Uncollected Thoughts

Hey there.  I've been MIA as of late.  I try to keep this blog updated to the tune of about a post a day.  And even though we've had events go down recently, I just haven't had the time to collect my thoughts and put them down.  So instead of organizing them, I'm just going to write them down and leave a quick comment.

First off, what a game between the Vikings and Saints.  It was definitely one of the most entertaining playoff game that I have ever seen.  Even though I did catch it at a later date.  Why is that? Well, because we went and took pics of my little one.  He's been growing so fast that he's wearing outfits only once before they no longer fit.  My wife was able to obtain an outfit that her youngest brother wore and we went with that outfit and a sailor suit for our boy to wear.  Here's one of the many pics.  Does my baby look spiffy or what?  lol

On a darker note, my cousin went missing for a few days late last week.  Now, I don't know the complete details of what went down, but from what my aunt told me not too long ago, my cousin (19) lost his job and that it might have pushed him over the edge.  He was not heard of for 2 days and then when he called my aunt for her to pick him up, he was extremely emotional.  To the point where he cried all day.  Once the crying stopped, the "weirdness" happened.  All he could talk about was how he owned everything and everyone.  How he even owned god and the devil and that he has all the riches in the world.  Kinda delusional, no?  But it gets weirder.  According to my aunt, he was hell bent on getting to church.  He just had to go to church for some reason that he would not state.  My cousin would laugh hysterically and state that he's been talking to my father (who passed away almost 20 years ago) and his nina (who passed away approx. 5 years ago).  On top of that, he's been talking to god as well.

It seems to be all of a sudden but as I was talking to my aunt she remembered a time a few weeks ago when my cousin walked into his parents' room and just gave them a huge hug.  It was odd to them that he would do that without asking for something.  My aunt was sure that he was going to ask to borrow the car or ask for some money, but nothing was asked of.  Thinking back on it, my aunt believes that maybe that was the start of it all.  Then, his younger brothers and sister claim to have heard him talk to himself and laugh hysterically by himself.  We now believe that maybe him losing his job may have pushed him into having some sort of nervous breakdown.  He's currently in the mental ward of the hospital for observation.  We plan on visiting him tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll have more news on what's going on then.

So yeah, I've have my posts that need to get done, but my mind has just been occupied with other things.  Maybe this is what I need to get my head on straight.  A means to write down what's going on and clear my head.  I mean, that is what a blog is for, right?  Until then... Later.

Has Christmas Lost it's Meaning?

Hey there.  You know, earlier today, I got to thinking about what my young one wants for Christmas.  She said she wanted this Strawberry Shortcake Cafe set type thing.  I've never heard of it, but I figured, with the power of Google, I'd be able to figure it out and BAM!  There it is, in all it's glory.  The problem?  It's sold out at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us... So I decided that I'll look for it later and see if I get lucky and find it somewhere.  That lead me to think of that movie, Jingle All the Way with Sinbad and California's very own, "Ahnold".  Has Christmas really gone so far down hill that most parents will go out and about, go through hell in a mall, trying to find a great gift for their young ones?  I know that the movie exaggerated the hell out of this idea since the two characters practically killed each other for the much wanted Turbo Man, but that general idea seems to be well and good.

Every year, I hear someone or another say that they don't have money to go and get gifts, which is absolutely fine, but the problem I have is that much emphasis is placed on gift giving.  Really?  Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones?  A time to reflect on the past year (or is that New Year's?).  Where gifts don't make the holiday but simply serve as a side dish to the main course of love, togetherness, and happiness?  Yesterday, I went and got gifts for the little one's in my family.  My wife and I told ourselves that we'd cut our list short to only include young ones under 7.  With the exception of being a parental unit, sibling, or grand parent, don't expect a gift from us.  lol  But the point being, we took the time to go out and get gifts knowing that we're not going to get some back.  And we didn't worry about it.  There was no, oh man, we spent too much, no worrying about forgetting this person or that person, or any of that.  It felt good to go out and get gifts with out all added pressure and that's how it should be.  Us going through a "recession" and all, we're at a point where we are able to give.  Whether we receive or not, doesn't matter.  At least not to us, the parents (the kids may be a different story).

