I am not sure I understand at the moment where my life is headed. Yes I guess there are those out there that could say I am successful, seeing as I have graduated from college and am now working a job as a Mechanical Engineer, but I just don’t know if I can be happy with this. There are so many things that I still wish to accomplish in my life and not the least of which is my dream to travel and possibly live or work in Japan. I have always been fascinated by Japanese culture. I actually have an opportunity to do this in the upcoming year of 2009.

One side of myself views this endeavor as an adventure and a way to further expand my mind and understanding of another culture in a way that I am unable to do through books and learning by conventional means. I wish I had some guidance in this but I think most of my apprehension comes from being unable to pin down why I don’t want to go. Its something I have dreamed of for part of my life. I think the apprehension and fear of this comes from the bills and such that I will have piling up once I have to start paying back my loans and my car payment on my sweet 2005 Subaru Impreza I just bought because I needed a new car to get to work. I think I would only end up pissed off at myself if I didn’t go to Japan and I would probably regret passing up the opportunity to do so if it did happen.

I can just imagine the response of my parents when and if I tell them, “Hey btw I am going to go to Japan.” Not exactly an easy thing to tell to my mother who is very clingy and protective of me just because I am her youngest son. I think she just has to begin to realize that I am 23 years old and I can take care of myself. Now dont get my wrong I love my mother very much but I just cant bring myself to understand this from her point of view. I think it may be a parental thing that I wont understand until I myself one day have kids.

Mostly these thoughts run through my head because I am at work right now and it is Friday and I truly don’t want to do anything right now. I have completed my work for the week (I have to try to work slower so what they give me lasts for longer) and my boss is in meetings all day. Leaving me with nothing to do but try to make myself look busy. I do have a couple of reports that I could write but I would prefer to pass some time doing this message to all of you. I say all of you and I don’t even know if anyone reads this damn thing anyways. I think that’s why I changed the name to Mental Rambling, as you can see there is not much order to the way my mind thinks.

Well if anyone does read this I hope my random mind helps distract you from your own work or pass the time. Domo arigato. Its the only thing I know of Japanese at the moment besides seppuku which means ritual suicide of a samurai warrior. Anyways back to trying to find work to do I guess.

‘Some people!’ snorted a man standing some distance behind me in the long
line at the grocery store.

‘You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line,
’said a woman. I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up
was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to
accept her credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the
machine kept rejecting it.

‘It’s one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job like
everyone else,’ said the man standing behind me. The young woman turned
around to see who had made the comment.   ‘It was me,’ he said, pointing
to himself.

The young lady’s face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she
dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the
store. Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began running to her
car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.

Several minutes later a young man walked into the store. He went up to the
cashier and asked if she had seen the woman. After describing her, the
cashier told him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and
drove away.

‘Why would she do that?’ asked the man. Everyone in the line looked around
at the fellow who had made the statement.   ‘I made a stupid comment about
the welfare card she was using.  Something I shouldn’t have said. I’m
sorry,’ said the man.

‘Well, that’s bad, real bad, in fact.  Her brother was killed in
Afghanistan two years ago. He had three young children and she has taken
on that responsibility. She’s twenty years old, single, and now has three
children to support,’ he said in a very firm voice.

‘I’m really truly sorry. I didn’t know,’ he replied, shaking both his
hands about.

The young man asked, ‘Are these paid for?’ pointing to the shopping cart
full of groceries. ‘It wouldn’t take her card,’ the clerk told him.

‘Do you know where she lives?’ asked the man who had made the comment.

‘Yes, she goes to our church.’

‘Excuse me,’ he said as he made his way to the front of the line. He
pulled out his wallet, took out his credit card and told the cashier,
‘Please use my card.

PLEASE!’ The clerk took his credit card and began to ring up the young
woman’s groceries.

Hold on,’ said the gentleman. He walked back to his shopping cart and
began loading his own groceries onto the belt to be included. ‘Come on
people. We got three kids to help raise!’ he told everyone in line.

Everyone began to place their groceries onto the fast moving belt. A few
customers began bagging the food and placing it into separate carts. ‘Go
back and get two big turkeys,’ yelled a heavyset woman, as she looked at
the man. ‘NO,’ yelled the man. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. The
enti re store became quiet for several seconds. ‘Four turkeys,’ yelled the
man. Everyone began laughing and went back to work.

When all was said and done, the man paid a total of $1,646.57 for the
groceries. He then walked over to the side,  pulled out his check book,
and began writing a check using the bags of dog food piled near the front
of the store for a writing surface. He turned around and handed the check
to the young man.

‘She will need a freezer and a few other things as well,’ he told the man.

The young man looked at the check and said, ‘This is really very generous
of you.’

