The Always Asked Question, Why?

I dunno what the deal is, but I only ever seem to write these things when I am way too tired to care what I'm writing about. I almost considered talking about why certain animals make noises and others don't. That was a question bugging me for a while. But I figured that would just bore you people. So I thought, what would people care about?

How about I answer a question once and for all for all of you people? On I have been asked since I was three. Why don't I celebrate holidays? Alright, strap in. This could get rough and weird. But I swear, everything I am about to tell you is true, and if you don't believe me, look it up for yourself.

Let's start with the most recent, and most cringe worthy. Easter.

When I was in Elementary school and was asked the question, I always just replied, "Because of my religion." But now I am older and wiser, and have made this decision for myself. And Easter was the one that got me started. If you ask most people in the world, they will tell you that they are celebrating Jesus' Resurrection. Let's look at a few fun facts shall we?

1. Jesus died Nissan 14, this year that landed on March 26th. He was resurrected 3 days later. March 29th this year. When did everyone celebrate it? March 31st. First mistake. People think it must be on a Sunday, and I'll explain that later, I hope.

2. I dare you to show me anywhere in the bible where we were told to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Any takers? Anyone? Lemme save you the time and embarrassment. He never did. In fact, Jesus mentions only one event that should be commemorated. His death.

3. Where does the name Easter come from? So glad you asked. Looking back, the closest connection is that of a Babylonian and Assyrian god named Ishtar. A goddess of Fertility, Love, and Sex. And guess what? This answers another question.

4. How in the heck does a bunny and eggs factor into Jesus' Resurrection? It doesn't. As a matter of fact, the symbol actually just represent Sexuality, libido, and fertility. Yay! Let's dress kids up in pastel colors and stick them with the symbol of sex and make them find fertility idols that we have hidden in the yard.

That's about all I got on Easter. But wait Jake, I hear you cry, why Sunday? Well, isn't it obvious? If the church will defile themselves so far as to accept a sex holiday as a celebration for Jesus, they are gonna have to go that extra step and put it right after Mass. No more whining. Those are the facts, let's move on.

How about something a little more popular? Christmas! What do you think of when you think Christmas? Red and green? Candy canes? Santa? Presents?! Well, guess what? None of these have anything to do with Jesus' birth. I won't go into too much, as the amount of information is so dang vast. Instead, I will merely point out some of the low points of this "holiday."

1. The date: Jesus born on the 25th of December? *shrugs* If there was no other info, I wouldn't fight that. Wait... What's that you say Mr. Bible? There is more? Do tell... An angel told of his birth to some shepards? Dang, it must have been cold out. And that would just be torture to the sheep. Well guess what? They were no shepards out in Winter. Ever. Unless they were drunk and stupid. If you look at the facts from the Bible, it is easier to believe an October birth day, but no one knows for sure.

2. Gift-giving: Okay, okay. Stop yelling. I have nothing against giving gifts. I love giving presents. I do. But at Christmas it's different. Say I give a gift to a friend in mid June. What would he think? "Oh, must be a holiday. Crap, I never got him anything."? Probably not. He would appreciate the gift. It was a random act of true kindness. At Christmas, the obligation to spend the most money and give the best gift is too much for some families. This country is barely floating now, why make things worse by making people feel obligated to get others presents?

3. The lie: Yeah. I said it. You are doing nothing but lying to your kids. Santa doesn't exist. Not for a long time at least. Saint Nick has been dead for a long while. What do you think that does to the kid when he first learns from his smarter friends that Santa is a fake? Bad parents. Shame.

I may expand more on these in the future. For now, I am drained of all my writing creativity. I'm gonna lay down and sleep. Goodnight world.

-Jake of All Trades

Refreshing a Dying Franchise

Disney. A company known for it's children's movies and cartoonish style. Even adults can find enjoyment in Disney films. It is a timeless company that will stand for a long time.

LucasArts: Another well known name. LucasArts started the booming special effects industry and pioneered almost every advancement in special effects technology. They make video games, ranging from Star Wars based simulators, RPGs, MMOs, and so on, to cult classics like Labyrinth.

