tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315549322011-12-14T21:36:28.931-05:00Random ramblings of an anonymous goober.Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.comBlogger3851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-91348734070476603442009-10-31T02:48:00.001-04:002009-10-31T02:51:02.072-04:00

One of the most accessible aspects of GAD, and probably my most pronounced manifestation of GAD-like psychological symptoms, is the predeliction toward extremely harsh self-criticism. In my experience, this self-criticism originally manifested itself as an inner voice expressing ceaseless doubt, perpetually questioning my choices or warning against impending failure. As a ten or elevent years old

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-4289195039872205232009-10-21T21:57:00.005-04:002009-10-25T19:13:07.424-04:00

Some people find God and in the idea of a universe Creator they find comfort, guidance, and strength. But I wasn't looking for God, and have not ever harbored any inclinations that I might come upon Him or Her or It. That bridge was crossed years ago, and I arrived on the other side with no semblance of peace and tranquility. I did, however, stumble upon the idea of infinity, effortless work, and

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-24736713612308110492008-11-14T20:08:00.003-05:002008-11-24T23:41:28.454-05:00

Surrendering expectations is the key to psychological and spiritual salvation. This is the core of the Buddhist idea that desire is the root of all suffering. Expectations are a form of desire, perhaps the most insidious form, because an expectation is desire manifested with a skin of entitlement stretched over its illusory nature, so that it seems somehow solid. In reality, expectation is desire

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-78149255553417385852008-11-08T03:00:00.006-05:002008-11-19T23:12:50.424-05:00

Alcoholics are said to experience a moment of clarity when they have finally reached the point when a life spent nuzzling up to liquid escapism is no longer tolerable. They lose their taste for the drink, or can no longer bear the consequences of their need for inebriation, and find a new way to cope with their internal struggles. In some way, maybe that is what our anti-hero is trying to do,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03449102148489036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-28428349004906928752008-11-06T16:22:00.002-05:002008-11-06T23:04:51.235-05:00

Barack Obama, a mixed race man, will be taking the oath of office in January of 2009. The year he was born, Southern blacks were still being attacked by dogs, fire-hosed off of streets, and hung from trees by men dressed up like children on Hallow's Eve, all because they had the nerve to demand equality. At the time, America's South took pride in defecating on the Constitution. The situation may

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-58742738579516738702008-11-01T22:40:00.007-04:002008-11-06T00:12:42.419-05:00

He likes to imagine the trajectory of his life as a wayward comet moving relentlessly toward its inevitable end in some unknown, unmapped corner of space. Distant, aloof, almost mystical in its alluring power and inaccessibility, the comet makes for a compelling metaphor, but the reality is that a life is more like a leaf tumbling to the ground. Where the comet is as old as Universe, the leaf is

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-70250175300861022442008-10-26T23:15:00.003-04:002008-10-27T20:15:48.635-04:00

Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, or who you intend to vote for in the upcoming election, one thing is certain, this is not the America any of us have known during our time on this planet. It has been decades since our country was in this level of financial distress, and it has been 40 years since we were last in a war which proved to be as prolonged and costly as Iraq has

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-88871452173848524962008-10-13T23:49:00.006-04:002008-10-14T09:07:01.109-04:00

Lots of things to write about, seemingly no ability to write about it. Lots of things I should be drawing and putting color to, seemingly no ability to create. Right now, life is a lot of running in place, watching the world convulse, and hoping the ship holds together long enough for most of us, if not all, to make it over the next crest safely. The problems before us are so large they surpass

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-35265648177836805882008-10-07T19:50:00.002-04:002008-10-07T20:02:27.577-04:00

I was just a kid when the SnL collapse at Lincoln Savings stuck the US taxpayer with a $3.4B tab, so I wasn't aware of John McCain's direct involvement with the scandal. Apparently, ol' John took a substantial amount of money, and enjoyed some personal time, with Charles Keating, who most people agree is little more than a piece of shit with legs. I suppose, if McCain-Palin can insinuate that

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-30322309129353915722008-10-04T11:34:00.003-04:002008-10-06T21:05:14.593-04:00

Thought this was funny. :)From Pheer and Loathing via BoingBoing. Bonus item: Sarah seems more attractive as a candidate, now that I know she has holy protection against witchcraft! Is Barack Obama protected from witchcraft? Who knows? Just one more way the man is a dangerous unknown!!I'm waiting for the video of her church dancing with snakes. :)

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-37467917025227109152008-09-30T21:51:00.007-04:002008-09-30T23:30:26.975-04:00

If the housing bubble and its resultant economic collapse have shown us nothing, it is that terrorists are far less destructive to the US economy, and with it the country's national security, than good, old-fashioned greed. The September 11th attacks killed thousands of people, completely obliterating two of the most significant pillars of capitalism on the face of the Earth in what seems now to

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-75061845172145532432008-09-18T21:03:00.012-04:002008-09-19T08:33:28.145-04:00

And the chorus goesa sound like wilted rosestheir petals colored shale oilwith buds of crimson silkstems bent with concentrationand roots tiny tentaclessearching deeper and deeperand the chorus goes It doesn't mean a thing to me It doesn't mean a thing to me And it's about time you see Things ain't like they used to beremembrance and regret sharpened razor bladescarving grand canyons into hollow

