So this is the last entry. I now am free of my obligation to write the random thoughts that come to my head on a daily basis. It has been an interesting journey that has brought me here, to the end. What can I say about this writing project? I'm not saying this was my favorite experience in the world, but I also didn't completely hate it. I had this slight indifference towards it, for the last few weeks, much like a slightly annoying roommate. It didn't always bother me, but would sometimes send me to small bouts of frustration. I think the hardest part of the entire undertaking was trying to think of topics about which to write. There is only so much personal information that I want to share with a group of potential readers. I feel I did my best to open up and allow people to enter my mind, but mostly felt confined by the perception of my audience. I was not allowed to speak completely freely in fear of offending either my fellow classmates or, possibly, my teacher.This is not the real me. I guess that is my biggest regret for this experience. I did not ever feel completely comfortable. There are things that I could have done to alleviate this and would try if I was presented this project again. I would have stayed diligent, about blogging once everyday, instead of trying to catch up on two or three at a time. This was more due to my work schedule than anything else, but still could have been prevented. There were just some days where my focus was directed to another class or I just simply lacked the motivation. There were other days where I would sit down and attempt to write something, but found myself completely blocked from a subject, that I felt was worth sharing with the class (and then there was that time I talked about my cats). One of my dreams is to someday operate an online news publication. I have already been working on projects with a friend and his blog, hoping to someday turn that into a broad group of topics that we discuss daily. If I had been smart, I would have used this blogging project to fine tune my article writing abilities and start practicing writing blogs with a focus on current events. I did this to some extend, but did not include the same quotes and information that I would in a formal news writing setting. This could have been very beneficial to me and I now see this as time misused. Fortunately, there were benefits that I took away from this experience. First, I now have a greater understanding of free writing and how to train my mind to write in a quick, but effective, manner. I began the project spending more time than I would have liked writing each blog. I was struggling to expand on simple topics and truly despised my writing. As I continued, I found that I was not any more in love with the actual content of my writing, but I was happier about the increased speed at which I could produce blog posts. I tried to work on freeing my mind and allowing to wander on the page, within reason, and produce something that was not a perfect piece or writing, but was a true dialogue from the inner depths of my mind. I was too raw with many of my posts and could have refined them more, but my mind was laid to page in an effective manner. I also found that I became more comfortable putting my thoughts out there for the world to see. As I said earlier, I was not allowed to be myself as much as I would have liked, but later on in the assignment I found myself becoming more okay with publishing things that I wouldn't say out loud on a daily basis. For this reason I have decided to attempt to continue this project in my personal time. In an environment where I can say anything I want and don't have to censor myself for the sake of a grade. I am gracious for being allowed this experience and will hope to expand on it in my future endeavors.
A place were cynicism meets optimism.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
We're All Entitled to Our Opinion, Right?
7-18-15
We live in a political climate where a bully is granted the same support as some, fairly, respectable human beings. That's right there is a Neanderthal running for president, and no his name isn't George Bush. He goes by Trump, Donald Trump. This egomaniac ignoramus is currently making a complete mockery of our political system (as if it needed help with that in the first place). He is polling at the top of the field of Republican candidates, and while it is still early, the fact that some people think he would make a great president, truly disgusts me. I cringe at the thought of Mr. "Your fired" being the head of the sovereign nation of the United Sates of America. I have made jokes before, but I would literally pack my bags and move away from this great, yet misguided, nation. In a previous blog post I discussed how his assets should not be perceived as a indicator of economic prowess. Instead, we should look at his failures instead of successes. But nobody is better at calling people out like Trump. In the latest drama, Donald Trump has called out John McCain on his military record. As many of you know, McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. This was beat like a rug the 2008 presidential elections and I had hoped that the discussion would be left there. But thanks to good ole' crazy uncle Donald we get the be reintroduced to the topic all over again. Only this time the discussion is much more annoying. Trump blasted Senator McCain saying that, "“He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”. I'm sure all of you have seen this quote by now and hopefully are just as appalled by the implications. Let's not just stop there though, lets look at the amazing War record of Mr. Trump so maybe we can understand from where he derives such a strong opinion. OH wait there's only one problem, he never went to war and while he has claimed in the past it was because of a high draft number there have been reports that showed his military deferment documentation. He was granted five different deferments for school and medical reasons. Yet, he has the gall to call out a man that lived Hell on Earth for being captured in the first place? You can not be captured and put through torture if you are not even there Donald. What type of argument is he making any way? At best he is humiliating himself in front of thousands of veterans that were put through unspeakable horrors when they were captured trying to defend the country that has allow Trump literally all that he has today. Maybe is we all grew up rich and got out of every bit of life's hardships it would be easy to call out people that actually had to live through pain. Welcome to America, the land of the free, and home of the ignorant.
