The American Dream and Occupy Wall Street

The American Dream is so misunderstood. People seem to think that the American Dream is dead because they moved here from Mexico or Russia or China or where ever else and their life isn't that much better. They may not have a job, or welfare may not pay all their bills. That's not what the American Dream is. The American Dream was to MAKE a better life for yourself through an OPPORTUNITY given to you by being in a free country. You have to WORK. Create a business, go find a job, earn the money you need to feed your family.

The American Dream is not about moving to America and instantly having a better life.

The American Dream is about having an opportunity to create a better life.

This goes for you "Occupy Wall Street"ers too. Does the economy collapse suck? Absolutely. Is it fair that CEOs got raises larger than what most of us will earn in a lifetime? No. But life isn't fair. Quit sitting around waiting for someone to change things. You're throwing a temper tantrum. "Johnny has all the toys and I don't have any and I don't like that. Make him share." "The Big Four have all the money and I don't have any and I don't like that. Make them share." You don't even have a proposed plan for change, nor do you have specific demands.

Why don't you learn how to save, start a company, and create jobs? Then you're making money, the unemployed get jobs, and we can start healing our country. Instead, you're standing in various cities around the country throwing a temper tantrum reminiscent of a three-year old. Grow up. Take some responsibility for yourself.

By the way, NYC has estimated this has cost them $2mil in overtime for police forces. Guess who's paying for that overtime out of the money they don't have? The 99%.

I'm not part of the 1%. I have student loan debt. I don't like the banks. But I am part of a different 1% (if it's even that big). I'm part of the 1% of this country that has mentally grown up and taken steps to protect myself from these banks. Why don't you go educate yourself on how credit cards and ARMs work instead of standing around, whining? Maybe if you better understood how those worked, you wouldn't be a part of the 99%.

Untitled

A woman walked out of her shop one day. She sat down at the bus stop just outside, next to a man who had been there quite a while. She knew he was headed nowhere, so she spoke to him alone there, trying to bring his problems into light. She said,

“I can see the sadness in your eyes,
Such sadness,” she said.
“What's causing this sadness within
Your eyes, my friend?
Have you had your heart broken?”
“No, not my heart,
Only a high school crush, long-forgotten,
many years ago.”
“Have you lost someone dear?”
“Not for multiple years.”
“So why the sadness,
the hurt,
the pain in those bright blue eyes?”
He said,

“I'm a traveler of this world,
I see firsthand how life swirls.
I've see life and death and ev’rything in between.
I see joy and I see suffering
I see hatred and some loving
But the one thing that I have yet to see
Is someone
Who truly loves
Me.”

At this, she was shocked. She had seen this man around town with his wife, child, and friends, and they all got along very well. She just couldn’t see how this man, who had a wonderful family and friends, could possibly say he hadn’t been loved! She said,

“Now you know that's crazy!
Your friends, wife, and baby
all look at you with those adoring eyes.
If love is not within them,
they're good at keeping hidden
their true selves
way down deep inside.”
And he replied,

“I'm a traveler of the world,
See firsthand how this life swirls.
I've seen hope and despair,
jealousy so green.
My family loves my money,
my friends so cruel, ‘cause Honey,
the one thing I have yet to see
Is someone who truly loves
Me.

10/06/2011

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author.

"But I'm TRYING!"

How are you trying? If you truly want something, it’ll happen because you’ll take action. If you’re not sure or you don’t truly want it, you’ll “try” but if things don’t work out, you’ll fall back to the status quo and be okay with it.

The question is: How bad do you actually want it?

If you’re not sure, I’m not convinced you really want it that bad.

You’re not sure because you never really considered it. You thought it was what you wanted to do because it’s what others are doing or you thought it would be nice, but you never contemplated the reality of your personal situation. You never sold yourself on the idea.

Outside events have nothing to do with what you want, or they shouldn’t at least. There’s not attainable goal because the whole idea is based on some notion you’ve created in your head, not fact. You need to make your life endogenous, about YOU and what you need to do, not what’s happening around you. Reality is perception, which means everything you think is real is only a semi-factual spin on what is actually happening.

Our society is definitely self-centered, but it is also a self-perfect society. “I am perfect so everything is everyone else’s fault.” This “new” way of thinking is rare to find in practice and even rarer to hear out loud. It’s not anyone else’s fault or responsibility, it’s YOURS. Take action and do something about it. Don’t wait for some elected leader to fix it or for your boss to give you a raise…do something to change it. Facts don’t change; it’s that perception, your “spin” on the facts that needs to.

It starts with figuring out what you actually want.

You have goals somewhere in your mind. Find them and examine them. Why do you REALLY want that particular thing?

Others can’t be any more help than you are to yourself. All I do is ask questions. You need to do all the work.

Nights Like This

A dark night, deserted road
Empty town, no place to go
It’s nights like this,
Nights like this

Rain comin’ down, cleanse the world
Crazy thoughts, mind in a swirl
It’s nights like this,
Yeah, nights like this when the lonely hits.

She ain’t comin’ back,
No use in tryin’
Screwed up, I missed my chance
A piece of my soul is dyin’
It’s nights like this
Yeah, it’s nights like this
It’s nights like this when the lonely hits.

Brown box full of memories
Try to forget, can’t let go
It’s nights like this,
Nights like this.

Oh, I’m sorry for the things I put you through
Can’t believe the things I said to you
I’d be happy with one
Last
Kiss…

But she ain’t comin’ back.
There’s no use in tryin’
I screwed up and missed my chance
I can feel inside I’m dy-in’
It’s nights like this
Whoa-oh it’s nights like this
Yeah it’s nights like this
When the lonely hits.

5/24/2011

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author.

Stumbling

Golden sky, Bright Blue sun
Green asphalt, Black grass
Plumes of Fiery Red smoke
Heat radiating from dark, unseen fire.
Gold is Blue is Green is Black is Red is
Transparent.

Invisible, unseen danger.
Blind to threats, all surrounded.
Hit with Red rocks of life,
Drawing Gray emotional blood.
Stumbling.

Trying to break free,
Running into barbed fences,
Fences made of nothing.
Fighting torturous demons,
Demons only in the mind.
Stumbling.

Falling.

A hand reaching out,
Cold, harsh hand,
Pulling out of the darkness
Into the light.
Standing.

Opening of eyes,
Viewing the world,
Too large, too scary.
Can’t walk alone.
Stumbling.

Falling.

Crashing.

Life.

Living.

Alive.

4/18/2011

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer

This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author. 

Drugs

The Advil they call drowsiness
Morphs into Vicodin they call sleep
It all “lasts 8 hours” but nothing kills
The pain deep inside, within me.

I can’t believe the way that she
Decides to run my life
Drivin’ me crazy
And yet
She’s the only thing keeping me
From pulling that wheel
Runnin’ off the road
To disaster

The Advil they call drowsiness
Morphs into Vicodin they call sleep
It all “lasts 8 hours” but nothing kills
The pain deep inside, within me.

My parents warned me of
The dangers:
Booze and drugs
Rock and sex
My conscience is hardly keeping me
From downin’ that bottle
Shootin’ up ice
Headed down that alley
To disaster

The Advil they call drowsiness
Morphs into Vicodin they call sleep
It all “lasts 8 hours” but nothing kills
The pain deep inside, within me.


Author's Statement: The author in no way, shape, or form advocates drug use except when prescribed by a medical doctor or taken according to directions. Depression, bipolar disorder, addiction and other mental health issues are extremely serious. If you suspect you suffer from any of these afflictions, please see you medical health professional as soon as possible.

Posted 3-21-11. Original date of authorship unknown.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer

This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Right or Wrong?

Who decides right and wrong? According to Business Law 060, ethics can be based on a number of ethical theories. There are theories that say that whatever is best for society is ethical, but there are other theories, primarily ethical relativism, that say that whatever you decide is ethical is right. Who decides which theory everyone else should follow? Why should I be worried about anyone else? What’s to keep me from stealing money or cars or anything else in order to benefit myself? That’s perfectly moral according to ethical relativism.