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-21385757743447959012008-09-15T20:47:00.004-04:002008-09-16T09:10:27.381-04:00

With election fever consuming the land, it seems only fitting that my mind should continue down the political road. Today I was reminded that John McCain was an adulterer and that he allegedly referred to his wife as a "cunt" in front of campaign aides and media reps during a 1992 campaign stop. I was reminded of the adultery thing by some Photoshopped photos at Jill Greenberg's website. For

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-2497954410156848092008-09-08T10:20:00.002-04:002008-09-08T10:21:06.279-04:00

Sarah Palin is making a lot of noise and USA Today is reporting that her performance at the Republican National Convention has given McCain's campaign a significant bump. Will it last? It's hard to tell, but the Republican embrace of this woman looks very much like a desperate attempt to establish their own cult of personality like that which has built around Barack Obama. That's to be expected,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-32815126254536684032008-09-06T01:01:00.005-04:002008-09-06T01:30:57.672-04:00

What would Jesus do? He'd blow away some fucking Muslims, that's what he'd do!!My bet is that Sarah Palin has a lot of trouble separating Church and State. My bet is that she is the type of person who believes that all people everywhere should believe in her God, or be taught to believe in her God. I could be wrong, but stuff like the above, and her fundamentalist Conservative sound make me think

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-56871826089452061832008-09-05T13:07:00.002-04:002008-09-05T13:08:32.824-04:00

On the other hand, there is an obvious rebuttal to the idea that one is failing if one isn't having casual sex as often as the simple-minded souls I referred to in my last post. And I should probably explain what I mean by "simple-minded" in this context, or at least explain why I use the term. In my mind, physical gratification, whether it be sexual, adrenal, masochistic, etc, is a dumb form of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-76131428710732064122008-09-04T00:17:00.003-04:002008-09-04T01:03:11.934-04:00

What happens when you put a good girl with values in the same room as a good guy with values? Not much beyond conversation and a ballooning sense of awkwardness. Their collective values and resultant insecurities create a 600lb gorilla that looms and lurks ceaselessly in the room. Neither individual wants to transmit an impression that they are one of "those" people, even if they understand that

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-76077240208694810142008-08-17T03:20:00.002-04:002008-08-17T03:21:31.858-04:00

Audrey has a minor dent/bend in the center of her rear fender. It’s probably 1 inch deep by 4 inches tall, and nearly dead center. At some point during our journey to Sturgis, the tie down holding her left rear must have worked itself loose, letting 700lbs start working laterally and horizontally against the remaining 3 straps. Eventually, enough slack was created to allow the point of her rear

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-34232648244630229572008-08-12T00:57:00.001-04:002008-08-12T00:58:18.827-04:00

Sturgis - we came, we saw, we rode, and it was good. Things got off to a rocky start, when my bike squirmed free of its trailer restraints, made contact with the rear door, and put a dent in the rear fender. Huge bummer and I was a far beyond disappointed, but what was done was done, and the only choice we had was to get on with having a good time.A few thoughts on Sturgis, South Dakota. The

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-41723560614644949992008-07-23T13:00:00.002-04:002008-07-23T19:02:11.279-04:00

My problem isn't severe, or unique, or dangerous, or even particularly compelling, but it is mine and occasionally, it is fodder for random contemplation. I read an excerpt from the forthcoming book Night of the Gun in the New York Times Magazine. The book is an autobiographical tale from one of the Times' staff writers, David Carr. Mr. Carr is the father of three daughters, two of which are

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-26994098908517386672008-07-11T11:27:00.000-04:002008-07-11T11:29:55.228-04:00

This Old ManTake this old man's mind away,Far, far away from present days.One hundred years, ten thousand miles,up and out to places alive with peace,where sun-speckled lanes whispergently into the ear of giggling streams;reminders of the promise in patience,the sacred nature of innocence.Once again to befriend the waves.Fingers and toes tickled by sandtransformed to mighty castles,cylindrical

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-39900607963798496362008-07-08T23:22:00.006-04:002008-12-13T03:54:44.462-05:00

Finally got around to doing some character sketches. I think I have the look of my main character and her sister done, and I'm close on a couple of other central personalities. Nothing much to say at this point, but I wanted to provide proof that I have been at least working on this thing. Photoshop does a shit job saving images as PNGs, so they look washed out and devoid of details. Will try

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-60566441000417701232008-07-01T21:56:00.004-04:002008-07-01T23:28:03.638-04:00

So I'm working on character design, plot lines, and image style for this graphic novel "thing". At the moment, I am moving forward without even so much as having conjured up a working title, so for the time being, let's call it The Project. I capitalize because capital letters infer importance and formality. Who says no one learns anything in high school?My hope is that The Project will develop

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-84077975577777893882008-06-26T14:40:00.002-04:002008-06-26T14:42:48.013-04:00

I am going to put together a graphic novel. It will be created digitally, designed in Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter, and published through Acrobat and/or the web. It will be tied into the story behind the "This is her Zen" drawing I have been working on for what seems like forever now. I've made some progress, but nothing worth posting images...mostly blocking in color, working some shading and

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-38851670960816716002008-06-08T22:35:00.006-04:002008-12-13T03:54:45.361-05:00

