Today I got lost in charlottesville, which I guess is to be expected when my sister is the one giving you directions anywhere. Somebody tell me who lives in a place for almost a year and doesn't know the street names? A question that you really have to wrap your mind around. Not only that be then she has the nerve to get mad at me for being late. As if I was suppose to grasp everything the one time she showed me how to get there as she is flying through the city, talking on her cell phone, and pointing to random buildings that I am suppose to remember as she turns corners.
"Brandon, I don't know the names of the damn streets, I just know how to get to work." Well let me tell you that really does me a lot of good. Especially when I am at the corner of Richmond and Long street, which just so happens to be about 3 minutes away from your job, but I might as well be on the other side of the country for all you know, because you just don't know street names. Good times my friends.
Then to wrap up the day we went to softball practice for her work team, where through the whole practice I was just waiting for the music from the Bad New Bears to kick on as balls when between people legs, flying past their heads, and as people chased down more balls than I've seen since my T-ball days. To say that we are going to be bad, would probably be an insult to bad teams. There was actually a guy on the team that was holding the bat as if it were a cricket paddle. I can't wait to get this time with all the wrong stuff on the field for what will be the ultimate shit show. I know that it is gonna be an absolute blast getting our asses kicked every game and watching my sister fall all over herself and watching the ball catch her, but playing on a team like this makes me wish we were playing in a league that gave out butterflies and rainbows to the teams because everyone is a winner.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Our trip to Wal-Mart
So me and my sister went to wal-mart today which might have been the single most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. To say that my sister is a special type of person is the biggest understatement that I could probably make. She is just bat shit crazy. Now the pre-cursor to us going on this shopping trip to wally world is that when she came home this last time she had just recently seen some lady on Oprah or some show that had used coupons in such a way that when the lady was done shopping she only had to pay 25 cents for like 200 dollars worth of groceries. So what my sister of course has to try some how to top this lady.
Now back to our trip to wal-mart. Now let's just say that the way that my sister shops is a little different, and by different I mean completely ridiculous. Now before I had entered college I never really went shopping, that's what my mom was for. But after my years of being on my own and higher education I pretty much have the shopping thing down to a science. Now of course at first I was pretty bad at it, but now when I go into wal-mart I really don't even need a list. I already mentally have it all in my head and I bounce from deli meats, to protein, to bread, on up the breakfast, then to chips and snacks, before heading back and grabbing my frozen veggies and fruit on the way out and the occasional stop back at deli for some wings. I'm in and out of that place so fast it would make your head spin.
This is not my sister's plan. She doesn't like to shop from front to back as she told me. She likes to start randomly in the middle, then head to the back and work her way up to the front. And when she misses something, which judging by our trip she most certainly does she has to retrace her steps because she has been working from the back of the store to the front. So inevitably a trip to wal-mart seems like a freaking eternity. But my friends that isn't even the worse part of this story.
Then there were the coupons. I always see those people in the store, but I've never actually been those people, that is until today. Because after the clerk has rang us up my sister pulls out the magic envelope that is stuffed full of coupons, and we have to go back as the lady now scans in the coupons that my sister has whipped out on her. And we go through them all and my sister does get a little bit of a discount, but the thing is the coupons she has, to get the discount it's like get 1 dollar off of coffee when you buy 3 boxes of cereal, or buy 5 bags of lays chips and get 1.50 off the sixth one. Which is completely crazy, but not for my sister because she food shops like there is going to be some kind of natural disaster and we won't be able to get back to the store. For instance right now in our freezer there are 12 individual digorno pizza for one.
But I must say that the only genius thing that she does is that she gets so much shit, that after it's all scanned through, and then she gives the coupons to the clerk, they don't even remember what they have scanned so when they ask her if she had x amount of certain products she says, "oh yeah of course I did." I mean what are they gonna do they don't give a shit, who would really.
