Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Catch anything ‘Pa?

A lot of you know my father, you know that he is very quiet or shy even.  His mood is always very controlled and level.  Ppl that have hung out with me for years and years still say things like “ive never heard your dad talk” “does your dad hate me” or “does your dad hate you for that matter”.  Pa’ Bartz likes to watch those gay home make over shows and he likes to trap whatever wild life he can find in the back “woods” of the Bartz estate (i.e. squirrels, woodchucks, and neighborhood cats).  He doesnt like to sit home and watch a movie, he doesnt listen to music, and he’ll object to a movie with the family on a holiday (he sometimes gives in).  He gets no entertainment value out of what most ppl look to for entertainment.  However, I figured out something that will make my Dad laugh.  Its pretty simple actually…people getting hurt.  He loves it!!!  I have never heard the man do more than a chuckle until recently when whatever we are watching on tv has some violence and someone comes out of it hurt.  Like the scene on Big Daddy where the homeless runs his cart into a rock then falls in the river.  Loved it.  How about everytime Kramer does something clumbsy and falls.  He loves it.  Even better yet, he likes watching ppl get hurt in real life.  Like this weekend for instance.  Everytime my bro and I get together its inevitable that we will be play fighting.  We like to wrestle and settle who in fact is inferior to the other.  I always am.  Oh well, hes better at me at everything so I am used to it.  Most parents would stop their children from wrestling around the living room.  Whether the kids are 4, 15, or 30 years old.  My mom tries to settle us down by scaring us…”watch out he has a headache”, “be careful hes anemic” or “dont hurt him, he is still upset that Friends is finally over”.  My dad on the other hand, nope.  He encourages it.  My brother yanks me to the ground via a handful of hair.  My dad laughs.  I get Howie in a headlock.  My dad laughs more. Howie starts hitting me in the head with the remote control.  My dad laughs harder.  He mine as well just say “Howie, stab him with this railroad spike”. 
 
Hope you all had a nice holiday.  I had a blast with my folks and my bro.  It was nice to have a few days off with no worries.  What was your favorite part of your turkey day?

Posted by AaronMichael34 at 03:59:43 | Permalink | Comments (11)

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Friends 4-never

I always liked the show “Friends”, but I never considered myself a huge fan.  Until of course it was off the air and its all I watch now.  DVD’s of the best episodes, full seaons on DVD, and the 3 a nite that are on TV.  I forgot how good the show was.  Recently, I realized how many things that would turn out to be bullshit if a real life situation were to be similar to the “gang”.  If the “gang” was real there would be so much talking behind others backs.  You know like “Chandler gained so much weight” or “Rachel looks like a whore” or the ever popular “Is Joey really that dumb?”.  There is no way that 6 ppl would stay that close for that long without more shit going down.  Everything was always perfect and there was no grudges.  Who doesnt hold grudges?  EVERYONE holds grudges.  Also, Im quite positive there would be mucho hooking up.  Then the dirty cycle would repeat and gossip would start all over.  “Monica has a weird group of hairs on her ___________”.  What else?  Ross and Rachel being friends after “the break”.  Uhhhh real life version would be Ross moving to another state to avoid being jealous of Rachel moving on and Rachel becoming a nun and swearing off guys all together.  Chandler and Monica magically falling in love after hooking up for awhile.  Real Life, Monica becomes attached and Chandler would ”use” her and string her along till he either finds someone else or moves to another state. 

Every have a conversation with someone and they say “all I had to eat today was one fig newton and some pumpkin seeds…”?  Then they continue to explain how hungry they are.  “Ooops I also had a yogurt”.  Explanation how busy they were all day quickly follows.  “I didnt even have time to grab a bite, Im starving”.  Continuing on, it becomes slightly obvious that he/she is a full blown drama queen.  All of a sudden they remember “Oh yeah I had a cup of soup, 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, bag of chips, and some soda………………and  a Mallow cup”

Thanks everyone still checking my site, and thanks for all the comments.  It makes the whole idea of this a blast.  So for the next topic, what does everyone want from Santa for Christmas.  Its coming up fast!!! 

 

Posted by AaronMichael34 at 02:22:53 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday, November 15, 2004

Home Sweet Home

It has crossed my mind a lot lately.  The thought of moving back to the Olean area.  Finish up school maybe find a decent job and go from there.  But my latest adventure down there has completely negated any of those thoughts I may have had.  The following are just a few of the reasons I dont think Id last
 
* Drivers - whether from PA or NY, the drivers in the Southern Tier do exceed 35 mph and somehow it takes 17 minutes to go a mile and a half.  Its not Boston. 
 
