Line, Tone and Long life...

Hey.. Here I am in my new belt. Today my family and I went on an excursion to the Cheshire Fair.. I ate ribs, which were good..

Tomorrow my parents and I are going to KSC to pay for my next semester. I am really looking forward to my next year of higher education. It should be cool. I am taking Management 101, Geography: The Cultural Mosaic and Brazilian Music. I still need to choose a major, but I still have time.. I will give myself until December to explore and try to decide as best I can what my early 20's will look like, and how best to work towards owning my own business.

Wow.. It is around 3:00, and I am watching Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares.. Wow, a lot of people do not seem able to clean their kitchens. I really should be payed more.

Steam, Eggs and Mopping..

Like I have said, I do my crappy job far too well.

When I got home last night, I could not sleep.. I stayed awake and read until 3. I then had 4 hours until I had to be at work again.. When I arrived, I found it waiting for me as it always is. It is one of those few things in life which can always be counted upon. After a few hours of work, intermixed with complaining about French people, one of the cooks came running into the kitchen and urgently told me to grab my sanitizing equipment and stash some mouldy trays outside, as the health inspector had just entered the building. I hurriedly cleaned out one of the fridges and disposed of some curdled milk, before being informed that it was not a health inspector, but a traveling silverware salesman. Surprise visits from the City of Keene are usually met with some nervousness. Apart from this and my usual duties, I stocked our dry storage facility, portioned steak tips and flattened boxes, as well as making sure that housekeeping was doing their job..

Well, I think it is time that I again perused the classifieds. Never hurts to look for something better.

Dude, I don't know what else to tell you.. I think it really is time for sleep. Did you know that the hot sauce at Armadillo's hurts just as much going in as it does coming out?

So I will stop writing about politics for a while... I do not like alienating my base. Besides, I get to talk about how right I am on my own time.

Let us see what the next few days throw into the mix.

Navaja, Snakes and Dust...

Wow, I really do my job far too well..

Well, it is time to renovate the room again.. It is full of bottles, receipts, rotting fruit and other assorted crap. It is weird, because I spend a lot of my days cleaning up other people's stuff and I seem to let myself go when it comes to my own. Perhaps I should employ myself as an incentive to do better..

Wow, I just tried to read the federal tax code, and I had my mind blown.. Perhaps the people who set them deserve a little extra for being so clever.

Well I have to be at work again in 7 hours.. I am not looking forward to it. Not only will I have to work my ass off in a hot kitchen, but the hotel is full of French people; the most annoying ones I have ever met outside France.. A lot of people like to say that we need to be multi lingual, and point to western Europe as an example of this. If the people I had to deal with today were an example of multi linguality, then perhaps the world should look to me for it's ideal of lingual brilliance. Speaking of Senator/Doctor/Community Organizer/ God/ Barack Obama; in the words of his teacher Karl Marx "History repeats itself; first as tragedy, then as farce." I am sorry if I just insulted your messiah.. It will probably be the last time, but to be honest he reminds me of my mother, and love her though I do, I think she would be the worst president ever..

Wow.. Read the first word of every paragraph, and see if you detect a pattern. Did you know blogger does not accept Obama as a word?

Shotguns, Cheap and Tasty..

So I must apologize for my over exaggeration of the nanny state in England with regards to firearms.. Sorry Heather.

Speaking of the nanny state, European officials may now invade any private British dwelling to check that refrigerators are up to new EU standards. It is things like these which make me love New Hampshire very much indeed.

I just got back from work.. It turns out that I picked up even more shifts.. Not only this, but I am now being trained as a cook. This is because there is a hiring freeze at my workplace, and versatility is required. This means that the cooks have to wash dishes.. Nobody gets paid more, everyone has a lot more work and nobody is happy with the situation.. Sounds like socialism.. But at least I get to put cooking experience on the old resume.

