US History Essay 1

My professor never officially graded this when it was turned in, but at the end of the year he said I deserved an A for my writing during his class.

The Colonization of North America

A complete essay by Josiah Teal

The colonization of America began with the coming of three different nations to its unfamiliar shores, the Spanish, the French, and the English. What prompted these men, both entrepreneurs and traders, both warriors and religious purists, to leave their familiar countries and the people they knew for the untamed wilderness of the Americas?

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors began pouring into Central America by the boatload. Prompted by the promise of wealth and the fables of golden cities and wells that endowed youth upon whomever drank from their waters, Spanish soldiers and leaders were arriving on the unfamiliar shores in vast numbers. Many were also drawn by religious convictions to “persuade” the native inhabitants to convert to Christianity.

I have never before considered how the average Spanish soldier would have thought of his adventure. I imagine myself being both excited and scared about what I would encounter on my escapade to the strange new land. Struggling with my own civility after witnessing my own “civilized” leaders exact near extermination on the tribes they deemed “barbaric.” Would I be proud or embarrassed in the end, to have been part of the “taming” of Central America?

The French traders found North America to be tremendously profitable for their fur trading endeavors. The “brown gold” (not molasses) was valued very highly back in Europe and French coureurs de bois or “runners of the woods” worked very diligently to keep up with high demands. The high value in the furs flowing from North American lands prompted many French citizens to pack up and move to America, hoping to cash in on the fur trade profits.

To join a French trader might have been a very appealing undertaking for a young man like myself. As a very avid woodsman, I would probably jump at an opportunity to explore the wooded realms of the north all while making a hefty profit, although profit wasn’t always a guarantee. I imagine cold winters, wet springs, and humid summers. Befriending Indian maidens J and living in the untamed wilderness might have been too much of a temptation to refuse.

The English didn’t begin colonization of the new world as soon as the Spanish or the French, but the reasons that they came would make them more of a permanent resident than both the Spaniards and the Frenchmen. Most of the English came to America for religious reasons; they were experiencing a wave of harsh persecution and ridicule in their native land and for many, a journey to a new land was the only means of escape. For others, a new land presented a chance to make a profit as the French had done with the fur trade. Companies would send a group of settlers to the New World with the task of establishing a reliable source of income for themselves. The settlers would harvest crops and trap and trade with the natives, sending back portions of their loot to the company financing the settlement.

I imagine this to be the least enticing adventure of the three discussed, although it may have had its benefits. Colonial life would have been a challenge and I imagine one would need to work from dawn till dusk to make life tolerable for the first few months. It would have been cold at times, very uncomfortable, sickness would likely fall upon many, and the food wouldn’t be anything to be proud of either. I may not have fared too well in this case; my comfortable and relatively easy 21^st century life may have made me too unlikely to work 12-14 grueling hours a day 6 days a week. I suppose if my life depended on it, I could find the spirit to do what needed to be done.

Whether desperately trying to make a name for themselves, just doing business, or escaping persecution, the first colonists of North America must have had terrific courage to step out into an unknown world and start anew. Without knowing what lie ahead as we now do, these brave men and women dared to risk all for what they wanted or believed. That inspires me.

Public Speaking Essay 3

This is the third and final paper that I turned in to my professor of communication, Lou Bruno at Finger Lakes Community College in Newark NY. I believe he was once again very pleased at my awesomeness. Read on, and enjoy it immensely!

Lou Bruno

Public Speaking

Progress Report

by Josiah Teal

When in the course of personal events it became necessary to take a public speaking class, my first thoughts were that of a nervous excitement. I had never really spoken in front of many people before and that fact made me rather nervous. On the other hand, I thought that the opportunity to have all attention on me while I rhapsodize about this and that, all the while impressing my own opinions and getting my point heard would be quite an opportunity.

