GreG's Novel de Noir

Deleted Emotions

2010-05-05T22:15:00.000-04:00

I reluctantly come back to writing a blog entry.
For a while now I would hover around my computer wondering if I should take the time to write something meaningful, search the web for stupid-funny videos or do what most people do in their free time when online...porn! As you can see I chose the former.
I have always viewed my attempts at writing as both enjoyable and frustrating. Sometime the words are there ready to be plucked, other times the words are buried in cement-near impossible to retrieve.

I should state that, previously I had a great blog entry lined up. I was writing what amounted to an essay about Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and tying it to today US political environment and then..."poof" all my written words gone.

There's nothing more dejecting than seeing your words disappear.

So that brings me here...writing essentially about nothing. My pockets are bare, my rage is subdued and my mind a tempest of ideas.

Well I should not say my rage/anger has been subdued. There are plenty of things going on in the world that has me wanting to scream profanities (must be my Jersey tendencies), but they will hopefully be addressed soon (I am crossing my fingers it will not take me a year just to comment about current events going on the year 2010).

So far I have been on a rollercoaster of emotion with 2010. Everything from a death in the family, to the earthquake in Haiti, to moving out on my own, to purchasing my first car. 2010 has been interesting and it's not even half way done.

I feel I have so much to do, yet sometimes things happen that remind you that time...is not on your side.

So I have resolved to having as many adventures I can this year. Confront my fears and conquer them. Cowering in the shadow of fear is no way for a person to live.

My first adventure (looking good so far, unless the person backs out) is to go on a kayaking adventure. It will conquer my fear of water. I will of course be wearing a life-jacket, but I want to understand everyone's love affair with the water and what draws them to it.

It appears my time is up for the night. Until later!

Dusting the cobwebs...

2009-11-09T15:27:00.004-05:00

I thought long and hard about coming back to the blogging world. I was unsure if I wanted to continue writing/blogging or simply let it fade into the sunset. But I have to admit that a good and close friend of mine, made me realize that when it comes to writing that I do have a certain gift to state the obvious while saying it in a dry sarcastic way (it must be due to all the years I've watch the BBC). But, I have come to a sort of enlightenment about the whole blogging. Not all blogs have to be negative, one-sided, acerbic or offensive. I will take a side and give my reasons why I support that position. However, I will take the time to listen to the counterpoint of that argument as long as it is constructive and supported with facts.

So today, I dust off my cobwebs and pick up my pen (or desktop keyboard) and start going back to what made me feel good. Writing.

The Awakening Part II

2009-07-26T20:46:00.002-04:00

It's almost the end of July and what a rough past few months it has been. True I cannot say it has been as bad as those of us out there who have lost their jobs, loved ones or sanity. But in how I live my life, it has been truly somewhat stressful.

First, I will make this my first, last and brief comment about my job. Last thing I need is to get fired over something as minute as a blog entry, but as I have said in the past this blog is my thearpy. In regards to work, it's just that work and they sure do work us. Right now I am on the edge of my seat wondering if I will have a job in the upcoming months. But I know there has to be a light at the end of this tunnel...there just has to be.

Second, dating life. I thought I had finally met someone. Been out on a few days. Dated for what seemed like a month, but got that "let's be friends" bullshit. Every time I hear those words being muttered, I wonder if people truly believe in them. Am I angry...yes and no. I should be glad I found out now and not months down the road with her around the arms of another guy.

Why did I call this blog the awakening?

Easy, you come to a point in your life when you have to realize if you are doing what you are meant to do or sitting on the sidelines watching the game go by.

I choose to get in that game, and make a name for myself.

Until Next time,

The Awakening

2009-05-10T16:33:00.004-04:00

It has been a very very long time since I had last posted a blog entry. And every time I come back with a post I make the same promise that I will post with due diligence and update everyone with some insight into what I am thinking. But with the invent of twitter, facebook, and other social websites. Trying to update everyone is becoming a chore and not fun anymore.

For a long time now I have never knew what to do with this blog account. I've had a bunch of ideas bopping around my head. Everything from political opinion blog to personal thoughts. But when I start to write down those thoughts, the original idea becomes muddle somehow.

In a few weeks I hope to have this piece of the puzzle solved. I am working on one idea but want to make sure all the pieces are in the right place.

Well until next time.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

2009-01-20T19:41:00.005-05:00

How can one write down words to express about what went down today. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of history.

To look at out sea of people all cheering for one guy and an African-American (well sort of) at that is just amazing.

The only bad thing about today was that I could not be out in Washington D.C. for this snapshot in history. Where did I spend this momentous day....sitting at my desk, watching it all unfold on a computer with headphones on. One thing that was made perfectly clear at the office was those who voted President Barack Obama and those who voted for John McCain. Even though I feel very proud of how far one man can come, all I have to do is turn my head around and be realized again how disappointed I am of man. You can feel and see the hate that burns inside of those who did not vote for President Barack Obama and I do not understand where it comes from.

Well now it is the time to move forward and change the tracks of where this country is heading. Because honestly, things are not looking real good right now.

Until Next Time.

Gainesville becomes Titletown, Once Again

2009-01-10T10:35:00.004-05:00

What a game.

A game that caused me to have an ulcer and a heart-attack throughout the game up until the fourth quarter. Unlike everyone else who thought that either Florida was going to blow Oklahoma out of the water or that we were going to get creamed by the Sooners. I knew the game was going to be close and tight, but I was not expecting it to be this close and that tight.

So congratulation to Urban Meyers and Tim Tebow. They were able to do something that not even Steve Spurrier was able to do, win two National Championships and create a quasi-dynasty here in Gainesville.

Until Next time.

The 2009 Obligatory New Years Resolution

2009-01-03T18:07:00.003-05:00

Here is a list of what I hope to accomplish in the year 2009.

Go back to school and start earning my second Bachelor Degree.

Stick with my Kung Fu class
Loose weight. If I stick with that Kung Fu class I should shed the pounds.
Start making my own sushi.
To Travel and see more of the country and of the world.
Start writing that novel that has been bouncing around in my head.
Work at a job that I love and not just being there for a paycheck.
Keep up with this blog on a regular basis
Go to an Orlando Magic game.
Have a steady girlfriend this time.
Get involved with local politics.
Read a book a month.
Study and understand Zen
Start Researching my family tree.
To enjoy life.

A New Year...A New Beginning

2009-01-01T16:49:00.006-05:00

Well...it's 2009. And I feel it could not have come any sooner.

I thought no other picture would be more appropriate than "Doctor Who" to ring in the New Year. He is a Time Lord.
I should be thankful for a lot of things that 2008 brought. I was able to move out of Gainesville to Lake Mary [Orlando area]. I was able to find a great new job even while everyone else in this country was losing there. I finally achieved one of my main goals of becoming financially stable and being able to support myself without the help of my family. I have meet great new friends and have grown distant from other ones [luckily there is facebook and myspace to keep in touch].

Even though this years had it "up" moments, there has certainly been a few "down" moments to. But I made it through, and that is all that counts.

I have been neglecting this blog and every time I come online to say how I am going to rededicate myself to maintaining it. I usually find an excuse not to write. Sitting in this chair while my fingertips type of way is probably the one cathartic thing I could do when I do not understand the things that are happening in this world. Instead of complaining that I have a voice online I should be trumpeting it.

So we will see how I treat this blog in 2009. My main goal, and I won't steal this away from the New Years Resolution blog post I'll make any day now, is to somehow make this blog grow. I have some ideas of where I want this to go, I am even entertaining the thought of adding a secondary blog, but still that is up for debate.

So here's to 2009, may you bring better tides than your predecessor. The same could be said about the incoming president.

Until Next time.

[original picture]

That's President Obama...

2008-11-07T19:29:00.003-05:00

I feel bad that it has taken me this long to respond to the election that we just had. But better late than never...right? About two days ago the 2008 election came to a close and something happened that I (and I bet a lot of other people) honestly believed that would never happen in my life time. The United States of America electing to the highest office in the land a minority a black man...and I could not be more proud of this country. And I mean that last point and no way am I taking back that statement. So congratulations to you President-Elect Barack Obama. I truly hope you and your adminstration does a great job and put this country back on the right track. I think that's all that needs to be said on that.

Until next time...

[picture source]

And Here We Go...

2008-09-07T17:23:00.005-04:00

Two months to go. The American public has two months to decide who will run this country for the next four years.

Scratch that those who have not yet made up their minds as to who they will vote for have two months to decide who they will vote for when the time comes for them to get in that booth and do whatever it is that they have to do to pick the next president of The United States of America. Now even though I have a Bachelors degree in Political Science and would love to go crazy with speculation about the history that is being made in American politics. I find myself not wanting to interject myself into political discussions with friends and co-workers, especially the latter. Now I see myself as a Democrat, a Liberal, a proud member of a party that included FDR, Kennedy and Clinton [Oddly enough all of those guys cheated on their wives...]. But I don't go around yelling and screaming to my Republican counterparts as to why they are wrong and stupid for believing in Bush or O'Bama is better than McCain. What good would that do? Nothing

Politics in this country has, in my opinion, degenerated into a whining little infant. One would think that after 232 years we would of evolved to a point in our political thinking where we vote because the person is smart, the person sounds like he knows what he/she is doing, and not "who we want to have a beer, pancakes or moose stew with." This country is supposed to show the world, especially those fledgling countries we oh so love, how a democracy functions. Yet we show them that when we pick a president, we base it on political affiliation, personal stories and stale-mate issues [Abortion and Gay rights...give me a break].

