Graduation

 

To: JCHS Class of 2008

From:  Patrick Class of 06

 

I am not sure what has made me think that I have the right to sit down and right this letter, but I have nonetheless decided to do it. It is not so much because I have advice to give, but because I have something that I would like to share. I have little to share in actuality, as I have only placed the longest hair of my big toe into the pool of life (I am, of course, no Aggie Schell). In September 2006, United States District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow came to visit Knox College for Convacation. While at Knox, she spoke about citizenship and the role it must play in our generation’s life. What she said has sat and molded its self in the back of my mind for almost two years.  Judge Lefkow stated that our generation has the highest rates of volunteerism ever seen, yet the lowest amounts of political involvement, perhaps because we “see [the] polarized jockeying for power at the highest levels and a sense that neither major political party is dedicated to the common good…[yet] as important as community volunteerism is, I submit to you that it does nothing to affect policy choices that truly change lives.”

 

Furthermore we are likely to believe that we have little power to effect change in our government, but please let me share with you a fact, “according to the 2000 Census, more people under the age of 25 live in America than people 45 or older.” It is now our time to stand up and vote.  We have a responsibility to stand up and vote in November or sit down and shut-up for the next four years. This land is your land, and don’t ever forget it.

 

This coming November, the highest of all civic duties is coming, and you must all stand up for what you believe in: Immigration?  The environment? Sexism?  Economic equality? Ending the War?  Protecting our soldiers?  You have the right as a citizen to not only know what you believe, but also to hear your elected officials’ opinions on these issues. Ask them, and they will answer. In 50 years, how do you want your American government to be?

 

Our Che Guerra t-shirt wearing generation must take a stand against political grandstanding; we need to take the reigns of this country and realize the power that we hold.  If I have not yet convinced you to vote, then perhaps Abraham Lincoln can:

Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history…The dogmas of the quiet past are Inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we will save our country.”

[Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862]

 

Nonetheless, our DotNet generation must never forget the opposing side in our march to take back this country. Part of being a good citizen is respect, and we must always listen, learn from our parents (oh wow does that hurt), and most importantly, reach agreements. In Lincoln’s second inaugural address, with the end of Civil War near he echoed these very thoughts:

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

[Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865]

 

 

School is done!

So as you can tell…I have just finished my finals!!!!! Well, I finished them yesterday.  God am I happy to be done! This term was crazy for me! I felt like I was on a roller coaster for most of just trying to get things done, and then never ever really being able to do much! 

Tonight is the senior “Tour of Galesburg” it is going to be amazing on so many different levels! I will post pictures don’t you worry!

Do you know what that means though? I have to start looking for applications for graduate. I have to organized about that shit. OH.  I don’t really want to do it though because of all the other associated work that I have to do along with it! 

Last night I watched the movie Dazed and Confused, and well I will write a review of it, but first I have to get my senses back first.  Does anyone know what happened to CCR??? I have been listening to their music so much lately. They have such a great sound! Wow that just made me sound like the Jazz muscian that I am…

Also, Pandora is hiring! WOOT! I wish that I was a CS major. It would be awesome to just sit around do some code, and listen to freak’in awesome music all day. 

 

R&R

I need some.  I want some. I wish that I was Hermione Granger, and had a time stop. Oooh. I would go back to all those times that I have been able to sleep in.  Argh. Bio finals.

DNC

It scares me.

One group of people holding some much power in time with he decision making process should be completely left up to the American people. In a time when our country is in perhaps the greatest need of change since perhaps the times of New Deal Politics, we should have the final say. Not a group of people sitting in a conference of some smatzly DC hotel.

For me, this crosses the Obama, Clinton battle. I feel like the DNC is sort of saying “no” to the American people. Sort of like, your boss broke the rules, and therefore so did. That juxtaposition never works. I don’t care so much about the final decision, but more of the message that the decision is sending to the American (as a side note, I am not sure there is a way to do what they have done that would have not causes) which you can vote, you can vote legally. In the end, the power is still in our hands. It would be interested to know how many times the DNC has had to have these types of discussions?

Right now, we are essentially at the stage of the came we were in the 2006 election. One candidate is ahead in the popular vote while the other is ahead in the “electoral” vote. And the DNC committee has just decided the outcome, much like the supreme court. Just because the outcome has been decided though doesn’t mean that war is over.

Unlike Florida 2000, some of the circumstances are a little different. When we think of the demographics of that races it might have some easy conclusion to come to. One, major metropolitan cities will go for the D over the R , but the more rural areas will go for the R over the D.

Here we have a case though were the candidate that is ahead has done so by winning big-time in the urban vote, and  the one loosing seems to do better with rural vote.

So, wouldn’t it make sense for the candidate that can get the rural vote ( which as of recent history the party has had trouble with) to be the nominee? The urban vote will just tow-the-line. They more than likely continue to vote for the D over the R.

This all make perfect since if the all the DNC cares about is winning. So what other factors do we need to think about?

Image?

History?

Success?

Leadership?

Knowledge?

Experience?

This is where the problem gets SO much harder to understand. We have candidates that essentially split alot of this important traits right down the middle. For example, Clinton has better foreign policy / policy experience than Mr. Obama. Obama though has much better “experience” he knows what it is like to take something from the ground up. Something, Mrs. Clinton has never done or dealt with (at least to my knowledge).

So who do we vote for? How do we decide?

I don’t know.

CO-PRESIDENTS?

I am just saying that I am getting really tired of people trying to call and end to the race. Saying that is bad for America, and that it is bad for the party. Since when is bad to have a discussion? When is it bad to have two candidates that are so strong they can essentially win the election. Is that what FDR’s fireside chats were about? Discussion essentially?

