Friday, December 14, 2012

A Bigger Problem

I'm sure that you all have heard about what happened today in Connecticut.  My heartfelt condolences go out to all the families of the victims.  I can honestly say that this is the worst tragedy in the history of America.  When you involve children in your victim list, you are by far the worst of the worst.  And make no mistake about it, if you have to use a gun to solve your problems, you're a coward.  I'm not talking about self defense from a crook threatening your family, I'm talking about you having a personal issue with someone and using a gun to end it as opposed to talking it out like a human being.  If you involve children in your issues, whether it's a mass murder or a custody battle, you're a coward, plain and simple.  To want to hurt a child, you're a special kind of coward.

Now I'll address one thing real quick because it won't take long.  Controlling guns is a good idea in theory, but the people that do the bad things with guns are criminals.  Criminals don't follow any laws, much less tighter gun laws.  I do believe in a better, more comprehensive check into who should be allowed to purchase a gun.  I think gun shows should be revamped so that not just any person can buy any gun at any time.  There should be some regulations.  If we have to take a test to get a driver's license, we should have something in place to be sure that the people buying guns are competent enough to use said gun.  I do believe in our right to bare arms, but I also believe in my right to survive life without a nutjob trying to hurt me.

Mental health, speaking of, is a big issue too.  Probably a bigger issue than gun laws.  Every kind of serial killer or mass murderer all have mental illness.  You have to have some kind of mental illness to want to hurt innocent children.  Where was this guy's family?  How did they not know that this guy would do these terrible things?  I mean, mental illness doesn't just sneak up on you.  There are warning signs.  How can the warning signs not be seen?  We have got to be vigilant in keeping tabs on our loved ones.  If you know that someone you love isn't right, say something.  Get them checked out.  I've seen people with mental illness, and been extremely close to some.  I ignored the signs.  Don't ignore them.

People are asking a lot of questions.  Why did this happen?  How could this happen?  What is happening to our country?  Look, I honestly don't know what to say at times.  I do know this.  God needs to be back in our lives.  Yeah, yeah, if God were here, He wouldn't allow this kind of thing to happen.  I know.  However, when you tell God to stay out, God is a gentleman.  He'll stay out.  You can't ignore God, then ask why He didn't help.  However, we also have to realize that Christians are pretty sinful as well.  We Christians really shouldn't be telling people what to do.  We fail miserably at times.  Ask Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.  Point being, God in our lives can help a lot.

The big problem in our lives is sin.  Gun control laws and mental health screenings are nothing more than a band-aid.  We are a screwed up group of humans.  We don't even think twice about sharing dirty jokes, gossiping about other people, or having hateful words for people who sin differently than us.  Make no mistake about it, the guy who committed the senseless murders in Connecticut is a sick man who obviously didn't know how to deal with his issues with his mother.  However, we can't just make more laws.  We need to just do what God would like us to do.

God wants us to love Him, and love others.  It's not that hard.  We do that, I'm pretty sure we can be a better behaved set of people.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Storm and How to Survive It

I've always been one to be thankful for whatever happens to me because it's happening to me.  I've always been one to just be able to accept the moment because I'm in it.  Today I got some pretty disappointing news.  I won't go into detail, but I'll just say that I didn't get what I was hoping for.  And you know, I'm okay with it.

I'm a firm believer in God's will.  I'm a firm believer that there is a reason for every, and there is no such thing as happenstance and coincidence.  I think about the news I got, and I think about why it didn't happen the way I wanted it.  Then I think again and realize that Christ is in control.

I also learned that when you ask for prayers and support, nine times out of ten, you get it.  I'm blessed to have the best friends and family in the world.  I had so much support and well wishes before the news came about.  I'm thankful for that.  I don't think I've ever thought about friendship and support until this past year.  It almost overwhelmed me how supportive my friends have been.

I often wonder how people can go without support from friends and family.  I wonder how people can go without faith in God.  You probably look at this story and wonder why God didn't just give me what I hoped for.  Sometimes, that's just too easy.  Sometimes, God has a special plan and He wants you to just trust Him.  I think I can do that better.  We all can.

The storm is a tough thing to go through.  However, a good umbrella for the storm is just support from friends and family and a faith in God.  It's good shelter.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Christmas

So, Christmas is upon us.  Now is the time to show good will towards men and display peace on earth.  Of course, that will never happen.  Mostly because of the idiots who think Christmas is an offensive word.  It's not a lot of people, but just enough to be annoying enough to get their way.  Since when did we back down from being who we are?  It's saddening.  What happened to telling people what you felt?

You people who are Atheists need to listen up.  It's Christmas time.  It means that when we tell you Merry Christmas, you say, "Same to you."  You don't come at me with your "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons' Greetings."  I don't want to hear that mess.  Get over yourselves.  I get it.  You don't believe that God exists and that all Christians are stupid, science-hating, Bible thumping morons.  However, you tend to forget all the good we do for pretty much anyone, whether they believe in God or not.  So when we wish you Merry Christmas, we really do wish that your Christmas is happy and that you realize that God is a good God and loves you plenty.  I know some of us Christians can make some bad choices and we can be our own worst enemy, but rest assured, we still want Jesus to be the reason for the season.

Yes I know, you Pagans love to throw in the fact that the whole gift giving, tree decorating thing was all you. Okay, cool.  You can have it.  Us Christians just made it a tad bit better.  Yes, I'm also aware that Jesus may or may not have been born in December and that the weather was probably vastly different in Israel than it is over here in America.  However, we're celebrating Jesus' birthday now because it's nice time to have it.  So, chill out.  Relax.

Alright, now I need to go off on mistletoe.  I kind of threw it out there on my Facebook status the other day, but it bears repeating.  If a person is willing to kiss a random person at the mere sight of a plant, you have to wonder what else they do with people they may or may not know.  I'd be a little weary about allowing someone access to me simply because I'm underneath a plant.  A plant that's poisonous, by the way.  I also have a problem with the ugly Christmas sweater.  Not the parties, those can be fun.  Just don't understand what possesses these knitters to think that the design they created was so neat.  There's just nothing attractive about a wool snowman on cotton snowflakes.

As we get ready for this Christmas season, I want to let you all know that I love you all and want you to be happy.  I pray that all your wishes come true.  I pray that God blesses you with whatever your heart desires. I thank you all for your support for this blog.  Your word of mouth and support has made this blog a pretty big deal.  Merry Christmas to you.  Never forget that Jesus is the reason.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Love of Money...You Know the Rest

Alright first and foremost, I have to give props to the Kansas City Chiefs for their win against the Carolina Panthers.  It was a hard fought victory under dubious and extenuating circumstances.  However, I have to say that there was absolutely no reason whatsoever to play that game today.

If you're not aware, Jovan Belcher of the Chiefs tragically killed his girlfriend before driving to the Chiefs' practice facility, talking to his GM and coach, and taking his own life.  This was witnessed by the head coach and GM.  This all happened yesterday.  The NFL chose to have the game played despite all this.

Now I understand that the NFL is a business.  I understand that you have to kind of keep the show going for the people who paid their money for tickets, the sponsors, the networks, and whoever else is invested in the product.  I do think that they would have totally understood postponing the game to at least Monday or Tuesday just for the sake of the team.  For a coach to have to find a way to concentrate on a game like football after seeing one of his players take his life, I commend Romeo Crennel for having the ability to keep it together.  This game should not have happened.

I don't know how those players were able to play the way they played.  They only committed one penalty all game and didn't have a turnover.  To keep that kind of concentration in the wake of that tragedy is amazing.  And to think this is only their second win all season, just amazing.

But this game shouldn't have happened.  It's all about money with the NFL.  That's what it came down to.  There is no reason to play this game other than the want for money.  It's not a need, the NFL is run by billionaires, it's a want.  Make no mistake about it, moving the game wouldn't have done anything to their pockets, but it's a matter of getting as much money as soon as possible.  It's baffling that people are this greedy for money to put a team that went through that on the field.  Props to the the Chiefs for their ability to compartmentalize this situation and play football, but they really shouldn't have been asked to do such a thing.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday...

First of all, I pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I hope that you all that are reading this had a chance to truly reflect on how blessed you are.  A few of you may not be believers that God is the reason for your blessings, but for us that are right, we're thankful to a God who truly blesses.  However, I have a bit of an issue.

Just a little food for thought

Now, I'm not innocent in this.  I can show some pretty ungrateful and greedy tendencies at times.  However, I'm fairly annoyed by some of the behavior of people today.  We just sat around a table all happy and thankful.  We share good times with friends and family.  Talk about how we're in America, living free from tyranny and stuff like they do in other countries.  And then stores decide to have Black Friday sales.  Now, Black Friday extends to the afternoon of Thanksgiving.  Now, I'm not upset about stores doing this.  In this economy, businesses need to gain as much money as possible and Black Friday is usually the day they go from red to black.  I have no qualms with that.  I also have no issue with people getting into huge lines to shop for major deals.  