During the past two weeks I tried, really tried, to watch both parties' national convention. Mission Not Accomplished. It was hard, I'll be honest about that part. To sit up and watch these guys talk and trying to keep myself from falling asleep. One thing I can agree both convention were hard to watch. Especially [sorry for picking on you Republicans] the robotic answer each time someone asked about Gov. Palin. For awhile there I thought each person they had asked was reading off a telepromter or had a mic in their ear. And to be fair and equal, O'Bama...I think you need to tone it down just a bit. Watching your speech had me thinking I was watching a Superbowl game.

Politics, after studying it in school for as long as I did. You start to get a distaste for it. You realize American politics is not pure and holy, and that it never was. Ever since the days of George Washington, American politics has been nasty, harsh, and downright dirty. And what a surprise it still is.

Each candiate promises change, one belongs to the party that created they mess he wants to change. And one belongs to a party that just gained power and craves more of that power.

And here we go...
picture above was taken from: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0f2abns5xve6K

Destination: Travel

2008-06-12T21:00:00.003-04:00

It feels good to be writing again. To have an outlet and a voice somewhere on this massive globe. Even though the voice I project maybe me drowned out by the other many voices on the world wide web. It is still a voice, and one that I will still enjoy doing.

I thought that now that I have truly settled in and slowly getting acclimated to the area, that I create some new goals before the year is out. As I had said in my previous post, I love my job...love it. The potential income that is just waiting to be claimed there made the move to Orlando worth. Now the job is tough, I won't lie there. I was never much of a sale person and doubt I will ever be a top sales guy within the company, that much is true. But one thing I do have is that will to never give up and always to go above and beyond what is normally asked of me. Luckily I'm surrounded by people that make going to work every morning, that includes the sometimes 30 minute drive to work bearable, a pleasure.

So what's the new goal?

...To start travelling to other countries. My sister and I have yet to pick the European country that we want to visit. We have a few in mind, like: London, Spain and Hungry, but who knows where we will end up. Some people might say that I should be scared about traveling over seas. Screw the notion that things in the world are not safe right now. How many opportunities will one person get to see the world. If I see the opportunity, I'm going to take it.

Well I'm starting to get tired here, so I'm going to have to make this a short one.

Until next time,

The Genesis of Change.

2008-06-09T20:57:00.005-04:00

This is the next chapter...and sheesh it took a while to get here.

I'm finally back and blogging. After spending a month sleeping on my air mattress at my cousin's condo, driving 400 (200 miles from Gainesville to Orlando and and back again) and spending about $80.00 worth of gas each weekend. I finally have a place to call home. Well I have been actually living in my new apartment for about a month now. Now I won't bore anyone with the details of my move and the details of my new job. But I will offer highlights...kind of like how LOST recaps the previous episode.

Previously on GreG's Novel de Noir...I was offered a job by Sprint during the last week of March. Since Sprint's Human Resource informed me on short notice, I was unable to give my full two weeks notice. And really never got sent off proper. I start at Sprint, do three weeks of training, which I ace...sort of. They push me out on the sales floor. I spend 5 weeks looking for a place to live, until I settle for an apartment complex in Lake Mary. I move from Gainesville to Lake Mary, it's a tough move. And here we are...me sitting comfortably at my job, living in my new apartment and finally getting a good night sleep. Now I have to work on getting a woman/girlfriend and I'll be set.

And that's all that has happened. I am very very grateful to have made many friends at my new place. And don't know if I could of have stayed at Sprint if I was somewhat isolated and alone. Also, it is going to take me a while to get use to doing the sales part of my job, but like with all jobs I'm growing into it.

So now as I sit back and think about it. I was able to accomplish one goal I had set out at the beginning of the year. To move out of Gainesville and get myself of a new job. And so far I've done, trust me I surprised that I was able to accomplish this.

Well I think that's all I got for right now. I had originally thought I was going to write more than a short flashback, but I guess that's all I have to offer at this moment.

Well...until next time.

The picture above is of the new apartment complex I live at in the Lake Mary area. My bedroom window over looks a nice pond-small lake that has ducks and I think fishes in it.

Away From The Computer

2008-04-06T16:50:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update.
I did get the job in Orlando, FL and had started March 31, 2008. But since the place I am crashing at doesn't have a spare computer for me to use. I will have to make due when I travel back to Gainesville to use my personal computer or when I finally rent an apartment over there and get things settle.

Everything is traveling a bit hetic right now, but hopefully that will pass. Well need to get back to packing and head on back to Orlando. It has been storming all day so hopefully I don't encounter any problems on my two hour drive back to central Florida.

Until next time.

The Post-Interview Wrap-Up

2008-03-06T19:50:00.005-05:00

Even though this posting is a few days late.

I did want to take the time and write about the job interview I had with Sprint early Monday morning. First be reminded that my job interview was at 9:00AM [that was my bad. As I had picked the time to meet the HR department for my interview] and that I live about two hours away from Altamonte Springs (just outside of Orlando).

Now I won't bore you with the narrative story of what happened during those three hours from when I left my house (around 6:20AM), to when I arrived at the front doors of Sprint (around 8:55AM). All I can say is that despite the fact I got lost and had to do a few turnarounds and quick stops. I was still able to make it to my job interview...ON TIME! (...well actually five minutes before my interview started)

I was nervous...that's no lie. I feel interviewing for a job is like playing a game of chess. The other person knows what moves to put on you [or in this case, questions to ask you] to get you out of your comfort zone to see what type of player/employee you are. And as the challenger, you have to show that no matter what they throw at you. That you are confident that you will rise to the top and show that you are a worthy adversary...if that line makes any sense at all.

So far, the whisperings I'm hearing is that my interview went well and that I should be receiving a call sometime shortly. (Me being the impatient person that I am, will try to find what's going on Friday afternoon). Hopefully the call is Sprint making a formal offer as to my salary and to when I would start working. I am very excited about working at somewhere new, where a new set of challenges will be placed before me to try and figure out. Plus it does not hurt that the work environment seems very welcoming and relaxing.

And tonight I'll end this posting on a videogame note. God of War: Chains of Olympus came out early this week. I was pretty bummed that when i showed up to my local Gamestop on Tuesday to pick-up my copy. That they had told me it was coming out Wednesday (despite the face that all the gaming magazines and TV spots said the game came out today). And that's fine, I'll just go to Best Buy this weekend and use a coupon for 10% and get the game a bit cheaper than the $40.00 price tag. So far I've heard the game is short...real short, like 5-6 hours short. Which isn't really that bad for a PSP game, since most people probably want to play the game for a few minutes at a time. Since I am a fan of both God of War and God of War II. I am really anticipating a great game on a smaller scale.

Well that's it for now, if anything else happens in this so-called life of mines. I'll make sure to post some of it.

Eyes Swollen Shut.

2008-02-27T21:56:00.002-05:00

Started to look at my blog and noticed...I haven't blogged in awhile.

Well on reason for that is that I have been fairly busy. Since this is "leasing season" at my job, traffic is starting to pick-up as people start looking for places to live for the upcoming fall [August]. On top of that I have been chugging along as I try to find employment in Orlando and a house to rent in Orlando. One thing I do notice is that job hunting has been very hard. Thank you President Bush for making that possible. Also I do get frustrated that every time I have found a home that I want to rent, that in a matter of a few days it is gone. Since I am looking to move late-March to mid-April. I have these realtors telling me wait a few weeks before I want to move in to sign a lease. Which means me constantly having to check the websites and crossing my fingers in the hopes that the house I want isn't gone. Hopefully some good ones pop up next month that I can jump on and sign right away.

So...I had a very interesting weekend. It all started Sunday evening when I noticed that my eyelids were starting to swell. At first I had no idea what as going on. I thought maybe some shrimp I had eaten earlier that day was giving me a bad allergic reaction or that when I was cooking the shrimp some raw shrimp got into my eyes. Whatever it was, I spent Sunday night on the couch with a ice pack over my eyes. It took a doctor visit Monday morning to find out that my eyes were swollen due to pollen...Al Gore wasn't kidding when he said Mother Earth is getting upset. The only reason this eye problem had extremely suck was I had a job interview that Monday morning in Orlando. I am so lucky that they were very understanding and allowed me to reschedule.

I'll have to write more, hopefully good news, when I get back from my job interview Monday.

Hopefully this time, nothing bad happens.

Sex, Lies, and Politics

2008-02-11T10:58:00.000-05:00

January is finally...finally over!

And here we are a few weeks into February. The month of Black History Month, Valentine's Day and a few president's birthday added in for kicks!

Talk about the year starting out good and taking a nosedive to WTF territory.

How one gets to WTF territory beats me. But I bet it's near Albuquerque (Old Bugs Bunny joke).

Now this blog entry is not about some rampant sex scandal going on in the White House (thought itwouldn't hurt if we had one though...ahhh the good old days). I basically saw that the month of January could be broken up in to those three categories. Sex being about relationships, dating, and my experience in getting into all of that again. The Lies aspect revolves around work, co-workers, and trust (or the lack thereof). And finally, Politic...with all the primaries, caucuses and polling going around. There is no way to escape the fact that in about nine months we as a nation, will be selecting a new president. And I for one am very excited about that.

Relationships, finding one and maintaining them are never suppose to be easy. The last time we left our unsung hero [that would be me of course]. I was up bachelor creek without a paddle, possibly the worst situation a 20-something could find themselves at--especially this late in the game. When the new year came I thought my luck would somewhat change. And you know what? It did...for a while.

I should be thankful that compared to last year my dating activity has increased. But the one thing I never thought about how awkward I would feel doing the whole dating thing again. Meeting the person for the first time and feeling your heart wants to jump out and hitchhike back home. Or making sure that the words that come out of my mouth are somewhat intelligible. I should be grateful that the date went well, even though there were a few hiccups along the way [well actually the only hiccup was the fact that the restaurant wasn't all that great]. Now if we both were not so busy most of the time, maybe we could spend more time. But that maybe a persisting problem because at my work, things are going down the drain and are going fast.