However, Lucas Arts is best known for making the Star Wars franchise. Over the years since 1977, it has built up quite the fan base, spreading it's influence into every genre known to man. And sometimes women. However, after Star Wars: Return of The Jedi (Originally Revenge of the Jedi.) George Lucas, the well known and much beloved director decided to stop making the Star Wars films. He did however go back and revamp to first three films.

Then the announcements started. Star Wars was being revitalized. Another three films were being released. A prequel to answer all your burning questions... And sadly raising more. Like what sort of low had George hit, to throw in a character like Jar Jar Binks?

Many were grossly disappointed over the refreshing move, and many dropped their love for the franchise all together. Others became purists, believing that only the original three films and the included Expanded Universe before Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, could represent the true Star Wars name.

Cut to Star Wars Episode II. An amazing feast or special effects, lightsaber fights, and a hideously written love story. However, if you are like me, you still love the movie, so long as you have a remote nearby to skip through the mushy parts. When I want a romance movie, I'll watch Better Off Dead.

Anyway, Star Wars Episode II brought back some people, and opened the franchise to many new fans. Then Star Wars Episode III is released. The vital lynch pin between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, of the Star Wars Franchise. And it was... Mixed.

Many, many people, absolutely loved Star Wars Episode III. It was action packed, fast moving, well put together, and the romance story was nominally bearable. I personally found it exciting the first couple times, but it lost appeal fast.

I should also note that George Lucas had had time to make changes to his original trilogy some more, including the long disputed, "Han Shot First" scenario. However, just recently, he did one last revamp and released it on Blu-Ray. After it was released... The number of living Star Wars fans plummeted as suicide rates skyrocketed. It was a disaster...

George, old buddy old pal, we all love what you have done for the world... We really do... But please, stop trying to fix what isn't broken. Thank you.

Oh? What's this we hear about? Disney? Buying Star Wars and LucasArts? Should we be excited? Should we go on another walk about and rethink our lives? Should we check Snopes first? Oh wait, nope it's true...

So... Now what? In my opinion, I say that this is the best move that George Lucas has made in the past 15 or so years.

Yes. Let the ridicule begin. But it is true. What has George done, but run his successful much loved franchise into the ground. Repeatedly I might add.Why not let someone else try? Why not a trusted company? One known to deliver well done movies.

why not Disney? They did Avengers. Who's gonna complain about that? Heck, they own Marvel. Get the guys from Marvel and LucasArts working together making a film, and the world will be eating out of Disney's hands... Well, more than they usually do.

I believe that Disney is the best company for the job. More power to them.

Jake of All Trades, dodging the audiences boos, signing off.

I Was Right All Along

So, as everyone knows, I graduated. That's old news. So is the fact that I despised all 13 years of it... Except maybe Kindergarten and First grade. I was kinda stupid back then. Plus, our homework was reading these little paper pamphlets and making art with Barbasol shaving foam. I did enjoy some moments. I remember we had a reading group where two older kids would help you find a book and then help you read it. My first chapter book was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

But I digress. The point I am making in today's blog is about how the system employed by schools worldwide is rather messed up. Except for college, and I'll explain why.

Let's start with Elementary school, say Kinder through 5th.

This is the most basic schooling. The normal human being cannot get along in this society without at least the elementary school level curriculum. Doesn't matter how you got it, homeschooling, public schools, reading books, whatever. I don't remember once protesting about learning in elementary school. I loved it. I absorbed what I learned like a sponge. I read everything I could get my hands on. I made friends and even when I had my brief interlude into homeschooling for two years, which may actually have helped more than anything, I loved school.

Move on up to Middle School, 6th through 8th.

Still, very basic schooling. This is more made to delve deeper into the basics. It helps ingrain them into our minds. It is merely a three year segway into High School. Sadly, as I visit my old schools, I notice that the push the curriculum back further and further, until now they are teaching the stuff I learned in High School to 6th graders. It is sickening... I understand that modern day jobs require more education, but why force it on someone who will never use it.

Which brings us to High School. 9th grade to the bliss of senior year.

This is where I have trouble with the system. The taught material in High School is just plain useless. You learn stuff that you will never use, unless you become a teacher, mathematician, nuclear physicist, or insane asylum inmate. I feel that High school should be a lead in for college. In college, you pick your classes based on what your end goal is. Why can't High School give you a similar option? Who in the baking industry has ever had to know how to multiply a matrix and then find the square root of negative 1? (It's e by the way. Yeah. Most of what I learn is stuck now...)

