Damn Nature, You Scary

Stop traffic guys, the 1975 movie and 1974 novel Jaws has come to life! About ten days ago on an Egyptian resort nestled by the Red Sea, four unfortunate eastern European souls fell victim to shark attacks. Not to worry, local governor Shosha ordered the beach closed for a 48 hour period in which time two sharks were whacked by the authorities. "Hey guys, we got 'em... destroyed this shark duo and now the seas are safe." Well played all-star! Within 24 hours of saying the waters were all clear, an unsuspecting woman was attacked and killed in water no deeper than four to five feet.

Five unlucky travelers experienced the wrath of the shark over a six day time span. The crazy part is that in the last DECADE, only six attacks were reported at this resort. But wait, it gets better. Officials surrounding this incident claim with certainty that two of these attacks were caused by the same shark! Although not as glamorous and cinematized as Jaws, this is one very intriguing story. We may just have a serial killer shark.

There are a number of theories floating about which try to give reason to these "bizarre" attacks. One of these theories is a low supply of fish in the Red Sea which forces these aquatic beasts to seek alternative sustenance. Another suggest that a ship dumped sheep carcasses in the Red Sea. The reason for a ship carrying these dead balls of cotton has something to do with the Muslim celebrated Feast of the Sacrifice but that isn't why I'm here. The shark featured in the article, an oceanic white tip, hunts in a pack to find an optimal food source.

Let's just get right down to it; sharks are predators that hunt other sea creatures and eat them. It's a pretty simple concept. I don't buy this whole theory that "they're just as scared of us as we are of them." You expect me to believe that these sea lion shredding monsters of the deep are scared of us? An adult male sea lion can grow up to 9 feet in length and weigh over 770 pounds and they're scared of a human that might stand about 6 feet tall and tip the scales at a whopping 175 pounds? There are a few holes in that logic.

That being said, humans walked into their kitchen. With noses to the sky and chests puffed out, the human race kicked their figurative back door down and stepped into that monster's watery abyss. I honestly can't imagine why they would sink teeth into one of us... Let's say a shark somehow flies through your door with its offspring acting like fools and messing with your entire feng shui. If this scenario impossibly presents itself, are you going to stand idly by and watch as these douche bags use your house as a playground? I think not. You would grab the nearest firearm or blunt object and have a heyday sending those beady eyed fin-strapped jackasses back to where they came from.

In my opinion, the entire shark species has been incredibly lenient on us humans. In 2007 there were about 70 "unprovoked" attacks on humans by sharks. In comparison to the outrageous amount of people who visit beaches and partake in its watery services each year, that's a pretty generous statistic. If that many sharks invaded land each year, we humans would slaughter thousands without hesitation. Caps busted and harpoons shot, we'd take 'em down. Yet we are surprised and even baffled when these deep sea assassins decide to bite limbs off our arrogant asses every so often. Don't hate, they're just keeping us in check and letting us know that when we step into the big mass of liquid mystery that is the ocean, we're setting foot into their world. Sleep on it. Until next time. God bless.

For Those About to Shop, We Salute You

Well guys and gals, it’s that time of year again. Time to give thanks for everything we have and everyone special that helps carry us through this journey known as life. And what better way to do so than stuffing our faces with turkey, mounds of mashed potatoes, piles of corn, dumplings and one slice of each kind of pie sitting atop the checkered apron covered table. After the binge fest is done, we gravitate toward the couch, chair or open floor space to watch the Detroit Lions or Dallas Cowboys heave a football up and down a field while drifting off into the best nap of the year.

Once the sleeping pill effects of the meal wear off, we sluggishly shuffle to bed so we can get up in four hours to join the mosh pit about to turn stampede outside Wal-Mart. Some are lucky enough that they sleep all the way to 3 a.m. and just get up like normal and venture out in search of that sixty inch LCD HDTV. I bet some whacky owner of a retail store planned this out perfectly. They shared the common Thanksgiving experience, fell asleep, came to at four in the morning and decided it would be a fantastic time to shop! They kept all this excitement bottled up for a year and when mid-November rolled around they announced that they would be slashing prices for one day! And that day was the Friday after Thanksgiving! Perfect for Christmas shopping! The catch... it starts at 4 a.m.

