Of all the dumb crap to happen…

It seems that I was unable to edit or post anything on this site because I had a link to some gold buying websites.  I wasn’t trying to make money, just link to the sites I was writing about.  Now that I broke those hyperlinks, I can resume blogging.

Also, it was not those violations of WordPress user agreements that has kept me from writing anything, it’s the long dreary summer I was going through.

Remember how I was going through the teacher credentialing program?  Last March I had to abandon that idea due to circumstances beyond my control.  Maybe they were not totally beyond my control, but either way the idea of me being any sort of legitimate school teacher is out of the question for now.

I spent nearly five months looking for work.  Any work.  Janitor, errand boy, pizza guy, etc.  Nobody was hiring.  I had a few promising interviews, but with so many people looking for jobs there was always somebody more qualified.  I’m not talking about interviews for janitor or pizza guy, but serious grown-up jobs that I am somehow capable of doing.

On top of the unemployment, I was dealing with some issues that only one of them expensive therapists could handle.  Issues mostly relating to my inability to perform as a teacher, something which I had spent the last 5 years of my life preparing for.  I was under the impression that I was a useless human being, a failure at life, etc.

Anyway, now that the worst is behind me, I feel much better about life again.  I have been substitute teaching in Coalinga (yes, that little town 70 miles from Fresno), and Corinne and I are preparing to move into a new apartment.  This apartment is bigger then our house, and the rent is $600 cheaper then our mortgage payment.

Take that faulty real estate market!

I’m not sure if there will be regular posts, weekly posts, or anything at all for that matter.  Maybe life isn’t as fun as it used to be.  Nobody want’s to hear about how I came home from work, had dinner, and went to bed at 8pm so I can get by 5am.  I know I wouldn’t want to hear about that sort of dreary existence.

Mark Bauerlein, I fart in your general direction!

This guy is so full of himself.  First off, he’s an ENGLISH professor.  How does that qualify him to make such generalized comments about today’s youth?  Maybe if he was a sociology professor or a psychologist, but an English professor?

This guy has no clue what being young is like these days.  He claims that future generations are going to be screwed.  I agree with that, but not because of Facebook, MySpace, cell phones, and Blackberries (idiot).  There are plenty of individuals from my generation that are civic minded and aware of the world scene.  Just because not EVERYBODY is going to grow up to be a Senator or English professor does not mean that we should be labeled the “Dumbest Generation.”  Even among his generation of 50 somethings, there is a fair share of janitors, factory workers, general laborers, and other occupations necessary to make society functional.

In fact, I bet that of the people from his generation, most of them are NOT professors or doctors, and there are just as many middle age people running around drinking beer and smoking pot as there are in today’s generation.

I bet his problem is that he can’t see intelligent individuals among his students because they don’t stand out as being particularly of use to his own research on the Dumbest Generation.

And about his first comment, concerning Germany, Japan, Italy, and Russia…Italy was our ally at the latter part of WWII, so that answer should have also been acceptable along with Russia.  That test needs to have its construct validity challenged.

Single Female Lawyer!

Is it acceptable to ask somebody a question, but only because the answer will determine how funny the joke inside my head about that person will end up being?

There is a former lawyer in my class, and she likes to talk and give her non-biased opinion about everything.  I want to ask if she is single so that whenever she talks I can say to myself “Single Female Lawyer!”

It’s a Futurama joke.

Either way, it is making me crack up every time she talks now…so I guess asking her the question now is irrelevant.

Summer School…for real, not that movie

From 9 to 6 Monday through Friday, I’m in school.  Its only a three week session, which should make it bearable.  Don’t expect much from me while I’m getting through this.

The good thing?  The assignments are so minuscule compared to regular undergraduate work that I could probably knock them all out in one afternoon.  So thats my plan for this Friday.

Now what?

