blog, n.

So... not only does Blogger's built in spell checker thingy not have swear words in it's dictionary, it doesn't have the word "blog" in it either. What the fuck? (for blog it suggests "bloc" and for fuck "Fuji")

current music: "No More Holiday for King" (live at O'Cayz Corral, Madison, WI, R.I.P.) - The Frogs

eating/taking my own words/medicine

I always knew that I would lose my temper with this dude but I never realized it would happen so soon after I wrote this:

NOT having to listen to the anti-immigrant blather of a certain M.D. (True, I run the risk of still having to listen to this during my part time night shifts, but I'll feel less afraid to tell him what I really think in addition to merely reporting him to my boss)

So... uh.. yeah. Sunday I got into an argument with him because he did something very stupid which he has done before and probably will do again and which I won't elaborate further here for privacy and other reasons. (Those of you who know me can ask me in person or message me privately if you want details.) What did I learn from this? It's always best to keep your mouth shut and just report the bastard. Confronting doesn't do anyone any good. We were able to come to an agreement and make up and everything but man what an unpleasant experience. And he lied to me (and to the person acting as social worker) about what he actually said to the patient in private. But I can't prove it. And since I reacted in anger and called him out verbally rather than playing it cool, I really can't document anything. Oh well... I'm sure I'll have plenty of other opportunities unfortunately with this dude.


And all this reminds me of something else I wrote:

I am no longer amused by my peers bitching about their shitty job.

Yeah yeah, I know. Well, I never said I wasn't a hypocrite. And for what it's worth this blog is not for my or your amusement so much as it is for my mental health therapy and perhaps to exercise my writing skills. As I said in the post which I quote, I don't have a problem with people bitching. We humans can't stop bitching. It's cathartic. Therapeutic.

For what it's worth, I don't think either of my jobs (the academy and the institution) are shitty. The institution does drain me in a way though that makes me look forward to the day when I no longer need the extra income they give me. But I would never describe the job as shitty. It's actually a pretty good job, in its essence. There are a lot of people and other things that come with the territory though that really suck. But we could say this about almost any job, no? As the kids used to say (do they still say it?), "it's all good."

Go metric!

Dear medical doctors, especially anesthesiologists, of the United States:

May I suggest (respectfully of course) that you review the metric system? I mainly am concerned about length measurements. You all seem to be fairly conversant in weight and volume metric measures.

You see, it's important to me because the next time I am interpreting for you and your Spanish-speaking patient, and you ask him or her how tall they are, and they give you an answer in centimeters: I don't want to have to feel embarrassed for you when you flash that deer-in-the-headlights facial expression indicating you don't know what they are talking about, and perhaps more importantly, your patient will have even more confidence in your expertise and experience as a physician and scientist. (Are medical doctors scientists? Should they not use the metric system?)

While I'm on the subject, I think we should switch to the metric system for once and all. I know there was a push for it in the 70s that failed. I don't know the history behind that but I guess a bunch of old people didn't like the idea. Hopefully they are mostly dead by now.

I mean, it's important to me that we switch to metric, but not as important as protecting the Social Security system or electing a Democrat president the next go-round. I'd rank it just below legalizing marijuana. I think we should do it but it's not important enough to make me want to be an activist for it. Now that I think of it maybe if we did legalize marijuana it would help people put the metric system into practice. I mean, we all know any stoner can tell you about how many ounces (or more precisely what fraction of an ounce) is 3.5 and 7 grams.

But that's neither here nor there.

I should be reading a bunch of crap for my "methods" (of teaching college Spanish) class, and I will be soon enough. (Can you tell I'm not looking forward to it?)

Current Music: None. Listening, sort of, to news on Galavisión. Talking about some crap with Mexican politics. Despite my high (and well documented) proficiency in Spanish I still can't follow what's on the news very well unless I give it my undivided attention.

The Long and Winding Bloarg

What a week its been!

What have I done?
(though enumerated the numbers do not signify anything):
1. Flipped off a group of undergraduates crossing lumpkin against my green light (and perpendicular to it) while driving Holly and I to lunch.
2. Successfully completed my primer ensayo for my fonética y fonología españolas class, and was quite pleased with it.
3. Quite obnoxiously and verbosely pissed all over the comments page of a fellow blogger whom I've never met, and though I apologized for my manner I still stand by the matter (the essence) of what I wrote.
4. Told my students (en español of course) that I think Pat Robertson is crazy.
5. Managed to eat lunch with Holly more often than not.
6. I could go on but I think this is sufficient for now. I did get all classwork done in a timely manner. I have monday's SPAN 1001 class already planned and have an outline sort of for the rest of the week's classes.

