Light Bulb!

So I've been writing for about a year now and there really hasn't been any cohesion with my posts. However, due to the fact that I am moving and am completely expecting upheaval in my normally staid life, I plan to write about it; therefore giving my blog a subject and hopefully some better writing. (This post should not be an example of said writing ability).

So to summarize my great idea, I will be writing about life as a Philadelphia transplant. As of right now, my news is short and sweet: currently unemployed with a legitimate move-in date.

Why the need to kill others?

Some Fatal Shootings at US Workplaces

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:02 p.m. ET

Some fatal shootings at U.S. workplaces:

-- Aug. 3, 2010: Warehouse driver Omar Thornton shot and killed eight people before apparently committing suicide at a Manchester, Conn., beer distributorship.

-- June 25, 2008: Wesley N. Higdon, 25, killed five workers, then himself, at Atlantis Plastics in Henderson, Ky. A sixth shooting victim survived.

-- March 18, 2008: Lee Isaac Bedwell Leeds, 31, shot and killed four men at a junk yard in Santa Maria, Calif.

-- March 12, 2008: Robert Lanham killed two people in the Regions Bank of McComb, Miss., where his ex-wife worked, then forced the woman to flee with him before killing her and committing suicide.

-- Jan. 30, 2006: Former postal worker Jennifer San Marco, 44, shot and killed six postal employees, then himself, in Goleta, Calif.

-- July 2, 2004: Elijah Brown, 21, killed four co-workers and wounded three others at ConAgra Foods meatpacking plant in Kansas City, Kan., before committing suicide.

-- August 27, 2003: Recently fired Salvador Tapia, 36, killed six former co-workers at an auto parts warehouse in Chicago, then was shot dead by police.

-- July 8, 2003: Doug Williams, 48, shot and killed six workers and wounded eight others before killing himself at a Lockheed Martin aircraft parts plant in Meridian, Miss.

--Feb. 25, 2003: Emanuel Burl Patterson, 23, shot and killed four fellow jobseekers and wounded a fifth at a temporary employment service in Huntsville, Ala.

-- Feb. 5, 2001: Factory worker William D. Baker, 66, killed four co-workers, then himself, at the Navistar International factory in suburban Chicago, Ill.

-- Dec. 26, 2000: Software tester Michael McDermott, 43, shot and killed seven people at a Wakefield, Mass., Internet consulting company, Edgewater Technology Inc. He was convicted, sentenced to life without parole.

-- March 20, 2000: Fired employee Robert Harris, 28, fatally shot five people and wounded another at a Dallas-area car wash. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

-- Dec. 30, 1999: Housekeeper Silvio Izquierdo-Leyva, 36, fatally shot five co-workers at Tampa, Fla.'s Radisson Bay Harbor hotel. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to life in prison.

-- Nov. 2, 1999: Copier repairman Byran Uyesugi, 40, fatally shot seven people at Xerox Corp. in Honolulu. He was convicted, sentenced to life in prison.

-- Aug. 5, 1999: Truck driver Alan E. Miller, 35, fatally shot two co-workers at Pelham, Ala., office, then killed a former co-worker. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

-- July 29, 1999: Former day trader Mark Barton, 44, killed nine people at two Atlanta brokerage offices before he committed suicide.

-- March 6, 1998: Former Connecticut Lottery Corp. accountant Matthew Beck, 35, fatally shot four lottery executives, then himself.

-- Dec. 18, 1997: Fired employee Arturo R. Torres, 43, killed four former co-workers at maintenance yard in Orange, Calif., and was shot to death by police.

-- Sept. 15, 1997: Fired assembly line worker Arthur H. Wise, 43, shot and killed four at Aiken, S.C., parts plant. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

-- April 24, 1996: Firefighter Kenneth Tornes killed four superiors at Jackson, Miss. firehouse. He died on death row.

-- April 3, 1995: Former employee James Simpson, 28, shot and killed five people at refinery inspection station in Corpus Christi, Texas, then killed himself.

-- July 19, 1995: City electrician Willie Woods shot and killed four supervisors at C. Erwin Piper Technical Center in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to life in prison.

-- July 1, 1993: Gian Luigi Ferri, 55, a mentally disturbed man with a grudge against lawyers, killed eight people and himself in a San Francisco law office.

-- June 18, 1990: James E. Pough, 42, killed 10 people and wounded four others before killing himself at a General Motors Acceptance Corp. office in Jacksonville, Fla.