Is it weird that I dream about mopping floors? Probably. Well, I just watched Anthony Bourdain in Saudi Arabia. It was an interesting show, because I learned that unlike the Arabs I see on TV, A lot of real ones actually smile and joke. Cool ha? Looking at Arab and Muslim cultures is really interesting for me, because they make me think about beliefs and what they are.. Differences are so deep.. My beliefs are so different from those of the the majority population of the middle east.. Sometimes it is not only beliefs that are different, but the very definition of belief. I like pies and cakes of all sorts.

&&&, Golpe and Trees...

Hey there. I am sitting here naked, except for my clothes, and drinking Arizona Orangeade. I am also realizing that my work ethic is far too good for the job I hold. I just got back from it.. Another day; another 75 cents.. I made a slogan!!

I was watching CSPAN before. It was prime minister's question time, and it was funny.. I often like to complain about the controlling of our lifestyles by our government, but I was quite relieved as we still have a long way to go before it is anywhere near as bad as in England. In England, there is a complete ban on handguns, yet gun violence is a huge problem, probably because those who commit this violence do not choose to follow gun laws.. Although the number of guns per person in England is a lot lower than here, many people still like to kill each other. That is why parliament banned the carrying of any knife with a blade longer than 2 inches, yet it would seem that people who like to stab other people disobey not only the law against murder, but also the law against carrying a knife of any use for their task.. What I saw on CSPAN was ridiculous, and sad.. Since guns and knives are illegal, people seem to be in the habit of cutting each other with broken glass. Because of this, an MP suggested to the PM that glasses and glass bottles be made illegal in bars, and replaced with a non breakable material.. What is next? Chairs? Boots? Soon the citizens of Great Britain will be covered in 12 inches of bubble wrap before being allowed to leave their homes..

Upload, Spray and ACHTUNG!!!!

Hey there.. I realized how weird it is to watch yourself on video. Besides waving my hands and biting my lips at awkward times, I also sway suggestively while playing an instrument. These problems are easily remedied by standing perfectly still, and using my mouth like a college professor uses their mind.

I just got home from work.. It took me much longer to clean up than usual, because I seemed unable to focus on what I was doing. Still, in my form of employment this is not a problem, but an advantage as the more time I spend on something, the more I get payed.. Seriously; I could bring a sleeping bag to work and camp out behind my dish machine. This form of wage labor does seem a little anti capitalist however, as it does not encourage one to do one's job better.. In fact it does exactly the opposite.

Today I awoke early, and went to the 8 am mass at my place of worship. I like to go at least once on a week day, so that I can be just another pair of butt cheeks in the pews as opposed to one of 16 musicians. After this, I made my way over to collect my paycheck. I was pleased to see that it was a big one.. I was however displeased with the amount that was missing. On my way to deposit my hard earned wages, I was approached by a young environmentalist outside Cheshire Music.. She asked if I had a moment for the environment.. I warned her that I was so conservative that I made Rush Limbaugh look like ..........Her, but I asked politely for her pitch. It was a petition to bring up cleaner car legislation for NH on the November ballot. I declined, as more regulation of our lifestyles is not something I approve of. She was very polite, and explained that her dad shared my views. Whatever your viewpoint on such issues, I still respect anyone who risks public abuse to get their opinion across, especially if they are polite, although politeness has not historically been the way to make things happen.

When I got home, I got a call from work telling me that I was needed that night at work, and that my only day off had been canceled.. I was not best pleased, but I do like money. Dude, I have a weird painful lump on my leg, where I was tackled by Dr. Hardy a few months ago.. It is not going away. What should I do?.. Perhaps I should call into "Good Morning with Dan Mitchell" when he has the doctor on to take calls from Keene residents about the various itches and rashes experienced by their friends..

So now I smell good again.. This is nice, as a few minutes ago it was not the case. The rest of my evening shall consist of watching myself play music, drinking ice tea, some inspirational reading and maybe some introspective strumming of my ukulele..

Coating, DVD and Walking..

