HELP!!!

I may be abandoning my overall theme here, but I need suggestions. When I moved into my place last year it was just my boy and me; two males, you see? Well, within the last two months three female presences have been moved in... AAAHHHHHH!!!!

Okay, I'm mostly kidding here. I'm so lucky to have had my beautiful, talented, smart, and wonderful girlfriend, Kristen, move in (YAY!!!). The other two, however, are coo-coo monsters (cats to the layperson!): I got Lucy a couple of months ago, and Kristen brought her cat, Lily. They are both very independent and NOT used to other cats being around. I'm used to multiple animals being around as my mom almost always had a menagerie when I was growing up, but usually only one cat at a time. So, I need advice from some experienced people.

Any ideas on how to get them to co-exist without hissing all the time would be great. Also, how do you keep them from eating each other's food? Lucy is fat and needs to trim down and Lily has had some gastrointestinal problems and needs to only eat her special food. This is a great thing, overall, as I love all three of them and they all love me. Now I need to make the last two love each other...

-Adrock

Houston!

So... I'm about to get a whole new perspective! After searching for work in this area for months I have come up with bupkiss (is that how you spell that made-up word?). I am now going to Houston, TX, ya'll! My old boss has a new contract and I'm going down to manage it. Good news: It's only hours away from my place of birth, which I've never seen; Bad news: I have to leave my son for a month at a time (BOO!!!).

I'm going to "brightside" this. I love going to new places, meeting new people and trying to understand different lifestyles. This is going to be a learning experience and I know I can get the best out of it. (Damn, I'm going to miss my kid.) Houston is really inexpensive so the money I make will go a long way. Also, if the job goes well, it could turn into a very promising career. (No more one-minute dance parties on the weekends; that kid can really move!)

As you can see, I am mildly(!) torn here. I hate not having options, but I feel lucky to have one pretty good option. I can make this a good experience by manifesting it that way, but still... My boy makes my heart beat.

I guess I'll end this with "Wish me luck"???

-Adrock

What A Difference A Little Love Can Make...

Okay, so it's no secret that I have been frustrated as of late with quite a few things going on in my life. As this quarter has progressed so has my frustration with trying to bridge the gap between Community College and my University plans. Last week was nearly unbearable and yet somehow I still have so many amazing people in my life that it feels wrong to dwell in misery (as I have been accustomed to doing in the past...).

My son has always been a source of relief to me. His innocence and energy are always simple and positive and being around him reminds me that life can always be joyous if we choose to focus on that which brings us joy. Sometimes it is as simple as his saying, "Dad, count to ten and then help me with Zelda!" Or he might say something as poignant as "The important thing about holidays is spending time with the people you love..." My point is that sometimes a simple approach is the best one.

Recently, I started dating someone new. I have learned (the hard way) what it is I am looking for and what, exactly, I have to offer someone else. Let me just say that she is everything I have ever dreamt of and then some. She has met my son and they hit it off like I have never seen between he and anybody! She is very natural with him and this is only amplified by the fact that she hasn't children of her own. But she was born to be a mother. The simple, natural exchange between these two people has been nothing less than inspirational to me. So, while I still have all the problems of last week, I am encouraged in my heart that life works in ways we do not fully understand and that knowing the path is not what is important. The continued pursuit of the path is.

Even though we will all face challenges for the rest of our lives, I now know that our attitudes can be directly controlled by seeking out what inspires us, what we love. I would be curious to know from others what inspires you? What can make the sun shine for you on your darkest days? Sharing even the most simplest of pleasures can inspire others or remind them of things they may have forgotten.

Hoping this helps even one person,

-AdRock

Hypocrisy in Higher Education

So, I'm really glad I didn't post over the past two days because it would have been a complete rant. I have been subject to a lot of lies and irresponsibility from people over this quarter and it just keeps getting worse. Upon reflection, this is what I've learned: Hypocrisy is EVERYWHERE. We go to school to learn about responsibility and yet the very people trying to teach us this are the very ones lying to us. You may say, "WHOA, TIGER! This is a class assignment!" Allow me to clarify.

This is my seventh and final quarter at South Seattle Community College and I have been nothing but impressed with the faculty. However, the staff at this school and throughout the District leave so much to be desired that I have changed my future goals in order to accommodate my and other's frustrations. I want to be an attorney now so that all the injustice and inequality that occurs at the community college level will come to a screeching halt. Plainly put, if it doesn't happen within the next five years, one of the first professional cases I will pursue will be a class action suit against the college, the Seattle Community College District and the State of Washington.

