Not a whole lot new to say this week, but I am excited for Thanksgiving and deer hunting next week.
My Dad and I shot our rifles at the range on Sunday just to make sure that they're still shooting straight. My 30'06 was shooting an inch off the bulls-eye at 100 yds - not bad. My Dad had to adjust his scope down a few inches and an inch or so to the right as he was initially shooting high and to the left. After a few adjustments he was within two inches of the bulls-eye. We rarely shoot much farther than 60-70 yards as there is generally too many saplings and too much underbrush to see clearly beyond that. Hopefully, we'll see more deer this year than we did the previous two years.
I got my deer rifle last April and I think that Sunday was only the third time that I fired it. It shoots really nice and boy does it pack a punch! After shooting about a dozen shots, my shoulder was pretty numb. I'm hoping to bag my first buck with my new rifle this year. Last year I didn't get a chance.
After Halloween, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's so much more laid back than Christmas. There's good food, family, friends and of course, football. You hang out with family, eat, enjoy each other's company, and then watch football. What more could you ask for? If everyday could be like that it would be Utopia.
Over the last few years, I've become somewhat jaded about Christmas. Not about the true meaning of Christmas and goodwill toward man, etc, but all of the marketing, commercialism, and cheapening of the holiday that goes on. It just irritates me. The commercials are the worst. I love the Lexus ones where they show a husband or wife buying their spouse a Lexus for Christmas. Come on, how many normal people really buy those kinds of gifts for people?
The other thing that annoys me is that everyone is so impatient and rude at Christmas time. The stores and malls are packed with crazed-shoppers who are always cutting you off, jumping in front of you, and just generally being miserable. I usually make one trip to the mall to do all of my Christmas shopping. I just can't bear it anymore than that. We were at the mall last weekend and it's already getting crazy.
So that's pretty much it right now. Work has been fairly laid back this week as a lot of people are on vacation for the holiday week. I'm looking forward to finishing up my week tomorrow night.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Faith and Pride Restored
The momentous events that transpired two weeks ago have at least partially restored my faith in the American people and made me once again proud to be an American. I have never been very interested in politics, but this year's election definitely got me interested in a big way. In my opinion (and apparently in the opinion of many others) our country has suffered greatly over the past eight years. The economy is in shambles, jobs are disappearing, we're fighting two wars that have cost the lives of thousands of young American men and women, while scores more are disabled and scarred for life by the horrors of war. I don't doubt that John McCain is a good man and he has served our country well both as a soldier and as a senator. But despite what he tried to claim toward the end of his campaign, I saw his administration as just four more years of the same failing policies. Most of the world hates us, even more now than ever before, and we are failing to take care of our own people. Our country will always have problems; every country does, but we need a President who understands these problems and is truly committed to remedying them.
I have never put much stock or confidence in politicians, but there is something about Barack Obama that makes me truly believe in him. I'm sure that he's not perfect as none of us are and I don't see him as a savior, etc. He's a man, but the way he carries himself with distinguished pride, the way that he speaks with well-educated polish, and the passion he shows for making a difference, have made me believe that he is somehow different than the rest. I am usually a very good judge of character, and there is something about Obama that makes me think he could prove to be one of our greatest Presidents. He has a monumental job to do and it won't be quick or easy, but I do think that he is the person to get us headed in the right direction.
We were on our cruise the night of the election so we had cast our votes through absentee ballot, but we had CNN in our stateroom and I was glued to the TV for several hours watching the election results unfold. I stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech, and I must say that I was both moved and inspired. By the end of his speech, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. He spoke like a man ready to lead our country out of its doldrums and back to being a world leader and beacon for all of the free world.
I must admit that prior to this year's election, I didn't think that I would live to see the day that we had an African-American President. As a society, we have come a long way in the last 40+ years, but I still see racism and bigotry often. For some reason, when you're a white person, other white people think that it's perfectly okay to express to you their racist or prejudiced views. This really irritates me. I personally know quite a few people who would not vote for Barack Obama precisely because he is black. This tells me that we still have a long way to go as a society. Despite the long journey that lies ahead, the reality that Barack Obama won this latest Presidential Election shows that we have taken huge strides forward since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's. Over the years I have learned that you need to form your opinions of people based on their character and their actions, not by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I was raised in a small, predominantly white (at the time) town and while I was never racist, I had certain preconceived ideas about certain minority groups. It wasn't until I got to college and really got to know people from these different groups that I realized how wrong and narrow-minded my thinking had been.