Had my last 2 finals this morning.  I graduate tomorrow.  Now I’m home until the Grizzlie game tonight (Thirsty Thursdays = Dollar Beer), and I feel like I should be reading something, or working on a paper, or researching, yet I don’t have to do any of that.  I’m free of school until Monday.  3 days of not having to think about stuff.

Conveniently, as I have mentioned, it gets kicked off with Dollar Beers.

Honey Bees and 2012

In doing some research from school, I came across an article (not on the internet, so there is no link) from 1978 which said that bee populations have been declining since the 1960′s.

Honey bee populations have been declining recently as well. We hear today about how bee populations are dropping, but I didn’t know it was going on for over 40 years.

Why? I think it has to do with 2012.

If the planet is experiencing magnetic changes because of our location on the Galactic Spiral (which way oversimplifies the whole event, I know), the bees would be the first creatures to feel it. Bees use the earths magnetic pole to “keep time,” so if magnetism was getting disrupted it could be contributing to the overall population decline.

8-5? WTF is that?

I don’t think I have ever had a job with normal hours.

I’ve had jobs with shifts, but the shifts always varied in length and starting time. Like bagging groceries at various grocery stores, or pushing carts at Target, or doing whatever I did at K-Mart.

Maybe stocking shelves at night at Safeway counted, because that was 11pm-8am pretty consistently.

But I’m talking about a job that always starts at a certain time in the morning (like between 7am and 9am) and ends in the afternoon (between 4pm and 6pm).

When I was in the Navy, we always had to be in at

In the name of Curly, Vince, and the Holy Brett

I’m starting a religion based around the Green Bay Packers for a Philosophy group project.  Any thoughts?

I’d like to have this stricken from the record…

This is what I wanted to include in my appeal letter:

“Had I known that my failure to distinctly provide evidence of childhood toys and other childish nonsense would cause me to get low scores on the essay, I would have lied and made something up about how playing with Lego’s has made me want to be an engineer.”

Corinne made me take it out.

English Language Nazis

I failed my Undergraduate Writing Exam, which means I won’t be graduating

Not really, I’ll still graduate, I just have to retake the test in June. If I don’t pass it then, I have to take a 3 unit class in the fall. That’s fine, as I’ll still be going to school anyway for another year (Credential Program).

Overall, me not passing the test is more of an inconvenience then a setback, as now I have to deal with the entire issue.

I have the option to appeal my score. Get this: I got 112 points on the test, and I only needed 114 points to pass. To get another two points, I need to explain why I deserve them.

Below is the question and my response. I left in all spelling and grammar errors.

Yes, I make spelling and grammar errors. I have become accustomed to the computer picking them up, and in some cases, auto correcting. Obviously, when I wrote the essay by hand, I didn’t get auto corrected.

Anyway, let me know what you think. I’m looking for some constructive criticism.

Question #1

You have 45 minutes to write on the following topic. Read the prompt carefully, and be sure to address the prompt directly and fully in your response.

As children, we all engaged in activities which we found enriching and enjoyable at the time. As we grow up, however many of us leave behind these activities for a variety of reasons. On the other hand, others may find that as adults, they still engage in a leisure activity or indulge a hobby which they first pursued as children. In either case, this childhood activity has shaped the people we grow up to be.

Consider your own life experience, and choose ONE favorite activity or hobby in which you engaged as a child. In a well developed and clearly organized essay, describe this activity in detail, and fully explain how this activity has contributed to the person you are today. If you no longer pursue this activity, why did you give it up? If you still engage in this activity, why do you still make it part of your adult life?

Heres what I wrote:

As a child, one tends to engage in “childish” activities to pass the time. Such an activity, for myself an no doubt others, was playing with toys. however, the term “toy” itself is rather general, but to describe what, as a child, I utilized to entertain myself, the term “toy” would be rather accurate. Looking at my life today, one could say that I still play with my toys, even though the actual toys themselves have grown up and changed along with me.

