So today I was standing on the street corner waiting to go to work, and I came to two realizations. Well one was a realization that happened in my kitchen , and the other was more of just a thought. But "two realizations on the corner of Robinson and Cary street" just sounds a lot better.
Number one - My mother and father are people in need of great thanks. Trying to pack my lunch - a whopping pbj with a bag of chips and some water, and making breakfast - a whopping English muffin with honey, was no easy task. You have to make sure you time it all right. The toaster has to be set just right to get the English muffin hot enough to crisp the thin half and perfect the fat side, both of which will need butter (which of course is too hard because it has been in the fridge). To tell the truth I ended up using 3 knives. I could have got away with using one, but I was juggling things and rather incoherent and the next thing I knew my sink has 3 knives - butter, jelly/pb, and the one I used to cut the English muffin in half. Sad. I know. So yea, Mom and Pops - you are more than I deserve.
Number two - As I am enjoying the aforementioned English muffin (which is not easy to abbreviate, because EM just sounds strange), I think to myself - "Man, I need to have a thought to blog about. Oh, here comes one. I am eating a TON of bread. If I keep eating this much bread I am on track to die. ("Drew everyone dies" - To anyone that was thinking anything like that or "We all gotta go some day" your right, but you can take your blog ruining self to youtube or something)" As I am thinking this, quite content that I have a sentence or a least some hint of a blog idea, God saw it fitting to make me laugh.
A bus. A big fat one like a beetle crawling back to a stump, or whatever home it lives in. That home happens to be located across the street from my place, a never ending source of sound to sleep and wake up to, and then beg God to let you go back to sleep to.
Anyways, in the middle of this big fat Beetle Bus there was a sign that read, "NATIONAL STROKE MONTH." In my mind it read, "NATIONAL STROKE MONTH!" I gave my English muffin a good look and kept reading. "The signs of stroke are noticable because they happen fast, " is what I am pretty sure I saw, but I was distracted by the huge freaking paragraph of things that had to look out for below it. Oh ok I will be sure to look for the following - chest pain, temperature, pulse, the sun, eating fatty foods, being out of shape, being American, standing on a street corner, wearing boat shoes, etc. The list went on for miles. Before I could even really begin to read anything the Beetle Bus scooted off .
---------------
Me - Man I have this song stuck in my head.
Mr. Burns - Please. Please do not sing it.
Me- O yea?
Mr. Burns - Yea man I have been very susceptible to songs being stuck in my head recently. ( I kid you not thats what he said)
Me after thinking for a second - Ha le lu ha le lu ha la lu ya....PRAISE YEA THE LORD
Mr. Burns - Is that seriously the song you had in your head?
Me realizing that he hated me and I wasnt really very sorry for it (shown by the fact that I was just laughing at him) - Yea
Mr Burns - Thats just rude.
d
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
History of the Americas
Hmmm...not really sure where I am going with this.
In history class today we were talking about the origin of american culture in terms of the native tribes of the indians. The question arose as to how we view and obtain information about people/culture before writing. The answer is semi obvious in that we look at artifacts and piece together ideas of what the life and times of the people looked like. But then the teacher said something that made me think, "Because of course we knnnnow that when people write things down they dont change anything to make themselves or who they support look better." Yea yea yea I know that, but then he went on to say, " What if someone picked up your diary (journal if that is more manly) and read it? Would you edit out the cigarette you smoked? What about the pack?"
Other than the initial reaction i had about people and thier views of smoking, his question really sparked my thoughts. Why is it that everyone wants to look best in his or her own eyes? How is it that if someone were to just watch my life and never heard a word I said they would come to an vastly different conclusion as to why I live and breath? What would my bones and remains tell that my words wouldnt? Or reverse the question to ask what my words portray that my life doesnt?
-----
VitalKey early in the a.m. so its lights out time.
d
In history class today we were talking about the origin of american culture in terms of the native tribes of the indians. The question arose as to how we view and obtain information about people/culture before writing. The answer is semi obvious in that we look at artifacts and piece together ideas of what the life and times of the people looked like. But then the teacher said something that made me think, "Because of course we knnnnow that when people write things down they dont change anything to make themselves or who they support look better." Yea yea yea I know that, but then he went on to say, " What if someone picked up your diary (journal if that is more manly) and read it? Would you edit out the cigarette you smoked? What about the pack?"
