Just a little thought for the day~

I have a job, myes. It’s a good job. It’s fun, overall. I learn things every day, I get to meet interesting people with amusing experiences and entertaining opinions.

I guess, what I’m saying is that I’m beginning to feel guilty about complaining about my employer so much. Sure, I disagree with him. Yeah, he’s a bit on the slow side. And,  yes, he can be pretty callous and mean at times. But he must be doing something right for his business to make a profit. Besides, I have to be at least a little grateful for him giving me a job without my having experience in the field, though I have plenty of knowledge.

I’ve heard quite a few of my friends and acquaintances having trouble finding work because of lack of experience, or an overall lack of job opportunities. Of course, this is nothing new, especially in our area.

The thing is, the “recession” hit our shop later than most. While everyone was panicking about having less work, we were still hustling. Then things slowed down for about… I dunno, two or three months. At that time, my boss asked me to work less days, and I had Mondays off. Our sales are are still lower than they have been in the last five years on average, but we’re working hard to get them back up, and it seems to be working!

Lately I have to come into work because of the high volume of projects. It’s not even just quotes anymore. As in, there are fewer bids than usual to complete, but I’m being awarded quite a few of those I do bid!

Another benefit to the slow-down in sales is that I’ve had the opportunity to reorganize the way I bid. I’m a lot more organized, a lot more concise, and I’ve figured out new ways to be more competitive.

I’m seeing, though, that while the “recession” lasted about three (maybe four) months for us (and we’ve made the most of that time), a lot of people are still suffering from the effects of a slowed economy in ways that they can’t control.

It really makes me thankful, that I have such a flexible job where I can earn good money *and* have fun at the same time.

*glee*

Oh! I had almost forgotten this blog exists!

I was considering, yesterday, that I’m usually in a good and hyper mood when I think up something to blog about. After I get home from work, however, and go through my workout, chores, and look after my birds, I’m not really left with enough energy to do anything else. I more often than not end up playing Halo or Zelda, or watching an LP or anime. So, I’m back to blogging in the early hours of my day (like, 6.30AM ;_; ) I figure a blog post per week should have enough meat to it, if that makes sense.

Another reason I’ve not blogged lately is I end up forgetting what it is I was going to blog about. Yesterday I was quite excited about something, and now I’ve forgotten it! So, I’ve put together a little list of the things that have been going on, and that I’ve been thinking about for the last couple weeks. Consider yourself warned regarding the length of this post!

Things I’ve not gotten over yet.

It’s been almost a year since that nightmarish breakup with JT. The events surrounding that situation left me a bit more scarred than I was initially willing to admit.  The positive take on this is, I’ve realized what the problem is, and I’m taking steps to correct it.

The events surrounding my immediate family has also left me feeling emotionally hung-over, as it were. It all began to affect how objectively I consider other people’s problems. I figure this stems from dwelling on these events, and comparing my life with those of my friends. It makes me sort of hate the people around me who complain about things I consider “trivial”. An example is a friend’s expenses when it comes to her car. She complains pretty heatedly on how much she spends on fuel going from home to work, and how the maintenance on her car is costing her a small fortune. I keep thinking, “Well, at least you have a car and a license to begin with. I can’t even pass my driver’s test….”

Of course, this is unfair for both of us. Each person has his own set of issues to work out. There is something called “putting things into perspective”, but I think we all end up finding out how insignificant our lives really are, compared to world-wide problems if we do this too much. “Putting problems into perspective” can help us cope with our problems when we feel overwhelmed, but it doesn’t help us actually find a solution to them. If I want to help my friends find a solution to their problems, and if I want to help myself find solutions to my own problems, I have to stop comparing my problems to theirs, I think. I’ll give each issue its own space in time, and I’ll weigh it against itself.

That brings me nicely to another issue: My Driver’s License. I took the written exam over a year ago and took the practical exam two weeks ago. I failed it *quite* horribly. I made 20 mistakes (15 are allowed), and I didn’t even finish the exam because of an elderly woman with a shopping cart trying to cross the street when it wasn’t her turn! Pedestrians have the right of way, of course, but I don’t think it’s fair for people to just jump out into the middle of the street when a driver has already started turning left. She quite literally sprung forth from the ground, like a silly little weed. Okay, okay, not… literally. But, still:  Common sense, ye pedestrians, common sense! Do you want to get run over? Do Not JayWalk!!! >:|

I’ll be taking some driver’s classes soon, after I go take the written exam again (my first permit expired ;_; ). Failing my driver’s test left me feeling like a mess. I suppose I didn’t think I would actually need driver’s ed. Don’t get me wrong, I think I’m a pretty good driver. I’m somewhat timid, but I’ve not cause a single accident in the 8 months I’ve been driving, nor have I ever been stopped by a traffic officer. But I guess the technical knowledge the DMV tests for is something I’ve not turned into a habit. In light of that, I’ll be taking a couple classes so I’m better prepared.  Is that me trying desperately to salvage my pride?

