Everyone has the freedom to live their life, and to live their truth, insomuch that that truth does not cause harm to oneself or others.   Archives << current   This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.

The Liberation of Expression   Friday, March 04, 2005   24th of February 2005 I left Wilmington around 5pm and got into Charlotte without any problems. My layover in Charlotte wasn’t too long and I just spent the hour or so before my flight left fooling around on my computer. The plane left on time for London Gatwick. Although not as nice as my first transatlantic flight, it was undeniably nicer than my last flight from Philadelphia-Munich. Reason being that USAir was operating Airbuses this time rather then Boeing 767s. The Airbuses are much newer aircraft and have individual television monitors in each seat. The food was edible, and the service was very friendly and attentive. I took an Ambien and slept off and on for the majority of the flight. 25th of February I arrived early in the morning at London Gatwick. Unlike my previous flight four years ago to London, I wasn’t confused at all about where to go and was able to get through passport control, customs, and baggage claim without any problem whatsoever. Around the time I bought a ticket to take a shuttle from London Gatwick to London Heathrow, I came to the realization that I had lost my tickets. Not a good thing. I filed a lost claims report, but the people at the information desk were quite certain that BMI would be able to reissue the ticket. Hoping for the best, I took the shuttle from Gatwick to Heathrow which went quite slow due to the traffic and bad weather. There was snow on the ground in London and lots of ice on the M23. At London Heathrow I navigated the underground passages that led upwards to the terminal. I found BMI’s ticket counter and explained my problem to the agent. The agent was as helpful as she could be but was really unable to do anything. Since my ticket for Heathrow-Edinburgh was issued by Travelocity and not by BMI proper, they couldn’t reissue the ticket. I then inquired if I could simply purchase another ticket, a one way one, to Edinburgh. While that wasn’t a problem, the issue was that they would not accept a credit card. According to “Her Majesty’s” laws, you cannot use a credit card that is not in your name, as you can here in the States. I then asked how much the flight would be in pounds. She replied that it would be somewhere around 300 pounds or equivalent 600 US dollars. Upon looking in my wallet and realizing the fact that I was probably going to be stuck in Heathrow for god knows how long without any recourse that I evidentially passed out. I guess it was too much for me to take, I’m embarrassed to say. Everyone of course went ballistic and they went so far as to call the Paramedics, which really wasn’t that necessary. I was lucky, however that I landed on my luggage rather than on the floor. After I came to they called over to the States and got special permission to use the credit card. They managed to get me a later, but only by an hour, flight to Edinburgh and invited me to stay in their private lounge. That was quite nice and I was able to relax there for an hour or so, enjoying the complimentary wine and mineral water. The flight to Edinburgh went by very quickly. Upon receipt of my luggage I took a bus into Edinburgh which deposited me at Waverly Station. There I bought a ticket from Edinburgh-Waverly to Leuchers and called Chris Cruden to tell him when I would be arriving. The train ride was short, as St. Andrews isn’t that far north of Edinburgh. I got off the train at Leuchers and was met by Chris Cruden and his friend George. Cruden hadn’t changed much from when I saw him last summer. We dropped off my luggage at his flat. Cruden is quite lucky; his flat is very nice and quite modern for the United Kingdom. Defiantly much more advanced than Lickleyhead Castle. After depositing my luggage we went to Morrisson’s, the supermarket with Alex, one of Chris’s flatmates. Got some Pizza there and watched television for a bit. A bit later on I went with Cruden to a coffeeshop called the Beanscene, where I met Nilene, Cruden’s girlfriend, who I have heard so much about. She was incredibly charming. After that I went back and slept, as I was quite tired from my flight. 