This was an interesting post. A chart on the reasons people break up and another trending the times during the year that see the most breakups.
I like charts and graphs.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 9)
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
I had a few friends in college that I drifted from when we all moved. We've kept in loose contact, but I've been pretty bad about making the day trip over to see people. I'm trying to be better about that. They're great people and I don't want to lose them as friends.
And what do ya know, one of them just emailed me. Told ya - good people.
I had a few friends in college that I drifted from when we all moved. We've kept in loose contact, but I've been pretty bad about making the day trip over to see people. I'm trying to be better about that. They're great people and I don't want to lose them as friends.
And what do ya know, one of them just emailed me. Told ya - good people.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 8)
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Hmm, I think I should re-work this list. Some of these are sorta all about bitching. And I really don't think I have an instance of someone who made my life hell... I either get lost or get even, but either way, I don't just let it happen. I'm sure that if I let other people make suggestions for this post that I could get a few submissions. But really - I feel that you only LET people make your life hell, and there's always ways to get out from under that. So its hard for me to place blame on other people. I suppose I could go into people who I hated working with at work, but I tend to move on ASAP if I get into those situations.
Sorry. Crap post. Whomp-wah.
Hmm, I think I should re-work this list. Some of these are sorta all about bitching. And I really don't think I have an instance of someone who made my life hell... I either get lost or get even, but either way, I don't just let it happen. I'm sure that if I let other people make suggestions for this post that I could get a few submissions. But really - I feel that you only LET people make your life hell, and there's always ways to get out from under that. So its hard for me to place blame on other people. I suppose I could go into people who I hated working with at work, but I tend to move on ASAP if I get into those situations.
Sorry. Crap post. Whomp-wah.
Monday, November 22, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 7)
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Trying to whittle this down to one person might be tough... I'll just say that my mother and two older brothers have done a lot for me, both directly and indirectly.
Obviously, they've all given me a lot of direct support all my life... advice, phone calls, positive vibes, etc. But indirectly, they've made my life literally worth living for by just being themselves. There have been times in the past few years where I was so down that they were literally the only reason I could find to keep on going at all.
On a much less dramatic but no less truthful note: I sometimes also think that its worth living just to observe the unpredictable and wondrous event that is life on this planet. Crazy good or bad weather, the insane coincidences, the vastness of the universe, the newest gadget realized from a childhood sci-fi movie, the unpredictability of people... There's something existentially and fundamentally amazing about the fact that those phenomenon aren't unique to our lifetimes. People have been reveling in these things for centuries... Little feelings of amazement, awe, and understanding that appear in a flash and then gone even faster. Those moments are - in part - I think why we're all HERE.
Trying to whittle this down to one person might be tough... I'll just say that my mother and two older brothers have done a lot for me, both directly and indirectly.
Obviously, they've all given me a lot of direct support all my life... advice, phone calls, positive vibes, etc. But indirectly, they've made my life literally worth living for by just being themselves. There have been times in the past few years where I was so down that they were literally the only reason I could find to keep on going at all.
On a much less dramatic but no less truthful note: I sometimes also think that its worth living just to observe the unpredictable and wondrous event that is life on this planet. Crazy good or bad weather, the insane coincidences, the vastness of the universe, the newest gadget realized from a childhood sci-fi movie, the unpredictability of people... There's something existentially and fundamentally amazing about the fact that those phenomenon aren't unique to our lifetimes. People have been reveling in these things for centuries... Little feelings of amazement, awe, and understanding that appear in a flash and then gone even faster. Those moments are - in part - I think why we're all HERE.
Friday, November 19, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 6)
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Man, um... I can think of lots of things I hope to never have to do.
Man, um... I can think of lots of things I hope to never have to do.
- Watch one of my children die before I do
- Kill someone
- Wonder how I'll get my next meal
- Meet a certain someone's future kids
- Fight a panda
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is a big deal. You hear about it all the time, but its actually a bit of a controversy. It hasn't been given out much in the past few scenes of war, due to the drop in "in-close" combat and - allegedly - increasing bureaucratic process.
However, today marks the first time a Medal of Honor has been awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War. And he's from Iowa.
Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta's actions are nothing short of action-movie caliber. Here's the official account. I'll break it down for you layman's style here:
Bunch of soldiers traveling down a road. A dozen taliban fighters spring an ambush - an "L" shaped ambushed, designed to separate a team off from the squad, and the squad off from the platoon. Its designed to kill everyone in a small area, then run. So there's 12 taliban fighters shooting rockets and machine guns at just his team.... from 20 FEET AWAY. So, imagine that.
Everyone in platoon is hit - even the medic is killed. The point man is Giunta's best friend, Sgt Josh Brennan. He's hit eight times. Eight. Giunta is 4th man back. The guy in front of him is hit 4 times. Giunta takes one round to his flak jacket, and another off his weapon strapped to his back. Its fucking RAINING automatic weapons fire. From 20 ft away, remember.
