The Ramblings Of One Man's Mind

My oh my, has it gotten dusty in here. I suppose that's what happens when you stay away from one place for so long. It's been, what, a year or so since I've last stopped by here? I'd say maybe even longer than that.

I'm contemplating coming back to the livejournal world, now that the enjoyment of other networking sites has long worn off. What am I guranteed by using one of those sites? Well, the settled idea that people are most definitely looking at what I'm reading. Does that matter? Or should it matter? No, not really. It's just nice to know that you have an audience.

I'm leaving now, but perhaps I'll be back. I'm working on a new story and this just very well may be the platform to share it on.

I find it more and more difficult to actually want to type anything here. Myspace keeps me blogging in a community that offers a lot more than just a blog. So thats where I'll be. I'll stop by here every now and again, but this might be close to the end lj for me.

This has been an interesting week for me, personally speaking. But apparently, at some point in my life, I've learned from mistakes I've made in the past. And I'm stepping forward each day as an adult. There is a lot of patience required and stepping back from over-reacting, but I feel like I am going forward as an adult, expecting to make mistakes in life.

Maybe that's the key. Maybe I need to accept that I am going to make mistakes as I continue through life. Not that I was perfect or thought I was. But more so that I always tried to do the right thing and always thought that what I did was the right thing. And it will never always be the right thing, no matter what I'm dealing with. I'm human and am prone to make as many mistakes as the next guy. And when I make mistakes, I will learn from them and move forward.

I was talking to Tony last night, as I tend to do when I feel stuck with something, and he made an interesting comment to me. I explained to him some stuff and he said that there really wasn't much more he could tell me to do. That I had seemingly handled things pretty well.

In my life, Tony has always had much to say to help me out and point out where I might've messed up. But, it felt good hearing from him that he thinks I've handled things well. Kind of like when you're a kid working on a hard math problem and the teacher always finds something you did wrong. Until that one time, when your teacher says "Good job. You got it."

So that's that. I'm apparently getting smarter as I'm getting older. Go me.

Oh, and to my friends who still read this thing, I owe you a thank you. You guys are the best I have.

This weekend was beautiful and I spent some of it outside. On Saturday, I went to see Little Cuz at the stables for their Fall Fest. But this time, I got to meet Dodge. Dodge is an ornery and tempremental yet quiet and gentle horse. As I stood there while Little Cuz got him ready, I had the weird thought that with a sudden jerk and kick, that horse could kill me. Not sure why I was thinking that, but never the less, there it was. I guess I was a little intimidated by the horse. I was on his turf and thusly, had to obey by his rules. Or at least, so I thought.

I was watching Little Cuz prepare Dodge for exhibition and she just seemed so comfortable around him. I mean, she was ducking under and walking around and moving so quickly that the thoughts I was having didn't even have a chance to enter her mind. And here's me, an adult that felt very intimidated by Dodge. But after awhile, I started to feel more comfortable and I think, but I might just be crazy, but I think Dodge started to feel more comfortable around me.

I've ridden horses before and have had my fair share of unfortunate circumstances, but still, I think it would be fun to ride again. Maybe not a horse like Dodge, because apparently people make him nervous. And horse drawn carriages make him nervous. Hell, oxygen probably makes him nervous. And as a result, he doesn't like to do what's expected of him. He develops his own agenda and does what he wants. And if it was me who was supposed to be going into the jumping arena and had a horse that had other ideas, I would have paniced. But Little Cuz knew what to do and didn't even miss a beat.

He, I guess, needed to calm down, so she took him to a practice arena and did some exercises to calm him down and wear him out a bit so he would behave in the jumping arena. And, again without missing a beat, Little Cuz brought him out to the jumping arena and did a spectacular job! It's so awesome watching her ride. The connection that only exhists between rider and animal. There are so many things to have to pay attention to that seem to come so naturally to Little Cuz. I know I wouldn't fare well trying to jump over a puddle, and doing it on a horse would be disasterous.

I have a lot of respect for Little Cuz though. She, like a few other young people I met when I was teaching, posess not only talent, but passion. There's a difference. Yeah, I've sat through basketball games of kids who really don't have a clue what they're doing. But I've also gone to dance shows and seen what kids can do when they have passion for something. And Little Cuz is no different. I talked with her mom a little bit about how long Little Cuz has been riding and the progress she's made and really, just how much she loves it.

