Finals!!!!

     Finals have to be the best and worst part of the quarter or semester for every student aroudn the world.  They can be some of the most stressful and fun times of our lives if you really think about it.

     Finals have that bittersweet quality of having exactly what you want while also being the thing that you most dread in the last few weeks of a class.  The final projects of every class have probably been put off until the last second... or in some cases they have been completely forgotten since they haven't been mentioned since the first day of class.  Either way the scramble to get everything done at the end of the quarter has it's own sensations.  

     The first sensation is the panic. this feeling is generally feared by most students since it has it's own qualities of fear itself and hopelessness which we will discuss further later.  The panic stage is the catalyst for every failure and epic comeback.  Once you feel this sensation you either go into full of study mode and succeed or you just crash and burn in a fantastic death spiral of failure.

     The next sensation is hopelessness.  this usually sets in during the late and early hours of the night when you realize that this work is never going to get done and you begin to question everything.  Am i going to fail? Will i even graduate? Is this even worth doing?  If i jump out the window now will it get me out of class tomorrow? Why was i even born? and the classic Is clown college still accepting transfers???

     Finally, if you can power through the above feelings you get to the cathartic release of getting them over with!!! this is the best feeling since now we have a two week break to do absolutely nothing besides order books for our next quarter and wait for them to arrive.  Currently I've already been through the hopelessness stage and am in the giddy type of panic in which i know will get everything done in time with the knowledge that it's just gonna suck :  ) 

Road Rage

     Road rage is something that some people will deal with on a daily basis and is something that happens every day in every country around the world.  It is completely unnecessary and in some cases deadly. IF we all took a little time to think about our behavior during driving situations we would definitely find some shocking things about ourselves.

     It seems to be obvious that once a person gets behind the wheel of a car that the car becomes their identity and not their own.  How many times have you seen someone do something while they are driving in a car that they would never do in public?? Every day you can stop at an intersection and see someone picking their nose or singing obnoxiously.  I think this is a result of a feeling that no one can see you while you are in a car.  If you feel that this is the case then you are WRONG!!!

     We can all see you! We can see who and what you are staring at! We can see exactly what you are doing! We can see exactly what you should not be doing!!!

     I think this is a huge part of road rage since driving on the road is a relatively faceless journey.  You don't see a person when they are driving usually you see the car they are driving.  This anonymity itself is what  causes the danger.  When people don't see the human behind the vehicle they are more likely to lash out violently at an object rather than a person.

     We all need to realize that we are all people on the road and should be treated as such.  Manners and common sense are around for a reason and I don't feel that they are exercised as thoroughly as they should be on a daily basis.  If this isn't the issue and you are just a jerk no matter what then thats and entirely different issue.

What the Frack?!?!

       So it seems that there is a bit of controversy brewing in the wonderful little state of Pennsylvania these days.  Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest pockets of natural gas in the United States.  this pocket of prehistoric energy apparently has in itself enough energy to power the entire city of New York for an entire year!!! At a glance this seems like a great resource to tap in order to ease our reliance on fossil fuels from other areas of the world.  Unfortunately this great natural resource is causing more trouble than it's worth.

     Energy companies have been trying to get to this natural gas pocket for years but the problem is that it is entirely encased in rock.  this rock has to be broken in a way that the gas can be reached without causing any significant damage to the pocket itself.  Their solution has been in the form of "fracking."  Fracking is the use of forced chemical-laden water to blast a small hole into this pocket that is miles deep in the ground.  These companies are pumping millions of gallons into the ground and then pumping them back out in order to retrieve gas that is barely getting to the surface.

     The problem with this is... well honestly everything!!!

     These companies are pumping more water into the ground than the amount of water that exists in the ground naturally in the entire Northeast.  This water is full of chemicals that help to move the gas out of the pocket, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when you pump water miles down you aren't going to get all of it out.  These chemicals are leached into out underground aquifers and showing up in residential wells.  Some homes can light their drinking water on fire straight from the tap because of these residual chemicals!!!!!  The worst part is that these companies are manipulating the government to make this practice of fracking legal for which it was not only a year or two ago.  There is also strong evidence of these companies going to these mostly rural and mostly uneducated parts of our state to trick the owners of this land into giving up their rights to stop this drilling.

