I got a wild hair up my ass earlier this week and wrote a long letter to one of my Republican friends. I will post excerpts here so you can see what sort of letter it was:
Ok, since you are a republican I need to talk to you a little about what has been going on politically. I know you do not like getting in these discussions, but I need some clarification from a republican about some of the things other republicans are doing. If you are not familiar with many of the things I am about to reference, call your dad and talk to him about it, as I am sure he is aligned with some of this stuff.
The Baby Killer comment: I am all for people disagreeing about politics, but the Texas senator screaming out Baby Killer while referring to either Stupak (another senator) or the healthcare plan in general (depending on who you believe), I think is pretty childish. I know there are many issues like this going on in politics and people vehemently disagreeing with other people, and I am sure for every 1 comment like this we hear about 100 comments like this fly around both sides of the room. However, with
facebook and news footage I have seen recently, seems like this sort of behavior has reached a new tier and I think it is bordering on completely disrespectful and counter productive. No matter what someone’s stance on abortion (one of the most heated and controversial topics ever) healthcare is not working the way it is and something needs to happen. Calling someone a baby killer during a debate makes no sense.
2. Texas Seceding: I have seen many comments on facebook about Texas proudly seceding from the union. Thought it was just trash from ignorant Texans living in rural communities like Tyler. I was wrong. Our governor brings it up at speeches and rallies, and though there is an heir of humor in his tone, there is also some seriousness to his demeanor. I do not understand Republican figureheads (people holding high levels of office) talking about seceding when they disagree with projects the president is working on. When Bush sent us to war so that his companies would become ridiculously rich many people disagreed (including myself) but I never once considered or talked about secession from the Union. That sort of behavior gets nothing positive done and gets people fired up for the wrong reasons. I would be willing to bet that many people in Tyler hear the governor say things like that, yehaw, shoot their pistol in the air and get fired up when what we need to be doing is figuring out solutions for some of the problems we have. Again, I expect this behavior from rednecks in East Texas, not our governor. Seceding from the union is one of the stupidest ideas I have ever heard. Do you remember what happened the last time states seceded in favor of slavery? A civil war happened that cost the lives of more Americans than all other wars combined. Seceding is not a sensible solution and talking about it or threatening it is a waste of energy.
3. The tea party movement: Below is the mission statement for the Tea Party Movement. By reading the definitions stated on the Tea Party website, the main focus of the organization is to limit government involvement in America’s economy. Fiscal responsibility refers to the national deficit and the government spending too much. The constitutionally limited government is pretty clear. Free market refers to business being unrestricted by government. To me, this is completely see through, but there are people on board with this philosophy and I want to know what a republican thinks of this. By see through, I mean these are the actions and organizations of big business trying to protect the large amounts of money they already control. For instance: if you own the electric company, you do not want the government having any control over how you do business, because everyone needs electricity, there is a monopoly, so when changes happen it costs millions for this company. However, the electric company sees such high profits every quarter. What is better for the people? If the garbage were handled by a private company, what would stop them from charging $2000 a month for them to take your garbage? I would venture to say this problem happened in earlier America until the government recognized how ridiculous their rates were and took control. Yet we do not complain about garbage being handled by our government. How does the Tea Party movement help a local small business owner?
Mission Statement For Tea Party Movement (sourced from Tea Party Website)
The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets
4. Healthcare reform: The ins and outs of the healthcare reform being debated right now are somewhat confusing. However, from what I can tell, some of the main initiatives are getting healthcare for everyone and making it mandatory, lowering healthcare costs, and figuring out ways to make healthcare affordable for families who make less than$88,000 per year. I do not see what is wrong with these initiatives. It does not change much for the vast majority, except that it intends to lower healthcare costs. And Republicans are so against this they would rather secede from the union and perhaps embark on another civil war instead of tweak the bill and work with Obama to get something better figured out. I can see how forcing people to get healthcare can seem unconstitutional, but no more so than forcing people to get Auto Insurance. The idea is if everyone has insurance, there is more money in the pool, which means everyone pays less, instead of having people show up at the hospital with no insurance, get billed for $100,000 worth of hospital care, not pay and then the hospital charge more to people who do have insurance. How does this cause problems for Joe Schmo Republican? I do not understand. Can you explain to me your perspective on this?
C., I am not trying to start an argument and I am not trying to send this out to bash republicans. I really am trying to understand the rationale behind some of the things going on right now so that I can know if there are components to the democratic philosophy that I am missing or have blinders to.
And by excerpts, I guess I meant pretty much the entire thing. After sending this letter to him and a few others, I learned the answer to one of my questions. I learned that politicians will say ridiculous things (baby-killer, liar, Texas needs to secede) because when the fanatic followers hear this stuff they become inspired and will donate more money to the campaign. The people who have said the things I mentioned in this letter saw spikes in contributions aligned with the comments they made. This completely makes sense to me. Now I understand. It may make me feel less for the politician taking advantage of these people and for firing up constituents for the wrong reasons, but at least now I have some sort of understanding.
I say all this because I am considering formatting a blog that will accomplish the same sort of revelation for me writing that email did. The format would be as follows: 4 contributors (2 republicans, 2 democrats- all reasonable) will take turns posting 1 question. The question would be posted at the beginning of a 2 week cycle. For example, the question could be: Why does the Governor talk about seceding from the union when he addresses the public. After posing the question that person can write their perspective, their interpretation of possible answers. Throughout the next 2 weeks the other 3 contributors post their answers/perspectives on the question. The question and 4 answers would constitute 1 post or issue. The next contributor would begin the next post by asking his/her question. Does this make sense?
