I am become Death

Did you ever have a thought that stayed with you for much longer than it should? Keeping you up at night, playing on your mind while you drive or eat. I find this happens to me a lot, and I often think to myself "Hey, that would make a good Blog post". Then something inevitibly distracts me and the thought is pushed to the back of my mind, but not forgotten. This is one of those thoughts.

Hey guys.

I don't want to start this post all morbidly, but something has been playing on my mind for a long time recently. Did you ever think about how close we all come to death every single day? I don't mean we almost die and somehow survive every day, I mean we come close to being in that life or death situation.

This thought initially cropped up for me when I was driving down a country lane a while ago. Now, driving is a fairly save endeavor, assuming all the parties involved understand the rules of the road and abide by them. But have you ever thought about just how close you are to the cars coming the opposite direction? I mean, sitting where I am I am literally 2 1/2 feet from a car going what? 50Mph? Add that to my 50Mph and we have an impact with the force of 100Mph (Physics guys may want to correct me here). Now, thats a speed that will most likely kill me, and yet no one bats an eyelid about driving. We're just so used to it. Remember the first time you drove on the motorway? It felt so fast, so intense! After a little while though, the feelings subside, and it seems normal.

It's not just while driving that we trust that someone else isn't going to end us. Think about how much food you consume during a week. How many times do you eat something that wasn't prepared by you? Who knows what could have happened to food in a restaraunt or shop. We just trust that the food will be untainted and disease free.

I don't want to come off as some nut who thinks he's in a Final Destination film. If anything, I'm too carefree when it comes to food. I think nothing of eating off the floor, or not washing my hands before dinner. I just wanted to share a few thoughts i'd had on a subject that was playing on my mind.

I guess that's what this Blog is for. I should be posting here more often for my own intellecual needs, stretching the verbal muscles and releasing thoughts that would normally stay trapped in my head.

However, I doubt that 1am is the time, ESPECIALLY when I have to be out the door on the way to work at 5am.

Ah well, sleep is for the weak.

Catch you soon kids,

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

A picture quote for you, as compensation for my absence.

A mobile test

Hey guys!

So... This is being done from my mobile. Not sure if I should be amazed at what my phone can do, or gutted that it has come to this. Attempting to post a whole blog update from a 6in touchscreen. Still, we persevere.

A simple topic for today, things you have carried with you since your first summer at camp. Most of you who will read this out of nostalgia have worked with me at camp, and all I want to know is, what have you managed to hang onto from that first magical summer? For me, it seems to be a (sadly) very short list. I will attempt pictures at the end!

I have;
- My Union Jack flag, hung alongside the American flag on the day of the 2005 underground bombings, and used as a cape several years running. (little fact, it has hung whereever I have lived since that summer).

- My Lansing Lugnuts baseball. Love it, been hurt by it. Missed a catch aimed at my head once or twice!

- My oriental-style hanging banner made in Lin's arts and crafts shack. At first glance it looks like random Chineseish symbols, then after a while you see the "Team Pie" written in. Again, hung everywhere I have lived for six years now.

- My "Most likely to be seen with his cabin" and "Most likely to be on time" awards. Worth more to me than gold.

- Lastly, but by no means my least favorite, an album from Fallout Boy, "From under the cork tree" AND a Yu-Gi-Oh deck. Both things comforted me and helped me bond with my campers!

So, assuming this works and posts properly, what do you still have?

Keep it safe,
Jamie
Veg
Dunch

Nostalgia

Hey guys!

Just made this video. I was saving a bunch of photos from Facebook, just in case it ever decided that my life shouldn't be online anymore. I thought I'd test out the mac's powers and make a quick slideshow!

Some of the transitions are a little off, but aside from that it's pretty nice, especially for only taking about half an hour or so.

Keep it safe kids

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAF1NBPQ5Gc

One hundred and eighty!

Hey guys!

Formatting for this post has gone out the window. Suffice to say, I've joined my local Darts team! I'm the latest member of the Chelmer Inn Darts team! I'll keep you posted!

Keep it safe,

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

“The average American's day planner has fewer holes in it than Ray Charles's dart board.”

Yes, I hit those bullseyes legitimately!

Mind = Blown

Hey guys

We all know i'm a thinker, right?

Well today I thunk (Sidenote - Great word) myself into a migraine.

See, I was thinking about different things, and Maths pops into my head. I remembered learning in my American "Math for Elementary teachers" class about Binary. As far as my limited knowledge of binary goes, it is a system of counting using zeros and ones. Computers use it, and words or numbers can be converted into binary code. For proper information, check here. After thinking about it for a while and trying to remember how to count things in base 1, 2 and 3, it hit me that this year is 2010. since 10, or 1,0, is sort of binary that made me think of dates that could be in binary. Naturally, 10/10/10 came up first, so I thought i'd find out what it could mean. Perhaps a funny word, or a name. Something to celebrate when the tenth of October came around.

