I will miss this class

Ok, here is the final blog entry for the semester. Wow, 10 words already, nice. Anyways, my blog really never formed a theme. I guess thats why its called "Data Roaming." Just a bunch of random information I vomit onto this webpage.

In all honesty, I will miss this class. I'll miss Newberger's religious tardiness, Cal's ranting, Phil's random diatribes, Noodle's...floral computer, Elisa's extremely LOUD and strangely dramatic stories, Chelsea's comparisons to the east and west coast, J.P.'s creepy people surveillance stories, Danny's random youtube videos, Victoria's...interesting anecdotes about her father, Travis dropping shit and dipping in class, Clancy's...tattoos?, and Christine's anger with the Flagler guidance system. Oh, and of course Lyndon's nap time. And also Brian's comical ideas. Like putting police snipers on every traffic light to prevent people from running red lights, screw the cameras.

Everyone was so unique, if I had a bad experience in the class, I would have had to try very very hard. But I didn't, and if anyone reads this, I'd like to thank you all.

And I must say, I even noticed a change in myself through the course of the semester. In the beginning, I was a hermit you might say. I didn't want to talk, and really didn't even want to share my work. But as the semester progressed, I became comfortable with everyone. I found that it wasn't such a horrible thing to speak out. I think that is partly due to the fact that we all meshed quite well. Again, the uniqueness thing.

Anyways, farewell, godspeed, see you all around.

My Boss

All right, so I work at the Sunset Grille in St. Augustine Beach. My boss is an Italian New Yorker who really likes to play the roll of the Italian New Yorker. I mean, right down to the mock-mobster persona, the heavy, exaggerated accent, and the slicked back hair. At 5 feet 5 inches tall, you'd think there is no reason to fear him. But strangely enough, everyone does. I'll say he does have a temper and is VERY loud. Most people that work at Sunset are Southern, so maybe they aren't used to it. Maybe they're even a little intimidated.

More on the topic, this is the kinda guy that addresses his employees by, "hey, cocksucker, come here." Or, "hey fucko, spritz the bathrooms." Or even, "yo uhhh....cum dumpster, go fuckin' bus some tables." In a loving way, of course. I merely laugh and give him a little punch on the shoulder.

Whenever I get into an argument with my boss, which is pretty often, both of us don't back down. We will literally get into each others faces and scream at each other. Everyone else in the restaurant looks on like a bunch of newborns. But not 5 minutes after, he'll come up to me with that big grin on his face and say, "Louie, you know I like you. You're a New Yorker! Thats why I hired you!" I'll say, "I know boss." Then, to save face, he'll usually say something like, "now go sweep the floors, peasant." My response usually goes as follows: "Ok, but I'm gonna get employee of the month, right?"

Employee of the month doesn't exist at the Sunset Grille. He then usually just turns around and calls me an asshole. Never back down to the big man, folks.

Italians are funny

Ok, some people might get mad at me for posting this in the light. But I think this video captures the passion and I guess....audibility? Of Italians quite nicely. Here's your brief: the video is of a mudslide in the southern Italian town of Maierato. Just listen:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4PG2Ga/sorisomail.com/email/42722/ja-viram-desmoronar-uma-montanha.html

Now, I'm not fluent in Italian, proficient maybe. But here is what I could make out.

Incredibile! - Obviously, that means incredible.

Dramatico! - Another cognate, dramatic.

Fuori! Fuori! - That one means "out"

qua qua qua qua!!! - qua means "here"

A lot of it is southern Italian dialect that I cannot understand. But the narrator. Such gusto! This is why I love Italians. They have to SCREAM everything they say. And in dramatic situations like this one? They are right at home.

I am half Italian. Sono mezzo Italiano. I have relatives that live in the northern city of Piacenza, right between Milan and Genoa. I remember me and my family went to visit them one year. We were all having dinner and all of a sudden my relatives broke out in song. They all just started screaming it. I had no choice but to join in. With copious amounts of grappa flowing through my veins, I just started screaming unintelligible Italian. But it felt right.

I believe there is a good chance I may be going back to Italy for at least 6 months after I graduate. The plan is, I would work on their farm there and maybe get some material to write about. All the while, I'm going to scream Dramatico! and Incredibile!!

Radiation and dissent

Remember this guy? - http://socialism.wiki-site.com/index.php/Alexander_Litvinenko

Well, if you don't recognize him in that picture, you'll probably recognize him in this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko_poisoning

The guy was a former KGB agent who published two books chronicling how the Russian government staged apartment bombing and all sorts of other villainous plots to bring Vladimir Putin to power.

