Texas boy, far from home...

Off the Crazy Train

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

I got on to Facebook in 2007 for work purposes. Back before all of the privacy settings were really in place I used it for doing roommate placements my first year in housing. I would look at potential roommates and think, "Could these people live together?" and largely based decisions on that. I also used it for programming and event marketing and various other work related community building initiatives. It wasn't long before I was placed on this or that task force for social media every where I went. At Eastern Oregon I was tasked with chairing the social media committee for the whole division. Even when I first got to Gonzaga it only took a month before being tasked with a Facebook research and development project. I completed that project a month ago and for the first time find that I have no professional reason to be on Facebook.

I may have joined for professional reasons, but the majority of the time was spent recreationally. I have an aspect of my personality which Clifton describes as Input. I recommend StrengthsFinder a mile above any other personality inventory out there (yes, even the Myers Briggs). This aspect or strength of mine is what leads me to constantly pursue and absorb information - whether in formal academic avenues or through sitting around reading the dictionary (Merriam-Webster.com) or the encyclopedia (wikipedia.com). It also fueled most of my recreational activities on Facebook. What is this friend doing? What is this corporation about? What is happening on Facebook? That type of information is not really what I want to be filling my head with - but I find it a compulsory aspect of my personality. If the Internet is the information superhighway then Facebook is the exit for the mall. I hate malls - so why was I on Facebook? I want the exit for the library please. Take me to npr.org or or Google Scholar.

This is why I'm no longer on Facebook. The twenty people or so that need to know how to get a hold me can do so and the rest of them can figure it out if it's important enough. All the pictures and other stuff that your friends are uploading... when did that become what everyone wanted to see? It used to be considered an acceptable form of torture to go over to so and so's house and watch the slideshow clips from their vacation. Now we're crave for that fix like a junkie in withdrawal. Not me - thank you.

Those of you still on Facebook, for whatever reason, this is not a statement about you. I'm just letting you know why I'm not on there so please don't feel the need to get defensive. I'm sure whatever your reason for being on there it works for you or you wouldn't be there. Myself, I've unplugged from the crazy train.

Have a great day!

Quotable Quotations

2011-11-11T10:37:00.001-08:00

I would really like to be able to say something of such consequence as these wonderful people.

“A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop speech when words become superfluous.”
– Ingrid Bergman

“The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, 1953

“Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.”
– Dorothy Parker, interview in Paris Review, 1956

“He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.”
– Abraham Lincoln, quoted in Frederick Trevor Hill's Lincoln the Lawyer, 1906

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”
– George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946

“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”
– William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, 1959

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
– Mark Twain, 1888

1183

2011-11-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

The human/philospher/citizen part of my brain wants the government out of the control business. I don't like the state being in charge of selling alcohol, I don't even want them regulating power/electricity. The more liberties that exist the better off I think we are. I think that government should never impinge on the rights of a person or a society to make the choices around personal liberties. This should be regulated by the culture and the culture should self-regulate and self-correct. I think the church should be more actively influencing society instead of attempting to have the state regulate such things (whole other topic).

The academic/practitioner/future parent in me wants as little presence of alcohol in our society as possible. I know and firmly believe the more available it is the more problems we're going to see. It will make more work for me at work and facilitate poor decisions in the under 21 age adults. Underage drinking isn't what it used to be - there is seriously growing negative trend around alcohol consumption in the 16-20 year old population.

These two parts of my brain could not be reconciled. So I spent about an hour reading over the bill itself at lunch today. Here's the link: http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i1183.pdf.

The part that first caught my eye was this:

"Require private distributors who get licenses to distribute liquor to pay ten percent of their gross spirits revenues to the state during the first two years and five percent of their gross spirits revenues to the state after the first two years"

This alarmed because it seems like it is designed to reward people that are currently in the business and make it difficult for people not in the business to enter the business. Thus discouraging new business and the entrepreneurial spirit. The more I read the more I realized that this bill is not only supported by big business it is tailored directly towards big business:

"the board may issue spirits retail licenses only for premises comprising at least ten thousand square feet of fully enclosed retail space within a single structure, including storerooms and other interior auxiliary areas but excluding covered or fenced exterior areas"

I've ultimately decided that I am for the privatization of liquor sales but I can't vote yes on 1183 because it simply replaces one superpower for another. Big businesses have enough of an advantage in the market economy naturally without government tailored policies that support them. I don't think there should be an policy that either favors or penalizes big business for what they are and this bill, in my understanding, favors them immensely. This whole thing strikes me as the government trying to be where government doesn't need to be: pandering toward big business corporations. I think this bill needs to be shot down and reworked to be more equitable. It was ready last year and it got voted down, I say we vote it down again and have them come back next year with a better version.