Keeping all these in mind I have two final thoughts:

1. Choose ye this day whom ye will hate. The MAN®, or the Masses. (You know which MAN I'm talking about... the establishment, the corporate-military complex, yadda yadda... don't play dumb or coy.) True, much of the Masses are hateful (see previous but recent comment in separate post regarding Republican nurses). However, I so badly want to elect a Democrat president next time we get a fucking chance, that I am willing to try to forget how much I hate the annoying average person and focuse all that hatey goodness on the real enemy: The MAN®. Because to elect a Democrat president, we need all the help from the masses we can get.

2. I am no longer amused by my peers bitching about their shitty job.

True, I am a great defender of the freedom of speech and a great lover of the internet. So please, complain and bitch all you want. That's what I do! (That's what I'm doing now, isn't it?)

However, although I used to love reading the zine Temp Slave (and own the book that is shown in that link), I just can no longer stomach that sort of crap. If you can read and write at what I would loosely refer to as a college reading level (you experts please correct me if you must; it's not like I have a cognitive/reading/writing slide-rule to measure zines and blogs), then you don't have to stay working at your shitty job. And even if your personal choices and circumstances make it more attractive to work that job for the time being than any alternative, let's admit it, it's temporary. That doesn't justify the myriad injustices you face in those jobs. But don't act like you are a fucking slave. You can quit whenever you want and with those mad intellectual skills you'll do just fine, kiddo. Didn't get the right tip on that 3-top? Cry me a fucking river. And steal from your boss. Please. It's the only thing that can make wrong right in these situations.

All of us have had shitty jobs. Maybe I'll blorg about that someday. Maybe not. I have a doozy of a story about what some psycho upper midwest white trash bitch said to me regarding my father's recent death when I was only trying to collect the weekly newspaper subscription fee due. I guess you could say that was my early intro to the truly shitty work, although it was just a paper route. I'll save the rest of the details of that story for some other time though. I've worked in food service and in the call center industry. I've had my share of shitty jobs. We all have.

And don't hate the customer, hate The MAN®!

Current music: "Little Johnny Jewel" - Television

The mundanity and the eggstosee

Mere words cannot adequately express my joy at being liberated from I shall here refer to as "the institution" henceforth. That is, my joy at no longer working my former day job, at the hospital (interpreting sp<>en). (Even though I still work there part time nights.) And I do feel extreme contentment being at the academy (UGA).

Having said that, it's not like it's been nothing but sitting around, picking my ass and surfing the internet while caffeinated to the point of needing a doctor. (which is seriously my idea of a good time sometimes...) I've actually done the studying and planning and other work needed to be a new grad student and TA.

On the other hand, NOT having to dress up and wear uncomfortable shoes, NOT being restricted in my internet access by the institution's IT gestapo, NOT having to kowtow to la reina nor other demiadminitrons (for the lords of the institution stay away when the moon shines, they fear it's power. And rightly so, for it draws out the most infirm and insane among us as though a beacon and leads them directly to the department of urgencies), NOT having to listen to the idle chatter of seemingly, how shall I say it... not-so-intelligent-as-to-lead-you-they-would-be-able-to-pass-the-state-required-exam-to-be-a-nurse, Republican nurses, NOT having to listen to the anti-immigrant blather of a certain M.D. (True, I run the risk of still having to listen to this during my part time night shifts, but I'll feel less afraid to tell him what I really think in addition to merely reporting him to my boss) are fucking great.

And being able to freely walk campus and downtown, surf the net as well as do my schoolwork on our lab computers, wear shorts as I need to, drink café cubano (budget permitting, although it's cheaper than a fuckin latte) at Hot Corner Coffee, just being able to walk and breathe the god damn air instead of being indoors at the institution and away from the life that is downtown. It too is wonderful.

I feel reborn. Colors are brighter. Sounds are more vibrant. The sun is brighter. Food is richer. My erectile organ is more sensitive. Crack is crackier. (OK for a variety of reasons, I must disclaim that last one: It is a joke. I don't do crack. Of course, such disclaimers, while lamentably necessary under certain circumstances, invariably take away 75 to 99 percent of the humor of the joke in question.)