* Sleepy Town - Eateries in the Buffalo area are hopping most of the night, especially on a weekend.  We went to Beef & Barrell on Friday at 8 and it was dead.  I like to feel like I am out on the town, not in a tree fort by myself.
 
* Nite Life -  There are a lot of places you can go for a cocktail, but Oleanders came up with an idea to only go to 1 of 2 places and then to Perkins.  So everyone goes to the same places and by “everyone” I mean ppl I didnt like when I did live there. 
 
* Hicks - I always defended the Olean area when ppl would say something negative about the livestock.  I was wrong.  There is entirely too many hicks and if you dont believe me, step foot into the Press Box on a Friday nite.  You will see a guy wearing painted on jeans, boots, a harley vest, denim shirt, long Sam Elliot hair and a handle bar mustache.  This Sam Elliot wannabee will be dancing like a fairy.  Its worth a good laugh but if I wanted to watch Roadhouse I believe it just came out on DVD. 
 
* Gas - Why is gas more expensive in Olean than anywhere else?
 
* Entertainment - Unless I want to egg houses, eat carbohydates, or go to a movie over and over again there is nothing to do.  When I am away from Olean I think that I miss it and then I get there and realize that Im bored after I give my mom a hug. 
 
* Short Drive - In Buffalo, I am a short drive to downtown, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Rochester.  In Olean I am a short drive to Bradford.  Bradford, for the ppl that dont know, Is just like Olean only smaller, dirtier, and more white trashier. 
 
* Shopping - Have you seen the Olean Center Mall?  Its pathetic.  I would be better off going to a fabric store and making my own clothes.  Only problem is…im not Amish. I want to be able to go a store and buy clothes that I am not gonna see worn by 30 other ppl when Im out.  But fear no more…there is now an Old Navy.  So everyone can wear the same trendy vintage t-shirt with a made up football on it for under 5 dollars. 
 
Lets get some feedback…where do you live?  What do you like about it?  What do you dislike about it?  Would you wanna move? Where to?  Lets hear from ya!

Posted by AaronMichael34 at 21:57:26 | Permalink | Comments (21)

Saturday, November 6, 2004

F*** Politics!

The election has come and gone.  I did not pay attention to the debates between Bush and Kerry but I didnt feel as if I needed to.  My vote wouldnt count either way because it has been known that it would come down to one of the “battleground” states such as Ohio, and it did.  Living in New York its pretty much set in stone that we are going to go democratic.  Ok sounds to me. Our gov’t is considered a democracy, a democracy is defined as “Government by the people”, “Majority rule”, and “a form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people”.  How is true?  Luckily this year the president won by collecting both the majority of the popular vote along with the electoral college.  Last election this demcratic process did not work.  Which in turn has made ppl not care about the election because its not really true that “majority rule” will be the deciding factor in who runs the free world.  If this process changes (so that popular vote does elect our president), I will pay attention to the next election and make my educated selection knowing that my choice could matter.  This year I didnt feel that way. 

What worries me more than our pathetic voting process is that since 9/11 a lot of ppl say that we are more unified as a country.  I dont think that we are that unified at all.  There are so many different opinions and beliefs, how can someone say that we are unified?  When the vote is anywhere close to being 50/50 you have very obvious proof that we are not.  One side believes we should be over there fighting a war and the other side doesn’t think our presense shouldnt be as heavy.  So which is right?  No one will ever know.  If we were indeed a unified country we should follow one person that is not the lesser of two evils, but is a leader who is willing to help all aspects of the country (i know easier said that done). Below I want you to read some away messages and profiles that I have cut and pasted that cleary reflects some ppls opinions on this election…enjoy
“i’m at a loss for words… i can’t BELIEVE i live in a country that supports fucking george w bush… i’m EMBARASSED by my country… what’s so bad about treating ALL people equally, seriously?”
 
“Fuckin sad day for America….
God help us….”
 
“FUCK THE ELECTION - FUCK POLITICS - FUCK VOTING”
 
“Thanks! You useless fucking bible beaters in the midwest. Now we’re all FUCKED!”
 