On top of these questions, what does it mean to be ethical? If you behave in a “moral” manner, does that make you better than the guy down the street who sells meth to kids? Again, it comes back to whose right it is to judge. From a religious standpoint, there are some very clear rules stated in each religion as to what is or is not moral, but there are quite a few gray areas too. Take driving, for example. A few nights ago, I was late getting home. I was driving along in a hurry when I came to a stoplight. The light was red, but there was nobody else around, not even cops. Would I be acting unethically if I blew that red light, even I was not putting anyone in danger? Many people would say that I broke the law, therefore blowing the light is wrong. Now say I had someone who was dying in the backseat of my car. If I blow through the red light, they live, if I stop, they die. Is it still wrong to blow that red light? Yes, because I broke the law. But then didn’t I just save someone’s life? Or, if I stop, didn’t I obey the law, but kill someone?

Maybe morality is based on a points system. To blow the red light simply to get home faster is -1 point for breaking the law. To ignore it to save someone, or stopping and having them die would then be a total of 0 points; +1 for stopping or saving someone, and -1 for ignoring the light or letting the person die. Even religion cannot completely explain this one. You would have to imagine 99% of religions would say that you have a duty to save that person, and yet those same religions would probably say that you must obey the laws of authority as well.

Another possibility is that morals are based on karma. Similar to the points system, you get good karma for doing good things and bad karma for doing bad things. However, it’s more of a weighted points system, where saving a life would give you more good karma than running a red light would give you bad karma.

I don’t really care what you believe about right and wrong, morality and ethics. I simply pose this little problem to you in order to get you thinking. And through this thinking and these questions, I actually would like you to answer one question for me. It seems simple, but clearly there is no “simple” in morality. My question is this: after reading this and thinking about right and wrong, who the hell are you to judge what I do or what I have done in my past or what I will do in my future? My belief is that there are exactly two people who can and will judge me: myself and God. You may or may not like what I do with my life, and you have every right to tell me that, but before you judge my character based on isolated instances, remember that you have no idea what I’ve been through in life or what has shaped me up to this point. There’s a reason I do what I do, a method to the madness. You can get sneak peeks into that through my writing and spending time with me, but don’t EVER presume to know me enough to make a judgment on me or my character.


© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

What's A Degree?

What is a college degree? Is it really important in the grand scheme of life? Or is it just a piece of paper that you pay thousands of dollars for and hang on your wall? Obviously, there are some careers that require certain degrees or certifications such as doctors, lawyers, CPAs, teachers, engineers, and the like. But is that business, graphic design, or journalism degree really necessary? How much do you learn in those classes that you can’t learn in job training or a quick Google search? Professors talk about the need to know the history of the profession or concepts in order to know why things work. However, when you get into your career field, you’ll find that the history of the profession is often useless; sure, it got the field to where it is, but you want to help move the industry forward, not back. Similarly, you will probably need the concepts, but you will rarely need to know who or how the concepts were discovered, you just need to know how to apply them; again, something that often comes in job training.

Take, for example my roommate, friend, and occasional inspiration, Jeffrey Hirsch. Recently, Jeff went to Nashville, Tennessee for a country music convention in order to meet people from the industry and learn more about the record label side of the business. This trip was completely unrelated to school and he had to miss a week of classes in order to attend. During this trip, he met many people in the record label and music business and, through conversation and seeing the industry in action, he learned straight from the source how different aspects of marketing and advertising worked together, how certain things could then lead to the need for public relations knowledge, and how all these things actually apply in the country music industry. Few of the people he talked to would have actually been able to tell him the name of the principles they were using, yet they are generally successful business people. In fact, Jeff found that he would meet people who were proud of the fact that they were successful with no education at all.

But education is so important! Yes, it is. But is it necessary? And how much are you really learning? You can go to class every day, get straight A’s, and I will still argue that you have not necessarily learned anything. Many students never actually learn the material presented in their classes, they simply stuff the information into their head long enough to spit it back out on a test. This is not learning. If I gave students a test made up of random test questions from classes they have taken and don’t give you time to “study,” which would actually just be stuffing as much information into your head as possible, I bet the majority of students would fail. Learning means knowing something so well you can recreate it, even years later. Memorization is simply storing information for a period of time. The problem is memory is faulty and you lose most things in memory if you do not regularly go over the information.

So what is a degree? A degree for the vast majority of people is a piece of paper that says “This person is very good at memorizing information for a short period of time, but they never actually learned anything.” I’ve told Jeff—and I truly believe this—that he has taught me more important and applicable concepts and ideas than any class in college. He’s taught me at least one way to make my money work for me instead of me working for my money. He’s also turned me on to a number of ideas and authors. As I read these books and listen to Mr. Hirsch, I find myself thinking more and more in terms of these concepts, applying them to my life when possible. This is true learning: discovering or hearing something and then applying it to life. This is exactly what a degree does not do. A degree is what Daniel Pink would call an “if-then” reward. These say, “if you do this, then you receive this.” Pink examines these rewards in much more depth in his book Drive: the Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, but what you need to know is that “if-then” rewards actually decrease the target behavior, which would be actual learning in a college setting. Students are told that if they meet the requirements for GPA, credit hours, etc., then they will receive their degree. This encourages students to do anything they can simply to meet the requirements given them. They no longer have any incentive to learn for the sake of learning; they want to “learn” in order to get a piece of paper that supposedly opens all kinds of doors. Students are suddenly not opposed to taking shortcuts because they are only working toward that piece of paper instead of working toward mastery of a particular subject. When working toward mastery, taking shortcuts only hurts the individual student. But when a student is working toward a degree, shortcuts are simply the means to an end.

This is the problem with our college-driven society. In other countries and cultures, many people attend universities simply for the sake of learning. A degree is not needed in many countries because most people just take over the family business. In the United States, however, our society is obsessed with college degrees and higher learning, which actually causes an inflation in the value of a college degree. 30 years ago, you didn’t need a college degree to get a job in most places. 10 years ago, people started realizing they needed to get a bachelor’s degree to get a job, regardless of what the degree was in. Today, even bachelor’s degrees aren’t enough in some cases. Why the sudden need for higher degrees? Has the nature of jobs today really changed that much? You could argue that either way, but the majority of change has gone from mechanical work with constant rules and laws into a more fluid, creative sector that higher education simply cannot teach.

The most important knowledge you can have is in common sense and financial literacy if you wish to be successful in today’s world. You don’t need a college degree to know how to buy houses and rent them out, or to invest in stable stocks and ride them out for 20 or 30 years as they grow. Some of the most successful people in the world have no college degree, they simply had a great idea at the right time and jumped into it, refusing to fail because if they did, they would have nothing. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and many others have either no college education or they dropped out well before receiving their degrees, and yet they are either on the cutting edge of today’s technology and communications or the richest people in the world…or both. Success does not hinge on your education. Success is made up of common sense, smart financial planning, smart investments, and just a tiny bit of luck.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

The Pick

It seems small and insignificant sitting on my desk. Most people wouldn’t even notice it unless they looked closely. There are all kinds of little trinkets and items on my desk; this is no different from the others, and yet it is. They say it’s the little things that count, the simple things that make us appreciate life. In order for that to be true, you have to notice the little things before they can mean anything. To any other person, this tiny, guitar pick means absolutely nothing. It could be one of hundreds that I keep, being a guitar player. But they don’t see the true significance of this particular pick. This pick is the catalyst for my love of guitar.

It’s a fairly thick pick, made for playing bass guitar, but still thin compared to a “typical” bass pick. It creates as pure and warm of a sound as possible without using the fingering method, the way bass guitars were meant to be played. That thin line it walks between purely human playing and manufactured plastic sound is a constant reminder of that line I must walk between the different facets of my life: friend, family, professional, student. I’m always treading this line, blurring the different identities, trying to show people the “me” I want them to see, but never fully able to keep them from seeing pieces of my other identities as well.

