Monday, March 29, 2010

New Week

So it's Monday...

All I can think to say is "Thank Goodness I get my Adderall refilled today!" Chocolate, it seems, doesn't quite give the same effect.

Besides that, life is awesome. I got so much rest this past weekend, and also got some other things done that needed to be addressed. Spring is in the air, and I'm expecting any minute to be hit with Spring Fever. In fact it may be starting already since I really don't want to be at work today. Maybe I'm just a little burned out from last week, but the thought of coming in to work this morning was enough to make me dive under the covers and hide from the world :o)

I definitely still have some issues to deal with, but right now I'm just letting them sit back and simmer. Patience has always been my weakest virtue, and it always bothers me when things don't happen my way, right away. I'm still feeling out some people, and working on improving things so that when they do happen, they happen the right way.

I am still only 24 years old, and sometimes I wonder if I'm trying to rush things, but I am finally realizing that unless they aren't in immediate need of addressing, I should chill out. How do I know that what I want is for the best for all parties involved? It's crazy that I get a godlike complex about things sometimes, when actually fate moves everything in the opposite direction and the results that I want are totally against the grain. Guess that's just a part of living and learning.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, trust will always be betrayed, but if you can only trust yourself and not put your heart out there to be broken, it saves you a lot in the long run. I'm not god-like, and I can't control what others feel and think, so I shouldn't assume or try. Some people I love more than life itself, but I need to realize that it's not always returned. A person cannot help what they were born to feel, so I need to chill the hell out and focus on doing me, regardless of how it hurts.

It seems that once I become involved in something, I put my everything into it. This is a personal flaw. I think it stems from the idea that I must have relevance in life and "leave my mark" of being responsible for something turning out improved. Though I do realize that my relevance is irrelevant to everyone else, something in my brain cannot comprehend that, so I'm constantly involved with something, that more than likely won't turn out right, leaving me with a sense of failure. That was definitely the problem last week, and it took several hours of sleep and rest to decide that my involvement with some things probably increased the problem, just because I refused to back off, let my feelings overpower and force things that probably aren't meant to occur.

I've decided to take a different approach though. In the future I will try to observe, decide in my mind what outcome I want, and see if fate has the same outcome. I'm beginning to take some things too personally and at the rate its going, I want to take the world personally, which would probably end up in a premature death of my soul.

While writing this, I wasn't even sure what my discussion point was going to be. I know that I'm still a bit sore regarding events of last week, and now that I'm rested and medicated correctly, I can finally see what's going on, and even though my desires haven't changed, I need to look at the way I view them. I am a fighter and if the direct attack doesn't seem to work, maybe it's time to invoke the stealth, surprise attack. The important thing is to remember to keep playing the game, regardless of what strategies aren't effective.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ke$sha- Wow, meet me in the back with the Jack at the Jukebox.

So I finally bought the Ke$ha album. Honestly I was surprised. I loved her "Tik-Tok" song, but didn't think there was anything spectacular about her. It was a fun song, got me "crunked up" but that was it.

Well since she released the Blah Blah song I went ahead and bought the whole album. It was only 9 bucks, so I figured that at least it would pump me up when I needed it.

I LOVE it! I don't think there's a song on the album that I don't like. Even though the majority of the songs are shallow and fun, the lyrics are actually raw and relateable. Some of the songs are something that I personally could say to people or experience on any given day.

It's true that she doesn't have the best voice and there is much auto tune on the album, but she can carry a tune and keep me entertained, which is what I look for in an artist.

Some of the best songs on the album are "Kiss and Tell," "Stephan" and "Your Love is My Drug." There are certain lyrics and phrases that people can and do say in everyday life. While some popular artists sing about lifestyles of their famous and wealthy life, Ke$ha sings about 20-something, common folks lives and the crazy things that real people experience. As I was driving home listening to the cd yesterday, I was put in the best mood I've been in through the past 2 weeks probably.

Some of the best lyrics are: "You're looking like a tool not a baller. You're acting like a chick, why bother? I can find someone way hotter with a bigger d---. wow... well." From "Kiss and Tell," a song about a cheater.

