Bumbling my way through life and web design
16.11.2009
Writing it off
category: Late Night Ramblings
tags: , , ,

A common phrase I’ve been hearing lately is “Our kids’ kids will be paying for that.” I understand the meaning and the rationale behind such a statement, but I think it’s fundamentally wrong. The people making such a statement are either politicians whose kids’ kids are already paying for one thing or another; or it’s people who chastised anti-war protesters who are now protesting themselves. These people probably genuinely have small children. Will those kids’ kids be paying for the spending that’s going on? Sadly, no. It’s all generational.

Let me break this down for you. I’m 33 and a child of babyboomers. What does that have to do woth anything? Nothing. Just tryong give generational relevance. Anywho, I figure I’m paying off the Cold War and parts of Vietnam. Spending kind of went apeshit crazy in 80′s so I’ll hand over some of that to that generation born in the 80′s to early nineties.

The other kids born in the 90′s are paying off the spending that happened in their decade and up until the first tax refund of the 2000′s though I guess that was funded through a previous surplus. Not really sure how that works out, but it was pre-9/11 logic that seemed to have worked at the time.

Speaking of 9/11, that event really ramped some spending which I believe foisted off on the kids born in the aughties. We had two wars, another tax cut/refund, a prescription drug benefit thing, and a corporate bail out. Whew. This is all before the current administration. Using the Cold War as an example, I’m willing to push the payoff until maybe the late 10′s or even early 20′s.

Now we have yet more corporate bail outs, a stimulis package, healthcare reform, the same two wars, and yet more to come. The payback gets pushed into the 20′s and 30′s.

So, sure, your kids’ kids may be paying for it, but depending on your generation, your kids’ kids are already paying something else off. Think before you react. Do the math. Stick it to the man, tell your kids to not have children of their own.

We could just all hope that the 2012 premonitions come true which I’m sure will be blamed on Obama.

09.11.2009
Making your mark
category: Late Night Ramblings
tags: , ,

I have this problem: I can’t let go. Stuff bothers from earlier in the day, earlier in the week, month, year, decade, etc. I think you get the picture.

On a recent date, I was asked about my passions, how I wanted to be remembered, and what I wanted out of life. I was at a loss for words. I didn’t have an answer for any of those queries. My date couldn’t believe that. All she talked about was how much she traveled and how she didn’t want to settle. She couldn’t believe that I’ve only been to Mexico and that I was nearly 30 by the time I actually I did leave the United States. I actually apologized.

I had plans to do three weeks in Europe this past September, but I took a new job in the last 12 months and lost any kind of vacation time. I could’ve done a week but couldn’t justify the cost for such a short time period.

As far as passions, I don’t really have any. I have the attention span of a gnat and get bored really easily. I don’t feed the poor or recycle (CRV doesn’t count). I have complete and total disdain for all politics, and the people who live every moment of their based on a political affiliation. I don’t try to save the dolphins, dogs, cats, etc. I just exist and try to make it to the next day. I’m not one of those “live every day like it’s your last” kind of guys. I’m just your average, really boring guy. I use to be passionate about web design, but it’s my job. At one point, I wanted a CSS hack named after me, but I finally all the decent hacks have been discovered by people that don’t actually work in the trenches and sit around and think about it all day.

This leads to how I want to be remembered. Does writing late night, self-loathing blog posts on my iPhone count? Didn’t think so. I guess I’d like to be remembered as a good friend and confidant. I don’t see myself inventing anything or coming up with an awesome CSS hack. Would I say I’ve lived a life? I don’t know. I’m only 33. I still have a lot of life to live. Does this mean I should extensively travel? Absolutely not. I don’t think one has to do with the other. It’s selfish and pretentious to think that you’re better than me because you’ve visited every continent including Antarctica. Have you ever sat in a bar in small town Iowa to have a beer with the locals? I’ve always said I haven’t seen enough of this country to want to leave it.

Finally, what do I want out of life? I’d like to move one more time and settle where ever I end up. I’d like to get married and have a kid or two. Honestly, I don’t see marriage happening any time soon. I’m a difficult person to be around. I have equal parts of my mother and father informing my personality. My moodiness, temper, and self-loathing all come from them. I’m passive agressive, bottle up my emotions, and have a debilitating fear of rejection. I’m very apathetic but like to push people’s buttons. I’ve been told I should see a shrink, and I guess it’d be nice to have someone to talk to. I just don’t see the point.

Well, it’s 2am, and I should be in dreamland. I’ll probably regret posting this come the morning.