Then it's time to return to work. SCHOOL work. Hell yeah mutherfucker! I'm diggin it.

So there is an ebb and flow. Work, chill, hurry up and go work your god damn part time shift at the institution, sleep. For inquireing minds: I am not working more than the number of hours permitted by academy policy, and I only work on the weekends and on Monday nights. The cool thing about these shifts, besides the fact that the bossoids are not there, is that they are short compared to what I am used to. A five hour shift? I laugh at your five hour shift. I piss on it. It is nothing to me! Do your worst. Buey, I'm leaving in five hours.

Hell yeah.

Current music: "My valuable hunting knife" - Guided By Voices

Dear Holly

You are right: I should be doing as much schoolwork as possible during the day. I am truly truly sorry for slacking off so much. For what it's worth, I was able to get all of today's work done before going to be last night. So I'm caught up again...

pulling out

Ben Granby, vocalist for Quisling, is currently in the middle east, pretending, and apparently succeeding at being a journalist. Although he is still inordinately amused by subject lines like the one I used for this post and the one he used in his email sent to me and other friends of his to announce the publication of his article in Counterpunch regarding the Gaza pullout.

Big shout out to the UW!

Once again my alma mater is named by the Princeton Review as the NUMBER ONE PARTY SCHOOL. That's right, beeyotches!

I guess that's why my high school debate coach (he's there at the bottom. his initals are R.F. sorry, no photo) always called Madison "Sin City."

From the NYT homepage as of right now

re: movies

Hollywood's Box Office Fizzle
After so many summer blockbusters flopped, including "Bewitched," Hollywood executives are wondering if many of their movies are just not good enough.

Well, no shit! Keep pondering that one. Eventually you'll come to some kind of erroneous half baked conclusion and we'll get more of the same celluloid excrement. It's OK - "Don't cry, movie executives!"

Anyone who can identify the source of that quote (yes, they are someone else's words; hence the quotation marks) will win a prize.

short cryptic and pretentious posts

I will probably be making lots of these for a while now, in addition to more normal ones, owing mainly to being full time at the UGA now, and not getting as much sleep as I want on some days.

I'm better than I thought I was

Trust me.

even more frightening

Apparently when I woke up after the aforementioned nightmare, I said to Holly when she asked what was wrong, something about seeing a light, and that I didn't like it. No shit. I have no memory of this. Maybe there's a reason why I couldn't get back to sleep!

sometimes I scare myself

I woke up at an ungodly hour this morning, a-hollerin'. I must have had a nightmare although I have no idea about what. Woke me up, woke Holly up, probably the dogs and cats too. Then I couldn't get back to sleep.

I had another nightmare yesterday too. All I remember was the variation of the cliched "back in high school" variety. Then I woke up and remembered I'm in grad school and felt so relieved I forgot any of the interesting and disturbing details of this r.e.m. cycle that I might have otherwise wanted to remember.

My theory is that in my unconscious mind there is a tremendous desire to succeed and fear of failure that is causing these nocturnal disturbances. The solution must be drugs somehow. (Remember: Alcohol IS a drug!)

I'm melting

It is fucking hot outside. I'm sweating like a pig. It's actually starting to disgust me, and that means a lot.

I'm wearing a stupid polo shirt with an undershirt. I've been trying to dress something like "business casual" or something. Something that looks vaguely professional but not too much. I'm beginning to think that that is a grave mistake, at least maybe until the weather cools down a bit. Maybe tomorrow I'll wear shorts.

I got my financial aid check in the mail on Saturday. Hell fuckin' yeah! We're paying off some debts. Not all of them unfortunately but a couple key ones. I also got my books, the ones I know about. I'll probably have to go to Bel-Jean to get a course packet or two, but of course won't know about that until classes start.

We also got a decent external harddrive, which will let us clear up some much needed space on the laptop.

You should go to Holly's blog and check out a few pictures from our vacation. If I ever have the time and get around to it I'd like to post a few here myself.

celebration

Holly and I are meeting our pals Todd and Lindsey, and her sister Adina, and her man DJ for drinks and dinner tonight. I am very much looking forward to this because it's been awhile since we've gone out with friends. (well, not that long, but I'm a very social creature, despite how I may seem to the contrary at times) Also, I will be celebrating my passing of the court interp. oral exam. Should be big fun!

so far so good

The morning session of my orientation got out early so I'm here in the computer lab at Romance Languages killing some time until lunch.

