Sorry, I went political.

Today, it's very difficult for me to not be bitter. I really don't want to be. I really want to have a good day. I really want to spend it with friends at church and with my family, and yet, here I sit, in the store, with no traffic because everyone is at home with their friends and family.

Oh well. At least it's not cold in here. Or hot. The temperature is just right. I should have brought a DVD in or something.

So, has anyone been following this Iranian guy's latest comments? Call me a crazy republican but I think Mr. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is a crazed idiot. Every time he denies sanctions and acts all big and bad, he just furthers the theory that he wants nuclear weapons, and not just nuclear fuel. In his latest rant, he said something along the lines of 'America knows itself that it cannot hurt the nation of Iran one iota'. Excuse me pal. If you are using the war in Iraq as a reference, then you are a fool. We don't destroy everything in Iraq because we want the true friendly Iraqi's to have their country. If Iran wants to pick a fight, we'll flatten them. It won't be hard. Look at the first Gulf War and what we did to Iraq's military. A military that was supposed to be in the top five militaries in the world. Frickin idiot.

Apologies.

Behold, the Ninja-Bread Man!

Huge Manatee

And then a reversal.

I walked outside and it was warm and dark. The air was heavy, smelling of rain, recently evicted, and the low cloudcover dashed orange from the city lights hinted at nearby downpours waiting to pounce. There was slow but constant wind, rustling the leaves but hardly even touching my hair, leaving a slightly uncomfortable feeling of nervous intent.

I walked out onto the sidewalk, recently rain-soaked, and looked around. The world was closing in. It felt as though there was nobody else around; that I was alone in the city, just like a movie, with nobody to talk to, nothing to find, and something stalking around the darkness.

The orange glow of the city reflecting on the purple clouds left me desiring to find more, as I strolled off under the trees and through the wet grass to find something; anything.

I watched with disappointment as I saw myself wander aimlessly into the dark. I called out, but my voice was stolen in the wind, leaving nothing but rustling grass and my will to attempt an intervention. There was nothing that could be done. I paced back and forth on the porch, wishing I could have stopped myself from leaving, but I was far too talented at ignoring myself. I had to let me go.

I walked back inside, turned on the lights, and made soup. Broccoli and cheese fragrances lifted from the pan, as the gracefully potent tones of 'I Choose Noise' drifted from the stereo in the living room. The rain picked up in perfect timing with the climax of the song in a fit of coincidence.

The soup finished, and I sat softly on the couch, propping my feet up on the coffee table, enjoying the rain, but missing the interaction. The lighting in the room seemed to fade, if only due to my inattentiveness, staring out the window at nothing and everything. The soup grew cold, the music repeated, the thoughts remained, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and walked into the house, rain soaking my clothes, almost down to my bones. Water puddles formed where my feet had been as I walked to the bathroom, stood in the tub and stripped down, donned a towel, and went to make soup. The stove was strangely warm as I prepared the nights banquet.

I sat on the couch, turned on the tv and pulled up the newest episode of "The Office". I sat and enjoyed my soup, and the show, laughed at Jim, felt bad for Toby, wanted to strangle Michael, and fell asleep with the series on 'repeat'.

I awoke to the sound of Josh running down the stairs, and the sun shining through the blinds, ironically causing me to squint. I smiled as Josh walked by in his long underwear, and felt oddly happy, as if I had spent the evening with a friend.

I felt at home.

Crimson and Sickness

At least, that's how I feel this season starts off in retail. I mean, I spent last year's Thanksgiving all upset because I had to go to bed early so I could be at work at 4 am. One of my reasons for leaving Best Buy when I did was so that I didn't have to do that again. Long hours, impatient people, rude line-jumpers, and people who will sacrifice all kindness and fairness to buy a cheaper present for their kids.

So, I tried to get out of this, and moved to a new company. My attempt wasn't entirely in vain, but it was close. I spent yesterday (Thanksgiving) being upset because I needed to get to bed early because I was working a twelve hour shift starting at 7:45am. Crazy. I just want out of retail so bad. But what can you do? I mean, I've tried and as far as I'm concerned, I was lied to on many facets of this situation, and mix in a bit of naivete and a bit of my own bad decision making.

Anyways. Aside from that, I have recieved a new car, which is pretty cool. A 1990 Nissan Maxima. Funny thing is; the insurance on the Maxima is more expensive than the insurance on my Rx-7. No idea. Weird.

Also, I am probably going to start going back to school in the spring. That makes me excited. I like the feeling of 'belonging' to a school, so to speak (as long as it's not WSU, because then I just feel like I'm 'owned' by the school, which is stupid).

So ok. It's time to get back to work. *ninja vanish*

...and the apex seal fell.

Man, I'll tell you what; I have been the brunt of many jokes involving luck with cars. I mean, people always tell me "Seth, man, you have the worst luck with cars", and sometimes, I feel as though I have very bad luck with cars, which leads me to believe that my luck with cars is less than desireable. Sometimes, my luck just sucks; involving cars. Once in awhile, I get a cool car, and then luck shows up and does its thing.

Today I was on my way to work (which is unfailingly always when my car acts silly) and one of my apex seals decided to go away. At least one. Anyways, in 'i-dont-know-jack-crap-about-cars-speak', my engine blew. And the worst part is, I wasn't even doing anything fun. I was driving on the highway. I wasn't racing, or drifting, or evading police; I was just driving.

But you know, I've been through situations like this before, many times, and I'm sort of just used to it, or at least accepting of it. I'm honestly not upset. I honestly think it's kind of funny really. Well, time to go looking for car #9. Let me give you a run-down in case you have forgotten my history.

1. 1968 Chevy Impala -- Wrecked, Sold
2. 1994 Ford Escort -- Sold
3. 1987 Toyota Supra -- Engine Blown, Sold
4. 1990 Nissan 300zx -- Stolen
5. 1991 Dodge stealth -- Sold to mom, Bought back, Engine blown, Rebuilt, Blown again and sold.
6. 1988 Chevy Blazer -- Given Away
7. 1992 Olds Silhouette -- Sold
8. 1989 Mazda Rx-7 -- Engine Blown, TBA

That's all in the last 7 years. Yep, I keep myself busy.