I just got to rehearse with my elderly musician friends, which was nice as it has been a while. I also got a DVD that shows a concert I played at.. I learned that I have awkward mannerisms, such as covering my mouth with the back of my hand..

So I sometimes play music. On Thursdays after work, I and some of my fellow kitchen people and other assorted hotel workers get together in one of the ballrooms and jam.. They are mostly awful, but it is a good time.

I just watched Walk Hard.... It was awesome.

I will have something good coming up... I spent an hour writing what you just read.. I need to get into the habit again..

VACATION, TRIUMPHANT AND RETURN!!!!

Hello. I have not posted on this site for a few days. You are still cool, and I have no intention of leaving you.

So why not jump right in?.. Gas prices are down a little, and they used to be higher. I am very displeased with our elected officials.. Almost all of them at this particular point; except for one. He is currently unpopular, and for some very good reasons. He is however not as stupid as anyone who would like to blame oil companies or speculators on the futures markets for obscene gas prices. He is our president, and I will give my reasons for why two weeks ago I found it hard to find a nice thing to say about him, and now I have a good one.

Do you know what an oil speculator is? They are the same sort of people who buy lottery tickets; the same sort of people who think it is a good idea to give money to casinos in the hope of getting a return on their investment. In essence, they are gamblers who play the odds. They buy oil stocks based on whether they think their investment will pay off or not.. If they sense a change in the future of oil trading, they will buy and sell accordingly; causing the price per barrel to rise or fall.. If for example, they hear that fewer people will drive to work in the coming months, they will bid the price down.. If they hear that a series of pipelines are shut down, they will bid the price way up.. They look for anything to tell them what will happen in relation to the future of oil.... Anything, just as a poker player will try to learn all that they can from the faces of their fellow gamblers. If for example an oil speculator were to be reading this blog, and saw nothing but "80,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 BARRELS WORTH OF OIL DISCOVERED IN TANZANIA!!!!!!! BP PLANNING TO DRILL!!!" The price per barrel would fall.. It is simple supply and demand, which I learned about when I was 15..

With the president lifting federal the ban on offshore drilling, the price has fallen.. No coincidence. None at all. Just the possibility of there being more oil available in the future has caused the price to fall. That is how the free market works... And when I see congress on CSPAN trying to regulate the free market, it makes me sad. A free market is anything.. Anything at all where goods and services can be bought and sold. If I wanted to sell you some crappy mandolin strings and you wanted to buy them, I could sell them to you. If I had the only tiny supply of these crappy strings, and they were very popular, my price would go way up... It is so simple, and so sad that people who make laws for a living can not learn what I learned in 5 minutes from Wikipedia, and a little common sense....

Well apart from complaining, I am doing quite well.. I am working nearly every day scrubbing plates, and I am quite enjoying it..Sort of.. I also got a second job.. It was the easiest job I ever got. I simply asked the head of grounds at KSC if I could have one, and he said that he would start me off the second week of August.. Cool ha?

.................

.................. Wait for it...........

Steak, Forbes and it came to pass..

That I am watching El Mariachi with a beer, an apple and a mandolin.. The only good thing about watching movies in other languages, is that I can play music during them and not miss a thing.

Perhaps I am more open minded then I give myself credit for.. I mean, I listen to NPR, I read books with titles like "God is not great", I watch foreign films, I listen to world music and I even attempt to understand people who say that you should never trust the government, yet change their middle names to Hussein in order to support a political candidate.

Tomorrow after work, I must drive to Hartford to pick up my parents and sister. I do not mind the drive, as it gives me a good amount of thinking time and it will be nice to have clean clothes and hot water again.

Cool.. Today I mowed the lawn while smoking a cigar.. It was the last of the two I bought, and I felt it would be a nice ethnic accoutrement to my religious jewelery, my tank top and my body hair.. I had to throw it away halfway through the front lawn, as I didn't think it would go so well with the gasoline I was pouring into the lawn mower.

