Putting things into perspective.

The last entry was a whiny and self centered, I openly admit it. Awhile back I ran across this video some place on the interwebs and was floored by the story:

THIS really puts things into perspective for me. I watch it from time to time never dwelling on it but rather in awe of not only the courage it takes for standing up and taking the beating BUT also being a follow through guy no matter the circumstance.

The video went "viral" from what I understand It gave the project "because I said I would" a ton of credibility as well. Check out the project and give it some thought on how powerful a promise that is kept can be.

I wanted to balance out the whining with something a bit more real and gritty. Ya know...put things into perspective.

Thanks for reading.

Post Script:

 Read the full story here:

http://becauseisaidiwould.com/mattssentence/

The semester needs to be over.

This is a bitch session about college...

-I have roughly 7 weeks before the semester is MERCIFULLY over.

-I have around 3 weeks until I hear about if I got into nursing school.

-At this point I ALMOST don't care if I get into nursing school or not.

-I have worked intensely hard for mediocre grades in both A&P and microbiology, it's a first for me in college to make D's and F's on tests I prepared for.

-If I get told one more time I am being too hard on myself my eyes will pop out...literally. 

- I have tried old study methods without success. Tried new study methods without success. I'm now considering animal sacrifice just because I have run out of options.

- I look at all the material for 8-10 hours a day.

-I have CONSIDERED just dropping out and being a stinking ER tech for the rest of my life and learn to be content with it.

-I feel incredibly stupid. My grades reflect it...stupid hurts.

-The A&P professor was reviewing the last exam with the class and said "If you missed question 25 you did not study." Of course I missed the question. I replied "Doctor you mean to tell me that I did not study for the last FOUR days!? Then what was I doing?!" She had no reply to that.

-The amount of work we have to do in A&P is crushing 3-4 lab assignments per lab day is just the tip of the ice berg.

-I honestly see little use in putting forth the effort now. I am very discouraged by my showing this semester, I had such high hopes.

-I thought the climbing club would bring some relief. I was VERY wrong about that too. I have tried compromise. I have tried begging and pleading but some how our adviser seems intent on having meetings when none of the members can show up to climb. Then pushing for hard to plan trips in the mean time. I started something and I'm doing it poorly and cannot finish it. It's a quagmire with seemingly no way out.

- I admit it I'm probably a retarded gazelle.

-At this point I think I should have went to paramedic school or stuck with working on bicycles.

That's all I have to bitch about at the moment. I have to go to the local hardware store and buy tarps to cover the truck's tonneau cover that was on the truck and somehow move it into the basement of the house. I also have an A&P extra credit thing to go to. I'd rather go to the nursing question and answer session but I need every point I can get in A&P because "C" and higher are considered passing grades for the nursing program here.

I realize this is a long list of first world problems:

 I need a dose of 60 cc's of HTFU stat.



Thanks for reading.

Post Script...

Ran into A&P professor today. She insisted I talk to her in her office. Long story short...she told me I take the class TOO seriously.

*slaps forehead with palm of hand*

 


I am clueless...

Coming to Atlanta.

FINALLY, after literally (yes LITERALLY) years of waiting Zoe Keating comes to Atlanta for a performance. I've been a bit of a fan for a little while now. I find her music very soothing and very ideal to listen to especially in the woods running:

I knew she was coming to the A-T-L in December but I was not certain when. Naturally I was concerned that she was going to show up in the early part of the month during finals and I would miss this great chance to see her in action. Thanks to Mug for telling me that a date had been set. I bought my ticketand plan on going pretty much no matter what. If you're interested in what Zoe Keating is about check out her site here:

http://www.zoekeating.com/

It's Sunday morning and a bit tough to get going. I have tried to steer clear of coffee lately because it was starting to really upset my stomach even holding myself to one cup a day. I've been off of it for about a month now. I have switched to brewing up tea in the morning but I have found amazingly enough for me that tea now-a-days is not caffeinated. I know celestial seasonings has "Morning Thunder" but the only time I can get to it is when I am up in Atlanta at one whore foods up on Ponce. I know it's the age of the internets and I can just order it on line but geez. Yup one spoiled american right here. As an ex-girlfriend and I use to say "That's a first world problem"

Since I am talking about first world probs I just thought of Mayday. She has made it to her destination to a land locked Muslim state in Southeast Asia. Mayday and I have been friends for a long time and keep in touch via text and the occasional call, text mostly. She's been up in DC for awhile since before I came back to Georgia. Mayday is not a woman I am pining over but really a true friend we're like only a year apart in age. Naturally I am worried about her, it's one thing to think on friends who are living in this country and folks who travel overseas to relatively peaceful countries it's another to know that someone is going to a war zone and although somewhat safe still in a WAR ZONE where car bombs tear down entire blocks and IED's still maim and kill our service personnel.