‘No,’ said the man. ‘Her brother was the generous one.’

Everyone in the store had been observing the odd commotion and began to
clap.  And I drove home that day feeling very American.

We live in the Land of the free, because of the Brave!!! Remember our
Troops of Yesterday and Today!!!

A great example of why we should be kind and patient.

Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

Never judge someone…until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

May God’s many blessings continue to be with you  -  ALWAYS!! !

MAY THIS KEEP GOING….IT MAY OPEN A LOT OF EYES, HOPEFULLY HEARTS, AND
KEEP SOME MOUTHS SHUT.

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I recieved this story in an e-mail today and I felt that it would be appropriate to post it here. I dont care what someones opinion is on the Wars in Iraq or Afghanistan everyone should remember one thing. The soldiers are doing their job. They may not want to be there but they are doing it anyways. I think that the number one thing anyone can do even if you dont agree with the wars going on is to support our troops. Treat them with the respect they deserve for serving our country.

Oil speculation reminds me of one thing. This one thing is the movie dune and the quote from it “The Spice must flow.” This quote is said over and over about the spice which is important to all aspects of life at this point in human existence.  Its used for space ship navigation, used as a narcotic drug and basically allows for the livelihood of all humans. I think oil is very much like this in many respects. Mostly because people are willing to pay the outrageous prices being forced on us by OPEC and oil companies. I am not naive enough to believe that oil prices are only due to OPEC though. With oil companies posting record profit years I can not bring myself to believe its not just price gouging on their account.

Anyways the other reason I find myself thinking of the dune analogy is because if you think about it most of the oil is controlled by Middle Eastern countries with loads of oil just under the sand. In the books for Dune and the movies the spice is controlled by a single planet, Arrakis. This control allows for them to pretty much dictate to the rest of the galaxy a price they see as “necessary”. I think part of the reason OPEC and oil companies are doing this right now though is because they know that their days are numbered.  With an almost constant outcry for alternative sources of energy they know that when that new technology comes out they are not going to have the control or presence they have now. I gladly look forward to the day we operate on alternative energy and humanity can flip the bird at all oil companies. We can all sit around and laugh joyfully as the oil companies go bankrupt because they were to stupid to invest time into creating these alternative energy sources.

Granted I still havent figured out how colossal sand worms fit into the analogy yet but I think it would be cool to just have giant sandworms out there. Anyways this is my thoughts on oil and mostly me being pissed at paying high prices for my car.

Well its official I am moving out of my current place to a place 3 blocks aways for a much better deal. I enjoy it too because I will have the place to myself and that in and of itself is nice. I like to live by myself. I find it very nice to be able to go home and not have to worry about keeping someone else informed of your schedule.  At the same time I am still really close to my friends so I dont have to worry about being lonely if I dont want to be.

Funny thing is that I think I am junk collector or maybe I am just thrifty. I got a new set of shelves for the apartment yesterday because someone else threw them out by the dumpster and I decided “Oooo a new DVD Case I can use”. I dont know if its bad or just me being practical when I take things others throw out and reuse it instead of buying something at Wal-mart that I could purchase myself.  The debate is still up in the air when it comes to my friends deciding. I personally think I am a cheap bastard.

Anyways its also friday and I am so bored right now at work. I just want to go and move my stuff so I can chill out and maybe take a nap this afternoon. 2 more hours and I can leave.

On a whim last night I went out and bought a baby 4-5 month old ferret. Also known as a kit for all of you that love ferrets. I was honestly surprised by how mellow he is. He crawled around on my shoulders but hasnt really done a lot of the mischievous things my other two ferrets used to do. I dont know whether I got lucky or if its because the ferret was just nervous about his new environment. He seems like a very calm little guy but we shall see.

I think one of the main reasons why I got him is because I think I need a pet of some kind for my new apartment when I move in. I dont think its possible for me to live / stay in my place without someone there with me. And ferrets are awesome sources of entertainment. If you didnt know this just go to YouTube and look at video tagged with Ferret War Dance. They are hilarious little bundles of joy. I honestly thing God made animals like them to provide man and himself with entertainment. My friend John and I both maintain that it is impossible to be pissed off while watching a ferret play. They just have a way of lightening any burden you feel while you are playing or watching them play. I havent come up with a name for my new kit but I am sure after a few days he will name himself or something will come to me.

The only other thing I have to add about Ferrets is that if you are a young man or woman and you are thinking about having kids, its a good idea to try to look after a ferret first. They tend to get into so much when  you dont keep them entertained. The best way to describe them is a 5 yr old kid that only runs around for about 3-4 hrs before they wear themselves out. During that 3-4 hours though you had better be keeping an eye on them or they will find a way to make you watch/entertain them.