October 31, 2005 - Monday | 9:09 AM, CST

Happy Halloween. That phrase means a lot less now than it did fifteen years ago. Back in the day, I used to wait in anticipation for each and every holiday. Halloween especially was on my list of favorites... not because I enjoyed trick-or-treating, but because I loved all the decorations and the autumn scenery. I suppose if I ever have kids my enthusiasm will return to a degree, seeing as how I will be forced to recognize the fact that a holiday is coming. The past few years, however, I've barely even acknowledged the coming of the Christmas season.

I've been concerned lately that I no longer partake in enough intellectually stimulating activities. Of the half dozen people or so that I considered close friends, most have either moved away or been swallowed up by the bar scene. Just a matter of growing older, I suppose, but worth lamenting nonetheless. I notice that these days I spend most of my time home alone; my main source of human contact being work. And not to try to downplay the intelligence of the average factory worker, but challenging situations and engaging conversations are rarely to be found within the confines of the cheap steel walls.

The other day while at work, I took some thin wire that I'd found on the floor and formed it into the shape of a skull. Approaching a co-worker, I held it in my hands and said "Alas! poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio." He just looked down at the skull, and said, "Oh, you got yourself a little Halloween decoration there."

I feel that more stimulating activities are definately what are called for in my immediate future. This was affirmed the other day when I took an online IQ test and discovered that my score has dropped by twenty points since I last took the exam shortly after graduating high school. Of course, I had just woken up and hadn't eaten yet, and it probably didn't help that I was multitasking between the test window and another showing photos of attractive women... knitting. But the results were clear: do something interesting for a change!

Speaking of factories, I will mention the horrible situation of my aunt and uncle, who will soon to be losing their manufacturing jobs thanks to a corporate decision to relocate to a foreign country, where they can save You, the Consumer, pennies on the dollar by exploiting the impoverished living conditions of the Mexicans or the draconian labor policies of the Communist Chinese.

And you know whose fault it is that factories are relocating to foreign countries?

George Bush!

No, you liberal zombie, its all our faults. First of all, if I remember correctly, plenty of factories jumped ship during the Clinton administration, so start using your heads to think... When you go to a store, what product do you buy? The el Cheapo brand, or the American one? Since hearing of the impending lose of my relations' jobs, I've been much more nationalistic in the way I do my shopping. There probably isn't a single thing I buy anymore that I don't check the label for the country of manufacture. Only until the people in this country get their heads out of their asses and quit blaming the stupid greedy politicians that they elected will we be able to turn the tide of jobs from flowing overseas. If people quit buying foreign-made goods, the companies wouldn't have much of a choice but to stay around.

And every time I explain this to people, I've got to spend double the time trying to get them to understand that you don't have to belong to a political party to bash elected officials. "Oh, well you're just saying that because you're a Republican." "I'm not a Republican." "Well if you don't vote Democrat what else can you be?!? Huh?!?" "Sigh."

I should probably warn you guys that I am beginning to give serious consideration to password protecting some, if not all, of my website. Far too many people that I've never met or that I barely know are reading this on a daily basis. I really don't have a problem with that, if anything I find it flattering that so many people are interested in what I say... but I no longer have the personal anonymity I once had to speak my mind in peace.

For instance, the other day I was at a party and someone told me they hadn't been on my website in a long time. The woman next to us said "Oh, he updated just the other day. His neighbor is selling some land." "Who told you that?" I asked, but she refused to say who had told her.

But on the other hand, passwords are pretty much useless if you ask me. I could give someone a password, who then gives his password to his girlfriend, who shares it with her family, and her parents just happen to know and be offended by something I'm saying. And next thing you know I get another cease and desist letter in the mail (I've gotten two already), or I hear that Pat is going around telling everyone and their brother about some investigation.

I gotta tell you, its all very distressing.

But to end on a good note, Kelly and I had a nice weekend together, for what little time we saw each other. I got a phone call from Nathan the other day, and I always enjoy hearing from him. Nathan, I tried to call you last night, but you must have been out carousing. Suzanne visited me at my Mom's house yesterday evening. I'm looking forward to hanging out with her in the near future to visit Old Texas Cemetery. Also, I think we should go out and revisit some of the places on my ghost site, as many of the addresses are inaccurate and I would like to update the entries with more information. Plus, I have a raincheck to visit Art sometime soon. That should be fun.

Toodleloo for now. Keep your eyes open because I will probably be hosting a Magic tournament sometime in November!

grokkings

When I take over the world, I will have a long hallway connecting my royal bedroom to the rest of the palace that will be flanked on each side by scores of large breasted women standing at attention.

different crap

Ghost hunting    7/23/02

other people

Select One Amber Art Colleen Kristy Suzanne Zach