plan

I am starting to make longer term plans now. I think it is time to try a new approach to this thing called life. It isn't what everyone else would do but then again I am far from everyone. I am considering getting some money together and going back to school. from the beginning back to school. I think I want to study landscape design. So this is the new plan. I leave for Saudi in 19 hours. Last moments of freedom.

texas

I have finally gotten my flight and everything ready to leave. I feel good about this next part. fresh and clean, shorn of things that i had been dragging around. Alcoholics Anonymous may be onto something when they say one day at a time, but for me it isnt about sobriety so much as living in the now. Tomorrow will happen, yesterday already has happened, my focus is on this moment and living it. So no more wanting or judging, I am just going to relax and enjoy the ride.

rocks

Having to deal with getting paperwork done is an incredible pain in the ass. Not in the best mood to deal with it to begin with wish I had some good news to report but these have not been smiley days for me.

time

having too much time on my hands. I am in the waiting period for my next visa, so i walk down the beach and remember things and wonder about how differently things would be if I had chosen another path. Not knowing what the future holds is tough. But seeing the moments that had an impact on my life and knowing that if I had done something differently it would have all changed is tougher for me. I wonder about the theory of multiple realities where every decision that can be made is made in alternate realities and therefore exists. Even if that is true, does it matter if I am here in this one? Sure its comforting in some ways, all the bad decisions I made are unmade by alternate me, but then all the good decisions (OK the few good decisions)are unmade. I will just stick to this reality and try to fix the bad decisions I have made and not make them in the future. Learn, live, and keep moving. Tough work.

elections

I tried to get a absentee voter form mailed out to myself today and of course I was met with a roadblock. Why is it that I can do everything that my life needs online including taxes and banking but to vote is still a hassle. The fact that there has been little progress made into electronic voting tells me that those with vested interests in the system are happy that the US has a 30-40%voter turn out rate. Why make it easy when that could lead to real change. I know the arguments about why there cant be e votes. The fact that i could be hacked, fraud, etc. but really it comes down to not wanting the people to have easy access to the reins of power. If my money is "safe" online I must believe that a vote could be as well. I will suggest that everyone vote not only this election but every election, those who remain silent deserve the decay that comes from apathy.

work

So this is it. I have begun to get everything in order for my next adventure. I will be going to Saudi Arabia for at least one year possibly more. I am actually really excited. I will have lots of stuff to learn all new ways to try and not offend others, and plenty of time to not be drunk. Its funny but the last one is actually the least of my concerns, dont get me wrong I love the booze. All of it. Every kind. Bar none. But i dont need it. Yes it is true I am fond of relaxing with a glass or thirty but I can find other ways to occupy my time. The only question I have is what does the rest of the world drink with dinner? If there is no beer then is it just water? Is hot tea really appropriate for dinner? Can there be so few other choices. Do they sell kool-aid in Saudi Arabia? I dont really like soda the exceptions being tonic water (w/gin), coke (w/rum), soda water ((w/vodka) so i guess ice tea or water it is for me. But getting to know some arabic and seeing islam up close should be interesting. wish me luck and ill be picking p posting more in the new job

america

is it cars or are the people in america completely clueless? I asked a lady in the information center what the hills were like to the next town and she said "it is flat" I can tell you as a person who just pedaled my happy ass up a bunch of those "flat" hills that t was nowhere near flat. I think that the ease of pushing the accelerator makes people oblivious to the actual conditions. I know that I would have in the past said most of the rods are "flat" but I can now safely say that almost nowhere that I have been have the roads actually been flat. ook around next time your in a car. Is there a flat area near you or are all the roads slightly up and down.

return of the king

First and foremost. Happy birthday to my niece, sister and father, in that order. You shall all live long and eventful lives. Second I think I have found a way back into this blog but who knows how long it will last before the nefarious reds get at blocking it. so I will continue to post here and at www.defendbeijing.blog.com as well. The winter holiday is nearly finished for this year. A bit earlier then I was initially led to believe. You see before the end of last term my boss told me that the new term would begin on the 1st of March. I made travel arrangements and thought nothing more of it. One would expect the department head to know when the term begins, I was also told 1st of March by the FAO (Foreign Affairs Officer) who deals with all matters related to foreigners. So I was confident that 1 March was teach again day. I got a call the afternoon before my plane left for Thailand(ahh thailand) and it was the department head informing me that school would begin again on the 22 of february. Right because 9 days is the same thing. What was I supposed to do about my travel plans? What was I to do about flights? Of course I got all manner of excuses (I remember my father used to say that excuses are like assholes: everyone has em and they all stink.) the chinese must have sixty or eighty orifices for defecation because I have never encountered a people so capable of passing the buck. Needless to say I will be having a discussion with the higher ups this week about the "cultural differences" that we have. You see my boss doesnt like that I schedule my free time to maximize my life. Apparently I should be here in the red menace all vacation long so that if something changes it is not a problem. My need to go see the world, my desire to spend time outside of my apartment, my audacity in expecting to be told what the start date for a new semester is. How culturally imperialistic. Anyways it was a grand vacation and I miss it already.

thats right

hahaha bitches. I will give you something to be thankful for. the great red menace is down and the patients are running the asylum. It is like a Christmas miracle but on thanksgiving. I dont know why they let me finally into this blog but i do intend to write everyday while the internet censors are looking at child porn and doing whatever other things they do when not silencing those who may disagree with them. I jest of course there is no may about it I completely and totally disagree with the incompetent and corrupt government of this nation. They are disturbingly bad, criminal in many ways and proud of it. Makes me sad for the people. anyways as this new found unrestricted access to this blog may not last I suggest you check out my other blog. www.defendbeijing.blog.com i must admit I have missed you all and hope that this lasts.

changes

will be posting on a new blog as this one is nearly impossible to get to now .
www.defendbeijing.blog.com will also try to keep this one up and running . sorry for the inconvience but please come and read on the new blog same me same rants same same.