This year

This year has been one of the toughest one’s for me in a long time.  My life has completely changed and I am not certain if the change is for the better or the worse.  This year I was able to achieve one of my long term goals; entering law school.  Now remaining in school still remains to be determined since my final grades have not been posted yet.  It was a struggle from the beginning to attempt to refocus life from a settled existence to one of stress and a lot of reading.  

I thank God, family and friends for the support they have given me in this first semester.  They had to deal with my stress, mood changes, late night reading and odd hours of operation.  I could not have done anything without their words of encouragement and acts of kindness.

Another change in life this year is that I shall begin the year as a single person.  It is odd being single.  I was in a long relationship with a great person but things simply did not work out.  I learned a lot about myself and a lot about the abilities I have for good as well as for not so good.  I think I was placed into that situation to both help myself and my gf at the time.  I pray that she learned as much from me as I did from her.

I currently find myself connecting with friends I had not spoken too in years.  It is fun to be reminded of how much or how little I have changed.  I think that it is part of just getting comfortable in my own skin again.  I am going to remain single for sometime; I feel that having been in a long relationship deserves a pause to reflect on what the experience is meant to teach you.  

My golf swing is getting better!!!  I think that it is mainly due to the fact that now instead of being bored at home or somewhere else I have been going to the golf range or the course.  Golf forces you to only think of the mechanics of your own body and demands that you relax.  I think that is the key to a good golf swing, the ability to focus on the task at hand and execute.  Many times I would find my mind wandering about other concerns and my next shot was errant or the biggest slice ever.  I have had my clubs adjusted to fit my swing path.  

Apparently I am 2 degrees flat.  A long time ago I was fitted for clubs and was deemed to be standard length and lie.  But in the last few weeks I have become a more aggressive ball striker.  It is nice to hear the cracking noise.  I do not know what it is about a good shot that cheers my spirit but it’s a good feeling.  The loud crack of the club striking the ball is great.  I know golf is like big kid marbles…over Christmas one of my uncles related it to adult fetch.  In a way its true, maybe it is adult fetch, but not of a ball but rather of a goal, the pursuit of perfection.

Cathedral of Morelia

I figured I should throw some pictures in here from time to time.  Hound this shot of the Morelian Cathedral and got me thinking of visiting again

train of thought

I have been both blessed and cursed to hear the most ridiculous arguments. I have listened to great speakers and terrible ones alike. However, today I heard the worse argument ever. Apparently a long time ago in a galaxy far far away there was a person. This person did something stupid; almost unforgivable. A considerable time after the act they felt terrible about it and confessed. The individual showing remorse and feeling terrible for the atrocity committed admits to it.

They stand up and own up to what they did and accept any and all consequences of their actions. Sometime later, the individual is confronted by the victim of the atrocity. The victim, who was not directly involved in said act, states that the atrocity never happened; it was apparently simply imagined. So the individual who owned up to his sin, now has to prove that the evil did happen, thus reliving that which they have tried so hard to move past.

!!! Or, do they simply agree with this new fountain of information and buy into the “imagined evil.” !!!

It would be so easy to buy into it. The argument is clear, the victim was not there, there is new evidence and apparently the culpable individual can argue that they did it under duress. That they felt they had to lie about committing such a crime. We can call the situation whatever. The wheels of the imagination start turning, spinning if you will; a clever media spin to make a story less or more culpable depending on what the audience expects to hear. The crowd grows silent. The voices of spin and deceit grow silent and quiet and all that remains is truth.

The individual reaffirms his guilt, because honestly at this point is the best. The spinning of more lies though easier would be the real atrocity. It would negate any benefit and learning that either the victim or the individual could learn. The lies upon lies are something the individual is no longer interested in. The property tax on lies is too high and not worth it, because the tax is paid in sleep; for sleepless nights awaiting the liar who excuses his sin by piling on more sins to cover the first.

The mind begins to settle, the words begin to pour, truth yet flows. Regardless of what anyone says a sin was committed and as the saying goes, the truth will set you free. The world is at peace, the world is beautiful, because for every sin there is redemption, for every sin there is forgiveness, for every sin there is salvation.

Golf Game - Random Thoughts

I read an article in golf digest about the most dangerous course in the world. One of the holes runs along the South Korean boarder which technically still a war zone since no official peace was declared and it made me reflect.

I have found myself hitting an awful lot of golf balls recently. I think its because I am nearing the end of the semester and by chance I found out I could buy and sell clubs on ebay for small profits - used to pay for books. So I do a lot of research about brands and styles so since I am always reading about it the bug to go and hit is always around. Also there is a golf range near school with reasonable rates. Its in Korea town, they are nice people there, odd because Korean music plays and I do not understand. Yet I think I can now hum most of the songs; though i have no clue what they say.

Anyways, I have been hitting golf balls a lot because the act of striking a ball forces me to not think about anything else but the task at hand. It feels effortless when I hit well and a train wreck when I am off, but its all worth that one good shot. It also loosens the muscles in my back which feels great. I commute to school and most of the week I drive about 120 miles per day. I know, that is nothing compared to other people, but others do not sit in parking lots called freeways like southern Californians do.

I feel very lucky to be able to practice a game that for many years was considered elitist, or out of the range of the common man. I think of all of the great pioneers in the sport, and like other sports, they had to come up and work hard to make things happen. Americans we are truly blessed, we have so many opportunities that it drives me crazy when I see people acting like fools on the news.

