David's Tangled Thoughts

Well, I'm back after having a drink at The Tavern. Towards the end of my shift, I got a voice mail message from Erin. Apparently she had met up with some guys that I know from my hometown-- Craig and Kenny. Craig's brother, Kevin, was in my grade. Anyways she had found out about the rumor that had gone around during my senior year that we were sleeping together. Now mind you, I was a virgin at 18 so the fact that people were thinking that I was sexually active was a good thing. Of course, it never happened. I never confirmed it-- but I didn't deny it either. I just let them think what they thought and went on with my business. Fast forward five years and Erin is at her high school reunion. Craig shows up there with his girlfriend... who just happened to go to school with Erin and with Kenny. So some talking goes on Erin finds out that Craig and Kenny went to school with me. So she says, "Oh, do you know David B____?" Yes. Yes, they do. Kenny just had to add, "

They just can't win can they?

My internship took me to the town of Dowagiac today. It was something new for me as I haven't been to this town in... 10 years? And even then, it was just passing through. I had to meet my supervisor, Patty, to go over a presentation that I worked out for her about fraud committed against the elderly. Because of extreme laziness on my part, I had spent the whole night putting it together. It made me nervous making a presentation for another person to give because the notes that I write may not transfer right. Will she be able to understand the information that I'm trying to convey and pass that on effectively to the audience? I don't know. I guess I'll find out on Wednesday. The reason why I had to go to Dowagiac was because the town is holding Fun Fest. Various booths are set up along the historic downtown area. Most of it are organizations and small shops. I did notice a fair ride or two though. It was early in the morning when I got there, so there wasn't much of

We're going to take a scenic route to what I'm blogging about. I hate using the public restrooms. Hate it . It probably stems from my time over in the Philippines. Over there, the CR's (comfort rooms) are absolutely disgusting. You think you have it bad here in the States? No so, buddy. At the elementary school I went to, there was a little shack divided into two. One for the girls and one for the boys. There were two toilets. One in the boys. One in the girls. These toilets had no seats. There also was no toilet paper. You cleaned yourself with a bucket of water. Also, there was no stall so all the other little boys or girls would see you as you tried to do your business. In addition to the toilets there was a stream that ran from a hole in the boy's side of the shack, through a hole in the partition, and into the girls side. The boys would pee into this stream which was carried over to the girls where they made their contribution. No fucking way! I had just come from

I was going to blog it but Deliberate chaos got to it first. Not much for sentimental words because it never seems enough so I'll continue. This is the second closest person that has died in the "War on Terror." The first being a student from MSU who was in the Army ROTC program while I was in Air Force. I didn't personally know both of them, but I wonder about all my other friends that are in the military. Take care out there.

Well after a burst of great comment posting on a top-notch blog, I think that I'll invite anyone and everyone to Instant Message me. If you have aol (okay, so I'm old school), my screen name is CdtBigD. Oh, and while your at it, you might as well be- Friendster me as well. Oh, and Edward... these are Goldfish. Popular cheesy crackers shaped like... well... fish.

Just recently the news ticker flashed that the shuttle fleet has been grounded again. Apparently NASA is still having problems keeping their insulation in place. Video of the Discovery liftoff showed a chunk of the insulation falling off. Same event that doomed the Columbia. Sadly, America's return to space was pretty short. You know, it's getting to be embarassing when we have to rely on the Russians to get our asses into and out of space. Perhaps on the brightside, the government can throw some of that money into the next generation fleet instead of the hole that is the Middle East.

