The Money Train

So you might remember a snowstorm about a year ago that dumped up to three feet of snow in the Northeastern US, including New York City. The city was paralyzed for days, with people being stuck in their homes and cars and on trains.

I think we can all agree that those things happen when that much snow falls on a city and a populace that sees themselves as indestructible. We as a country like to think that the really bad weather is somehow going to miss us. Everything will end up ok. Well, sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s the risk we take.

But now, a year later, some of the riders that were stuck in two feet of snow on a train for eight hours are suing the city for damages. Here is a link to the story: http://www.ktiv.com/story/16401107/riders-stuck-on-snow-trapped-train-sue-ny-agency?clienttype=printable

There were buses, cabs, cars, emergency vehicles and trains stranded all over the city. The city was slow to respond to the oncoming storm and took days to get streets cleared, although when you have that much snow, it’s going to take that long to clear a city of NYC’s size.

The passengers on this particular train were told by the conductor that they could not get off the train(it’s an elevated train, BTW) due to the dangerous weather. While I can’t read his mind, I’m sure his concern was that if someone left the train and became injured or got themselves dead, there would be a major lawsuit. Much like when a store holds customers inside during a tornado. You keep people out of the elements and call for help and wait.

Sometimes comfort has to be sacrificed for safety, people.

The Train was stuck on elevated tracks in Queens with 500 passengers on board. The conductor wouldn’t let them leave, resulting in a “deplorable inprisonment”, according to one passenger. They had no food or water or bathroom for eight hours. One woman resorted to a makeshift toilet between cars, while others URINATED AND DEFECATED IN THE ONE CAR THAT EVERYONE HUDDLED IN TO KEEP WARM. Some people had to stand for hours because that car became crowded when they all huddled there for warmth. “When the train was finally moved, the passengers were off-loaded at the next stop, in the freezing cold, with about three feet of snow on the ground,” the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.

Well let me be the first to say this, and hopefully not the only one:

Shut the fuck up.

The passengers named in the suit met with MTA officials repeatedly in the past year to voice their complaints, but transit officials insisted they “did nothing wrong and that the passengers being trapped was an act of God outside the defendant’s control,” according to the suit.

In a city of MILLIONS, these assholes think that the world should have stopped and the combined forces of the world should have been focused on removing them for a train, lest one of them should have to stand for hours in the cold.

Are you kidding me? The only reason that this crap happens is because we let it. This has become a nation of pussies, whining when they are cold or have to pee or, God forbid, have both problems at the same time. They weren’t stranded there for days. The train was in no imminent danger. Officials knew they were there. All they needed to do was just shut the hell up and wait.

Instead, they made frantic calls to 911, and…. You guessed it…. are complaining because help wasn’t sent.

People seem to think that Hollywood movies are real life. That when a disaster happens that is out of our control and takes time to handle, that one lone man is going to trudge through the snow and rescue them all to some magic building that is unaffected by the outside debacle. That everything is going to be ok and no one will get hurt or cold or sick.

Look, you crying shits. Weather happens. If you didn’t look ahead and see this coming and make better preparations, that is on you. It isn’t everyone elses problem to magically decide what is best for you and apply it so that you aren’t inconvenienced. In a world where everything is about convenience and not necessity, you seem to have forgotten one little thing: The world does not revolve around you.

I hope that these people don’t get a dime. Of course they will. Not only are we a nation of pussies, but we don’t want anyone upset, either. So a jury will give them the money, in hopes that if anything ever happens to one of those jury members, someone will also give them a bunch of free money. It’s the American way. Find any reason you can to sue, scream loud and long, and someone will finally listen.

Pretty damn disgusting.

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

Irony, Yahoo Be Thy Name

So for some reason, this morning, I was perusing the Yahoo! front page and saw a link to a video of a highschool basketball clip. Being a basketball player and fan, I was intrigued. The blurb under the clip claimed there was a “preposterous” dunk that resulted in an ejection. OK. You win. I’ll look.

So I go to the story and read the story before watching the video. 10th grade basketball player. Jumps from the edge of the key. Destroys defender. Stares him down. Then Salutes opposing bench and fans. Gets two technicals and is ejected.

Click to video. Of course, there is an advertisement before the clip. And of course, it’s an alcohol ad. Irony, Yahoo be thy name.

So you see the kid dribble around up top for a few seconds. He then drives past his defender and down the right side of the lane. About three to four feet from the rim is a defender who plants his feet and looks as if he is going to take a charge(even though he’s too close to the rim) until, as the dunker is in the air, he turns to his left and ducks. Offensive player jumped about four to five feet and did a standard one handed dunk.