The day before I took my driver’s test I got some bad news: My three favourite birds (Kagrenac, Von and Seven) escaped their cage and flew off. Some people may think me silly, but I’m sure there are some people who understand what an important part of my life these little creatures are. I’ve had a bird die on me before after a serious injury. Another bird almost died because of an unsafe toy I put in his cage. So the fact that these birds escaped and didn’t come back really… hurt my feelings, to say the least. It makes me feel incompetent. These guys are the light of my life, pretty much. The least I could do, to repay them for the amusement and outlet they give me, is give them the best of myself that I can, which includes care, attention and comfort. It’s… really painful, to me.

In the end, I’ve seen them flying around here and there. They’re still in the area, I think, so I’m sure they’re alright. I have bird-feeders outside in the trees, so I know they won’t go hungry as they learn to scavenge. I think they might even be happier now that they’re free.

But my lovely Monkey and Pachona remain with me, as do another three of their children (Heracles, Sophie and Douglas). Pachona has seen fit to give me three more babies! Maybe she wants to make up for those that escaped?

They hatched about 4 or 5 days ago, and are incredibly adorable. I can’t wait to see what they turn out looking like. Of course I’ll love them regardless of their colour, but I really want them to look like Monkey. His patterns and hues are so unique, I’d love to have more like him. We’ll see, we’ll see!

Plans for the future

And that brings me nicely to my next topic: Bird Housing! In essence, I’ll still have the wire cages I’ve got my birds in now, but I’ll put these in shelves that can shield them from the rain and cold and extreme heat; the smaller size will make moving a lot easier, and will help with ease of maintenance.

Something else I’ve been thinking a lot about is housing for myself and my family. With my dad being ill enough to not make it to work sometimes, it’s tough to not have a license. This wouldn’t be such an issue, though, if we lived closer, so we’re  looking for some place closer to West LA. We were hoping to get a house, but it’s gotten to the point where we may as well get an apartment. Mum suggested we get two apartments in the same complex: a three-bedroom for them, and a one-bedroom for me. I can’t deny I like the idea ._. It’ll give me the much-needed opportunity to go back to being independent, while still being around to help.

It’s really tough, though, to find a place that’s not horribly expensive AND close to West LA. This might not be such an issue, though, after I get my license. Even if we end up not living as close to West LA as we’d like, once I have my license I can help with the driving a lot more. We’ll see, we’ll see.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about a change in career. I love my current job working as an estimator. Sales are up, and I’m making a nice amount of money from commission and from regular hourly work. But… let’s just say the employer I’ve complained so much about in the past hasn’t been getting any more reasonable. If anything, he’s been unreasonably demanding, cutting back hours, and cutting salaries. It got to the point where the person doing Accounts Payables turned in his resignation and just never showed up again. I think he’s still owed about three days’ worth of work, but he hasn’t come to collect :/

I still very much want to be a forensic psychologist. It’s a goal I will never give up on, but I may not be able to go back to school full-time within the next  year or so. And so, I’ve decided to go into social work. My main goal is to help people as much as I can when they’re going through traumatic events. I think social work is a really good career to go into, if I have that in mind. I initially wanted to join the LAPD, but it turns out citizenship is a requirement. I’m a permanent resident, but won’t be eligible for citizenship for another 3 or so years. By then I’ll be an old fart! So, I may as well go into social work. It’s akin psychology anyway

The next point sort of falls into the next category, but it falls under my “future” plans too. I’ve been losing weight! About a year ago I weighed about 13.5 stone. Now I’m down to about 11.5 stone. It all started, as some may remember, when I went to Mexico and ended up having to get my tonsils removed. During the two or three weeks in recoup, I lost quite a bit of water weight. After that, I figured I may as well take the opportunity to start eating healthier, not as much, and to start a workout routine. It worked! Whoever said exercise doesn’t work may not have given it an honest try, I think.

Though, I can’t really say I’m “dieting”. It’s more like I changed my eating habits.  I eat what I used to eat before, just not as much, if that makes any sense. Anywho, every time I think about the weight I’ve lost, I hug myself, being quite proud. I think I can allow a bit of pride?

