long live rock and roll

For those that don't know me, music is pretty much my life. It has completely made me who I am today. Playing it, listening to it, talking about it. I love music. Now, even though I can and frequently do listen to pretty much everything that is real (this excludes pop and most hip-hop). However, I wouldn't be the same if I didn't have rock and roll. No nonsense, no frills, just hard driving heavy hitting rock and roll. I love the noise, I love the force, I love the life.



Rock and roll is unlike any other genre because it's so incredibly diverse with an infinite number of sub catergories that go on forever (hence the infinite). And the evolution of rock is just amazing. It started off amazing and has only gotten better. From the Beatles to the Stones to Floyd and the Who, to the 70's metal movement, 80's punk, 90's grunge and todays hardcore.

So the whole point to this was that I made an awesome Pandora station today that's nothing but no non-sense rock and roll. It made my day sort of.

I got this totally awesome poster of Dave Grohl and Liz got a totally awesome Almost Famous movie poster. She can look at Dave Grohl, I'll look at Kate Hudson in her underwear.

Fin

wisdom in slipknot

It's been what, 14 months? You'd think that it'd be water under the bridge by now. But the bridge doubles as a damn and even though most got through, there's still a pretty big pond behind it. It's hard to explain as it changes day to day, mood to mood. I can't say 100% that I'm over and done with it. But I can say 99% I don't want to go back there. That 1% though...it's a big 1%. And I don't know if it's because of her or just that I miss being in a relationship. I miss our relationship. I miss what we had. I've been missing it a lot lately. I don't know it is. Must be the season. It's just hard, after 3 years it's hard to imagine myself in the same situations with someone else. All that history, all the trust, all those memories. I just don't feel like I have the energy to do that again. Start from the beginning...I just don't know. A palm reader told her a few years ago that she was going to marry me. I never believed those things...but it stuck in my head.

Ugh. I don't know. I don't give myself enough credit.

I got my ears pierced and stretched. (apparently gauged isn't a real word). It hurt, they're a size 4. But totally worth it. Plus, I got to have an awesome south street adventure with Liz. Mad good times.

It's 10:18pm. I've been sitting in the CAB office since 8:30 waiting to here who got elected CAB president. I think I'm just going to go home and wait for the phone call.

Ugh.

Currently listening to the magic of Pandora lifting my mood with music.

craig is a mofo

So I did something today that I thought I'd never do. I replied to a personal ad on the (im)famous craigslist. I was just casually browsing the entire site while I avoided working and this one just caught my eye. It was really nerdy (which is right up my alley) and described relationships in terms of organic chemical reactions. She was looking for someone to "bond" with her to form a more stable pair (a common occurrence in nature where different elements of higher energy will bond to release that energy, thus becoming more stable). I know, it's really nerdy. And at times, it seemed even a little dirty! ("I can donate and receive and am a bit on the cobalic side, highly conductive and able to organically bond from both ends when surrounded by a bit of danger").

So I just wrote a quick reply back saying that I really liked your post and just left it open for her to respond if she felt like it. I wonder if anything will come out of this. I'm not actively out there looking for a mate, but it would be nice to have someone to be with. Whatever, we'll see what happens. I mean, hey, I've gotten a great TV, nice couches, and a nice bike from craigslist, why not a nice girl to?

Speaking of girls, I've been talking to my friend a lot lately. This would be my best friend, the girl that continuously broke my heart for 3 really great years. It brought about a lot of really weird feelings. I don't necessarily want to be with her again, but I really do miss her and I still care about her so much. It's just weird to here her talk about her life and me not be a part of it when for so long, we were each other's entire lives. I dunno, just thought I'd share.

**currently listening to the guy in the next office whistle....terribly**

Danger Fish Designs

What do you think of that name? I think I'm going to name my bags that. Maybe I'll develop some kind of cool angry fish logo to put on them. I was orignally thinking of "Tharper" as the name, but I don't know. It doesn't sit well. Feels awkward to say.