All my nervousness is gone and I am very happy and relieved to be here instead of at my former (and now part time night) day job.

Big time shout out and congratulations to my friend Dan and his girlfriend Jen who are soon to be married here.

first day of school

Technically it's not the first day, but it is the first day of orientation for me at UGA, and there will be orientation every day thereafter until classes start next week Thursday. So it may as well be considered the first day. I'm excited and a little nervous, but in a good way.

The best news I've had in an extremely long time

Yesterday I learned that I did indeed pass the GA AOC Commission on Interpreters Court Interpreter Oral Certification Exam. Words cannot adequately describe how happy, excited, proud, and relieved I am.

That sucks

I had hoped to see Star Wars Ep. III in an actual theater for the second time today, especially since it is now at the cheap theater here, but their first show isn't until 4:00 p.m. I have to pick up Holly at 5:00 and then I work 7:00 to midnight so it ain't happenin'.

On the obsolescence of mix tapes (and that of mix CDs)

First, a brief preamble in defense of file-sharing:

I don't care what the RIAA or that shithead drummer from Metallica say, there is nothing wrong with file-sharing.

Why? Because it's the natural manifestation of the technology we have at our fingertips. It is no different than making a cassette copy of music to give to a friend. It's just that now most of our friends are anonymous, and we can pick and choose our own songs at will. Sure, it's technically illegal, but the prohibition is unenforceable, and just like in the old days (of about thirty years ago and until recently), if it is music that someone really likes, he or she will go ahead and buy the album rather than have to listen to a copy over and over. In fact actual sales figures back up this theory. Some figures even show that file-sharing may boost sales.

And as far as the RIAA is concerned, they represent rich companies, not artists. They may pitch the argument that it cheats artists, but the recording companies themselves have a track record of screwing artists.

I'm not one of those people who insist on analog formats, but I do have a working tape deck and phonograph. I wish that vinyl albums were still mass produced, but I'm not a snob. (I realize that some albums are still released on vinyl. I wish all were though, like they were before the CD took over.) The thing is, CDs are so cheap and crappy, it just seems a shame to have to drop ten to fifteen bucks for an album on CD. Think about how much you pay for a blank CD and think how easily they are scratched or broken or just degrade over time. And of course, with a vinyl album you get much larger artwork, which is wonderful. Anyway, all of this is neither here nor there, but comes to mind in this context.

My point is that with file-sharing so widespread, we no longer need to make mixtapes, provided the individuals in question have internet access, preferably broadband.

I know that people still make mix tapes (or mix CDs). I know this because I have made some, and have also have gotten some from friends, in the past year and a half. What I am saying, is that from now on, no one needs to make me a mix tape or CD. Just send me the list of songs, and I'll do it myself! Sure, some people may want to take the time to show they care and make a tape or CD for someone. Spare me. I'd rather do it myself.

On that note, I would invite all of my friends now to email me names of songs and artists that they've been listening to a lot lately. Because I really need some new music, but don't know where to begin. I'll find the songs online, download them and make myself a mix CD.

It's the wave of the future!

Sympathy for the smoker

I used to smoke cigarettes also, but don't anymore, and haven't for quite a while. Recently, I was relieved to realize that despite my occasional cravings on days when I am sleepy, and the fact that I sometimes kind of like the smell, I really don't like them anymore. I know this because a few months ago while out drinking with some friends we found a pack, and I had one, and it really didn't do anything for me.

It's weird when I go to a bar or a show now, I come home smelling like smoke and can actually notice it. If I am at a venue that allows smoking, especially if I am there for a couple of hours or longer, sometimes my throat is irritated the following morning. In spite of this, I am not one of those ex-smokers that despises smoking or preaches against it. Quite to the contrary, as stated in this post's title, I am sympathetic.

My office at work was recently moved. The quickest path from it to the Emergency Department involves me cutting through a vending/dining area and through the outdoor smokers' lounge. A few weeks ago I saw something that I never thought I'd see: A doctor smoking. Well, a psychiatrist, but he's still an M.D. I also saw him reach over the table at which he was seated to light a nurse's cigarette. I know it's weird but in some odd way that sort of warmed my heart.

current music: "Chicken Blows" - Guided By Voices

An excellent article on war in general versus diplomacy

Can be found here on AlterNet.

