We Are We Now?

So much has happened over the last year. I cannot believe it's been a year since I last posted to this blog!

We'll I've lost a bunch of weight, and I've gotten more involved in the fight for my 2A rights and freedoms, I've kept my business running and work is overall pretty good. My garden and my chickens are doing well this Spring/Summer and my lovely girlfriend and I are doing great.

Honestly, my life in general is pretty good, but my outlook for our nation is pretty low.

I'm kinda' bummed about most of the video games I'm playing/have payed recently, as none of them is really holding my attention. Perhaps that's good at the moment.  The games I've played/am playing are: SWTOR, Wildstar, WOW, MAV, Mech Warrior Online and Pirates of The Burning Seas. I'm also interested in Plants vs. Zombies "Garden Warfare" when that comes out this summer. Time will tell.

I wish I had more to blog, but everything I really want to say is fairly negative, so I'll refrain... for now.

On a lighter note, I've read some great books lately from B.V. Larson and Michael G. Thomas. In fact book #9 in Thomas' Nexus Series is quite the read and looks to tie up this chapter of the overall series very nicely.

I'm also looking forward to future books from author Nathan Lowell's 'Share" series, since he ended the main stories of Ishmael Wang in a manner that didn't sit well with his readers.

Overall, I hope to have a safe and happy summer of 2014.

Don't Let Your Freedoms Be Eroded

Well, it's been a while since I posted here.  It's not that I haven't had anything to say, but more how and if I wanted to say it. I decided to share my thoughts on a few things.

A new year has rolled in, but not without some tragedy at the end of 2012. Sandy Hook in my home state of Connecticut made national and international headlines as a mass shooting. The loss of life was very sad indeed. It created an opportunity for certain political groups to once again attack the U.S. Constitution and more specifically the rights of U.S. Citizens.

I posted on FB recently that I'm not an registered republican or a registered democrat, I'm an American. I fought and sacrificed for this country as a U.S. Marine in combat and to preserve the very freedoms that the Constitution stands for.

Surprisingly, I'm fairly liberal on many of my views. I'm Pro-Choice, I believe in a woman's right to choose.  I support Gay-Rights and equal rights for all Americans regardless of their race or sexual orientation. I also believe that there are many legimate situations were people need long-term and short term assistance with their lives.

On the other side, I don't believe that just becasue you manage to get into the U.S. illegally, that you are entitled to citizenship. Even if you are an otherwise good person. You aren't entitled to a job, free health care, exemption from taxes etc. Sorry, but I couldn't jump off a cargo ship onto a dock in Japan, and expect to be welcomed with open arms, a job, food, medical care and a drivers license, all while paying no taxes or fees that the rest of the Japanese citizens pay. If you don't see something wrong with our immigration laws in the U.S. ....well... you're too far gone to help.

Finally, let me talk about the subject I feel most passionate about. The Constitution and more specifically my 2nd Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms. "I Love My Country", there are other great nations in the world, but this one is mine. Please don't insult my intelligence by telling me that guns are bad and more laws will make us safer.

Simply put laws are in place as a guide to what is right and wrong. Laws do not, nor have they ever stopped crime from being committed. That is why people who break the laws are called criminals. Laws are a means of punishment and can be helpful as a deterent if they are properly enforced. They do not keep anyone safe from people intending to do others harm.

Please note that the 2nd Amendment to the constitution is not in place to protect the rights of hunters, it is in place to enable every American to protect themsleves and the nation against Tyranny and Oppression, both Foreign AND Domestic. That right "Shall Not Be Infringed" If you don't fully understand what the word infringed means, look it up.

Forgive me if I don't believe that any law passed by politicians will make us safer. Don't tell me that gun free zones are "Safe" and OK, while you are safe behind the security of armed guards, capitol police and high-tech security systems. Don't lie to us when you attempt to convince us that guns that look scary need to be banned to make our society safer from bad people, or that 10 rounds or 7 rounds in a magazine is "Safe" but 11, 15, 20 or 30 is "Bad" and means your a heartless person who doesn't care about children or crime. I'll decide how best to defend myself and my loved ones.

If our government really  wanted to make a difference, they would address the mental health issues that run rampant in our nation. Enforce the laws that we already have, stiffen the penalties for violent crimes and give our children the armed protection in schools that elitists enjoy every day. If you fear guns or are uneducated about them, my advice is that you go to a professional and take a lesson, learn everything you can about firearms and self defense, you'll be better equipped to decide what's right for you. Otherwise, don't speak about something you know nothing about. You have a right to not hold yourself responsible for your own safety. You have a right not to own a gun, you don't  however, have a right to take that right away from me.

If you're an American and you don't believe the 2nd Amendment (and The Constitution as a whole) needs to be protected.... wait until they start eroding your 1st Amendment Rights. Maybe then you'll feel differently.

Random Ramblings on 2012

As we near the end of yet another year, I have to ask myself what stands out for me this year?

The biggest thing personally:

At the end of the first quarter of 2012 I resigned from my job of 3 plus years and started my own small business. It's been rewarding, frustrating and had ups and downs, but was definitely the right thing to do. I also have a local part-time job to cover expenses. If things continue to grow next year, I'll be pretty satisfied.

I'm learning year by year that although you need a job to pay the bills, money just cannot buy happiness. It's helps, but your true happiness comes from all the other areas of your life.

The presidential election will go down as a watershed moment in America. Regardless of which side you voted for, we should all try to remember that we are Americans first. The results showed a large divide both politically and geographically. The politicians need to work together, or my fears of this nation falling even farther from where we once were and where we need to be may likely be realized.

