I just got back from watching the Inside Job, a documentary about the 2008 financial collapse, with Kevin and William. It was an excellent movie, and it is interesting that Kevin and I had the same thought coming out of the movie... Which is that it does a great job of showing us a problem, and goes as far as saying that we have done squat to actually attempt to fix this problem so that it will not happen again, but it doesn't give us any clues on what to do about it. An old adage is "Don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions" and I think that is particularly important here.
Kevin and I both immediately after the movie discussed how the movie tells us all about the problems of the financial collapse, but it doesn't mention a way we can make it so that it won't happen again. Is this because we CAN'T do anything about it? Maybe we are not powerful enough, us being the lower/middle class. Maybe even the lower 90% of the population.
The only thought I can muster in my tired state, is that a cause of all of this is spending money that you don't have. One word... Credit! Americans, and as time goes on more and more people around the world, spend obscene amounts of money that they don't actually have! We take out loans, and max out credit cards, and always say "I'll pay it off over time", but the problem is that we keep doing it so that 'over time' quickly turns into 'for the rest of time'!
On a slightly side note, thats one of my major beefs with college tuition prices! They keep raising the cost of college, forcing prospective students to either not go to college or to go then get out of an institution with huge amounts of debt! We 'hit the ground running' after college by landing in a gigantic pothole. Really!? I'm in the process now of trying to postpone aspects of life so that I can try to pay my way out of my school debt before I am forced to fall into the eventual 'housing debt'. I do not believe that this can be the best way to live! We should have kids going to college, graduating with either no debt or small, manageable amounts of debt, lets say under 8,000 dollars! That at least forces kids to think about it, while also being a nice amount that can be paid off relatively quickly. Nope, instead we are graduating with upwards of 20, 30, 40 THOUSAND dollars in debt, OR MORE! Thats more then some of our PARENTS make in a YEAR! This is insain! It's a double edge sword. You go to college to get a good job, but a big reason why you need the good job is to pay off debt from actually Going to College!!!
So again, more problems. Solutions... anyone? Should we just not go to college? No that wouldn't help anything. Should be regulate college tuition prices so that they are manageable, and possibly create a better system for grants then the one we have so that it is easier and more widespread of an option for prospective students? Now I think we are on to something!
Anyways, this is just the tip of the iceberg on this subject.
Mood: Tired but a little irked
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
This time I will...
Its almost New Years. This means its almost time to make a vow to ourselves, one that we never really remember past the first week and certainly do not complete. It's time for a resolution. The problem is I make resolutions each year, and if I make them in such a way that it is something that I will accomplish regardless if I had it as a resolution or not then I will complete it, but if I have to actually go do something to accomplish it... well then it's a lost cause.
Why do we have this need to lie. Constantly, every day there is one lie or another. When was the last time you went through a handful of hours without a fib, without a white lie, without saying something you didn't really believe but that was close enough? When did we stop listening to our inner children? Children don't lie, not at first. After society has gotten enough of a grip around them they learn to fib, to lie, in order not to get in trouble. That's how it starts, as a way to not get into trouble. It slowly evolves until we are adults and we lie still to avoid trouble, but also to hide from being ashamed, to sugarcoat something, to avoid from going into to much detail or to explain what really happens. Soon we find out that we lie just to get through the day. When did our day get so horrible that we have to lie just to get to the other end of it?
Like everyone else I have told my fair share of lies, almost all harmless, but some were probably more then that. Am I going to stop telling lies? Probably not, but I will try to think about it.
Is that really true? That we sometimes lie just to get through the day?
Mood: Peacefully Confused
Music: Secrets by One Republic
Why do we have this need to lie. Constantly, every day there is one lie or another. When was the last time you went through a handful of hours without a fib, without a white lie, without saying something you didn't really believe but that was close enough? When did we stop listening to our inner children? Children don't lie, not at first. After society has gotten enough of a grip around them they learn to fib, to lie, in order not to get in trouble. That's how it starts, as a way to not get into trouble. It slowly evolves until we are adults and we lie still to avoid trouble, but also to hide from being ashamed, to sugarcoat something, to avoid from going into to much detail or to explain what really happens. Soon we find out that we lie just to get through the day. When did our day get so horrible that we have to lie just to get to the other end of it?
