Book Review: Buried Alive

This book was good. It flowed very well and the imagery was great. I wish it had been more of a thriller book instead of excerpt chapters dedicated to the ongoings of his family back home. The treatment that he withstood and the circumstances he was in made me think twice about my time and my family. A must read for those interested in Muslims or the middle east.

P90X Day 8

Chest and Back again. I couldn't even do the same amount per exercise that I did last time. My arms pretty much gave out. I assume next time will be different. I also did my 38 minute run before so that may have had something to do with it.

P90X Day 7

Today was one hour of stretching. It was ok and relaxing but I was sweating pretty bad.

P90X Day 6

Today was an off day so no muscle or abs. Today was kenpo, kicking. One hour of kicking and punching had me sweating and my thighs burning. I have never kicked like this but turns out that I am ok at it for my first time. I could be the next karate kid.

P90X Day 5

Ok, so I didn't get to my workout until midnight due to our trip from Clayton. Today was Back and Legs. One whole hour of pullups and variations of squats. The P90X is awesome. Everytime I do it I sweat perfusely* and I feel accomplished afterwards. Bedtime now at 3:30 a.m.

P90X Day 4

Today was yoga. I never new yoga was hard. The session was an hour and twenty five minutes but 45 minutes in, he says if you had trouble, you can choose to stop now, so I did because I will work up to it slowly. And I'm still soar from the first day and yesterday. Plus I chopped trees down at Meme's house yesterday

P90X Day 3

Day 3 was Shoulders and Arms. Not too bad, long, but not too bad until it was time for Ab Ripper X. That killed me. I'm still sore from the first day.

P90X Day 2

Just finished day 2 of P90X. I don't think my body was finished recuperating from day 1 (Chest and Back). Today was Plyometrics (jumping and squats) and it was killer. I am going to do my 36 minute run tonight instead of earlier. My fiance surprised me when she jumped up and started doing it with me. I am proud of her. She must have been bored lol

Waitlisted at Carolina

Yep, got waitlisted at Carolina this week. I'm gonna hold out and try to get some Aumni to call in for me. Maybe that will work.

Obama

It just hit me today that the reason there are no tall buildings in D.C. is because it would make it easier for assassinations to take place.

Carolina Committed?

I am still waiting on my decision from University of North Carolina School of Law. At this point, I want to be accepted but I would take anything just to know. It has been months since I submitted my application. Everyday I check the mail hoping to see something but also not to see something because if I get a letter from them, it is 99% a rejection. I have my financial aid from Campbell School of Law but they are all loans and $20,000 more than Carolina. I just want to hear something soon. If I do not hear anything before March 25th, I have to decide on Campbell because my seat deposit has to be in before close of business on April 1st which means I may be forced on choosing Campbell by default.

Reverse Racism?

Are kidding me, racism is defined as hatred or contempt against a race other than your own. So reverse racism actually means hatred to yourself. Regardless of who you are, racism is racism is racism. If you are black and hate Mexicans, you are racist. If you are white and hate black people you are racist. However, if you are white and hate white people, you are now a reverse racist. Get the picture? So now to my bigger point.

I am white, but because I am white does not mean I am naturally any better than any other race. I was born to a very low class family and was worse off than probably 85% of minorities. But because of my skin color, I am perceived to be better able to pay for college? It's not racism, it is discrimination. I do not know why people feel we need to reparate minorities for hardships. First, it was not them who were enslaved and I didn't do it. Second, the school bus passed right pass everyone's house just as mine. The only difference is my parents made me get on and stressed the need of an eduacation and I believed in it.

Here is an example of discrimination I am speaking of. I am waiting for all of my acceptance letters for law school. I have been accepted to Campbell School of Law. There is a Social Networking Website that connects law school hopefuls called lawschoolnumbers.com. My LSAT score is a 154 and a GPA of 3.43. There is a URM on there with the same LSAT score but a 3.5 GPA. He/She received $48,000 in scholarships and I received 0. Does that .07 of a GPA really account for $48,000? That is the entire tuition, living expenses, and books for a private school. I feel discouraged and helpless because of my skin color. Sometimes I wish I was born black, it would be easier.

Come on Carolina

I am about to pull my hair out because I have not heard anything at all.

