It ain't me, It ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one

Key Laborers this weekend. Its gonna be rediculous. I've only heard good things about it. I was talkin to Dan at lunch yesterday about it and he said he wanted to get a football game goin saturday night. So we might have to commandeer the Vineyard's field. What are they gonna do? Kick us out?
I got calc and chem tests this week. So this week will decide whether this quarter was even worth registering for. I should be studyin right now. But instead I'm updatin my blog.
Running is goin well. I'm upping my mileage a little each week. Not enough to run a marathon but at least I'm being consistent. I'm gettin a good 20-25 miles each week. Gettin' back in shape is tough.
My new job in Clifton is pretty pointless. Right now I have a project goin to build a trap for drug dealers. There's a staircase comin up from over the rhine through the woods. The stairs were closed by the city but they're still usable. So drug dealers get into Clifton that way. So I'm in charge of taking some honeysuckle that we cut down and making a barricade so that the steps are no longer usable. It's gonna be funny when I go down there one day and there's gonna be a couple dealers tangled in the brances. Haha I'm like shelob. The pay is good though and its five minutes from school.

It's a Hard Rain is Gonna Fall

So Voellmecke and Rob were tellin me that they Lynyrd Skynyrd did Freebird last night at the Grammy's. At first I was sorry I missed it. The I heard that it was a duet with country singer, Gretchen Wilson. What is going on in this country? Why does every good thing have to be drug into popular functions, like the Grammy's, and flogged? You're right, I didn't see the actual performance and to tell you the truth I don't want to. I was considering looking at some of the video online but then I talked myself out of it. It would be too painful to watch. I don't have anything against Gretchen Wilson or any other country singer. However, when she goes out there and mocks the spirit of Freebird by performing a duet with Lynyrd Skynyrd, then I have a problem. Freebird was not written as a cute little song to be sung at events where they give bands like Green Day best album awards. I'll tell ya, I'm glad Ronnie's not alive today because I wouldn't have wanted him to see this and he woulda died anyway from seeing popular society rape his song publicly.
To the remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, I'd say that I hope you're happy with what you've done just now. You used to be the symbol of the working class, the farmer, the rancher, the simple man, and the redneck. And now what are you? You're all sellouts.

Break on through to the other side

We played lazer tag for Robby's birthday the other night. It was pretty sweet. Except for the kid who knows where all the upgrades are and wall hacks everybody. Cici's pizza was good too and dirt cheap. Always keep in mind that barbeque is under no circumstances good on pizza.
I got a job finally. I'm gonna work at an apartment complex on Ohio. I know the guy who owns them and he offered me 10 bucks an hour to do ground maitenance. I can work pretty much whenever I want so I'm gonna take it.
Super Bowl's tonight. This game is gonna be terrible.

I Drive a Dodge Stratus

So it looks like we're gonna get a house in Clifton at the end of the summer. Which means I'm gonna need more money. Working full time at the park will give me plenty but I'll probably be safe and sell the truck. (sigh). I guess I'd rather move out then have cool wheels. I would try to have both but I don't a car payment hangin over me while I'm tryin to pay the rent. Living in Clifton would be sweet just for the lack of a commute. The gas money I'll save will probably pay for half the rent. Especially if I stick with drivin trucks.
UC still thinks I'm gonna pay their stupid late fee. I like how UC just makes up this outrageous fines to slap on people whenever they feel like it. If you ever wondered whether UC cares if you exist, try being a day late on your bill. Otherwise your just a number and a tuition check.
This is gonna be the most worthless super bowl ever. I hate the patriots and I'm not that big a' fan of the Eagles either. This game is just gonna be dumb. At least there's no shortage of parties. There's Navs and and Justin's so those'll be cool.
Davie, Lubbys, and I went to Lifespring on Sunday. It was decent. In some ways its better than the Vineyard because its so much smaller. I'm not a big fan of the thousands of people services that go on at the Vineyard. Plus if I can avoid the half hour drive to tri-county I'll take it. Lifespring seems like they have a good thing goin. They're a little more formal than the Vineyard with their membership and they take communion every week I guess. So I'm thinkin that they're a mixture of traditional and contemporary doctrines. Which is cool.

