8.23.02

Hi! How’s it goin? Not too shabby here.

Sorry the update is late once again, however, this time it was completely out of my control. Our IT monkeys at work have decided to finally provide some security for our network and part of that includes shutting any potential loopholes – like me getting to my websites. So, I just found out today that I wasn’t able to get to SMX and do the update. Although it does suck I can’t do anything from work anymore, I’ll still continue to update, though it will probably be back to my Wednesday schedule. So you should be able to read my random ramblings a little earlier for a while. Aren’t you lucky?

Been a long week and I really can’t wait for it to be over. Not that I have anything major going on this weekend, but a boring weekend is better than a good week at work. Well…I’m not so sure that’s true. Anyway, looking forward to a few days off.

Started my AutoCAD class Monday night. A pretty typical first night of class: syllabus, brief run- through of the class, and I’ll see you next time. Last night was next time and I gotta tell ya, if the class continues like this the whole eight weeks then I might not make it through. The guy sitting next to me was pretty much in the same boat and we might have to start playing Russian roulette like Christopher Walken and Bobbie DeNiro in Deerhunter just to keep our lives from getting monotonous. AutoCAD is a complex program – I’ll give you that – but these people in class can’t seem to do a single thing, literally, without having a problem that requires the teacher coming over to help them. The worst part is, those of us who don’t have a problem typing in the word “LINE”, are stuck waiting for Special Ed to catch up so we can continue with the next command – which someone else won’t be able to get through. It’s pretty frustrating and I have a feeling I’m just going to start blazing ahead of the class during these “down” times. I guess that’s a good thing, but at the same time, I’m paying $173 including the book cost, to be trained – not be self-taught. I hope things improve.

Pretty much all I’ve been doing every night this week, is writing. I have one story that I’m really concentrating on actually writing and thus far it’s going well. I think I have an unusual way of the telling the story that is, thus far, turning out interesting. The other one I’m working on is mainly about creating a world to host stories in. Obviously this means it’s not your standard setting, it’s a familiar setting to a lot of people out there, but there are some pretty major twists that I hope will be fun and work. It’s time consuming, but so far I’m having a blast. In fact, it’s gotten to the point, all I want to do now is get home so I can work on stuff. That’s what it’s all about, though, I guess.

Ok, well, now the job situation is all confusing. Now I’m being told I might be starting GIS stuff soon. Notice the word “might” in there. Needless to say, if there’s one thing this job has taught me, it’s never count your chickens before they hatch. Hell, I’ve gotten to the point I don’t even bother looking to see if my hens are laying eggs. So, I’m still sending out resumes, hopefully this weekend if I can get these recommendation letters before then, and seeing what happens. I’ll keep you posted.

Four years ago, back when I thought I was serious about writing and really wasn’t, I came up with an idea for a story that has always been my “writer’s block” idea. Whenever I’ve hit a roadblock on one story, I go back to this one to get the mind flowing again. So here’s the problem, I came back to it this week and thought I might actually write the story. But, ironically, I ran into a roadblock on it.

The story deals with social conflicts in America every fifty years since the Civil War. 1850 – slavery was the big social evil to fight against. 1900 – there are all kinds of them, but I was going to go with Women’s Rights. 1950 – I was going to deal with the Red Scare set off by Senator McCarthy. 2000 – …we got nothin’, folks.

I suppose you could argue that’s a good thing. And in a way it is. However, at the same time, many people are united by hardship, by a common struggle, so perhaps it’s a necessary evil for our culture to advance.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Uh…Monkey, have you not been paying attention to the news since September 11?” But that’s not the kind of thing I’m talking about here. Sure we have battles to fight now, but they’re against someone else in some country few of us will ever see. This might sound odd, but those battles are not nearly as important as the ones we fight here.

The reason the American people are so strong is because of the ability to adapt our society. If something’s wrong, people will eventually see this problem and struggle to change it. That’s the American Way. As you can see from my examples, we did it all the time in our past, and that’s only taking into account every fifty years. There are plenty of other struggles that occurred in-between these fifty-year spans, especially between 1950 and 2000. So does this mean our society has become a utopia with no social problems? Obviously, the answer is no, but I’m wondering if maybe we’re too concerned about changing the world now.

They say you have to choose your battles or else all you’re going to be doing is picking fights. Today, with so many causes to support, we can’t tell what’s truly important – because they’re all important (or at least seem to be). Racism; ageism; Save the Whales; Save the Rainforest; Save the Spotted Owl; Mothers Against Drunk Driving; Rock the Vote; Rap the Vote; Recording Artists, Athletes and Actors Against Drunk Driving; pink ribbons; blue ribbons; green ribbons; rainbow ribbons; olive green with a pink stripe and orange polka-dots ribbons; Greenpeace; Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; The American Civil Liberties Union; Drug Abuse Resistance Education; The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal;

It’s wonderful that everyone has a voice in this country, but sometimes I just wish they’d all shut up. Not every possible minority group needs an organization that lobbies Congress. I don’t feel the need to start a group for the promotion of the needs and rights of under-30, single, white males who like watching movies, listening to old jazz tunes, can quote Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet” almost word-for-word and think Salma Hayek is hot. I think you’d be surprised how strong our lobby would be, but that’s beside the point. I hate to say this, but not all causes are important.

And why do we need thirty-eight organizations battling drunk driving? Can’t someone consolidate MAAD, RAAAADD, DARE and Lord knows what else into a single organization? Solidarity, people, is what it’s all about. Maybe it’s because they know that if they did consolidate, the struggle for power over who was going to be the one that single-handedly wiped out drunk driving and drug-use forever would be so intense that it would destroy the organization from within. Which is really what all this flag carrying is all about in the long run – recognition. As if anyone is going to mention the name of the woman who got MTV’s Jackass kicked off the air in the same breath as Martin Luther King, Jr.

How can you possibly choose your battles when all you’re doing are picking fights? The answer: you don’t. And eventually no one cares about anything anymore - and that becomes the real problem. Maybe I should start a committee to combat this horrible situation in America. Any suggestions what color ribbon we should hand out?

Space Monkey X