The Homeless Attack with Sharpies In Hand

Now, I am not the type of person that goes and makes fun of a certain group of people.

Let's just say that I can sympathize about being "the cover of the book" people are quick to judge about.

But I cannot help but comment on something that I see daily here in the streets of Gainesville, (Well actually behind the wheel of my snazy A/C Ford Taurus, but the samething) and that is the rampant amount of homeless people near the intersections, street lights, medians, etc. Now I am not writing this entry because I hate the homeless, but I do find them a bit of an oddity.

How come when someone even mentions the word homeless person. Their face contort as if you are describing the weirdest of sex fantasies of which involves a horse and a rubber tubing. Now let me get back to the point I was trying to make in this blog entry. Where are these less fortunate people of monetary funds (trying to political correct without using the term hobo, or bum) getting the permanent markers and pieces of cardboard to make these signs that I see most if not all hold up when asking passerby for money.

I somehow imagine a huge Cardboard/ Marker Store (almost like that Build-A-Bear store), where everyone knows your names, with attendants and sales people roaming the floor. They take their time in picking the right size of cardboard to use (not too small so that the person has to squint to read the lettering). Later on they listen to tutorials on the proper way to write a sign, (I bet the number one rule is not to use profanity, can't start throwing explectives at your potential income). And when they are all done, they have the perfect sign that fits their needs and expresses their personality through the art of writing.

Now I have seen some interested signs (well not including the picture included in this entry, that was some random picture from the internet) from: "I will use the money you give me to get beer" to "If you Love God, you will give me money--God Bless You".

Why write about the homeless and their creative signs...Well, after seeing their creative penmanship, I was thinking that how come some corporate entity doesn't swoop in and sponsor them (kind of how they do it in NASCAR). Maybe attach stickers or patches to their clothing. It maybe an far out of the ballpark idea, but if the homeless start flashing that the pen they just wrote with was made by Sharpie® maybe they wouldn't be homeless no more.

Well at least that one guy would have money to get a beer, and that's one right you cannot deny a man.

It's just a random thought.

I Have To Put Up With This

Now, it's not everyday a video comes along that neatly defines a group of people. However, after seeing this video and scratching my chin at the eerie similarities the type of people the video is making fun of. It's hard NOT to say that sometimes these clubs are just a gathering ground for douches (douchebag for the rest of you guys). The one thing that the video does poke fun at is this whole popped collar thing. Don't know who started it, but whoever you Mister Popped Collar Man, your invention has made it easier to identify which person is a douchebag at the clubs. Well enough jibbering, on the video.

I got the video from the website: Super Deluxe, and it was created by, I'm guessing here, a group called The Post Show.

So sit back and enjoy!

Fate

Fate...

What a funny word that is. People throw it around, praising it as if THAT word is the Holy Grail of vocabulary, expecting to make say, "You know what, yes I'll drop what every I' am doing because FATE, told me so."

All of this stemming from a conversation with dear old [crazed] uncle of the family. (Don't get me started on why the man has a pay phone in his home, or a coke/vending machine in the patio). I won't bore everyone with the word-for-word details. But it was mostly him talking, with me doing my normal "hmmm mmm; [repeat whatever the person said last]; and right, right". Every single time we talk, the conversations seems to always seem to turns to me and where I am going with my life. Apparently on that cold October night there must of been a office pool or some Las Vegas bet as to which child would be the breadwinner of the family.

And guess which person everyone seems to be putting their money on...[I'll give you one guess]

I would guess the one thing that upset me more about the conversation was that my uncle would say, paraphrasing here: "That it is my fate to be afraid to try new things. And that I was destined to be stuck in the middle never accomplishing anything."--yeah I know that first sentence did not make much sense to me either, when he said.

All this time I thought FATE was this thing I could not control. This abstract idea that somewhere in a far away land, that there was this person, with a book who had everything decision I was suppose to make, mapped out. Apparently all this time FATE was just me acting like a wuss, and not wanting to invest in some crazy relatives scheme of condo sales. Bet he never knew that I had realized his true intentions.