The idea behind the blog would be for sensible, middle of the road individuals to attain knowledge on an issue from both sides of the issue in a sensible environment. It would be an education blog. My question for you is: Is there any sensible people who would want to put forth effort in the name of education? Or are all the sensible people so fed up with politics that we should simply sit back and make the best of what we can?
I ask these questions because I think this blog idea, while good in theory, will take a lot of effort from me and I am not sure I want to put forth this sort of effort if there is no chance for participation. Perhaps this is at the root of the American dilemma...Laziness.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
39) Random Movie Post
Over the last couple of months I have watched some random movies. The definition of random, as it pertains to this post, refers to movies I watched that were not highly publicized or did not just come out. The following is a list of some of these movies:
Boys Don't Cry: An interesting and dark movie that most people will not find much interest in. Hilary Swank won an academy award for her performance and was good in it, but the movie in general is not easy to watch. If you like longer, slower movies, then this is one you should check out. Or, if you like movies about a girl from a trailer park dressing up like a boy in an attempt to seduce other girls from trailer parks, then you might also want to check this out.
Diggers: This is a drama with Paul Rudd, Ron Eldard and Maura Tierney. It is trying to be a serious and funny look at the life of 4 clam diggers in the New York area in the 70's/80's. Was boring and tough to watch. Don't let your love for Paul Rudd lead to you giving this one a try.
Chaplin: A biographical look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr. A fine movie, but slow at times. If you like biographies, period pieces or movies that glorify the history of film, this is a movie you should check out. Or if you remember the good ole days before sound ruined movies, then you might like the nostalgia of this one.
The Crucible: Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis square off in colonial America in this film based on the award winning play by Arthur Miller. Actually, I do not know if the play won any awards, but I think maybe it should have. The movie is long and many aspects of the story are drawn out for dramatic purposes. At some points the tragedy and dialogue become excruciatingly Shakespearean, but all in all the movie was fine. That said, I would not necessarily suggest this film to anyone else, as it does take effort to watch and many people do not like giving effort to watch a movie.
The Piano: Another colonial drama with Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel. This movie is slow and boring, but I liked it very much. It is a strange love story set in a realistically brutal colonial America, but the real draw for this film is the fact you get to see Harvey's penis for minutes at a time. You also get to see Holly Hunter naked, but it is not quite as captivating as Harvey Keitel. There is something about seeing The Wolf naked that makes an entire long, boring movie worthwhile.
Ethan Frome: Another colonial drama with Liam Neeson. Though long and boring, this film had potential. Ultimately, it is too long and too slow for me to endorse publicly. Anyone who watches this because I tell them to would no longer listen to my thoughts on movies. So, be warned. Long and boring with a payoff that is lackluster.
The French Connection: An old movie with Gene Hackman that I watched late night by myself after the family went to bed. I must say I enjoyed this police drama immensely. It followed many of the police drama cliches, but I cannot help but wonder if this film is responsible for many of these cliches. Hackman rocked as a gritty, down to earth detective and though the movie suffers from 1970's technology, is definitely worth the time it takes to watch.
Moon: A new movie with Sam Rockwell. Did not get much publicity, but is a cool sci-fi that strives to be like 2001 but is different enough to make an impact. Is somewhat slow, but the style works and the film should have enough going on to keep you paying attention. You should watch this movie.
My Sassy Girl: A cheesy romance movie that came out in 2008 (or sometime recently) with Elisha Cuthbert. The main dude in the movie is a terrible actor and the story is pretty much standard, but there were moments in the movie that were not too bad, if you like cheesy, romance movies. Not the wittiest of films and not one I would watch again, but if your significant other likes these sorts of movies it was one I could sit through. Be warned, the main dude is not good at acting.
Tyson: I watched the documentary on Mike Tyson that recently came out and was happy with it. Tyson is an interesting figure who dominated a sport for almost a decade. His life is interesting, especially if you wonder what it takes to be a dominant boxer. If you like sports, you should watch this. If you hate sports and documentaries bore you, then you should skip this one.
Days of Heaven: Richard Gere is a traveling worker in early 1900's America who comes up with a plan to get rich by having his woman marry a rich landowner he thinks is about to die from illness. The movie is not terrible, but this fits the category of long and boring, and so I cannot endorse it here for many of you. If you really like period pieces then you can check this one out. And you must really like period pieces, because this movie is not easy to watch.
The Escapist: A british jail movie about some guys planning an escape. It has Brian Cox and Joseph Fiennes in it and is a good movie. The only problem I had was sometimes understanding what they are saying because the accents are too thick. By the end of the movie, I watched with subtitles on. If this is a concern, you may want to skip it. But I like this one and think you should watch it.
Age of Innocence: Martin Scorcese directs Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfeifer in this early American Aristocratic love story set in New York at the turn of the century. Definitely long and boring and at many points pointless. However, I was able to enjoy this one in ways I could not with films like Ethan Frome, Days of Heaven and The Crucible. I would not suggest this one for everyone, but if you love Martin Scorcese and you want to see his attempt at a period piece love story, then rent this one. Otherwise, I would consider finding something else.
Flight of the Navigator: I watched this with Liz and Stephen and must say it is a crappy 80's movie I loved when I was a kid, and thus enjoyed for nostalgic reasons now. If you remember this movie and have not seen it since you were a kid, then rent this and Howard the Duck immediately and make a nice weekend out of it. Otherwise you will be watching a crappy 80's movie and you will probably be mad at me.
