Aaahh!!! Real Bills

Well, the bills for the college loans are coming in, and they couldn't have come at a worse time. I guess it's time to pay the piper, or the bank as it's known in this part of the world. Today, after I finish writing this blog, I'm going to get down and dirty with these bills. Like, really dirty, since I have to search through oodles of documents. Maybe I'm making it sound worse than it is though. Maybe I'll just procrastinate one more day! No, can't do that. I've put this off far too long. When I'm finished with the initial stages of this crap, I'll report back, hopefully to give any future loan-takers an idea of what it's like for an average fresh-out-of-college adult.

I woke up today, wondering, hmm... I wonder what the day is going to look like today. Then I checked the mail, saw a bill from the bank, and thought, "oh yeah, now I remember." But there was also some money, but that's for moving to NJ. There was also another copy of entertainment weekly. I've been getting issues for some time now, I have about 5, and I never even subscribed! Is this some sort of scam, where they'll charge me later on even though I didn't want them? They are sent to my name and address.

After that, I sat down and read today's news. Notable news items (notable to me at least): Mexican government repays some bracero workers. The braceros were basically workers who were allowed to work in the US legally for some time, this was back in the 40s-50s I believe (just checked it, yep, 1942). Many were underpaid for long hours of field work. In Venezuela, Chavez's party candidates won a majority of local races. On CNN.com, this was titled "Chavez passes Venezuela Election Test." The New York Times, on the other hand, had a different headline; "Venezuelan Opposition Gains in Vote," and began with how Chavez supporters suffered a blow. His party won 17 of 22 states, but lost 3 major states. Just another reason why it's important to get news from a variety of sources; because you'll find different stories and viewpoints. Obama has chosen Tim Geithner as treasury secretary, and Christina Romer as senior economist. Bailout for citigroup, monkey waiters, and some bleak news about journalism in Juarez.

Am I just writing all this to put off the whole bills thing? Maybe. Side notes: soy milk tastes way better than cow milk. I ordered a copy of the Hobbit book, and it came in the mail today, it looks like it's new. I could have paid $12 for it at a bookstore, but instead I ordered it from amazon for one dollar and something cents, plus shipping. I'm also reading a book that comrade Jared recommended called Ishmael. It's pretty good so far, I'm on page 60, I'd read that if it were not for the bills.

Ok, time to get down and dirty.

-Jr

The Plan!

Alright, here is the updated plan. November 27 is thanks-but-no-thanksgiving; a day to remember the true history in America and to be thankful for what we do have. I'll probably cook the ol' Tofurky again, it was pretty good last year, and was surprisingly enough to feed four, with some left-overs (my brother did not want his piece, maybe that's why, it fed three though!).

Oh yeah, before that though, on November 20, is another important date. In Mexico, it is Revolution day, the day that the Mexican Revolution started. The day that marked the beginning of the end for the dictatorial rule of Porfirio Diaz, and saw the rise of other important figures in Mexican history like the great Emiliano Zapata, the constitutionalist Francisco Madero, the controversial Francisco "Pancho" Villa, and the other president/dictator Victoriano Huerta, among others. Can't forget the soldaderas of the revolution, see the picture above. The Mexican Revolution was the first popular revolution of the 20th century, and would result in the deaths of over one million people (statistics vary). Some good did come out of it though. The revolution sparked the beginning of land and agrarian reform, which would be expanded during the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940). The radical-leaning Constitution of 1917 came out of the revolution, which limited the power of the church, gave subsoil rights to the federal government (away from foreign companies), spelled out workers rights, and land reform (and of course, the Zapatistas in Chiapas are named after the Mexican hero of the revolution). My dad told me that I had a great uncle (or was it a great, great uncle...) who fought in the revolution named Teofilo Loera. I'll have to ask him more about that.

On to the rest of the year. My last day of work (at crossroads) is December 18. On December 19, I'm going to just hang out with friends here in Norman for the last time before I move, I'll have my "last supper" here. Then on the 20th, in the morning, I'm going to go to Ponca and visit my sister and friends there, then I'll head to my dad's house in Tonkawa (not far from Ponca) and stay the night there. Early in the morning on December 21st, I'll begin my journey north. I'll try to get up around 5pm, and drive for the rest of the day until 9 or 10 pm and then go to sleep somewhere and then get up early again. I figure it will take me 2 days at the least, 3 days at the most to get there, assuming I have no car troubles (I'm keeping my fingers crossed). Looking at this google map, it looks like I'll be passing Witchita, Kansas City (MO), St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, some places in Pennsylvania, and then getting to New Jersey on the 23rd if all goes according to plan. I feel both excitement and sadness. Sadness because there are some people that I will never see again (there are 2 or three that I wouldn't mind not seeing again), but for everyone else, it's pretty sad. It's the same feeling when I moved here to Norman from Ponca, that I would never see some people again, and I haven't seen them since. Or like when I graduated high school, same thing. But at the same time, it's exciting, because it's a whole new place, with new opportunities (the job opportunities don't look good from what the news is reporting, they always tend to report the worse though) and new people to meet. I'm in the process of burning cds for journey. I got some Ulver, some Beatles, Green Day, Los Tigres del Norte, Pink Floyd, Sigur Ros, and others. I guess I could try listening to radio, but it will change from place to place. Maybe an audiobook would keep me entertained, or I could read while I'm driving, that'd be fun. So that's the plan for the rest of the year. Before Christmas I'd like to visit NYC, just to see how it is, probably pretty hectic with everyone doing last minute shopping. On a side note, the first event in the northeast I have listed on my calendar, and that isn't until May 2009! Enslaved is going to be in NYC on May 24.

peace and free "love" from me to all this christmas

-Jr