Well, I'm going to go try to sell some phones so I can get a car. Bye for now.

-setH

I have fruit.

So it's been a few days since I've posted on here, or really anywhere online. Yeah, I've been busy, but truthfully, I just haven't really felt like posting. It is nice, however, to do so again. I know that for now, not many people read my website, let alone this blog, but someday, I will sit down with my wife and 2.5 kids in my suburban home after a long day as a middle class employee with limited responsibilities, and we will look back at these posts, providing blogger.com is still around, and we will laugh, and cry, and think, and then get bored and go watch The Office.

Things are strange these days. Lately I've felt a rush of personal responsibility, encompassing everything from finances to eating habits, and it's good. I'm excited for that. At the same time, however, I regularly encounter people who just seem to settle. Remember those 2.5 kids and middle-class job I spoke of earlier? I have no desire to be average (which hopefully you realized was the theme of that little rant). I want things that are out of the ordinary to become my ordinary. Just to make that clear. If I haven't said that enough yet.

I am going to admit, I wish like crazy that I was in a position to be with Aaron right now. He is living what I know God called me to do, and now, because I was doing my own thing, I have to sell phones to pay off debt before I can get out there. However, this time, I know what I did wrong. I don't know what exactly God has in store for me, but I'm excited about wherever I'm going, because I feel and see what he's leaning me towards.

I bought fruit. When I say "I bought fruit" I want you to understand what I mean. I bought 6 apples, 5 oranges, 4 bananas (yes, I'm one for numerical irony), three different varieties of fruit cups, and a bag of beef jerky. My shelf in the cupboard is strangely devoid of the usual participants, such as Campbell's various soups; the freezer is free from my usual frozen occupants, but I snapped and couldn't hold myself back from two things. Bawls and Tostito's Hint of Lime chips. Considering the usual habitation of my kitchen space, and adding to the mix my over-zealous bike ride across town the other day, I'd say I'm on track to lose a pound or two. Maybe three.

The time has come for my whimsical writing style to part electronic ways with your subconscious, so have a fine day, say 'hi' to someone you don't know, and trip someone you don't like.

Ted Haggard

I have seen this man speak on a few occasions, and I have many friends who know him personally. His son Marcus was even on my wing at ORU the year before I was there. Let me take a moment to give you something that I believe the Lord has laid on my heart to say about this man.

He is a man of God. He is not forsaken, he is not cast out.

Please read this, one of the stories of David.

• David, infatuated with the beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, commits adultery with her. Bathsheba conceives, and David tries to cover up his sin. Uriah is brought home from the army in order to report to David. David then sends Uriah home, with the intent that he should cohabit with his wife and claims of adultery would never surface. However, Uriah refuses to go home, and sleeps with David's servants in the palace, as it would be unfair for him to enjoy the comforts of home when his comrades are still at war. David tries getting Uriah drunk the second night, but this plot fails as well; Uriah still retires in the servant quarters of David's palace. Finally, David sends Uriah back to the front, with orders to the commanders that they should abandon him in the midst of the enemy. And so it is done, Uriah dies in battle, and David marries Bathsheba and has a son by her. But the prophet Nathan speaks out against the sin, and although David repents, God kills the child as a punishment. Still, Nathan tells David that "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

First, Nathan is the name that David gives to the son that he has with Bathsheba. Interesting huh? Now, here is something God said to David (again, through Nathan the Prophet), in spite of his (David's) shortcomings...

• He will establish the house of David eternally: "Your throne shall be established for ever."

So, if God said to David (through Nathan) that his Kingdom would be established forever, and God knows all things, and then David goes and does the whole Bathsheba thing, isn't it possible that mighty men of God (keep in mind, this is the same David that God said 'go throw a rock at the huge dude's head, you'll win the war') are just men, and capable of falling, but also that God has overcome this?

Ted Haggard was and is an amazing man of God. The media is retarded and worthless and is making it appear that he is a fallen saint who was disgraced and can never be seen the same again. Many people are going to lose faith in at least Ted, and at worst, Christianity thanks to this event, but the fact of the matter is, God is bigger than this. The love that we have thanks to God is bigger than this.

This isn't a situation where Pastor Ted's whole life was a blatant lie to further his own profit. He honestly believed and still believes in what he tought for years, and I honestly believe that he is a strong man who knows God. He is still a man, and capable of fault. God knows this, and allows for this. He is forgiven by God, anything anyone holds against him from here on out is a grudge. A hypocritical grudge at that.

Please read the following links, and make your own judgements based on the facts, and not the media interperetations.

Ted Haggard's Statement to his church.
Ted's wife Gayle's Statement to her church.

These people are truly seeking God, and I have all the respect and honor for them in the world.

Ah, my last chance!

Yep, it's my last chance. To post in October. Remember back at the beginning of the month, where I told tales of October, and all it's temperature-fluctuational glory? Well, once again, this month has proved herself irritating and irrational. Two days ago, I was driving around in my car with the top down. The car's top.

Today, it's frickin 40 degrees out. It's a bit overboard, don't you think? I mean, what ever happened to the days where Fall was the season where it stopped being hot and slowly became cold? I mean, now it's like...there's a hot, perfect, and frickin cold button, and no way to find anything in between. You'd think that the proverbial 'they' would have figured this out by now.

Also, my car blew up again yesterday. Whoever decided to use plastic for the thermostat housing on the 2nd generation RX-7's was a flippin RETARD. I mean, come on man. It's a very hot, high-pressure piece of the car, and you want to use plastic? What an idiot. I've now blown up TWO of these things in a month. Plus, I cant tell you the mental torture it is to ride with towtruck drivers. Cree-eepy. I mean, the whole time, I'm just expecting them to either just drive out of the city and keep going...making me very uncomfortable, or I expect them to just start screaming and swerve the towtruck into a nearby lake.

Ok, it's time to work now. You all have fine days.

Photofall.