But that whole trip to wal-mart blows up when I step back to pay for my portion of the groceries and she hands me some coupons, but a few of the coupons are not for the products that I have. They are for that brand of product, but they specify exactly what product you are suppose to use it for, and me seeing this decides not to use those particular coupons, and she is just totally beside herself. She keeps going on and on about how she's never taking me food shopping again and how it's really not lying if you are getting that brand, and how I should of just nutted up and used the coupons, so in a nut shell folks, this is my life please pray for me because I don't know if we are gonna make it.
Now back to our trip to wal-mart. Now let's just say that the way that my sister shops is a little different, and by different I mean completely ridiculous. Now before I had entered college I never really went shopping, that's what my mom was for. But after my years of being on my own and higher education I pretty much have the shopping thing down to a science. Now of course at first I was pretty bad at it, but now when I go into wal-mart I really don't even need a list. I already mentally have it all in my head and I bounce from deli meats, to protein, to bread, on up the breakfast, then to chips and snacks, before heading back and grabbing my frozen veggies and fruit on the way out and the occasional stop back at deli for some wings. I'm in and out of that place so fast it would make your head spin.
This is not my sister's plan. She doesn't like to shop from front to back as she told me. She likes to start randomly in the middle, then head to the back and work her way up to the front. And when she misses something, which judging by our trip she most certainly does she has to retrace her steps because she has been working from the back of the store to the front. So inevitably a trip to wal-mart seems like a freaking eternity. But my friends that isn't even the worse part of this story.
Then there were the coupons. I always see those people in the store, but I've never actually been those people, that is until today. Because after the clerk has rang us up my sister pulls out the magic envelope that is stuffed full of coupons, and we have to go back as the lady now scans in the coupons that my sister has whipped out on her. And we go through them all and my sister does get a little bit of a discount, but the thing is the coupons she has, to get the discount it's like get 1 dollar off of coffee when you buy 3 boxes of cereal, or buy 5 bags of lays chips and get 1.50 off the sixth one. Which is completely crazy, but not for my sister because she food shops like there is going to be some kind of natural disaster and we won't be able to get back to the store. For instance right now in our freezer there are 12 individual digorno pizza for one.
But I must say that the only genius thing that she does is that she gets so much shit, that after it's all scanned through, and then she gives the coupons to the clerk, they don't even remember what they have scanned so when they ask her if she had x amount of certain products she says, "oh yeah of course I did." I mean what are they gonna do they don't give a shit, who would really.
But that whole trip to wal-mart blows up when I step back to pay for my portion of the groceries and she hands me some coupons, but a few of the coupons are not for the products that I have. They are for that brand of product, but they specify exactly what product you are suppose to use it for, and me seeing this decides not to use those particular coupons, and she is just totally beside herself. She keeps going on and on about how she's never taking me food shopping again and how it's really not lying if you are getting that brand, and how I should of just nutted up and used the coupons, so in a nut shell folks, this is my life please pray for me because I don't know if we are gonna make it.
Monday, March 22, 2010
First day in the VA
So, my first day here in the VA is over. I must say that having been here less than 48 hours I have found myself on several occasions saying to myself, what the fuck are you doing? How in the world could you just pack up and leave everything that you've ever known? Believe me it was a pretty hard thing to do. I'm sleeping on a pullout couch in the living room of my sister's apartment. This just might be the craziest thing that I have ever done, and you know what I think that I needed to do it. I'm 25 years old, and I haven't done a thing. I'm pretty sure long before this Alexander had conquered much of the world as we knew it back then and was either dead or on the way to his grave. This move for me was about self discovery. I need to find out exactly who I am and if I have the chops to make it anywhere besides Oklahoma, or if all I'm destiny to be is a Hometown Hero. And with one day down and an endless amount of opportunity in front of me I don't think that things are gonna be half bad. But who knows I could be back in Oklahoma in no time with my tail tucked between my legs. I sure as hell hope not though. I'm just trying to matter in this world, and hopefully this is only the beginning.
Remeber Me, No Thanks.