Haven't made much progress, too much going on lately. Moved things around again, and I'm starting to work in some color using Photoshop. Still have a long way to go and no set deadline that I need to get there. This is all practice, so there's no telling what it might end up looking like.The best part about digital art as a medium is that it is fluid and ever changeable. If you do not like an

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-73099165522133278202008-06-05T08:52:00.000-04:002008-06-05T08:53:08.515-04:00

In my youth, I saw people as strange and intimidating animals. Most humans I interacted with behaved in ways that I did not understand or relate with, so life progressively became more and more like watching a movie or a nature study. My interactions with others metamorphosed into entirely external acts, so that no one was permitted access to my internal world, and I did not seek out a passageway

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-71667847165125357482008-06-04T09:09:00.001-04:002008-06-04T09:09:45.368-04:00

A group of Floridians calling themselves The Sons of Confederate Veterans have been in the news lately for raising a gigantic Confederate flag on a small piece of property at the intersection of US 92 and I-75 Tuesday (June 3rd). Apparently, this is another group of people proudly claiming to be the descendants of Confederate veterans. As everyone should know, the Confederacy seceded from the

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-25554089452037459682008-05-30T09:50:00.001-04:002008-05-30T12:29:57.298-04:00

I killed a Gecko last night in probably the most horrible way I can imagine. It was an accident, but I still feel sick about it. He had gotten into the railing of my shower doors, presumably to find shelter from the giant monkey thudding around the building. When I decided it was time to clean myself up, the outer door must have run him over in its track as I slid it open. As a result, his back

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-1558682765320791682008-05-28T13:54:00.000-04:002008-05-28T13:55:17.326-04:00

So Nick Bollea/Hogan was caught on tape essentially blaming John Graziano for the vegetative state his former friend now finds himself in after being involved in Bollea's now infamous car accident last year. If you haven't heard, CNN has some excerpts in a feature you can view here. Apparently, the Hulkster believes Graziano had it coming and that his injury was due to some mysterious wrong

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-45584136212667626522008-05-25T01:05:00.004-04:002008-05-25T01:12:34.559-04:00

Easily the best song from Gnarls Barkley's latest album with an equally interesting video. The one problem I have with the song is that it is so short!Gnarls Barkley - Going OnGoing OnI’ve seen it with my own eyesHow we’re gettin’ otherwiseWithout the luxury of leavin’The touch and feeling of breathAnd times you’re both technicallySomething you’ve got to believe inConnect the cause and effectOne

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-62567451226940063872008-05-22T20:28:00.004-04:002008-05-24T02:43:19.594-04:00

Everyone has at least one part of their personality they wish could be turned off. I can point to two components on my cognitive self explicitly: my compulsive cataloging of other humans' behavior and the primitive drive toward companionship that makes the first such a massive liability. These two things combine to form something of an intellectual prison. Nothing I have tried, from mediation to

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-25407431797194858042008-05-22T07:42:00.001-04:002008-05-22T07:44:08.460-04:00

Thought this was funny as Hell. :)

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-86959791870739771792008-05-21T10:41:00.002-04:002008-05-21T10:42:05.806-04:00

Had the pleasure of being issued my first ever speeding ticket yesterday for doing 38mph in a 25mph zone. On the surface, that makes me look incredibly irresponsible. Thirteen miles per hour over the speed limit in a 25, what was I thinking? I was thinking that the road was 35mph and switched to 25mph around 1000ft from where I got popped. Unfortunately, I was looking for the Oldsmar library,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-84893117521926809742008-05-19T13:34:00.001-04:002008-05-19T13:45:28.013-04:00

Country theme bars, like any theme bar, draw a predictable, if narrow demographic. Of course, all that changes on nights with drink specials. For instance, Saturday night is $10 sink-or-swim night at the local "country" inebriation station, so the demographics get skewed away from urban cowfolk by an influx of ordinary suburbanites looking to get hammered on the cheap. Thus, you end up with a

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-19920980672288393312008-05-13T23:47:00.003-04:002008-05-14T15:30:39.266-04:00

The argument goes that we need all grow up and act our age. While most people seem to see me as a fairly mature person, there is no doubt that peoples' perception of me will be tinted by the facts that I have not ever owned a house, or been married and had children. I enjoy machines and gadgets and spend a great deal of money on both. Most of my free time is spent seeking out impractical things,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-43444690003634852532008-05-12T22:59:00.003-04:002008-05-12T23:21:43.695-04:00

Alone - Edgar Allen Poe From childhood's hour I have not been As others were; I have not seen As others saw; I could not bring My passions from a common spring. From the same source I have not taken My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I loved, I loved alone. Then- in my childhood, in the dawn

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-18189655654332762742008-05-08T20:49:00.002-04:002008-05-08T20:52:40.381-04:00

I have all the tools and I am looking into learning how to use them. With any luck, I will be turning my ideas into Flash animations within the next few months. Get ready for hardcore, uncensored, tongue-in-the-butt weirdness...or something really boring that no one ever notices or cares about. Success!!And now for something that got my attention today...

