Random Thoughts #11 - the "BOO!!!" edition

Happy Halloween, folks. Here I am back with yet another set of random thoughts and observations that have come across my mind recently. Be careful not to spook yourself reading them. Enjoy.

 -  I've been having fun recently health-wise, sarcastically speaking. I thought it was either my contacts (my eyes were itching) or a cold, but I was wrong on both counts. My sinuses just decided to go haywire once again and they are really flaring up today. Usually when it's this obvious it means that things will improve real soon, but I hate dealing with this stuff. It looks like Vicks Vaporub and Sinutab for the foreseeable future. One good thing for all of you: it's not contagious so you can't get what I got.

 -  According to Jym Ganahl of NBC4 in Columbus, beware of vampire moths...they will suck your blood.

 -  BTW, before I forget, it is Halloween so....BOO!!!

 -  Around this time ten years ago I was forced to leave Columbus and move back to Akron as part of a long-term downward spiral that pretty much lasted until the end of 2002. Trust me, it's not something I want to relive nor want anybody to ever have to go though themselves. Even though I still have issues from time to time and I get depressed now and then (like recently), I can say that it can never get as bad as it did all those years ago. It took support from my friends and lessons I should have learned early on in childhood but didn't until 2002 for my life to turn around. I don't think anybody who knows me now would even recognize the person I was pre-2003...things have changed that much. Even though I am going through a rough patch right now, I do want to thank those people who since that time have supported me and helped me get through these past few years. It means an awful lot to me.

 -  As always, I'm not letting a blog go by without a plug for my church, Crossroads World Christian Center. Check out www.crossroadswcc.org for more about my church.

 -  No Buckeye game this weekend. Seems odd especially this late in the season. Oh well.

 -  Daylight savings time is this weekend. That means we have an extra hour this weekend. For us night owls, that means an extra hour of partying and dancing. At least I hope I'm over my sinus stuff before then.

 -  For those of you who registered and haven't voted yet and have the early voting option, go vote. I've already done it so I could avoid lines next Tuesday. If you miss the early vote, then don't forget to stand in line on Tuesday to do so...it may be a while but it is your civic responsibility (that's right...I pulled the "responsibility" card...whatcha gonna do about it....yeah, I thought so!).

 -  Speaking of next Tuesday, I have a short job assignment that's election related. I'll talk about it once I'm done with it, so it looks like even though I'm not doing partisan stuff, I'm not done with this election yet.

 -  Browns vs. Ravens on Sunday at 1 PM. I'm gonna go see it at GameWorks with my fellow Browns Backers. Should be fun.

That's all for now. Join me next time as I sob, cry, and bawl my way through the mediocrity and suffering that I like to call "November"...should be a hoot. Before I go, I got one more thing to say....BOO!!!! Hope I didn't scare you too much. Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #10 - the "OMG I can see again!" edition

I really don't have a witty line to start this off with tonight, so here I go again with another set of random thoughts. Enjoy.

 -  Until today, I was having trouble seeing things....literally speaking. On Sunday evening during church, I got a sharp pain in one of my eyes. I got home (somehow) and looked in the mirror and saw both eyes turning really red, almost bloodshot. On Monday I was having blurry vision and was having trouble seeing straight at times. On top of that, I caught a 72 hour bug, so I was dealing with that as well. Though there were bouts of clearness at times, I was mostly dealing with blurry vision and red eyes. Today is the first day I felt decent. I can see pretty clearly again, the redness is gone, and I got over the bug. I don't think it's a coincidence the eye problems and the bug hit at the same time...it's winterization time for me and I hope this was the worst of it. Here's to hoping.

 -  I'm glad I'm getting over this stuff because I have a busy and big weekend coming up. The Buckeyes are playing a tough team in Penn State, so I will be watching most of that. I am going out to the OC on Saturday night and hopefully see an old friend as well as the friends, regulars, and acquaintances I see there normally. Sunday the Browns play and I'll be at Gameworks with the Browns Backers (win or lose the Browns are my team). Also on Sunday I've got church (1084 Brentnell Ave @ 7:30 PM if you want to come; go to www.crossroadswcc.org for more details), though I might be a bit late getting there because of the game.

 -  I'm glad I can actually see again.

 -  Halloween is coming up. If you want a scary outfit this year, dress up as Karl Rove, Michelle Bachmann, or some other far right-winger. They try to scare everybody (and on purpose to boot).

 -  Oh, before I forget...it is Halloween week so....BOO!

 -  I think the next time I grow facial hair out and shave it, I'll take some pics in various states of facial hairness (goatee, stubble, sideburns...the works)...of course since I shave my head it will look funny. Silliness galore!!!

 -  Song on repeat this week: "Sunrise" by Simply Red (using the song I Can't Go For That from Hall and Oates as its background).