Here is an excerpt, so you can see what I mean:

"...When President Reagan pulled the Marines out of Lebanon after nearly 300 Marines were killed by militants in 1983, Reagan wasn't condemned as a gutless appeaser.

When IRA terrorists were in full swing there was no 'shock and awe' bombing of Belfast. What happened? To oversimplify, IRA leaders and British officials sat down at the negotiating table. Has IRA terrorism increased since then? Nope. In fact, just last week the IRA declared an end to their 36-year campaign of coercive violence against Britain to pursue a nonviolent political path.

Jonathan Schell, in his incredible book, The Unconquerable World, provides a historical example that calls into question the narrow, hawkish view of appeasement by raising an important question for any war planner: What is defeat?

In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia. 'Napoleon won every battle on his march to Moscow. The Russian forces retreated steadily, until he finally occupied the city, which then burned in a great fire...Were the Russians beaten? In fact, as all readers of Tolstoy's War and Peace know, the will of Russia was intact. It was Napoleon who was on his way to ruin,' Schell writes..."

current music: "Creeping Death" - Metallica

the proper way to walk

This has been bothering me for a while now. We drive on the right hand side in this country; therefore, when in a hallway or other area where the path is outlined or constricted, the logical side on which one should walk is the right hand side. Am I right?

I think about this because I work in a hospital, where there are several long corridors which through which I walk whenever I am there. I don't understand why someone would walk on the left side but some people do.

Also, a dumb ass who pushes and pulls those big carts that carry patient food trays pushed a cart into me once. He was on the right side but he wasn't looking where he was pushing for a moment and he pushed the damn cart right into me. He said he was sorry and I told him it was OK, but it really wasn't. In both the literal and figurative sense I was very sore. It gave me a nasty bruise on my left arm.

current music: "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise" - Devo

home at last

We made it home last night and it really feels good to be home.

I learned something new this morning: If you don't have ant spray, bleach kills them very well.

Going home, etc.

Well, we are going back home today. The vacation is coming to an end. It feels good though. Of course, I am still excited by the fact that school is starting soon and my work schedule at the hospital is now part-time, evenings.

Yesterday we did make it to St. Simons Island and we did eat at Mullet Bay. It was pretty decent. I'm not much of a seafood guy in general but I do like shrimp a lot and clam strips too. They only gave me one hush puppy but you are supposed to get at least two, since the menu says hush puppies. I hate bugging the waitress for stuff like that though so Holly was nice enough to do it for me. Then she brought out three more hush puppies when all I wanted was one. It wasn't so much that I needed two; the plate was more than I could finish anyway. It was the principle: the menu said plural, "hush puppIES," therefore my plate should reflect this.

Before we ate we spent about an hour at the beach, which is about the perfect time for us. The water isn't that bad but it's not clear so you can't see the sharks before they come up to ya. We waded in the water for about fifteen minutes then hung out on the beach and dried off for the rest of the hour. Holly and I aren't really nature people, even though we do appreciate it and the beauty it has. So an hour there was perfect. We took some pictures, and maybe I'll put some up here later.

I changed out of my swimming suit in the back seat of our car which was interesting, to say the least. As soon as I got my trunks off, thus leaving me pantsless, some lady pulled up to our side and just sat there in the front seat of her car. I wanted to wait her out before putting on my underwear but she just fucking sat there! Luckily Holly came along with the rest of our stuff from the beach and stood in front of the window on that side so I wrestled on my underwear (yes, it was a struggle, there's not a lot of room in the back seat of a Kia Sephia). I realized that I was going to have to step out of the car to get my jeans on so I just did it and got it over with.

On Thursday we did go to the Okefenokee Swamp Park and took an hour long boat tour. It was awesome! The swamp was beautiful and we saw plenty of alligators. I would say the Okefenokee Swamp boat tour was probably my favorite tourist attraction thing I've done so far in Georgia. If you are ever anywhere near Waycross, GA, and have the time to do it, you MUST go to the swamp and take a boat tour. Next time I want to take a two hour tour. There are other museum/zoo-like attractions there, but they can't compare to the swamp itself. We got plenty of pictures here too and I will definitely post some here, as soon as it's convenient for me to do so.

