As Another Year Passes By

Well everyone one more year is slipping by, and we have survived another year of our lives. This has been a crazy year for some of us myself included. I have explored my career opportunities with a couple of avenues all still in the realm of customer service. I am currently working Seasonal for Target..well at least I was, I have been sick for the past week and have had to call off all week so I will see if I still have a position when I go back. Currently I am recovering from a cold that I caught somewhere, it started out as very fatigued which I attributed to working in Toys & Electronics for a week straight and right before Christmas. However, I called off on Monday because I was exhausted and my back was hurting and Monday night I began to feel rough, I immediately went and bought some cough and cold medicine, tissues, and OJ. Tuesday I was feeling about the same a little worse but still not dead, and when Wednesday rolled around I felt like I had been run over by a fleet of semi-trucks. Needless to say I did not work Christmas Eve either, I ended up buying Tylenol Severe Congestion with Pseudoephedrine and it was helping but I still have a lingering cough and congestion in my throat/left lung. Today my back has been hurting something terrible, I was distributing gifts to everyone and I was barely able to bend or twist because my back was so stiff. If things are not better tomorrow we will be making a visit with a doctor immediately.

I know that I started this post to talk about another year but my mind slipped off focus, so now lets get back to reviewing 2009. This year we have lost many people that were great entertainers such as Molly Sugden, Michael Jackson, Paul Harvey, Ron Silver, Natasha Richardson, Jack Wrangler, Bea Arthur, Dom DeLuise, and Farrah Fawcett just to name a few. There have also been many things that have happed such as our first African-American President was sworn into office, the American people bailed out the banks as well as two of the three major automakers (who later filed for bankruptcy protection) here in the U.S., H1N1 (Swine Flu) hit hard and took many innocent lives and is still a risk for many, Cash For Clunkers took a lot of older vehicles off the road and put fresh steel on the pavement. I am sure that this is only the tip of the ice burg on the things that have happened but these are some of the major headlines that I can think of.

Some headlines of my own, on January 4, 2010 I will begin classes with Franklin University working toward a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and hopefully a minor in Accounting. I have been talking about going back to school for a few years and each year I filled out a FAFSA form and each year I would put it on the back burner and say “Well I have this job that I really like right now, I don’t have the time for classes, and I cant afford to go back” after my stint in the hospital and being on life support I have made the decision that there is no better time that RIGHT NOW to start working for my future. I know that I do not want to be at the bottom of the ladder forever, and I am sure that a Bachelors Degree will not instantaneously put my resume at the top of the pile or get me a six-figure income right away but I want to do more with my life than working in the jobs that I have been. I want Nick and I to be able to enjoy our lives together, and for us to be able to plan things and have nice things, not that we do not now but I want to be able to do things like we used to. Earlier in our relationship we used to get in the car and just see where the road would take us, one weekend we ended up in Pittsburg, PA, another we was in Atlanta, GA, and one night we could not think of anything to eat so we drove to Cleveland to find something different to eat, I loved the spontaneity of our lives, we made plans but we also did what we wanted and did not worry about time frames. 

So here is looking forward to 2010, 2009 has been a year of learning and discovery as well as pain and hardship, I hope that 2010 brings about a better life for everyone. I believe that if you truly want something and you work for it hard enough you will get it, lets hope that 2010 can be the year that we can all enjoy the fruits of our labor, as well as the comforts of family and friends. Lets build memories that will last for many more years and celebrate life everyday, for some of us we never know when tomorrow might not come.

 

God Bless Everyone,

Brian J.

Forgiven…..

I was watching a movie tonight on the LOGO Network, and from the storyline I began to think about things that have happened to me in my life. There are things that have happened to me that have shaped who I am and driven my values and my thinking. I am who I am and that will never change, I am here and no matter what anyone does to me I will still be here and remain the same person.

One memory that I have is when I was a teen I worked with a guy and I found him attractive. Somehow he found out and while I was in school he would say rude, derogatory comments to me in passing in the corridors, and he even went as far as to approach me while I was working somewhere else and physically attack me. I was shocked, I did not retaliate, I was bleeding and I can still remember what he said and how he did it to this day. Russ you are forgiven for your ignorance and your poor judgment, I hope that one day you will realize that you are just a person, nothing extraordinary and what you did was wrong, however even if you do not I FORGIVE YOU.

Then there was the teacher who made a comment that made me feel like less of a person, I was in High School and I was beginning to come out to people about who I am. I was asked by a teacher that I respected if I was gay, I reluctantly said no, to which his comment was OK because I had heard that you are and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t bend over with you around if you were. Mr. Teacher, you are forgiven, you have given me a lesson that I will never forget, people come from different generations, different life paths and different religions/family values. Some people will make a comment that is inappropriate and insensitive because they think that it is OK and acceptable when it is not. Their ignorance toward others, their lives and who they are can be degrading and disrespectful however they do not know any better once again, I FORGIVE YOU.