Before I go, I just want to remind people that you may see more strange things this upcoming week. People dressed up, acting weird, having strange looks on their faces, spewing rhythmic bile and tales of great fear and dread...but enough about McCain/Palin surrogates on the stump, enjoy Halloween week, my friends (bwa-ha-ha-HA!). Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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DJ's Myspace blog entry - OK....now I’m ticked off...

Interesting title, don't you think? Before anybody wonders what's going on....I want to make it clear that it has nothing to do with me personally or anything I'm currently dealing with, but something I witnessed on TV. I was watching Hardball on MSNBC early Friday evening and saw something that got under my skin. It shouldn't have, but it did. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota, was on the show dissing presidential nominee Barack Obama and unsurprisingly claiming he was anti-American. However, she implied a couple things during the interview that really made me wonder how a crackpot like her got voted by actual people into Congress. One, she was asked if any Congressional Democrats were anti-American and she actually called for an "expose" by the media to determine "if they were pro-American or anti-American." Two, she implied that liberalism itself was anti-American. Now, if this were the Fifties, she would probably fit in with Joseph McCarthy, the rabid and paranoid Congressman who had those trials in an attempt to uncover Communists. However, this isn't the Fifties...it's 2008.

This presidential election has been a charged one, with claims going back and forth as to what direction America should take going forward. In the past few weeks there have been very damaging charges made toward Obama and his wife questioning their patriotism. It is a fear card being played, but to see it in action from somebody who shouldn't be playing in...that gets to me. Even in this highly partisan environment there really hasn't been any questioning about particular Congresspersons' patriotism until now, at least regarding an entire political party.

Now before anybody starts making charges that one side or the other is more patriotic or more concerned with America, let me say this: any person elected to Congress is sent there to bring about policy and legislation in order to improve our country and its inner workings. They will differ on philosophy, whether liberalism, conservatism, centrism, or any particular American philosophy is better for the country at any particular time, but undoubtedly they are all loyal Americans. There have been very few people who were outright kicked out of Congress (Democrat Jim Traficant of Youngstown was one...he was an arrogant jerk and a crook to boot), but usually it's due to their own greed or stupidity. For any person elected to Congress in this day and age to question the patriotism of their fellow colleagues or to call a philosophy that represents at least half of the US or a person who follows it "anti-American," regardless of what side of the conservative-liberal divide one may be on...that's going too far.

Rep. Bachmann has not only managed to insult me as a Democrat...she has also managed to insult me as an American. Watching the interview, just witnessing the sheer ignorance and stupid philosophy she espoused....and how she actually believes this rubbish...it hit a nerve. I don't normally mind watching stupidity, but this was over the top for me and an outright insult to my intelligence. There is no way anybody can be this stupid.

I know I should take this so hard, but she hit the wrong nerve at the wrong time. I'll be over this soon enough, but I just had to vent. Here's a link to an article talking about this:

The Huffington Post: GOP Rep Channels McCarthy

My ranting is done. I'm heading to the OC tomorrow night...come on up and visit. Later and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #9 - the "October Surprise" edition

I'm a bit bored waiting to get ready for to go watch the Browns tonight, so I thought I'd put up a new batch of random thoughts. Enjoy and remember to breathe, because I don't want to be responsible for taking anybody's breath away.

 -  Regarding the subtitle for this particular blog, I have a feeling that we may still see an "October surprise" in the election. Obama has a lead in most polls, but things can happen. Thank God I voted already.

 -  Speaking of voting, Ohioans can vote early if they are registered. In Franklin County, the early voting spot is Vets Memorial on Broad Street. Go vote early to avoid the potential Election Day waits that plagued Ohio four years ago.

 -  Last night we had a guest speaker at our church, Bishop James Tatum. The video is up (I should know...I put it up myself) so check it out...he was lively, to say the least. Go to the Crossroads site to find it. If anybody is having trouble finding video from our more recent services, let me know.

 -  I don't know about anybody else, but personally I prefer not to be "pushed" toward approaching or getting with a particular woman. Also I do not want to be set up with one unless I ask to be. Many of you already knew this, but it's become an issue recently because some people have conveniently forgotten this. I've had my personal boundaries violated a few times regarding this and a lot of it actually has nothing to do with me. It's been mainly due to some people's attempt at trying to hide their own attraction to a particular female in some weird form of wish fulfillment or they just want their friends to be hooked up with me because they think it would be "cool" or something along those lines. I've had to set my foot down and almost be mean about it just to keep my boundaries intact. Though I am glad to be considered, unfortunately that consideration is very limited because ultimately it's not about me or some particular woman. I've found that it is either about someone trying to control outcomes and circumstances or it's about someone attempting to live vicariously through their friends or others. That's not helpful in any case. One of my friends got caught recently trying to do this to me by somebody else and caught hell for it (it was interesting to watch). Honestly I would love to be with a woman right now or even in a relationship, but it's gonna have to be when I'm ready and happen on what my pastor would call "God's time". In other words, if it happens, cool, but I'm not gonna push it.

 -  The word of the day is "particular."

 -  Boy I hope the Browns do alright tonight.

