So this guy rode off of a cliff while mowing his lawn in Sheboygan. One of the bad parts about my job is I am stuck listening to the radio a lot, and have chosen to listen to 102.1 FM, especially Kramp & Adler. They have a funny segment all about Sheboygan, where the most random of stuff seems to happen in Wisconsin.
Archive for the 'life' Category
31
Jul
Wal-Mart
I hate you.
This is what happens when your Facebook status is hijacked.
28
May
It is just so much.
Today is Friday, May 28th. I turn 22 today. Two weeks ago I was in a grease fire accident and ended up at a burn clinic in Milwaukee. Last week Friday I was able to come home from the burn clinic and sleep in my own bed and shower in my own bathroom. Most of the small burns have faded into tiny red marks, my face no longer has scabs, and the burns on my stomach, chest and right shoulder are just now done scabbing. My left arm is doing better, the skin is growing and the third-degree-burns are steps away from healing up like all the others.
Next week Friday I will be at my rehearsal dinner, maybe going down to Villa De Carlos at 10pm to see the comedy show after. Then I’ll go to sleep, wake up, and have to prepare myself for my wedding.
I was planning on a get together tonight for the wedding party and other friends, a nice cook out to celebrate the wedding and our new house, actually make use of our backyard. But now I’m sitting here in bandages, hardly able to use my arm, and I cannot even sit in the sun for more than a few seconds. It’s odd how a serious injury can affect you more than physically. Because now I want to do is act like a hormonal teenage girl and sit in a corner sulking eating a tub of ice cream because today’s going to suck.
My bachelor party is tomorrow. I just wanted to go through that rite of passage, having a few beers with the guys, the last “hoorah’ as a single man, I don’t know why, it doesn’t matter much. But it just sucks knowing that got taken away. I know I can still have fun, and my friends will still be there, but it still just doesn’t feel the same.
It could be worse, maybe it seems so bad because there has been so much goddamn drama in the past six months between friends and family that this little setback just seems so defeating. Maybe I just needed to bitch about it to a computer screen knowing someone will read it, making me feel less pathetic spewing to a friend in front of me, but at the same time more pathetic because I couldn’t.
Happy birthday, me.
22
May
Thanking Goodness
Last week Friday, May 14th, there was an incident at our new house where a pot full of oil set on fire. After a few seconds, that seemed like hours, the only option left was to attempt to carry the pot out of the house – seemed the only option left to save my fiancée and our new house from the engulfing flames. I made it about three feet from the door when all hell broke loose. Some of the oil splashed up on my right hand which caused me to hastifully, but as carefully as possible; this is when all hell broke loose. The fire splashed up all over my left side, and I ran outside screaming, watching my skin burn away and could only smell the oil burning deeper into my flesh. It’s’ an ugly scene. You can’t rub it off, it makes the skin look worse, and the aroma filling your nose makes you believe you are a large skinned chicken breast marinated up on the hot grill.
So I was rushed to Kenosha Medical, and then sent off and up to the burn clinic in St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee. In total, I nearly all of my left arm, from hand to shoulder. My stomach and chest are all scorched on the left side, trailing off to the right. My upper right chest and shoulder are burned. I also have some splotches on my right arm, and bad damage on my right hand. The doctor estimated 20% of my body has 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Needless to say, I am doing much better now.
A week later I am back at home. My face has cleared up 80% I would say. Instead of being a giant brown spot that was swollen, it is now back to normal size with only a few red spots. Everything else is healing very well. There is only one way to believe I got this far: the goodness and kindness from all of you. My loving parents and fiancee came up to Milwaukee, a nearly 50 minute drive each way. They stayed with me until nightfall, often spending 7 hours or more with me. When they weren’t there, I had my computer and phone, where friends kept me company and wished me well. Family & family friends sent me cards. All of these helped keep my spirits up and my mood cheery so I can focus on getting better.
Thank you everyone!
I have begun writing a book about the evolution of Communist thought. I am not a Communist, but I have always been intrigued on how Marxist thought has developed and how Marxism-Leninism has grown. I may have only had the chance to read a few readings and two biographies on Che Guevara and Mao Tse-tung, but I have gained a simple conclusion.
Che Guevara can be quoted as saying: “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” Che Gueva’s idealism generated out of passion and love. He built his idealism on the thought of being a sort of socialist doctor. Che toured South America and witnessed the plights and disease faced by the poor and oppressed. His revolutionary impulse seeked to solve these ailments. He mixed his love with the doctrine of Marxism-Leninism and borrowed the revolutionary tact of Mao Tse-tung. Fidel Castro, however, was not a man of ideal, however, not until long cooperation with Che. Fidel did not have passion or love, instead he thought in terms of self-empowerment and nationalistic pride.
In the Chinese revolution, Mao Tse-tung squashed opponents that had passion in their ideals. Mao rather forwarded himself for personal gain, never reflecting compassion towards others or a deep love that intertwined with his ideals. Any time that Mao’s adversaries (his own political circle) expressed compassion or love, Mao punished them with ridicule.