We live in a political climate where a bully is granted the same support as some, fairly, respectable human beings. That's right there is a Neanderthal running for president, and no his name isn't George Bush. He goes by Trump, Donald Trump. This egomaniac ignoramus is currently making a complete mockery of our political system (as if it needed help with that in the first place). He is polling at the top of the field of Republican candidates, and while it is still early, the fact that some people think he would make a great president, truly disgusts me. I cringe at the thought of Mr. "Your fired" being the head of the sovereign nation of the United Sates of America. I have made jokes before, but I would literally pack my bags and move away from this great, yet misguided, nation. In a previous blog post I discussed how his assets should not be perceived as a indicator of economic prowess. Instead, we should look at his failures instead of successes. But nobody is better at calling people out like Trump. In the latest drama, Donald Trump has called out John McCain on his military record. As many of you know, McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. This was beat like a rug the 2008 presidential elections and I had hoped that the discussion would be left there. But thanks to good ole' crazy uncle Donald we get the be reintroduced to the topic all over again. Only this time the discussion is much more annoying. Trump blasted Senator McCain saying that, "“He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”. I'm sure all of you have seen this quote by now and hopefully are just as appalled by the implications. Let's not just stop there though, lets look at the amazing War record of Mr. Trump so maybe we can understand from where he derives such a strong opinion. OH wait there's only one problem, he never went to war and while he has claimed in the past it was because of a high draft number there have been reports that showed his military deferment documentation. He was granted five different deferments for school and medical reasons. Yet, he has the gall to call out a man that lived Hell on Earth for being captured in the first place? You can not be captured and put through torture if you are not even there Donald. What type of argument is he making any way? At best he is humiliating himself in front of thousands of veterans that were put through unspeakable horrors when they were captured trying to defend the country that has allow Trump literally all that he has today. Maybe is we all grew up rich and got out of every bit of life's hardships it would be easy to call out people that actually had to live through pain. Welcome to America, the land of the free, and home of the ignorant.
I Want To Go Home
7-17-15
I need to get out of this place. As I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as far as this semester is concerned, my mind has allowed itself to venture a little more than in the prior weeks. I start to consider how nice it would be to have an extended break from these surroundings (it could also have something to do for my jealousy about my girlfriend going to Mexico with her family next week, but that's a different story). Now, this is not something that is even in the rhelm of possibilities, too many other bills to pay, but it is a nice thought. So i relax and let my mind search for far away destinations to find some relaxation. It first flys straight to Cuba. I am greeted by the smell of street vendors in Havana. The sound of a sold out little league game echoes in the distance. I watch beautiful people flow everywhere going about their daily lives in this paradise that they call home. I have never been there, but when I close my eyes I can see it like its my homeland. These images have been created by what Anthony Bourdain has shown me on "No Reservations", much like the majority of my images form the world. I am excited to be living in a time where we are seeing a normalization of relationships between the United States and Cuba. For some, the fear of the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis still seem like yesterday. It is sad that disagreements have caused two cultures to be separated for so long. The embargo on Cuba might have been what lured it to me so strongly. I've always had an appeal for rebelliousness and remember being enticed by this mysterious country when i was in Jr. High. Of course it was baseball that truly introduced it to me. The baseball players that defected from Cuba granted me my first view into the Cuban culture. At this time in my life I loved baseball so the idea of a country that produced some of the best baseball players, but had an active embargo with the USA, completely fascinated me. Later, as I began educating myself the different food cultures of the world, I realized that I wanted to see this country for myself one day. The only problem was that I was restricted to by law. This only made me desire it more. This is why I feel so strongly about a place that I've never visited. Someday soon I will witness this paradise and I will know what it is truly like to be home.
