French Practice

Ma préfère voiture est la Bugatti Veyron. 

Ma préfère coleur est rouge. 

Ma préfère aquipe de football est Manchester United. 

Ma (first word) est 'car'

J'aime faire du footing, faire du (Fußball), et faire du velocity[?] 

Klar, ich liebe die Geschwindigkeit!

J'aime la classique, la jazz, le techno, et un peu de l'alternatif

Ma préfère mange est la soupe

Ma préfère brand de polo shirts est Lacoste  

14. Oktober 2009

To Dwell

It is that for which I have never heard,

It is a complex and all but archaic word,

I am unfamiliar with its origin, and God knows when I will be,

12.10.09

Pain

Always excited to grieve of the pain,

Be it clear, or be it all but the plain, 

Be it dissident, or be it the norm,

It has the world's treaties completely torn,

To mark the end, or be it shall a trend,

That is to protect or to fend, 

The commonground, the marketplace, every

Human in sight has the right  

9. Oktober 2009

Location: Deutsches Museum, München,

Location: Deutsches Museum, München, Deutschland

Date: June 5, 2009

Person Mentioned: First Name, Unknown, Last Name, Michael or Possibly Michel 

Today, I visited the Deutsches Museum, which featured a vast array of aircraft and various ship and locomotive motors. I had an excellent time, having my father and I discuss the intricate dynamics of flight, engine and war alike; making analogies like how little or great influence a rudder of an aircraft holds relative to its position and how that relates to the drastic and slight turning that occurs when either the front or rear wheels of a car serve as the turning mechanisms. But what was most fascinating was the discussion I took part in with a volunteer of the museum that my father and I stumbled upon. So when my father came across the high-speed single wing airplane that is spun around by a select few, and began to mention the "wire" of the plane, the volunteer emerged from the spiral staircase. An eccentric, disciplined German he was, the first notable words he spoke to us; "Are you from America? America is my favorite country". This blew me away. I have aspired to move to Germany for some time now, and when he mentioned that he wanted an American citizenship, I was incredulous. In my mind, I must have made up Germany to be a fantastical place where busy cities and clean air can live in harmony, and that was well evident by my experience of the past few days. But according to him, I had a few misperceptions. Then when I told him, after glancing at my father that I am totally the opposite, where I intend to emmigrate from the United States to Germany, he began to justify his opinion. As he did so, I began to realize how little of a concrete argument I have to support my moving to Germany other than sentimental, cultural, and European snobbery purposes. I also noticed that in general, his expressions communicated a sense of restriction, and mine inversely, too much freedom. He cited cases in which the Bundeswehr were inferior to the United States Marine Corps, such as the lack of Black Hawk support helicopters and various other transport helicopters and AC-130 gunships in the Bundeswehr, calling the German Army a "joke", all the while laughing superficially. Although not in agreement with him, I let him speak, which would result in him discrediting every possible sense of German ingenuity I had previously understood. 

Then I said, "What about rifles?", mentioning at first the G36's quality in comparison to the American-made M16. Incredibly, he said the G36 felt like a "toy", while acknowledging the M16 as a solid, reliable, and overall good rifle that dwarfs the G36 in terms of quality. Obviously this man's opinions were skewed, and he must never had spoken to anyone assertive enough that told him to think otherwise.  Wheras I was willing to objectively acknowledge the faults of German ingenuity, to him, American glory was irrefutable. Clearly, this man was set in his ways, and could not be reasoned with. But that didn't stop me from trying. I first cited the brand-new HK416 as a rifle surely deserving of at least some recognition. I could tell he knew it was a more reliable rifle than the American M16 and M4 models, but he soon changed the subject as if to avoid a submission in (verbal) defeat.     

Sunday Easter Mass

The priests succeeded in attracting a congregation comprised in part of individuals roused in secular interests, rather than spiritual, non-Church goers and people seemingly only capable of reciting the Our Father,

An admirable effort to escape their warm beds early in the morning at the very least, 

And the zealots remained, while one, by one, the seculars left in boredom,

The Act of Contrition was reverently heard by an ignorant audience 

who obviously takes a single hour of each year to dedicate it to Christ 

Written 01.10.09

This is Culture

Currently I sitting on a wooden bench,

In the midst of culture's quench,

I witness various cultures, which have come to converge,

But there is one aspect that has come to emerge,

And that aspect a change to society, an alteration, it may be called, 

The average child's intelligence is something because of it has stalled,

In our ears, and in front our faces,

Are we blind and are we deaf for there be no more spaces?

An age of technology, oh how it undeniable it be, 

And even this poem being typed with my iPod by me,

From the replacement of our culture to discussions being uprooted by the internet,

Is there no longer a way for people to be met?

No in fact, another dimension out there still exists,

It is called real life, oh what a twist,

It renders as our freedom from electricity and the hot fans and irritating bright screens,

All the magic lost, and all the charisma depleted,

Written 01.10.09

Now I'm leaving this European land

Now I'm leaving this European land so clean, and oh so great,

To return to the land that I've been claimed to hate,

The industry focused United States in which I was raised,

Has left me rather greatly in comparison, amazed,

Comparing that European land, so green and happy,

To our home, in which the urban sprawl has proven to be crappy,

Adulterating, restraining and restricting too, it's rather astounding what the United States will do,

Whereas in Germany, that great big green nation where nature is allowed to live, and cities are contained in a tight location too,

Money, money, money is that all for what Americans care?