As far as FATE goes, I am not much a believer in that. I believe that if my future is already written, than it is written in pencil. Meaning that I am the principle author about how My story should be played out.

I would of used Destiny, but I think both of those words are somewhat intertwined.

I was going to end this on some witty quote, but I couldn't find one. But I did find one from one of my favorite novels, The Alchemist (written by Paulo Coelho). A story that is all about a man realizing his destiny, and how he effects the destines of others that he meets on his journey. It is a great book, and if you are able to find it, to pick it up and read it.

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny." ~ Paulo Coelho

until next time,

The Traveling Man

Everyone had that one dream, to one day get away from that little town and go see the world. (well if it isn't their dream it sure as hell is one of my dreams, ambitions to do in life). Surprising that people don't do more of that...go see the world. You have to believe somewhere deep inside if people actually took the time to travel a bit further than the boundaries of that block, or city limits. That we would have a better understanding of how we see the world and vise versa.

Even though I don't have the funds to do so, I think about the places I will one day travel (that's right I did say WILL, can't give up on those dreams that easily.) It is nice to sit back and think about backpacking through Europe, relaxing with a drink in hand on the beaches of Costa Rica, or mountain climbing in New Zealand.

Instead of working that 9 to 5 job, wouldn't mind walking through the streets of Amsterdam, or Zurich taking in the sights (and the women) and submersing myself in another culture. I would love to visit the west coast of Africa and walk the ground my ancestors did, talk about an intense experience.

A traveling man,
if that was a job, I would most definitely be putting in my application as soon as possible.
but for now, I'll just stick to the daydreams.

until next time

It Makes You Raise Your Eyebrows

It has been a while since my last entry.
Don't have any good reason beside lacking the energy to write and having anything of great substance to write about. Now I thought about coming online and writing about how my school (The University of Florida) Men's Basketball team won their second National Championship. Essential being the first team since, I believe 1991-Duke, to repeat. But during what should of been a time of great celebration was marred by the death of a cop by a drunk driver.

But just as that was happening than the whole Don Imus thing blew up. Now on this subject I had many conversation about what had happened, from my parents to my co-workers. I think the one thing that surprised me was that the comment he made on air was not that racist as it was sexist. Yet, all the cable news network could talk about was the Nappy-headed part of Don Imus comment and not the Ho's part. I guess they forgot that on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team (a team I love since it's a New Jersey school. A university I would of most likely attend if I had remained in New Jersey. Sorry Dad no Princeton for me!!!) that not only were there black players, but also white players. But surprise, surprise if Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson weren't quick to get in front of the cameras to talk about their disgrace about the situation. Again, don't get me wrong I have nothing but respect for these men and the work that they do. But to pick on Imus as a battle between sinners and the righteous seems a bit silly. Never saw Sharpton or Jackson out protesting a concert by The Game or Lil' John and the Eastside Boyz. However, I should give credit to Al Sharpton to protesting my favorite show (The Boondocks) and asking for it's immediate cancellation, over the episode where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the word Nigga. But I should focus back to my main point, before I go out into orbit like the other pundits did. Yes, Imus said something that was stupid, you could argue that he deserved his fate (no matter how much good he did, there are some things you can't get away from). I just felt it was a bit disappointing that in all that talk about race relations, and the nappyheadness that Don Imus's comment. Lost in the shuffle of it all, was Mr. Imus calling a bunch of educated women a bunch of Ho's. Guess no one had a problem with that, how sad.

Virgina Tech...
Not much you can write or say about this story, that hasn't been reported on already. A story that literally came out of nowhere. 32 lives lost. Families, a college and a nation left wondering how could this have happened. One does have to wonder what type of change in regards to policy, law enforcement, and government this will have.

And I'll leave it at that.

until next time...