What the devil?

Halloween is my least favorite holiday. I'm not sure what it is about it.

Actually, I know exactly what it is about it. I used to like Halloween because I loved free candy. In college, Halloween was just one of 365 reasons to drink and go to parties. Now that I have grown from that (unfortunate, yes, but it has happened), I am disgusted by the amount of gore.

When a sugar-filled, greedy little crapper walks to my doorstep, pushes a button and blood start gushing down their face, I just can't help but feel a need to slap the parents across the forehead. I'm not an overly sensative guy, but the idea of death being glorified is very bothersome. You go to the store and it used to just be some skeletons and bats but now it is life-like heads impaled on pitch forks. It's sick!

I appreciate the adorable little princess that come across once in awhile, but overall, I just can't justify this holiday. I had pumpkins on our porch and a week later they are smashed in the street. The sad part is, it's expected at this time of year.

Soon I may have children. And when I do, my little craphead will get the candy and then I'll eat it.

Say hello to my little friend

Ever wondered what it'd be like to receive a letter from yourself about your future in the present. My wife did that, it's quite interesting really. I mean, think about it. If you REALLY want to know how much your life has changed, what better way to do so than to think about when you were 10 years old and then write a letter to yourself telling you about your life. Let's see how I do:

Dear 10-year-old Shawn,

You will eventually lose all that weight... well for awhile. A long while even. In middle school you are going to be living on the other side of the country. It will be cold but it will be happy. Be ready for rough times when you first get there, but then it gets good. You'll move again, it won't be so good. Then you'll move again and be happier than you ever imagined. 

Stupidity will be second nature. As a result, you'll end up in the hospital with a 13-inch skull fracture. But it leads to having a girl in your life throughout high school. It won't be the best relationship but you'll later learn that everything happens for a reason. Without the bad, you can't have the good and when you go off to college, you'll easily recognize the good.

You'll marry your best friend. She'll be taller than you, smarter than you and all around you'll wonder how the hell you landed her. The good lasts a long time, but you'll again need a reality check. You'll be hit by the real world and not handle it all that well. But she will pull you through but you will know better than to forget all that she has given. 

It seems like it's a long time coming, but it'll be here before you know it. At 26, you'll feel no older than 18, but people will start referring to you as "sir" and Mr. Finer. You'll start getting annoyed at loud music and going to bed at a reasonable hour will sound nice.

Maybe I should leave the last part out...

So little Shawn, enjoy it while you can. You are going to have a wife, house, cats and debt before you know it. The best is yet to come!

Oh and don't worry about that place and the thing where that stuff happened.............. just kidding.

A Declaration of Dependence, The Great Paradigm of the Whining Lazy Ass

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I couldn't agree more.

But I fail to see where "pursuit of Happiness" has become the responsibility of the government. Or where people see "Liberty" as the governments to control rather than support. Or where "Life" is for the government to provide for rather than protect.

Take care of yourself and stop relying on our government. A lot of crap is getting expensive and things are getting scary, so instead of looking to the feds and saying "How are you going to make me happy and solve my problems" look in the mirror and ask that same question. 

Scan back over control and honesty. You can only control what you can control and the only way to know what that is, you have to be honest with yourself. Fear will remain, but at least you can try to be proactive for yourself rather than reactive to our government.

Take some friggin' responsibility for yourself. There's help, but help should be a crutch for you to get back on your feet, not another leg that you depend on each day. You want help?? Then help yourself. You are the only one who knows what you need. Get outside help when necessary, but don't depend on it.

People need to stop thinking they are owed something just because they were born. Stephen Crane's poem explains that rather well:

"A man said to the universe:

'Sir I exist!'

'However,' replied the universe,

'The fact has not created in me

A sense of obligation."

Keep in mind, I am not telling people not worry. In fact, I am stating quite the opposite. Go do something to take care of yourself. If you need help, there are those who are willing. If you can be the one to help others, do so. Don't be a victim. Be an American.

Thank God for our government and God Bless America. Now get off your ass and do something.

I'm Shawn Finer and I approve this message.