This is the first time I can recall being in Riverside during the fall season. The most interesting part of the whole thing is my street. Woodrow Ave. It's a nice street that has quite a bit of character to it, mostly due to the trees. You see, when driving down my street, there are trees everywhere, overhanging the road and they create quite a mood. When it's a sunny day out, they create shade that just gives you that comfortable "driving down a shady road" feeling. When it's raining, I love the closed-in feel you get from driving under rain soaked trees. When it's snowy, it's looks like a scene out of a book, but so far, I had not experienced the fall season.

It's quite remarkable actually. When one drives down my road, the colors are astounding. I have seen trees change colors before, but to drive under them, ranging from the stubborn trees that are still a lush green all the way to the trees that somehow turn their leaves into a deep red color, brings a new type of feeling. I've never been one for fall. I don't really like it all that much honestly, maybe due to the fact that school starts in fall, or that it gets cold, or whatever, but I am thoroughly enjoying the photo oppurtunities that abound lately near my home.

Just more meaningless banter.

I am doing something tonight that I haven't ever done. I am going to fall asleep listening to Handel and leaving one window partly open so I can hear the peaceful and gentle rumble of an October thunderstorm. I can honestly say that I have not had the pleasure of doing this before.

Tonight, I have tried many times to let myself relax, and thanks to one situation or another, it hasn't happened, until I found myself grabbing my laptop to share my thoughts with both of you who read this blog. It was at that moment that I realized that I was listening to classical music (yes, by choice), and that it was strangely thundering. So I turned off my light, turned on my lappy, and went to work relaxing (paradoxical eh?).

Sometimes I am glad that I don't write screenplays. You see, I get these great ideas that in my own head sound like they would make great movies, and then I picture myself in the movie theater, watching Kevin Costner play the main character, and I realize that, as a screenwriter, I think I would just suck. I'm glad I don't do that.

Though I do have a problem with writing. I like to do it all to much, and I like to do it all too differently. I mean, if you're reading this blog, chances are that you have seen how many blogs I have maintained in just the last few months. I mean, come on. At the moment I regularly fill up my own website, as well as three blogger.com accounts, with a touch on xanga (which I'm seriously entertaining the thought of quitting all together).

I like to write. I love to write about how I'm feeling, I love to write about storyline ideas that pop into my head, and I love to write poetically.

And then I find myself babbling whilst I type, laying my head down on my pillow, not even watching the screen, and still catching ninety percent of all my typographical mistakes. I truly am too much of a geek for my own good.

Well, it's bed time, and I'm in bed, but I'm not asleep. It's like laying in bed naked on your wedding night without doing anything. It just isn't right. So, I'm going to go sleep.

o/

The lonely moth.

You know, it's days like today when I know that God exists. When I am having a doozie of a day that tops even my last post, and everything that could be going wrong is seriously considering doing so. I know God exists these days becuase there's no good reason for a pair of completely awfully nice people from South Carolina to come in and lavish their kindness upon me. There's just no way. Today is a day for more of God's most irritating kids, but he still sends people to me who brighten up my day and keep me from going completely postal.

On days when the world is throwing every punch at me that it can, it seems that something steps in to just give me a little boost. And on any other day, this kindness would maybe go completely unnoticed.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I managed to go to Burger King instead of McDonalds. The funny thing is; I didn't realize this, and was completely obvlivious to the fact that I was at the BK, all the way up until the girl said "Welcome to Burger King, ...". At first, I even thought she was kidding. She wasn't. So, being the "go with the flow" guy that I am, I politely asked her to wait a moment while I figured out what I wanted instead of snack-wraps. I chose two plain cheeseburgers (which ended up having little amounts of ketchup on them, which was actualy an nice little surprise. I like ketchup.) and a large Dr Pepper. It wasn't a bad little treat.

Yesterday, I also completely forgot to bring my frozen food lunch to work. I didn't realize it until I was at Kellogg & Greenwich.

I also accidentally showed up to work 30 minutes early. Not because I looked at the wrong schedule, or because I looked at a clock wrong. I just got up, and knew I had to get ready for work, so I did, then drove all the way out here, looked at the clock to see if I had time to go to McDonalds, and saw that I had 30 minutes with which to drive through, get my snack wraps, go to work, eat said snack wraps, read a book, learn to fold origami, play the fiddle, and then start work.

And then I went to Burger King.

You can see why this was an interesting day. In response, I thought that I would give myself a nice relaxing day today, which ended up not being the case, partly because Lisa wanted the afternoon off, partly because of other reasons, and partly because I paid my phone bill.

I wonder if what ducks would call duck-bluetooths. Phone bills?

There's a moth in my store.

What the duck?

I would like to go on the record as saying that today has been one of the most awful days I have had in a long time. Talking about it won't make me feel better about it, and I'm still very very touchy in general.

On the plus side, it is rainy and cloudy (albeit cold), which I thoroughly enjoy, and I'm driving the rx-7 again, which is great. Mostly thanks to my CD player. You see, the Firebird that I had been driving has a malfunctioning CD player that makes a sound like an electrical short whenever you turn it on and off. So, no music. I would listen to my iPod, but I'm one of those guys who is against wearing headphones while driving. So, the moral of the story; buy a car-stereo.

If you're from New York, and you're impatient (you're normal), then get the MOTHERLOVE out of my state, go back where you came from, be impatient there, and if I treat you with patience and kindness, and you retort with assinine intolerance, then you only prove your worth as carpet mildew to me and if I ever see you out of my uniform I will not hesitate to explain in great detail and with great patience how much of a worthless rude pile of manure you are to me.
Jerk.

Also, I got broccoli and cheese soup today. I love soup. Especially on cold days. Especially when it has broccoli and cheese in it. Although, I must say, today's soup was quite hot. I mean, there's hot, and then there's "omgwtfpwn". Today was the latter. I sat it down on the counter for 20 minutes while I desperately tried to put the wonderfulness that is soup out of my mind. When I finally got to it, it was still hot. Not quite hot enough to encourage random abbreviations, but still probably a "good lord" hot. So I bit the bullet and went after it. It was so worth it. The soup is quite honestly the best thing that has happened to me all day (so far), followed closely by multiple repetitions of the song "Novocaine" on the "In Search of Sunrise 5" cd.