Political doctrine in the world of revolutionaries often is seen as a black and white set of conduct which must be rigorously followed, with strict discipline. This is not the approach that revolutionaries must take. Revolutionaries must be passionate about their beliefs, they must adapt these political doctrines to their passion and love. If not, these revolutionaries create the societies we know today that proclaim to be Communist or Leftist. They are run by dictators that rely on hardened doctrines, they are full of paranoia and silence the public, they destroy society in hopes of preserving their perverted ideals.
Without passion and love a revolution loses sight, it becomes manipulated and corrupt, forming more so a means for personal gain – not for that of the people or true idealism. When I mention the word revolutionaries, I mean each individual in this world. We are all revolutionaries. We each think and act in this world, we each make changes to our society. If you find yourself holding a belief and do not know why, that there is no passion or love behind it – then why hold on so dear? Think about what you do and how you act, try to live passionately.
So its now a little over two weeks into 2010; and in months following there is so much wedding planning, house work, and other things coming. It’s weird to think back that it has only been a year since last January. Since then I’ve moved out of my own apartment, then moved into my (then girlfriend) fiancée’s apartment, went back to school, became close to my soon-to-be mother and father in-law, went camping, went to Las Vegas, celebrated my first ever year anniversary, actually spent Valentines day with someone, proposed to have the love of my life marry me, turned twenty-one, spent Christmas day without my parents, with my fiancée’s help bought and moved into a house, moved out of our first place together, and grew so much. Hell, I am pretty sure I spent about two and a half months just on vacation.
2009 started with flying back from California after having the pleasure of meeting Amanda’s mom and her step-dad, Bob. It was also the close to an era of living alone and some ridiculous times in that apartment. It was also the start of a new life with the girl I loved so much. By spring we were back in California again, and soon it was April. I started school because I knew I was going to be with Amanda for a good long while, and I needed to make good of myself. By this time next year I will have my Associates Degree…and hopefully starting my career.
On May 1st I decided I wanted to propose, and my mom gave me her great-grandmothers engagement ring to propose with. On May 5th I proposed, and had one of the happiest days of my life. I also made a pretty big mistake by not calling her own mom. I spent a good two hours of the next day apologizing for not asking for her blessing…and thankfully she has forgiven me.
We spent July 4th in Las Vegas, on a ten-day trip to the West to visit her mom and step-dad. And then on top of that we were off on a camping trip once we got back. It was perhaps the best camping trip out of the three we’ve organized.
The rest of the year was filled with wedding planning and hopes for the future. By middle of October we found a house we wanted, and put in an offer. By the end of October we had officially purchased our first house. In between going to California again for Thanksgiving, continuing wedding plans, we managed to move in our home by mid-December before we left again to go to California for Christmas. It’s weird, too, it was probably the first time I have ever felt home sick. Whether it was because it was my first Christmas without my parents, or perhaps because I was so happy with where my home finally was.
So much has happened, so many things changed. I can only imagine what this new year holds.
This post is to ponder one question: how could a revolution happen in the United States?
Our founding fathers were astounded that our country could succesfully go throw a ‘revolution’ every four years. However, it seems that radical changes from term to term seem less and less. How do you believe a revolution could appear in our country, beyond our conventional election means?
I found some notes from my last plane ride to California. My friend Mark and I have agreed to collaborate and write some essays together, I just pitched this to him, but here’s a basic run down from my notebook.
Anarchism (by Webster definition) means lack of government; and government is in return an authority that is coercive. Anarchism is the removal of all coercive forces put on an individual. Government is an unnatural law, and is therefore a coercive manifestation. Individuals are governed by gravity, and laws of physics, but these are natural manifestation equal to all entities, therefore none of these are coercive.
Anarchism, in turn, then seeks to establish only natural law, a system of raw social instinct; a removal of coercive force and dubious material pleasures.
[Mikhail Bakunin's Stateless Socialism used as references in preceding areas.]
Humans are social creatures, and history has proven this time and time again. Killing is not innate, as killing prevents a species from succeeding. All entities have a will to procreate and seek the success of their own species. Government does not mean justice and discipline; nor does Anarchism mean the lack of justice of discipline.
[Parts of Peter Kropotkin's Anarchism Morality would be discussed, explain the preceeding statement.]
My notes go on about how urbanization removes primal need for cooperation in a capitalist society. Cities are able to survive by individual segregation, versus social cooperation. Individuals can live fine without directly cooperating with one and another. Then how Anarchism seeks cooperative collective communities. Why beneficial to have individual cooperation. Should make for a decent writing.
So I may be a little bit slow, but I figured other programmers like myself may find this interesting if they have not found it. On the Careers section of Facebook there are a series of puzzles that are to be completed in *NIX environments, so no .NET or Windows orientated languages. A few of them are pretty easy, some difficult. I often start projects then find myself bored, or just want a tease and test. Looks like I’m going to have some fun the next few days.
Again, link is here: http://www.facebook.com/#/careers/puzzles.php
