A sorry state of affairs

I have to give to the people at jib jab. They have done it again. Many people, including myself, first heard about them during the last election. During a time when opinions were rising and propaganda was so thick you could almost not breath, jib jab came out with a cartoon displaying both parties negative and positive traits. Over the past years, Bush's exploitation of the distinguished presidential position has given the people at jib jab oodles of material to work with. This has culminated in their newest cartoon musical: 2-0-5 Year End Round Up!

A bit cheesy, but a little cheese is nice every now and then... especially with a glass of wine

Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.

How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.

Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.

Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.

Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?

Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.

If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

As a teapot runs out of steam, I too have fizzled out. Sometimes, I think I can look at life as a series of frustrations, but then I realize... that is not the perspective with which I would view the world.

Focus on the pleasures, what makes you happy, but also come with consequences. When I think about it, life is composed of struggles trying to balance the things that life is worth living for with the daily trials of work and b*llsh*t. That is saddening. Maybe that is why people have kids.. to bring light and the wonder they have lost through years of societal persecution.

Personally, I feel that's a selfish act.

However, this post was not intended to be of such a negative nature. I have noticed, in the worked-up states I have been in lately, how calm, caring, and patient others are. I feel like I'm strung too tightly about to explode and I see the opposite looking back at me. I know that state, I've been there before... but it seems so distant.

The lifestyle I work towards and the goals of my existence are those of calm, low stress, patience, and awareness. Somehow, I seem to be moving away from that and I don't quite know how. Perhaps, this is a time of reflection. Unfortunately, time is in demand more than it's supplied. Imagine how expensive time would be if it was a commodity. Isn't it a bit ironic then that the wetly are those with more time to do their wills than the lower class with no free time, working themselves to death.

Thoughts are like a ground covering plant, with a strong conducive surface, high grade input for growth, and room to flourish, they will growth and change before your eyes.

Just another day...

Another day in the field. This time the weather was wonderful... The morning was foggy and as the sun rose, the fog set in more. We had to stop at the Golden Arches to wait out the fog. The day was filed with visits to two sites along the southern tributaries of the Neuse Estuary. Unfortunately, there was not much to be done on my part and I felt as though my presence was not was not needed. Like all days, it came to an end and though I was frustrated,it was an interesting outing. We saw some interesting outcropping and even came across a million year old tree, uncovered by erosion.

And so the downward spiral begins....

Yesterday seemed quite pleasant and ended as such, however, today has started off negatively and I am desperately trying to get over the hurdle. The primary bother at the moment is Greenville, the place I now call home. It is beginning to grate on my nerves. There are positive aspects to the town, it is small and the people are friendly. Everything is beginning to be a pain in the ass! This town, though consisting of environmentally friendly people, does not exhibit those values... and it's really starting to piss me off.

For instance, I walked over to a coffee stand in the library to get some coffee in one of the various mugs that I use and after asking about the price, being referred to a menu on a near-by wall, then waiting in line, and placing my order, I am told hat they are not allowed to put coffee into anything other than their own paper cups. At this point I'm already frustrated and just want to et the coffee and get back to work, but instead I said not thanks and snatch my cup up of the counter and walked out fuming, trying not to slam the heavy library doors.

There is one bike lane in town spanning a whole 3 block distance and then disappears as mysteriously as it reappears. Karza and I almost were run over yesterday when we were traveling on the side walk (because we were traveling on the side of the road with oncoming traffic). The road intersections do not have crosswalk and in the pedestrian crossing areas, the vehicles do not yield to let pedestrians pass.

Basically if you are not driving a gas guzzling vehicle in this town, you are not observed or acknowledged.

Greenville is the epitome of consumerism at it's best and the throw-away society marketing and capitalism has created.

It saddens me to be such a place and apart of such a country. A country where in reviewing a person to serve on a high court they are able to not answer direct questions. Why would they not answer them, because their answers would not be welcomed by those making the decisions to appoint him. How is that not deceitful?

The semester has started off well. I am not excited about my classes; however, everything else seems to be working out well. For starters, yesterday, I ventured over to Raleigh for work and even though I did not get any work accomplished, due to technical difficulties, I had a very pleasant visit.

Moving up to a place where I did not know anyone, I have found myself lacking in social interaction. Though I enjoy and require personal time, interaction with other people is necessary. Humans are social animals and would not survive without the assistance from others; it is necessary not only for your physical survival, but also for our mental growth.

