Well not exactly. Just for the week of Thanksgiving. This might be long.
I'm looking forward to this trip for a lot of reasons, and it's arguably the most important thing I've done in a while. Concerning who I am as an adult, the choices I make and how I act towards the family that raised me and has gone through utter hell recently, I have to do things that frankly can be scary to think about.
This is the second trip I've made to visit my family in which I'm entirely self-reliant. Until the early Spring of this year my parents had been able to contribute money for traveling, typically through plane tickets. I just had to get to and from the Kalamazoo airport and then I was set to go to New Jersey, with an available car and a place to stay. Now such things are not an option, regardless of whether or not people would want to sustain such behavior at this point. Amongst the personal traumas that have frustratingly dominated much of the last 2 years, money has been much tighter than anyone expected. I guess the good part is we can all relate, since this is a pretty common story.
I feel this heightens the importance of doing a trip like this. If I don't make it happen, no one will because no one can. It's impossible to overstate how much my parents want to see me for Thanksgiving. I need to visit them in a trip that's not forced by a crisis. I'm hoping that I can enjoy visiting them without anger, paranoia and/or hurt either influencing or looming over every interaction.
New Jersey has been surprisingly hard to lose, and a lot of it I'm sure is because of the circumstances of my last visit. By the way, I have no intention of spelling out exactly what's happened. If you don't know, it might not be something I feel comfortable telling you. You can still ask.
Anyway, there's a lot I miss about the place, a lot of feelings I'm nostalgic for. However, I'm really excited to check out this area of Georgia. The scenery down in the Deep South is wonderful, both developed and natural. In particular, the swamps in the region are drawing my attention. Lately I've become very interested in wetlands, particular those in the United States. Many weekends in the last few months were dominated by walks at nature areas where I could find marshes and swamps. I even got a pair of waders for my birthday and went hiking with my friend Ryan in a completely undeveloped game area.
The southern swamps are something else entirely.
I'm bringing the family here: The Okefenokee Swamp. The plan is to rent a canoe and really get to know one of the best examples of my new interest. That I'll bring my family should only be a good thing. The road trip I took with my mom in October of last year was really fun, and I think having things like this to occupy our time will help keep the focus on what's positive.
Sunday morning at 8:30 am. That'll be my cue to head south for a bit, and I'm looking forward to good things.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
POWER STRUGGLE!!!!
So we just had an election, and its results were pretty much what everyone predicted. Republicans "took control" of the House and people are smugly prattling on about how this is a "referendum on Obamacare*" and what not. Also I still can't just go to California, walk into a store and buy pot. I'd have to go through the trouble of seeing a doctor and telling him how my neck hasn't stopped hurting for a year so I can get my pot. Ridiculous hoops to jump through, but I digress.
When I voted for my district's representative, I made my decision based on one thing and one thing only: "How can WE (your party of choice) win/maintain CONTROL of the House and offset those dastardly Other Guys (and some girls)? LET'S TAKE OUT THE TRASH IN WASHINGTON!!!!" How the candidate intended to work for and represent the district he was to be, well, a representative of, had no sway over my decision. None.
Except it was the exact opposite of that.
See, if you can't take care of yourself and your home turf, how in the hell can you expect to solve the problems in Washington? And why the fuck should I vote for you if you spend 2/3 of your time bitching about things that do not closely affect my district, considering I live in a state that has been having economic problems since well before this latest recession. Grandstand all you want. Throw out all those soundbites that will get your self-important face on TV. I DON'T CARE. If most of your time is spent freaking out over what the other people are doing/have done wrong, then very little of that time is devoted to detailing how you intend to better the place you're running to represent. You do not deserve my vote. You do not make me feel like you would be someone who would listen to the people you're relying on. You simply sound like another idiot who could give a shit about taking steps forward, and instead you're going to spend your time fighting hopeless and/or meaningless battles that will get us nowhere.
This country will not die because of the Republicans. Nor will it die because of Democrats. America's death will come from stagnation. A failure to evolve and grow and learn. If it happens, we'll have only ourselves to blame for continuing to let these people think they have "power." So please, if you're reading this, do me a favor. Do this country a favor. Most of all, do yourself a favor. Get informed and make your own decisions based on what YOU feel. Not what anyone else tells you to feel, be it politicians, reporters, bloggers, your parents, and so on. You're not going to find a candidate you'll agree with 100%, and that's OK. But maybe you'll find someone who actually is interested in working for We the People, and not someone who just says it so that their bullshit movement can win a foolish power struggle amongst elites.
Yup, that's right. Any of these assholes who tell you they're fighting the Elites is most likely full of it. Let's be clear: THEY ARE ALL ELITES. They are rich. They are well connected. If they are not corrupt, that does not mean they won't one day be corrupt. And they LOVE when people don't educate themselves and vote.
*Obamacare: One of the latest buzzwords that's thrown around as a way of demonizing your chosen enemy! See also: fascist, socialist, conservative, liberal, etc. Except those are real words that have become meaningless with the way they're overused.
When I voted for my district's representative, I made my decision based on one thing and one thing only: "How can WE (your party of choice) win/maintain CONTROL of the House and offset those dastardly Other Guys (and some girls)? LET'S TAKE OUT THE TRASH IN WASHINGTON!!!!" How the candidate intended to work for and represent the district he was to be, well, a representative of, had no sway over my decision. None.
Except it was the exact opposite of that.
See, if you can't take care of yourself and your home turf, how in the hell can you expect to solve the problems in Washington? And why the fuck should I vote for you if you spend 2/3 of your time bitching about things that do not closely affect my district, considering I live in a state that has been having economic problems since well before this latest recession. Grandstand all you want. Throw out all those soundbites that will get your self-important face on TV. I DON'T CARE. If most of your time is spent freaking out over what the other people are doing/have done wrong, then very little of that time is devoted to detailing how you intend to better the place you're running to represent. You do not deserve my vote. You do not make me feel like you would be someone who would listen to the people you're relying on. You simply sound like another idiot who could give a shit about taking steps forward, and instead you're going to spend your time fighting hopeless and/or meaningless battles that will get us nowhere.
This country will not die because of the Republicans. Nor will it die because of Democrats. America's death will come from stagnation. A failure to evolve and grow and learn. If it happens, we'll have only ourselves to blame for continuing to let these people think they have "power." So please, if you're reading this, do me a favor. Do this country a favor. Most of all, do yourself a favor. Get informed and make your own decisions based on what YOU feel. Not what anyone else tells you to feel, be it politicians, reporters, bloggers, your parents, and so on. You're not going to find a candidate you'll agree with 100%, and that's OK. But maybe you'll find someone who actually is interested in working for We the People, and not someone who just says it so that their bullshit movement can win a foolish power struggle amongst elites.
Yup, that's right. Any of these assholes who tell you they're fighting the Elites is most likely full of it. Let's be clear: THEY ARE ALL ELITES. They are rich. They are well connected. If they are not corrupt, that does not mean they won't one day be corrupt. And they LOVE when people don't educate themselves and vote.
*Obamacare: One of the latest buzzwords that's thrown around as a way of demonizing your chosen enemy! See also: fascist, socialist, conservative, liberal, etc. Except those are real words that have become meaningless with the way they're overused.
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