Or even, "I saw you in your tight ass rocker pants. You saw me too I laughed 'Cause I was completely trashed. And I watched your Ugly girlfriend sneer across the room. As if I really care that she's here with you. All I know is... Your my object of affection. My drug of choice. My sick obsession..." From "Stephen," A song about someone you like that doesn't like you back. (Something I know very well)

Then, "My friends think I've gone crazy. My judgments getting kinda hazy. My esteem is gonna be affected. If I keep it up like a lovesick crackhead. What you got boy is hard to find, I think about it all the time, I'm all strung out, my heart is fried. I just can't get you off my mind. Hey, so I gotta question. Do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement? Do I make your heart beat like an 808 drum? Is my love with your drug? Your love is my drug." From "Your Love is My Drug," A song about having a crush, something everyone has gone through.

Plus her voice, the way she talks/raps through some of her songs is great. She has that addictive voice, its kind of sexy actually. I find myself walking around, singing these lyrics, and then randomly saying them to people, just out of no-where.

This is definitely an album I recommend. Though the majority of the songs are about partying, loving, or other young people things, it's definitely an album that will pump you up and make you feel carefree and young.

I definitely look forward to her future work.

"Meet in the back with the Jack at the jukebox..."

Stephen

Stephen
Stephen
Why won't you call me?
Stephen
Why won't you call me?

I saw you
In your tight ass rocker pants
You saw me too
I laughed
'Cause I was completely trashed
And I watched your
Ugly girlfriend
Sneer across the room
As if I really care
That she's here with you
All I know is...

Your my object of affection
My drug of choice
My sick obsession

Stephen
Why won't you call me?
I'm sitting here waiting
Why won't you call me?
Stephen
I'm feeling pathetic
I can't take rejection
Why won't you call me?

I've got guys
Waiting in a line
For me too play
My evil girly games
With all their minds
Just watch me
Got it down
To a simple art
Just bat my Eyes
Like this
And there's a broken heart
But somehow...

You turn the tables
What the hell
I can charm the pants of anyone else
But you

Stephen
Why won't you call me?
I'm sitting here waiting
Why won't you call me?
Stephen
I'm feeling pathetic
I can't take rejection
Why won't you call me?

Stephen
I'm thinking' that
Maybe
You might think I'm
Crazy
Is that why you won't
Call me
Steve
Don't you think I'm
Pretty
Do you not
Love me
Is that why you won't call me?

'Cause your my object of affection
My drug of choice
My sick obsession
I want to keep you as my pet to play with
And hide under my bed forever

Stephen
Why won't you call me?
I'm sitting here waiting
Why won't you call me?
Stephen
I'm feeling pathetic
I can't take rejection
Why won't you call me?

Stephen
I'll knit you a sweater
I want to wrap you up in my love
Forever
I will never let you go Stephen
I'll never let go

Stephen
Why won't you call me?
I'm sitting here waiting
Why won't you call me?
Stephen
I'm feeling pathetic
I can't take rejection
Why won't you call me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LGYsGZ_FM

Friday, March 26, 2010

Trust and Betrayal

Betrayal, its everywhere. I'm beginning to think betrayal is one of humanity's most dominant traits. I'm no stranger to betrayal, on either side, but for some reason it always bothers me and more than usual lately.

This has been an extremely long week, mentally and physically. In addition to working 14-18 hours daily, I have been going through medication withdrawals, personal issues and thousands of other pains in the rear. I am suffering from a major lack of serotonin, and sleep deprivation on top of it just makes things more complicated.

While I still have millions of blessings I count on a daily basis, for some reason, the small things are bothering me, trust topping the list. My personality makes me a very trusting person. Though I cannot count the times I have been burned, I cannot seem to learn. The past month I have been betrayed so many times, in so many ways, yet I still let it get to me. You think you have a bond with someone, a connection. Whether this bond is by blood, love, companionship or even the fact that the 2 people have no-one else to bond with, it is never strong enough I've learned.

As I sit here wondering why, I begin to realize that it probably actually is human nature. The strongest urge a human has is to survive. It doesn't matter how you are connected to the person, whether friend, child, parent, lover, or any of that, your survival is ultimately what's most important. Though a person may deny this, say they will die for their loved ones, deep down inside the person is experiencing the urge to survive, despite what the conscious mind is saying.

