Who You Callin' A Monkey?

This was found in today's edition of the New York Post:



I suppose even our cool new president isn't immune to racial slurs and downright ignorance.

All Things in Good Time

I just finished off a pretty good lunch of tilapia, spinach, and grapes, and now I'm thinking of things I need to do before I leave for work in an hour. Speaking of which, the telemarketing company has been very pleasant thus far. The people are really easy to work with, and because I only work with inbound calls, I never have to worry about getting cursed out for harassing someone. Just waitin' for the first paycheck, and that leads me to another item to do...paying bills. I've been keeping them pretty low thus far by turning everything off and taking short showers, so I only have about $50 to pay for both water and power - not too bad!

Got dirty dishes in the sink, clothes strewn around the room, jobs to look for, and a focus group to organize. My advertising campaigns project (check out the blog at http://campusboozeblog.com) is putting together a series of short panels to ask college students about their boozy ways. Should be fun. I think we're going to offer pizza as an incentive to come. Is it wrong that I'm more excited about the pizza than the actual focus group? Hmm.

Other than that, this week is pretty chill. Even though I'm without fun and exciting twitter-style updates from Paris, I thought it would be a good idea to keep this thing updated - months and years from now I'll be able to look at my posts and pontificate on what a wise, well-adjusted young man I've become. Hah!

A Wing and a Prayer

Although I usually hate email forwards, this one stuck out to me, especially with me being in a bit of a rough spot managing bills and the forthcoming life after graduation. Check it out..

One day I decided to quit...
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God," I asked, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me...
"Look around," He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes," I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He asked me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots".
"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others."
He said. "The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come," God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked. "How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can?" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never, Never, Never Give up.

Prayer is not an option, it's an opportunity.

Just call me Bamboo Brown...

And I Think to Myself, "What A Wonderful World..."

Man oh man, has this week been juicy, and it's only Wednesday.

"Leap Kills Motocross Star." "Rihanna Reportedly the Victim in Chris Brown Assault Case." "Wildfire Death Toll Reaches 180 in Australia." "Kellogg Drops Michael Phelps."

Must be something in the air. Regardless of all the action going on out there, I try to keep a strong focus on what I'm supposed to be doing, and in case I haven't said it a dozen times, that would be graduating and finding a good job opportunity thereafter.

That of course means that the job hunt begins now. I've started looking at a few organizations - none of which I feel appropriate to comment on - and I feel fairly optimistic that I'll be on someone's payroll somewhere down the line.

I do have a couple of things keeping me busy though. I've recently begun working part time at a telemarketing company, where (thankfully) all of the calls are strictly inbound. This means that I will not become one of those people that you just love to curse out for dialing your number. The pay is pretty solid, and it will definitely help to take care of the bills for the time being. Hello financial security, how I've missed you.

Speaking of the bills - I live in a wonderful three bedroom/two bathroom house, and I lucked out by getting the master bedroom on the first floor, complete with its own bathroom. I love it. It's a fantastic place to live. The neighborhood is filled with really mellow students, singles, and families, and because it's not an apartment complex, I NEVER hear footsteps or voices 20 feet from my window. Looking back, it's a wonder I survived the crappy apartment I lived at during my fourth year. Whatev, I'm sure it built character.

The rent for my room is $300, which is a real steal, and the utilities aren't so bad either, except for the fact that I may be paying for them by myself pretty soon. I was under the impression that I was going to split the utilities in three with the other two roommates, but they both moved out, which left me with a quiet house all to myself (joy!) and the utilities in full (crap!).

Strangely enough, I'm not too worried. The three utilities are cable, water, and power, and I may end up lopping off the first one to save me about $40-60 bucks a month. I never watch basic cable, and though I love the movie channels, I am always dealing with one of two problems: 1) turning the TV on to find that an interesting movie has already started, or 2) having to wait for an hour or two for one to come on so that I can watch it in full. Because I've never been the type to schedule my life and free time around TV, and also because movie channels may end up being better for those who can tape them with a DVR, I may be better off just cancelling cable altogether. I love playing music, surfing the 'net, and reading in my spare time. The quiet, 'tis not a bad thing.

Boy, did I get to ranting or what? I have a magazine sketch due tomorrow for graphics, as well as an article to read for speech. Hasta la vista......

A Moment of Your Time

Check out this blog created by my advertising campaigns group:

Campus Booze Blog

Please comment on the topics, contribute to the survey, watch the fun video, etc.

And I got a B- on that graphics test. Whatevs.