My first speech was to be an introduction of myself. Rather than taking the traditional route of revealing my hometown, favorite color, favorite food, etc., I chose rather, to explain my personality using an interesting story from my past. Whatever excitement I may have felt prior to getting up in front of the class disappeared as soon as I realized that I now had to remember everything I was going to talk about and get it all out in the right order and in a manner that people would understand all while being critiqued by not only my professor, but by the entire class. I shook with nervous fear. I had to set my paper with the notes down on the desk in front of me because I was shaking too much. I stumbled over words and probably looked really goofy. I became more relaxed as my story progressed. I finished and made my way back to my seat.

The second speech was informative in nature and for it I chose the topic of amateur filmmaking. Having done extensive research on this topic I thought it would turn out pretty well. My experience in this area is largely limited to getting phone calls from friends who wanted to shoot a movie and then, upon arriving at the location of the shoot, realizing that they had done no planning. Nothing would ever get done that way. While delivering the speech I focused on being more relaxed in front of the audience and, while there still was a slight nervous fear remaining, I didn’t let it overpower me. I kept to my topic, all the while trying to limit my urges to expound unnecessarily. I decided to spice the speech up with some lame humor (the kind I’m best at) just to keep everyone interested. My efforts seemed to pay off quite nicely.

For my third speech, the persuasive speech, I chose the topic of gun control. Having recently had a letter published in the newspaper and knowing the argument pretty well, I decided this topic would suit me best. I felt the need to use some visual aids for this presentation but, as you could probably guess, visual aids for a speech on the harmful effects of gun control would be… tricky. I decided that it was time to learn how to use Microsoft Power Point. I put together a simple presentation that I assumed would be easy for the audience to follow. I sat at the computer during the presentation and shouted across the room to the class about this and that. My confidence in the subject decreased as I knew that there was some controversy surrounding what I was saying. I should have stayed my ground seeing as I has the statistics right in front of me and knew the subject well. I used words like “evidently” and “apparently” when I should have used words like “proved” and “without a doubt.” I paused to gather my thoughts at times. Overall however, I think it came out decently. I had expected to do much better but in the end I believe it was acceptable.

In the future I expect to be doing much better. As my confidence increases and as I get to know the members of the audience better my speaking skills should improve. I expect to let the words flow off my tongue like… butter off a hot pancake… or something like that. I am actually looking forward to my final speech the most, as I get to tell everybody how I’m going to become famous and sign autographs for everyone.

Public speaking Essay 2

Again, no official score for this... paper... but my professor was pleased. He circled the last paragraph and wrote "Very good point."

Lou Bruno

Public Speaking

Comparing Speeches:

MLK and Barack Obama

by Josiah Teal

When analyzing the Inaugural (State of the Nation?) Address given by President Barack Obama to Congress, one notices the sense of hope for the future that is brought out in his speech. This is not the first time a speech was given proclaiming hope for America during hard times. Almost a half a century ago, another man gave a passionate speech of hope and optimism for future generations. In his epically famous speech to a cheering crowd in the city of Washington D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the end of oppression for the black community in America.

The similarities the two speeches share are definitely apparent. Both speakers are hopeful that the future of this country will begin to brighten once again, and both speakers are trying to take this country out of hard times. In much the same way the black community looked to King to lead them out of the dark and trying times, many people now are eagerly looking to Obama to single-handedly slay the evil dragon of depression that looms ominously in the shadows and soon thereafter, rain down daisies and butterfly’s all across the land. Everyone will hold hands and sing about cheerfulness all day long and never again will we have to worry about hard times, because there is no need to fear, The Great Obama is here!

While the similarities between the two speeches are evident, there are also many differences. King’s speech still holds the power to move me and I’m a white guy! Obama’s address, while hopeful and optimistic, lacks the level of inspiration the King speech was graced with. Obama’s speech came across more as an instruction manual and progress report than as an inspirational speech. While Obama can speak well and fluently in front of his audience, he failed to affix my attention in the same manner as MLK had done.

An explanation for these differences might come in the form of setting. King was speaking in front of a very large immediate audience out in the open air. While properly equipped with microphones and speakers for projecting his message, the setting was fit for speaking loudly and yelling at key points in the message. While King could feel completely comfortable yelling out “free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we’re free at last!” an outburst like this would have been entirely misplaced during an address to Congress.

