The Obligatory College Post
[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 08.09.06 in college, complaints
I’m beginning to go through the deep psychological trauma of leaving home. Though subtle, thoughts of what I’m going to do with my life (read: without my parents around me every day) creep into my head. This happens especially at night. I’m pretty sure that it is this doubt of the future, in association with my obscenely whacked-out sleep schedule that keeps me awake here at 3:00 A.M.
But today, I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever done: I vacuumed my room. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that the fact that I never before vacuumed my room is disgusting. And it is. But let’s focus here, people.
This Sunday, I move away from home. And while it may only be two hours up the Interstate and I’ll be stopping in fairly often for visits, it’s still sad that I’ve packed up everything in my room except for my bed. As I vacuumed today, I looked at my room. It represented the last 18 years of my life. And what has it become? A cube with holes in the walls where pictures hung and a single, lonely bed in the corner.
Is that it? Is that all my childhood has become? A dusty old room with holes where the memories used to be?
Sure, they tell you that college will be the best years of my life. And I believe them. But I think that it’s the transition that gets us; we are trapped in the awkward purgatory between the long-passed memories of childhood and the not-yet-realized experiences of what is to come.
Perhaps, though, once I find whatever lies ahead on the road of life, I can finally sleep.
Let’s go, Blue Jays
[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 07.10.06 in baseball, complaints
The other night, I went to enjoy a game of Single A Minor League baseball in Clearwater between the Dunedin Blue Jays and the hometown Threshers. Now, because of my rich and lucrative history with the Dunedin ball club, I sported my $18.00 Dunedin Jays cap and my glove, on the off chance that I might be able to snag an errant ball. No such luck.
But as I watched the game, I did all of the standard baseball spectator-type things: I would argue balls and strikes (a pastime that got the manager of Clearwater ejected for his billionth game this season), I would congratulate players on having a “good eye” when it came to watching balls sail by outside of the strike zone, I would cheer for my team.
However, the man sitting four rows up in the section adjacent to me did not appreciate that. I would say something innocent and innocuous and he would spout back words of annoyance. And I thought it was only because I was rooting for the Blue Jays, until a man sitting in the section on the other side of mine began expressing his love for the Threshers. At this point, my little angry friend became so irked that he bellowed a hearty “Shut up!” that was probably audible throughout the stadium. Remember: it’s a single A team. Sounds travel quickly throughout a small stadium, especially when the home team can’t ever win a game.
But I digress. Has this man ever been to a baseball game? Does he not realize that fan interaction, especially at the lower levels of the sport, plays an integral role in the mental development of the players? If we can’t prepare these boys today for the screaming and obnoxious fans of tomorrow’s major league level, what service have we done? We haven’t done anything.
So, take it from me, Mr. Zippy McShutup: maybe golf is a better spectator sport for you.
Nobody can drive but me
[ 7 Comments ] Posted on 06.30.06 in cars, complaints
Plato once said, “You are young, my son, and, as the years go by, time will change and even reverse many of your present opinions. Refrain therefore awhile from setting yourself up as a judge of the highest matters.”
Sorry, P-Daddy, but I’ve got a hankerin’ for some good old fashioned judging. Today’s defendant: the 60% of drivers out there who refuse to use their turn signal. It’s a real shame to drive down the boulevard to have a 2006 Ford Mustang cut right in front of you with not so much as a glimmer of the blinker. A nice car like that doesn’t have turn signals? I’d take that automobile right back to the shop so one of the helpful associates can take a look at the broken taillights.
I can see the argument against using turn signals when changing lanes – it’s not the law. Actually, my driving deviant friend, it is. The government here in the Sunshine State fixed this problem a while back. Observe:
“You must use hand signals or directional signals to show that you are about to turn. Turn signals are required when changing lanes or overtaking a vehicle.” (Courtesy of the Florida Driver’s Handbook)
Now, if your carelessness was actually a product of being misinformed, consider yourself informed. If your carelessness is a product of your disregard for anyone and everyone around you, I’d like to propose a hypothetical scenario.
You’re driving along. A Mac truck is in the lane ahead of you. A Mercedes merges into the gap created between you and Trucker Pete without using its turn signal. You narrowly evade death by swerving into the emptiness created by the Mercedes’ old lane. And while you may be safe, you are peeved. You spew angry words of hate, the likes of which your mother would never have uttered within 100 yards of her kitchen, and a fire of hatred builds in your heart. Mr. Mercedes speeds along his merry affluent way, while you’re left with an ulcer the size of a watermelon caused by the stress of the incident. Don’t you think the Mercedes could have used a blinker so that you would have ample time to either create room for the merge or speed up and ruin his day? And if he can go ahead and hit that lever on the side of the steering column, don’t you think you could return the favor?
I’m just saying that once everybody starts to drive in a uniform manner, more people will live longer as a result of reduced accidents and far fewer stress-induced sicknesses.