I was always good at limbo

Unfortunately, limbo is the opposite here haha.

Well. I've been told I hold people to high standards. I honestly just don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing, but I guess its true. I do have some pretty high expectations of people.

Thing is, I'm not doing it to make myself feel superior or something. I mean jeez, I fail to meet my own standards half the time. I don't thinkp it makes me a hypocrite tho, its like I jsut see some universal shit that should be followed all day every day, and I'm supposed to do the same, and alot of times I don't.

I guess the only reason I do it is because I think people have it in them. Becuase when I do see people holding themselves to high standards, it sticks, it makes an enormous impression on me, and I respect it hugely. Just...ya know, everyday shit, like language, respect, that sort of thing. I don't know, its one of those things that always stuck. I just really like to see it.

Maybe it's not holding people to high standards. Its just me looking for those who do.

Tread Not The Path Of Least Restraint

while we're on the subject, i suppose im immediately anti-draft. yeah. im a draft age dude, hell, its my ass most likely. and no, im not going to go to some dry desert with camel spiders with teeth the size of forks just waiting to take a chunk out of me in order ot shoot up some guy in a truck who is probably out there for the same reason i would be: yeah, i dont know either. apparently bush and his hoodlums have, officially (accoridng to "two independant studies" that posted results on yahoo mail news headlines thingie), lied something like 987 times. i mean, they actually went thru and COUNTED every contradictory statement that was made, so who KNOWS why it started and i think im pretty far from actually caring at this point, so long as bullets are flying and shells and pinging and bodies are hitting the ground, it doesnt actually matter why, does it....

but that was a tangent.

tricky thing is that while its really easy for me to sit around an say im anti draft, its alot harder to be so self assured (and remember kids, this is ususally a sign you don't know shit about shit) when im sititng here thinking that such a draft would probably end the whole damn war pretty much ASAP. and i actually want that.

so theres a whole lotta crap and blah and yadda that should be inserted between these two paragraphs, but i dont think anyone enjoys reading a political argument excpet maybe my previous history teacher and my dad. so im just gonna leave it out, but somewhere in there, the argument leads to a pretty unsettling and maybe unfittingly pessimistic end. and thats where ill start.

so back in the 60s it was so damn easy to stand for something. just burn the draft card, be in a march or something, there were political outlets at every friggin street corner, and the bonus was that they actually DID something (for proof, see: end of the vietnam war). and thats greatly opposed to now, when we all actually feel like idiots standing for what we stand for becuase nothing you do will ever make one slightest bit of difference ever. its just the way machine works. remove power from the public = the goverment can do whatever the hell it wants. welcome to USA 2008. if youre not from here, i reccommend you go back to wherver you came from.

ok, so our hands are not getting cut off for dessenting, but what good does dessenting actually do? even now, when im 21, and even when im 41, it had and always will be just like high school, where the poeple who had a point just got laughed at and ridiculed until they shut their mouths. thing is, those high school kids who ridiculed almost had a point, becuase seriously....if you actually do stand for something, you might as well just give it up becuase it wont make the slightest bit of difference. thats probably how someone wanted it. you can write a letter to your congressman....

i guess if take dissention power from a public, they first protest, then realize the futility of protesting, and then shut the hell up. and i bet if you waited long enough, the tables would actually turn. people would find it easier to just give in and go with the path of least resistance. clever, if you want to stay in power. sneaky too, becuase you can make it look like a democracy at the same time: hold elections, have marches, have board meetings or whatever. but none of it will ever make the slightest difference. money will pass hands, and secrets will be whispered and enough mud will be slung to cover up any honesty involved in the situation. someone will always have their way.

so this is where its frustrating. becuase i can stand here and be anti war to the bone. i can scream and rant and shout and put up flyers, but ya know what? it doesnt actually do anything. it doesnt, becuase theres nothing i can do. the power of dissention has been removed from my hands. and this is serious trouble, i mean you can sit there and say your pro war, anti war, whatever, and nothing matters. its so damn hard to actualy stand for anything, not just war, but ANYTHING in this country, that its actually easier and more practical to be apathetic. to just not give a damn. and when no one cares, the powers that be can do whatever the hell they want.
i kinda think someone wanted it to be that way.

its actually getting to the point where it really is stupid to stand for anything. it really is getting to that point. and then what happens?

so while im immidiatly anti draft, theres no way for me to actually BE anti draft. theres no way to actually BE anything other than apathetic, and ot really just not have an opinion at all. to pretend the idea of draft never even exists. the list of things i can stand for is all superficial crap. i can sti here and say im anti this or pro that till im blue in the face but i wont actually be anything other than words, and anyone who knows me knows i hate talk more than anything. *shrug*. and theres not a thing i can do about it. atleast i can stand for being sober. if theres one thing i can stand for at all, its that. maybe thats the reason i do it.