The dunker then turns around, walks past the defender without looking at him, does a little salute to no one in particular, and gets TWO technical fouls. Video ends.

So now you are asking… “Why do you care? Why do I care?”

Fair question, ass. I’m getting there. The writer had none of his facts straight as to what happened in the 20 second video, but I’ll let that go. He’s not ever going to write anywhere important, and someone has to try and make people watch those videos on yahoo.

What was really surprising were the comments. The racist bullshit that was coming out of that little video was ridiculous. A bunch of sorry, misguided, angry fat white fucks were railing on this kid like he was caught raping a nun in a daycare full of puppies, while simultaneously screaming black rage and frying chicken.

It really is sad that something as simple as that video brings out that much ugly in people. And what is even more sad is that it happens on pretty much any sports or music related article on Yahoo. They apparently don’t police the comments (or the videos). And I guess even if they did, freedom of speech only allows them to do so much about most of it.

I guess, being from where I’m from, this stuff shouldn’t surprise me. But it does. It’s sad that even now, there are people that ignorant and backwards. I’m just glad I’m not passing that shit on to MY son. The world needs better people right now, and I’m just trying to do my part.

 

 

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

Blog Updates

So I figured that tonight I would give you all some updates on some changes to the blogging activities around here. I’ve been doing some things to increase the visibility of the blog, mainly to broaden the potential audience by making it easier to find and share with your family, friends, coworkers and unknowing mortal enemies.

The first and most obvious change is the theme of the page. This may change again if I find a theme I like a little better, but for the most part, this one suits my needs and the colors kind of flow with the blog. However, if any of you that are versed in WordPress have suggestions, feel free to let me know.

I have also added a link on the right so that you can “Like” the I Am Not PC Facebook page with one click. That page was recently created to replace the old group, and is currently being updated with all the important information, and of course has links to my blogs and other bloggers that I think you might enjoy. Please make sure you take a look at that page and click like.

“Me In A Nutshell” is a new page I’ve added just to give a little background info to the people that don’t know me very well. You can find that link at the top or right side of the page.

As always, I have links on the right to take you to some of my favorite bloggers’ pages. Some of them are absolutely hilarious, some informative, but all are favorites of mine, and definitely worth checking out. I appreciate them, and I know they will appreciate you stopping by and looking around. Again, if anyone has suggestions about blogs I should check out, let me know.

You’ll also notice that I’ve added a paragraph at the end of each blog, giving thanks to you, my readers, and making sharing suggestions. I actually found that on Amberr Meadows’ blog, “Like a Bump on a Blog”. She was nice enough to let me take it, make a couple little changes, and use it here, and I want to thank her for that. She is a great writer and person with a really cool blog, so make sure you check it out and say hello. Thanks again, Amberr!

Still there are links to my five most recent blogs, a look at my Tweets and a link to my Twitter account, and an archive by month to look at older posts. Keep an eye on that column, because things are likely to be changed or updated on a regular basis.

I really want to thank all of you for coming by to read my blogs and take the time out of your busy day to laugh, cry, and complain with and at me. I hope that you’ll continue to stop by, share with your friends, and enjoy what I love to do. I am always open to comments and suggestions, whether they are positive or negative. I look forward to hearing from you, and I will always return the favor by reading your comments and blogs as often as possible.

It is my goal to try to put out several blogs a week, and I hope you read them all. Sharing is caring!

Thank you!

Tim

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

27 Days

So once upon a time, I was an active duty member of the US Army. No, I didn’t go to the middle east. I joined in 1995 and got out in 1998. I was in during peacetime, so I got lucky and missed any deployments. However, when you are in the military, it’s training, training, training.

So my unit ended up going to a training base in California, in the middle of the damn Mojave desert. They decided they wanted to do a whole damn lot of training, so we went there for 29 days, went back home for three weeks, and then back to the Mojave for another 29 days. I hear you asking: “Why 29 days, Tim?”

A fine question, seeker of useless information. 29 days because at 30 days away from home, they had to pay us extra. So, 29, home, then 29 more. Got it? Good.

Anywho… I was a team leader. Which meant that I had 3 guys that reported to, and basically worked for, me. Those guys were my responsibility. I had to make sure they remained safe, trained, alive, and accounted for at all times. Not just there… every minute of every day that I was their team leader.

So on day 28 of our second fun adventure in the desert, we had to take our vehicles(Humvees) to a Marine base across the desert to be loaded on trains to ship home to Louisiana. Before doing so we had to remove the soft tops and pull all the gear out of them, so it was basically like driving a stripped down jeep with no top or stereo. The plan, as we were given it, was to drive to the Marine base, line up, load them on the train, and be brought back to our part of the desert all in one day, so we were told to take as little as possible with us. That meant just the clothes we were wearing and an MRE or two, and some water.