Quote #2

2011-10-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

"Education is one of the paramount and enduring occupations of human society, whether carried on with or without set purpose. One generation forms another and the existing generation is constantly acting and reacting upon itself in a chain reaction of cultural evolution; a force driven by the acquisition of knowledge. Among the best in each generation it is turned toward the pursuit of wisdom; the only worthy application of knowledge."

-Jae Webb

The more we know, the less we see...

2011-10-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

Back again... a year later.I went to one of those churches last Sunday that allows you to worship and get your cardio in at the same time. You know the ones I'm talking about. Towering speakers, rock band, chorus of vocalists, and the aisles filled with people jumping, twirling, and dancing to the upbeat music with arms swinging. In addition to not knowing any of the songs that were sung I felt very much like stranger observing anthropologically some foreign ritualistic ceremony. We didn't stay the whole time but cut out and went to another church across town where we knew we were more comfortable. I don't want to talk about what style of worship is better, more holy, more appropriate, or any of that. There is one question that strikes me as I reflect today - why is that a part of their relationship with God and not mine? I talked to people there and felt a good connection, very friendly, we seemed to have a lot in common and were able to relate. They weren't charismatic nut jobs like you may assume if you just watched them during worship. Growing up in the CoC I was considered the charismatic one. I mean, I clapped, and when the Spirit moved me I would raise my hands. I made more than my fair share of people uncomfortable. But this full out body rocking that I've witnessed at a number places is just flat out... uninhibited. In the CoC growing up it was all about the acquisition of knowledge and then, hermeneutics, the application of that knowledge. How well you did in Bible Bowl or how well you could recite scriptures or lead songs in 4/4 time were directly correlated to your spiritual well-being. I think this is very indicative of humanity in general. I think humanity is very impressed with and obsessed with it's own accomplishments, with everything it knows or thinks it knows. At least I know I am, but there's that word again: know. What I witnessed in those people had nothing to do with what they knew, and only a little to do with what they felt. It was more about, in my observations, surrendering to not knowing. Something which, despite my ability to recognize, I still lack an ability to understand. I process and relate to the world through an understanding of cognitive ordering and logical reasoning; at least in the day to day. But when I look at the most impactful and most pertinent moments in my life they have little to do with that. When I feel the most enlightened is when I encounter something I don't try to understand and surrender to it. That's when I can see more clearly than when I know what it is I'm looking at.

Quote #1

2010-11-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

"Out of the ashes of our burned dreams rise the hopes of tomorrow."

-Jae Webb

Epiphany...

2010-10-18T09:04:00.001-07:00

I realized a month ago why I've never been a blogger. Aside from one brief month this summer. I don't have the spare time required to do this.

Here's to maybe hearing from one day again or maybe not.

Streets at Night

2010-08-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

The streets at night

grant the power to hide,

where in between fluorescent halos

a soul can find

a place to hide all the flaws flaunted

by day's harsh light

that undermine

the soul's

free flight.

-Jae Webb

Written March 2007

Oregon: The Upsides

2010-08-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

I told my wife I was going to work on my Financial Accounting homework but couldn't focus, it turned my brain into mush. Ssshh don't tell her I'm blogging. Though I suppose she'll find out when I post this entry, so it doesn't really matter.

Terry Parker (father-in-law) advises that I "take a deep breath and give up on pumping (my) own gas in Oregon." That sounded better than what I was planning on doing. Going to the pump, holding my breath, and stomping my feet up and down until I got my way. Actually since I live at work, Krista is usually the one that fills up the car. So I am only very rarely offended by this theft of my personal liberties by the state government.

Terry brings up a good point. I'm not going anywhere. I've got a great job and wake up every morning surrounded by gorgeous mountains. I've got four seasons to enjoy. I can walk to any restaurant or shop in town within fifteen minutes. As far landscapes go, it is hard not to love Oregon, and the people here are good people.