I hope somebody else is thoroughly enjoying the day that I'm supposed to be having today. I honestly hope that I run across many people today who are having excellent days, so maybe I can mooch a bit off of them. So, what can I do to make sure that today doesn't go to waste? I'm not sure. I'll have to work on that. I was super nice to the next two people who came in after the human scumlizards. That made me feel better. I realized at that moment that being nice and kind to people really is the best thing in the world (followed by broc & cheese soup).

I am going to go now, and hopefully I'll manage to sell a phone. If only to avoid an email suggesting that I read the sales manual again.

Sometimes I wish so much was different. Why isn't it?

Suddenly!

...and then before you knew it, you were in Cologne, eating small beefcakes with the Swiss women's national bird-calling team.

Or so it seems. Life throws some rather odd things at us from time to time. Occasionally causing us to drop whatever plans we may have in favor of some new and exciting plan that involves major change, heartfelt goodbye's and delectible marzipans.

Sometimes life brings us to a point where we are frustrated, doing the "salesman" equivalent of assembling a railroad, one spike at a time for example. These points are where your guard must be up. Something will happen, if you'll let it. Store up your funds, supplies, toilet-paper, and magazines, and prepare for an oppurtunity that you will otherwise pass off because you've been just getting by.

These oppurtunities are what keep us happy; they are what give us joy and push us out of our box. Why all this seemingly-meaningless banter you ask? (Don't worry, even if you didn't ask, you were curious. You just didn't know it.)

Let me tell you why. One word, two syllables. China.

I've been given an oppurtunity to visit the land of the billions. The land once trodden underfoot of a very unpleasant but merely upset man in a funny hat, who had a fixation on burninating villages. He's gone now, though.

This oppurtunity has showed me that life isn't in the future. You are not preparing to live life. You are living life right now. Yeah, I have dreams, and desires, and goals for my future, and yes, the $2300 that I may spend in visiting the giant upside-down raygun shaped land with the huge and pointless wall could possibly go towards something in my future.

But then again, I would have never visited China.

So I move forward, growing in excitement that has a 37% chance of being revoked because sometimes that happens. However, if it all goes through: yay.

Now it is time for me to go visit other blogs, and other sites, and other forums, in search of the ultimate boredom-relief. Tune in frequently.

-setH

I want a rain-stick.

I find myself struggling for the words to express how I feel about rainy days. To completely short-sell my feelings and use a cliche term; I love it.

There are few things in life that I find I enjoy immensely, and I do mean truly enjoy. Among these things are spending time with God, spending time with Naomi, DJ'ing, the feeling you get AFTER working on a car, and rainy days.

Rain and clouds bring character. In movies, it frequently rains. It brings a different feel to life. I also makes it much easier to do crazy-sick burnouts (which I make a point to sneak in frequently). It inspires emotion, and I, personally, have many songs in a "rainy day" category on iTunes that are PERFECT songs for rainy days.

Rainy days make me want to listen to old-school Tiesto and eat Crab Rangoon at Saigon on Broadway. They also make me want to listen to BT's 'Emotional Technology' and drive my Stealth around in Tulsa, and while on that topic, they make me want to be in my dorm in EMR with the window open and the lights off.

Rainy days remind me of my 300zx, and the fun I had drifting that car on rain-soaked side-streets near my house.

Rainy days remind me of the time Naomi and I just stood in the rain, embraced in a great big hug, completely oblivious to the fact that our clothes were thoroughly drenched, waterlogged, soaked and ludicrously wet (it was raining pretty hard).

Rainy days in the Fall remind me of working on the Stealth with the garage door open while a chilly rain was about, pulling the engine, putting it back, bolting up the tranny, breaking s-hooks which drop my engine into the bay unexpectedly, and so forth.

I love rain. I really do. You'll always find me at my happiest on a rainy day. Or you won't find me at all, as I'll be out and about, eating crab rangoon with Naomi at Saigon after getting pulled over for 'exhibition of accelleration'.

Enjoy the rain.

Here it comes...

Yep, this week is a week of anticipation. I'm in the process of a massive redesign of my website, for starters. Also, I managed to start getting a scratchy throat, which I am anxiously awaiting in anticipation for it's timely demise.

Also, I am anxious that Naomi is coming home shortly, in a little over a week if memory serves. We have made tentative plans (by "we" I mean "I") to play cards and such. You see, Naomi is a special character. She brings out the "let's go out and do something fun" in me. Usually I'm content to sit at home and watch a movie or something. That's not always the best thing in the world to do. She tends to want to go do stuff. Elsewhere. Go to the park, kick ducks, maybe go get ice cream or coffee or coffee flavoured ice cream. She tends to have the influential ability to get me to get out of my comfort zone and do something productive. Which is nice.

For example. I had yesterday off from work, as I do every Wednesday. However, thanks to my hilarious prank of not stopping at a stop-sign right in front of a police cruiser, I had to use my day off to go downtown and get my ticket signed off on. I desperately wanted to avoid this because of past experiences. I just flat out didn't want to do it. So when Naomi called me, she was very sweet about asking me if I had done that yet, and of course I began to spew more excuses than Nixon, and then I felt it. The self-inflicted guilt-trip. The weird kind of self-infliction that is actually Naomi thinking that I should go downtown even if I don't want to, but she doesn't say it, but I know she's thinking it, then I feel guilty...

Yeah. So I did it. I went downtown with Josh and got my stuff taken care of, and to top it off, it really wasn't that bad. Just FYI, showing proof of insurance for a WPD ticket is much easier and faster than doing so for a Hi-Po ticket.

But, in the end, one thing still stands. My sore throat. I drank some Dr. Pepper this morning (which didn't help, but it tasted good and made me feel better; I'm so shallow) and ate an apple (which is definitely NOT nature's toothbrush) and now I'm working on my website whilst at work. I already transferred in all the new accessories, and cut out all the new price-tags, but I still have yet to face the formidable alliance of crickets and beetles in the back thanks to Mr. Ryan forgetting to let the backdoor close all the way last night. I may call in for backup on that one.

This post has exceeded the maximum limit of most peoples' attention span and will now close.

Hextember

Holy crap, it's October. Stupid month snuck up on me. Let's talk about what October means to Seth.

