Get In, Hang On, and Get Out!

Prompted by some feedback about this blog (e.g., "what the heck is this thing about?", "it doesn't make any sense") I figured I would try to explain its purpose a bit more. I thought about writing something clever to explain it, but I stumbled across this picture. What a beautiful juxtaposition. God loves you, but this particular piece of land, well, it's mine. And I don't love you, so stay out. Why you may ask? Because you lie.

This is a place for me to explore contradictions in life - whatever that turns out to be. It's a good way for me to process things. And a way to keep track of interesting things I read.
This weekend should be a good one. Erica is taking me to a Dwight Yoakam concert. Should be an evening of some great hick-a-billa rock and the all too common "out-of-place" concert experience that I regularly find myself in. Usually, about 1% of the population at concerts I attend are within 2 years of my age. I suspect that Bingo-Rama of Dayton may experience a dip in the megapot coverall this Saturday due to Dwight's concert.

Stuff I read:

• I was reading a summarative report on the future of state universities by the Kellogg Commission today and stumbled upon something that struck a cord with me. The topic was the fundamental mission of colleges/universities. Many past presidents had carefully selected declarations about higher education's mission ripe with buzzwords. These were all pretty interesting, but none of this was what struck me. They interviewed a group of students (imagine that?!?!) about what the mission of their institutions should be. One student responded, "The mindset should be about getting in, hanging on, and getting out." I love it.
  

• Eleven years after their high school graduation, only about 55% of those who ever entered a two-or four-year institution had obtained an education credential of any kind (i.e., certificate, degree).

So you're a little bit older...

Well, I finally turned the big 25 yesterday. This was a great birthday for me as I am right where I need to be. I have a great family, loving fiance, awesome friends, a great job, and a sense of peace that only comes along with following a greater plan. It was hard to be away from my family for my birthday, but they sent me a package full of goodies that I opened with Erica. Erica also made me a birthday cake, which was fantastic. We also went to Fiesta Charra for dinner, which was a lot of fun. I could eat there everday. Chimichanga Me anyone? As Erica would probably tell you, I probably don't need anymore weird/strange ideas to occupy my time!


I came upon this in my readings today. I wonder why these were the top 10 most searched words on dictionary.com? I think the #1 is because of President Bush. Any thoughts?

The 10 words queried most frequently by users of Merriam-Webster's online dictionary in 2005:
1. integrity
2. refugee
3. contempt
4. filibuster
5. insipid
6. tsunami
7. pandemic
8. conclave
9. levee
10. inept

Thoughts... and more reasons to hate Wal-Mart

Hello there. This post is developed almost entirely to Wal-Mart. I fell in love with this picture on the right, and thought I'd share it with all of you along with some more reasons to hate Wal-Mart.

• When asked whether they are in the top 1 percrent of income, 20 percent of Americans said yes, and 19% more said they expected to be in their lifetime.

Reasons to hate Wal-Mart seem to be as abundant as long-haired Mac users these days. Here are a few that you may not already know:

• Wal-Mart has an annual turnover rate of 50%.
• When you think you are buying cheap at Wal-Mart, remember that you are paying in taxes for cheap prices (e.g., with no health care, most employees rely on emergency room care for their families).
  
• Talk amongst co-workers at Wal-Mart that does not directly relate to work is called "stealing time" from the company.

In recapitulation, don't shop at Wal-Mart, and remember the poor. The end.