me encantan los potros enojados

everything drowns out. the music, the other people, the multiple beers you have in you. the world fades to just a faint glimmer in the background.
your partner hits the white plastic sphere. the only thing you hear is wood paddle on plastic ball.
doink
you watch it arc over the table. the opponent begins his swing. already, you're aware that this is it. your focus is so intense you can actually see the collision and the deformation of the ball as the opponent returns the volley.
doink
you watch the rainbow of white as it makes its parabola course towards the spot on the table you mapped out before you were born.
doink
your swing is already half way before you realize that you're even moving your body at all. you connect.
doink
you feel the hit course through your body. you don't even have to look anymore. you've known it was dead on target before God did. the ball arcs, your neck hairs stand up, your heart swells.
splash
nothing but beer.
a triumphiant yawp escapes your mouth and the rest of the world returns to focus. but for that eternity--that second--you were master of all you survey, and it was all good.
that's why i love playing beer pong.

eyes the color of canadian whiskey

there is a lenscrafters right across from where i work. it has blazing red neon lights running the edges of its storefront.
to me, this seems a bit odd.
an eyecare place is causing my eyes to hurt everytime i look at the place.
one would guess that the guy in charge there is either blind or not a very good eyedoctor. either case, i'll stick to my lenscrafters in the mall.

with the woman out of town, i've discontinued the grooming act of shaving.
the woman doesn't approve of a bread, but i approve of a beard.
so i don't grow one. but she's gone for another week, so "hello, sasquatch!"

i have a theory that subway is trying to create a religion.
look at their commercials. in 500 years, archeaologists are going to think that jared was some type of messiah figure.
then they came out with john henry the fireman guy--he's to jared what paul was to jesus.
then came the guy that goes around and saves people from "boring" food to the salvation that is the subway.
and now, there are more subways than mcdonald's in america.
subway is becoming the all-american icon of fast food. if people start associating america with subway instead of mcdonald's, there is no telling what kind of power base they will be able to create in the world. a subway shop on every street corner of every city in the world.
and i don't think they are going to let it stop at that.
no way, jose.
the second apostle of jared has already been found.
may the sandwich god bless you, and the angels of soutwest teriyaki sauce protect you.

only his weariness was heavier than the dew that morning

i like the bus. i don't take the city bus ala the busblogger. i take greyhound and leave the driving to them.

the bus has been the mode of transportation from massachusetts to minnesota and back many times. i like the leisure of the bus. granted, it does take a helluva lot longer than the plane, but it's cheaper and offers a whole other kind of experience.

you meet many different kinds of people on the bus. poor college kids like me. people trying to pick up and start a new life somewhere else. low-income families going to visit other family members. military people hitching a ride to whatever base they're headed. mormons. it's all good. but the fascinating part is the bus stations. and today i'm going to take you on a tour of the main destinations of my route.

worcester
it smells and looks old. mint green walls of the 70s, uncomfortable vinyl chairs, not nice bathrooms. but it is the start of the way, and no journey of a thousand miles can start without a single step.

new york city
this place is gi-normous. 200 some gates and a lot of people. most of it is underground, so you don't really get to see a lot. i like going here because you get to ride through the city to get to it--down little streets with peculiar shops and even more peculiar people. another fave is the people that come up to you and ask you if want some help going to your gate. they are usually bums and they ask you for a tip afterward. i tend to ignore them and let them try to take some other sucker. i also met a guy from costa rica there once. he was headed to worcester like me. we discussed differences in culture and i taught him some american slang. i dislike the usually 4 hour layover i have there starting at 1 in the morn.

cleveland
cavernous is the best way to describe this place. probably the most efficiently run station that i've stopped at, as well. cnn's headline news is usually on the tvs, so you can get some current event info. one time there were a bunch of mormons there getting ready to go out on their apostilizing. there must have been 150 of them. i think jesus was even there. also, this is the best place for lunch and dinner. they have fantastic italian sausages and one damn fine blt. so i recommend planning a meal break for your stop in ohio. my only complaint: the metal wicker chairs.