What I got, was this.

LOOK AT THE SECOND RESULT!

So that made me want to check it backwards. I typed into Google "What is 42 in binary?".

This came up.

Wow. 10/10/10 = 42 in binary! My favorite book, discussed only weeks ago, sent me a subconscious message! My mind has been blown.

Anyone got any ideas as to what might happen on that date? Or will it just be another day?

Comments, as always, appreciated.

Extra reading if you're interested:

42 is the answer to "Life, the Universe and Everything" (Click it, it's worth it)

Keep it safe.

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

A la EmLaw: Part Deux

Evening all.

I've had somewhat of an emotional day, so I thought I'd take a leaf out of Emlaw's book and write about what makes me special and why I'm a good person, like she did a few weeks ago.

1. I work hard. In every single job that I've held I have been told what a good job I'm doing or been commended in some way. But perhaps more importantly...
2. I make people laugh while I work. I'd crack jokes while making subs, I'd sing silly songs while walking with kids, I make grown men giggle while I pour them a pint. When I'm working, I make people happy.
   
3. I am a great listener. I'll happily listen to your problems and give you my honest advice, if you want it.
   
4. I am just as happy in front of a computer/Xbox as I am walking through the woods.
   
5. I am polite to everyone. (Sidenote: Did I spell polite wrongly? Or is it just an odd looking word?)
6. I am well spoken.
   
7. I walk everywhere. Granted, I don't have a driving license, but I like to think I'd walk even if I did.
8. I punctuate and spell everything to the best of my ability. I like to try and be as literate as possible. Even in text messages and Twitter.
9. I'm funny. This one may be up for discussion, but I think I make people laugh in my personal life too.
10. I actively seek out new experiences. I want to do extraordinary things.
    
11. Despite number 10, I don't crumble to peer pressure. If I want to do something, I'll do it. If not, I wont. End of.
12. In a similar vein, I don't smoke or do drugs, and I never have. I have my own vices like everyone does, those just never appealed to me.
13. I appreciate everyday beauty. Sunrises/sets, clouds, trees, animals. Even the beauty found in man-made buildings and such.
    
14. I'm loyal. Probably to destructive ends, but I think it's worth it. People, friends, and family are important.
15. I am my own person. I know everyone thinks that they're a snowflake, but I really think I don't follow one particular group of people.
16. I am easy going and relaxed.
    

So there we go. Hope this post wasn't too self-indulgent for you, and if it was, why are you still reading?!

To end, a quote that everyone knows well.

"All who wander are not lost" JRR Tolkien

Keep it safe kids

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

Walk Hard.

Hey guys!

A little while ago I promised a deeper post. Well, here is my attempt at said post!

I've often thought that I might have been born a few centuries too late. I'm a thinker, and perhaps a few millenia ago, where thinking a lot might have been seen as a worthy pastime, I might have been a philosopher or something. I really don't mind walking long distances, in fact it gives me more time to think! It might have worked. But I do get wrapped up in my own thoughts sometimes. Like today, I was taking a bath before work and was struck with the sheer impossibility that was my leg. It came from a single cell, and developed over years to become the muscular masterpeice that allows me to walk. Then that got me thinking of how amazing it is that we can even walk at all. We balance on our big toes and heels, and continually fall forwards to move. Amazing.

Another example is my walk to/from work. I walk through this massive field with a path through the middle, it's the closest I can get to nature on the way in. But because Essex is so flat, when the sky is clear as it was today you get an amazing panoramic view of the sky all around you. During the day, you see a beautiful deep blue sky streatching off for miles in every direction, looking so inviting that you want to just jump into it. At night, you can see so many stars that it gives you some perspective, since some are brighter than others. Somehow this makes it even more infinite looking, like you can just see forever. It's truely beautiful and breathtaking. I think I might be more sensitive, emotional and sentimental than people think.

So, in completely different news, I've left Plymouth Uni. My reasons for leaving are many, but it mostly boils down to two areas of discontent. Firstly, the content of the course I was doing. To say it was empty would have been generous. Let me paint a mental picture of my school week last term. I had class three times a week. For two hours each session. That means that my required contact hours each week were 6. Total. In America, I was doing that much a day. This term we had a class called "Work based learning" where we were told to go and cold call companies/schools and ask to work there for free, for 50 hours over the course of the term. That to me is ridiculous. Telling a class of 19-25ish students in HIGHER EDUCATION to go and find their own work experience, with no help or input from the uni staff AND PAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO DO SO! Oh please show me where to sign up...

Another class I was enrolled in was called "Education in and for the Environment". Now, I actually enjoyed this class, and the teacher was awesome, but that does not make a good class. There were weeks where we listened to a professional story teller. There were weeks where we were in the room for 40 minutes. One week we took a trip to the Eden project. Awesome, but hardly relevant or higher education.