Cold. October is here when it gets cold. Not "snow" cold, but "freezing rain" cold. We ease in to the winter months, and can withstand below freezing temperatures in February, for example, however I have learned that October is the month where temperatures drop from 90F to about 33F and then it rains.

Candy Corn Pumpkins. The little ones made of the same stuff they make Candy Corn with. I remember those at both my Grandparents' houses. There was always one on the shelf above the sink in Grandma Duncan's kitchen, and Grandma Bolen always had a little pumpkin-shaped candy-holder full of them.

Middle school. Specifically times when Cyle and Brice and I would hang out. We always seemed to have something fun to do in October. I don't know why, but when I think of the good ole' Oct, memories of late nights of movies and sour-ropes spring to mind. And Gweedo.

Naomi. Naomi broke up with me in October once. The first time actually. It was strange because it was the first time someone broke up with me while things seemed to be going so well. Strangely, I didn't mind because she said God had asked her to. Whatever He says, I'm fine with.

Cassie's Birfday. Yes, my sister graced this world at the end of Octime. Usually her birfday fests are more memorable and fun than Halloween ever was. Except the time I dressed up as a Star Trek character, complete with the uniform and even the little logo-on-the-chest-communicator-beamer-coffe-maker thing.

Adventures. Finally, the last thing that just screams in my mind when I think of this month are the Adventures that my Grandpa and I used to go on. I'm not 100% sure that they were in October, but it was always cold, the trees (I remember) were devoid of leaves, but it wasn't snowey out. I guess it very well could have been in November, but I doubt it. We would go on long walks just wherever, and see what we could see. We'd find fish, turtles, beer cans...just anything really. It was always tons of fun and something I'll remember for a long time.

Finally, I will depart with a little knowledge of the month for you. I've done some research and found that a little town in Indiana exists that goes by the name of Ober. Taking that knowledge with the previous knowledge of the language, October literally translates into "Eight Little Indians" or in some dialects "Eight Casinos".

With that, I leave you. Have a nice day.

The wonders of music.

Everybody has a problem with attention span. I confess that I do. People like to multi-task, which is not always a good thing.

People drink coffee in their cars while listening to Ne-Yo or PCD and using BlueTooth to chat with their girlfriends.

People listen to Nickelback while blogging, and with the advent and popularity of iPods, people can now listen to Rod Stewart while biking, or Kiss while napping in a meadow; whatever the case may be.

People rarely pay attention to what they are listening to. I am not going to go down the path of "Christian music is the only good music" here, because I don't believe that is anywhere near the truth, however I do believe in music and it's power and I want to enlighten some of you who do not realize what is going on.

Music comes in two parts; the tones and the lyrics. Some only have one or the other. Tones; chords and such can carry a huge amount of emotion, even to the point of evoking tears or ludicrous dancing, but NEVER do they invoke hatred. Music NEVER brings pain. A person can associate pain with a song (for example, whenever I hear "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", I think of Nicole, a great friend who died in a fire last year) and people can hate a style of music and build their own hatred or disgust just by hearing the music, however notes, chords, and tones can not bring hatred or pain. Music is powerful, it evokes emotion.

Lyrics are a completely different story. Bands and artists will write music about emotion, and usually about something that the artist feels strongly about. Whether an artist is singing about an ex-girlfriend, a current girlfriend, God, intentional rebellion, or even causing bodily harm of one form or another, lyrics carry a meaning. The main difference is this; lyrics CAN bring hatred, pain, or rebellion. Granted, people control their own emotions, but honestly, when was the last time YOU sat down and thought "okay, I'm in a bad mood, what actions should I take to kick this bad mood. I like Ice-cream and my friends, I'll go to braums with Josh". Seriously, people just ignore the instigator of the feelings and prefer to just feel. With this in mind, please watch what it is you listen to.

"Oh, I listen to it because they are great instrumentalists, I don't agree with the message." If you've ever said that, please pay attention to what you're saying. There are plenty of people with good messages, or at least non-violent messages that are plenty as good as x band.

"It's got a great beat and I can dance to it", but it talks about doing drugs and this and that etc...
What the heck. Listen to something that isn't so filled with hatred.

The whole point of this post is this. KNOW WHAT YOU LISTEN TO AND WHY. Listen to the lyrics. Read the lyric-sheet. Do not support something you don't stand for, if only as a character issue.

What do you listen to and why? I'm glad you asked.

Christian Rock - Do I really really need to explain this?
Other Rock - Most rock music isn't negative. I do read the lyrics though.
Electronica - It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Very few lyrics. It evokes joy in me.
Foreign Classical - Traditional European classical bores me. Listen to Indian or Japanese music.

If music brings out hatred or rebellion in you, even if the music isn't supporting or encouraging that, please watch your attitude and maybe consider something else. You have to share this planet with billions of other people, so try not to piss everyone off.

My arm hurts.

I have a character flaw. Many, actually, but one in particular that I feel like writing about.

I have a complete and total inability to relate to, identify with, respect, listen to, care about, or deal with anybody who feels it necessary to introduce high-levels of drama to any particular environment, but especially ones where I am involved. In my mind, I really don't think it's necessary to throw a fit about one thing or another, especially when it is invoking or instigating what I call "global frustration". Also, I simply don't care. Really I don't.

I figure that if I have a problem with someone, then a) (preferably) I change my own attitude and move on or b) I discuss it with that person. I do not feel it necessary to drudge up frustrations at every available convenience.

There are exceptions. If I have tried to change my attitude and find my own attitude to be in line, and have then moved on to discussing with the other person, numerous times, and every time, nothing changes, then here come the frustrations. That's a whole different story.

Anyways, for all you drama queens and kings; shutup, get over yourself, and do something productive. For everyone else; be strong. I know you can do it!


Also, if your thermostat in your car is acting up, for the love of exploded thermostat housings and creepy tow-truck drivers, please change it.

Finally, do not; DO NOT; make your hand act like a mouse or a rat in front of a Cat with claws. For real. I mean it.

A Real Life Heist...