After this, I went to have lunch Serena Olsen during her lunch break. It is nice to catch up with old friends. I then stopped by my place of worship for the sake of a familial tragedy, because as Christopher Hitchens points out “those who offer false consolation are false friends.”

Well, I have not really read anything of interest lately, and I do not want to take that slippery slope into fan fiction.. I am greatly looking forward to supplementing my reading of Christopher Hitchens with more of a Chestertonian perspective.

I guess perspective is important in all things. Since my journey into Catholicism, I have really noticed one thing, and that is how different the perspective of a cultural Catholic is, verses one who actually believes. For the former, religion is just one of those obligations that you have to put up with at Christmas and Easter, whereas for the latter, everything else revolves around the obligation, which ceases to be an obligation but becomes the very reason for one's existence. To explain this to a non believer such as yourself is complicated and awkward. They are two different perspectives, which cannot be reconciled and therefor sometimes lead to anger from both sides.. One bible verse, which is so often held up by atheists as proof the the so called "Family Values" movement is not biblically based, as well as that several parts of the same gospels are contradictory, is the one where Jesus says some crazy stuff about him being a cause for division.. It seems to me that these different perspectives illustrate that crazy stuff perfectly.

Dollar, Pitt and Bridge

OH NO!!!!

I got home from work very early, and so now I am left with nothing to do for the next few hours.. I will probably strum upon the ukulele, before continuing my studies of the Iliad.. I am not enjoying it at all..

Last night after reading several online reviews of it, I ordered Orthodoxy by Jee Kay the Chezt Chesterton. I think the review that won me over was entitled "A Slob's Guide to Religion." Did you know that there are religious slobs as well as atheistic slobs? Slobbery is something everyone can take part in, and is therefor the perfect common ground for any apologist to start from.

These posts are getting lame.. Every day is worse. I need to change something; to do something incredibly stupid.. Something perhaps involving a small canoe, explosives and Surry dam.. That plan sucks.. Perhaps I should start stealing from work, and horde prime rib in my room until it goes bad.. Well, I can't promise anything tomorrow, but Tuesday's post will make your day so much better than it already was.



AWESOME!!!!!!

Elixir, Green and Vision

Today I slept until noon, because as I could. It is a very nice feeling to wake up at 7, and then go to sleep for another 5 hours.

When I finally woke up, I found that the mandolin strings I ordered last week had arrived. I put them on my instrument immediately, only to find that they were absolutely crap.. 2 of them snapped right away, and they buzzed terribly.. Oh well. I shall order some better ones as soon as this post is finished.

I just got back from work.. I picked up more hours, which is nice and also tiring.. One thing about my job which is nice is how easily it is to make new friends very quickly.. One thing which is not nice is how my feet hurt, and how I always seem to come home with lots of untraceable cuts and bruises.

Shaving is becoming increasingly difficult without hot water, so I must now go put the kettle on. please feel free to enjoy the rest of this post... Have fun.

Did you know that I enjoy watching Blackadder? It is funny.

Bland, Coated and Grass.....

I am so sorry for the unexpected glitch in our regular programming. The computer I was using became infected with particularly nasty virus.. It has to be a very sad person indeed, who does not create a virus for financial gain, but for amusement.

Although work was incredibly long and gross, I had a good wholesome time, which was nice because the rest of my day was less fantastic.. I found out from my grandmother that there was a death in the family. I will not discuss this however.. Some things are not meant to be shared via the Internet.

This morning, I woke up, took a cold shower and went to church. I then made my way over to Borders to buy a book.. I did my usual meander through the crowded store, and eventually left with the Iliad and another book that tells me how the religious beliefs I hold so dear are nothing more then the legacy of the thousands of years of oppression against our collective soul. I am not enjoying the Iliad.. Homer is not as funny as I remember him to be, and as for the other I guess certain books are made to tell a certain audience what they would like to hear, and are not really built to be read by the ones they criticize.