When comparing two speeches, one must remember to not only take note of the differences, but also understand the reasons behind these differences. MLK delivered quite a powerful message to his audience that day. It was a message that still inspires to this day. But when comparing it to an congressional address, I don’t think it entirely fair. The Address delivered by President Obama was not meant to be inspirational, and Obama hadn’t planned on college students analyzing his speech based on the work of Martin Luther King Jr.

Public Speaking Essay 1

I have decided that this blog needs some therapy. So, as an experiment, I will begin to slap some of my college projects and essays up here. Hopefully they are satisfactory.

The following is an essay...ish thing... that I wrote for my public speaking class. I never got an official "score" for this, but my professor was pleased with my writing.

Lou Bruno

Public Speaking

Suspected US Missile Strike Sparks Controversy

by Josiah Teal

Last Saturday, a suspected Taliban stronghold in Pakistan was leveled to the ground, killing 27 and sparking an outcry throughout the Islamic world. The US are believed to be responsible for the attack, which came mere days after 8 Taliban rebels from inside Pakistan stormed an official building in Kabul Afghanistan killing 20 people.

Although Pakistan is claiming to be fighting a war against these extremists inside its borders, warnings are being given to the US to stay out of Pakistan’s business. They also claim that the suspected militants killed in Saturdays attack were mostly civilians. I am of the opinion that many times militants will dress like civilians so that when they are killed, people will say that the US is killing innocent people, causing a further rally for support in the fight against the West. In the war that Israel fought with the Hamas, militants used human shield tactics as well as hiding AK-47’s beneath their clothing to appear as civilians.

I am not claiming that this is the case with the Pakistani missile strike, but I will not rule out the possibility. Islamic guerrilla warfare has been known to involve clever deception to achieve goals.

Despite the claim that many victims of Saturdays attacks were civilians, some officials also believe that many were also militants. These officials however, were not speaking with permission from the Pakistani government.

The missile strikes are supposed to fuel extremism throughout the Muslim and Middle Eastern world. The US however, brushes off this claim without much thought. In my opinion, many of these militants will use any excuse they can in becoming more violent towards the US and the western world.

I am also of the opinion that the US is sloppy with attacks such as this; when Israel carries out these types of attacks throughout the world, they are so utterly embarrassing for the other party that they will not even make the news. Israel once took out an Iranian Uranium enrichment facility inside Syria guarded by the newest Russian-made missile defense network with such precision that it shocked everyone involved. The event was swept under the rug because it was too embarrassing for Iran, and too scary for Russia. Israel carries out attacks like this with regularity, yet they never make the headlines. Maybe we should take notes?

To sum it up, US attacks spark controversy. Anytime America defends herself it will spark controversy. Terrorists use anything they can to gain support. This includes surrounding their facilities with civilians. America should learn how to perform controversial militaristic actions from Israel, because they never get caught.

My Grandpa

So as many people are aware, my grandfather (who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in the end of August) passed away on September 28t. I never got on here and talked about it because I didn't know exactly what to say about the whole thing. I'm usually pretty open about how I feel, and the fact that I couldn't bring myself to talk about it was kind of confusing for me. I know I loved him, but for some reason it wasn't something that I wanted to talk about all the time, or even at all.

But finally, one day after his memorial service, I have decided to write about the things I will really miss about him.

His unique sense of humor. "you might as well just finish your dinner, it's just gonna go in the garbage anyway." And "I beat her (grandma) up every morning." Oh, and then, "The other day I was walking down the road and a saw a monkey turning into a people!"

His stories, ranging to his mischievous childhood and teenaged years to his exploits at American Linen, where he worked as a delivery man.

Just talking. I could often go to Grandpa and tell him stories of my own and we would just talk about stuff for as long as it took.

His music was wonderful. Playing the banjo while also playing the harmonica and singing. He even had a belt buckle with a banjo on it.

His example was one of a kind. He was the least hypocritical person I ever knew.


Josh is getting into all sorts of mischief now so I have to cut it short :(

URGENT WARNING: Internet Purge Immenent!