So, I saw this movie the other day, which could easily be the worse movie I've seen in the last five years, maybe ten. This movie that I'm talking about is REMEMBER ME. And the thing about it is that I really wanted to like it. And there was a lot of stuff in it to like, but the ending, wow. Whoever wrote that ending should be water boarded for five straight days, I shit you not it's that bad. But that is not why I'm writing this not at all.
One of the really good pieces of this movie was the relationship that Robert Pattinson and the girl that played his sister had. It was something special. And in the movie his sister is a genius. Well maybe she's not a genius, but she is just one of those really great unique kids. One of those kids that has so much to offer the world and that one day might even change it, if only she can make it out of grade school, and junior high, and high school. I say that because she is not the girl that fits in, she is not the girl that hangs out with all the popular girls.
In the movie, pretty much the most tragic part about the movie, she goes to a slumber party that she doesn't even want to go to with all of these popular kids and they end up cutting one side of her hair. I remember being in the movie and when I saw it I was so disguised with it that I actually started to cry. Probably one of the most sickening things that I've seen in a movie. I fucking hate thinking about it, because that's how it is. You have these jerk off groups of girls and boys growing up that have this overwhelming since of entitlement and they always seem to get away with anything with no consequences. And the kids that are like this girl in the movie end up getting crushed. Not all of them, I mean some of these kids are able to pick themselves up and go on to do great things, but some of them never really quite recover from this.
And the crazy thing about this whole situation is that those jerk off kids of entitlement that the movie is talking about, I new those kids in real life. I mean everybody does, and it's those same jerk off kids that will go and see that movie and think about how sad that situation is even though seven, ten, twelve years ago they were those kids. And sometimes I just can't stomach it. Because that girl that gets her hair cut in the movie, I was her. I was a fairly smart kid, that was very awkward, and so terribly clumsy that I was always falling out of chairs or making a complete idiot of myself in class. I was the kid that wasn't wearing name brand like the rest of the cool kids. I just got lucky because for whatever reason I was somewhat good at sports, and I could laugh at myself and own the fact that I was such a clumsy idiot that everyone laughing at me never really fazed me. I just got kind of lucky that I matched to a little bit of a different beat and that what people thought about me wasn't really the biggest concern of mine.
But the thing is, everybody isn't that lucky. everybody can't laugh it off, and they aren't athletic so they don't get accepted just because. And that sucks. It sucks that we live in a world where no matter what age you are people will use the things that make you unique as a way to sort of put you down. I just wish that I could talk to those kids. I wish I could tell them that these years will just be a hiccup in their lives. And that years from now who was the most popular kid in school or being in the "in crowd" doesn't really matter. I wish I could let them know that being different is the coolest choice you could make, and that you will meet all of those people again on their long journey to the middle. But I know that I won't be able to tell them that, so I'll just have to tell my kids. I'll have to tell them that it's okay to be different, that all those quirky things that people might make fun of makes you what you are. And I'll tell them to never fall in line with a mob, and to stand up for those that may not be able to stand up for themselves, because someday someone might stand up for you.
One of the really good pieces of this movie was the relationship that Robert Pattinson and the girl that played his sister had. It was something special. And in the movie his sister is a genius. Well maybe she's not a genius, but she is just one of those really great unique kids. One of those kids that has so much to offer the world and that one day might even change it, if only she can make it out of grade school, and junior high, and high school. I say that because she is not the girl that fits in, she is not the girl that hangs out with all the popular girls.
In the movie, pretty much the most tragic part about the movie, she goes to a slumber party that she doesn't even want to go to with all of these popular kids and they end up cutting one side of her hair. I remember being in the movie and when I saw it I was so disguised with it that I actually started to cry. Probably one of the most sickening things that I've seen in a movie. I fucking hate thinking about it, because that's how it is. You have these jerk off groups of girls and boys growing up that have this overwhelming since of entitlement and they always seem to get away with anything with no consequences. And the kids that are like this girl in the movie end up getting crushed. Not all of them, I mean some of these kids are able to pick themselves up and go on to do great things, but some of them never really quite recover from this.