I'm so excited to go home and make my bags. I tested the melting plastic idea and it worked really well. This is going to be great. I have so many color combination ideas and ideas for logos. It's gonna rock. AND my ultra bff is going to hang out with me all day and help me make them. I'm excited. Makes me miss the old times with her, but that's a whole other story.

Speaking of friends from home...my other really good friend almost drowned over the weekend. Here's what happened. There is this road leading into Duncannon, the town he lives in. This road goes underneath some railroad tracks and consequently is dug pretty deep down to make clearence. This area also happens to be where the Juniata and the Susquehanna rivers meet. So when it rains any good amount, this section of road (dubbed the "subway") floods, sometimes pretty bad. Usually when it does, PennDOT closes the road down until it drains out. But for some reason, this time they didn't. They got a lot more rain back home than we did here, so of course the subway flooded. He's driving back from Wal-Mart at like 2am (it's all we country kids have to do at night) and he's headed towards the subway. It's not lit...for whatever reason...so he doesn't notice the 3' of water sitting in there and drives right into it. The only problem (other than the fact that he just swamped his car and can't move it) is that it's still raining and the water is still rising...fast. He can't open the door or the window because they're automatic and the water shorted them out. He calls 911 and police are on their way. But he's still stuck in there. He fights with the window until he finally gets it low enough to crawl out. At this point the water is up to his chin. He climbs out onto the roof and awaits rescue. By the time they got there, the water was over the roof of the car. He just bought the car two weeks ago too. He's alright, but damn, what a story to tell at parties, right?

The war on the female gender

My best friend was just hired as a waitress at a really nice restaurant in Harrisburg. For those unfamiliar with Harrisburg, they have a section of the city call restaurant row. It's a collection of very nice bars and restaurants that are always packed every night of the week. So to work there is kind of a big deal and it has a HUGE mid 20's early 30's crowd. A.k.a. drunken douche bags. So of course, as with most restaurants these days, they hire on looks more than ability. Well my friend is pretty good looking and is well endowed if you get my meaning, and she's a fantastic waitress so getting hired was't that hard.

But once there she realized what kind of a hell it is. She's been offended several times by the cook staff and she's been there less than a week. And she can't tell the owner because he's already given her shit for wearing pants that he feels are "too loose."

This is rediculous. It's so sad that we as a society still have these kinds of things going on, even after all the progess women have made. When will we stop exploiting woman and start respecting them as the equals they are?

People don't see a problem today because it's the social norm. Woman are supposed to be skinny, wear as little clothing as possible and not speak up. But why? Why does how tight your pants are have anything to do with how well you serve tables? Women deserve more respect than that.

***

the war on the middle class

Apparently that's the title of a very good book that was recommended to me.

Today at work, I got involved in a conversation with some of the guys in the shop. Now these guys are in their high 40's and some are in their 50's. They have kids in school and college, mortgages, car payments, etc. And they're scared. They're scared that they won't have jobs in the future. The ones that are there now have seen the size of the shop staff drop by over half. Why? Because everyone's trying save money anywhere they can. They're pay is not increasing (some are actually going to be decreasing by 2010), yet their health care premiums, insurance premiums, gas bills, and interest rates are going up. Where is that money going?


It's making someone very rich while making the rest of us very poor. I'm sick of it. I've seen it first hand. My dad has lost more than one job due to outsourcing the work to cheaper labor. What's he supposed to do? He's 57 with no education. And what is my brother supposed to do? He dropped out of high school and never went to college. It's nothing bad about him, he was never a good student, school just wasn't his thing. He's blue collar. So where do blue collar people work anymore? All the manufacturing jobs are in the China, all the tech support jobs are in India.

I was talking to my friend the other day. He's an economist and a hard core capitalist. Although he's somewhat idealistic in that he honestly believes that capitalism promotes strong economies by making people better themselves. He's a fan of outsourcing because it produces a cheaper product. And that the wealth of the few "trickles down" to the many. He believes that America is changing from a manufacturing nation to a tech and management nation.


BULLSHIT.