My goal is to get down to 10 stone, since that seems to be the ideal weight for someone my height, age and ethnicity. I’m not too worried about it, in all honesty. I feel healthy, I have energy, my clothes fits better, and I’m not as self-conscious as I was before. I’m feeling good as far as that goes

I’ll be starting aerobics next week, after I do a week straight of pilates to increase my flexibility and endurance. When I first started working out, I got into a jogging routine. Then I started pilates, and have been mixing those two for a while. The thing is, I’ve been a bit concerned with my blood pressure and heart health, so I’ll be doing a pilates/aerobics combo. Plus, I read that aerobics targets the glutes. I’m sure some are fed up with how much I’ve been complaining about my giant ass, and how I can’t fit into smaller sized jeans because of it, hehe.

I’ve also (again) been thinking about messing with my hair. I’m not going to dye it or anything. In fact, I don’t think I ever will dye it completely ever again. I may get that white stripe to accentuate those silly grey hairs I have, but I’ll wait a bit for my hair to grow.

I’ve been pretty obsessed with Kusanagi Motoko from Ghost in the Shell. Now that she’s pretty much my idol, I’ve convinced myself I can pull off her hair-cut. BUT! I don’t want short hair. I’ll be using the front side of her hair (I have bangs/fringe already anyway), the sides of her hair (that shortish, pointed cut), and leaving my hair to grow long. I miss my long hair, and really wish I hadn’t cut it so short. But it’s growing!

Things that have kept me busy

Anime, anime, anime. There is so much anime out there that is quite good, and that I really want to watch. I’ll be updating the list of anime I have on my other page in this blog. I’ve watched quite a bit lately, and may  put up a whole different page on my website (which is still under construction *hide*) about it. Hmm.

As I’ve already said, I’m simply engrossed with Ghost in the Shell. The entire discussion regarding consciousness and “ghosts”/souls really gets my brain juices flowing. Mmm, brain juices. I’ll most likely dedicate a whole different post to Ghost in the Shell (or might even give it its own page). A couple paragraphs doesn’t do it justice.

I’m going to Mexico, again! We’re planning on going the last week of December. I was a bit worried, though, that my laptop might not make it through another Mexico-trip. But, after hearing from my best friend that he’ll most likely leave his laptop behind, I wondered if it might not be good for me to do so, also. I have TONS of reading I need to catch up on. The same best friend sent me a whole box full of stuff I need to read, all SciFi, and all looking delicious. We’ll see what happens. I may end up being able to afford a little netbook, which I can take with me. But, I dunno, I’d like to give the whole “live without the Internet for three weeks” a try. I may enjoy the trip more if I don’t have to worry about battery and signal >:3

On a similar note, I’ll be starting in on some manga I’ve had sitting on my desk for a while. A friend recommended I start with Berserker, and then work myself into Ghost in the Shell, and go backwards from there. Another friend highly recommended Death Note (which I’ve already watched).

You see? I have so much to catch up on! I should be quite busy with lots of these sorts of things for the next couple weeks.

Oh! This weekend I’ll be going shopping with my sister. We have lots of to catch up on also. It should be fun ^.^

Hi guys! It’s been a while!

Plenty has been going on lately for me to blog about. For some reason, though, by the end of the day I end up losing the desire to blog. Instead, I end up playing Zelda and reading for the last couple hours I have after I get home. Sometimes I’ll do a bit of jogging/walking on the treadmill, but since I’ve been ill lately, that’s been somewhat rare. Now that I’m almost all better, I’ll be doing that more often

Work has been really picking up for us lately. My boss, in his infinite wisdom, had previously asked us to not work for one day a week. So, I have Mondays off! I usually use them for doing chores I didn’t do on the weekend, for catching up on reading, or for writing. Today, however, I cooked!

I don’t really have much experience cooking. I tend to botch it up quite badly when I do try a hand in the kitchen, to be honest. Lately, though, I’ve been quite infatuated with Nopales.

Nopales are essentially prickly pear cactus paddles. They’re cleaned up, washed, and usually cut up into little squares to be included in lots of dishes. In Mexico, we put them in scrambled eggs, tacos, chorizo (ground sausage), and lots of other dishes. Today I tried a hand at this recipe.

I’m a big fan of the Masa Assassin blog, and since this recipe looked simple to make, I tried it. I ended up needing help from my mum, who has loads of experience with dishes like this one. Here’s what I ended up with. (I numbered them in order of steps.)

Boiling whole prickly pear cactus paddles

Close-up of the paddles

Boneless skinless chicken breast defrosting in cold water

Sliced Oaxaca cheese

Draining the cooked cactus paddles

Sautee-ing the red onion, garlic, and EVOO

Added the chicken

Sandwiching the main ingredients

Pan-frying after being coated with beaten egg

Cooked on both sides until golden-brown

Yum ^.^

I added sautéed chicken breast (in red onion, garlic, olive oil and black pepper) to the recipe. All the oil was EV Olive Oil, by the way. I also want to try adding mushrooms and bell peppers, but since this was a trial run, I decided to keep it simple.