I'm beginning to feel as if Christmas is becoming more of a "need to get a gift for someone" instead of it being a holiday filled with cheer.  Christmas shouldn't feel like a chore, yet for some reason or another, it does this year.  We haven't had a chance to put the tree up, we're not done getting gifts, let alone wrap them, and quite frankly, I'm tired of all the "gloom and doom" that seem to emanate from every TV or radio.  I say, screw all that.  Sit down with your family, bake some cookies, share some stories, and enjoy yourselves.  That, right there, sounds like a pretty bad ass Christmas to me.  Gifts are a bonus.  I don't remember seeing a Terms and Conditions sheet on celebrating Christmas.  I don't remember baby Jesus breaking into song and dance saying that the Wise Men must give gifts or they'll be hell to pay.  Just like every other holiday out there, I say we celebrate the way we see fit and be happy.  Get rid of the pressures that come with holiday shopping.  Go ahead and grab gifts.  I'm not saying you shouldn't, but what I am saying is take it easy when you do.  It's not worth the stress and killing your holiday because you were stressed out 23 days out of 25 because you were getting gifts, sending cakes, decorating the house, etc.etc.  You're only adding to the bah humbug that seems to plague this year's Christmas season if you're all moody and cranky.

Now...  I'mma go see Elf.  That elf sure knows how to do Christmas right.  I mean C' mon people.  He's parading around in an elf suit singing his little heart out without a care in the world.  I think I need to do that.  Yeah, I need to walk in a store and be like, "I'm in a store.  I'm in a store and I'm singing!"  Yeah, that'll spread some holiday cheer alright.  lmao  Later!

The Kids and My Father's Presence

Hey there. My pops passed away when I was 9 years old. I grew up without really having a father figure in my life and it was pretty tough. My mother was rarely home so my brother and I practically raised ourselves. I guess that's why my brother and I have a pretty close relationship. Anyways, I always told myself that I would try to be the best dad I could. I am now the dad of 4 and I do my best to provide the best I can. But sometimes... I feel like I'm getting a little help from my pops.

There have been some pretty strange occurrences involving my brother and my kids. First off, when my dad first passed away, my brother would say that he would see him in his dreams. Mind you, my brother was 4 years old when my dad passed, so it's not like he would be making stuff up like that. I'm sure that he was too young to really know what was going on. Then, when our oldest son was born, more weird occurrences started happening. My son would be in his swing, and the swing would inexplicably move on it's own, the TV would turn on and off on it's own, and we would hear some pretty weird noises coming out of a radio that wasn't even plugged in. When our oldest daughter was born, more of the same went on. The same with the swing and I started to hear voices. It never really freaked me out, but it did raise my curiosity.

With our youngest daughter, we didn't have much in that kind of activity, but we did have one huge one. My wife set our daughter down on the couch and she went off to the kitchen. My brother in law was in his room, my wife in the kitchen, and our daughter in the living. Then, my wife hears the sound of someone giving someone a huge kiss. You know, that puckering sound. So she goes over to the living room, thinking that it was my brother in law kissing our daughter. Nope, he was in his room, semi-asleep. My wife freaked. She's never really dealt with anything of that sort so to hear "someone" kiss our baby frightened her. The other night, as we were having dinner, my daughter says to me that she remembers seeing "little daddy" when she was born. I asked her who that was and she said that it was my dad, that she likes calling him "little daddy." It threw me in for a loop but I continued along with her to see what else she would say. She says she remembers seeing him when she was born and that now she misses him. My wife and weren't sure what to make of it. We were not talking about my father so it was extremely odd that she would just throw that idea out there. Now, things are happening with our youngest son.

We find that our son loves to stare at my pop's picture. I have a picture (drawing) of my father in the living room. When we sit on the couch holding our son, we see him stare at the picture and then laugh and coo. Another instance involved footsteps. I was at the store and my wife was sitting with my baby son on the couch. Again, he looked at my father's picture and laughed and cooed and smiled. Then, my wife heard footsteps in the hallway. She freaked. She called me to ask me to hurry home. I check it out and the kids were asleep and I as I stand in the living room, talking to her, we both hear the footsteps again. Pretty intense stuff. And that leads me to the bouncer. Our son loves his bouncer and we believe to have found out why. When we place our son it, we snuggles with his blanket and then drifts asleep. Nothing weird, right? WRONG! That is until you see that the bouncer is rocking itself, even though it's off! It's happened on more than one occasion and I point it out to my wife each time I see it happening. So what are we make out of this?

I say, it's my pops helping me out. It's always happening around our kids, and it's usually when we're trying to rock them or soothe them. I joke around with my wife and tell her that it's my pops doing all the crazy things around the house. The corona bottle, Odin, and since the kids' birth, them. Just the other night, I placed our son in his bouncer and as I was walking away, my wife noticed that the swing was pushed by no one. Yup, it was swinging on it's own. We both just looked at it and said, "Dad, he's in the bouncer." I smiled at wife and she still looked a little freaked out by it. Well, at least we know that my pops is still around, helping out. And if one of the kids start to complain that their head hurts, I'll know it's him... giving them a noogie. lol Later!