When this little bomb dropped it spread like wildfire and caught the attention of every company owner from the docks of the Northeast to the beaches of Hawaii. Now we have what is called Black Friday. It’s a disaster of a “holiday” where adults that are hopped up on too much caffeine make the uneducated choice of bringing their five-year-old to the outlet mall. So it’s Tammy shouting at the top of her lungs for little Jeffrey to get back in the cart while daddy browses electronics with a blank look on his face. If you’re familiar with my blogs, I wrote something about it last year. It was mainly a dumb little how-to guide on surviving the crazy shoppers. So why write about it again? Such a fascinating topic can’t be ignored… I think.

I’ve had time to sit back and let thoughts bounce around in my head so I can get a better view of the brave Black Friday warriors. I’ve come up with a new theory during the past few weeks. These early bird shoppers are not much different than hunters. You know; the camouflage clad, gun toting, animal shootin’ gangsters of the woods. Chances are that you either hunt or know people that do so. These folks get up when the bar crowd is stumbling in just to tip-toe their way to some debacle of a tree fort in the forest so they MIGHT shoot some defenseless animal (Defenseless as in they literally are without weapon). When the potential animal is dead they drag it back to their F-250, load it up, strap it down, call it a day’s work and head back (enjoy some stereotypes).

Black Friday warriors (their new nickname courtesy of me) a.k.a. fanny pack wearin’, double shot latté chuggin’, cart pushin’ crazy people get up at the same time as those hunter dudes. No helpless little animal in their sights though, just a GPS, TV, some wicked new phone or the latest in fashion. They gather in a group outside the doors of retail stores around the country and wait like Usain Bolt on the starting block listening for a “POP!” so they can rush the doors. With the ferocity of a wild animal protecting their young and the focus of an assassin they rush the target. Throwing out an occasional white sneaker to impede another’s progress is commonplace during this hunt. No retreat, no surrender!! Getting to said target might seem like mission impossible but it’s merely half the battle. Now they have to apply some stiff arms, spin moves and possibly lower a shoulder to find the checkout line which is backed up to the freezer section.

Even making it to the end of this line is no treat because a very gruff and disinterested cashier who had to make their eggs a little too early waits for them. After making it through the labyrinth of a store, the BFWs (Black Friday Warriors) have to run their new toys out to the car, pack it up and avoid playing bumper cars in the parking lot. The work still isn’t done though. They have to unload the merchandise and for those who didn’t bring the kid, hide it while keeping junior in the dark about the shenanigans going on. This is one tough task as the little ones like to poke around. And now, now it’s time to relax. Oh wait! The dishes from the day before are still scattered on the counter and piled up in the sink. The BFW’s work never ends.

I hope you enjoyed the little blog and truly have a happy Thanksgiving (and Black Friday). Cherish the time you have with your family, friends, and take a second to breathe in order to tolerate that one relative who just stirs the pot. Besides, they’re entertainment so have fun. Most of all, be safe and love the ones you’re with. Until next time. God Bless.

In the Defense of Geeks

Every day people around the world wake up, roll out of bed and into their house slippers, put on something extra to escape the cold of morning, eat some Cheerios; fight the urge to call in sick and apathetically get in their vehicles. With a belly full of boxed goodness and a black coffee thermos they move through stop-and-go traffic grumbling about the light that is NEVER green for them. After pulling into the parking lot and finally discovering that elusive space, they shut the car down and trudge to their place of employment. For some, the journey to work every morning isn’t so exhausting but it seems the majority doesn’t share their enthusiasm.

Throughout the day people dodge supervisors like they’re turtle shells in a game of Mario except, in this case, there isn’t a magic star that plays a catchy jingle which carries them to clock out time. Once that is about to come around, everyone is a fifth grader with a toe kissing their chair leg on a Friday at 3:59. BOOM! Parking lots turn into carnival bumper cars and traffic backs up like water in a folded garden hose.

