made`

If you don't watch Sopranos....

then you're a loser.

If you do watch Sopranos....

then you'll know not to call me between 9 and 10 on Sunday for the next 7 weeks.

salud.

-joshua-

bliggity blog

This blog thing is way harder than I ever imagined. I feel like a creative type of person yet sometimes I'll stare at this screen typing nothing. WHY MUST YOU MOCK ME, YOU FLAT PANELED LCD MONITOR?

Blog topics don't fall out of the thin air. There's only so many times you can give a rundown of the uninteresting events that happen during a day at work.

1. got up
2. went to work
3. made paint
4. came home

Not so exciting to read or to write. So I find myself doing some soul search of internet scavenging to find topics. My collegiate list was inspired from elsewhere.

And I like to read other blogs. I'm a scholarly junkie, I'll admit. I'd rather read than watch TV.

Currently reading "The Crow", the comic book. It's phenomenal. Way better than the movie. If you ever get the chance, pick it up.

And it's almost Easter time. Don't eat too much chocolate.

Happy Easter!

10 reasons college is useless...or what they should teach you in college

1. You can never stay up all nite and still be functional or productive the next day. I used to stay up all nite being extremely nonproductive and still manage to get thru the next day without collapsing. These days if I stay up til 11:30 I feel like I partied all nite.
2. Caffeine is not a substitute for sleep. If I drink 100 mountain dews today I still counteract the last two days that I have not slept. That math does not work out.
3. Your accounting class never tells you that the beer you drank last nite that you paid for with a credit card did not cost more than 13.50 for a case. After the compounded interest over 6 years it ended up costing over $200. And that Mt. Dew and Fudge Round? Not just a paltry 2.17 on credit. Closer to 87.23 after it's all over. Bad times lie ahead...
4. Getting '303 Boys 4 Life' Tattooed on your arm may seem like a good idea on spring break... but how do you explain that at a future interview? See... what had happened was...
5. You can not wear the same clothes for days at a time. Acceptable in class... not at the board meeting. For one... your classes have different people...or a few different. The corporate world is anal and will notice. Good luck wearing that same cornflower blue tie every day.
6. Flip flops are not shoes and cannot be worn year round. Yes! Yes they can! Watch me wear these rainbows to this 8:00 class while it's 27 degrees out! The things they don't teach you...
7. Last minute desperation inspired us all but what we will all ultimately learn... it's better to start early. I used to pride myself on the last minute panic hurricane... the 13 hour marathon for the 15 page paper... See number 1.
8. You can not survive on McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Bojangles forever. Tasty tho they may be... your stomach and arteries will thank you later.
9. Fighting and scraping to get out in 4 years is a terrible idea. That only means you are rushing to bring on all the mundane realities that constitute 'life'. Hang in there! Don't finish! Party!
10. The years that you spend away at school will forever change you and mold you into who you are. They are your years and no one will ever understand the magnitude in which they change who you are. Cherish and remember them.

Word up! Trying a different tact 2nite. Anyone reading can feel free to add to the list! :-D

And I stole this from Problogger. Check it out.

-it is what it is-

-joshua-

shamelessly stolen from Megs

So for real boosted this from Megs (THANX!) Here for all the literary nerds out there.... and understand my passion for writing.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Trade paper back? Doesn't make too much of a difference. If it'll fit in my back pocket of my jeans then I'm bout it. :-D
Amazon or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar will work just fine... unless I'm trying to get several Hunter Thompson books at once.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? Barnes & Noble
Bookmark or dogear? Dogear. Can't help it. I tried to bookmark but I always lose my bookmark....
Alphabetise by author, or by title, or random? My wife hates my randomization. I think that's a word. I try to keep 'em together by author but I can't alphabetize them... Oh well.
Keep, throw away or sell? KEEP IT. I'm a book nazi. Once it's in my house it's mine. Heh.
Keep dust jacket or toss it? Depends on the book... Uncle John's Bathroom Reader book jacket is not so important.
Read with dust jacket on or remove it? MOVE IT OUTTA THE WAY!
Short story or novel? Got to be a novel. Or a poem. I wrote some poems one time.
Collection of short stories or anthology? Good writing is good writing.... all day long.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Usually, I just read until I pass out. But if it's an up-all-nighter kind of a book, I'll make myself stop at a chapter break. (Yes, Megs, I stole that answer too).
"It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Do people even still write like that? (Let me plug 'Stranger than Fiction' here. Go watch it).
Buy or borrow? Buy or acquire. Heh.
New or used? Either or. As long as it's got all the pages. I bought Harry Potter one time, had a day off and was reading it and loving it. At one point I turned the page and it started about 45 pages early again... and after that it picked up where it would have with the correct pages... odd.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Usually browsing. Neil Gaiman was a by chance and I love it and my professors have turned me onto some brilliant writers. (DANIEL QUINN IS A GENIUS!)
Morning, afternoon or nighttime reading? As long as I'm awake...
Favourite series? (Just realized that's a British spelling... very cool). Not a big series kinda guy. Harry Potter I guess? LOTR is ONE BOOK, not a series. (You know who you are).
Favourite children’s book? Cat in the Hat! Seriously, Bridge to Terabithia and any of the classics.
Favourite book of which no-one has heard? ISHMAEL!!! Daniel Quinn.
Favourite books read last year? Ishmael!!! Or the subsequent books, My Ishmael and The Story of B.
Least favourite book finished last year? Chuck Palniuk's Invisible Monsters
What are you reading now? Trying to read 'The Sorrow of War' for my Vietnam Class...
What are you reading next? Hopefully I'll be able to finish American Gods by Neil Gaiman. ..and read The Crow comic book. heh...

