House Arrest: Day Four

Sundays will be the day that I am to be confined to by apartment for all twenty-four hours. Today wasn't so bad. Rachael was here to keep things fun, and over the weekend we watched Crazy Stupid Love and Friends with Benefits. I thought both of them were good movies, but the latter was definitely my favorite of the two.

This afternoon we watched the last ten minutes of the replay of the Arsenal v. Man United match from Saturday, watched the movie, then ordered a pizza as Baltimore and New England began the AFC Championship game. Rachael then had to leave, leaving me to an empty apartment that I have long wanted to give a cleaning overhaul. So as I watch San Francisco and New York in the NFC title game, I have been going through the rounds: vacuuming, picking-up by hand what the vacuum missed, zip-tying loose cables and cords, dusting, moping the kitchen, trying to fix the dish-washer door, and wiping down/organizing all surfaces. All in all, it's been a very full-day.

Earlier today, I discovered Joe Paterno had passed away. Such a tragic way to pass on. The media, head-hunters, quick judger's, and over-sensitive Americans who love to open their mouth to speak out on behalf of their beliefs in an extreme fashion without having anything invested in the Penn State scandal, should feel ashamed of themselves. You stole the man's heart. He had dedicated his entire life to disciplining young people and teaching them the right path. It hurt him so much to see the hurt and pain of these victims, it hurt him personally that it had transpired right under his nose, and you all just had to have somebody in authority to point your finger at. If you we're one of those individuals, you disgust me. Those of you that are quick to judge are no better than the very same people that you protest. Practice what you preach.

This 49er's/Giants game is actually rather entertaining.

Yesterday, Ms. Vaughn from the Action office in KC contacted me at 10:30 at night to inform me that she could not locate me on her system. She accused me of never plugging in the equipment, yet I was sitting on the couch looking at it while I spoke with her. I told her that it had been plugged-in from the very moment I got home early Thursday morning. She again told me that I had not plugged it in and that I needed to do so immediately. Okay lady. Again, I tell her that I am staring at it and it has the "phone, check-mark, and three bars" illuminated on the display. She asks me if it is near a "computer" or near the kitchen. A computer? That is a little vague for this day and age, dontcha think? She had told me in her office that laptops would not affect it, and she did not mention gaming systems, wireless routers, cable boxes, etc. So I set the transmitter up in the corner of the living room on one of my stools, just three or four feet away from Mike's Xbox and router. I ask her if this is okay and Ms. Vaughn replies, "It can't be near no computer." Hmmm. Now it's getting clearer. She means it can't be near any modern technology. Ohhh, why didn't you say so Ms. Vaughn. So I move it to the hallway, and she tells me she will call me in the morning (today). I never received a call or voicemail. No news is good news, right? I hope.

14-10 right now, Niner's with the lead. However the NYG are knocking on the door after that turnover on the punt. This might come down to the wire, and now deserves my undivided attention. Hope you are enjoying life, wherever you are.

House Arrest: Day One

The start of my 30 day house arrest has gotten off to a glorious start.

A night of nothing but watching tv and laundry. Consisting of Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, the Office, and the color green. Oh, and hanging out with my two newest friends:

Ahh. 29 more days, 29 more days, 29 more days. I'm seriously bummed I have to miss four soccer games with the new team. Visit from Rachael this weekend? I hope so. It would be great if this snow would stop falling.

30 days house arrest for... *not* causing any harm to an officer

That's right, word from good old Officer Hatfield is that there was never any harm or injury inflicted on him. All I can take from this is that I must have really, really hurt his feelings.

The prosecutor would not let up, and apparently was not happy that I had an option other than jail time. She cut-off and spoke over my attorney numerous times in an, regardless of place or reason, unprofessional manner that I would never expect from someone in such a position (could there be a little romance going on here? Hmm...). You're lucky I'm not pursuing anything related to police brutality. Not to mention she looked as if she had just rolled out of bed five minutes prior to entering the court room. Her hair appeared as if she had not showered in days. Baggy white/gray sweater that had stains and discoloring on it.

Is this a court room or a homeless shelter? Hard to tell in Kansas City, KS.

Anyway, back to business. The trespassing charge was dropped altogether and a fine of $500 issued along with 30 days of house arrest to be served and monitored by an ankle bracelet. The monitor itself is $12/day after a $100 fee. That somehow ended up totaling $486. But I've had enough of these thoughts and worries. It's time for some sleep.

Thursday, 1/19 = Day one.

We meet again

Here in the hotel room of the Hilton Garden Inn in a western part of downtown Kansas City. Currently getting ready to get cleaned and suit up. I was told to be at the court by 8am, but who knows when we will get in.

All I know is that this is whole thing is close to being somewhat over. I'm ready to get there and discover the outcome, but at the same this is something I've been mentally avoiding for four months now and it's right in my face this morning. Feel rather sick to my stomach, but here goes nothing.

Updates to follow.

Big plans for summer !