It's just strange not hearing something from her every few days, I've grown used to it.

I owe a lot to Mayday. She got me a job, gave me furniture and bought drinks. In many ways she has been a confidant when it comes to women and what to do about them. She and I are a lot alike in that respect...there has not been a relationship yet that either of us has not fucked up. Don't worry it's all positive things I think about Mayday. She'll be back next year hopefully before the fighting season there really gets going. I'll make it a point to get to where ever she is so we can have some drinks and she can decompress with an old friend.

Until then I need to remember in my petty complaints about academia that at least this is a first world problem, although inconvenient it is not a life ending or altering experience. Think on that next time you're bitching about having to wait an extra minute at a stop light or when there is only one LONG line open at the grocery store. Take care Mayday, I'm pulling for ya.

Thanks for reading.

Book Face

I have been asked again recently why I don't do face book. Could it be all the unnecessary slap fights? The silly postings and lame excuses "I just keep it to talk to friends/family across the country." Funny thing is that I keep up with friends all over the planet without the benefit of social networking and oh my it's not that difficult.

Full disclosure here. I did do myspace years and years ago but after awhile the cons definitely outweighed the pros. I just got tired of it and the encompassing drama that surrounded it. When bookface came around and people started to jump on that particular bandwagon I decided to avoid that particular social phenomenon. Sure I miss out on the occasional "neat" thing but really it's worth the price to NOT have the horse shit that surrounds it.

That's just me though. Perhaps I listened to "Data Control" by Husker Du too much as a kid:

A nine digit number
For every living soul
That is all they talk about
At Data Control
They know everything about you
Keeping secrets is too hard
Your life is all recorded for you
In holes punched in computer cards

Data Control (digital readout)
Data Control (perforated feedout)
Data Control (microfilm files)
Data Control (1984 style)

A multinational corporation
A stockholder's dream
A nightmare of diversity
A defense system so supreme
Too technical to talk about
Too complex for layman's brains
It's enough to make you paranoid
Or drive you crazy losers sane

Alright I'll step off my soap box. I got too much shit to do.

Damn cold

Youngest nephew sneezes and coughs into his hand and touches everything within reach AND it appears to me that he hardly ever washes his hands. With that said I will blame him because I caught his cold. Plus I am stressed so my immune system is not really working up to par either. Until my immune system really cranks up I am dealing with congestion and a scratchy throat that makes me cough. It's a low level misery that we are all familiar with in our lives.

The stress is from school. I won't go into details but A&P could be going better.

I keep telling myself every day that I am going to get onto the trainer tomorrow and ride for half an hour.

But I don't.

My job is school now and when I get home in the evening all I want to do is just eat, shower and sleep. I'm at school five days a week with class on three of those days. The other two I am in the library because it's a fairly quite space and it's got wifi which I need for my Microbiology class to watch videos and do homework on.

I'll keep trying to get on the trainer or run get some consistency a regular routine, it's tough in these situations.

That's all I got for the moment. Thanks for reading.

Aug '13

I deeply apologize for not taking the time to write earlier but I have been "busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest."

-N.C. Trip

I'd post photos but really most were in the rain. The key word for the trip was WET. It rained a majority of the time and did not stop until I was headed south again. the trip was a fun experience but it could have went much better. Aside from the rain I had a problem with SOMETHING every day. If it was not running a bear out of camp it was a flat tire within one minute on the trail. If it wasn't a  flat it was a terrifying hour of having the truck stuck in the mud (Thanks Chris and Frenchie for helping me out). It was not a horrible trip. The camper shell provided a nice dry environment for the near constant rain. If I get a chance I'll post pics later. I did discover a very wonderful campsite while there. In the future I believe I may go ride Tsali next time. Not every trip can go smoothly, fun times nonetheless.