So, many of us, especially those of the male persuasion, tend to have a certain fondness of movies involving heists. It has even been a subject of comedians, such as Dane Cook, and something about the thrill of it just makes guys think "yeah, that'd be cool".

Well, for those of you who have a tendency to avoid (intentionally or otherwise) reading world news, let me give you a brief story of one Stian Skjold, the alleged mastermind of one of the worlds most daring acts of thievery.

According to prosecution, Stian (that's a cool name for real) was the mastermind and coordinator of a daylight robbery that managed to successfully steal two of the worlds most famous paintings by forcing themselves into a museum and holding all the employees at ay with a revolver or two.

These paintings, painted by Edvard Munch include "The Scream" and "Madonna".

Now, most of those involved have been arrested and tried, however Stian, the alleged mastermind, was acquitted. Interesting.

Anyways, I wanted to make sure that this story was told. It is very interesting, and you can find plenty about it online.

A big shout out....

...goes to Mr. F, who was the FIRST person to ever comment on my blogger.com account. Thank you, you big Italian you! Of all the people who read this blog, some random Joe (or Mario?) from another country was the first person to post a comment (albeit a single-word comment...) on this site. Thank you. With all of my heart.

So, let's begin this post.

Things are going well. Just read sethduncan.com and you'll see. Seriously. You should. You should also join the forums. For real.

So, let's end this post.

Bye.

Granny shifting, not double clutching like you should.

I have often stated that my life seems to draw quite a few parallels to all things automotive. Most recently, I have been reminded of my example relating my phases in life to shifting gears.

You see, it seems that the biggest changes in my life happen when (strangely) I get a new car and a new job all within about a month. Another situation like that has arisen. I've been offered (and accepted) a position selling cell phones for Sprint, and I have a new car on the table, ready to trade at a moment's notice. And Naomi is in Tulsa. And God changed my life plan. And I pulled out of school. And I'm finally going to be financially comfortable. You see my point?

I would say that I officially entered first gear and let out the clutch so to speak during the Christmas break of my freshman year in High-School. I changed the way I dressed, my confidence spiked, and I changed those that I spent my time around. Things got great. I loved High-School.

My shift into second gear probably occured the summer that Naomi and I started dating, I got my Stealth, and quit Taco Bell. Now, for those who are going to split hairs, yes, I've had a few odd jobs here and there since then, but the job that's going to stick in my mind for this "gear" if you will, is Best Buy.

So finally, I'm shifting into third, and really gaining some momentum in my life. In most decent sports cars, third gear is the first gear that can hit 100mph, or at least come darn-near to it. I'm planning on paying off my debt from the previous gear, maybe even getting married, getting a job that puts me over the poverty line (yippee.), and maybe even allowing myself to buy some toys. Maybe.

It excites me, really. However, the times when I shift gears also seem to bear with them painful situations. I guess life is like that. I'll always look back at first gear and remember Nicole, and that hurts. Second gear reminds me of Naomi, and our numerous break-ups, and Samantha (the Stealth), and all that hurts. Third gear; eh, I'll have to get back to you on that, but right now, I'm away from my sweetheart, she is super-preoccupied at school, i'm driving a POS RX-7 that is seriously giving Hell a run for it's money on spontaneous combustability, and I am transitioning. That is always the hardest part.

So why do I always seem to do it all at once? Who knows, maybe it's my super-developed sense of adventure (ha), and maybe it's my under-developed sense of responsibility (more than likely) and maybe it's my lack of Dr. Pepper for the month.

It's probably the latter.

A full cup runs over and makes a mess sometimes.

...such is the case with my summer. Too much work, too many hobbies, too many things that I have my hands in. It's been great fun, but things are starting to come to a close and lots of pressure is coming down. No worries, I can handle pressure, it's just a lot of work, tends to make me tired. I'm going to retake my Business class.

...but somehow, through all this summer, and all my lack of studying, and my lack of a book, and my lack of motivation, I still managed to get an 82% on my final for my business class. The teacher made it half true/false, and half essay. I only missed one point out of 60 on the essay, and all the true/false questions were true. Weird huh?

Ok, class time. All you all have fun. Dance a little bit. By yourself, whatever. Goodnight.

It's still hot.

Yep, the temperature is still excruciatingly extreme. Israel is attacking, North Korea is mad, American politics are divided, and Best Buy is doing well. What is this world coming to?

As Jason would say, nothing. The problems have just moved around, and thanks to mr. Media, we're now all a bit more aware of it. Ten years ago, there was just as much violence in the world as now. Somolia, Bosnia, and many others were just as murderous. Many of them have calmed down and now it's up to Israel, Iran and North Korea to keep on the world's constant battles.

American politics. Ha. They are and always have been rediculously jelously over-done and under-appreciated. You remember when you first found out that some Egyptian Pharoahs were under 20 years old when they held power? You were all shocked and amazed. It's no different. Most of the people in power are just physically older kids, with no patience, no heart, and a huge desire for power. I mean, come on. Grow up.

Don't get me started on Best Buy.

So, some must ask the question, what now? What do we do? I propose this: we forge ahead, have fun, and make light of the things that most people don't. Very very few things in this world are even remotely affected by you. Find something to affect, something you believe in, something you enjoy, get good at it, and affect it like nobody has.

Anyways, I'm going to go put forth my best foot on the sales floor. I'm going to convince my managers that I'm an asset. Not because I want to remain a salesman, or even remain at my current place of employment, but because I want people to see what happens when a person truly enjoys life, and doesn't get affected by corperate shenanigans, or managerial bureaucracy.

Who cares about that? Money isn't about life, so why help someone out who thinks it is?

There's more to life than money, more than possessions, more than junk, more than sex, more than cars.

There's so much in my head right now, I don't have time or space to write it all. I'll try to add more in later posts. Until then,

Goodbye Bloggers, and stay classy.

It's getting hotter.

It's supposed to remain hot and it's driving me crazy. Sure, I have air-conditioning, but every time I use it, my car dies at idle, and my horsepower drops to a level that most ten-year-olds experience with their little battery-powered barbie-cars. And it rattles; God, it rattles. And the door broke.

