Some Barrel Racing At Pikes Peak Or Bust 2016!

I went to this lovely event called Pikes Peak Or Bust 2016. Here is just one of several vids I took of the event. Hopefully, my Sony Movie Studio will not be a bunghole tomorrow and will function correctly so I can make a highlight reel of the things I filmed at the event.

What the hell am I doing with my life..?

A lot of insight today

Surely, yes, you can blab all you want about how lazy I was for skipping work today. Yet, I did get a lot of insight and thought a lot today. First off, it was because of timing at first. Tried to catch the 3:38pm or so bus, but the more it ran through my head, especially the part about the bus only arriving like once an hour on the weekends, I was only going to get like 2 to 3 hours of work done anyways, so might as well stay home. After the fact though, I did think about it more. Here's my thought process in dialogue form:

What the hell are you doing Mark?

Nothing.

You mean that skipping work today is nothing?

Yeah.

How so?

Though it is a job, let's face some facts here. It doesn't really pay all my bills, it's essentially a janitorial position, and I'd only get 2-3 hours of work done max anyways at this point due to the ludicrous public transportation schedule on the weekends. There's also the fact that this job is not going to lead me anywhere, just the same old cleaning the tables and occasionally being in the back doing dishes. I want a more creative position, a position where I am actually excited to go to work and I understand that one somehow has to go through jobs like this before the position desired, but really, this just feels like pointless work to me. It just seems like just another chore at home, but getting paid for it really. Hell, even at Goodwill, after one year, I didn't even get a raise, just a certificate and the knowledge I made it a year miraculously. 

Now, in that kind of dialogue, I know my thoughts make me sound like some arrogant asshole that's just another part of this "gimme now!" generation, but that's not it at all. It's not like I want to be some crazy-ass billionaire that just talks and talks and have no idea what he's talking about, I just want to make enough so that my parents won't have to interfere in my life and pay for a portion. I want to be a proud, independent citizen that can fully pay for what he needs, and never look down upon himself for needs he couldn't pay for. That's all I want out of life right now. Okay, first a lovely life with my loved one, then that, but either way, I'm 3 years from turning 30 and if I don't feel like an independent adult by 30, then something's really wrong.

Just some update...

Yeah..so things have been well since my last post. My cold's getting a lot better thankfully, just been up and down about my job to be honest. Shall I continue to be in this monotonous position or do I quit to go down a more creative, better path..? I have been asking questions like this for a while, and yes I know I have been at this job-dining room attendant at ASU's Manzanita Hall by the way-for only two months and thus it would be insane and probably delusional to even considering quitting so early into a job, but sometimes I wonder if it'd be worth it. I have realized there would be some who will think that I'm just another part of the "now now now" generation, but that's not entirely it. What it comes down to for me at least is life fulfillment. I mean sure this job pays me and there's health insurance with it, but do I feel truly happy in this position? The real honest truth is that no I do not, but it does give me something to do during the day. That's all it really is for now, since I do have plans to put more videos on my YouTube channel and stuff like that to fulfill the creative part of my life. And to leave you on a positive note, I'll leave you all with this picture of some birds in Tempe near a man-made lake or canal I believe near that freeway that separates Scottsdale and Tempe:

And just for the hell of it, some footage of the rain today:

If I were President..

Now, I already know I will improve, so let's take a break from all that. Heck, since it's now a hot button issue with all this Vote 2016 and stuff, I shall now give you things I would do if I were President of the United States:

-Decrease the defense budget of this country. Surely yes, even I support the troops out there, but let's face it, unless they're facing dangerous terrorists, leaders, or international criminals, they're essentially just security guards securing resources that we have in this country, such as oil. What? We have oil in this country..? Yes, we do. And getting back to the main topic here, our defense budget is just plain ridiculous in this country. NASA? Nope. Education? Apparently not a priority for some reason. Yet, the military just seems to overshadow all of these priorities..so let's cut back on that a bit, shall we?

-Allow the open carrying of swords. I know it takes a while of focus and training to get used to a gun and all, but c'mon, sword training is a fucking art form. And just like people who want a logical regulation of guns, same with swords. Both you need a license and a mental health evaluation. It's common sense really, but swords, I think you're less likely to have a psychotic killer due to the mental preparation and physicality one must possess in order to use a sword, but just in case, a mental health evaluation would be needed just in case. A weapon's a weapon, am I right? Just to me, swords are more beautiful.

-Increase spending on NASA. I was so disappointed when they wanted to decrease the budget of NASA. I mean, once this planet's full, where are we gonna live? How are we gonna live? I mean yes, you do have those 4chan people coming up with theories, but the fine people of NASA can thoroughly research this and tell you what planet is livable and if it'll be alright to live in a gigantic space station like the Enterprise.

-Clarify what "minimum wage" actually means and make sure that definition is known. I've done research into this, and apparently what minimum wage is actually supposed to be is the average wage it is to live in a certain area. So, yes, Seattle's minimum wage is high, but that's probably because it's expensive to live there. We're a pretty big country to even a decide on what the entire country's minimum wage should be, so let's just find out what the true average is in a certain area and let that area and state figure out what their minimum wage should be.

-Make it illegal to predict when the end times are coming. I think I'll ignore this one, but at least to me, it's getting fucking annoying anytime when someone comes up with a date as to when the world is ending. Just stooppp. Pleeeassseee.

-Eliminate the word "moist". I would accept any word for wetness, but "moist" is just one of those words that just sounds disturbing..just..eww...

Yeah, it's just probably going to go crazier from here, so I'll end it there. Stay classy America.

Day 4 of my self-improvement journey

I made the effort today to be more socially active. Since today was one of my 4 days off this week, I decided to join my dad at Oktoberfest since he brought he and my mom's greyhound Huck to the Arizona Greyhound Adoption, Inc (something like that) tent and I got to meet some other greyhounds along with some awesome people. Heck, really kinda wishing I had a puppy around at least, but maybe sometime in the future after I get a license and a car..yeahhh. I also am considering going to church tomorrow since I haven't been there in a while due to my work schedule usually falling on the weekends starting at the weird time of 1pm and ending at 8pm. I weirdly figured about the 4 day thing once I tried punching in like 3 or 4 times and didn't work, so might as well check the schedule, and voila! There it was! I am just really hoping they're not slowly getting rid of me, and just loosening up my schedule for new recruits they've been hiring yeah. And if you're curious, this what Huck looks like:

He's pretty nice and loves being petted :). He's a pretty cool dog..

Day 3 of my self-improvement journey

I realized that really, I need a change in mood. Sure, mine has been weird recently due to this weird mucus build-up that will hopefully go away (I mean, I could call it a cold, but it doesn't really have the symptoms of one..it's strange really and I don't feel like going on WebMd..we know that site's bullshit..depending anyways..but yeah..). I just would like to stabilize it and not have any extremely bad or good days. I really just want to be content with myself to be honest. I haven't fully reached that point since all I am is some minimum wage table/counter cleaner that can barely afford his bills, let alone groceries, along with losing his backpack today (yeah lost it on the train shmeh..), and having a girlfriend that's all the way in China...yeah, it's pretty fucking hard. Yet, I can always find a bit of happiness in each day, such as music, like someone playing "Rapper's Delight" in the kitchen today-that was awesome. That song is fucking amazing. So as I'm on this journey, I shall definitely seek bits of happiness within a stressed-out today. Heck, now I'll leave you with a Vine I took today (follow me on Vine @MarkRiley20) :