-- Sept. 14, 1989: Joseph T. Wesbecker, 47, on disability for mental illness, killed eight people and wounded 12 others at a printing plant in Louisville, Ky., before killing himself.

-- Feb. 16, 1988: Richard W. Farley, 40, killed seven people with a shotgun at ESL Corp. in Sunnyvale, Calif., before surrendering. He was sentenced to death.

-- Aug. 20, 1986: Pat Sherrill, 44, a postal worker who authorities say was about to be fired, killed 14 people at a post office in Edmond, Okla., then fatally wounded himself.

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-- Compiled by AP News Researcher Julie Reed Bell

(This version CORRECTS that June 25, 2008, shooting was in Henderson, Ky., not Dixon, Ky.)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/03/us/AP-US-Workplace-Shootings-List.html

I can see the need to kill yourself; everyone has a breaking point but I cannot understand the need to bring others down with you.

trip down memory lane, briefly

So I was recently reminiscing about boys, specifically boys during college. It might have had something to do with the fact that I was in town where I had gone to college. I'll admit that there was a decent amount of boys then. Some I still speak to and some I don't. But nonetheless, still part of my life.

In particular, one thing haunts me to this day. M., during one of our ridiculous drunken arguments, said quite reasonably, "you know, you're the only girl I've ever been able to talk to." It might have been one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.

I know that I tend to choose to remember only the nicer things in life and bury the ugly. But when an off-the-wall compliment like that comes to mind, I can't help but drudge up the rest and wonder what happened to him. If he's found another girl to talk to or watches Adult Swim by himself.

I go to bed too early these days to watch.

Work It

So I've recently switched up my work-out routine. Instead of running several miles, I've dropped running and taken up Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred workout. So far, I believe it's working.

Or at least it was working when I did it. I've taken the past couple of days off. I know it's only a 20 minute workout but sometimes I just can't find the motivation. But I could tell this morning when I woke up and looked into the mirror. There was less definition and more rounded-ness which can be okay when it's not bikini season. Granted it probably didn't help that I pigged out at a late dinner for reasons that I'm still not sure of.

I have a hard time pushing myself without a goal. For example, I'm not planning on running any races anytime soon so I've pretty much stopped running-the heat doesn't help either.

Anyways, I'm hoping with the holiday off and not having to go to work will give me the extra time to workout and to do some things that I've been talking about for weeks and have yet to touch-ie cleaning my car.

He's Just Not that Into YOU

I recently watched He's Just Not That Into You for the first time. Now, I knew what I was getting into but I did not expect that particular ending. While not every storyline had a happy ending, it still gave into that ridiculous Hollywood type ending. The story line that I'm referring to is the Gigi and Alex one where she pursues every guy who is indifferent to her. Yet in the end, she dates Alex, the guy who gives her advice on how to act with the indifferent men who finally has a light bulb go off in his head so they end up happily dating despite the fact that she's a whack job. Even the story line with Janine and Ben - the married couple that doesn't end well - he is type-casted as a cheater and she as an uptight, Type A perfectionist. Is there no such thing as normal?

I feel that they took very specific types of people and tried to show how ridiculous relationships have become. While technology can be partly blamed for this, relationships have always had an awkwardness to them.

While I believe that there is a lot of truth to the statement, "he's just not that into you," I believe that the movie does not justify that statement. Not necessarily because there were some happy endings, but rather because it does not look at the big picture fully enough. Every woman featured, if she wasn't in some type of a relationship, was pining to be in one. Why is it not okay for women to be single? Or is it just once a woman reaches a certain age, she becomes relationship-hungry?

While, I could be digging too deeply into this, the movie was not as strong as I thought it could have been. However, there is nothing wrong with the statement, "he's just not that into you", because seriously, would you want every guy all about you? I sure as hell wouldn't- probably because that's too much work for me. And I'm not into every guy I meet.

Out of Office

Wow, definitely just realized that it's been over a month since I've written anything.

In that time, I got drenched at Shamrock fest in DC with some awesome people, been onstage with the Dropkick Murphys (twice), ran my first marathon, saw the glory of Tennessee, and got accepted into graduate school.