Alright, alright, so I'm a little late with that announcement. The Elkhart County Fair is currently in full swing. Cass County will have theirs begining on August 1st. I will be going to that one to help out the COA. I have never been to a county fair in Michiana, other than my own Berrien County Youth Fair -- "The Midwest's largest youth fair." And it has actually been a few years since I have been to the BCYF. Last year I didn't have time off from work and I couldn't get a ride down. The year before that, I was in the Philippines. So I am actually looking forward to this year even though I'll probably go only a couple times. The BCYF dates are from August 15-20. The feature concert this year is famed country singer Sara Evans . According to the grandstand ticket office, there is still plenty of general seating still available for $22. It should be worth it for all you country lovers out there. I'm not going to that, but I'll probably hangout o

It was a light day today in the back. So I made my way out onto the floor. As usual, I went to paper goods. In some ways I like working the grocery isles bettern than the GM (general merchandise). I find that customers are less pissy over there for some reason. Anyways, I was putting up freight. It was around 11:45 pm and this teen girl walks up with her group of friends. "Excuse me, where are your goldfish?" Without looking up from my job, I replied, "They are in the pet department. Down at the other end of the store (pointing), towards the front." She stutters. "I-i m-meant the crackers." A light turns on in my head. Goldfish crackers. Do I feel stupid. Of course it makes more sense that she would be in grocery asking for grocery item. "Oh... last isle (points.)" But in my defense, I'm a GM worker. I know that side of the store (other than the grocery chemical and paper goods isle) so when someone asks me about goldfish, I jus

I've been tagged by Kate to get on with this meme... thing. A meme? Didn't we use to do this by email? Ah well, here it goes: Three things you like about yourself: Emotional control Ability to remember events Skin that is tan all year long Three physical things you don't like about yourself: My weight My oily skin The fact that my organs seem to be revolting against their owner Three things that scare you: Ticks (Those damn motherf*ckers are just creepy) Driving in the city (defined as any community that has a one way street) Charging ostriches Three of your everyday essentials: My computer My MP3 player My cell which operates mostly as my clock. Three things you are wearing now: Black shirt Shorts Bent glasses (Yeah, I had a run in with a door the other night. Note to parents: shut the hallway closet door at night.) Three of your favorite bands or musical artists: (Right now?) The Killers Coldplay Hmmm… maybe Green Day Things you want in a relationship: Trust Communic

I have dimples. Oddly enough, it has been mentioned twice in the past week with the second one happening a few hours ago. Why has it come up? No one has mentioned my dimples since I was in fourth grade when this girl, Christina, said I looked cute because of them. Ahh to be so young... it was at that time in boy's life where having such attention from the opposite sex just caused you to be teased without mercy. When I was even younger, I remember people noticing my dimples. Maybe it was because I smiled more then. Truthfully, my natural face looks pretty dour. But things have been happening recently that has given me more reason to relax and perhaps smile a little more. So the first event, I didn't take much notice. I was laughing at something (I forget what) and one of the girls that I worked with said, "Hey. You've got dimples." No biggie, I was slightly embarrassed for someone pointing it out but we soon moved on. What happened tonight was that a guy noticed th

It was my first day at the COA today. It wasn’t too bad. Patty had me jump right in by having me develop a presentation to the Pokagon Band of Potowatomi Indians . The presentation will be about fraud against the elderly. Scams like telemarketing, phishing, social security, home repair and such. I spent a few hours on the project and I feel bad that I really don’t have too much to show for it other than the notes that I have taken. Over the weekend, I’ll complete a draft of the presentation. Also while I was there, I helped load up their newspapers so they could get mailed out. Some we kept for the upcoming Cass County fair. Before I left, I ordered some new brochures that will be handed out at the meeting (assuming they arrive in time.) TGIF! In a few, the sci-fi line up will start with all new episodes. Part II of the second season opener of Battlestar Galactica is the one I’m most looking forward to. What is going to happen with Galactica Boomer? Caprica Boomer? Which one will live?

A Cheesy Way To Lure Voters In Philadelphia they're calling it "The Cheese Caper." A Deputy City Commissioner asked the District Attorney's office to investigate who passed out flyers on primary election day -- May 17 -- promising free cheese to voters for particular candidates. The flyers are topped by a handwritten scrawl, "Come Out + Vote," adding below, "For Who Ever." In type, they say "Free Cheese." The flyers list two candidates, both Democrats, running in an area dominated by the 300-plus-unit Hill Creek housing project. "This guy comes to the polls, votes, and asks us for his free cheese," says Eileen Kleindienst, a Republican judge of elections. Geraldine Hacker, the Republican official who sent Kleindienst's complaint to the DA, thought the food might be from a government nutrition program. The woman who wrote the flyers, Hill Creek tenant council President Gerri Robinson, doesn't think she did anything wrong.

