Sunday, July 31, 2011

30-Day Challenge-- Day-4 Something you hate about yourself.

I try to be a very positive person, and focus on the things I love about myself, and not the things I don't.

But if I had to choose one thing I hate it would probably be my extreme stubbornness.

I come from long line of stubborn people, and am pretty set in my ways. If I think and believe the sky is red, no on will convince me otherwise.

This attribute sometimes gets me in trouble, people get angry or frustrated when they are involved in an argument or discussion with me because I will not let up. This especially causes issues when I'm in a romantic relationship. Thankfully, I have tweaked and fixed how extreme my stubbornness used to be. I now know how to compromise and let things go... Sometimes...

While this attribute gets me in trouble, it also is a very viable asset. If set out to do something my stubbornness will not let me give up, or not achieve it. If I trying to solve a problem, i will not quit until I get it.

If someone tells me "You can't do that" that is usually when i try extra hard to do it.

Bottom line, I hate that I'm so stubborn, but I wouldn't necessarily change that about myself. It allows me to pursue the things others would never dare to.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

30-Day Challenge-- Day-3 What kind of person attracts you?

I'm attracted to good hearted people first and foremost. I don't like shady individuals.

I'm attracted to people with great personalities, who are honest, and loyal, have a great sense of humor (ability to laugh at themselves a big plus) ambition, intelligence, opinions.

I'm attracted to people who are strong and people who fight for what they believe in. Not afraid to be vulnerable.

Morals and Values must be high on the priority list.

Physically I'm attracted to eyes. Color doesn't matter, sometimes just looking into a persons eyes allows you to see who they really are.

This has been a short blog, because I am attracted to very simple attributes. I just like GOOD PEOPLE.

Check in tomorrow for Day-4 of the challenge with its prompt-- "Something you about yourself"

Friday, July 29, 2011

30-Day Challenge-- Day-2 How have you changed in the past 2 years?

The past two years have brought me a lot of change. Most positive, some not so positive.

First big change is I started getting serious about my education. I enrolled at University of Phoenix and am very close to getting my degree in Psychology and English.

Secondly, I've gone from writing hopeful, to published author. Which is a huge accomplishment in my eyes. I know how hard it was to not only write a novel from beginning to end, but lose it in a cup of water to my keyboard accident, and have to re write it all again. Good times!

Thirdly I am finally at a place in my life where my health is a priority. I am scheduled to get my gastric by pass surgery this summer. I've been pushed around and played with by the satanic insurance companies for years. Finally it has stopped.

Fourthly, My family life is as wonderful as it has always been. We are all happy, and well, and on our ways to succeeding.

Finally, this is more on the negative side, my band Rapaziada is no longer playing. After 8 years or so, lots of memories, Great Times, tragedy, and everything in between we decided to "retire." I miss it terribly, and hope we will decide to play some more.

It's crazy to look back in time and see how much has changed. Two years ago I was 24 about to turn 25. I never could have predicted what has happened. I think that as we grow, and as life passes us by, we tend to forget about the past a little bit.

I mean, we remember some good times, we remember the bad times. But we never look back and thank God for all the progress we've made. Even if it was just a baby step or two forward, we have to be thankful that we moved forward and not backwards.

2 years ago, I was living a very different life. Not better and not worse, just different. I've grown into the man I am today. But I know that two years from now, if i I have to write this again, things will be even more different. More changes, More successes, More failures. Good times and bad times. It'll all be there, all over again.

Check in tomorrow for 30-day challenge truth blog Day-3 with its prompt "What kind of person attracts you?"

Thursday, July 28, 2011

30-Day Challenge-- Day-1 Something you love about yourself.

Something I love about myself... Should be easy right? I mean I consider myself (hopefully others consider me too) to be a good person. I value loyalty and honesty, and principle. The one thing I've chosen to speak of though, in accordance to the prompt, is my sense of humor. I love my sense of humor, and here's why...

I believe that in a world like ours, and more specifically a society like ours, a person with a sense of humor allows for all the injustices we face each day, and throughout our lives to bounce right off.