I need to get out of this place. As I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as far as this semester is concerned, my mind has allowed itself to venture a little more than in the prior weeks. I start to consider how nice it would be to have an extended break from these surroundings (it could also have something to do for my jealousy about my girlfriend going to Mexico with her family next week, but that's a different story). Now, this is not something that is even in the rhelm of possibilities, too many other bills to pay, but it is a nice thought. So i relax and let my mind search for far away destinations to find some relaxation. It first flys straight to Cuba. I am greeted by the smell of street vendors in Havana. The sound of a sold out little league game echoes in the distance. I watch beautiful people flow everywhere going about their daily lives in this paradise that they call home. I have never been there, but when I close my eyes I can see it like its my homeland. These images have been created by what Anthony Bourdain has shown me on "No Reservations", much like the majority of my images form the world. I am excited to be living in a time where we are seeing a normalization of relationships between the United States and Cuba. For some, the fear of the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis still seem like yesterday. It is sad that disagreements have caused two cultures to be separated for so long. The embargo on Cuba might have been what lured it to me so strongly. I've always had an appeal for rebelliousness and remember being enticed by this mysterious country when i was in Jr. High. Of course it was baseball that truly introduced it to me. The baseball players that defected from Cuba granted me my first view into the Cuban culture. At this time in my life I loved baseball so the idea of a country that produced some of the best baseball players, but had an active embargo with the USA, completely fascinated me. Later, as I began educating myself the different food cultures of the world, I realized that I wanted to see this country for myself one day. The only problem was that I was restricted to by law. This only made me desire it more. This is why I feel so strongly about a place that I've never visited. Someday soon I will witness this paradise and I will know what it is truly like to be home.
An Ode to Finals Week
7-16-15
I awoke in the middle of the night, hands shaking and palms sweaty, muttering, "Just five more minutes please? I only have three more questions, may I have just a little more time??". So it has begun; the dreaded finals week. We have just a few more blogs to blog and a last few assignments to turn in. We will all somehow balance daily life with writing a research paper and then possibly finding time to study for the tests that stand in front of us. I pray every night the same prayer, "May my brain remember all, my mind not become to weary, and may we all be granted mercy from our professors. Amen.". It's been a while since I've been in school and while I have somehow managed to maintain A's in all three classes I am taking, I still immensely fear the doom looming over my head. I have never been great at tests. I've always been the type of person to talk myself through situations that actually prove my knowledge or skill by being tested. This must be why I excelled at debate, but I digress. I am not good at studying. I always have the best intention of studying for a test, but always seem to find myself cramming in the car ride to school or in between classes. My procrastination always gets the best of me and is no different now. It's like I'm motivated by the pressure that time puts on your mind. The more pressure that is applied the more focused and determined I become. I finish assignments and papers quickly and I remember facts easier. I know that this is not the best strategy and that I am causing myself to do that much more work, but it is the nature of the beast. The time crunch reminds me of the kitchen. In the waning hours of an assignment or test I find my personality to revert to that of the cook inside me. I am filled with energy from an unknown part of space, while my body and mind is sent into overdrive. I click as fast on my keyboard as a chop on my cutting board. I am consumed by the choas and it drives me to accomplish my task as efficiently as possible. If only I could tap into this inner being during the days prior, I'm sure I wouldn't be losing so much hair. Hopefully, by the end of the week I, and the rest of you, will not wake finding ourselves bald.
Bernie Sanders 2016
7-15-15
Bernie Sanders is going to be the next president of the United States of America. Yeah I said it. I'm calling it now, a year and a half early. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Come on man Bernie? You really think a socialist has a chance of winning the election?". Yes, yes I do and I'll tell you why. Socialism could not have entered the scene at a better time. In America, we are bearing witness to one of the most unfair wealth distributions of any industrialized nations. The middle class has eroded and the socioeconomic reality has become a very different one in the last thirty years. It was my economics class that shed light on this subject before listening to any of President Sanders speeches. The textbook even showed some disdain to the subject of income inequality in America. A book created by a giant company that shares in the luxuries of this economic system seemed to also attest to atrocity that is now considered a social norm. So many people staunchly oppose ideologies such as more balanced share of the wealth. It doesn't take a scholar to document the insane amount of profits that major American companies are starting to post. It's amazing that some of the companies that help create the poor economic climate that we saw in the last decade, are reporting ridiculous profits. These same companies that accepted our tax dollars to bail them out of their corruption are wealthy and throwing lavish parties once again. You have a serious problem, when you live in a world that the top one-tenth of the percent of the population owns ninety percent of the wealth. It makes me disgusted that the people that do all of the work reap so little of the reward. I don't believe that we should give people excuses to not work hard because my work ethic has gotten me to where I am today. I am recognizing that there is a problem with the numbers that we are seeing and something must be done to correct it. When Bernie speaks about creating jobs for people to fix problems and the economy, I wonder why this is such a under discussed issue in politics. When he says we should spend more on education instead of incarceration, I ask why is this so revolutionary? Why is it that in the twenty first century we still have to discuss these ideas? How have we not learned that war is not the answer and only education is the solution? I only hope that we are getting read to witness a revolution. One of social justice and economic reform that ends an era where money controls all of the power.