 -  This may step on a few toes here, but unfortunately it needs to be said. I've been approached by more than a few people in the club asking for me, some of the regulars, and some of my friends to not be so, how to say this....domineering or demanding...on the dance floor. Yeah, I know some of us have routines, songs we want to dance to, and stuff we wanna do. Heck, there's stuff I like to do and want to do. However, over the last couple of weeks the club has been pretty crowded and even though we got to do some of our regular stuff, it came at the expense of those around us who also were looking to have a good time there. Ultimately we weren't being very considerate, even of people we know there. I want to apologize to those people who were offended by me personally either directly or indirectly. I like being just part of the crowd sometimes, so I do understand where many of these complaints stem from. Why am I talking about this? Well, for starters, it needs to be said that some of the things we do on the dance floor can pretty darn good and skillful. Unfortunately they are seen by some to be intimidating as well, giving off the impression that we aren't approachable or friendly. I know that some of you don't care what other people think, but I don't want anybody to get in trouble because we're not watching what we're doing. Hey, if the whole crowd wants us to do our thing, I'll be the first to go to town. However, as much as we sometimes think this to be, that hasn't actually been happening lately. I'm not saying we shouldn't do our thing, because I still believe we should try....it's just that we do have a responsibility to be respectful and cool about things while we're there just like everybody else. For the record, I think the club is the place to be on Saturday nights, and I want to help keep it that way.

 -  Beware of phishing sites. A couple of my friends have been hacked recently and ended up sending out spam, so keep your eyes open.

 -  You may have noticed that I have been general when speaking about people in this particular blog. I'm trying to get my point across without pointing fingers in any specific direction. Some of you already know who I'm talking about, so really I don't need to be specific here.

 -  I did alright with my first civil service exam last week, but the second one I took was all over the place, so I don't know what to think of that. There is a job fair at COSI this Thursday that I intend to attend unless I get another job assignment this week. In any case things are looking up there.

That's all for now. Enjoy my profile picture because it's cool. Later and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #8 - the "dry spell" edition

Hello, all. Here's another set of random thoughts that have been on my mind. Remember to strap yourself in before reading because there have been reports of my thoughts blowing peoples' minds. Just sayin'...

 -  I think I'm just gonna start putting a date on the 'random thoughts' blogs that I do and maybe add some subtitles from time to time like on this one. It may make it a bit impersonal, but for right now, dem's da breaks.

 -  I think my body is officially starting to "winterize" itself to get ready for the next few months. Twice a year my body decides it wants to adjust for upcoming seasons, once for winter months and once for spring and summer months. Usually it consists of flu or cold related symptoms, but sometimes with a few more added on for good measure. This time my right eye was really itchy for a few days and it's finally not doing it so much. Right now I'm relaxed and feeling all right but I still haven't hit the full-on winterization yet. I don't know why my body does it, only that it does.

 -  It's been one year since I broke up with my last girlfriend. Actually, she dumped me, but in any event it ended. Mixed feelings about that...not because the relationship ended (which ended up turning out pretty good for me) but because I haven't hooked up with a woman since then. Dry spell, indeed, but at least I've made the most of my time since. I am ready to date....just gotta make myself more available for this again.

 -  Question: is it legal for political groups like PACs to check on the status of your voting registration? One group apparently checked on mine and let me know about it in a couple of emails (and were wrong on the status of it to boot). Just doesn't seem right to me.

 -  It's a pet peeve for me right now, but the last couple of weekends I've had people calling saying they're coming out to the club (the O.C.) but then never show up. I'm not talking about those who call me beforehand and tell me they're not coming....only those who just don't show up without me knowing beforehand. It's not the people I normally expect that behavior from...it's people I usually know to keep their word. It'd be nice to see them if they'd actually show up. I'll get over this quick but it's just bugging me a bit right now.

 -  If you're noticing a pattern of irritation and some frustration through the last few entries, you're not alone.

 -  My church recently changed it's video server to Mogulus. As soon as some technical difficulties are worked out, you can check out www.crossroadswcc.org and click on "Live Broadcasts" to watch recorded sermons. Even better, you can watch us live either at the church or online at 7:30 PM on Sunday evenings. Go to the website for more details on that.

 -  I have a couple of civil service exams this week. I hope I do well because they are both for good paying jobs. I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood here.

 -  Get ready for political campaign negativity over the next month, people. You're gonna get an earful. I suggest tuning to religious channels, Cartoon Network, Toon Disney, The Disney Channel, or The N if you want to avoid it. Many of you have families, so you probably already know to do this.

 -  A couple of election notes: Early voting started last week and continues through Election Day on November 4th. Also, for those of you not registered, tomorrow is the last day to do so for this election (October 6). Avoid the lines on November 4th and vote early. If anybody needs more info, let me know.

 -  I am very satisfied with the 'dressed up' pics taken last weekend. I needed 'em.

That's it for now. Wish me luck with women and the exams I have this week. And remember, mud spelled backwards is 'dum'. Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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