Blown away

I miss the days when things would amaze me. I was at Tower Records today looking for a CD that would blow my mind. I looked at Ben Harper's CDs, but knew they'd come with some baggage. I looked for Spanish CDs, but didn't know what was good. So I bought a CD called "Chavez Ravine." It's OK. It didn't blow my mind. But yeah, that's all for tonight.

Bad luck

Some people are born with good luck. But for the rest of us, there is mostly bad luck. (Maybe it's mostly bad luck because that's when we notice that there is luck at all?) I was parked at a meter for 10 minutes maybe before I realized I didn't put change in it. I ran downstairs and BAM there was another ticket - my second one this week.

What I'm saying is, basically ignore the previous post. I'm sad again. Speaking of sad, I had been listening to the radio and heard that only "Scooter" Libby was indicted today in connection with leaking a CIA agent's name to the media. No Dick Cheney. No Karl Rove. And Libby wasn't even indicted for leaking the agent's name! He was indicted for obstruction of justice and perjury.

When the hell are these people going to get caught?!?!?! The one ray of light is that the investigation of Rove continues. Here's to hoping.

My quarterlife crisis (update 2)

I've been in a better mood the past few days. Maybe I'm getting into the Halloween spirit? Or, maybe not. Basically I think it has to do with the fact that I'm writing a lot more. Yes, maybe writing about my crisis is actually healing me. But then again, it could just be the fact that I'm creating things again. I wrote that story about getting hit by a car and received praise from friends, family and classmates for it. That made me feel good. So I dunno. Maybe I really need to make a lot more effort at working on my writing that way I can be much more satisfied in all aspects of my life.

Kind of funny

Welcome to Schwarzenegger Street. With voting officially underway, it's time for all the funny political cartoons! Yay!! Check this one out about Arnie.

Watch out for O'Reilly the Grouch's special appearance!

Oh... I almost forgot

The Chicago White Sox won the World Series.

But honestly, does anyone care? I found myself more interested today in the fact that Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. If Bush is smart... that's a big IF... he'll nominate Alberto Gonzales to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. People around the office are saying that like the 1919 Chichgo White Sox (Black Sox for some), Bush threw the game. He nominated a really bad choice that way he could nominate someone more moderate, like Gonzales, and get him or her easily approved. Gonzales would be the first Mexican-American elected to the court. But he has that little problem of his support torture.

Humans, chimps and God

There's all this debate about "intelligent design" and evolution. But for the past century the Catholic Church has taught that what distinguishes humans from other living creatures is the presence of a "soul," which is created by God.

Don't believe me? Read this:

Concerning human evolution, the Church has a more definite teaching. It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul. Pope Pius XII declared that "the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions . . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—[but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God" (Pius XII, Humani Generis 36). So whether the human body was specially created or developed, we are required to hold as a matter of Catholic faith that the human soul is specially created; it did not evolve, and it is not inherited from our parents, as our bodies are.

-- Talken from Catholic.com

Why am I bringing this up? A new study suggested that humans' closest genetic relatives lack sympathy for their fellow species. Chimpanzees are full of empathy. What does this mean? It means that even with 99 percent of the genetic information the same, the soul, or whatever people might call it, is unique among humans.

My Story

Many of you know, basically because I tell everyone, that I got hit by a truck while walking at USC about 9 months ago. But if you didn't, here's my story. Enjoy.

Bombing the Smurfs

Not sure if this is supposed to be serious or funny, but check out this video of Smurfs getting bombed.

The end of the Rove?

Now, I try not to get all happy about the demise of a person... yes, I know it's not very Christ-like, but Karl Rove has it coming. Rove deserves to go to prison and pay for his outing of a freakin' CIA agent to the media as political payback.

For those who don't know who Rove is, he's the evil genius behind the George Bush presidency. When Bush was getting killed during the 2000 Republican primaries, Rove conducted a "push poll" to defame John McCain. He even conducted a push poll to try and convince voters that McCain had an illegitimate black child (McCain adopted a Vietnamese child who happens to be dark).

Before this there was the rumor spread by Karl Rove that then-Texas Gov. Ann Richards was a lesbian. This is from a PBS "Frontline" piece about Rove:

Karl Rove understood that and strategically, as part of his memos and his arrangements and his campaign strategy, tried to win support [for Bush] from East Texans on conservative values that they felt were important. At the same time that the campaign was very publicly involved in trying to woo these historically Democrat voters from traditionally conservative East Texas, there emerged a whisper campaign, a virulent and obviously orchestrated whisper campaign in East Texas. I would go from place to place in East Texas, I would go from business to business, and I can remember talking to people about the race, Ann Richards, George Bush, and invariably someone would say: "But what about the lesbians? What about the lesbians?"

It was a message that swept East Texas, a message that many people in that community, a largely Baptist community, felt that Ann Richards had embraced lesbians and homosexuals in a way that they did not accept; that she had appointed them to boards and commissions, as she had, in the governor's office; that she had, in fact, had them around on her campaign staff, and the intimation was that she herself, even though she was a divorced woman with four children, might be a lesbian. Very effective campaign.