26th of February 2005 Woke up at a decent time and had tea and toast with Cruden while watching BBC and Euro News. Cruden had to go to the gym so he brought me over to the Central Pub where I met his ultra-Catholic ultra-conservative friend Andrew Cusack, who is the editor of the quality student newspaper at St. Andrews, the Mitre. Cusack is quite brilliant and undeniably the most politically similar person I have ever met. And he’s more Catholic then even I am. We had a very British pub lunch of a pint and a steak pie. After lunch I went back to Cruden’s flat and chilled for a bit and then went to mass with Andrew at St. James. The church was very traditional and the mass was naturally very much like ours here but with a few minor exceptions. Went over to the Chaplaincy after mass and had tea and cookies and met Fr. O’Halleran. Spoke also to Jon, who is the head of the Catholic community at St. Andrews. I was overall astounded by their level of intelligence, and how they knew obscure facts that I thought I only knew. Afterwards Cruden and I got dressed for poker night. Went over to the Officers Mess to play poker and everyone who came wore outlandish costumes. Cruden went looking like something off the set of Full Metal Jacket while I went as an Islamic Imam. I looked rather disturbing with my copy of the Koran, Prayer Beads, and Skullcap. The officer’s mess was very classy and an excellent place to play poker. We ordered in some sort of pita/meat thing from this Turkish restaurant and then everyone else arrived. I abstained from playing poker because I’m not very good at it and furthermore since I was traveling its not a good idea to lose your travel funds on a game of poker. Cruden did quite well and managed to win thirty quid. Went home and went back to sleep. 27th of February 2005 Cruden expected that I was going to chapel but I was really too tired. So we walked around St. Andrews and went down to the beach and all that. Had lunch back at his flat afterwards. Watched the movie La Haine, or the Hate, which was about working class angst in Paris. Had a fantastic dinner at Nilene’s, with Octavia, George, Cruden, and Zoe. Nilene and her flatmates cooked up an excellent dinner of ham, potatoes, and veggies. After dinner, George, Cruden and I met up with Cruden’s academic brother and went to a pub called Droughty Negbors, or something like that. Got quite drunk. 28th of February 2005 Woke up and went with Nilene to her Arthurian Literature class. She had told me it was going to be dull, but in fact it was very interesting and I was able to follow along. Essentially, the class discussed the difference between “junk” Arthurian literature and “classic” Arthurian literature. Class was followed by a splendid lunch at the infamous Ma Bell’s where I had Chicken Goujons (fancy word for chicken fingers) and some mineral water. The problem was that it took nearly forever to get the food out. There were many people there including Octavia, Nilene’s flatmate, and a whole bunch of other people who were incredibly nice and friendly, but I cannot remember their names. When lunch was finished I returned to Cruden’s flat. In the evening we proceeded to Beanscene to meet up with the notorious Jamie, who I had heard rather amusing and shocking stories about. Jamie roomed with Cruden freshman year. After tea and coffee at Beanscene we went to Tesco and bought some supplies for dinner. Cruden made an excellent curry, which is something that isn’t easy to get here in the States. I fell asleep very early. 1st of March 2005 Woke up late and went to Cruden’s Middle Eastern Class along with Jamie. Although it was two hours long it went by rather quickly and was very interesting. It was also very relevant due to the fact we talked about Ataturk and Reza Shah, and my own Middle Eastern class covered the same topic. The Black Watch paraded through town during the middle of class so we opened up a window and got to see them proceed down the street. They were quite a sight. Following the class Cruden, Jamie and I went shopping at Charity Stores in an attempt to find clothing for the 80’s party that Nilene’s friend was having. After we bought some clothes we had dinner at Marmaris, again the sort of lamb unknown meat pita thingy. Got to try the famous Scottish drink Irn-Bru, which I thought was horrid and tasted like orange cough syrup. Said farewell to Jamie, and went back to Cruden’s flat. There Cruden and I got dressed up for the 80’s party and Andrew Cusack came over to say goodbye as I had to leave the following day. Jenny, Cruden’s flatmate had a fun time putting makeup on both Cruden and I. The two of us walked over to Nilene’s flat and chilled for a while and then went to the 80’s party. It was undeniably the most crowded and crazy party that I have ever attended. People were dressed up in outlandish costumes, and lots of people were cross-dressing. I talked to countless people who, like all of the Scottish people, were so very nice. Drank an incredible amount of wine and then went to the afterparty at Broon’s which was a very modern, and what Cruden called “Eurotrashy” bar. Hung around there for a bit and then went back to Crudens and slept. 2nd of March 2005 Woke up and went to Cruden’s Ethics of Modern Warfare class which was quite boring, and Cruden had to keep nudging me to keep me from falling asleep. Had coffee with Nilene and Cruden at Beanscene and then bought some food from Tesco. I had to catch the train to Edinburgh in the evening so after dinner George and Cruden drove me to Leuchers. Said goodbye, caught the train and arrived in Edinburgh at Waverly Station where I met up with Lizzy. Lizzy hadn’t changed much at all and it was good to see her after three years. Her accent had taken on a Scottish tinge. Cruden for some reason, never adopted even the slightest British accent, although he does say certain words with certain intonations. Anyway, Lizzy very nicely paid for the cab to her flat where we dropped off my baggage and then went to a Pub that was either called the Links or the Golf or something. We were there for probably five hours. Got back into Lizzie’s flat at 1:30am. My flight left at 6:30am so I grabbed a quick nap, woke up at 5am and caught a cab to Edinburgh Airport. 