The pick’s overall color is a pure white, flawless. On one side, it’s marked with the word “HURT,” an obscure band with a rabid fan base. That purity a reminder of what I am striving for, pure, flawless playing. Always working toward mastery, that untouchable intangible, the chance to someday be able to play any song I wish, and to play it for a rabid fan base. That “HURT,” that obscure band with the most loyal of all fans, prompting me to remain true to the purity of playing for the love of guitar, not for money or fame. If I ever get the chance to play for a crowd, I’ll play with that pick on a chain around my neck, that constant physical reminder to go out, have fun, and then thank that audience with a personal meet-and-greet, a personal handshake or hug and a heartfelt “Thanks” for the support of this pure musical and soulful experience. And I wait for that day when a teenager, around 16 or 17 years old, comes up to me, awestruck, showing me the pick I tossed into the crowd, I make sure to show him that tiny, insignificant, near-invisible white pick that sits on my desk, now hanging around my neck, and I tell him my story and encourage him to go out, grab a guitar, and play for the love of playing.

3-1-2011
© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

"Put it this way: if you can't be reasonably responsible when drinking, maybe you should question whether youre responsible enough to drink"

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Brilliance!

Again, someone who can explain things much better than I ever could. Quiz before the video: is your house an asset or liability? How about your car? ATV? Rental property?



Adam Carroll is an incredibly intelligent man, especially on financial matters. He argues that you should be trying to build up these things called "Massive Passive Permanent Streams of Income." Check out his book to find out why and how!



© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Schooooool's Out. For. EVER!

Aren't you sick of reading this blog yet? Seriously, there's nothing important in here, since 2011 started, anyway. Do you just like reading about my life? Are you stalking me?? I'm calling the police. They can track you down, you know. They'll keep me safe. Creeper.

Whoo...that was weird. Sorry. Strange mood today.

I'm still having problems coming up with stuff to tell you about...my life just is not that interesting. I can't even take every day occurences and put a spin on them because the same things happen to me every day and they're so mundane, it's not even possible to make them interesting. I'll do my best though.

Yesterday I pulled out my brand new chromatic guitar tuner and played a little last night...it's actually easier for me to play when I'm tuned in DropDb. Probably a good thing too, since my E string is kinda messed up and it's risky to tune it all the way up to standard. I should just get a new string, but for the time being, I think I'm going to leave it in DropDb and transpose songs to that. Makes it easier when I don't have to tune too.

So I really find my business law class interesting, but I find myself dreading it more and more every Tuesday and Thursday. I think the biggest reason is because my professor uses me as an example all the time. I've been used as a unique example 10 or 11 times in the 5 classes that have not been tests. That's two examples that could be as long as 10-15 minutes each. That means that I'm being used 20-30 minutes out of every 75 minute class. A bit ridiculous if you ask me. Other thing I hate is the homework...which I put off until after my morning classes...giving me approximately 3 hours to do the homework. It's not overly hard, but it's time consuming, boring, and horribly intricate and detailed.

Another class I'm dreading more and more is Psych Stats. I sit here and waste my time listening to my professor who seems to think he's a stand up comedian. In addition, he thinks he's a lot younger than he is because he just used "BTW" in lecture. Seriously. On top of all that, he's about 75% deaf and therefore can't hear anyone who asks questions during this review session and he also yells pretty much the whole time. It's just a little irritating.

And finally, English. I just don't like this class. Really haven't since the beginning of the semester, but things aren't getting any better. I don't like writing about myself. Let me write about whatever I want.

It's so ironic how every time I say it's going to be a short post or that I claim to have nothing to talk about, those end up being some of my longest posts.

Anyway, it's about time for class to end and I have to go to class and enjoy the beautiful weather so I'll see you all tomorrow!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

This Is Going To Be A Really Short Post With A Really Long Title Cuz That's Irony Isn't It?

Buenas dias!

I'm getting worse and worse at this...but I still haven't failed yet! The plus side is, I don't have much of anything to report so you're not missing out on anything. I didn't really do anything special for my birthday yesterday and the only real important thing that happened is I realize I forgot about and missed my lab on Monday...oops.

Well, I'm off to take a Drugs and Behavior test...wish me luck!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Happy Birthday To You

Man...I'm gettin' later with my posts every day. My bad...I promise they will keep coming though!
(PS. You may wonder why I keep promising updates to a blog that get a fairly small amount of traffic...it's a psychological thing. If you say something or make a public announcement of something, even to one other person, the chances of you following through are much greater and this is something I want to continue to do, so I keep myself accountable in any way I can!)

News, news, news...First thing on the agenda, because it's going to be the most prevalent today, is that today is my birthday! Whoo hoo! Alright, that's enough celebrating. You see, I'm beginning to like it more, but my birthday has never really been all that special to me. The time I get to spend with family because of it is great, and who doesn't like receiving gifts? But to me, my birthday is, for the most part, just another day. I probably won't do anything special tonight, especially since I have a test tomorrow morning, but I'm perfectly fine with keeping things laid back and chill. Maybe it's just me, but a huge elaborate party isn't necessary...I went to the casino for my 18th and that was awesome, I'll go to the bar for my 21st and have a couple drinks, but this wild and crazy stuff just ain't my style.

What else...somewhat busy week ahead...test tomorrow, some problems and a mini-essay due Thursday, and a quiz on Friday. Nothin' big, but it's stuff that needs to be taken care of.

Well, I thought I had more news than that...I guess not. I'll see if I can't find something to post later...I found that StumbleUpon has a great Psychology section...maybe you'll see something from there! See you tomorrow!

-Jacob

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

The Secrets of Time

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

PS. If this is Austin....

Hola!

I'm lazy today so you may be disappointed yet again.  I'll get over this laziness thing soon enough and have some quality stuff, I'm sure!

Anyway, I had a great week, even if I did neglect all of you, who are oh-so-important to me!  I mentioned we went to Outback Steakhouse on Friday night and it was DELICIOUS, even if I have a tendency to over-stuff myself...oops.  After dinner, we went to visit my grandparents for a while.  Then my parents and I spent most of Saturday at an outlet mall looking for birthday gifts for me since no one had ANY gift ideas, including me.  I got a really nice Columbia spring jacket, a chromatic guitar tuner, and an arm strap for my iPod since I kind of have a problem carrying it when I'm working out.  Sunday was the busiest day of all, with a workout at 0800, church at 1000, brunch at 1115, and then I still had to get a hair cut, beard trim, and pack, all before we could leave to bring me back to DSM.

We made it back alright though and, after some dinner at the Drake Diner, we headed back to my dorm where I spent a pretty relaxing night just hanging out, watching the Grammys.  Back to the boring ol' college life, I guess.

I'm getting horribly distracted so I think that means I don't have anything else on my mind.  See y'all tomorrow!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Back to the Grind

Hey peeps,

Yet another short, slacker-style post, but I'm tired from traveling and packing and all that...it's been a busy day.  Up at 0700, went to Lifetime, then church, brunch, packing, a haircut and beard trim, trip to Best Buy, 3.5 hours south and now I'm FINALLY back to school.  Not that I wanted to come back per se, but all the stuff this morning kind of stretched out the inevitable which makes it that much harder.

Anyway, this post was mostly to let you guys know that I am, indeed, still alive and well and that I made it back safely! Hopefully things will return to their regularly scheduled programming tomorrow morning.

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Home Again, Home Again

Hey everyone, I haven't forgotten about you.  Like I mentioned, things are a little different when I'm home.  I doubt I'll get my post in tomorrow morning either.  Just wanted to let you know that I arrived home safely, had a wonderful dinner at Outback Steakhouse, went to see my grandparents, and now do some home-life related things.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Well I'm Going Home, Back To The Place Where I Belong...

Hola!
How's everyone doin' today?
Good?
Good.