President Bush selected Judge John Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. There had been a wide range of speculation as to who he would be nominating. A woman? An Hispanic? A centrtist? A conservative? A whacko? Okay, that last one usually came from extremely liberal blogs that I came across. And at first glance, it would seem that the President chose a conservative. At least that’s how a lot of people are taking it. I’m not. Hey, if the President wants to nominate a conservative to the Supreme Court, I say let him. I’m already prepared to see the democrats pick up their pitch forks and torches for anyone that would have been selected. As soon as Roberts was named, the opposition groups like NARAL started shoveling the piles of excrement. I find it funny because as “relative” conservative… I don’t think the hard right is sitting comfortably. From my reckoning, Judge Roberts really might be another O’Connor or Kennedy or (heaven forbid) Souter. Reason? He is a blank sl

Well two of my regular reads are calling it quits. Major Mike seems to be done for good although some of his readers are asking him to joing a blog ring that way he can post occassionally. I hope that he gives it a lot of consideration. But because he seems to be leaving for good, I will be removing him from the blog roll. Sorry to see you go Major. Then there is Mell over at Divergent Poles. He and his wife recently had a baby boy. Hearty congrats to them! Quite rightly, his family and job come before his blog. I will be keeping him on the blog roll, however. Perhaps when he finally gets some time, we will see him begin to post again. --That is if the internet is still around in twenty some odd years. The last thing he posted was pictures of his new kid, Colin. Click here to see.

<<--See also: Eminent Domain. I came across this article from Yahoo News. When the Supreme Court handed down its decision, I knew that the states were going to have to change their own laws if they wanted to protect the pivate property rights of their citizens. This article names some of them that have already had that protection in place as well as those that are considering doing the same. The article counts twenty-five states. I can only hope that Michigan is one of them. "You're either on the train, or you're on the tracks."* *Just a pretty cool quote that I heard on the radio today regarding the latest scandal in Chicago.

I went to Cassopolis to meet with my supervisor, Patty, and do some paperwork before I started my volunteer/intern duties with the Cass County Council on Aging. I need to shout out a very big, "THANK YOU" to Season for alerting me to this opportunity. I'm hopeful that this will further develop my work experience. In my past searches for jobs, I think that my lack of experience was the biggest factor in not being offered even an interview. It's really tough out there. Even though the country's unemployment rate is low, it is still relatively high in Michigan. Last I heard, Michigan's unemployment rate is twice the national average. Southwest Michigan's unemployment rate is twice the state average. That's pretty tough to overcome. I don't know how much I will be able to share with you as I am under a confidentiality agreement, but I'm sure that I will be able to blog something of substance. So this coming Friday will be my first day. Wish me luck

After about a month of no rain-- at all, the skies have opened up for brief moments and poured water onto the ground. Not that I want to bitch about rain, but this is the rain that really isn't helping. What we need is a few days of slow and steady rain, not down pours that last for ten minutes. Rather than the ground soaking in the water, it just runs away.

I'm breaking my new "no family name" rule for reasons that will be revealed later. So here is my post for Stu Quinn. Stu is a pilot in the Royal Air Force... probably a Flight Lt. or beyond by now. I met him back in the summer of '99 when he was peer group counselor for the Summer Institute for the Arts and Sciences which was being held at Western Michigan University. Stu comes from Northern Ireland. It was confusing for some of us students at first because he originally said that he came from Ireland... yet he proudly hung the Union Jack in our group room (as you can see in the first photo.) I remember asking if he was a Protestant or a Catholic. Oooh, wrong question, I think. He got a little uncomfortable and asked me, "why?" Almost the same as "is it any of your business?" Maybe not, but here in the States, a question like that is far from being considered personal. The conflict between Protestants and Catholics will always be something of a mys

I’m a big fan of South Park and I was going to watch the Team America movie when it came out. For some reason, I didn’t. From what I heard, a lot of the weenie libs were complaining that it was too inflammatory. Hello! What do you expect from Trey Parker and Matt Stone? Still I braved watching the unrated version and I ended up having to bury my face in my hands. It was just like what Stu did when we took him to see the South Park movie . I guess he was just unprepared for some othe American trash that was depicted. Some of it was just too much. Stu, by the way, was my counselor during my time at the Summer Institute for the Arts and Sciences . Now that I’ve mentioned him, I think I will make a post on him soon.