Lies...we all tell them. Sometimes we are aware of the lies we tell, other time we hide behind a mask of fake sincerity. In the past I have...voiced my opinion about what I do for a living, and I've come to the understanding that I have no one else to blame but my own. The month of January, work-wise, has been one of the hardest I've had to deal with for a long time. Early on in the year, there arose a situation where one co-worker [and close friend of mines] was let go (or as the cover-up story at the office go, they quit). Let's just say that on one weekend the perfect storm of bad luck that could befall a small work office happened. Now mistakes were made and everyone (well mostly everyone) owns up to them. But to terminate a person because they were ill...come on! Now you may be asking where does the Lying part fit into all of this? And here is my answer...for a long time, I felt that everyone in the office [everyone from upper-management to maintenance guys] was like family and that we all looked out for each other no matter what. However, with all that went down it just showed that none of that really matters.

The event that has been eight years in the making is finally upon us, the 2008 elections. It would be the understatement of the year to say that a majority of the American public is unsatisfied with the current administration. But that is where we as a country find ourselves, hungry for change. In about a few short months Bush will be out and someone else will take his place. I don't know if a Democrat or Republican will be elected to the position of president, but anyone has to be better than the current guy, right? The one thing I thought I would never, ever see in my life is happening all at the same time.

For a while now I've been saying how backward America in regards to their elected officials. It never ceases to amaze that we complain about the status quo, yet always elect the status quo (we always end up electing those WASP). You have other industrialized countries that have already looked passed gender and elected the person they felt was best suited for the job. Us, on the other hand feel the need to elect people based on party loyalty and not intelligence and experience. Seriously, we are just seeing a civilized Crips vs. Blood on political stage--I mean they do share the same color [Democrats:Blue, Republicans:Red].

Now I'm not telling people to elect Barack or Hillary in order to make history. Just base your decision other than if the person has a [D] or [R] in front of their name.

Nine months to go...until we elect our new president.

The New Year: Vincit qui se vincit

2008-01-02T20:07:00.001-05:00

Two days after the fact the clock struck midnight and I said good-bye to 2007 and wassup to 2008...

The new year is finally here and without much fanfare.

But I shouldn't be too down on the year 2008, many good things will come.

One thing I should be looking forward to is that this is an election year. Now excluding the fact that there is too much media fanfare about who will win the nomination from each party. I'm surprised that no one is talking about what guest stars will be appearing that the DNC and RNC.

One thing I find myself wondering...when President Bush does leave office, what will he do? I honestly don't see the man as a humanitarian type person who is going to go around and do good deeds. If anything I bet you the man will spend the days on his Crawford Ranch, clearing brush. That damn brush, we clear them there so I don't have to do it here.

I make no qualms about who I support (I should say what party I support), but don't confuse me for a hardline Democrat. I am one of those people (probably the few), that will vote on what the person does, stand for and job record. I don't feel I need to vote because one person can out-God someone else. Or as the Republican candidates have been doing, trying to out-gun/hunt the competition. Picking candidates now, to me that is, seem more like picking student body president at a high school. We don't go for those who are qualified and can actually articulate what they mean, we just go with the ones that look snazzy, and has eyes that can bat so lovely when the light hits it juust right. Here an example: if we were truly picking presidental candidates from both parties based on experience alone [and I could be wrong here]. On one side of the fence, for the Democrats: Biden (runner up: Richardson) and for the Republicans McCain (runner up: Guiliani). But as a country we go for whatever has that new car smell .

As I sit back in my chair and wonder, I have a feeling that 2008 will be one of those years I'll look back at and go "Whoa...now that's a year that was fucking interesting!'

Hmmm....I guess that's all I have to say about this new year.
Already starting this year on a short note.

The New Year: Prologue

2007-12-31T15:41:00.001-05:00

Well...
The new year is almost here.
What a year 2007 has been! Unfortunately it has become the year that you almost want to forget. If there was a perfect analogy for the year 2007, it would be compared to: Having just woke up from a long night of binge drinking and come to realize that the one night stand you thought was hot...wasn't really hot. And that she (or it) left you a morning surprise in the crotch area.

That in a nutshell is how 2007 has been.

2007 had a lot of those moments that made you scratch your head and ponder..."For real...this is the most important [thing] affecting my life at this moment."

Personally, 2007 was nothing new. No rocking the boat moments. Besides not getting into any of the graduate schools I had applied for (which put me in a foul funk for a while there). I pretty much remained stationary, no new job (working on that), did not move (working on that also). Just stayed the same old Greg.

Now I thought about listing a bunch of New Year's Resolutions...but decided against that. Not because I don't believe in them, only that my New Year's Resolution are always the same every year, with a minor adjustments from time to time. If there are two things that I hope to accomplish by the end of 2008 would be: to travel (preferably out of the country) and win the lotto (which is apparently hard to do).

Well so long 2007...and hello sexy 2008.

Until next year

[photo source]

Christmas Office Party

2007-12-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

So last night I attended my work's annual Christmas Party. And no matter how many time I attend these work gathering, I feel always awkward and uneasy. Meeting the owner (and signer of your paycheck), the people who work at the corporate office (who you mostly know through the phone and not face-to-face) and people that you have no idea who they are and where they came from. And on top of that, being the only person of color at the party....whew talk about standing out. hahaha

This year the party was held at the Outback Steakhouse. In previous years we've either dined at a fancy restaurants or had one of the finer restaurants cater us here at the Hampton Oaks Clubhouse, (which of course was transformed into a great dining hall before all the guest had arrived). But going in I thought that it was going suck.

So the party started at 5:30PM and of course I arrived around 6:10PM. I never like being on time to these kind of party, fashionable late....right! First thing I had noticed while driving was that I had forgotten to put the new sticker on my license saying that my tag was update (so basically I was riding around town with an expired tag...and that would suck big time if I got pulled over). When I arrived at the restaurant, I of course went around and did the customary greeting, handshakes, and hugs for everyone that was there and relaxing. The spread of appetizers that they had out was nice (not great but nice): cut up pieces of steak in some mushroom sauce, bang bang shrimp, stuffed mushroom, and other stuff that I don't remember.

And that was pretty much it...well I stand corrected. There was that moment when I felt someone's wife eying me up and down. Talk about Extremely Awkward.

After everyone who was invited arrived, it was like High School all over again. Everyone receded to their little cliques. Which was fine by me, I felt more comfortable chilling with my co-workers that I basically see 24/7. And luckily this time I did not go booze crazy (upon hearing open bar) and had ten plus shots of something. Only thing I had that night was a Jolly Rancher Shot, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Shot, and a shot of Peppermint Chocolate martini.

And now on to the conclusion of the night...

The conclusion of this night had to be what everyone was most looking forward to. The handing out of Christmas bonus. If anything it means alot of things to different people. (i.e., finish up the last of that Christmas shopping, pay off some bills, or save up for some trip). Instead of opening my check at the party I waited until I was inside my car to see what type of Christmas I was going to be having. Suffice it to say...it will be a good Christmas holiday this year.

There's one more office party coming up. Where it will just be us employees at this Apartment complex. We plan on having a pot luck dinner (always like to see what people can cook up) and the Secret Santa Gift Exchange. I have no idea what to get the person who's name I picked, but it shouldn't be hard....Right!!!

Well that's about it.
Hope it gets cold in time for Christmas, would hate to have a Christmas where I'm sweating it out in my apartment.

[Photo source]

Hyping Fear

2007-12-12T13:26:00.000-05:00

Seems someone here had an eventful evening.

Around 5:40PM or so last night I receive a call from my sister informing me that her job and the mall was on lockdown. She did not know what the specifics of what was actually happening, only that there were twenty cop cars outside her work and near the mall. From what she knew, was that a "gunmen" was inside the mall. In reality we both came to find out that two kids were fighting and one possibly had a knife while the other kid possibly had a gun and were hiding a good hundred yards away from the mall. Still a threat to everyone's safety.

Some truly scary shit there for a while. Especially since our apartment is close to the Mall.

This is not the first shooting to occur at the mall here in Gainesville. Just a few weeks ago, two men were fighting outside of a restaurant near the mall, when one of them pull out a gun and shot the man in the chest.

With all recent shootings in Nebraska and in Colorado people are starting to feel on edge. I sure as hell know I am. Who wants to enter a mall thinking that might be the last thing you do.

Well hopefully things start to calm down a bit as Christmas draws near. But I have one of those feelings that there will be a crop of copycats popping up. As long as we have mentally unstable people who have this mindset where they believe that there's nothing to live for and that they only way to make an exit is to go with guns blazing. This trend of random meaningless shootings will continue.

Blog entry photo source

Tis' The Season...

2007-12-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

...to finally get my lazy ass off the couch and assemble that damn Christmas Tree.

What was taxing about this early Christmas season is that not only did I have to decorate my tree, it seemed I was the only one who bother to take the time and decorate the tree at my work. Besides getting some help stringing up tinsel and ornaments. I had to literally fix up two Christmas tress. Not saying I don't love Christmas tress and what they store beneath its little spindles, just the thought of de-tangling lights and trying to remember where everything went last year drains a person out. And don't forget that come January 1st [or weeks following January 1st], some people will either repackage their trees in the box or lug it outside so it can be chopped up in to wood chips.

