i was thinking today how i wish finding a girl was easier. Its not even as easy as things were back when my sister was in high school. Back then you dated people, as in go out on dates with various people, getting to know about them and such. there wasnt any exclusiveness to it, if you wanted to go out with this person today and someone else tomorrow, that was ok (thats where the term "will you go out with me" came from, literally going out somewhere with someone)

later on, you had "going steady" which was pretty much exclusive dating. shortly thereafter a rea; relationship developed and you had the boyfriend/girlfriend stage, and only the most serious relationships went on to engagement and marriage.

Nowdays, it seems that all of the beginning stuff is scrapped, and dating is pretty much all exclusive, in that if a girl is "talking" with someone else, they generally wont do anything with someone else until the one their with is done. point to point, one at a time.

the downside of this, is you cant reasonably go up to a girl and ask her out on a date, because that now carries with it some sort of commitment.

as people who know me know, i can read people really well. so when i get a hit on a girl that is compatible, i want to get to know a little bit about her. but nowdays culture, its hard to get the point across that "i would like to get to know you" doesnt mean "will you be my girlfriend", nor does it mean "i am a creepy stalker that will kill you in your sleep"

ive also heard from some of my friends (and i dont know how true it is) that to a girl, going out on a date with a guy automatically implies that youll have sex with him afterwards, so most girls will say no based simply on whether or not they want to have sex with you right there at that moment. that may or may not be true, but definately isnt my intention of a meetup such as that.

if it really was as easy as "im curious about you, lets go get to know each other" then i guess it would be too easy. im sure some girls are out there that i may be interrested in, but after finding out how they are, or other stuff, i might not want to date. but i wouldnt know unless they told me. hah.

i think im going to stop here cause i know im not making any sense. hah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

this is a really funny video about how almost all songs use pachelbel's canon as their background music

this is the lyrics to Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback. its a great song about looking for that right person who you want to spend the rest of your life with.

This time, I wonder what it feels like
To find the one in this life, the one we all dream of
But dreams just arent enough
So Ill be waiting for the real thing, Ill know it by the feeling
The moment when were meeting, will play out like a scene
Straight off the silver screen
So Ill be holding my own breath, right up til the end
Until that moment when, I find the one that Ill spend forever with


Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
Theres gotta be somebody for me like that
Cause nobody wants to do it all on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone
Theres somebody else that feels the same somewhere
Theres gotta be somebody for me out there

Tonight, out on the street, out in the moonlight
And dammit this means too right, its just like deja vu
Me standing here with you
So Ill be holding my own breath, could this be the end
Is it that moment when, I find the one that Ill spend forever with

Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
Theres gotta be somebody for me like that

Cause nobody wants to do it all on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone
Theres somebody else that feels the same somewhere
Theres gotta be somebody for me out there

You cant give up, looking for a diamond in the rough
The wind shows up, make sure youre holding on
Cause it could be the one, the one youre waiting on
Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
Theres gotta be somebody for me, oh

Nobody wants to do it all on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone
Theres somebody else that feels the same somewhere
Theres gotta be somebody for me out there
Nobody wants to be the last one there
Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Theres somebody else that feels the same somewhere
Theres gotta be somebody for me out there

one year ago today (august 27, 2007) i was fired from the casino. Today, my current job is having a dinner.

My current job is celebrating on the day that my last job fired me. i think that is pretty cool. hah.

Just got my ping.fm beta access key. its a really cool system. you can blast updates to everywhere, so my underused accounts might actually get updated now.

if you want in on the action, use the beta code "vivalaping" to sign up!

Handlebars by Flobots.  very good song.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me
look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when the paths're all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And "I'm Proud to be an American"
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cause look

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome

I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me
Look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
ALIVE
In such a small world
All curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance

Cuz I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone

I can split the atom of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me
Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be
Alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die in exasperation
Have'em all healed leavin lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command

Because I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope

I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
no handlebars

This could apply to multiple people i guess, since its such a universal feeling.  but its still really moving lyrics.   and theres at least 2 people i know of in my life this could point towards...