My sis says it tasted great, and I’m just waiting for reviews from the rest of the family :3

According to quite a few trusted sources, cactus has many health benefits. As far as taste goes, I’d say it’s an acquired taste, the way mushrooms and marmite are an acquired taste. I’ve only known people who either hate cactus with a passion, or love it with an equal passion. It’s really interesting, I think, to incorporate such a unique plant into daily cuisine. What I really like the most about cactus dishes is the ease there is behind preparing them.

All in all, today was a pleasant and productive day ^.^

Sooooooo, hi!

It’s been a while since I last posted… I’ll just make a quick comment, and then I’ll go on with the purpose of my post.

I’ve noticed that the only time I ever post, is when I’m having relationship trouble. Of any sort. That said, here’s a new post \ o/

#1!! Oh yeah, on FIAR!

Last week, I found out, much to my dismay, that my “high school sweetheart” got married. I did quite a stupid thing, really… A “friend” elbowed me into joining Facebook and MySpace, and try and get a hold of people I knew from high school. That in itself, I felt, was a bad idea. I have a hard enough time keeping track of a blog, how am I supposed to maintaining a “social networking” account?

Well, after getting in touch with this guy (who I was told about 3 years ago had died while serving in the army, long story), and after being in a lot of terrible teenagy angst about it all Thursday, I find out, Friday morning, that he’s getting married… that same day!!

I’m not sure what I expected. Maybe for us to start dating again? I think maybe I was hoping, beyond hope, that he was single. But, ah well, whatever. I should know better than to expect that sort of luck.

So, I’m taking things one step further, and just giving up on relationships altogether \o/

I know I’ve said this before (I think), but I think I’ve finally figured out how to *seriously* not worry about having a romantic relationship with anyone. I’ve gotten offers from people, to date, and whatnot…. Like, I’m not at a complete standstill with relationships. I do have some options, but how to say this delicately… I just don’t think it’d work out with those particular people. I just don’t feel the *spark*, cliche, I know, that makes me want to date those people.

Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic. I suppose that must be it. But this is another thing in my life I give up on.

#2!! WoooOoOOooOoo here we gooo!

Having been somewhat depressed and gloomy and cranky all weekend, I get to work praying, as it were, for an event-less day to help me keep the “get over it” mentality going.

So.. My coworker walks into the office and is obviously grouchy. She settles down, and I figure I should avoid her to prevent any “events”.

After some time, I find myself reloading all the machines in the office with their appropriate printing paper, and she comes up to me asking if she can talk to me. I just sigh, and think “There goes my event-less morning…”, and say “Sure, what’s up.”

She starts telling me about how, when picking her son up from his dad’s home, his dad (who is also a coworker, let’s call him W, and call her R), said I was talking “shit” about her behind her back. According to him, while R was out of the office one day, another coworker was looking for a document off of her desk, and I started speaking badly of her organizational skills, calling her and her habits “a pig” and “piggish”.

First of all, that’s not true at all, which is what I told her. Noticing I’m getting *quite* pissed off about it, she starts trying to explain that her intention isn’t to piss me off. That she knows I wouldn’t say things like that behind her back. That we’ve always been honest with each other in our opinions and that we’re good friends.

Now, I can’t help but say, quite angrily, “Why are we having this conversation then? If you’re so confident that I wouldn’t say anything like that, why the hell would you even bring it up?” Then I go on a huge long rant about how fed up I am with their problems, and that if W. keeps trying to sling mud in my direction, I’ll have our boss decide between me and him.

Then I go over to my dad (who is also W.’s supervisor), and have him know that this guy is slinging mud at my name again, and that I won’t do anything for now, but that if he keeps it up I’ll do anything I can to get him fired.

Then I get chastised ;_;

My dad explains that R is probably too much of a coward to work out her personal problems with W. (and they’ve been having a LOT of problems, mostly because R. is dating again and W. is a territorial bastard) and that she’s most likely trying to influence me into doing exactly what I’m threatening to do.

So I go back to R. and I let her know that if she’s trying to manipulate me into taking action, she had better say goodbye to our friendship.

And then she starts crying ;_;

Sheesh… I really made a mess of things at this point.

So she explains that the only reason she commented all that to me was because she talks to me about her problems, and her feelings quite often, and she wanted me to know that she didn’t believe him, but she also wanted to talk about how that made her feel.