whiskey bottles, brand new cars, oak tree you're in my way

So it was almost unanimous. Looks like the facial hair is staying for awhile.
West side vineyard had their first meeting this week. I didnt go because I have small group on thursday nights but apparently it was a good turn out. This thing is gonna be huge.
I was playin some Halo 2 online last night and I noticed how much crap people talk in that game. It almost makes it not fun to play because no one will shut up and play. Seriously, they get into arguments with each other about who's the bigger newb or who sucks. And its not all twelve year olds doin the bitching. I just sit there and laugh at these people who obviously have nothin else goin on in life besides Halo 2.
School is eating my soul. Calculus is hopeless. I wish they would tell you ahead of time which major a class is geared towards. I'm in a calc class with all engineers and I'm a biology major so this class is owning me. I'm trying to line up a tutor so I can just get done with it with a passing grade. That way I can be done with math for the rest of my life.
I still need a job. I turned in a resume to the public library but they still havent called me. How many "resumes" could they possibly have for part time jobs payin 8 bucks an hour.

Judgement Day

So I'm wonderin if I should keep the ol facial hair. I figure its had a long enough trial period so I'm gonna put it to vote. So do it and leave a comment.

No, its a cardigan but thanks for asking.

So...it been awhile since I've updated the ol' blog. Thats probably because lately if I don't need to do it to survive, chances are I'm not gonna do it. Like homework. School is great this quarter. I have Chem. and all of its associated labs and recitations and Calc. I have more homework than I know how to blow off. I actually went in for help today. I sat down with the TA who looked like she knew how to speak English (no offense to foreigners but I gotta pass). She spoke English pretty well but she didn't know crap about calculus. So there u have it. You might be able to understand English speaking TA's, but they're dumber than rocks. So I went to chem lab knowing less than what I came in with.
Vollmecke and I were talkin' last night about takin a road trip out west. That would be rediculous. So I'm gonna try to recruit some people for that.
I really need a job. I've applied just about everywhere and no one has called me back. I'm gonna write a resume tonight and hand it into the library. I've heard that they pay pretty well and have flexible hours. I really wanna go back to the park. I stopped in there the other day to give my keys back. Both of my bosses were sittin there readin the newspaper. haha. What a great job. They said that I probably wont be able to come back till march when the weather gets warmer. So I gotta find somethin before then. I'll probably start sellin crack. Thats all I got.

Real Ultimate Power

So there's this guy named Robert Hamburger and he wrote a book called The Official Ninja Book. It tells you how to become a ninja, the day to day life a ninja, and how to identify ninjas. This book is probably the most hilarious thing I've ever encountered. Enjoy some exerpts:

Did you know? Ninja means "crapping me pantalons" in Canadian.

600 A.D: For some old queen's birthday, sixty thousand ninjas wail on their guitars and kill a country.

Nothing can kill a ninja. So if two ninjas start fighting they'll probably malfunction and start beeping and smoking.

Q. What do ninja's do when they're not cutting off heads or flipping out?
A. Most of their free time is spent flying, but sometimes they stab. (Ask Mark if you don't beleive me)

Ninjas fight all the time. Ninja means "fight" in German and Mexican.

Doctors: Doctors are retarded. They don't do anything. Sometimes they cut people, which is cool, but they don't do it enough. And when they actually do kill somebody, everybody yells at them.

Did you know? In the past, ninjas would dip their hands and feet into pure lava to make them hard. They don't do that anymore, because where do you get lava?

When hanging out with their clan, ninjas generally don't toss around real metal ninja stars. 'Cause if one ninja does it, then everybody's going to do it, and then some lamp gets busted and everybody has to go home and then what?

How to commit Seppuku with a frisbee:
1. Get a frisbee from the store or a friend.
2. Clean the frisbee.
3. Make sure your parents aren't around.
4. Put something slippery on it, like butter or cream.
5. Get really, super pissed.
6. Fold the frisbee, hard (this is crucial).
7. Keep folded and insert frisbee into mouth, hard.
8. Push hard until you can't see it.
9. Wait.
10. Die.

Turkey Day

Thankgiving was sweet. I got to see my cousins and friends who came back from school. I didn't get to hang out with everyone that I wanted to but then again Christmas break is only a couple weeks away. I ran the race downtown on Thanksgiving morning. That course get tougher everytime I do it. Running over bridges sucks because you feel like they're miles long when they are only like a half mile. The race was cool though. There were thousands of people down there and it was freezing.
Went to Jony's last night. I don't drink so I was just kinda standin around watchin other people get trashed but Fikri and the Mercy girls were there who I haven't seen in forever. It was a good time.
How bout' them Bengals? 58-48 was the final score. Awesome game. Absolutely no defense from anybody. It's official Browns fans are jerks. They wouldn't shut up the entire time. Then they started throwing crap and pissing people off.
I'm not lookin forward to going to school this week. Its gonna suck. Finals comin up. I have to teach myself a whole bunch of calculus and I gotta decide if I'm gonna change my major to biology.