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention to the news. Child molester Joseph E. Duncan murdered three people in Idaho and then kidnapped the two surviving children: 8yr old Shasta Groene and her 9yr old brother, Dylan. Recently, Shasta was rescued and Joseph Duncan was arrested. Days later, a body was found in the neighboring state of Montana that has since been identified as Dylan Groene. One of the latest news articles reports that Duncan had bragged about the murders to Shasta and even showing her the murder weapons. You too can peer into the mind of this killer. Duncan was a blogger as well. If you are so curious, you can read his blog, “Blogging the Fifth Nail.” Here is an excerpt from a 24 April post titled, “Wrestling With Demons:” Only two people in the world have a clue as to the power and nature of my demons (besides me) and they will probably never read this. A reference to Shasta and Dylan?

I think I got that internship with the Cass County Council on Aging. I’ll blog it when I get the official say so. While I was driving to Cassopolis though, I got to thinking about driving here. Quite a number of thoughts get blended into this post so bear with me. The thing that set it off was watching a Student Driver car come towards me in the opposing lane. Behind it must have been six or seven cars. The poor student was made to drive the 55mph (80kph) speed limit down M60. Of course all the locals here drive no slower than 60mph (97kph) so there was quite a back up. That student driver reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend from the Philippines over the net. It was about driving around in the country and how it wasn’t necessary. Although public transport in the Phils is by no means sophisticated… it is everywhere. Jeepneys, trikes, and cheap buses make it possible to go just about anywhere you need to go and without much planning. I made an 10 hour trip just on a whim.

Governors Form Plans For Seceding From Republic [of the Philippines] Although this is highly unlikely to happen, I just thought I'd throw it out there. I don't claim to know too much about the internal politics of the country, but I'm a little guilty of fantasizing how secession could play out. The Philippines can barely function as an independent country as it is. How are these even more little republics going to survive? It seems like on tourism alone. Problem is, tourism in the Philippines is not at the levels it should be. Where are people going? Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand... Secession would give tourists even more reason to stay away for the time being. Eh, most of this is just a non-issue anyways so I'll just stop.

Pic from NOAA.gov Oh how I wish I could have been in Key West last night. Over the night, Hurricane Dennis took a swipe at the island paradise. Key West had been under a mandatory evacuation but like always, some of the residents decided to stick it out. There's a bar down there--the name escapes me at the moment-- where some people will go for "shelter." The highest point on the island is only 13 feet above sea level and with high force winds, you could understand why people would head for the local bar that has walls two feet thick. But perhaps it was the half-off drink specials that really enticed them. I used to live in Key West when my dad was still in the Air Force. We lived in naval housing which was located on Sigsbee just off of Key West. While we were there, a hurricane directly hit us. It was probably a category 1 but I remember having to stay inside the house while it was storming pretty fierce outside. I wasn't scared or anything. Then I rememb

I had a large post planned. It's now in the trash can. It contained the usual condolences and then it got ugly. It got angry. It turned in to something that probably shouldn't be read by anyone other than an academic. So I'll just say ditto to all that's been said before. You have my heart London. You have my hope and you have my prayers.