It allows someone like me, to brush certain circumstances and road blocks aside. We are each dealt a hand in this life, some of us get full houses and four of a kinds right off the bat. Others must discard and draw until they feel content with the hand they hold. Still others, unfortunately muck their hand and ruin their lives.

I thank God everyday that my hand included a sense of humor.

It's important to be able to laugh at myself sometimes, it helps the healing process, it pushes me forward and not backwards. It allows me to be comfortable in my own skin. Far too many of us are not so comfortable.

So once again, I love my sense of humor.

Check in tomorrow for Day--2 of the challenge with its prompt-- "How have you changed in the past 2 years?"

I gave in and decided to participate in the 30-day Truth Blog challenge

Here are the prompts for each day.


30-Day Truth Blog Challenge


Day1. Something you love about yourself.


Day 2. How have you changed in the past 2 years? 



Day 3. What kind of person attracts you? 



Day 4. Something you hate about yourself.


Day 5. 5 things that irritate you about the opposite sex/same sex.


Day 6. The person you like and why you like them. 



Day 7.Your opinion on cheating on people. 



Day 8. Something you’re currently worrying about.


Day 9. Something you wish you HAD done.


Day 10. Your views on drugs and alcohol. 



Day 11. A hero that has let you down.


Day 12. Things you want to say to an ex. 



Day 13. A date you would love to go on. 



Day 14. Your views on gay marriage.


Day 15. (Scenario) your best friend is in a car accident and you two got

              into a fight an hour before. What do you do?


Day 16. 3 things you are proud of about your personality. 



Day 17. Things that make you scared. 



Day 18. Disrespecting parents.


Day 19. Something that never fails to make you feel better. 



Day 20. Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs.

             (Just post the titles and artists and letter)


Day 21. Something you can’t seem to get over. 



Day 22. 10 things about you people don’t really expect.


Day 23. Something you always think “what if…” about



Day 24. Things you want to say to 5 different people. 



Day 25. 10 ways to win your heart. 



Day 26. Your religious beliefs. 



Day 27.Talk about your siblings. 



Day 28.The month you were happiest this year why. 



Day 29. A picture of yourself. 



Day 30. What changed this month and what you hope will happen next month.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

To Protest? or not to Protest? that is the question

San Francisco is up in arms because of a police shooting. According to protestors the police shot and killed a 19-year-old man for not paying his light rail ticket. Protests were running rampant on the streets of San Francisco, one protestor dropped a smoke bomb inside a light rail car, and another threw a hammer towards the Mission Police station window. 35 protestors were arrested for failing to disperse after a warning of unlawful assembly.

Here’s the problem I have with this protest. This 19-year-old man who was shot and killed was on parole for prostituting and pimping a 13-year-old girl, and was a person of interest in the murder of a pregnant woman in Washington. Also reports showed gun residue on his finger indicating that he fired the first shot into a crowd of police officers. 

People are not only demeaning the power of protest by backing this sick individual, but they are also making a mockery of the Oscar Grant case, by drawing comparisons.

Furthermore, when they drop smoke bombs in trains, and throw hammers at police station windows, that is a sign of violent initiation. Is this really the way to fight for the “honor” of the deceased? 

What happened to Oscar Grant, regardless of your opinion on the kind of person he was, or was not, was a tragic occurrence. He was shot in cold blood, and the officer who committed this horrific act was let off (in the eyes of many people)

He has to live with the guilt of shooting a young person in cold blood for the rest of his life. Anywhere he goes people will recognize him as “that cop who shot a kid.” 

Is that enough punishment? Probably not, but that’s how the justice system and life works sometimes.

The people protesting the shooting of this 19-year-old pimp from Seattle are like the people who protested Rodney King.

Don’t get me wrong; what happened to Rodney was flat out wrong. The police officers should never have administered such hostile acts. He was definitely a victim in that respect. 