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-13557540330137433272008-05-07T21:25:00.005-04:002008-05-08T00:25:45.424-04:00

I may have it wrong where women are concerned, but I think there is some merit to what I am saying, particularly where the collective sense of self-worth comes up. Generally, by necessity as much by choice, I tend to insulate and keep most of the women I meet at arm's length. In a place like this one, that is the only approach I have found that keeps the type of women I am attracted to at a safe

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-46122022065058718852008-05-06T21:59:00.002-04:002008-05-06T22:03:40.762-04:00

A story that speaks to the potential for simple, honest goodness in people. I must admit, reading this made me feel a little bit better about things. From BoingBoing.net:Last month I took a photo of an honor payment system at a bookstore in Ojai, California. On a related note, here's an article about the City Café Bakery in Kitchener, Ontario, which uses an honor payment system and almost never

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-87266179638981290342008-05-06T13:01:00.002-04:002008-05-06T13:10:22.608-04:00

I have been single for over 2 years now. In and of itself, being single is not a bad thing. As we all know by now, single is my normal and 2 years is not a long time to go without a relationship. Hell, 2 years is just a warm-up, I'm only just starting to stretch my legs! But 25 months is a long stretch of datelessness, even for me, and the unnerving truth is that the longer I go down this road,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-91360463896804985812008-05-03T02:17:00.003-04:002008-05-03T18:06:58.885-04:00

I've written about the late night riding experience before, but it is a topic that always leaves me contemplative. As I have probably said before, riding a motorcycle has not ever been about thrills and "the rush" people talk about. I have no interest in adrenaline infusions or thumbing my nose at the various dangers. Honestly, I am no big fan of late night riding, and try to stay within a few

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-82003042566893041832008-04-26T09:00:00.006-04:002008-04-28T02:39:31.810-04:00

It is one thing to be obsolete within the context of your immediate surroundings, it is quite another to be ignorant of your own obsolescence. When you have ideals and ideas that have no real place in your surroundings, you are obsolete. So it is I find myself often beside myself as I meander around within this cheap and easy existence. In a give-it-to-me-now world, there is no place for careful

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-17370328469964064762008-04-23T23:12:00.002-04:002008-04-23T23:13:01.780-04:00

but art people do not connect with hardly makes any difference at all.

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-91289684421380873792008-04-23T12:38:00.001-04:002008-04-23T12:38:40.616-04:00

People like Hillary Clinton. It amazes me, but it's true. A woman with mountains of questionable business dealings, a penchant for exaggeration, and the integrity of a typical politician(which is to say none). This is a woman who backed NAFTA, backed favored trade status with China, and lusted so much for political power, that she was willing to remain married to a known philanderer because of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-25553523904722704852008-04-22T13:08:00.001-04:002008-04-22T13:08:56.998-04:00

During my second trip through the university experience, I've done pretty well in my management courses. So people seem to wonder why I would pick something like Visual Arts as a major. The answer is pretty simple, art is more enjoyable than business, but there is more to my reasoning than simple enjoyment, though that should be enough.My primary justification for taking a degree in the Visual

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-64473456637970990752008-04-21T12:57:00.002-04:002008-04-21T12:58:00.512-04:00

Life feels claustrophobic, as if the bullshit and nonsense of modern life function as massive walls of granite slowly crawling together, so that the sense of being Han Solo stuck in the Death Star's trash compactor is becoming more and more tangible with time. A pervasive feeling that there is no escape from the ceaseless ridiculousness of humanity creates a subliminal sense of tension. From the

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-38313988791036709742008-04-18T12:49:00.000-04:002008-04-18T12:50:05.256-04:00

Today's key to finding some form of contentment or acceptance is zero expectations. What do I mean by 'zero expectations'? I am talking about expecting nothing from your fellow human beings. While I am tempted to talk about having exceedingly low expectations as a way of avoiding disappointment, I think that sort of thinking is more a product of my personal biases and thinking in that way has not

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-44552069518059225672008-04-17T23:28:00.003-04:002008-04-17T23:57:16.916-04:00

Burnout is setting in like a gangrenous infection on an open wound these days. The simple act of thinking is becoming increasingly difficult, and I am beginning to feel like a kid with ADD. My focus is all over the place, my blood pressure is probably through the roof, and my energy level is through the shithouse floor. In short, I am stumbling along right now and it's as amusing as it is

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-62407379948142096922008-04-09T11:17:00.000-04:002008-04-09T11:18:19.575-04:00

Every once in a while, seemingly out of the blue, I will be struck by a penetrating "everything is gonna be alright" episode; a feeling that things will work themselves out, regardless of how dreadful life may appear at the time. For some reason, I had one of those moments yesterday morning. Maybe this particular experience is tied to having done unexpectedly well on an exam I took Monday night,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-42683985048701538152008-04-05T18:28:00.003-04:002008-04-07T15:44:49.148-04:00

I had the opportunity to spend some time at Tampa's Buddhist temple, and yes, Tampa does have a Buddhist temple, Friday night. My Non-Western Religions class gathered for a visit to Tampa's Buddhist vihara. We had an opportunity to chat with the resident bhanti (monks), then participated in an half hour meditation. The bhanti and the vihara's regular attendees then recited a brief series of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-13905708251701445552008-04-02T14:31:00.003-04:002008-04-02T14:32:54.881-04:00