“I know I only know about .000000001431 percent of the ppl in the US but I only know of 2 ppl that were happy to hear about Bush”
 
“i wonder if kids get embarrassed at school on career day?
when their parents work full time at mcdonalds
thanks george”
 
“looks like bush is going to spend the next four years cleaning up his own mess. on the bright side…at least we‘re guarenteed a new leader in the year 2008″.
 
“I told everyone fuck politics!”
 
A note form a soldier (really):
“I wish to thank my fellow residents of North/South Carolina for allowing me to make a wonderful trip to the sunny vaction paradise of Iraq. And god bless Texas, fucking inbred hillbilly hicks. FTS (FUCK THE SOUTH!!!)”
 
PS. I hope all those people who vote for Bush could take the place of the soldiers who are dying for lies and corporate greet. I’m glad you have the guts to send someone else to die in your place…
 
The headline is LONDON‘S newspaper was such:
“How can 59,000,000 people be so DUMB.”
My thoughts exactly.
 
“FUCK THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE”
 
“The projected deficit for the next ten years if bush’s plans are implemented is 2.3 Trillion dollars and that is on top of the existing deficit of 7.4 trillion.”
“In my first three years in office, I signed historic and comprehensive tax relief that has… reduced the tax burden for 111 million Americans.” -  “Save now, Pay forever…Good thing Bush is a fiscal conservative”
 
Hope that was good for a laugh.  If you hadn’t read the “perspective” entry yet please go back and do so (its right before this one).  It is pretty important to me that as many ppl can read about that story.  Hope everyone is doing well.  I promise after this entry I will get back to the funny entries. 
Posted by AaronMichael34 at 20:19:33 | Permalink | Comments (16)

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Perspective

I know that when ppl check my blog they aren’t doing it because what I have to say is serious or meaningful.  It is to find out what smart ass comments I have to make or if any funny stories happened to me or my friends. Sometimes its good for a laugh, but this time I actually want ppl to get something other than a chuckle.
I spent this weekend with my parents as a preliminary celebration for my dads 50th birthday.  My mom was telling us about this Speak Out workshop that she was a part of organizing. This workshop was used to motivate and educate students about different issues going on in todays world. One of the speakers, Joe Opatowski, made quite an impression on the students and staff in attendence.  Hell he even got me thinking and I wasnt even there to hear him. So I wanted to read more about this “kid”. He’s 21 years old and has been working with an organization called Leaders Today. I could go on for hours about the stuff I had read about this organization but I really want you to do that on your own. The best way to sum up what they do besides educate and motivate teenagers today and try to get them to help make this world a better place, anyway that you can.  They are based out of Toronto and travel all over the world to “make a difference”.  Just hearing about ppl that have dedicated their life to doing such a great deed for everyone really made me happy and in turn made me want to help however I could.  
 
Monday, I called my mom to chat and she was telling me about the flood of bad news she received at work.  In the morning the mood was good, chatter went through the office about Joe and the impression he made and how he was able to captivate everyone who was listening.  The mood starting to change.  As news of a murder in Olean hit and then news of an old employee taking his own life.  Then someone in passing asks my mom “hey did you hear about Joe?”.  My mom responds “Yeah, he was amazing” thinking that the woman is just talking about the speech.  “No, about the accident?” The woman replied.  Turns out.  On his way back to Toronto, Joe was killed in a car accident.  I couldnt believe it, it was such a weird feeling.  I didnt know the guy, never met him, or even have an idea what he looked like.  But it was a weird feeling.  So weird that I was speechless then and still dont know what to say.  I instantly got mad.  I was mad because how could this happen to someone who did nothing but help others.  I am sure some of you are thinking “well everything happens for a reason”.  Bullshit, what is the reason in this instance? Its not to put this guy here to help out for a few short years and then poof nothing.  Its sad that a great person was taken after all the lives hes touched.  I could go on but I dont think I need to. 
 
My challenge is this…lets do something, not only as a dedication to Joe but just to help and maybe make somone elses day.  We dont have to go to a foreign nation and teach kids to read but we can do small things locally that are sure to make ppl happy.  Whether its one thing, one time,  know that it will make a difference to someone.  Hell do it more than once.  It could be anything…help someone, donate something, or volunteer for something.  If you do something and you want to share it with me and others please leave a comment to what you did or plan to do.  I hope that you read all of the links I have provided and that you can appreciate what Joe and others are doing. 

Posted by AaronMichael34 at 15:10:07 | Permalink | Comments (17)