Today hopefully we will leave by 3:00 p.m. at the latest so that we will be at home in time to watch Big Brother. I know, well I assume, that among some of my friends (although not all of them) this type of programming is strictly frowned upon. And it used to be a guilty pleasure for me. I think it's just an ordinary pleasure for me now though. Anyway, I've been addicted to Big Brother for a few years now. I missed the first couple of seasons mostly, but since 2002 I've pretty much watched them all. Anyway... I don't want to miss tonight's show and since we didn't set the VCR (still don't have any TiVo or other type of PVR/DVR), the only way to do it is to leave Waycross by 3:00.

Tomorrow night I work 7:00 p.m. to midnight. That will be quite a trip! It probably won't be that busy so I should be able to just ease back into things, and get some reading done. I apologize to my boss if he should ever read this; which is exceedingly unlikely, but I know he doesn't want us to just read during all of our downtime. Oh well... I'm afraid that once classes start ANY and ALL downtime minutes I'm lucky enough to have at work will be occupied by my schoolwork. And for the most part, no one will be able to stop me because I'll be there by myself! (cue evil laugh)

Happy weekend, everybody.

interesting, infuriating

It seems that I have something in common with the President. He too is on vacation. Except that his is five times as long as mine...

From the Washington Post:

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; A04

"Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record
With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 -- President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.

The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening for a stretch of clearing brush, visiting with family and friends, and tending to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- nearly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president's travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush's time away from Washington even further.

Bush's long vacations are more than a curiosity: They play into diametrically opposite arguments about this leadership style. To critics and late-night comics, they symbolize a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job, an impression bolstered by Bush's two-hour midday exercise sessions and his disinclination to work nights or weekends. The more vociferous among Bush's foes have noted that he spent a month at the ranch shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when critics assert he should have been more attentive to warning signs..."

Thanks to Monica Mehta at Alternet for bringing this to my attention.

This is interesting (well, to me at least...)

Frank Black interviews Ray Bradbury.

vacation update

On Tuesday we visited Holly's parents in Andersonville, Georgia. And we went to the Andersonville National Historic Site and the National Prisoner of War Museum. I love Museums and this was no exception. My only regret is that we got there at 4:00 p.m. and they closed at 5:00 p.m. so there wasn't really enough time for me to give it the obsessive geeky scrutiny that it so richly deserved.

The site is the location of Camp Sumpter which was a prison camp where the Confederate Army kept Union POWs. From the National Park Service website:

Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply . During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.

On the way out we passed by a huge memorial that was put there by the great state of Wisconsin in memory of its soldiers that died there. I just searched for a picture of it, but couldn't find one. I'm sure there's one out there but I'm not going to spend all morning looking for it. Anyway, it's pretty impressive. There were other similar memorial stones from other states, but they were tiny, just like generic small cemetery stones. The Wisconsin memorial was huge. Thank god for good progressive, liberal Wisconsin governors like Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr., "best remembered for his support for direct election of United States Senators and opposition to big businesses," who commissioned the memorial. Anyway, Holly's grandma snapped a picture of it, as well as me posing in front of it, even though I don't think that people are allowed on the grass, let alone on the memorial stones. When I get a copy of those prints I'll scan them and post them here. Nana, I hope you are at least half as good a photographer as Holly, or none of the text on the stone will be visible!

Anyway, that was probably the coolest thing we've done so far on this vacation, besides just chilling out, swimming, watching movies, and some drinking. Truth be told, so far I've probably enjoyed this vacation a little more than Holly. I promise, the next time we both have a week off we will NOT use your mom's house as a hotel!

Anyway, today we are finally going to make it out to the Okefenokee Swamp Park for that boat tour, which should be pretty cool.

Doesn't look like we'll make it to Jacksonville after all. No biggie, and I have been there before. If zero is not cool at all and ten is the coolest imaginable, as far as cool cities go, Jacksonville seems to be about a four. There are a couple museums there that are probably worth seeing though.

Tomorrow though we hopefully will go to the beach at St. Simons Island and eat a seafood lunch at Mullet Bay.