Lets look at a common wild rabbit for instance. It has a nest of 3 babies. One day a snake comes into the nest to consume the baby rabbits. The parent will continuously try to save its offspring. It will do anything to distract the snake, to lead it out of the nest or whatever. If the snake doesn't go for the bait, eventually the rabbit will give up and save itself before it's eaten as well. The rabbit will NOT lay over it's babies and force the snake to eat it instead. Therefore the rabbit is betraying his offspring. He will make a conscious effort to save them, but when the going gets tough, the rabbit will give up to save himself and have another litter of babies the next mating season. Humans are a bit smarter than a common rabbit, but that survival urge is still inside. The conscious of a human being is strong enough to disguise the subconscious urge to survive. The parent will usually save the kid before himself, but he's got the IQ allowed to do this. If humans were on the same level as an animal, it would be very different.

I know that occasionally the subconscious urge will burst out and overwhelm. Imagine a person who cant swim being thrown in a deep pool. The urge to survive comes out enough that the person will struggle to breathe, and even grasp another person, forcing them underwater just to stay alive. Look back at huge tragedies that have occurred in history, there are so many instances of people fighting for themselves and betraying their fellow man, leaving him to whatever the consequences were, whether freezing on the Titanic, starving in the Great Depression or even in the fictional tragedies we read about and see on television.

How, you wonder, does this equate to betrayal of trust? It appears that people have the tendency to develop trusts just as fast as they break them. I don't know where this comes from though. Maybe its the desire to feel relevant? The age old question of "why was I created" plagues everyone at some time or another. Maybe it's the need for some sort of companionship? To know that you are not alone? I don't know, and all I do know is what I've experienced myself, and I don't even know the reasons for that.

Personally I develop trusts and bonds easily, and feel horrible when the other person violates that bond/trust. This has happened to me (and I'm guessing everyone else) millions of times. It's not always romantic, friendship or even being co-workers, but it still effects me negatively every time I am betrayed.

Some betrayals aren't even on purpose. You can't force someone to feel a certain way, and sometimes a person is guilty of reading too deep into a bond, and not realizing until that betrayal has surfaced and the person feels like a total loser. A person can't be forced to love someone else, though they still may like the person, but not have the exact mutual feelings.

The unintentional betrayal is horrible, but it compares nothing to the deliberate betrayal. Having someone manipulate you, use you and then hurt you without caring is probably one of the worst feelings in the world. A person devotes so much time, thought, energy into a bond with someone who they think can trust, and then they find out that it isn't mutual, they were used for affection, information, money, status or anything else, except for themselves and what's inside.

Betrayal is so common in the world, I wonder how there are any people left practicing humanity. You would think with the good Karma they submit, they wouldn't have to suffer so much, but from what I've observed, Karma doesn't care about all that.

I guess what I'm rambling about is just frustration. I tend to be a tender soul and it just breaks what heart I have left to see good people get hurt. I know what it feels to give your all to someone to improve their life and only get heartache in return, and people that's been practicing humanity their whole lives just shrug it off and go on to the next one and though you know they're hurting, they still give 100%. Those are people I admire and respect.

You can't force a person to feel or act a certain way, but you should just expect them to stop you before you invest your interest and heart in them. Personally I never am one to lead people on. There have been several great people that had an interest in me or my best interest, and I can't bear to lead them on, so I generally express my appreciation and send them on their way. Cruelness is not cute, but so many people out there tend to think it puts them above the rest.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Stressed Out

Uggh Stress.

The word that makes all of us cringe. What is it about it? Is it a natural human emotion, like anger, sadness, etc? What is it that makes us "stressed out?" We get the headache, the turning stomach or other symptoms. We become short tempered, forgetful and our tolerance levels hit rock bottom. Why do we "go crazy" when we become stressed?

I've learned a lot about stress in my latest years. From high school until the present, I've had all kinds of things stress me out. I'm a person that tends to stress easily. If something doesn't go the right way, it stays on my mind until its finally the only thing I am thinking and worrying about. Multiply that by 10 or more things, and you begin to wonder how a person can handle it.