People who once dreamt of becoming astronauts, cops, rock stars, pro athletes and knights, have settled on a less than spacious gray cubicle. I’m not at all saying it’s a bad thing, just the way of the world. Whether it is financial reasons or lack of talent, along the way people are persuaded to give up on potential and nestle into a career they barely or never considered. I’ve never understood the concept of “settling” until now. Living outside of my Mom’s house and forced to pay rent, among other bills, I finally understand why people fall into jobs. When push comes to shove, it all has to be paid.

I recently read an article about a team of videogame players that won a Halo tournament where they received $700,000! That’s right; people played a game and won nearly a million dollars! Crazy! Wait a second Adam; pro football players do the same thing. Yeah, well those roided –out ball handling jack rabbits get enough attention already. Don’t get me wrong, I love football but I have my opinions and that’s for another blog folks.

Seeing this article about gamers led me to bunch them with LARPRS, or Live Action Role Players. To many people, these LARPRS are the pure definition of the word “geek.” They dress up like knights in King Arthur’s Court and pretend to slay each other in a nearby park where fake castles are constructed. The winner of these fictional fights receives the glory of Achilles until the group gathers again so a new ruler can be crowned.

In our culture people like this are seen as “geeks” and ridiculed by the masses. While we accept a bunch of overgrown adult males throwing a brown ball down a field, we reject those who dress in mock medieval attire and smack people with fake swords. Are these activities really that different? I think not. There isn’t any significance attached to dudes wearing tight pants and matching shirts throwing or carrying a ball from one side of a big field to the other. Just like grown men jabbing each other with foam swords isn’t really important. The only difference is that the majority has declared football an acceptable form of entertainment.

There isn’t a beef with football here, just an admiration of the minority who decided to say “screw what others think, I’m gonna do what makes me happy.” No cubicles, just a bunch of people who kept the dream of being something other than society’s dog and pony act. With no cameras rolling, no audiences viewing and no money coming their way, the LARPR faithful join each other in sharing the spirit of ten year olds. There isn’t money involved, just B-movie acting (at best) and people with a common ideal getting together.

I find this simple crap so awesome it’s crazy. People who kept the childhood ideas of fake worlds and characters alive are to be admired. Don’t sit there and criticize me because you know you want to go back to age nine and kill the bad guys holding up your fort. This is the type of “I don’t really care” attitude that I want to adopt. They like what makes them happy and that’s what matters. So what if they’re happy going against the so called norms of society? They’re not fake reality TV buffoons that do what everyone else wants so they can make a dollar, just real people that love acting out of character for a day.

There have been so many times in my life where I’ve given in to peer pressure or thrown away things I like just to fit in or please others. I like movies, music and TV shows that others might not feel is “acceptable” but that’s fine, I like them. Life is simpler when people shed their semi-fake exterior and get down to what is real. We all have our quirks and insecurities to hide behind but who really cares? It’s crazy how much we can be alike when you get down to it. Until next time. God bless.

Well Played Facebook

Facebook. One word that instantly triggers a flood of emotions: friendships, groups, creepers, people with too much time, embarrassing relatives, nonsensical and careless statuses, etc. With a world full of differences, this little social network is something we can all relate to. The technological beast that is Facebook is dominating the Internet. If something cool happens outside your window at 3 a.m. it ends up on a status or wall post at 3:01 a.m. People can’t get enough of this craziness. You can’t avoid it either, it’s impossible. Like some Nordic giant warrior with a spear in one hand and wireless router in the other, it demands that you join its big, dysfunctional, mixed salad of a family. What happens? You join millions of people around the world in this big social web.

I remember hearing about Facebook during my freshman year of college and was visited by the Nordic giant so I had to get in on it. It was pretty simple at first; upload a picture and write some goofy crap about yourself. It was like your own personal baseball card, but not as many people wanted it. Now it was time to find some people you knew, people who they knew, and then people who they knew. It becomes a big, insane web of friends and acquaintances. Then that first friend request comes and you feel like a six year old on Christmas morning. “Who could it be, who could it be?! Wait a second… who is that?...OH! I remember them; they were in my 10^th grade biology lab.” It’s almost like we expected it to be Bill Gates ,Tom Cruise or Whoopi Goldberg. Don’t be naïve.