So my team members and I each hopped in a vehicle, lined up with scores of other vehicles, and we had a big damn dusty caravan across the desert that morning. We arrived at the base and took our places in line and all just kind of hung out waiting for orders to load the train. And we waited.

And waited.

So it was getting pretty late in the day, and my guys were asking me for answers that I didn’t have about what the problem was. Because we all knew that as hot as it was during the day out there, it was REALLY damn cold at night, and none of us had anything to really keep warm, and our vehicles had been stripped down, so we didnt even have shelter for the night.

So me and a couple other team leaders huddled and decided to see what we could come up with to at least get some shelter from the coming cold and wind. It is a closed post, so that meant that we were not supposed to leave the post and go to any of the civilian places nearby, we had to use what we had.

My team and another team managed to come up with several ponchos and blankets and some 100 mile an hour tape(duct tape. green.). We used that stuff to make our own soft top on one of the Humvees, and piled eight of us into the thing. Sure, it was warm, but not really made for that many people. But we didn’t have much of a choice if we wanted to stay warm. And of course we were told we’d be back to our base by this time, so we had all gone through most of our food. It was shaping up to be a long, cold, hungry, uncomfortable night.

Now, my team was made up of myself and three other guys. I’ll make the descriptions easy. There was my driver, the redneck. Best damn driver I ever saw. He could make that Hummer do things I didn’t think they were physically capable of, and never once got me stuck in the Louisiana swamps in three years. He was as southern redneck as you get. Hard to understand, angry at anything north of the Gulf of Mexico, and more comfortable barefoot hunting shit with a knife than doing anything else.

There was my guy from Arkansas. Pencil thin mustache, slicked back hair, and thought he was what’s his name off of Dazed and Confused. He was way too cool for his own damn good, but he was good at his job and a good friend. He was also high a lot. Allegedly.

And then there was my last guy. He was the newest kid to the team. Skinny little black kid from Houston. Cool as hell, but new and sometimes a little nervous. He also wasn’t feeling very good the last couple days, so I was a little concerned about him.

Anyway, after it got dark, my guys and I were out of the truck smoking, and they were just pissed. I couldn’t blame them, I was pissed too. We weren’t supposed to be there. We had no food, very little water, hadn’t had a hot shower in 4 weeks, and we could see lights from restaurants and hotels in the distance.

So we decided to go rogue.

I told the other Team leader what I was doing. He said he wasn’t interested in joining, and wished us luck. So my guys and I snuck away from the vehicles under cover of darkness and headed for the fenceline. We managed to scale the fence and headed for the lights. One way or another we were going to have a hot meal.

We stopped at a little Route 66 diner/gift shop to eat. We ordered and got our food, and Houston wasn’t doing so great. We ate and then waited for the waitress to bring the check. Redneck and Arkansas headed over to the gift shop to look around. I followed, and Houston said he would wait for the girl to bring the ticket so we could go.

So I walk into the gift shop and see Arkansas loading his pockets with whatever he could grab. I wanted no part of that mess, so I wandered back to our table. After about 20 minutes of waiting for our Houdini-like waitress, the redneck came back. I told him I was taking Houston outside to get some air, since he wasn’t feeling well. Redneck said it was no problem, he’d find the fucking waitress. Typical.

Not twenty seconds after we walk outside, Redneck and Arkansas walk out, smack me on the back, and haul ass across the lot toward a gas station. I had just become an unwilling participant in a dine and dash.

We grab beer and smokes(not supposed to have the beer while we were there) and go next door to this shitty little motel. We got a room and got situated. We each took our turn taking a hot shower… And it was glorious. My first shower in TWENTY SEVEN DAYS. 

So by this point everyone had showered and we are sprawled all over the shitty room, soaking up the gloriousness of real beds and sheets and water and beer and a good meal. Of course it had been weeks since we had any alcohol, so we were all getting quite the buzz.

Houston was sitting in a chair near the bathroom door, a beer in each hand, and he was pretty well hammered. Redneck looked over at me and gave me his evil, semi toothy grin, and ran over to the window.

“Oh shit! The MP’s are here! Fuck!”

Of course the three of us knew that was a lie, but the nervous, drunk, new guy lost it. Houston flew out of the chair and literally ran in circles two or three times like a fucking cartoon character that was confused. He just keeps yelling “Oh shit! Oh shit!”, and hauls ass for the bathroom.