Getting Ready for Law School

Sorry that I haven't written in a while but since my fiance and I are going to bed each night at 10 and waking up before 630 each morning. So it is difficult to remember even though I have some spare time. The semester is going good. I'm keeping up with my readings and trying to keep the house clean most of the time. I NEED MY FIANCE (YES YOU BABY) TO HELP OUR MORE OFTEN AND BE MORE PROACTIVE IN PUTTING THINGS WHERE THEY GO.LOL. We got a new dog yesterday, not a puppy. She is 1 and a half years and is a boxer. Hopefully things will workout well. She seems minutely aggressive but her and Chesney are getting along well as of now. Oh, and her name is Paisley. Paisley and Chesney. Oh, Chesney is our first that we got from the pound around a year ago. He is pretty much a Golden Retriever and hyper as hell.

Finally Friday

It's been a while since the last post but anyway. Right now I'm sitting in my first class of the day and only two more to go. I have some family drama but I'm not too worried about it. More later

Saturday's Events

Hi, today I woke up early if you go on my schedule, around 12. Started to eat breakfeast when I felt a breeze on my foot at the kitchen counter. After looking for it, found it behind the washing machine. The hole that the pipes go down had no insulation at all and I could see light at the bottom so I got to work. I cleaned up the mess under there and got my tools out. I banged the base board up because it would not stay otherwise, stuffed some old clothes around the pipes for insulation, and went to the back porch and got one of the boards I sawed off the entertainment center for a cover. Hammered that on and was done. After that, went to the living room, pulled off the blinds where they needed to be fixed, fixed them, then I fixed the plastic on the same windows for insulation.

Next, Kaitlyn made me lunch, then football. Both the teams I wanted to win lost. I went to Kmart at the end of the first game to get a table runner to cover up the sawed spots on the entertainment center, a cable splitter, and a shower curtain. I also did my money order for one of my crediters.

I tried to fix the cable going to the media room because the LCD TV would not work but I failed and need to get the cable company to do it.

Now I am watching ratatouile and relaxing before bed.

No Post Yesterday

Yesterday there was no post, I totally forgot. Pretty busy all day. I woke up around 8:30 A.M. to the cops banging on the door because my truck was parked in the yard. I tried to explain that the battery went bad/exploded on me and I needed a new one. He pretty much explained to me that that was what everyone told him, like I was lying. Whatever dude. He sounded like he was from the north and if you know anything about batteries is they go bad in the cold and it has BEEN COLD HERE OVER THE PAST 2 WEEKS!!! Dumbass. Further, he gave me two hours to move it since I had to go to the store. Guys, why do we let the police and government tell us what we can do within our own paramaters. I understand the ordinance for people keeping junk cars in their front yard but I have a 1994 Ranger, not junk,,,Yet.

So the rest of the day took care of credit issues for a few hours and then off to shop for a TV. After all day going from Sears to Best Buy and to Wal-Mart and then again. Finally decided then Sears didn't have any in stock. So I went to Best Buy to get it with a price match but because Sears didn't have it in stock so no price match.

Got home, TV would not fit in our stand so I convinced Kaitlyn (after a wild argument) to cut the sides off of our old stand. Turned out nice though and saved us a whole $200.

So got my TV and everything done around 2 A.M. this morning.

Now I am sitting in class for day 1 of my last semester of school until Law School.!! Let's go Carolina

Late getting to this but...

Today (Jan. 6) I awoke and bled my brakes, they have a ton of air in them, ate lunch and helped Kaitlyn's mom move some of her stuff to storage. We were hungry again at that time so we went to subway and at healthy like. Afterwards, we spent the evening packing and finally drove home. On the way home, there was a strange flicker of my trucks electric components and the rest of the trip the voltage meter kept fluctuating. Come to find out, I think my battery is burnt out so I need a new one.

After all of this, we unpacked and Kaitlyn sat down while I continued. I went through my stuff and completely unpacked it, hung my clothes up etc. Then I slightly rearranged my room for more efficient use because I got two new end tables for Christmas. "My Room" is my man cave. It has a projector and my video games along with my futon and clothes.

When I finished there I went to the office room and went through my other stuff because it has been irritating me for a while and it just needed to be done. I found mold on the window seal so when I was done cleaning the office I opened the window and cleaned the mold, fixed the screen, and lowered the storm window I didn't know about.

Once done there, I cleaned the dishes and took some more trash out (probably my third trip) and sat down to relax and now its 3:38 a.m. Jan. 7. Oh and I cleaned the cat's litter box out and rearranged the food cubbard at some point in time.