The Damn United: An English film about a soccer coach from the 70's taking over the best team in the English Premier league. A nice sports film that focuses on the coaching rivalry of England's top 2 coaches in the 70's Don Revie and Brian Clough. The acting in this film is top notch, and you do not have to be a soccer fan to enjoy this one. In fact, I might suggest that the more knowledge you have about soccer the more the film's lack of soccer knowledge is exposed. I suggest this film for anyone who likes a good sports film, and this might be the best soccer film since Victory. Definitely better than Ladybugs.
If you can think of any random movies that I should watch or avoid, let me know.
Boys Don't Cry: An interesting and dark movie that most people will not find much interest in. Hilary Swank won an academy award for her performance and was good in it, but the movie in general is not easy to watch. If you like longer, slower movies, then this is one you should check out. Or, if you like movies about a girl from a trailer park dressing up like a boy in an attempt to seduce other girls from trailer parks, then you might also want to check this out.
Diggers: This is a drama with Paul Rudd, Ron Eldard and Maura Tierney. It is trying to be a serious and funny look at the life of 4 clam diggers in the New York area in the 70's/80's. Was boring and tough to watch. Don't let your love for Paul Rudd lead to you giving this one a try.
Chaplin: A biographical look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr. A fine movie, but slow at times. If you like biographies, period pieces or movies that glorify the history of film, this is a movie you should check out. Or if you remember the good ole days before sound ruined movies, then you might like the nostalgia of this one.
The Crucible: Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis square off in colonial America in this film based on the award winning play by Arthur Miller. Actually, I do not know if the play won any awards, but I think maybe it should have. The movie is long and many aspects of the story are drawn out for dramatic purposes. At some points the tragedy and dialogue become excruciatingly Shakespearean, but all in all the movie was fine. That said, I would not necessarily suggest this film to anyone else, as it does take effort to watch and many people do not like giving effort to watch a movie.
The Piano: Another colonial drama with Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel. This movie is slow and boring, but I liked it very much. It is a strange love story set in a realistically brutal colonial America, but the real draw for this film is the fact you get to see Harvey's penis for minutes at a time. You also get to see Holly Hunter naked, but it is not quite as captivating as Harvey Keitel. There is something about seeing The Wolf naked that makes an entire long, boring movie worthwhile.
Ethan Frome: Another colonial drama with Liam Neeson. Though long and boring, this film had potential. Ultimately, it is too long and too slow for me to endorse publicly. Anyone who watches this because I tell them to would no longer listen to my thoughts on movies. So, be warned. Long and boring with a payoff that is lackluster.
The French Connection: An old movie with Gene Hackman that I watched late night by myself after the family went to bed. I must say I enjoyed this police drama immensely. It followed many of the police drama cliches, but I cannot help but wonder if this film is responsible for many of these cliches. Hackman rocked as a gritty, down to earth detective and though the movie suffers from 1970's technology, is definitely worth the time it takes to watch.
Moon: A new movie with Sam Rockwell. Did not get much publicity, but is a cool sci-fi that strives to be like 2001 but is different enough to make an impact. Is somewhat slow, but the style works and the film should have enough going on to keep you paying attention. You should watch this movie.
My Sassy Girl: A cheesy romance movie that came out in 2008 (or sometime recently) with Elisha Cuthbert. The main dude in the movie is a terrible actor and the story is pretty much standard, but there were moments in the movie that were not too bad, if you like cheesy, romance movies. Not the wittiest of films and not one I would watch again, but if your significant other likes these sorts of movies it was one I could sit through. Be warned, the main dude is not good at acting.
Tyson: I watched the documentary on Mike Tyson that recently came out and was happy with it. Tyson is an interesting figure who dominated a sport for almost a decade. His life is interesting, especially if you wonder what it takes to be a dominant boxer. If you like sports, you should watch this. If you hate sports and documentaries bore you, then you should skip this one.
Days of Heaven: Richard Gere is a traveling worker in early 1900's America who comes up with a plan to get rich by having his woman marry a rich landowner he thinks is about to die from illness. The movie is not terrible, but this fits the category of long and boring, and so I cannot endorse it here for many of you. If you really like period pieces then you can check this one out. And you must really like period pieces, because this movie is not easy to watch.
The Escapist: A british jail movie about some guys planning an escape. It has Brian Cox and Joseph Fiennes in it and is a good movie. The only problem I had was sometimes understanding what they are saying because the accents are too thick. By the end of the movie, I watched with subtitles on. If this is a concern, you may want to skip it. But I like this one and think you should watch it.
Age of Innocence: Martin Scorcese directs Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfeifer in this early American Aristocratic love story set in New York at the turn of the century. Definitely long and boring and at many points pointless. However, I was able to enjoy this one in ways I could not with films like Ethan Frome, Days of Heaven and The Crucible. I would not suggest this one for everyone, but if you love Martin Scorcese and you want to see his attempt at a period piece love story, then rent this one. Otherwise, I would consider finding something else.
Flight of the Navigator: I watched this with Liz and Stephen and must say it is a crappy 80's movie I loved when I was a kid, and thus enjoyed for nostalgic reasons now. If you remember this movie and have not seen it since you were a kid, then rent this and Howard the Duck immediately and make a nice weekend out of it. Otherwise you will be watching a crappy 80's movie and you will probably be mad at me.