I ran in there in time to see him thrown both of his bottles of beer into the toilet and try to flush them. Not just the beer. The god damned bottles.

So after I got him calmed down, we all had a good laugh. Had a couple more beers, enjoyed some crappy TV, and got to sleep.

We woke up the next morning well before sunrise, got dressed and headed back for the base. We made it back over the fence and back to our vehicles just as our buddies who slept in the cold were waking up. No one ever knew we were even gone.

Except for those sweet Route 66 keychains Arkansas had for everyone.

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

The Death of Letter Writing

I want to write. I have that urge. Some of you know what I’m talking about. That overwhelming need to sit down and just go with it. I am driven to type. New age scribbling, for a culture that doesn’t know what a number two pencil looks like. How did we get here, to this point in our collective culture?

Was it the internet? Facebook? Text messaging? IM? Google? Youtube? Youporn? lol

I can remember the last letter I sat down and wrote. It was at least ten years ago, and it was a letter to my grandmother. I don’t remember the cost of stamps back then, but that isn’t the point. The point is that most of the people we deal with on a daily basis may well have never actually written a letter as an adult. How scary is that?

I look at simple things, and every once in awhile I compare them to things from my childhood, which in all honesty, was only 25 or 30 years ago. Like what I got for Christmas when I was six years old, versus what my son will be getting this year for Christmas.

His mother and I are getting him a tablet PC. A damn computer that he can carry around and play games and watch movies and listen to music and read ebooks on. Look at weather forecasts. Do crosswords. Watch youtube videos. WTF?

Of course, he IS getting a couple things that we might have seen back then. A huge ass container of tinker toys, which is one of his favorite things. A book about dinosaurs. Some Hot Wheels cars. A remote control car to replace his old one. Of course, this one has a touch screen remote. lol

You realize there are some people that have no idea what a rotary phone is? That have never seen an 8 track player? A pager? People that never heard ABBA’s version of Dancing Queen?

Christ on a cracker… I’m not THAT old! And people look at me like I just shat a duck billed platypus when I tell them that I didn’t see my first cell phone until I was 17. My first CD was Vanilla Ice. I opened my first email account when I was 19, and it was still a relatively new thing for middle America at that point. BTW… I still have that addy and it gets BURIED in spam. lol

My first car was a 78 or 79 Monte Carlo. I wore the first version of Jordan’s. And I wore JorDACHE. Cross Colors. British Knights shoes. I had Shaquille O’neals cd as soon as it came out. I got the second copy of Snoop’s debut cd in my town, and that’s because my best friend was standing in line ahead of me. We sat up all night in my early teens and played Contra and Double Dribble on the NES, because that’s what there was. As kids we were told NOT to come back in the house until it was dark.

Hey kids…. once upon a time there WAS NO WALMART. Kmart, yes. Venture, yes. Actual MALLS that people shopped at. Because that’s where you went if you needed shit. And then you went to a separate building somewhere else to get your damn groceries.

And we didn’t wear kneepads and fucking helmets when we rode our bikes and skateboards. We rode, fell down, shook off the brain damage and picked the gravel out of our knees, and rode further.

 

 

 

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

 

Mashed Potatoes And Whiny Trolls

So as I perused Facebook for the 47th time of the day, I noticed a disturbing trend that I normally try to overlook. The “Woe is me” girls posting their “Poor me, FML” bullshit.

 

I gotta say, outside of bad grammar and undercooked bacon, nothing irritates me more than those people. Except maybe bad drivers and Ugg boots. And capri pants. And my food touching when it’s on the plate. I don’t want the juice from my corn mingling with my mashed potatoes. My mashed potatoes get gravy or butter to hang out with. They don’t need the unwanted corn water coming over and trying to crash their party. Stay on your own side of the plate!

 

Where was I?

 

Anyway, these whiny trolls on Facebook crying about how an unnamed person has once again done them wrong, or how they were just doomed to be alone forever or how they found out he had cheated on her for a third time…. blah blah blah.

 

Here’s a thought, dumbass…. If you had dumped him after the first time, you wouldn’t have to deal with time two or three. Now I know, with your weak mental makeup and low self esteem, that’s not really a choice in your book. But do you really think whining about it to the masses on Facebook will actually help anything?

 

Now this is where someone, who is probably guilty of the aforementioned crime, tells me that I’m being too harsh. That getting it off their chest is good for them to help them move on. Well, smartypants, I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.

 

It WOULD be good for them if they were talking to professionals, or if they actually put out all sides of the story, or gave specific information about what they were whining about.

