Money Can't Buy Happiness, But it Can Keep You Alive

So I sit here looking at my week ahead and I come to the harsh and yet totally normal reality that despite everything I find myself working almost every single day this week. Today is coaching. Thursday, Friday, Saturday is Urban Outfitters. And I can pretty much guarantee you that I will be working again on Sunday. And what is it all for? For the minimum wage pay that barely covers rent and food not to mention the gas getting from place to place, the utility bills to pay, being forced to eat out several times a week because I have a break from work and need food. So if money can’t buy you happiness, then why is it so damn important to live?

I decided, for laughs, to sit down and figure out how much I actually work a week when you factor in travel time and divide that by how much I make before taxes. I work approximate 37 hours a week if you factor in travel time. I get paid, however, monthly and so if you figure that we are looking at more like 148 hours of work/driving a month. And so, all in all, once it is all factored up I make approximately $7.80 an hour working.

For some out there, that might seem like a good amount of money especially if you live in a state where a living wage is $7 an hour because the cost of living is so cheap. I live in California, however, where the cost of living is so high that in our major cities we have a required $10 an hour minimum wage for within city limits to make up for the fact that rent to live there is so damn expensive. It would only figure to make sense then that in a city with such high rent and thus high wage that all other expenses, from groceries to gas, would be so highly inflated.

So why do I work so much in a city like Santa Cruz where everything is insanely expensive and nothing is free only to find money slipping out of my hands faster than I can bring it in? What’s the point? The point is that money, in life, is everything. Our entire society is built on the idea that you have to have money in some amount in order to live. Even the homeless, living on the streets, need to beg for enough money to buy food because without cash there would be no meal and without meals they were eventually die. And so while it may be said that money can’t buy happiness, it sure as hell will at least keep you alive.

I'm Out!


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The Future Part Two: Election Recap

So last night I was standing in Urban Outfitters sweating my life out as the country around me was waiting in anticipation for the election results to come. It was easily one of the most stressful nights of my life. Every now and then I would get a break, run to the break room and get online as quickly as possible to see how things were progressing. Not gonna lie I was worried. Especially since for the first half of the results Romeny was in the lead. The whole store had a cloud over it. (surprise: Urban Outfitters employees are liberal democrats). It wasn’t until Obama pulled ahead that I was finally able to relax. Then the momentum kept building. And building. And building.

And then it was over.

And we won.

And while I am excited and proud that we were able to get our heads out of our butts and voted for the right person what cannot be ignored are the other propositions that were passed. So, here we go.

California:

Education tax increase (Prop 30): So here is one that I was really not sure if it would pass but it did (53.9%). This is what we are looking at: This is a tax increase to place sales tax 0.25% higher and increase taxes on those making more than $250,000. Where does this money go? Education. This just makes good sense. Putting money into bettering education is to invest in the future of California. The children of this state are the future. Why would anyone argue this?

Payroll deduction political contributions (Prop 32): This one here did not pass (43.9%) and it just doesn’t make sense. What we have here is a measure saying that businesses AND unions cannot take money out of their payroll to donate to political campaigns. What would this stop? This would prohibit things like Chick-Fil-A using payroll money to fund campaigns that are harmful to queer individuals. So sad.

Three Strikes Law Revision (Prop 36): This passed? Thank GOD! (68.6%) This now changes the Three Strikes law that if the third offense is “non-serious and non-violent” then the defendant will not be automatically given life in prison. It made no sense to me as to why this was here in the first place. If someone is a career criminal then so not lock him/her away forever, HELP THEM! Give them training to get a job, assist them in finding housing, supply mental health services. Revive the community, don’t put them behind bars.

Other ideals we care about:

Legalize Same-Sex Marriage: As of right now we have two states that have passed the legalization of same-sex marriage in this election (Maine and Maryland). So if those two states get added to what I like to call The Union of the Gay States of America, then the total membership goes to eight. There is a third state (Washington) that also voted on this and even though it is saying right now that based on votes it has passed with 100% of precincts reporting for whatever reason the state has not called it yet. Get it together.

Same-Sex Marriage Ban: Minnesota has never legalized gay marriage but the state tried to do what so many other states have succeeded in by banning gay marriage for good there. And it lost! Thank God. So while gay marriage is not legal there (yet) the effort to thwart any future efforts has itself been thwarted. Props to you Minnesota. Now go make some syrup.

Legalization of Marijuana: You heard me right. LEGALIZATION of marijuana. Not medical marijuana. Marijuana. Colorado is now officially the first state that has passed a proposition (similar to the one California did not pass in 2010) that has legalized the recreational use of weed. I wonder how many people are moving to Boulder? Santa Cruz is going to empty out. Oregon voted on a similar measure and it did not pass. Once again I feel like there is a connection here to those who profit on the illegal weed trade whose business would be foiled by the passing of a law like this.

What can we take from this election? The nation is changing and growing. It is heading in a direction that, while it may scare some, is a fairer and safer place. God bless the United States of America.
Goodbye loves

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Sources:
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A New Lease on Life

How do I begin to explain what I have been up to for the last couple months? Let's start with the most important part.

