"Live" less Live more...

My Thoughts
There is alot to be said about someone who has enough self discipline to budget their time and money. Over the past couple weeks I have been attempting to do exactly that however the actually pulling it off is another story. I consistently find myself in only two gears, not doing anything and spending everything. I know somewhere in between is the balance but finding it is harder than it seems. So for now I locked a sizable amount of money (while I still have it) away in a certificate. This is only my temporary solution, eventually I will have to find something more permanent.

College and Careers (Having it all!)
College students think that they have to sacrifice their ability to get great and exciting jobs while they are going to school. However the truth is far from it. Through my own experiences I have observed that even in high school, people that are driven and have a developed skill set can get jobs that are gratifying and pay well.

When I was in high school I applied at a small computer repair shop not thinking that I would get the job. However to my surprise I ended up having the opportunity to make 10-15 dollars an hour over the course of a year. I learned everything from registry editing to RAID configurations and when my friends asked me where I worked I would proudly inform them I worked for P4 and More on Main St. Unlike the rest of my friends who didn't want to be seen by girls at work I was more than anxious to let people know I worked for a decent wage at a job that took some skill. In college so far I started at Subway (a easy mindless job) where I did not mind working but I didn't LOVE working there. So I applied for other jobs until I landed a job with a local Internet Service Provider. Now I work in an industry that both pays well and interests me, something that could not have happened if I accepted my title as a college freshmen.

My point is simple no matter what your age and social title, If you have a skill set and Drive you can start a gratifying and self fulfilling life career now!

Trying to put it in words...

Definition;

Recently I have been attending classes at Oregon State, Working at Alyrica Networks and living in Corvallis. This is a brief and current definition of who I am in society.

Thursday, It rained and my friends were in town. Given all the choices of activities to do after 10:00 pm we decided to explore a local forest while it continued to precipitate cats and dogs. The aftermath was one sick individual who was unable to make it to work, school, and prior social engagements.
Within the context of Thursday night I was an irresponsible, unintelligent and adventurous person. However you can’t define a person within a single moment. Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover. All have said so far is common knowledge, you know, I know and they know. However what most people don’t see because of our limited perspectives is the ability for people to change and grow through ought life. From my limited view as of 19 years I see things like college, career and marriage as stone setting moments or as some refer to as death sentences. I’ve always been unable to see past that invisible growing up barrier, well that is until recently. I thought when I graduated id be off to some great adventure but there really has been no “adventure” if you ask me high school is the great “adventure” the adventure with little or no consequences. The important thing I have taken away from this recent disappointment is that my perspective is very limited and that as I grow through life I have not lost anything I could not keep and I have only consolidated a world of experiences to take with me into the next chapter.

Tomorrow I will be a learning, understanding and experience loving individual. That, will be a permanent definition of who I am.

A Good Night with No Luck

When attempting to contemplate ones life and its direction you cant help but feel just a little lost and overwelmed. That is how I have felt for the last month. I do not know what I'm trying to do or why I am trying to do it. I have no desire to really do anything more than what I am doing now except for the little voice in my head telling me that I need to perform so that society sees me as a unique outstanding individual. I continue to listen to that little voice and make desicions that society would prefer me to make.

Today I cleaned the garage, washed dishes, and bought groceries. My only contact with humanity today was avoiding people at Winco. It seems to be pretty busy at Winco on Sundays. Im used to being there at 2 or 3 in the morning so I never have to manuever in and around people shopping. The garage was full of maggots and flies. I found several pieces of meat rotting. I also filled about 5x33 gallon trash bags. I am not tired physically but I am mentally. I called Luke today to see if he wanted to hang out but he was busy. Jared had to work and so did Kevin. So i just sat at my house. I dont know what to do with myself. Well good night all.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. -Albert Einstein

So I have been thinking...

Life
I have reached a state of isolation in my life I rarely experiance. I am at a point where my social interaction is limited to joking around with Co-workers, listening to my grandpa and Watching TV series with a few friends. Yet I really dont feel connected to any of these groups. If I were alone on an island I would feel no more desolate than I am now. I am not entirely unhappy with my situation it has allowed me to analyze what is important to me in life. It has also allowed me to have a well balanced lifestyle. Healthy eating, exercise, hobbies and work have been my companions. However I am on the eve of going to college and as I journey towards college I must say goodbye to my current companions. Part of me wishes I could take classes in Isolation. Over the course of the summer I have grown comfortable with sitting alone for the majority of the day. There is a certain sense of security you can find in seperating yourself from social dependencies.