But one day, hopefully soon, I'll replace it with something reliable.
My only hope is that I'll find a car that is decently good-looking, fun to drive and won't break.
Wouldn't that be awesome?

For now, I'm relaxed. I get antsy when I have to drive my car, but when I get home, put on my headphones, and listen to something, anything, I can disappear into my little "space" where nothing can bother me. Nothing can penetrate. It's my own Iron Eagle.

Nothing comes into my space without permission, and I gladly allow God in, because of how much awesomer he makes the place. It's like a club-house, with the coolest guy ever chilling out with you.

Every time I'm truly happy, every time I truly relax, I know it's God loving me. That's why I am the way I am.

It's hot.

It's hot. And what sucks is that our house isn't so much hot as it is humid. So it can be cold, and you can still be sweating. It helps when I'm sitting right next to the vent. However, when you've been outside and you come in, it feels hot. And cold. It's like GoldBond (c). Which acts the same as IcyHot. Pervert.

Anyways; Jason is outside cleaning his conquest. Josh and Casey are playing Call of Duty, and as usual, Casey is instigating aggrivation in Josh's nerves, and I find that humerous, as always.

Buttons is over on his computer doing his usual thing. Nobody is sure what it is. It's a great mystery. When Buttons is here, but he's not in-game...nobody knows what is going on. One day, maybe we will discover the meaning. One fine day.

My Fiji waterbottle got owned. I dropped it on it's head, and now it's all bent up. Grr.

Off.

Business Administration

Things are looking up. Funny how that works. I make an effort, and look at the consequences. Things were seeming boring and down, but now things are more exciting.

It all started with me wanting to go to John Digweed. I really couldn't afford it, but I went anyways. I realized that many things cost, and it hurts you in one form or another to do, but it is so totally worth it. The concert was amazing. We even met John Digweed. Incredible.

Recently, I bought a soccer ball. I've been getting quite a bit of use out of it, and that makes me happy. I'm already feeling more competent, physically and emotionally. It's even spilling over to Josh. He's been in a much better mood lately, and he's been trying new things, and spreading his wings. I'm glad.

And now, I'm planning to go to Desperation and a BT show in the same week. It's going to be a financial stretch, but it's going to be oh-so-awesome.

Anyways, things are looking up. New Life is going to rock.

Sit down and count to 50. It's liberating.

JunkieXL - Honey

I feel that there are not enough hours in the day. I know many people say that. Let me give you my reasoning. When I get off work, it seems that most of the day is over, and that makes my heart slightly heavier. You see, one of the things I love to see when I'm working is people who have the day off, and are just in to shop. I would give many things to just get up early, and go shop. Even if I did not buy anything, the ability to get up in the morning, grab some breakfast and head to some shops just to look around (especially under the company of a loved one) would be a well-appreciated development to my life.

I am making a pact with myself. I have Wednesday off. I am going to get up early, and go do things. Something fun. Something to get me out of the house. Something to live a little life.

I know I'm going places, but there's so much to be done now. I enjoy times where I get to get Ice Cream in the relatively warm evening light and times when I can simply sit and chat with people. Just hanging out. I miss that about college. ORU specifically.

I am going to go do something. Enough talk. More rock, less talk.

We Become One.

Manic Star [feat. Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo]

It interests me, how life seems to keep you jumping from stone-to-stone, and never standing still. The immediate example is music, for me at least. I keep trying to write music, and it seems that for every six months that I attempt a musical creation, one month is spent actually doing so, and the remaining five months are merely stressfull failures one after another. I have a music folder, with all of my music in it that I've attempted to create recently, and out of all the files, maybe 1 or 2 percent are actually what I would consider "hopefulls".

It gets depressing sometimes, but I know there's other things in life. But you see, making music is cheap. Working on cars isn't, going golfing costs money, airplanes; they cost money, this yacht, my kid's braces, they all cost money. Sorry for the gratuitous Vaughnism.

So here I am, living paycheck to paycheck, in the middle of my musical failure time, trying to scratch by and do ok.

Slowly and bitterly I'm learning to appreciate money and learn how to really take care of it and nurture it and get by with spending the least possible amount on food for a week (which should take care of my other current gripe; my weight) and one of these days, I'll have money, I'll know what to do with it, and I'll appreciate it.

And I'll buy some zebra cakes, then go run to work them off. You have to trade money for zebra cakes, you have to trade running for fat. No worries. It's just the way the market works.

Time to go make time.

AM

The last few days, I had been the host of a LAN party at our home. On Thursday morning I was awake for long enough to see that mornings in Riverside are absolutely stunning, and I had hitherto been blinded to this fact due to my own sleep schedule. This realization led me to make a decision last night that involved me staying up once again in order to sit on the porch and watch the morning ever-so-peacefully fall upon the porch.

I don't remember what time it was, but it couldn't have been much after 6am, and I left my computer (EVE has a daily downtime that starts at 6am CST) to go look outside, and luckily, I found the deep blue sky of a very-early morning. I sat down, and was instantly reminded of mornings camping, where very excitable and vocal birds awaken you long before you want to get up. This is where things got really interesting.

A little known fact about mornings is that after a little while, when things are starting to come to life, there is a sudden but subtle bit of wind that seems to be the separation point between night and day. I was sitting on the porch, in perfect stillness, when suddenly a light wind picked up and rustled all the trees to life. After this point, birds were flying and bugs were crawling and suddenly, the unholy screech of a train's horn shattered the perfection of the morning. I was so angry I wanted to scream. This guy wouldn't stop, he just kept blowing that horn. I have never wanted to shoot someone so bad in my life.

The moral of the story is, don't be a train conductor. I'll hurt you.

December [Radio Mix]

This song is the first song I've completed in quite some time. Well, I don't feel that it's completed, but it's the first song that has gotten past the "experimental" phase of development. It sounds really good in my headphones.

Anyways, I'm having my LAN tonight, and all who come will have fun. It's not so much of a guarantee as it is a universal truth.

So, be here, or be left by the side of the road with your Celeron, your PCI video card and your copy of Blake Stone.

Novocaine [Mark Otten Remix]

This song is pretty much exactly the perfect song for right now. I have no idea why. Maybe the imminent small storm has an effect on it, and maybe it's some deep-seeded feeling inside me that I cannot pinpoint. The latter is far more likely.

