therandomness's posterous http://therandomness.posterous.com Most recent posts at therandomness's posterous posterous.com Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:10:00 -0700 Sam's Story http://therandomness.posterous.com/sams-story http://therandomness.posterous.com/sams-story

Comics are a viable medium. Previously overlooked as some niche of geek culture, comics have slowly found acceptance in the general populace after movies such as "The Dark Knight" or "Watchmen" proved that comics could tell evocative stories with deep, layered narratives that raised awareness or commented on the current mindset of the world we live in.

On the surface a comic book will always appear to be just flashy colors, fancy gadgets, and tightly clothed super heroes and villains. But it can also be a source of catharsis, an escape that tries to help us understand situations in the world to which there appears to be no rational explanation.

Such is the case for "Sam's Story". Written by Jeph Loeb, it tells the story of a young teenage Clark Kent, who will later grow up to become Superman, and his cancer stricken friend, Sam. In reality, Jeph Loeb had just lost his own 17 year old son Sam to cancer when he wrote this story.

Stories such as these are important, because throughout life we often lose our way, whether that be in work, relationships, or just in life, and our perspective needs to be refocused. Each person has their own way of doing this, some people go to church, others take long walks, but in the end, we are seeking some measure of internal peace, one that calms the mind and the heart and allows us to look ahead with a renewed vigor.

Please read "Sam's Story" as I've posted it in this blog. You may not take anything away from it, or it may affect you on some personal level. In any case, it needs to be read. A well told story begs to be shared with the world.

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Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:46:00 -0800 Random Thoughts http://therandomness.posterous.com/random-thoughts-8 http://therandomness.posterous.com/random-thoughts-8

Stuff has been happening lately that has made me think about life and how important it is. I can't really capture everything in with words so I'll let Bill Watterson do that for me, who wrote a strip that captures what I'm feeling perfectly.

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Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:30:00 -0800 Priorities http://therandomness.posterous.com/priorities-2 http://therandomness.posterous.com/priorities-2

So its now February, a month into the new year.  I've been trying to keep up with my resolutions, its been rough.  I don't suggest running two miles at a fast pace if you haven't run for about 6 months.  There was some serious pain for about a week.  Fell behind this week because I got sick from my trip to Cali.

Speaking of Cali, it was nice to visit the Bay Area again.  Its always good to see old friends.  In fact I always love going back there.  Having lived there for four years for college, everytime I go back I always wonder why I was in such a hurry to move back home.  Granted I don't think I regret moving home, I think it was a necessary step in my personal growth, but looking back I should have stayed.  Life is understood in reverse, but unfortunately it is lived forward.

I thought about this a lot on my trip mainly because one day while at home, I looked up jobs in my field in the bay area.  And to my great, great surprise, I found a job, with the exact same description as mine, with more than twice the pay.  I couldn't believe it.

Its such a dilemma.  Would you move for twice the pay?  Twice the pay opens up worlds of possiblities, it would be easier to save, purchase a place to live, travel, etc.  There are so many life goals I have that will take a lot longer to reach with my current pay structure.  There is much to gain by applying and getting a job with twice the pay.

On the flip side of the coin there is much to lose.  I have no qualms about living where I grew up, home is home for a reason.  Much of what is important to me resides here.  Now its pretty much a given that I would try and move home as soon as possible if I were to move up to the mainland, but it is 100% certain it would involve a fat pay cut.  I know several people who moved home and took large pay cuts to do so.  Its getting to the point where time to be selfish is getting less and less, meaning the time to start building your nest egg is now and not later.  Moving home would set that back quite a few years.

I guess what I'm trying to say is money vs happiness is a difficult struggle, one that I've never encountered before.  I wouldnt have a  problem moving to the mainland if I felt that I would be able to move home once I wanted to, but to go from one income level to a lower one is a difficult, especially as we get older.  Like I said before there is only so many times you can "start over". 

I don't really know what to do.

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Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:53:46 -0800 New Year's Resolution v2.0 http://therandomness.posterous.com/new-years-resolution-v20 http://therandomness.posterous.com/new-years-resolution-v20

Recent events have created a sub New Year's Resolution.