Yep yep

It's what I just posted in the picture.  People trampling, attacking, and doing everything possible to beat other people to these deals.  It's dragging your children that should be in bed to the store.  It's pushing elderly people all over the place to get that last blender or high definition television.  It's just acting like a complete and utter barbarian for stuff.  Stuff that just three weeks ago you said you couldn't afford because a particular man became president.  Oh yes, I went there.  I don't want to hear anyone who went out hunting deals and spending money complaining about how the economy is in shambles and they can't afford anything anymore.  

Like the previous picture, we're forgetting that there are people who will never get the opportunity have a Black Friday to go all crazy for.  There are kids in other places, and in America, that just can't afford to get even the simplest of pleasures.  And it's not the kids' fault, so we should do what we can to help them.  We need to stop this whole "gotta have everything" attitude and start having a "gotta help as many as possible" attitude.  

If you want to know what I'm most thankful for, it's simple.  I'm thankful for my God who saved me Hell.  It's my family who supports me no matter what.  It's my friends who always make me smile and laugh.  I got to hang out with a wonderful friend a couple of days ago.  It was such a blessing.  I'm sure I'll see some more friends.  I'll be just as grateful.  I can afford to eat, sleep, and live in a place because of my awesome occupations.  One day, we all will get this idea that people are more important than dang near killing each other for a sale that a couple weeks ago, we weren't even thinking about going to because we were in such a terrible spot because the Evil Democrat won the election again.

Yep, I said it.  

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hectic Hump Day

I haven't done one of these in a while.  I have to say that it feels good to just chill at home for a couple of days.  Pretty cool to have a couple days off from the fella.  I've spent most of those days just catching up on doing little to nothing.

One of the things I did was have a lunch/dinner at a place called Jerusalem Restaurant.  If you're in Roanoke, it's on Williamson Road, near the Shell Station across from Long John Silvers.  Their pizza is amazing.  I'd suggest anyone to get the Meat Lovers pizza.  They deliver, so don't worry about the whole going out to dinner thing.  Also, if you do want to go out to eat, don't let the interior fool you.  The booths are kind of ugly, but the food is pretty good.

I seem to have upset some people with yesterday's blog.  That's okay with me.  Mostly because I want to engage my readers in discussion about things.  I want to know what others are thinking when I post.  I don't want people blindly agreeing with me.  I'd rather have spirited discussion about things.  With that being said, let me just say that I stand by my opinion.  My opinion that there are a lot of people who discredit and disrespect the President because he's a man of color is backed with pretty decent evidence.  I've never seen a President get the amount of disrespect and bashing that President Obama gets in my life.  The fact that he's a black man isn't a coincidence.  I do believe that a lot of people disagree with his policies.  I believe that his ideals are polarizing.  However, we can't discount the fact that his ideas and policies have been on other politicians' agendas for years, yet only now are we calling the President "unconstitutional."  I'm just saying.

Apparently there's a new product out call the WaxVac.  It's supposed to vacuum out earwax and water from your earlobes.  The commercial showed the "dangers" of using a cotton swab in your ear.  The man screamed bloody murder.  Now look, I'm all for making products look a little better than they are for posterity's sake, but that's a little ridiculous.  I don't think a Q-Tip can cause that kind of injury.  Maybe if you put it in someone's eyeball.

If you live in Miami, I'm very sorry about your Marlins.  I'm very sorry that you are going to be paying tons of tax dollars towards building a stadium for a lousy team in it.  Also feel bad that they made you think they'd be good enough to justify the tax money.  It's kind of unfair.

Not sure when I'll be able to post again.  I have to report back to the fella tomorrow.  Till then...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

This is Getting Out of Hand

By now, you all know that Barack Obama successfully was re-elected President of the United States.  Apparently, the hard feelings haven't subsided.  In fact, I'd say they've gotten pretty amped up.  It's sad, really.  The fact that there are 20+ states filing petitions for secession from the United States just baffles my mind.

I understand that President Obama was a terrible choice for all the Fox News/Republican contingent.  I even understand having some hard feelings towards the man for some of his policies.  However, to go through the process of actually trying to leave the greatest country in the world because of it?  That's a little extreme, don't you think?

Look, I'm all for freedom of speech.  I'm all for freedom of expression.  I'm totally against censorship.  However, how can someone want to leave?  How can someone hate a person in power so much that they want to start a petition to leave a country?  And I'll go ahead and say that all this secession talk is code for "we don't want to be run by a black man for another four years."  I know that's a hard nut to swallow, but racism and hatred are still prevalent in this country.  It's bordering on ridiculous.

Now, to any of you that are reading this and signed the petition, I have one thing to say.  Go ahead and leave the country.  It's obvious that you don't want to be the bigger person and accept your fate.  However, don't go to Canada.  They're more liberal than Obama.  Don't go to Mexico, the water is bad.  I'd move to Antarctica if I were you.  No wait, the penguins are black and white.  Don't want none of that mixing going on there.

Seriously though, this whole thought of secession is stupid.  Like I said in previous blog, it could be God's will that Obama is president.  Let go of this whole idea and just keep praying to God for him.  Give God the glory and just roll with this.  Don't try to leave.  Don't try to make a stink about being your own country.  And I don't care about how "peaceful" this petition is, you're being hateful.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Sit Down for This One

This is kind of a mix between an open letter, an editorial, and a call to arms.  I'll hit a lot of subjects about this past week.

First of all, I must congratulate Barack Obama for being elected to a second term in office as the President of the United States.  I know that it was a tough go, but you made it, so congrats.

I understand that there are a lot of people that aren't happy about this development.  In fact, my Facebook news feed was flooded by people showing their displeasure for the outcome.  And truth be told, I really have no problem with that.  However, I did have a problem with the incessant name calling by those not happy with the results.  Some of my friends called Obama voters "stupid."  They claimed that voting him President would cause an influx of doomsday type thoughts.  Voting one man to be president doesn't make the universe any closer to Armageddon.  God is in control, and if He wants the world to end, He'd do it, no matter who the president is.  Also, you'll still have a job more than likely.  Also, no one is going to take your paycheck and spend it on health insurance and food stamps for lazy people.

I couldn't believe my friends, and in particular my fellow Christians throwing insult after insult upon the people that may have voted differently from them.  It honestly hurt my heart.  Christ never once told us to rip people apart for their political beliefs.  People actually questioned the Christianity of voters who didn't pledge their allegiance to Romney the second he won the Republican nomination.  Personally, I don't think a Christian should want a Mormon to be a leader of the nation.  I hate to break it to you, but Mormonism is a divisive and terrible group that does nothing to advance the kingdom of God.  For a Christian to be okay with him kind of scares me.

I'm also not happy with my Obama supporter friends.  It's mostly because they've been fairly obnoxious about this victory.  They were also quite annoying with the whole, "Republicans hate women" rhetoric. I'm fairly sure that most Republicans like women.  In fact, I'd say they possibly like them a little too much after some stories I've heard.  Just because a Republican says he doesn't like abortion, doesn't mean he hates women.  Maybe they want the baby to be alive more than the pregnant mother to be relieved of her responsibility.  Yes, I know about the whole equal pay for equal work controversy, but I'm sure most Republicans believe that everyone should be respected to the point that they get equal compensation.

Look, I'm just tired of seeing hatred and venom being spewed for the sake of it being spewed.  I'm bothered by Christians not using Christ's example of praying for those in charge of us.  "Give to Caesar, what is Caesar's" isn't a suggestion.  It's a command.  We are to give our leaders our undivided prayers and support, no matter how much they've hurt you...even though them being president isn't what you wanted.  We are to give our leaders respect.  What happened to respecting the office of the president?   I'm seeing everyone call our president horrible names.  That's not how Christ envisioned it.

Dear God,
Please be with our President.  Supply him with wisdom to do his job to the best of his ability. Help us to remember that spewing hate will not get your kingdom any bigger.  Forgive us for being so involved with our selfish desires that we don't think about how we're making You look in the process.  Thank you for this awesome nation where we can vote and make our voices heard.  Allow us to show our future generations how special it is to be an American and also how important it is to vote.  Never let us forget that You are ultimately in control.  Thank you for all you've given us.
Amen

I didn't do half bad with this.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Am I Better Off?

When driving to work, I often drive through a neighborhood.  In that neighborhood is a yard with a sign.  The sign says "Are You REALLY Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?"  Now, I have to explain my life four years ago.

In the beginning of 2008, I was a youth pastor at a local church.  I was enjoying my job, however, I was having a hard time keeping up with my healthy ambitions.  Along with being a youth pastor, I was also working at the YMCA every night until almost 9 at night.  I also did subsititute teaching for Roanoke County Schools.  With all that work I was doing, I was losing focus on my ministry.  I wasn't where God wanted me.