With the kayak purchase just around the corner, I've been busy stocking up on camping supplies and making arrangements to get some new gear. A new six or eight-person tent will be a part of these plans. Of course there is a long list of items that I have always desired but never owned. I'm hoping to make a lot of these purchases before the spring to help make the travel costs more doable for summer.

Two destinations I would really love to tackle this year:

• Port Austin, Michigan
• Linville Gorge, North Carolina

Hopefully Kansas City goes easy on me, it'd be a shame to give up my entire year before it really gets started.

Too outspoken?

There are many times throughout each week where I think to myself that I might be too outspoken; that I speak my mind a little too honestly and too often.

But then there are some nights where I speak out about something that's really affecting me inside, and I feel like it's somewhat justified.

I wish I could communicate things better. I wish I knew why people react the way they do, why they shy away like they do. Especially when someone thinks the world of you. I don't understand the need to be hesitant in certain situations. Maybe I'm over-reacting. Although it seems that the same story plays again and again. Back and forth and back and forth with re-assuring small-talk until everyone is comfortable enough to continue with what is trying to be accomplished. I don't get the need to be re-assured. It's not an awkward thing.

It just makes me wonder what else would be too "awkward" that someone couldn't go through with something. Like, moving to a new city. Or state.

We're all adults now. It's okay to accept that in our minds and live a little, okay to change things up a bit from time to time.

I had a few years to myself to get extremely comfortable with my lifestyle, and to meet othe lers who lived their lives the same way. I'm finding that it's hard for me to patient with those who are hesitant and less out-going.

Christmas Shopping: The Final Chapter

Well over $300 later, my Christmas shopping is finally done. I realize that is a small sum compared to most, but it's really more than I should have spent considering everything that's going on right now. That's alright though.

I hope.

Definitely looking forward to seeing family for an extended period of time instead of just a few hours, and seriously ready for some time off. Today was.. 37 days in a row that I've worked? Yeah. It is feeling a little ridiculous at this point. Three days off is going to feel like three weeks off, but ultimately will fly by like three hours.

At any rate, It will be great to just relax.

So ready to say goodbye

I can't think of a time since I moved to Columbus that I've been more bummed about not living on the coast. It's like the city, Crew, Rachael, soccer, and friends occupied my mind these two years. I always have someone to talk to or somewhere I can go except on the nights and in the moments where I need someone most, such as now.

I'm someone who has always been dreaming ahead about where I'm going. It's funny. While in college I had said that the plan would be to find a good job in Columbus and work here 2-3 years and then move on. Here I am nearing that two year point and I'm thinking about it more than ever.

While most people my age are saying to themselves 'wow. I'm in my mid-twenties. I better find some love and have some kids because that's all that is left to do,' I am busy looking at apartments in SC and USVI, job openings, and partying myself to a blackout every weekend. I am sick of being here and fed up with waiting. Realistically, it will be ateast one or two years before I can make the move. With that in mind, it wouldn't hurt to try to find a supervisor or management position somewhere here in Columbus.

Unfortunately until this Kansas City mess is cleared up, I can't even begin to plan anything out.

Would things be fine if I just stayed in Ohio forever? Yeah. Everything points to me living a pretty fun, normal life with friends and family if I would settle here. But that is not me. I've become so committed to my dreams that staying in Ohio would be an eternal failure in my subconscious, and I don't think I would ever be truly happy. However, I am accepting of the current factors in my life and how complicating they have become.

With that being said, I would leave tonight without any second thoughts. If I could.

Adding to the work load, some Italiano

Tonight marked my first night back into the world of Arby's. A couple training videos, a walk-thru of the store, and getting the paperwork done. I'm pretty stoked to have some extra cash start flowing in. The only thing left is to figure out just exactly how many hours I'll be working. I obviously cannot work days (Hilton: M-F, 9:30-6), so it's weekday nights and weekends. We'll see.

Buon giorno. Finally got back to the grind on learning the second language- Italian. Even now while I scrive, I'm thinking I'm going to nail this. I got 3 times farther tonight alone than I ever did before my laptop crashed.

Only one thing left to do, and I'll put it in english - goodnight.

Voting Day: Many victories to Ohio

The big win tonight, obviously, is the defeat of Issue 2. I cannot wait to see the "outrage" of SB5's supporters. This is an awesome result for the state.

Columbus-wise, I believe the re-election of Mayor Michael Coleman is another win. Of course, I'm knew to the city, but I've had many small conversations with the man and can say he is a very likable guy and always takes time to hear you out.

The defeat of Issue 3 is another win. If the issue had won, Ohioans would have been required by law to purchase health insurance or face fines. Tonight, I'm proud to be an Ohioan.

While we're on political stuff, Herman Cain is a complete moron. Dude.. quit lying.

Tonight, I spent some time studying. Wait, what?

That's right. Back to the books. It's funny how certain paragraph's can take you back to exact conversations that occured over 4 years ago.

I think about Rachael's friends from Mercy and how they had all been in the same class.

What happened to my class? We were all so close at one point. Maybe it's the fact that we all went and did completely random things after graduation, therefore losing all common ground. Though, I thought we were more than that.

Somewhat saddening.