Tomorrow I am going to sleep into the afternoon.. Why? Because I can... Indeed. I should probably mow the lawn too..

Chaplin, Sombrero and Turnips

Hey there..

Today I ran out of clothes.. So the choice was simple; buy new ones, or wash the old ones. I chose the latter. For some reason I felt the urge to wash them in the backyard, and that is exactly what I did. I scrubbed out and sanitized a recycling bin, and filled it with detergent, fabric softener and my clothes.. It seemed to go well.

Later, I made some music by downloading some free software. Using a microphone, a mandolin and a guitar, I wrote and composed a little ditty. I strummed out a chord progression on my guitar and played the melody on mandolin, before laying in 4 harmony tracks in different octaves.. I think it sounds really decent, but I unfortunately damaged it irreparably by using some cheap effects that came with the software. It still sounds beautiful, albeit the kind of beauty that is not marred, but improved by imperfection.

Tomorrow, I am going to go over to KSC to meet with the head grounds keeper, in order to apply for a job with them this fall. I am doing this because I may not be able to be a dishwasher once school starts, as one of the reasons that I was hired to my current position was that I am currently able to work erratic shifts. However, once school starts this talent must be pushed aside to make room for my educational development.

Speaking of education, I have had some.. "What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul." Indeed.. What block of marble would be complete without a soul? I like this quote, not because I have an uncontrollable quote fetish, but because it also points (at least to me) to something that the purpose of education should never be.. The goal of the sculptor is not to change his raw material into something different; if it was, then he would not be a sculptor but an alchemist. In education, educators should not attempt to change who their students are, i.e. sculpting them into who they would like them to be, with only the knowledge and world view that it is thought they should have.. If our public educators did this, then they would not be educators, but indoctrinators.

Today I took part in a political phone survey.. I have always wanted to. I started the interview in my normal voice, which went on for about two minutes.. I then switched over to by best Irish, finishing with a not so believable Mexican. The interviewer seemed confused, and after each voice change asked if she was still speaking with me, to which I answered that I should hope so. As for the questions themselves, I messed with my poor interviewer even more. I told them that since 1989, I had voted straight republican, also telling them that I was in fact a lifelong democrat. When we got to the questions that start with "On a scale of 0 to 100" , I answered 99.5 to everything.. I had a very good time.. Simple things please simple minds.

Irish Stew, Ginseng and Compact.

HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I was thinking about the phrase "Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life." It can have many meanings depending on the frame of mind of the reader. Just think; if what you really love to do is stay in your bed, drink gravy and light your farts, and you really put your mind to these goals....You certainly will never work a day in your life.. Oh dear.

I have never considered myself to be self centered (save in the gastronomical sense...Coincidentally one of the seven senses I appeal to) but then again, I tend to think of the opinions of others as being less important or correct then my own.. Opinions are very personal, because they come from our experiences and people more intelligent than us, who we like to say we agree with. For instance, if someone came up and told me that store brand medicated powder was equal to Gold Bond, I would laugh self righteously and tell them that they were much mistaken, and that Craig Ferguson agrees with me..

Today I realized that I am a racist... Let me explain. Not the sort of cross burning sheet wearing racist, but more of a not-on-purpose racist. If I were to be walking down a street at night by myself, and I happened upon a group of African Americans; I would be more apprehensive then if I had met their Caucasian counterparts.. Why is this so? When I was growing up in NJ, our next door neighbors/ my friends were Hispanics.. When I caught my first fish, it was a black kid who lived a few doors down who helped me reel it in. Our area was positively multicultural/diverse/ all the things you would expect 30 miles from New York City.. When I lived in England, one of my best friends was Jewish and another was Peruvian... But on top of all that, my recent paternal family tree, which is as Irish as stew has more than one person of African heritage entwined in it's branches. It can never be good when someone lists their diversity credentials.. But they are part of the reason why this is a confusing subject for me.. I have no hatred for anyone based on race.. Or anything else. Just a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something is not quite right. Of course, once I get to know someone of another race, this completely dissipates, yet there it is.. I am not going to mention my parents.. They might read this.. But I know my maternal grandfather openly hated everyone. Perhaps it is not just me.. I have been told through public education for years that such opinions are bad, but perhaps what is worse is pretending that they do not exist, until one day someone cuts you off and you go all Kramer on them. But where do these feelings come from? Is there some Freudian explanation?... I hope not.. I cannot really think of anyone who's opinion I truly value who espouses racist rhetoric.. I have never been beat up by a black kid, so that only leaves the genetic option I guess. Honesty is important.. That was pretty honest I thought, and though many of you may stop reading future posts, I would encourage you not to do so..

