Inane Ramblings
(Latest 20 entries) (Calendar) (Friends) (User info)
Navigate: (Previous 20 entries)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A friend of mine recently got engaged while on a trip out of state. I'm going to assume that he did the live action cliche of "buy her an expensive ring and get down on a knee when asking". While I lament that yet another man will be descending from the high ranks of bachelorhood (I myself am still a bachelor, but in a serious relationship), I am also reminded in how much materialism has perverted the concept and execution of the engagement/marriage cycle. While I have more of a problem with weddings themselves, this writing is restricted to the idea of engagement rings.
A quick glance at the Zales website soon showed me that any diamond ring that didn't look like a metal washer with a glass shard glued on would run about at least two thousand dollars, with most coming in the multiple thousands range. Now lets look at what exactly this excess of spending has bought you...... absolutely nothing. Let me explain:
Centuries ago when the idea of engagements and betrothals were first popularized, they were mostly done by parents. This daughter is betrothed to this son in exchange for 12 heads of cattle, or goats, etc. This was done for centuries (and to a small extent, is still done) until people as a whole generally decided that women weren't actually property, and were people themselves. Damn us and our progression as a species!!
Along the way, some rich bastard decided that in exchange for her hand in marriage, he would give his bride-to-be a diamond ring. As can be expected, this idea soon spread and women everywhere wanted their very own diamond rings, and men everywhere were just pussy-whipped enough to actually buy into the idea that women deserved these extravagant gifts. Now, in general, women expect rings, and probably wouldn't get married without them. In fact, it would not surprise me to hear of women dumping guys because they didn't get a ring, or even one they particularly liked.
Another change from the practice of betrothal centuries ago is an actual legal implication in the engagement. Originally, being engaged was an actual legal status, and had its own set of laws that applied to that status. But in the present time, being engaged means absolutely nothing legally. The only thing of legal concern is the ring itself. In the case of the engagement being broken off, who now has legal possession of the ring? That question varies greatly by state and other factors, such as who broke of the wedding, and if the ring was given on a nationally recognized gift-giving day such as Valentine's Day. And even if the donor of the ring legally still owns the ring, he often has to go to court just to get it back. With all that trouble, what purpose does that $5000 ring have except to cause headaches, drain bank accounts, and give the recipient a reason to gloat?
Honestly, the actual practice of engagement in present day United States is nothing more than the declaration of two people's intention to get married. How exactly does that equate to a man going in debt just to give a girl a piece of jewelry?
But apparently in our materialisic society, just a declaration that you intend to do something warrants an extravagant, useless gift. So with that, I hereby pronounce:
I fully intend to take a shit when I finish writing this, so I deserve a sapphire headband.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
10:04PM
So yeah... went back to Louisiana, and it was weirder than I could imagine. Staying with my parents in their temporary rent house was like staying at hotel (except without the kickass shower heads in the bathroom... the house has plumbing issues), and looking at what remains of their actual house is one the more depressing things I've done in a very long time.
I broke in my newly acquired cast iron skillet by cooking a pan of faux corn bread (I had no eggs)... and of course it stuck like glue, and had to be scraped off. Pre-seasoned skillet, my ass!!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
5:56PM
I'm off today. Just hanging out and talking to my mom on the telephone, hoping they find themselves a place to live pretty soon.
It's going to be weird going back to Louisiana with neither my parents' or my grandfather's house being there anymore. Damn tornadoes.
Oh, I just realize a few people who read this won't know what happened. The storm that tore through LA, MS, AL, etc earlier in the week spawned a tornado which destroyed both my parents and granddad's house. Only injuries are a couple broke ribs and damaged shoulder to my grandfather... and a round of emotional distress all around the family.
I'm hoping to have a couple pictures, but neither my brother or sister seem to want to email me any. From what I hear, it looks bad.
And of course I'm stuck in San Antonio for the time being. I will be going home just after New Year's though.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
A friend recently forced me to actually do something with my long lost MySpace page. And therefore, I have decided that I might actually would like to make some sort of appearance here, as well. I realize that it's been almost a year since I last posted, and many of the people who use to come here to read or hear from me are likely long gone. But alas, I shall still write.
But what do I write about? Philosophical ramblings? Current events? Recap of my life since November? Lament of the loss of family and friends in that time? Maybe an amalgamation of them all?
Well, for this first one, I guess I can go with what I'm thinking this very second. And that thought is that I'm hungry and Rebeka (my girlfriend of two years who is now living with me) promised to take me to Saltgrass tonight for a steak. I'm looking forward that.
Also, my family and friends back in Louisiana have just enjoyed a second hurricane in the last two weeks. I, however, have had nothing but heat out here in San Antonio.
So I think that's going to be all I do for this one time. Maybe more will come in the following days, who's to say for sure? All I know is that I'm telling myself that I would like to make some sort of "comeback" if you will.
We shall see.
Current music: All Along the Watchtower
Saturday, November 17, 2007
You know you're a real (as far as games go, anyway) man when you beat down a Rosie with nothing but a wrench.
Still smiling.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
So, I wanted to let you know that I have the most awesome girlfriend in all of the land. Not only did she volunteer (without strong-arming) to pay for half of a new Xbox 360 for me, she also decided that since she had money in her savings, to pay for it now instead of me having to wait to come up with the rest of the cash in a week or so.
