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| OK, time to update for those whom I don't talk to on a regular basis:
I have finally decided what I want to do with my life: I'm an artist, and I want to continue working as a graphic artist. So I have created my own business to get me started. Yes, I'm an entrepreneur!!
Blind Luck Photography, my new company, specializes in graphic art and digital photography. I'll also be selling prints of my work online.
For further information, you can contact my website: http://www.moli.com/blindluck
(Fair warning: the site is still under construction)
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| Xanga has a feature where they ask a daily question for writers to answer on their blogs. Normally, I'm not totally interested in that stuff, but a while ago, they asked us what we thought was the biggest problem with our society was. Naturally, a lot of people had pretty cut-and-dry answers (and a lot of fingers pointing at the Bush Administration).
Yes, our country does have a lot of problems, there's no denying that. But, deep down, I think I know what is easily our biggest problem:
We don't help one another.
Sadly, Americans have become the living incarnate of the "dog-eat-dog" world. To the average American, it's us or them. We are taught that it's a race to the front line, and we have to run, kick, claw, and scrape our way to get past our competitors.
We have become impatient with our lives, even though we drive cars that go faster than ever before (the original Model T couldn't go faster than 20 mph), and have internet connection that can get us exactly what we want in the blink of an eye. Instead of having a real homecooked meal, we rely on frozen meals that we can eat in less that 5 minutes, which also probably fill our body with more preservatives and sodium than most carbon-based lifeforms could handle. You have less than a minute to grab our attention, and then we move on. Want to know why ritalin is so highly prescribed? Guess what, there isn't an epidemic of ADD, we're just to freakin' impatient to get on with our lives! Why go to a gym and work-out when we can just take a pill or shake that trims our waist? Why bother even lifting a finger, we have machines and gizmos to do everything for us! We want it all now, not later. And if that means stepping on a few heads, so be it.
To top it off, we have become the most wasteful society in the world. Does anyone remember the idea of "buying bonds" and "rationing" during World War II? For those who don't know, civilians were eager to help the war effort, so they did everything possible to save money and supplies for the troops. Drives were held to recycle aluminum, steel, even nylon, and ration cards were sent out to families to help them learn which foods would save more money by being sent out to troops. Now, the government wants to increase the war budget by more than a BILLION dollars, and we are going to pay for it. But, instead of helping out in these little ways to save money, we are using every penny we've got on ourselves. Instead of really supporting our troops by recycling and rationing, we sit and complain about the war budget. You call yourself a patriot because you have a flag sticker on the bumper of your car? I've got news for you: owning a flag DOES NOT MAKE YOU A PATRIOT!
Our society has plenty of problems, ones that we could work together to help. But instead, we prefer to sit on our butts and whine as we pay our overly-inflated taxes. Wake up, people: complaining doesn't do anything but waste time and breath. Help out a little bit, lend a hand, and we can really make things better.
Sen. Obama was right: we can change the way things are. But it doesn't start with the President... it starts with us. | | |
| As some of you will be shocked to learn, Duncan, my family's golden retriever, was put to sleep yesterday morning. I've finally pulled myself together after almost two days of crying; nothing hurts more than the death of a beloved dog. Duncan had been with my family for the better part of a decade, living almost twice as long as most dogs his size are predicted to. He was with us longer than any pet we'd had before. My dad got Duncan when he was a puppy, as a surprise for my mom. I was away skiing with family friends during this, and came home to a lovable, cuddly puppy curled up in our backyard. There really is no better way to say it: Duncan was the perfect dog. He was easy to train, very lovable, and incredibly smart. My mind is filled with memories of him from years ago: pulling him across the kitchen floor in a game of tug-of-war, playing fetch with a number of different toys (he was spoiled rotten, we must have bought him at least a dozen chew toys), and even a night where I was miserable and crying, and Duncan came and put his head under my arm, as if he knew that all I needed was someone to cheer me up. For any of you who know me well, then you know just how big a part of my life Duncan was. It's hard saying good-bye to a dog that has been through so much with you: he watched me grow up, get my first car, graduate from high school AND college... Duncan was even there when Sean first met my family. I even remember Teri, my future mother-in-law, wondering if she could smuggle him back with her! Everyone loved Duncan, and he was more than happy to be with anyone who would take the time to pet his head and scratch him behind the ears. So raise your glasses to Duncan, a wonderful companion, a great dog, and a beloved member of my family. | | |
| Another day, pouring down rain, and I'm waiting for my boss to get in so I can finish rundowns for the next show. And all I can think is, "Thank God things are finally clearing up." You're probably wondering what I'm talking about. After all, my life seems to be everything I wanted. Great job, wonderful fiancee, nice apartment, everything seems to be going my way. But inside, things have been way too weird. I think I just finished with what a friend of mine once called, "a quarter-life crisis". So much has happened to me, and then I stop to think, "God, I'm only 23 years old. My life isn't even half over yet!" In the last two years, I have learned more about myself than ever before, figured out what I wanted to do with my life, and what I don't want to do. When I pause and reflect, I feel 10x older than I actually am. Sometimes, I have to stop and remind myself that I'm only a year or so out of college, and not middle-aged. That may sound strange, but that's honestly how I feel. When I'm at work, or out with friends, or curled up with Sean at home, everything is perfect. But when I'm alone in my apartment, or even now, when there's nothing to do, I feel like I've aged 20 years. In a past entry, I mentioned how I felt like at the end of this past summer, I felt like I would have come to the end of a journey, but that end never came. Maybe part of me is still expecting that end to come, like I'm waiting for some huge climax. Or maybe I've just watched way too many movies. So here's to the first quarter of my life, I'll let you guys know when I start feeling normal again. | | |
| For one reason or another, it really doesn't feel like the end of the year for me. I keep having to remind myself that in three days, it'll be 2008. Maybe that's just because I'm working on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (as I discovered this week, if you want Christmas off, be prepared to make up for it). So here's to 2007. Sadamm got what was coming to him, consumers beat each other up over Wiis and Playstation 3s, baseball players felt the fury of the Mitchell Report (and yes, my beloved Royals had ONE player on that list), my father was introduced to the wonder of the iPhone, Michael Vick incurred the wrath of dog-lovers everywhere, Martin Scorsese finally got an Oscar, the New England Patriots and Kansas Jayhawks had their best seasons in years, and, just like the year before, Britney Spears couldn't stay out of the headlines (jeez, now she's got her little sister to compete with!). And as for me? I moved out of my parents' house, bought a new car, landed a great job, and Sean asked me to marry him. Overall, one HELL of a monumental year. And now, to my resolutions for the new year: --Keep working out and stick with my new healthier lifestyle --Start taking meals with me to work more often so I don't spend quite so much on eating out --Save up for a new digital camera (which I hope to purchase before spring starts) --Get into a decent health insurance plan (I made it through 2007 without getting majorly hurt or sick, I'd rather not take that chance for another year) --Start mapping out plans for the wedding --Get back to a normal sleep schedule (and that means STOP SLEEPING IN ALL THE TIME!) ...And finally, enjoy every moment of my life. When I was younger, I believed in enjoying life, and even in moments like this where I'm at work and not going anywhere, I still plan on enjoying it. Happy New Year!! | | |
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