Sorry.

GTFU

Sorry.

Entertrapment.

What people do for fun simply amazes me. I'm not referring to strange habits and events that people have that are simply out of the ordinary; I'm referring to the lengths that people will go to in order to have a particular type of fun.

Tonight, I spent the better part of two hours attempting to log in to Battlefield 2, then downloading a patch, attempting to install said patch, finding out that I needed a different patch, downloading the updater, the updater telling me I didn't have the version I just installed, and downloading the final full patch (368mb). All that and I didn't even play. I just listened to music.

You see, certain situations are much more fruitful for fun. For example, if I want to play an immensely reliable, regularly updated game, I just play EVE. It's always working and always up to date. BF2 is a ton of fun, but the programming really sucks. Seriously DICE, just die (no pun intended, but it is awesome...).

Anyways, I'm going to go find old games to delete so that I can free up the space that the installer needs in order to update Battlesuck 2 to the current version so I can be pissed off trying to log in some more.

I should move to Grenada.

So, somehow, I need a new tire. No, I didn't blow it, no the tread wasn't low, and no I didn't abuse it. It just leaks air. But only when the TMW logo on the centercap is facing up. Weird.

I've been going to church on wednesday nights. Taking part in leadership activities, and helping the kids there. It's been pretty fun. I may have to keep doing so. I may even start playing soon. We'll see.

A while back I started a story. I forgot about it. I should probably continue that.

The 100 meter Dash of Hope

Let's assume that you have a particular hope, and in one week, partly due to the pursuit of said hope, and partly due to things beyond your control, much of the rest of your life seems to lose hope in one aspect or another.

Now, let's assume that your original hope becomes a realization. Wouldn't it just be hilarious if mother nature decided to drop large balls of ice onto your brand new hope? Well, in case you're wondering, it's not as hilarious as would seem. And I need a new windshield.

Sometimes, I wish God would give me a textbook and say "read chapter 5" and I could read the chapter and know what I needed to know. And I wouldn't need a windshield.

So, I'm going to go now. Have a great day.

Time Travel

There are times in which mistakes are made, life goes on, and few people think anything of them. A few of these times occur in such a manner as to inspire the victim to entertain the idea of transversing time in order to advise his or her past self to not make said mistake. These are the worst, because they plague you for a long while, and the thoughts of these mistakes seem to frequently arise, if only to spite the owner of the mistake.

A grave mistake was made last fall; specifically while I was signing up for classes this semester. I decided that an 8 week English Composition course sounded like the way to go. I was mistaken. An even more dire mistake was made when I missed the first class period.

In order to try to remedy, nay lessen the magnitude of this mistake, I made a trip to Wal-Mart last night to buy a planner and a small composition book to take daily notes that I seem to keep writing on blank paper, folding, placing in my pocket, and either throwing away or washing.

I left my brand new planner at home all day.

Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules is socially organized.

Bureacracy is a necessary evil isn't it? Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I feel that people live for bureacracy. Some people ARE bureacracy.

If I spend the first four years of my child's life convincing him that he is a twinkie, that's bad. It does no good for him, and no good for me, except for the occasional humor gained from watching him gnaw his arm. The reason it's bad is this: he is not a twinkie. It's not his nature. He shouldn't act like a twinkie because he isn't one. So, how do you tell "what" is good? It would be what comes naturally, right? A tree is a tree because it naturally turns into a tree. We cut it down and turn it into a boat, and the trees don't really take kindness to becoming boats. Trees love to be trees.

My point is imminent. Humans. What do we do naturally. We make friends, we have fun. In middle school, you don't see the children forming Org-Charts and assigning Betsy to do all the paperwork while Benny is the spokesman. Children have fun. They become friends and have a good time.

So, tell me this; Why is it that we force bureacracy on ourselves? Why does it matter? Why is it so important to mention the Extended Service Plan on a TV, that failure to do so induces a write-up? What is the purpose of a write-up? My manager said that the purpose is that there is documentation available should the problem pursue.

Businesses are so full of bureacracy, that they have basically taken away our natural selves and molded us into a profit-driven mechanism with no soul. That's right, I said it. My company has no soul. It is a machine designed and implemented to pull in money as fast as possible and as efficiently as possible.

People don't have fun managing other people. People have fun LEADING people. Management is a joke, nay, a worthless position designed for people to fill who wish they had leadership skills and merely have more desire and less heart than real-life folks. I will never be a manager. I will be a leader. I will lead by example and become a good friend and a strict enforcer. Look at what God is. He is not the General Manager of Earth, nor the CEO of Universe.

Bureacracy is a device to control people and to make it as difficult as possible for someone else to take a TRUE leadership position. Bureacrats are worthless, and don't give me any crap about "I didn't make policy, I just abide by it"... that's total bolshevik. As a man once said, the fault doesn't lie with the man who invented the gun, but rather the man who pulled the trigger.

Apple-fritters.

I think I'm going to try to write a story.

New Begins.

Blogger.com. What does it have that Xanga doesn't have? What is more appealing than MySpace? Let's discuss.

Xanga. The name is catchy, albeit odd. What does dictionary.com have to say about it? Nothing. When you type in xanga, the closest match is Sanga. Sanga: The Abyssinian ox (Bos or Bibos, Africanus), noted for the great length of its horns. It has a hump on its back.

Xanga, first off, is noted for the length of its horns. If you use horns as a metaphor for it's influence in the minds of impressionable youth, it is far reaching and devestating. Xanga also has a hump on its back. A weight that is dragging it down into the abyssinia. This hump is called MySpace.

When "myspace" is entered into dictionary.com, and interesting phenomenon occurs. An infinite loop of different arrangements of the words "my" and "space" with differing numbers of dashes and spaces peppered betwixt.

I ignored this and picked the next most interesting word that was anywhere close. Mysidacea. What the asteriskpercentampersandslash is a Mysidacea? Simple. Opossum Shrimp.

So, Xanga has horns and MySpace is Opossum Shrimp.

I know, it's a stretch. But it's more entertaining than reading msnbc.com