The end......

Opera, Piezo, Fireworks..

Hey there. I hope that you are having a happy summer.

....Nothing is coming.... Nothing yet.. I really do not want to write about anything.. It is quite late. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and for the upset in the regular programming..

Refill, Swimming and Cards...

Hey there. Today I did some work on my mandolin. I attempted to secure a strap button to the back of the body, but the two screws I put in snapped, as they had some objection to being forced into a lump of metal. After I had sanded them down, I attempted a third screw, and this time it was a success. I also took my new pickup off the instrument, and put it on my ukulele which now sounds awesome.

I just put 4 hours in down the old dish pit. It was awesome.. I didn't have to do anything. I am thinking about bringing an instrument to work on such days so I will have more to do then sit in an empty kitchen staring at the walls. I recently have been considering riding the cycling machine to work; it does seem like a great idea before, but when I am done there is nothing I would like less.

Why is it that so many westerners turn to eastern religion and philosophy? Is it because what they have at home seems so rigid and strict, with severe penalties for disobeying rules? I guess eastern religions, specifically Buddhism must seem far more tolerant and free, and even possess a certain mildly cool factor. However, I was recently watching a John Safran skit, where he questioned people on the street, giving them authoritarian sounding quotes and asking if they came from the Pope or the Dalai lama.. The correct answer was always the latter.. Such things that the Dalai lama has expressed a negative view on include Abortion, Homosexuality and non reproductive sex.. Especially during the day. It would seem that even in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there is a concept of absolutism. It really makes you think doesn't it?.. However different religions can seem, there are usually common factors which bind them, such as a disapproval of assless chaps/ the song YMCA and grabbing at fetuses with BBQ tongs down the local Planned Parenthood..

Tea, Haiti and Weddings

Oh hey. Whats up?

I spent the first part of my day watching the movie Zeitgeist, which among other things attempts to convince those who watch it that all religions, specifically Christianity come from a primitive understanding of astrology.. I have been told by many people that I NEED to watch it. I was however completely unconvinced, even though I approached it's viewing with a mind open enough to swallow light... Along the theme of religion, I also watched part of the series "John Safran VS. God." I really enjoyed it, because it was funny. The protagonist of the series who is a small squeaky voiced Australian Jew, explores a good number of religious beliefs, including Voodoo, Hinduism, Buddhism, The Church of Peyote, Catholicism, Mormonism and he even tries to join the KKK... Apart from being funny and slightly offensive, he makes you think about different points of view in a comedic and experienced way.. He thoroughly engages in all the different belief systems he explores by doing things such as living like a Buddhist monk for a week; Being an alter server and going to confession in a Catholic church; taking peyote and living in the desert for a few days and looking for his own personal guru in India, not to mention pitching his idea about extreme cycling missionaries to different Mormon movie producers.

So I just got back from a 9 hour shift.. I was washing dishes for a Haitian wedding.. The Haitians had come a long long way, and there were a lot of them. Very aloof people.. They expect a certain level of service, and had a way of looking down on the hotel workers who were bringing them food and drinks. A number of the workers said this made them uncomfortable, but they seemed quite friendly to me. I was also pleased to see that they were not the live goat testicle eating voodoo type Haitians, which are the only ones I have heard about. This made me think that it is a shame that the only things we hear about little know cultures are the extremes which make them seem incompatible with our own.. Still, I guess the EMO trend would seem pretty outlandish to your average Haitian.

