journeyprotector's Xanga

ClustrMaps

Fri, 26 May 2006 16:58:27 GMT

This is just a test run of a new ClustrMap thingamabob I've discovered. Enjoy!

JUICE

Anyone up for a road trip??

Wed, 03 May 2006 15:42:23 GMT

WOW. I don't think this will help the cause in regards to the recent immigration issues here in our country. One of the best pieces of advice my brother has given me was this: Never give them the bullets to shoot you with. Methinks they did just that.

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Mexico's Fox to Sign Bill Legalizing Drugs

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Tue May 2, 4:19 PM ET

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President

Spokesman Ruben Aguilar defended the law, which was approved Friday by Mexico's Senate, despite criticism in the United States that it could increase casual drug use.

"The president is going to sign this law," said Aguilar, who called the legislation "a better tool ... that allows better action and better coordination in the fight against drug dealing."

"The government believes that this law represents progress, because it established the minimum quantities that a citizen can carry for personal use," Aguilar said.

Under current Mexican law, judges can drop charges against people caught with drugs if they can prove they are addicts and if an expert certifies they were caught with "the quantity necessary for personal use."

The new bill makes the decriminalization automatic and drops the addict requirement — automatically letting any "consumers" have drugs.

While police will still be able to detain people for public consumption or possession of drugs, it appears that those caught could only be referred to a treatment program — of which Mexico has few — or have their names added to a registry of addicts.

On Friday, Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego, said he was "appalled" by the bill. The city of 1.3 million people is a short drive from the Mexican border town of Tijuana.

"I certainly think we are going to see more drugs available in the United States," Sanders said. "We need to register every protest the American government can muster."

Under the new law, consumers may possess up to 25 milligrams of heroin, five grams of marijuana (about one-fifth of an ounce, or about four joints), or 0.5 grams of cocaine — the equivalent of about four "lines," or half the standard street-sale quantity.

The law also establishes allowable quantities for other drugs, including LSD, ecstasy — about two pills' worth — and amphetamines.

However, the bill stiffens penalties for trafficking and possession of drugs — even small quantities — by government employees or near schools, and it maintains criminal penalties for drug sales.

It also gives local police more power to go after small-scale dealing.

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Road trip, anyone?

Rebounds

Mon, 01 May 2006 19:05:33 GMT

Hey peeps. What's happenin'? Apparently, there a few of you out there who are actually interested in what I have to say. Wow... You must be really bored to read my stuff. I'm sitting here on the 4th floor of Hale Library waiting to go to my 12.30. I overslept my 10.30 this morning because I didn't hear my alarm until 10.25. Oh well, it's called "dead week" for a reason, right?

Last night I hit a really huge slump in my life. So far, my life has been about rebounds and second chances. All my frustrations came to a head around 1 in the morning when I saw some pictures on Facebook. God dammit, Facebook is so evil but soooooo addictive. Those pictures brought back old memories and disappointments (more of the latter than the former). Here's some background:

Fall 2001. I flunked out. Yup. It happens to the best of us. I didn't party in my youger days at K-State because I was afraid of getting bad grades. Ironically, making money was the cause of my dismissal. Before college I never had a job so when the opportunity came to make money, I made as much as I could. Working many late nights and weird schedules created problems with my sleeping... I slept through all my classes. Funny, but true.

Spring 2002. I enrolled at Cloud County Community College in Junction City. I stayed at home, attended classes, and worked at the Union. That following summer I was offered a full-ride scholarship to run track for them at their main campus. Seeing an opportunity -a second chance- to compete again, I took it.

Fall 2002 - Spring 2004. My years at Cloud. In that amount of time, I managed to build a name and reputation for myself as a mentor, a student-athlete, a tutor, a friend and a Resident Assistant. I was happy again because I felt worthwhile, like I could do anything. Then I graduated.

Fall 2004. My return to Kansas State University. Almost everyone I knew from my previous stint was gone. I had to start over again. At the same time, I walked on to the track team in hopes of having one last hurrah. Although I bitched about the early morning workouts and study tables, I loved every single minute of it. I felt elite and unstoppable... Until my old GPA became an issue. After an entire semester of busting my ass and training as hardly as I possibly could, I learned I couldn't compete for K-State because my GPA was too low. The NCAA wouldn't include my transfer GPA into the equation, which really, really fucking sucked. HUGE DEPRESSION followed. To make a long story short, it was all for nothing.

Spring 2005. I almost gave up. I hardly slept, I hardly ate, I went through the motions of life out of routine and necessity. I knew my family and friends loved me but the fact remained that I couldn't do the #1 thing I wanted to do: Wear a purple and white uniform and represent Kansas State University. Oh well... My name at least made it on their website.

Fall 2005. I picked myself up and dusted myself off. Each passing semester brought me closer to walking across the stage and putting the bad memories behind. Rough rebound but it worked out all right.