I always scoff at the people who say, "But it helps teach you how to learn."

Yeah. But why not do the same thing about a subject we give two cents about? Teach them properly by teaching them something they will listen to. It's merely a positive approach. And in my experience, positive always trumps negative.

Sadly, most schools take the negative route. They force the info on you and beat you (mostly metaphorically) for not making it. When in reality, you just didn't care. Not even your brain saw a reason to learn the garbage being forced on it.

So why not try the positive approach? Let students choose their classes based on aptitude tests and personal interests. That way, they want to know what they are learning and the stuff that is hard, they at least know they will use it on something they want to do. Why not? They have the curriculum up to High School to get along in the world even if they don't get their job of choice. I never met a restaurant manager sitting around calculating the mass of his food and the velocity required to flip a pancake.

And if they struggle, don't fail them. Give them a chance to fix it. Forget no student left behind. For their passions, a person would gladly spend a little extra time mastering the skills needed.

Just a thought.

This is Jake. Until next time.

Thoughts of a Tired, Now, Man

Almost one month ago I turned 18... and about a month or so before that, I graduated from High School. Ever since those two events happened, I have received a lot of flak from my folks for not having a job yet. However, I only recently became capable of applying anywhere. Lemme start from the top... as I have a tendency to do on these blog posts.

After my graduation, I was getting all those, "What are you gonna do with your life?" and "What are your plans/goals for the future?" Let's get one thing straight, I don't think that far ahead. If I can survive today, I am delighted. However, I realize that this may not be the smartest way to handle things, now that I am in the "real world", which sucks by the way. Thanks last generation for that. I am not blaming you directly, but it is kinda your generations failed efforts that led to this... and quite frankly, my generation is a bunch of idiots, so we aren't gonna be able to do much to fix that.

Sigh. Oh well, no point in whining now.

To continue our story, I figured that the smartest thing to do would be to get a job. However, I was missing some vital information in order to do so. This became obvious when I went to my bank to cash some checks from my graduation. (Thanks or the monetary gifts by the way. ^.^) But when I get there, I discover that the teen checking account I have, doesn't allow me to cash checks. I had been doing it for close to two years now. What changed? I had no idea, and I am still lost. So we went to talk to a banker, and when we told him that I was but weeks away from 18, he asked if I had Oregon ID. My school ID was all that I had, and that wasn't enough.

My parents never took me to get a permit of anything, which was fine with me, till I discovered that one was required for almost *everything.*  So we gave me an upgraded, but apparently, still limited account, cashed my checks, and I was on my way, now with the knowledge that an Oregon ID would be a smart idea. When I returned home, and a couple weeks later, my mother and I began looking for any info that I might need. We found a lot of stuff. Old pictures, school report cards, letters from my mother from before I could even read, etc. It was nice... until we discovered that my Social Security Card was nowhere to find.

So, without losing our will, we gathered other papers, and went to the social security office, ready to get me my card. After I was asked if I was carrying weapons by a short security guard who's most intimidating feature was the tazer on her belt, and about 30 minutes of waiting, we approached the man hiding behind his pane of bulletproof glass. No, I didn't test it, but it looked very thick. We presented him with our problem, and all the papers we had. Then he asked for ID. I mentioned that I had a school ID from that year, but I was graduated. He assured us that it would still work for a short time.

Then I discovered... I had forgot my wallet. Epic facepalm. I swear, there was an old lady that jumped when my hand cracked against my skull in an attempt to rectify my fail. Instead, I got a headache. We then received a little paper from the man, with my SSN on it, and he told us I could use that for most situations. He also added that the computer had my old name, Jake Taylor Socia, still, and it needed to be updated. This required another paper which we came to find out later, we did not possess. So we took what we had, home.

Within the week, we went to the courthouse, where I discovered that I *can* joke anywhere. But, we used 10,000 year old technology, retrieved our needed documents, navigated past shady characters in the waiting room, and made it back to the Social Security Office, this time sure that we had everything we needed. Their load was light, so we were helped within 10 minutes and again had a lovely discussion with a government employee. We gave her all the documents, and I presented her with my ID. Somehow, my School ID had become invalidated, within the week. However, with what we had, I was able to change my name in their computers, (quite frankly, I kinda like Socia better. It's shorter.) and we had plenty of time left in the day. So we headed off to the DMV.