It’s like turning 16 or 21, the excitement makes you check your Facebook account every 8.5 seconds to make sure someone didn’t post something awesome on your wall. But, much like turning 16 or 21, the excitement wares off and you continue a normal life… or so you think! What happens next? That damn Facebook starts churning out applications to keep you on their site 24/7! They turn into some 9^th grade, attention stealing whore. Yes, Facebook is a whore. The McDonalds of the cyber world. I mean come on; people are on and off day and night. Games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars are plugged into requests that seemingly appear out of nowhere. They tried to pull the same stunt by allowing folks to create groups that reflected some part of their personality. Good call because they’re still going strong but apps are the game breaker. I could go into detail but there are way too many of them and they have a monopoly on the internet gaming world so they don’t deserve the satisfaction of being mentioned.

Let’s take it a step further! We’ll let people express their thoughts about other people’s statuses, pictures or wall posts by allowing them to comment or by placing obnoxious thumbs up signs below it. If that weren’t enough, they throw some yellow-faced emoticons at us so we can really get the point across. Yeehaaa, boo hoo, or wink wink; whatever floats your boat. Don’t get me wrong people, I’m just as much a part of this internet infatuation as everyone else is… alright, I might not be club leader but I’m the goofy kid in the back picking his nose and aimlessly following along which is what I think describes most people. We’re all passengers on the S.S. Facebook.

Enter Lamebook. For those who haven’t heard of this site, PLEASE check it out. It’s a site devoted to the most generally awkward Facebook B.S. I take a few minutes and browse this page so I can get a cheap laugh from the most ridiculous crap that the fine users of Facebook can conceive. There are a few things that I truly find puzzling but for the most part it is just people living their life the way they were taught or what they have experienced and from the bottom of my heart I honestly hope some of them don’t procreate. This isn’t insensitivity, rather a logical way of looking at people who shouldn’t be allowed to attempt to raise a child. But back to the Lamebook site as a whole, give it a shot. You might find yourselves paying closer attention to your own FB page just so you can apply some quick wit or to notice how goofy people are.

This isn’t a criticism or degradation of Facebook, just a subjective view. It’s my judgment on everyday human behavior. Right or wrong doesn’t play a factor here, just opinions. And if you do take it to heart, you should probably spend some time away from the internet and reevaluate life decisions. I use Facebook almost every day so I can’t really give it too much grief but I do notice things here and there and decide to write about them. Peel away all the excess crap that has been admitted to the forum of Facebook and you find a simple social network where people all around the world can connect and learn about one another. That isn’t so bad in my opinion. Until next time, God bless.

Quick Life Update and More Random Thoughts

Hey everyone! It's been a minute (slang for really long time) since i last did some bloggin so here I am! A ton of stuff has happened in my life in the last few months, I've grown. Well I've moved out of my house and to Columbia, big step for this guy. I'll start off with a few constants and then get right into the new stuff. I'm still the same person that you folks have come to know and love, still in love with an awesome gal (that's you Jennifer Miller), still have the best friends and family (especially Mom) that a guy could ask for, and of course still reppin the 5-7-3! That last one was sort of a tribute to Dr. DRE but i digress.

Moving out...
It's definitely been a mixed bag of emotions. I'll catch myself just sailing along through the day and realize that this is my life now. It isn't some weekend in Columbia hangin' with friends where I get to go back to the friendly confines of 712 Linden Dr., this is the beginning of an entirely new chapter. I've always wondered how I would handle living by myself or without Mom being around all of the time. To my surprise, aside from a few homesick feelings here and there, things are actually going fairly smooth. Now, the only thing I need to do is find a job. That, my friends, is proving to be my most difficult task. Not to worry, tomorrow morning, like every other morning, I will leap out of bed, shimmy into my chain mail and shiny armor, grab my shield and sword, hop on my trusty steed and yet again attempt to slay the dragon of unemployment. I just made looking for a job interesting right there. I could have simply said "crawl out of bed, eat a couple slices of peanut butter toast (great stuff), watch Sportscenter for an hour, and look on the computer for a job" but I didn't, I chose to make my journey entertaining and slightly cheesy. You're welcome.