Whether you chose to believe it or not, our rights and freedoms as Americans are quietly being eroded. If you look hard enough you will see this to be true.

This year also reaffirmed to me that Wall Street and not just the politicians shares a hefty amount of the blame for why business and the our economy is in such a sad state in recent years.

I'm waiting to see how our universal health care will affect people like me who make very little and cannot afford health care coverage.

My girlfriend, partner and best friend is the biggest source of happiness in my life. More than a job, money or any other success. Being a good mate and partner to her is my biggest accomplishment this and any other year.

Something else that stands out is how volatile the middle east has become lately. That is saying something, because the region has never been known for peace and tolerance, but this last year or so has seen new levels of chaos and the whole region seems balanced on a very slippery slope.

As mentioned in another blog post... this year is the first time I look ahead and wonder if we will be better off in the future than we are now. I've always believed we would continue to prosper and be a world leader virtually across the board. Now...I'm not so sure. History shows that civilizations rise and fall. It's due to our nature as humans. So the real question is... where in that historical curve are we? Think about it for a while.

I didn't write as much as I'd hoped this year. I hope to change that in 2013...time will tell.

I wish everyone a safe and Happy Holiday Season, and will post my goals for 2013 next month.

Peace Out...

The future looks...?

As we move through 2012 I look at my own life and feel pretty fortunate. Things are going well and I'm fairly happy with my life in general. When I look at our country and the world however, I find that for the first time in my life I look ahead and have serious doubts about whether we as a nation, as a people, and the world on the whole will be a better place ten years from now.

Our political system is broken to the point where it seems hard to even imagine it getting better, our economy and our educational system and is on the decline, the global economy is a mess, the "Entitled" generation is coming into a workforce that cannot find enough new jobs... I could go on, but you get the picture.

All this would seem bad enough if not added to by the fact that we just don't seem to "respect" each other as a society any longer. We seem to try to make everyone "happy" or be "P.C." at the expense of common sense.

So is it really that hard to imagine that for the first time in my life I look to the future with a sense of sadness, and wonder if the world will be a better place in ten, twenty or more years than it is now, or if we are headed towards even harder times. I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist.... Realistically, the future doesn't look all that bright right now.

Time Will Tell... In the meantime, I'm thankful for what I have. :-)

It's been a while, updates on life in general

When last I left off, I had decided I'd had enough of working my self to the bone for a ridiculous company that was rarely satisfied with anything I accomplished.

So I quit my job and went into business locally for myself. That has worked out well and I've done small but steady jobs over the last 6 weeks, plus... I found a part time job here in town three-four days a week to cover my expenses. I can ride my bicycle to work there as long as the weather is decent.

In less than two months my life has changed a lot and it's been for the better in almost every way. It was... and still is a big risk, but it was a change that needed to happen. It's been very rewarding to start from the ground up and build something that is your own. My customer's love me, and I'm one of the best at what I do. The difference in this situation is that now, my boss is ME!

The lesson to take away from this is that if you don't like where you're at in life, you have to make a change. Change comes with risk, but if you chose to change nothing about what's wrong in your life, expect your life to remain the same. It can be done! Even if your resources are limited (like mine were) you can make changes to make things better and find more happiness. I'm proof of that. :-)

Until next time, hope your having a good summer...

Time For Something New From Something Old

I'd reached a place where I knew it was time to make a change in my career. Most people have been there at least once or twice in there lives. So this past week I resigned from my job of three years. My previous job/career lasted over 12 years.

In an earlier blog about two months ago, I mentioned giving the job another chance at a new location, in a slightly better position. What I came to realize is that the company itself was truly the problem. The "culture" they created was not a healthy one for most employees including myself.

I enjoyed many aspects of my job as a technician and helping people really was very rewarding, I just realized I cannot do it for this company.  So I made a change and I'm taking a two pronged approach to my next chapter. I had already put some things in place for starting my own small business, but never pulled the trigger on it. Now that I have it's exciting and a little scary all at once. I'm also job hunting for a decent part-time job locally to keep the basic bills covered while I build this tiny enterprise of mine.

I'll leave you with this... You can do things the same and nothing about your life will change, or you can choose to make a change and see where that takes you. The choice really is yours.

Inspiration from movies, games and life...

I've done a lot of neat things in my life including, Professional Diver, U.S. Marine, Amateur Motorcycle and Car Racer, Hockey Player, Mechanic, Computer Technician and the list goes on...

Having a lot of life experiences to draw from is always a plus. I've been up and down, and quite a few places in between. I've been to war literally and otherwise. Lately, the reading bug has caught me. I've read so many very good e-books over the last year and a half and even managed to make small, slow steps with some of my own writing.

Inspiration can come from the strangest places sometimes, and my current job/position although not working out as I had hoped has given me the idea to work on a book/story/whatever that relates to how truly ridiculous jobs and careers can often be.  Then there are my chickens, my little flock of hens deliver a steady source of eggs and are often the thing that de-stresses me the most. Sometimes they even give me crazy ideas about animal/chickens point of view on how things might go down in a catastrophy!

In the mean time, I will wait for authors like Vaughn Heppner and Michael G. Thomas to release their next tales and keep working on one of my four unfinished stories. Also saw a really neat movie the other night called Pandorum with Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid. It reminded me a little bit of Event Horizon. It's worth checking out.

Thanks for stopping by....