Other than the initial reaction i had about people and thier views of smoking, his question really sparked my thoughts. Why is it that everyone wants to look best in his or her own eyes? How is it that if someone were to just watch my life and never heard a word I said they would come to an vastly different conclusion as to why I live and breath? What would my bones and remains tell that my words wouldnt? Or reverse the question to ask what my words portray that my life doesnt?
-----
VitalKey early in the a.m. so its lights out time.
d
Saturday, August 25, 2007
so internet..but no phone...
if this post doesnt make people happy...I dont know what will.
I am posting from a general good store at a campground on lake gaston on the NC/VA border.
Today I was supposed to get picked up around 7am by my sister, and in true Cowles (note the "silent w") fashion, we rolled out of richmond at 9. This was of course after a nice Hardees breakfast. We got on to 95 to the sounds of, "Shut up, and I have no idea where the heck Im going."
Anyways I curled up and slept in the back of my sisters Ford Escape, and arrived here around 11. So yea...thats the day so far...
They also have arcade games here - yay for X-Men.
Whipped by the blog -
d
I am posting from a general good store at a campground on lake gaston on the NC/VA border.
Today I was supposed to get picked up around 7am by my sister, and in true Cowles (note the "silent w") fashion, we rolled out of richmond at 9. This was of course after a nice Hardees breakfast. We got on to 95 to the sounds of, "Shut up, and I have no idea where the heck Im going."
Anyways I curled up and slept in the back of my sisters Ford Escape, and arrived here around 11. So yea...thats the day so far...
They also have arcade games here - yay for X-Men.
Whipped by the blog -
d
Friday, August 24, 2007
Gone
Alrighty family and friends. I will be out of town til sunday.
Good news - I will be with my grandfather so there will be great quotes.
Bad news - I can not understand very much of what my biology teacher says at all.
d
oh and by the way, you should search "D and D" for a series of documentaries on the robinson house on youtube
much love
Good news - I will be with my grandfather so there will be great quotes.
Bad news - I can not understand very much of what my biology teacher says at all.
d
oh and by the way, you should search "D and D" for a series of documentaries on the robinson house on youtube
much love
Thursday, August 23, 2007
First day on the job
Today I woke up and did something I have never done before - I went to a job that required getting on an elevator. Thats right, I am working for corporate america. Specifically for a company called VitalKey - a great invention that keeps all your medical records on a thumb drive (there is my new job plug). How do I know that it keeps all your medical records? Because my job is to make sure that they all get there from version 1 to version 2.
I must say that I also got a sweet title - VitalKey Conversion Specialist. Granted it is a made up title from Burns (who by the way is upset with me for screwing up his pizza, as well as me claiming that he said "Hey Cowles" which is something that he would not say).
As I got in the car today in my white button up shirt and khaki pants Ryan says to me, "Great buisness casual." I let it soak in for a second before I told him that it was simply the nicest clothes I had. He got a good laugh out of that.
From them til about lunchtime is a blur. With the exception of 5 things -
As you enter the parking lot you can not turn right....or left.... signs block both ways.
On Wednesdays there is a hair on wheels hair cut trailer in the parking lot.
There is a porta potty in the corner of the parking lot.
There are 900 volleyball nets/courts in the back grass.
There is a fake, and completely dumb looking owl on the top of the building.
---
And then there was lunch. A freshly made pb +j by none other than myself, with what turned out to be a life changing chip for Burns - a pita chip.
At first he was very standoffish and skeptical to the chip, but once he heard me eating it - officially the loudest chip since the A bomb, he couldnt resist.
In fact, he ate the rest of the bag as a way of accepting the fact that I was to broke to give him much of anything else (not really sure if he knew that or not, o well, done deal now...)
Back to work for the next 3 hours, where I did what I do.
Got a free T shirt - VitalKey - The future of medical history.