Last few weeks I have been literally bummed out. After receiving news from UCF, of not getting into graduate school. I am literally surprised at how introverted I had become. There was a point where I was just going through the days as if I was just sleepwalking, and wanting people to kind of bugg off and leave me alone [kind of hard when you work in an office]. Now with it being December and the thoughts of missing out on graduate school, doesn't infuriate me. I've decided to apply one more time, apply myself study my ass off for the GRE and apply for UF and UCF. If I don't get in this time, well than that's it. I move on to something else. Just have to realize school isn't for everybody and that there are other ways to make a difference in this world than getting your Masters and Ph.D. I do know that I will be looking and scouring very hard to find a better paying job and a new place to move to. If I have to stay in Gainesville, might as well make it an enjoyable stay.

Now with about 18 days of until Christmas. My sister and I have decided to buy gifts for one another, like we did last year. The dollar limit $150.00. I know...a lot to be spending on someone especially if that person is your sister. But she deserves it. Last year she deserved it the most, because she finally started dieting and lost a lot of weight and being an overall healthier person. This year, she gets the prize for not being as annoying as past year and being the few people I actually lean on. LoL [someone needs to come up with something better than LoL...]. Haven't figured out what to get her, thinking a toss up between a PSP, PS2 or something with some wow factor to it. As for me, I know what I want...well more like need. I already have plans to get a new computer monitor and camera with my Christmas bonus money. And plan to put the rest in my saving account which is aptly named: The Greg's HDTV Funds [of which I am a third way there...with plans from my sister to contribute to this account as well].

Well I think this is a good time as ever to end this entry. Below are some before and after photos of the Christmas Tree my sister and I assembled in our living room. The pictures make it look puny when in reality it looks really beautiful.

What A Difference A Year Makes

2007-11-28T21:36:00.000-05:00

What a year!
I almost let the one year anniversary of starting this blog go unnoticed. (The actually one year anniversary was November 10th).

So what has this year taught me? What have I learned and will carry with me onto next year? I wish I knew that answer. Mostly looking back at my blog enteries, some of the enteries were good and reflected my mood, thoughts and ramblings at that time. And then there are the others entries...where the topic matter seemed more filler than informative. The entries where I rant and complain I feel comfortable with them, because they show that I am still human and that there will be days where I feel like utter shit and frustrated. Nothing wrong with feeling like that, but it's how one decides to deal with it shows what type of person that man (or woman) is made of.

So onto 2008...

This has to be the first time with a new year approaching where I am uncertain of what's going to happen. In years passed, I knew there would be heartache, happiness and all of that. But in the end I knew that within my circle of people, things were going to be okay. But for some reason, 2008 is like looking out into a void and I don't know what to make of it.

Who knows? But I guess it wouldn't be 2008 or a new year without a bit of uncertainty.

"Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity" ~ R. I. Fitzhenry

Girls and Phone Numbers

2007-11-27T14:18:00.001-05:00

Here is how the situation went down that pushed me to write this blog entry...

It's Saturday night/ early Sunday morning. And I'm at the bar with some of my friends. A beautiful drop dead gorgeous server strikes up a conversation, being all pleasant and such. Now with the night winding down for it's conclusion, and it's time to pay up those horrific bar tabs (Damn you shots of Patron). My friend (female friend mind you) says I should leave my phone number on my receipt to get the girl to call me. The look on my face...not priceless but more like "is that the best we can do?" Well I did not write down my phone number on the receipt, because if I want a woman's phone I rather just ask for it instead of writing my phone number and running out of the place.

Now I do not claim to be an expert on women and what goes on in their mind. But I would think the above aforementioned story ranks high on their list of basic DON'TS when trying to get a date.

Confessions of a Leasing Consultant

2007-11-04T20:34:00.001-05:00

It's not easy...it never is.

Being a leasing consultant, that is. Now that's not to say that being an officer, a firefighter or a mail carrier is easy. But there are days that being a leasing consultant is just not worth the trouble. Day in and day out, it is about dealing with people. It's about listening to their problems with that fake smile of sincerity. Giving the illusion that you are deeply concentrated on every word that is spoken, when in reality you are thinking about how soon this day will come to an end. If the day is not spending on listening to a five minute narrative as to why their sink doesn't work or the epic novelization as to why a boyfriend's car got towed. It always boils down to some stupid shit that I don't really give a damn about.

I look at my paycheck every two weeks and literally sigh at how meager it is. I would think poor Bob Cratchit makes more money than me. I have a college degree in Political Science, I had big dreams, big ideas and goals. And now all that degree is good for is to gather dust in my bedroom closet.

It is a shame that after all this time I still have yet to buy a frame for it. Maybe properly framing my college degree might bring some luck my way.

Instead of spending my days in the halls of justice and law arguing policy and issues that effect the world. I walk through muck, through piss drenched carpets and fridges being overrun with maggots and flies of people who live in absolute filth. Believe me when I say that, women are by far the most filthiest apartment dwellers I have seen. Instead of reviewing court cases and resolutions, I am thrown Move-out reports and other meaningless items to preoccupy my time, work that seem so mind numbingly stupid that I feel my so mentally drained and feel my mind just slipping in to some type of nothingness.

What brought on this sudden loathing of my current job...I honestly don't know. Maybe I just overheard some character on a show say how life is short and that we should not waste the time we do have wasting away. The usually yadda-yadda. Or maybe it was that other show where they showcase people who are my age actually making a name for themselves. It doesn't help that the Amazing Race is on the television at the moment, my only window...so far...to visiting different parts of the world. Or maybe when it was that close friend [Diana], asked me, "What do you want to do for a living, that would make you happy?" And I would be damned that the first thought that popped up, was to be a writer [oddly enough the following professions that did not popped up in my head: politician, professor, publicist, or pimp].

Me a writer....
Well being a writer has a better sound to it than being your local leasing consultant.
For a long time I had at my disposal a juiced up imagination. But like the Ark of the Covenant being stored away at a warehouse somewhere, that is how I treated my rich imagination. Keeping it bottled up, never seeing the light of day and never using it properly. That's not to say I have a brain full of story ideas just waiting for me to write them down. I have a few, but with a strong plot and point to the story, it becomes nothing more than rambling.

Leasing Consultant...
A job that I hope to never have to encounter again in my lifetime.

end.

The Circus is Next Door!

2007-10-24T13:51:00.000-04:00

So I wake up today and what do I see through my patio screens...The Circus [Cole Bros. Circus]. That's right! Literally in my backyard, in The Oaks Mall Parking lot, the circus tents are being pitched.

I don't have to say how awesome this is. To have the circus in your backyard has to be every kid growing up ultimate fantasy. [well either having the circus in your backyard or being able to fly...it was usually one of the two].

So while at work today [for those that don't know I live in the same apartment complex where I work...so it makes my morning commute literally a breeze], we power up the golf cart and drive around the perimeter of the circus and try to see some of the animals.

The only one we were able to see where the elephants [picture right]. We think there might be horses, but we couldn't see them.

I have to say, looking into the eyes of an elephant [especially one that is chained up] is a bit heart-wrenching. Even though the seem at ease, tossing bits of hay on their back, their eyes almost say they are just really really sad.

Well I should get back to work, luckily today is one of those days where it is gloomy outside and traffic coming into the office is at a standstill.

until next time,

My Birthday

2007-10-11T20:27:00.000-04:00

"Twenty-seven years ago, in the middle of a cold, dark and dreay night in Newark, NJ. A man was born...no, no a legend was born. And when he was born, it was said he would go on to do sort-of Great things!~Greg"

That is right today is my birthday and I pretty much (favorite catch word of mines) got what I wanted. Peace and quiet and a time to rest up and play with my sister's dog (I say this because Bubba-the dog doesn't pay attention to me when she is in the room) all day today. I didn't have to worry about work, answering phones, doing copies, fax or listening to tenants bitch/complain about something not working right. I called today the Ying of my birthday celebration, because tomorrow night will be the Yang. I have sushi, drinks, dancing and hopefully some macking (I think that what the kids these days are calling it) of the ladies who are out tomorrow night.

Being twenty-seven really feels weird. Not in the sense that I woke up this morning and screamed at the horror of being another day older (I liked Dexter's reasoning behind birthday celebrations..."celebrating another year of being alive."), but that I truly don't feel any bit of the slightest different that when I turned 18. Actually me at twenty-seven compared to me at seventeen is like night and day. First off I am 50-lbs lighter, and living a more healthier lifestyle. Only thing twenty-seven year old Greg envies about seventeen year old Greg...seventeen year old Greg had a girlfriend. But that is a problem that can quickly be fixed...usually with a bottle of rum/vodka.

Well I'm going to get going, go back to my night of relaxing, and reading. Plus got to rest up for tomorrow, because who know what will happen.

Change Is Coming

2007-10-04T18:10:00.001-04:00

For today's entry, I must admit I kind of wrestled with the thought of how to present this blog entry. As you may have figured out I am not the expert when it comes to blogging (even though more and more of them pop up everyday). First I thought about having the title of each of my entries be like Chapter numbers. For example having this entry go like: Chapter 1: Change is Coming. However, after thinking about it some more, I soon thought that if I blog regularly than my chapters might be up in the thousands. (Chapter 1125, doesn't seem pleasant).

So I settled with having my entries (not all of them mind you) have a quote that kind of reflects what I am trying to get through in the blog entry.

So today's quote has to deal with Change. Odd that I would write about change since for a good part of my life I feared it. Growing up change was the norm. There was a time I felt that my family were a bunch of nomads, moving from one place to another. And I was use to that, once I get use to the local scenery, I have a feeling so deep inside that screams out, "Time to pack up and get the F out of here!" So what's changing? Don't want to say right now (even at this age I still believe in jinxes), but if anything it has to do will all facet of my life: personal, relationship, education, and financial. Or I could be total BS'ing right now just to throw everyone off what the real news is.