home again

Finally back in Dubtown... didn't realize I'd miss this place so much.

One helluva week... Popa has passed on... he's not hurting anymore.

Hard to say good-bye sometimes.

Hard to say good-bye all the time. It's never easy.... as many times as I've said it.
Few words express grief. That's why it's grief.

"This is the Hour of Lead -
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons,
recollect the Snow -
First--Chill--
then Stupor--
then the letting go -"
-Emily Dickinson-

Pray for Amy.

-it is what it is-

-joshua-

RIP Popa

People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura
of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they
continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive.
It is as though they were traveling abroad. ~Marcel Proust

It's gonna be one of those weekends... one of those that you wish you didn't have to deal with; you find yourself looking for a spell to cast to take away the pain.

Amy's granpa is near the end of the line. It's only a matter of time and they're really expecting it to happen this weekend. I'm not sure what to make of it.

He's a good man; when I say 'good man' I mean a man of character and faith and hard work.
Popa has been there for Amy and I, especially for Amy.
It's hard to say good-bye to someone for the last time.

I've been to too many funerals for people I know and care about. The difference is I never got that chance to say good-bye. For my faithful 8.3 readers, say a prayer and think of us over the weekend.

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me.
The Carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality
~Emily Dickinson

wii are dangerous

That's 'We' for those who don't speak Nintendo.

Proof they are dangerous can be found on the back on Nathan's (my brother's) noggin.

I clocked him playing tennis Sunday morning.

Thought I broke the remote.

Sorry bout that Nathan..., heh.

-it is what it is-

-joshua

three plus 1saac

I have three brothers. One is older and two are younger. My youngest brother, Isaac, passed on August 3 of 2005. Here lately Isaac has been on my mind.

Few people realize that Isaac passed and I felt like I should plug him in here.

Isaac was 18 when he died, just graduated high school, valedictorian of his class and had plans to go to Campbell to major in ....something.

He could play any number of musical instruments, knew everything, was a fantastic speaker, and the best little brother someone could have.

It's hard for me sometimes because Isaac was born the day before my 6th birthday so his birthday and mine were always celebrated together.

Isaac would have been 20 two weeks ago... and I wonder who he'd be today. I know he'd be making all of us proud.

Miss you little homie...

RIP James Isaac Shelton... 3/5/87-8/3/05

-it is what it is-

"It ain't fair you died too young
Like a story that had just begun
The death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the pain that I've been through
Just knowing no one could take your place
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today
Would you see the world?
Would you chase your dreams?
Settle down with a family?
I wonder, what would you name your babies?
Some days the sky's so blue
I feel like I can talk to you
And I know it might sound crazy"
-kenny chesney-

admit it

You get all loopy when the time changes too.

It sucks.

Boo.

it's my birthday!

Yay me! I'm one quarter old. That's it. One quarter. Sounds a lot better that way, heh.

So my fantastic wife Amy took me to Myrtle Beach for the weekend for my birthday. We stayed on the 18th floor of the Patricia Grand and had a fantastic view of the ocean. It's hypnotic sometimes to watch the waves break...and roll back... break... and roll back. Repeatedly.

Ate at Tripp's Friday nite and had a good old time. Managed to score some new work shoes, new skateboard, and a $20 Fossil watch down at the outlets. That's the place to be if ya in the business of looking for a deal.

Saturday nite I ATE SOME DUCK!!! IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Amy sat there and said "if it don't moo, cluck, or oink, I ain't eating it" to which my replay was

"it quacks! That's close right?" (Not close enough obviously).

If you've never been you need to go see a show at the Carolina Opry. It was loaded with good music and comedic skits.

And I got a Wii. Fun times ahead...

Happy Birthday to Me!

-it is what it is-

-joshua-

strange things overhead being said by old people in restaurants

"I had to promise sexual favors" said by an old lady.

In response to some question I didn't hear.

-it is what it is-

-joshua-