So I apologize for the lack in posting, in two weeks I'll be home finding all sorts of stuff to blog about, but for now I must stick to the basic college-kid life.
Finals are right around the corner and it feels like my life is in overdrive. My only escape is to go run for miles, then return to continue studying. I had an interesting conversation with a young man yesterday about the Concealed Carry petition going around school. He was for it and we talked about the pros and cons for a while, before he looked me up and down and asked if I even knew how to shoot. *Sigh*
I smiled and went into a very long, indepth explination of how I began shooting and how he really shouldn't sterotype, for future refrence. I bid him goodbye before he could shake that dumbfounded look off his face.
I returned to the big ol' school of leaning on Sunday, and this drive back was much harder than the others. I had spent all Thanksgiving week with them, cooking, building, and carrying on. I even got to sit in on the adult conversations I once was asked to leave from. (Boringggg).
Nonetheless, I am without a doubt, a family personality. As much as I do not want to reproduce, I don't know what I would do without the closeness of our crazy family.
Christmas is right around the corner, and this holiday isn't always the easiest. My roomate has started decorating our room in festive colors, and is singing the Christmas carols. Ugh. Two more weeks.. Two more weeks..
Y'all have a fantastic Hump Day.
:)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
That Moment When..
That moment when you realize your life is a blessing from God.
I grew up with a Church family. The individuals in each family changed from time to time, but I always had the support I needed to fulfill my intentions.
Last night I had a conversation with an individual who does not believe in God, and chooses to believe the Church is worthless. Somedays, I don't bother with outlandish people such as him, but yesterday was just one of those days. (One thing this boy always asks me, is why the heck I'm smiling all the time.) I asked him what made him feel that way, and he replied with "My grandpa was a Christian, and he was as worthless as any can be. My parents and I rejected the christian faith, and look at me now. I'm attending this great college on a full ride and it's all because of what I did. No one helped me. This is all me."
I looked him up and down for a few seconds, grasping for words that I prayed would just appear, then it was clear. "Robert, why is it, that everytime I see you, your never smiling?"
Pause... "I don't know. I just don't feel like it I guess?"
I smiled, "Robert the reason I walk with a smile, is because I know that no matter what, I have someone on my side. God is the reason I'm smiling every single day, why I find joy in the little things. Sure you find joy in the fact that your here all because of what you did, but how often do you look at the colors of the leaves, and think about what is causing that? Or when the rain falls from the sky, imagine what the rain is doing for the earth."
He was silent..
"I smile, because God is causing those things, and he is on my side."
He replied "Science and Nature are causing those things"
"Nature is not on your side my friend, but God, can be."
He just looked at me, for his words of denial were not there. I smiled :)
I thank God everyday for my struggles. Without them, I would have no faith. When your down, remember that God would never give you any burden you can not handle. Yesterday was a really tough day for me, and having that conversation reinforced that God should continue to be my Number One. Sometimes I lose track of that in the midst of the late night studying and continued pressure to do well. It's good to have a wake up call every now and again :)
Y'all have a Great Thanksgiving week. Thank God for his blessings this year, and for your ability to smile. :)
I grew up with a Church family. The individuals in each family changed from time to time, but I always had the support I needed to fulfill my intentions.
Last night I had a conversation with an individual who does not believe in God, and chooses to believe the Church is worthless. Somedays, I don't bother with outlandish people such as him, but yesterday was just one of those days. (One thing this boy always asks me, is why the heck I'm smiling all the time.) I asked him what made him feel that way, and he replied with "My grandpa was a Christian, and he was as worthless as any can be. My parents and I rejected the christian faith, and look at me now. I'm attending this great college on a full ride and it's all because of what I did. No one helped me. This is all me."
I looked him up and down for a few seconds, grasping for words that I prayed would just appear, then it was clear. "Robert, why is it, that everytime I see you, your never smiling?"
Pause... "I don't know. I just don't feel like it I guess?"
I smiled, "Robert the reason I walk with a smile, is because I know that no matter what, I have someone on my side. God is the reason I'm smiling every single day, why I find joy in the little things. Sure you find joy in the fact that your here all because of what you did, but how often do you look at the colors of the leaves, and think about what is causing that? Or when the rain falls from the sky, imagine what the rain is doing for the earth."
He was silent..
"I smile, because God is causing those things, and he is on my side."
He replied "Science and Nature are causing those things"
"Nature is not on your side my friend, but God, can be."
He just looked at me, for his words of denial were not there. I smiled :)
I thank God everyday for my struggles. Without them, I would have no faith. When your down, remember that God would never give you any burden you can not handle. Yesterday was a really tough day for me, and having that conversation reinforced that God should continue to be my Number One. Sometimes I lose track of that in the midst of the late night studying and continued pressure to do well. It's good to have a wake up call every now and again :)
Y'all have a Great Thanksgiving week. Thank God for his blessings this year, and for your ability to smile. :)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Updates
I apologize for the lack of posting, College has me swept up in the embrace of tests and upcoming finals.