Sure I could be criticized for my stance, but for the sake of a tree, that is a criticism I'd be willing to bear,

High fuel prices and vehicle size is a sound law and safe side,

In the favor of nature and for all that we have made it hide,

For the paved grasses, for the torn down trees, and for all the abundant habitats that never have ceased to please,

This is a petition and this is my hope, that no matter by what means, nature may cope,

By our horrible mark, and our terrible work, this by no means can be considered a perk,

Have pity for this great green and blue earth, 

After all, for all of us, it has been the site of our birth.  

To the Schwermans

I am profoundly grateful for your unparalled hospitality and openness last month. It was simply a magnificent experience to work at Greg's shop, fire the numerous rifles and light and sub machine guns, and to share countless great moments of laughter and joy with not only your family, but also with Greg and Ron.

Work certainly was painstaking at the shop, but I am confident the time I spent working has taught me countless lessons. One of which in particular is to never give up to always be adherent. I can remember working on some of the slimiest, most rusty, and stubborn delinkers, and trying to find tools throughout the shop in order to complete the task of dissasembling them. This lesson has proved so valuable that it is even applicable to my day-day life at school. I now know, through everyone's help, that any given problem in life doesn't need hard work and fierce determination alone, but also, its own tool.

Carl -- I admire your straightforward nature of thinking, and your optimism although being recently laid off by (Southwest?). You are the sort of man that keeps this country in order. Thank you.

Erik -- I had a great deal of fun playing video games and talking to you overall. I can recall what it was to be your earnest and ambitious age. When you get to high school, please promise me to know when to turn off the Xbox 360, although you may be "almost on the last level". Always remember to keep your priorities in check. And believe me, your listening to a hard-core gamer that has had his Xbox thrown because of poor grades. Maybe do like I do when you get to that point: play games only during the weekend. This keeps you focused during the week for both school and sport, plus, you won't melt you eyes out!

Greg -- You were a very charismatic person to deal with. You were always interested to talk about not only yourself, but also ask questions about me. You answered any and all questions I may have had, and bought me lunch each day. I can't thank you enough for your superb generosity and tremendous kindness to let someone like me, without any mechanic experience whatsoever, attempt to combat your enormous pile of work [without ruining it]. I may not have contributed a significant dent in it your pile of work, but you made me feel accomplished, and like a member of the team, rather than a mere sidekick.

Written 27.09.09

Media Perpetuation of Love

There's just about nothing else I can think of apart from finding a girlfriend; my friends and family ask me questions like, "do you have a girlfriend yet?" or "did you get lucky yet?" to which I obviously respond "no."

The problem is that the media (primarily film and music, which I consume the most of) idealize what it is like to have a relationship and leave no other possibility nor alternative lifestyle -- and most of all, make those who have no relationship look sad or depraved.

Yes, one-to-one, intimate relationships that have the potential of growing, that are centered neither primarily around sex nor conversation, but rather, an equal and healthy balance of the two are brilliant (I'm just guessing). But is there really only one, singular route to happiness like human companionship?

If the adage, "The meaning of life is love" is true, then yes, probably. And if I want happiness (or in this sense, love), how do I get it without searching for it? I have been told by multiple friends "love will find you." But I hardly believe that. After 21 years on this planet, it seems love has skipped over me and went with all my friends and those around me. Maybe that means the one girl I do find will be exceptionally good because I've had to suffer this long?

Well and Truly Lovesick

There's not a particular girl I have my eye on at the moment, but a couple. I don't lust or imagine myself with one or another especially, but rather, madly in love with the idea of having a girlfriend at all.

I'm sad to report I've never had a proper girlfriend, nor a girlfriend of any sort at all before. I have had, however, a friend who was a girl who asked me regularly to hang out with her while she still had a boyfriend. But it seems that relationship, whatever it was, is now long gone.

The ability to share every detail of my life and experiences with a single member of the opposite sex, while being able to continue to share new and better experiences with said person sounds positively fantastic. It's like a best friend who can love you in ways not possible before. Or so my [perhaps delusional] fantasy leads me to believe.

Truth be told, I've been enveloping myself in loads of female-intended media (and honestly, rather enjoying it) in order to hopefully better understand what women seek in men. I've found Woody Allen films remarkably enjoyable.

And likely because this media is now surrounding my life, my eyes, my ears and my mind, there's little else I can think of. I call this condition "lovesick" because it closely resembles a mental condition.

Of course, I have been in love many times before, but I've never executed on those desires. And I have even told a girl I liked her before, but that ended, let's just say not well.

Now though, whenever I imagine about doing sports, activities, eating at restaurants, or what have you, I see almost no point with doing them with either someone of my same sex or someone with whom I have no intimate interest in. It's as if I'm saving them (and also myself) for that special someone.

Perhaps that special someone is right in front of me, is one of the few girls I'm talking to at the moment, or have not, or will never meet her. How can I possibly know?