Boy Scouts Today: a response to a Facebook thread

Alright, having been in the Boy Scouts for a number of years, I think I might want/feel the need to weigh in. One, like Coulombe mentioned, the Scouts were founded on a set of principles that date back to the early 1900's. Lord Baden Powell started the Scouts quite by accident, really... Thee first Scout handbook was based on a military training manual. Gee, you don't really see the Scouts promoting that, do you? A lot of youth organizations were using a Scouting manual (btw written for scouts in the military, nowadays known as reconnaissance troops or even snipers). B-P came home from the Boer wars in Africa to find that the manual he had written was popular with youth groups of the time. So, to help with that, he re-wrote it to better fit the youth readership he was getting.This started a Movement, better known as Scouting. Over the years, the scouting movement has deviated from its original aim, which was shaping young men into model citizens of a decent society. Instead, the scouts have basically come to be an organization that teaches the value of conformity, rolling over to play dead instead of standing up for something they believe. So Spencer Biggio, you talk about judgement and condemnation... Where does it say that we HAVE to accept something we don't believe in? We are not necessarily condemning the person, just the act, which (btw) isn't even allowed anyways? (I do believe there is a clause about public displays of affection at scouting events). Either way,I ask again, why do we have to ACCEPT something that we don't believe in? If it is for the sake of political correctness? Is there a legitimate reason why we should have to change our views just because someone disagrees? Where is the freedom in that? I know that I agree with a few things that are against the law, but I know those things are gonna take a long damn time to change. Why the forced change now? So, until you come up with a reason that does not include "changing times" or "politically correct", I will continue to believe what I do, and guess what... I will continue to support the scouts if they do so as well! Of course,that does not seem to be happening... So, in the meantime, maybe I will start my own organization. Not sure what I would call it, but the main purpose would be the foundation of a youth (boy and girl), that can defend itself and the state it is apart of, and stand up for what it believes, not matter what!

5 minutes to close...

Anybody who has worked in a restaurant understands the biggest bane if a food-service employee's life: the folks that come in to get food in the last few minutes of the kitchen being open. Picture the scene: the kitchen closes at 11pm, and it is 10:55. Lo and behold, the ticket printer goes off, spitting out that order for a well-done KC strip, loaded baked potato, and dinner salad caesar (out first), among whatever other things that folks wanted at the last minute. This drives the cooks nuts.

Invariably, kitchens tend to get busy in the last hour or so that they are open. Quite often, we have already started cleaning things, at least as much as we can without shutting things off. Murphy's Law pretty much dictates that if you just cleaned the flat-top, you will get an order that requires you to clean it again five minutes later. Shut off the grill, and someone will want a burger or steak or something.

Some people thrive on living at the last minute. The procrastinators (guilty as charged) of the world will unite when they feel like it. This includes getting dinner. "Hey, I got two minutes left before they close!"

If anything, this has really made me think about how and when I go to look for food. I don't want to be "that guy" that shows up five minutes before the restaurant closes, expecting perfect service. There is a good chance that the person cooking for you has been there since before the restaurant opened, and the only thing they want is to go home after twelve hours of catering to people's whims. Oh yeah, did I mention that quite often those whims might be bordering on crazy and even psychotic?

If anything, the next time you go to order food a few minutes before close, think about what you are ordering. Make it simple, make it quick, and appreciate what the service folks do for you.

Some days...

... You realize how tired you really are.

Of course, this could have any number of meanings. Physically tired - 37 hours straight with one hour of sleep, moving/packing/cleaning/cooking the whole time through. Mentally tired - my brain shut down hours ago. Emotionally tired - I really don't care about much of anything right this second.

On the bright side, though, I am done moving for a couple of months.

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So, I wrote this last night. I was definitely in a different state of mind. Sometimes you need to have those moments when you realize what you are doing to yourself.

Lesson of the day: balance is your friend.

Summertime, and the living is easy...

It's finally summertime, and despite the song, the living is not quite as easy as one might believe. At least, not yet. I still have some stuff to work out, like cleaning and packing my apartment, and moving into my new place of residence. I will be living with more people again, the most I've actually lived with since when I was still living at home. It should be interesting.

I'm going to continue working at Willie's Sports Bar in Atchison for the time being. I seem to have made it over the hump where the job sucks and you just want to quit. Things have gotten better for me, and I can actually say something now and have someone listen (I'll talk more about that kind of thing later). The work can be hard, but at the end of the day, I know I have some friends to share a drink with. Plus, it's a job, something I don't have if I go somewhere else right now.