Master Chief

Halo 2 is nuts. The story is explained much better that the first. Apparently, the convenant have this huge hierarchy of leadership and its a theocracy. The new vehicles and weapons are sweet especially the rocket launcher warthog. One resounding dissappointment though, the flood make an appearance. I was not at all pleased with this. I thought Halo enthusiasts had made it perfectly clear they didn't want any more rediculously annoying undead guys walkin around in the sequal. But I can get past it.
In case anybody is unaware, Jenny and I are on a break. We haven't called anything off yet but we are spending some time apart to evaluate where we are at with things. This is pretty much the hardest thing I've ever done so there's a pretty crappy slant to this week. Above all, we both want to follow what God has planned for us and if that means we won't be together anymore, then we'll accept that. Right now, I guess we're both trying to figure out what God's will is in this situation.

Victory

What a night. I was up till about 2 in the morning watching the results come in. I'll tell you right now that I voted for Bush and am extremely happy with the re-election. I am dissappointed with one factor of the nationwide results. Statistics are showing that a record number of evangelicals showed up to vote. Whereas, in years past this population had often refused to participate in national elections. This is a great thing. Christians should have an active say in the goings on of their government. They are part of this country to, its imperative to be responsible members of society in my opinion.
The part I'm dissappointed with is with this trend came an overwellming movement to ban gay marriage. I can't say what other states ballots said or what their new legislation prohibits but in Ohio we already have a piece of legislation in place that protects marriage as that of a man and a woman. Issue 1 blazed new ground. Now, civil unions would not be created or recognized.
So here it is, is it my duty as a follower of Christ to trounce on anything that says homosexual?
I voted for Bush because I believe what he has been doing for the last four years is what we should be doing. Its unfair to blame the economy, which is not as bad as anybody says, on one man and it's getting better. The war in Iraq was and is the right thing to do. I know thats a crazy concept nowadays to do something just because its right.
On that note, I voted down issue 1. I'm not out to persecute gays. I'm out to convey God's love to them. No, I'm not for gay marriage. But I guess I am ok with civil unions because I'm not going to force my beliefs or descriminate against anybody. All I ask is that the official term of "marriage" be granted only to a man and a woman as it always has been.
It's been a real struggle on how to vote "christ-like." One thing I'm sure of though is that God does not condemn my passion for political issues because he put it there and because of that passion I have opinions. I don't expect all Christians to have the same opinion and I refuse to criticize a Christian who votes democratic. I'm sure God likes the fact that I have opinions of my own because I'm acting out who he made me to be.

Forgot I had a blog

So...fantasy football eh.
Dante Culpepper is the man. 5 td's and almost 400 yards. sweet.

The Creepy Campout is gonna be off the hook. I got horgan to go. She's never been camping before. So somebody needs to tell her that she's gonna get eaten by a bear or something, she'd totally buy it. Most sheltered girl ever. But its gonna be awesome. I got my own site so everyone's welcome to show up. Just cmon up whenever. Dress up like a pirate if you feel like it.

Classes suck. I don't have any that I can skip without immidiate consequences except maybe American Politics, the most pointless class ever. Calculus isn't turning out to be that hard. The prof sucks at everything but I've been able to keep up by teaching myself and doing small amounts of homework. I have a test tomorrow so we'll see.

Back to school

First day of school. Wasn't that bad. Calculus might be hard but I'm not that worried about it. My American Politics class is huge. Its gonna be great because I have a feeling that there's gonna plenty of arguing about the presidential race.

CBS...haha. Take that Dan Rather. CBS is re-nigging on its stance to support its stupid memos from the national guard. This is the part of politics that I hate. Everybody starts makin' up stuff and lying about where they got it and who said what. Its rediculous.

Dante Culpepper is the man. My fantasy team is doin pretty good but there's some changes I'd still like to make. I' m gonna need some more depth in my line up.

Giant asteroids on a collision course with earth are cool.

