We Ride Bikes

On campus

Let me preface this post by saying that I choose neither to define or deny the existence of a higher power. Similarly, I do not promote nor denounce any particular belief or religion. I have the beliefs that I have, and choose not to impose those beliefs on anyone else and do not judge, criticize or condemn anyone else's lifestyle or belief structure.

That said, there is an on-campus organization called Crusaders for Christ. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for student involvement with like-minded individuals and all of that, what I have a problem with is the redundancy of the name "Crusaders for Christ." Am I out of line? Doesn't the word "Crusaders" imply the Christian nature of the goals?

Well, regardless they are a very unique organization.

Get it? Something can't be "very unique." Forget it.

Oh and while I am on this rant of on-campus linguistic errors...last week there was a flyer for Sexual Health Awareness Week. Way to go UTD. However, the flyers listed factoids of random sexual trivia. One of them was: A condom will hold 4 quarts of milk. Okay forgetting about the oddity of using milk as the test liquid....4 quarts? Thats like my friend who is 5'1"saying she is 4' 13" tall. That one still bugs me....I thought that maybe they did it in a Shel Silversein-esque rationale that 4 quarts sounds more than 1 gallon. But I don't think it does. I think most people use a gallon jug of milk as the point of reference for liquid measures.

Okay, now I think I may have gone from pet peeve to just sounding crazy. So I am going to go to class and hopefully learn a thing or two.

Or at least go to class. That's something....being a good student starts tomorrow.

Good Music, Good Night

I found a website courtesy of CollegeHumor.com that has free and legal music sharing. It is legal, because it's free, and it's free because it only has music from artists/bands that allow fans to record live concerts and share them with each other. Over the years this same concept has been used by taping trees, then progressed with the advent of CD burning, and the internet revolutionized the practice further by allowing fans to place compressed music files directly onto the internet for other fans to download. Anyway, I found some great Jason Mraz tunes,  I posted the lyrics of one below because it just makes me happy and sad and all of that all at once....anyway, it's a great song, and at the show where it was recorded, a woman requests it, and in spite of the fact that he hasn't played the song in months, he does it for her. Anyway, Better by Jason Mraz:

it's something like i apologize
it's something i still can't decide
but i know it gets better
it only gets better

and i want to say that it's not always easy
but it's simple that way
and i want to stay and play it out
but i still have my doubts
so you say it gets better
it only gets better
better this way
better, maybe it's better this way

beautiful things they never stay, oh, the same way
they pass, oh they pass away, they always change
who are we is who we are
when the act of love can get us so far
so good i wish you would
think twice on me
cause it only gets better

it only gets better
better this way
better, maybe it's better this way
just give it some time
just give it some space
just give it some time, maybe it's better this way
just give it some time
just give it some space
just give it some time, maybe it's better this way

so better
it's better this way
baby, it's better this way
just give it some time
just give it some space
maybe, yes maybe, yes maybe, yes maybe
it's better, oh, this way
promise me you'll always be better
better

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend.

How "personal" can it really be then?

It is very late, as usual.
I just wanted to say that I have spent a couple of days here and there with a friend of mine, Chloe*. She is truly a wonderful person, and we have a good time. I promised I would not divulge too much, but she has had a rough few weeks, months, years, life. She too has one of these hopeful perspectives that seems to be bright enough to keep her head above water and yet is realistic enough to let herself get angry and have genuine feelings about things. She has wonderful friends that care for her, and truly want to help her whenever she needs it.
Chloe, has also been very good to me when I have needed a sane rational person to bounce ideas off of. I probably have told her too much, too soon, but she took it in stride, and gave me honest feedback. ("Jake, you're nice and all, but you aren't a good boyfriend.") Anyway, this is a shout out to her. Thanks.

Here is one of the final drafts of the personal statement...real quick...it started with a vague idea of what I wanted and thought it should be. This was given greater focus by Judith, who did some wonderful things as far as helping me decide what should stay, what should go, and where I should take it...Then I wrote a closer to final version, that Kathryn read and gave me some good feedback on. This copy then went to Judith again where she helped me restructure the whole thing again. Essentially what she did was, tighten it, and make it seem less over here, and over there and all of that....then I threw it out to a few more people, Jenni helped, and then a guy named Vincent helped. And this is the final version that did not make it to some schools but did make it to others....much thanks to everyone that helped even if I didn't put your name here for whatever reason (on yeah, its four in the freakin a.m.). Anyway, I am not sure how I feel about this one, I think some of my favorite lines did not make Vince's final cut, and a part of me thinks I may have lost the "personal" in it, but hey, if it gets me in...what do I care....Enjoy.