These are two examples of many (that's not including his role in Bush's victories over Al Gore and John Kerry). That's it for now. Will update as the story moves forward.

Melancholy - Oyster Boy

I've been using the word "melancholy" a lot. So I thought I'd do a Google search of the word - just for the hell of it, ya know? Well I found this little poem by Tim Burton. Hope you enjoy it!!

While you are there, you should check out his other poems, especially "Stick Boy and Match Girl Fall in Love."

My quarterlife crisis (update)

So, I've told about a dozen people about my isses. They all say the same thing. "It'll be OK." "There are people going through worse things." "Trust in God's plan."

See, I'd like to believe that, but you know what? I don't see the light. I see myself stuck where I am. I don't have experience for any of the jobs I want. Nor do I have a way to get that experience. With my living situation, I'm looking for a place to RENT. But how temporary is that? With my love life? Shoot. Let's not talk about that.

There's this site, but how useful is it? Really. I tried to read this article, but I couldn't focus.

The only thing that is keeping me happy today is this. But oh well. I'm still melancholy.

When NOT to Wear Belly Button Rings

Yeah. Just because you have a belly button ring DOESN'T mean you have to show it off. Especially if people can barely see the ring thanks to the rolls that are covering it. I'm not a big fan of showing off stomachs (makes me think bad thoughts) and I'm not a fan of belly button rings (ouch), but if you feel absolutely compelled to wear one, make sure you aren't grossing people out along the way.

My day ... so far

4:45 a.m. - Wakes up. Looks at my phone. No missed calls. No text messages. Goes back to bed.
5:15 a.m. - Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.
5:30 a.m. - Cell phone alarm goes off. I hit snooze.
5:45 a.m. - Cell phone and regular alarms go off. I wake up. Shower.
6:30 a.m. - Am ready to go to catch the 6:47 a.m. train. Can't find my keys.
6:40 a.m. - Panicking because I can't find my keys.
6:41 a.m. - Rita calls. Almost in tears because I can tell it's going to be a bad day.
6:46 a.m. - Finds keys (behind a box). Misses train.
6:50 a.m. - Goes to Starbucks. Orders my triple caramel macchiatto.
6:59 a.m. - Gets to train station. Ready to catch the 7:07 a.m. train. The money machine won't take my $5 bill. Decides to drive (doesn't want a parking ticket.)
7:07 a.m. - Hears the train while filling up w/ gas. Goes to Burger King despite my promise to avoid fast food.
7:15 a.m. - Begins to sit in traffic while listening to Harry Potter.
7:40 a.m. - Stops listening to Harry Potter to listen to Coldplay. "Fix You" really worked well this morning.
8:15 a.m. - Gets to work. Parks behind paramedics. They are playing HackeySack. I figure, "Hey, it's OK to park here."
10:15 a.m. - Goes to put more money in the meter. Finds out it was street cleaning day. $45 ticket.
10:30 a.m. - Realizes the day can't get worse. Settles in a fine melancholy mood. Ready to move on.

My quarterlife crisis

It's not as though I'm a loser or anything... or am I? My job sucks. I don't have a girl. I am tired of school (after three semesters of grad school). I have no prospects (or very slim prospects) for getting either a good job or a good girl.

What the hell is wrong with me? Should I just quit, go work at McDonalds (or Starbucks) and just live paycheck to paycheck forgetting all my dreams?

Actually, I guess there is nothing really wrong with me. They call it the "quarterlife crisis."

I read this on ABCnews.com:

Once past the honeymoon period with their first real job, their minds often begin to wander. With the excuse of being a "recent graduate" no longer viable, the search for a more permanent career, relationship and place to live begins. Many are stuck in front of a computer screen for hours, often posting online to pass the time.

"What the hell do I do? Is there anyone else who can relate? What is my passion? Will I ever meet the One" are among the refrains on www.quarterlifecrisis.com. With 10,000 registered users and 1 million hits per month, it's a place to meet, gripe and help each other out.

"The transition to adulthood today is a much more complex, prolonged process than it was for our parents," said Abby Wilner, who runs the site and has a career advice manual coming out called "The Quarterlifer's Companion." "According to the many 20-somethings who visit my Web site, they want nothing more than to figure everything out, move up in the world and eventually settle down, but external circumstances do not allow that to happen, and they are not properly equipped with the skills and resources to make that happen."

It's something I had heard of before. But I was like, "nah, it won't happen to me. I'm too strong. Plus I got too much faith in God."

Well, damn, I'm sitting here thinking of all the things I wanted to accomplish in my life, I'm not even a tenth of the way there. What do I have? A useless bachelor's degree in a field I won't ever work in again? That's it.

I'm trying to get out of this rut I'm in. But I can't unless I start accomplishing the things I want to accomplish. And nothing I'm doing now is helping me reach that goal. So what do I do?