And the crazy thing about this whole situation is that those jerk off kids of entitlement that the movie is talking about, I new those kids in real life. I mean everybody does, and it's those same jerk off kids that will go and see that movie and think about how sad that situation is even though seven, ten, twelve years ago they were those kids. And sometimes I just can't stomach it. Because that girl that gets her hair cut in the movie, I was her. I was a fairly smart kid, that was very awkward, and so terribly clumsy that I was always falling out of chairs or making a complete idiot of myself in class. I was the kid that wasn't wearing name brand like the rest of the cool kids. I just got lucky because for whatever reason I was somewhat good at sports, and I could laugh at myself and own the fact that I was such a clumsy idiot that everyone laughing at me never really fazed me. I just got kind of lucky that I matched to a little bit of a different beat and that what people thought about me wasn't really the biggest concern of mine.
But the thing is, everybody isn't that lucky. everybody can't laugh it off, and they aren't athletic so they don't get accepted just because. And that sucks. It sucks that we live in a world where no matter what age you are people will use the things that make you unique as a way to sort of put you down. I just wish that I could talk to those kids. I wish I could tell them that these years will just be a hiccup in their lives. And that years from now who was the most popular kid in school or being in the "in crowd" doesn't really matter. I wish I could let them know that being different is the coolest choice you could make, and that you will meet all of those people again on their long journey to the middle. But I know that I won't be able to tell them that, so I'll just have to tell my kids. I'll have to tell them that it's okay to be different, that all those quirky things that people might make fun of makes you what you are. And I'll tell them to never fall in line with a mob, and to stand up for those that may not be able to stand up for themselves, because someday someone might stand up for you.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
When two people love each other
I recently watched a movie that I've seen at least a dozen times. The movie that I'm talking about is the Mexican. And I absolutely love this movie. I mean Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, really what else do you need. But that of course is not why I am writing this. I mean everyone knows how much I love Brad and Julia. I'm writing this because of the simple message that was placed in the middle of this movie. That message was, "when two people love each other at what point is enough, enough." And of course the answer to this question is never.
It's a really hard thing to think about. I mean it's really easy to say that there is never going to be a point when enough is enough, but is an all too different thing to actually live it. To be there day in and day out, but that's what love is. It's not always easy and it's not a fairytale. It's peaks and valleys and it's not for the faint of heart. And you know sometimes it's gonna get rough, but at the end of it all, there you two are more in love with each other than when you started.
But the thing that people can seem to wrap their heads around is the fact that they think that it is always gonna be a fairytale, and when things aren't perfect they can't even imagine trying to work on it. Because it seems like we live in a society were it all has to be easy and if it's not just move on to the next thing and hope that that's gonna be easier, but the simple fact is, that it's not easy, life isn't easy, nothing about it is, but isn't that what really makes it beautiful. Nobody really cares about someone who was just born on top, but those underdog stories are the ones that we always come back and listen to again and again.
So I guess basically what I'm trying to say is that there will never be a time when enough is enough for me. I hope you read this. I hope you really read this.
It's a really hard thing to think about. I mean it's really easy to say that there is never going to be a point when enough is enough, but is an all too different thing to actually live it. To be there day in and day out, but that's what love is. It's not always easy and it's not a fairytale. It's peaks and valleys and it's not for the faint of heart. And you know sometimes it's gonna get rough, but at the end of it all, there you two are more in love with each other than when you started.
But the thing that people can seem to wrap their heads around is the fact that they think that it is always gonna be a fairytale, and when things aren't perfect they can't even imagine trying to work on it. Because it seems like we live in a society were it all has to be easy and if it's not just move on to the next thing and hope that that's gonna be easier, but the simple fact is, that it's not easy, life isn't easy, nothing about it is, but isn't that what really makes it beautiful. Nobody really cares about someone who was just born on top, but those underdog stories are the ones that we always come back and listen to again and again.
So I guess basically what I'm trying to say is that there will never be a time when enough is enough for me. I hope you read this. I hope you really read this.
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