And I go *facepalm*.

I tell her I need to cool down, and stop talking so I can think things through. She goes away for a bit, and then I get an email from her apologizing for having angered me, saying that she didn’t explain things the way she should have, and that the way she approached me about it was wrong and she understood why I thought it felt like a confrontation, and that she was very very sorry and wouldn’t talk to me about W. again.

So I send her an email back letting her know I was sorry too, for my reaction. That I was having a bad month and that I didn’t mean to take my anger out on her. That she can feel free to talk to me about her problems, or to not talk to me about her problems, that it was her decision either way. More or less saying, it doesn’t affect me one way or another, so she doesn’t have to feel bad about it.

*sighs*

It’s been another one of those months. Really.

Good news is, I’ve lost almost 40 lbs… Haha

This weekend I spent playing mostly Halo 1 (PC). I really had *no* idea how much fun it was, nor what a good method of stress relief it is. Halo, coupled with running, and a couple courses I’m taking from the local college should help me keep my stress levels down, and should help me keep busy.

If it’s really gotten to the point where I’m taking my frustration out on others, I need to get my act together more than I thought.

But… for some reason… I’m in a better mood

Purrhapsh tonight I’ll blawg an update as to what I’ve been up to since last time I got serious about blogging.

Maybe… or maybe not… I dunno :3

He did it. My boss did it.
He comes in this morning, somewhat hyper (as Thursday paydays tend to be for him, cause he’s worrying about all the checks he has to sign, and whatnot), and he starts in on his lame jokes.
First he complains about why the price of copper is going up. While talking to one of his vendors he says “It must be one of those stupid… um… Wall Street.. people…”
What??
Then he calls another vendor, and leaves a voice message. Apparently, this vendor is 10% high in the price they gave my boss.
He goes “Why are they trying to sell so high? Everyone’s selling at $XX and those guys want to sell at $XXX? What are they… PMSing.. today?” And, what makes this worse than lame, is that he leaves this message on a *woman’s* voicemail. The vendor’s rep is female. If *she’s* PMSing, he’s in for the chew-out of his life.

*facepalm*

And he’s also doing the walking around with his headset on, yelling into said headset, with customers around… I’m trying to make myself as little and unrecognizable as possible.

Ugh… Embarrassing….

I’m trying to keep an eye on the phone lines, though, and see if I can catch him pretending to talk to someone. Hehehe…. >:3

You guys, you guys, wake uuuuuuuup! It’s THURSDAY! Thursday is good for various reason:

1. I get paid today (MONAAAAAAAAYS)

2. It’s the day before Friday

3. I go runnan this afternoon

4. I’ve been working on putting together a website design, and I’m almost done with it! I’ll probably be updating it tonight or tomorrow night, depending on how much coursework I get done

5. I get to feel introspective, and therefore probably release a lot of water weight (through sweat and tears) and get to feel less stressed out so that tomorrow’s exam won’t be the end of me.

Now, getting paid is always gewd. I have a lot of bills to get rid of, but getting paid is still awesome, because I get to pay my bills, therefore having less stress for the next week or so. Less stress is always awesome.

I don’t think that anyone who doesn’t have a work-schedule really appreciates the awesomeness that is Friday. People always say “What’s so good about Friday? It’s just another weekday, right? Shouldn’t you look forward to Saturday?” No, no, no, my friend. Here’s why:

Every morning of every weekday beginning with Monday, I feel like not getting up *at all*. I feel like the most comfortable thing would be to stay in bed, snuggled up with my loofah plush puppy and pillows.

But!

Friday mornings I wake up, and think “This is the last time this week I have to do this. I can do iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!” and push myself to get up and into the shower.

It feels really good to think “This is the last time…” of something unpleasant, isn’t it? Like, when you’ve got a stomach flu, and it’s almost gone, and you’re on the lavatory thinking “This is the last time I’ll have explosive diarrhea.” Or when  you’re in the dentists’ office, and they’re finally gonna put the crown on that molar you had to kill cause of that cavity, and you think “This is the last time I’ll have to deal with that nasty taste.”

Saturday is just an added bonus that I can wake up later than 5am.

Running! I’ve been going running again every afternoon I can manage. I try and get at least a half hour. I’ve found that it’s very relaxing and quite awesome. The thing is… the scale is telling me I’ve gained 5 lbs, which is somewhat annoying. Maybe it’s muscle? Maybe it’s water weight? Maybe, maybe, maybe I’m just a fatass? I don’t really know. I’m going to get more strict on myself, and make sure I don’t get too much salt.