I don’t know, but for me I would like to see Obama and Clinton to have a really dialogue for once. Sit down and talk about what is important to America’s and for Americans. Don’t debate just talk like you do with your co-workers and friends.

Today. Finals. Biology. Advanced Organic. Lab Research. Piano. Piano Lesson. Trombone Lesson.

So yeah. That was my day. Death might better. I am so ready at this point for sleep, but I know that I have like at least 5-6 hours of work that I need to so that I can just catch up. GAH. I do want to sleep tonight. I do. I so so. You have no idea how much I do. SLEEP. 

Anyway, 

I have that all is going well below is a linked to really cool story from PRI’s Studio 360. A radio show that I listen to a whole lot! I really have talked about my love radio on this blog much, but well. I heart radio. 

So, Till at least Sunday. Good bye! and Good Luck!!! 

 

-Patrick! 

Cooling Down.

Wow that last post was therapeutic.

I am going to go and talk to Dean Bailey tomorrow about all of this to see what he has to say especially after I got some encouraging advice from advisor about. I think that some of the things she said to be honest were rude. 

I guess that reason why I am posting this is because I realize that the lost post made me look a little psycho.

I don’t like being psycho.

It doesn’t suit me quite well.

I guess it is because I have good friends too. 

Anger

 GAAHHHH. I am so angry right now! I really wish that I could just punch my advanced organic professor in the face. She can be such a fucking  twat sometimes! Yesterday, I go to give my presenation, and I have it all done up nicely on powerpoint, and then NONE of my pictures show. All the work that I did all week on presenation was fucking worthless because I just basically failed it. I went to ask her about it, and she was like sometimes when technology fails it means that you weren’t prepared enough. Yes, like I am was supposed to know that it wasn’t going to work. I sat and pined away in my room putting in all this fake images just so that they won’t show up and I look like a big fucking daeryll lick  in front of the class!

I am going to fucking punch you in the face!

 

I don’t think that I have ever met someone quite so infuriating in my entire life. The sad thing is that I love her class. I want to be an organic chemist. I do. I have done summer research for the past two freak’in summer, and well I love it. I want to graduate school for it!!!!! GAAAAAAHHHHHHH

 

I am so angry at not just here, but at myself. Why didn’t I check first to make sure that it was going to work, and well then what was I supposed to do. It would have been two late to fix my twenty minute presentation!

If she gives me anything less that a B on the presentation then I will freak out.

 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall…Five Stars All the Way to the Bank

 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a first rate movie for all people. If you like the 40-year old virgin type movie, then this is type of movie for you. It is a great movie to if you are type of person dislike the Will Ferrel type like Talledega Nights. This movie with Kristen Bell, yes from Veronica Mars,  and Jason Segel from Knocked Up, is great. The movie is based on the Sarah Marshall, and her break up with Peter is deep spiral into depression. Peter goes to Hawaii and meets Rachel, and the story flips, spins, turns, and dips into great hysterics!

The movie is perhaps one of the best that I have seen all year. It makes me wonder why they didn’t release the movie during the summer. It would have made a great summer release.  Perhaps, the success of this movie will make us all forget “the other”  Kristen Bell movie. Thats right the terrible horrible horror movie. This movie even plays fun at the movie and her past movie experiences. 

Rating: 4.5/5.0 

You can only save 5.0 for the classics.

 

GREEK! If you don’t watch it you should…

Greek, 

 

It is this cheesy show that they have on ABC Family ( I know it still exists, I haven’t watched it since I stopped watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch [I know, I was loser and a kid])  about some kids at college and all the ridiculousness that goes in about the most absurd crazy way. I wonder that if college was really like that if any one would actually graduate CHECK IT OUT! 

 

Why do I just feel like an ass sometimes?

So, I am have been having this debate lately. I don’t mean that I am just an overt ass, but sometimes I am literally just thinking to myself why the fuck do people act that way. Is that wrong? I wonder sometimes. I feel like that is OK to see people and sometimes think, what did your parents do wrong? Then today I realized soemthing. What if people look a me at see the same because you know, I am who I am. I don’t try to change myself. So, I guess that I am just trying to say that if you don’t like me. I am OK with it. Just don’t sugar-coat it.

Anyway, school is going very good. I have been nothing short of completely unproductive. I just cannot seem to get kick-started this term. I think that it will come, and I think that this term in the end is going to be like one of the best that I have ever had, at least I hope that the term will run smoothly. I am think that next year I am going to try to take only one science class a term, and to keep the rest of the class open for something fun and ridiculously not hard.

I am thinking that I want to take ceramics, and maybe drawing and / or print making. I also want to Development Biology. I want to take a sociology class. I want to Spanish 210. So much fun next year! I cannot wait! It is going to be so much fun…Why!?!?! I am so sick and tired of taking three sceince classes each term for like the last year. I also would like to digital photography. So many classes, and yet so little time! That is the story of my life!!!

I am thinking about going to graduate school? I don’t know though if I want to though. I mean I know that I am going to go. I know that I am going to after one year of work. My debate lies in what I want to go to graduate school for (Devo. Bio. or Organic Chem.) and when do I want to go? Do I want to wait a year or go right after Knox? I mean I only have like 3 months to figure this out…I have to start studying for the GRE.  Very cool.

I want to really see the movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Walf. I have been listening to something about it on Studio 360. It is cool. At least it sounds cool. I really like Elizabeth Taylor. The film A Cat on Hat Tin is great. I mean they way it looks at southern life is great because the film isn’t demeaning but you watch and you can understand that they just live different. The way that southerners react to a social situation at least during that time period.

Good Luck With Everthing!