Well when I get the news I'll make sure to share it.

Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay ~ Simone de Beauvoir

Free Fallin'

2007-09-20T15:09:00.001-04:00

Free Fallin'...how odd that one of my dreams would begin with me free falling. Being that I am afraid of heights, it is not the most logically thing I would want to dream about. But when have dreams ever been logically to begin with.

What struck me as odd, was that I wasn't afraid as I started to free fall from some platform high above, peering over an empty abyss. Feeling the sensation of flying through the air, don't tell me there's not one kid out there who wrapped a blanket around their neck and jumped off something thinking they could fly...

But the one thing I took away from this dream, since most dreams are littered with hidden meanings, was how I [my dream self] had to will my body to stay afloat.

With all the things that is going on around, I took it as that my unconscious self was maybe somehow telling my conscious self that if I truly want something and want that badly, that I need not only apply physical hard work towards it, but I must believe with every fiber of my body that I can attain it.

Maybe my unconscious self knows what my potential is and is helping me achieve the goals it knows I am capable of accomplishing. Who better to know you than yourself.

Well my dreams were either telling me that, or that I should be on Heroes.

Georgia Not On My Mind

2007-09-12T22:25:00.001-04:00

Well I'm finally back in the city of Gainesville. After spending three long days in Suwanee, GA for a class (a one day 8 hour straight class) on how to better use the computer software at my job. I thought I was going to have a miserable time there....well the miserable time I had was the driving part and the "incident" that happened on my way back to Gainesville.

First thing I notice upon entering Georgia, was how bad the traffic is. The traffic I experienced there is no where compared to what I had faced when driving around Orlando (let alone the type of traffic I faced in Ft. Lauderdale). If my driving companion (my boss and property manager) and I did not have our GPS device, we would of surely been loss around Atlanta and the surrounding cities.

We had stayed at the Fairfield Inn at Suwanee. My expectation of the place before getting there were real low (show that it sometimes pay not to listen to online reviews....sometimes.) But when I got to my room [King size executive suite--way to hook a brotha up at work], I was pleasantly surprised...really! I had a couch, a fridge [knobs were broken], a microwave [burnt my popcorn--but that's my bad I was focusing on the Ravens vs. Bengal game], and a king size bed. And luckily there were a few resturants around walking distance to the hotel that made eating out a breeze.

The class was alright, it was nothing to lament about. I did learn a few things that I didn't know I could do with the software at the office and it will be a great help in cutting the amount of time and confusion between the Leasing Office and Corporate Office.

But to the ride back home. Now I don't know what part of Georgia, but at some point I was going 22 mph over the speed limit. I think the cop had said he clocked me going 87mph in a 65mph. And all I got was a warning...talk about lucky [knock on wood]. Trust me, I am more surprised than anyone that I got away with that...or am I [evil laughter].

One more odd thing before I end this blog entry tonite....when did Subway added pizza to their menu? On our way back to Gainesville, stopping at a lil' store either in Jasper/ Jennings, FL there was this subway resturant that was serving...pizza. Well, I had to order one and see what it taste like, and I loved. I have yet to see the local Gainesville Subway stores selling them...guess I'm going to have to wait.

well I think that is about it.
I added a video below, I was thinking about this Dave Chappelle skit when I had gotten pulled over by the cops and was thinking how funny it would of been if it had gone down like that.

until next time,

Haitian Kids Forced Into Slavery.

2007-08-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

Instead of blogging about my daily life. Today's blog entry is a news article that was on MSNBC.com about children in Haiti who are forced into slavery. These kids who are referred to as "restavek", and are beaten and are treated basically like shit while doing heavy manual labor (cleaning, tending to the crops, and anything else their owners want them to do). This article hits a little bit close to home, being that my parents are from Haiti. Especially being that my Dad is from the poorer areas of Haiti, where as my mother grew up in the capital city. I have included the link to the article, for those that want to read a bit more in depth about what these kids go through.

Article: Kids forced into domestic servitude in Haiti [source: msnbc.com]
[picture source: msnbc.com]

On The Midnight Train To Georgia

2007-08-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

Ohhh...what a great unwanted surprise today when I came into work.

On September 9th, 2007, I get the opportunity to travel to Georgia. Am I going up there for fun or pleasure? No, no, no...I have to go up there for some class on how to use a new computer system that we use here at work. Now what probably sucks is that either my manager or myself are going to have to drive (probably in a rental car, since there is no way in hell I'm taking my car up to Georgia) ourselves up there and stay at a hotel. If there is a high point, gas and the hotel fee is covered by my company. It looks like a definite that I will have to make the trip.

well I keep you posted about my trip to Georgia...(maybe).

Singly Dating

2007-08-19T18:28:00.000-04:00

The life of a single man...

Not a tough thing by any stretch, if you believe me on that. The only thing tough about being a single guy is when you don't want to be single anymore. When that happens, a single guy will need to go out into the wild and find that woman that you want to date (for a while...maybe). It use to be that, with the right combination of cologne, clothing and tasty breath a guy could stroll (stumble) into their local bar and find a woman who was willing to give out her phone number. However, now that we live in the twenty-first century, everything is digital. So now we pick our potential mates by dating sites (which at times resemble retail catalogs) and ask for emails (or myspace URLs).

After months of refusing to give in to the demands of my friends to join a site...I'd decided to go ahead and sign up for them....well all of them.

My thoughts were that each website offered a different experience, even though each website was about connecting two single people together in hopes that they will be the perfect match for each other.

Match.com: It was an okay website. The one thing that annoyed me about this website was that all the matches never panned out. And don't get me started on the fake profiles that litter the site. I was continuously having to report profiles, because the profiles never added up to what the person wrote or where they were from. Also, (in my opinion) it seem very hard being a single black male on this website. Slim pickings when it came to women who were interested in single black males, especially in this town. Verdict: I've completely deleted my profile and will not rejoin Match.com in the future.

Cupid.com: This website was like dealing with a water-down version of Match.com. Almost all of the same problems I had encountered with Match.com were present with this website. One frustrating thing was the limited amount of single women who matched up to what I was looking for (and that was even after I made my general search broad trying to encompass any woman that came close to it). Another thing that I had noticed were the fake profiles again. Now I've heard rumors of dating sites using fake profiles to entice customers into getting a subscription for these paid dating websites. Usually these fake profiles have a model looking woman, who has bad grammar, and doesn't live anywhere close to you (like in Belgium)...but still wants to go out on a date. Again, I was disappointed with the offering of single women in my area that this site had to offer, but I guess there's no changing that. Verdict: I've completely deleted my profile and will not rejoin Cupid.com in the future.

eHarmony.com: Out of all the dating websites I have tried, using this website was a bit refreshing. Unlike the other websites where I would have to go out and practically hunt down a woman that comes close to what I want to take out on a date. eHarmony.com would have a few matches (some days I was lucky to get one) that in their opinion matched up to what I was looking for. As far as fake profiles go, I had only encountered just one fake profile (compared to the 3-4 fake profiles of the other websites). The only drawback about eHarmony.com is the amount of single who actually take the time to do the whole "Guided Communication process." I've had people that would start out the process and just kind of trail off, where I never hear from them again. Sometimes it does feel like you are filling out questions for the SATs. I have met so far one person from the eHarmony website, the date didn't go as well as I thought it would, but you have to use it as a learning process and move on. Verdict: I enjoy using this website. Just wish more of the matches would respond. Still not getting a whole lot of matches in my city, but that's no surprise. I'll stick with this website for a while longer (maybe another 3-4months).

Well I'll keep posting updates as the quest to get a date continues.

Addiction: Soda

2007-08-07T20:46:00.001-04:00

It has been a long long time, since the taste of sweet corn syrup, fructose and all that other stuff past my lips. I had decided that on July 8, 2007 I was going to give up soda for that week. Well that week has now extended to more than a month. And I have to say that I am really proud of myself. I thought soda, was going to be one of those things that would be hard for me to give up. I usually had a soda (diet soda mind you) with every meal and always scoffed at the idea of drinking water. But now that about four weeks have passed by, I cannot get enough of water and have disposed of every last can, bottle of soda that remained in my pantry. Also, I have notice that I have lost more weight (10-lbs pounds worth) after giving up my diet soda in favor of water and juice.

I don't recommend this for everyone. Since everyone needs to find their own path on how healthy they want to live. I am just glad that this is one addiction that I don't have to worry about for a long long time. Not as bad as other "addictions" but an addiction that could of had major health risk for me down the road.

Here is an interesting article that I had read a while ago about the health risk of drinking soda. [Doctors Debate Soft Drink Ties to Heart Disease, Health Risk]

Harry Potter and the Great Addiction

2007-07-23T12:25:00.000-04:00

As the title of this blog states: The Harry Potter books are worse than a crack addiction...and I don't mean that in a bad way either. I love the series and applaud the author [J.K. Rowling] for reigniting everyone's need to pick up a book and to read.

After spending this past weekend, reading the 700+ page novel that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now I will not ruin the ending for those who have not gotten to the end of the book (i.e., my sister who last time I checked was around chapter 17). Great Ending though! I just wanted to note that how over the weekend everyone from kids to an elderly man were waiting in line to get their copy of the coveted seventh book and final book in the coveted Harry Potter series.

Almost like a crack addiction, people needed to get their fix about how the story of the Boy Wizard would end. And fortunately I needed to get that fix too. I could say it was a close friend/ co-worker at the University of Florida Bookstore who got me into reading the book. I was probably with the few back then who thought a book about a boy wizard was stupid and childish. But after reading Book Three at the time, I was really hooked and thought the story was simple yet complex at the sametime.