Fast forward to about September of 2008.  I got a job working in the Autism Program in Roanoke County.  That's where I felt the Good Lord calling me to be in Special Education as a teacher.  I became truly enamored in what I was doing.  I also joined a new church.  I truly believe I'm in the best church I've ever been in.  I have a hard time seeing any church like I see my church.  I feel blessed and grateful to be asked to do anything involving ministry at this church.  I never felt that way anywhere else, including where I was youth pastoring.

Fast Forward to now.  I am on my fifth year in the County.  I have normal roommates...well as normal as I can ask for from Craigslist.  I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for.  God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.

Basically, I am better off than I was four years ago.  Here's the catch.  None of this was President Obama's fault.  This was by the grace of God and my accepting of God's blessings.  Obama had nothing to do with anything God has blessed me with.  I also don't believe Mitt Romney will do anything to help or hurt my blessings from God.  God is going to bless me if I do everything to show Him honor.  It doesn't matter who I vote for, God will bless His people.  It may not be financially, but blessings are blessings no matter what.

As you all go to the polls and vote, don't look to the person you're voting for help.  They aren't there to help you.  They are there to make their lobbyists and major donors happy.  If you just happen to get something, it's because God blessed you.  Remember that in the end, God is in control.  Also, if someone votes differently than you, get over it.  It doesn't mean anything other than they have different thoughts on how the country should be run.


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricanes, Politics, and Clowns

I haven't been very consistent in writing my blog lately.  It's just a blend of exhaustion, active life, and more exhaustion.  I'll just talk about what's on my mind.  Enjoy.

First of all, my prayers go to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I've seen and lived through some tough weather situations.  God bless you all.

On the subject of this hurricane, I'm absolutely flabbergasted that there are "news" sources that are trying to figure out how this hurricane affects the presidential election.  The fact that Fox News had the nerve to ask a Republican Governor why he was praising a Democrat President for responding to a natural disaster in a timely manner is ridiculously stupid.  The fact that MSNBC asked about the motives of Mitt Romney going to the northeast is silly.  Let's ask the people who just lost homes, businesses, and maybe even loved ones who they are voting for since that's way more important...

I went to Liberty University's ScareMare last weekend.  The haunted house in and of itself was pretty cool.  However the clowns in the line were not good.  In fact, when they followed me from one house to the other, it got frightening.  When they all learned my name, it got down right evil.  Thanks for successfully giving me the creeps.

Today, due to the weather, I had a day off.  It was nice.  I got to relax, watch some television, and eat McDonald's without having to worry about being late.

My fantasy football team is doing a lot better now.  It was really touch and go the first couple of weeks, but I've won my last two games.  I'm not terrible anymore.

Speaking of, Yahoo has this cool feature that actually generates a recap of your fantasy matchup like a sports story.  I'm pretty impressed with it.

People ask me who I'm voting for this year.  Truth be told, neither of the main candidates are worth my vote.  I really like Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.  He thinks like I think.  People say that these non-main party candidates are stealing votes from the main two party candidates.  I believe it's the other way around.  I believe that people are so enamored by the two party system, that they don't even consider that another candidate could be more in line with their beliefs than they think.  I believe it's about time that people really look at everyone put in front of them before making a decision on who they want for their president, or any office for that matter.

I'm contemplating my costume for Halloween tomorrow.  I've narrowed it down to B-Boy or Jamaican Soccer Player.  Feel free to chime in.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

I Am Sickened

There seems to be a large amount of people talking on behalf of other people.  And more often than not, the people talking have no idea what they're talking about.

First thing I want to say is that I am not a supporter of abortion unless the mother is in direct danger of losing her life.  I know that that may upset a good bit of you, but it's my belief.  I don't think it's right to terminate a pregnancy, particularly only because it came at an inconvenient time.  However, I have a huge issue with people who share my point of view speaking out of turn and saying stupid things.

The latest idiot is some guy who doesn't deserve me using his real name who is running for some office in Indiana.  He had the nerve to say that rape was a gift from God.  How dare anyone use my Lord to justify their sick and twisted thoughts.  God doesn't want any woman to be raped.  God never wants anyone to be hurt by anyone else.  I don't know if he was trying to use the idea the verse that says "What man intended for evil, God intended for good" or what.  I could understand if he had just said that and left it there.  However, when you play the "God Card" at the expense of victims of a heinous crime, that just sickens me.  I do believe that something good can come from a bad thing.  I do believe that God can turn a sick crime into a blessing.  I've seen some of my friends take a terrible situation and turn it into a soul strengthening experience.  That's where he should have went with that statement.

How about that goof who had the nerve to say that you can't get pregnant from "legitimate" rape?  What in the name of Sam Hill is legitimate rape?  Rape is rape, no matter what.  For someone to say that you can't get pregnant from rape or that you weren't really raped if you got pregnant is just asinine.  It throws me for a loop that there are people that will stand behind that guy.  Your body doesn't shut down to avoid pregnancy, who told him that?

It seems in general, there are a lot of people trying to speak on behalf of people they know nothing about.  I can never speak for rape victims.  I know a couple, and for me to try to speak for them would be ignorant.  These men trying to define it and decide who is a victim and who isn't is crazy.  Like I said, I have my belief on abortion and such, but it doesn't mean I have the right to tell other people what they've felt or what they've gone through.

I'm annoyed by these people who will say whatever they want to get their point across.  I just want people to walk a mile in other people's shoes before they go spouting their mouths off.  It'd make this planet a lot easier to live on, let me tell you.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Beyond Words

I'll be the first to admit that I can be a bit harsh with words.  I can say the wrong thing at the drop of a hat.  I can even offend some people sometimes.  However, I heard something this morning on the radio that literally made me ill.

A lot of you may or may not have heard of Ann Coulter.  If you have, you probably just cringed.  If you haven't, you will after you read this.

Ann is an ultra-conservative author and contributor to news programs and stations.  She has, on countless occasions, said some pretty outlandish things in the name of making herself the trending topic in America.  This time, she has gone too far.  During the debates last night, Coulter sent a tweet (nothing of importance has ever been written with thumbs) that said the following (and I want to seriously apologize to anyone who will be offended by this): "Glad Romney is being kind and gentle to the retard."

My stomach turned just typing that.  For anyone to just loosely throw the word "retard" around like that loses all credibility.  I didn't mind Ann Coulter before only because I always believe in people's right to having an opinion.  However, you lose everything the minute you decide to use elementary insults to get your point across.  There's no reason ever to use that word.  It's a terrible word.  It's terrible to think that it's okay to just use that to talk about anyone, much less the President of the United States.

For someone to have that little respect for the office of the President just sickens me.  It's been like that for years.  I'm annoyed by the constant disrespect just because the person in the office wasn't the person we voted for.  Get over yourself.  You lost.  Get over it and respect the man.  I've heard and seen nothing but terrible things being said about a lot of Presidents in my lifetime.  It's really not fair to them.

I'm still upset over the use of that word by someone who claims to be intelligent and on the pulse of things.  Her own conservative cohorts have been less than enthused with her choice of words.  There is nothing that any conservative can say that can justify this behavior.  I hope that she really gets hit hard by special education people and others.  I hope that one day, she realizes that her issues with making terrible choices in phrases.

To anyone reading this, please please don't use that word.  Be wise with your words.

Monday, October 22, 2012

My Apologies

So I kind of missed doing this blog.  It's been a combination of exhaustion and illness that has kept me from posting my opinions and feelings and stuff.  I'll explain.

I work probably close to 70 hours per week.  I work pretty hard for my church as well.  I've realized that I am wearing myself thin at times.  Yes, it's rewarding, and I wouldn't trade my jobs for anything.  However, you do have to pace yourself when doing things you love.  You have to find time for yourself.  As a result of my hard work, I came down with something fierce.  Just to be respectful, I'll just say that I had a stomach issue that resulted in dehydration and frequent bathroom trips.  It lasted for about 3 or 4 days.  I was left exhausted and tuckered out.  I think that was my body's way of telling me I was trying to do too much.

I'm kind of at a weird point.  Sometimes I have to ask myself why I do what I do.  It seems like I do everything the right way and things still go kind of wrong.  You try to follow the rules, things go wrong.  You try to make your own rules, things go wrong.  You try to go slow, it's not quick enough.  You try to speed up, you're jumping the gun.  It's just kind of unfair that there isn't one simple thing you have to do to make things work right.  Life's like my old Kia, sometimes.  My old Kia had a different set of rules than every other car on the planet.  Crazy.

I saw a sign in someone's yard that seemed to be political.  It asked a question: "Are you REALLY better off now than 4 years ago?"  I know that it was about if you were richer than you were when Obama was voted into office.  I thought about that question.  I thought about where I was 4 years ago compared to now.  Four years ago, I was in between careers.  I was just finished with my career as a youth pastor at a church.  I was working 3 jobs just to make ends meet.  My youth ministry career was struggling because I was just so exhausted from working that I couldn't minister.  While doing youth ministry, I found a new love, special education.  I worked hard after I stopped doing youth ministry to get into special education.  I've been doing special education for a little over 4 years now.