Season and I headed off to Hackers for a little miniature golf last night. We had tried to do it late last year but we were a little late as we arrived just as the place was closing. Well, tonight seemed pretty nice. It was comfortable and the middle of the week signaled that it wouldn’t be too busy. For six bucks we played 18 holes which went by pretty fast. Should I tell you what we shot? Okay… I got thirty over par. Season got twenty-one over par. Go Season! Since we were in and out, Season got out her trusty cell to find out the movie times. There were choices of War of the Worlds, Bewitched, Batman Begins, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Rebound. I wanted to watch War of the Worlds or Batman Begins. Batman Begins had the edge and so we went to that. I was worried that since Season wasn’t all hot about it, that she might be bored or perhaps resentful. It was still a couple hours away so we needed to find something to occupy ourselves. Solution? I took her to Swingbelly’s which is an ice

Time for fireworks! Okay, it was actually the third but anyways… Erin and one of her friends (Bobby?) were supposed to head off to Coveleski Stadium in South Bend to watch the Silverhawks game and I was invited to go along. Every year following the game, the city sets off their fireworks. Her friend didn’t hook up with us so we decided to go by ourselves. When I went to her house, she came out with some money that she brought back from Europe. I had forgotten that I had asked her to do that. I like to collect foreign currency. My collection has just started and it consists mostly of Philippine and Iraqi currency. My sister managed to snag a few coins but not much. From Erin I got some Swiss Francs, a 2€, and a £1 piece. If there is anyone out there in the world that wants to trade currency, email me! I’ll exchange you for full value plus more. It was early in the evening, so we had time to go to a cook out at one of Erin’s co-workers. There were about 10 of us in total and I was the od

<<--See also: An Evening of Swimming and Pizza. I thought that the water temps of the Great Lakes had been pretty warm for this time of year. I never really bothered to check why, mainly because I was enjoying the water. Here is an article that was recently published about it. While warm water is great for swimming there may be bad side effects on the environment. Psh. They make it sound like the whole lake is heating up. One good storm will knock those temps back down believe me. It happened in 1998. It was the last week of july and we were swimming in beautiful lake water. The first week in August, we had a mini reunion at the lake. It just so happened that a big storm had come through the day before. That lake was so dang cold that you couldn't even bare to dunk yourself in for more than a few seconds. It took about two weeks before it got back to the point where I could go in again (but by then school was starting and that poo pooed all the fun.)

It's getting late in the afternoon and I still don't have any plans for tonight. [sigh] Sara and Adam have their own plans and I am probably not welcomed. Season's got a cook-out to go to and will stay there. I want to go see some fireworks damn it! I haven't seen them here in quite a few years. Luckily Erin is coming to my rescue. Erin is my oldest friend that I am still in touch with. I met her way back in elementary. She's recently returned from Europe and we've got to get her back in touch with Americana. heh heh. No plans are definite, but I may be going to a baseball game (the South Bend Silverhawks) and then watching their show. Happy Independence Day! More to follow...

A few times this past week, I have just wanted to take a sledgehammer and go to town on my car. That peice of shit car has just cost me three months of savings! My checking account has been drained. On Wednesday night, I noticed that my battery light was on. That couldn't be right. The battery was still relatively new. I thought that the battery was no good and was about to go buy a new one when my dad said that it was probably the alternator. You know me... I barely have a clue when it comes to automobiles. So the next day we went to the Saturn dealership to get it serviced. Turns out that the generator had to be replaced. Well there went $380. Then there was the fact that I needed to get the front tires replaced... another $100. Might as well get an oil change while I was at it... a modest $13. But then I still have to pay my insurance so there's another $300. D@^^# it all to hell! I might as well clean out the rest of my account and drink my anger away.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement from the high court today. Of all the justices, Justice O’Connor aroused my interest the most. Perhaps it was due to her position as a swing vote on sensitive constitutional questions. Her pragmatic attitude towards the interpretation of the constitution is something that I both appreciated and hated. Areas in which she sided with the liberals were on partial birth abortion and affirmative action. In one of her opinions she coined the phrase “evolving standards of decency.” Those words are a double edged sword where on the positive the court can reflect the changing attitudes of society (death penalty for minors), or it can be used as a vehicle to enshrine unpopular, ideological views into law. It could read more into what the constitution says (the right to privacy) or brings up things that the constitution was never intended to mean. When I was taking Constitutional Law, most of the students there were decidedly