Wednesday, January 05, 2005

a post about something worthwhile

i am not sure how many people have heard of Walter Williams, but he has a great article about republic vs. democracy. i hope someone will read it and post some feedback. i thought it was very interesting. so many people throw these terms around without considering their actual meanings. this article should be required reading.

Monday, January 03, 2005

Julie forced me to...

Julie, Interrupted suckered me into filling this out by mentioning me by name. i hate my own pride...ung.

here you go...i hope my wife fills this out, she loves these.

3 names you go by:
1. Daniel
2. Mr. Vaughn
3. Big Dan

3 screen names you have:
1. thebeardeddude (which makes no sense now...)
2. withknivesout
3. utpaloser (reference to my alma mater)

3 things you like about yourself:
1. i am pretty bright
2. i am very outgoing
3. i truely care about my students

3 things you hate/dislike about yourself:
1. my looks
2. the fact that i shaved my beard a week ago
3. my laziness

3 parts of your heritage:
1. white, through and through (Euro Mix, basically)
2. i refuse to apologize for past wrongs that i, myself, did not inflict
3. i was born into a middle class white family, and it shows in almost everything i say and do.

3 things that scare you:
1. spiders
2. heart attacks (though i joke about them constantly)
3. Michael Moore and his followers (take that Julie!)

3 of your everyday essentials:
1. a shower
2. bottled water (by the gallons, damn near)
3. hand lotion (i am a bit of a texture freak. sort of a psycosis of mine)

3 things you're wearing right now:
1. t-shirt
2. blue boxers
3. wedding ring

3 of your favorite bands/artists (today):
1. Modest Mouse
2. Green Day (this may be the only band that would have made a similar list 10 years ago)
3. The Decemberists

3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. "Nothing Better" by The Postal Service
2. "Black Dadillacs" by Modest Mouse
3. "Needle in the Hay" by Elliot Smith

3 new things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. move
2. having another poetry jam
3. exercising regular

3 things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
1. respect
2. something to talk about
3. real opinions

2 truths and a lie:
1. i am a fat man
2. i went to college to become a preacher (and got kicked out)
3. i am half black

3 physical things about a love interest that appeal:
1. her smile
2. her whisper
3. her eyes

3 things you just can't do:
1. motivate myself to return to my talents
2. have a positive outlook on my life for longer than 3 hours
3. stay offline

3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. reading
2. writing (in disrepair lately)
3. blogging

3 things you want to do really badly right now:
1. go out with friends
2. play video games
3. travel to somewhere far away

3 careers you're considering:
1. College professor (something me and Julie agree on!)
2. poet laureat of a state (however you fucking spell it)
3. waiter at a "family" restraunt (i miss the freedom of it)

3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. London
2. NYC
3. Chicago or Moscow

3 kids names (either boy or girl):
1. Isaiah
2. Jael
3. Daniel (hell, its a great name!)

3 things you want to do before you die:
1. record another album
2. become the best at something
3. become friends with someone really famous

3 people who have to take this quiz now:
1. the wife, adagirl
2. manny
3. rwmonty

bored as a mother...

well, the day is almost done and i am just beginning my day. i slept till 1 again today. damnit to hell, i wish i had more control over my schedule. instead, i stay in bed. wait till thursday, and i go back to work, then the fun will begin. trying to get up at 6 again will be no picnic for the first week. after that it will get easier.

of course, on sunday i will be winging to houston. i am not sure to look forward to this trip or hate it. hanging out with my principal for 3 days is not going to be all that much fun. i figure i will just take my book and hide my head in it. basically, i will just try to be a model citizen for those 3 days. i dont want to jeoprodize my job or at least how my boss preceives me.

i am going to try and use these last couple of days well. cleaning the house, sorting stacks of crap from the last 2 years. some of it even older. amazing how much stuff stacks up after the shortest time. my wife and i have been hacking away at it like crazy. hopefully we will finish before my work starts back up. enough for now...

awesome blog photo i found

i found this great baby photo on someone's blog. sweet zepplin shirt.


january 3rd, eh...

i've been thinking alot about this point in my life. i graduated 2 years ago with a degree in english with minors in history and philosophy. i got certified to teach in the state of texas. i have been teaching 2 years now, living in McAllen, TX and teaching in the nearby town of Donna. i have some job security, which is a good thing. i am ralatively respected where i work. i am not top dog, but i am not the a bottom feeder either. i could probably teach there the rest of my life, if i wanted to ...

the question is...do i?