We got any rednecks out there?

The Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at Riverbend was amazing. Hank Williams was pretty good but I'm not a huge country fan. Gary Rossington was awesome. I almost cried when they played Freebird. I was skepticle about the concert at first because there's only two original members of the band but they proved to be much better than anybody gives them credit for.
The best thing about the concert was the people on the lawn. There's nothin better than a thousand 50 year old rednecks getting too drunk to stand up straight. It was hilarious until everybody started breaking out the pot. By the end of the concert there was a haze floating over the lawn. I was seriously buzzed.

My new tires are on the truck. They're pretty sweet. I got them muddy at Spence's last night, fishtailing in front of her house. As soon as I got back on the pavement they threw the mud which is what they are supposed to do. However, when they throw mud they throw it onto the truck which I just washed. So my truck is a mess again but I don't care because it was worth it.

They come to snuff the rooster...

Somebody found a way to kill him. Nathan Scott Phillips, murdered in the strees of Delhi Park. Our rooster from Clearview Tavern was brutally killed by some careless driver entering the park...or so it would seem. I suspect foul play is involved here. It's a well know fact that Nathan Scott Phillips doesn't hang out in front of traffic like the ducks. In fact, he usually leaves the street when a car turns into the driveway. This mean that jerk came tearing through the park on Friday and probably chased the unsuspecting rooster to his death. None of this matters now though. Nathan Scott Phillips is gone.

If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? Because I'm as free as a bird now...and this bird you cannot change! Won't you fly high freebird!

Davie and I went to a bunch of bars on Friday to pick up kegs for the skirt game. In every bar we went to we got a comment on how we wouldn't be able to carry it out....and we always got it out and to my truck. We also got some looks from people who saw two underage kids loading 6 kegs into the back of a pickup truck.

This is awesome. Pff...three purple hearts.

'cause I'm already standing on the ground

The Village was sweet. Critics are so dumb. I guess if a movie doesn't have tons of special effects and blood everywhere its no good. Whatever.

I was lookin' at the Enquirer today and it was loaded with Kerry articles. They tried not to sound partial but the fact that there were like a dozen articles dedicated to John Kerry's various policies and the campaign trail and not one about Bush unless the article was about how Kerry disagrees with Bush says a lot about where the paper stands. There was also this thing in there about swing voters. They interviewed a handful of people who were not strict conservative or liberal voters. They all voted for Bush in 2000 but they were now all voting for Kerry. One of them said she was gonna vote for Kerry because Bush's stance on terrorism is too weak! Apparently, fighting a war, unseating two terrorist supporting regimes, creating an entire cabinet level department dedicated to fighting terror, crushing the world's largest terrorist network and freeing millions of oppressed people is too weak of stance on terror. I won't even mention the lack of a follow up attack on our soil since 9/11. It almost seems like its working but that can't be because Bush's policies are weak. What we need to do is elect Kerry so he can pull thousands of troops out of Iraq so it can become a terrorist breeding ground. People are dumb.

Do you know how much tires cost? A lot. I have to buy some before winter comes along though and I'd like to get it taken care of before school starts up again. The frustrating thing is that I have three terrible tires and one perfect one that I just shelled out $140 for. Plus I drive a truck, a 4wd druck, with huge tires. I need off-road capable tires because I tend to get in some mud once in awhile. My redneck instincts tell me to get huge mud tires but those are even more expensive. Oh well, im getting huge mud tires.

There are stars in the Southern Sky...Southward as you go.

Horgan is gone.  Apparently the family she's staying with is starving her to death and they are constantly pawning their kids off on her.   She's also sunburned because her skin lacks pigment that most humans have.

I went to that class I'm taking at the Vineyard last night.  Its pretty good.  Its done by the same people who do Alpha so I'm thinking about doing that.  Jenny has already done it and she liked it a lot.  

How bout those reds?  I just watched them give up 9 points in a half hour.  Nothing like sittin at work watching the Reds blow their season.

The Village comes out next Friday.  It should be pretty sweet.  M. Night Shymla...Shamala....Shlala...........M. Night S. is a genius.  Signs was a great movie and the Village looks like its going to be similar.

Welcome back to big Kenan Fikri (even though he's voting for meltface Kerry).

