Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Author: Jamez

  • Conservation Saving Our Valuable Resources

    I’m so very proud of the American peoples efforts to conserve energy. I never knew this was so popular until I started driving back and forth from DC to VA Beach.

    Almost every driver on the road is not using their directional signals they just switch lanes when they feel like it, never mind who may be in the way. We may have reduced global warming by this act alone.

    I’ve even seen one cab driver go the extra mile… he had no tail lights at all. The only way I knew he was slamming on his brakes was the three hundred cars ahead of him that aren’t quite as environmentally conscious as he is. He’s a man ahead of his time, but I’m sure the rest of the nation will soon follow his example.

    The American People… going out of their way to save! 😛

  • Tribulations and Tests

    So, today is the day, I get to move into my new apartment today – I wont be, but I could. I’ll actually move in Friday and Saturday.

    Today is my first “Quiz”. That means Math. Which is why I got little sleep. I think I’m prepared, I think I’ve learned, but I’m still scared.

    Immediately after my quiz I head for DC.

    Tonight I pick up my new bike, set up Gary’s (former roommate)home network, get my last dry cleaning and pack the last few boxes of my belongings… o and of course entertain the cats.

    Friday morning the movers arrive, as soon as they leave Q, Mouse and I will head for VA Beach ourselves… we’ll spend our first night in VA Beach on the floor together in the living room. 🙂 I sure hope they’ll be happy.

  • The Fortress of Solitude

    I actually checked out the Fortress of Solitude (a.k.a. my new apartment) today. Found out a lot of things I didn’t know too:

    1. There’s a pool on the property that I get to use
    2. There are two tennis courts that I get to use
    3. There is a Volleyball Court that I get to use

    The Fortress is HUGE (size does matter, trust me).
    The windows are placed in just the right spot for the kitties.
    The carpet is soft and everywhere (I’m going to need to buy a vacuum now)
    I love the kitchen, the bedroom, the main room… the closets are very big, just in case I need to go back in one! 😉

    There are stairs that lead to the door and the door only, which should make the cats a little happier when they see it. Overall, I think I picked the right spot for an apartment!!!

  • Speed Limit Enforcement

    The main road from DC to VA Beach is a long, rather boring commute. What simply continues to amaze me is the signs I see along the road:

    “Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft”

    Now, in my minds eye, I picture an Air Force Jet barreling down on law breakers, blasting them to bits with missles. I realize this may not be happening, we would certainly see massive pits from weapons fire, or smoldering wrecks along the shoulders.

    I want truth in advertising, or government warnings. You say enforced, then do it… think of all the people we could get to slow down. Think of all the soldiers, currently in Iraq, we would need to come home and monitor speeders. I think it’s probably a lot less dangerous, and they’d see more of their families as well.

    Bush says leaving Iraq early would send the wrong message to terrorists. I say if we bring the troops home to set up speed traps, it shows the terrorists that we are more worried about generating revenue through speeding tickets, than we are about suicide bombers.

    Think of the lives saved, the money made, and the ape like face of the President!!!

  • First Official Week

    I’ve had my first official week of school… well, at least I’ve had each class every day that I have class (which is rare).

    I’ve managed to miss my first assignment… I think its the class and instructor that are getting on my nerves (Student Development: how to be a student).

    I secured my renters insurance policy… the things worth any thing in my life are not replaceable by money (but I had to have it to move into the apartment).

    My life in changing and changing is good… most change is good, and this change does appear to be the good kind.

  • Style

    I have no idea how to “write” for college. I write how I write, from how I feel.

    I realize there may be some formats that I will have to follow specifically, but as of this moment none of my instructors has said much besides “double spaced” or “on college ruled paper”.

    My first assignement in ENG 111 included the following questions and my answers:

    II. Finish the sentences below:

    1. My most memorable positive writing experience is … being published. I wrote true life article about a suicide call I received while working the night shift at a drug and alcohol treatment center. The story was a positive story about hope, help and reaching out to those in need. I was proud of the work and the article has been framed.

    2. My most memorable negative writing experience is … censorship. While I’m not sure that’s the term I want to use, that’s what it seemed like to me. I had been writing a weekly newsletter for my department for a couple of months, I had not gotten and bad reviews nor had there been any editorial control besides my own. However, one day my boss pulled me into her office to say someone had complained to her boss’s boss about one of the jokes. The truly frustrating thing for me was that person didn’t feel comfortable coming to me directly to talk about the issue, nor to my boss. I was asked to tone down the content of my newsletter and to be more considerate of others. So, for a while there was a censored version of the newsletter and an uncensored one. The uncensored version was sent to those people with a little tougher skin. News quickly spread however; soon people were begging to be added to the un-censored list, and soon the censorship it self just disappeared.

    3. A person or place I’ve always wanted to write about is … Superman. I became interested in reading and writing by following the adventures of Superman in comics and television. In my early 20’s I even wrote my own comic for a while. Looking back on that I’d say it was more of an epic story, but at the time I envisioned it as a comic.

    4. What do you know about that might be interesting for readers to read about. … Computers. I know a computer inside and out and I know how to make it do exactly what you need it to do with minimal headaches involved. I make working with your computer a fun experience.