I have to say that I am better off.  I'm where God wants me.  I'm where I feel most comfortable.  I have more friends now.  I'm gaining new friends monthly.  Truth be told, I've made a couple of really great friends through my work at my school.  I have other friends that I feel like I love and care for outside of school and stuff.  The point is, yeah, I'm not filthy rich.  I'm not driving a Mercedes.  However, I'm at a church that doesn't wear me out and complain about how tired I look after doing 2 jobs before getting there.  I'm at a job that I feel is triple rewarding.  I have awesome people in my life that I love hanging out with.  I am better off.


Friday, October 12, 2012

Music Friday



So, I watched that Vice Presidential Debate last night.  It was quite animated.  I have some ideas about the debate.  And since I don't have a horse in the race, I can actually tell you the truth as opposed to my opinion.

First of all, the debate was a draw.  I don't care what anyone tells you, neither man really separated himself from the other.  It was pretty much a wash.  Neither man took the lead for their candidate.  However there was a lot of other things that came about.

Paul Ryan drinks a lot of water, at least I hope it was water in that glass.  I mean, I've never seen someone drink so much in one sitting.  I hope he had one of those trucker's friends things attached to his leg.

Joe Biden can get pretty agitated.  It seemed like every time Ryan said something that Uncle Joe didn't believe, he'd start to choke, gag, laugh, and whatnot.  It was actually pretty funny.  It may have had something to do with him just being kind of old and wanting his way.  Point being, it was interesting to watch.

Ryan is a genius when it comes to financial things.  Although it was kind of funny when Biden called out Ryan about his letters asking for a cut of the stimulus money that no one wanted according to Ryan.  However, financially speaking, Ryan is pretty accurate.

However, Joe Biden is pretty wise on foreign policy.  That comes with experience in politics.  However, I do have to giggle a little when Ryan called out Biden on the President's dealings with the Embassy in Libya.  It was a tragic event, but when our administration kind of poo poos on security for our ambassadors, these things happen.

My point is that the debate last night was a lot more fun to watch than the debate last week.  Again, I believe that Obama really believed that he had everything in the bag with the whole 47% thing.  Biden helped show the USA that there was a want to to win the election.  Ryan did a good job of showing everyone that he wasn't just a baby, he had on his big boy pants.

I just want to know how Danville, Kentucky won the draw to host a debate.  I mean seriously, was there no other podunk place to have a debate?

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Sorry for Not Posting

I'm sorry I haven't been as active on the blog lately.  Truth be told, I'm stinking exhausted.  I've been working so hard and doing so much that I'm just too beat to think about telling you what's happening or what's on my mind.  So I'll just kind of run down my life as of late.

My South Carolina Gamecocks are pretty awesome.  Way more fun to watch than the West Virginia Mountaineers. Wink wink to my homegirl, Katie.

My Green Bay Packers aren't doing so hot.  The fun of it is that Vikings, Bears, and Lions fans are so in love with our failures that they forgot how terrible their teams have been since their existence.  Just a heads up, we have more championships than the rest of you combined.  Get on our level before you go tripping.

This Vice Presidential debate is way better than the Presidential Debate.  Can I just vote for a Biden-Ryan ticket?  These two are great.

I love milk in a glass bottle.  I feel so Beaver Cleaver-ish.

My hipster glasses broke tonight.  Terrible time for me.  I almost feel like crying.

I bought The Hunger Games on DVD.  I never buy movies, so this is kind of big.

Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits are pretty good with Athenos Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.  Don't sleep on that Vegan stuff, they got some good ideas. Just don't forget the side of sirloin.

Joe Biden is so smarmy, and Paul Ryan is so smooth.  It's like watching two game show hosts.

I think this blog post turned into a Hectic Hump Day, my bad.

I've realized that women think too much.  I understand that you have things to think about, but my goodness, take things at face value.

It's a lot cooler now than it was all last winter.  I'm rocking my Tom Brady winter gear this year, HOORAY!

I do have to say that I'm not a big fan of change.  I'll accept it, but it's hard for me to do.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Monday Top Ten

So I've been thinking about what I wanted to talk about this week.  I think I'll kind of relax it up a bit.  Last week was all political.  This week, I think I'll talk about my top ten business ventures I'd do if I had the money.

10.  Bounty Hunter
Honestly, I'd just find people and snitch on them.  I don't care really.  I feel like there needs to be a better way to get some of these hooligans.  I can do it.  I can track a falcon on a cloudy day, I can find a criminal.  Yeah, I straight up quoted The Princess Bride.

9.  Therapist
Ask any of my friends or my family, they'll tell you that I can pretty much figure people out fairly easily.  In fact, people are often baffled by my ability to predict exactly how something may happen before it happens.  My special education class told me that insight is one of the forms of genius.

8.  Talk Show Host
Okay, I seriously think this could happen.  I tried to do a small YouTube show, but honestly, it got kind of stale with my digital camera only having 4 minutes of video.  I could keep an audience for 30-60 minutes talking about awesome topics.

7.  Radio Disc Jockey
It's even easier to be a disc jockey.  I could do a syndicated radio show about things.  Take in callers, and just enjoy America at its finest.

6.  Bakery
I can bake cookies.  In fact, I can honestly say that no one's cookies are better than mine.  I seriously think I could make a fortune just with chocolate chip cookies.  However, I feel like I could just go off and make tons of breads and other baked goods.  I have a pretty nice talent.

5.  Day Care Center
I'm good with kids.  I can do a lot of good for people.  It would be fun to see kids interacting with my roommate.  If his argument with the little red headed girl next door is any indication, I'll have the greatest day care center ever.

4.  Restaurant
I've always been kind of enamored by the restaurant business.  I watch Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, and pretty much any show with Gordon Ramsay.  I love the idea of one day being a restaurateur.  One day, it could happen if I had enough money.

3.  Record Company
I have so many friends that are so talented in music.  I would love to start a record company for them.  I'm sure I could do a decent job of making them sound even more awesome.

2.  Video Rental Store
Look, Redbox is nice and all, but I want old school rental stores back.  It's kind of old school.  I miss those days where you just rented a movie for about a week, promised to rewind it, and enjoy it with a pretty lady or your family.  I'd try to bring it back.

1.  Rent Em Spoons
It's a place where you get a bowl of soup for free, but we rent you the spoons for a yet to be determined price.  It's freaking brilliant.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Music Friday

Haven't posted a Music Friday blog in a while.  Quite frankly, I wasn't sure I was going to do one tonight.  Then I heard this song on the radio.



Yep, that was Bobby Brown at his best.  Ghostbusters II wasn't particularly memorable, but I didn't mind it so much.  The point is that Bobby Brown was pound for pound, one of the most talented human beings on the planet.  It's really a shame where he is now compared to then.  He's been the scapegoat for the death Whitney Houston.  It's a shame, too.

This kind of teaches me that I can't take anything that the Good Lord blesses me with for granted.  I know how fast it can all go away.  I've seen some of my favorite artists and athletes all fall because they didn't use their talents wisely.  God gives us all talents and ability.  It's really up to us as to how we use them.  It's a good time for me to think about all the talents I have and if I'm using them effectively.  If I'm not, I'll do better.  If I am, I'll work on doing even better.

In the meanwhile, I'll try to see how good I am at the Bobby Brown dance...

Thursday, October 4, 2012

A Talk About Yesterday

So I sat down and decided to watch the Presidential Debate last night.  I'm not normally involved with politics, and truth be told, I couldn't care less about them at times.  I have a huge issue with how candidates carry themselves.  I also have a problem with their terrible ability to talk out of both sides of their mouth.  The lies, buzz words, and sweet talk just gets annoying.  However, I decided to see what the main two candidates had to say.

Let's be honest.  From a purely objective standpoint, Mitt Romney won that debate.  Here's a man who threatened Big Bird and his way of life and still won a debate against the most charismatic president of our time.  It's awfully telling when a President is only as effective as the notes written in his teleprompter.  However, the thing I took away from this debate was how disinterested President Obama seemed during the debate.  I'm sure there are some reasons.

Maybe the 47% comments gave Obama a false sense of security.  I think he felt like he had this election won already and didn't need to put a lot of effort into the debate.  Maybe he felt as if Romney had shot himself in the foot enough that the debate would just be Romney being a windbag.

Maybe he thought msnbc would cover for him.  I think Obama might have had a feeling like his personal fan club at 30 Rock would just cover for him and his shortcomings.  I watched their post debate coverage and they looked anything but confident about Barack Obama.  Poor Chris Matthews looked like his favorite quarterback just threw 5 interceptions on Monday Night Football.  Al Sharpton does what he always does, throw the blame on whitey.

