…feel infinite…

In the evenings I always think, I should post a blog.  Then I end up doing something else, or being too tired to think of anything worth while to post.  Like last night, Greg and I played Zelda, the original game for NES.  I’ve never played it before, and it was definitely fun.  NES games are still some of the best.  Simple to understand, fun, and challenging.  Between us we have lots of good games for NES, and I should play them more often.  I was also thinking of breaking out Donkey Kong 64, for the N64.  I haven’t  played it in so long, I think I’ve forgotten how to play.   I do remember that you needed the expansion cartridge for the console.  Maybe I’ll pick it up when I’m finished here.

On other news, the Christmas Holiday is over, and despite having drove probably 13 or 14 hours (over 650 miles) in 3 days (the 24th, 25th, 26th) it was a good holiday.  One of the best in the past few years.  I haven’t seen my family on Christmas in about 3 years.  This would have been the 4th year.  Last year, the weather was bad and I couldn’t make it in.  The last two before that I was working for Disney World (Pecos and Innoventions respectively) and was not able to make it home for Christmas.  Trying to get off on any holiday is a nightmare, because as you may well know, Disney is open on all holidays.  Infact they are open 365 days a year.  It was generally unpleasant to think about that, but if you’re a guest it’s wonderful.  I’ll do a post in the future highlighting some of my Disney escapades.

I would  like to comment today on working for a bookstore.  I’ve been compiling this list in my head for a while, and I am going to attempt to put it to screen:

My Pros and Cons of working in a bookstore:
(I still love my co-workers, so no offense in my list, okay?)

Pro: You get to know all the great books out there
Con: You want to buy all the great books out there

Pro: You sometimes get to deal with customers who are thoughtful and intelligent
Con:  Those same customers often lack common sense

Pro: You get to work with great co-workers in an intellectual atmosphere
Con: Often some of those co-workers lack common sense (I can think of one former manager…) or cleaning ability…

Pro: I am extremely fast at organizing and shelving (and love doing it)
Con: Often I am completely isolated in the Cafe for days and days of work and not allowed to do bookwork.

Pro:  Working in the Cafe I can take tips
Con:  The amount of work necessary in the Cafe sometimes is not worth the tips.

Pro:  Helping a customer find the one book they’ve been searching for and seeing how excited they are to start reading it.
Con:  “I’m looking for a book, it’s this thick and I think it is blue or green”

Pro:  The festive Holiday season
Con:  The busy Holiday season

Pro: Opening the store
Con:  Closing the store

Pro:  Getting promotional books, CDS, and posters
Con:  No con to this really.

Con:  Stupid rules and timers in the Cafe.  Things that make no sense like, “must greet the customer within 30 seconds and have their drink  ready by 3 minutes”  Have you ever tried to fill just 5 orders of food and drinks in allowing only 3 minutes each?
Pro:  No pro

Pro:  Get to taste new promotional items before they hit the display case
Con:  Cannot drink or eat for free anything.  (But we sample food to customers)

Alright, I’m sure that list will grow.  Borders employees, hit me up with any other good ones you can think of.  I think I fixed my comment thing.  Let me know if it is still acting up and refusing to let you post a comment.  If it says “will go to poster for review”  that’s okay, if it says something like “cannot post”  let me know!

Tentive next posts:
-review of The Pursuit of Glory by Tim Blanning
-Pros and Cons of working at Disney
-General life wiles

I always think of neat things I should say on my blog when I am away from the computer, but when I actually sit down at the computer I forget everything that I was going to say.

Good news on the school front:  I know I got an A in my Foreign Policy class!  I was really worried about that class when I first started the semester, but all is well I suppose.  I actually learned a lot in that class, and all of the books he asked us to get for class I am actually keeping for reference.  I enjoyed it.

Greg and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday, it was neat.  We watched pieces of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and what they went to see at the Art Institute, and then we tried to find those things.  Specifically the one painting that is all dots (for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the artist, but it’s a famous painting).  We saw lots of Monet’s waterlilies and bales of hay, Van Goh’s, Buddah statues, Egyptian tomb carvings,  miniatures, a suit of armor, and all kinds of other neat things.  I doubt they had any, but I would have liked to see some Bob Ross’s.  I really really like that guy… “Let’s just drop a happy little tree right on in there… He lives right there…”  PBS daytime TV, “Joy of Painting”,  gotta love  it.

Work has been absolutely crazy, of course.  Saturday was nuts, I think that is the busiest day I have ever seen at Border’s.  I was in the cafe all day, and let me tell you, if you buy coffee at coffee shops, please please please tip your barista.  They do not get paid enough money to work themselves like that day in and day out.  Trust me, I know, that’s what I do.  I may just be serving you coffee, or steaming you milk, but it is more than that, I am providing you with the caffiene you need to get through your day.  Love me for it.  You American-caffiene-addicts.

Um….

I know there were other things.  Oh yeah!  Go vote for Tom Faraci:  www.myspace.com/flipvideo .  It’s the awesome design of Icarus falling from the sun with wings that are falling apart.  VOTE.  Please?