chicago
no matter what time i roll into the windy city, this terminal is packed to the gills with people. the waiting area could definately be expanded by at least 50%. they have sports pictures and the logos of the chicago teams on the wall, so it has a nice theme going for it. the vending machines there are ridonkulously expensive, but the breakfast at their little cafe is quite delicious. if you can catch the hash browns on a crispy day, snatch some up. besides being super packed, the other downfall of the chicago stop is the drug dealers. my average is about 3. i get asked if i want some weed, e or coke by some shady, shady characters there. the only redeeming quality of the dealers is that they are very indiscriminate about who they ask. grandmas, kids, businessmen, college kids, everyone is an equal opportunity sale for them.

tomah, wi
the quad is bigger than the tomah bus station, but i mention it for the building right next door: mcdonald's. i'm usually not a big fan of mcdonald's food most of the time, but of all the mcd's that i've ever eaten at, this is by far the best one. and they are open 24/7. which is good because we usually stop there around 2am on most schedules. a large strawberry shake and a mcchicken. mmhmm.

minneapolis
they recently redid this bus stop. it is the nicest looking one of them all. decent food, good help. but i like that it is in minneapolis and i actually know that town, so i can go wandering and not worry about too much. the last time i was there, this bum took me to this little hole in the wall restaurant cuz i said i was hungry for a steak and cheese. his taxi on foot only cost me a dollar, and let me tell you, the steak and cheese was most definately worth that extra dollar. i don't really remember the name of the place, but i remember where it is and could find it again if i had to.

duluth, mn
very small, but close to home and it has a hardee's about a block away. people do not know the joy of hardee's in new england. for that i pity them.

virginia, mn
my usually final destination--about 25 minutes from my house--it's a rinky-dink stop at the lakeshore motor inn, but it's familiar territory. and, if it's on my homeward trip, i'm greeted by smiling family member(s), glad to see me again. which sure does make the 36 hour trip more than worth it.

your indifference is more aggravating than your failures

the good thing about working that night crew is the "benefits package" that includes a buffet. basically, we get to eat whatever we want during the night.
the bad thing about work is that i'm low man on the totem and may not get the vacation time i want...

i saw the sun for the first time in about a week yesterday. no, not because i sleep the entire day away, but because the weather has been down right shite for the past week or so. for a brief couple minutes it broke through the clouds and gave me a bit of most welcome warmth. i submit to this as the definition of happiness.

that is all.

bumper sticker mentality

a political platform is made up of ten planks--the issues the candidate wants to show as their greater appeal over their opponent.
i present to you the platform of the reger 2016 United States Presidential Campaign.
(presented in no particular order. subject to change based upon if any of these happen in the next 13 years, or i change my mind.)

flat personal income tax
same percentage for everyone. my plan has only an exemption for a tax credit for dependents. eliminates irs and, while not the best choice for the rich, is fair.

universal health care
the creation of a top-notch healthcare system where anyone that needs a doctor or medicine can get it without the beaucracy of today's medicare. implementable if done with the proper budget and management system.

legalization of "soft" drugs
marijuana and hallucinogens should be legalized and taxed the ever-living-shit out of. things are easier to regulate than banish.

universal education
anyone that wants to go to college--and can meet specific performance levels--should be provided an education. will help economy in long run with a better trained technocrat population.

world government
a functioning world body based upon us govt (executive, judicial and legislative branches--one on population, one on member status). i think that humanity needs to make a choice about whether to stay with the nation state system or to evolve beyond it into a truly global community.

free trade
i am a fan of the world trade organization and the international monetary fund. but free trade needs to be extended to all countries and all products. yes, it will kill off some industries in this country, but if we can't compete in the global market, we shouldn't.

pro-choice
this debate is futile anyway, since we should be focusing on why people have unwanted pregnancies and promisicous sex and then effectively educate them about alternatives like birth control, adoption or abstinence.

