“It’s a celebration, bitches!” – Rick James
Well, I got up early Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago with the intent to drive up to Greensboro. Everything looked good at first – picked my boy Rob G. at his place on the north side of town, got right back on 285 and headed north. When I made my first stop for gas in Gaffney, SC, I discovered that I brought my travel bag with my essential stuff, but I left my garment bag with my pants and shirt at home. Strike one. On the other side of Charlotte, traffic comes to a complete stand-still. White people walking around on the highway reminiscent of FreakNik ’93. Maybe I should have turned on a local station instead of listening to satellite radio so I would have known there was a race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord… long story short, a 4-5 hour drive turned into 7 real quick. Game was over by the time I made it to campus. I didn’t find out we lost until Monday night when I got home from work.
What’s funny is I still had a great time – I saw about 5 of my old friends from school while I was up there, but just being able to walk around Greensboro during the one time of year there’s something going on just made me feel refreshed… even though I stayed out until 6:30 am Sunday morning. I can’t say that I will be going to homecoming every year, but I know that I will still be enjoying myself when I do. AGGIE PRIDE!!!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
What is it about the first six months?
For all of you married people, how did you make it past six months? The infatuation stage has passed, you stop putting on your “interview” face and start showing your real side. What else do you two do that makes you stay together? Apparently, I haven’t been told about that magical extra part.
Over the past two years, I have been in two relationships that were going great until around six months in. In both cases, differences of opinion about one thing or another made things go south fast. What I learned from my last relationship is that there will always be differences of opinion and every person has their own way of doing things. In the first relationship, I think that I was looking for a way out, and the argument presented that opportunity. In the latter, I truly wanted things to work out. That’s not to say that things are completely over at this point, but needless to say I am truly hurt. I found out on my birthday through the mail – I inadvertently left my watch at her place, and she mailed it back to me. I know that I can be a little dense when it comes to getting a clue, but even I got that one. What kills me is the fact that there wasn’t even an attempt on her part to work things out. I look at my parents’ relationship and how they have evolved through my life, and I see two entirely different people, both with contrasting and conflicting ideals. It seemed to work for them for 30 years, so why can’t she give things a chance? I am by no means a perfect man, and trying to be perfect in my opinion is an exercise in futility. We all have our faults – the best thing we can do is accept that we have them, and try our best to improve on them over time.
Maybe my clueless, dense self completely overlooked something about her that I may never find out about… who knows? All I can say at this point is I have had some crappy birthdays in my time, but this one takes the cake. I am officially on the clock for my 30th birthday – I promise you that days 2 through 365 of my 29th year on this Earth will be 110% better than this one. Starting October 5. Happy Birthday to me.
Over the past two years, I have been in two relationships that were going great until around six months in. In both cases, differences of opinion about one thing or another made things go south fast. What I learned from my last relationship is that there will always be differences of opinion and every person has their own way of doing things. In the first relationship, I think that I was looking for a way out, and the argument presented that opportunity. In the latter, I truly wanted things to work out. That’s not to say that things are completely over at this point, but needless to say I am truly hurt. I found out on my birthday through the mail – I inadvertently left my watch at her place, and she mailed it back to me. I know that I can be a little dense when it comes to getting a clue, but even I got that one. What kills me is the fact that there wasn’t even an attempt on her part to work things out. I look at my parents’ relationship and how they have evolved through my life, and I see two entirely different people, both with contrasting and conflicting ideals. It seemed to work for them for 30 years, so why can’t she give things a chance? I am by no means a perfect man, and trying to be perfect in my opinion is an exercise in futility. We all have our faults – the best thing we can do is accept that we have them, and try our best to improve on them over time.
Maybe my clueless, dense self completely overlooked something about her that I may never find out about… who knows? All I can say at this point is I have had some crappy birthdays in my time, but this one takes the cake. I am officially on the clock for my 30th birthday – I promise you that days 2 through 365 of my 29th year on this Earth will be 110% better than this one. Starting October 5. Happy Birthday to me.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Theres nothing easy about the Big Easy anymore...