It was a lot of fun and I actually enjoy going to the stables. I'd go back again. And maybe, one time, I'll get myself up on a horse and ride a little.

Another regular season has ended and sadly, neither end of town really ended up with anything to feel good about. Say what you will about the northsiders and how they were "plagued by injuries", but that hardly excuses the sub-standard playing they displayed for the majority of the season. And, as a result, Dusty got the axe. Is it just his fault? Well, no, not really. But that's been baseball through the ages. I think Dusty's biggest crime was not motivating his players in any way.

I was at a game in September, during which the Cubs just didn't play hard. They weren't legging out extra bases or breaking up double-play situations. They were just lazy and apathetic. It's no wonder that they ended up in last place. Frankly, they deserve it. They have a closer who doesn't know how to close, for crying out loud!

So now what for the Cubs? Well, time for a new manager. My vote goes to Joe Girardi. Former Cub, beloved by all Cubs fans. He was just let go by Florida because of issues between him and the Marlins' offices. Just for the record, I support Girardi and would have done the same thing. I would love to see him now bring his hard working style to the Cubs. Here's hoping.

And the southsiders. What the hell happened there? Ozzie ball, which is what got them to the World Series and the championship, just ceased to exhist altogether. Every player was swinging for the fences at every at bat and as a result, they forgot how to play baseball. It was great last year watching them consistently moving runners around the bases. And this year, they started off strong. And then just... stopped.

The real interesting thing to notice is that as they started their decline, Ozzie got really quiet. No more outbursts or degrading comments about the media. No comments about anything actually. Was he afraid of having to answer questions about why his team was in a slump? Maybe.

Now, the post season. I have a rule. I root for the National League team. But, every rule is made to be broken, right? I broke that one when I rooted for Boston to win, which they did in a dominant style. And, I might be breaking it again.

At first I was going to uphold my rule and root for the Dodgers since that's where Maddux is at. But he's got a pretty healthy collection of rings. So, I think this year, I'm going to root for Oakland. That's right. Jump over to the American League. Why? Simple. The 'Big Hurt'. That's right. I would love to see Thomas get himself a ring after an amazing season. And post season. So far, in this post season, he's racking up better numbers than his previous post season totals. Amazing thing from a guy who hasn't stopped playing hard.

World Series? Dodgers vs. Athletics. That would be, well, boring to most people. But I know I'd enjoy watching Maddux pitch to Thomas, and see which superhero can remain. Maddux with his dominating pitching or Thomas with his unbelievable performance at the plate.

A few posts ago I mentioned a story about Starbucks haven't sent out a promotional email to their employees for friends and family to come in for a free large drink.

In more news from that story, this promotion ran crazy in the south-eastern part of the US, where it originated from, for about 38 days until Starbucks ended the promotion, realizing that everyone and their mother was coming in for a free drink.

But it couldn't end there. A 23 year old in New York is suing Starbucks for $114 million dollars because she feels betrayed by the company. Her lawyer had this to say (not a direct quote):

He's hoping for this to become a class-action lawsuit against the company. He also said that this is clearly a marketing campaign started by Starbucks to "counteract slumping sales." (And that is a direct quote).

So many things wrong with society. It's so difficult to decide where to start with this story. The fact that she felt she could sue because she felt "betrayed"? When Best Buy didn't have the movie instock that they had onsale in the ad pissed me off. I could claim I felt betrayed. Maybe I could sue Best Buy.

The other part of this coffee story that's hard to swallow (yeah, I know. that was dumb) is that they came to an amount of $114 million. Seriously. What? I heard that this was a figure of how much money would have been spent on large drinks (what the promotion guranteed) for 38 days (how long the promotion ran), but I don't know for how many people.

But the other thing. This was a promotion in the south. Why is the defendant from New York? I can't wait to see how this one plays out. She should never be allowed in a Starbucks again. They should counter-sue because she's dumb. Now that's a lawsuit I'd be a part of. Class-action lawsuit against this 23 year old because she's a dumbass.

Maybe the bitch who spill McDonald's coffee while holding it in her lap while driving could be part of that. A big class-action suit against all the people of the world who try to sue because they're dumb.

Yeah. That'd be fun.

Ah-nold offers an appology. Just another example of either public figures being too loose-lipped or the media having a bit too much power.

Former teacher found guilty of molesting his student. What really bugs me about these incidents is that it sheds a dark shadow over every male teacher in the field. When my former boss told a parent that he couldn't discuss my being fired with her, what are people going to think when there are stories like this all over the place?!?