My first experience at the DMV was a bit of a let down. I thought it would have been more depressing, with more fat ladies behind desks, and crying children. While bother were there, it didn't bother me all that much. We took a number and sat down. We passed the time by joking and making fun of random families around us. When we were called up, our associate was an older, skinny lady, and we began filling out papers. When we got to the matter of cost, we made an interesting discovery. It costs twice as much to buy an Oregon ID than it does for a Permit. Coming to a decision, we opted for a permit. (Why not? I was planning on driving sometime.) I sat down with the driver's manual for the first time and spent about 15 minuted reading/skimming it.

When I felt ready, I approached a very comedic woman, who I believe was like me and could joke about anything. I was right. After informing me that the test was in Japanese on Mondays, I took a vision, which I passed with flying colors. Then they assigned me a computer, and I started the test.

35 questions with 7 mistakes... not much room for error. I had to be slow and careful. Two things I really just suck at. Zipping through the first ten with only two mistakes, I felt pretty confident. Until within my next 20 questions, I had used up all my mistakes. Final five. No mistakes allowed. I was sweating. The bases were loaded. A hush fell over the crowd. The pitcher glared at me... Whoops, wrong story... Sorry, got carried away. See what happens when you blog at 2 in the morning? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the Final Five. Every tap on the screen was a tense moment... each breath came out shaky... I was sweating. One down, correct. Two? Doing okay. Third one... tentatively I press the yes button. Correct. I sigh in relief. Two more to go. Most tense test ever. The first one was easy, it was one of the last things I read in the manual. I answered it with confidence. And got it right. Whoo.

Last question. And it was one that I vaguely remembered... But not enough to come up with a definitive answer. So, I did what any intellectual would do in that situation. I eliminated the two blatantly wrong answers, and flipped a coin for the other two. I selected my answer, closed my eyes, and mashed the "yes" button. My finger, wet with perspiration slid slightly, as I continued to push down and opened my eyes. Test results... PASSED!!!

I had to control the urge to leap from my chair! A perfect 70%!! I had completed on my first try. Everyone else that I knew, had to at least return four times. If not to take the test, for other reasons. I straightened my hair, making myself look presentable. I hadn't really woken up that morning, expecting to get my permit. I got my confirmation from the lady at the desk, approached the camera, and gave the best smile I could muster. It was over. I had my interim permit, and the actual one was on the way.

Now I could silence the nagging. The incessant cry for me to get a job. And within the past four weeks, I have applied at a total of... zero places. Yeah, I know. I should have been more on top of things. But I was trying to enjoy my last Summer Break, which went relatively okay. I spent my whole life having to grow up faster than most kids. I looked out for myself a lot. Why couldn't I just slow sown this once and just be a kid for a couple months?

Come September, I hope to hear for sure if I am going to continue working for HomeSource, my old school,  as a Tech Team Lead, my job being that of training the new kids. After I get that sorted, I will start applying for a real job. A paying job.

But until then, party on!! Enjoy every second of Summer. School starts soon kids. Have fun, don't get stressed. Swim in a river, jump in a lake, have a barbecue, invite friends over, play games, do whatever you love doing.

Cause one day, you are going to wake up, and realize that you are 18 now. And life just goes down hill from there.

Till you hit 21. Then you have something new to help you cope. :P

This is Jake, too tired to continue, signing off. Good night.

FREEDOM!! Well deserved FREEDOM!!

A feeling greater than eating meat after a two month abstinence. Greater than seeing a friend after several years. More memorable than the first time you kiss someone. *clears throat* Anyway. The moment I am speaking of is Graduation, and the days following.

Let's start 14 years ago. My sister was in head-start, while I sat at home. Bored. I mean, VERY bored. But soon, my father discovered that  family friend ran a small day-care in her home, which burned down like 10 years later. Different story though. Soon, I was there on a daily basis, and I loved it. I met lots of people, I started my schooling early, which helped push me to the point I am at today. I don't remember much from those days, but I know that they were very enjoyable.