Thats right, you can read that again if you want.
Oh and I found out there is such thing as an Airzooka - http://www.dansdata.com/airzooka.htm
All in all a great day- with a fantastic dinner and good conversation on the front porch.
d
I must say that I also got a sweet title - VitalKey Conversion Specialist. Granted it is a made up title from Burns (who by the way is upset with me for screwing up his pizza, as well as me claiming that he said "Hey Cowles" which is something that he would not say).
As I got in the car today in my white button up shirt and khaki pants Ryan says to me, "Great buisness casual." I let it soak in for a second before I told him that it was simply the nicest clothes I had. He got a good laugh out of that.
From them til about lunchtime is a blur. With the exception of 5 things -
As you enter the parking lot you can not turn right....or left.... signs block both ways.
On Wednesdays there is a hair on wheels hair cut trailer in the parking lot.
There is a porta potty in the corner of the parking lot.
There are 900 volleyball nets/courts in the back grass.
There is a fake, and completely dumb looking owl on the top of the building.
---
And then there was lunch. A freshly made pb +j by none other than myself, with what turned out to be a life changing chip for Burns - a pita chip.
At first he was very standoffish and skeptical to the chip, but once he heard me eating it - officially the loudest chip since the A bomb, he couldnt resist.
In fact, he ate the rest of the bag as a way of accepting the fact that I was to broke to give him much of anything else (not really sure if he knew that or not, o well, done deal now...)
Back to work for the next 3 hours, where I did what I do.
Got a free T shirt - VitalKey - The future of medical history.
Thats right, you can read that again if you want.
Oh and I found out there is such thing as an Airzooka - http://www.dansdata.com/airzooka.htm
All in all a great day- with a fantastic dinner and good conversation on the front porch.
d
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Job and Harry.
In that order here is how the day went -
So as it turns out, the one and only Ryan Burns has hooked me up with a job. His first sales pitch went like this - "Hey cowles, I might have a job for you. It isnt very stable, doesnt pay very much, is pretty boring, and it is really far away from campus." Of course I was immediatly drawn to the job - who wouldnt be?
But wait, a job - a 9 to 5 in four feet away from Ryan Burns, soon to be The Ryan Burns. (Also a pizza comming to Bottoms up - Mushrooms, Pepperonni, Sausage, Garlic on white sauce)
Needless to say after pulling some strings, I got hooked up with a job that is flexible - I get to work from home sometimes, pays a good amount, and is a huge blessing in my life.
Many stories to come from that. I promise.
------
Harry was sitting on his two packs with his back up against the Life Sciences building when I saw him today. His bright blue writing on the classic cardboard medium caught my eye, as well as my wallet. "Traveling broke and ugly," is pretty much going to grab me every day of the week. To be honest it was just a beautiful sight - here is a 20 year old kid with dirty brown hair, one straight jedi lock in the back, his arms blackened by a long and honest summer, sitting there in his Nike Air Force Ones, with his two faithful dogs. Ray and I began to talk to him about where he had been and where he was going. As he started to list off an impressive cornucopia (great word by the way, hard to spell, but it is a word that clearly should be describing a medical term and ended up meaning "abundance") of cities I started to think to myself, "Ok either he is cracked out, or a liar. There is no way that he did this in one summer." Then Ray asked the eye opening question - "Harry how long have you done this for?"
Three years.
Harry has been catching freight trains around the country for three years of his teen and adult life. Maybe that doesnt hit you the way it does me, but I have not been as taken back by anything like this since I met Mac over a year ago.
Oh, and Harry said he was headed out to Oregon next to "visit some friends." Hmmm, and how might he stay in conctact with his friends - by the way he guessed there were about 1000 people just like him currently, and "there are about 8 kids in richmond right now" -
well since most people dont read blogs standing up I wont ask you to sit down, but here goes - Myspace. MYSPACE hahahah that is the greatest thing I have heard in a long long time.
Me - "Ray it is really dangerous to talk to people like that..."
Ray - "Oh yea? Other than the obvious, what is so appealing to you about his life?"
Me - "The obvious."