Hilton's feelings are hurt by events being blown out of proportion. You're kidding me, right?

No end in sight for TVs most famous animated family. Why does this need to continue? Seriously, what do they have left to give? It's been the same stale jokes for the last seven seasons or so. Move over and let Family Guy take over is what I think.

Funny story. Kind of. Well, not really, but it's just something that happened that would be fun to share. On Sunday afternoon, at Septemberfest, I had told a few students that I would come see their basketball game on Thursday. I told the same thing to some former coworkers Wednesday night at dinner. To which, Michelle replied "Man, Andy better make sure someone knows how to use that defibulator because he's going to need it when he sees you walk in." It was funny.

So Thursday came and I went to the school. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I convinced myself to walk in. It was right at the end of the day and the kids were in the hallway. I was met with hugs and high fives from the kids. It was awesome. It's nice to know the kids miss me as much as I miss them! Soon after that, I learned that Andy wasn't even in the building (YAY!). But he showed up later (DAMN!). He saw me there at the game but didn't say anything to me, which is really for the best.

I saw Michelle and went to talk to her and another teacher. The other teacher had asked what I was up to and Michelle replied "Making [Andy] DuRoss's life miserable just by exhisting." It was said so quickly and straight faced that it made it all the funnier. I miss her and her quick wit and sense of humor. But I managed to avoid him for the visit and was able to say hi to a few other teachers as well. All in all, a good trip. Knowing that the assclown doesn't want to talk to me just makes me want to go back again and again. To see the kids, too, but it doesn't hurt to know that I ruin his day by being there.

And in other news:

I'm sitting here watching season two of Lost (Yes, I bought it. It was foolish to of me to think that I wasn't going to) and I came across this article online. I'm telling you, this show must be cursed or something. The getting arrested curse?

Shouldn't have a problem selling out this one. Everyone loves it.

Bond kisses man. Wait, what?

Awwww. Oliver Stone continues to impress me.

And finally, Starbucks makes me journal again. This time, because people have too much time on their hands and need something to complain about. This is from a video report from CNN.com and you can see it, at least for the time being, by going here.

In short, Starbucks is celebrating it's 35th anniversary by using their original logo, a mermaid with exposed breasts. However, there is a school district that is having their teachers make sure that the logo is covered up, so as not to create a distraction for the students or cause a problem with parents.

Now, I realize that I've only been a teacher for a short time, but I gurantee you that kids really aren't going to notice it. And if they do, then I question what's going on in your classroom that has kids so bored out of their minds that they end up noticing that Starbucks has changed it's logo from one that they've seen a million times.

Going into the weekend, I didn't have much planned. Tony called me on Friday afternoon asking if I wanted to buy some Cubs tickets from his company for Saturday afternoon. Trying to watch the money expenditure, I declined. Of course, Tony and Phyllis, being the friends they are, got the tickets for me anyhow and told me to have a good time. Which I did. The Cubs lost (SHOCK!) but my dad and I had a good afternoon together. A friend of mine who I taught with and his brother also joined us. Little T couldn't make it and my mom doesn't really do stuff like this too much. Plus, the walk up to the seats might've killed her.

I feel really blessed to have such amazing friends. Made me think about friendship a lot. And when I do, I always tend to think of the friendships that didn't work that I can't explain why. I mean, there are people who I have chosen not to associate myself with. But there are also people who have chosen not to associate with me. And that just confuses me. Makes me wonder why someone wouldn't want to know me.

Sunday was great. I went to Septemberfest to see the Frost Jr. High band play, but mostly to see my former students. And there were a lot of them to see. High fives and hugs all around. It was great to see all of them again and knowing that I really mean something to them, at least right now in their lives. A few of them told me they are really excited about me going to Washington DC with them next month. And to be honest, I couldn't be more excited to go with them.

Monday was the family bbq/cousin's birthday gathering. I decided to go because I've been avoiding my family gatherings since losing my job. And not having another teaching job to speak of, I didn't want to spend the afternoon/night rehashing again and again why I'm unemployed.

It was going fine for awhile, until my cousin said from across the room "So Jeff. What grade are you teaching now?" I told him that I'd rather not talk about that. But he kept going on and on and on. It made things a little uncomfortable, because I was getting angry that he wouldn't stop asking. That's why I didn't want to be around them in the first place. But then my cousin's husband (my cousin-in-law?) sat down and the first thing he asked me about was whether or not I was doing another show. It was actually a nice change of pace.