The day before the book came out, my father and I had a conversation about the hype surrounding the book. He thought it was stupid (what compels someone to stand in line for a book?) He also thought a book about magic and wizards was stupid. My only counterargument was, "Hey it making kids and adults alike read. Haven't you notice dad that people nowadays just don't sit down and just read a book?" Alas, he agreed, still holding on to the thought that the media coverage about a kids book was getting too much hype. That's true, Lemony Snickets didn't get this much fanfare.

Now that the book is done and sits on my bookshelf as an amazing feat of my AWESOMENESS. I wonder what else is out there that I can conquer....hmmmm, sounds like that would be something worth writing.

Until Next Time.

Haiti comes to the video game world

2007-07-20T19:24:00.000-04:00

Today while watching G4TV's Attack of the Show, it was revealed that setting/location of Capcom's Resident Evil 5 will be everyone's favorite forgotten Caribbean island: Haiti.

Now being Haitian myself (well my parents are from there, I'm really from New Jersey). I don't know if I should feel a bit elated that the tiny nation is being mentioned at all [beside the whole Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]. Or if I should feel a bit worried that this great game that deals with zombies and death, will shine a poor light on the Caribbean nation.

There's already that stigma that Haiti is all about voodoo (which I am wondering if that will play a part in the game as well). Or that the country is extremely violent. Which is not entirely true, but I won't sit here and paint the country as a paradise resort either.

What I will do is hold off judgment and wait until the game comes out. No rushing to prejudge a game that hasn't been played or seen beyond the trailers shown at this years E3. Will I play when it comes out? Sure why not. It's a video game and nothing more. If someone who plays a video game is unable to separate fantasy from reality has no business playing a video game. To those who had no problem playing Medal of Honor games, Call of Duty games, or the Grand Theft Auto series. However, they start to all of a sudden have a heart because the game hits a little bit close to home, tell me how the people of color in those games listed above felt when they had to point the fictional gun at their countrymen, and how come you weren't there to raise your voice when it was. I do hope that the game setting is done tastefully. And that even though it is a poor island nation, they show that there is some good amidst all that evil.

Provided below is the trailer for the game [which is slated for a 2009 release] that was shown at E3 2007.
Also another news site talking about the game Resident Evil 5 [source: E3 - Preview of Resident Evil 5]

The Future...

2007-07-19T12:23:00.001-04:00

It is finally done...

Just finished filling out my graduate school application for the University of Central Florida. All I can do now is cross my fingers, do a lot of praying and probably investigate who do I need to pay off in order to get myself enrolled for their Spring 2008 semester. Now before applying to UCF, I had applied to both the colleges of the University of Florida [my alma mater] and the University of South Florida. Both of which I did not get accpeted in. Now I could of been upset, depressed and a bunch of other emotions about not being accepted. But the blame is rest squarely on my head. Before turning in my Personal Statement to UCF, I did a final proofread and I found a lot (and I mean A WHOLE LOT) of mistakes and grammatical errors. Hopefully, the corrections I caught were good enough to get those advisor's and department heads attention at UCF to take me in to the program.

Well feeling tired, so I'm going to go on and head to bed.

God of War...whew!

2007-07-08T21:17:00.000-04:00

Just something kind of different today.

After obsessing over this game for the past few months, I have finally beaten GOD OF WAR 2. Talk about wanting a cigarette after beating this game [no I don't smoke, but if I did I would of smoked a pack that day]. It was THAT GOOD! Now I could of been bummed about how the ending of the game went down. But, I was not. It just has me psyched me up for the eventual sequel to the game and has me already craving the prequel that will be coming out for the PSP later this year. [Luckily I am one of the few that will be getting a demo of the game in the mail...sweet!!]

I would say that GOD OF WAR 2 [and the original GOD OF WAR] were the only games that honestly kept me glued to my chair for more than 30 minutes. And that is a feat upon itself.

Why is this game so popular or so fun to play? Beside the great visual, the sick looking combos, and very solid story. It is a great feeling to come home after a long day and just zone out for a while and play a game that requires not a whole lot of thought...talking about you Sudoku.

So those at Sony, thank you for making a great game and I look forward to what you got up your sleeves next.

The Past Apocalypse Story

2007-07-06T17:52:00.000-04:00

I am always amazed at what I find when I do a bit of late summer cleaning.

Case in point, an old journal of mine from my senior year at High School. Well...I should not say journal, it was more of an attempt by me to write a novel [epic at that]. Briefly flipping through the pages of my handwritings, I saw that I had a lot of potential...but mostly a lot of head rubbing, with thoughts of "What in the hell was I thinking!"

Here is a bit of a rundown as to what I was writing, and don't worry I will not torture anyone with actual passages from my attempt in the writing department. The book was titled: "Apocalypse: Dream Wars" Don't know where I came up with that title, but that's what I had picked when writing this story. The story was suppose to be about a young guy named, Malcolm, who is unable to separate his dreams from his reality. In the beginning chapters it actually starts with the world coming to and untimely end [this is way before watching the movie or ever hearing of the book: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So if I had attempted to write that book I could of probably been brought in for plagiarism...glad I didn't,even though I didn't mean to on purpose].

If there was any good thing that I saw in my writings was that I wanted to write in a unconventional way: 1) Having the hero be someone who doesn't want to be THAT hero 2) The Good guy doesn't win all the time and innocent people get hurt, you hate to say that but it happens...read the last few Harry Potter books to see where I'm coming from. 3) Having the lines between "What's Right" and "What's Wrong" blurred so much that everything is just a gray area. What I mean by that is, if you go the movies or read a book, you know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. [side note: bad guys usually dress in all black, live in/near/around a volcano, explain their plans in details to the "good guy" just to have it foiled, and they always have the craziest laugh]. What happen if the people you think you are fighting with are good, but turn out to be bad? What extreme is an individual willing to go to ensure their survival? What if a battle that normally happens on a barren-like wasteland happen in their own backyard? Those were just some of the questions, I wanted my story to incorporate.

Hmmm...Maybe in finding that old dusty notebook with notes on characters, plots, developments, and such was a sign, that I should get back into writing. Now that I am older and a little bit more seasoned, that I can craft a better story. Well I know one thing that would change...that's the Title for damn sure.

Well, I'm off...

Until Next time,

Soul Rain

2007-06-20T15:26:00.000-04:00

Nothing poetic today.
But everything always seem to have a poetic tint to it...doesn't it.
Today it's raining, the rain pouring down hard against the ground.
More than a billion raindrops, together to make the sound of a million footsteps. The sound of million footsteps that seem to echo in the air.

There was an old saying, that I had once heard about the rain.
Yet that memory starts to fade...doesn't it.
"When it rains, the rain washes away your sins."
The rain washes much more than your sins, it blurs your past, erodes your memories and cleans your soul.
I walk through the rain.
Your footsteps drowned out by the the other million footsteps. The rain washes away everything.

When the rain falls, it calms me, soothes me.
When the rain falls, it quiets me, and stirs me.

When the rain fall, and the raindrops touch the ground, it begins
An odd way to End to something that was not meant to be poetic...isn't it!

About today's blog: I thought that today, since it is actually raining outside, to try and write out a poem. Now to be honest I have not written a poem since my Senior year of High School. I normally just wrote poems to show off in a competitive way for a couple of my classmates in English Lit who took poem writing seriously. By how long it took me to crank this one out, I can see that I still have some lingering rust on my writing ability. As for the picture, I did not take that picture, I Googled it and the perfect picture was there waiting to be used. [picture source: Violent Rains].

until next time,

Bush Says Good-Bye To Blair

2007-05-17T19:02:00.000-04:00

Came across this video while browsing through the Keith Olbermann website. It's a music like video of a long song between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since Tony Blair has announced that he will be stepping down as Prime Minister effective June 27, 2007, everyone is left wondering what type of relationship the United States and United Kingdom will have.

eNJoy!

A Man of Fiction

2007-05-10T19:40:00.001-04:00

A Man of Fiction... You know it is one of those day, when the most random of thoughts pop in your head and stays in there. For no reason (well probably as of late I've started to re-connect with most of my high school classmates) there it was. A thought of me back in high school, at English Lit class debating with a friend of mine that fiction writers/ novelists are better the poets. Why blog about it now? I still find myself at times jotting ideas, notes on a piece of paper about a story I wouldn't mind writing. Be it epic Sci-fi battle where the lines between good and evil are blurred. Or maybe a heart wrenching story where the person doesn't find love in the end. Now some may say, a fiction writers job is to write a story that follows the plan of begin-middle-end. But sometimes to get the whole story, you need to see how it ends in order to understand how it begins. Some people believe that endings are suppose to usually be of the happy kind, but look around. Look at the world around you and ask how many people you honestly know are living that Happily Ever After. Not that many huh?

Trust me, I understand that real life is, well real life and not made up. Our lives is don't follow an author's outline, we can't skip a few pages to see what's going to happen if we made that right turn instead of the left turn, no putting away the words written on the page, when things look like it's starting to get to dark and scary.

I still would like to write stories that interest me...and maybe this is a way to announce from time to time a short story to two on this blog. Don't know how that is going to work out, but it should be very interesting. Well at least challenging.

finally the picture you see above is from the TV show: The Invisible Man...again don't want people to think I go around stealing pics.

Well I guess that is all for now, until next time.

The Homeless Attack with Sharpies In Hand

2007-04-30T16:08:00.000-04:00

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 marker s 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

2007-04-29T17:30:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-23T22:52:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-22T22:35:00.001-04:00

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

2007-04-16T21:14:00.000-04:00

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...

UPBRAID : REPROACH :: GRE : ...

