that other guy’s thoughts

For the past 9 months, I’ve been stewing about a job change. I don’t want to change industries, profession, or even company. I want to try something new within Cessna.

I don’t dislike my work; crawling around on airplanes and telling people what to do is precisely my idea of a good time. I don’t dislike my boss; he’s a great boss, almost the perfect boss for someone like me. I don’t dislike the other engineers in my office; they’re all decent fellows and respect me. I don’t dislike the guys & gals on the shop floor, even when they hold secret grudges against me for doing my job. It’s tough for a 50-year-old man to accept direction from a 24-year-old kid; I sympathize with his plight and do my best to humor his humorous suggestions. I don’t dislike my company; they make very good airplanes, pay me very decent money, and do an adequate job of shielding us worker bees from the corporate overlord queen.

So why in the holy name of Office Space, would I want to change jobs?

Because that’s just not enough.

I’m too young and life is too short to settle. I want it all; I want a job that inspires my mind, I want a job that pushes be to better and smarter than I am right now. I need a job that is intellectually stimulating.

A plurality of my day, and indeed my life, will be spent at work. To ask and expect anything less than the whole banana would be to lessen the capacity of my human experience.

Dear New Democratic Buddies,
On the evening of March 4th, I shall host a party for all members of the Obamanation. It shall be called Baracktoberfest. We will eat Barackwurst, Baraccoli & Cheese, Baracklava, and drink Baracktails. We will dance to Barack ‘n Roll, or play video games on my XBaracks 360. The air will be full of Obamaraderie and good will. Spirits will be high as we collectively embrace the Obamanomenon, prepare for the post-Barackalyptic world, and dream of the utopia coming in our new Barackracy.

In all seriousness folks, I like your guy, but can we please stop being so damn cultish about it. I’m glad you’ve finally found a guy with a pulse, but if you make this about viral celebro-hip chanting videos or “Rocking the Vote” or whatever the hell this is, I’m gonna have to vote for McCain. Fair warning.

Love,

Kyle

I caught Almost Famous on TV a few nights ago, and of course I had to watch the whole thing. Even though I’ve seen the movie at least 5 times, I was still mesmerized by the scene in the tour bus where the band, groupies, and our boy-journalist protagonist all sing along with Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” It’s a perfect marriage between that music and a movie. There isn’t a better song for that moment, or a moment for that song.

So it got me thinking, what other perfect marriages of movie and music are there? Lo and behold, I made a list:

“Tiny Dancer” in Almost Famous.

“Gonna Fly Now” during the training montage in Rocky I.

Guitar Solo from “Layla” while discovering all the dead bodies in Goodfellas.

“Ballad of Figaro” bringing the prison to a halt in The Shawshank Redemption.

Any other suggestions?

I was honestly excited about this election. We have 2 honest front-runners, neither of which represents the vicious power-hungry fringes of their respective parties. I thought maybe, just maybe, we might have a general election about ideas, issues, long-term goals, and the future of the republic.

Snap back to reality: Obama went off against a great source of human prosperity-NAFTA-and McCain caved to the crazy kill-em-all righties and voted against a ban on torture.

Sigh, back to the jaded and cynical sidelines.

I just got tagged with one of those disgusting Pro-Huckabee push pulls by Common Sense Issues.

Apparently Mike Huckabee saved my grandmother from a burning building while John McCain made Satan’s daughter get an abortion at gunpoint. Also, Mitt Romney stole my lunch money.

…there has never been anything false about hope.

On a freezing, snowing, windy night, in a district consisting almost entirely of trailer parks and rural communities, 586 people from 17 (18 by Nov.) to 107-years old gave up their Tuesday night to help choose the Democratic candidate for president.

Just a few notes from tonight’s experience:

Democrats look exactly like non-Democrats.

I showed up early, and still stood in line for more than an hour.

1st round tally : Obama 327 (55.8%), Clinton 245(41.8%), Edwards 10(1.7%), Uncommitted 4(0.7%)
2nd round tally: Obama 337 (57.5%), Clinton 249 (42.5%)
Delegate Count: Obama 5, Clinton 3

Best line of the night, given to us by caucus chairwoman Elizabeth Kinch, “Anybody for Dennis Kucinich? Anybody for the great liberal from Ohio with the hot 29-year-old wife?”