All I know is that my family means well. And really are concerned. Some of them just have a really sarcastic and unintentionally demeaning way of showing it. But my friends stand true all the way and really look out for me. And thats whats awesome. My friends keep me going when I feel like stopping and they know when to help me have a good time when I need a break.

Is there any way possible on God's green earth that I could go work for this district?

Please?

Katrina? Ivan? Ernesto? Damn right I'm talking about destruction through uncontrolable fury of Mother Nature. And the name makes it all the more intimidating. "Oh no! Ivan is on his way to get us!" "Katrina just smacked down on my house and destroyed it!"

It's the name, people, the name!!!

So where am I going with this? Check out the headline of this article: Oh no!

Yup. I give you... (drum roll, please)...

Hurricane John. Plain old John. "LOOK OUT!!! IT'S... John? For real? I guess we should leave our house or something..."

Jackson would have been good. Or, better yet, Javier. Now THAT would have been a great name.

That's it. I've got to go take a dump in my hurricane now. I mean, my john.

This is a story that I read a headline about on AOL this morning and hit up CNN (after getting a few hours of sleep) because it sounds just too stupid to be true.

To preface this, let me just say that I've often thought that with the technology we have at our disposal today, it allows us (society) to lose the value in face to face communication. People my age, for the most part, and a few years below me still value dialogue in person because it's meaningful, but the future is in for a rude awakening.

Enter main story.

At their Fort Worth, Texas headquarters on Tuesday morning, RadioShack sent out a mass email to 400 employees to let them know that they were fired. That's right. 400 people checked their email on Tuesday morning and found the following:

"The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

That's it. What kind of boss is so chicken shit that they have to do that? A spokesman for RadioShack said that [RadioShack] found this to be, and I quote, "quicker and allowed more privacy than breaking the news in person."

Wait, what? I see. You wanted to spare the feelings of 400 employees. So, to help them feel better about this, you make them feel as though they aren't worth face time from a company that they have been dedicated to.

Nice. Real nice.

The group of [ex]employees did meet at a later time where (start writing your letters of complaint and disgust to RadioShack now) they provided plastic bags to employees for them to use to gather their personal materials and carry them home.

Again, that address is:

RadioShack
Riverfront Campus World Headquarters
300 RadioShack Circle
Fort Worth, TX 76102-1964

And nother sign that RadioShack is heading for trouble:

Julian Day has just been announced as the new Chairman and CEO of the company. What? Who's he? Well, according to the RadioShack website, he has successfully held "senior leadership positions at Safeway, Sears and K-Mart."

Oh. Like the Sears hardware that I passed the other day that's going out of business? You mean the K-Mart company that closed a bajillion (slight exaggeration) stores and laid of a bajillion (again, but it's for dramatic effect) employees? Those companies? You should feel great about that one, RadioShack.

But, in another email related corporate story, Starbucks sent out an email to it's employees allowing for a free drink, gratis. But the kicker is that they said for the employees to "share the email with your friends and family."

Oops.

Needless to say, that spun wildly out of control and that email was forwarded all over the place (I don't know why I didn't get one) and that promotion is no longer valid.

I love that from a large leather chair in a huge ritzy office, one can ruin the lives of 400 people or lead their company to a potential financial loss just by clicking 'send.'

It's 3:36 AM and I'm not sleeping... again. I don't know why and I'm tired of trying to figure it out. I think tomorrow will bring with it a trip to the store to find some sleeping pills. Nothing too strong, mind you. But something that will calmly knock me out for a few hours.

In the meantime, why not sound off about something. So this thought crossed my mind recently. With all the coverage of Katrina: One Year Later going on, I can't figure out why. What's the point of reliving this? What do we get out of rehashing all of the anger and bitterness of the catastrophic event? I find it... annoying, really. Is that too harsh? Am I supposed to care more than I do? Yes, I found the event terrible and the blame game will be going on for quite some time into the future. But I'm not feeling relieved (is that what I should be feeling?) by seeing the effects one year later.

But here's the thing: Why is it that five years later, after 9/11, did I find a movie about the destruction of the towers acceptable? It only had four more years on it than Katrina did. And yes, the movie was more about the heros of the day than the event itself. But still, why am I not annoyed by that? Maybe I will be as we near September 11th.

