2008 did not impress me

Well the year is winding down and the lists of bests are starting to pour in. If anybody knows me past my "cool" facade, they will know I sickly obsess over all things related to criticism, ratings, rankings, and lists. Well 2008 was a bad year for best of lists. I don't even think I can create a list of the 10 best movies I saw in 2008 because honestly, I can only think of about two that are worthy. Music wise, I didn't listen to a ton of new stuff this year, but rather stuck mostly to the classics. I'm not gonna bother making a list quite yet because honestly it will probably look very similar to every other list out there, and I have still yet to give much newly released hip-hop stuff a chance. I'm assuming 2008 will be looked back upon in history books as a year filled with a non-stop onslaught of politics. I will never forget being caught i the middle of the political whirlwind, but I am glad it has finally come to pass. The theme of the year was very much "Change" and I can without a doubt say, that was the theme of my life this year as well. I wish I could have clinged to some things, but I guess the mystery of life had other plans for me. I have no idea where I am going past a couple of days in front of me, but I'm not worried. I am always strangely content. Maybe its because of my outlook on life. I don't know, but I am looking forward to the continuing adventure in 2009. It is going to be a good year. I believe people are going to need each other more than ever in the months and possibly years to come, and I can't wait to see the American spirit of cooperation shine through ( I finally finished The Grapes of Wrath).

P.S. This post had not purpose other than to get my fingers ready to type my Political Research and Statistics term paper.

my titles were dumb

so right now I should probably either be

• writing my ten page paper that is due friday over a topic i know nothing about (healthcare)
• studying for my statistics test on wednesday. a class which i have not paid attention in for a minute all semester
• or reading some articles and a poem for my space and place class that i am supposed to respond to

seriously don't know if i am going to make it through this semester. seems that all i do is wander around aimlessly which is pretty typical. i also have to babysit pretty much everyday now. its a pain but easy money. instead of reading things i need to read i read things i don't need to read like graphic novels, lengthy articles about bailout plans, campaign mud slinging, and pretty much anything that will make me forget about the impossible amounts of work and other things on my shoulders. yesterday i had coffee with an old friend. it was nice to have a real conversation with someone for the first time in over a week. its funny how people never change and they think the same about you even though i feel like a completely different person than i was just a few years ago. i registered tons of voters at acl which was pretty rewarding. got into a debate with a man and his wife that ended in him asking me if i had accepted christ. i hate when people try and see if you fit into their stereotypical box of what someone is or isn't. i heard about half of fleet foxes set from afar, but of course its not the same as being up close and personal. still, their harmonies matched as well as they do on their album. i think i might get my last bullet point out of the way now. more later. possibly.

abdomen

I stayed up way to late last night riding my bike halfway across town and then back. Thus I went through today pretty much in a daze. In about 6 and a half hours I will be waking up to embark on my last day at work till I come back to Austin in late August. I'm pretty thrilled. I'm tired of the routine and ready to meet some new people and have a life beyond doing other peoples dirty work. If only for 2 and a half months.

I've been reading The Bell Jar. No I'm not ashamed that I'm reading a book often considered chick lit. The term chick lit is demeaning and I wish history would have treated female authors with the same fairness as males.

Anyways, heres a quote that pretty much sums up how I feel about choosing a career path or not choosing one at all and the constant nagging question of "Where do I go from here?". Maybe thats what keeps life interesting.


"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet." - The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

abbreviate

I must have the worst luck in the world. I got pulled over for speeding today. Third ticket in less than 3 years plus one wreck. I'm really not that bad of a driver, but I'm starting to hate the whole thing all together. It has pretty much consumed my mind all day. I can't stand finally saving some money and then stuff like this just makes it all for nothing. O well, I deserved it, better luck tomorrow right? A bike ride sounds pretty good right now.

aardvark

O yeah, and check out this guys blog. He has much more to say than me, but I will beat him in a game of scrabble 9 times out of 10.

http://mjmelby.wordpress.com/

aa

So I made the trip back to McKinney today from Austin. On the way there I stopped in Temple just to see the old downtown and take some pictures. What a sad sight it was. A good half of the downtown is abandoned and what is not abandoned is filled with insurance agencies or businesses not worth remembering. Their was hardly a single person out and about, but then again their was no real reason for them to be. The city was built around the railroad industry and since that collapsed, the city did as well. They do however have a number of beautiful buildings, but once again they are mostly vacant and dilapidated. One old furniture store had a note on the door claiming the city now owned the property dated 1993. Their was an old computer box laying on the floor inside with the multi-colored striped apple logo.


One building really caught my attention. It was a rather large old hotel with an old movie theater right next door.


I can't help but wonder what it is going to take to restore these to their original glory. Sure some rich developer could take a chance on renovating and reopening but with no real draw, they will likely once again fall victim to the more easily reachable suburban megaplex theaters and the cheaper motels. My suggestion is restore the industry that the city once thrived upon, the railroad. Their are already perfectly usable railroad tracks running from San Antonio and maybe further all the way through Dallas. Why not throw a passenger rail line on there or increase its usage. I dream of the day where I can hop a stress free train ride back to Dallas instead of spending 50 or more dollars one way through construction zones and traffic. And with the outrageously steep and still climbing gas prices, I am positive plenty of people are right along their with me. Temple would make a perfect stop in between and I would jump at the thought of seeing a movie or spending a night in a place full of history, rather than a movie theater plastered with purple and lime green checkered wall paper, or a motel where the sheets smell like an ashtray doused in Fabreeze.

a

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, Garrett here. I guess you could call this my Blogger birthday. Before I bore you with my happenings, let me explain a few things first.

My blog's name comes from Frank Lloyd Wright's description of his Price Tower. One of his two vertical oriented designs.


I found it fitting because as I see it, today's world is severely lacking in unique creativity and genuine individuality and I would like to think that I strive to be someone who rises above.

My blogs will be titled after each word chronologically in my version of Webster's dictionary.

So I bought my first comic in quite a while yesterday.


It was a nice story focusing on the Joker's origin and it addressed issues of morality and sanity. It is a reissue from the 1988 original and it features new coloring that fits its darker mood more appropriately. Apparently it has been one of the most influential Batman comics in recent history and Heath Ledger was given a copy of it as a reference to playing the Joker in the upcoming movie. I suggest looking for it on Ebay if your into that kinda thing.

I also picked up a copy of The Waste Land and other T.S. Eliot poems. So far I don't know if I am going to get much out of it but I'm not giving up yet.

Anyone else remember those days when we would claim that Blink 182 were sell outs and not true punks? That was silly and I always find myself singing Blink 182 songs. You have to admit they sure did know how to write a catchy song and no band of their genre has yet to repeat their energy. And most likely all those bands were started after learning the intro to Dammit on guitar or wondering in amazement how Travis Barker could make a 4/4 beat seem so fresh.