Personal Statement

 

My interest in pursuing a career in law stems directly from the influences that my grandfather and organized labor provided in my life. As a small child, my grandfather came to the United States from Mexico and was the first Hispanic/Latino member of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association. After he joined the union in the late 1960’s he opened his home to teach others his craft and to help recruit and expand union membership. Through his efforts, he became the first organizer of his community’s local chapter (“local”). As a result of my grandfather’s efforts and his inspiration, my parents were also highly active in their respective unions. Specifically, my father worked as a union sheet metal worker for nearly thirty years and eventually became his local’s organizer.  He still serves in this capacity and, like my grandfather, has dedicated the greater part of his life to labor and bettering the lives of his fellow workers. In addition, my mother was a long-time member of the Communication Workers’ Association. I remember when I was a small child her union decided to strike. At such a young age, I did not comprehend the strength it took for her to walk the picket line, a decision that not every mother made in light of the financial and emotional hardships that resulted.

 

Because of my family’s experiences, my own experiences, the presence of the union as an essential institution to the betterment of people’s lives was instilled in me and became as important as gaining an education, respecting my civic duties, working hard and developing myself spiritually and physically. As a result of my family’s hard work, I too have spent a large portion of my life working in a capacity that most students have not. I went to work as soon as I was able – not because I was told to do so, but because of the work-ethic that my family had instilled in me. I worked several jobs through high school and the summers in between. When it came time to attend university, I was excited about expanding my educational horizons and viewed school as a job. If I worked hard enough, the rewards would be endless. However, in order to attend school, I worked as many as three jobs and maintained a full class schedule. This was difficult at times and a completely new experience, as I was one of two first generation college students in my immediate family, and I am proud that I made it that far. Those early days were shaky with my family and me having no clue regarding the financial logistics of simply attending college – tuition, room and board, books . . .  I was simply ill-equipped. Because of the lack of experience, I found myself juggling my education and with a demanding work schedule in order to pay for college. Unfortunately, as a result of my inexperience and my poor performance at Texas Tech University, I decided to take a break from my studies to assess my goals and to focus on work full-time in order to earn enough income to go back to college without the demands of maintaining several jobs. Further, at this time, my then fiancé and I decided to get married, and school was a “luxury” that I could not afford.

 

Five years later, after working hard to provide for my family, I realized that education was essential to a better life for us and I wanted to return in order to pursue an education that would enable me to work in labor relations. Upon returning to Kingwood College in Humble, Texas, I enrolled as full-time student and also maintained a work schedule.  I was now prepared and had the emotional and financial support to make such a decision. Eventually, I transferred to the  University of Texas at Dallas and decided to cut my work schedule to 20 hours per week in order to speed graduation and pursue my expanding goals and aspirations.

 

Through my past experiences and my educational background, I came to realize that my passion lies in protecting the working class. From my experiences, I have seen the working conditions that can be produced in a state where individuals are “at-will” employees and where it is difficult for families, like my own, to save money to provide for higher education. Because of my family and my own financial struggles, I have gained a heightened sense of awareness to workers that feel powerless. I have seen the faces of individuals that are overworked, underpaid, and devalued--the nameless faces that supervisors hire and fire to minimize costs and maximize profits. The legacy of organized labor, begun by my grandfather and bestowed upon my parents and myself, has prompted me to apply to law school in order to use the law as a tool to empower second generation Americans and first generation college graduates like myself.  The labor law courses at the University of Illinois College of Law are solid and respected nationally. My objective could only be supplemented by the clear commitment to labor issues at the College of Law. The evidence of such a commitment lies in the Employee Justice clinic, and more so in the prestigious Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal published by the College. It would be an honor to study law with such finely honed institutional tools, designed to cultivate ambitions such as my own. As such, I know that through attending law school and focusing a portion of my schedule to labor law, I will gain the skills necessary to further my goals and hopefully improve the ongoing struggle of laborers in America. This, I believe, is the true American dream--not the self-interested, rags-to-riches fairy tale, but the desire to provide a greater starting point for our children and subsequently their children.