I'll update while I'm here,
Occupy Cstat hasn't gotten very far off the back porch, which I'm not complaining about whatsoever. It seems to have disipated almost as quick as it started.
I went to ask the man at the store about his guns, but the days I had time to venture up there he was absent. But don't worry, I'll get that story.
If your interested, I'm doing well in classes. It's really difficult but I'm finally getting the hang of it. I get to go home in five days and see my family, which I long for everyday.
I am quickly running out of time, so I will post something meaningful soon. I pinky promise.
Y'all have a great Thursday.
I'll update while I'm here,
Occupy Cstat hasn't gotten very far off the back porch, which I'm not complaining about whatsoever. It seems to have disipated almost as quick as it started.
I went to ask the man at the store about his guns, but the days I had time to venture up there he was absent. But don't worry, I'll get that story.
If your interested, I'm doing well in classes. It's really difficult but I'm finally getting the hang of it. I get to go home in five days and see my family, which I long for everyday.
I am quickly running out of time, so I will post something meaningful soon. I pinky promise.
Y'all have a great Thursday.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
So today was a wonderful day. :) I was able to vist with a friend I have not seen in ages, and spend most of the day outside in this gorgeous weather. While I was out and about, I stumbled upon an Army Depot store pretty close to campus. After squeezing my body through the tightly inventoried building, I finally stumbled upon the owner, an older man who looked like he had been there and back.
"Quite a stash you've got here sir" I told him.
"Well a lot of this is retail and such, but I have a few treasures I've collected over the years."
He then proceeded to lead me through the winding aisles to the front of the store, where on display sat a FP-45 Single-Shot Pistol from WWII, and a PPSh-41- submachine gun that had seen some wear. These were highly produced in 1945 for Soviet soliders, but slowly deminished with the production of the equally important AK-47.
I stood with smile, merely because I personally did not know the significance of the guns to him, but I sure wasn't going to let him know that. I told him they were purty and he went on gleaming of their greatness.
I asked him if he had any supplies for the aspiring survivalist and he kind of cocked his head and looked at me kinda funny, so I just rephrased my question with "Do you have any cute little canteens or dome tents?"
He showed me to this massive wall of supplies and I began to weigh the pros and cons of each item. He watched me carefully as I picked out some canteens I've been needing, and put the tents back for a better paycheck.
As I was handing over a portion of my income for stylish waterbottles, the man still looked puzzled. So I asked, "Hey, So if the world ever comes to an end, do you mind if I come borrow some supplies?", He smiled and said it would be no problem. As I was leaving, he rushed out with one of the tents I was looking at, and told me to always stay ready. I replied that I would return later on so he could share some stories. He smiled and returned to his homey little store.
On beautiful days like today, it's a great world we live in.
We shall see about tomorrow.
Have a great rest of the weekend. :)
"Quite a stash you've got here sir" I told him.
"Well a lot of this is retail and such, but I have a few treasures I've collected over the years."
He then proceeded to lead me through the winding aisles to the front of the store, where on display sat a FP-45 Single-Shot Pistol from WWII, and a PPSh-41- submachine gun that had seen some wear. These were highly produced in 1945 for Soviet soliders, but slowly deminished with the production of the equally important AK-47.
I stood with smile, merely because I personally did not know the significance of the guns to him, but I sure wasn't going to let him know that. I told him they were purty and he went on gleaming of their greatness.
I asked him if he had any supplies for the aspiring survivalist and he kind of cocked his head and looked at me kinda funny, so I just rephrased my question with "Do you have any cute little canteens or dome tents?"
He showed me to this massive wall of supplies and I began to weigh the pros and cons of each item. He watched me carefully as I picked out some canteens I've been needing, and put the tents back for a better paycheck.
As I was handing over a portion of my income for stylish waterbottles, the man still looked puzzled. So I asked, "Hey, So if the world ever comes to an end, do you mind if I come borrow some supplies?", He smiled and said it would be no problem. As I was leaving, he rushed out with one of the tents I was looking at, and told me to always stay ready. I replied that I would return later on so he could share some stories. He smiled and returned to his homey little store.
On beautiful days like today, it's a great world we live in.
We shall see about tomorrow.
Have a great rest of the weekend. :)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Occupy Cstat.
So here at the big ol' school of learnin, I've been hearing of college protesters from a school near my hometown. My fa-fa called me last night and asked if they had any lunatics down here yet. I smiled and replied, "Nope".
Woke up this morning with a Facebook invite to Occupy Cstat. Ugh. Now I personally haven't been keeping up with the OWS too awful much, just what I've been reading on the blogs I choose to follow. So I found the leader of this invite/group, and asked him just what he was protesting. He replied
"I can't speak on behalf of the whole movement but what I'm protesting is the lack of accountability in the financial sector and government policies favoring the wealthy (i.e. Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary). We don't need a higher marginal tax rate but we should eliminate loopholes which allow these grave injustices.