But we forget that Rodney was the cause of a high-speed chase in a residential area where kids play, and was high as a kite. Had he hit, injured, or killed anyone during that chase people might have been singing a different tune.

The Rodney King protests were atrocious, people used it as an excuse to loot, and set local stores on fire, and they caused violence and mayhem everywhere. It makes the cause you’re protesting seem irrelevant, and ridiculous.

The bottom line is the protests being rendered for this 19-year-old pimp, are utter bullshit! Just another excuse for people to “fight the man.” Our country and society has become so focused on pointing fingers at people doing their jobs, that some people are prone to “human error,” because of the fear of having the public backlash.

People need to pick their battles. Not protest every shooting, or every thing a police officer does and fight it. Because sooner or later, you might need a police officer that has the courage to pull that trigger to save your life or the life of someone you love. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want second third and fourth thoughts going through that officer’s head if my life is on the line.

Sometimes, police shootings are necessary. Sometimes people deserve to get killed. It is better to kill one person who is guilty at the very least, of firing into a crowd first, then to lose a few people and then take action.

So the next time you read an article about a police shooting. And you can smell the media spin that reeks of “cops are bad” take a step back and look at the whole picture. It might just change your mind.




Friday, July 8, 2011

Discrimination or Greed?

Today’s topic is our society’s greed for money. I find it appalling what people today are willing to do for a buck. We have progressively thrown away values and beliefs that we used to hold near and dear, for a couple of little green pieces of paper.

A lawsuit has been filed in the city of San Francisco against the clothing giant Abercrombie and Fitch over an apparent discrimination against a woman of Muslim faith over her wearing a Hijab.

A hijab, for those who are not familiar, is the traditional head scarf that Muslim women are required to wear.

When I first heard talks of this case, everyone seemed to be solidly behind this woman. Her rights had obviously been violated, or so everyone said.

The more I thought about this case, the more I realized that this woman’s rights were not violated.

First let me spill some more details about this case.

She was interviewed while wearing the hijab. When she asked about it, the manager told her that so long as they were company colors that it would not be an issue. She was after all working in the stock room, and had no face-to-face time with the customers.

One day the district manager visits the store and sees her, and a few days later she is asked to remove the hijab. When she refuses she is suspended, and then immediately terminated.

Upon reading these details, I’m sure you’re shaking your head in disagreement, but hear me out.

First, she was wearing a bright purple hijab the day she was suspended and then terminated. This is not a company color.

Secondly, upon being hired she signed a paper agreeing to company rules and policies. Therefore surrendering some rights, as we all do when we are hired.

In this agreement a few things stick out. Aside from wearing company colors, it also states that all employees must dress in “ Classic American style.”

I know what you’re thinking; What the Hell is Classic American Style? Well I don’t know exactly what it is, but I do know it does not include wearing a bright purple hijab.

Lastly, I would be okay with her lawsuit and her being compensated for wages lost while she was in transition to finding another job. At first that is all she wanted. But then she said the few words that come out of people’s mouths when they are just looking to get paid.

She wanted compensation for her “ pain and suffering.”

Pain and fucking suffering! She violated company policy, and who knows if she was a hard worker or not. She disobeyed her superior (even though I don’t blame her for doing so, as wearing a hijab is her religious requirement) and she wants money for pain and suffering?

Greed is slowly but surely taking over our lives.

The saddest part is, she will probably win, or settle out of court for a giant wad of cash, just so the company could save face.

Because America has also become overly Politically Correct… But that is another issue all by itself.

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

From Justice to People and Everything in Between


“Justice doesn't mean the bad guy goes to jail, it just means that someone pays for the crime.”
                                    - The Movie Freedom Writers


I have a tendency to over think and analyze the majority of thoughts that find themselves stranded in my mind. As of late, I have been obsessing with a disgust for the way our society and the media seem to disregard the benefit of the doubt quality, and people’s privacy.

In over analyzing this idea, I have found viable proof that the media is filled with cold-hearted unyielding animals that would sell their children’s lives for a rating. It’s ridiculous how the media, not to mention our society, feeds off of tragedy and misfortune. Not their own might I add, but other peoples.