More to a point, how about I tell you about my recent wilderness excursions. In reality it's about a 25 minute walk from where I live into the wilderness but the last two weekends I've gone a bit farther. Two weekends ago I drove up past Lostine, OR with Terry and Tim (brother-in-law). We did an eight mile round trip hike up to Maxwell Lake. The first three miles of the trek were pretty easy switchbacks up a scenic mountainside. The last mile to the lake was a bit different, as Tim said it made you feel like you "worked for it". Once at the top we descended down into a valley and the gorgeous and secluded Maxwell Lake at 7,700 feet. After a quick dip in the chilly waters, some lounging in the sun, and exploring the lakes perimeter it was time to head down. Up was easier, at least on my joints. Below is a picture of Tim right before we head over the ridge and down to the lake, which rests in the shadow of that peak behind him.

Then this last weekend I got to go with my wife up to Wallowa Lake outside of Joseph, Oregon. Majestic is the word that immediately poured into my mind. I'll post a picture here but it's a shabby portrayal of the true majesty of the region.

We spent about six hours on a number of different trails. We hiked up to waterfalls and along creek beds all morning long and into the early afternoon. It was after a brief sidetrip from the trail to romp through a field of bullnettle like plants that we decided to pack it back into town. Joseph is a great little mountain town. The obvious main commercial source of revenue is tourism. Places like that are great to visit though. It's like the town is designed for people that are passing through. We took some great shots in town. That's where my epic new profile picture came from:

All in all August is shaping up to be a good month. I love my wife, I love God's created world, and I love all the local brews that I'm finding in Oregon:

I do miss you though! Come visit whoever you are. We'll play checkers. I'll win.

Grow up Oregon/Why Safeway lost my business

2010-08-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is a two part tirade. The first is against the State of Oregon. The second is against the Safeway on Adams Ave. in La Grande, OR. I am ranting throughout this post, granted, but it is all substantiated by reason and much attentive thought to freedom and liberty.

The State of Oregon will not allow me to do a number of things. Things I've been doing most of my life or at any account for a number of years. If you've read previously you'll note that it is a crime to fill up your own car with gas. I will have been charged with a crime if I pump my own gas in Oregon. There are 17 declarations listed which try to rationalize this completely irrational law: ORS 480.315. I've listed some of the more ridiculous ones and outlined the idiocy behind each of them.

(1) The dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids by dispensers properly trained in appropriate safety procedures reduces fire hazards directly associated with the dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids.

Fact. "Properly trained dispensers"(PTD) are usually 16 year old kids or or 34(ish) year old high-school dropouts living on their mother's couches. From the mouths of PTD's themselves. I have multiple college degrees and learned how to operate a gas pump before my voice changed at 13. It's not rocket science. It's not any kind of science. It's common sense. Hundreds of millions of people the world over just figured it out without any kind of training. They do it every day without incident!!! If that was really the problem then why not make it part of getting your drivers license. Make everyone be a PTD. I'll do it.

(3) Higher liability insurance rates charged to retail self-service stations reflect the dangers posed to customers when they leave their vehicles to dispense Class 1 flammable liquids, such as the increased risk of crime and the increased risk of personal injury resulting from slipping on slick surfaces.

Here it seems like the State is going out of there way to insure my car doesn't get stolen. Unfortunately for them I have to leave it unattended at the grocery store, the movie theater, the restaurant, the doctor's office, the department store, the library, the park, the coffee shop, where I live, at work, and just about anytime that I'm not DRIVING IT! What's going to happen to me at the gas station? There are video cameras and a people everywhere. How many car jackings occur at a gas station pump? Probably close to the same number of car jacking arrests. How am I safer if I stay in my car?

(4) The dangers of crime and slick surfaces described in subsection (3) of this section are enhanced because Oregon’s weather is uniquely adverse, causing wet pavement and reduced visibility.

I guess they needed 17 so they stated this one twice. News flash to Oregon. This is the most arid climate I have ever lived in. Approximately one third of the state is perpetually cloudy and damp. Everything east of the Cascades is just like the rest of the states or drier. On top of that this statute makes no sense anyway. You have to get out of your car eventually! The weather isn't wetter at the gas station. The pavement isn't any slicker than any other sidewalk. Pedestrians beware! How do all those people up in Seattle manage? It must be the weather of Oregon is out to get you. Let Big Brother protect you. And how does wet pavement make crime more dangerous. "Well officer, he fired a shot at me and I took it in the shoulder. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't slip and land on my backside." You get robbed and you're worried about the humidity... doesn't happen.

(7) Exposure to toxic fumes represents a health hazard to customers dispensing Class 1 flammable liquids.