I'm still having a quarter-life crisis going on, a bit early, but I blame my dad for that. He has a habit it saying all of the horrible things I think. For example, I applied to graduate school for something that I'm passionate about and am super excited about the fact that one of the schools wants me. However, I know that it is going to cost a lot of money to accomplish but to me it is worth it. My dad never went to graduate school so he doesn't understand the whole situation. Part of this issue is that I've been so used to having running goals for the past couple of years but now I don't have any because I have no idea where I'm gonna be in the next 6 or so months. I did sign up for the Army 10 miler but that's partly because it sells out within 2 days and that you are able to transfer that race registration. I think that it is the uncertainty that bothers me. I plan on going to an open house for grad school in a few weeks and hopefully that will help cement my decision. It probably doesn't help that I'm horribly indecisive, especially when it comes to something that will change my life.

I'm still immensely proud of myself for sticking with my decision to apply to grad school. To those that care, here is my essay:

I know the exact moment that I realized I wanted to be a librarian. I walked up the stairs at the Andy Warhol Museum to the famous stuffed Great Dane, Cecil, guarding the library with its hundreds of boxes. I had always been a great lover of books but I had never put the two together until then. That museum visit crystallized my next goal: attending graduate school for a degree in library science, with a focus on archives that will help me share the experiences of the past with the minds of the future. Just as those dedicated researchers at the Warhol Museum created an intensely personal learning experience for me, I too, would like to make an impact on the learning experience of others. Having the opportunity to change the way the past is presented to society and to help shape the way history is viewed is why I want to pursue this degree at Drexel University. Moreover, its close proximity to a plethora of museums such as the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, American Philosophical Society Museum, and Independence Hall, to name a few, is what makes Drexel University particularly attractive to me.

Growing up I had a severe speech impediment that led to a love of reading because of my inability to communicate with others. I spent so much time at the local library that I volunteered during middle school summers even as my speech impediment became less noticeable. The library was the one place that I always felt accepted, and it nurtured my love of reading. This love of reading spilled into my classes, as my teachers encouraged me with book recommendations. Because of this, I was often the only student who had read the majority of books a professor would mention throughout a class, regardless of the subject matter.

I carried this same dedication to the playing field. During the fall semester of my sophomore year in college, I broke my collarbone playing rugby. Unable to play that semester, I rehabbed so that I could play the following semester. Despite my coach’s wariness about letting me play, I persisted, and by the following fall semester, I was playing full games in a completely different position on the team. Likewise, when I did not receive the grade I thought my class work deserved, I would discuss it with the professor to better understand his or her expectations of me. Being armed with this knowledge- made me better prepared in my studies and fostered closer relationships with my professors, with whom I developed strong bonds that transcended the classroom.

I feel that my experiences with rugby and school, combined with my eureka moment at the Andy Warhol Museum, would make me a valuable member of the diverse community at the College of Information Science and Technology in Drexel University. Specifically, I see the Library Science and Information program at Drexel University as the bridge from my past to my future of helping others experience history in a manner relevant to today.

Just some poems I found

So for my high school graduation, my parents bought me a Mac Book as my gift. I had several ups and downs with this computer throughout college but essentially it got me through the four years. Barely. As soon as graduation hit and everything had been turned in, it died. I had a flash drive that I used but rarely did it contain the finished versions of papers, poems, and essays, and narratives-essentially everything that I had every written for the past four years.

Needless to say, I was devastated when it crashed. Especially now, since I tend to look at my former writings for inspiration. Here are some of my favorite poems written senior year that I found the other day rummaging for a paper:

White Lady

Small silver blade
Powder of white
On a square mirror
Blade
Divide the White
Lady
Into equal lines.

Roll a twenty-dollar bill
Tightly.
Breathe in deep
Pinch nostrils together.

Snot runs down your throat
Green as the money spent.


He Asks Me

Please he asks me
It’ll feel so good.

You know exactly what to do.

I shift my body down the bed
Wiggle my goodies
Bobbling backwards
I position myself
Between his legs
Take him into my mouth
Try not to gag.

I prove my love.


Be a Lady

Don’t pick your nails, girl
She told me.
But I did
Down to the quick redness between my fingers
Stain.

Don’t sit with you legs spread, girl
She told me.
But I did
Wide as they would go
Stretch.

Don’t wear to much makeup, girl
She told me.
But I did
Black circles around my eyes
Slut.



These were part of a poetry project that I had done. Sadly, I'm having issues with getting the spacing exactly how I want it on here so if anyone has any ideas on how to do that, it would be greatly appreciated!