*Some names have been changed, okay only Chloe's name has changed.

I am a sucker for a questionnaire

A- Age --- 27...ouch, that almost hurts to type...
B - Band listening to right now --- Jason Mraz
C - Career in future --- Revolutionary (thanks, maia)
D - Drink or smoke --- Yes, and quit
E - Easiest person/s to talk to --- Ang, Kenneth and Ellie
F - Favorite song/s at the moment: --- Jason Mraz's 1000 things, and Power of Two by the Indigo Girls....how good is THAT tune?!
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms--- Gummy is gross...I would rather have chocolate (I'm with Pam)
H - Have you ever had a girlfriend/boyfriend? --- yes/no
I - Instruments --- nope
K - Kids --- Undecided...though leaning towards nope
L - Longest ride ever ---  the longest ride ever was driving to Birmingham, Alabama for a football game when I was a kid and back to Lubbock. Fun, but long.
M - My favorite Sport --- Baseball and Soccer, though not to play...c'mon now...
N - Number of siblings --- An older brother, and a younger sister
O- One time I ---  got in over my head.
P - Phobias --- just the dark...
Q - Favorite Quotes --- "Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love." -Che Guevara
R - Reason to smile ---  ooh this is a good one....i have a whole list of things that i like... Things I like...
S - Song you sang last: --- 3x5 by John Mayer
T - Time you woke up ---- 9:30a
U - Unknown fact about me ---I take showers in the dark, though that may be more common knowledge than I think. (which this is weird, given you know the P.)
V - Vegetable/fruit you hate ---- Tomatoes - they truly are the devil. Oh and cucumbers...all cucumbers should be pickles.
W - Worst habit --- probably the internet
X - X-rays you've had --- only my teeth when i cracked two when i had a seizure
Y - Yummy food/s --- Pizza, mashed potatoes, corn, though not together
Z - Zodiac sign ---- Gemini

How did I get from point A to point B on this one? Wierd.

Okay I am realizing (thanks Elissa) that the last post probably didn't make any sense so...let me try and explain....I was at work, in the middle of a PowerPoint project for our students, which in and of itself is a tedious task because it has to be designed for students with dyslexia, AD/HD, and various other learning and physical disabilities. But anyway, I was doing that, and behind it I was checking email and checking on my law school applications.....well every time a new school requests a report it notifies me of which ones have asked and when the report was issued. I have applied to 8 schools, and it still kind of freaks me out when they get a report....the reports aren't exactly, uh, well they don't make me look good....they give statistical information on me obviously, but also on me with respect to other students from UTD. I guess I wasn't expecting that, nor was I expecting for my GPA to be so....common. Not that it's great, I just thought that a lot of people would be in the 2.0-2.9 range and there are, but there are a lot in my range too....They also have my LSAT score in relation to other students from UTD, so a lot of them are in my middle score range, but there were a lot below, and not an enormous amount above which is good....So there's that, school, and other stuff...so I wanted to say something about all of this in that post earlier and then i got carried away with the acronyms, then my appointment walked in the door, and you have to treat some of those students with kid gloves cause they don't always know how to interact with people all of the time...so i was rambling, then had to cut it short...sorry about that...

Today I was riding the bus to the train to the bus and then backwards again home, and I was thinking about how much I truly enjoy using public transportation. I mean don't get me wrong, when I have had cars, I enjoyed them. And I am voluntarily without vehicle, so it's not like I sit around saying, "gee, I wish I had a car..."

No, sir. I like it.

I enjoy being able to read and listen to music on the bus and not be bothered....or if I want, I can NOT listen to music and talk to a perfect stranger.

Which, if you haven't talked to a perfect stranger recently, you need to do it, and do it soon.

Today, I made random friends with a nice lady at the post office, a guy on a bus to work, and a little kid on a bus home from work. THAT to me is a wonderful and beautiful experience. Those times ranging from about 2 seconds to 20 minutes where I get to chat with someone that I will probably never get to see again, and find out what little information they wanna give up and share.