2007-03-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

Well...it has been a little more than a week since I took the GRE. The standardize test that basically decides my future. Now, I did a whole lot better than the last time I had took the test (which was about two years ago, when I had just recently graduated from UF). How odd is it that I did better on my GREs than when I first took the test those many years ago.

Well the next step is to start applying and hopefully creating a compelling application packet that tugs at their heartstrings and persuade them to enrolling me into the Graduate School Political Science program. Compared to about two years ago when I first attempted to apply for Graduate school. I've narrowed my list of colleges I want to get into from about fifteen to about three: (University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and University of South Florida). I don't have a preference as to where I go, just as long as one the schools (it would be sweet if all of them) accepts me.

Well I'm just glad to have that part of my life over and that I can sit back (for a limited time that is) and relax a bit and have. One thing I will most definitely be up to will be to go out with some friends and watch the UF Men's Basketball team go up against Butler. Some might think it will be a game that the UF Men should sleepwalk through, but Butler is NOT that type of team. People are calling them this year "Cinderella team".

Well Until next time,

Wait A Minute...I Thought I Was Black!

2007-02-12T13:39:00.000-05:00

Even though I had promised myself not to post a large amount of videos on my blog. I couldn't for the life of me resist posting up two videos today. Both deal with race (and oddly Barack O'Bama) and also deals with when do you consider a Black Man to actually be a Black Man in the United States.

The first video is of Author Debra Dickerson on The Colbert Report, where she explains how come she feels that Barack is not truly a BLACK MAN. (Paraphrasing here) That since Barak's ancestors were not slaves here in America during that time frame and that his ancestors did not come from West Africa. Barack can not be considered a Black American, or something like that. The second video is of Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore of The Daily Show. He also, explains why Black Americans don't like Barack because his father is from Kenya (and not the USA) and that Black Americans don't like anything...African.

So, why post these videos? Well because I am in the same boat as Barack. I have no ancestors who were here during the Slave Period. Both my parents are from Haiti and not Africa. So what does that make me. A Haitian American or just some random guy who for some reason is a bit dark (I like to think, a mocha like coloring). Does this mean I can no longer check that box when it says, "pick your race".

Now I could go into a deep logical, analytical type debate citing Supreme Court Cases and such as to why I am an African-America or a Black Man. But you didn't come here for that.

You came here for the videos.

So, eNJoy!

Until Next Time.....

oh by the way...it seems that these videos have an expiration date. So if you are reading this blog a few months down the road from when I had originally posted it. Tough Luck!

28 Days of Trivia...

2007-02-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it's the start of Black History Month, and as Larry Wilmore would say it is, "...28 days of trivia about Harriet Tubman and The Tuskegee Air Men." So why even have it? Maybe to throw a bone to the African-American community, tell that you were sorry about what had happened and promise that it will never happen again. This obsession of condensing 200 years worth of history in a month (the shortest month as a matter of fact) is a bit trite and demeaning. How come Black History can't be a part of regular American history? Who knows...

Well for your viewing pleasure here is the video of Larry Wilmore on the The Daily Show, explaining the significance of Black History Month.

Until Next Time,

A Super Bowl To Remember

2007-01-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

Well first, congrats to the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts for making it the Super Bowl XLI. Even though the Chicago Bears had it a bit easier handing a defeat to the New Orleans Saints (this country's feel good story of the year). The Indianapolis Colts had a bit of a mountain to climb in order to make it to the Super Bowl (that mountain could be compared to the Himalayas). Just when you thought Peyton Manning and Coach Dungy were going to their dream of making it to the Super Bowl taken away from them again, by the New England Patriots, no doubt. They somehow battle their way back up and in one of the best games I've seen in a long time (well still not as good as the UF Gators putting a whoopin' on OSU Buckeyes) and beating a boogy-man that has been lingering in the backs of their mind as well as their fans. Now let me set one thing straight, I wasn't cheering for Peyton Manning (my Gator pride prevents me for rooting for player that use to play at the University of Tenn). However, I was cheering for Tony Dungy to finally make it to the Super Bowl. This is the same person who former team made it to the Super Bowl and ultimately won after he was fired the previous year.

Also, one cannot forget that this will be the firs time two Afro-American coaches will attend the Super Bowl. So prepare yourself starting now until the February 4th kickoff, to have every single media outlet hyping this as a great moment in history, equality and race relations. Even though that is true, it is a great moment in Afro-American History. However we cannot forget the fact there are still too few minority coaches in the NFL and especially in the NCAA. Only time will tell how this game effects breaking the racial barrier in college and in pro sports. But for right now, congratulations to Coach Lovie Smith and Coach Tony Dungy. Good Luck!

Also here's an article I had found on Foxsports.com: Smith, Dungy Make History

until next time,

picture provided by both: nbcsports and maxwellfootballclub

Something For Your Ears!

2007-01-19T12:18:00.000-05:00

Welcome!

Another day, another blog entry. Now today blog entry is something new. I came across by accident. While browsing through Aol.com for some news items to read about, saw the picture that you see to your right. Clicked and it brought me to Gnarls Barkley doing some of the Biggie songs with their own twist to it. I'll put a link to the website that has the tracks below. So take the time, and listen through the track, you will not be disappointed.

Gnarls Biggie: Gnotorious.com

until next time,

President Bush And His Many Faces

2007-01-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

I saw this article on Huffingtonpost.com and thought it was a good read and a bit startling. If you want to read the article in full, below is a link to the original article. It was written by Bob Cesca.

Iraq Is Not Hilarious, Mr. President

picture provided by Huffingtonpost.com and 60 Minutes (CBS News).

Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream speech

2007-01-16T10:59:00.001-05:00

Now even though the official Martin Luther King Jr. Day was yesterday. I still hope that by posting his most iconic speech that we don't forget what he has done and that he doesn't disappear under the dust that is history. Please eNJoy!

until next time,

...And Your Winner Is?

2007-01-10T14:20:00.001-05:00

Sorry for taking a while to write back in this blog entry, but still recovering from Monday night. For those who don't know (or those Ohio State fans that don't want to remember). The University of Florida Gator beat...no...put a cosmic beat down on Ohio State University Buckeye. In Chris Leak's best performance as the UF quarterback and a defense that was relentless and cutthroat. The Gators never let up, never gave up, and never let the talk that had been going on for the last 30 days unflinching them as the destroyed the Buckeye's 41-14. All I have to say is...It's Great to be a Florida Gator.

Finally, the scene downtown was nothing short but pure unadulterated craziness. University Avenue was nothing more but a sea of frenzied fans happy, ecstatic, that the Gators won (winning convincelingly at that), and that as a fan they were able to enjoy that win here in Gainesville, FL.

until next time....I'm going back to sleep to rest up.

as for the picture i want to say i got this off of either foxsports or espn.com

UF beats Ohio State...Well Sorta

2006-12-23T18:04:00.000-05:00

Now the Ohio State vs. UF basketball game was by no means a preview as to what will happen on January 8th, 2007 in Glendale, AZ, BUT I would be lying that if I wasn't hoping for the same outcome for the Championship Game. The basketball game was great, especially in the second half. By that time, the Gators had an ever increasing sizable lead, Greg Oden looked to be sucking wind and slowing down as the other Gator basketball player seemed to pick up their tempo twice as fast than compared to the first half. Ulitmately beating the ohio state buckeyes by the score of 86-60. Now in reading this don't expect a color commentary of the game, I was busy shouting, clapping and doing the Gator Chomp than sitting down quietly and writing notes. But if you do want a bit more of a story as to what happened during the game, below should be a link to an article I had found on ESPN.com.

ESPN's article: Horford's return sparks Gator in surprising rout over OSU
and the picture is from ESPN.com from about a year ago.

I'm a gator fan...there's no changing that fact.

Until next time,

Trying to Write Funny!

2006-12-21T07:55:00.001-05:00

Trying to write a blogs in a comedic tone is harder than I thought. When starting The Underground Report (a name that might change, haven't found the right title for this blog site), I thought I could come in and start writing like I was a member of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. That was not the case, that's not to say that I have even attempted to write anything funny or humorous. Just that to read news articles every day and then turn around and write something funny about it or present it in a funny tone, is harder than one seem. For example, take the speech Vice President Dick Cheney did for outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. To paraphrase Vice President Dick Cheney, " Donald Rumsfeld was the best Secretary of Defense to ever serve this country." Wow, that is a very impressive and bold statement to come out and make. Yet, if anyone remembers Dick Cheney was President George H. Bush's Secretary of Defense from 1989 to 1993. So...pretty much he is saying he sucked ass as Secretary of Defense and Donald Rumsefeld was better than he is. I won't go in to diatribe about the foul ups by this former Secretary of Defense, the news media, current and retired generals have that covered.

Another example, how can you make a story of a Virgina congressman who makes what seems to be a very racially/ bigot like comment about an incoming Muslim congressman who wants to be sworn in on the Qur'an instead of the Bible, saying (again I paraphrase) along the lines of: "That because of immigration, these Muslim will come in and take over this country." Again, I am just a regular American citizen, but seems someone fail to recognize that the American Constitution forbids using religious testing for any public official to gain office, there is that First Amendment right of "Freedom of religion" and finally, that incoming congressman was born in the United States, but that is a simple mistake anyone can make. However, you have to give it to the Virgina congressman for saying he won't apologize for what he said, and the said the Republicans have lost their spines...

Well like I said before, it is hard to write news items in a comedic tone, but it sure isn't hard when people make it easy for you to do so.

Until next time...