Day 6...this early morning stuff may kill me.  I'm still tired and the only reason I think I'm up right now is out of excitement to go home which is connected to my imminent need to wash my dishes and clean my room, at least a little, before my mom gets here.  Can't have her thinkin' my life has fallen apart without her, can I?  Which brings me to my next point.....

I'M GOING HOME TODAY!  You guys are probably like, "what's the big deal?  I barely get along with my parents and you've been at school for like a month."  You're absolutely right.  Difference between me and you?  I enjoy spending time with my family. (And I really really really need my own quiet room and some home cooked food!)

What else to mention....hmm....well, while I'm at home, I hope to keep up all the habits I'm trying to build, but I'm not sure how well that will go...which may unfortunately mean that I miss updating you guys for a day or two.  Don't worry though!  I haven't died!  Just means I've gotten busy with family and home things.  I haven't forgotten about you, I just don't have time for you. ;)

Well, that's all folks!  The next time you hear from me will (probably) be from (hopefully) balmy Minnesota!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

ERC - Day 5

Wow! Sorry I'm so late today!  Yet another rough day...but I met the 5-day Early Riser Challenge! Despite not getting out of bed until 0800, I was awake at 0700 sharp.  The downside, as I've mentioned before, is that I still have 25 days of this left before my body gets used to it.  Hopefully things get easier, and not harder as they have been.

I'm not sure I have a lot to talk about today...I figured out last night that I'm burning myself out by writing to you guys, writing 750 words right after that, and then writing a page a day at night.  Because I like talking to you guys and I like the format of 750 words, I think I'm gonna stick to those two and give up page per day for a little bit.  If I find I have a lot to say, maybe I'll start doing all three again.

Side note: it's difficult to write to you guys while I'm in class...my professor's voice is kind of distracting, even if I'm not paying any attention to him at all.

Finally...home. Don't know if I've mentioned it lately, but I'm going home tomorrow!  I'll be meeting my mother and heading out in approximately 26 hours...thankfully.  I need a break.  Love my roommates and all, but I need some solitary time, as well as my own bedroom for a couple days.  For some reason, though, every time I go home, it seems like I have to prove myself.  I always have a test or big project or paper or some group thing that I don't wanna do before I get to go home.  This time, I have a bitch of a BLAW test later today and I had an essay due on Sunday which I had to discuss in a workshop on Tuesday.  Always proving myself...the paper and workshop went alright, we'll pray for this BLAW test...

Anyway...I'm done rambling.  Short post with a cloudy mind...hopefully that all made sense again.  Off to write 750 words and pretend to listen to this lecture.

-J

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

ERC - Day 4

One day left to officially complete the Lifehacker Early Riser Challenge!  Unfortunately, that means I still have 26 more days to complete MY Early Riser Challenge.

Today was rough...I just couldn't get to sleep last night and laid awake for probably an hour or hour and a half before I was able to drift off.  Then this morning, I was obviously tired...I woke up at 0700, but I didn't get out of bed until 0745 because our room was so COLD.  It's unbelieveable! There is no moderation with our thermostat, we're either trying to make ice in the living room or we're trying to cook a turkey in the bedrooms! We just can't find that middle spot that keeps the whole place comfortable.  Because I got up so late, I skipped my morning workout and went straight to the shower which, unsurprisingly, was similar to going outside and having snow thrown on you while naked.  Unbelievably great start to my day...we'll see where things go from here.

My head is still quite cloudy so forgive me if none of this is making sense...as I mentioned, I'm still tired and there was no coffee this morning; I was too lazy to make my own pot.

What else...I think that's about it.  Going home for the weekend in approximately 51 hours...trimmed up the goatee slightly, which actually made quite a large difference in how grody it looks.  Still doesn't look great, but better than it was.  Wonder what mom's reaction will be...?  Umm...I dunno.  That's all I've got for now.  I'll try to post a YouTube video or something later to make up for my lack of entertainment ('cause I know you're all always rolling on the floor by the end of the post).  Anyway.....TTFN!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

ERC - Day 3

Hey everyone!

Day 3 of the Early Riser Challenge, and I feel great!  I woke up right at 0700, gave myself the 10 minute rule even though I probably didn't need it, plank for 2 minutes and 140 crunches in 2 minutes and I was wide awake! I've already showered and gotten ready for my day, even poured my coffee, now it's just a matter of getting my personal obligations done so I can possibly get some work done before class at 0930! ...and 11...and 1530.

As I was writing my 750 words this morning (yeah, I switched up the order I do these...not sure why), I realized that I have about 5 different little streaks/goals going for me, ranging from 2-4 days long so far.  I've, of course got my streak of 3 days getting up early, but I also have a 4-day streak of writing 750 words and then a page a day before bed, I've got 2 straight days listening to that relaxation track before bed, and 2 days of making myself find time to read before bed!  Basically, if I can keep all these things up until Spring Training starts, it'll become a habit! (More on Spring Training later.)

I've started another thing too...and I already can hear you all saying, "But Jake, you've already got about a gazillion personal projects on your hands plus 16 credit hours...how are you going to keep up with ANOTHER thing?"  Well, once you understand what I'm doing, it might make more sense.  I'm going to track how much time I do various things, broken down into categories.  The categories include: walking (defined as traveling time to classes and around campus...not walking around my dorm room and things like that), driving, working out, sitting in class, eating, sleeping, time on my computer, time studying, time "out," time hanging out, and time spent at work.  You see, if I track all my time in this way, it forces me to be incredibly conscious of how much time I'm spending in each category (and how little I'm spending in important categories).  By making myself aware, I'll be able to BETTER manage my time, making other goals easier!

Oh, and I started a sleep routine...so I lied.  Two new things. Since yesterday.  That one is easy though...my watch alarm beeps at 2130 at which point I drop everything I'm doing and go write my page a day.  Then I get ready for bed and read as much as I can from a PERSONAL (not school-related) book until 2230.  At 2230, I turn on my relaxation track and when that's over, I roll over and fall asleep.  Then I get up at 0700 and start my morning routine! Yay for routines that make the day easier!

Alright...as promised, SPRING TRAINING.  I think it's pretty safe to say I'm obsessed with the sport of baseball and I'm incredibly excited for baseball.  My Facebook status yesterday was: "Alright...Pro Bowl is over, Super Bowl is done...that must mean it's baseball season! 7 days till voluntary Spring Training for pitchers and catchers, 12 days till voluntary Spring Training for everyone else, and a measly 19 days until Spring Training officially begins! Pull out those bats and break in those gloves, boys, cuz we're gonna PLAY BALL!"  So if you do the math, we're actually looking at 6 days, 11 days, and 18 days until Spring Training begins!

Well...I think that's about all I've got for you guys today.  Oh! I know I throw a lot of links in for that 750 words and page a day, but you guys should really check out the SHAYTARDS vlog on YouTube!  They can be pretty long, but they're usually hilarious and I've started watching their videos every day.  It's amazing to look at the old ones and see how much everyone has changed!

Now that's all....See y'all later!

-JAKE

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

ERC - Day 2

Today was rough again.  I woke up at 0700 when my alarm went off, but I just couldn't keep myself awake.  I re-set my alarm for 0745 and ended up laying in bed until 0810, but at least I stayed awake and got up.  Went through my routine (pushups and situps are already increasing!!), took a lukewarm shower, grabbed a cup of coffee, and here I am, remarkably clear-headed and feeling pretty good about the day!

I think part of the optimism comes from a solid night of sleep.  I found a relaxation app for the iTouch and let me tell ya, 15 minutes into the 27 minute long program, my body was numb and my mind was completely empty.  Within 10 minutes of the program ending, I was solidly asleep.  I'm still skeptical that I was "hypnotized" or in a "trance" as the app claims, but I was definitely well-relaxed.  They claim the best results come from listening to it 21 days straight and then whenever and however often you'd like.  Yet another little thing I'm going to add to my day to try to better my life and keep me more relaxed and organized.  I might even listen to it twice a day...after all, I complain about having so much free time, why not relax myself once during the afternoon just before I start homework and then once before bed to put me to sleep?