Maybe, just maybe, Romney decided that it was his time to shine.  Sometimes you need something to put a foot in your behind to get you going.  That 47% thing may have been that something.  Romney decided that it was now or never to show the country that he was willing to fight for the presidency.  When you show a country fight, they tend to be on your side.  They tend to want to get behind you.

Now, I know that most people have already cast their votes and decided who they are pulling for, and that's fine.  However, you cannot deny that Romney got a really good punch in to start this fight.  All I know for certain is that God is in control.  No matter who wins the presidency, God is running things.  Never forget that.

I still wish they would have let everyone who is running for president be at the debate.  It's not fair that the rest of the candidates can't share their opinions and thoughts on things...of course, that would also mean that poor Jim Lehrer would have had even less control of things.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To My Friend

This is a tough thing to do, but I am pretty confident that I should do this.  Sorry if you were looking forward to Hectic Hump Day.  I'll get back to routine soon enough.

Hey Buddy,

I hear all the time about how sad it is to put a dog down.  I used to think that those people were just sensitive and needed to get a grip.  I always thought that when a dog got put down, people should just dust their shoulders off and move on.

Well, I admit, I was totally wrong.  Yeah, I said it, I was wrong.  Today, Mom gave me the news that the difficult decision to put you down was made.  I'm heartbroken.  You've been my best buddy since 2000.  I still remember the day you came into the house.  You kind of stumbled in and said, "I'm here."  Then proceeded to pee on something.  We've been through crazy vet trips, your escapes to see the girl dog down the street, and you actually trying to join hands with the family when we prayed before my long drives back to college.  You were very respectful, by the way.  You had a huge penchant for potatoes, whether they be chips, fries, or just baked potato skins.

I miss you, little buddy.  You were old, tired, and kind of cranky sometimes.  However, you always came to listen to me when I talked about life.  I'm sure you understood more than you let on, but you were a good ear.  For a while, you were the only ear.  By design, because I couldn't stand talking to people about my life.  You were the best friend a guy could have.  You were going to be the best man in my wedding.  Although a lot of people were worried about you peeing on my future wife or biting a groomsman, you would have looked awesome in a tuxedo.

Conan, you were loved.  You will be missed.  I knew this day was coming, but I hate it.  I'm sure you would have been a lot of help in my vote for president this November.  You have a good eye for good and bad.

Love you little buddy.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Monday Top Ten

First of all, I apologize for not typing my blog last Friday and Saturday.  It's just been a hectic week and sitting in front of my computer wasn't in my agenda.  Anyway, I wasn't even sure exactly what my top ten was going to be.  Actually, I do know.  You'll like this.

This Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney will have a debate.  I'm a little bothered that the other presidential candidates weren't invited, but whatever the case may be, I have a few questions that I would ask.

10. Will you continue to allow Congress to give themselves raises?
Raises are usually based on job performance and tenure.  For some reason, Congress just agrees to give themselves raise after raise while people who pay their salaries continue to struggle.  Doesn't seem fair to me.

9.  How do you feel when a president is blamed for gas prices?
I don't think the President of the United States has any power over how much or little to charge for gas.  So let's stop blaming people for greedy oil tycoons' rate increases.

8.  Is obesity really any of the government's business?
With NYC putting a ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces, it really calls into question how much a government should be involved in health and wellness.  I do think that health and wellness are highly important.  However, if the people choose to partake in unhealthy activity, that's on them, not the government.

7.  Will there ever be slavery reparations?
I watched the clip on Dave Chappelle on what would happen if slavery reparations actually came about.  Would FUBU and KFC really merge into one super-business?  Would Bill Gates be overtaken as the richest man in the world by a man from Harlem named Tron?  I kind of want to know.

6.  Will you fix the BCS?
Obama even said that the NCAA should change their football policies because of how inconsistent the BCS can be.  It'd be pretty interesting to see their stance.

5.  Will you start a policy that no one can ask for government files and paperwork of presidential candidates?
With all the ridiculousness of the Birthers and the Romney Tax Records stuff, I'm annoyed.  If Obama wasn't born in America, he wouldn't have even been chosen to run.  And quite frankly, who cares about Romney and his tax record?  It's his taxes, who cares?  It's not anyone's business how people's taxes went.  I don't tell anyone my tax records.

4.  What's wrong with offshore drilling?
Seems like using American oil is such a terrible thing to some people.  So instead, we bother other countries and take their oil.  Not a good look.

3.  Can Christians be able to express their opinions the same way everyone else can?
Seems valid.  Seems like every religion but Christianity gets to feel the way they want about anything.  However, as soon as a Christian says how they feel about something, they're offensive and divisive.

2.  Can you stop taking credit for what our military does?
Seems like every time an enemy of America meets their demise, it's the president who did it.  And yes I'm going back to Hussein in Iraq.  Point being, when people say that the president did something that our brave men and women did, the president should immediately have a conference to tell people that the military did it.

1.  Why can't the other candidates be here?
Seriously, there are more than two candidates running for president.  They deserve every chance to stake their claim to the presidency.  It's not fair that we can only hear from two parties.  There are some good ideas out there, and they don't all have to be tied to a donkey or an elephant.  Just saying.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Eureeka!

We have a problem in America.  Drugs are a huge issue.  Drugs have caused stupidity, robbery, assaults, and even murders.  There is just so much that happens because of the drug crisis in America.  Well, America, I can honestly say that I have finally found an alternative to crack.  I have finally figured out something that people would do considerable damage for that won't kill them.  I should get a medal for this.

Wednesday, the class I work in at school went to Homestead Creamery in Wirtz, VA.  This is a local dairy farm and creamery that sells butter, ice creams, and milks.  The food is tremendous.  They actually sell an orange cream milk that tastes just like a Dreamsicle.  They usually give touring groups free samples milks and ice creams for the people to taste.  My favorite flavor ice cream is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  I usually go with it with little to no hesitation.  However, for some odd reason, I decided to attempt to taste a new flavor I'd never thought would make a good ice cream flavor.  Now, I'm pretty much jonesing for it everyday.  I honestly think I'll buy about 10 cartons of it when it hits the Kroger stores.

Pumpkin flavored ice cream is amazing.  If you ever get a chance to have Homestead Creamery Pumpkin Ice Cream, get it.  Enjoy it.  After that, you can thank me for introducing you to this glorious ice cream.  I truly believe that this can replace crack as the most addictive thing ever.  If you're really wanting to stop smoking cigarettes, drinking liquor, or watching terrible reality shows, replace them with Pumpkin Ice Cream.  I'm that high on it.  And the best thing, you don't get high off of it.

There you go, Nancy Reagan, if you introduced this during your Just Say No campaign, I pretty much guarantee that the drug war would have been nothing but a water balloon fight. I do expect a large paycheck and royalties from this breakthrough.  I would say that Homestead Creamery deserves something, but the sales they'll make from their Pumpkin Ice Cream is more than enough.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Turn Back Tuesday

I'm turning the clock back to last night because, quite frankly, I'm still stewing.  Feel free to enjoy this.

I'm sure most of you have seen, read about, or heard about the incident that happened during the end of Monday Night Football.  I want to preface this by saying that this has nothing to do with my love for my Packers.  I do want to say that this epidemic is going on across the league.  There are so many terrible things that are going on in this, and last night's game was really the icing on the cake.

Here's video of the play...


Now I don't know about you, but when one person catches a ball and another person just kind of throws his hand on the ball, the person who caught the ball has possession, not the person who threw their hand in there.

This is just the terrible refereeing that has plagued the league this year because of the referee lock out.  The refs are locked out because they want a pension plan as opposed to a 401(k).  That's pretty much the brass tacks of it all.  So instead of the actual referees who have trained for years for this, we get a group of incompetent men who are trying their best, but are in way over their heads.  I've seen so many former players, current players, and other athletes weigh in that they are baffled by the calls that are made.

This could cause a big problem in the grand scheme of things.  These replacement referees could be easily used to fulfill bets in Vegas.  They could be compromising the integrity of the game for their own selfish interests.  It's actually happened.  One of the replacement refs is an unashamed Saints fan, which is fine.  Except when that referee will be officiating a Saints game.  Yeah, that almost happened.  One of the replacement refs told a player to do well because that player was on his fantasy team.  That can't be happening in this league.  There is absolutely no way that this can be acceptable.

I know that the commissioner of the league, the actual referees, and the NFL owners have seen all this happening.  Of course the league will write it off and keep the decision final, it protects their interests.  The NFL doesn't want to own up to defeat.  However, the pride of the NFL leadership is taking away from the fun of the game.

And about the integrity of the game, remember the Bounty Program in New Orleans?  The game itself is suffering to almost biblical proportions due to the pride of the ownership.  It's really terrible that this is happening.