Guess what happened to him. Randomly, in November of 2006, he fell ill with radiation poisoning. Yeah, hence the loss of hair. But something like this cant really be random, the guy didn't just eat a bar of plutonium. No, someone deliberately poisoned him polonium-210. Who would do that? Someone working for the Russian government with orders to smother the dissenter. That was an easy one.

Lets take a look at the primary suspect, according to British intelligence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Lugovoy

Andrei Lugovoy. Russian politician, deputy to the State of Duma, and former KGB bodyguard. Pretty shady stuff. What happened when the British tried to get him extradited from Russia? The Russian government denied. Hmmm, I wonder why.

Its funny. We as the "people" don't know anything. Our governments hide so much from us. Why? Well for national security of course. But don't you all just want to know? What/who killed Kennedy? Did the Roswell incident ever happen? Yes, the Freedom of Information Act exists, but its just an opaque excuse for transparency. I can't wait until the Kennedy files are released. We are going to get a tailored page suited up just for the publics eye. The truth will be missing.

Until chaos knocks on our door, the truth will never be revealed.

Shoot for the stars

Ok people, I need to address something here. The expression "shoot for the stars". Why do people say it? Well, traditionally it means have great aspirations for yourself. Similar to the "sky is the limit" idea. Thats great and all, but lets look into a bit of the science involved.

Most of the stars that we can see with the naked eye are many lightyears away. Thus, it takes the light from those stars many, many Earth years to reach us. So, in actuality, the stars that we can see may have very well exploded already. You know, supernovas.

So, when people say, "shoot for the stars," they are may be telling you to shoot for something that doesn't exist. Thus, implying that you give yourself aspirations that are unachievable.

I think a new phrase needs to be coined here. Because the other one, "the sky is the limit," doesn't really make sense either. The sky is not the limit. Ask anyone who has ever traveled into space. The sky is just Earth's atmosphere. And in Carl Sagan's words, Earth is just a, "mote of dust suspended in a sun beam." Makes you feel pretty insignificant, eh?

No, I don't have any ideas yet as to what the new phrase should be. I'll think about it.

School v. employment

Here is a piece I wrote on working students at Flagler College. Again, thanks to my sources.

Flagler College Student, Neil Boyle, 21, often feels as if he is a walking zombie at school.

Boyle is part of a growing trend of undergraduate college students who work part-time jobs to help finance their education. Eight out of 10 students work while pursuing an undergraduate degree, according to the National Post Secondary Student Aid Study. Many of these students work hours that infringe upon time that they could be using to focus on success at school.

Boyle works late hours on Sunday night at Reebok in St. Augustine. Some shifts require him to stay on the clock until 12 a.m. He says the next day at school isn't usually productive.

"I'll wake up the next day and find it difficult to get out of bed," Boyle said. "When I finally do get going, my body isn't rested enough and I find that I have trouble focusing and getting things done."

That is just Boyle's routine on Sundays. In many instances, his boss has called him in to work additional hours that he had sanctioned off for school.

"Last semester during midterms, my boss had me working 35 hours a week," Boyle said. "I brought my books to work so I could study but my boss didn't let me. So I ended up doing poorly on my midterms with only two hours of sleep in two days"

Like Boyle, I work 25 or more hours a week, often late hours, during school. So it isn't difficult for me to understand the hardship of balancing school and work. In fact, all too often I find myself struggling to get my school work done while trying to please my employer by simply holding onto my shifts

So the question poses itself: Are college students working too much?

Will Givens, a Flagler College junior, works a job at a local pizza parlor in St. Augustine. He says that its necessary for him to work because he needs to be able to pay for the things that his parents can't cover for him.

"I feel obligated to work because in this economy, I don't want to put an extra burden on my parents," Givens said. "But I need to have money to take care of my food, social life, and of course cigarettes."

A catch-22 situation presents itself to working college students: Either work and sustain oneself as much as possible but let one's school performance suffer. Or, don't work, rely on the parent's ever money producing teet, and focus one's efforts on school. Either way, performance at school will be affected or there will be a money deficiency coupled with the fact that an extra burden may be placed on one's parents.

The next question arrises: What can be done to mend such an issue?

Luke Landes, writer for US News' Consumerism Commentary, believes that careful money management can help college students better balance their lives. In an article titled, "8 Ways to Save Money in College," he suggests that students should try to live off campus.