The Damn United: An English film about a soccer coach from the 70's taking over the best team in the English Premier league. A nice sports film that focuses on the coaching rivalry of England's top 2 coaches in the 70's Don Revie and Brian Clough. The acting in this film is top notch, and you do not have to be a soccer fan to enjoy this one. In fact, I might suggest that the more knowledge you have about soccer the more the film's lack of soccer knowledge is exposed. I suggest this film for anyone who likes a good sports film, and this might be the best soccer film since Victory. Definitely better than Ladybugs.
If you can think of any random movies that I should watch or avoid, let me know.
Friday, March 19, 2010
38) Stephen's Wedding
My younger brother Stephen got married on March 6. It has been almost 2 weeks, much too long for me not to have posted my thoughts on the wedding and the marriage. So, here they are:
Marriage:
I couldn't be happier about the marriage. I think Stephen is built for marriage and I love Meghan a great deal. Here is a short list of the things I love about Meghan. She thinks about the future in ways Stephen does not. She understands and respects family. She is fun to be around. She is laid back and can have fun in all sorts of situations. She is beautiful. She is down to earth. She likes to sing New York, New York when she gets tipsy. She is passionate about things and she brings out Stephen's passion. This is something I have not seen with Stephen in his previous relationships. I have not seen Stephen happier in his life, and Stephen is generally a happy person. She puts up with Stephen's quirks (like watching and singing Pete's Dragon at 4 am), and on some level finds humor with them. She has a championship dance. She likes to take and be in pictures. She gives so much of herself in a world of takers. She has a strong spirit that I have not seen waver. Most importantly, she thinks I am funny.
Wedding:
The wedding weekend went well. Instead of telling a long narrative that would most likely fail to capture the grandeur of the event, I will list the things I remember and will want to look back on in the future.
* Britt asking me about the weird looking guy in the corner of the rehearsal dinner and me jokingly reply that we invited Sam Houston to the dinner.
* Joe introducing Sam Houston to the room.
* Joe whispering in Sam's ear "the guy wearing the tie behind you" as Sam is about to make his speech.
* Sam giving Stephen and Meghan a set of steak knives and talking at length about a Rose Emporium somewhere in Texas.
* Joe having each person in the room stand up and introduce himself/herself starting with Britt.
* Seeing Myra Jane enjoy a Corona with a lime.
* The two moving speeches given by Joe and Dan.
* Seeing Ashley, Amanda and Natalie pretty much grown up.
* Taking a nasty tequila shot at the hotel bar after dinner.
* Joe's introduction of Charles late night at the hotel bar.
* Joe and Garrett reliving high school glories. And by glories I mean Garrett whiffing on a crucial play in a district championship caliber game.
* Garrett's hairline touch up that extended to the middle of his head.
* The swankiest Men's Wearhouse in Houston and the hour and half drive it took us to get there. Not to mention the outfits worn by the service women inside that made me feel like I was at a cheap whorehouse somewhere in the middle of Mexico.
* Sitting in the convertible with Stephen while the top was being pummeled for 3 minutes straight by the all inclusive car wash.
* The horrible drawing of Stephen and his happy trail inside the church dressing room.
* Seeing Garrett's hairline touch up job after he put his tux on.
* Watching Mom and Beverly realize how similar their dresses were.
* Matthew's camo hat at the ceremony
* Watching Stephen watching Meghan walk down the aisle.
* Listening to Scott read the letters to Stephen and Meghan written by all the parents during the ceremony.
* The DJ at the wedding filling the dance floor simply by mentioning a relationship between how many children Stephen and Meghan will have based on the number of people on the dance floor for the first song.
* Giving my speech to Stephen and Meghan at the reception.
* Cody giving a cooler speech to Stephen and Meghan at the reception.
* Cody saying that when he first heard about Stephen and Meghan he thought tentatively to himself, "Okay?" But after getting to know Meghan he thought, "All right!" While extending a thumb's up.
* Liz having so much fun on the dance floor.
* Britt and Elissa performing The Devil Went Down to Georgia while we clapped and sang the chorus.
* Seeing Johnny and Brandon at the wedding and getting to catch up with them a little.
* Stephen on the dance floor surrounded by Dan's sisters.
* Salena dancing and sleeping at the same time.
* Watching Jeremy dancing with Kylie.
* One of Dan's sister's introducing herself to me as Dan's Brother.
* Making drinks for 90 people at the after party.
* Talking with Jules about buying some property in New Orleans
* Listening to Elissa play Irish music on the violin.
* Hearing that Stephen and Meghan made it back to the hotel around 2:30 in the morning to find Britt and Joe sitting outside talking, where they had been for several hours after the wedding.
Marriage:
I couldn't be happier about the marriage. I think Stephen is built for marriage and I love Meghan a great deal. Here is a short list of the things I love about Meghan. She thinks about the future in ways Stephen does not. She understands and respects family. She is fun to be around. She is laid back and can have fun in all sorts of situations. She is beautiful. She is down to earth. She likes to sing New York, New York when she gets tipsy. She is passionate about things and she brings out Stephen's passion. This is something I have not seen with Stephen in his previous relationships. I have not seen Stephen happier in his life, and Stephen is generally a happy person. She puts up with Stephen's quirks (like watching and singing Pete's Dragon at 4 am), and on some level finds humor with them. She has a championship dance. She likes to take and be in pictures. She gives so much of herself in a world of takers. She has a strong spirit that I have not seen waver. Most importantly, she thinks I am funny.
Wedding:
The wedding weekend went well. Instead of telling a long narrative that would most likely fail to capture the grandeur of the event, I will list the things I remember and will want to look back on in the future.
* Britt asking me about the weird looking guy in the corner of the rehearsal dinner and me jokingly reply that we invited Sam Houston to the dinner.