Kate Voegele - Only Fooling Myself

I stop to catch my breath - And I stop to catch your eye
No need to second-guess - That you've been on my mind
Well I dream days away, but that's okay -
It's like I want to hear a silent sound - And then hold it in my hand
But a rose won't blossom from a ground - Of desert sand, but I like to pretend that

One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out
I'm only fooling myself,yeah, yeah, yeah - But maybe when you smile
It means you'd stay awhile - Just maybe you'd save me now
I'm only fooling myself,yeah,yeah,yeah I'm only foolinf myself.....

Well, now it's etched in stone - That I can't survive alone - You have the missing piece
That I need so desperately - Yes, I slip away to a day that'll never come
It's like a splash of water to my face - When I suddenly realize - That you could never find a place
For me in your eyes, and I don't know why I keep thinking

One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out
I'm only fooling myself,yeah,yeah,yeah - But maybe when you smile
It means you'd stay awhile - Just maybe you'd save me now
I'm only fooling myself,yeah,yeah,yeah I'm only foolinf myself.....

It's love in disguise - I'm lost in your eyes - I'm lost in your eyes

One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out
I'm only fooling myself,yeah,yeah,yeah- But maybe when you smile
It means you'd stay awhile - Just maybe you'd save me now
One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out
I'm only fooling myself,yeah,yeah,yeah

i just had a rather long conversation with one of my british friends, and the subject was about stores staying open 24 hours a day and on holidays.  for some background, she works at ASDA (its the UK retail chain that WalMart bought back 5-6 years ago) and says that she believes that the store should be closed during all holidays and only open 6 am to 10 pm like it used to before WalMart bought them out.  She believes that people who work in the retail industry should get off the same as people who work in other industries,  everyone but Essential Workers shouldhave off Every Holiday.  this is mainly because her husband has off these days, but she doesnt because she works in retail.  but after thinking about it, i think it ties in with one of the bigger overarching themes me and my friends have picked up on.  so imagine this:

Your job has you working 10 hours a day, from 3:30 pm to 2 am.  you have to allocate 1 hour each way for travel time (due to possible delays and such) and sleep generally from 5-6 until 1-1:30.

Everything except for hospitals and public safety is open only from 6 am - 10 pm, and closed every sunday.

When can you get anything done?  the answer is Saturday.  you are now limited down to everything that needs to get done in your life, from shopping, getting groceries, Gas, etc, is locked down to one day a week.  (you might be able to squeeze getting gas into your travel time if required)

Honestly this isnt much of a problem, but it leads to a much larger question:  Who is in control of your life?

by that, Who has the authority to determine when you will and wont do things?  Who has the authority to tell you that you Cant get your groceries at 3 am when you get home from work?

Being American, i hold freedom as a Right.  i Expect it.  quite honestly, if the store isnt open when i am available to spend my money there, i dont spend my money there.  and thats how our country works.  its a Consumer Driven Capitalist society.  No government here can tell me when i can and cant work, sleep, eat, shop, etc.  and no Retail Corporation worth anything would be closed when there are people who want them to be open so they can spend money there.

so should stores be open or closed on holidays?  Here in the US, almost all holidays the stores are open, Because everyone else has off.  is this unfair to the workers who have to work during those days?  Almost certainly no.  Back when i worked at walmart, i had to work on Thanksgiving Day.  you might think "but thats a day you were supposed to spend with your family" But i Did spend it with my family.  i didnt have to go in to work until 6pm that night, so i spent the day with my family, had dinner, then went in to work.  no problem. Sure i would have Liked to have off, but theres not really any reason to require the store to shut down. 

So, getting back onto point, Should you be allowed to choose how you want to live your life, and do what you want when you want?   or should you be forced to make your life conform to what some corporation that you dont even work for wants?  Who controls your life? yourself or your favorite shops?
--------------

I guess its just a culture clash, us and the brits, because in the US we have true freedom.  not that quasi-freedom like the other countries have.  True freedom means freedom to fail.  to go out and make your own mistakes, to live your own life and not have your government tell you what you can and cant do.  My friend said something that was really telling.  "we give free carry out bags" "your opposed to having bags to carry out stuff be free?" "they are plastic bags, the government said they had to cut down on the bags used, all stores,  but the customer looks like we owe them it"

yes, their government is requiring all stores to limit the number of plastic bags they give out to customers. and she couldnt figure out why the people were upset.

its funny how much of a difference the US and UK still have, even to this day.

http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm