hear from y'all soon.
Reading: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Monday, July 7, 2008
Rottie and PIt Bull lovers vindicated!
Surprising dogs breeds to be wary of
Categories: In the news
When you think of dangerous dog breeds, which animal do you picture: a pit bull or a wiener dog?
According to the results of research published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, the breed most prone to aggression is the dachshund. New research that involved questioning 6,000 dog owners, found that one in five dachshunds have bitten (or tried to bite) strangers, a similar number have attacked other dogs, and that one in 12 have even snapped at their owners.
Prior research on dog aggression focused solely on dog bite statistics. Using that data, breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Dobermans were thought to pose the most danger. Researchers now feel prior studies were not painting a full picture, as most dog bites (especially those of smaller dogs) go unreported and were not included in the past.
Chihuahuas ranked second on the list of aggressive dogs, while Jack Russell Terriers came in third.
Just like with people, it's not fair to stereotype an entire group based on the actions of a few. But it's also good know some small dogs might not be the ideal choice for children.
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/07/07/dogs-breeds-to-be-wary-of/?icid=100214839x1205216559x1200256851
Sausage dogs are the most aggressive dogs
Last Updated: 11:24PM BST 05/07/2008
Forget pit bulls, rottweilers and Rhodesian ridgebacks, it's the sausage dog that's the most aggressive breed.
They may be small, but new research found that one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers, and a similar number have attacked other dogs; one in 12 have snapped at their owners.
Known as sausage dogs for their elongated bodies, dachshunds have not, until now, had a fearsome reputation, although they were originally bred to hunt badgers in their setts.
However, they topped a list of 33 breeds which were rated for their aggression, after academics analysed the behaviour of thousands of dogs.
Chihuahuas, an even smaller breed, were the second most hostile, regularly snapping or attempting to bite strangers, family and other dogs. Another small favourite, the Jack Russell, was third.
In Illinois last week, Linda Floyd had to have her dachshund, called Roscoe, put down after the dog gnawed off her big toe while she slept. Mrs Floyd, 56, woke up too late because nerve damage from diabetes had left her with no feeling in her toes.
Dr James Serpell, one of the researchers, said smaller breeds might be more genetically predisposed towards aggressive behaviour than larger dogs.
"Reported levels of aggression in some cases are concerning, with rates of bites or bite attempts rising as high as 20 per cent toward strangers and 30 per cent toward unfamiliar dogs," he added.
Until now, research into canine aggression has almost exclusively involved analysis of dog bite statistics. But the researchers said these were potentially misleading as most bites were not reported. Big dogs might have acquired a reputation for being aggressive because their bites were more likely to require medical attention.
The findings have angered owners of small breeds. Chris Moore, secretary of the Northern Dachshund Association, said: "As far as breeders in the UK are concerned, this is rubbish. It is not in the dogs' nature. I have never been bitten in 25 years."
Tony Fitt-Savage, president of the British Chihuahua Club, added: "I have had Chihuahuas for 30-odd years, and they've never put anybody into hospital. They can be a little bit stroppy."
The study, published this week in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, involved researchers from the University of Pennsylvania questioning 6,000 dog owners.
Breeds scoring low for aggression included Basset hounds, golden retrievers, labradors, Siberian huskies and greyhounds.
The rottweiler, pit bull and Rhodesian ridgeback scored average or below average marks for hostility towards strangers.
Joyce Summers, treasurer of the Rottweiler Club in Britain, said: "I have lived with rottweilers for 40 years and they give nothing but love and affection. I am not surprised Jack Russells are up there near the top; they are yappy little things."