I think I should start also recommending things as well, so, this segment will be about a good book I read for my FP class:  The Paradox of American Power by Joseph Nye.  Here  .  It defines how soft power is necessary for a world power to stay a world power.  Hard power (ie. military force) is no longer enough to maintain the US as a super power.  Historically, the country with the biggest and best military were the rulers of the most lands (Rome, Great Britain, Spain).  However, today our borders are more internationally porous via things like the internet, increased communication, nuclear bombs, ABMs (anti ballistic missiles), “global warming” (issue for another day), pollution.  Domestic problems are no longer simply domestic, they now concern everyone on a global level.  The US needs to learn global cooperation in order to keep up soft power, loosely defined as what other countries think about the US.
Every country has soft power.  When I say France, what comes to mind?  For many it’ll be wine, cheese, Eiffel Tower… and these are all forms of soft power.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but internationally, if someone says ‘great wine’, one might think of France.  (Same with City Of Lights.. and no I am NOT talking about Aurora, IL!)It’s all about how one country perceives another.  A game of sorts.
The Bush administration did not play well with others, this was a huge concern for people interested in Foreign Policy.  Because if we loose a lot of soft power, other countries may not want to purchase US Treasury Bonds, the things that are going to help with the recession.  And, unfortunately if we continue to sink economically, since nearly the whole world is tied together economically, the whole global economically will sink as well.  When the dollar value fell, there was a  huge concern around the world of devaluation of other countries’ monies, because they are closely linked with how well the dollar does.  This also ties in to the fact that we are the world’s largest importer, and if we don’t import, other countries loose out, so they also want us to succeed, because if we don’t, they don’t have money coming in either.  We’re all globally linked.

So if you want to see some good art, go to the Art Institute of Chicago, and if you want to read a good book, read Joseph Nye’s Paradox of American Power.

Well, today was one of those days.  Not awful, but not great.  I finally got over a 200 bowling score today, on my last class of the year.   However my 206 doesn’t actually count as we were playing nine pin no-tap, meaning that if I knock down nine pins on the first roll, it still counts as a strike.  It’s a great way to bowl, but clearly not the way the game was intended.

Good news as the water heater was not broken, that’s a load off my mind.  But work has been crazy.  So much for a prominent recession, I can tell you that there is no recession here in Naperville, IL where the families have lots of expendable income.  Retail during the holidays… (shiver)…

I will officially have my grades after the 6th of January, then I will send in my applications to DePaul, Elmhurst, Northwestern, and UIC.  (I’m hoping in that order, and that order is who I’m hoping gives me the most money to attend their school).  I may apply to others, but I’m not sure yet.  I already know 2 of my grades, A+ (over 100%) in Earth Science, and A in bowling (how can you not get an A in a phys ed class:  showing up is the only criteria).

I am attempting to go into Ohio for Christmas, so old friends I do not know if I would be able to see you, but I’ll be in Ohio for one full day and 2 half days.  Traveling on the 24th, visiting 3 families on the 25th, and traveling on the 26th.  It’s going to be ugly, but I haven’t seen my family on Christmas in 4 years.  It’s beyond time.  I don’t know if Greg is going to come with me, we’re still talking about it.

I do know however, it is RIDICULOUSLY cold here.  And we got some really bad snowstorms over the past week.  Really bad last night, and I’m really glad I got the new car, she’s working great in the snow and traction is much better.   There’s lots of snow all over the place, and it’s really packed down on the streets.

Greg and I put our Christmas tree up not too long ago, and it’s pretty kick-butt.  A little lean-to but totally lovable.  We carried it over from the place that sets up in the parking lot of the strip mall by the apartment.  It’s nice to have it so close.  All the lights are up too, the ones outside and the ones inside.  It’s very festive and homey here.  It’s a good feeling…

Thank you all for coming here.  I get paid when you visit the site, so please feel free to come every day.  I’m definitely going to try to post every day, as I get paid when I post as well!  I’ll definitely have more to rant about in the upcoming weeks as I wind down from having a crazy semester of school.  Now I actually have time to think for  myself and read what I want to read!  I’m sure I’ll have more to say.  I also want to try to regurgitate some of my old poems and things I’ve written here, so look out for them as well.  I’m not sure about that though… so be sure to check back soon and often!

-KJ

Hello everyone!  Thank you for coming to my new blog at today.com!  I intend to use this one everyday to keep my friends and family updated with what’s going on in my life, and to give everyone else a piece of my world.  I think this is going to be great.

Today:  well, today the water heater broke, possibly.  I went to take a shower and there was no hot water.  Greg checked the fuse box and realized that the water heater fuse was tripped, so he turned it on.  Unfortunately, now I have to go to work disgusting, but with any luck we won’t have to have a new water heater installed.

I am finally completely done with papers and finals for school, which is fantastic.  I turned in the last paper today, my Russian History class.  Greg got me a burrito for celebration from Chipotle.  Fanstastic burritos.

Okay, I gotta get to work, I promise the next posts will actually be meaningful, instead of mindless dribble.