Here’s the introspective part:

I have two friends. Neither one know each other, one’s male, one’s female. They’re in different countries. But, I’m afflicted by similar sentiments for the two (no, I’m not bi). The lives of these friends of mine have taken a turn for the worse in the last 3 or so months. It involves mental breakdowns, school failures, etc. (It’s sort of creepy how similar their cases are, actually :/)

Now, I’ve been stressing out a lot for these friends. For the female more than for the male because I’m closer to her, and we’ve been friends since I can remember, or at least I thought we were… Anywho, I realized something: I care more about them and what happens to them, than they care about themselves.

About a week (maybe less) or so, I went nuts on the male friend. He said something I hate hearing from someone I’m worried about: “I don’t care.”

He said it, just like that. He told me, directly, clearly, without beating around the bush, that he doesn’t care about all the bad things that have been happening to him. My initial thought was, if he doesn’t care, why has he been complaining and crying about it all to me for the last two years? Then what followed was a really bad pain in my chest as I realized that, if he doesn’t care about himself, how could he possibly care about me? How could he possibly care about all the stressing out I’ve been doing on his behalf, trying to think of ways to help (I even came up with meal plans for him, because I figured part of his stress was about not having a good diet and sleeping pattern), crying with him and about him for all the pains he’s had… and he says he doesn’t care? I told him to not talk to me anymore, and have been avoiding him as much as possible.

My female friend hasn’t directly told me “I don’t care”, but I can see it in the things she does and says that she’s wanting to stay the way she was before she had her problems, instead of changing herself so that her problems will be resolved and so that they won’t happen again. She keeps friends that aren’t a good influence on her, people who have extreme problems of their own they can’t solve (anger management, alcoholism, drug addiction, mental instability), and instead of putting into effect the advice I give her, she listens and shrugs me off. I guess it’s an improvement that she doesn’t fight with me about the advice I give her, but, still, I can see and feel she doesn’t want to put the advice (which is sound advice, I would think, like focusing on school work and not watching emotionally detrimental shows) I give her into practice.

So, I just gave up. I don’t like to say I’ve given up on them as people, because if they come to me and not only say “Okay, I’m ready to get my act together” but also DO something to prove that they’re being honest with themselves and with me, I’m completely willing to help them.

I guess I can say, I’ve given up on thinking that I can help them, if that makes any sense.

It’s like I was telling my dad yesterday, when we were discussing the continuing problems between Israel and Palestine. The problem there isn’t political and economic. It’s impossible, it seems, for an outside source (like the US or UN) to be of enough influence on either side, so that peace can be accomplished. What is needed is a tweak in the subconscious. From the articles I’ve read, the hate that these two countries have on each other is something rooted deep within themselves, and it’s now part of their culture, economics and society.

It’s the same thing with these two friends of mine. They need to actively change their subconscious to force themselves to care.

Until they prove that to me, though, I give up. I can’t help them….

Then why do I feel so guilty about it?

Teehee. Yes, I talk to my burds :3

Bird Video

Oh, Hi!

As I suspected, someone came along and thought that the opinion I exposed in my last post was my own opinion!! Haha!! I trickeded you!

Now, mystery commenter, I will respond first to your comments, and then to Thor-Rune’s.

1. Wich leads to the question – what do you think of capital punishment?

   Comment by Thor-Rune Hansen | May 20, 2009 <!– @ 4:20 pm –> | Reply

2. The bible justifies nothing, since it is written by us fallible humans, not god. The passage of time has twisted the books meaning, and there are quite a few things that have been removed, and added during that passage of time, or even altered to suit the needs of certain persons. There are hundreds of different iterations of the bible, are they all right? At best, the bible offers certain good advices, which modern society already incorporates in it’s very essence.

   Comment by - | May 21, 2009 <!– @ 9:42 am –> | Reply

3. No, but i didn’t ask you what you thought of the bible, i asked you what you thought of capital punishment

   Comment by Thor-Rune Hansen | May 21, 2009 <!– @ 11:32 am –> | Reply

4. I’m not Azarel, and I wasn’t speaking to you.

   Comment by - | May 21, 2009 <!– @ 12:35 pm –> | Reply

First of all, how dare you call me by my first name without telling me yours first! How rude!

Second, you’re right. The Bible has been changed a lot. Lots of parts have been taken out, others have been put in; there are even all sorts of translations and variations of it. But, I was using a widely accepted Bible (both by archealogical scholars and by the general public) and the Bible I grew up with is a respected one as well. The opinion I wrote my last post on is, as far as I can see, legitimate when viewed from that Bible’s perspective. My point in writing that post, is that anyone who says “I’m going to look at it from the Bible’s point of view” had better freakin’ back it up with Bible passages which show how and why that person came to the conclusion they did.