I am a young, single, somewhat attractive male. I have no kids, a job, and a few bills I address every month. What, do you ask, do I have to stress about?

It is literally crazy. I am the type of person to stress about anything and everything. I handle stress so poorly that I take a daily medication to help me handle it better. If I see a piece of lint on someone's clothes, I will stress about that lint and let it consume my day if I don't stop myself. Imagine how I get when something serious happens...

This week has brought out the stress! Besides not having my meds refilled, I am required to work 6am-8 or 9pm every night this week due to monitors on campus. I am worried sick that something will be wrong with the home I manage, and I will lose my job, or worse, get publicly embarrassed. I'm still concerned about one of the individuals I provide services for, as well as the other guys on the home. I'm overworked and tired, not getting enough sleep at night, which heightens my stress level.
Besides that my personal life also sucks and I am still stressing over buying a house. Once I buy the right house, then I have a bunch of other things planned, but cannot fulfill them until I buy the house, which I wont be able to do until I get some other things done. *sigh*

So why, I wonder, does a person stress. At the time I am healthy, financially stable, I have a car, a place to live, food to eat, and even go out to have fun sometimes. Honestly my life rocks. Is there some little "stress monster" that lives in a human being to make him act wacko? Are these stress monsters bigger in some people than others? What is the deal? Maybe its just human nature to stress. Maybe it hidden fear that one may lose everything. Maybe I just have the primal need to feel relevance. Its so confusing and any medical resource I consult doesn't really give a reason that stress exists, only what it is and what causes it.

So, until I find a reasonable, effective coping mechanism, I am simply stuck as a stresser. I am constantly learning and growing every day, so maybe this way to cope will develop as I grow older. Sometimes I stress that it wont, and one day I'll officially lose my mind, but I can't be sure and that stresses me out.

For the time being I am just going to advise you not to stress. This may be impossible, but don't let the possibility stress you out.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Just a catch up

Ugggh Its Tuesday. The Court Monitors will be at MSSLC all week, and I am stressed to the point of no return. Usually I don't stress out when we have monitors on campus, but this is the first time they've been here since I've been a supervisor responsible for staff, which makes a big difference. I am looking forward to Friday when the monitors do their exits and we find out whether we're doing good or bad.
I'm also worried about one of the guys that reside on my home at work. I do my best to try not to show preferential treatment, but when you work with people 12-16 hours a day or 70+ hours a week they become like a member of your family, especially when you spend more time with them than with your actual family. You develop bonds, and honestly have the need to assure they're healthy and happy, at least I do. I love my job, but sometimes I'm afraid I take my present position too personally. I've been informed of a couple of positions on campus that may benefit me in the future, but am just taking opportunities as they come. That would free up some time to pursue some other personal interests. Oh well though, its just something else to process.
Besides that, life is going great. I have lost even more weight, and am down to 175, which is like 20lbs lighter than I was 3 weeks ago. I love my Adderall. My Dr better have my prescription ready today. I am still a cigarette, coffee and sometimes vodka addict. Those are my main vices, and they are in the process of being phased out. I definitely am feeling better due to the better meds and healthier lifestyle. I am only eating once a day and am usually in bed by 8:30 or 9:00pm and wake up at 4:30am every morning to come into work. This has balanced me out mentally, as well as filling up my bank account which I love. I am still in the process of house shopping and have another plan or two for the future, which will take care of several issues at once. So excited.
So besides that, there really isn't anything to blog about. My life is devoted to my work and that is what is taking up most of my time right now. I'm curious to see how everything turns out when the court monitors leave and what changes MSSLC will have to make.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