I read that nearly 50% of America's families are headed by a stepparent. The divorce rate is floating in the 50%+ range. The obvious question is why are people getting married at all? A coworker and I had an email conversation that ended up touching on the subject and it occurred to me that marriage almost seems like a pointless enterprise in modern America. Honestly, I wouldn't bet $10 if I felt

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-16417950936479829042008-03-30T21:39:00.002-04:002008-03-31T00:14:50.333-04:00

Spring is always a tough time for me. It is the time of sunshine, birdsong, and bikinis. This is Florida, this is the best time to live here, so what could possibly be wrong? The answer is one word: hormones. Hormones know no moral or ideological speed bumps. Hormones feel no need to consider ideals or discipline or hopeful aspirations for a life less ordinary.During Spring, drives that are

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-19487632871089028592008-03-29T03:50:00.001-04:002008-03-29T03:50:44.399-04:00

but the late night and early morning keeps me creaking along. It was an interesting day...I worked 8 hours, spent a couple of hours at a VIP party rife with amazing cars and gorgeous women, then went for a ride. Ended up at a bar and had the pleasure of watching a stranger empty her stomach onto the floor next to her bar stool, then finished the night at Village Inn with some French toast that

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-82901163914531196292008-03-23T21:18:00.003-04:002008-03-23T22:34:52.628-04:00

Lately, I feel as if my momentum has been flagging. With work steadily digging toward a bedrock of misery and the job market looking more and more like a desert, my working life feels as if it is grinding toward a total sense of futility. School is school, and I am still glad to be doing it, but things look bleak economically, so I am putting my graduate school plans on hold. And the graphics/

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-55820087401272043382008-03-19T22:40:00.002-04:002008-03-20T12:49:15.506-04:00

So people are throwing million dollar offers at Eliot Spitzer's favorite vagina-for-hire. Apparently, America's favorite scumbag Joe Francis, founder of Girls Gone Wild, was one of the people lining up to toss a million dollars this Dupre chick's way, but quickly found himself sitting in the cat bird's seat, when members of his staff discovered that they already had footage of the young

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-16594248130774959122008-03-16T00:24:00.009-04:002008-12-13T03:54:46.210-05:00

you start looking in the mirror and realize that the face looking back out at you will not ever be as young as you remember it being. The years start eroding what you see, so that the more you see, the less you want to remember. Joints ache in ways you could ignore 10 years ago and you start wondering about moles and freckles. Love starts to seem more and more like a marketing ploy for Hallmark

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-67532285849837060992008-03-12T16:28:00.001-04:002008-03-12T16:28:56.411-04:00

A recent study reports that 1 in 4 female teens has, or has had, a STD, according to this AP article hosted at CNN.com. Clearly, such a miniscule number is an extremely disappointing result! Am I to believe that our country's teens cannot do better than a 25% success rate? What has happened to the American work ethic when only 3 million of an estimated 12 million female teenagers currently are,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-34744085630766336362008-03-11T19:22:00.007-04:002008-03-18T05:37:48.777-04:00

Why do women forgive their cheating husbands? This video on CNN is an excerpt from an interview with the former first lady of New Jersey, Dina Matos McGreevey, who was married to former governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. For those that don't know, McGreevey was caught up in a gay sex scandal during his term as New Jersey's governor. At one point in time, he was pegged to be a rising star in

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-76484621025384479852008-03-05T11:08:00.001-05:002008-03-05T12:57:07.071-05:00

How do you shift peoples' understanding of our economic and ecological realities without being marginalized by the elements that have the greatest interest in maintaining the status quo? How can we move away from a material obsessed culture of destruction and consumption to one more focused on sustainability and a more existential relationship with the existence idea? My short answer is that we

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-49945739559494504422008-03-05T00:25:00.002-05:002008-03-05T00:31:05.216-05:00

If you have not watched The Corporation, a documentary describing the madness that has been wrought on the Earth by corporate beings, you need to.Info here: http://www.thecorporation.com/Bit Torrent here: Official DIVX Shareware VersionThis film is nearly 5 years old, but I somehow never got around to watching it. Something tells me that I am not alone.

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-11139440103996505582008-03-04T16:10:00.001-05:002008-03-04T16:10:23.600-05:00

Our parent company's vaunted CEO could potentially make $25,000,000.00/year before options, taxes, etc, should the company meet certain predefined benchmarks for performance over the next several years. If the average NMR employee makes $30,000/year, and I do not know the actual figure, but $30k seems plausible, then they are earning approximately 1/833 of the CEO's annual salary. Such a ratio

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-81422345029197741392008-03-02T01:16:00.003-05:002008-03-03T11:16:06.578-05:00

Every once in a while, things pop up to put a pause in our step, so that we allow ourselves a moment to appreciate how pleasant life's simplicity can be. My BBBS Little recently rolled off three consecutive report periods on the honor roll at his middle school, a first for him, as far as I know. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am not in any way taking credit for this achievement. He and I

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-81694646619600192052008-02-26T22:47:00.006-05:002008-02-27T22:40:09.734-05:00

...but if it were legit, this is exactly why I can't ever, EVER imagine myself getting married. People have been scandalous since the day we stood upright, but we live in a culture where destructive and even maliciously hurtful behaviors are integral pieces of pop culture entertainment. This cumdumpster admits to cheating on her husband, smirks, then suggests that she is a good person despite