This makes me question the intelligence of elected officials more than I usually do. They're afraid that a customer, let's say one person, is going to be in danger of these "toxic" fumes from exposure... once maybe twice a week for 5 minutes at the most? Let's instead make it a law that someone has to stand outside all day and pump gas, inhale fumes, from 9-5 for five days a week. That will protect our citizens! Give me a break!!! You get more exposure to fumes on the highway in traffic than you do filling your tank. News flash Oregon legislators. I have my window down at the pump. I'm getting fumes! Put a warning on every gas station pump: Don't Breathe!

(10) The typical practice of charging significantly higher prices for full-service fuel dispensing in states where self-service is permitted at retail:

Discriminates against customers with lower incomes, who are under greater economic pressure to subject themselves to the inconvenience and hazards of self-service.

This is priceless! All puns intended. If only some of the gas stations (rich ones) pump gas for you then the poor people won't be able to afford to go to those ones, they'll have to go to the poor people gas stations and pump it for themselves. Whoever complained about being so poor they have to pump their own gas? Oh, the "inconvenience"??? That's the snobbiest thing I've ever heard. You find me a poor person who is complaining that they are inconvenienced by having to pump their own gas. Darn those rich people! Sitting in their cars while someone else pumps the gas. When I was a kid I had to go down to the church food closet to get name brand things like Kellogs and Nabisco. You never found me complaining about pumping gas. Bring on the Malt-O-Meal!

(13) A general prohibition of self-service dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids by the general public promotes public welfare by providing increased safety and convenience without causing economic harm to the public in general.

Here's your economic harm. Time is money. Having someone else pump my gas is the most inconvenient thing in the world. I pull up to the gas station at 12:41 and just sit there... and sit there... it's ridiculous. I've got things to do. I don't have time to sit around and wait on you. Even after they finally start filling it you're not done waiting on them. I hear the gas pump click off and I look at the clock, 12:48, it's not until 12:52 someone comes over just to hang up the pump and screw the cap back on. I've got a meeting at 1:00. I would like to get going please. Plan for a ten to fifteen minute stay at the gas station. If no ones at the pump I'm in and out inside of five minutes doing it myself; if I'm being leisurely.

(14) Self-service dispensing at retail contributes to unemployment, particularly among young people.

Other things that would contribute to lowering unemployment. Making it illegal to carry your groceries to your car, you could slip with that heavy load. Making it illegal push buttons in an elevator, you're not a trained operator. Making it illegal to change your own oil, talk about flammable. Making it illegal to cut your own hair, sharp objects near your head is enough said. All these activities are fraught with danger! Oh crap, I just gave them ideas. Next thing you know it will be illegal to zip your own fly up in a public restroom. You're not contributing to society by pumping gas, you're being a drain on it. If I can train a chimp to do it, there shouldn't be a law mandating that only trained professionals can legally do it... maybe that's why they call them gas monkeys.

(17) Small children left unattended when customers leave to make payment at retail self-service stations creates a dangerous situation.

Probably the dumbest of all. The kids. First off, almost everyone pays at the pump nowadays. I would stake my life that it is the VAST majority of people that elect to pay at the pump. Secondly, people are still leaving their kids in the car to go in and get coffee, soda, smokes, whatever! Finally, at what gas station can you not look out the window and see your kid in the car from the cash register. None that I've ever been to. I'm done here. Reading this bill is more like a comedy routine on open mic night than a legal document.

I'm sorry but where I come from people are raised with enough courage, common sense, and hard work ethic to be able to handle the dangerous rigors of operating A GAS PUMP! To quote one of the undisputed wisest men in the history of our country, "People who are willing to give up their freedom for security deserve neither" Benjamin Franklin. Also, in the words of Mark Twain, "Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it." This law is a vote for the government being undeserving of the trust that its citizens have placed in it.

