Education.

While I was in a waiting room a child asked me what school was like. He was going into kindergarten, and wanted to know what to expect. I was first surprised that a child so young would approach me being large and bearded, but secondly rather at a loss for what to tell the child about k-12 public education. The boy's mother came up and got him before I could answer, she seemed worried, but the child was in no danger. Since then I have tried to think of a way to describe k-12 education, here are a few of my thoughts.

If I were to be bluntly honest, I would say school is 7 to 8 hours a day of psychological torture and emotional abuse. Most actual learning will be done alone on your time, and teacher will serve only to get in the way of the process. I guess the teachers are mostly acting as an obstacle so they feel like they earned their paycheck. This is clearly not something to tell a child, so perhaps speaking more symbolically would help.

School is basically a raping of the mind. Only when you don't enjoy being raped, you are told it is "for your own good", and that you will "look back on it fondly someday". Gang rape might be more accurate, do to the fact you will deal with many teachers over your time in school. Here again, I think this might be a bit much to tell a child. Maybe something the child could relate to would help.

Ever watch "Tom and Jerry"? Well in school you will be Jerry, and the teacher is Tom. Only Tom never gets any comeuppance. So... basically just "Tom and Jerry" if Tom won. This feels about right, but the child might think you were talking down to them.

School is like if you saw a vast forest, and in that forest was someone tryong to cut down the trees with a sledgehammer. And when told that a saw or axe would work better, that person treats you as if you have just spoken blasphemy. In this the students are the trees, and the teachers are holding the sledgehammers. This gets across the unpleasant nature of the experience, while also hinting at where the root of the problem lays.

Happy Veteran's Day

Yes it is veteran's day. Normally I wouldn't comment on that here. However, after last week, some people asked if I was a veteran. No, no I am not. I have never served, and have only respect for any person that does/did. To them, I say "Thank you for your service".


Some people have also asked if reporting a troll for stolen valor was an over reaction. To them, I say I did my duty as a citizen. No one forced him to masquerade as a soldier.

Dealing with a troll.

I used to go on a little forum. I was invited there by a friend. However it was not my kind of place, it was not a fan forum it was instead a "fanboy" forum. Specifically, it was for the Final Fantasy series, with most of them only interested in the 7th and 8th in the series, no accounting for taste.

This was not a great place to go. It was the kind of place that treated any opinion that varied from the majority as trolling. Sad to see a place like that. So after much harassment, mostly by the staff, I decided to leave and let them have their little safe space. However, I guess that wasn't good enough as one of them thought it was a good idea to continue the harassment off of their forum. This anger little boy made a big mistake.

So to take care of the situation, I warned him that there would be consequences to his actions. He continued despite my warnings. So as he likes to boast of being a soldier, whoever, he has never actually served in any military. So I reported him for stolen valor, which is a felony. I then went down to the local veteran's bar and got the real actual soldiers worked up, and many of them reported him too.

Well, I feel better about the situation. 

Happy Halloween

Remember if you give out raisins, you deserve the egging your house gets. Same goes for pennies, coupons, religious pamphlets, and other none candy items.

Fun with Nuns

Once while I was in an Office Depot I encountered a nun. She needed help, and thought I worked there, I did not. However, I helped her any. I go around to office stores looking for clearance items, good way to get spare flash drives and other bits. So, I encountered her several times. We got to be friendly.

One day she asked if I would get a coffee with her, I don't drink coffee, but I went with her anyway. It must have been an odd sight for people to see a dude like me sitting with a nun. While I had been friendly with her, this was the first time we had an actual serious conversation. She told me that I treated her differently then most people she was around outside of her convent. I told her, first that I wasn't catholic, and second that I was treating her as I would treat any woman I was friendly terms with. We would meet several more times, and conversed, and we began to flirt.

It wasn't till a few later that she asked an obvious question: "If you aren't catholic, what are you?". I told her I was an atheist, that I had been ever since as an 8 or 9 year old I had read the bible and various other religious texts  and found them wanting. After this conversation, I wasn't sure if I would see her again, but to my surprise I did.

I had expected her to try to covert me, or in someway talk me out my atheist stance, but she didn't. In fact she seemed very curious about it, I think I may have been the first one she had ever meet, or at least the first one she had ever had the chance to really talk to.

Then one day, she came to meet me and she wasn't in her habit. In normal cloths she was actually a fairly attractive woman. She told me that she had left the church, and that our conversations had been what made her start thinking about it. We have been friends ever since.

However, in some ways she hasn't left faith behind. She now actively proselytizes atheist ways of thinking, and protests for atheist rights. I personally don't do any of that, but it is good she has found something that she loves to do.

It warms heart to see that someone who was so emerged in religious practices can find enlightenment. It gives me hope for the world.

Working out.

I work out, a lot. 6 days a week. Tuesday through Sunday, taking Mondays off only because it is by far the most crowded day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are crowded too, but not as bad as Monday.

The best days to work out are Saturday and Sunday. On these days the gym is empty. No wait time to use any of the weights.

Only problem with working out, got to go somewhere to do it. If only I had the funds for a home gym.

The last woman I was with.

This is a bit more personal. No names will be used, because I don't want to cause anyone involved any problems. This story is however true.

Last woman I was with I meet when I was working at Circuit City. This was during the Christmas season of 2007. A woman came in, needed help with cameras. She was completely covered, baggy sweat shirt, and pants, and was even wearing gloves. This was odd as we are in southern California, so even in the coldest parts of winter this style of dress is unnecessary.  After helping her, she asked for my phone number, I had assumed this was more for tech support than anything.

A week later, she called me, not with question about her camera, but to invite me over. Perhaps I am dense about such things, but I really had no idea she was interested. When I got there, I found out why she had been dressed the way she did: she was covered head to toe in tattoos. I had never seen anything like it, she was more than a beautiful girl, she was living artwork.

We were in what seemed to me to be happy relationship. Spent much time together, in person, on the phone. Went with one another to important things. Had a physical relationship as well, which I will not provide details about it. She was with me, even when I had employment problems, and not much money, didn't seem to bother her. I was content, and was under the impression she was as well. This went on till June of 2014.

It was then, that she told me she had just gotten married. I guess for all the time I was with her, I was just her man on the side. This hurt, as I had begone to consider what life might be like with her in a more legally binding way. As you can see by the date this going up, it took me a long time to even begin to talk about this.

Truth be told, it wouldn't have bothered me to be a "man on the side", I just wish I would have known about it at the time. I haven't seen her since. The evolved part of me wants her to be happy.