Love,
I only love ideas, hope, and simplicity. These three things I have grown to love or more so I have learned that these are what I have loved all along I just viewed them as something entirely different before. I have never loved a person for who they were but more so for my conceptual thoughts of them and the hope that they would continue to improve their person. Also I have learned to enjoy simplicity in life. Soft Music, Clean straight forward images (taken from my graphic design). I hope someday I am either corrected in my current tinkerings of the mind or that I am clarified in my thoughts. My current state of mind lacks sure footedness. Thank you for reading I hope you have something to add.

"What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so."

--From Hamlet (II, ii, 115-117)

"At length we emerged from the forest..."

Running today was quite inspiring in many ways. It was also alot of fun. It began at the bald hill parking lot, where I parked my car and quickly stretched. I decided that today I would take the paththat goes around the side of the hill instead of assaulting the hill directly. The begginings of the run were very mild calm and uneventfull. However as I kept running and the grade got steeper and steeper I began my internal struggle of will over lazyness. As I rounded the last bend that was familiar to me I could hear the rushing of a lawnmower of sorts. that was on the hillside. It encouraged me to keep a healthy pace, because the sound was loud and irritating. I finally reached a point where the path made an about face in the direction I had just come. However now I was farther up the hill overlooking the path I had just run. So I kept a steady pace marching up the hill. Untill I hit a downhill portion of the path. and when I followed it the path seemed to become narrower and the trees seem to grown in around me. Untill finally I was practically ducking my way through the forest. Not knowing my bearings I continued to run at a faster and faster pace feeling both claustraphobia and anxiety. The path seem to go on forever and my mind calculating my current pace and how long it was taking to get to my destination began to worry. It was although I was Alice in wonderland tumbling down the rabbit hole wondering when would it ever end. After what seemed like an eternity I began to see glimpses of Sunshine beaming through the trees and quicker than I could take in the sight I was launched out of the forest and into the familiar Bald Hill running paths. It was quite an amazing run when it was all over. Yet when I got back to my car I felt more relaxed and refreshed than when I had began my run almost as though I gained energy through my run. Infact I could probably go run it again and again and not feel a thing. Well I think I will take that path once more tommorrow. But if your ever are in my neighbor hood I highly recommend checking it out.

Wednesday, August 30.

The Day, Like most days I awoke and went back to sleep. Not because I needed more sleep, that is the last thing I really need. Mainly because I could not justify waking up any earlier. You see there is a certain amount of productivity that I can endure within a 24 hour period after that I have to begin entertaining myself. However the bi-product of entertainment is often spending money, and if I limit my waking hours to those that do not require entertainment then I have very efficiently cut costs in living. So in conclusion while you may actually think of my slugardly lifestyle is a waste I am actually saving valuable resources that will now be more accurately used. So go ahead wake up smell the morning air and spend your money frivilously on "FUN."

Yeah so were was I, oh thats right, I awoke and Discovered that my computer would not boot. Apparently my new founded OS (Suse Linux 10.1) decided to crash on me and so I have quickly reconverted back to Windows XP anxiously anticipating the release of Windows Vista. After my morning fiasco I dedicated the rest of my short and brief day to hunting down automotive parts. Finally around 1:30pm I was called into work only to bring me to where I am right now. Typing... that seems to be my latest hobby, as though I were typing in an effort to compile some greater text or record of my simple but human life.

August Contemplation

Lost Interlude,
So it has been quite some time since my last official post. This can be blamed on my latest switch to Linux 10.1 or on my newly obtained lifestyle (sporadic) and a number of other things. No matter what I choose to blame it on one thing is true I need to get back on track. So that is what I am doing. I apologize to the audience of one or two that checks my blog regularly.

Today,
Was the epitamy of well nothingness. However I did make a mild amount of progression in my life. In the areas of Health and Fitness. The day tasted bland and I feel almost more asleep now than when I awoke. Almost as if I never really had need to awake.

Lately,
So where have I been? Lincoln City Beach Parties, All Night Poker Matches, Watching Movies, Fixing Cars, Working, and Running. All of the things that fill time, make you feel well rounded but leave you with little or no spare resources. Something I hate is not having spare resources (time & money). So I have temporarily given up this tom foolery and returned to stable living in my isolated basement, writing little blogs so i can remember what I have accomplished in my life and know that others are well informed.