Wayward Son

Went and saw anchorman last night. Hilarious. Zoolander is better but Will Ferell is pretty great. Jack Black and Ben Stiller made appearances that were freakin hilarious. I also ate at Benihana's with Jenny. I'm not a big fan of foreign food but it wasn't bad. However, it was rediculously expensive and between dinner, movie, flowers, and gas I dropped 90 bucks last night (doh). It was worth it though because yesterday marked our 2 year anniversary. I can't believe its been 2 years. Awesome.

Who wants to burn me a Kansas cd?

So the Senate intel report came out yesterday. It didn't look good. Apparently, the CIA and other intelligence groups were supplying Congress and the Administration with unreliable evidence about wmd and al-qaeda ties.

Stuff the media's not gonna tell you:
1. The report does not say the intel reports were false.
2. The president does not gather the intel himself, he has to act on what's given to him.
3. Saddam Hussein may or may not have been funding terrorists but he was definetely harboring them (undisputed fact).
4. Allegations of insufficient evidence concerning the existence of wmd in Iraq are good only for the time period post 1995. In 1995 the US intelligence community knew for certain that Saddam Hussein had chemical and bio. weapons and a nuclear program.
5. After 1998 it was impossible for inspectors and CIA operatives to infiltrate Iraq's weapons program because Clinton launched operation Desert Fox, a unilateral military offensive which accomplished nothing save kicking UN weapons inspectors out of Iraq. (good call Bill).

Nothin' on Top but a Bucket and a Mop and an Illustrated Book About Birds

First post in awhile. Vacation was sweet. My birthday was the 25th so I was still down there but my extended family felt pressured to at least give me some money so that they weren't the only people who didn't get me anything when it came time to open gifts. So I got a bunch of money, Nirvana Unplugged, A CD binder, Best Buy gift card, and some fog lights for my truck.
Spiderman 2 was sweet. Way better than the first. It also had some hilarious comic relief. Plus I got to go see it with Jenny which makes the experience that much better (points). They had some insane special effects. The story line was kinda far fetched but it is coming from a comic book so I'll buy it.
I really want to see both Farenheit 9/11 and Saved. I refuse to pay for Farenheit 9/11 because I won't fuel Micheal Moore's propaganda machine. Dave was saying the we could pay for a different movie and then sneak into Farenheit. I have to see it so I can tear it to pieces and spit on the remains. Its really hard for me to understand how anyone can decide how they are going to vote based upon the opinion of an obvioulsy one-sided movie the came out of Hollywood. Talk about ignorance.
I want to see Saved because it presents an issue that I'm pretty passionate about, Religion. Cory Lester put it best at Young Life camp when he said that Religion and following Jesus almost seem like opposites. According to Justin, this movie satires the religious side of Christianity which is all the world sees. The only thing that I probably won't like about the movie is the non-distinction between those following Jesus and religious characters.
Even if the contrasting sects of Christianity are both given attention in the movie I highly doubt anyone (who is not a Christian) is going to be able to see a diffence between the two or be able to apply Biblical principles on which side is more righteous.
Furthermore, its dangerous to agree with the movie's satire of the church sub-culture because it stereotypes many Christians who agree with a highely traditional church doctrine. Having attented a strict traditinal church for many years I know both the dangers of church rooted in tradition. However, there were leaders from this church that loved the lord and honored the church's rules. It is possible to do both. My family left this church because it had become a hotel for saints rather than a hospital for sinners. The point is, religion is the work of Satan, there's no denying that, but so is condeming those who live out their faith in a traditional manner. Jesus hated the laws and rules of the pharisees but he knew that there were men among them that only desired to serve the lord.

Flip Flop Kerry Strikes Again

John Kerry: never tells the same story twice.

Went to work today for nine hours. I don't really care though because today we dug a hole and then called it a day. We took a 1.5 hour break (a half hour of which is paid) for lunch and quit working all together at about two. Then we went up to the lodge and drank water and sat around till 4.

I ordered my tire. Its gonna cost me a nice $139. I had a close call today when I found a drill bit in another tire. Luckily, it had only dug into the tread and did not puncture the tire. The good thing is that the tire with the nail in it is out of my bed.

Along with replacing my tire, I'm also gonna have to change my oil this weekend which means I'm gonna have to fork out some more money for oil and a filter. Its a good thing that I do it myself and don't hire somebody to do something so easy...Jenny Horgan. It also need to be washed since I haven't touched it since I used it to push the work truck out of the mud.

Last exam tomorrow. No more school. Vacation in 11 days.