As I listened to President-Elect Obama's speech, I saw a new day dawning for this country. A day where anyone can dare to dream of standing at the helm of this great nation. Our new President certainly has his hands full and he will need to utilize all of his political skills and diplomacy to pull us out of the nosedive we've been in for the last several years. I can unconditionally say that he has my full support. I look forward to the "change we need" in this country. A new day has certainly dawned and it has dawned brightly.
I have never put much stock or confidence in politicians, but there is something about Barack Obama that makes me truly believe in him. I'm sure that he's not perfect as none of us are and I don't see him as a savior, etc. He's a man, but the way he carries himself with distinguished pride, the way that he speaks with well-educated polish, and the passion he shows for making a difference, have made me believe that he is somehow different than the rest. I am usually a very good judge of character, and there is something about Obama that makes me think he could prove to be one of our greatest Presidents. He has a monumental job to do and it won't be quick or easy, but I do think that he is the person to get us headed in the right direction.
We were on our cruise the night of the election so we had cast our votes through absentee ballot, but we had CNN in our stateroom and I was glued to the TV for several hours watching the election results unfold. I stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech, and I must say that I was both moved and inspired. By the end of his speech, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. He spoke like a man ready to lead our country out of its doldrums and back to being a world leader and beacon for all of the free world.
I must admit that prior to this year's election, I didn't think that I would live to see the day that we had an African-American President. As a society, we have come a long way in the last 40+ years, but I still see racism and bigotry often. For some reason, when you're a white person, other white people think that it's perfectly okay to express to you their racist or prejudiced views. This really irritates me. I personally know quite a few people who would not vote for Barack Obama precisely because he is black. This tells me that we still have a long way to go as a society. Despite the long journey that lies ahead, the reality that Barack Obama won this latest Presidential Election shows that we have taken huge strides forward since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's. Over the years I have learned that you need to form your opinions of people based on their character and their actions, not by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I was raised in a small, predominantly white (at the time) town and while I was never racist, I had certain preconceived ideas about certain minority groups. It wasn't until I got to college and really got to know people from these different groups that I realized how wrong and narrow-minded my thinking had been.
As I listened to President-Elect Obama's speech, I saw a new day dawning for this country. A day where anyone can dare to dream of standing at the helm of this great nation. Our new President certainly has his hands full and he will need to utilize all of his political skills and diplomacy to pull us out of the nosedive we've been in for the last several years. I can unconditionally say that he has my full support. I look forward to the "change we need" in this country. A new day has certainly dawned and it has dawned brightly.
Cruise Vacation
The most exciting thing in my life since my last blog post back in July was the cruise that we took. I will try to post some pictures at a later time. We took a Royal Caribbean cruise through the Western Caribbean the first week of November. We sailed from Miami and then had stops in Labadee, Haiti; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.
Overall, the cruise was a really neat experience that gave me the opportunity to visit four countries I had never previously seen and see a little bit of a US city that I had never visited. Of the four ports of call where we docked, Cozumel was my favorite. The water there is so blue (almost teal actually) that it's difficult to believe that it's real. We visited the Mayan city Tulum while we were there and it was stunning with the azure blue Caribbean Sea as its backdrop. Apparently, Tulum as a coastal city was an important trading center in the Mayan culture. I am something of a history buff so getting the chance to see a city that is probably close to 2000 years old was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me. Tulum is actually located a few hours down the Yucatan Peninsula from Cozumel so we didn't actually get to spend much time in Cozumel itself. We did a little shopping and I sampled the local selection of potent potables - tequila and Dos Equis. I would definitely love to plan a return trip to Cozumel to do some snorkeling and just hang out on the beach.
Grand Cayman is another place I wouldn't mind visiting again as it rained pretty much the entire time that we were there. We visited a farm where they raise sea turtles and got to hold some of the smaller ones. We also went to Hell - and back nonetheless, which is basically just a little village (read tourist trap) that has black limestone formations that give it the appearance classically associated with Hell. Funny, I thought that I was already there every day I'm at work - ha, ha.