Just one example to illustrate. Student and Activity Fees. Do you know how much of your tuition goes to these ridiculous fees? What do you get out of it? When I recently applied for the "Let's Do Lunch!" program with ample time according to their flyer I was denied with the reason that they were out of tickets for the year. The flyer, by the way, states this is a free lunch and then goes on to explain that it is funded by this fee that is taken from us on a quarterly basis(?). So if I'm paying for it, how did they run out? And what happened to my money that I didn't use? The only other industry I know of that takes money for something we MIGHT use and gives us nothing in return if we don't is... wait for it... INSURANCE!!!

Okay, so this is still a rant, but a valid concern for all of us who struggle to pay for this "higher education" that, according to our President, should be an entitlement to all citizens.

Thoughts?

Marriage

I just have to speak on this gay marriage issue. First off, let me tell you that I have been married twice and divorced twice. I only say this to illustrate that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to marriage, even at my tender young age of 32. ;-)

When it comes to the issue of gay marriage I heard the best quote ever from a standup comedian (sorry, I truly do not remember who!). It goes, "If they really want to be as miserable as the rest of us, let 'em!" This is just funny, but it still strikes a chord with me and I'm thinking about half the other people who have ever been married in this country. If two people want to pledge themselves to one another and raise children to be good people and contributing citizens, why on Earth should we be inhibiting them? Homosexuality is not contagious and until they find the "gay gene" I'm going to hold my stance that it is not hereditary either.

So my ultimate question is, "What is everybody so afraid of?" Really. Are these people that fight against it afraid that their kids are going to see a gay wedding and switch on the spot and decide that's what they want? I seriously doubt it. I knew when I was a little boy that I was into girls and so were most of the lesbians I know! All my gay male friends were into boys at an early age. This seems pretty self-evident to me that it is nature, not nurture. In other words, you have nothing to worry about! Your kids will be who they will be and the only thing we, as parents, can do is love them and teach them to love in kind; be responsible and teach them to be responsible. However, if we ridicule them then all they will learn is to ridicule in return.

A lot of folks also like to bring the Bible up in these discussions in defense of their stance against gay marriage saying things like "Jesus hates F*gs" (I refuse to use this word, even in quotes, as it is tantamount to using the "N" word to me). To this I must remind them to read their Good Book again: Jesus hated nobody. His message was always one of forgiveness and love, no matter which version you read and I have read several so, again, this comes from first-hand knowledge. You cannot claim to be one thing and then spit on everything that that one thing stands for. Look up "hypocrisy" in the dictionary.

All in all, though, it comes down to what you want this world to be. If you want this world to be a hateful and spiteful place then by all means continue to act accordingly and teach your children to hate and judge others. If you are like me, however, and would like to spread love to every corner of this little rock, then we must pass this philosophy on through our words and our works. Practice love because as the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect."

-AdRock

What an ironic blog I created two years ago and never touched...

When I came to "create" a blog on Blogger I discovered I had one already that I started and then forgot about. Ironically, the title and theme is exactly what I wanted to discuss after the experiences I have had over the last two (+) years. I did some traveling to places I was familiar with and some that I was not. All of them in our very own country and all of them vastly different from one another. It has helped to form my perspective on how people treat each other and how we can all work on doing better at this. I finally realize that the so-called "Seattle Chill" (sometimes referred to as the "Seattle Freeze") is very real. People here are friendly in a sort of noncommittal way, whereas in California I noticed people are less friendly, but more honest (except in L.A. - that's a whole different world!) Then there was the South. People are friendly and people are honest, but at the same time I was privy to some of the most blatant racism I have ever experienced in my life. Some of it was so engrained into their culture that it didn't even feel racist. For example, for the older population the term "colored people" was just their word for black. I could tell these individuals were not bigots, but just from a different time and place. The term "African-American" wasn't uttered once in the three months I spent South of the Mason-Dixon line (there is an actual line, by the way). Still, no matter where you went down there you were greeted by everyone you passed. Southern hospitality exists. We should try and bring that to the North. I will discuss the Seattle Chill more later and how that is detrimental to this area. - AdRock