I would like to use this space to make a public statement to cover myself from any and all doubts that others may have when I start doing it. (That sentence made no sense but I don't care.)  The Packers and Pack fans get exactly ONE WEEK from last night to celebrate.  After that, I don't want to hear it.  I WILL tell people to STFU after February 13, 2011 at approximately 2112.  It's great that you won, but most other teams would use their week and get back to life.  Pack fans are a little messed up in the head...they tend to stretch things out over loooooong periods of time.  I'm not letting that happen.  I'm already in baseball mode, I'll give everyone else their week and then they need to move on too.  The Super Bowl is great and all, but I believe the mark of a truly great team is when you win multiple in a row or 7 out of 8 or whatever the case may be, like the Steelers and Cowboys back in the day.  Otherwise, I'll just argue it was a fluke.  So celebrate for your week and get over it.

I think that's about it for now...I'm off to write my 750 words and then off to class!  Have a great day everyone!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Early Riser Challenge - Day 1

If you missed yesterday's post, I'm participating in the Lifehacker Early Riser Challenge.

Day 1....pretty rough.  I woke up a couple times during the night, including once when my roommate got called into work.  Not his fault, obviously, but it made for a rough early morning.  I ended up re-setting my alarm for 8, but when that time rolled around, I was still tired.  I managed to follow the 10-minute rule, which challenges you to stay awake for 10 minutes after you wake up.  If you're still tired, you can allow yourself to go back to sleep (assuming you don't have anything going on!).  Most of the time, however, after 10 minutes, the grogginess goes away for the most part and you're ready to take on the day.  

This was the case for me.  After about 10 minutes, I got up, got down on the floor and did 2 minutes of (unsteady--our carpeting is slippery) push ups and 2 minutes of crunches.  Both numbers were way down from what I was doing just a month or three ago, but that's to be expected when I haven't done anything for 2-3 weeks.  After that, I got online and checked my email and Facebook (oops...not supposed to do that till I get one productive thing done), and then went and took a shower, got dressed etc.  I'm still slightly sleepy, but waking more and more.  I'll definitely be continuing this challenge and, after reading a couple other blogs, I'm going to try it for 30 days, since that's the amount of time needed to make something a habit.

In other news...there's really no other news since less-than-12 hours ago.  One little interesting thought I came up with in the shower...through my dating record, I have dated 1 true blonde, 3 dirty blondes, and 1 brunette. Out of those 5 girls, 2 were softball players, 3 were dancers or former dancers (1 was a softballer and dancer), and 3 had a fairly major interest in horses at some point in her life (2 dancers and a softballer).  No real useful information there, but a strange trend that I found.

The T(hought)O(f)T(he)D(ay) is a song I made up when I saw it snowed last night.  It's to the tune of "Let It Snow."

Oh, the weather outside is snowy,

And the wind is coldly blowing,

And since I've got places to go,

F*** the snow! F*** the snow! F*** the snow!

Slightly inappropriate, but it entertained me :)

That's all I've got for now...I'm off to write my 750 words! (another challenge I started last night...as well as One Page Per Day)

-JCT

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Early Riser Challenge

Hey everyone!

After reading around on the internet a little bit, I've decided I'm going to take on the Lifehacker 5-Day Early Riser Challenge!  I'm going to get up at 0700 every day...just like I tried to do at the beginning of the semester.  This time, however, I'm going to get a morning routine set up so it's hopefully easier for me to keep up with.  My plan is for my alarm to go off at 0700, do a 2-3 sets each of push ups and sit ups, then go through my hygiene routine, followed by a post to you guys updating you on how the challenge is going, plus any news I come up with.  That's kind of the end of my routine...after that, I'll either work on homework if I have a lot, otehrwise I'll just do something random I enjoy.

Well, that's about all I've got, I think!  I'm now gonna go through my nightly routine and head to bed! Hope you all had a great day and are having a good night!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Winter = Common Sense

Hi guys!

Probably a fairly short post tonight, but small post is better than no post, huh?  Especially with the way I've been neglecting ya lately....

Anyway, couple things to share.
1.  I went picking for the first time today!  For those of you not familiar with the term, it's basically going through other people's old or discarded stuff and trying to "pick" out gems that might be worth some money.  There was an eviction in good ol' DSM today and so we went over there to check it out.  There was literally hundreds of feet of the curb covered in these people's stuff.  Unfortunately, due to some questions about how safe we'd actually be with the owner lurking around and still trying to pick up as much as he could, we didn't really get to do much, BUT as we were driving away, one of my roommates, Jeff, spotted and old Michelob Light light/clock that probably hung in a bar at one point.  Well, we went around the block and picked that sucker up, cleaned 'er up a little, and we now have a new decoration for our living room!  It was quite the thrill, mostly because we did a drive-by style pickup due to those safety concerns...Jeff pulled up next to the pile of stuff and I jumped out, grabbed the light, and jumped back in.  Definitely got my adrenaline pumping a little bit!

2. I'm lazy!  You all know that I was running all the time and racking up miles...well, pretty much as soon as I got back to school, I got a nasty cold for 4 or 5 days that kept me from working out.  Unfortunately, I've not gotten back into the habit of going and I really haven't worked out since I got back.  This laziness really hit me when I realized that last year, I was marveling at how everything on campus was less than a 10 minute walk away...tonight I was complaining to myself how my entire round trip to go get food took a whole 10 minutes! I need to get back to working out!

3/TOTD. People need to stop complaining about winter.  Yes, it's cold, yes the snow and ice sucks, and yes, everyone else has to deal with it too.  Here's a little thought to help you survive: winter is common sense.  Is it cold outside?  Dress warm.  Are you still cold?  Dress warmer.  Still?  Dress warmer and grab a blanket.  Regarding snow and ice: it's there, we all have to deal with it, Drake (and Iowa in general) sucks at clearing it.  There. I publicly complained for everybody.  Now you can stop.  Also, just because you're getting snow overnight does NOT automatically mean that school will be closed or that it's a "snowpacalypse" or anything else ridiculous like that.  Don't get your hopes up...then you won't be disappointed and it will be a pleasant surprise if it does happen.  This is the second time this year that the Midwest has been killed by snow...except for Des Moines.  Everyone called it a snowpacalypse both times.  We had school and relatively small amounts of snow both times.  So SHUT. UP.

4.  I had an absolutely brilliant thought last night...I realized I was the first person I know to do....something.  I remember it was pretty sweet and now cannot remember what it was, no matter how hard I try.  I'll let ya know if I figure it out.

Wow.  Guess that wasn't so short.  I guess I owe ya though...hopefully this somewhat makes up for my lack of updates!

-JT

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Too Much Time, Too Little To Do

Too much time, too little to do.

You heard me right.  I have an excess of time and not enough to do.  You’re probably thinking I’m nuts, if you didn’t already hold that opinion.  That is, however, the dilemma I find myself in on a day-by-day basis while at school.  And it is, indeed, a dilemma.  See, the problem is not explicitly the amount of time or work I have to do, it’s the fact that, despite this “extra” time I have, I still do not get my work done until the night before, or even mere hours and minutes before the work is due.  Why is this?  I have too much time and not enough work to fill that time.

You see, when I have many large assignments and a test all due on one day, I know that I must start working on things ahead of time in order to get everything done on time and to the best of my abilities.  I may still procrastinate, but instead of having nothing started, I’ll at least have many little pieces of each assignment that I simply have to put together.  However, when I have just one or two assignments, or maybe a reading or quiz, I know that I can leave small things like that until the night before or the morning of and still get them done with plenty of time.  The problem is, because I know this, I leave things off longer and longer all the time, and it’s getting to the point where I actually AM getting crunched for time.  Not only is it inconvenient because it pushes other projects and things I’d like to do back, but it causes me a lot of unneeded stress which, as some of you may know, I already have a tough enough time dealing with.