(I was talking to someone the other day about one of the things I learned from working in a bar where people would come for lunch and sit at the rail or come in after work for a beer before they went home, was that people may hate their jobs, but most (almost all) people love to talk about what they actually do. Most people will begin by telling you what their job is....this of course is boring, and a lot of people may either almost apologize for it, or their voice will go up at the end, either asking if you know of it or if you approve it's weird....like "I work for 3M, I'm a customer service rep?" 

So then you say "oh that's interesting", blah blah blah, some factoid that shows you know who they work for....and then you say (no really this is good)  "ok, so 'Customer Service Rep" what does that mean? I mean what do you do all day?" if this doesn't get them right away, keep at it....they will come up with something that they've done at their job that they are proud of just to keep you asking, and keep asking, come back with good questions...hypotheticals are good.

"okay so what if I call, and I'm like, 'Your stupid Post-its are taking the paint off of my walls! What are you going to do about it?' What would you do?"

Then they start talking and its interesting....now just remember what they do, and what they drink and they will forgive you for forgetting their name.

Now you know what it takes to be a good bartender at a someplace like...uh...well, like bennigan's, in Humble, TX.)

I talked to a couple with their daughter the other day...he was wanting to get in to a ministerial program at a school somewhere around here, and she was from Chicago. Nice people, we talked about crustless bread (don't get me started on that travesty) and how kids never want to eat the bread...they were nice. They were waiting on the wrong bus, and the bus driver sent them across the street.

I truly enjoy the peace that I feel when I am on either the bus or the train. Imagine having everything you absolutely need on your person. I have the clothes on my back, money, a mobile phone,  a book, some music, my laptop, some ibuprofen, a pencil and paper, all in my bag. No one's looking for me, no one really knows where I am, I could just go....that kind of information is very liberating.

Obviously I wouldn't, but I could. That's very peaceful to me. I am realizing that for most people, peace is finding a place to call home, and evidently my restless nature(?) finds solace in my own mobility. Maybe I have always known this, it would explain why I don't want to buy a house or why I haven't stayed at a job for longer than 2 years... I am going to have to think on that one...This is an interesting discovery.

Center for Tutoring & Learning Connections

Okay, I am at work at the CTLC, or "the Center" as it is not so affectionately known. I am doing the ridiculous amounts of busy work that my boss assigns to me, and while doing these incredibly dull and boring tasks, I am also checking email, and glancing at the progress of my law school applications through the LSAC, or Law School Admissions Council. They are the people that administer the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and also maintain the LSDAS, which is the Law School Database Admissions Service, who keeps all of your information (transcripts, letters of recommendations, LSAT score) and formats it into a report for each law school that you apply to. I am sure at this point you are thinking, "you know jake this is all very fascinating, but where the hell are you going with all of this?" And the truth of the matter is, I am not really sure, there are a lot of things going on in my head right now, and I guess I am always surprised when every day a new school that I have applied to, requests a report on me from the LSAC or the LSDAS (I'm not really sure which actually issues the report).

Again, I am not really sure where I was going with all of that, but my student is here now, so I guess I will have to update more later.

Sendin some shout outs...

Oh yeah, and I wanted to give a quick shout out to my brother. Good Luck! We all know you  deserve it, and if they don't know it, well, they're bastards. Either way, you set the bar of achievement pretty high, and though we curse you for it, we appreciate it.

And to a friend that took, in her words the "Guessing Right Excursion," -Way to go! You did it, now it's just fillin out (in?) the paper work. You aren't average, you couldn't be average, and those dreams, ambitions, goals, and direction are more than enough to take you there. Though the wit and charm will help too.

3:50

It has been almost a week since I posted, and I don't know if it's because I haven't had anything to say, or if it's because after reading Joe.My.God, I am realizing that I need to find a better voice. I can't decide, but I will say if you get a chance, click the link on the left, and read the archives. The stories will make you laugh, they will make you cry, they will make you laugh until you cry, and so on and so forth, but check him out, if you truly give him a shot, I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

Since last Tuesday, let's see...lots going on...I finally finished and mailed 7 of 8 law school applications. I thought I was done, but then I received another fee waiver to a school in Chicago, that has a social justice program, so I will go ahead and send in that one, since I can pretty much apply for free. So hopefully with 8 applications, at least one will accept me. School has been crazy, I still have that feeling of being behind, but it is not as bad as I originally anticipated it to be. I have noticed in my 27 years that that is true for a great many many things. Rarely, if ever, is anything as bad as you think it will be.