Move on from there, and we find me in Kindergarten. Another fun filled adventure. I met a lot of people who became life long friends (or so I thought for several years), I learned a lot, and it was only half a day. Just enough time to keep me occupied, and not too long as to make me bored with it. Little did I know that that was going to change.

Bam! First grade. Huge change. I was up early in the morning, at the school with my packed lunch from ma, and having to walk to school. Back then I lived across the street so I didn't mind the walk. We usually had a group of about five or so kids walking over. I learned very quickly. By the first month, I had been placed in an advanced reading group and already knew basic multiplication and division (I have my dad and a freak find in Rite-Aid for that). However, that was when the trouble started. I felt like I had no friends, which was wrong, I felt abandoned and bullied, again not true. I turned to aggression and even focused it towards the teachers of my school. I was violent, belligerent, and out of control. By the third grade, I had made quite the file in the principal's office.

Finally my father said, enough. If I were to get in trouble one more time, he would pull me out and home school me. I didn't take him very seriously. I even remember the day I made the mistake and got in trouble. We had been in class all day. I was restless and it was too quiet for me. I grabbed two pencils and put them up my nose, and caused quite the uproar. When the teacher regained control she asked me to stay after the class. I wasn't worried until I saw her filling out an incident report. I panicked and broke down after the class left. I wasn't someone who took bad news easily. I pleaded with the teacher, explaining my plight. She merely shook her head and told me to call my father. Those words made my heart drop.

My father and I had had our conversation maybe two days before that fateful day. I slowly dialed the phone, still sobbing and gasping for air. When he picked up, he probably said Hello? about 5 times before I answered. Taking a deep breath I explained that I got in trouble. There was a bout a minute of silence, before he answered. His tone had changed. He sounded disappointed. And could I blame him? I was a bit of an idiot, took me several years to figure it out. We talked for about 15 minutes, mainly about what we were going to do now. When we finished, he came to the school and we sat in the car in total silence. The next day, we had both come to grips with what had happened. We decided that I should stay till the end of the term and then we would enroll me at a little place called Homesource.

I was worried when I heard that. My cousins went there. And they were strange to me. I always thought they were outcasts, rejects, and just plain weird (which, yet again, was wrong.). My first day at Homesource was as bad as I thought it would be. I only knew one person, and the people weren't all that social, so making friends was a useless endeavor. I hated that first term. The next year however, I was better prepared. I started to appreciate the little things. I got to sleep in, I had almost everyday open, and my homework was incredibly small. By the end of fourth grade, I had learned to like it, but I really wanted to go back to the way things were.

My parents felt that I had improved enough to go back. They couldn't have been more wrong. We had just moved so I was put into yet another new school. The teacher's and I never saw eye to eye, we always argued. I knew no one, again, but it was easier to make friends. With the weird kids. I fit in with them easier for some reason. I didn't mind it though, back then I had no real grasp of the difference in groups of kids. Still, I excelled at all subjects, math and reading being my primary specialties. When I left, I had a small following of nerds and geeks. We all had each other's back, until that big mean guy came along. Then they scattered like roaches. However, in Middle school, I had the same group. New bullies though. Using our lack of social skills, we slowly drew more and more "social outcasts" into our group. By 7th grade, we were larger than the popular kids and the jocks combined.

Oddly enough, I had mellowed out by then too. I was calmer and easier to talk to. People were more comfortable approaching me. And I also had a slight charm. Or that is what I was told. By the numerous girls asking me out. I rejected them all, which in hindsight should have been done a bit more tactfully than I did it. I made a lot of people mad at me still. I was constantly bullied and beaten. Back then I had learned to control aggression but I was no pacifist. I fought back on occasion. I won most of the time. It helped to be one of the tallest and biggest kids around. By the eighth grade people usually steered clear of me. Except for one freak incident on the bus when I got punched in the face because of a mis-communication between my sister and I.