Spring 2006. Holy-fucking shit. I tell myself things must get worse before they can get better, right? My GPA is the biggest fucking hinderance of my life. I can't enroll in the College of Education, I can't join a fraternity, I can't run track... I'm ice-skating uphill. Out of the many can'ts I've encountered, I know for sure I can do one thing: LEAVE.

Post-Spring 2006. Who knows. This summer will ultimately determine what my future holds. For those who don't know the story, wish me luck.

Moral of the Story: When life gives you lemons, get some salt and a bottle of tequila, then drink yourself stupid.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:30:01 GMT

WOW. It has been quite some time since I last updated my Xanga. That is going to change, however. Since I've managed to develop a small, faithful audience dedicated to reading my online soliloquys, so be it. I will let my thoughts flow freely at least once a week. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 18:09:54 GMT

Hi all! I'm in better spirits today. I'm sitting here at work scanning some slides from the early 90's for the Union's 50th anniversary (in '06). I can average about 4.5 minutes for every row of slides, so my afternoon is looking pretty busy.

Good news... I got a car. It's not what I wanted nor is it what I hoped for, but at least I have wheels now. All I know is that It's a four-door '93 Plymouth Sundance. I'll give more details when I actually see it.

I had the opportunity to influence and enlighten the minds of young people today. The coordinator for the Upward Bound Bridge Program asked me and some of my fellow UB alumni to speak to their students about college and its many experiences. For those who aren't familiar with Upward Bound, it's a government-sponsored program dedicated to increasing the chances of low-income students getting into and staying in college. Click here for more information about the program.

In my 15-minute talk I stressed how easy it is to "fall between the cracks and develop academic deficiencies" (as I so eloquently put it). I also emphasized the importance of staying ahead of the game and asking for help when they need it. To me, those concepts are two of the most important aspects of higher education. I also spoke of how GPA affects EVERYTHING from chosen majors, to athletics, to possible future employment. Kim, another alumna and co-speaker, talked about making the right decisions (like homework vs. partying, going to class vs. sleeping in, etc.). Another speaker (and my co-alumna!), Vy, discussed how networking works in the university setting. I think the three of us did a great job.

The second group I spoke to was the Upward Bound Math-Science Program. It was pretty informal since I only stopped by to say hi to Mrs. Sylvester. In addition to say hi, I ended up talking to her class of high school freshmen and sophomores about what to expect. I really liked that group because they were more energetic and enthusiastic about what I had to say. Knowing your audience is listening and paying attention to your really makes a difference.

It was pretty wierd standing up there in front of the kids. I started out being pretty nervous but I soon lost that emotion and let the words flow out of me. My only hope out of all of it is that they actually listened to what we had to say. Hopefully, none of them will have to go through what I went through academically, but it's bound to happen to someone. That's just the way it is. The rebound is what it's all about.

Well, that's enough of that talk for now. Here are some wise sayings to live by:

•Virginity like bubble, one prick, all gone.

•Man who run in front of car get tired.

•Man who run behind car get exhausted.

•Man with hand in pocket feel cocky all day.

•Foolish man give wife grand piano, wise man give wife upright organ.

•Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to Bangkok.

•Man with one chopstick go hungry.

•Man who scratch ass should not bite fingernails.

•Man who eat many prunes get good run for money.

•Baseball is wrong: man with four balls cannot walk.

•Panties not best thing on earth! but next to best thing on earth.

•War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.

•Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cat house.

•Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.

•It take many nails to build crib, but one screw to fill it.

•Man who drive like hell, bound to get there.

•Man who stand on toilet is high on pot.

•Man who live in glass house should change clothes in basement.

•Man who fish in other man's well often catch crabs.

•Man who fart in church sit in own pew.

•Crowded elevator smell different to midget.

Peace!

>>>JUICE<<<

(PS: Mad props to my boy Dusty, the big DT. Thanks for somehow including me in your travels, whether I'm there or not. )

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Sat, 02 Jul 2005 17:16:21 GMT

I'm beginning to learn not to get my hopes up about anything anymore. It's pointless and frivolous to want something so bad and not be able to get it. Oh well. C'est la vie. Happy Fourth.

<<JUICE>>

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Tue, 10 May 2005 02:42:19 GMT

Volcano High is the shit!!! A must-see for anyone looking for real-life Dragon Ball Z.

<<JUICE>>

Monday, May 09, 2005

Mon, 09 May 2005 04:40:51 GMT

It is now 12.36 Monday morning. I'm the world's biggest procrastinator. I care about school but I'm not as motivated like I should be. I have five papers due tomorrow at 4 o'clock and I have yet to sit down and think about them. Oh well.

I'm sorry I haven't written anything in so long. I'm not gonna lie and say I've been really busy, but I will say that I don't have that much to say on this thing.

I'll write more later when I think about it.

<JUICE>

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 04:59:20 GMT

Wow, this is a really cool site. I really don't have too much to say at the moment, but I promise I'll write more as it comes to me. Until then, ¡adios!

»JUICE«