Just about a month ago, I was down in New Orleans for a “last hurrah” with a good friend of mine from high school. He was moving out of town after finishing law school at Tulane University. It just blows my mind to look at pictures of the city under water… not to mention the Superdome, the French Quarter, the bridge across Lake Ponchartrain, etc. Excluding the time living in North Carolina, I would visit Nawlins at least twice a year – my next visit was scheduled for the Falcons-Saints game in October.
I would drive around the city – sometimes to places I had no business really going – and realize that some of the worse parts of Atlanta don’t hold a candle to some areas of New Orleans. After my first trip, I pledged never to take my own car down there again because of all of the damage I had to fix after my first trip. Between the news coverage and all of the pictures, needless to say New Orleans is no Peachtree City (ask me if you don’t know about the PTC).
There was no way in the world that I would have guessed that at the end of July, I would have been on my last trip to the Big Easy. I am certain that they will rebuild – that is pretty much a given – but I say that this was my last trip because New Orleans as I know it is gone. The people (residents or not) of the city are being taken away by the bus, truck, even boatload. Not since the City of Atlanta closed the housing projects in the city have developers been literally drooling as they wait for the water to be pumped back into its forced place. With that in mind, I honestly have to decide whether or not I will be returning to the New-New Orleans.
I can already envision a rebuilt city looking (and costing) something like Agrestic (check out “Weeds” on Showtime). A city without the character that all of the people provide – good and bad. The problem is shipping all of the perceived negativity out of town is not going to solve the real problem. I recall hearing rumors about the City of Atlanta giving the city’s homeless one-way tickets out of town before the Olympics. In essence, this is what they are doing to the poor people of New Orleans. Of course, your city looks all nice and utopian, but those people you have moved are still homeless and not in a position to provide for themselves. I do not mean that they should just be given handouts for the rest of their lives – I’m the first person to pull out the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day – TEACH and man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”.
In a previous blog, I mentioned something about the chickens coming home to roost – and this is yet another case. The devastation in New Orleans is the culmination of several things that I don't feel that I am qualified to speak on, but someone needs to all the same. I hope for the best down in the Bayou, but as usual, we need to prepare for the worse since FEMA doesn't seem to know how.
I would drive around the city – sometimes to places I had no business really going – and realize that some of the worse parts of Atlanta don’t hold a candle to some areas of New Orleans. After my first trip, I pledged never to take my own car down there again because of all of the damage I had to fix after my first trip. Between the news coverage and all of the pictures, needless to say New Orleans is no Peachtree City (ask me if you don’t know about the PTC).
There was no way in the world that I would have guessed that at the end of July, I would have been on my last trip to the Big Easy. I am certain that they will rebuild – that is pretty much a given – but I say that this was my last trip because New Orleans as I know it is gone. The people (residents or not) of the city are being taken away by the bus, truck, even boatload. Not since the City of Atlanta closed the housing projects in the city have developers been literally drooling as they wait for the water to be pumped back into its forced place. With that in mind, I honestly have to decide whether or not I will be returning to the New-New Orleans.
I can already envision a rebuilt city looking (and costing) something like Agrestic (check out “Weeds” on Showtime). A city without the character that all of the people provide – good and bad. The problem is shipping all of the perceived negativity out of town is not going to solve the real problem. I recall hearing rumors about the City of Atlanta giving the city’s homeless one-way tickets out of town before the Olympics. In essence, this is what they are doing to the poor people of New Orleans. Of course, your city looks all nice and utopian, but those people you have moved are still homeless and not in a position to provide for themselves. I do not mean that they should just be given handouts for the rest of their lives – I’m the first person to pull out the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day – TEACH and man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”.
In a previous blog, I mentioned something about the chickens coming home to roost – and this is yet another case. The devastation in New Orleans is the culmination of several things that I don't feel that I am qualified to speak on, but someone needs to all the same. I hope for the best down in the Bayou, but as usual, we need to prepare for the worse since FEMA doesn't seem to know how.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