Canned Food,
So I have lately been stocking up on canned foods even though I dont even eat more than a meal or two a week at home I have this odd belief that I will someday utilize the resources put before me. Since canned food lasts for a very long time it seems practical to buy. I am only one and am not able of consuming fresh foods within their alloted time before they go bad.

Transcendent Thought,
"If I could learn to live meagerly and enjoy surplus, then would I truly prosper."

Sunday August 20th

Church and Red Bull?
This morning I woke up around 9:15 tired as can be not wanting to go to church as always cause it would require me to lose prescious hours of sleep. However this morning I had a back up plan to defeat the evils of my sleep mongering body. I awoke to the sound of the alarm and quickly rushed into my kitchen opened my fridge to hear the chorus of angels singing allelujah and bright white light beaming from its little cold chasm. Yet in the center of all this comotion lay a beautiful chilled 8.3 fl oz redbull. (who the hell decided they should be 8.3 fl ounces beats me) I pulled it up out of the frosty abyss and poped its little aluminum tab and partook of its nasty taurininess and then went back to bed. After about 5 minutes of sitting on my bed however it kicked in and I quickly became energized, took a shower (still using my snake peel body lotion) and jumped in my car and made it to church on time.

Moral of the story, Do not mix Red Bull, Cocaine and Alcohol with Stevie Wonder Albums...

On a more serious note, do what it takes to get to church on Sunday.

Thursday August 17th

Cleaning
My day started off cleaning almost everything in my section of the house and doing laundry. I also baked brownies in my minature toaster oven! they didnt turn out perfect but this is only the start to something great.

BBQ
Around 5pm I headed up to Albany to chill with my brother Luke and go to a BBQ at Molly's sisters house. They were very hospitable and kind people. Had a good time, many intellectual discussions took place with one of the guys there.

Night Continued,
After the BBQ I headed over to apartment L home of Ketch, Todd, and Shawn who are all good friends of mine since Freshmen year. Upon Arrival I watched Todd take second on a texas holdem 30 man Tourney. taking home a winnings of $43.20 not bad for second. Of course it was a small buy in table. Apparently he has been making good money at it. Anyways after that we all hung out at Apartment L for a bit and then headed of to Apartment J. I left around 2:30am and went to bed about 3:00am.

Expense Report July 24 to August 17th

My expenses this period are mildly inflated due to necessary asset purchases. Also not all expenses are accounted for in this report. This is due to insufficient record keeping.

• Food Expense: $37.61
• Gas Expense: $86.10
• Assets Purchased: $349.36
• Supplies Expense: $21.60
• Entertainment Expense: $12.00

Total Tracked Expenses: $506.67
Total Income During Period: $891.60
Total Savings Deposited: $268.06
Unaccounted for Expenses: $116.87


Unaccounted for expenses include any purchases during the August Vacation and receipts misplaced or lost.

Wednesday August 16th

Discovery,
Today I discovered a wonderful new product called Axe Snake Peel body wash. Not only does this body wash leave you smelling good (like all Axe products), but it leaves your skin feeling amazingly smooth and wonderful feeling. It has abrasive micro thingys that peels your dead skin layers allowing your live tissue to breath which feels unbeleivable. anyways, yeah highly Recomended by Samuel Dotson.

No Power... But lots of Work?
I arrived at work around 3:00pm and the power was out. I was unable to change into my work clothes for the first few minutes as I searched for a flash light. At first I thought no power = no work right? Wrong! apparently Subway is the only non dependent fast food franchise on 9th street. Thats what we get for having fresh produce! So every body and their dog seemed to want to eat at subway. Even Subway employees who had the day off came in for a sandwich. wich is very uncommon considering we are all tired of the food. Power returned after an hour or so. but the people kept coming and we were pretty far behind on our work, not having power and all. My short shift quickly turned into a full shift. On the bright side it looks as though Sam is getting overtime this week!

Retirement
So now I am retiring to cleaning my house and taking care of my other business. Maybe a little gaming too. Farewell and Good Night!

Tuesday August 15th

Today was suppose to be my day off however it was cut short when Sherrel called me into work. Apparently Brittney had a migrane and needed someone to come in so she could leave early. No problem for me really cause I had nothing else really to do except spend money.

Wierdest day though at work, people seemed to just continue to come in at a nice steady pace throughout the entirety of my shift. So I really got almost nothing done on my chore list. Also for some strange reason my other Co-worker didnt seem to ever get the idea to come out front and help with the customers. So there I was stuck dealing with Customers by myself the majority of the time. However it was a short day only 2:00-5:00. Afterwards I ate a Footlong BLT and collected my paycheck.