In addition to job hunting, I've been playing a lot of ping-pong with the roommates. I'm not quite to the level of Forrest Gump but my forehand is slowly creeping up on people. If you all don't hear from me again it's probably because I spent excess time playing the pong, got noticed by a scout somehow and am making bank playing professionally in China or Korea. Those dudes put some hot sauce on the ball! There's a 99.48 percent chance that wont happen so I'm sure you'll be hearing more out of me. Lucky you! Living with four guys or just anybody other than family for the first time has also been a real eye-opener. It's great for me because I'm a people watcher. Folks see me as a quiet person but I'm really just a deep thinking, laid back individual. There's a saying that goes "it's better to sit quietly and be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" or something like that. Don't get me wrong, I love socializing with people and can carry on a conversation but I usually lean more toward being quiet. Anyways, in my quiet moments around the house I'm able to sit back, observe every one's behavior, break it down and ask the question: Why? That is perhaps the single greatest question known to the human race, in addition to: who? what? when? and how? of course. The freedom within those questions allows you to apply it anywhere and with technology today being so advanced we can find the answer to nearly anything we ask.

I began to question one particular behavior the other day while watching two of my roommates discuss fantasy football. While they were going back and forth, stating opinions on who would be the best quarterback, running back, receiver or which team would put up the best to offensive or defensive numbers I began making the situation much larger in my head. By this I mean I started thinking of the shows devoted to the analysis of every player, team, coach, agent, decision, player's wife, coaches brother-in-law, and virtually every aspect of the sports world. Sportsnation, ESPN First Take, Pardon the Interruption are a few of the top shows that stay on the tube for simply stating their opinions regarding sports. Why do these shows play such a large part of our sporting know-how? Do we really care about what Skip Bayless or Colin Cowherd has to say about the future of Lebron James in Miami? I mean these people are paid to sit around a table throwing out opinions that most sport-watching males have and discuss every day. I know this because I'll sit on the couch with my buddy and do the same damn thing they did on TV. In that case, maybe these shows exist to give guys a topic of discussion and fill an otherwise quiet room with so-called words of wisdom. Just like One Tree Hill or Desperate Housewives gives the ladies something to gossip about beside the water cooler, these sport shows give guys a reason to tear each other's opinions down. I do it, my buddies do it, wonderful male bonding time. Perhaps the funniest things that I've noticed are all the snide remarks everybody makes about the athletes. It's crazy how quick these "analysts" and fans are to just cut the players down. Yet, the people who talk the most trash are usually the jackasses sitting on the couch with a beer in one hand, remote in the other and a bag of Lays which has all but wasted away by the time their Saturday or Sunday is over. I may not like some athletes but I respect them. They go out every week and put themselves on the national stage to compete in a sport so many can only dream about. But without fail, the next day there's always going to be someone with something spiteful to say.

I could even take this entire idea a step further and apply it to everybody. No matter how hard you try, how well you perform, or how much you achieve, there will always be someone that wants to knock you down a notch. And God forbid you mess up. Then it seems like every cynical comment just torpedoes your way. Do I really read this much into it? Maybe for a few seconds and then I go on about my day. It is amazing though, how just a few seconds can turn into a five paragraph blog. For the most part, I'm just entertained by human nature. Until next time. God bless.

Whats Up Real World? We'll See

Oh wow, it's almost been an entire month since I last blogged it up! For those of you who read the last entry in my little online journal, this one has nothing to do with part two... My bad. In all honesty I could sum it up in a few words. Me and Chad went to this craw fish feed deal where there were these little alien lookin things they called craw fish (absolutely ugly). I had one and that was about it. That's the extent of my craw fish eating adventures. Well that's the end of that story so on to the next piece of Adam's Life and Times!