    5. What life experience, type of work or travel could be important to your writing? I think being a recovered alcoholic/drug addict gives me a unique perspective in what I see and do. I know what it feels like to be hopeless, and I know a path or two to recover from that.

    6. What do you read that could inform your writing? Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code gave me a feel for capturing the full attention of the reader. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series shows me the importance of details. Reading comics shows me that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, a “POW!” placed strategically can have just as much impact.

  • School Daze

    Ever feel like your being punished for something you said or did? Or better yet, want proof that God has a sense of humor?

    Last night at dinner with Suzanne, Randy and Zanne’s parents I talked about two students in particular that I already didn’t like. These two just rubbed me the wrong way, something about them and me just isn’t going to work well.

    So, today, I sit in the student lounge trying to do my work between classes and here is one of the students…. talking, talking, talking, and talking some more. I would like to slap this person, just so I can get some work done. A combination of Lisa Simpson and Herimoine.

    Hush woman, hush!

  • First Day Of School

    Gee, I feel like a kid again. First day of school jitters, nervousness, sleepless nights… OY

    Truthfully I couldn’t sleep well at all, there was a point whenI thought I might and BOOM the phone rang (thank u Donna M! LOL… kidding, it’s always a pleasure).

    I wanted to start the day off right, woke around 7:30 or so and sat around (Suzanne and Randy only have Fairy Coffee and I’m not that kind of homo so I do without) for a while and said little prayers off and on. It’s nice to have the dogs there, they need attention and love and I focus less on myself that way.

    I stopped at the IHOP to have breakfast and coffee, I wanted to have a full stomach, and some caffiene before class, which I think I’ll continue to try to do for each class.

    I arrived at class in plenty of time, plenty of parkins spaces available too. I took a seat in the second row, I thought up front might be a little much even for me… there were a couple of other students in the front row. Several of the students that were at the class early with me had interesting things to say about the class, the instructor and life in general… like: “I failed this once already with the other instructor” “I’ve heard Mrs Locke is the best for this class” “I can’t stand Math and dropped out of this class once already after the second class, but I hear Mrs. Locke is better.”

    Yep, it was Mrs. Locke, and she was friendly, entertaining, and kept my interest. She did some ice-breaker exercises and told us the rules and gave handouts.

    It was entertaining, it was informative, it was refresher, it was Math… Mrs Locke did inform the class: Math is now your favorite subject.

    We’ll see.

  • Learn to Unlearn

    I picked up my schoolbooks and checked out the campus to make sure I can make it to my classes in a timely fashion… luckily for me there are only 2 buildings on the campus.

    As I was browsing through my ENG 111 book I realized that I’m going to have to change the way I think about reading and writing. It’s a new thought for me, I’ve been writing what I want, how I want to write it for so long I think it may be a little challenging… Then I realized I could take the same approach to computer class… maybe I should pretend like I don’t know anything and see how much more I might pick up.

    Anyway, it’s been a fun day and tomorrow is the first day of school.

  • Weekly Update 8/16/2005 Insomnia Edition

    Because U Demanded It… Edition

    Stressful Events on the Horizon
    8/17/2005 Driving to VA Beach
    8/17/2005 Picking up $300.00 in school books
    8/18/2005 First Day of School only one class: Math
    8/23/2005 More school… a whole week of it! OY

    Restless nights…
    And box filled days make up my life now… I toss and turn in my bed and worry about little things, big things (NO, I’m not dating anyone), and everything… then I remember that I should have prayed, so I say my prayer to the big guy:

    “Dad, it’s me Jamez. Please take this away from me, I know it’ll be better in your hands than mine.” and lo and behold… it’s gone… for a moment, but I take it right back and fiddle with it…

    I’m a fool!

    It’s true, I know to leave it alone… but it’s hard. I’ll be the first to tell you: If you pray why worry, and if you worry why pray… sometimes easier said than done.

    Cat Behaviors
    My little girl Mouse, has an odd reaction when I shave. As soon as I start to put on the shaving cream she starts to cry. Not a regular meow, but a whinning one… that gets on my nerves… and she wants attention at that moment too… like she’s trying to keep me from shaving… weird isn’t it? Both cats are loving the empty bookcases… I’ll have to anchor them to make sure they don’t topple over on em.

    Connections
    Not sure why, but this is what happened today when I set up the electricity for my new apartment. They start to offer to hook up everything else… cable, phone, newspapers… everything… I’m adamant… that’s ok… I’ll do it later… she’s like: but you need cable TV… really sir it’s no problem we can do it all right now… it was like when the DNC calls for money or they want that survey done… very annoying.

    ———————————————————————————-
    Words to live by:
    Your fences need to be horse-high, pig tight and bull-strong.
    Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
    A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
    Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
    Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
    Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
    Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
    It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
    You cannot unsay a cruel word.
    Every path has a few puddles.
    Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
    If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

    Funny
    New Birds & Bees…
    The mystery is gone … How was I born? The little boy asks his father – Daddy, how was I born? Dad responds, ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Well, you see, your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a blessed little Popup appeared and said: You’ve got male!

    *#*#*#*#
    I’ll have a post of the first day of school soon, take care til then!