I really must get some sleep in now.. I am very tired indeed.. I am also pleased that the word "EMO" is not recognized by the Blogger spell checker.

No Fuba, Capo and Zip Ties..

Hey hey kidz!!!

Today was the 4th of July.. A very important day indeed. It is a day to think about our great country, and how it came to be created and those who created it. Unfortunately, there are those who see this day as a very bad one. I am speaking of Code Pink, who oppose every war ever fought, while relishing in the liberties that some of said wars have brought to them. One of their latest operations has been to attempt to convince the Cuban exile community of Miami to fight for the conviction of a CIA anti communist fighter, who hijacked a Cuban plane. When Code Pink showed up in their pink Che shirts, they were forced to reconsider their plans for a public demonstration due to the fact the angry mob chasing them seemed to disagree with their point of view. Apparently many in that community have slightly bitter memories of life in their country of origin.

Did you know that the ex drummer from the band Boston is a dishwasher at the Colorado steakhouse? It is true... According to him. If it is, then my workplace is as good a place as any to successfully master the art of getting screwed over.

Yes indeed. It is now time to sleep.. I am tired, and no doubt you are as well.

Dissonance, Locks and Houses

Hey there. Today was a good day indeed. I saw a fight, I bought some music stuff and I got paid.

This morning after dropping the brother off at drivers ed, I went to my place of work to collect my paycheck. It was my biggest payment yet, which was nice. I then went into town to choose some mandolin accessories. I bought a small pickup, which I secured to my new mandolin, and a tiny Roland Cube amplifier. I was very pleased with both my purchases. I decided that It is probably a good idea to get anything I need in the way of musical gear as soon as possible, as I will have far less money when the school year starts. My new pickup sits unobtrusively near the bridge of my mandolin, and my new amp, although powered by either an ac adaptor or batteries is incredibly loud and does the best possible things to the sound of my instrument. It also has some effects, which I played with for hours this morning, including reverb, delay, a phaser and a flanger.. Awesome!!.

Today at work, something cool happened.. One of the customers in the bar area decided that it would be a really fine idea to proposition the bar tender repeatedly; making references to her physical appearance and what he would like to do with a number of her body parts. I think I have mentioned the fat jovial Italian owner of my workplace in a previous post.. However, upon being informed of what was taking place in his fine establishment, all trace of joviality slipped away.. He came running through the kitchen, which was not an easy feat for someone of his girth, and entered the bar.. All of us kitchen people promptly dropped what we were doing, and raced to observe the inevitable confrontation. Alerted by the sound of extremely heavy foot falls, the offending customer had also dropped what he was doing, and lept out of his seat. Our now out of breath boss, still running let out a stream of profanities, which went along the lines of "F**k you, you f*****g sleazy m****rf****r!! Get the f**k out of my f*****g bar!! There was no pause or change in his motion as he ran for the terrified customer, who was at this point running for his car, and possibly his life. Our boss stopped at the door, at this point almost completely out of breath.. He then made a whispered and wheezing apology, which could not be heard over the applause from the other patrons.

Something about conservatives is not clear to me. For instance, how can you say things like "Freedom from government is what this country was founded upon", "Government is not the solution to the problem; government is the problem", "Leave us alone!!" and "we want as little government as possible without anarchy", while defending such ideas as the PATRIOT act, no child left behind and energy bills that not only dictate the size of your toilet, but also how you light your home? I do not like this sort of confusion.. It is confusing, and wrong to sacrifice your core principles for convenience, or just getting along. Perhaps I am not the Ditto Head I claim to be, as I simply cannot use my vote to support things that I think are wrong.

C YA..

Mandolin, Plectra and Habits.....