This weekend was a lot of fun, I will have to tell you about it another time though, as I just can't seem to keep my eyes open and tomorrow has suddenly become an early morning. I am looking forward to handing over a paper that was "edited" by me and my sister to Lisney, early tomorrow morning, and going with Emily to confront someone about something at about 930 or 10. So that should be interesting to say the least. 

I talked to an old friend this weekend. It was truly a pleasure. She has gotten married, is teaching, and recently bought a house. We talked for hours, and things felt so familiar and we reminisced and genuinely had a good time. Its funny, I think all of the time about how songs can take you to a certain time or place and remind you of someone or something that you haven't thought about in years...but that never happened with her. With her it was about a certain kind of day. It seems silly but when I knew her we always seemed to have the day to spend together and it would be these spring days where you were driving with the windows down, and the music loud, and you are smiling like a fool cause the day just can't go wrong. It seems weird, because there were probably more rainy days or hot days or even a few grey, cold days but those were our days. It would not have been weird, except that  today was one of those days. It's so weird to be torn between trying to create new memories or capture new pieces of time in your head, but you are reminded of these very special, incredible days that you spent with someone a long time ago. I think it would help if I knew she didn't think of them too. But I know she does.

Anyway, no matter how hard I try to forget, on those days when its warm in the sun, but almost cold in the shade, and the heater and the air-conditioner aren't doing it, so you have no choice but to roll down the windows, cause only the combination of the sunlight and the breeze will adjust the temperature just right....those days I think about her and how much time we spent together.

When I do think about the stories that I have and I think about how some of the blogs I read are so witty and brilliantly written that it's just not fair, I think about how difficult it must be to write down some of the memories and thoughts I've had. The beauty of this is the anonymity, I mean obviously it's not 100% anonymous, but the release is often whats most important on this end, and on the other end, it kind of serves our voyeuristic nature to want to know what's really going on with people....I feel like these kind of answer that question we all have of: Do they know something I don't? I think often we feel like everyone was pulled aside in gym class and given the secrets to being an adult but us and we want to know what we missed....And I've said this before, though probably not on this site, but sometimes there are things that are just mine, whether they are happenings, or they are memories or people or whatever, but they are mine, it's been a long time since I feel like I have been able to decide for myself what information is available to people that I (don't) know, and I enjoy using this medium as a vehicle for determining the difference.

Okay, well, I was going to go to bed....ok now, I am really going. More later, I am sure.

Around...

1. I took a test in my Judicial Processes class...I am afraid to say it, but I think I did very well. I should find out next Tuesday for sure.

2. I am realizing that most of my posts are after midnight so they are dated the day after they actually occur, I may finagle my clock on this thing so it seems to make more sense.

3. There is one last round of edits going on with the personal statement, hopefully my Univ. of Illinois application will be in the mail by Friday.

I think that's all for now...I will catch up more later.

If you don't have passion...what else is there?

It was something my sister said to me tonight. She is very insightful. Like my friend Red used to say, "Get busy living, or get busy dying."

Real quick:
For those of you that are movie buffs, there is a website that will do the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for you. It is very cool.

Also, I know the first rule is to not talk about it, but this site  makes a pretty good case for the parallels between Calvin and Hobbes and Fight Club. He actually goes as far as to say that the un-named Ed Norton character is an adult Calvin, and obviously Tyler is the adult version of Hobbes. A very interesting take...

Okay, so today was the day. My bag is here and it is pretty much the best that I know of. There is room for my laptop (and it is actually protected), several books, and lots of stuff. It is big, but no bigger than my backpack, or other bag. It will definitely take some getting used to though. The important things are that I bought a bag that is ideal for my computer, was made stateside by a company dedicated to social justice and environmental issues, so I can carry it in good conscience.

Well, I have a test tomorrow, so I am going to go take care of that. Talk to you more soon.