I have heard that CNN will rebroadcast their coverage from that day as it played out, starting at 8 AM. I find that to be a bit excessive. However, my friend Lisa is going to watch because she did't see it as it happened that day. I can remember the day almost perfectly. Where I was and what I was doing as events played out. I'm sure, if I'm not subbing that day, that I'll eventually be watching part of the broadcast.

I don't really know where I'm going with this. It was just sort of on my mind. There are other things on my mind too. Here's something. Next week, there is a basketball game and a cross country meet at Frost Junior High that I might be going to. I miss the staff, but I really miss the kids. A lot. And I told them I'd be back to see what they were up to with activities at school. But Cheif Whompum (former boss) will be lurking about. I just don't know how to respond to him, should he even bother to acknowledge my being there. Ha ha... the other day at lunch with Tony, I described what I'd like to do, should I get the opportunity, but that's a story to put in here when I'm drunk and don't know any better.

But let's say I run into the assclown. How am I supposed to respond? I have nothing to say to the guy and would really like to tell him how I feel about him. But, he's still a reference that other principals are going to call when I'm interviewing. The idea of faking politeness makes me kind of want to throw up a little bit, but I was cordial for an entire school year. Another day or two shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Why does every Three's Company episode revolve around some sort of misunderstanding that is centered around sex? (It's on right now and that's all that seems to happen).

I finished reading Wicked tonight and started reading Son Of A Witch. After that, I need to finish Fell Cargo. I was liking that one, but stopped for some reason. Plus, I'm about halfway through Preacher right now with the rest of Fables sitting next to me, tempting me all the time. AND: Fell (I need to find issues 1-3 yet) and The Boys. Yikes. So much to read. And I complain that I'm bored? WTF?

Banned Books Week is coming up in a little less than a month. I wonder how I can do something with that without being in a school. Something new for me to ponder for a bit. Great. Just what I needed.

I suppose that's enough randomness for one evening. Well, morning. It's 4 AM and I Love Lucy is about to start. I love that show. There are a few episodes that I've seen at least fifty times, if not more, and still laugh at every time. I hope that this is one of them.

Have a good day.

I have no idea what this show is that I'm watching, but I came across it as I was channel surfing. And at 5:13 PM on the discovery channel, I found a program about the raising of chickens for chicken farmers. I didn't see how it started, but I picked up this educational broadcast as the hatched baby chicks and the eggs went along a conveyor belt through a sorter, at which time the egg shells separate from the chicks. The chicks move along, down the conveyor belt and are dropped, yes dropped, onto yet another conveyor belt that takes them to the sorting area.

Now, I'm not one of those people who will picket outside Kentucky Fried Chicken and protest against animal cruelty. I mean, what else is a cow used for besides beef? But there seemed to be something incredibly wrong with what I had seen. But it went on, and I continued to watch out of disbelief. As the chicks are moved along the conveyor belt, there are human sorters they pass by. These people pick up the chick and examine it's feathers to determine the sex of the chick. Males are tossed down one chute and females are tossed down another chute. Yes, folks. Tossed. Dropped. Thrown. However they get there, it's through a chute to yet another conveyor belt. From here they are whisked away to the counter. See, apparently chicks are ordered in flats of 102. So, the machine somehow counts out 102 chicks and drops (yes, actually drops) them into the containers to be shipped. And for some of the chicks, the process is over. For others, it continues. It seems that there are farmers out there who want their chicks vaccinated before they receive them. These lucky chicks are taken through one more machine where they are all sprayed by a vaccine before being shipped out.

And that was that for the segment. I feel like Colonel Sanders has some explaining to do. Although, I do find it entertaining that I'm somewhat horrified by the treatment of animals before they are slaughtered and deep fried for my enjoyment. Seems like almost a waste of time if you ask me. Still, to see little yellow fuzzballs thrown around like they're a new product from Nerf is a little disheartening.

But as I said when I started this, my letter to P.E.T.A. will be written on the back of a napkin that I got from Brown's Chicken the other day. I'm sure that someone is proud that I'm finding a good use for an extra napkin instead of just throwing it out.

I spent this summer worrying about nothing. And loved every minute of it. I did so much with so many that it ended up being a very relaxing summer. But with a week and a half until school "starts", I'm in worry/panic mode right now. I still have no job for the fall.