I was not at all impressed with Jamaica. It is dingy and run down. I wouldn't recommend visiting the shops there unless you enjoy being hounded constantly to buy stuff. I understand that the people are just trying to make a living and that the tourist trade is their livelihood, but in all honesty, I am much more likely to buy something when you're giving me a fair deal and I can shop in peace. When I'm on vacation, I don't want to be incessantly harassed. They always say that they'll give you a deal and they keep slashing the price, but that just makes me think that they were trying to rip me off in the first place. I'm not going to be pressured into buying. That's not how I roll. We did go to Margaritaville, which was cool, but that was about the best part of the day and they have a Margaritaville at just about every port city. Apparently, Jimmy Buffett is quite the entrepreneur.
We had a very nice, sunny and relaxing day in Labadee. Royal Caribbean leases land from the Haitian government and has their own private beach. We rented snorkeling gear and I spent a few hours observing fish, sea urchins, and coral in the shallow waters just offshore. I didn't go out too far because the current was pretty strong and it was my first time snorkeling. I was also either alone or with just one other person who had never been snorkeling before either. I thought it wise to just stay close to other beach bathers and patrol waters where I knew I wouldn't get into any trouble.
I enjoyed the cruise, but if I take another one it will probably be one that sails directly to a single port and stays anchored there for the duration of the trip. I'm glad we did the four port cruise so that we could see what different places had to offer, but now that I know what they're like, I would probably just take a cruise to one different place like Bermuda or the Bahamas.
Overall, the cruise was a really neat experience that gave me the opportunity to visit four countries I had never previously seen and see a little bit of a US city that I had never visited. Of the four ports of call where we docked, Cozumel was my favorite. The water there is so blue (almost teal actually) that it's difficult to believe that it's real. We visited the Mayan city Tulum while we were there and it was stunning with the azure blue Caribbean Sea as its backdrop. Apparently, Tulum as a coastal city was an important trading center in the Mayan culture. I am something of a history buff so getting the chance to see a city that is probably close to 2000 years old was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me. Tulum is actually located a few hours down the Yucatan Peninsula from Cozumel so we didn't actually get to spend much time in Cozumel itself. We did a little shopping and I sampled the local selection of potent potables - tequila and Dos Equis. I would definitely love to plan a return trip to Cozumel to do some snorkeling and just hang out on the beach.
Grand Cayman is another place I wouldn't mind visiting again as it rained pretty much the entire time that we were there. We visited a farm where they raise sea turtles and got to hold some of the smaller ones. We also went to Hell - and back nonetheless, which is basically just a little village (read tourist trap) that has black limestone formations that give it the appearance classically associated with Hell. Funny, I thought that I was already there every day I'm at work - ha, ha.
I was not at all impressed with Jamaica. It is dingy and run down. I wouldn't recommend visiting the shops there unless you enjoy being hounded constantly to buy stuff. I understand that the people are just trying to make a living and that the tourist trade is their livelihood, but in all honesty, I am much more likely to buy something when you're giving me a fair deal and I can shop in peace. When I'm on vacation, I don't want to be incessantly harassed. They always say that they'll give you a deal and they keep slashing the price, but that just makes me think that they were trying to rip me off in the first place. I'm not going to be pressured into buying. That's not how I roll. We did go to Margaritaville, which was cool, but that was about the best part of the day and they have a Margaritaville at just about every port city. Apparently, Jimmy Buffett is quite the entrepreneur.
We had a very nice, sunny and relaxing day in Labadee. Royal Caribbean leases land from the Haitian government and has their own private beach. We rented snorkeling gear and I spent a few hours observing fish, sea urchins, and coral in the shallow waters just offshore. I didn't go out too far because the current was pretty strong and it was my first time snorkeling. I was also either alone or with just one other person who had never been snorkeling before either. I thought it wise to just stay close to other beach bathers and patrol waters where I knew I wouldn't get into any trouble.
I enjoyed the cruise, but if I take another one it will probably be one that sails directly to a single port and stays anchored there for the duration of the trip. I'm glad we did the four port cruise so that we could see what different places had to offer, but now that I know what they're like, I would probably just take a cruise to one different place like Bermuda or the Bahamas.
Neglected Blog
Okay. I must admit that I feel a little bad that I've neglected my blog so badly. But I only feel a little bad because no one reads it anyway and it's more for my own cathartic and self-expressive needs. I actually started writing posts a few times, but then never finished or posted them. I have a few different topics that I would like to write about so I'll break them up into a few different posts. I just like working that way. I won't promise that I'll consistently write more on my blog because I only write when I feel the need and sometimes I just don't feel the need.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