3rd of March 2005 From Edinburgh Airport I flew to Heathrow, took a shuttle from Heathrow to Gatwick that cost 17 bloody pounds, and since I didn’t have that amount I had to overdraft on my credit card. Arrived late at Gatwick, but still made my flight to Charlotte. Slept during the majority of the flight back to the States. Arrived exhausted nonetheless in Charlotte. Saw Uncle Steve in the airport who was actually taking the same flight back to Wilmington. Got back to Wilmington without any problems. Went home exhausted and fell asleep. 11:09 PM Tuesday, February 15, 2005   Where is my life going? Where is time going? And why is it going by so quickly? I do not have any answers for this but it does concern me sometimes. Anyway, everything is going well. Had a Superbowl party earlier this month, which was attended by nearly thirty people. We had a fridge overflowing with beer, chicken wings, chips, dip and all of the other trappings of a Superbowl party. Everyone had a good time, got very blitzed and still managed to behave, pretty much so at least. Took alot of pictures, all quite funny. Hope to post them on webshots in the near future. I have had the immense fortune of participating in this extra-cirricular seminar. It's not for credit or anything, but just for personal enlightenment and enjoyment. Pretty much one of my professors got a grant to do some research regarding how students talk about God and religion in everyday life. She chose about twelve people, including me, to join in on this project. What we pretty much do is go out to dinner at really expensive restaurants and discuss these issues. And all of this for free. The grant covers everyones dinner. So we have promulgated a list of probably the best and most expensive restaurants in Wilmington to attend. This Sunday I met with the group at Boca Bay. We could not have had a better time. The food was superb, the conversation was excellent and the atmosphere was conducisve to entertaining but informative discussion. We not only discussed the subject, but after dinner hung around and talked about all sorts of other issues. Next dinner we will be going to Portland Grille, which has been given rave reviews. Work continues to be very enjoyable. I bought some Decaf Starbucks for everyone at work as a Valentine's Day present. The office was actually nice enough to buy everyone's meal on Valentines and we got Henry's for takeout. Two free meals in a row...rather unheard of. Going over next week to Scotland to visit Cruden. Should be great fun. It is interesting to note that it really has been about four years since I was last there. I was at the end of my junior year in High School when I went over there for the first time. Ive got my itenerary and tickets already so hopefully I won't encounter any problems. I've been working on a powerpoint presentation on the movie Patton and finished that tonight, so I'm pleased about that. And that is about it. Goodnight. 11:47 PM Monday, January 24, 2005   Life has been treating me well and I have no complaints. Work has been awesome. The people there are so cool, so laid back and so friendly. The very nature of the office is an interesting contrast to my previous job. I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone and learning about the business. I'm working part time on Mon-Wed and pretty much full time on Friday. I do alot of different things like running errands, answering phones, picking up lunch, some filing, organizing, copying, faxing, scheduling appointments and doing whatever I can to make people happy. To be able to wake up in the morning and actually be happy to go to work is a feeling that I havent had since I worked for Mr. Jackson a couple of years ago. And the coffee there is really damn good. Classes are also going well so far. I'm immensly enjoying my Middle Eastern and Non Canonical Biblical class and somewhat enjoying the rest. Socially things have been pretty crazy. On Thursday a bunch of people came over and suprise suprise beer and halo but since all of our guests were music majors they started playing guitars and singing drunken songs. It was quite fun. And I have pictures. Speaking of which, I have decided that once I gather all of my pics together I'm going to put a webshots page up. I freely admit that the reason I am doing this is because everyone else is. : ) I also went to mass today and it was very concise but quite meaningful. And I think that is it. 1:48 AM Sunday, January 09, 2005   This much needed update will be lengthy and will cover November 2004 onward. November was undeniably marked by