Bernie Sanders is going to be the next president of the United States of America. Yeah I said it. I'm calling it now, a year and a half early. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Come on man Bernie? You really think a socialist has a chance of winning the election?". Yes, yes I do and I'll tell you why. Socialism could not have entered the scene at a better time. In America, we are bearing witness to one of the most unfair wealth distributions of any industrialized nations. The middle class has eroded and the socioeconomic reality has become a very different one in the last thirty years. It was my economics class that shed light on this subject before listening to any of President Sanders speeches. The textbook even showed some disdain to the subject of income inequality in America. A book created by a giant company that shares in the luxuries of this economic system seemed to also attest to atrocity that is now considered a social norm. So many people staunchly oppose ideologies such as more balanced share of the wealth. It doesn't take a scholar to document the insane amount of profits that major American companies are starting to post. It's amazing that some of the companies that help create the poor economic climate that we saw in the last decade, are reporting ridiculous profits. These same companies that accepted our tax dollars to bail them out of their corruption are wealthy and throwing lavish parties once again. You have a serious problem, when you live in a world that the top one-tenth of the percent of the population owns ninety percent of the wealth. It makes me disgusted that the people that do all of the work reap so little of the reward. I don't believe that we should give people excuses to not work hard because my work ethic has gotten me to where I am today. I am recognizing that there is a problem with the numbers that we are seeing and something must be done to correct it. When Bernie speaks about creating jobs for people to fix problems and the economy, I wonder why this is such a under discussed issue in politics. When he says we should spend more on education instead of incarceration, I ask why is this so revolutionary? Why is it that in the twenty first century we still have to discuss these ideas? How have we not learned that war is not the answer and only education is the solution? I only hope that we are getting read to witness a revolution. One of social justice and economic reform that ends an era where money controls all of the power.
Starting A New Chapter
7-14-15
Today was my last day at Chipotle. Unlike past jobs, I did not leave angry at the company or the people I worked with. In fact, I will probably still stay in touch with a few of them and never had any real problems with anyone while I was there. It was not a very long stay as far as job history goes. It only took a few months for me to realize that it just wasn't the life for me. they were very kind to keep me on payroll and freeze my position, so that I may return in the future, and I am very gracious for the kindness they showed me and the opportunity that they granted me. It is a great company. Many places say that they want to take care of their people, but very few truly do, and on such a large scale. They really do try to have food with integrity and I commend the company on the revolution they are attempting to spur in the fast food industry. To call them "fast food" is pretty harsh unto itself. I have seen the immense amount of work that goes into ensuring that they can serve a vast amount of people, in a short amount of time, the best quality food that they have to offer. Obviously, there are going to be times where it is not going to be perfect because you still have humans running the operation and as long as we are involved nothing will be perfect all the time. The problem I had there was the lack of challenge. It is hard work, but hard work doesn't always equal difficulty. It just describes the amount of energy you have to expend on a daily basis, which is normally quite a bit for any restaurant job (besides serving-coming from a former server). I am excited to go to a kitchen that will, hopefully, challenge my limited culinary knowledge and help to advance what skills I do posses. I am nervous, as anyone is when leaving a job to pursue another. I know I will be one of the least talent cooks in the kitchen. I will be working alongside actual chefs and I could not be more thrilled. I love nothing more than the sound of a well ran kitchen during a bust service. The organized chaos is something I feel extremely privileged to be allowed to step into and do my part to help the team. The life of a cook is a crazy one and is not for the faint of heart. I'm excited to have my emotions tested and my patience put to the edge. hopefully, coming out a more well rounded cook than when I entered.