Now let's get to Oregon's Alcohol laws. I'm 26 coming up shortly on 27. I don't look like I'm 20 years old but I'm still pretty tolerant when asked for my ID while I'm purchasing alcohol. It's little inconvenience for me to reach for my ID if it will help keep underage kids from drinking. I'm all for responsibility when it comes to alcohol. I didn't even have my first drink until I was 23 and that was on a men's church retreat. But Oregon is above and beyond ridiculous. When I got married my wife was 20 years old. In Washington where we got married, or in Texas where we lived, I was allowed to purchase her alcohol in a restaurant as her spouse of 24 years of age. In Oregon this is very much not the case. Even though she is now 23 years old I would not be able to purchase her alcohol in a restaurant if she did not have her ID on her but I had mine. This came to my attention recently through an investigation of mine. It will become clear after you read this letter that I have sent to whomever is supposedly running Safeway over on Adams Ave.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter so that you may know why you have lost my business for the forseeable future. I was recently in your store with my wife to purchase groceries, something we do habitually every couple of weeks. Your store is the closest to us and offers quality products at a competitive price. We are new to the state of Oregon this spring. We moved here because there was an excellent Administrative Faculty position open for me at Eastern Oregon University. Our shopping experience has always been pleasant in your store until our most recent trip. Amongst other things in my grocery cart I had a six pack of Summer Grifter IPA. As I said we are new to Oregon and I am excited about the high quality local brews that I've heard so much about. When I came to the checkout I was asked for my ID, which I promptly provided. I'm 26 coming up shortly on 27 and don't mind providing identification when asked for it. The checker verified my ID and then turned to my wife and asked her for hers. I informed the checker that she was my wife. She still insisted that she would not sell me alcohol unless my wife, who is 23, provided identification. I asked for a manager. A young lady named Amber came over and I explained the situation. That I was here shopping with my wife and trying to purchase this alcohol. I had my ID on me but wife did not have hers, as she had no reason to carry it on a trip to the grocery store. I was then told that it was illegal to sell me alcohol if I was with someone that is underage. I don't blame Amber for this situation, she was polite and obviously new to management she was doing as she was instructed. We then left your establishment, leaving the groceries behind, and went over to Albertson's where we bought the exact same products for $86.14. We experienced no such dilemma at that store.

I was so perplexed by this Oregon law. What if I brought my daughter to the store? Could I not purchase alcohol if my child came grocery shopping with me? It didn't seem to add up. So I called the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, whom I understand to be in charge of regulating such statues, to ask them. They informed me that there is no law that would prohibit me from purchasing alcohol from you in the presence of a minor, let alone my spouse, simply because they do not have their ID on them. There is no law enforcing, or even suggesting, this practice of carding every person in the grocery party. The only legal requirement that be met is that I provide the appropriate form of identification to verify my age, and I'll be honest most places can look at me and note that is not necessary. But as I said I don't mind providing that at all if it helps to reduce the abuse of alcohol in underage persons. As a matter of fact, even if my wife were underage, I would still be able to legally purchase her alcohol if we were to consume it at home.

We don't spend a fortune on groceries. In the month of July we spent $254.13, which I understand is a small pittance in your gross income statement. I just felt the need to inform you that, pending some form of apology for this obvious error, this money will be going to another vendor each month. My advice to you is that next time a young married couple, with matching wedding bands, comes to your store and one of them provides an ID verifying he is 26 years old, you sell them the groceries they're trying to purchase. I've shared this story with most of the people I've come to know in this area and they seem to be of the same opinion as me.

Sincerely,

Jae Webb, M.Ed

Lunch Break!

2010-08-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've decided to forgo my usual frittering during lunch time to update the world on my head. It's still in place on my shoulders. Still full of various thoughts and beliefs entangled with snippets of truth and jaded perspectives. However, I've fully decided life is not long enough. There are more things to do than my time on earth will allow. I'm glad that I realize this though because I know that it will drive me to excel and appreciate the time that I am given. I think Elton had it right:

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

I think when your philosophies start to originate from Disney movies and British pop stars then you should start to worry; either that or you've finally arrived. I haven't decided yet. Still I've become resolute to never stop learning. After my MBA is finished, probably by Dec. 2011, I've compiled a shortlist of the other degrees I would like to attain:

MFA in Writing
M.A. in History
PhD in Organizational Leadership (already started this one but ran out of money)

I never expect to be not in school for more than a year or two at a time. Outside of formal degrees I would like to complete my training in Spanish, advance my skills at pottery, and learn to play the piano with a modicum of proficiency. I can't help but think how being independently wealthy would facilitate these goals. I've always had a passion for writing and its yielded some success. A few poems selected for local publication but nothing of a financial windfall that would facilitate the lifestyle of a rogue scholar.

Don't even get me started on traveling. There are more places that I would like to travel than I could list. If I spent nine months a year traveling for the rest of my life I would be fine. As it is I think a couple of weeks every other year is all that I'll be able to afford for the forseeable future. Next stop is back down to South Pacific in December 2011. Brisbane, the Gold Coast, New Zealand and a stop off in Hawaii on the way back all in about ten to fourteen days.