I hope the commissioner can see this blog and understand how sick this situation makes fans.  I already left one of the 70,000 voice mails on his phone...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Monday Top Ten

Sorry, I didn't do an open letter this past Saturday.  I was just so worn out from all the things I do over the course of a week that I just couldn't bring my creative juices up.  Today, I have a great amount of things on my mind.  Today's top ten is a list of the top ten things that are socially unacceptable that I really want to do.

10.  Ask How Much a Five Dollar Footlong Costs
Something about asking questions that answer themselves just makes me giggle.  The joke used to be asking how many layers were in a 7-layer burrito, however the burrito has been discontinued.  So, it's the sandwich that shall now be mocked.

9.  Celebrate Columbus Day with an Invasion
Truth be told, Columbus basically rolled up on an island and took over.  I want to do that.  It think this Columbus Day, I'm going to roll up into someone's house, sit on their couch and tell them I live there.

8.  Ask a Random Girl to Marry Me...in Front of Her Man
I don't know why I want to do this, but it seems fun.  Seems kind of funny too.

7.  Answer Everything with, "Because I'm Black?"
I've never done this for a whole day.  I've gone a couple minutes at the most, but not a whole day.  I will do this, and maybe record it.

6.  Streak
I'll probably never do this...I've done it on a hallway at college, but never outside in the open.  Just seems like a fun thing to do.

5.  Use a Women's Restroom
Women always use the men's room.  When they do that, it's resourceful.  When men use a women's restroom, they're perverts.  Oh, just a heads up women...when you use our toilet, don't complain about the seat being up.  That's our toilet.

4.  Drive-By with a Water Gun
This happened to my friend in college.  I want to do that now.  Just roll up on unsuspecting people and shoot them with a super soaker or something.  Maybe even water balloons.

3.  Kiss an Irish Person
You ever see one of those t-shirts that say "Kiss Me I'm Irish"?  Well, next time I see someone wearing it, I'm taking them up on their offer.  I just want to know what they'd do if I actually did that.

2.  Put a Ring on It
Beyonce says that if you liked it, you'd put a ring on it.  Next time I see something I like, I'll find a ring and put it on it.  What it is, I'm not sure.

1. Bring 13 Items to the Express Lane
The sign clearly says 12 items or less.  Just doing one more is more annoying than anything else.  I probably would never do that because I've been the victim of it.  Most people wouldn't notice, but I do.  Because I hate it happening to me.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Music Friday



I haven't done a Music Friday in a while.  I don't really know why I picked this song other than sometimes, it's good to have that cool chick for a friend.  The problem is that some women take a simple invite as a friend and turn it into a marriage proposal.  Sometimes, a guy just appreciates a female's company as just that, company.  I wish more people can see platonic relationships as just platonic.

It seems like this society is so romantic relationship oriented that sometimes a simple call or text can be read into 100 different ways to Sunday.  It's just silly for us to only consider that every single conversation with the opposite sex is for a certain purpose.  In fact, I guess I can understand how people can think that.  With all these reality shows and such telling people that you haven't done anything until you do something with someone, women always are on guard.  There aren't enough people with enough respect for themselves or others to go about these kinds of things with a bit of dignity anymore.  Yeah I know that's harsh, but it's the way it is.  Bring back friendship and effort.  Bring back trying to show a little respect before becoming something exclusive.

And if a dude just invites you to dinner or something nice, don't be all guarded and pretend he's all into you.  Sometimes, he just thinks you're cool.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Epidemic

There is a problem going on in America.  Something that has plagued society for years, but seems to be a bigger deal this time around.

Yesterday, I received a text from my roommate to pick up a chicken sandwich and a burger for him.  I didn't mind doing it for him.  When I get to the drive-thru, I order a McDouble and a McChicken.  What I heard next was mind-boggling.

"I'm sorry, we don't have the meat for the McDouble."

I'm sorry, you are a burger joint.  Since when do you run out of burger?  That's ridiculous.  There's really no excuse for running out of your main product.  That's on management.  I don't get how that can happen.  The nice cashier said that it was because it was a busy day and the sold out.  Well, that whole recession thing isn't true if people have enough money to spend on McDonald's to the point they run out of product.

It's not like this hasn't happened before...



...or not.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Hectic Hump Day

I haven't really done this in a while.  I have a lot on my mind.  Here I go.

1.  The joy I see in my fella's face when I react to a bad card in UNO makes my exhaustion worth it.  The flying household items when he loses, not so much.

2.  Sometimes, I have to sit back and process all the craziness in my life.

3.  I honestly love my co-workers.  I truly think they are the reason I keep on going.  That and God's provisions and willingness to supply me with energy when I need it the most.

4.  I don't understand how college conferences can use the geographical names they go by with the teams that are in it.

5.  They say Dr. Pepper Ten is not for women.  It's not for men with well working taste buds either.

6.  McDonald's ran out of beef for their burgers.  They say it's been busy.  I say the people aren't nearly as suffering as the Democrats or Republicans want them to think they are because of the other.

7.  Mitt Romney's comments about how 47% of the people will vote for Obama no matter what is a bit short sighted.  Just makes people think that he's disenfranchised and clueless about the people he's claiming to want to serve as President.  He really has to work on that.

8.  Barack Obama needs to stop underestimating his supporters with promises that he can't keep.  Although I do admit that Republican filibustering has been a huge part of the reason his promises were broken, you can't deny that he hasn't quite lived up to the expectations.  It seems like he's just saying things and hoping that the people that love him will just blindly follow him.  It's not fair to the supporters to have to support Obama just because he's one of them.

9.  I really want to see what it would take to run for President in 2016.  I wonder if I could run simply using my Facebook profile, blog, and a YouTube channel.  Maybe buy billboard space in some major cities and really get my name out there.  Of course, I'd run as an independent because I hate Republicans and Democrats alike.

10.  Sometimes, my heart hurts for hurting people.  I want so bad to be there for them, but my busy schedule and distance kind of puts a whammy on that idea.  Just know that I'm here for you.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Turn Back Tuesday

Today's flashback goes back to me describing my celebrity crush.  Enjoy.

Tyrone and Beadle, sitting in a tree

So, what have I learned from that blog till now?  Well for one, none of my friends know Michelle Beadle.  Second, it'll probably be a while before I find that Michelle Beadle type lady.

Truth be told, I'm okay with that.  I know that eventually, there will be that perfect girl for me.  The one that I look at and say, "oh snap, where have you been all my life?"  I've met some women who started out pretty great and ended up being a tad nutty or just plain ungrateful.  Life sometimes throws the wrong person at you.  That's when you stop taking pitches from life and letting God throw the pitch.

Yeah I know, I should just let God throw the girls at me from the start.  However, I'm a human.  Sometimes I let the eyes tell me something that God doesn't want me to hear.  That was a pretty clever line, I should run with it.

Anyway, one day I'll find that special someone.  For now though, I am having fun with the special ones.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Monday Top Ten

I wasn't sure what to make a top ten list of.  In fact, I wasn't sure exactly what to talk about.  I guess I'll just go in a sports themed direction.  Sorry, mom.  I know you hate sports.

Today's top ten is basically, the top ten moments from this past weekend of football.

10.  Penn State's First Win Under Bill O'Brien
This win was needed for the program.  The Nittany Lions needed to seriously get out of the shadow of Joe Paterno.  The whole Sandusky thing left a black mark for years.  That win helps everyone realize that football goes beyond Paterno.

9.  Empty Miami Stadium
Sun Life?  More like Done Life...
The University of Miami was a national super power.  They were known for having swagger and panache that pro teams were jealous of.  Last Saturday, they fell to dark times.  Not sure what to say about this except that Miami isn't what they used to be.  It's a shame too, because Miami used to be why people watched football, either to see them win or to see them lose.






8.  Replacement Referees
These guys are terrible.  I'm sure Commissioner Goodell is looking at these games thinking how terrible these refs are.  When they called a clear pass downfield a fumble, that was it for me.  Dan Dierdorf tried to justify the call by saying that it could have looked like fumble in real time.  Greg Gumbel quickly 86'd that idea.  It's just sad.  Goodell needs to just give the real referees whatever they are asking for and more.  Football can't go through this.

7.  Liberty vs Montana
My Flames lost, it was sad.  However, the Flames played a true traditional FCS power.  Montana has been on top for years.  It was huge for my Alma mater to be able to play someone with that much prestige.  Sometimes, it's more about the journey than the victory.

6.  Stanford beats University of Southern California
Southern California was supposed to be the national champion.  They were supposed to dominate their conference.  When Stanford beat them, especially without Andrew Luck, it showed that anything can happen.

5.  Arkansas' Downfall
Last week, they lost to University of Louisiana-Monroe.  This week, they got stomped by Alabama.  Everyone said Arkansas would be the monkey wrench in LSU and Alabama's plans for being champions.  Not really sure what this does.  All I know is that Arkansas failed the minute Bobby Petrino decided to cheat on his wife with an intern.  Shame, really.