When I got home I checked the Myspace and MSN and then headed out to My brother Lukes new apartment in Albany. We got the idea to make greek tacos also known as guerros or something like that. Molley was there and she helped us make them. After dinner we talked about some stuff and then I headed home, to retire to gaming it up on steam.

Summer Vacation

Summary
My brothers and their significant others as well as my parents and I gathered for a minature family reunion. It began on Friday and ended on Sunday. It was held in Hermiston, Oregon at my Parents House. Activities included lots of eating, Farm City Pro Rodeo, Umatilla Fair and Cliff Jumping. It was a grand time for us all and I believe we will continue to gather together several times a year.


Intro
I awoke on Thursday with a mild case of anxiety. I wanted to pack and leave as soon as possible. Luckily I still had to wash my clothes and take care of some cleaning at home. So I was properly delayed by sorting, washing, vacuuming, folding and other menial tasks. I finished most of my self-assigned tasks by about 2:00 p.m. and proceded to head to Russel's House. Upon arrival their I discovered nobody was at home. I called him only to find out he was at my house to have dinner with my grandparents before he left. So I headed back home and we ate dinner at my house around 6:00pm. After dinner we headed back to Russels house where we watched a movie and headed to bed. I awoke Friday without anxiety.


The Trip
We made our way east through the Cascade mountains and found ourselves in Sisters. We ate Lunch at the Gallery in downtown Sisters. After lunch we continued to travel north to Biggs Junction and then East to Hermiston Oregon. All along the way I pointed out land marks and interesting facts to Shannon. We arrived around 4:30 in Hermiston.


Cliff Jumping
The uncondoned sport by all parents however everytime i find myself in Hermiston I have to participate in this wonderous event. We first took my brother Luke and his girlfriend Molley out to the cliffs with us on Saturday. Matt and I proceded to lead by example as we jumped off of all the cliffs available to us. Thus Demonstrating the safety of the situation. Luke however was not convinced and only jumped off of cliffs that did not exceed 6ft. However Molley a bit more daring and a deep down thrill seeker proceeded to test her limites with higher cliffs untill stopping at a nice 22 footer. The next day we brought the Parents out to the cliffs and the dog. My mom did not take long to start jumping into the water. While it took about 30 minutes for my dad to even put his feet in the water. After about an hour or so he jumped off of the 6ft cliff which is quite an accomplishment if you know my dad. after a good 2 days of cliff jumping I feel as though I am good for the remainder of the year. So untill next year!


Farm City Pro Rodeo
My Parents bought all of use Tickets to the Rodeo in Hermiston. There we witnessed everything from bull riding, to steer wrestling to barrel racing. It was very entertaining to watch as cowboys would goof up or things would go wrong. It was also amazing to see a cowboy pull everything he set out to do in an almost perfect manner. However I do have to say that the Rodeo Clowns were the center of entertainment at the Rodeo. They seemed to be full of quck jokes and querky body movements. Overall I would go again. The only conn would be the wooden benches that quickly begin to hurt after the first couple events.


The Trip part 2
We departed late in the evening and arrived even later. Overall the trip back was very un-eventfull. We headed West to Portland and then South to Albany. We stopped twice first at Biggs Junction and Second along the Highway to change drivers. I was also able to check out Lukes new Apartment which seemed nice and had good begginings to being furnished.

Monday August 14, 2006

Monday started off a bit earlier than most. I awoke at 8:05 a.m. to the sound of my alarm clock playing K-Fly. My body was confused at first why it had to wake up at such an early time but I quickly reminded it of my work schedule. I had just been on vacation in Hermiston, Oregon for the past three days when I got home last night at midnight.

So I stumbled my way out of bed and into my shower. After my body was clean of oils and dirt I brushed my teeth and put in my contacts. Shortly there after drove to work. I felt like I was underwater unable to understand those talking around me and unable to move at a reasonable speed. I was Neo in the matrix with life passing by at an unreal slow pace, except he was able to actually dodge the bullets while it seemed I just kept getting in their way. Another one of my Co-Workers decided to call in sick and so alas we had to pick up the slack untill we could call some-one else in. When my shift was finally over, a co-worker from the next shift arrived but without his uniform. Apparently he had left it at home and was unable to get a bus ride back to his house. So I was hired out to drive him to his house and retrieve his pants. So after a 9 hour shift I called it quits to retire to my house and dedicate the rest of my evening to blogging and music.