I’m not saying the Clinton supporters were geriatric, but the Clinton backers had the Obama backers beat in number of Walkers/Wheelchairs/Oxygen tanks by 14 to 0. I counted.

The pre-count 3-minute pitches by each candidates’ supporters were the lamest attempts at political persuasion I have ever personally witnessed. My high school driving instructor put more emotion into teaching me to parallel park. Just bad, very very bad.

There were 2 kids sitting with their parents on the Clinton side. On Obama’s side there were at least 2 dozen.

About before the actual count, they passed the hat to collect money for the Kansas Democratic Party, my thought process went like this, “Wait, aren’t these donations supposed to be reported to the FEC? Maybe that’s money for the campaigns. I don’t give a crap bout the Kansas Democratic Party. Besides, I need this dollar bill to buy stamps. I don’t want to break my 20 and get 19 dollars in gold coins from the post office. Pfffft, screw these guys.” I then felt guilty, like those times when I forgot to bring my wallet to Church, only you know…not as much ’cause I wasn’t stealing from Jesus.

I sat directly between two 17-year-old boys, an old lady who had to be pushing 90, a college girl, and a 50-year old lady named ‘Deb’. I think the Democrats have a healthy party base.

Apparently, it’s not enough to show support by sitting on your preferred candidates side. You must also be a skilled sign-waver, hand-clapper, and slogan chanter. I didn’t get the memo.

The difference between the 5-3 Obama lead, and a delegate 4-4 tie was only 8 people. I figured this out in my head in about 5 minutes while the precinct elders were scribbling and recomputing with jumbo worksheet and what looked to be a TI-83 for 20 minutes. I’m not so confident the Democrats have a healthy party leadership.

As a political leanings go, I’m independent. Fiercely independent, actually, and I wear it with pride. I prefer to advocate, vote, and think outside the two major parties. I resent being told what is important and I choose my values of my own volition, not party strategy. In my admittedly short 6-year voting history, I’m just as likely to vote for the obscure 3rd party candidate as someone with an ‘R’ or ‘D’ behind their name.

Though a registered independent, I’d wager that I know more about the platforms and candidates than 90% of members of either party. I’ve also been of the opinion that the nomination process is up to each party and each party alone. Kansas doesn’t allow independents to participate in primaries or caucuses. So I apprehensively wait until the general election to voice my vote.

It took a long 6 years, but I’ve reached a new conclusion:

I’m a selfish snob.

I’ve been too attached to my ideological and intellectual purity. In maintaining my independent persona, I’ve avoided the personal implication of bias and blame by staying above the fray. Withholding advocation just to retain a holier-than-thou persona is selfish.

But I’m done with that now.

So tomorrow, I’m leaving work at 6 o’clock driving to Derby Middle School and participating in the Kansas Democratic Party Presidential Caucus.

I will go early, give up my precious independent affiliation, and become a Democrat for the evening. I will gladly stand in a corner and have my head counted. Not for the party, or a man, but for a idea. Hope matters, always.

If you were to describe the most sick, twisted, and despicable act you could possibly think of, where would you start?

Killing innocent children I would guess. Not just any kids though, they should be happy kids, like a kid who just got a puppy.

Also, you wouldn’t do it yourself, you’d use somebody else to do it. You’d want to use an unwitting and unsuspecting accomplice. You’d lie about it to them, and trick them into believing they were going for a nice stroll amongst the happy children and puppies.

That’s obviously not evil enough, so you’d have to pick a gullible and innocent accomplice, like a mentally handicapped girl. Or better yet, two of them. To really bring it over the top, you’d kill them too, just for spite.

Now that is what I would call evil.

Unless I lived in Baghdad, then I’d just call it yesterday.

Earlier this week, I brought my mini-fridge into work on request of the newbie. Apparently, walking 30 yards to the break room for bottled water is too much of a hassle. I got free pudding out of the deal so what do I care?

During the transport process she (Yes, “she”, there are female engineers too, you stereotyping jerkface) asked me, “It was just sitting in your basement huh? Did you use it in your dorm room in college?”

There are dozens of ways to answer that perfectly benign question, explaining that I bought during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years when I first got possession of my own room at Triangle. I however, didn’t choose any of them. I choose the direct,truthful, and dismissive “No.”

It struck me as odd at the time. 3 days later, I still don’t have a reason why.