If you don’t believe me, here’s a typical 24-hour period, starting after my last class of one day: check Facebook, email, Twitter, etc. until dinner.  Go get dinner and watch YouTube videos while I eat it.  Get caught up on YouTube and watch videos for at least a half hour longer than I need to.  Re-check Facebook, etc.  Notice it’s 2100 or 2200 and I try to get to bed by 2300, so I should probably stop putting off my homework.  Homework inevitably takes at least an hour or more, putting me behind on sleep.  Get up in the morning and go to class.  Eat lunch and watch YouTube videos during my break from 1200-1530.  Lather, rinse, and repeat. 

And people complain about being busy all the time…

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Vivid, semi-lucid dreams last night....just wish my alarm wouldnt make me lose all memory of what was going on #luciddreams #vividdreams

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

After reading this story for English, I've decided it would be better and safer if I chose not to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Seether - Remedy

Today I was playing my bass, practicing so I can actually do something when friends and I get together. I decided to test myself by pulling up Remedy by Seether to see if I could play along. To my amazement, I COULD. Therefore, today marks the first time I was ever able to play along with a song at full speed. Quite the stepping stone, if I do say so myself.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Forever

This blog thing is gonna be tough to keep up while I'm at school...not a lot of exciting stuff happens, when it does, I'm too tired or unable to update, and I'm just too tired or busy to update in general.  I'll do my best though.

You may have noticed the YouTube post a couple days ago...I've begun watching YouTube videos more regularly and so if I find some tidbit of gold within a video, I may just post the video and add a short (or long) commentary.  That may make posting easier too since I have to do less work, being the lazy shit I am. :)

Couple random thoughts today:
1. When shaving a week's worth of beard, do a once-over with an electric razor, use lots of shaving cream, and use a sharp blade.  The only thing I did right is lots of shaving cream. Ouch.  Also, it gets rather cold without that insulation.

2. I may eat in the "to-go" area of our caf too much if all the employees know who I am and what I order.  I also have a rather impressive, efficient system for getting in and out quickly.

3. Getting eye-effed is one of the most satisfying feelings a guy can experience.  Link mildly NSFW.

4. Ten Ton Brick is an awesome song to wake up to. <<(YouTube video)

I think that's about it...Have a great day everyone!

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

It's Almost Easy

It's almost easy to say "okay, you're forgiven," almost easy just to let go, or it's almost easy to give up.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author.

Back to Reality

Bonjour!

Been a busy couple of days for me. A new semester starts tomorrow and so I made the long, scenically-boring drive down to Des Moines. Can't say I'm overly excited to be back, but it is definitely good to see everyone again!

Although I've been busy, it hasn't been all that eventful. Hung out with a good crew last night to kick off the semester right, but beyond that, unpacking is the only truly notable event that I can think of from the last day or two, unfortunately.

One last note before I head off to bed: the response to my lastest essay/writing/critique of society, titled "Regrets" has been awesome! A huge thank you to all those who have given comments or critiques whether here, on Facebook, or through text! You guys are amazing! If there's anyone you think hasn't read it yet, please share it with them! It may change their life!

Anyway, enough enthusiasm for tonight. I'm off to read for a little bit and then to try to get to bed.

Thought of the Day: Sometimes the thing you look forward to least is the thing you enjoy most.

-Jake

0-21-21-59

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Regrets

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss."

- Jonathan Larson

"To regret something is to hang yourself with your own noose. Mental suicide."

- Anonymous

"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world."

- Mercedes Lackey

"I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I'd just been myself"

- Brittany Renee

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”

- Sydney Smith

"I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations - one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it - you will regret both."

- Soren Kierkegaard

________________________________________________________________

Live without regret. Regret is no longer regret if you learned from it. Don’t regret what happened because it could’ve turned out so much worse.

All those sayings are trash. Garbage. Complete and utter bullshit. No doubt good to strive to live by, but impossible to attain. Everyone has regrets, and whether you learned from what happened or not doesn’t affect that it still hangs there, in the back of your mind, that giant “WHAT IF?” Most of you positive, no-regret thinkers are out there right now thinking, “This guy is nuts! I don’t have regrets!” But you do. You’re not admitting it to yourself, but if you look back, maybe start uncovering some long-buried memories, there is something in your past that you regret. And that’s normal. The important thing is what we do with those regrets.

There are people who bury the memories and the context of the regret in order to make it seem like it doesn’t exist and, for all intents and purposes, it doesn’t to them. They don’t think about it. They can live in their fantasy regret-free world. Nothing is wrong with that. No one will diagnose them as psychotic for it, no one will tell them to just live and let live, no one will see anything wrong in the way they live. They will be the perfectly happy, optimistic people they are and go through life in relative bliss. I think I’d even be safe in saying that half or more of the population falls into this category, even with the selfish, need-to-be-perfect society we live in. What I want from these people is for them to know the other side of the story, to know that it’s out there, and to respect the people that have to deal with it.

The other half of the population lets their regrets eat them alive, destroying their mind, emotionally tearing them apart from the inside. “Mental suicide.” For these people, every day is filled with that “What if?” Always second-guessing their actions, not only from the past, but also what they do every day. It’s similar to a bad relationship. Someone gets hurt and from that point on, they are constantly over-cautious about their future relationships in order to try to save themselves the hurt. The vast majority of these people live perfectly normal lives, just like the first group, except instead of being blissfully unaware of their regrets, they are simply able to overcome or push them aside. The minority of people are those who cannot deal with things so simply, ending up with anxiety issues, sometimes to the point of depression.

I’d like to say that, because I’m aware of both groups, I’ve been able to consciously train myself to live and think like the first group. That would be a lie. There are definitely regrets hidden in the depths of my subconscious that I’m not currently aware of and which I hope I never become aware of. But I fit snugly within the second group. I have regrets that I am acutely aware of and which I simply cannot wish away. One of these stays in the forefront of my mind because situations it is associated with come up quite frequently. Another I cannot shake because, for some reason, I still think about the situation, even though it no longer occurs in my life in any way, shape, or form. I have a very strong feeling that my degree choice is going to come back and bite me farther down the road.

I’m not giving anyone excuses for how they are or anything like that. “Woe is me” stuff doesn’t work with me. I’m dealing with it, you can too. I’m no stronger than anyone else out there; your mental and emotional strength is entirely what you make it. My hope is that people will begin to realize that it’s OKAY to have regrets. It’s perfectly natural. You don’t have to hide it or be ashamed. If you don’t want to go into specifics, obviously that’s your right to privacy. I don’t share mine either. But acknowledge they are there. Write them down and face them head on. Some of them, you may realize either aren’t actually regrets or that you can actually do something to fix it. Facing your past will allow you to be more true to yourself, allowing you to understand yourself, why you act and feel and think the way you do. This is an extremely important part in the process of self-definition: facing your fears and regrets head on and coming to terms with them in the most positive way possible.

You can’t live without regrets. It’s not possible. What you CAN do is live your life in the way that makes you happiest, looking back over your shoulder occasionally. When you see something you don’t like, turn around, wave your past self forward, sit down over some coffee (or beer or whatever your drink of choice is) and talk it out. Explain to yourself why you made the decision you did, why you thought that choice would make you happier. Once you’ve done that, get up, turn forward once again, and march on.

01/15/2011
© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem

Hola!

Sorry for the delay in posting...too tired last night and now is the first time today I've really felt like typing it up.

So...yesterday and today...Friday and Saturday...my last two nights at home for winter break. I received a text from my ride back to school asking if it would be alright if we leave tomorrow night in order to avoid a snow storm Monday, so we're leaving approximately 18 hours early. That means I'll be back at school by late tomorrow night, back to school, bad food, and worse decisions :) Not overly excited (if ya can't tell), but it'll be good to see everyone again and I'm actually kind of excited for one or two of my classes. I'm also anxious to get started on my not-New-Years-related resolutions, which will either last the first two weeks and more or they will not survive.