Lately, I have found myself concentrating and overwhelmed with classes and work resulting in social interaction being pushed to the side. Regardless to say, the visit to Raleigh made me realize that. Additionally, the excursion reinstated that I am capable of easily interacting with others, a learned behavior I thought I was loosing.

What I Am

I'm not aware of too many things,
I know what I know if you know what I mean.
Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box.
Religion is the smile on a dog.

Pulling into the Barnes & Nobles parking lot the Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians song 'What I Am' was playing on the radio. Without knowing it, I was singing along to the music and enjoying the familiarity of the song, though I could not exactly remember a particular time and/or place in which I listened to it.

I'm not aware of too many things,
I know what I know if you know what I mean.
Choke me in the shallow water
Before I get too deep.

As I noticed that I was not singing along with the appropriate lyrics, I began to listen more intently to them and my appreciation for this forgotten song rose. I remembered enjoying the song when I was younger, though in listening to it again, I do not understand how. The song seemed more pertinent to the present and I embraced how relevant the lyrics were to my current life position. However, in retrospect, it was probably the attitude the song projects that I enjoyed at ayounger age and strived to relate with.

What I am is what I am.
Are you what you are - or what?

However, as I listened more closely, the music, behind the words sounded stronger in the song and I realized it was the music I was enjoying more. Like movies and sometimes books, the growth and changes one endures in life are revealed when we revisit things we perceived once before. For we are able to re-perceive them again and see how much we've grown.

I'm not aware of too many things,
I know what I know if you know what I mean.
Philosophy is a walk on the slippery rocks.
Religion is a light in the fog.

I think I am going to have to buy this 1989 album, made when I was a mere ten years of age. An age in which my life my undergoing drastic changes.

A cold day in the marsh and another around the bend.

This past Friday, five of us headed east to look at possible sites for the vegetative component of the sea-level rise project, that has been monopolizing my time and will for the next few years. The morning started off cold and raining with hopes of cancellation in the air. However, the rain subsided and the though the cold weather ensued, we endured the conditions and managed to visit all but one of the proposed five sites. Three biologists, a geologist, and myself wandered around the marsh looking at soil and vegetation distribution.

Lack of sleep the night prior and not being well acclimated to the cold weather, I began to look forward to the day's end. At a stop on Clubfoot Creek, located on the east side of the Suffix Scarp, which creates a higher elevation running north to south through the Neuse Estuary, our study location, the light illuminated the marsh grasses and surrounding forest in such a way, it made the effort seem worthwhile.

A new year at twenty-six

And so a new year has come, almost haphazardly it seems... gliding in, like a place undetected by sonar. What does this year have instore? Each day will unfold embraced with open arms and eyes lit with awe and wonder.

It is more difficult to anticipate the future and much simpler to be in the present. Stress is created when future tasks are not addressed but also in anticipation of future events. How does one balance such things? Yes, it is true the more prepared one is for the future, the less stressful it would be. However, no one knows the future, so they are not ever in sole control.

Does it all come down to control? In relationships, it has been said that anxiety of fear stems from lack of control. There is truth in that statement; however, that cannot be the sole source... or can it? Can we live our lives in constant fear? Most do not, although anyone of us can die any minute.

Sometimes it seems as though it would be easier to not have any relations and therefore dismiss any fear or lack of control. Though that is an option, I do not see any fulfillment in living such a life. For living life encompasses the interactions and relations we are apart of; otherwise, we would merely be surviving.

I do not see the point in merely surviving; it is a waste of energy and resources that could be utilized by those who embrace life and are an active participant. However, I am not condoning taking another's life out of greed. That is a decision made by the animal, itself. Just as in the food web, the weak are often easy targets for predators and their lives are given to the predator and as a result, the active and healthy are spared.

Humans think they are above the food web and are constantly altering it and manipulating it to suit their needs. A large smile will cross my face when humans and all other organisms operate within the natural cycle. Unfortunately, our present society is moving in the opposite direction at a rapid rate.

So, if I am to make a new year's resolution [though I make personal goals throughout the year and do not see the point in this one being anymore significant] it would be to work towards living within the natural cycle. This is not a new resolution, it is one that I consciously work towards; however, I have noticed since moving to a new location and starting this new part of my life, I have become lazy and given into the mirage of what society uses as crouches, stating they are an easier way, but what is not addressed it the future impact.

If each of us would only try, such a difference would be made.