I know that I have had a lot of good fortune in my short life span and a great family that supports me in my odd hobbies, but more than anything I remember reading the Declaration of Independence as a grade school-er and nodding. thinking to myself, heck yeah I am an American. I know that what I have done in life is nothing like the men and women oversees serving our country in the middle east and other places; but to them and to others here in America I say, hell yeah i am an American, and a proud one too.

random

I read an article about the fact that banks will now have to ask if their clients would like a $35 dollar overdraft fee. That a great thing, and I hope that it will not only help consumers but also force banks to make money the old fashioned way; service and excellence. According to the article the maneuver of “helping” you out and then charging you a ludicrous fee is a billion dollar industry. I can only imagine how many struggling professionals and students have had a cup of coffee before a presentation or exam cost 40 dollars. Its outrageous.



I have also been blessed to be reading the opinions of many judges due to my law school classes. There are truly brilliant people out there. How refreshing to think about it. Sometimes I forget that there are those great minds hidden in the rush of everyday life.



Besides that nothing much else is going on. Oh wait, my golf swing, its hilarity. I think I have changed it at least ten times. I was doing the math, every Golf magazine has as the lead article “add 20 yards”, “add 10 yards”, etc. I guess I should have a 400 yard pitching wedge as should the rest of America. Anyway, the struggle will continue, hitting balls after work has helped at least relieve some stress.

War on Drugs

There are a few times when I feel proud of the work that a country does, but at the same time I am saddened that more is not being done by neighboring countries. According to a BBC article I read recently 13,000 individuals have lost their lives fighting organized crime, i.e. the Cartels, in Mexico.
I am proud of the work that the new president Felip Calderon is doing in Mexico but I am saddened by the lack of commitment coming from the US. I understand that the US is going through somewhat of a recession right now, and everything I have read points to no visible end in sight. I still feel that the US has a large part in the Mexican plight since we are the #1 consumer of what they are selling.

Why do we continue to consume drugs in the US?
Have our methods simply not worked, jail, rehab, a blind eye?

I am concerned with the world my nephews will grow up in. I wish that I could walk with them and tell them that its going to be alright, but I am not sure that it will be. I pray for all the law enforcement agency staff, and military staff on both sides of the boarder for their sacrifice and the risk that they run combating these cartels, but why aren't we as a society helping them out. It is a supply and demand equation. If we as a society would not look at drugs as merely a part of life glorified by many forms of media and look at the issue of addiction as a disease we may begin to see some change. Now I am not going to write and tell you to create a series of laws that will just create more burden in out jails, nor will I tell you to legalize everything under the sun.
I do say that we are capable of a happy medium, heck we put someone on the moon four decades ago...I think that we can figure this out.

Did you see Pontiac Coming?

Did you see Pontiac Coming? Were there any of us that saw Pontiac coming? GM giving the brand the shutdown special? Let me give you some background. You and I both know that no one wants to drive a Pontiac right now. It’s scary to think that the car you rely on for school, work, shopping, travel emergencies may be the next Dodo Bird, or West African Black Rhino. Would you trust your life saving prescription medicine from a company that is going bankrupt? Or Fly an Airline that flies in the Spirit of St. Louis? I think as consumers we are a lot smarter than that, at least I hope so. A few weeks ago I saw a commercial for the new Toyota Venza. Seemed like a cool car; station wagon style, slick lines, 5 doors, wait a minute it looks oddly like the Toyota Matrix? Was Toyota going to discontinue making the Matrix? Why the heck would a car company discontinue a car that has done so well and even created a niche for itself. I could not rationalize it, two cars, similar look, similar specs, similar market. Hmm what a conundrum. My spider sense is tingling because I think that Pontiac has something to do with the new car, specifically the Pontiac Vibe. Anyone seen this car? If you have not I would not blame you, it is simply the GM version of the Matrix, same car, but cheaper because it is by GM, and since its “American” people do not buy it. The reality is that it is pretty much the same car. According to Wikipedia “The Vibe is the mechanical counterpart of the Toyota Matrix and is based on the Toyota Corolla's E-platform.” And the article continues to say “Despite the shrinking of the Pontiac brand, the Vibe is expected to remain in production into the foreseeable future. If Pontiac would be discontinued, the Vibe would most likely reappear under one of GM's surviving brands.” I am not sure when this was edited on the page, I did correct some spelling, but that is awesome. Whoever wrote the page saw what everyone else saw, get off the GM boat and swim for shore this is going to be trouble. The Toyota Matrix wiki page stated the following in regards to the Pontiac Vibe “Identical mechanically, and nearly as much internally, the Matrix and Vibe are clothed in different sheet metal designed by their respective brands.” I am going to go on a limb here and call that Toyota will discontinue the matrix and or move the Matrix’s technology and platform under its Scion banner under a new name or blend it with the xB (anyone remember the Toyota Scion Xa, i.e. Mini Matrix??). They have already blended the xB and the xA into a sleeker smaller, rounder looking type thing. Toyota is going to streamline their production and shakedown extra cars and consolidate their models and not double up like so many American Car Companies have done in the past, remember at one point we had a Dodge Neon, Plymouth Neon, Chrysler Neon also Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, Mercury Topaz and Ford Tempo have also hard their cars; we have had other examples but I think you get the point. Toyota is being smart about getting away from a sinking ship and making sure that their brand is not tarnished by the UAW, whoops I meant to say GM.