One such...experiment...I just decided to start a day or two ago. I'm not shaving (facial hair, pervs) for a while. Well, to be more specific, I will only be shaving my neck for a few days. I'll gradually start shaving other areas of my face as they irritate me...my money is either on my upper lip or my lower lip, above my chin (if that makes sense). The goal? There isn't one. Get my parents to complain (they have just under 24 hours to do so) or for someone to make a comment about how nasty I look.

***EDIT*** The facial hair experiment was restarted today as I figured I should be clean-shaven for church and in order to give my mother a proper hug goodbye tonight.

Yesterday was somewhat eventful for me, definitely not in a good way. For one thing, iTunes crashed on me again and erased my entire library. This means that I must go through my entire library of music fixing all the artists, genres, and song titles for the second time in just a few weeks. It may be a small blessing in disguise, however. Before I put everything back into iTunes, I'm going through all my music folders and re-organizing my music so song files will no longer be buried 4 folders deep. Instead, I will have My Music>Music>*artist name*>*song files*, which will hopefully make it much more easy to access and determine what music I do or don't have at any given time. Also makes locating lost iTunes files much easier. Despite this blessing in disguise, I would like to call for everyone who does not currently use iTunes to boycott it. It's not worth the trouble when you can just drag and drop music to a normal mp3 player. I specify people who don't currently use iTunes because I know those iPod users won't give up their iPods just because I had a bad experience.

The second event yesterday was the dreaded bi-annual dentist appointment. No need for details just in case any of you are woozy, but let me say, for not having any cavities and "near-perfectly clean" teeth, there sure was a lot of blood and pain involved.

Speaking of injuries...the injury report: busted up knee; ankle still very tender, but scabbing over; still potentially broken hand; sore, swollen mouth and gums. One thing gets better, something else happens...Geez.

And now...The Main Event...which deserves a post of its own. Coming Soon :)

Thought of the Day: "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

-J

0-21-21-59

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

All In All, It's Just Another Brick In The Wall

Hey everyone! Long time no see!

Today, absolutely nothing happened so I decided to combine Tuesday and today. So yesterday I realized I have a newly found (but somewhat old) addiction: Excel spreadsheets. I go online, downloading template after template tracking anything you can imagine and I try to make it fit my life situation. If I can, I save the spreadsheet and fill it out thoroughly, if not, I trash it and move on to the next one. I spent FIVE+ HOURS finding and saving spreadsheets yesterday, and another many hours today changing and fixing them. Great time waster, but really, how many budget spreadsheets could I possibly need?!

Speaking of needs, all of my friends used to be women. I had maybe 2-3 female friends to every guy friend throughout most of high school. Recently though, I realized I now spend very little time with women due to friendships that have somewhat disintegrated, which is unfortunate because they are usually who I feel most comfortable with for some reason. So, new task for myself. Get out and meet women. Not necessarily to date or pick up, but just for some friends to hang out with, get back in that comfortable zone again. If a relationship happens to come out of it, awesome!

Now to old relationships: last night, I hung out with a young woman whom I had not seen for well over a year. We do text constantly, although there was about a 6-month hiatus on that too during my last relationship. Most people you would figure it would be awkward to hang out after all that time, at least for the first time or two. Not us. We jumped back into "normalcy" (we're both horribly weird) in a matter of minutes. Go figure.

NEWS: Nothing new to me, but I haven't mentioned it yet...The family and I are going to Disney World this summer! Whoohoo! Warm Weather!!

Injury Update: Ear not as bad, ankle wound re-opened, possible bruised bone in my foot, possible broken hand. I tell ya, living at home is DANGEROUS.

I want everyone to go check out my favorite comic EVER. This link will bring you to the most recent comic, but I suggest going through and reading all 1700 strips. It'll take a while, but the whole story won't make a lot of sense without reading it all. Anyway, HIGHLY entertaining.

One last announcement, I am currently working on a fairly comprehensive autobiography to post for all of you so you can get a better idea of who I am and what I'm like. It could take a while to get up but you can be sure I'm workin' on it.

Thought of the Day comes from a fortune cookie: Think like an acting man. Act like a thinking man.

-Jake

7-18-18-56

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Halle BerrrrrryyyyyyHalle Berry

Another day in the life...almost two full days, actually, since my last post.

Sunday was rather uneventful...visited my grandparents, which was nice, and had some awesome chicken pot pie for dinner, but beyond that, I can't remember doing anything, so I must not have done anything too special.

Monday was a different story. I was super productive today...got clothes put away, emptied and re-filled the dishwasher for my parents (I don't do that normally), headed to work to pick up over $100 from that overnight shift on Friday/Saturday, and then I headed to Lifetime where I proceeded to run 7 MILES over the course of an HOUR. Needless to say, I was a bit tired. Once I got home though, I re-hydrated and headed out with David, Nick, and Ryan to screw around at the mall for a bit. Got some Chinese, bought a couple t-shirts and then we headed out and drove around for a while, just jammin' out to the totally random CDs I have in my car. Eventually ended up at another friend, Robbie's, house and we watched The Fellowship of the Ring. Interesting choice, but a good movie. Follow that with some driving/jamming home and that's pretty much the story of my day.

And sorry for the step-by-step journalling here tonight. I had some awesome introspective, philosophical thoughts today and now that I'm actually sittin' down to write this, they've all disappeared. I also can't come up with my own TotD so that'll be a quote. So...instead of me breakin' something down...do it yourself. Think about money, friends you've gained and lost, and music that you've forgotten over time. I feel like those would be good philosophical topics for the night.

Thought of the Day: All you have to decide is what to do with the time given to you.

-Lazyass

Miles: 7-18-18-56

ps. I'm changing my run totals to daily-monthly-yearly-lifetime

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

Goodbyes, School, Lucy, and Exhaustion

Hey everybody,

Sorry about the delayed post but the last few days have been pretty crazy. Sit tight, 'cause it's gonna be a long one.

On Friday night I worked my first ever winter shift and my first ever overnight at the my current job and it was quite an experience. I've never had to deal with ice, snow, and cold while working before, and I'm not used to working past midnight so working until 0400 was quite a stretch for me. I got through it alright, though, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up my tips in the next day or so.

Saturday kept me running. After I got home at 0430, I was up around 1100 so I could help out with "security" at a dance competition with Taylor. Worked there from around 1330-1700 which wasn't horrible, but based on the lack of sleep, I pretty much chugged three Mountain Dews just to stay awake when I got there. Of course, that leads to an upset stomach due to having no food in my system and therefore prolongs my day. As soon as I finished up at the invite, my family and I headed out to Applebees for dinner and then I headed over to Mike's house for a while...which brings me to my next point.

Goodbyes suck. Yesterday I had to, yet again, say goodbye to two good friends as they headed off to their respective colleges. It's not nearly as hard as that first time, but still not easy, especially considering I may not see them until summer, if then (Mike may or may not come back home). Again, this isn't really new, I've gone through it many times with many friends over the last three years, but it's still not a whole lot of fun.

Aaaand back-to-school time again. I knew it was coming, heard people talking about how they can't wait to get back....I'm not ready, so thank goodness I have a week left. In all honesty, if I had more free reign over my life at home, I would live here, or at least in this area, forever. I have no desire to go back to school to live with tons of people, sharing bathrooms, eating crappy food, walking everywhere in the cold, etc. I'd be much happier livin' at home, even if I had to work full-time. At least if I'm working, I'm making money and gaining experience. School is the place where I spend all my money and pretty much stagnate. Sure, I'm working towards a degree, but what does that degree get anyone in the long run? It's not the degree that matters, it's the experience, professionalism, and how you present yourself. So I'm sitting at a school 3 1/2 hours away from home, spending my money, and making no progress toward my career. Awesome. At least it gives me time to figure out my career options since I still haven't figured that one out.