4.  My Gamecocks
They haven't lost, yet.  I'm very happy about this.  We have a very very tough test against Missouri this Saturday.  And, it's on CBS.  The Gamecocks are terrible on CBS.  However, I'm enjoying the ride so far.

3.  Packers Win
Last week, everyone but the Packers won in the NFC North. This week, everyone but the Packers lost in the NFC North.  Doesn't matter, cream rises to the top.  I'm very happy that my Packers have brought it back.  Let's keep it going.

2.  My Fantasy Team
My team has scored 177 points this week.  I'm pretty proud of that.  The best part is that I could have scored 186 points if I started Brent Celek instead of Vernon Davis.

1.  Arizona beats New England
I'm not particularly happy about that.  However, it just goes to show that you can't just assume your team is above everyone else.  You have to go out there and show your power every week.  Any given Sunday, anyone can be beat.  If you're not on your P's and Q's, you're going down.  I'm just kind of shocked it happened to a normally disciplined team like the Patriots...okay, I giggled a little when I saw the final score.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Open Letter Saturday

I'm sure most of the people who will read this will agree with me.

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

I don't know what happened, but you seem to be smelling your own funk.  How in the world could you possibly think that banning large sugary drinks would some how save the people from obesity?  Look, I totally agree that our nation is the unhealthiest, by far.  I agree that we do way too much eating and sitting and not nearly enough moving and shaking.  Our foods are processed, injected, and manufactured.  There is just a lot of scary things that are happening to our foods.  

I just have to wonder why you think stopping the size of sweet drinks will do anything.  How about making regulations that restaurants and stores can't use preservatives at all in their foods?  Where are the food police when some cafeterias, if not all, are using ammonia in their meats?  I'll tell you where they are, collecting the money from whoever is lining their pockets.  

It's ridiculous that people feel like they need to tell people how to eat.  In the end, it is the choice of the people on what to do with their bodies.  If they want to eat all gross and never stop drinking sodas, that's on them.  I know that last statement on bodies and such will be used for other arguments, but I'll say that belly fat and babies are completely separate from each other.  However, that's for another time and place.

I just don't like hearing that sodas have to be regulated.  Especially when there are liquor stores selling 40 ounces and grocery stores selling that Four Loco mess, it makes me wonder what you have against sugar.  

I understand banning smoking in restaurants because that second hand smoke can hurt you.  I understand noise ordinances.  However when you start telling the people that sugary drinks aren't going to be tolerated when there are 100 things worse, you start to make me question your integrity.  Jesse Ventura said it best, "if you want to know why anyone does anything in life, follow the money."  Basically, let's see what financial gain banning certain sized sugary drinks will bring to NYC and to Mayor Bloomberg.

But for now, I bid you a good evening as I enjoy my 30+ ounce Coke from McDonald's.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thinking...

Sometimes, my mind kind of wanders.  By sometimes, I mean all the stinking time.  Today it wandered a lot. I had a lot on my mind.  There are some crazy things happening in my life.  Hearing some strange news doesn't help much.  I often wonder why things happen.  I mean I should be aware that sometimes God puts things into your life that makes you think about where you are.  Particularly, makes you think about where you are in your life and in the eyes of the Lord above.

I know where I want to be in my life.  I know what I want my career to be.  I know where I am called.  The problem is, a lot of outside forces aren't cooperating.  Makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing when that happens.  It makes me question my calling.  Sometimes it feels like the mean neighborhood kid has my favorite hat and keeps running around the giant tree while I'm chasing him.  Kind of unfair.

However then I think about where I am in God's eyes.  Am I doing it right?  Am I following the right call?  It makes me question if God has been kind of pulling my leg about my calling.  I know He's not, but sometimes I have to wonder if I'm in the right place.

Now to share how I know I'm in the right place.  The fact that God has blessed me in everything I do.  The fact that even though things aren't perfectly in order.  The fact that everything is kind of fuzzy, but I still am standing strong.  Truth be told, I couldn't possibly be happier than where I am right now.  I love the people around me.  I love the work I do.  I love the things I'm doing outside of career.  It seems like everything is kind of coming together a little better.  I truly believe it is only a matter of time before I am where I, and most importantly God wants me to be.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm there now.  The end game is a little up in the air, but I think I'll get to that goal soon enough.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy every step of this journey.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Turn Back Tuesday

Usually, I post a blog that I had already done in the past and reflect upon what I was thinking when I typed it.  I also add new thoughts to the opinion. And in some instances, my opinions change, or at the very least are tweaked.  Obviously, today is a very interesting and somber day.  So instead of bringing back an old classic, I'm going to just talk about my feelings about this day.

A lot of you may not know this, but I was born in Brooklyn, NY.  I do claim South Carolina as my home, mostly because most of the significant events of my life happened there.  However, there is always that New Yorker in me that comes out when needed.  The day that the attacks on our country happened, the New Yorker in me really shined.  I was angry.  I was upset.  One of the coolest landmarks I'd ever been to was destroyed.  I still remember the field trip we went on in the third grade to see the Twin Towers.  When those towers fell, it ticked me off royally.  I wanted to fight anyone who said that Allah was a god of peace.  I wanted to give anyone who cried the words Jihad a black eye.  This is real talk, people.  

However, I quickly and readily realized that God can bring anything bad and turn it to good.  There is always that silver lining that we talk about constantly.  What happened after that attack pretty much showed everyone that we as Americans can come together for a common cause.  That common cause is...well, I'm not sure.  It's been so long since we were united in something that I kind of lost track of what it was we're trying to do in the first place.  When you put up a poster or a bumper sticker that says "Never Forget" and then flip off the driver who cut you off, you're being a hypocrite.  When you boycott a pizza parlor simply because the owner picked up the president in a show of love and appreciation, you're kind of telling everyone that God Bless America is just a cute little phrase or a nice song to sing at a Yankees game.  It's really a whole lot of bull you're spewing, truth be told.  

Yeah I know, I'm being critical, but I have a right to be.  You go about, telling everyone how 9/11 was the worst tragedy you ever experienced and that it made you realize that you need to change, yet you constantly disrespect and spit on other people's pursuits of happiness because it's not what your happiness would entail.  It's really a crappy way to go about life.  You keep telling everyone how you were affected heavily by it, but you would just as soon tell a CEO of a corporation that answering a question honestly that you're boycotting his establishment in the name of rights and freedoms.  What kind of sense does that make when you want rights, yet as soon as someone questions that right, you fly off the handle and scream intolerance.  

Look, I like you America.  You're a great country, greatest in the world if you ask me.  If you disagree, you should consider going to the country you do think is better and try that one.  Not trying to kick you out, but you shouldn't waste your time in a place that doesn't make you happy (see "dating relationships" for similar opinions).  However, America you have lost your way.  You have forgotten why we bonded together on 9/11/01.  You have constantly pissed on the memory of those who died in those plane crashes, fought to defeat those who performed the heinous acts, and the families of those victims with your constant arguing over who or what is better.  

God can't bless America if Americans can't bless each other.  It's not a fair trade.  It's actually kind of wrong to ask for blessings and well wishes if all you're going to do is ignore the unity.  This election is a perfect example of how not to do things.  So much, "I'm better than this guy" or "this guy can't do it like me."  What happened to, "I'm going to bring some ideas to the table, let's ignore the greedy people and do what's right." That's not keeping 9/11 on the brain when you only succumb to the rich people.  I'm sure the criminals who did the attacks on 9/11 didn't care about how rich someone on the plane was.  Their goal was to ruin us, and truth be told, I think they accomplished their goal.  When we are constantly battling and arguing and forgetting to remember that day, we are nothing but ruined.

So go on and post your banners, flags, pictures, and cute, whimsical Photoshopped and Instagram'd Facebook posts.  I'll just treat people like God wants me to treat them, and we'll see who remembered what.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Why I Haven't Blogged In a While

I didn't blog on Friday or Saturday.  I'm sorry about that.  However it had been a tough week for me.  However, I must say that I couldn't have begun to get through it without God.  God has been nothing short of amazing to me.

I always wonder why people don't trust God more.  It seems like everyone just tries to get through on their own for as long as possible before finally succumbing that they need some help from God.  I also don't get how people can live without believing in God.  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.  In fact, considering how some of God's people act at times, it's actually kind of expected now.

Some of God's people can do some down right awful things in the name of God.  It hurts really.  However, that wasn't my goal of this blog so I'll start a new paragraph talking about why I love my Lord.

It's simple.  I love Him because He loves me.  Notice I didn't say "loved."  Loves is in the present tense.  So basically, I'm saying that it's continuous.  It will never end.  God allows me to be alive when I don't deserve it.  God allows me to prosper when in fact I deserve to suffer.  I know it's crazy to hear.  It sounds like I'm full of low esteem, but truth be told, I'm blessed.