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-73124879714003453342008-02-25T23:34:00.003-05:002008-02-25T23:39:39.401-05:00

This song is a couple of years old, and most people have probably never heard of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, but their first CD never fails to cheer me up. Burning the midnight oil trying to wrap up a presentation for Art History, so I need the pick-me-up. :)Clap Your Hands! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!Run the lip off sunshine shoreBetray white waterDelay dark formsSlap young waves on wooden

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-5644165042308792662008-02-22T15:57:00.002-05:002008-02-23T02:14:44.086-05:00

Barack Obama has my vote, but that may not mean much in the end. Assuming he manages to win out over Hillary in the Democratic primary race, he still faces a steep, if not impossible, uphill battle. To my mind, he seems to be the more compelling and appealing candidate for everyone. His message of hope, opportunity, and optimism certainly seems more genuine, given his background. How

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-44826365927402713282008-02-20T22:11:00.002-05:002008-02-20T22:17:01.659-05:00

This is one of those times. Thanks to BoingBoing (how did we find anything interesting on the web before BoingBoing?), I came across Phun. Phun is a physics "playground" currently in beta, which allows the user to play with physics in 2D, using shapes, tools, and a variety of menu commands to goof around with physics. The software was written by Emil Ernerfeldt, a Swedish graduate student, and

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-15512157411896243682008-02-20T09:30:00.003-05:002008-02-20T09:31:19.942-05:00

I'm stuck on this prostitution thing…now I'm thinking about the monetary costs, rather than the emotional/psychological expenses. College CallGirl claims to charge $300/hour. That's $300/hour to sleep with a prostitute, not a virgin, or a supermodel, but a pro. Obviously, working as a call girl means she's not walking the streets, but in the end, it's still a job where someone exchanges sex acts

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-74522416633599373162008-02-17T21:19:00.005-05:002008-02-18T12:12:01.238-05:00

I couldn't tell you how I went from reading through BoingBoing, but somehow I ended up at the front door, so to speak, of Confessions of a College Call Girl. It wasn't direct, though I later stumbled across a post (the most poignant I've read on her site) that BoingBoing did link to directly, but somehow, some way, there I was. The strange part is, this is the type of material I usually avoid,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-45520623774693308192008-02-12T23:39:00.003-05:002008-02-12T23:42:28.637-05:00

10 Rules lifted from an art school's website that I unfortunately forgot to note. These work well for just about any facet of life. Wish I had stumbled across these 10 years ago!1. Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.2. General duties of a student: pull everything out of your teacher, pull everything out of your fellow students.3. General duties of a teacher: pull

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-91975173857600886062008-02-12T13:45:00.003-05:002008-02-12T23:35:05.951-05:00

I had dinner with an old friend over the weekend. Hadn't seen him in nearly 8 years or so and ran into him purely by chance. Mom and I were out for some reason and decided to grab lunch at the local Olive Garden. On the way, we decided to do the Macaroni Grill instead. While waiting for our meal, my old friend, his wife, and his mother came in. I didn't recognize him at first, but eventually

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-6008463362596633582008-02-07T22:07:00.000-05:002008-02-07T22:23:57.150-05:00

I am not an advocate of recreational drug use, but the use of hallucinogenics has a history stretching all the way back to prehistoric humanity. Our species has used, abused, and explored psychedelic chemicals since our earliest days. Some people ever theorize that Man's movement toward self-awareness may very well have been fueled by hallucinogen exposure. Certainly, aboriginal populations have

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-32133937250947247292008-02-06T15:08:00.003-05:002008-02-07T13:53:28.258-05:00

I took a trip to the Ringling Museum of Art last weekend and I must admit, it was inspirational. John Ringling is best known for his part in creating the world's most famous circus, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. What many people do not know is that he and his wife were incredibly active patrons of the arts. Their passion for the arts grew to the point that they established the

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-70554424201724172092008-02-05T09:10:00.001-05:002008-02-05T09:10:57.814-05:00

Natalee Halloway is back in the news, as the American media, and its public, can't seem to get enough of her story. It would appear that America's heart bleeds for blond-haired, blue-eyed, white girls, from upper middle class society, but when was the last time you saw a multi-national police and military effort assembled to find a missing girl from South Central Los Angeles or any other of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-79182638612515107562008-01-30T17:53:00.001-05:002008-05-15T06:20:33.468-04:00

It is highly likely no one will ever care, but it took me a couple of hours webcrawling and researching to find the building blocks that eventually allowed me to get my old Wacom tablet working in Vista, so I thought I would save the next poor soul some searching and put the entire procedure in one place.Despite what Wacom would have us believe, a Wacom Intuos GD generation graphics tablet, which

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-21023303965573637222008-01-28T22:38:00.000-05:002008-01-28T23:42:44.374-05:00

Ideas are viral. Good ones, bad ones, and the vast multitude of useless ones interspersed between, all have the potential to spread like influenza. A good idea can supplant centuries of bad ones, atomic energy, for example, and ultimately become a bad idea all its own. Sometimes bad ideas come good in time, Xerox giving away its GUI based operating system to Apple, who subsequently let Gill

