A feeling of accomplishment. Finally got my layout for spring completed. Having free time really helps. :)

March 21 was my last day of co-op for the winter quarter. Thank god. I decided to take this entire week off just to celebrate, relax, and just get some errands done finally (like my taxes for example).

In between relaxing and such, I had time to sit down and check through a long list of emails that I got from Webzine which is a site devoted to independent media. Back in 2001 they had their yearly conference in NYC, and I happened to see it on Huny's site, which is one of my favorite sites that still have the same address. A few people that I used to read regularly have changed addresses a few times, such as Lisa, formerly of PinkHandcuffz.com
*just found out that she moved from MySteelo too* I guess people are just tired of the net right now. Who knows. Anyway, back to the story at hand. I was reading through a collection of emails from the Webzine email list about Michael Moore's acceptance speech at the Oscars Sunday night. For those who may not know who Michael Moore is, he won an Oscar for his documentary "Bowling for Columbine" which (from what I read about) is about gun control and such (I haven't seen the movie, or didn't see the Oscars on Sunday, but heard a little about the controversy over his speech). Here is transcript of his speech, as seen in one of the Webzine emails I received:


BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
> Michael Moore and Michael Donovan
>
> ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
> Michael Moore: Whoa. On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and
> Michael Donovan from Canada, I'd like to thank the Academy for this.
> I have invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us,
> and we would like to - they're here in solidarity with me because we
> like nonfiction. We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times.
> We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that
> elects a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man
> sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fictition
> of duct tape or fictition of orange alerts we are against this war,
> Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And any time you got
> the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up. Thank you
> very much.
>
> http://www.oscars.com/oscarnight/winners/win_32297.html


I read through many messages about how some people are pro-war, or how some people think that all the hostility is towards bush when it comes to those who are anti-war, etc. Being the brave soul that I am (at times anyway) I threw in my comment on the whole war issue:



I must say, at the risk of sounding foolish, that I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments on Michael Moore’s Oscar speech and all the issues and baggage that comes along with this war at hand. I just want to put in my two cents:

Honestly, I don’t know which side to take on the war, because I can (partially) relate to all sides. I have friends that are anti-war One of my friends is a part of a group on campus that have been organizing anti-war rallies on Friday afternoons on campus , months before the war actually began. I support her cause, as a friend.

I have an aunt and three cousins that are in some branch in the armed forces, whether they are almost about to retire soon, or just joined right before this war began. In the city where I live, Cincinnati, which has enough issues on its own with local politics and schools and such, there have been a few “pro-troops” rallies, one of the most recent was on fountain square downtown where there was a “shouting match’ between anti- war protestors and “pro-troops.

Then there’s the media. At times I just settle to watch an infomercial rather than hear the up-to-the minute updates on the “Attack on Iraq” or the “Showdown with Sadaam”. Every local and national has some sort of “name” for the war. It’s ridiculous! At times the Media can be so persuasive with their extensive news coverage, after watching it for awhile, it gets old and bothersome. These news networks are possibly giving too much information to the public in ways that are far from the truth. But since they dominate the airwaves, its hard not to ignore it, unless you cut the television off.

Last but not least, there’s President Bush (the second). I have no clue what his problem is. To me, he seems like some schoolyard bully trying to pick a fight. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know.

Since there are all of these labels about the war already (anti-war, pro-war, pro-troops, etc.), can “neutral” be added to the growing list?

There are my two cents, or twenty. Thanks for reading anyhow.

Shamekko
www.random_thoughts.blogspot.com



I'm usually not the one to comment on such things like war, I usually keep my comments to myself. Good thing I have this blog, I can vent when I want to without criticism, hopefully. This counts as free speech too!

Since this entry is long enough and I could go on for more paragraphs complaining and venting about how I. forgot to confirm my classes for Spring Quarter, or how I heard about the passing of my Great Aunt (my late Grandma's Sister on my father's side) after she was buried, or how the IRS screwed up my tax returns, which caused me to make yet another visit to their offices downtown, which in turn means another bus ride that I shouldn't be taking because I should have my driver's liscense by now...but I'll just be nice and end this entry here. Besides, I need another nap.

This story is so amazing. I'm glad that she was found after all of this time.

I really need to pay attention to my horoscope today:


Cancer
June 21 - July 22
In all your time spent trying to stabilize your emotions and achieve sensitivity, you may be getting too caught up in your feelings, dear Cancer. Because of this you may have not been listening to your rational mind at all lately, even though it is crying out for you to get on with things and move forward into a different situation than the one you are in now. Take some time to listen to your mind and take it a bit more seriously than you have been.

Two more weeks of co-op, and I'll be free. I've been so caught up in working full time, plus being tired five days a week, just took its toll afterwhile. I'm actually looking forward to being back on campus having different schedules each day, instead of having the same routine day in and day out. I'm not used to the entire concept of consistency just yet. That's not a part of my being I suppose. I enjoy variety in my life. One thing that I can think of that's consistent in my life is the fact that life is just rough in general.


On February 26, I took the day off work to attend the funeral of my Aunt Angie, my Dad's sister. Just the fact that I had to go to the funeral in the first place, didn't sit too well with me. Every since my Dad passed in 2001, it's difficult for me to attend them anymore, it just brings up too many sad and depressing feelings. And the fact that I had to see family members that I don't know at all, barely recognize, or supposed to keep in touch with (the immediate family for example), didn't help much either. With the exception of a handful of people there, it felt like I was in a room full of strangers. Through all of this, I was glad that my Uncle Eric and my brother, Eric, was there sitting with me. I even got the nerve to get up and speak. I mentioned how important it is to be with family through all the bad times, as well as the good times. Especially through the good times.. I miss being around my younger cousins, Chris and Dwight. We used to hang together over our Granny's house. Seemed like the family changed after she passed away, more like we all became more distant with each other. Maybe its just the curse of being in such a large family on both sides. That's why I confide a lot in my friends. They understand me a lot more than my own blood in some cases. They mean the world to me. Don't get me wrong I love my family, but I love my friends. I consider them to be my brothers, sisters and cousins.


So, from that event alone, had me spaced out for awhile for sure. I made it back to my normal existance for now, just grateful to be here live another day. Sometimes, you just have to take a step back and appreciate the simple things in life. One thing I really appreciate in life is warm weather. I thrive in warm weather, I'm more aware and alert in warm weather, like my senses and emotions are 100%. I got a bad case of Spring Fever on Saturday, it was at least 60 degrees here in the city, warm enough to wear just a hoodie outside, and not a hoodie and a wool coat together. But it's back to the pitiful cold for the time being, today's high was only in the mid 30's. In the next couple of weeks, spring will officially be here, so that is one thing to definately look forward to, besides the always popular Spring Break! I was hoping to get out of town this year, even if it's for a weekend, there's still a few weeks left to plan for it, so I'll just wait and see what develops.