So just as I was signing into blogger I realized that I really didn't have anything that I wanted to say. Now I feel like just signing out and saying "forget it, I'm too empty-headed and frustrated to post anything today." And if that wasn't enough, there is also the fact that nobody will read this anyway! Why bother writing things that nobody will read? Maybe writing is just therapy for me, maybe it's a way to organize my thoughts. I really don't know for sure, but for some reason I just keep on typing nonsense into cyberspace, overcrowding the internet with a lot of useless junk.

That brings me to something worth speculating about. So what if ten years from now, it is almost impossible to find what you are looking for on the internet due to overcrowding information? Say you look up "Toyota Corolla" and instead of finding a nice review written by a professional, you find a whole lot of nonsense written by little kids about Toyota Corolla's crashing next door, or stupid stuff like that. This is a very real threat ladies and gentlemen, someday the internet might need to be wiped clean of all nonsensical and non-nonsensical information for the good of mankind. All blogs and YouTube videos that are not immediately beneficial for humankind will be purged from cyberspace... I wonder if that is even possible. Too bad Nobody will read this, so my warning will go unnoticed.

Blog Food

The reason I don't post too much anymore is because for some reason I make a bigger deal out of signing in to blogger than I should. For some reason I think it will be a pain and take forever when in reality I know it won't. My mind is weird! Hopefully nobody has completely deserted my blog in search of greener pastures.

Today on my way home from work I stopped for a red light and the guy following me at a safe distance thought I should have gone through. He promptly whipped around me to zoom through the red light after I had come to a complete stop. The guy who stopped next to me at the light (2 lane road) looked over and made a face as if to say "yeah that guy was a moron". we both agreed with each other using nonverbal gestures and then continued driving. Don't know why I felt the need to share that... but there it is.

Our Video!

Just a fun time.

Early Morning Adventure

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As some of you may know, my sleeping habits have been known to be a little irregular at times. I am an insomniac, and this can be very frustrating to live with, but I learn to cope somewhat.
Anyway, last night while lying in my bed awake at almost 3 am, I was thinking I was soon going to fall into a deep sleep. My eyes were tired, I was comfortable under a thin layer of blankets, and my thoughts were just beginning to wander off into the realm of the unknown and mysterious unconscious realm... yeah, that about sums it up. All was quiet, the room was dark but for a few lights from the computer indicating that it was on. Suddenly, out of the still quiet nighttime air, my ears detected the distinct sound of crunching metal, followed by the even more distinct sound of squealing tires. My calm night had just been shattered. "That sounded pretty close," I thought to myself as I got out of bed. I briefly debated whether or not to go out into the blackness of 3 AMishness and try to find the source of the disturbance.
If this had happened during the daytime hours, I would have decided to stay home and mind my own business, but since the thought of somebody crashing along a dark lonely road in the middle of the night was not the most reassuring, I donned some clothes and headed out to investigate. Some would call this "rubbernecking" but, as I explained in my Josiah style, I was not sure anybody else had heard anything, seeing as most of the civilized population was soundly snoozing.
I jumped in my car and headed down the road south, toward where I thought the noise had come from. After a while I turned around, figuring that perhaps the noise came from the more well traveled and sometimes dangerous route 104. I circled back to 104 where I drove the stretch nearest to my house. I began to think that perhaps I had just imagined the whole thing, after all, I had been nearly asleep; maybe it was part of my pre-sleep thought cycle thing. I rolled my window down and listened carefully. Sure enough, I heard the fire whistle. Good to know I wasn't crazy, but still a little scary that somebody had been in an accident.
I decided to go into the town of Sodus. Perhaps the noise had come from farther away than I previously thought. I cruised down the lonely roads of the sleeping village. Then I saw an ambulance driving toward me from the other direction. Then it made a turn onto Maple st. in the village. I was relieved that crews were on scene, but at this point my curiousity had been aroused too much to ignore. Perhaps against my better judgment, I followed the ambulance down Maple. There I saw a police officer leading a handcuffed kid toward the newly arrived rig. "Well that's odd," I thought to myself.
In the distance there were what looked to be dozens and dozens of emergency vehicles. As I drew closer I realized that they were all gathered in the Sodus school parking lot. You can probably piece it together yourself from there. I turned and left the scene. I guess I'll have to read the Wayne County Times to get the rest of the details, wether they are embellished or not.