Last weekend, Saturday May 15th, 2010, I graduated from college! To those who have walked the plank it may seem like a small step in the great landscape of life but to me it still seems extremely crazy to think about. I am forever done with school. No longer will academia force me to get up early in the morning (that's my work's job). I don't have to make a Fall schedule because I wont be attending school when the leaves start hittin' the ground. I'll be settled into my town house in Columbia. I'm finally taking the step out of my comfort zone. Although a small part of me is weary about the next couple of months, a very large part is excited beyond measure. I'm going to finally be a part of the real world that people have been telling me about for the last few years. So far there have been mixed reviews but I'm gonna take the positive approach and see where that lands me.

Back to graduation! Well people, on Saturday I woke up eager to get things done. I just wanted the ceremony to be right then and now so I could come home and mingle with the folks who matter most (and so i could have a few beers). The whole thing seems like a blur that I remember distinctly for some reason. It could have been that the speaker kept reciting lines from the play "Rent" or the air-horns that kept going off because family members couldn't contain their excitement. There were just a random mix of shenanigans that kept me in tune enough to remember the event but not interesting enough to keep my attention throughout. "Five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred minutes" is what that speaker said about four or five times during her speech. It was hilarious because it was like nobody else knew what she was quoting and they just thought she was throwing random numbers into space. Needless to say I had a few laughs. To put the ceremony in a nutshell; we all stood in a stuffy, humid hallway entirely too long, sat through nonsensical rambling by people I have never personally spoken to, walked across a stage in front of a non familiar audience, and exited to the tune of "Pomp and circumstance." That's about it.

It may have been a boring two hours but it was worth it. I have my degree and the proof is stamped on a slip of paper I have sitting in my kitchen so I can see it everyday. That tiny piece of paper is the culmination of four years of my life. Now I have the rest of it to see what I can do with that little piece of paper and how well it works in my favor. It's almost like I paid for a new car but have no idea if its going to run or if I'm going to like it in the next few years and that's a scary thing to grasp. Just because it's scary doesn't mean I wont put my heart and soul into the journey that is the rest of my life.

I know this particular blog wasn't as insightful as some others, I just wanted to fill you guys in on what has been goin' on in this guy's world. I honestly hope you all are doing well and want you to have the peace of mind that I am currently experiencing. It would take a force of nature to shake me right now and that's an awesome feeling. It's like I have a shield surrounding me keeping all of the dumb crap at bay. Watch out real world, this train is comin'! Until next time. God bless.

Weekend in Quincy: Part One

Hey guys and gals, it's that time again. I'm sittin' in the computer chair, drinkin' some water from my "jug-o-water" with Family Guy playing in the background. Yeah, I literally have a gallon of water labeled "Adam's Jug-O-Water." I've gotta stay hydrated folks. Also, you can't go wrong with the best cartoon ever going on behind the scenes. The combination of Peter's stupidity paired with Stewie and Brian's randomness is a beautifully executed masterpiece of foolishness.


This past weekend, Chad (Maverick), Megan, Breanna, and I (Goose) took a little road trip to the town of Quincy, Illinois. What was the occasion? Just a little weekend retreat to Megan's house in the country so we could attend the annual craw fish feed. Let me tell you a little bit about this awesome craziness.


We loaded up the Explorer with some clothes and beer. You know, the essentials. Letting Megan drive was a fantastic decision because this enabled me to throw back some cold, refreshing beer after a long week of academic madness. That, and I didn't know how to get there so it all worked out. We finally pull up to Megan's place and by that time, I think we're all ready to get out and cause some mischief in the town of Quincy. So we, The Four Musketeers, with the addition of my best pal Billy went out and got a little intoxicated. At some point during the night we made it to a night club called Phoenix and this was about the time where everything kind of ran together into some convoluted mess and not much seemed to make sense. So I was standing there aimlessly with Billy and that's when Chad approached the little group and stated that some douche bags wanted to fight him for walking by their crowd with "his fists clenched." Hmmm, interesting. After some other conversation unknown to me, Billy departed and then there were two. Chad and me, being in no shape to throw down, and our counterparts wandering elsewhere in the club, we took off out the door.


Now, I don't know exactly what we were thinking but apparently power walking through downtown Quincy sounded like a damn good idea at the time. As I sit here and think about it, I remember we were looking for another bar. The problem with this mission is that it was 2:30 a.m. and there was NOTHING else open. Plenty of neon signs we're strewn across the buildings but not one building had its doors open inviting us in for a frosty treat. In hindsight this was most likely a good thing.