The toys that I played with as a child were intended for the use of children. For example, many toys come with an age reccomendation such as “For Ages 5 and Up,” or “Not For Children Under 3 years of Age.” What I notice now is that there is never a maxium age written on toy packaging. To me, that implies that childrens toys can be used for entertainment indefinately. However, there seems to be some sort of transition period in which older toys are cast aside and replaced with newer, more advanced, and no doubt expensive toys.

These childhood toys perhaps come to embody the spirit of my own youth. As I matured and moved into young adulthood, these same toys were either discarded, put away in a box somewhere, or passed along to a younger generation. In a sense, toys can be viewed as a metaphor pertaining to ones own physical, mental, and psycholigical growth. Some toys are discarded, just as certain aspects of childishness are left behind as one matures. the toys in a box somewhere would represent childhood memories and experiences stored in the mind. The toys that were passed along represent my own childhood being replaced with a younger generation, speaking volumes about how it is now my time to “be the adult” and act as guardian and role model for youths.

If the playing, discarding, keeping, and passing along of toys represents my progression from childhood to adulthood, then the acquiring of newer, more complex and expensive toys must represent my march from adulthood to death. As the description of this progression will no doubt be depressing, its aspects will remain unexplored for now. After all, I won’t know the true meaning of anything until after I die. To speculate on the meanin of my adult toys now would be a fruitless undertaking, as I have no knowledge of my own future, which would provide the necessary retrospective details which I utalized to write the first part of this essay which covered childhood.

In other words, I can’t truely analyize my adulthood until it is over. When that happens, I’ll finish this up properly.

That’s never happened before

I just went to take a test, and I had no clue what anything on it was.

I knew I was screwed on my way in though, because when I tried to look over my notes this afternoon, I had no clue what any of that stuff was either.

The whole semester, I was in class, paying attention, taking notes. I went to take the test, and I knew 1 out of 9 questions. I had to pretend I knew about the 8 just to get some sort of credit.

I felt like I missed a month of that class and showed up for the test. It was the weirdest thing.

On one question I actually wrote for the answer:

“I’m having a bad month. I apologize in advance for failing this test, it is not like me at all to fail any sort of test. I think I am on the verge of some sort of mental breakdown due to stress.”

Maybe he’ll give me sympathy points or something.

Fortunately, I’m not doing bad at all in the class a whole. I’m not worried about failing, but this test might bring me down to a low “B.” I’ll have to make sure to do good on the final.

I am busy, godammit.

Graduation is upon us (well, me at least), and it’s down to the final stretch.

This final stretch is a gauntlet of poison arrows, giant axes swinging back and fourth, and probably a bunch of ugly naked people.

April 10th

-8am Philosophy 120 class canceled (That’s a good thing though)

-Turn in my research progress for History 188, which is a BINDER of “TPS reports” (Like from Office Space) detailing what I’ve looked at, where I found it, how useful it is to the overall project, and so forth.

-Midterm #3 in Linguistics 10

April 11th

-Book review on the Richard Townsend book The Aztecs due for Philosophy 2.

April 14th

-Final Rough Draft due for History 100, which is at least 15 pages.

-Presentation on the Richard Townsend book The Aztecs at 11:00-11:30

April 15th

-Morpheme analysis for Dinosaurs due for Linguistics 10

April 19-21

-Being peer pressured into going camping

April 29th

-8 to 10 page paper on the Sassoun Massacre due for Armenian History 108b (I have yet to even start this)

May 5th

-Final draft due for History 100

May 6th

-Final analysis paper on Dinosaurs due for Linguistics 10

May 15th

-The final kick in the nuts for my last semester of undergraduate coursework: Three final exams, all of which from the three classes that actually give hard tests. I only have four actual exams as it is, and the other one is on May 12th…but that’s not really going to be a hard test.

Putting everything into perspective, it’s not that bad really. Maybe I was stressing out for nothing.

Either way, I need to actually do some work now, lest I get caught up doing internet bullshit for the rest of the night.

College strikes again!

A few years ago, for an Interpersonal Communications class, the big assignment was to take this test (Jungian Personality Type Test) and write about how accurate the results were.