* Joe introducing Sam Houston to the room.
* Joe whispering in Sam's ear "the guy wearing the tie behind you" as Sam is about to make his speech.
* Sam giving Stephen and Meghan a set of steak knives and talking at length about a Rose Emporium somewhere in Texas.
* Joe having each person in the room stand up and introduce himself/herself starting with Britt.
* Seeing Myra Jane enjoy a Corona with a lime.
* The two moving speeches given by Joe and Dan.
* Seeing Ashley, Amanda and Natalie pretty much grown up.
* Taking a nasty tequila shot at the hotel bar after dinner.
* Joe's introduction of Charles late night at the hotel bar.
* Joe and Garrett reliving high school glories. And by glories I mean Garrett whiffing on a crucial play in a district championship caliber game.
* Garrett's hairline touch up that extended to the middle of his head.
* The swankiest Men's Wearhouse in Houston and the hour and half drive it took us to get there. Not to mention the outfits worn by the service women inside that made me feel like I was at a cheap whorehouse somewhere in the middle of Mexico.
* Sitting in the convertible with Stephen while the top was being pummeled for 3 minutes straight by the all inclusive car wash.
* The horrible drawing of Stephen and his happy trail inside the church dressing room.
* Seeing Garrett's hairline touch up job after he put his tux on.
* Watching Mom and Beverly realize how similar their dresses were.
* Matthew's camo hat at the ceremony
* Watching Stephen watching Meghan walk down the aisle.
* Listening to Scott read the letters to Stephen and Meghan written by all the parents during the ceremony.
* The DJ at the wedding filling the dance floor simply by mentioning a relationship between how many children Stephen and Meghan will have based on the number of people on the dance floor for the first song.
* Giving my speech to Stephen and Meghan at the reception.
* Cody giving a cooler speech to Stephen and Meghan at the reception.
* Cody saying that when he first heard about Stephen and Meghan he thought tentatively to himself, "Okay?" But after getting to know Meghan he thought, "All right!" While extending a thumb's up.
* Liz having so much fun on the dance floor.
* Britt and Elissa performing The Devil Went Down to Georgia while we clapped and sang the chorus.
* Seeing Johnny and Brandon at the wedding and getting to catch up with them a little.
* Stephen on the dance floor surrounded by Dan's sisters.
* Salena dancing and sleeping at the same time.
* Watching Jeremy dancing with Kylie.
* One of Dan's sister's introducing herself to me as Dan's Brother.
* Making drinks for 90 people at the after party.
* Talking with Jules about buying some property in New Orleans
* Listening to Elissa play Irish music on the violin.
* Hearing that Stephen and Meghan made it back to the hotel around 2:30 in the morning to find Britt and Joe sitting outside talking, where they had been for several hours after the wedding.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
37) Even More Bathroom Humor
2 nights ago I worked until the cleaning people came. They own the loudest vacuums in the world, and they do not care what you are doing, they are going to work until this place is quasi-clean. I needed to use the bathroom. #2. A cleaning lady entered while I was in there. I heard the door open followed by the rustling of garbage bags. I knew it was a woman because I have only seen cleaning women. I listened, hoping she would change the garbage bins and be done. She was not. I listened as she cleaned the counter tops and entered the stall next to me. I finished my thing and decided I had to leave. I walked out and she was standing right outside the stall waiting for me to finish. As I exited the stall she avoided making eye contact. I think that was the closest I have ever been to a woman while I was going to the bathroom. And I am forced to wonder, did she and I share an intimate moment, one that places her closer to me than anyone else in the world. Or does she just really hate her job enough to stand outside a stall in the men's restroom to save herself from leaving and coming back?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
36) Blackout
We've been without electricity the last three days. In an attempt to make a long story short:
We noticed our monthly bill being too low and called to inquire what was going on. Sounds strange to do this, but the bill was $10, and there is no way our electric bill could ever be $10. And we considered the possibility that this was some new electric company scheme to penalize you for paying too low. We called 2 months in a row, and 2 months later they sent someone out. A month later they cut our electricity off saying we needed to fix our bypass handle on the outside meter before we would get electricity. We complained that they did not notify us or give us time or explain to us what was going on. They returned power to our house, but a couple of weeks later turned our power off again.
We had scheduled the electrician to come, but Oncor would not return power to us until it was repaired. The next morning our electrician fixed the problem and we scheduled the reconnect with Oncor, who said it would be done that day. When I got home from work they informed me the reconnect had been cancelled.
I yelled and cussed at the lady who hung up on me. I called back and explained my frustration to the next person who rescheduled my reconnect. The next day at lunch when we did not have power restored I called and asked the status of our reconnect. The lady on the phone told me that our reconnect had been denied because we did not have an inspection, and that it would take a couple of days to schedule an inspection. She went on to say that since we had been denied our reconnect, our next order would take a couple of days. It was Oncor's way of punishing us for a bogus reconnect order.
The situation was not good, and has since been taken care of. I do not know what our possible recourse is for how badly we have been treated throughout this process...especially considering we were the ones to notify them of the problem. They acted as though they caught us tampering with the meter outside to avoid service (which is a felony). They did not catch us. We reported it the first time our bill was unrealistic.
On Tuesday night I sat in the living room, in the dark. I told L. not to come home. She stayed late at her office and eventually went to a nearby friend's house. I stayed at the house because Oncor told me someone was coming out and that they would contact me to go over the situation surrounding our meter. I decided to play my guitar, which I have not played since moving back to Dallas. Unfortunately my fingernails were longer than I wanted.