As we continued our jaunt with absolutely no destination, we stumbled upon a gas station. It was almost like an oasis in a desert without the sand and sweltering heat. Nonetheless, we found some refuge so we waltzed in the door and began meandering through the aisles. This is about the time when weird cravings start hitting me so I snagged a fudge brownie off of the shelf.


Here I am with a fudge brownie walking out of this "very" convenient store along with Chad who was equipped with a bag of Cheetos. We made our way over to a bench out front and began to eat our snacks that had the likeness of steak dinners thanks to the alcohol consumption. The whack part of this whole snack-eating endeavour is that we just sat down with no care in the world. Never mind the fact that we wandered a couple of miles away from anybody we knew in a peculiar town. None of that had any precedence, we had our food and we were content.


Somewhere along the lines, we made contact with our sober chauffeur and figured out he would be there with the crew shortly. So as we sat on the bench, no concern for the rest of the world, we contemplated the journey that we just made across town. The ride home seemed fairly quick and everyone promptly proceeded to hit the sack. I'm going to allow you to process the former information and hit you with part two later on down the road. It might be the next blog I write, it might not. You'll just have to pay attention. Until next time. God bless.

Reality Can Be a MoFo but It's All Good

Howdy howdy people. It's been a while since I last wrote something with any meaning (rare occurrence) so I thought in the midst of trudging through the last few weeks of my FINAL semester in college I would attempt to write something cool.

Like I stated in the previous paragraph, it is indeed my last semester of college. My last hoorah, the grand finale, the final show, etc. Before I started this past semester, I honestly thought it was going to be a magical land of trees that would release their "answer leaves" which would fall to my feet. And in this magical land with answers a plenty I was also hoping to be boated down a calm river of classes by a pleasant, as well as attractive, maiden and that we would ultimately reach the utopia of graduation. Far be it for me to wish for such hocus pocus.

I have not found this magical land on my journey toward graduation. I am currently wading through a forsaken river, minus a boat and maiden I might add, in hopes of finding this graduation utopia. The trees I thought would submit these answers are bare-limbed, sad excuses for foliage. No magical land here people, just a desolate and forgotten wasteland.

"Only five weeks left" is what I keep telling myself. I repeat this every day. Technically I have four weeks and three days left and I will say that when I wake up in the morning. I know you're thinking that I've done enough complaining but it gets better. Within this desolate wasteland, I've found a shred of hope, a diamond if you will. It doesn't look like much at first glance but after much inspection, all of its complicated qualities can be seen. Yes, I have found something to take away from this last semester at Lincoln University.

It is not facts and numbers that interest me most about school. This type of knowledge can only go so far and then it becomes obsolete in my eyes. What really matters most are the little nuggets of information that one can take from a book, a lecture, or from any avenue of learning and apply to everyday life. The funny thing is, I've found something very valuable in the oddest of places. My Exercise and Conditioning class or PE 201. What? Why are you in a PE class? I thought your major was Criminal Justice. Oh, it is but this was one of those classes that I thought would be in that magical land with the calm river and maiden. Not so much. Not to worry though, it is this class in which I pick up a very useful piece of information.

This is where it all starts. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, for a muscle to experience growth and strength gains, it must be overloaded. "What is this?" you ask. This is when you add more weight or complete more reps to take the muscle out of its comfort zone in order for it to grow. This increase in intensity is the only way for that to take place. How did I take this information and apply it to my life? Well I do like to work out so it was helpful in that aspect but that's not what I got out of it.

After this little seed of information was read, it floated into my ear and planted itself into my brain. Because I like to sit around and think about random stuff, I backtracked to this piece of knowledge. Not only do muscles grow because of overload, I believe people are just the same. To truly reach one's potential, there must be a certain amount of stress placed upon them. Not too much because like muscles, people have limits but there is a perfect quantity for everyone. In order to grow, we must step out of our comfort zone. These changes can be subtle or drastic. As an example, I will finally be moving out of the house in August. Twenty-two years of living under the same roof as my family and it will all change in a days worth of moving furniture. I am excited about this and embrace the upcoming life alteration but it will be a step out of my comfort zone. There will surely be some growing pains but that's the beauty of it. These changes will ultimately help me grow and mature as a person. I may not see them right away but that's a fact.

