Saturday And Then Some

Well everyone,

Work is slower than cold tar. I’ve done all the studying that my brain can handle at this point. And of course, no school today. So let’s do a Saturday morning checklist:

Get up at 9:30- nope. Didn’t do that one. Try late noon-ish.

Go to the bank- I needed to deposit my check. And due to the above mentioned predicament: nope. Didn’t do that one either. I can do it Monday though. No hurry.

Get haircut- this one I did accomplish. For the next few weeks I am ‘Professor Drop-Dead-Gorgeous T’.

Eat lunch- this one took me two attempts. The first try I was at home, with nothing in the fridge, and thought: “hey, I could try one of Mom’s garden burgers! And look- we have South Western Style!”……..and that was a bad idea. They were awful. Even with mustard, then cheese, and last but not least: gravy. After three attempts to make it appetizing, I decided that trying to make this good is about as effective as plucking hairs from an eggshell. Best left for dog food they are (I am not kidding, that is what Mom uses them for). Not to disparage garden burgers, I did not try one of the regular ones. Just the ones I tried to eat. So before work I went to the never failing Carl’s Jr. I procured myself some ‘almost-as-nasty as the garden burger, but not quite’ food. That was digestable.

Work- Guess what? I got nothin’.

And last but not least: Movies. From Russia with Love and I went to go see Untraceable. And here is the review:

Untraceable This movies premise: a psycho killer starts a web site. He hooks up the killing machine to the website. The more people that visit the site, the faster the victim dies. Enter Cyber Crimes FBI agent: spunky yet tormented single mom who becomes victim to the killer’s hacking abilities in the process of tracking him down. He hacks into her home computer. He hacks into her cell phone. He hacks into her car’s computer. I’m not kidding; it was that bad. And get this: the name of the computer program he uses to do all this is called a “Back Door Trojan”. How the cast was able to repeat this line throughout the movie with a straight face is beyond me. I think they should all get Oscars for that. As for the rest of it: Unwatchable. That pretty much sums it up.

T

Charged

Good evening everyone.

Do you ever get those days, you know, after a rough patch and the clouds just seem to break, pushing the limits to the sky and beyond? When you feel charged, and not just charged, but literally electric?

Today is one of those days.

For me at least.

I feel able, strong and my brain is working wild. If I can keep this up for another couple of days, I might be able to pull off all of my catch up work. That’s right, I said ‘all’. I feel rested and charged, and all it took was an evening with my mind off of school followed by a night of good rest. I recommend that to everyone. In fact; take two. I plan on that all weekend.

I am not even going to bother with the checklist, because nothing new has happened since my last one, so I will do another one of those ‘survey’ things I found on another blog. Here we go: ABC’s of me:

A - Attached or Single: Option the first. I love you honey!
B - Best Friend: Do I really need to be asked that?
C - Cake or Pie: Pie. Pecan Pie.
D - Day of Choice: Does it matter? They all run together.
E - Essential Item:Camera. Or pen & paper. Can’t decide.
F - Favorite Color: Black
G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears. Most fun to play with.
H - Hometown: Neverland.
I - Indulgence(s): I plead the 5th.
J - January or July: July. I hate the snow
K - Kids: Why?
L - Life is Incomplete Without: Family & (girl) friends.
M - Marriage Date: I’m tired of that question. No
N - Number of Siblings: 1
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges. ‘Likes me the juice.
P- Phobias or Fears: I’m working on it :)
Q - Quote(s): "Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace within” ~ A. Einstein.
R - Reason to Smile: Depends.
S - Season: Spring/Summer/Fall.
T - Tag Seven: No, I won’t be doing that thank you.
U - Unknown Fact About Me: Sometimes I relax best while driving
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: What else is a cow good for? Honestly?
W - Worst Habit: I already pleaded the 5th.
X - X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Rays are best left with an ‘R’ rating.
Y - Your Favorite Food: Chinese or Italian (should this be in the 'F'?)
Z - Zodiac: Virgo. If you buy into that sort of thing.

Stay Tuned: More Tomorrow!