I've heard stories of people getting hired within the first few days before school starts, but as much as I'm trying to be hopeful, I find myself feeling sad and feel like I need to except that I won't be teaching this fall.

I've been speding some time alone lately, seeing movies, working out, whatever. A lot of people are busy with a lot of things right now so I'm trying a whole independent frame of mind. I went out tonight, go some Starbucks and hung out at the fountain of North School Park. Just sitting and thinking, trying to come up with some sort of logical explanation of how my life ended up like it has. I'm 28, single, unemployed, still living at home. This just isn't the way I expected it to be.

I'm just really confused about life, I guess. This is such an awkward place to be and there is no instruction book on how to fix it. I've applied to school districts, I've gone into schools and I've tried calling principals. What's left to do that I'm missing?

And, as if there wasn't enough pressure to get my life in order, I have my ten year high school reunion at the end of November. Let's face facts, I was a loser in high school. And, I suppose, I have, or had, visions of walking into my reunion thinner, with a nice place that I live in because of a great job that I have as a way to show up the assholes who made every day of high school a living hell.

I would love serious suggestions as to what you think I should do if I don't get a teaching job. There is no gurantee that I'll be working every day if I sub and I'm afraid that if I get a job outside of teaching, then it'll make it all that more difficult to go back to it.

What do I do?

So, this is a basic movie review, without a lot of the jargon used by real reviewers. Basically, if you enjoy movies, then give this a read through. If you've seen the movie, feel free to comment!

WORLD TRADE CENTER

Almost five years after the event, World Trade Center revisits the terrorist attacks of September 11th. However, Oliver Stone doesn't focus on terrorism. He doesn't focus on plane crashes or collapsing buildings. He focuses on heros. The men and women who gave their lives trying to save others. But he does so from inside the rubble, where we've never been.

The movie starts out with John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) waking up early and getting ready for his day as a Port Authority New York Policeman. As he does so, we cut to Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) also doing the same. These men are seemingly going through the motions of just another day at work, and why shouldn't they? After eventually being sent out on their daily assignments, all members of the PAPD are recalled and sent to help with the evacuation of the first tower after it was hit.

Once there, McLoughlin, Jimeno, Dominick Pezzulo and Antonio Rodrigues go inside the concourse between the two towers, and as they are there, the unthinkable happens. The second tower is hit. Presumably this is when that happens. We don't see it happen and there are mixed reports of it already having happened. But the interesting thing is we are inside the building, hearing and feeling what these men heard and felt. And ultimately, we are left to wonder what is going on, just as they did. Within moments, there is an explosion and the building collapses around them. And here in lies the movie.

How does this work as a movie? Simple. Oliver Stone never loses his focus of the people. From the moment the movie starts to the moment it ends, we never forget about the people involved, which is the point of the film. Stone does this by not showing the planes crash into the buildings (He doesn't even show a plane at all. Just a shadow of a plane right before it crashes.) and not showing the buildings collapse.

This movie is made in respect of those who still might be sensitive to the events of the day and is very tasteful and careful. Stone does not want to offend and I don't think he does. He reminds us of the heros that were made out of regular men and women. I walked away with a deep appreciation for them, as I got a glimpse of what it felt like to be trapped in a pile of rubble. One of the most horrific parts of the film is when we are trapped with McLoughlin and Jimeno and we hear and feel the building continue to pile on and around us. However, remember that we are already pinned and don't know what is going on, just hear a terrible noise of debris continuously falling.

I said that this movie isn't meant to offend, and it didn't. But it did return me to where I was as the events happened, and with it, all of the emotions. Nicholas Cage and the young actors in this film portrayed not only the characters, but the emotions of the day as well. Overall, it is pretty overwhelming and you are going to want to have your box of Kleenex nearby.

I strongly recommend that you go see this movie. Oliver Stone has stepped away from his usual conspiracy theorist movie making ways and gives us a story about heorism at it's best. He reminds us that what is important isn't that the United States was attacked, but that we, as a society, came together as one to help and support each other through one of the most trying times in our country's history.

