Following Up

Work got a little slow last night, and I had a lot on my mind towards the end of the day. I found me some receipt paper (its quite easy to come by at Target) and relieved some of the pressure in my head.

Listening in disbelief 
as discussion of the coming fall
engulfs me.
I decide, it cannot be true.
As I glance out the window,
driving down the oil road,
the new tassel's atop the corn
tell no lies.


This summarizes my frustration with the coming changes rather well for the time being. So I thought I would follow the last post with it. Plus I had about ten minutes to kill before running off to work. Seeing as how I only need a couple views to reach 1,000 I had to post something. Thanks for reading!

Change is comin'

For a lot of people the changing of the seasons simply means adjusting to the morphing weather patterns. For many, however, it can signal a complete change of lifestyle. I'm pondering this as the fact that I have two and a half weeks left of my summer here at home floats around my head. Some days this floater causes a great deal of stress and unrest. Today it is without a vindictive agenda, at least so far.

In just two to three weeks I will be leaving my hometown and heading back to Wyoming where I attend school. Don't get me wrong, I have been looking forward to this since this past semester ended. I will get to see the friends I left there 3 months ago. I'll be moving into a house with a couple friends. No more dorm hell!! I also have extravagant birthday plans involving the Kings of Leon, a road trip, good food, and shopping. Aside from that I always have, and hopefully always will, enjoy school. I'm truly looking ahead to the grindstone of class and homework with excitement.

There are a lot of things I'm not looking forward too though. Not a single little bit. Leaving things/places/people (mostly people) is hard. This will be the third summer in a row that I have to leave someone behind that I care a great deal about. Now, if it were up to me I'd stuff him in my suitcase and he would come with me. It's not up to me though, and that's how life is. I understand and accept this. Doesn't mean I'm going to like it.

I don't know what's going to be happening with a lot of things in the very immediate future. I don't like that, and I don't think a lot of people really do.

Get Up, Stand Up.

"Get up, Stand up." The words of Bob Marley that are reiterated by many as they sing along with their music, I bear on my wrists. Nearly a year ago I had this phrase tattooed into my skin. Split in half, "Get up" on the right wrist and "Stand up" on the left. Many notice this and instantly respond, "Bob Marley, awesome." Or something similar to that. This is all well and good, and don't get me wrong I love Mr. Marley's work as an artist and a musician. I feel his work changed the way thousands of individuals perceive important issues. This is not the only reason I decided to make these words a permanent part of my appearance.

I have always believed that an individual should stand up for themselves. Whether it be in a school's halls, workplace, or the streets of our nation. As a child it became obvious to my peers that I had a giving heart, and in realizing this, my kindness was exploited. This was all the lesson I needed to learn that no one is going to stand up for/or with you unless you possess the strength and initiative to do it yourself. From then on I've always stayed true to myself, my values, and my beliefs. Regardless of the issue, I believe it is the individuals' responsibility to get up and stand up for what it is that is right/what it is they believe in. You can't do that sitting at home griping about the news on the TV. You actually have to get up and do something.

This past Friday, my Constitutional rights were obstructed as I spoke out for something I believe in. Does this make me hesitate when it comes to "standing up" in the future. Absolutely not. This only further motivates and energizes me when I think of getting up and getting out there to fight for what I believe in. I fear no obstacle and you better believe that I will not give up the fight.

Friday's Happenings - this is an article about the occurrence on Friday. Check it out if you like. (I was nearly arrested over this.)

A Man Who Inspires

This music video is the video for the song "Wings" by Macklemore. The video has been waited for by fans for quite sometime now, and in my opinion, it was worth the wait. Watch it, listen to the words and emotion, you'll understand.

I was shown Macklemore's music several months ago. After days that turned into weeks of his music occupying my CD player, or having his albums on repeat on my iPod, I can still listen to all of it without becoming tired of it. The sound, words, feelings, struggles that Ben Haggerty (Macklemore) represents in his music form art that nearly anyone can relate to if the time is taken to listen.

He refuses to be overtaken by the materialistic main-stream that the general public flocks to in ignorance. He speaks honestly of his own hardships and does not portray his life as something it's not. A number of his songs get me choked up and teary-eyed while I listen to them. Not because they're sad, but because there is a genuine quality about his music, his words bring about feelings and emotions that only art of high quality can bring about.

I had the opportunity to witness this performance art firsthand. I traveled to the great state of Colorado, spent some time with friends, and went to a Macklemore show at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. Before the show, Sam and I were walking the Pearl Street Mall when I looked ahead to the crosswalk and said, "Sam, do you know who's in front of us right now?" About eight feet ahead of us at the crosswalk stood Macklemore and his trumpet player (who's name I cannot remember for the life of me). Within seconds I was standing in between Sam and Macklemore. We were shocked. Star struck. Not about to miss this opportunity I said whatsup and stretched my arm toward him for a handshake. We made small talk about the day and the show for a few minutes, and then the walk light turned on. In complete awe we continued through the mall. Even though he is a growing artist, and one who's success is also growing right along with him, he was not too good to chat with some fans about his day. He did not appear inconvenienced by any part of us approaching him. He was just Ben out for a walk on the mall. I will never forget this. His show was at the very least memorable. I shouted through the entire set, jumping, fist pumping, and having some high quality fun.

I hope that I get the opportunity to see him perform again in the future. His music is brilliant, his performance and demeanor, however, are inspiring. I only hope that if I ever become a successful designer/artist I can remain as humble and true as he has.

In My Notepad

Sitting in the, attempting to wake up for the day, I began flipping through my little yellow notepad. This notepad is one of the small things that helps me to remain sane. Well, sometimes. When I need to remember something, organize my thoughts, or just plain ole' write shit down - I write it on one of my many little notepads. This one is a baby yellow legal pad. As I went through my brain vomit I found a page that I'm not sure when it was transcribed. I have been struggling to find a blog subject for a few days, so this worked out perfectly.