-College

Almost immediately after the trip I started back to college. I have been back in for a week and a half now. I am busy with two big important science classes (Microbiology and A&P 2) I'm also waiting to hear if I made it into nursing school. Nothing on the nursing school front until late September at the least. I already have an exam coming up on Thursday for Microbiology. I'm constantly in one of my books it seems. I may regret saying this later but I like it like that. I have structure and a mission now, with those things in place it leaves less time for getting into mischief of some sort or another.

I have so much more to write but I got up early this Sunday morning to wrap up flash cards for my up coming Microbiology exam. Thanks for reading. 

July '13

I have not posted in a bit because I have been busy. A couple of projects and a few distractions have popped up on my horizon as of late just a few weeks before the fall semester is set to begin.

Distractions pretty much are not worth mentioning but will end once the fall semester starts. 

Projects on the other hand:

1) Thor and the pool.

Recently here in the rural county homestead we have talked about getting rid of the eyesore of and in ground pool that has turned into a brackish pond. Frogs, turtles and mosquitoes are in this in ground pool/pond. Finally one day we decided to get to it. Here at the homestead we have plenty of time but no money.

B.I.L brilliantly redneck engineered a pump to get the water out of the deep end of the pool. I went to the local home improvement store and bought the biggest sledge hammer I could find. We found that the concrete in the pool falls apart fairly easily under the weight of a 16 pound sledge hammer.

The sledge hammer I named "Thor". Thor dishes out pain to both the concrete and the user. I am able to do 10-15 swings with it until I have to stop. Rest for a minute or two and repeat, all told I can last about an hour swinging Thor until I gotta sit down.I'm smart enough to only work at it in the morning or late afternoon.

There did come a point where the sludge in the bottom of the deep end of the pool had to come out. That fell to me. the reason why is because B.I.L. injured his ankle and foot years ago many bones were fused and I'm certain there is a fair amount of metal in his foot & ankle. He did use a bucket and rope to get some of the sludge then I had to get in there and muck it out. And let's face it the youngest nephew who openly brags that he is lazy is not going to do such a dirty job or any job for that matter. Although he has picked up Thor a couple of times for 15-20 minutes to show he is a tough guy. He is not, but whatever.

Honestly, I don't mind disgusting smells and textures. Which is what this sludge is and was. I spent 2 hours this past Monday getting all that shit cleared out and knocked a hole in part of the bottom in case it rained again. We have gotten to the point where even if it does rain the pool will not even come close to the level it was. With all the sludge distributed to the shallow end of the pool the part of breaking up the concrete in the deep end has started.

Swinging Thor overhead is an exercise in sheer will and pain. Between Monday and Tuesdays sessions I feel I have earned a break from that work for at least a day. Progress is being made, I expect that most of the inside of the pool will be broken up appropriately by the time the fall semester starts.

Ultimately the pool will be filled in and a weeping willow will be put there. If I think to I'll take pics of the progress made so far. It ain't pretty.

2) Camper shell.

For the longest time a camper shell has sat in the yard of the rural home. It was off the back of younger nephews truck. he rejected it because "It doesn't look cool" which I admit he has a point, it's a bit beat up. But the price is right (free) and with a small investment and some luck it'll fit on the back of my truck rather nicely. I have been looking for a camper shell to go over the back of the truck for when I make trips like the one I'd like to make up to Asheville in a couple of weeks. The tonneau cover is REALLY nice and it locks but it's not very liveable.

Years ago before youngest nephew (YN) got the truck a branch or tree handed on the camper shell and dented it. A patch job was done on the hole of the shell but from what I was told it still leaked. Also the screens on the sliding windows were torn AND the shocks that howl the rear door to the camper shell are missing.

The screen and piping and the spray rubber for the leaking roof has been bought. I THINK I might have the leaks solved. I hope so that spray rubber in a can is expensive and goes way fast. B.I.L was able to find a shock for the rear window someplace and we'll get to cranking on the screen for the windows soon enough. Plus I have to get up in the camper shell and spray it out lots of dirt has gotten up in there. Again if I think to I'll post pictures of that project. I am aiming to have that done and on the truck by then end of next week. I also saw a cool idea for the tailgate that should not be too hard. 'Cause I wanna head to Asheville on 8/5.

Running continues and although I have missed some time on the trainer I feel pretty good. the sessions with Thor and the dirty pool has helped. Well the sun is starting to peak up over the horizon here and I have a very full day ahead of me.

I'll try to post more often. Thanks for reading.