Arg.

Let me preface this blog entry with this statement. I am not gay, none of my immediate family members are gay, and none of my close friends are gay.

I wish that people could stop yelling about gay marriage. This isn't a question of politics, morals or people who want to yell a lot. I do not understand why any American would disapprove of this. For those that do I have some questions for you. Why does this matter to you? What is this to you? How does this change what 'marriage' is?

I keep on hearing right winged people talk about how allowing this "redefines" marriage opens the door to some sort of slippery slope with respect to marriage. I do not understand why people would make such arguments. If America did not redefine marriage it would still be illegal in sixteen states for interracial marriages to take place. It was like that until 1967... It would still be illegal in some states for black people to marry other black people because they would be still considered property. Property... Furthermore with respect to a "slippery slope" argument what people fail to understand is that the legislature is the gate keeper. It is as absurd to believe for a second that polygamy or some form of sexual abuse would ever come into play with respect to the legalization of marriage.

I do not understand why this occurs. America has defined itself as the vanguard of Democracy. The Constitution was written in such a matter to be interpreted and to change when needed. The founding fathers' based their writings on the works of Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Where "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness" is paramount.

I do not understand why an uncountable section of the population of this country are not given the same rights as others simply because of who they choose to love. They are not trying to take anything from you, they are not asking you to like what they choose to embrace. All these people want is the chance to have this semantical title of 'husband' or 'wife'

Forget the politics behind this. Forget about the religious connotations that you may have about marriage. Forget about being forced to support something that you may not believe in. Why not give them the opportunity to have that chance? Why not on a base level just embrace them as human beings who want and need love?

But for the last time
You're everything that I want and ask for
You're all that I'd dreamed
Who wouldn't be the one you love
Who wouldn't stand inside your love

Life goes on.

This is a story that starts off on a whim. It's been three years since I have done any volunteer work of substance. Although I helped train a member of the Special Olympics last year, it really wasn't anything of any great substance. So when John asked who wanted to go to Flint, MI to meet do a service project I jumped at the chance. We left Minnesota at 4:30 in the morning. We drove straight through to Flint arriving at 7 pm. We had to wait two hours for the guys from VT to arrive. It was good to meet six other men from across the country who share our desire to help the less fortunate. We told Tim the guy from VT who was coordinating the entire project that we wanted to be outside. He assigned a team of five of us to go to the shelter. Upon arriving we met Gary. The shelter was the size of a small house and he informed us that sixty five people call sleep there every night. Our project for the day was to expand their garden and move the grass to an area where they wanted to create a playground for the children. We spent the next six hours moving the lawn for them by hand.

It's hard to describe the poverty level in Flint, Mi to other college kids in Central Minnesota. Most of them have no idea what it's like to go without, or to have to live in a condemned structure. Even after spending three months in the lower 9th ward in New Orleans it was a shock to come back to a place where I didn't have to sleep in a room with fifty other people. The concept of privacy had become foreign to me and I was used to dealing with a crisis everyday. It never occurred to me though that people would live in those kinds of conditions without some disaster. In Flint we saw homes that should have been condemned. Houses boarded up and other properties that used a tarp as s roof... Previously I hadn't thought of people living int hose kinds of conditions outside of some form of disaster area. I didn't believe that the standard of living had that much disparity in America. Let alone from Minnesota to MI. I know that now, and that's pretty special to me.

On another note that's special men from three different states came together to work on various projects. The only thing that tied us together at the start of the day was three letters and the guiding principals behind the fraternity that each of us are a part of.

I wish that I cold do more, in the future I will.


J

Drink, drank, drunk.