And that's all that needs to be said about that! Finally, some balance in the media regarding the stereotypes of aggressive dogs. Oh and one more thing. I'm pretty vocal about being a dog lover, but I have to admit that I hate, loathe, despise and detest Jack Russell Terriers. They're obnoxious and aggressive as hell. They deserve to be on that list.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Anything’s news in Omaha
One way you can tell you're in a city like Omaha is when there seems to be a desparation to find news-worthy topics. Since I've lived here, I've noticed that one channel in particular loves to interupt regular programming for extended periods for what is really much ado about nothing. Several times I've been watching tv on this particular channel when all of a sudden, "breaking news" happens. What kind of breaking news, you ask? Well, once there was a city council meeting regarding a proposal for a new baseball field. And apparently, the station thought I just HAD to be immediately informed about it. Since then, it's generally been about thunderstorms. THUNDERSTORMS! Are you freakin' kidding me? They happen all of the time--especially around here. And the kicker is, before interupting whatever show that's currently playing, they usually run several minutes' worth of scrolling at the bottom of the screen telling you the same crap they intend to interupt the show about. A simple weather advisory scroll on the screen is more than sufficient. I'm pretty sure that I can discern whatever else I need to know about a local storm by looking out my freakin' window. But no, according to this station, I also need to see video footage of all of the local outdoor events going on in the area that may be affected by the storm. Again, easily informable via a scroll at the bottom of the screen. I just checked the station again, and the news interuption is still going on! It's been over thirty minutes now. What makes this even more annoying is that they do this even though their regular news show is less than an hour away. Can it not wait till then? Now, there are really two things that piss me off about this. 1. I don't like my shows to be interupted for bs. 2. I hate the desparation with which media outlets act in order to get attention by making a big deal out of nothing. Leave me alone! Tell me what I need to know, straightforward, via the most non-intrusive channel possible and move on! Yeah.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Some good news and some not so good news.
First, the good. I got my new notebook! But it wasn't the one from Dell that I had written about in a previous blog. They delayed my order, so I canceled it. Then, I found an even BETTER one by HP, called the Pavilion HDX. It's an entertainment laptop, which was more what I was looking for. Something to kind of be a media center for all of my music and media. It's got a 20" true-HD screen, and plays Blue Ray. It also has a 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 640 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, a 512 MB Nvidia video card, and four high-quality speakers with sub-woofer. Not only that, but it has a built-in tv tuner that allows me to hook my cable up to it and record programs, and a small nifty remote control that fits on the console next to the keyboard. The coolest thing is that it has a fingerprint reader, so instead of entering a password at login (though I have the option to enter one instead), I can just swipe my finger on the reader and voila! Yeah, it's pretty sweet and I'm very happy with it. It is a behemoth! Plus, I got a 32% discount on it thanks to an online coupon I found. I just received it last Monday--two days before it was even scheduled to be finished being built! So it seems that HP is much better at customer service then Dell. But I digress...Oh, and it has Windows Vista Home Permium (64 bit edition), and I have to say, I've had a very minimal amount of trouble with it. From all the buzz I was hearing, I was expecting to be running into problem after problem with it, but that hasn't been the case so far. The only gripes I have are that, even though you set your user account to 'administrator', that account still is not the actual administrator. There are some function it won't let you do. I had to look up online and find out that you have to activiate the REAL administrator account in order to do some functions, and I found that to be a little confusing and irritating. But I've dealt with it now, and it's no longer a problem. Visually, I have to say the Aero setting is pretty stunning.
Anyway, now for the bad. I dropped my Beatles class. Why's that bad? Because it completely throws off my schedule for getting my degree in December. Also, it screws up my catalogue because my school is changing their curriculum for that particular type of class requirement. This was the last session to take advantage of the previous catalogue requirements. Because of this, the eight out of twelve credit hours I have already completed for them (the beatles class was gonna be the final four, rounding out the twelve total required credits) may not count for anything, and I may need to take a couple of extra classes now to meet the new requirements. This may not be all bad, though. It actually presents me with the opportunity to score A's in a few more classes, raising my GPA a little higher. However, it also extends my projected graduation date to next May (at least, I hope it will only be extended that far). Which means I will not have my degree by the time I separate from the military, which could hurt my job prospects. I still have options, though. I could: 1) go home for a few months after my discharge, collect unemployment and stay with my parents, working for them a couple of times per week to pay for my rent, simultaneously searching for a job and finishing up my schooling; 2) get lucky and find a job without a degree, resting solely on my clearance and finish my schooling while working at my new job; or 3) extend my enlistment for a few months for another deployment (if the Air Force agreed to do so), allowing me to save more money, search for a job, and charge another semester's worth of school to the Air Force. At least, those are the options I've come up with so far. So it'll be interesting to see how it all works out.