10 things about SEX

Did you know that you can tell from the skin whether a person is
sexually active or not?
..
1. Sex is a beauty treatment. Scientific tests find that when men make love they produce amounts of the hormone estrogen, which makes hair shine and skin smooth.
..
2. Gentle, relaxed lovemaking reduces your chances of suffering dermatitis, skin rashes and blemishes. The sweat produced cleanses the pores and makes your skin glow.
..
3. Lovemaking can burn up those calories you piled on during that romantic dinner.
..
4. Sex is one of the safest sports you can take up. It stretches and tones up just about every muscle in the body. It's more enjoyable than
swimming 20 laps, and you don't need special sneakers!
..
5. Sex is an instant cure for mild depression. It releases endorphins into the bloodstream, producing a sense of euphoria and leaving you
with a feeling of well-being.
..
6. The more sex you have, the more you will be offered. The sexually active body gives off greater quantities of chemicals called pheromones.
These subtle sex perfumes drive the opposite sex crazy!
..
7. Sex is the safest tranquilizer in the world. IT IS 10 TIMES MORE EFFECTIVE THAN VALIUM.
..
8. Kissing each day will keep the dentist away. Kissing encourages saliva to wash food from the teeth and lowers the level of the acid that causes decay, preventing plaque build-up.
..
9. Sex actually relieves headaches. A lovemaking session can release the tension that restricts blood vessels in the brain.
..
10. A lot of lovemaking can unblock a stuffy nose. Sex is a natural antihistamine. It can help combat asthma and hay fever.

Snakes on a... sink? (A repost)

Per some requests I received, here is a repost of a blog I wrote a few years ago about an incident I had one Memorial Day in the past. It was a very traumatic experience, but since so many found humor in it, I decided to repost it.
Enjoy
kcs
xox


Snakes on a... sink?
Thursday, May 28, 2008
So, this is a story of something that happened to me on Memorial Day. Since I have no kind of life whatsoever, I decided to stay at the house all day to celebrate the holiday and just "chill-ax." Well I took an early nap that lasted until about 3:00pm. When I awoke, I had the strangest urge for a blizzard from the Dairy Queen, so I got dressed (in some scanty atheletic clothes) and grabbed the car keys and got ready to head to town.
As I was walking towards the front door, I saw something move in front of the door to the laundry room. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a 6 foot long chicken snake!!!! Now I, like everyone else in Texas, know that a chicken snake is not venemous at all, they are just super mean and aggressive, but after being bitten by a copperhead a few months ago, I have a terrible fear of all kinds of snakes.
Well the snake saw me about the same time I saw him. He jumped into a tight coil and began hissing with his mouth wide open, and shaking his tail like a rattle snake. I was still kind of shocked about seeing a snake IN the house, however I soon came to my senses, screamed like a little bitch and grabbed a golf club that was being stored in the broom closet for some reason and commensed to swinging!
Out of all the swinging I was doing with the golf club I finally made contact with the big mo'fo's head. When the club hit him, he went crazy and began lunging towards me, causing me to scream like a little bitch again, and run towards the living room to hide, since he was blocking the front door.
After chasing me about 5 feet, he made a turn and headed towards the bathroom, where he went and actually climbed on top of the sink and tried to climb up the wall. By then I was kind of feeling sorry for him, and about hitting him. I figured he was scared because he got in the house accidentally and did not want to tangle with me. (It turns out the dryer hose that vents outside had come loose, which is how he got in. He was probably just looking for a cool spot and thought that he was going in a hole or something.)
Anyways, I decided I was just going to try to get him out of the bathroom and get him outside where he could eat some bees or something. When I peeked in the bathroom door, he was up on the sink, actually standing with about a foot of his body standing vertical. When he saw me, he automatically began hissing at me and as I shut the door, the little monster lunged at me, flying across the bathroom and luckilly I closed the door and he made contact with it, instead of me.
Well after that, any sorryness I was feeling for that bitch died right then and there. I ran to the kitchen, threw open the cabinet under the sink and began to look for something to give that bastard a long suffering death with. What I ended up with was a half-full can of oven cleaner spray, which I guessed would have to do. I ran back to the bathroom and was ready for him!
When I opened the door, I saw that he had moved from the sink to the toilet, which lucky for me, was out of his jumping range. I guess he realized he was too far away to jump too, because when he saw me, he stood up again, but instead of jumping, he was just hissing and striking.
I made my move. As soon as he opened his mouth I gave him a good dose of oven cleaner. After emptying the can into his mouth, I watched and waited... Unfortunately there was no difference besides him getting madder. I knew this attempt was fruitless and I needed to get stronger poison.
After I securely locked him in the bathroom, and barricaded the door, I jumped into my car and headed to town. I pulled up to the dollar store and bought $10 work of all kinds of pest "bombs" and "foggers." I then headed back home (after a detour throught the Dairy Queen, where I ordered a LARGE Reeses Blizzard b/c I was stressed.)
After I got back home, I acted like an assassin and threw 6 pest bombs in the bathroom (the directions said I only needed 1, but I wanted to be sure.) While I was murdering the snake, I went into my bedroom and ate my ice cream and checked my e-mail.
After about 45 minutes, I went to check my victim... That heinous bitch was still alive and looked like he was setting the bathroom up as his own personal bedroom, moving things around. I could only observe him for about a minute because the fumes from the pesticide were making me dizzy.
I decided that this fight had to end. It was starting to get dark outside by then and I knew I had to get rid of the little pest in the bathroom. I went outside and got a shovel...
To skip all the gore, after a 15 minute fight, I emerged bleeding with a dead snake draped over the end of the shovel. My knuckle had gotten scraped up pretty bad, but I was alive and he was dead. The snake barely had a head left... I walked outside and hung him on the fence, it rained the next day...