Today was my last day at Chipotle. Unlike past jobs, I did not leave angry at the company or the people I worked with. In fact, I will probably still stay in touch with a few of them and never had any real problems with anyone while I was there. It was not a very long stay as far as job history goes. It only took a few months for me to realize that it just wasn't the life for me. they were very kind to keep me on payroll and freeze my position, so that I may return in the future, and I am very gracious for the kindness they showed me and the opportunity that they granted me. It is a great company. Many places say that they want to take care of their people, but very few truly do, and on such a large scale. They really do try to have food with integrity and I commend the company on the revolution they are attempting to spur in the fast food industry. To call them "fast food" is pretty harsh unto itself. I have seen the immense amount of work that goes into ensuring that they can serve a vast amount of people, in a short amount of time, the best quality food that they have to offer. Obviously, there are going to be times where it is not going to be perfect because you still have humans running the operation and as long as we are involved nothing will be perfect all the time. The problem I had there was the lack of challenge. It is hard work, but hard work doesn't always equal difficulty. It just describes the amount of energy you have to expend on a daily basis, which is normally quite a bit for any restaurant job (besides serving-coming from a former server). I am excited to go to a kitchen that will, hopefully, challenge my limited culinary knowledge and help to advance what skills I do posses. I am nervous, as anyone is when leaving a job to pursue another. I know I will be one of the least talent cooks in the kitchen. I will be working alongside actual chefs and I could not be more thrilled. I love nothing more than the sound of a well ran kitchen during a bust service. The organized chaos is something I feel extremely privileged to be allowed to step into and do my part to help the team. The life of a cook is a crazy one and is not for the faint of heart. I'm excited to have my emotions tested and my patience put to the edge. hopefully, coming out a more well rounded cook than when I entered.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
The American Dream
7-13-15
How does one go about being a productive member of society? Is it judged by the amount amount of income you generate? Is it the amount of Facebook friends you have? Will it be shown by the amount of people that show up for your funeral? In my opinion, we have a lot of people that have their priorities way off when it comes to what makes them part of society. I believe that your productivity is judged by the amount of good you do minus the bad. If there is more good than bad at the end then you have attempted to do your part because, let's face it, none of us will live a perfect life where every decision we make will be the right one. It seems as if productivity, is now also, synonymous with the money you make. Success in country is often in line with our warped view of the "American Dream" and the more money you make the more successful you are as an individual. I believe whole hearted that this mentality is one that needs to be abolished. Take Donald Trump for instance, I have heard many people claim what a great president he would make since he put his name in the hat for the Republican nomination. Many make this assumption because of his perceived success as a businessman. They say, "Well this individual has a lot of money that must mean his business skills are top notch". Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Trump was born into money and the majority of businesses he opened were failures. He was able to overcome these failures by having a large financial backing that allowed him to be riskier than the common entrepreneur. Most businessmen don't have this type of capital to start with and therefore can not survive one failed business because that would mean the end of financial stability. But because citizens see a man with a lot of money they assume that he posses the virtues that are required to be successful. Don't mind the racism that is just Trump's assertiveness. He's just saying the taboo things that must be said and that's whats gotten to where he is today. If Trump wasn't born into the family he was there's no way that he would have been so successful if this arrogance is how he normally conducts himself. Too many Americans are confused about what makes you an accomplished person. Maybe if we all started judging people by their characters than the size of their wallets we would be in a much better position socially.
How does one go about being a productive member of society? Is it judged by the amount amount of income you generate? Is it the amount of Facebook friends you have? Will it be shown by the amount of people that show up for your funeral? In my opinion, we have a lot of people that have their priorities way off when it comes to what makes them part of society. I believe that your productivity is judged by the amount of good you do minus the bad. If there is more good than bad at the end then you have attempted to do your part because, let's face it, none of us will live a perfect life where every decision we make will be the right one. It seems as if productivity, is now also, synonymous with the money you make. Success in country is often in line with our warped view of the "American Dream" and the more money you make the more successful you are as an individual. I believe whole hearted that this mentality is one that needs to be abolished. Take Donald Trump for instance, I have heard many people claim what a great president he would make since he put his name in the hat for the Republican nomination. Many make this assumption because of his perceived success as a businessman. They say, "Well this individual has a lot of money that must mean his business skills are top notch". Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Trump was born into money and the majority of businesses he opened were failures. He was able to overcome these failures by having a large financial backing that allowed him to be riskier than the common entrepreneur. Most businessmen don't have this type of capital to start with and therefore can not survive one failed business because that would mean the end of financial stability. But because citizens see a man with a lot of money they assume that he posses the virtues that are required to be successful. Don't mind the racism that is just Trump's assertiveness. He's just saying the taboo things that must be said and that's whats gotten to where he is today. If Trump wasn't born into the family he was there's no way that he would have been so successful if this arrogance is how he normally conducts himself. Too many Americans are confused about what makes you an accomplished person. Maybe if we all started judging people by their characters than the size of their wallets we would be in a much better position socially.
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