random facts about this exact moment in blogging

I live in Texas.
I moved here because of school…
I have become extremely proud of being from Michigan because of these Texans
When I make a typing error, I must retype the word from the start
I am nervous about coming home for “I killed Christ-mas”
I talk with Dan for at least an hour during every Michigan game I get to watch
If you have a story about being terrified by my dad, he has told me that he likes you
Most things I do, that are fucking stupid, I do, so I can have a good story to tell after
It’s more important to me that you chew with your mouth closed than if you actually act like a good person
I would rather suffer than change my habits/routine
I think about every one back home every day
When Gabe sent me a picture of the Red Leaves on a maple tree back home, it made me so homesick I had to leave the table
I am an exact fraction of every person I have ever met…the fraction is as of yet undetermined
I worry about the same stupid shit here that I did there…
The Mexican-Americans here are the only people I have heard use the word “nigger”
I hate the thought of missing something
The last time I really talked to Alain, he had a huge interview about med school
The last time I talked to Justin, I was apologizing for being a hard person to live with
The last time I talked to Bruce, he, and I, were drunk, and we were both happy
The last time I talked to Shane, his dad was doing well, and he, and his brother, were still great. Still are.
The last time I talked to Anna-Marie, the kids were figuring out the pecking order, again. Plus, she was doing her part to keep thirsty Thursday alive at Braans…er Farmingtonish
The last time I spoke to Gabe, I teased him about my new tattoo
The last time I spoke to Corey, I was drinking Jack Daniels, and had no shirt on, in November
Mike T made me join another friend site, so I did, because at any moment, I miss him
I joined another blog site to stay in touch with my mom and dad
Alain doesn’t return his messages.
I have made some friends here that help me want to stay in Texas

holiday-schmoliday

Thanksgiving…or happy genocide day depending on how you look at it. Down here, I haven’t gotten any connection between Native Americans and the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe it’s a cultural thing…maybe it’s because the “Native Americans” in this area were actually Mexican. Either way, I’m still happy about the pumpkin pie…god I love pumpkin pie.

Earlier, I talked to Jess about her arrival and what we’re planning for the weekend; unfortunately that includes school work: thanks a lot Dr. Morrison. Out of curiosity, how many of you thought Dr. Morrison is a man? That “Dr.” prefix seems to be masculine for some reason; people seem to assume that a “Dr.” is a guy…yeah, I’m including a feminist section in my final paper—gender means nothing to me.

I’ve been thinking about Mikey Thompson a lot this week. It was his birthday on the 15th, and although I only played phone-tag with him, it’s always good to hear his voice. And since Jess is coming here as I can’t really afford to go home (or justify the cost of flying home for a few days for that matter) it reminds me of when Mike was a freshman at USC and in the same situation, and I went to him, for the same purpose. At the time, it meant a lot to me to go out there and see how he lived and existed in an alien situation—I think that maybe (and I’m hoping so) it meant a lot to him too having a close friend come out to be with him so he didn’t feel alone. I’ve got Meme and John down here, but I don’t think he had any one in Cali. Man, he just goes out and does what ever he wants and succeeds. Way to go Mikey.

I guess this is the time of year that people start to think more fiercely about their family because of the holiday season. But for me, it’s not quite like that. Thanksgiving and Christmas are pretty much the same thing for me—it’s a day that all other distractions are put aside for my Dad, Mom, Sister, and I to eat Grandmas smashed potatoes and pick on each other. We’re a tight group us Elders’. Thanksgiving dinner isn’t that dissimilar from any other family dinner, because we have been able to appreciate every moment of peace we can share for as long as I can remember. I am thankful of my folks, my beautiful Bear, and my friends every moment of consciousness. Fuck a holiday: I want these people in the front of my mind every day, so I keep them there. People call me a Grinch because I don’t like x-mas, and this holiday season in general gets on my nerves. Well, that’s fine. Any period of time that is designated for us to celebrate each other should be looked down on: if the end of November to the first of January is the entire span by which we feel it necessary to express our affection then maybe Al-Qaeda is right.

Although I don’t anticipate any body getting angry at me for the Al-Qaeda thing (being that it’s hard to type when both hands are thumping the bible) I don’t mind clarifying that while some people hold on to the belief that we as a nation are being attacked because we are “free” it might do some good to look at it as if we are being attacked because we place value highest on shit that doesn’t apply to us: see also: anti-gay marriage laws. U.S. citizens (“American’s” include all three of the continents thank you very much) still choose not to vote because “my vote doesn’t make a difference any way” and at night, when they put their happy heads on their pillows, for some reason (comma splice much?) don’t think “hey, doing nothing has changed nothing—ever. Maybe I should try doing something?”

Yeah, this is the shit I think about during “thanksgiving” wait till x-mas, that’s when the shit really hits the fan. Fucking jesus and his “store-wide sales events.” Was the “son of god” really meant to “die for our sins” so we could get “great savings” on man made plastic toys that our bodies interpret as false estrogen and thusly promote the growth of cancerous cells and destroy the only home we are ever going to have? (that’s earth for all you non-sci-fi people…or for all you sci-fi people who think we’ll get off this rock when it finally can’t take it anymore).