Giunta sees that his friend, Sgt. Brennan, is being drug away by two talibani fighters to who knows where. Nowhere good. Giunta leaves cover, runs into the effing middle of this, shoots one of the talibani and wounds the other who drops his team leader (and friend) and runs away. Giunta grabs Brennan by the body armor and drags him back to cover and starts administering aid.
Brennan eventually died of his wounds the next day, but Giunta's actions meant that the taliban were denied a possible ransom or execution, and Brennan's parents were able to have a proper burial for their son.
I heard Giunta's interview on NPR coming to work yesterday. He was asked if he was a "good soldier." He responded that he felt that he was "average. I'm mediocre." He didn't sound like the stereotypical heavy brooding soldier type. He sounded like a completely normal person. Thrust into a warzone. While he may not see himself as exceptional - this story is a tiny microcosm of the people serving our country. Normal people being asked to do extra-ordinary things on a daily basis. Shit like this happens so often that its just another day's work to them. Its a great image of how people rise to the occasion to do whatever it is than needs done.
Its a little late for veteran's day - but here's my contribution: Giunta (and others like you) - you should know that you're anything but average.
However, today marks the first time a Medal of Honor has been awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War. And he's from Iowa.
Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta's actions are nothing short of action-movie caliber. Here's the official account. I'll break it down for you layman's style here:
Bunch of soldiers traveling down a road. A dozen taliban fighters spring an ambush - an "L" shaped ambushed, designed to separate a team off from the squad, and the squad off from the platoon. Its designed to kill everyone in a small area, then run. So there's 12 taliban fighters shooting rockets and machine guns at just his team.... from 20 FEET AWAY. So, imagine that.
Everyone in platoon is hit - even the medic is killed. The point man is Giunta's best friend, Sgt Josh Brennan. He's hit eight times. Eight. Giunta is 4th man back. The guy in front of him is hit 4 times. Giunta takes one round to his flak jacket, and another off his weapon strapped to his back. Its fucking RAINING automatic weapons fire. From 20 ft away, remember.
Giunta sees that his friend, Sgt. Brennan, is being drug away by two talibani fighters to who knows where. Nowhere good. Giunta leaves cover, runs into the effing middle of this, shoots one of the talibani and wounds the other who drops his team leader (and friend) and runs away. Giunta grabs Brennan by the body armor and drags him back to cover and starts administering aid.
Brennan eventually died of his wounds the next day, but Giunta's actions meant that the taliban were denied a possible ransom or execution, and Brennan's parents were able to have a proper burial for their son.
I heard Giunta's interview on NPR coming to work yesterday. He was asked if he was a "good soldier." He responded that he felt that he was "average. I'm mediocre." He didn't sound like the stereotypical heavy brooding soldier type. He sounded like a completely normal person. Thrust into a warzone. While he may not see himself as exceptional - this story is a tiny microcosm of the people serving our country. Normal people being asked to do extra-ordinary things on a daily basis. Shit like this happens so often that its just another day's work to them. Its a great image of how people rise to the occasion to do whatever it is than needs done.
Its a little late for veteran's day - but here's my contribution: Giunta (and others like you) - you should know that you're anything but average.
30 days of truth (Day 5)
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Hmmm... there's a lot of things I'd like to eventually get done in my life. Maybe I'll just use this post to lay down a quick bucket list.
Hmmm... there's a lot of things I'd like to eventually get done in my life. Maybe I'll just use this post to lay down a quick bucket list.
- Backpack around Europe for about 3 weeks. Amsterdam, Prague, Germany, Italy, Greece... however much I can fit in. Best case scenario would be going with about 4 other people. Won't be a cheap trip, but still.
- Get good at guitar. I know that most people give me attitude when I say that, but most people just don't get it. I'm not good at guitar. I'm an imitator, and I'm not very good at improvisational solo of any kind. I have no idea what I'm doing outside of chords. I know a few scales, but don't understand how to correctly apply them. I need to just break down and take a few lessons. I know what level I want to be at to be happy, and I'm not there yet.
- Find a good girl, get a dog, get married after a few years, have a kid or two a few years after that. All these stupid/ignorant people are breeding like rabbits, and I feel like I have a responsibility to mankind to procreate. Ha. I laughed as I typed that.
- Have the means to have a small guitar shop in a garage or something. Even if its just for me, I'd like to be able to build better and better custom guitars.
- Play at least one show (large or small) in LA, Seattle, New York, and Chicago.
- Grow a decent beard.
- Break 175lbs.
- Have a Vegas weekend. Not a classy one. A crazy Fear and Loathing-style binge of excess and debauchery. Might be harder to pull that off 40 years later, but I'll find a way.