Now, People have told me things like "That's just how it's done over here" or "It gives you the chance to put your own mark on your degree by doing your own reading". The basic gist of what I've been getting is that the majority of the degree is gained by doing your own reading, outside of class. If that's the case, what am I paying for? I can do that on my own, for free. No thanks.

Anyways, what this all means is that I've moved home for the foreseeable future. I've got my old job at the Fleece back as a starting block and I think I'm going to try and sort things out with me. There are some apsects of my life that I'm not happy with and I want to change.

1. As much as I complained above, I have sunk too much time and money into my education to not finish. I want to get a degree from a school I respect and enjoy attending.
   
2. I want money. I've been living on almost nothing for so long now. I want a full-time job and I want to have some money for myself.
   
3. I want to get back into shape. I'm by no means fat, but I have gathered a doughey physique recently. I've run a bit, I'm walking the 7,500 steps (According to my iPod's pedometer) to work and back. I'm even trying to eat healthier.
   
4. I want my own computer. I'm living on borrowed WiFi at the moment. Not owning your own computer dosen't seem like a big deal until you dont have one. I want a high-end laptop that I can pay too much money for and not replace for 5 years. (No Kit, I won't. End of.)
5. I want a few nicer clothes. A jacket/coat to go out in. Some nice casual, yet smart, sweaters or something. I have nice and slummy. Nothing in between.
   
6. I want to do more things. Every time I read/watch "Yes man" (Great film) I think about how negative we can be. I want to force myself to do more things with more people! This is why when Dad asked, jokingly I think, if I wanted to caddy for him tomorrow morning I jumped at the chance, despite working 8 hours tonight and getting home at 3am. I'll be getting up with the sun tomorrow and taking a leisurly stroll around the golf course. Then at midday tomorow i'll be at Chelmsford skate park supporting my mate Daz's campaign for a new park. Then sunday lunch, and perhaps some xbox! Sleep is for the weak.
7. And lastly, but not leastly, and most oviously, I want to get back to Michigan.
   

So, that reads like a fairly obnoxious wish list huh? We'll see how it pans out.

Today, some wisdom from Emily Dickenson.

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."

Fantastic words.

Keep it safe kiddies,

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

You're somebodies hero.

Hey guys.

I'm typing up some more content for the Hero Construction Company (Which I urge you all to do if you have a spare second or two!) and I remembered one of my old posts on here which is relevent.

There Goes My Hero.

Check it out if you've ever worked at camp. I wrote this while I was working there full time. Infact, check it out if you have any interest in what Camp life was like for me.

Keep it Heroic kiddies

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

New addition to the Blogroll.

Just thought i'd turn your attention to the new blog on the sidebar there, Part of Being Sane.

Check it out!

Jamie
Veg
Dunch

Darts, Dice and Douglas.

Hey guys! Time for another entry into Butterflies and Hurricanes!

As you can see to the left there and at the top of the page, the first thing I want to talk about tonight is Darts! As far as sports go, it's probably not the most exciting. To be honest, calling it a sport is a bit ridiculous. It's like pool/snooker, bowling and to a certain extent, Golf. They're not sports. They should be referred to as games of skill. Still, despite that, I love playing darts!

My dad has played darts for the majority of his adult life, but I never really got the hang of it. A couple of years ago though, I tried it again, and had a great time with it! Aside from being great entertainment on a night out, I find it incredibly relaxing. Throwing darts, especially with some music on the iPod, is incredibly medatative for me. I find my mind clears up completely, and I can think freely. It's similar to skateboarding for me in that respect, just a way to be completely focused and yet at the same time think freely. Love it.

The second part of the title is Dice. I'm not talking normal dice here, I'm talking about my 100 sided dice, or D-100. Check it -


For those of you who are un-aware, those are dice normally used in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) style games. Dismissed by many as dorkish and basement-dwellerish, the role playing game that I play with certain other people a lot of you know (I'll let them reveal themselves) is a lot of fun. Imagine this, we all know that books are better than the films based on them, right? Well for a similar reason, dice based games such as these are a lot of fun. Imagination combined with quality banter (Most of the time) results in a great night of dorky entertainment.

I only mention this because i'm starting (Well, joining) a new campaign tonight! Very excited!

The third thing up there is Douglas. As in Douglas Adams, author of my favourite book series, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! Incidentally, it's a great example of a book that is fantastic and a film that is completely lackluster.

The book is just hilarious. I believe I quoted Mr. Adams in one of the first posts this year, and I shall share with you some more of his pearls of wisdom;

• "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
• "The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be."
• Arthur hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction there and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

I find his work hilarious. I hope you can see why!

I'll think of something deep to post over the next week or so!

To finish, not necessarily a quote, but a song you need to see. Seriously, click this link. I know where you sleep. Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions.

Until next time kiddies,

Jamie
Veg
Dunch