The future holds
so many unknowns.
They mingle with one another.
Some tied together.
Others sit alone,
the wall flowers.
Entering the room some snicker
while others appear as lost as I.
Do I approach the unknown 
and attempt to make something
of anything?
Or should I take my habitual place 
along the wall 
and watch the unknown,
remaining as such,
pass me by?

Now, I'm no poet. It's just some of the nicer brain vomit I have. It reflects the struggles in my mind more often than not and is generally written after midnight or way too early in the morning. I don't usually publicly share these writings, but it seems to be working out for this blog occasionally.

Almost 1,000 views! High five!

Making a Difference

Summers should not be stressful. This is something I've decided recently. At this point in my life I have decided that the summer is for nice weather, sleeping in, and relaxing. For some reason that's not quite how it's working out, but I guess that's what I get for having such ridiculous expectations. Now don't get disinterested here, I'm not about to go on a whiny rant about how stressed out I am. Calm down.

I have been feeling guilty though. You see, this stress has been causing me to avoid Mr. Lappytop which then leads to blog abandonment. I enjoy writing these posts, and as I look back on them and notice that I have over 900 views. This makes me smile every time I see it. Thank you all for reading! Even if you don't read every post, it's appreciated.

Enough with the sappy stuff. Let's get a decent rant out of this. Recently I have become a part of a political initiative in Nebraska. Now, I could talk about that all day. (You think I'm joking?) What I would really like to talk about is just slightly off on a different tangent.

For the last couple of years I have been thoroughly frustrated with the fact that for some reason my generation, the Millennial Generation, appears to have accepted it negative stigmas of "lazy" "unmotivated" etc. The rest of the general population seems to think that we are a bunch of lazy kids, and what have we done to prove them wrong? As far as I can tell, not a whole lot. Did you know that in previous decades any large political movement that occurred in the United States was greatly impacted by the collegiate generation. That's us, me, maybe you right now. What I want to know now, is what innovative, new, inspiring movement are we the millennials' taking part in? I failed to see one happening and that's where my frustration began. This frustration grew, maybe into somewhat of an obsession. How is it that we can sit back and watch as our nation struggles through times such as these? I have been looking for the past couple of years for a cause to take part in. Something that could change the face of America. I believe I have found that now, and its a great feeling. I feel like each and every one of us should feel this same sort of obligation to make a difference for the better. Not just for ourselves, but for others as well.

I'm not going to preach to you about what it is I've found. If you are curious and would like to know, just ask. I'd be more than happy to discuss it. If you believe in something and there are opportunities for you to take part in action involving that something, do it! (Get registered and go vote for cryin' out loud.) It's one of the most empowering feelings, and I think you might find you'll like it.

A Post of Poetry

Lately I've been having odd dreams. Now when I say odd dreams, I mean that everything  about these dreams strikes me as odd or out of the ordinary. See, I hardly ever remember dreams. I often wonder if I dream at all, that's how little of my dreams I recall. Recently I've been remembering them more often than I have for a long while. I don't remember the dreams in their entirety, just slivers of them. Things that stick in my brain for some reason or another. The subject of these dreams is not really significant, nor is it consistent. They've all been completely different, with no correlation as far as I can see. The point is these dreams prompted me to write a little poetry. Enjoy

Images of recent dreams flash through the mind.
Impossible becomes easy
until one's eyes open in anticipation of the day.
Within seconds only frames and pieces can be recalled.
Apprehension awaits each evening as
you wonder if the REM cycle
will bring your innermost desires to life.
______________________________________

Attempting to deliberately return to a specific dream
proves fruitless.
The only world that makes what you want attainable
refuses to permit a return to its corridors.
It's like falling for a face you'll never see again,
the thought makes you smile.
That desire to return, however,
will drive you mad.

Self Expressions

Lately at the good ole' Target store I've been working shifts in the fitting room. My job here consists of re-hanging all the clothes people try on and answering the phone. On Friday, upon returning from break, I noticed a ridiculous number of bras sitting on the desk in the fitting room. As I begun hanging these bras I noticed the descriptive tag hanging from the side.

As many of the bras we carry this one was a "push-up" bra. This was no ordinary push-up bra tho, oh no. This one was special. This one, as stated by the ever so informative tag, increased your cup-size by two! If you are an A it transforms you to a C so on and so forth. I noticed this about the same time I noticed the obscene amount of padding in these over-shoulder-boulder-holders.

Is this what women in America are striving to achieve? A bigger bust line for less than $12.99? In all honesty I was disgusted by this idea. Is that really all that women believe they have going for them, their Ta-tas?

Personally I find this to be ridiculously shallow. You don't have enough self-esteem or self-confidence, but somehow making your boobs appear bigger will fix that. Sorry, but that's not how it works. At the end of the day your chest will remain the same and that bra, well its just that, a bra. Don't get me wrong I have been known to wear such a thing as a push-up bra, but between you and me, there's not much to push-up. I just like how they fit. But they do not make my chest twice the size it normally is, I do not rely on my "assets" to get me the guy, the job, a drink at the bar, whatever you people use them for. I rely on my personality and wit to get all of that for me.

The ironic part is that the brand that was pasted all over this bra was "Self-Expressions." So by making one's mellons larger.....that is self expression? Wouldn't that mean that taking Viagra is the same for a man?

I'm not really sure where I'm going will all of this, but I do know that I wish the women of our society felt more secure about themselves and their appearance the way it is. There really are some gorgeous ladies out there, they just don't believe it.