----
Bed time now, because I need to get up and dress "buisness casual" tomorrow.
d
So as it turns out, the one and only Ryan Burns has hooked me up with a job. His first sales pitch went like this - "Hey cowles, I might have a job for you. It isnt very stable, doesnt pay very much, is pretty boring, and it is really far away from campus." Of course I was immediatly drawn to the job - who wouldnt be?
But wait, a job - a 9 to 5 in four feet away from Ryan Burns, soon to be The Ryan Burns. (Also a pizza comming to Bottoms up - Mushrooms, Pepperonni, Sausage, Garlic on white sauce)
Needless to say after pulling some strings, I got hooked up with a job that is flexible - I get to work from home sometimes, pays a good amount, and is a huge blessing in my life.
Many stories to come from that. I promise.
------
Harry was sitting on his two packs with his back up against the Life Sciences building when I saw him today. His bright blue writing on the classic cardboard medium caught my eye, as well as my wallet. "Traveling broke and ugly," is pretty much going to grab me every day of the week. To be honest it was just a beautiful sight - here is a 20 year old kid with dirty brown hair, one straight jedi lock in the back, his arms blackened by a long and honest summer, sitting there in his Nike Air Force Ones, with his two faithful dogs. Ray and I began to talk to him about where he had been and where he was going. As he started to list off an impressive cornucopia (great word by the way, hard to spell, but it is a word that clearly should be describing a medical term and ended up meaning "abundance") of cities I started to think to myself, "Ok either he is cracked out, or a liar. There is no way that he did this in one summer." Then Ray asked the eye opening question - "Harry how long have you done this for?"
Three years.
Harry has been catching freight trains around the country for three years of his teen and adult life. Maybe that doesnt hit you the way it does me, but I have not been as taken back by anything like this since I met Mac over a year ago.
Oh, and Harry said he was headed out to Oregon next to "visit some friends." Hmmm, and how might he stay in conctact with his friends - by the way he guessed there were about 1000 people just like him currently, and "there are about 8 kids in richmond right now" -
well since most people dont read blogs standing up I wont ask you to sit down, but here goes - Myspace. MYSPACE hahahah that is the greatest thing I have heard in a long long time.
Me - "Ray it is really dangerous to talk to people like that..."
Ray - "Oh yea? Other than the obvious, what is so appealing to you about his life?"
Me - "The obvious."
----
Bed time now, because I need to get up and dress "buisness casual" tomorrow.
d
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
this AND that
I have no idea what that title is about, but I decided that because a few of the people that find themselves unfortunate enough to have the time to read this really hate run on sentences that I think I could create one that went on for quite some time if that is in fact what the "general" and by that I really mean "specific" public demands.
Hows that.
Ok so inside (with a blog I am not really sure if there is something called inside) jokes aside. I have spent a few weeks recently in Ukraine, and rather than trying to catch everyone up on the broad outline of the trip, here is another blog that will do just that - www.ukrainehopecenter4.blogspot.com
In other news - I am currently abusing the fact that my place has wireless. I dont think that whoever invented this thought, "Wow, one day some slob will be laying in bed writing a blog," but even if he or she thought that, I hope they never thought, "Wow, one day some slob will be laying in bed writing a blog, meanwhile talking to his friend dave whose room is right above him." God bless wireless.
This post had some more things, but got deleted and destroyed because of a world wide web screw up....so ....meh....
Hows that.
Ok so inside (with a blog I am not really sure if there is something called inside) jokes aside. I have spent a few weeks recently in Ukraine, and rather than trying to catch everyone up on the broad outline of the trip, here is another blog that will do just that - www.ukrainehopecenter4.blogspot.com
In other news - I am currently abusing the fact that my place has wireless. I dont think that whoever invented this thought, "Wow, one day some slob will be laying in bed writing a blog," but even if he or she thought that, I hope they never thought, "Wow, one day some slob will be laying in bed writing a blog, meanwhile talking to his friend dave whose room is right above him." God bless wireless.
This post had some more things, but got deleted and destroyed because of a world wide web screw up....so ....meh....
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