the end of my job at HEGK. I was called into my boss's office and politely informed that my services were no longer required. While I was slightly annoyed that they didnt give me more notice, I wasn't overly surprised. My position at HEGK was originally only for the summer but as time went on it began to spread into Fall. I was then told that my position would only last until they hired another assistant. And yet, after they hired another assistant I still stayed on for another month. So all in all I suppose I just have to be greatful that they kept me at the office as long as they did. However, I must note that it would have been more considerate if they had told me: "Well we need a full time person for this position, but why don't you stay on until we find someone else." Instead, they let me go before they had hired a fulltime replacement, which I am sure caused quite a workload for my co-workers. I also still miss alot of the people at the firm. It was undeniably a great job and an interesting experience. November was also marked by the reelection of President Bush, which as you can imagine, pleased me immensely. The historic significance of this event can not be underestimated. I believe now, as I did then, that under the second administration we will see the destruction of the last vestiges of the welfare state and the end of socialist inspired policies that have hampered this nation's economic progress. Furthermore, I was simply pleased that Bush won so it would piss off Michael Moore, the insipid Hollywood liberals and the useful idiots of left wing academia. I also managed to write around seven papers that month without losing my sanity. The phonathon, my secondary job, dragged on and on and I dreaded every single minute of it. My boss instituted a policy stating that if you missed a session you would have to make it up. Now, that sounds unremarkable but the fact is at the beginning of the semester when I started work at the phonathon it was more "Come when you want." Furthermore the monotony of the job began to really get to me. When December came and I looked at the total amount of money that I made I definatly concluded that it was not worth it. Thanksgiving was unremarkable and unimportant. By the end of the first week of December or so I had finished with exams and got to spend some time with Camp and Sherman, who both stayed in town for a while after school ended. Morris and Justin headed back to their respective hometowns almost as soon as they were finished. After everyone left, I just hung around the apartment, watching countless DVDs thanks to Morris's movie pass at Blockbuster and sleeping in late. I was thoroughly unproductive. Christmas was great as usual. I went home on the 24th and 25th. On Christmas Eve, as is tradition for unknown reasons, we went over to my relatives house where we ate terrible homemade pizza. On the 25th I did what everyone else does on Christmas. I recieved some very useful presents including a new set of silverware and a foyer table for my apartment. I also got Rome Total War and Pirates which are both excellent games. I went back to my apartment on the 26th. Around that time John Scott called me and we hung out and drank and watched the UNC-UNCW game. I also saw Cam and Aaron Joachim, who I hadn't seen in years. Camp got back on the 28th or 29th and the rest of the guys got back soon afterward. Classes are looking good for this semester but I have four research papers. Considering the amount of bitching and complaining that I make over one research paper, well this could get messy. On Monday and Wednesday I only have one class, Religious Reform in Modern America. It is too early to judge the class. Tuesday and Thursday I have in rapid succession, History of the Middle East which is bound to be controversial and enjoyable, History of Europe in the 20th Century with the same excellent professor I had for French History last semester, Military History of the United States with Chancellor Emertius Dr. Leutze and then Non-Canonical Biblical Literature with one of my most favored professors Dr. Zervos. Also, my Military History class is housed in the new education building which is utterly breathtaking. I have Friday off which is very good considering that I managed to get another job. I'm currently working in a doctors office performing similar duties as I did at HEGK, but with more variety and more computer work. On this Friday I went in for my first day of work. The people at the office were so nice and so friendly. I learned how to do alot of different things and enjoyed how I would not be stuck doing one thing over and over again. Mainly though it appears I will be inputting information into a computer system, which is absolutely fine with me. I actually went in at 830 and work went by very quickly. I was also impressed how everyone in the office ate lunch together in the kitchen, which reminded me alot of my job at Mr. Jackson's law office a couple of years ago. Furthermore, the Doctors are all very friendly and unpretentious. I left around 430. I