or hey, how about the civil rights movement? yes we all know thar racism i alive and well, and but i mean the martin luther king days, when, again, people stood for their shit. thats what was cool about MLK, i mean, i dont think he actually convinced anyone of anything. i think he just made people stand for what they believe in, and actually DO something about it. i mean, even the poeple who were against equal rights were up in arms, so thats where i base my theroy from. its like he set the country on fire, everyone. he forced everyone to believe in something and to fight for something, regardless of that that was. THAT is what our contry needs.

becuase weve got like 300 million people lying around this country, and each one of them beefs it out with someone else over their beliefs. so youve got 150 million battles being fought, and with numbers like that, they just hold each other in check. a win and cancelled by a loss. but get someone like MLK on the scene, and everyone bonds together. and suddenly youve got all the people on sides, and theres only one battle being fought, and when that is over, there will be only one result. thats what we need.

whatever. apathy is really easy....

but in the words of dark traquility, "Tread not the path of least restraint"

"whats wrong people these days? why can't we just get normal jobs. and be satisfied with normal successes and accomplishments in life. no, we've gotta hurl ourselves off of twelve-hundred foot cliffs just to prove that we can do it..."

words of wisdom, spoken by a man of wisdom...or atleast rock. the late dan osmand.

sometimes me and my sister talk about it. why so few people think that way. or no, why so few people think that way and act on it.

i suppose if everyone did think that way, nothing to keep society going would ever get done.

so maybe it is only for a few to experience. and for those few, its like "how could you live any other way?". but it is true, if everyone acte don that statement, society would probably eat it pretty quick.

so. is it a blesisng or a curse to be that guy?

Things I have learned in 2007:

-More often than not, the fewer words you speak, the better off you are.

-Walking away may make you the bigger man, but you can't preach to the cave
dwellers from a mountain top. sometimes you have to crawl down through the grime
into the cave and speak their own language. just make sure you remember how to get
 back to the surface.

-When driving, never honk, gesture towards, or otherwise offend another motorist,
no matter how badly said motorosit deserves it. that guy you flicked off will
always end up parking next to you at wherever you are going and it WILL be awkward.

-When parking, its totally ok to nudge a trash can out of a parking space with
your front bumper. just be certain you do not do it down a slanted parking lot
when the trash can is on wheels. this brings the phrase "setting shit in motion" to
a whole new level. same applies to shopping carts.

-Professors, advisors, and parents will often say you have to go to class to pass it.
 this is true. no excpetions, except for chemistry. it is not nessecary to attend
that class.

-crow is easier to eat while its still warm. the longer you wait to settle
things, the harder it is to do so. ("when with your accuser, on your way to the 
magistrate, make every effort to settle along the way, lest he bring you before
the judge, the judge hand you to the officer, and the officer throw you in jail".
 apply that to more serious situations.) the longer you wait, the further in you
get, and the harder it is to get out.

-The best things is life come from the places you least expect. From right under
your nose, or from something you had all along, but never saw.

-Keep your head up, yes, but dont forget to look down now and then. Roots, rocks,
and holes. Out of sight of out mind, but that doesnt mean they dont exist. And you
 will always lose when playing chicken with a tree. Somethings will not move no
matter how hard you try. Sometimes, you gotta cut your losses and go around.

-Always get a big breath when wiping out. You never know how long you'll be down
for, and water does not replace air well. And also remember where the rocks are.
 They arent gonna move for ya.

-Actions speak louder than apologies. Forgiveness and patience can eliminate the
 need for an apology. But neither are pre-emptive and neither one means you arent
responsible for your actions.

-The best things always happen late at night. Never sleep. You never know what you
 might miss.

-When deciding whether or not paddle out for a second surf session, always always
 always paddle back out for a second session. You will always finish that second
session thinking of the things you would have missed if you didnt, and will wonder
why you even asked in the first place. Apply to every reasonable situation in life. (use discretion. when debating between stopping at a red light at a busy intersection and not stopping...please. stop. you know what i mean. dont be stupid)

-Always think of something you havent done before, and do it. Even if its as simple
 as never snorting   pixie sticks, or as simnple wathing sunrise from a new
viewpoint. Simple experiences are waht you count   on to get you through the day,
the more, the merrier. Even the dumb ones. You'll look back and laugh.

-Never violate your own morals and beliefs. Thats failure to the fullest.

-Always change

-And lastly, "no matter how long and dark the night, the dawn will break".
Be there to see it.