America doesn't manufacture anything anymore. And that's fucking scary. Not only does this mean that the tens of millions of Americans that can't go to school can't get a good paying factory job. It also means that if someone were to disrupt our trade, we're boned. Imagine, our military is already stretched unbelievably thin. Now what happens if North Korea puts up a blockcade or forces China to stop exporting? We lose everything and we have no safety net.

America is too big to be completely service and managerial oriented. 300 million people and they can't all go to college and get degrees. School isn't for everyone. And even those that go to school can't afford it anymore because tuitions keep sky rocketing.

And as far as trickle down economics are concerned, I have two words: big oil. How can these companies be sporting record profits with oil prices souring through the roof? Where does it start trickling down? Why does the CEO of a company make millions of dollars while the people actually doing the work are scrapping buy with barely anything? Where's this trickle?

I could go on and on. But it would only continue to piss me off.

Sorry for the angry post. This shit just fires me up.

almost the home stretch

I scheduled for most of my classes today. I'm pretty excited about it. I have Mondays off and only one class on Fridays. However, I do not have my grad course scheduled yet.

This term is the start of the real deal. Up until now I treated college like high school. I did enough just to get by. Granted, getting by for me were A's and high B's. But still, I never worked too hard on anything. But now it's starting to get serious. How I do in school is going to affect more than just my GPA. It's going to affect the rest of my life. This is where I find out if I'm cut out to be an engineer. This is where I find out what I want to do with my life. It's time to start taking things a bit more seriously.

But I'm honestly not too worried. I've never had a problem finishing what I started. I never really look at something and say "it's too much." I just look at it as what has to be done and I do it.

This term I start the BS/MS program. Basically I'm dropping 4 undergrad classes and adding a crap load of graduate courses. So for the same price and the same period of time, I will graduate with both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. Woot. Smart move really. Considering that it'll be 6 years of college by the time I get out of here. I'd like a little more than a BS to show for it.

Arts and Crafts

So I went biking with my friend on Saturday and I realized that I needed two things. Well, technically, I only need one thing: gloves. However, I haven't gotten a new bag of any type for some time now and a I figured it'd be a good idea to upgrade. There's only one problem. For some reason, a good bag costs over $100...easily. Which is rediculous. Especially considering half the hipster douche bags using them can't afford a shower and a shave. How the hell do they get these nice bags? So, I started doing some internet research. There had to be a company out there that makes great bags on the cheap. But before I even looked at a retailer or designer, I found this interesting podcast on youtube on how to make your own messenger bag, for free! (relatively speaking, of course).

So now I'm on a mission. Some of my friends offer their support for my project, while some (inlcuding the one I went riding with on saturday) are skeptical. All the same, it's pretty much free, so...why not? Besides, it'll give me something to do in Newport while I'm home for spring break.

So today, I've been bounding the interweb trying to find ideas, accessories, tips, patterns, etc. I've come across some cool sites. I started printing out patterns (as well as making some of my own) and assembling little paper prototypes. They are all good designs, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I figure, if I'm makin it for me, why not make it exactly that I want? Right? Right.

The next step is to examine my skeptical friends bags and take some measurements. Then I think I should be able to bang out a desing that works really well.

After that, I'll start making prototypes out of fabric. On that note, if anyone has any fabric to spare, an old t-shirt or something, shoot me an email. I'd love it.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some photos of my prototypes. Let me know what you think!

This one is wide opening bag with a rectangular profile. I like that because the other one has a very narrow opening since the sides are triangular. I think I'm going to shoot for something in the middle of these two.

Here is the profile of the rectangle side. Give the bag overall more room inside.

This is the triangle side. You'll see the classic messenger bag desgign. I just don't like how narrow the opening is.

And the side view:

"...the love of which is the route of all evil"

Money.

American life revolves around it. More than just American life, anyone in a developed country lives for money. It's the reason for existing, for waking up each morning and going to a shitty job, for going to college to get a less shitty job. It is the basic human necessity.