I carried the largest candle I had into the bathroom to cut my fingernails by candlelight. This was one of the scariest moments I have recently experienced. Felt like the guy in the movies who is trying to disarm a bomb at the local elementary school, the moment before he was to cut the green wire. I positioned my fingernail between the iron teeth of the clippers and wondered if I perhaps went too deep with the clippers. I worried that squeezing the handle might cause the explosion of pain that occurs when you cut your nails too short. I moved my fingers closer to the candle, but it did no good. I could not see well enough.
Ultimately I cut my nails, only causing pain once, and I played 3 hours of guitar in the dark. The guy did not show up and the next day when I called the lady on the phone told me the evening technician decided to pass our house on to the morning crew.
We noticed our monthly bill being too low and called to inquire what was going on. Sounds strange to do this, but the bill was $10, and there is no way our electric bill could ever be $10. And we considered the possibility that this was some new electric company scheme to penalize you for paying too low. We called 2 months in a row, and 2 months later they sent someone out. A month later they cut our electricity off saying we needed to fix our bypass handle on the outside meter before we would get electricity. We complained that they did not notify us or give us time or explain to us what was going on. They returned power to our house, but a couple of weeks later turned our power off again.
We had scheduled the electrician to come, but Oncor would not return power to us until it was repaired. The next morning our electrician fixed the problem and we scheduled the reconnect with Oncor, who said it would be done that day. When I got home from work they informed me the reconnect had been cancelled.
I yelled and cussed at the lady who hung up on me. I called back and explained my frustration to the next person who rescheduled my reconnect. The next day at lunch when we did not have power restored I called and asked the status of our reconnect. The lady on the phone told me that our reconnect had been denied because we did not have an inspection, and that it would take a couple of days to schedule an inspection. She went on to say that since we had been denied our reconnect, our next order would take a couple of days. It was Oncor's way of punishing us for a bogus reconnect order.
The situation was not good, and has since been taken care of. I do not know what our possible recourse is for how badly we have been treated throughout this process...especially considering we were the ones to notify them of the problem. They acted as though they caught us tampering with the meter outside to avoid service (which is a felony). They did not catch us. We reported it the first time our bill was unrealistic.
On Tuesday night I sat in the living room, in the dark. I told L. not to come home. She stayed late at her office and eventually went to a nearby friend's house. I stayed at the house because Oncor told me someone was coming out and that they would contact me to go over the situation surrounding our meter. I decided to play my guitar, which I have not played since moving back to Dallas. Unfortunately my fingernails were longer than I wanted.
I carried the largest candle I had into the bathroom to cut my fingernails by candlelight. This was one of the scariest moments I have recently experienced. Felt like the guy in the movies who is trying to disarm a bomb at the local elementary school, the moment before he was to cut the green wire. I positioned my fingernail between the iron teeth of the clippers and wondered if I perhaps went too deep with the clippers. I worried that squeezing the handle might cause the explosion of pain that occurs when you cut your nails too short. I moved my fingers closer to the candle, but it did no good. I could not see well enough.
Ultimately I cut my nails, only causing pain once, and I played 3 hours of guitar in the dark. The guy did not show up and the next day when I called the lady on the phone told me the evening technician decided to pass our house on to the morning crew.
Monday, January 25, 2010
35) Financial Fiasco
I am in the process of organizing my brother's bachelor party weekend. I have many thoughts on bachelor parties and on my brother's impending marriage that I would like address further at a later date, but for now I would like to stick with one aspect of my preparation: The Bachelor Party Cake.
I do not think I have been to a bachelor party where there was a cake, but I decided to make one for the upcoming lakehouse trip. Basically I want to bake a cake where I draw a large and graphic picture of a vagina out of icing and sprinkles. I want the picture to be grotesque. I am going for shock value. And I think my attempt to do this using basic icing drawing will be just as funny as the idea itself (which may not be that funny at all). The main reason I came up with this idea is through some of the information I heard that came from the bachelorette party. The girls had fun with their penis theme, so I want to try and give Stephen a memory as well. A giant Vagina cake is all I could come up with.
Saturday night I realized how soon the party is coming up and decided I would figure out how I wanted to draw a vagina using as few lines as possible so that I could translate it to a cake sometime this week. I brought out my sketch pad and made a few ragged attempts. I have no experience with this sort of drawing and as you can imagine the result looked terrible and hilarious. I made myself laugh at how bad it was coming out and was in the process of abandoning the entire thing, which is probably the right move to make. L. glanced over my shoulder at my sketch pad and slowly shook her head. She said, "You got it all wrong. You are trying too hard."
She grabbed a loose piece of paper from the coffee table and with 6 basic lines drew a hairy vagina with a giant penis aimed right for it. She said, "This is basically what you need." And she was right. She stayed simple and she got the result from me I was hoping to get from Stephen. I said, "That is gigantic and awesome! That is what I want on his Bachelor Cake!" I will send a follow up of how the cake looks and how it is received at the Bachelor Party. I may even include a picture.
On Sunday, we had a meeting with a financial planner. This is the second of 4 meetings in which we are gathering information about how we would like to proceed with our future finances. It is somewhat stressful and has required us gathering a lot of information and truly looking deep into our behavior as it relates to our spending habits. It has also forced us to look to the future, in ways I have not done before. Having a integrated and diversified plan in order to have retirement properly saved is an arduous task, and one I have not been enjoying.