My theory right now, is that some kid (drunk or not) was joyriding at unreasonable speeds in the school parking lot where he crashed with some amount of force. He then bailed and ran up Maple st, hoping to elude responsibility. But who knows.

What I find fascinating is that I was able to hear the crash from that far away! Maybe the wind was blowing just right....

(untitled)

Amazing Skyline!

I think I have discovered the most amazing skyline ever! Does anybody know what city this is?







How inspiring! It looks so futuristic too! Any guesses?

A Selection of Police Videos w/ British Host

This one is for Brian Milliman:

Original Ideas

I don't know whether to love it or hate it. I can come up with the most original story ideas and I love that, but I hate the fact that they are so original I feel like if I tell anybody they will recognize the originality and steal my story! Last night I came up with an astoundingly 0riginal st0ry idea. I want to tell everybody but then they will steal my idea and become famous!I guess I will just begin writing then... sigh.

Unprofessional Review of Slumdog Millionaire

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Today I would like to take a moment to rhapsodize on the astounding qualities of the film "Slumdog Millionaire." Although this film received an R rating, it appears as though the Director, Danny Boyle, was almost attempting to achieve a PG13 rating. I believe it is rated R solely because there are references to the child prostitution businesses that exist in India and such places. There is also some subtitled language and a heavily accented "f-bomb" that a lot of people evidently didn't catch.

OK yes, after reading that section it does seem as if this movie is the most terrible movie ever; however, I thoroughly enjoyed it and think that it was well deserving of the 8 Oscars it achieved. If you are thinking of seeing it, go soon because it will soon be out of most theaters. Just keep in mind: Rated R for some language (PG13 kind), Violence (PG13 kind), Child Slavery, and brief sexuality (Brief as in passing by a brothel on the way to rescue a girl from it... PG13 kind).

It has a happy ending, so don't worry.

Massacre!

This is truly a scary video. Watch and tremble with fear as your worst nightmares are realized before your very eyes.

Watch more MySpace videos on AOL Video

I hope this works.

Another Pointless Post

I am bored. I am at school. I will fill out applications online. I will try to get a job. I am a loser. The End.


As an aside, I have been writing more stories in my "spare" time. I try to get my ideas refined, I work on a screenplay, I collaborate online with Facebook friends, and I throw around ideas with Joe Slocum. We came up with some pretty cool characters for a story last night. The Anti-hero who calls himself "The Scientist" and the US Marshall that is hot on his trail. And the psychotic assassin who is trailing them both. Oh we have good details about the lives of these characters too, but nothing that I will divulge over the internet. Suffice (it) to say that it is cool... unpolished, but it's that way on purpose. It has a gritty feel rather than a smooth flowing style, and I like that about it because it makes it feel more real to me. But maybe I'm just a weirdo.

My Day So Far

I woke up, took a shower, ate cereal, jumped on Facebook for a few minutes, then went out to get wood for the fireplace, and that is where my first story starts.

Molly was at the door begging to go outside with me while I got wood for the woodstove. Just look at those puppy eyes, how could I refuse? I slid the door open and walked outside after her, carrying the old recyclable bin in one hand. Molly frolicked over to the little swingset and danced around for a minute while I began to load up the bin with irregular sized chunks of wood because all the normal ones have been burned up already.

I glanced up at Molly who had now begun to wander off toward the pine trees in the neighbors yard. "Molly!" I warned sternly, "Don't you run off now, I have to leave in not too long." She perked her ears and pretended to listen. I stared her down until I thought she got the point, then I continued to load up the wood. When the bin was full I picked it up and started toward the back door to the house. "Molly," I called, "come on, time to go in." I scanned the yard but she was nowhere to be seen. How long had I been out there, 3-5 minutes? I hollered a few more times before turning back to the house. I went inside and down to the basement where I unloaded the wood. I went back upstairs and opened the back door where I called out "MOLLY!" for 10 minutes straight. After that failed, I went outside and walked around calling out her name. But I had to go to school. I got my books, went out the front door, and started my car. I circled around the block once, but no Molly was to be seen.