Giving Money to the Homeless

Hey there. This morning, I was in the mood for some french vanilla coffee stuffs from Winchell's Donuts. As I was about to walk in the place, a stranger, in torn and ragged clothing, asked me for some money so that he can go inside and get himself some coffee. I admitted that I didn't have any cash on me that I was planning on paying with my card. As I opened the door, I turned around and told him, "You know what, guy. I'll buy you a cup of coffee." So I did, handed it to him, wished him well, and I was on my way to work.

Now, I don't have a problem helping those that need help. If I, someday, we to find myself in the same situation, I would appreciate any help that someone would be able to give. My problem, though, is giving them cash. I'll admit, I've walked by more than a few homeless people asking for change and I've continued walking by even though I had some. My reasoning? I don't want them to blow their money on booze or drugs. I've seen it before. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, I've seen my fair share of people asking for change and then them going to the nearest liquor store only to come out with a brown paper bag. I have a problem with that. I want to help you, friend, but how I do know you want to help yourself? How do I know that you're not just going to buy a bottle of Vodka and sit on the corner and repeat the process when the bottle is finished? This is why I would rather help in getting something than giving cash.

I remember this one time, while out with my friends, we decided to go get us some Popeye's Chicken. It late at night when we pulled up at the drive thru. Before we had a chance to order, a homeless man came up the driver side and asked for change to buy a piece of chicken. My friend, the driver, told him that if he wanted chicken, he'll buy him a meal. The guy refused the meal and wanted the money. Eventually, he walked away with nothing. First hand encounters like this makes me reluctant to hand out a few bucks to those asking for it.

I sent out a Twitter message about the encounter this morning and see that some people agree with my logic while others believed that a few cents should have been handed out. The common conception that I received is that I was being put through a test by god. Now, I don't know about that. I believe that people learn through trials and tribulation and I strongly believe that this man is going through some trials. I go back to my post on Metallica's Low Man's Lyric, I don't know if he's there by choice, or forced there by his circumstances. I simply don't know. What I do know, is that I don't mind coughing up a dollar for a cup of coffee, if that really is what the man wanted. If the man is in need, he will accept my offer, especially when he can honestly say he has nothing.

Sometimes a good cup of coffee starts your day off right. Hopefully, I helped start your day off well, my friend. Later.

Who the Hell is John Titor???

Hey there. I'm a curious person. The whole UFO debate fascinates me, the paranormal fascinates me, and among many other things, time travel fascinates me. So when I stumbled across the name, John Titor - time traveler, I raised an eyebrow and started to look into this time traveler. Now, not many people know the name, so here's an extremely quick run down of the guy.

He claims to be from 2036
He traveled back in time to 1975 for a IBM 5100 computer
He made a "pit stop" in 2001 for personal reasons
He posted in the Art Bell BBS Forums and identified himself as a time traveler
He traveled using a military time machine
He disappeared without a trace in early 2001

Check out some of his original posts here: http://www.anomalies.net/object/titororiginalpost.html

I'm no John Titor expert and I don't know all the facts but what I have read has sparked my interest. Now, right off the bat, I've lost some of you, since I am aware that this sort of thing is not everyone's cup of tea, but I find this person fascinating since this person seems to have just disappeared off the face of the Earth. During his posts, he laid the mechanics and physics concerning the time travel machine, going into the complex mathematics that was used to make it possible. He refused to give any predictions and did not want to disclose any information that would cause anyone to interfere with the current world line.

The world line... More than anything, I believe this is what fascinates me the most. The Everett-Wheeler-Graham Theory suggests that our universe is composed of many universes in which each one represents each and every possible scenario. For example, you are at the store deciding on whether or not you should buy something. In one universe, you bought an ice cream cone. In universe 2, you didn't and walked out the store and got hit by a bike, or whatever. At that moment, a separate universe was created and there are, in theory, 2 yous walking around, but will never cross paths because they are on different world lines. Crazy thought, no? Imagine all the decisions made in your life time. For each decision you made, there is another world line out there that exists based on a completely different decision that could have been made. It's a theory that completely blows my mind. If this theory is true, then it begs to ask the question on whether or not there is God. If I decide to be Mr. Peace on Earth, there is an alternate world line where I am Mr. Hell on Earth to balance it out. On one path I chose peace, in the other path I did not. If both good and evil sides exists within separate world lines, when I die, which one of "me" will be judged? Oh, here's another crazy idea... if there are alternate universes, as theorized, then is God and Satan one and the same? God being Mr. Peace on Earth and Satan being Mr. Hell of Earth? Food for thought, no? Later!