was, and am now very excited about this job and I sincerely think I am going to enjoy it. And that is really about it for now. 2:46 AM Thursday, October 28, 2004   It's definatly been a while since I last posted. Reason being essentially that I'm lazy and not that much of utmost importance has been going on. Classes are going well I suppose. Age of Braveheart has been dissapointing I'm afraid because we really haven't talked enough about Scotland and have wasted time reading articles about topics such as Medieval hunting and hygiene. Antropology sucks and I'm puzzled as to why it is a core requirement. History of France is awesome as well as Foreign Policy of the US. My job at the law office is going alright. The pay is good and I like the people there alot but I admit I get pretty upset on the few occasions I screw things up. The phonathon is alright. I had considered dropping out of it because I wasn't getting any pledges for the University but my luck seems to have changed so I am going to tough it out. This semester, without much change, has gone something like this. On Monday I wake up for class, come back and take a nap, go back to class, come home, go to yoga, have dinner with Mom and go back. On Wednesday's this schedule is similar but I do not have yoga. Tuesday's I get up and go to the courthouse, return to HEGK where I file, answer phones, make copies and do miscellaneous work. I get off of there at 1, grab lunch, go to class at 2-315, return to the apartment and then off to work at the phonathon from 530-900. On Thursday I have to be at work exactly at 9:00, which can be painful, but not a problem. Friday's are much like Mon-Wed except after my class ends at 2 I go to the courthouse and go back to HEGK and work there. Weekends are naturally great. Typical activities such as movie watching, eating out, partying. A couple of interesting things have transpired. I went up to Thomasville with Morris last month and had a good time up there. We've had alot of company at the apartment, which isn't a problem considering it's size. Some of Morris's friends from state have been here and his sister Joanne, who is brilliant also came down to visit. We had a pretty good time playing "Circle of Death" on her visit here. What else? Have been over to Jenna's once or twice to hang with her Katie, Erin, and Kevin. I see Erin and Jenna pretty often, we go out to dinner every now and then. I rarely, if ever see Katie and Kevin and have not seen Brandon since May of this year. Tim is around and about pretty often as well. It does suck not seeing everyone everyday but I love living off campus. The apartment, or more properly condominium is perfect. It's new, clean and large. We are outside the mile radius so we can drive to campus but it only takes us about 5 minutes to get there. Justin, Morris and I have done an excellent job getting the condo together. It looks great, weve got alot of framed pictures up, nice furniture and some curtains. I have to admit that it is everything that I could want. I really do like the off-campus life. Not having a meal plan or room and board gives me alot more flexibility over my finances. My finances have been definatly better this year. Having two jobs helps of course, as does having the refund check go straight to me instead of to Housing and Residence Life. I use my work money for food, gasoline and stuff for the apartment and solely use my refund check to pay for rent and utilities. We havent cooked that much in the apartment and eat out alot. Living with Justin and Morris has worked out excellently. It's very uncomplicated and as was the case with last year with the other guys, always great to live with some of your best friends. I admit I am getting sick though of my current schedule and undeniably have a sense of malaise. Next semester should be pretty cool though. I've organized my classes to primarily be on Tues-Thurs with one left over on Mon-Wed and no classes at all on Friday. No more 9:00 classes either, all at 11 or later! Whoo! I have a research paper due on November 8th. As anyone who keeps up with this blog knows, that's not a good thing. Expect to see it posted on here (because the Crusade of Edward I is really that interesting....) around then. The reason I actually post these on here is because it is my hope that someone will google whatever they need and come across the paper and make use of it. Goodnight. 