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-48502706070982693832008-01-27T10:30:00.001-05:002008-01-27T23:26:55.137-05:00

According to scientists gathered by The History Channel to contribute opinion and theory for their Life After People program, it would take Mother Nature 10,000 years to completely erase any obvious evidence of Man's presence on this Earth. Were we to vanish tomorrow, most of our structures, machines, and mechanisms will be rubble or be reclaimed by nature within 150 years of our vanishing. By

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-25544859009741664882008-01-27T01:02:00.000-05:002008-01-27T01:43:43.525-05:00

Nothing much to say today, so I'll throw some bad poetry against the wall and see what happens.low they will crush uswith heavy hands,boot heels stony steel.they will smash and grindthese fragile bones,smooshing even those genteelspirits high and hopeful;and they will smilelike children plucking eyeswhere once they pulled wings.they will blow down the fliesas if this were a birthday celebration,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-77385658532337272592008-01-25T09:33:00.000-05:002008-01-27T01:37:09.619-05:00

One thing I have not ever had much skill with has been inserting myself into a female's awareness, i.e. introducing myself to a strange girl I'm interesting in. It's not that I'm shy, it's just a skill I did not ever fully hone. The crux of the problem is in that moment when the decision is made to force yourself into a girl's attention. I am not capable of using lines, but I always wanted to

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-64861435017366663562008-01-24T23:41:00.000-05:002008-01-24T23:44:38.730-05:00

Ken Block is making a name for himself with his Subaru Group N rally car. This video, which is tied to some DC Shoes promotion, looks like an assload of fun...until the end. Apparently he ruined the car and fractured a vertabra. D'oh! Still, definitely good enough stuff for me. :)

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-67988943195685239372008-01-22T10:47:00.000-05:002008-01-22T10:48:02.027-05:00

So I built a new computer this past week, complete with a fresh install of (the infamous) Windows Vista Ultimate. The computer components came from Newegg.com, and the OS was sourced from a buddy who had a hook-up on legit, OEM Ultimate discs. It had been over three years since my last PC build, so it was time for a refresh. Of course, with a new OS install comes some hassles, i.e. having to

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-78883575309490086542008-01-16T08:51:00.000-05:002008-01-16T08:52:24.281-05:00

I am taking a crash course in identifying my influences. Being an aspiring artist means having artistic influences, much as being alive means having life influences. Everyone who makes marks, sculpts, writes, etc has at least one influence. For most of my life, I haven't given any of mine much thought. For the most part, art has been something I have not taken very seriously in a long, long time

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-83282813251018318412008-01-13T10:29:00.000-05:002008-01-13T10:33:55.245-05:00

GM is really impressing me with what they have done to the Corvette. The new Camaro looks cool, though I think it has lost too much of the attitude displayed in the concepts, but this ZR-1...good golly Ms. Molly this sumbitch looks to be wicked fast and for tens of thousands(if not hundreds of thousands) less than similar performing Porsches, boutique builds, and Ferraris. Looks like I'm failing

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-30722674278975349012008-01-10T21:56:00.000-05:002008-01-10T23:16:20.728-05:00

Sticking with the "I am" trend I have going on lately, I wanted to take a second to recognize the fact that I am something of a monotony machine. Our friends at Mirriam-Webster define monotony thusly:1 : tedious sameness2 : sameness of tone or soundI do not feel that it is a self-defaming or demoralizing thing to recognize and admit that I exhibit largely monotonous tendencies in both my choice

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-17258729769277561392008-01-08T22:57:00.001-05:002008-01-09T00:00:38.958-05:00

What is an art asshole? I would define an art asshole as someone who sees, or claims to see, art in nearly everything, then feels the need to share what he sees with others, as if what he's seeing is somehow more important than what they see. For instance, I watched the below video on Boing Boing and thought to myself, "What a beautiful metaphor for the general state of modern Man's social

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-61603506582142145472008-01-08T15:41:00.000-05:002008-01-08T23:53:29.749-05:00

For some reason, I can't stop thinking about the fact that, no matter how high we rise or low we sink on life's imagined totem pole hierarchy, we are all equal in the end. Some of us will go peacefully, some of us will be taken horribly, but in the end, our bodies will all eventually fail. Buddhism uses this as evidence of the insignificance of our physical incarnation. Physical life is temporary

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-87154112822190019812008-01-06T11:11:00.000-05:002008-01-06T15:03:54.873-05:00

I like to daydream about an utopian existence. Reality is often so tiresome and mundane, I find small moments of relief in letting my imagination wander off into what could be, or more accurately where I would like to be. These imaginary worlds are not much different than the one we live in. Mother Nature knew what she was doing, so there's not much I would change about the stage on which

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-81503376193863328262008-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:002008-01-03T10:01:10.646-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about spirit these past few days, trying to get myself refocused, trying to get back to something resembling balance. There seems to be an infinite number of possibilities, where the spirit is concerned, but I find that having any original thoughts on the matter are almost impossible. Finding original thought out in the wild is just as difficult and finding people I

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-34797861480711606612007-12-30T22:11:00.000-05:002007-12-31T13:49:25.679-05:00