     We need to look into these practices and decide whether or not this is something that is worth doing when it can ruin our drinking water in Pennsylvania forever.

Thanksgiving!!!

This year for Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful as any other Thanksgiving that I have taken part in.  I took the train home from school that Wednesday night after giving a speech about pumpkin pie.  the speech went fairly well except for a brief penal reference purposefully put into my speech by a mischievous girlfriend of mine.  This doesn't matter though.  Then I was picked up by a friend and taken to his "casa" since it was already waaaaaaay past midnight.

The next morning I awoke to SNOW!!!

It was really strange because I saw the snow in the eaves of the roofs in the surrounding houses, but there was no snow on the ground at all or on the roads.  I was then greeted by my parents at home which was sooooo nice since I felt i needed a break from all the nonsense that built up before break.  I made the turkey and other side dishes and enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner with my family... including the dog and cat.

Thanksgiving has to be one of my favorite holidays since it is one of the more relaxed holidays left.  It really is focused onto family and reflection which is what I was missing in my first semester of college.  My parents seemed even happier to see me than i was to see them which was strange.  I think they missed my constant shenanigans at home. All in all, it was a great little break where I got a chance to relax and enjoy my friends and family that i don't get to see on a regular basis.  :  )

Black Friday!!!

     This year we decided to take part in one of the most pointless and stressful holidays of the year... Black Friday.  After I was done making the turkey and getting over my most recent tryptophan fix I went to relax by the fireplace and reflect on how and what i was thankful for this holiday season.  While doing this i realized that this was no time to be relaxing and enjoying life at all!!!

     Christmas is exactly one month away people!!! It's time to get a little materialistic up in this hizzy!!!

      In actuality this message was received via a text from two of my friends, who were waiting in a huge line for Walmart to open at midnight.  I decided that i would join them in their quest to find some crazy people in our immediate area.  See this is the part that people don't understand about Black Friday.  Some people actually go out to get the seasonal sales that are only happening this one morning every year.  On the other hand, there are people that go out to watch these people fight over merchandise and trample themselves in a feeding frenzy of "giving."

      I myself am a watcher.  I wanted to be part of the mayhem and destruction that defines this joyous occasion.  I like to compare it to running with the bulls.  Unfortunately, we arrived around 4:30am after a brief 3 hours of sleep to find absolutely no crazies!!!!  Apparently we missed them by about an hour and a half when the mall opened.  :  (

      Oh well... there's always next year i suppose.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Oh damn pumpkins!!! You Scary!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In my opinion, Fall has to be the best time of the year hands down.  The weather is perfect, the school year has just begun and is still exciting, and last but not least... Halloween!!!!   Oh Halloween, the only good holiday left.  It is the king of the candy receiving holidays with Easter as a close second.  It is a holiday that is fun for the young and the old, the lonely and the amiable, and even the handicapped! Although no one in this world loves and hates this holiday more than moi.

   My earliest memories of Halloween revolve around not being able to have it.  I first remember being raised in the born-again christian colony of Austin, Texas without Halloween and "enjoying" "substitute activities."  These activities included fun filled adventures involving going to bed at 6 pm...eating donuts strung from the ceiling in a garage...and going to church.  Then, I remember the one Halloween spent in a Florida hotel.  My brother and I made up for our lost trick or treating time by going door to door and asking for tiny shampoos and soaps.  From then on I always appreciated and praised stereotypical Halloween traditions.

     My favorite Halloweens so far have to be the years that I spent in Middle school being little stuck up pranksters in our neighborhood.  Although is seems so stupid now, I will always cherish and remember the times I spent feeling invincible and mischievous while preying on unsuspecting rich white folk.  Then, I would have to say that the year I spent working in a haunted house was a real delight that I do reminisce about every once in a while.  Oh freshman year of High school...the strangest year of my life.  Finally, last years Halloween that I spent with my girlfriend Katie Fee(<33333333) and Ms. Alli 'the Gator' Cross was really the best.  I think it showed me that I was turning into an adult and that I needed to get over certain things to have a happier life.

     I don't know what this year holds for me in this season of Hallowed's Eve... but I know for a fact that it will be the best Halloween I've ever been a sheep for.  :  D