Oh, and Calculus is KICKING MY ASS! I haven't taken a math class in so long, and it's killing me. Lordy, lordy...At least my animal class seems to be going swimmingly.
One final, unrelated note. I just saw Get Smart, and I thought it was pretty good. I remember watching reruns of the series when I was a kid, and it was such a fun, goofy show. The movie didn't really spark the same type of feeling in me--it felt completely distinct from the series--but it was still a nice break from reality.
Reading: The Serpent and the Swan by Boria Sax
Anyway, now for the bad. I dropped my Beatles class. Why's that bad? Because it completely throws off my schedule for getting my degree in December. Also, it screws up my catalogue because my school is changing their curriculum for that particular type of class requirement. This was the last session to take advantage of the previous catalogue requirements. Because of this, the eight out of twelve credit hours I have already completed for them (the beatles class was gonna be the final four, rounding out the twelve total required credits) may not count for anything, and I may need to take a couple of extra classes now to meet the new requirements. This may not be all bad, though. It actually presents me with the opportunity to score A's in a few more classes, raising my GPA a little higher. However, it also extends my projected graduation date to next May (at least, I hope it will only be extended that far). Which means I will not have my degree by the time I separate from the military, which could hurt my job prospects. I still have options, though. I could: 1) go home for a few months after my discharge, collect unemployment and stay with my parents, working for them a couple of times per week to pay for my rent, simultaneously searching for a job and finishing up my schooling; 2) get lucky and find a job without a degree, resting solely on my clearance and finish my schooling while working at my new job; or 3) extend my enlistment for a few months for another deployment (if the Air Force agreed to do so), allowing me to save more money, search for a job, and charge another semester's worth of school to the Air Force. At least, those are the options I've come up with so far. So it'll be interesting to see how it all works out.
Oh, and Calculus is KICKING MY ASS! I haven't taken a math class in so long, and it's killing me. Lordy, lordy...At least my animal class seems to be going swimmingly.
One final, unrelated note. I just saw Get Smart, and I thought it was pretty good. I remember watching reruns of the series when I was a kid, and it was such a fun, goofy show. The movie didn't really spark the same type of feeling in me--it felt completely distinct from the series--but it was still a nice break from reality.
Reading: The Serpent and the Swan by Boria Sax
For anyone who’s ever laughed at me for...
...refusing to send my food back at restaurants when the meal was not quite prepared as ordered. Score: 1 for paranoia!
Listening to: Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Ex-cook pleads guilty to putting hair in steak
WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — A former restaurant cook has pleaded guilty to a food-tampering charge alleging he inserted hairs in a steak before giving it to a dissatisfied customer. Ryan Kropp, 24, of West Bend, was fired along with another cook after the incident Feb. 23 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
Kropp was charged in Washington County Circuit Court with a felony of placing foreign objects in edibles, carrying up to 3 1/2 years in prison.
After his guilty plea Thursday, Judge James Muehlbauer scheduled sentencing Aug. 12.
The criminal complaint said that when a manager asked a customer how his steak was, the customer said it was somewhat overdone, although he had almost finished eating it and refused an offer of a new steak.
But the manager insisted on having Kropp prepare a new steak the way the customer wanted it, medium rare, so that he could take it home.
The customer called the restaurant and police after finding hair as he was eating the steak the next day.
According to the complaint, a second kitchen worker told police Kropp had put a slit in the cooked steak and pushed something inside, then stated, "These are my pubes," referring to pubic hair.
Kropp told police he put a few of his facial hairs on the steak, saying he was angry the customer sent the other steak back and thought he was "just trying to get free stuff," the complaint said.
A phone number for Kropp had been disconnected when The Associated Press tried to reach him for comment Thursday night.
Listening to: Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Chomping at the Bit!
Finally got around to watching Cloverfield. It was AWESOME! And not just because it was filmed in NYC. In fact, it's awesome despite the fact that it is about the DESTRUCTION of NYC. And let it be said right now that my friendship with anyone that would say otherwise is in serious jeopardy. I bet you're worried now, but don't be. I was just kidding.