Be who you say you are. Do what you say you'll do. Don't waste peoples' time with bullshit, half-truths, or misinformation and they will respect you for it. Ascend high enough on the socioeconomic ladder, and they will hail you for it. Authenticity, as a byproduct of the soup created when one mixes integrity, courage, and will, provides a great internal strength. Why then do so many people seem

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-11109211611644352722007-12-25T21:40:00.000-05:002007-12-28T10:13:27.580-05:00

I know it's the holiday season and a title like the above would suggest I am about to post some sort of philosophical monologue about our sickening sense of entitlement as Americans and as people, but I'm not. It isn't that I feel there isn't much to be said, as I am sincerely thankful for what I have, despite the heightened tenor of my whining and bitching lately. Most Americans feel they are

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-60155750346132800822007-12-21T13:30:00.000-05:002007-12-21T15:35:13.728-05:00

Trust is such a dangerous thing. When you trust someone, you put a certain amount of your well being in their hands. Of course, how much of that well being you willfully entrust to another depends on circumstance. You will trust an acquaintance less than a friend, a friend less than a lover, a lover less than family, and family less than one's self, but there is always an element of risk in

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-5495639630770972972007-12-20T16:24:00.000-05:002007-12-20T16:25:57.003-05:00

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a poet.UntitledThere isn't much left to say,all these words, so many characters.Nothing changed, nothing arranged,still breathing murky solutions;still crowded by fool dreams;still that same dullard childstaring stupid into the sun.Blind, burned, and bound,eternal tethers these futile causes -he becomes trifling amusement.Self-determined souls sing a chorus,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-51565127009795277242007-12-18T14:51:00.000-05:002007-12-18T14:52:01.764-05:00

An "A-"…what the fuck is an "A-"? My GPA just went from 4.0 to 3.97 and let me tell you, I couldn't be happier about it. In a year's time I will be competing to attend some of the best art schools in the country and instead of a 4.0, I will have to go to them with a 3.97. Fucking wonderful. When the hell did they start giving A- as a grade in fucking college? I remember getting them in elementary

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-904313458818628982007-12-18T10:21:00.000-05:002007-12-18T10:22:35.584-05:00

When we look back on our lives, can we possibly see things objectively, or do we fall victims to our tendency toward revised history? Do we bring a pure light into the darkness, so that our third eye receives our most honest reflections, or do we bring rose and black filters to bear on where we have been. The way in which we perceive who we are seems to have as much to do with who we are in the

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-3422445666772126142007-12-14T23:31:00.000-05:002007-12-17T12:49:43.736-05:00

I have to believe that somewhere in this swirling world, there is an oasis, a place where a listless traveler might find a night or two of peace on which to rest tired bones. This oasis does not have to be an actual place, it could be a moment in time, a shared space with someone who makes any place the right place, or a state of mind that makes place completely irrelevant. Internal or external,

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-52360218772141879342007-12-14T13:20:00.000-05:002008-12-13T03:54:46.852-05:00

I remember being 6 or 7 years old and looking out my bedroom window up into the midnight sky. My brother and I were watching for a sign. It was Christmas Eve and we were unable to sleep, so we watched out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rudolph's red nose. We were so sure that Santa's arrival was imminent, and at the same time worried he might skip our house, were he top discover we were

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-33844432433332973202007-12-13T21:24:00.000-05:002007-12-13T23:15:49.519-05:00

I know this probably comes as a shock to the people who know me, but some people...OK, a lot of people (if not everyone)...perceive me to be a person focused on negativity. While I might argue that what others perceive as negativity is really only me expressing my frustration and sadness at how far short our species seems to be of its true potential, most people would interpret that as inherently

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-10950550627832759202007-12-12T22:44:00.000-05:002007-12-13T00:02:24.663-05:00

My Christmas gift list is relatively short and simple, as far as Christmas lists go. The 'rents, the Twins, my friend's 2 daughters, and now my BBBS little brother. Not too bad, since none of them ask for much and most of them are fairly easy to shop for. Unfortunately, spending money on others makes spending money on myself that much easier. Almost subliminally, I tend to spend a great deal of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-26078978476305434142007-12-11T21:47:00.000-05:002007-12-11T21:58:19.918-05:00

to clear our heads. I suffered the worst migraine I have ever experienced today. The last time I had a migraine, I was 17 and a Senior in high school. Here I am today, 30 years old and finally a Senior in college, being reminded that stress, insomnia, and overexertion are a nasty mix. I need to leave my job, I need to focus on where I want to be, rather than where I am, and I need to get some

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-55315110141772912622007-12-10T13:11:00.000-05:002007-12-10T13:13:11.574-05:00

It is when we are in danger of giving in to hopelessness and cynicism that we are most free to rediscover possibilities. We are less constrained by what we believe we might lose, while being more focused on those things that carry real meaning. When the struggle to find external sources of hope becomes difficult, or even impossible, we must look within, and find a way to be our own engines of

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31554932.post-65690680231176171562007-12-07T08:29:00.001-05:002007-12-07T08:29:37.366-05:00

For whatever reason, I was thinking about my time as a paying, Match.com member this afternoon. Not because it was particularly interesting or fruitful, because it wound up being a total non-starter, but because I wish I would have spent the money on something more worthwhile. I joined up sometime in March, if memory serves, as they were running some kind of special that made signing up for 6

Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08004760997785295914noreply@blogger.com0