Hiking up Kokohead to watch the fireworks left me near exhaustion and I may or may not have had several near death experiences on the way to the top.

I went surfing today for first time in almost three months and was too out of shape to catch any waves.  Being out of shape hiking is somewhat acceptable to me, but the inability to catch waves is downright pathetic.

New Years Resolution #2 - Stay in shape.

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Sun, 21 Dec 2008 01:26:36 -0800 Wrapping Up the Old Year http://therandomness.posterous.com/wrapping-up-the-old-year http://therandomness.posterous.com/wrapping-up-the-old-year

Was just cleaning out my desk and I found my list of resolutions for this past year that I had made at the beginning of the year.

Obviously I had forgotten about them or else I woudn't have "stumbled" across them.  I counted out how many I had done and I came up with 1 out of 18.  I'm sitting here thinking about whether or not I should be depressed by that.

One for eighteen is pretty terrible.  But that one was pay off my credit card, so it carried more weight than others.  The others were more personal, ie draw more, paint more, get back into photography, etc etc.  I accomplished none of that.  I thought about what I had done this past year and it was the same.  I hung out with my friends, occasionally golfed and surfed, and then in June I got a new job which led to a lot less golfing and surfing.  Was that enough to call last year a good year?

I decided to not be depressed about only finishing one of my resolutions.  Mainly because there was things I did that I didn't have on my resolutions list, such as find a job that could potentially become a career, that were of more importance than finishing two paintings.

I also feel I grew as a person tremendously.  I learned how to take a risk, and I learned what it meant to completely fail at something.  And while I kick myself somedays for that failure, I learned from it.  I once read that you learn more from your failures than your successes.  I'm slowly realizing how true that is.  Every experience will help me at some point later on down the line.  I'm also learning not to dwell on mistakes because it distracts you from what's in front of you.  You'll never see whats coming down the road if you always look at where you just were.

So all in all, 2008 was a good year.  Grew as a person, got a good job.  However, looking at the resolutions made me realize how fast time is starting to go.  I've been working so much that there is not enough time on the weekends to hang out with my friends, relax, and do all those things on my resolutions list.  And that made me a little sad.  I feel like we never have enough time to do ALL the things we enjoy.  Life is a weird thing, it gets in the way, but at the same time it just runs on by.

Anyways, I decided that I'm going to make another list of resolutions, but I'm going assign values to each one.  For instance, improving my backside surfing will be more important than getting back into photography, and trying to break 100 in golf is more important that painting a picture.  But at the very top will be to make sure I become a better person.  Thats kind of a cheat resolution because it encompasses so many things, but in the end isn't that what a resolution is?  All you really want is to feel that you improved yourself in some manner so that it doesn't seem like all you're doing is just taking up space.

 