It's at that point in the vacation where I'm still enjoying it and looking forward to what is left of it, but I'm also starting to look forward to getting back home. It's a good feeling.

fun

I had forgotten how much fun it can be just to sit around and fuck around on the internet for hours. I love being on vacation.

Street Lights

I swear to god that Georgia is especially stingy when it comes to putting up street lights, especially along rural roads. When we were driving back from Andersonville last night there were times I couldn't see shit between my windows fogging up and the absolute darkness (save for my headlights).

Is it just me (and my faulty memory) or are there more street lights, in general, along roads in other states? Maybe someone who has driven both in Wisconsin and Georgia could comment. Or at least someone who still lives in Wisconsin could comment. Do roads, especially rural roads, generally have at least SOME street lights? Or am I just full of shit?

bad news

My favorite uncle died today, which makes me very sad.

probably not what they meant

There's this radio anti-drug PSA that I have heard a few times, most recently when I was looking for a parking space at Kroger a couple weeks ago. It is a narration asking parents to imagine their teenage children just a few years in the future when your son is "in his twenties, sitting on a couch, so stoned he can't even move. Don't you wish you could go back in time?"

And I thought to myself, "Oh god YES, I wish I could be in my twenties again, sitting on a couch, so stoned I can't move!" (Yes, I realize the point of the PSA was that the parents would wish they could go back in time to when their teens were ostensibly innocent. But since they were imagining a possible future event, not yet having taken place, they don't need to go back in time. All they need to do is talk to their kids! Whew! Everything is going to be alright! Yay!)

But really, what the fuck is all this about being so high you can't move? We're talking about pot right, not heroin? I can speak with some authority on this matter that one of pot's effects is not to cause temporary paralysis. True, you can get so high that you will fall asleep, or "pass out." Alcohol produces the same effect if consumed in sufficient quantity. To be fair, if you get good and stoned you may not *want* to move, but that's different. I've never seen anyone UNABLE to move. Even if someone is passed out, they are still able to move, i.e. they are not paralyzed. Using the same reasoning we are all "unable to move" when we are sitting on the couch comfortably and don't feel like getting up, or we are "unable to move" when we are asleep. Why do all these anti-drug propagandists have to lie so frequently?

While I'm on the subject, there was a recent Shepherd Express article about medical marijuana in Wisconsin (nice cover by the way.) Apparently eighty percent of Wisconsonites are in favor of medical marijuana according to a recent poll. What I am curious about is how many of them are in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes. (Presumably those not in favor of medical would also not support the recreational.) I mean, I'm all in favor of medical marijuana, but what I really want is for it to be legal for those of us who don't have (yet) a serious disease that it can be used to treat. I think that's also something that most people who support medical marijuana would want too but are afraid to say in a public forum. No matter though, I'm pretty sure that we are on a slow slide to legalization for medical marijuana which in turn will eventually at least decriminalize the weed for the rest of is if not all out legalize it. It's just a question of time.

FYI, in case someone reading this who doesn't know me just thinks I'm some kind of stoner, well, I used to be. I haven't smoked grass in years. I still believe it should be legal though. And completely unrelated to the PSA, the article I linked, and everything else in this post, I would like to have the opportunity to smoke just a little bit once again, without making it a habit of course. I will probably not wait, for obvious reasons, until any such decriminalization or legalization to take said opportunity.

more stuff

Between what I've posted and what Holly did yesterday, there ain't much more to tell you about our vacation. Somewhere in the danker parts of my brain lurk some unfinished ideas I had thought to write about. Maybe if I can dredge them up I might have something to blog about.

You want sulfur with that?

Someone got up before I did today and made the coffee using tap water, which sucks. You see, the water here in Southeast Georgia has a nasty sulfur taste to it, due to sulfur I guess. Anyway, I can't and won't drink the tap water here.

In the interest of not wasting, and not upsetting the person who made the coffee I tried to drink a cup of it. It was OK until I was about 2/3 done with it and the sulfur taste started to overwhelm. Nasty!

So I asked if I could dump and remake the coffee using the bottled water I bought specifically for this purpose. This was fine but the person who made the nasty coffee scrambled to find some large travel cups to save the nasty coffee. Fine with me.

Right now I am currently drinking a cup of the non-tainted coffee I just made. The difference is very noticeable. It's not so much the taste but the aftertaste, but the difference is so great I can't imagine how anyone could possibly drink the tap water based coffee.