Everyone will go through something that will test their limits and put them completely out of the bubble they are used to. The great thing about these situations is that we all have a choice. Not a choice in regards to when we will be thrown into the inferno but about how we deal with it. Being a positive person, I always look for the good in every situation. There have been times, even in the last few months where I've been sent into an entirely different dimension of pissed off and confused but I always look for the light at the end of the tunnel to pull be back to reality and on the right track. That was my choice, either get back on the proper course or let all the bull shit pull me under like the shadowy demon figures in the movie Ghost.

Maybe this little diamond of knowledge I have found in my wasteland is the guiding light to finding graduation utopia. The strain of these not-so-easy classes along with other real world crap is the overload that is going to contribute to my maturity. I will find graduation folks, although it is merely a step. There will yet be situations that afflict me but I'll remember the overload principle and "keep on keepin' on." Until next time. God Bless.

The New Year + Mountain Dew = Good Times

I would like to start off by apologizing to the three or four people who read this blog. I'm sorry for being extremely late. Better late than never I guess. Realizing this is the first blog of the new year... Happy New Year folks! I truly hope every one is having a great year thus far and life is going as smoothly as possible.

At the moment I'm hopped up on mountain dew and watching the end of Bruce Almighty on tv. Good call USA network. I love mountain dew by the way. It's easily the best soda out there. You know what? Go out and buy a mountain dew and some sort of chocolate (I recommend a brownie), eat that and tell me you don't feel awesome. Havin a bad day? Consume that kooky little combination and you'll be right as rain. Enjoy. Anyways, I've been drinking more soda than usual lately thanks to my job at Imo's Pizza. For those of you who don't know, I've been delivering pizza for about two months now and it has literally got to be the easiest job in the world. Except for those girls in Hawaii that lei people as they get off the plane. That might actually be easier but I'm a far cry from Hawaii. I wonder if there's a job application for that. Do they have "lei training school" or somethin? Maybe I'll Google that later. But really I just drive around listening to music, fold boxes, and do dishes. That's what I like to call good times.

Like a lot of people around this great nation of ours, I started classes. Yeah that's right, I'm back at good old LU. There is however something special about this particular semester. What's that Adam? Oh, well let me tell you! It's the last semester of my college career! Wow, its extremely odd to say that. Not long ago I was wandering the halls of Simonsen 9th grade center not knowing what the hell was going on. Now, I'm about to graduate college and enter the "real world." I have a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to that subject. As much as I'm ready to get out of the house and take a step forward, I've gotta say it's a little daunting. I don't have any idea what the future holds for me. Yes, I do have plans but there's no telling what will happen. God could throw me a curve ball and I could end up on a tropical island, wearing flowered shirts and sandals, laying in a hammock all day. That's what makes life thrilling though. It wouldn't be near as fun if we knew exactly what was going to happen each day, who we would meet, or where we would go.

In all honesty I wouldn't mind that tropical island right now. Lets make it happen because I'm done with winter. I've always wondered what it would be like to live on an island for a while, go off the grid. I doubt I'll experience that because I like being around people and at the end of the day our relationships with others are really what make the world go round. Seriously, think about it. As much as we like to think we're independent, we really can't function to our full potential without other people. Even the kids that isolate themselves in their rooms playing Halo on Xbox 360 can't exist without other people. Who made the game they're playing? Who do you think they're battling for online supremacy? You guessed right all-star. People.

Well ladies and gentlemen, the mountain dew has slowly worn off and now I'm tired. No late night drinking shenanigans right now. It's time to throw the engine into neutral and recharge the batteries so when Saturday night rolls around I'm ready to get crunk and rock out. I get it, I'm a dork but I've stopped worrying about that sort of thing. We all have an inner dork so just let it happen. I'm hittin the sack now so sleep tight. Until next time. God bless.