Like everyone else I have told my fair share of lies, almost all harmless, but some were probably more then that. Am I going to stop telling lies? Probably not, but I will try to think about it.
Is that really true? That we sometimes lie just to get through the day?
Mood: Peacefully Confused
Music: Secrets by One Republic
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Bad Habits
I am currently sitting in my cousins apartment in Boston after a heck of a weekend. Last night was a pretty crappy night all in all, but for me at least one moment sticks out above the rest...
For a long time now I have been trying to control my alcohol intake. When I drink its either drinking socially, or drinking to rage and get drunk. There is no middle ground for me... bad habit #1. If I am just drinking socially I do really well, I have a beer or two, enjoy the taste, enjoy my company, enjoy the night, but if I am drinking to party it's sometimes quite a different scenario.
I don't mean that everytime I party I drink heavy and fast, but sometimes I do, and that is still too much. Last night I started our night in Portsmouth with 2.5 shots of Bacardi 151, about 2 beers and once at the bar had 2 shots of Jager and more beer. That is way more then I should have had, and I ended up getting really drunk and very loudly arguing with my cousin. That is the one moment that I regret from last night. The funny thing is it wasn't even a bad thing, but that's just not who I am. I was yelling about how I always would have his back no matter what and that it was rediculous that he would ever think that I would take someone elses side above his, which I definitely feel, but the problem was that I don't even really know why I was so loud about it. I was in his face about it when really there was very little if any reason to actually be addressing that issue. This is the first time I have ever gotten in someones face, and it wasn't because I was going to fight him or anything, of course not. But I was basically daring him to accuse me of choosing someone over him.
That was only one, and one of the worst, experiences that I have had because I had drank to much way to fast. Sometimes I just drink an entire bottle of Jagar of Vodka (750mls) and its really just stupid. I can handle it fine, meaning I don't throw up or anything but I brown or black out. Another kicker is that I do not need alcohol to have a great time when I go out. I have gone out many times and just danced, and had a better time then if I had been drinking...Good Habit #1
So here is my thoughts, alcohol, when consumed as fast and as much as I consume sometimes, is terrible for my mind and body. I really have no reason to drink aside that alcohol is so prevelent in our society that it seems to be bordering on brainwashing us with it. I am extremely rarely a bad drunk, but when it happens it makes me stop and wonder. So my plan for now is to continue to try to stop the times when I just pound alcohol. I have better times drinking socially and I need to keep working on that.
The solution to this is that nope, I am through with being like a frat boy with alcohol. I am going to enjoy it responsibly from now on.
On a side note, I tend to be very all or nothing. With food, I sometimes just gorge on it. I eat fine 90% of the time, but 10% is either me skipping meals or me gorging on what I have. These two things are two of the only vices I have and am going to work on. And no, I am not worried about either of them.
Mood: Trying to be determined
For a long time now I have been trying to control my alcohol intake. When I drink its either drinking socially, or drinking to rage and get drunk. There is no middle ground for me... bad habit #1. If I am just drinking socially I do really well, I have a beer or two, enjoy the taste, enjoy my company, enjoy the night, but if I am drinking to party it's sometimes quite a different scenario.
I don't mean that everytime I party I drink heavy and fast, but sometimes I do, and that is still too much. Last night I started our night in Portsmouth with 2.5 shots of Bacardi 151, about 2 beers and once at the bar had 2 shots of Jager and more beer. That is way more then I should have had, and I ended up getting really drunk and very loudly arguing with my cousin. That is the one moment that I regret from last night. The funny thing is it wasn't even a bad thing, but that's just not who I am. I was yelling about how I always would have his back no matter what and that it was rediculous that he would ever think that I would take someone elses side above his, which I definitely feel, but the problem was that I don't even really know why I was so loud about it. I was in his face about it when really there was very little if any reason to actually be addressing that issue. This is the first time I have ever gotten in someones face, and it wasn't because I was going to fight him or anything, of course not. But I was basically daring him to accuse me of choosing someone over him.