"Some colleges may not allow this, but while attending those that do, you may find that it costs less to rent an apartment near campus than it costs to pay for on-campus housing," Landes said. "If rent can be shared among a number of roommates, students or their parents can save more money."

Borrowing text books, asking for student discounts whenever possible, and limited credit card use are additional ways that students can use to save money. In terms of holding a job, Landes says, "There will be many decades for working, but only a few years of college."

I will opt to keep my job for now because it helps to keep me away from loans that I will inevitably have to pay off after college. However, some students, like Boyle are forced to take out loans on top of holding a job because it is the only way to financially survive.

"If I don't take out my $7,500 a year loans, not only won't I be able to help my parents pay for tuition, but I would most likely only be able to survive with the most basic needs," Boyle said. "I'm in college, I want more than the basic needs."

Lucky me, having parents that are willing to pay for my tuition with their own money. The least I can do is hold a job so that I can pay for my gas, food, beer and other extracurriculars myself. Will my performance at school be at risk? Yes. Should I probably work less? Yes. However, like many other college students in my position, I need my job.

The final answer to it all? Save money.

Issue piece

Here is the issues piece I wrote for my Opinion Writing class. Basically, its about apathy, and more specifically, voter apathy. Thanks to my sources for the input.

Why am I apathetic?

This is a question that many young people stricken with apathy never ask themselves because they, well, just don't care. I would know, because I don't care either.

So what is this phenomenon called apathy? I was talking to a few coworkers of mine the other day about the conflict in the Middle East. And I asked them, "What do you guys think about Iran going nuclear?" Their words were wavering and their reasoning, craterous, but I understood very clearly the Parthian shot they both employed at the tail of their response: who really cares?

I asked 21-year-old St. Augustine resident, Garett Rix, what he thought about current politics in the United States. The first thing he told me? That he doesn't trust politicians.

"You know, I don't really care much for politics right now," Rix said. "The people who run the show, the politicians, most of them I think are swindling and distrustful. They make it difficult to genuinely care."

This is a problem. If people think that the politicians governing their very lives are intolerable scumbags, shouldn't some dire action take place? Back in the day, people would throw tea in the harbor or write moving pieces about the angry and downtrodden soul of America. But now? Now, people simply just don't care.

Lets be real here. It isn't the politician's fault that the American youth is plagued with apathy. Politicians have always been rulers of the Washington billiards, sharking the political tables, hitting the cue where it matters and hustling voters in dollar amounts. Scapegoats used to reason with apathy and avoid the alligator pit of responsibility. What else could make people not care?

22-year-old Flagler College student Ross Schettine thinks that people just don't know enough to vote intelligently.

"I think people don't vote because they don't know what they are voting on," Schettine said. "How are you supposed to care about something when you don't know anything about it?"

Perhaps apathy is simply a manifestation of ignorance. A facade people wear to conceal their own lack of knowledge. I mean, who wants to go to a voting booth and play eeny meeny miny moe with the ballot cards anyways? It's hard enough hiding your ignorance from others, is it really necessary to reveal the fact to yourself that you can't recognize any of the names up for midterm elections?

Maybe young people aren't affected enough by current issues to care about who gets elected into office. What if, perhaps, the voting youth were given a little incentive to get going on the vote, to start caring some more. In an article for the New Statesman, Mark Thomas of Great Britain proposes a hilarious idea that centers on rewards to get the British youth to vote.

"Have fun with it. Introduce prizes and offer air miles for each election voted in. Make sure every election broadcast and debate has a swimwear competition," Thomas said. "Introduce tear-off coupons on the bottom of voting slips that offer discounts on popular brands."

I mean, shit. If I was offered a chance to see the Obama girl duke it out with some other brand slut in a mud slinging, bikini tearing wrestling match, I'd probably show up. Insert diatribe about the deterioration of American morality and conscious here. But really, as outlandish as it seems, those kinds of voting incentives would probably work, especially for the youth. For the wrong reasons maybe, but at least people would get out to the polls.

Maybe the American youth isn't growing up fast enough. Maybe we have to be thrust into the confines of responsibility to fully realize the importance of political policy. Perhaps then we might feel compelled to do some research, get out to the booths and vote in hopes of our country taking a direction that will benefit us most.

However, this is America. We like to draw from the money tit as long as we can to get "settled" in life. In the meantime, we can keep up with the news, or something like that, and prepare ourselves for the time and moment when all of this political drivel will "matter" to us. Then maybe, just maybe, we can punch some holes in some ballot cards.

Or, as Rix puts it, "I'll just let the other people do the voting."