As I said at the end of my post,

“[...] this pretty much goes for anything. If I ask an opinion of someone, and they give me what they think is a scientific opinion, without them having researched the science behind the topic, they annoy me.”

I’m not about to argue the validity of the modern Bible with anyone, because, to be completely honest (and this may be hard to believe), I’m not a Biblical Scholar! Nor am I a scriptural archaeologist, nor do I even practice anything *remotely* similar to the religion I grew up with. I broke away from that lifestyle a long time ago.

A person who really believes and lives by the Bible, however, is obviously going to form their opinions on said book. From what I know of the Bible, there isn’t any recommendation in it that can’t be (in one form or another) applied to modern life, even if it needs some adjustment to accommodate modern civilization. I have no problem with people living by the Bible’s standards, as long as it’s not taken to the point of fanaticism.

But, I’m not going to argue the validity of the Bible with someone as pompous as *you*, Mystery Commenter, because the way you structured your comment made me feel that no matter what I say, or how I say it, I’m not going to convince you, even if I did somehow prove you wrong! So, there!

On the other hand,  your assertiveness intrigues me, and I’m curious as to your opinion regarding Execution

Now, Thor-Rune!

I’ve not formed my opinion about Execution yet.

One one hand, there’s the rage I feel when thinking of how some people are allowed to live, even though they’ve commited such heinous crimes (rape and mutilation, crimes against children, the elderly and the mentally ill). On the other hand, there’s the possibility that a person could have been framed, or that the person was falsely accused. Then again, science really has advanced to a point where (in some cases *NOT ALL*) the criminal’s identity can be determined. Unfortunately, humans haven’t “evolved” to a point where one can trust 100% in their accuracy in interpreting Science, due to bias, dishonesty, or any other number of factors.

There are just way too many variables I’m not familiar with, that make me uncomfortable to form my own opinion. I think that as I learn more about the Criminal Justice system, about victims, about criminals, and about psychology, I may be able to form my own opinion.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is, I don’t feel educated enough to form an opinion.

For now, then, I think I’ll just study and see what happens

Hi!

Please consider this an amendment to the previous Pet Peeves post. Before I begin my rant, I’ll give a little background info:

In my Criminal Justice and English Composition classes, we are sometimes asked to write essays in which we use people’s testimony or in which we use interviews as a form of evidence to support our thesis. One of my most recent essays, for example, was to analyze different responses to the US Law regarding Execution as Capital Punishment (for those convicted of 1st Degree Murder with Aggravating Circumstances). I was more than happy to interview tons of people (both online and offline); I’m a very curious person when it comes to the opinion of those around me.

Every once in a while, when I would ask someone “What’s your opinion regarding Execution as a form of Capital Punishment? Is it too harsh? Is it justified?” etc., someone would start off with a “Well, if I look at it from the religious point of view, it’s not really okay, since the Bible says that only God has the right to take and give life.”
Now, there are various things that irk me about this response.

First of all, in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Entire 20th Chapter of Leviticus gives parameters dictating what crimes/sins are punishable by death (note that murder is amongst them).

The very first part says: “Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives [a] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.” (Molech being sometimes used as a generic name for “false gods” or “pagan gods” from other countries.) As seen here, the very citizens of Israel were allowed, nay! REQUIRED to put the transgressor to death!

So, even the ancient Israelites were given permission (by the Almighty himself) to judge and execute any person who filled certain parameters in his crime. (With proper evidence, of course, the guidelines of which are given in this same book.)

Now, the Old Testament also speaks of a place where murderers could go to. A “place of refuge”, where murderers or those convicted of negligent manslaughter could go to or could be sentenced to. It’s sort like our time’s “life imprisonment without possibility of parole”… But even if a murderer would run to this place (say, for example, a man kills his wife, and he runs away before he is given a trial and sentenced), then the family of the victim is entitled to hunt him down, take him out of the “city of refuge” and present him to trial (I guess sort of like modern day bounty hunters? Except the family doesn’t get paid or anything, they do it because they want to see justice done). If he is found guilty and sentenced to death, the family of the victim (or the victim, in cases where murder isn’t the crime) has the right to “throw the first stone”!

Now, some may argue, “Well that’s the Old Testament, the New Testament/Greek/Christian scriptures are what matters.”

I invite those some to consider the following text: Romans 13 : 1-4, which speaks about the authorities/governments of the time, and which most religious scholars apply to modern governments. Now, I’m not saying “Listen to everything the government says, they’re always right, be blind and follow!” Of course not, I’m an advocate of questions. Always question your government, both its actions and its ideas.