And everybody wants more. Be honest, you wish you had a little extra cash in your pocket every now and then. I know I do all the time. That doesn't make me greedy. It makes me human. There's a fine line between wanting to better yourself and being greedy. It's all related to why we want money and what we'd do with it.

Greed is wanting more than you need, wanting more than anyone else. You don't share, you horde. You buy things you don't need. You surround yourself with labels and designers and brand names because you think it gives you some status in society. Meanwhile, no one wants to talk to you because you look down on anyone that isn't rich like you.

I don't want that. I don't want "things." I could care less who made my jeans, as long as they fit me. Don't get me wrong, having nice things is nice, but be reasonable. You can find a handbag that looks just as nice at target. I don't need a solid gold toilet. I want more money so I can experience more in life; enrich it with new experiences and relationships, not new "things" to clog my already crowded apartment. I want to travel, I want to go see more shows, and I want to explore new hobbies like skiing and biking and silk-screening. Wealth isn't defined by what you have, but what you do. And I want to share all these new experience with friends.

I kind of lost where I was going with this, but point is, it's ok to desire more money. It's the basis that is needed to better ones life in this new world. Sure you can go live on a mountain and obtain spiritual nirvana by meditating with chipmunks. And I'm sure your life will be just as fulfilling, but that's not for everybody. I like the life I'm living. It just costs money to live it.

my friends list is bigger than yours

I steal all my topic ideas from other people


I just read the most recent post by my friend and future roommate. In it she mentions facebook and it's affect on young people today and their relationships. And I have to say, I agree with everything she said. These sites take something that traditionally requires years of building trust and sharing moments and reduce them into petty Internet games of grab-ass where you try to get as many friends as possible. An ex-girlfriend told me that I just don't get it. And I guess I never will. My friends list is small. My facebook is rarely signed on to. And the only people that I actually interact with on there are the same people I interact with in real life. It's more of an extension of tools for sharing, not for replacing true feelings with emoticons.

Enough of that. On to more interesting things, like the fact that I went skiing for the second time in my life on Sunday (no thanks to Merd...jk) I have to say, I've fallen in love with it. I've been skiing for a grand total of two days, and I can already tell I'll be doing it for the rest of my life. It's so much fun. I can't wait to go again this Sunday.

*currently listening to Jack make copies on the machine right outside my door while he watches me blog instead of doing work.

a man that needs no introduction...

4 years in college is too many. 6 years in college is a bit rediculous. The fact that people need to go to college to just get a job that pays well enough to put store-brand food on their milk-crate tables is rediculous. But don't let me get started on that...

The fact is, I'm burnt out. I'm stuck in the collegiate limbo rut. I'm in the between. Between still be an irresponsible post-teen college kid with my only concerns being where the next party is and when the next mid-term is and being a full-flegded adult with a job and a place to live. I'm both, and that's too much. I still get to be a college kid, because...well...I'm still in college. I get to go the parties, I get to sleep through the midterms. But I'm also pretending to be an adult. I have my own apartment, I have bills to pay.

The two sides are extremely conflicting, and I'm tired of both. I just want to be out of this! I want to graduate and enter in the real world. There are so many things I want to do! But I can't, because I'm in this strange limbo. Sure, I have my own place and a job (for now), but it's only a co-op, so in March, it's done. And the damn thing barely pays enough to pay the rent, let alone do the things I've always dreamed of. But, because I have said job, I can't do the things that normal college kids can..i.e. party all the time, stay up late, wake up late, generally not worry about much.

I want to start my life. I want travel. I want to get a wiener dog and name him Burger. I want a car. I want to make music. I want to eat at fancy restaurants. I want to move. I want to go on vacation. I want paid sick days.

I just feel like I'm waiting for something to happen, something to mix up the monotony of every day collegiate limbo. And I'm tired of waiting. I'm an extremely patient guy. Probably the most patient person I know. But I've run out of patience on this. I want to move on and start doing things with my life. Thrive, not just survive.

*currently listening to Tesla's Commin' Atcha Live after listening to In Your Honor, One By One, and Echos, Silence, Patience, and Grace by the Foo Fighters*