Now I'm watching Juno. I hear it's good, and by damn it better not disappoint! UPDATE: I'm now a little more than half way through it, and it's ok. Not wonderful, but ok. FINAL UPDATE: It's over now, and I'm a little disappointed. I think I heard that the ending was supposed to be amazing. I disagree. Not a bad movie, but not worthy of all of the hype in my opinion.
Also watched a weird but okay movie called Bug. It's a psychological thriller directed by William Friedkin, the same dude that directed the Exorcist like 35 years ago. He's still got his touch, but it wasn't near as good. It had Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr in it. It was basically about extreme paranoia, and it takes you along for the ride. I'm glad I watched it, but I wouldn't recommend it. I followed it up with a Disney flick—Meet the Robinsons. I've seen it before, but it's awesome so I watched it again. Mostly at the request of my sister and her fiance, neither of which had ever seen it before. They liked it. And I liked it for the second time.
Oh, and I watched a movie called Employee of the Month, but not the one you're probably thinking of. Not the one with Jessica Simpson and Dane Cook. This one had Matt Dillon and Christina Applegate. It was pretty good, though now that I've had some time to think about it it was a little far-fetched. But it was entertaining.
Then, I watched Iron Man. It was AMAZING! I liked it from beginning to end—totally lived up to the hype. Good stuff. I made a mistake when I followed it up with the new Indiana Jones movie. It SUCKED! I have never seen so much money and talent go to such waist. The writing and acting was a mess, and the story was ridiculous. There were quite a few scenes that made me think, "Was that really the best take they had of that scene?" So sad...
Then I watched Secondhand Lions for the first time on DVD. Good movie. Nothing life changing, but good.
Aside from the catching up on my movie-watching, hanging out with family and friends, and just R 'n Ring in general, I've been chomping at the bit to get out of the military and on with the rest of my life! Good Lord, I have until January, and all I can think about is all that I need to get done, and how bad I just want to be there. I'm taking three—count 'em, three—courses over the summer. And summer sessions are shorter and more compact, so I'm not expecting an easy ride. I at first had thought maybe they'd be easy As, but I'm not so sure anymore. All of them are required for my degree, but none are philosophy classes. One is a study of the Beatles and their influence on popular culture, which I really thought was gonna be a cake walk. But then I checked out the course website, and it looks like the instructor is trying to validate the class (and his ego) and 'counter' such a leisurely perception of it by providing no less than three required texts and a slew of DVDs that we will be required to watch. The syllabus calls for weekly essays, a 10 page midterm paper and a 10-15 page final paper. Are you freakin' kidding me??? It reminds me of my one bs class last semester about polls and surveys. There were four required texts for the damn class, and I swear I only cracked one of them a handful of times to get an A in the course. It's like the instructor KNOWS how ridiculous the course is, so he tries to throw a bunch of textbooks and bs assignments to make it seem more relevant. It doesn't. It just wastes my time and money and stirs my resentment. I predict the same for this Beatles class.
The other class I'm going to take is about animals and human civilization. This one I expect I'll enjoy. Even if it's bs. ESPECIALLY if it's bs!
The third is a calculus course, which I had to take a placement exam for in order to be eligible to take it because I haven't taken a math class in like ten years. I barely made it! So this should also be a fun class. But at least it won't be bs. Presumably.
In the midst of all of this, I have to study up for my yearly Korean proficiency test, which means I have to practically re-teach myself the language, and I'll probably have to start getting ready to deploy to the desert here in a couple of months. I also need to write up a resume and start looking for a post-military job. They don't just come to you, ya know! I hear that the resume-writing thing has changed a bit since the last time I've had to do it, so I'll have to do some research. I actually looked online for some NYC jobs, mostly paralegal jobs. I figure it might do me well to work in the field and get a more legitimate feel for whether or not a career in law would really suit me. But I also think it would be kind of cool to just try some random but interesting job and see where it leads me. Of course, I'll probably just chicken out and try to use my clearance to find a more 'secure' intel job in the city while I figure out what I really want to do. Who knows? I fluctuate between excitement and anxiety about what my life is going to be like in a year. Right now, at this particular moment, I'm in the anxiety mood.