 

But, truth be told, all they are doing is looking for attention from the masses so that they can feel a little better without actually having to confront the situation or do any real work in progressing toward a solution. And, as human nature dictates, a lot of you softies feed their little hunger for boo-hooing and stand up and thump your chests proclaiming that so and so is trash and no good for them and blah blah blah.

 

Did you catch the part where she said he cheated on her for a third time? How good of a friend are you that you let this happen to her three times? Where was your war cry and threats of beating him with Twizzlers on the first or second tryst he went on?

 

You are as big of a ninny as she is.

 

Anyway. That’s my pet peeve of the day. Enjoy your Tuesday:)

 

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

 

 

2011: A Year-End Review

As I look back over the last twelve months, I am both excited and saddened by the things that have happened in my life.

I started- and have nearly completed- schooling… which, finally at age 35, will give me a rewarding career and not just another crappy job.

My relationship with J has grown by leaps and bounds, and is turning out to be the relationship I’ve always wanted and needed.

My son has continued to amaze, astound and confuse me.

The rift in my family is growing ever wider.

I’ve made some great new friends, had some amazing new experiences, and made attempts at reconnecting with old friends.

I’ve taken my own advice and become more patient and centered.

I went from living with one great roomy to another.

I learned that it is better to protect true friends and good people than to continue to stick up for deceitful “friends”.

My ex has started to become a better person, and that is making her a better mother.

I’ve watched facebook and people around me enough to confirm that miserable drama hounds ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them…. And then blame it on “other” miserable drama hounds.

I never got a band together.

I didn’t keep the weight off.

I happily became that 30 something DB driving around in a beat up minivan with a thumping stereo system cranked up. lol

The Packers look good to repeat. I don’t know why I’m still a Cubs fan.

I feel more happy every time I see my son, and every time I drop him off at his mom’s house, I lose a little more of myself.

I haven’t written enough. Push me to write more. Push hard. School and my son take up a lot of time, but the time is still there to get things out.

I’m sure that I am forgetting something. I hope that you all had a great year and that next year is even better.

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. To you separatist assholes…. Happy Holidays. Enjoy your New Year. May your local god, deity, or sign bless you all. lol

 

If you liked this post, I invite you to read the previous one or others in the archives. Before you go, please subscribe to this blog through the available RSS options or via email. I’d be thrilled if you took advantage of the sharing buttons located at the bottom of the post, and if you enjoy this blog,please click the “like” button to the right for my Facebook page. I’m sincerely grateful for you taking the time to read and comment on my posts. Special thanks to Amberr Meadows for her graciousness on blog help!

Projects and Bumper Stickers

So with all the changes in my life… school, my son, my latest relocation, my girlfriend, my upcoming career…. I’ve decided to start a cool project to kind of document everything. It’s kind of in response to a client that comes to the school. Just since I started in March, I can see changes in her. She’s old. I can see the mind slipping, and its sad. But the worst part is the fact that she doesn’t know. We don’t see these changes in ourselves.

A lot of people do “Project 365” things. They take a picture a day, every day, for a year. They post them, comment, and it becomes a pictorial scrapbook of the year. I can’t take a single picture when I start taking pictures. lol

So I think I’m going to do a “Project 365/52”. I’ll take pictures everyday, but they will be compiled weekly, a little bit about each one, and posted to share with the world(I’ll keep the naked ones to myself). I’m open to all suggestions on how to best pull this off. But worst case, I’m just going to dive in like I do with everything. lol

So I’m down to 7 1/2 weeks left of school. It’s amazing how fast the year has flown by. I can feel myself continually improving, and enjoying what I do more and more. It’s a good feeling to know that I’m going to excel and succeed at this, and that I can finally stop having jobs and enjoy a career. I’m going to miss a few people at the school, and a few of my loyal customers from school. I wish I could take them with me, but most of them are not going to be willing to drive clear to the salon from Pekin.

I need more bumper stickers to put on the back of my turd van. lol. Nothing profane(my son), but random bumper stickers would be awesome. Feel free to send them to me and I’ll post a pic. lol. My goal is to completely cover the back of the van.

I was going to rant on the whole Michael Jackson doctor thing. I was REALLY going to rant about how Joe Paterno got the short end of the stick in the Penn State sex scandal issue. The fact that he is getting vilified for that, while the man that did it rarely gets mentioned, and the guy that CAUGHT that guy doing it is still working there… bullshit. That guy isnt responsible, but the guy that he told is? What a fucked up world. The molester isnt the issue. The guy that saw him isnt the issue. The third guy and fourth guy… those are the guys the media and public go after? Morons.

 

Anywho… if you have suggestions for the project or bumper stickers for me, let me know:)