But, as far as punishments dealt by the government, (police forces, the prison system, etc.), please notice especially verse 4, which reads: “For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer“.

In the time of the Greek/Roman Christians, the Old Testament was used as a guideline to judge those who had committed sins. The writer of this text most likely had in mind the Hebrew Scriptures when writing this passage.

It makes sense, if one really thinks about it:

If God has set guidelines, and the government(s) in question are (to some extent, I suppose) keeping to these guidelines by protecting society from those unfit to live in it, either by execution, or by imprisonment, it would make sense to think that God approves, and would allow such an institution from continuing to protect/serve humanity. The Police Department Motto does say “to serve and to protect”.

Now, some may argue that it would be barbaric to have the community go out and stone a murderer to death. It would be a modern day lynching (for lack of a better word). Well, perhaps in society such as the one we live in (where one can get sued for looking at someone wrong >_> ) it would be somewhat barbaric for one to deal out the punishment. But, that’s why the New Testament points out that it’s the *authorities* who are the ones to deal out both judgment and punishment. The last passage mentioned goes on to talk about “giving what is due” to the authorities (tribute, taxes, respect, etc.) and more or less encouraging those who read the passage to cooperate with the Law whenever possible (as in, whenever a Law does not contradict or clash with a guideline or principle set by God through the Bible).

So, in essence, the Bible does *not* condone Execution as Capital Punishment. Rather, it condones Murder, which is what those being executed are found guilty of. The Bible encourages fair trials, and has strict guildelines about evidence necessary to find any person guilty of any crime/sin.

*deep breath*

Now, the second part of the statement that peeves me is that, when asking the person I’m interviewing whether they’re religious or not they say “Well, no, I’m atheist” or “Well, no, I’m agnostic.”

My first inner reaction is “…. Well… WTF?! Why are you giving me an opinion based on the Bible then?!”

My second inner reaction is “Oh, but maybe this person is like me and, although doesn’t practice the religion he/she grew up with, knows plenty enough about the Bible to form an opinion on it.”

So, I ask “Oh, so do you read the Bible often, or did you grow up in a religious family?” (It’s common knowledge that one will often base one’s opinions on how one grew up, or what one was taught as one grew up.)

By far the most popular response was a “lolno! I’m just trying to look at it from a different perspective than mine! *doofus smile*”

GAH! and again GAH!

I’m asking these peopel THEIR opinions!!! I’m not asking them the Pope’s opinions, or their local evangelical preacher’s opinions!!! NO NO NO NO NO! *smacks interviewees hand with ruler*

You haven’t ever studied the Bible, much less read it, and you don’t even know whether or not you believe in God. WHAT IN THE NAME OF PANCAKES MAKES YOU THINK YOU ARE EDUCATED ENOUGH TO FORM AN OPINION  BASED ON THAT TRAIN OF THOUGHT!!!!

When I ask you your opinion, give me YOUR OPINION. Not the opinion you *think* a religious person might have, you DOOFUS!

*deep breath*

Excuse me readers. Unless  you were one of the JACKASSES who gave me the responses that irked me so much, please disregard the insults.

But this pretty much goes for anything. If I ask an opinion of someone, and they give me what they think is a scientific opinion, without them having researched the science behind the topic, they annoy me.

If I’m interviewing someone, what I want to know is what *that person* thinks, based off of what *that person* already knows. I don’t care what that person thinks another person might say (unless it’s what I’m asking >_>).

Okay I’m done….

(Wow, that felt good >:3 )

Ohai!

As Thor-Rune rightly pointed out, I didn’t keep my promise of posting new pictures of babies! Shame on me! *smacks own hand with rules*

But I finally did get around to it, what, a week later? lol

So far, only three of the babies have come out of their nest box: Heracles, Seven and Sophie. Before I show any pictures of them, allow me to explain how they got their names…

When Hercules was old enough to move around, and had some feathers, he would climb to the top of his brother and sister pile, and spread his leetol wings as faaaaaar as they could reach. Apparently with the idea of warming them while mum was away. My own mum discovered this behaviour and named him “Hercules”, or (more appropriately) “Heracles”.

Before any of the babies had hatched, my best friend recommended that I name the seventh bird… Seven. It’s a good androgenous name, and good for conversation

I’ve always loved the name “Sophie”. It has such an innocent ring to it, like a child one will always love. When you do see “Sophie” you’ll see how appropriate the name is.

Well, here they are!

In this photo, from left to right, are Monkey (dad), Heracles (eldest), Pachona (mum), Sophie (third hatched), and Seven (second hatched).

More photos to come as the babies leave the nestbox!

:3