As of this minute, Bethany has notified me that Adam has found the sinister pooch. She was enjoying a nice walk in the orchard all by herself.

Upon arriving at school, I went into the student lounge and glanced over somebody's shoulder while they read the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. I skimmed through the editorial section when lo and behold, I saw my own name! A little over a week ago, I read an editorial about how stricter gun control laws could bring salvation to a city plagued by gun violence. I stole the article from Orbakers restaurant (with permission) and typed up a response when I got home. My preference was to have the letter be about 250 words long, but 175 words is the limit. Narrowing my topic wasn't easy, as there was so much I wanted to say, but I did it nonetheless and e-mailed it to the newspaper.

I thought they were suppose to call and notify me if they wanted to use my letter, but when they didn't I thought that they ignored me. But there it was this morning, right there in the DnC! My grandma and grandpa knew before I did, and I never even told anyone I sent anything in.

Coincidentally, it appears on the same day as a front page article about a murderer who got a pistol permit... I think they did that on purpose.

An Exciting True Story

As you all may have already known, I have been becoming increasingly discontented with my job as a pizza delivery guy. It is the same every day; wash dishes, get my shirt dirty, slice meat and veggies, deliver pizzas to the same five places that ordered (Mott's shipping, Mott's security, Route 88 barn, Pitts Ford, Middle or Elementary schools), and sometimes get a grouchy costumer. My boss, Chris, would yell at me for various petty things. I would often overhear different employees say my name while talking amongst themselves. They never let me know what they were talking about though... but I heard my name, so logically I could draw conclusions.

A couple of weeks ago, my boss got into trouble with his boss. We all knew who told the franchise owner about our supposed "less-than-par standards" because he came in all the time. He was a snoop, and he seemed to thrive on making stores other than the one he owned look bad... probably in an effort to climb the corporate ladder, if there is such a thing in this business. But my boss took it very seriously and began making a billion different revisions about the shop, including uniforms and recipes and such.

Previously at Cams, a delivery driver had to wear a white button up shirt with a bow tie. This summer when I went back to work there after a 1 1/2 year absence, the rules had become slightly more relaxed. The white shirt policy was still in effect, but the bow tie was no longer a requirement.

After the run-in with his boss, Chris reinstated the bow tie rule, which was tolerable I suppose. Unfortunately he soon demanded that I buy myself a new shirt and started getting extra grouchy about it. If I didn't buy a new shirt by a certain time, I would be fired. At this point I had already been feeling some pressure to quit, but not having any other job to go to, I had to give in and buy a brand new white shirt for myself, knowing full well that it would be completely wrecked within 2 weeks. The shirt I bought was nice, and it cost me $25.00. I didn't have enough time to look for anything cheaper, Wal-Mart doesn't believe in white button-up shirts. Further confounding the matter was the fact that only the delivery guys had to buy their own uniforms, other uniforms were standard issue.

I had this new white shirt for about a week when I went into work on Wednesday. Upon my arrival, my boss said to me, "Hey, where are your khaki pants? Didn't I tell you to wear khaki pants?"

"No Chris, you didn't tell me."

"Well, you gotta get some khaki pants before too long."

So I worked throughout Wednesday and on Thursday I went to school and forgot about khaki pants. In reality I didn't think it was a big deal, plus I had already spent $25.00 on a new shirt, so why would I want to spend more on pants for a minimum wage job that I didn't even like? I had also noticed something rather suspicious on the schedule the day before; Chris had a new guy scheduled to work some of my normal hours. What could this mean? I let that stew around in my brain for all of 5 seconds.