Back then, the results said that I was an ISTJ.

I retook the test a few minutes ago, and now I’m an INTJ.

So in a few years time, I’ve gone from a “sensing” type to an “intuitive” type.

Maybe 5 and a half years of college did have an effect on me after all.

No really, give me your honest opinion…

    I just got off the phone with one of my future (Today at 5pm, to be exact) student’s mother.  She was a sweet lady, and she spoke very highly of her son.  However, she felt it was necessary to “warn” me that her son is “So brilliant that he’s stupid.”

I know exactly what she means, as I often have students of that same nature.  But for a mother to admit something like that to a total stranger strikes me as somewhat odd.

I’m sure I would have come to the same conclusion anyway.

So where have I been lately?

Sitting right where I am now, only with a bit less spare time.

Damn you Warcraft III!

School is moving along somewhat quickly, too quick in fact.  Before I know it I’ll have 20 or so pages of writing to turn in, and finals, and all that other school related nonsense.
I decided yesterday to apply for the teaching credential program.  Well, I decided years ago to do it, but I actually made the effort to obtain the application yesterday.

Little did I know that the deadline is April 1st.  Not a big deal, as thats over a month away.  However, I need to get some letters of recommendation, get myself fingerprinted (Live Scan, for those of you in the know), get a TB skin test, make sure my immunizations are up to date, have two separate interviews with different people, somehow get copies of my transcripts from Scottsdale Community College from 1998-1999, write a page or two essay about why I want to teach (as well as other bullet points that need to be covered), attend an hour and a half orientation class, and acquire a manila envelope for my fourteen page application and all the above mentioned documents.

What’s weird is that I had to do less to enlist in the Navy.  Although getting out was a pretty similar process to what I just mentioned.  I think that’s why people stay in the military for more then four years.  They must be either to dumb, busy, or impatient to finish the exiting process.

Busy

Finals and whatnot next week.

Also, don’t get into “Virtual Villagers” the week before finals or any other task that requires lots of preparation.

If you need something, now’s the time to ask

Today I had three midterm exams. Normally, tests don’t mean crap to me, and I pretty much blow the thought of them off (and still get at least a “B”). For some reason, I was actually worried about these tests. Probably because this is the first time I have actually had this many midterms on the same day, and all in a row for that matter, AND they were from classes that don’t give any tests other than the midterm and final.

After taking the tests, I do not feel as worried, but that doesn’t mean I think I aced them or anything. I’m just glad they are over with.

Some of you other “educated” people out there might think

Very soon…

I’ve been rather busy with school, work, and Warcraft III. I wish I didn’t start playing that infernal game again, but it was either that or start taking OxyContin again.

Kidding, of course, but you get the idea.

I don’t foresee school work settling down until about late December, so I’ll do my best. I need to finish my tale about the Eugene road trip for sure. I’ll probably get that done Thursday night in class.

Speaking of OxyContin, today I

Eventually…

I am planning on doing a post about my recent trip to Eugene, Oregon.  However, I am currently busy doing “necessary” writings for school.  It will be up at some point this week, I’m sure.  Until then, check this out.

The CSU Fresno Whore

Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an 11am class. Yesterday was the first session of said class, and I figured I would arrive early to find a parking spot. Not a good spot, just a space to leave my car for an hour and fifteen minutes.

I made my way to the campus only to find that EVERY parking lot was full, and the traffic cops were not allowing anybody in to the lots, not even to look for a spot at their own risk.

This is something of a dilemma. Where the hell were us students supposed to park? You can’t just park on the roads, as they are all red curbed. Its not like there are places around the school to park, as it is surrounded by freeways, corn fields, vineyards, stadiums and whatnot.