The current approach to balancing the budget is detrimental because it focuses on cuts without increasing revenue. This is an unbalanced approach which forces the middle and lower class to shoulder the burden as programs and public sector jobs are cut. The upper class is barely effected by this and has been doing relatively fine throughout the recession.
Corporate money in politics is another issue I am protesting. The Citizens United ruling declared that corporations are people and have the same rights (free speech). This allows them to make contributions to politicians that outweigh anything the people can give. Right now 80% of campaign donations are effectively "bribes" that come from outside of the district the politicians are actually representing. This moves policy towards favoring these companies instead of the people that are supposed to be represented. This is, I believe, why congress' approval rating is at an all time low of 9% despite the fact that they were elected by us to represent our interests not too long ago."
This is what he sent me, and I guess what I'm taking from it is to lessen the burden of the middle class, without placing the burden somewhere else? Now, this does differ from a few of the other protesters I've encountered exclaiming they are protesting the cost of student loans, and the fact that there are no available jobs to pay off these loans. My question is, if your going to spend $60,000 for a liberal arts major, don't you think you would have some sort of job or idea set up before you begin? Silly individuals. This guy seems pretty confident in what he is saying, and it looks like he has done his research, I just don't think the people following him/the movement understand why they are going to march around the banks, to promote moving the money to local banks instead.
After the riot last night in Oakland, I believe I'll be needing to make a phone call later.
Have a great Thursday :)
Woke up this morning with a Facebook invite to Occupy Cstat. Ugh. Now I personally haven't been keeping up with the OWS too awful much, just what I've been reading on the blogs I choose to follow. So I found the leader of this invite/group, and asked him just what he was protesting. He replied
"I can't speak on behalf of the whole movement but what I'm protesting is the lack of accountability in the financial sector and government policies favoring the wealthy (i.e. Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary). We don't need a higher marginal tax rate but we should eliminate loopholes which allow these grave injustices.
The current approach to balancing the budget is detrimental because it focuses on cuts without increasing revenue. This is an unbalanced approach which forces the middle and lower class to shoulder the burden as programs and public sector jobs are cut. The upper class is barely effected by this and has been doing relatively fine throughout the recession.
Corporate money in politics is another issue I am protesting. The Citizens United ruling declared that corporations are people and have the same rights (free speech). This allows them to make contributions to politicians that outweigh anything the people can give. Right now 80% of campaign donations are effectively "bribes" that come from outside of the district the politicians are actually representing. This moves policy towards favoring these companies instead of the people that are supposed to be represented. This is, I believe, why congress' approval rating is at an all time low of 9% despite the fact that they were elected by us to represent our interests not too long ago."
This is what he sent me, and I guess what I'm taking from it is to lessen the burden of the middle class, without placing the burden somewhere else? Now, this does differ from a few of the other protesters I've encountered exclaiming they are protesting the cost of student loans, and the fact that there are no available jobs to pay off these loans. My question is, if your going to spend $60,000 for a liberal arts major, don't you think you would have some sort of job or idea set up before you begin? Silly individuals. This guy seems pretty confident in what he is saying, and it looks like he has done his research, I just don't think the people following him/the movement understand why they are going to march around the banks, to promote moving the money to local banks instead.
After the riot last night in Oakland, I believe I'll be needing to make a phone call later.
Have a great Thursday :)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Concealed Carry?
So here at the big ol' school of learnin, there is a group of individuals who are petitioning for concealed carry on campus. I currently am unbiased, but see flaws and pros within this concept.
Pros:
One: each individual who would be carrying would be over the age of 21, and hold a license.
Two: if someone pulled out a gun, there would be ten guns pointed back at him.
Three: individuals would feel safer knowing they have a defense.
Cons:
One: not everyone will understand the need for a license, and this could cause issues with law enforcement.
Two: If someone pulled out a gun, there would be ten guns pointed back at him. (Could cause a mess).
Three: Lets give a bunch of rowdy rednecks guns, and tell them to play nice.
Now I know if this petition passes, which I'm doubting, there will be plenty of stipulations in order to carry.
Sooo opinions??
Pros:
One: each individual who would be carrying would be over the age of 21, and hold a license.
Two: if someone pulled out a gun, there would be ten guns pointed back at him.
Three: individuals would feel safer knowing they have a defense.
Cons:
One: not everyone will understand the need for a license, and this could cause issues with law enforcement.
Two: If someone pulled out a gun, there would be ten guns pointed back at him. (Could cause a mess).
Three: Lets give a bunch of rowdy rednecks guns, and tell them to play nice.
Now I know if this petition passes, which I'm doubting, there will be plenty of stipulations in order to carry.
Sooo opinions??
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