gun control
people should be able to own handguns, rifles and shotguns for recreational and sporting use. no need to have assault rifles or automatic weapons. also, the creation of a nationwide registration system. we have to register cars and job status with the government, so i don't think it's that far-fetched of a step to register our guns.

a national language
i prefer american english since it's my native toungue. but we need a national language so we have a set standard for communication between the government and the public. this eliminates government waste as we don't need to spend money on bilingual publications or translations, and it creates a more cohesive national image if we can all have a common language to share.

social security, welfare and unemployment--"social net" programs
social security is good--we can keep that if we learn to create a realistic federal budget. the welfare to work programs are nice in theory, but need a much better implemenation procedure that has a lower rate of recidivism. unemployment benefits get the thumbs up.


so that's the platform i would run on today if i had the resources, the national image or the ambition.

crumpled piece of paper, seven nines and tens

my mouse doesn't roll to the left, so using the computer has become somewhat difficult.

watching drunk people while you're sober has to be one of the most entertaining things in the world.
trying to talk to drunk people while you're sober has to be one of the most futile excercises in the world.

i have 15 books on my bookshelf that i own and have not read yet.

corn bread and cheesy eggs for breakfast may be the culmination of western civilization.

for the summer, we had to move from the small house of tke to the big house (we only keep one open for the summer). my roommates and i decided that we wouldn't bring a tv over. two reasons: one, we are lazy. two, we think it will make us be more sociable and force us to read, talk, you know, real stuff.
but i miss tv. i miss falling asleep to sportscenter. i miss futurama and family guy at the 11 o'clock hour on cartoon network. i miss the history channel. i miss monster garage on discovery. there is so much good stuff on tv. and not to mention the movies. there are movies on like 134 channels at any given moment and i'm talking just broadcast networks! add on plugging in dvd players and gaming consoles, the tv is a focal point of my life. and i'm going through withdrawl.
say what you will about the boob tube and how it is filled with drivel. reality tv is the worst thing that could happen to this hallowed insitution (minus mtv's reality tv--that shit is going to be studied by future generations). 24 hour news channels only use scare tactics and flashy graphics to get us to watch. i'd say 95% of the programming is pure shite.i'll even concede the point that it rots my brain.
but i don't care, i like rotten brains.
with paramsean and a hearty marinara.

she thinks she missed the train to mars

three things made me happy yesterday:
it was the first anniversary of the blog. i'm so vain.
i made the best grilled cheese of my entire life. canadian cheddar on whole wheat
a guy at work gave me the animatrix on divx.

three things made me upset yesterday:
multiple people stopped--STOPPED--on the onramp to 290. don't stop on the onramp, please.
i had to go to the evil empire yesterday--fleet bank.
i saw some details on the tax cut package that was passed.

i will expand upon my view of the tax cut.
warren buffet says it's a bad idea, and that really should be good enough for anyone. i don't know how sound this theory is, but my take on it is that if you cut taxes to the middle and lower classes, then you increase the amount of money being put back into the economy. lower income people are more likely to increase spending instead of increasing savings if given a rebate or an extra $50 in each paycheck. with consumer confidence going back up by the increased spending, stocks will go up and the rich will get richer. instead of trickle down, it's "shooting hose into the sky." the rich will get wet, but so will the poorer--and a lot quicker than the "voodoo" economics of reagan.

here are some numbers i crunched from the cnn article. just by using the percentage cuts that each bracket is getting anyway and ordering them so the lowest income gets the biggest percentage, i put more money in the pockets of the lower brackets--and saved the government money. almost a third on the single tax breaks and a smaller--but still substantial--5% on the 2 dependents tax break.

to me it makes sense to give the money to those that are going to pump it into the economy through being consumers of goods and services instead of those that are investors. a thousand smackaroos don't really matter to someone with a cool half mil in the market. but to a school teacher, that's next month's mortgage.

buffet says no. i say no. our constitutionally-questionable elected president will give big thumbs up.