That's what rattled out of my head after I clicked on "NEW POST". I hope you enjoyed it.

Don't read this.

2010-08-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to say... made you look though.

How important am I?

2010-07-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Clay says, "people who blog are self-interested, shallow, vain, show-offs who are always hack writers with nothing interesting or important to write". Really he's just worried that I'll detract from his blog readership.

Still, I think I'll link my view of my own importance and self worth to how many people choose to associate with my blog. It sounds like a healthy practice to me. I guess the problem is I'm incredibly unimportant then. I would like to thank my wife for following me. I didn't even have to ask her to do it. Then in an attempt to raise my self-esteem level I chose to follow myself. Why that is an option I don't really understand.

I hate when people want to emphasize things and so they put them in quotations, i.e. for "following" me. What are you quoting? Can I get the reference for that in APA format please? You're not excused from it when you're talking either. Air quotes? Really? That makes you look all kinds of sophisticated. Your tonal variation wasn't enough so you thought you would wave your fingers in the air to really get your point across.

This is what working in higher education will do to you. You become real snobbery about all sorts of things. When I was eating leftovers from work and sleeping in parks you never would have caught me knocking air quoters... actually, yes you would. I got sent to the principal's office in high school for correcting my English teacher's grammar. I would get in trouble for finishing my homework by the end of class. I would think I'm pretty hot stuff but fortunately my self-image is wrapped up in how few people are reading this right now. By that standard I'm on the same level of the rednecks I left back in the trailer park. What a relief!

Before I finish I'll get out my sarcasm brush and paint it all over this post just so someone doesn't sit at home and have to wonder, "Is he being serious?"

Wait, I forgot! No one's reading.

Giving it a go...

2010-07-21T21:15:00.001-07:00

I've never really done the blogging thing before. I'm always a little behind the curve on these type of things. Facebook may have launched in 2004, or somewhere there abouts, but I've only been on there for about 3 years. I'm starting this because I'm a writer and because I have a shear abundance of time. Laugh, because that last one's a joke.

I'm new to Oregon this spring. I'm a Texas boy born and raised. The pacific northwest is beautiful. No one could claim otherwise and not get punched in the teeth, or at the very last disagreed with. Yet you cannot replace Texas. There is no like place or substitute on God's green earth. He made sure of that. So why does a man that fanatically loves Texas that much leave? There are a few things that I love more than Texas in this world and one of those is my wife and her family. She's from Seattle: great town! We live in La Grande, Oregon five hours southeast of the Emerald City, the birthplace of grunge music, and the field where Ichiro plays.

My time? Well I work at Eastern Oregon University as the first live-on administrative faculty member in the history of the university. I am the Area Coordinator for Residence Life. If you don't know what that means don't worry about it. For the last four months I've been building this position from the ground up; fighting tooth and claw to change the culture to be more live-on friendly. A lot of great people here at EOU have been a tremendous support and help, but I readily encounter most people who react, "Wait, what do you do?" and fail to understand why I had to go to college for six years to be able to do it. I'm taking the seed of residence education that existed and growing it. Turning the pine cone into something resembling the mighty pine trees that blanket the side of Mt. Emily. This entails a lot of technical details that are boring outside of higher education. On top of the fifty hour work week I've decided to tackle an MBA to keep my other illustrious degrees company in the box where they're hiding under the bed. I've also been in the process of downsizing from the magnanimous two-bedroom, private backyard, personal laundry room, air conditioned, full size kitchen apartment in Texas to a place at EOU without any of that. It took roughly two months to set up shop but I think we're there with some help from the Parker family (beloved in-laws). Don't read this and think I'm dissatisfied where I am. I worked hard to get here. I love this campus, this region, and this university. I'm exactly where I want to be and proud of it. Just not as proud as I am of my heritage, but that's Texans for you.

I don't really know beyond the brief introduction and status quo what else to say. If I ever have any thoughts I'll suppose I'll share them. The whole millennial social media epidemic is a little odd to me. Why you would care what I think is beyond me, but if you've got time to read then I'll try and make time to write. Being ever the optimist I'll mostly talk about greater human truths like justice, purpose, love, and altruism. I'm known for championing the ridiculous and unattainable dreams that reside in the stars. I suppose I am one in a sense.

So that's a little about me. The Texas boy in Oregon. Pissed off that no one will let me pump my own gas.

2010-07-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

Today I started a blog... more to follow.