I decided to go to the BC graduation, despite the fact that I wasn't walking. I know hindsight is 20/20, but I wish I had just done what was needed to walk. I think I'll look into whether or not there is a December comencement ceremony. If there is, and things work out, that's what I'll do.

I have a few plans over the summer, all things that I really could not get done while I was in school. Mostly, time would not allow me to do theses things, or I found that I didn't want to after spending so much time with school. I hopefully won't have that problem as much now.

1. I want to get this blog up and running properly. This (hopefully) isn't going to be just a spweing of my deepest, darkest thoughts. I want to actually write something of some worth. This may include topics ranging from business management, to politics, and even religion. I'll put up some beer, wine, and liquor reviews. There will be occasional music topics, as I would not be who I am with the music in my life.

2. I want to start working on a novel. I have had an idea rattling through my head for the last couple of years now, but have not had the time to really work on it. This will be a bit difficult, but hopefully I will get somewhere with it.

3. I need to look for a proper career. Those who know me well, know I hate a beauracratic life. I have to figure out how to either conform to that (not my choice) or find a one in a culture I like (a lot harder). This is the most important task of the summer.

4. I want to get a concealed-carry permit. I don't own a firearm yet to use for this, but I still think it might be a good idea, considering the forecast of the political climate lately.

5. I want a dog. This is dependant on a couple of things, but I hope it'll work out.

I have a few other smaller goals, but those are just incidentals.

So, here we are now. It's summertime, and the sun is shining. Life is moving, and you can't get off. So hold on tight, as it'll be a fast ride.

Springfest!

The weekend before finals, during the spring semester, is always Springfest at Benedictine College. For some, it's a time of enjoying a couple days of intense activity based on busting stress and giving a little relief before the hell week called finals. The idea behind this is that supposedly it should be warm enough and nice enough that spending the whole weekend outside is a good idea. While it wasn't cold out this weekend, it was also a bit wet and rainy. Now, for a very large portion of the school, Springfest is translated as Drinkfest. Friday morning brings a tradition for many that is called Power Hour. At 6am, folks get up to chug beers for the whole hour, with the express purpose of getting drunk. These same folks show up at their respective classes ready to fall over... I'm not sure I understand this concept.

That being said, while I did not take part in Power Hour, I also am not sober. Although, in my defense  it is 2am on Sunday morning, instead of 9am on Friday morning. I have spent most of the day with my nerd buddies that I have found over the last 4 years. We played Arkham Horror earlier today, and I discovered that my loss of attention towards games goes beyond normal RPGs. I was bored within a half hour. I don't get it. This kind of stuff used to be exciting! Why is it not anymore? Anyways...

I miss these folks. Most of these ladies and gentlemen (okay, a little sarcasm...) are really good friends, and I enjoyed spending a lot of time with them, playing games, watching anime, and other general nerdy stuff. However, after spending the afternoon with them again, I might have realized that it is good that I only see some of these folks every once in a while.


On a different note, my roommate and I lost most of our furniture today. The guy we had been borrowing the furniture from decided that he wanted to come get it back. Of course, we still have 2-3 weeks that we might need the stuff. Therefore, we won't have a couch to use in front of our TV or even a table to eat at. We were kind of expecting that, but not this soon, and in the most inconvenient way possible. If anybody has a couch they would like to get rid of for free (transportation might need to be included)...

It's the last couple weeks of school. This point has seemed almost unreachable for a long time. It almost felt at times that I would be doing school for the rest of my life. This is almost done.

I will be staying in my current job for the time being. I figured that if I move back to CSprings, I would have to look for a job again, and I would be at the bottom of the barrel, starting from the ground up again and trying to prove my worth. I wanted to quit food service and move to something more permanent as soon as I could, but it seems that point will not be reached for a little while. Therefore, I may as well do my best in there and see how far I go. At least here I have a job.

At one point, I was seriously considering culinary school. I genuinely love cooking, especially when I have other folks liking what I just made. However, after working in a kitchen for the last 4 years or so, I am ready for something different again. I don't even like cooking at home right now, let alone the idea of going back to school again. I'm not sure what I am more tired of: cooking for unappreciative a******* or doing homework and going to class.

Well, it's time to go for a little while. Hope to see folks on here more in the future. Oh, for all BC students: Good luck and God bless!

Beginnings

Another day, another attempt at trying again to foster my enjoyment of writing for fun.

Of course, I need to finish finals first.