I am sure that there are more incidents that have happened but these seem to stick out in my mind.
When someone in your life gives you a chance to be a part of their life, do not shut them out, do not degrade them or tell them they are a bad person. Just understand that they have a different path for their life, it might be a way of good fortune, and it might be a way of misfortune, but they will make it as they feel is right based upon their circumstances, beliefs and values. We need to respect our friends, family members and neighbors lives and embrace the opportunity that we are given each day when we wake up, because every day is a new day, and we can make of it what we wish but it is up to us to control it as best we can. I am sure that there are many people that I have done wrong to in my life and I sincerely apologize for what I have done, I am sure that some of it I did without knowing that I was doing it and some I did out of carelessness, all I can ask is that you forgive me as I will forgive you.

Best Wishes Friends

Brian J.

An even bigger SOAP BOX!

So once again it has been a few since I have posted anything but I really am trying to make things happen...promise! 

We have moved to a new place the old place could not decide what our rent was supposed to be each month and each month it was something different, we now live close to Hilliard in a very nice and quiet community, no more neighbors fighting all night, and no more hearing our neighbor thunder across the floor at all hours of the night.  RJ seems to be much happier here as well and we have a beautiful lake view. We downsized as the economy and my job seem to push for we are now in a one bedroom apartment but it is very nice. I will post more about it in the next blog but for now on to other issues!

I have been working a lot and it seems if I am not working I am out doing something to keep busy, I have decided recently that I will go back to school, I am not sure exactly where I want to go or what I want to major in but I need to decide soon.  I got my FAFSA finished and my EFC is 000!  YAY that is a little light in the tunnel, but still a little lost on my direction. Part of me says go to a school like Bradford of Columbus and get a certificate/diploma in an area that I am interested in and the other part of me says to go to CSCC and get some core courses out of the way and get a degree from a college, I am definitely looking at the financial aspect as well since I cannot afford much of anything out of pocket for it right now.

I am considering a major in Political Science but I also would like to maybe get a Bachelors in Business Administration or maybe go for computer sciences and do something with computers the ideas are up in the air right now. I do know that I want to get out of restaurant management, the pay is just not there and I do not think that my heart is in it anymore.  I want to do more with my life and I want to be able to enjoy being comfortable with my job and my pay.  I want to be able to go out and splurge a little without trying to change my lifestyle.  

Now my rant for the week, does it seem like our country is being over run by immigrants or what? Now do not get me wrong I am all for a better life for anyone, but it seems as if everywhere I go now all I see is foreign nationalities, I understand that this is supposed to be a cultural melting pot but I think the pot is about to boil over! For example, my sister who has two beautiful and intelligent girls was receiving government assistance for rent and food stamps, recently she decided to leave the government housing to make things better for her and her family, with that change she has to work more and that is a good thing, she is doing the right thing and being responsible and working for what she gets however she don't work a full 40 hours a week, it is just not available where she works, and she makes a lower wage, however when she got a re-determination on her benefits they told her that she will only get medical insurance for the two kids and nothing else!  So lets see she goes from $24 a month rent with govt assistance to $585 with ZERO assistance and she is now told that she makes too much to get help with food for her family because she wants better!  There was people doing drugs outside in front of her old apartment and the places did not have good maintenance but because she wants better and is trying to do better we are going to punish her, we should reward that as a society! SO many people want to "work the system" and do nothing for it and expect more to do less but when someone wants to do their part to make things better we knock them down and make life harder, come on lets help OUR people and stop telling everyone that even if you are not a legal citizen we will help you and we will provide for you!  Its time we take care of our own people and tell the illegal immigrants and the other immigrants that if you want the "American Dream" here you go, here it is, WORK FOR IT! This is not the land of the Freeloader! It is the Home of the Brave and the land of the FREE!! If you do not want to come here and do your part and be a productive member of our society, PLEASE FEEL FREE to LEAVE!  We are taking care of enough people and we cannot take proper care of the ones who are here we do not need you to come here and ask what we can do for you, we need you to come here and ask what you can do for us!  We need innovation and ingenuity not laziness and more children to support because you do not believe in BIRTH CONTROL!!! 

OK so I think that I have vented enough for today, I encourage you to PLEASE COMMENT on my blog and tell me what you think, share your ideas, because that is what makes things better, the collaboration of friends, family and community, whether it makes an impact or not we can be heard and we can share with each other to help with a better understanding. Maybe I have closed my eyes to ones views and only opened my eyes to mine but this is how I feel and without more information and other views and ideas that is what it is my opinion whether it it right or wrong is up to interpretation but I want to see some other view points I will not get angry  I might argue my side but that is what is great about AMERICA is the ability to do so FREELY!