The way I see it, I've made it through summer. It's time to look ahead now. But what have the last few months got me? Or, better yet, what have I got from the last few months? And why didn't I post anything about it? Well, I don't know. I figured I'd post if something fantastic happened, but really, just a bunch of random events. Highlights include:

~APP!
~Swing!
~Retail:The Musical
~4th of July with Tony and Phyllis!
~APP2!
~Seeing Little Cousin in a horse jumping show. Yeah, I'd never be able to do that.
~Partying with the Asian!
~Field Of Dreams with Gerritt!
~Seeing Meghanredding in The Secret Garden... Twice!
~Seeing Erica in her first lead role! She was amazing!
~Seeing Mark get married!
~Seeing Lindsey in Pippin!
~Visiting camp and knowing I didn't have to live there!
~Lunch with Erica, Cousin and Little Cuz
~APP3!
~Graduation parties for: Erica, Lyss, Lis, Jeff and Pat (sorry if I forgot someone!)
~Bells Are Ringing!
~Jess's party!

I've also solidified friendships. Hung out with some of the most amazing people. Saw movies by myself, with Maggie, Jess joined us for one, with my dad, and with a huge group to see Superman Returns.

I went out to lunch a handful of times with Tony and sometimes Edmund joined us. We talked comics, movies, life in general. Solidified friendships.

I went out to dinner with Gerritt once a week and really built a great frienship there. We'd talk about teaching, Frost, Chief Whomppum and the like. But got to know each other really well. More than you can achieve over lunch periods at school. We took a fun road trip to Iowa to the Field of Dreams movie site and talked baseball and relationships with our fathers. What we liked about the field, the movie, what we want out of life. Solidified friendships.

APP started out as a way to show Erica a good time. And, like anything else, anything that good needed to be a trilogy. I don't think it got better than at those parties. But what made it work was that the people there were the best people in the world. Chillin', relaxin', talkin', playing games (What if...), feeling comfortable with the company around me, feeling like I was with a safe group of people. Solidified friendships.

It was great to see so many of my friends go above and beyond with their acting and singing talents. Meghanredding was FaBuLoUs in The Secret Garden. So much so that I saw it twice! Erica was AmAzInG in Crazy For You! I was so proud of her and her performance in a lead role! She and I talked a lot this summer about random topics and some life type issues, and all around, really strengthened our friendship. Lindsey was awesome in Pippin. Gina was great in Retail. Lis, Gina, Meghan, Maggie and Jess were fantastic in Bells Are Ringing. I'm so proud of all of them!

One thing that I noticed this summer is that in hanging out with Tony, we've become adults. In the past, our conversations revolved around movies, comics, books. Trivial stuff, really. But somewhere this summer, we started talking about life. Growing up. Families. Finances. Life struggles. We still make sure to talk about movies and the such. But being an adult isn't so scary when you have other adults with you.

Another lesson that I learned is that nobody is perfect. And everyone makes mistakes. Yeah, I knew that before, I'm not an idiot. But there were times when I had learned that some of my friends made horrible choices. Life changing choices. And I was disappointed. Ash told me she was afraid to talk to me because she was afraid of disappointing me. And with that, I felt so appreciated, but yet worried that I wasn't someone who could help her when she needed it. We talked. A lot. And I think we have a better understanding of each other.

So the summer is coming to an end. I'm sad to see some of my closest friends go to college because that means they won't be here, but I know they are on to many amazing things. I hope they have as much fun as I did when I went to school. Erica, Lyss, Lis, Jeff & Pat... you have all made me proud by the lives that you lead. Go forward with EVERYTHING you have and be as successful as you want to be.

And thank you to all of my friends for an incredible summer. I won't forget it. EVER!

For those of you who only know me through live journal:

1) I pity you.

2) I'm still alive and I'm enjoying my summer the best that I can. I just haven't had anything to put in here recently.

I'll be back for more someday.

That is all.

This was an email that I got from my dad. I thought it was funny, and, somewhat true.

1. NAMES
If Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara go out for lunch, they will call each other Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara. If Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Scrappy.

2. EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom will each throw in a $20 , even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back. When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

3. MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, but it's on sale.

4. BATHROOMS
A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Marriott. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337.
A man would not be able to identify most of these items.

5. ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that... is the beginning of a new argument.

6. CATS
Women love cats. Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

7. FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the fu ture until he gets a wife.

8. SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more mo ney than his wife can
spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

9. MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

10. DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

11. NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

12. OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friend s, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware o f some short people living in the house.

13. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

AND FINALLY....
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, jack asses, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

Is anyone else really annoyed with the constant merger of two famous actor's names to form one rediculous powerhouse couple name? I think Brangelina has pushed me over the edge.

Dear media,

Please fucking stop it. It's dumb.