Also a bit of a note, wanted to go ahead and just state where i get these pictures that I use in my blogs. Try to avoid any legal troubles that might arise. The picture of Ed Bradley was attained from www.cbsnews.com; The picture of the UF Gator Football teams were either obtain from www.foxsports.com or www.espn.com; Finally the picture of Walter Cronkite was obtained by www.coutant.org. There just a little bit of cleaning house.

Everybody Hates GreG

2006-12-15T14:08:00.001-05:00

After watching an episode of Everybody Hates Chris a few weeks ago on TV (I think it was the episode title: "Everybody Hates Thanksgiving"). A few parts in that episode started to remind of things that happened to me while I was growing up. Now my family wasn't poor by any means, both parents had full time jobs and pulled in decent money, and there was never a time where we had to struggle to find money in order to have that night's dinner. However, families around the neighborhood and even the local church would drop off toys and food during the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas holiday. My parents, took it for Christian kindness, however I took it for as any adolescent kid would, free food and free toys. For the kid who was about to get a SNES under his Christmas tree, getting a Monopoly board game or some other game, just meant one less gift my parents would have to worry about. Luckily, I can say that those rare times I was the ONLY black kid in my middle school/ high school class that the teacher did not launch into a rant about how the class should be sensitive to my cultural background and celebrate Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa wouldn't even apply to me since I am first generation American and my parents were born and raised in Haiti. Shoot, I didn't even know how Kwanzaas is celebrated, only that it deals with colored candles and somehow looks like Menorah...but no dreidel involved though.

Well that's it for now!

On one last note, it was a year ago I had first attempted to create a blog. Let's just say I didn't keep up with the blog entries or the upkeep of the page. I do remember that my first blog entry was about how I was deciding to take the year off from studying the GREs and Graduate school application to relax and enjoy myself, and 2006 has not yet disappointed me yet. I wonder what 2007 has in stored...guess time will tell.

Until next time,

What A Difference...

2006-12-04T15:38:00.000-05:00

Wow...what a difference 2 weeks can make. Looking at my previous blog entry, I would of have sworn that no matter what the Gators did, that they would not get the chance to play for the National Championship game. But with a strong finish (okay a semi-strong finish, a win is a win right!) and other teams being eliminated from contention (talking about you USC, losing to those Bruins). The Gators by a tenth point differential, in comparison to Michigan, was granted the chance to play in the Tostitos Championship Game (not the Fiesta Bowl...that is going to be Oklahoma and Boise State).

I am nothing less than psyched that I get to be part of a town atmosphere where there is the possibility that the University of Florida could win two National Championship Titles (one already in basketball and hopefully another on January 8th, 2007). Already I get the feeling people are reserving their tickets to leave town and reserving whatever table at whatever sports bar to watch it on the big screen. Makes me wonder if there won't be some special viewing of the game at the O'Dome.

Well Gator-mania is in the air and there is no signs of it slowing down.

Go Gators!!!

The Downfall of the Real News Division

2006-11-26T14:37:00.000-05:00

Nothing like starting out a serious, thought provoking blog, by skewering the very medium of which I am communicating that thought. Don't understand? Do not worry I will hopefully try to clear this all up very shortly.

Now, one would think that the most important news item of this week would be, the rising hostilities that are occurring in Iraq; the President's visit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, or any other world events that affect us, this country, and the world in profound ways. However, that was not the case. The huge headlines to rock the nation: NBC deciding to call the Iraqi conflict a civil war. Brittany Spears showing her crotch all over town,and Pamela Anderson divorce from Kid Rock (aka Bob Ritchie).

Now I don't make any qualms about how much I hate entertainment news, every time Entertainment Tonight comes on the television. I can feel my body break out in convulsions and want to go into a coma. However, it is not Mary Hart trying to act 90 years younger than she really is that has me pissed off. It is how the country as a whole seems to get fixated on these people and seem to forget that there is shit going down outside our borders. Just this past elections, news outlets said that the 2006 Elections would be a referendum on the Iraq War. And you know what, yeah...that could be true. But for how long? How long will the American people be interested in a war before the next glamor news headline item distracts them and places them back into a state numbness we had found ourselves earlier this year.

Now on to about NBC deciding to call the Iraqi conflict a civil war. I have no problem whatsoever, calling the conflict a civil war. I guess my problem with the whole thing is when did the news divisions become news. Did they really need to come out with fanfare and confetti and announce to the nation that, "we are taking a stand against the other networks and call this conflict a civil war first!" Honestly, there was a time, when Network news did not make the news, they just reported it. That is the reason I have Walter Cronkite picture on this days blog entry. Back then the news in this country carried weight. It was the voice of the people and was not afraid to ask the questions that needed to be asked. President Lyndon Johnson once said of Cronkite, " If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the country." You would be hard press to find any president saying that about any of the Network news outlets now.
I guess, what I'm trying to get at is that we become to easily distracted with news items that don't really need to be news items. If it be a white girl from an upper middle class home who has gone missing for weeks, or a celebrity who just committed double murder. Yes they are news worthy, but not to the point they need to be headline news for three straight weeks. In this country many people go missing, and many people are murdered, however where is their media coverage.

I think I'm gonna bring this blog entry to an end now before it becomes a full blown essay. Plus after re-reading it seems my thoughts are all over the place. Next time, I think I'm going to actually pre-write my ideas before attempting to write it out from scratch.

Well until next time...

Gators 'Cock Block Entry into BCS Title Game!

2006-11-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Wow! what a game. If there was ever a time when everything in the world seemed to stop for a few seconds, it happened on Saturday when the University of South Carolina (headed by former UF coach Steve Spurrier) enter the SWAP to take on 8-1 Florida Gators. To say the game was an ugly one, is an understatement. I do not think there was one person in the city of Gainesville, who did not think we were going to lose that game, and it almost did in the last eight seconds of the game when USC tried to go for a field goal to win the game. A field goal that was ultimately blocked by the UF Gators.

However, I guess my only criticism of what happened Saturday are the effects that carried over onto Sunday evening. Where for some weird reason the UF Gators remain at #4 on the BCS standings, while USC~Southern California jumped from #7 to #3. The whispers that is going around the sporting community as of right now is that the whomever the winner of Ohio State/ Michigan will be going against the winner of the USC/ Notre Dame game. Meaning that even if the Florida Gators where to go all out and win it's last three games, that we would still have no chance to make it to the National Championship game in January.

I guess you don't hate the BCS until it comes around and screws your team.

So, here are some upsets and outcomes that are needed this weekend in order for the Gators to have a chance to play for the National Championship:

Florida Gators will need to win against Western Carolina (a blowout of a score would be even better...no more close games guys!).
Michigan needs to beat Ohio State
Mississippi State needs to defeat Arkansas
Cal needs to beat USC (by double digits)
After being beaten by Cal, USC needs to come around and defeat Notre Dame. I don't see Notre Dame losing to Army this weekend.

...so this upcoming Saturday, we will see what teams falls and which one will rise to the top, but I have a feeling that Ohio State vs. Michigan game is going to be a great tight shootout.

Until Next Time,

And So It Begins...

2006-11-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

For some time now I have been mulling over the thought of starting a blog. Seems like everyone has a blog site, blogging on everything and anything (not dissing them, just saying that's all). I wouldn't be surprised if people have blog sites for the pets. I am not going to write and proclaim that my blogs will be the greatest thing since slice bead, but hopefully it shines some light on the inner working that is my mind.

Well, on to the thoughts for today...

It has been three days since Democrats have taken control of the House away from the Republicans and two days since the Democrats took control of the Senate. And you better believe that I was sitting and watching each race closely (sad I know). In the aftermath, Bush and Cheney were both left in shock after their "thumpin'" on Election night, because both men had felt confident that Republicans would keep control of both House of Congress. Apparently looking at polls and other indicators are not a strong point in this administration. So where does that leave the us, "the people", now that the dust have settled? Well we are going to atleast have a Congress that worries about real issues rather than focusing energy on changing french fries to freedom fries. Hopefully now that we have some balance back in government issues likes Minimum wage, prescription drugs, health care, and correcting our standing in the world will finally be addressed. The only one thing I am worried are those rogue democrats who wants revenge for all the years the Republican party kept them down in the muck. If both sides can take an important lesson from the 2006 Mid-term Elections, is that people, constituents, voters, everybody is starting to get sick of the childish partisan fights and bickering that's been plaguing our institutions for the past couple of years. However, as one professor told me a while back, the House of Representatives is not really an effective institution because as soon as they are elected to office they spend the next 2 years working on their re-election campaign, well see if they prove my old professor wrong.

In another surprise this week, both Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield and RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman handed in their resignation. Even though rumors of Rumsfield being ousted were being whispered through the grapevine for a while now, the stepping down of Ken Mehlman is by the far the one that seems the most odd and shocking (even though he claims to say that his decision to leave was made before the results of the 2006 elections---yeah, okay!). What can most people take from this, well one can take that the President former rhetoric of staying the course, in his eyes is not working and that is time to infuse the remaining years of his presidency with something positive. I do have to say this, for a man worried about his legacy, he really needs to start focusing on the here and now. I doubt you'll find any historian who said that George Washington did the things he did because he was worried about this legacy and how history would view him 40 years down the road.

Well it's time to end this blog. Instead of ending on something happy and positive, I want to end it on a sad note. On November 9, 2006, CBS 60-minute reporter Ed Bradley, passed away after losing his fight with leukemia. Now, I did not know the man personally and I never met him, but he was a model of what a real educated African-American person should be in today's time. Too many times have I seen young African-Americans focus wealth rather than getting an education. Have we as a race of people gone that far down the ladder that the lessons of Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, George Washington Carver, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are forgotten to the likes Li'l Jon and the Ying Yang Twins. To Mr. Bradley, you will be greatly missed, but you will never be forgotten!

Until next time,
GreG