We find ourselves glued to the Television as we watch melt down after melt down, tragedy after tragedy. We all pretend to sympathize with the victims, some of us even send in donations to fight off the guilt in our stomachs. We have become a species too focused on others miseries.

Our society has morphed into this taboo-esque group that love to look down on people’s miseries, and kick them while they’re down.

Benefit of the doubt is but a distant memory in today’s world. We don’t trust anyone anymore. Our words are no longer our bonds. Cynicism is in, and everybody’s doing it.

Many would say our Media is directly responsible for constructing the monsters we have become. To desensitizing these gruesome acts and shape them into reality television, but I don’t think it’s entirely their fault.

We have allowed ourselves to lose all trust in people. A person can hardly say I Love You anymore without raising a few eyebrows.

This is tragic, a person who doesn’t trust anyone, is not a happy person. He or she is a very sad, paranoid, lonely person.

I blame us, for replacing the trust we had in people, with an unyielding trust in the Media.

We believe every spin, that animalistic journalists like Nancy Grace, and Rush Limbaugh (just to name 2 that I personally despise) throw in our paths. We buy into the sensationalizing of sensitive topics. We allow them to stick their opinions inside our brains and dispose of anything that resembles independent thought.

We have become a society filled with Herd-like mentality.

Justice, like so many other words, has lost its true definition. It no longer represents RIGHT over WRONG. GOOD versus EVIL.

It now represents what will make a good story. It’s almost like we’re living in a movie. Our Court system has become so ridiculous, we might as well start hiring actors to play the parts of judges and attorneys. Since we already have camera’s and play by play on every Medium of the Media.

It sickens me, that we have lost the courage to be individuals.

Wow, this blog has branched off into something totally different than it was set out to say. I apologize for my ramblings.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Casey Anthony Not Guilty...

I don't know if this is the case for all of you, but when I logged on to facebook today everyone and their mom's were commenting on Casey Anthony. Everyone, spontaneously, became not only valid jurors, but Judges and Attorney's all thanks to a single verdict. It's incredibly sad in my opinion that this case was allowed to be turned into a circus, for the masses of media following geniuses to cling to.

I find it difficult to believe that any one that was not in court during this trial have a better recollection and understanding of what transpired.  I find it ridiculous that the same people who support the old cree "Innocent until proven Guilty," are going ape shit over this verdict. It was the prosecution's job to prove that Ms. Anthony was Guilty, and they failed.

Do I think she's Guilty? Do I think Justice was served? These questions are easily answered.

I don't know if she is Guilty or not, what i do know is she has been exonerated of any blame having to do with the Death of her daughter. That alone is the only thing I know for sure regarding Ms. Anthony.

This of course leads into the other question of justice. Was Justice Served?

Absolutely NOT! But it rarely is in this country. I feel deep sympathy that this poor little girl had to lose the most precious thing we possess, life. It upsets me that this happened. I do not blame Ms. Anthony for being let off. Regardless of whether or not she is Guilty or Innocent, the prosecution Failed!

Which means one of two things. She is really innocent, or the evidence against her was all circumstantial and therefore deemed unusable in court.

Again, I am not angry that she got let off, For all I know Ms. Anthony is only guilty of Neglect, and believe me 7 out 10 parents could be accused of that same crime at one point or another in their parental careers.

I am angry that our Justice System is so badly broken that we no longer expect the "bad guys" to be brought to justice.

We see hundreds of injustices done every single day of our lives, to people we love and to complete strangers, yet we sit quietly and watch hoping we never have to face such unfair judgments.

I am also angry at the mockery that Nancy Grace brought to this case. Her ridiculous amount of exposure at the expense of Casey Anthony and even her daughter are why America's media has become the three ring Lion show to the Justice systems clown extravaganza.

She will finally Shut her Mouth!

May Caylee Anthony finally Rest in Peace, and stay out of the mouths of people who want to expose her tragic life for their own personal benefit.