Armed with a binder full of statements, bills, mortgage documents, bank account info and many pay stubs we drove to Addison to meet with our financial planner. We explained how new we are to all of this and how we want to be smart without sacrificing our current life experience. She assured us we will look at the situation thoroughly and make choices that will make us happy as well as benefit us long term. She said it would take some time and patience, but if we stay focused with her we would learn much and begin making good financial decisions from here on out.
She began with our liabilities. She thumbed through all the credit card statements we had gathered and our mortgage documents we brought, all the while me feeling vulnerable and embarrassed at some of the purchases I've made in the past 6 months. Next, she went through our student loans. L. has some major loans, while I have one that should be paid off within the next 6 months. The interest rates are reasonable, but still as she added the monthly numbers up I could see that our ability to save dwindled with each statement she looked through.
And then she grabbed my pay stub. She looked at my 401K contribution and my monthly net figures, and that is when I noticed a gigantic vagina with a gigantic penis aimed directly for it on the back of the page she held in her hand. I said, "oh no." L. heard me and asked what was wrong. She thought someone had texted me the Mavericks score to the game I DVRed. I pointed to the back of the page and she blurted out, "Oh shit!" Our planner asked what was wrong.
I asked if I could see the pages in her hand, to make sure what she was looking at was indeed the correct document I meant to print out. She said, "Are you afraid I might see that drawing?"
"Yes," I said.
She said, "It's too late. I already saw it."
I said, "I am so sorry. There is a reason for the drawing, albeit not a good reason, but my brother has a bachelor party coming up and I am organizing lame games for us to play."
She laughed and said, "Boys will be boys." And then she continued to say, "It is strange that you chose your financial documents to do these drawings."
I agreed with her. It was strange. And I feel like it was completely inappropriate. We'll see if she calls us back for our 3rd meeting out of 4, or if we will have to find another financial planner.
I do not think I have been to a bachelor party where there was a cake, but I decided to make one for the upcoming lakehouse trip. Basically I want to bake a cake where I draw a large and graphic picture of a vagina out of icing and sprinkles. I want the picture to be grotesque. I am going for shock value. And I think my attempt to do this using basic icing drawing will be just as funny as the idea itself (which may not be that funny at all). The main reason I came up with this idea is through some of the information I heard that came from the bachelorette party. The girls had fun with their penis theme, so I want to try and give Stephen a memory as well. A giant Vagina cake is all I could come up with.
Saturday night I realized how soon the party is coming up and decided I would figure out how I wanted to draw a vagina using as few lines as possible so that I could translate it to a cake sometime this week. I brought out my sketch pad and made a few ragged attempts. I have no experience with this sort of drawing and as you can imagine the result looked terrible and hilarious. I made myself laugh at how bad it was coming out and was in the process of abandoning the entire thing, which is probably the right move to make. L. glanced over my shoulder at my sketch pad and slowly shook her head. She said, "You got it all wrong. You are trying too hard."
She grabbed a loose piece of paper from the coffee table and with 6 basic lines drew a hairy vagina with a giant penis aimed right for it. She said, "This is basically what you need." And she was right. She stayed simple and she got the result from me I was hoping to get from Stephen. I said, "That is gigantic and awesome! That is what I want on his Bachelor Cake!" I will send a follow up of how the cake looks and how it is received at the Bachelor Party. I may even include a picture.
On Sunday, we had a meeting with a financial planner. This is the second of 4 meetings in which we are gathering information about how we would like to proceed with our future finances. It is somewhat stressful and has required us gathering a lot of information and truly looking deep into our behavior as it relates to our spending habits. It has also forced us to look to the future, in ways I have not done before. Having a integrated and diversified plan in order to have retirement properly saved is an arduous task, and one I have not been enjoying.
Armed with a binder full of statements, bills, mortgage documents, bank account info and many pay stubs we drove to Addison to meet with our financial planner. We explained how new we are to all of this and how we want to be smart without sacrificing our current life experience. She assured us we will look at the situation thoroughly and make choices that will make us happy as well as benefit us long term. She said it would take some time and patience, but if we stay focused with her we would learn much and begin making good financial decisions from here on out.
She began with our liabilities. She thumbed through all the credit card statements we had gathered and our mortgage documents we brought, all the while me feeling vulnerable and embarrassed at some of the purchases I've made in the past 6 months. Next, she went through our student loans. L. has some major loans, while I have one that should be paid off within the next 6 months. The interest rates are reasonable, but still as she added the monthly numbers up I could see that our ability to save dwindled with each statement she looked through.
And then she grabbed my pay stub. She looked at my 401K contribution and my monthly net figures, and that is when I noticed a gigantic vagina with a gigantic penis aimed directly for it on the back of the page she held in her hand. I said, "oh no." L. heard me and asked what was wrong. She thought someone had texted me the Mavericks score to the game I DVRed. I pointed to the back of the page and she blurted out, "Oh shit!" Our planner asked what was wrong.
I asked if I could see the pages in her hand, to make sure what she was looking at was indeed the correct document I meant to print out. She said, "Are you afraid I might see that drawing?"
"Yes," I said.
She said, "It's too late. I already saw it."
I said, "I am so sorry. There is a reason for the drawing, albeit not a good reason, but my brother has a bachelor party coming up and I am organizing lame games for us to play."
She laughed and said, "Boys will be boys." And then she continued to say, "It is strange that you chose your financial documents to do these drawings."