- Sell a piece of my artwork for >$200. I feel like that's a good benchmark of "legitimate artist."
- Learn a martial arts form of some kind. Really, I'd even settle for Tai Chi.
Monday, November 15, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 4)
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
This one is actually quite a bit harder - I don't really operate like this. I tend to blame myself rather than others in most situations. I guess I need to work on forgiving people their traffic transgressions, ha. I laugh, but its an honest statement. Not everything needs to become a 'teachable moment' on the road. Especially when I do stupid crap all the time.
I've mentioned that I relate to this guy before, but here's another comic from The Oatmeal that sums this up pretty well.
This one is actually quite a bit harder - I don't really operate like this. I tend to blame myself rather than others in most situations. I guess I need to work on forgiving people their traffic transgressions, ha. I laugh, but its an honest statement. Not everything needs to become a 'teachable moment' on the road. Especially when I do stupid crap all the time.
I've mentioned that I relate to this guy before, but here's another comic from The Oatmeal that sums this up pretty well.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
30 days of truth (Day 3)
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
I guess this is where the 30 days get a little heavy, but I said I'd do it...
When I got out of college, I had a really good girlfriend and to make a very long and complicated story short (and to avoid trying to make excuses) - I was petty and short sighted and elected not to move in with her and foolishly thought we had more time before we needed to think about getting married, when in fact I should have been giving her a ring right then. I wasn't ready to proverbially 'settle down.' Anyways, I sucked as a boyfriend and she left and it wasn't for several months until I realized exactly how much I'd fucked up. The kind of fuck up that you don't come back from. Especially knowing how much she enjoyed where she ended up and the amazing friends she'd made. You can't, in good conscience, ask someone to leave that much positivity to take a huge gamble AGAIN. Of course, I was in a pretty bad place this whole time, and DID ask her to take that gamble. I wasn't in good conscience, okay? Really, an argument could be made that the fact that I did ask her to do that showed that I wasn't really worth the gamble. A better person would let her go. That's really easy to say but much harder to do. Not having contact with her makes me feel dead inside, and every day is a brave face, a complete farce - pretending I'm okay with I'm totally not, hoping that eventually I'll fool myself into actually being okay. But I know its the right thing to do.
Anyways, its 100% my fault that she left to begin with, and I've considered myself a piece of shit ever since. Things probably have turned out for the better for her, so I need to work on forgiving myself for the choices I made just out of college. Lots of kids don't grow up fast enough, but hopefully most don't have to pay as big a price for it as I did. Its an easy mistake to make, and I think I've let it get to me long enough.
I guess this is where the 30 days get a little heavy, but I said I'd do it...
When I got out of college, I had a really good girlfriend and to make a very long and complicated story short (and to avoid trying to make excuses) - I was petty and short sighted and elected not to move in with her and foolishly thought we had more time before we needed to think about getting married, when in fact I should have been giving her a ring right then. I wasn't ready to proverbially 'settle down.' Anyways, I sucked as a boyfriend and she left and it wasn't for several months until I realized exactly how much I'd fucked up. The kind of fuck up that you don't come back from. Especially knowing how much she enjoyed where she ended up and the amazing friends she'd made. You can't, in good conscience, ask someone to leave that much positivity to take a huge gamble AGAIN. Of course, I was in a pretty bad place this whole time, and DID ask her to take that gamble. I wasn't in good conscience, okay? Really, an argument could be made that the fact that I did ask her to do that showed that I wasn't really worth the gamble. A better person would let her go. That's really easy to say but much harder to do. Not having contact with her makes me feel dead inside, and every day is a brave face, a complete farce - pretending I'm okay with I'm totally not, hoping that eventually I'll fool myself into actually being okay. But I know its the right thing to do.
Anyways, its 100% my fault that she left to begin with, and I've considered myself a piece of shit ever since. Things probably have turned out for the better for her, so I need to work on forgiving myself for the choices I made just out of college. Lots of kids don't grow up fast enough, but hopefully most don't have to pay as big a price for it as I did. Its an easy mistake to make, and I think I've let it get to me long enough.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Cooking up a storm
A shit storm...
How not to treat people.
I love this article. Especially the burn about how the 'Editor' and author of the pissy letter condescendingly rebuking the blogger on her writing skills misspells "offense."
Even better that this publication is now the focus of an all-out internet vitriol. Just because something is legal, doesn't mean you won't pay for it somehow.
How not to treat people.
I love this article. Especially the burn about how the 'Editor' and author of the pissy letter condescendingly rebuking the blogger on her writing skills misspells "offense."
Even better that this publication is now the focus of an all-out internet vitriol. Just because something is legal, doesn't mean you won't pay for it somehow.
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