A couple of projects I plan on working on this year: my music database and breaking a couple addictions/habits that I have. With the music database, my hope is to compile information for all artists in my iTunes library, all their albums, and all the songs on those albums. It's going to be a long, time-consuming process (I have 700+ artists), but I think I'll be happy with it in the end...if I ever reach the end. As far as habits and addictions, I'd rather not get too much into them, but one of the ones I'm going to work on hitting HARD is my procrastination and laziness when it comes to school. My brain can't deal with all the stress of doing all my homework the day of or the night before it's due. Wish me luck.

Finally, one project/plan: working out. I've been running quite a bit lately, and I have an Excel spreadsheet that's tracking all kinds of heart rates and miles and paces and how far I have to run to get to the moon and things. Starting today, I'm going to start posting my daily-monthly-yearly mile totals (in that format) at the bottom of the page, just so you all can see how I'm progressing, as well as another thing to hold me accountable to myself and my plan.

A note about my last post's note: This title is NOT made up purely of lyrics. Only "Lucy" is based on lyrics (F*** You Lucy, by Atmosphere), though I'm sure you could fine some decent songs if you Google the rest of the words too.

Thought of the Day: Money is great to have, especially when you work hard and have quite a bit in the bank. However, be careful because that money disappears QUICKLY when you're in college and paying for tuition and books and things. I'm finding this out yet again...thankfully, I had a little more saved up this year due to a better summer.

As Always,

Iacobus

Miles: 0-11-11

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

How Long Will I Be Picking Up The Pieces?

Bonjour!

Seems like so much has happened in the last day or two, and yet I feel like I have nothing to write! That means this is going to be kind of list-y.

So yesterday...Friday. Woke up in a terrible mood which lasted all day, went to Lifetime and ran 5 miles, sat around at home for hours and hours, went and played some hockey from 8ish-10:30ish, then headed over to T's house to watch Biodome.

Lifetime: Running that distance put me in an alright mood but it apparently didn't last long once I got home. Also, stay away from the $6 smoothies...they're good, but $6???

Sitting at home: I love my quiet time...I could easily spend an entire day by myself and be perfectly happy. The problem is, I need it to be an ENTIRE day by myself or a day mostly with people. I can't do a mix...it just irritates me. I think that was part of my bad mood...I got some time to myself, then had to interact with my mom, then more time to myself, then interact with my whole family, more time to myself, time with friends...my mind doesn't like all that change, I think. Who knows though? Could've been a fluke for as much as I understand my own brain.

Hockey: Pretty good time...not so much fun with a nasty blister though. I got sick of the constant pain fairly early and spent a good amount of the time standing around talking to a couple friends. Did some self- and past-evaluative thinking/conversing...living without regrets is TOUGH. (see Thought of the Day)

Biodome: I had never seen the movie, but I gotta admit, it was pretty dang good. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could've because I had other things running through my head (such as deciding whether or not I should take the 8pm-4am shift, Fri-Sat [which I did, stupidly]), but from what I paid attention to, highly enjoyable and recommended for anyone who likes dumb humor.

Thought of the Day: If you're a fairly shy, quiet guy like me, go for that girl anyway. In many cases that I've seen in the past, if you're anything like me, you'll treat her just as well or better than the loud, outgoing guy and then you end up happy as well.

-Jake

Ps. If you haven't noticed in the few posts I've made so far, all the post titles are song lyrics...Google 'em. You might find something new! :)

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

I Could Be Mean...I Could Be Angry...

Early post tonight...just wanted to mention how amazing it is that some cancelled plans I hadn't even remembered until this afternoon and a little time around my family can put me in an absolutely terrible mood.

Nothing else to mention though...today was exactly how I thought it would. See y'all late tomorrow night or Friday morning.

-J

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

And The Bass Keep Runnin' Runnin', And Runnin' Runnin', And Runnin' Runnin'...

Hola!

Another busy day for me yesterday...I got very little sleep before I had to get up for my doctor's appointment which turned out to be a waste of my time. I pretty much went in there, got my blood pressure taken, was told all my bloodwork from last time looked good and I was outta there within about 20 minutes. Ah well...what can ya do? Could've been much worse, I guess...coulda told me I was pregnant or something. :D

Anyway...shortly after that, I met up with some buddies of mine and we headed up to another friend's house for a little "band practice." Surprisingly, since I've owned my bass for approximately 3 years and only started playing it recently, I'm gettin' pretty decent. We've got a couple songs down well enough to play full speed and, compared to the actual song, we don't sound half bad! Maybe there's hope for my guitar-playing skills after all...

I'm hoping today is fairly relaxing...I'm planning on working out and doing a lot of sitting around. If this is the case, you probably won't hear from me until after tomorrow...if something comes up (as life tends to do to me), I'll be sure to let all of you in on the incredibly, amazingly juicy* details!

*"incredibly, amazingly juicy" details are likely to include "Went to ____'s house. Played video games. Had a good dinner. Went to bed much later than planned."

Not much else to report...considering I called the last 2 days "busy," it's not so much to write about as a few things that took up a large part of my day.

Happy Hump Day!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

The Way It Was...

Hey everyone!

Today was fairly interesting...went ice skating/played ice hockey for the first time in my life!  Surprisingly, it wasn't as horrible as it always seems to be in movies....constant falling down and blisters the size of an orange by the end of the day.  I do have one decent-sized blister, but I rarely fell and, though I'm slow and not much good with a hockey stick, I think I did alright for my first time!  Makes me wonder what other things on TV seem really difficult but aren't....hmmm....

Also today, played a little bass for the first time in months, and, in another first for me, first time actually playing with other people and a song! (not counting GuitarPro).  Worked a little on Ten Ton Brick (Hurt), but the majority of the time we watched Ryan attempt to tune his guitar and then worked out a bit of Remedy (Seether). Doin' the same thing tomorrow, and it will probably be similar...heading up to David's house so we can put the songs through a stereo and add David on drums and Taylor on vocals...get a real setup goin'.

On a less fun note...doctor appointment tomorrow morning.  Which probably means I should get headin' to bed...I feel it's going to be rather difficult getting up tomorrow after today's adventures!

Hope y'all had a great day!

-Jake

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author

A New Chapter

Hey All,

My favorite band, who I shamelessly promote, Hurt (clickclick), Facebook statuses. Well, this idea has finally made it way into this blog as well. Starting today (officially January 3rd), this will be more of a "true" blog than just random poetry and lyrics and shtuff.

Now don't get me wrong...I doubt this will ever be whatever constitutes a "good" blog, but hopefully this change will make me update more often and give some less depressing, more balanced +/- coverage of whatever my topic has to be. No promises that the topics themselves will be less depressing, but hopefully I will better represent more sides of the topics I hit. Hopefully they won't be so serious all the time either.

Basically what I'm going for is a sort of journal-ish thing. I'll see or notice or hear about random things in life and, if something strikes me as interesting enough to write a paragraph or 4 about it, there's my post. Hopefully interesting, if not, well...we'll just say the blog can't go far downhill from where it's at. Nothing against my readers but, well...I only have proof of one or two of you. I appreciate your loyalty, but I'd like to reach a larger audience as well if possible.

This has been a long post so I'll finish up. I want to again thank anyone who read the old style of the blog and especially those who came back time and time again. For those who liked the old stuff, I'll still throw some of that in here when I come up with it as well. I would also like to welcome any new or return-from-hiatus readers; I hope this time I can manage to be entertaining enough to convince you to stick around!

A late toast...I have used it before, but it is fitting here:
To old friends and new, to great times and learning through hardships, and to a New Chapter. Happy New Year, everyone.

Sincerely and Humbly,
-Jake

PS. If you ever need to get in touch with me, please feel free to email cynicallyinfluenced@hotmail.com. I probably won't check it real often unless I start getting a lot of mail, but I WILL get back to you as soon as possible.

© 2007-2011 Jacob Tauer
This information is not to be used in any form, online or off, without the express permission of the author