I have been seeing someone who has changed my life. Garrett has been my rock. His absolute craziness has made my life exciting again (and not in a bad way like before). His intelligence has kept me on my toes and his humor has kept me laughing. I finally feel like I can breath again and relax in knowing that at the end of the day there is someone at home who will love and support me. Cheesy cheesy cheesy. Deal with it.

School has started up again and let's just say: My life SUCKS. Too much. Much too much. Much much too much. Why do I do this t myself? I always feel liee I can take on the entire world and then realize, "Wait, no, stop the world! I want to get off!" (Get it?). I need to assign points to different things I do in my life and a limit of how many points I can do at once. Once I reach that limit I have to quit something. Suggestions?

Work has been insane (per usual). Working at Urban Outfitters has given me two things: Money and a discount with which to spend it. I may have fabulous new clothes but I am BROKE. To supplement this spending habit I have a job at Homestead High School teaching colorguard finally doing what I really want to do and making the money I want to make.

I know I am not that interesting today but feel free to comment and leave your opinion. I will have more for you tomorrow, promise.

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Goodbye loves.

Gotta Have Soul

So I am going to delve into a touchy subject here that has been weighing on my mind lately. What would we as a species define as being a “soul”? What makes one individual different from another and can someone change who they are in response to their surroundings and experiences? It is simply the combined effects of chemical reactions in our brain triggering different responses or is it something greater? Is it something that ultimately drives our being?

In my personal experience I have come to a varied of conclusions when it comes to this idea of “soul”. One, I do believe that a person’s “soul” is something higher than just chemical reactions taking place to drive our actions. Now, I am not going to get into this and start talking about God or sin or anything like that. I am merely saying that this personality we create to embody our lives is not predetermined. Very simply, it can be changed. It is a product of our environment. Have no fear, in the coming days I will approach the subject of changing gays.

Now, I find myself approached with the idea that the soul can thus change. If we are a product of a set of experiences then, as we grow, do new experiences change who we are much like they did when we were younger? To this I would be forced to say yes. Consider any individual who you have known for a long time (let’s say 3 years+). Now look at who they were when you first met them and the kind of person that they are now. Look at the experiences that that person went through since you met them. Can you find any evidence that their actions following those events were different and there was a direct relation to the experience that happened? I say yes.

However, this occurs over a slow period of time. Usually. Usually one must experience an event, process it, relate it back to xyr’s life and then learn and grow. But sometimes, very rarely, an individual comes across an event which rocks them to their core and changes them. It works to flip a switch, if you will. And a process which would normally follow a slow and laborious timeline takes a leap forward.

This happens to me every couple of years or so. Something occurs in my life that shakes me down to my core and changes my view on everything. Up until recently I had been passive. Wandering through my year with no real sight or purpose. I would take on a project and then not put my all into it, hoping in the end that everything would work out. That has all changed.

Over the past couple of days I took a long hard look at who I was and where I was in my life and I realized I had been trying to bullshit everyone, even myself. I am not lazy. I am not passive. I am not a flake. I am determined. I am level-headed. And I will cut a bitch. These months of me feeling sorry for myself and being childish are over. For those of you who think I am not a fighter are dead wrong. I'm a survivor. I'm goin'na make it. I will survive. Keep on survivin'.

Question of the Day: What has happened that rocked your world? How did it change you? Let me know!

Busy week ahead of me but I can do it.

Peace out shitfaces.

You Don't Choose Your Family

So I will be the first one to admit that I have dropped the ball on writing lately. I set out out on the blog writing endeavor saying that I would post something about my life every single day for three years. Let's be real though, I have a life. Sorry kiddos. However, considering how completely jam packed my weekend was I am willing to forgive me if you guys are.

So I could easily sit here and do a play by play of what happened but you and me both know that that simply is not my style. What I am going to talk about is this idea of family. For the majority of my childhood and adolescence, I was engrained with the notion that a family consisted exclusively of individuals who are related to you by either blood or marriage and if not then they simply are not your family.

However, for all of you who either have gone through college (like myself) or are still in high school but have found a good group to be close to this idea is simply not fucking true. I have found a second family. These kids are my family. These forty or so members of my frat have become members of my family. For those of you reading this who are in my frat or know of us then you’ll know that when it comes to family dynamic ours may be the most fucked but, to be perfectly honest, you can suck it.

I make fun of them a lot but I really want them to know that I could not live without them. It has been a while since I was able to say this out loud because of some drama going on in my personal life that has found its way to slither into my frat life but after going through somewhat of a transformation over the past couple of weeks I feel like it is time to now admit all of this. No matter what I have done or what I have said, you are all in my heart. And if you don't say amazing things at my funeral, I will haunt you forever.

That’s really all I need to say about this. I love these fuckers. All of them. With all of my heart. And I can honestly say that without them being in college would kill me.

Aiight, question of the day: Who is your second family? What would you do without them? How do they affect your life?