How I got to this Point

Hi, if anyone is reading my blogs, and I know my lovely Kaitlyn is, then you may be interested in me. How I got to where I am. Well, in order to let you know how I got here, I must let you know where I am currently. At the time in the present, it is 2 a.m., I am sitting at my fiance's father's house watching t.v. More importantly, I am on christmas break from college. I attend East Carolina University and am a senior. Though I am not the typical senior. I am graduating a year earlier than I should and by the timeline of most students at ECU, a good 4-5 years earlier (party school).

However, that I am graduating in three years is not why I am not the typical senior. I am 24 years old and a veteran of the Marine Corps. I was discharged, honorably, in April of 2006 and began work at Sonic Drive-In in Reidsville. The job looked promising but not what I really wanted. I didn't have any formal training so I took the job as a cook and also enrolled at the Community College too. After one month at Sonic, I was promoted to Assistant Manager. It took a lot of time and patience because managing wasn't as easy as I thought it was. Most weeks, I spent 70-80 hours working there, some not even on the clock. After nearly a year there and only one summer session (7 hours), I decided to go to school.

I applied to ECU with my last $40 and then applied for federal aid. I only received $11,000 for the whole year, which is generous, but not nearly enough to survive on healthily considering most people could receive up to $16,000 and then some based on their family's well-being. Luckily, I met my future bride nearly a month into the first semester and she and her mother assisted me. They let me come home to their place and eat their food. Needless to say, I ate well considering I gained nearly 70 pounds.

So during my first 2 years at school I have gone to all summer sessions and I actually received some credit hours from the Marine Corps training which is attributable to my early graduation.

For those who don't know how credit hours work, here it is. Most Majors require a credit hour goal for example, mine is 126 (Political Science). These hours are accumulated over your time there at school. Each semester you can take up to 18 hours, 12 being full time. The hours are based on how long you are in class each week. For example I have American Foreign Policy this semester coming up and I have it on Monday Wednesday and Friday for an hour. The school has categories you must fill up too.

Ok so now that is my college history. For the future, I have been accepted to Campbell School of Law and I am waiting on my response from UNC, my first choice.

But, let's go way back. I was born the first of three on my mother's side and her only son but the 4 of my dad's, his third. He had 6 all together by 3 woman, one Japanese when he was stationed in Japan with the Air Force. My parents divorced when I was about 5 and my mom left with a Mexican man who became my step father, regrettably. He was horrible to me, not physically but emotionally. He put me down and so I stayed in my room most of the time. This happened until I was around 17 when I got fed up and moved in with my dad fulltime. Life there was different. Even though I spent every weekend there during my childhood, living there during the weed days was a definate change. He slept days and worked nights so I was pretty much on my own and yes, I did do some bad things like smoke pot, but thankfully I quit, eventually.

My family was not the best off financially. My father was a loom mechanic at a textile factory and my mother held jobs off and on. Her husband was a landscaper and eventually owned his own business. This meant that I had no money for college. So the Marine Corps was calling my name.

I spent 2 years and 6 horrible months in the military. It wasn't so bad socially, it's just that I have always been overweight and after bootcamp, I gained it back. That is why it was so horrible. The seniority members of the service seemed to have a prejudice toward me because of my weight and I found my way out.

That's my story up til now, the abridged version. I am to be wed in May of this year to my love and life and law school in August. Our honey moon is going to be in Disney World. This will be the first time to Disney since I went with the school in 7th grade and the 2nd time all together.

Off to a New Year

First blog ever. Today I ate at the chinese buffet and feared breaking my diet. Let's not call it a diet, let's call it a lifestyle. Sounds less cliche. Ok so went there but I didn't eat my usual 3 plate meal, I only ate 1 plate of hibachi a small salad with some sushi. The hibachi was only a little rice, zuchini, and mostly shrimp. So I think I did good. Ran around midnight. I do the c25k run but I can't keep up with the increases so I have modified it. I currently weigh around 280 down from 295 so it's harder for me to run. The week I am on is walk for 5 minutes, run 3, walk 1.5 minute, run for 5 minutes, walk for 2.5, run for 3, walk for 1.5, and run for 5 with a cool down. I have modified it to the same thing except for the last run of 5 minutes. When I got to this point, I tried the 5 minute at the end but after the first day couldn't keep up so I changed it to 2.5 minutes with a 30 second increase each week. I do this 3 times a week. Currently I am on 3.3 minutes at the end and next week I will be at, obviously, 4 minutes but I will decrease the walking periods by 30 seconds and continue until I reach 5 minutes.