I agreed with her. It was strange. And I feel like it was completely inappropriate. We'll see if she calls us back for our 3rd meeting out of 4, or if we will have to find another financial planner.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
34) New Year's Resolutions
Not sure if it is too late to submit a New Year's resolution, but I do have a couple of things I would like to work on this year. That is, a couple of things outside of the universal resolutions seen on most New Year's lists (working out, eating better, fewer hangovers per week etc...).
1) I would like to be more apart of the family that helped raise me. Since I left home at the age of 17 I have pretty much not looked back. There was a certain level of training I put my parents through, since I was the first of their children to leave the nest. I trained them not to expect calls but maybe once a month. I trained them to expect visits twice a year, one weekend during the summer and one at Christmas. And during that weekend a particular family member could expect to see me 2 hours at most. I forgot most birthdays and avoided family issues. Since leaving home my mom has encountered problems of her own; problems that have on a major level taken control of how she lives on a day to day basis. The few times a month we spoke on the phone she would tell me how she could not wait for me to move back to Houston. Each time she told me this I assured her I was never moving back to Houston. After graduating college I moved to Dallas. A few years later I moved to Tyler, where I bought my first home. It was then she realized I was not moving to Houston and her hopes changed slightly. She would say to me, "I'm gonna sell my town home, save up some money and move to whatever city you're living in. I have to get out of here."
A couple of years went by. I moved from Tyler to Dallas. One of the last conversations I had with my mother she said, "I finally got my town home on the market. As soon as I sell it I am going to move to Tyler where I can be near Stephen. I am going to buy a nice home on the outskirts of Tyler where I can have as many dogs as I want and Cody can move in with me if he wants." As usual, I answered her with support and understanding. I said, "That sounds nice."
I have trained my mother well. She no longer hopes to attain my attention and affection, and has instead moved to my younger brother. The next in line. I am a little sad because I do not want to be the one to let her down, and I certainly am not looking to push responsibility onto my brother. Instead, I am going to make a half-assed resolution to become more involved with my family, and hope on some level I can stick to it better than I have stuck to working out, eating better and having fewer hangovers.
2) I would like to be more fun. Generally I am a serious person. I like watching serious movies. I like reading slower-developing books. I do not care for hanging out at bars, dancing, or talking about what is going on in the reality tv world. Too many times I fail to see the humor in crappy horror movies, or the way Jason Caruso takes his sunglasses off and delivers the cheesiest/stupidest line ever on CSI Miami. I would like to change this. I would like to become more fun. I would like to go dancing and not be the guy sitting at the table drinking and waiting for the night to be over. I want to be the guy on the dance floor having, and being fun. I want to rent a handful of horror movies and make a night out of laughing and being scared by the stupid movies. I want to dress up for Halloween this year and not be embarrassed about looking dumb (even though I must admit that each time I dress up for Halloween I look really dumb, or borderline gay). I want to cook a nice dinner and not insist on cleaning the dishes before we move on to the night's activities. I want to watch my dog tear into a chew toy without immediately following her around picking up the stuffing she leaves on the ground...and on and on.
1) I would like to be more apart of the family that helped raise me. Since I left home at the age of 17 I have pretty much not looked back. There was a certain level of training I put my parents through, since I was the first of their children to leave the nest. I trained them not to expect calls but maybe once a month. I trained them to expect visits twice a year, one weekend during the summer and one at Christmas. And during that weekend a particular family member could expect to see me 2 hours at most. I forgot most birthdays and avoided family issues. Since leaving home my mom has encountered problems of her own; problems that have on a major level taken control of how she lives on a day to day basis. The few times a month we spoke on the phone she would tell me how she could not wait for me to move back to Houston. Each time she told me this I assured her I was never moving back to Houston. After graduating college I moved to Dallas. A few years later I moved to Tyler, where I bought my first home. It was then she realized I was not moving to Houston and her hopes changed slightly. She would say to me, "I'm gonna sell my town home, save up some money and move to whatever city you're living in. I have to get out of here."
A couple of years went by. I moved from Tyler to Dallas. One of the last conversations I had with my mother she said, "I finally got my town home on the market. As soon as I sell it I am going to move to Tyler where I can be near Stephen. I am going to buy a nice home on the outskirts of Tyler where I can have as many dogs as I want and Cody can move in with me if he wants." As usual, I answered her with support and understanding. I said, "That sounds nice."
I have trained my mother well. She no longer hopes to attain my attention and affection, and has instead moved to my younger brother. The next in line. I am a little sad because I do not want to be the one to let her down, and I certainly am not looking to push responsibility onto my brother. Instead, I am going to make a half-assed resolution to become more involved with my family, and hope on some level I can stick to it better than I have stuck to working out, eating better and having fewer hangovers.
2) I would like to be more fun. Generally I am a serious person. I like watching serious movies. I like reading slower-developing books. I do not care for hanging out at bars, dancing, or talking about what is going on in the reality tv world. Too many times I fail to see the humor in crappy horror movies, or the way Jason Caruso takes his sunglasses off and delivers the cheesiest/stupidest line ever on CSI Miami. I would like to change this. I would like to become more fun. I would like to go dancing and not be the guy sitting at the table drinking and waiting for the night to be over. I want to be the guy on the dance floor having, and being fun. I want to rent a handful of horror movies and make a night out of laughing and being scared by the stupid movies. I want to dress up for Halloween this year and not be embarrassed about looking dumb (even though I must admit that each time I dress up for Halloween I look really dumb, or borderline gay). I want to cook a nice dinner and not insist on cleaning the dishes before we move on to the night's activities. I want to watch my dog tear into a chew toy without immediately following her around picking up the stuffing she leaves on the ground...and on and on.
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