There is one small neighborhood on the south side, behind all the

Higher Education

I’m still working my way through essays, this one asking “By focusing on the readings of Richard Rodriguez in Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, and W.E.B. Dubois’s An ABC of Color examine the moral and intellectual issues surrounding ideas about “private vs. public life,” “complexion,” “the color line,” “the veil,” and “double-consciousness.” Discuss the conflicts and contradictions that non-white racial/ethnic groups face in embracing their heritage, history, and cultural lifestyles.”

Whats weird is what this education is doing to me. No longer am I

The essay in question

What are the racial and cultural ideologies that define America’s “mainstream” society? Can we embrace our racial/ethnic identity while still blending into the “mainstream” American society? And what are the challenges in defining ourselves as Americans while celebrating our racial and cultural differences?

Maybe I should answer with “I don’t care, I don’t have a problem “embracing my racial/ethnic identity,” and I don’t really “celebrate my racial and cultural differences.”

Crash Conclusion

cc. The music in this movie is pretty lame.
dd. Barry Gibb has already shot two other African America men under “mysterious circumstances.”
ee. Black on black violence
ff. Ryan Phillippe has a good memory for license plates.
gg. There is no way that the Persian guy found that locksmith. Super Loophole.
hh. Invisible, bulletproof cloaks work. I need to get one.
ii. Whole Foods does not racially discriminate.
jj. Sandra Bullock is angry and she doesn’t know why. Also, she is clumsy.
kk. Ryan Phillippe picks up hitchhikers. And has a St. Christopher statue on his dash. And he is quick on the draw.
ll. Asian slave trade?
mm. Dude found his brother. Mom blames his death on him.
nn. Blanks in the gun? Tricky stuff. Now I don’t believe in invisible bulletproof cloaks.
oo. Snow in the Valley? WTF?
pp. Carjacker passed up a few thousand to save some lives.
qq. Shaniqua got rear ended. Why don’t you speak American?

Crash

For a Race Relations class I’m currently taking, we watched “Crash.” As per the instructor, we are to take notes and write a two page response to the film. Here, for your enjoyment, are those notes. By the way, we didn’t finish watching it today, so I’ll have more when I’m done.

I. Crash
a. Mexicans don’t know how to drive according to Asians. Ironically, Asians don’t know how to drive either.
b. White people don’t wait for spaghetti or coffee, but black people have to wait over an hour for such delights.
c. The right arm of white women will get cold if they see a black man.
d. Black men carry guns and carjack white people. Then they tend to put statues of St. Christopher on the dash.
e. Barry Gibb carries

Economics is the biggest waste of time

Did you know that households earn money to buy goods and services from businesses? That money is then put towards the running of the company, for profit, upkeep, purchases, and employee wages. Those wages are then paid to the households, who use it to buy goods and services to the product market (which is a fancy econ term for businesses).

My God, why are people even taking notes on this shit?

A very rough draft of a paper I’m working on

Why is it that intelligent people are criticized for being intelligent? If an intelligent person decides to incorporate an idea, symbol, or concept into their life or personality, why do people that don..t understand it think that the intelligent person is being condescending, pompous, or big-headed?

Why must this intelligent person be forced to adapt to idiots in order to fit in with everybody else? Back in the day, intelligence was seen as a positive trait. The term ..village idiot.. has a negative connotation. Notice how there is no co

Stupid Names

Having spent the last 2 weeks (well, four days out of those two weeks) at a Junior High School, I am now officially sick of the names that parents have been giving their kids for the last 15 years or so.

When I was a kid, all the guys were Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Robert, Michael, Anthony, Joseph, Frank, Christopher, Richard, or some other such Biblical-ish name or just a name. Not a word, but a name. There was me, but I was always the exception. Thanks Mom.

My kids are going to be made fun of big time, just because they will have NORMAL names.

And you don’t count Liberty, your Mexican. And the only Liberty I know.

I just thought of a good name! How about Bur…dur…her…her…amin? Or perhaps it should start with a vowel, so your forced to unnaturally stress your voice at the start of the name.

4 more years!

The college degree you get 4 years after high school does not negate the fact that you’re still an idiot.