Thursday, March 18, 2010

It's just one of those days

Its one of those days where I want to just lay around and forget about the world. The last 3 weeks of work have been hell, and though I love my job and my facility, a superior is super stressed and I get to be the one that it is taken out on. I have been working my ass off, coming in at 5:30am every day and not leaving until 7 or 8pm. I have gotten several compliments on my performance, the home I manage as well as the positive changes I have made. Somehow though, I'm the "whipping boy." I am told that my home is the worst and my staff are the worst. This has led me to believe that obviously, I must be the worst manager. I've been in my position for 4 months now. I'm the only male, I'm the only one who was not an original "shift supervisor," and my home is the largest on campus, with the most diverse group of individuals. I don't believe its the worst, but I do believe that this superior has something against my home, and not necessarily me in general.



Usually I let this kind of stuff go right over me. I guess I'm just tired or frustrated or a combo of both from listening to the nagging about how terrible my home is and how its MY fault. Anyway after the countless hours I've spent training, teaching and disciplining these children they send me as staff, I have finally reached a breaking point.

Continued 03/19/10
My morning shift is so awesome! They are on the ball and do everything they're supposed to most of the time. My night shift is "so-so." They need some extra work, but aren't terrible. My evening shift though; that's where the problems are. I've done correcting, tracking and many things to get them in shape, yet they still slack. As a manager I only ask my staff to give me 8 hours of their day, 5 days a week. On this 8 hours I expect them to work. When they accepted the job and salary, they accepted the duties in the job description. Its that simple. I have finally reached the point where there's zero tolerance. No more reminding, no more second chances. They know what they're supposed to do, and know they're expected to do it. They go through 2 weeks paid training to learn the policy and procedure of the facility, and then are mentored for 3 days to learn their specific home and unit. It's like there's no professionalism anymore. If 5 or 6 of them have go for the rest of them to learn, so be it. I care about my job and career, and I refuse to let employees only out for a paycheck ruin my future and label me as a bad manager. Simple.


I had a meeting yesterday with my supervisor regarding these issues, and I think she finally understands that I am busting my ass trying to be the best. She gave me advice and hopefully now understands that I am on top of things. I informed her that if the only way I can be effective is to be a jack ass, so be it. I'm a new, young manager so sometimes they may try to get by me. I've just got to prove that I'm on top of things and not playing around. I'm ready to make some improvements, and they better get with it or get gone.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Life and Changes. Who am I?

So, its been a few weeks since my last post...



When I last posted, I had just gotten out of the hospital with a collapsed lung and surgery on my tailbone. I was resting up, making plans and making changes.



I started to realize that I was becoming one of those people that I pitied. One of those routine, predictable people that, according to me, had no life.



