pineapplefroot

hey kid . . .

hope it's a great one for you!

have a great Birthday,, good luck with job hunting

Hahh...! I'm glad that things are looking good for you in that department. What a fun lyrical submission.

Thank you. Probably one of the better things said about my writings.

Ah, Zimmerman... honestly, I think he should have just stayed in the car. A lesson I learned myself recently.

A "Croque-Monsieur?" Damn, those French are always one step ahead of me. Here I thought it was something I came up with.

I'm not so sure that I'm staying anymore, though it was considerably reassuring to know that I will be missed. Thank you.

Good luck with both the play and your student teaching(not that you'll need it in either case )!

Ohai!

Thanks! It's going very well so far. Took my first load down last night. The neighborhood is fantastic, and the house is great.

There's a first time for everything!

Lies.

I find keeping them all the same color helps camouflage the encroaching crazy-cat-person-ness

I'm sorry to hear that.

but

remember,

I like to have a little interest in something my partner is interested in. This way, when they get excited about something related to it, I can have a minimum understanding of why they are excited - or at least not be bored out of my mind when it comes to talking about/doing it. Do I get sucked in to it? Occasionally.

I'm tired of hiding my flaws. I find it's far too destructive to me when they come out later.

You have a lot of the same flaws and insecurities as my wife. The more I know about you the more I think about that. We both hate to be wrong but she is more apt to be right. She hid a lot of her flaws from me for a long time partially because she was worried I might skate if I knew and partially because I wouldn't have let it in any way because I was blinded by new love. People say that love is blind but really new love is blind. Old love sees it all and sticks around in spite of everything. If you are concerned with a lack of diversity in your interests then what is so unnerving about adopting some new interests you could share with someone. Over time I think the wife and I have adopted some of each others interest which is good because we spend a shitload of time together but there are still plenty of interest we don't share which we partake in when we are apart. Sometimes we suffer through some things for each other. That is part of being in a relationship. Adjustments and compromises are how its done. While it I good to see the gray area in the big picture you have to let yourself have some personal gray areas. There is very little in the world that is truly black and white even if you are right. Haha. I on the other hand prefer to wear my flaws right out in the open and you can take me on leave me. I only start adjusting me for someone when I get to know them and care what they think. That is probably not any more healthy an attitude to have.

I guess you are a little more work now but well worth the effort.

Pineapples are fun to open up because of the challenges!

hope it stays solid, & well, & the very best of luck to you.
But,
as you brought it up, and as it remains one o' my very favorites . . .

He was . . . deeply, and painfully flawed, rather brilliant, depressed, loving, aloof, selfish and self absorbed yet incredibly generous and helpful.
He was a shitty person, many times.
He was a good father, most times. And he always tried.
He was a living, breathing contradiction.
In short, he was human.

Thank you, though, for asking.
I've been wrestling with these thoughts, and how to truly describe him, and my feelings for him, all day.

A couple of years ago Canada got it's 'Romney' Federal Government. (Partly because there was nothing coming close to a Obama-esque alternative). The HarperGovernment had a huge unforseen ally: The Poor.

Many saw the upswing in the Canuck Democrat party as a huge policy shift only to be left scratching their heads at the sweeping majority the Cons got in Parliament. A few years on now, enough Poly-Sci students have looked at the numbers and their meanings and blogged about it.

So in a post 2009-crash world the traditional thinking said with the high unemployment rate, The Poor would vote socialist. But they didn't and some of the theories postulated in Canuckistan were...

"People in low-income neighborhoods are the biggest victims of the drug dealers and violent young offenders Harper was promising to lock up. They want relief from the violence they cant escape. They want to rid their communities of the gangs that lure their children into gun-and-gang culture. Crime crackdowns make sense to them."

Pride. Most anti-poverty activists... are not poor. Those who are poor don't have time to fight poverty. They are too busy trying to survive it. So, when the educated middle class come calling with plans to make their lives better, well... they might as well be asking them if they have Heard The Good News.

Low-income voters who have to work dead end jobs resent middle-class (or upper-class) politicians who collect salaries far beyond what they can hope for often find solace in the thought of fewer politicians in the world with a smaller government. Philosophically it appeals to low income workers, more so than the thought of a tax cut (which usually never comes anyways).

The conservative leanings of the lower class have always confused me. I used to just blame that on religion but it really is more than that. The wife is an avid NPR listener and a few months back she heard a story about how the average family of four making $60,000 dollars a year has less disposable income than the average family of the same size that has tapped into all the available welfare programs ie food stamps, housing assistance, free lunch at school etc. As close to home as that hit to me (since we are a family of four making around 60,000 a year) I do not begrudge welfare recipients their "lavish" life style. As far as I'm concerned I would rather be doing my job than have to stand in all the lines and deal with all the government employees to have to go through to get that assistance which is essentially a job unto itself. Part of our problem is that we are jaded as a country and we hate to see anyone getting a "free ride" especially those of us that work our asses off just to be broke. Another problem is the American Dream which is that everyone has the ability to bring themselves up out of poverty and be a millionaire and god forbid if we make it to rich the government is going to take our money and give it to the poor. It is not a very humanitarian outlook but it is a pretty common one I have found. Greed and ignorance will prevail sometimes I suppose.