Just a Thought. . .

This summer I’m living in Indianapolis with my fiancé. I chose to live here because I had taken summer classes at Ball State and then I was offered three jobs here and I was told that I wasn’t needed at my job in La Porte. So the choice was clear from a financial stand point to live here and from a practical standpoint when Erin and I go out to plan things related to the wedding. ( we have a ceremony and reception venue, caterer, and we’re looking into what to get for a cake. Not bad for the first month!) 

I will say that I really enjoy living down here as opposed to in La Porte. I don’t have the same home-grown-small-town feel but I think that I carry that with me no matter what. I do like the availability of things to do though. Which would be better if I had time to take advantage of those many opportunities. I should have expected it but I’m working almost all of the time. I’m making money though and thats the important thing since we have a wedding coming up in a year. 

For the most part I am thankful that Erin and I get to live under the same roof for awhile. Its hard to learn how to live with someone and this is like a practice run at doing so. We learn how to deal with the things that annoy each other and learn to enjoy each others company on a whole new level. 

Baggage is one of the most difficult things to deal with in a relationship. It’s learning not only to accept that you both have it, but also that it’s best to leave it behind

I’ve started my band arranging project and things are going great. I’m arranging Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek for full band. Its a daunting task but I plan to knock it our this weekend… I remember a time when I used to say “I’m not doing anything this weekend!” I guess those days are behind me now. Welcome to being an adult…

So here’s my deal with OSX, in particular, Lion and the soon to come Mountain lion. They are designed for the Mac but “inspired” by the iPad. If I wanted an iPad I would by one. I don’t want to use my computer like an iPad because my computer is not an iPad. I can’t poke the screen of my computer and make Jesus come out of it riding a unicorn… only the iPad can do that. I downgraded back to Snow Leopard recently and I’m not sure why I left. Now I just have to figure out how to get all of my old apps back… hmmm…

Life is a funny thing…. One moment your heartbroken and thinking that you’ll never find anyone that can match the same kind of crazy you are and then the next you’re putting a downpayment on an engagement ring… I’ll admit it seems like I’ve been moving a little fast with this relationship but to be quite honest its because I felt something with her that I never felt with anyone else. I knew in the first week of dating her that she was the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. When love is real, its something that nothing can compare. Ever since I heard that famous passage from the bible about love I’ve wanted to be with someone who embraces these words as much as I do.

“Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

It may sound stupid but I believe in soul mates and I feel incredibly lucky to have found mine.

This has been by far the most difficult semester I’ve ever had to deal with. I’ve wasn’t necessarily challenged that much either. It was a great deal of busy work and not much education. Its very sad that thats what it was but its finally over and I can begin to relax and enjoy my winter break.

I always start of my winter with a trip to Pokegon State Park in Angola, Indiana. I’ve been coming here every year since my birth and it never really feels like I can get into the Christmas spirit until our trip to Pokegon. We spend the weekend with friends and family every year playing board games and catching up on the time we’ve spent apart. This year I had a bit of difficult getting here. After the horrible finals week and a crappy semester altogether I was twenty miles away from my destination when I blew out a tire. The vehicle I’m driving isn’t mine; it belongs to my grandparents and is really only used as a back-up vehicle. I made it so far and then when I really needed it to come through for me, it failed. I had to then change a tire in the dark, along an incredibly busy highway in the cold. I’m somewhat of a professional at changing tires but this one was a challenge for me. I had never encountered a tire that was actually rusted to the vehicle. No matter how hard I tried that tire was not coming off. I did all I could and even hit it a few times with my wrench but that wasn’t enough. It then hit as to how I’ve felt about the semester and also how I felt at that very moment: defeated. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get ahead of the problem. This semester had beaten me and I promised myself that I would never let that happen again. I eventually did get the tire off with a fit of rage and my wrench. I beat the living hell out of the tire and on the final blow it popped off. It was my one victory that I had had in a while and it was a sweet victory. I’m ready to enjoy my time away from school and relax with my family.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. Remember what this holiday represents and never lose sight of whats important during the holidays: Love.

For this past Thanksgiving holiday I went to Disney world with my family and my high school marching band. I had fun on trip but it just didn’t feel like a normal Thanksgiving. We didn’t reminisce about the past years or have a wonderful home cooked meal or even ate together at all for that matter. We were disjunct from one another and its probably the worst Thanksgiving I will ever have. 

Despite the disappointing holiday, I had a blast going on rides with my sisters. They would actually fight over who got to ride with me. It was tons o’ fun but it would’ve been better if my Grandfather hadn’t ended up in the hospital for the majority of his vacation. He was diagnosed with an infection and, being a two time cancer survivor and diabetic, they decided to keep him in the hospital until he got better. He’s better and my family is on their way home now.

The best part about the whole vacation was coming home to the woman I love. Thats when I knew that I was home…

You’ve more than likely seen these sorts of things in the news over the past few weeks. The Occupy Wall Street movement is what its called. Its interesting to say the least. From what I understand, its about “we the people” taking on the man and his corporate greed and about fighting inequality. Their slogan, “We are the 99%” refers to how only 1% of the population controls the majority of the wealth in this country. I can’t say that I’m out there protesting with them but I also can’t say that I completely disagree with their stance. They’re fighting for the common man against the lobbyist and other people who can sway government officials with enticing offers such as status and wealth. I know that this sort of thing has been happening for years but it makes you wonder what happened to the good in people. We have elected officials to be the voice of many but they end up being the voice of the highest dollar.

What happened to the America that we learned about in elementary school. The place that everyone all over the world wanted to come live in because they could make a better life for themselves here. We had what their country didn’t. Freedom, equality, and a second chance. We used to be one of the greatest nations on the planet and now were a laughing stock to the rest of the world. The America that we were taught as kids doesn’t exist anymore and we have capitalism to blame for that.

Capitalism is fine and all but its contorted our morals. Most people won’t do anything without some monetary reward waiting for them at the end of the task. Maybe I’m just a child of the 90’s and believe in equality and treating others as I would want to be treated and not receiving a reward for every little thing we accomplished. I truly believe in the good in people. Its just been overpowered by selfishness. I can thank my parents, Nickelodeon, and comic book superheroes for teaching me those things. Nowadays kids just want to see what happens next on Jersey Shore. A show that they shouldn’t be watching in the first place but aren’t told not to because their parents are so busy trying to provide a better life for their children.

Which brings us full circle to why these parents are struggling to make enough money to allow their family to live comfortably. A majority of the wealth in the country is controlled by a small minority of the population. Its gotten so difficult to find a steady line of work for just about everyone. I’m not sure what this Occupy Movement will accomplish. All I hope for is that it leads to a better future.