Now back to feigning attention in the WORST class ever.

Peace out shitfaces.

Thrifty Spice

So there are several pretty damn magical aspects about Santa Cruz that you don’t really realize until you’re trapped here twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. One of the few pleasures of this town is the fact that it is practically swimming with thrift stores (most likely to serve the ever expanding quantity of homeless people wandering the streets downtown).  One of the finest gems in this category is found nestled on Front Street between two kind of scary parking lots. Because of the fact that it is known by several different names I’ll list them all here so everyone will know what I am talking about: Thrift Center, Santa Cruz Thrift, Community Thrift Store, and the 50% off store.

Today was the day when my ladies and I ventured off campus to go on a date night down to the Thrift Center. I have to say, I FUCKING LOVE THIS STORE. Vern got some cute shit and Vic got a little sexy black beaded onesie that she’s cutting the thong off of. I know, sounds bizarre but believe me it’s going to be sexy as fucknuts. And, even though I’m on what can only be describe as a vagabond budget, managed out the door with a T-Shirt that says “Property of Captain Morgan”. Now come on, is anything truer? I think not. I’ve taken it and cut it up into a tank for the beach tomorrow. Super excited!

So now we come to the real issue in this post, is anything better than a good thrift store? I mean, come on. When you’re in college and you need new clothes because you feel weird wearing the same thing to the same class multiple times where else will you shop? You can’t exactly go to Urban Outfitters or American Apparel every time you need a new fucking shirt or shorts. So you are left going to a store where you buy things that were probably made before you were and people gave them up to get fifty cents taken off their taxes at the end of the year. And you know what? I love it.

So we come to the question of the day: What is your favorite place to buy cheap shit? What do you usually get there? Leave a comment (any maybe a picture of your favorite thing?).

Ok, back to watching The Phantom of the Opera with my ladies.

Peace out shitfaces.

A Tank of Gay Sharks

Dating can be a tricky subject for anyone. Now take that anyone and have them swim the waters of college looking for that special someone. Now on top of all that give them a possible 5% of the population who might be physically attracted to them based off of gender.  Just when you thought that navigating the waters of dating could not get any more challenging, think again. If you were convinced straight kids had it rough, think again.

Let’s break this shit down. The biggest complaint when it comes to dating is that finding someone to date is difficult. However, let’s take a little looksee at this one. Take a gay male bodied individual for example, we’ll call him Bettencourt. Bettencourt is a gay man who’s demographic for dating consists of other gay men. Now let’s be extremely generalizing and say that the population of the Earth is split evenly fifty/fifty between men and women. So Bettencourt, in theory, could only be attracted to fifty percent of the population. Now, out of one hundred it is theorized that ten percent would be gay. This means that five percent of the world’s population are gay male bodied individuals. Therefore, in theory, in a room filled with one hundred people a straight man would theoretically have forty-five people to date whereas Bettencourt would only have four (seeing as he would be one of the five in the room).

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not just bitching for bitchings sake. Over the past couple of months I think I have been in talks with at least ten different guys to prospectively date. I know what you might be thinking, “Well B doesn’t this go against your theory seeing how you seem to be having no problem finding gays?” Well there you would be wrong. It is true that I have been able to find gays around me, thanks to some (let’s call it) futuristic networking, but as you can tell by my thinly veiled bitterness, they were all flops. If I had a larger base of people to approach I would be able to be more selective and only try to get involved with people who I already know I would be compatible with as opposed to throwing myself around hoping something sticks.

And that brings us to the glorious question of the day: What was your worst date ever? Did you ever see the person again? Do you think they would have been good for you if the date had gone better?

And with that I return to my regularly scheduled day.

Peace out shitfaces.

Boxed Wine and Baby Mama

Ahhh what a solid day. Woke up at 1:15 and was leaving campus by 1:30 for da beach. Anyone else jealous? There are definitely days where I stop myself and think, "Wow. I fucking live here? Seriously? Life is cray." But let's be real. Who the fuck would not want to live in Santa Cruz? The anti-christ. That's who. Fucking anti-christ...

And just as I thought the day could not get any better. Guess what shitfaces. It did! Had a social with a sorority who will remain un-named where I got FUCKED THE SHIT UP. I know shocking. A frat party where people got fucked up. However comma I don't really care what you think. I played beer pong and even though I lost to a freshman I don't care. That bitch is like my son. I'm proud.

Came home to my apartment where my housemates greeted me like a king. They had gone out and gotten a box of wine and were having a movie marathon. We watched Donnie Darko (for the first time since I was little) and I was so drunk I almost shat my pants. My pants were literally almost full of shat. How awkward.

And now it be time for Baby Mama. I would type more but, well, I'm not exactly sober and some kiddos are still here. So I'm gonna go and be sociable.

Leave a comment with what your favorite flavor of franzia is. Whatever gets the most votes, I will buy an entire box of and drink it in less than two hours. I promise to write very soon after the last glass.

Peace out shitfaces.