Alcohol and I have always had an odd relationship. I have for the longest time wanted to live up to the idea set forth by Churchill that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me. I find it interesting the various occasions when I drink, and the changing drinks that I consume while occupying myself with the various activities. There are times when really all I want to do is sit at my desk, smoke a cigar, drink whiskey, and write. Other times I enjoy drinking wine while I write. I find that alcohol not only allows my inhibitions fade away, but also allows people to be honest with themselves with respect to who they are. Being in college copious amounts of beer are consumed during various activities. (Going to the bar [with the intent of not being shit canned wasted at the end of the night], watching a sporting event, engaging in drinking games of all sorts, or while playing games.) An amazing amount of ritual and tradition I have developed around drinking in my college career. I have the drinks that we consume on a first date with someone to show them that we have taste. To see if they are perceptive enough to see with what connotation I have ordered and consumed my alcohol. I have the drinks that we consume on really bad dates because we hold the glimmer of hope that if I'm a little drunk they might become more interesting. I have the drinks that I consume when I meet a friend of mine and want to talk shop, and the one's for after business has conclude and now we wish to create a sense of mayhem. I have the drink that I indulge in after a hard day, and the drink that I enjoy during the cold dark nights in Minnesota. I don't imbibe alcohol often, however I can think of a drink to go with almost any occasion. I'm okay with the fleeting thoughts in my mind of drinking.

The rest of my life will be decided this Saturday. I don't know how I feel about the totality of that kind of dynamic, or the finality of it all. I will either do well enough on the LSAT to be admitted to a Law school, or I can prepare for a career selling bits of string. I feel at ease with the course my life has taken, and am more or less prepared for it.


Aside from that, I hate Green Bay Packers fans. It's not that you can't support your team. It's not that I'm from Minnesota so I have to hate everything that is Wisconsin. It is simply this. Your team the Green Bay Packers, hasn't done anything of significance in the last ten years. What irks me the most is why people decide to run their mouths about how great the Packers are. Hmmm. Lets see you let the only three time MVP in NFL history go, who is leading his new team to the playoffs. While you remain in third position a division that has Brad 'oh my god I figure out how to make my team stop sucking at football' Childress. Congratulations Green Bay fans you're ahead of the lowly Lions who have yet to win a game this season. Maybe it's all of the beer that you drink that makes you believe that you reek of awesomeness, but let's be fair. The last time you had glory days Bill Clinton was still in office, We gearing up for the Y2K switch, Nobody knew who Osama Bin Laden was, and we elected a former wrestler as the Governor for the State of Minnesota.

Who says you can't go home again?

I'm at my parents' house for the holiday. It seems as though whenever I come back to this place I go through a cycle of first wanting to get out of here as fast as humanly possible. If however I stay for longer than two days I don't want to go back to the place that I have resided in for these past three years. I feel as though the longer I spend in St. Cloud, the more my life is being sucked out of me. More of my brain cells die, if not due to the copious amounts of alcohol that I consume but the the virtue of the company that I keep. I am for lack of a better definition without any form of muse in that city. I miss the streets of uptown and walking around lake of the isles at night. I miss the random coffee houses, and the various hipsters that I would run into.

All in all it hasn't been a horrible holiday. I got to see my sister and her husband for the first time in almost a year. We shared our frustrations about life, and the republican nature of our parents over several bottles of Spaten. I wish that our time here together could continue on absentee of the rest of the world. A closed environment where we spend our time watching various movies, drinking beer, and talking about life. Alas the bubble that has encompassed my reality for the past few days will come to an end tomorrow when I have to wake up at an ungodly hour and make the trek to Green Bay Wisconsin.


A few friends of mine and I are going to see the Packers play the Panthers on Sunday. Before all of you sconnie hating people jump all over me. It's not that I like the Packers, although I don't really like the Vikings either. After the '98 season it doesn't matter how well they do, I can't get on the wagon with the rest of you. As for the Packers once upon a time before Gary Anderson's leg crushed my dreams I was a Vikings fan and as such I cannot root for you.

well, I've got a fire to go sit by with my father. It's time for one of those crazy conversations between two adults that I never thought i'd have with my own parents. That along with a few more beers should make this night complete.

I hope you enjoyed your turkey day as much as I did.