My mandolin came yesterday.. However I did not notice this, as the UPS guy put it in a corner of the garage I don't visit every day. I found the package this morning, and exercised a great deal of self restraint in it's opening; doing so when I had returned from my visit to town. I opened it carefully, and found my new machine inside.

I was very pleased with what I found. It was very different from my other mandolin; very different indeed. It was a Brazilian style, Mexican made Italian named work of art, but I feel that boring you with details will also bore me, so I will only say that I do not regret ordering it at all and I thoroughly enjoy playing it. The only downside to this new toy is that it is not as loud when I really hammer on it as the other one is, but that problem will be solved when I install a pickup next week. Cool ha? The only modification that I have made so far was to drill a strap button onto the side, which was a much needed accoutrement.

Well, 100 posts.. Thank you for reading them. It is really appreciated.. We have covered a lot over the last few months have we not? I complained about college professors, I complained about democracy, I complained about not being able to find work, and I complained about work. I talked at length about ukuleles, music in general and body hair. Really we did not get past any of those, and nor will we in the coming months. I also transcribed a brand of traditional conservative rhetoric that would make AUH20 blush..(I know Science....)

Did you know that Americans are the best people in the world? It was actually proven.. Americans donate a higher percentage of their earnings to charitable causes then the people of any other country(4 times more then the first runner up). Did you also know that the French are the worst people in the world? It has been proven. Your average Frenchman gives a lower percentage then a South African.. . Did you know that between election seasons, politicians don't give to charities? Did you also know that some politicians think they earn too much, and should be taxed more? It's true.. I guess this is where personal responsibility comes into play.. If you think that the people of this country need help, and government programs are the way to go, why not refuse tax deductions? Why not just pay more?.. You can, and it really is not hard, though I guess you would actually have to have the Ownership, Management, Self Direction and Character to do so.

Tiple, Taste and Tornado

Hey there. Post 99... Wow.

This morning I got up and went to work. I arrived early and started cleaning dishes. I also met the owner of the hotel. Actually I had met him on several previous occasions, but I had just assumed that he was the fat jovial Italian that is required in any self respecting kitchen.

Speaking of work, I had an interesting day. I was pulled away from my usual duties, when someone spilled bleach in an obscure corner of the kitchen and noticed a considerable number of flies making a speedy exit from the scene of the crime. It was then my job to spray Raid behind every fixture in the fine establishment, as well as sanitize the walls, the garbage cans and every door. It was not too exhausting however, and did interrupt the monotony of cleaning silverware. I was pleased to learn of something that is not my responsibility. It is the most disgusting job in any kitchen, which apparently causes many first time workers to vomit profusely. It is emptying the grease traps... I do not really know what a grease trap is, but I am very happy that I do not have to learn. Every year someone new is asked to volunteer for the task, and a sizable bonus is given to the unlucky hero.

Apart from grease traps, the only other creepy thing I can think of that I have noticed is the creepy flirting between 17yr old servers and cooks old enough to be their grandfathers. Well, actually there is one other thing. Today some very creepy insurance salesmen came to offer everyone in the kitchen a disability insurance policy. I rejected it outright, because I have learned from my father to listen very carefully to such people. The plan he offered me was cheap. $3 a week.. Unfortunately it expires after 30 days, and the total amount of coverage that can be given is one payment of $500 upon a full medical inspection. Indeed... I would have 30 days to find a way to disable myself while scrubbing plates..... But as the injury must occur at work, I would have more like 12 days.. So I would lose $12 to the insurance company...Lose my job and after a full physical that I must pay for in order to qualify, as well as the examination after the injury that I must also pay for.. I would have about $20 left over... He did make a really good pitch though, about how the money would help me to get on my feet after the accident, and would be a great help to my dependents.. I am pretty sure that he had the wrong guy.. Wow you can't make this stuff up. Unfortunately for the company, they failed to sell a single policy to anyone I work with. I get much better offers from Bank of America, who not only use threatening language to try to sell me life insurance, but also do not charge me any fees to keep my money with them.