Well, for what it’s worth: I hope all of you out there have told the people you love that you love them a hundred times already this year. Because you are contractually obligated to do so now until January, so it doesn’t mean as much. And in conclusion:

I still say the entire state of 0hi0 sucks. Though i suspect I’ll be hearing about it until next November (Cher and Milt).

I am Batman. Would you like to be my sidekick?

As it turns out, the tread mills that I run on at our little fitness center are not invincible. This is best illustrated by the fact that both of them are broken…one of the elliptical trainers has trouble with the timer; the fake bicycle-thingy is falling apart…yeah; it’s time to go outside. And as luck would have it, there is a perfectly accessible football stadium across the road from me.

So, at the expense of my knees, my previously torn ligaments and tendon, I’m doing the bleachers and stairs of our little stadium. Which I should say, has an upper deck, so it’s not vertically little, just capacity-wise…ain’t no big house. But then, what is? (Ohio sucks).

There is also a track, which is, I think, a quarter mile track going around the field, so I run all the stairs, and then I do maybe three miles on the track depending on how I’m feeling. I know that right now all the freakish marathoner’s are scoffing at me, but don’t lose track of the fact that I’m not training for anything, save intramural soccer next semester. The best part of this improvised work out of mine is the ending: ten or so 100 yard wind-sprints across the football field. It’s been so long since I have pushed my legs that hard, that it’s kind of like revisiting the past. Blood gets forced deeper and higher into my quads than I can remember, nor can my muscles for that matter. There is great ambiance in our football stadium. And being that I’ve been able to get out on to several fields and run I feel like I can say with some certainty that working out on the field that comes to mean something to you is worth the effort.

I’ve played soccer in Spartan Stadium, I’ve played touch football, and run the stairs at The Big House, I’ve done snow angels on the Lion at Ford Field, and now I’ve streaked across the field at night in Bobcat Stadium. All of these have an air to them that is inspiring. I mean, so many of you who might read this are in some way or another affected by college football. Many of you like to watch it, and have emotional ties with what the teams represent. Most of you even refer to your favorite teams as “us” or “we” without really thinking about it. So if you get a chance, make the effort and go to the stadium that your favorite team plays in, and work out on the field. Run the stairs, go out on the field and do wind sprints from goal line to goal line. That vast emptiness of seats is powerful. The surface is topnotch for running, and it’s just as much yours as alumni or a non-athlete student as it is theirs. Even if you live in Ohio, and run the risk of God swallowing the stadium whole with you in it because it is truly an unholy abomination against all that is right and true, (Cher and Milt…this means you) it’s worth the risk to feel the connection with something you love.

After dark, the bats that live in our stadium come out to do what they do. So as I’m sprinting from endzone to endzone, there are small bats swooping back and forth snatching up insects that I can’t even see. I like to think that when I go running past, the bats around me think “that’s a big fucking dragonfly, maybe I’ll wait for the next one.” For a person who doesn’t get high on running, this is what keeps me exercising.

As for this Saturday, I’ll be at work for most, if not all of the game. The Bobcats are playing for an SLC championship, and a birth in the playoffs, but I’ll keep an eye on THE game while I’m at work. Here’s to Penn State, may they represent the big ten well in the BCS. And here’s to Ohio State, without whom we might never truly understand the depths of the fallen.

Shit yeah! I love this time of year! Even in Texas.

Go Blue, Go Cats.

the weather...

I got a sunburn today.

p.s. go Bobcats...

I was told to send a brace of telegrams, to the right people, explaining
My position
So I did
I do, and I do and I do

I was told to take a stand, take a stance, take a view, take an interest, take life by the horns, take all I could get while the getting is good, take a moment, now and then

To reflect, and enjoy

Take me for instance, take him for example, take a look at how they do things—
Take your vacation time whether you want it or not, it’s yours
Take our vacation time, if we’re gone, we’ve earned it, you’ll need it, take it
Take into account how they understand their world,
Take into account how she has been treated her whole life,
Take a minute, and consider what it takes to feed a family, like he has to,

You’re taking too much time to decide,
You take turns too fast,
You take a nap now, and there won’t be anything left when you wake

Take advantage now when you’re young
Take advantage now before it’s too late
Take advantage of this while you can still afford to be
Looking
For
Yourself

Donate blood, but take a look at your schedule first
Stop by the food drive; take what you’re not eating to donate
Be a big brother; fit it in somewhere, it looks great on a resume
Fuck the future, I’m cold now

When they tell you where they’re from, you feel like you’ve been kissed:
They came from a hateful place; you’d never know
All the films in the world can change your life; 15.99 a piece
Even Jews read Mein Kampf

Taking is good—Donation is burdensome—Votes don’t count

Believe(ief(s))?

Life is reconciling the differences