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Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:52:00 -0800 Regret http://therandomness.posterous.com/regret-3 http://therandomness.posterous.com/regret-3
Will: You ever wonder what your life would be like if you uh..if you never met your wife?
Sean: What? Wonder if I'd be better off without her?
Will: No, no, no, I'm not saying, like, better off.
Sean: No.
Will: I didn't mean it like that.
Sean: It's all right. It's an important question. Because you'll have bad times, but that'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to.
Will: And you don't regret meeting your wife?
Sean: Why? Because of the pain I feel now? Well, I got regrets, Will, but I don't regret a single day I spent with her.
Will: So, when did you know, like, that she was the one for you?
Sean: October 21st, 1975.
Will: Jesus Christ. You know the fuckin' date?
Sean: Oh yeah. Cus' it was game six of the World Series. Biggest game in Red Sox history.
Will: Yeah, sure.
Sean: My friends and I had, you know, slept out on the sidewalk all night to get tickets.
Will: You got tickets?
Sean: Yep. Day of the game. I was sittin' in a bar, waitin' for the game to start, and in walks this girl... Oh it was an amazing game, though. You know, bottom of the 8th Carbo ties it up at a 6-6. It went to 12. Bottom of the 12th, in stepped Carlton Fisk. Old Pudge. Steps up to the plate, you know, and he's got that weird stance.
Will: Yeah, yeah.
Sean: And BAM! He clocks it. High fly ball down the left field line! Thirty-five thousand people, on their feet, yellin' at the ball, but that's not because of Fisk. He's wavin' at the ball like a madman.
Will: Yeah, I've seen...
Sean: He's going, "Get over! Get over! Get OVER!" And then it HITS the foul pole. OH, he goes apeshit, and 35,000 fans, you know, they charge the field, you know?
Will: Yeah, and he's fuckin' bowlin' police out of the way!
Sean: Goin', "God! Get out of the way! Get 'em away!" Banging people...
Will: I can't fuckin' believe you had tickets to that fuckin' game!
Sean: Yeah!
Will: Did you rush the field?
Sean: No, I didn't rush the fuckin' field, I wasn't there.
Will: What?
Sean: No - I was in a bar havin' a drink with my future wife.
Will: You missed Pudge Fisk's homerun?
Sean: Oh yeah.
Will: To have a fuckin' drink with some lady you never met?
Sean: Yeah, but you shoulda seen her. She was a stunner.
Will: I don't care if Helen of Troy walks in the room, that's game six!
Sean: Oh, Helen of Troy...
Will: Oh my God, and who are these fuckin' friends of yours they let you get away with that?
Sean: Oh... They had to.
Will: W-w-w-what'd you say to them?
Sean: I just slid my ticket across the table and I said, "Sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl."
Will: I gotta go see about a girl?
Sean: Yeah.
Will: That's what you said? And they let you get away with that?
Sean: Oh yeah. They saw in my eyes that I meant it.
Will: You're kiddin' me.
Sean: No, I'm not kiddin' you, Will. That's why I'm not talkin' right now about some girl I saw at a bar twenty years ago and how I always regretted not going over and talking to her. I don't regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I don't regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick. And I don't regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don't regret missin' the damn game. That's regret.
[pause]
Will: Wow... Woulda been nice to catch that game, though.
Sean: [shrugs sheepishly] I didn't know Pudge was gonna hit a homer!

From Good Will Hunting.

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Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:17:59 -0800 Sick http://therandomness.posterous.com/sick-2 http://therandomness.posterous.com/sick-2

Being sick sucks because I'm f*cking slammed at work right now and all I did today was sleep.  So it is 10:16 pm and I'm trying to catch up on my work, but I can't think because of a sore throat, headache, and chills.  Hopefully I can go in tomorrow, but its not looking good.  #$@#&@#!!!

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Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:07:52 -0800 Obama's Speech http://therandomness.posterous.com/obamas-speech-0 http://therandomness.posterous.com/obamas-speech-0

I just finished watching Obama's speech on Youtube.  It is one of the most powerful speeches I have ever heard.  He has managed to inspire the majority of the country, and hopefully he will gain the support of those he has not (I'm looking at you, stupid backwards ass racist southern states).

While I don't think Obama can fix everything that is wrong with this country, I do think he will do everything he can to set us on the right path.  The United States is the most powerful country in the world.  We should inspire and motivate people to better themselves, and to better their surroundings.  Right now the world looks at the United States with disdain, and in extreme cases, hatred.

This is a huge turning point in our country, and I hope one for the better.

Here is Obama's speech off of forbes.com.  Enjoy.

Obama's Victory Speech

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled--Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden .

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics--you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to--it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington--it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime--two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America--I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you--we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years--block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek--it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers--in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House--a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends ... though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn--I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world--our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down--we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright--tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America--that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing--Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons--because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot.

Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves--if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth--that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

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Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:03:26 -0800 Change http://therandomness.posterous.com/change-1 http://therandomness.posterous.com/change-1

I'm watching the Daily Show/Colbert Report Election Coverage. 

Obama has already won, as McCain has conceded.  History has been made, the first black president in the history of the United States will be sworn in come January 2009.

The nation eagerly awaits, hoping and praying for resolution on the economy and the war on Iraq.

Here is to hope and change, and an optimistic America.

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Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:54:09 -0700 Blogging http://therandomness.posterous.com/blogging-5 http://therandomness.posterous.com/blogging-5

I'm bored so I decided to start a blog.  The idea never really occurred to me till I seen Jon and James pimping their blogs on Facebook.  If that makes me a follower, so be it.  I'm really bored.

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