1:09 AM Wednesday, September 08, 2004   I have got to get another wireless router because this one sucks. It either works perfectly for a day, or doesn't work at all. Anyway, today was alright. I managed to get alot of filing done at Hedrick Eatman and get some other things organized. Tracie, one of the lawyers spoke to me about her copies. It seems that I'm still making mistakes with them. I really am not overly worried about the pages looking stacked perfectly, although I can understand that, but I am interested as to how there are pages missing. That does indeed bother me and shouldn't be happening. I don't know what I'm doing wrong with them. Probably one of my right-brain disorder characteristics acting up. Sometimes I feel as if I don't know what I've done or how I've gotten to that point. Do I not stay present? I feel pretty stupid at work sometimes. If I can't do a task correctly or make copies right I wonder if the lawyers question my intelligence. Even though a manual task has little to do with that. I spent six dollars on a sandwich at Priddyboys and it sucked. Just thought I'd note that. I'm not in any pain from the surgery still, but the pills definatly have made me woozy. I don't feel completely in touch with the world. Class seemed hazy today. I got some issues straightened out at Financial Aid. As usual, there is always one piece of paper missing, one thing not completed, but that's a given. I got back home and took a nap until eight pm or so. Phonathon work was cancelled today due to some meeting. Erin IMed me and we had coffee. It was definatly a good idea to get out. As always we had a good time. I also bumped into a guy from my foreign relations class who was very friendly and made a point of introducing himself to me. He was Israeli, but spoke perfect English without an accent. We spoke a bit about Israel and how all of the liberals and leftists hate it and how ironic that is. So many Jews are Democrats, but the Democrats are defiantly not the most pro-Israeli party. Whenever I saw the pictures of peace marches in Washington, San Fran etc they were always buring Israeli and American flags but waving Palestinian flags. It seems that many Jews have a sense of self loathing. But so do we Americans. That is the entire mantra of the left. America is wrong, we cannot do anything right, and our enemies are "misunderstood." This is just as dangerous as the idea that we can do everything right. There needs to be a balance. Anyway, I got back from having coffee and did alot of stuff around the apartment, cleaning, laundry, organizing, talking with Morris about Roman history. I've got a paper due on Thursday regarding whether the violence of the French Revolution was justified. How about "no?" Goodnight. 1:41 AM Saturday, September 04, 2004   Not much happened for the rest of the pre-college summer. Work at Hedrick Eatman Gardner Kitchenloe was awesome. It was great having a steady job and getting a good paycheck. Towards the end of July, Justin and Morris moved their stuff into the new apartment and I followed about a week later. The apartment is really incredible. Three bedrooms, two baths, marble fireplace, new carpet, new wallpaper, fully equipped...etc. It's really perfect. Before school started Vanessa Eulo and her brother and her brother's friends, John Scott and Daneen came over and we played some drinking games. We all got rather blitzed playing "circle of death." School has been going well. I'm currently taking four classes: Age of Braveheart, Physical Antropology, Foreign Relations of the United States, and History of Modern France. I dropped Women of East Asia due to the fact that it had a 25 page research paper and it was a foolish idea to try to take two seminars in one semester. I managed to get a second job at the UNCW phonathon which pays better and is more enjoyable then the telephone surveys that I did last year. I'm still working at Hedrick Eatman at reduced hours. I'm very greatful how pragmatic they have been regarding my hours. I really am sorry that I got behind on this journal. To be quite honest, there really wasn't much going on before school started. Everyone here is doing well. Erin's apartment is really really nice and her roommate is cool. Jenna and Katy are living over in Governors Square in a very well maintained apartment. We had some fun there a week ago with these light-up martini glasses that Jenna and Erin found at JC Pennys. Not to mention what we put in those glasses! Tim is fine, Heather is working at the phonathon with me, as is Jenna. I have not seen much of Kevin nor Brandon, although Kevin did come and have dinner with us on Jenna's birthday. Justin and Morris are excellent as usual. Justin did a splendid job putting his room together. I had to have all four of my wisdom teeth taken out this week. I don't remember exactly what happened. About a second after they put the IV in my arm I must have conked out. When I woke up I was back home in bed. I seem to be healing well, Mom's been taking good care of me. I've only been able to eat ice cream and pie, but there could be alot worse things than that. Tonight though I managed to eat some pasta. Justin and I watched all of the speeches this week at the RNC. I was truly amazed. What a difference from the "political theatre" of the DNC. This was real and raw and I loved it. No wonder Bush has gotten a huge bounce. His speech, by the way was incredible. Undeniably the best speech he has ever made. Zell's was very entertaining, Guliani's was inspiring, and McCain laid it all out perfectly. I thought the Bush twin's speech was embarassing though. They appeared very unnatural and rather stupid to be blunt. And thats about it. Goodnight. 11:14 PM