T

On What's (not) Needed

Good afternoon every one,

Things have been a little crazy. First off, I think that I am having little “panic attacks”. Keep in mind that I have only had about 3 of them recently, and none since last semester. That would lead me to believe that they are indeed stress related. After all, I am a full time student/employee/boyfriend. And every thing else. Blah blah blah. I think that I am tired of hearing myself complain.

Thermodynamics- Well, the studying that I did helped, but there is still a long way to go. It just makes the semester that much longer.

Quantum Mechanics and Relativity- I had the first midterm today, and the results are not good. For liking the class as much as I do, you would think that I did better. Alas, I did not even finish. I was not alone, it would seem that the entire class was working right up until time was over. No use crying over spilt milk I guess.

Theoretical Electromagnetism- the phrase ‘between a rock and a hard spot’ basically describes this course to a T. The rock being of course: the work required, and the hard spot: doing the work required. I am going to need to pull a couple of tricks out of my sleeve soon. And not just for this class, but for all three. Just keeping my fingers crossed for a miracle.

Or maybe look into my older chemistry books for “water into wine”.

T

"Destiny will cure me"

~ In Flames

My Days, and a Rant of Heroic Proportions

Good morning everyone.

Well, today has been much like yesterday, sleep and work. Can you think of a better activity to do with your weekend? Me either. Last night I did study my Thermodynamics, and it is no longer ‘clear as mud’ so to speak. I still have more to do, but the biggest part of the ‘catch-up’ is behind me for now. And now for something completely different:

Hunter S. Thompson, 7-18-37 to 2-20-05

I realize that I am a couple of days late on this, but this month is the memorial for the passing of one of my heroes. A lot of you may be wondering why he is one of my heroes. That is an interesting subject I put a lot of time and thought into myself, and is also going to launch an ‘essay’ of sorts. So here we go:

On Heroes and Idols

In our society the people we look to for inspiration, guidance and strength are considered to be our ‘heroes’ or ‘idols’. However, in our social structure, they are not always perfect people. In fact, the farther we stray from fiction (both literary and cinematic), the less perfect they become. Most fictional heroes now are considered to be flawed, or have some personal struggle with their specific moral issue or challenge they are confronted with. Moreover, the days of the awesome Sports Star or the Superman are over. With that being said, to idolize someone is almost a lost cause, or a sort of Nihilism that we are forced into, and near the point of ‘defeating the purpose’ so to speak. So why bother?

We all need someone to look to in our times of trouble and self doubt. Not only that, but we need something to aspire to as well. We need a goal to achieve, something not just for comfort, but something ultimately to make us a better person. We always look to our heroes for these standards. And with the above mentioned circumstances, the question is still posed: Why bother? And now there is another: How will these inherent needs we have be filled now?

To use Hunter S. Thompson as an example, the physical person of Dr. Thompson was a drugged out journalist, a womanizer and a drunk past his prime. It’s not those specific qualities that I find fascinating, or make him worthy of being a hero at all, but in any hero you should not look at he flaws and failures and short comings. They are human after all, and if anything, that can teach us that since our heroes are not perfect, then we should understand that we are not as well, and more importantly it is ok not to be perfect, just be as perfect as you can be. This is a subject that I have had a great deal of concern with, and something that I will probably be dealing with for a lifetime. However, when the solution is present, or as I see it in this case, there will always be a road to travel. I have many other examples of my personal heroes: Albert Einstein, who called himself an emotional failure (2 failed marriages) and graduated college with a C average, and became one of the most influential and recognized people in Physics next to Newton. From Russia with Love, who comforts me when I am down, and tells me that she loves me anyways in spite of myself. In fiction I have Spiderman and Batman, both confronted with doubt in their abilities and what exactly is right and wrong, and need to look for guidance themselves to become the legends they are. And last nut not least: my parents, just for putting up with me and my weird ways, and that’s the least they do.

Now back to Hunter Thompson, the spark of this rant. It is not his irresponsible self destruction, pervasive drug use or near complete lack of adherence to federal law that I find worthy of Idolization, it’s the fact that he always walked his own path. All of my heroes have, and give me the courage to do so as well. They took what they had and chased their dreams down whatever road they reside, sometimes to success or failure, and other times to ends that will live forever beyond the means.

T