Friday rolled around and while on my way to work I realized that I had no khaki pants. "Oh well, not a big deal" I mused to myself. I pulled into my usual parking spot at work and grabbed my shirt and hat before getting out of my car and going in the front door to work. I entered like I normally did, greeting my boss with a smile. He was working at the bench making pizzas alongside the scumbag who had ratted on him. Chris looked up from his pizza making and said hello, then I watched his expression change. He looked at me with a rather stern face and said, "Hey Josiah, where are your khaki pants? Didn't I ask you to get some khaki pants? Remember that conversation we had?"

I looked at him with a strait face and said, "Oh yeah, I remember."

He continued, "So... what's the problem here?"

I stumbled over my thoughts for a second and mumbled something that wasn't even important enough for me to remember what it was. Chris pressed me for a strait answer. I looked at my feet for a minute before remembering my interpersonal communications class the night before. We had briefly discussed how well we conveyed our thoughts and ideas to others, even when it might be hard. I struggled with this for a second, the cannons raged in my head as the battle was fought. "Should I tell him what I am thinking... or should I just try and skirt the issue as I had been doing for the past 2 weeks?" I finally decided to just lay it out there plain as day and risk my job... it wasn't like it would be a huge loss to me anyway.

I looked him strait in the eye and explained, "Well, here's what I think: This is a minimum wage job, and I already spent $25 on a shirt, and quite frankly, I really don't feel like spending any more money on a minimum wage job that I don't even like anyway."

Without a single moments hesitation me gave me the news that I knew was coming anyway; "Well then, you're done." he stated rather matter-of-factly. I smiled and said "OK" and walked casually out of the shop. I got into my car and laughed. Then I realized that I probably had a paycheck inside on the counter. I waltzed back into the shop and kindly asked for my paycheck. Upon receiving my check, I turned around and walked back out the door.

So now I am jobless. I am currently waiting for news on any internships or jobs that FLCC might be able to offer me. If nothing turns up there, I may be able to score a job with a temp agency. If nothing else works out, I could always go back to Orbakers... but I hope it doesn't come to that.

I'm Too Smart for My Own Good

Today while thinking of various nervous systems that are supposedly inside the human body (Central Nervous System, Peripheral Nervous System, Autonomic Nervous System, Sympathetic Nervous System, and Parasympathetic Nervous System), I thought of a funny scenario in which a mechanic instructed some pupils that there were different types of gasoline used in cars at various times, Acceleration Gasoline, Deceleration Gasoline, and Cruising Gasoline. He explains:

"Acceleration Gasoline is what the vehicle will use when we apply extra pressure to the gas pedal. When we ease off the gas and drive at a consistent speed, the engine switches to Cruising Gasoline. And finally, when the driver downshifts, or apply the brake, the engine will switch yet again, this time to use Deceleration Gasoline. Not any of these types of gasoline can be used during a time when another is in use."

I thought it was interesting and entertained that concept throughout my psychology class this morning. What if all these nervous systems, or at least one or two, were really the same thing? It is true, you can't use gas with which you are decelerating for accelerating again, right? But in reality, all the gas is exactly the same, it's just being used differently.

Another thought I had was about my Interpersonal Communications textbook. Do we really need a 400 page textbook to tell us how to talk to each other? I can understand that some people lack communications skills, but taking 400 pages to teach us how to talk??

I think I should consolidate it into a 30 page booklet that would be much easier to read, access, and carry around. People could just whip it out at the first sing of a communications error. I will call it "The Handbook for Life's Misunderstandings" and it would be a bestseller until people realized that it was plagiarized.

Nobody Will Read This

Hi all of you who never read my blog anyway! How are you?

On Tuesday or Thursday... I think it was Thursday, I ate some peanut butter nutty buddy snacks from the vending machine at school. Over the weekend I have felt very weird and sick, almost like the flu but a little bit different. I looked up the symptoms of salmonella and I guess it isn't always severe enough to be lethal, and the symptoms I have match rather well. I was unable to find the exact snack on the FDA website, but I don't know how you are supposed to find anything on there. I also tried looking them up on google, but all I got were Betty Crocker recipes.

Anyway, on another note, I hate my job. I like writing, and I got some good comments on my story blog. I have been writing a never-ending story with some dudes on facebook as well and it is going pretty good so far. I'm genuinely interested in this story now.