I decided to begin living on the edge of life, partying every week(end) and taking risks and not giving a damn. I was driving 200 miles to Austin for the atmosphere and company, then hitting up Waco and Dallas when I partied locally. I said "screw Mexia and any town where the bars close at midnight!" My life was a blur. I began job searching in south Texas. I wanted to get away from everything dull and drab and be someone new. I realized in November I will be in my official "mid-twenties" and thirty gets closer every day. I was losing my sanity, I hit the highway of life and was heading head on, 120kmh in the wrong lane.



Before I knew it, I couldn't keep up with myself. I was beginning to become one of the people I envisioned as fabulous and that I envied. One of those people that didn't think life was worth living unless you were living in the fire. I barely recognized myself. I was changing. I was losing Chase. I realized that it was an awesome lifestyle, one I enjoyed. I also realized that it was one that I couldn't live forever. I realized that eventually I was going to be running 120kmh in the wrong lane, and end up crashing and burning.



I began to understand that I love the city of Austin, but if I moved there it may lose its magic to me. I realized that I was comfortable in Mexia. It wasn't my most favorite place to be, but I have a car, and when I get ready I can drive anywhere I want to. I can keep Austin magical [or weird] and visit whenever, and still be fresh to that awesome city that I've fallen in love with.



I began to realize that I love my facility and job. That I could have a life here. It may be harder to accomplish, but I could make it grand and "rockstar-ish." Also, maybe I would be ok with that.



Finally I began to focus on the now. I realize I've always been "different" than my peers, that I was interested in different things. I'm not interested in finding the love of my life, having kids and a house in the cul-de-sac. My focus was different. I have drive and ambition to succeed. I want a career! I want to get back in school! I want to change people's lives for the good!



Suddenly I threw myself head first into life. I drew out what I had, what I wanted and what I needed. I began working more overtime. Though it meant that I had to party less, I soon realized that my budget, checking account and performance at work were all increasing. I began house shopping, taking care of personal business and actually practicing humanity. My doctor had prescribed better medication to focus on my serotonin deficiency and ADD. I found out that (with Adderall) I could focus, accomplish things and get ahead in my projects. I began to finish personal projects that I started last year. I began to lose weight from keeping busy and the lack of appetite the Adderall initiated. 15 lbs lighter, I now feel better about my looks, my finances, my projects and my job.



I began working with my guys that live on my home at work. One gentleman in particular I've gotten to know and developed a somewhat paternal/fraternal bond with and hopefully am positively changing his life, which is making me want to help improve so many more lives.
I read up on this guy and then got to know him personally. He is now one of my favorite people in the world. If I, Mr. "Never be a parent," were to have paternal feelings, I would understand what it feels like now. I began to understand that many people didn't have the best of life growing up, but I could help him and others I encounter in life have the best of the rest of their lives. Every human deserves to be acknowledged, happy and cared for. I've developed a stronger sense of empathy, and once I put myself in another's place, I realize how good I've got it (or had it or will have it) and that everyone deserves that. Life is meant to be abundant with love and happiness. Just because someone has a disability, shady history or is different from you, they still feel. As people, I have found its important to share good feelings, and let people know that they have someone "in their corner" and that you "have their back." Who knows, you may give them a compliment that is the first one they've gotten in years. Even someone you meet on the street, work with, or work for. Maybe the clerk in the store, your neighbor or your insurance agent. Humanity is something that all humans have in common. I've learned this, just by doing my job.


I realize that helping improve lives is the field of work that I belong in, and though I'll never be a millionaire, I'll finally have that sense of completion that I didn't have before. What I'm doing with my life is worth something and will improve the quality of someone else's life which makes me feel that I've done something worth living for. It's made me interested in pursuing a MS in Social Work as well, which I never cared for before. Its funny that I took this position for the money, the experience and the recognition of being a good employee, and have ended up so engrossed in my work (not just job) that I could care less about those previous things.



My life has totally turned around. Though that bit of "spicy" Chase is still here, it's not overwhelming and I am finding a balance between wild and boring. I still party and have fun, but I have developed a purpose to living. Its mystifying to learn more as I travel into adulthood.


This topic wasn't even what I meant to write about, but I guess it's what was on my mind. I have the need to share empathy with others, and I try to improve someones life because everyone deserves happiness. No-one was born to suffer.