Halfway through the eighth grade, most of my group had dissipated, and I found myself hanging with the younger crowd. They all looked up to me, and I liked that. I protected them from the big kids who were just total jerks. Then I graduated from Middle School. It wasn't a big thing. Just a faux ceremony with a phony diploma thing. But that summer, was a life changing one. I had a friend who worked at HomeSource. Those of you just joining us, or who think that this post is too long to remember squat from earlier, HomeSource is the school I saw as very anti-social. He asked why I left HomeSource. I explained that my folks didn't feel capable to teach me everything I needed. He informed me of a new development. HomeSource and an online Charter School were going to merge. I told my folks and we both felt it would be a good idea.

So I started classes online and through HomeSource. Some of it was nice, but I had lost all my skills with math. So the next year, I took math through HomeSource. It all came back to me. I aced it and started to really like the school. However, that year, something happened, I dunno the exact details, but HomeSource and the Charter School parted ways. Homesource decided that they could become a charter school of their own and they did a good job of it. I was loving my classes, I was making friends, and I was two years away from leaving school for good. Then this year I was making friends left and right. Everyone knew me, I was well liked by kids and teachers alike, and I was excited to leave. Barely scraping out of school I was within a month of getting out when I was hit with everything.

Things needed to be done for the graduation and everyone wanted to know my plans for the future. I was rushing to get the technical aspects of the ceremony done, trying to get people to cooperate with me. Finally the week before the ceremony, I had given up on one project and I was focused on one last project and was determined to finish it. And I did finish it. I got it done 3 hours before the ceremony, with more bugs than a cheap motel.

But finally, there I was. one hour from graduating. The teachers were speaking, the slide show played, students spoke, music was played, and then they started calling people up for their diplomas. I was in the middle so there were six people before me. As the person before me was still on stage, I slowly stood and took up my spot at the edge of the stage, smiling at the MC and looking at the crowd. Then, the MC turned and said my name. I was caught off guard. Not by them calling my name, but by the number of people who applauded. The cheers were loud and the whole auditorium was in an uproar. I was confused. I was not a popular person. My family wasn't that big. Why were so many people cheering? I never found out the answer, but I approached the end of the stage where stood my mother in tears, my father, looking as proud as I have ever seen him, and my step-mom, holding back a meltdown. The rest of the night was a blur.

But I knew one thing.

I was out.

And this time, for good.

Graduation

Well, I gave up on being vegan. So, now I need to find something new to write about. Before you start barraging me with questions and condolences, lemme explain. On the diet for two months, I lost no weight that didn't come back. I was off it for one week and lost 15 pounds overnight. So I am just going to try and find a balance with my normal eating habits.

So, back to graduation. Yep. I graduate from High School this year. The shock of it hasn't fully hit me yet. Not looking forward to when it does. Plus, I have been busier than ever this past month. The past two weeks, I have had to oversee the senior pages, yearbook, PowerPoint presentations, and Senior video project. It is too much.

Last week we were supposed to have all the filming for the video done, but several things stopped us. One, our interviewer, the lovely Rayna Viles, was sick. Next, my battery on the camera was low, and I had forgotten the spare, or the charger. And finally, most people felt like taking the day we rescheduled for filming, off.

Next, I learn that no one has finished their PowerPoints, including myself, and I have to compile them together next week. So all this is just piling up at once. I was told to take things one day at a time, but they seem to just run away and ambush me all at once later.

Oh well. More naps and sleepless nights for me. Until next time folks.

NO ONE TAKES ME SERIOUSLY!!! :P

I haven't been on here for a while. Sorry my loyal and trusting fans. Mainly because I have nothing interesting happening. I haven't lost hardly any weight, I still feel miserable waking up every morning, and I have the strongest meat cravings ever. I have been able to stave them off with a mixture of distraction and great vegan alternatives.

However, I do have one big announcement. Ever since I announced that I was reintroducing dairy products back into my diet, I have received a lot of flak about how I am no longer a vegan. Therefore, I did a bit deeper health research and made a Solomon like decision. If I were to cut my portions in half, down to normal that is, I could easily put egg products back in with only good health effects. I will still avoid the obvious crap like certain salad dressings and mayo.

I know that a lot of people will point out that I said I would do this as a full vegan, but I also mentioned this was an experiment to help me lose wait. On top of that it was only intended to be temporary, so I need to change my diet in such a way that I can keep making healthy choices when I return to a normal diet.

That's all for tonight. Hopefully things will pick up and we will have things to talk about. Until then, This is The Jake of All Trades Signing off.