That was only one, and one of the worst, experiences that I have had because I had drank to much way to fast. Sometimes I just drink an entire bottle of Jagar of Vodka (750mls) and its really just stupid. I can handle it fine, meaning I don't throw up or anything but I brown or black out. Another kicker is that I do not need alcohol to have a great time when I go out. I have gone out many times and just danced, and had a better time then if I had been drinking...Good Habit #1
So here is my thoughts, alcohol, when consumed as fast and as much as I consume sometimes, is terrible for my mind and body. I really have no reason to drink aside that alcohol is so prevelent in our society that it seems to be bordering on brainwashing us with it. I am extremely rarely a bad drunk, but when it happens it makes me stop and wonder. So my plan for now is to continue to try to stop the times when I just pound alcohol. I have better times drinking socially and I need to keep working on that.
The solution to this is that nope, I am through with being like a frat boy with alcohol. I am going to enjoy it responsibly from now on.
On a side note, I tend to be very all or nothing. With food, I sometimes just gorge on it. I eat fine 90% of the time, but 10% is either me skipping meals or me gorging on what I have. These two things are two of the only vices I have and am going to work on. And no, I am not worried about either of them.
Mood: Trying to be determined
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The open road is calling today....
Sometimes I can't help but wonder just how much my past has been able to screw me up. Today I have decided that I need to rearrange my room. There was nothing that was wrong with the way it was, however I need to change it. It is taking me forever because I just keep pacing, just trying to think. I feel both unrest and confined at the same time, which is never a good feeling.
For some reason I have to totally change things every few months, and I think it could reflect my upbringing. I am not good with settling with anything. I have been working at my job for a year now, which is the longest time I have stayed at one place (due to previous jobs being broken up by school breaks and all) so I knew going into this job that I would freak out a few times. And of course I did, its just not easy to be static. I am currently just waiting in life. I work, get money, pay loans, and everything is put on hold. I used to travel around with the extra money but now I am just paying some kind of bill with any extra cash. College was amazing because I was able to bounce from home to college every few months, never staying in the same place for that long. Now that I am out what can I do!?
The reason I have to completely change my life every few months is because I am scared of stopping. I guess I am nervous to settle down like half of my high school peers did. After living in Italy and tasting what the world can be like for a happy traveler can I really go back to a simple static life? After having such freedom is it ever going to get easier to settle for mundaneness?
So for now I will continue to move my room around every few months, because even though it is a seemingly insignificantly small act, the physical nature of it helps me feel that I am still in charge of my life and am still able to change whatever I want.
Mood: Confused
For some reason I have to totally change things every few months, and I think it could reflect my upbringing. I am not good with settling with anything. I have been working at my job for a year now, which is the longest time I have stayed at one place (due to previous jobs being broken up by school breaks and all) so I knew going into this job that I would freak out a few times. And of course I did, its just not easy to be static. I am currently just waiting in life. I work, get money, pay loans, and everything is put on hold. I used to travel around with the extra money but now I am just paying some kind of bill with any extra cash. College was amazing because I was able to bounce from home to college every few months, never staying in the same place for that long. Now that I am out what can I do!?
The reason I have to completely change my life every few months is because I am scared of stopping. I guess I am nervous to settle down like half of my high school peers did. After living in Italy and tasting what the world can be like for a happy traveler can I really go back to a simple static life? After having such freedom is it ever going to get easier to settle for mundaneness?
So for now I will continue to move my room around every few months, because even though it is a seemingly insignificantly small act, the physical nature of it helps me feel that I am still in charge of my life and am still able to change whatever I want.
Mood: Confused
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Maiden Post
Hello Blogging World! It has been a few long years but I have finally decided to start blogging again. I named my blog "Ventage II" because I am predicting that my blog will become an outlet for me to bring up things I find interesting or frustrating and vent about them. I originally had a blog on LJ (was the first Ventage) a long time ago, and really enjoyed that. I lost touch with it after a year or so and for the past few months I've needed somewhere to put down thoughts so that I can work through them. So Voila! Here I am.
One thing I liked about LJ was you could put a mood to each post. I have not had a chance to explore the many avenues of Blogger so maybe it offers this. Its now almost quarter after midnight and I am zonked!
Mood: Tired
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