One day, I'm sure everyone I know will truly get how blessed I am.  One day, everyone will see that God is real.  I know it bugs you Atheists out there, but you'll learn.

God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Real Talk

This past weekend, I had a pretty funny experience.  If you're an animal activist, feel free to scroll down to the end of this.  A bat came into my home.  I won't go into major detail, but one of us wasn't coming out alive, and I'm still blogging.  A broom, bug spray, fallen blinds, a golf club, and a plastic bag were among the many items used in the battle with the bat.  

Now I know what you're thinking, how could you do this to a little bat?  Well it's simple.  It's my house.  If you're in my house unwelcome, I have the right to remove you in any condition I see fit.  I hate to break it to you, but this is my property.  

Now I have to go on a bit of a tangent.  I hear a lot about shark attacks in America.  In fact, there is a movie about a shark attack and how a girl survived to become a superstar surfer.  Good for her.  However, I'm going to offend some people with this.  It wasn't a shark attack.  In fact, there are no such things as shark attacks.  Shark attacks do not happen.  You see, what you call shark attacks, sharks call defending their property.  Do you live in water?  No, you don't.  When you go swimming in the ocean and a shark bites your foot off, it's because you were in their house.  When I hear the news talking about shark attacks, the first thing I say is, "sharks are walking on land now?"  If a shark gets out of the water and mauls you, by all means call it a shark attack.  However, when you're in the water, you are trespassing.

If I see any type of creature come into my house that doesn't belong or live there, they are in deep doo doo. I have no care for trespassers.  

Just a question for the vegetarians/vegans/animal activists.  If you love animals so much, why do you eat all their food?

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Hectic Hump Day

So I've had some thoughts this week.  Feel free to partake.

1.  Football season has started, and I couldn't be happier.

2.  I gave my Sunday School class an incentive to study their Bibles.  I told them to work on a sheet and if they bring it back, I'd put them in a drawing for a prize.  And just to show how important this is, I'm doing the sheet, too.  I won't however, be in the drawing.

3.  So I learned about blood born pathogens today at school.  They're gross, wear gloves everywhere you go.

4.  I'm tempted to change from the football game to watching Fox on Demand to see Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef...

5.  Anyone know where I can get a more powerful cell phone battery?  My poor battery has the life span of a County Fair Goldfish.

6.  I refuse to watch either of the National Conventions until there are conventions for every party and every candidate on television.

7.  Speaking of, it seems like people are just kind of blindly jumping with their party with no real reason outside of how much they hate the other guy.  It's really annoying.  Neither candidate is worth my vote.  I'm voting for someone I like.  Me.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Turn Back Tuesday

Today's flashback takes us back to a Friday the 13th where I just went all grumpy.

My Frustrations with Friday the 13th

Look, superstition is a silly concept. We make our own luck.  Like I said in the blog, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.  You don't get things due to luck or happenstance.  You get things through hard work and faith in the Lord.

I watch a lot of people just kind of wish and rub magic 8 balls in the hopes they get what they want.  It doesn't work, folks.  God gives you things based on how you earn it.  You work your tail off and show effort, God will bless you.  You don't need to catch a lucky break.  You just make your opportunities with hard work.

I don't have much to say.  All I know is that Friday the 13th means nothing of significance.  The movies weren't even that great...

Monday, September 3, 2012

Monday Top Ten

I hope all of you have had a great Labor Day.  I did, mostly because I spent it watching Macho Man Randy Savage on WWE Classics on Demand for a majority of the day.  I figured this week's top ten will be my list of my favorite things about football season.

10.  Food
I tend to step my food game up around football season.  Not sure why, but it tends to bring out the best in my cooking, and in some cases my eating.  My food of choice, chicken wings.

9.  Liberty Football
When I was in college at Liberty, our football team was terrible.  I don't think our football team won 10 games combined in the three years I went there.  Now, I tend to check out many Liberty games on ESPN3.com.  It's fun to see my old college consistently win 9 or 10 games a year.  I still believe Liberty is the best football team in Virginia.

8.  Messing With Hokie Fans
I don't know why, and I don't know how it started, but I love giving Virginia Tech fans a hard time, particularly on Facebook.  When I moved from Charleston, SC to Roanoke, VA, I was exposed to what I feel is an unhealthy fandom of said team.  Mostly because the fans have a terribly bad habit of expecting more out of their team than they actually have.  I think they were spoiled by that one year they went to the National Championship game with Michael Vick.  I do think the Hokies are a very good football team.  However, God's gift to football is not one of the titles I'd give them.

7.  High School Football
Pretty fun to hear about these kids doing awesome things.  I haven't seen a high school game in a while, but I do want to go to some games this season.  I do have an issue with some of the expectations and pressure we put on these kids.  They're just kids.  Let them play and have fun.  Stop living your life vicariously through a sophomore with pimples.

6.  Alone Time
When I'm watching football, most of the time, people leave me alone.  I love it.  My mom knows that there are times where I want to just watch my game and be left to my own devices.  Most of my people know that I can watch a football game alone and enjoy it a lot more than with friends.

5.  Recall Button
Some people call it the jump button, others call it the previous channel button.  Point being, it jumps from one channel to the next, which means I don't have to waste time on commercials.  Also means I don't have to listen to terrible announcers.  I'm looking at you Joe Buck and Jim Nantz...

4.  Lee Corso
If you're not sure who he is, he's the old guy who puts mascot heads on to choose which team he believes will win a game.  He's also one of the most knowledgeable people about football on the planet.  Seems like the older a commentator is, the more I respect them.

3.  South Carolina Gamecocks Football
I remember the day I learned about Gamecock football.  I had just moved from NYC to Charleston.  I was about 9 years old.  I was going to the bathroom when another kid asked me who I thought would win between Clemson and Carolina.  I asked who they were and what were they playing.  They said football.  I said Carolina.  I decided I'd follow the team I said would win.  Been following them ever since.  So proud of their recent success.

2.  Green Bay Packers
You'd think they'd be number one.  Sorry, there is one thing just a tad better to me.  Anyway, been a Packers fan since the days of Brett Favre.  Now with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, they're just as impressive. I know we can't win every game, but I do know that we can be competitive all the time.  

1.  My Cheesehead
Yeah, I keep my cheesehead right next to me during football games.  I love my cheesehead.  It's the coolest thing in the world.  It sits next to me during any Packers game.  I'll wear it in public.  I wore it to school the day after the Packers won the Super Bowl.  I ran around my neighborhood with it on that very night.  I think I may wear my cheesehead during my wedding.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Open Letter Saturday

Another open letter from my brain to your computer screen.

Dear Anyone Willing to Do This:

We have a problem.  Here in America, we have a terrible thing called the Two-Party System.  It's a part of politics that causes a lot of terrible people to be considered the best candidate for jobs they don't deserve.  You see, in America, you have to claim a particular party in order to be considered worthy of an office.  When you run for something, the first thing they ask is if you're a Democrat or Republican.

Truth be told, neither party has really done anything to tickle my fancy.  Republicans talk all about conservative-ism and moral compasses.  However all I ever see are affairs and scandals.  All I ever read about is tax cuts for the people who need them least.  Doesn't the Book of Hebrews say that caring for the widows and orphans are the best way to show your religion?  And the Democrats seem to go the other direction and forget that you have to at least make an effort to get back on track before giving people assistance.  Yes, it's good to help those in need, but there has to be a bit of accountability.

The point is, neither of the two parties have any type of win-win situation.  Notice I didn't say compromise.  Compromise isn't what is needed, both sides need to win.  The best way to do that is with someone with God's best interest in mind.  God asks for help for those who need it, but also wants everyone to work their tails off to be successful.  God wants morality, but He won't force it on you.  God never forced anything on anyone.  That would make us robots.

Anyway, I'm not sure if anyone will ever really be the perfect candidate.  So I'm just asking anyone that I know will be a good politician to work their magic and do something.  Tell anyone who will listen that it's time to rock the boat and stop giving our vote to a candidate we know isn't perfect.  You don't have to vote for the least of two evils, vote for the best candidate of all.

Sincerely,
Person sick of the same ole, same ole.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Music Friday



I will just let the song speak for itself.  It's time for some football to come back to us.  I've been pumped for a while. My South Carolina Gamecocks are already through with their opening issues.  They won against Vanderbilt last night in a tough game.  Vanderbilt isn't the same lousy team full of nerds anymore.  They're the truth.

This also gets me pumped for the NFL season.  My Packers are looking pretty nice for preseason.  However, it's preseason.  So it's pretty boring.  It's a battle to see who will be a starter vs a scrub.  The worst is the ever long battle for the right to be on the punt return team.  So intriguing.

Point being, I will be enjoying football for a long long time.

Feel free to bear with me.  Or join me somewhere for chicken wings.