But life's actually not too bad these days—I'm home! For another week and half or so now. It was 108 degrees in the beginning of last week and I got hella-sunburned. It was invigorating. But then it got all Omaha-ey and dropped down to the 70s and got all stormy later in the week. In May! In Arizona! The gods must be crazy. But back to the good stuff--I got A's in three of my classes last semester, and I'm still waiting for my grade in the fourth class. Keep your fingers crossed! Trying to keep that GPA up; I'm gonna need it to get into NYU Law, especially if my performance on the practice LSAT I took on-line today is any indication. In my defense, I did it sporadically rather than sitting down and focusing on it in one sitting, and I did at home here with everyone and everything making a racket, and I did at least half of it on an empty stomach, and (my final excuse) I mis-utilized my time on one section, forcing me to rush through and randomly answer like ten of the questions before time ran out. Still, I didn't like the score. Speaking of NYU, the economy going the way it's going and my aversion to debt of any kind has lead me to consider—and only to consider—applying for the law school at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Though it's not NYU caliber, it's considered to be a pretty good school and my instate tuition would be significantly less than the nearly $40,000/year (plus books) that NYU Law charges. Still, the dream is New York and by golly I'm still wanting to go for it at this point. But I'm staying flexible—and practical.
Oh yeah, and I recently gave in to the desire that I've been fighting for about six months now and bought a new laptop. Dell's building it now, and it should arrive here in a few days, and it is FULLY LOADED--economy be damned! 17" high-resolution screen, 4GB memory, 640GB HDD, Intel Duo Core 2 2.4 GHz processor, 256MB Nvidia graphics card, you name it. It's even got a blue ray drive/writer. Sah-weet! And I ordered a tv tuner for it too. Yes, yes, I love my toys. And it's got anti-theft coverage with lo-jack tracking, so don't go trying to steal it cuz I will find you. Unless that's what you wanted to begin with, but if it is you really should just text or call me instead. It's kind of awkward to hang out after I had to track you down for stealing my laptop. Just trying to be the voice of reason here.
Fin
Listening to: Hard Candy by Madonna
Listening to: Hard Candy by Madonna
Sorry Hilary
Alright, so here's my deal on this. I tend to be an under-dog person, so I was naturally sympathetic to Hilary's plight. I got tired of hearing all of the negative crap about her from people that I'm pretty sure have no idea what they're talking about. Mostly because I was in high school during Pres. Clinton's first term in office, and a lot of the Hilary-bashers I've listened to were barely out of elementary school by that time, if that far. I barely remember anything about that administration except the Monica scandal, and what I overheard my parents say—and I was in my late teens. So how could they possibly think they know what they're talking about? Yet they have all this shit to say about Hilary. So I did some research. I spent one night and read up on her a little, and found very little that I disliked. Then when I went back to some of these nay-sayers to discuss my findings, many simply stated something like, "Well, she might make a great president, but I just don't like her." That's retarded. Seriously. It makes absolutely no sense. It's a cop-out. Not to say I was anti-Obama. I just thought it was a stupid reason to champion for Obama just because you perceive that you don't like Hilary. I've worked with plenty of people I haven't personally liked, but whom I respected because of their professionalism, qualifications and talent for their job. With the state of our country these days: the economy, the war, the political and ideological divisions; choosing a president's just not about liking. It's about, who can do the job the most competently?
But after all of that, the course of the campaigns have caused me to lose my sympathies for hell-bent Hilary. I would not call myself a fan of the current administration, and the fact that Mrs. Clinton seems to be acting in a fashion far too similar to it alarms me. She seems content to trail-blaze for her campaign, regardless of the political climate, when it is clear that it would be best for her—and the Democrats--to bow out gracefully. She makes the same mistake that I think Bush has made in mistaking "good, strong leadership" for "egotistical bull-headedness". When she claims that she can still win the party nomination in the face of her diminishing delegate support, it sounds like Bush in the early stages of this war. And that is a mistake I do not want to see made again in the White House. In fact, I'm pretty sure Hilary knows she doesn't have a prayer at this point, but she'll push it as far as she can to ensure her name goes down in history. So I'm sorry Mrs. Clinton, but I think you're out of the race. And it's probably for the best.
Reading: Zima Blue and Other Stories by Alastair Reynolds
Reading: Zima Blue and Other Stories by Alastair Reynolds
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)