So now I have an Xbox 360 before I could have gotten it myself, and also have a copy of Halo 3 sitting in its drive, just waiting for me to finish the fight.
I love my Xbox, even if I am feeding Bill Gates more money. And I love my girlfriend even more. :)
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Case: Antec 900
PSU: Corsair 620W
Mobo: Asus p5n32e-sli plus
Proc: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 OC'd
RAM: 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400
GSU: eVGA Superclocked 8800 GTS 320MB
HD: Seagate SATA 7200.10 320GB
Opt: Lite-On DVD/CD-RW
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
So, after weeks of looking, this list is what I have decided/started ordering. I could go cheaper in a few places, but it's a pretty powerful system and has room for upgrades in the future. Same socket for a quad-core, and has room for another graphics card, and hard drives for RAID.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tomorrow, we get a thousand dollar bonus because our store won a sales contest for last quarter.
An extra grand on my paycheck... very nice! *smiles very wide*
Sunday, August 26, 2007
My baby girl, Daisy the Dakota, has hence decided that her battery shall no longer hold a charge. So it's off to Autozone or Advance. And it's off with 85 dollars.
*Sigh*
Monday, July 23, 2007
I managed to get the last book finished last night, and I have to say...... meh!
Here is my summary of the book:
Blah, blah, blah, blah, skimmed over fight, blah, blah blah, "why didn't Dumbledore tell me everything" cries Harry, blah, blah, skimmed fight, blah, blah, "why Dumbledore, why?", blah blah, skimmed fight, blah, blah, big last battle, fan-fiction-sounding Snape answers, blah, blah, get shot with killing curse and have some weird LSD trance, cry for fake dead Harry, and shoddy last duel with very stretched logical reasonings.
And of course I can't forget, shitty epilogue I wanted to tear out and burn.
So yeah, now I ask myself how this series of books has been so mesmorizing? It can't have been the deep literary sub-text because there wasn't any. It can't have been the precise world and rules she laid down, because Rowling contradicts herself.
Hmmm, who really knows? But I know I've read them all, and will surely watch the movies when they eventually come out.
Weird, huh?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Today is/was my birthday. Technically speaking, about five hours ago I turned 27 years old. I celebrated it by watching the new Harry Potter movie.. in IMAX (partially 3D) to boot. AS for the movie... about what I expected. Heavily trimmed from the book, some things changed (not drastically though), and a kick-ass wizard battle at the end. I enjoyed it.
After that I went to the Longhorn Cafe where I ate a huge chicken fried steak. I swear this thing was a foot across... and sided by what had to be a pound of mashed potatoes. MMMMMMMMM. And for dessert... ice cream cake. :)
So that was my day.
In other news, something is wrong with my foot... it hurts very badly to walk. Going to a clinic by my apartment tomorrow. My truck is sick yet again.. bushings on upper control arms are shot, along with a leaking power steering pump. My baby is really showing her 160,000 miles. Other than that, just working and planning a trip home a week from Friday. I'm going to fix my truck there to save myself a few hundred dollars... even accounting for a round-trip of gasoline.
Hope everyone out there is doing well... take care of yourselves.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Although my plan to just immediately build a PC has been dashed by my truck's illnesses, I do want to keep my dream alive. And with that, I'm considering buying a part at a time, as I get the money. So for the computer-savvy folks out there, this is my tentative plan for a budget pc. Well, not BUDGET budget, but not crazy expensive anyway:
Antec Sonata II w/ 450W power supply
EVGA 122-M2-NF59-TR
Athlon Athlon 64 X2 4800+
OCZ PC2-6400 DDR2 2 GB
GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
Sony DVR-112D 18X DVD+R
This list is extremely subject to change depending on the availability of funds at any given moment and if something pops up on sale.
Any feedback would be cool.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
This week has given me a lot of numbers to think over and dreams to dash upon the rocks. I'll explain:
I recently sold 26 shares of Lowes stock = 829.19 dollars in my pocket.
My plan for the money was the purchase of various computer parts for 736 dollars. After adding a few odd and end tools to put them together, I was looking at around 760 dollars, leaving me with about $70. Just enough for C&C3.
But recent events have unfolded as such:
My truck got sick. Very sick. Very noisy... about to leave me stranded. So now after paying for various parts (belt pulley, belt tensioner, 2 rear tires, and water pump) and the labor to put them in since I have neither tools or a shop here, I am now looking at $726.84 for maintenance of my truck... leaving me with $102.35. I'm definitely going to have to buy myself something with that hundred dollars. Any suggestions??
Take care of yourselves,
The Mad Accordionist
P.S. You know, the exact same thing happened when I got my tax refund. San Antonio has punched a enormous hole into the bottom of my wallet.
*Cries not so gently into my hands*
Current mood: Melancholyish Current music: Everyday I have the blues....
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Here is the man answering a simple little question:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
JRR Tolkien:
Presently to the great Road they again came. Broad it was, and paved also, and in dust covered; and upon the dust could be seen tracks of feet, many of them.
"Ho!" said Gimli. "Whether these marks be left by Man or Dwarf, Elf or Halfling, beast or fowl, I know not. Yet this much will I warrant; it was no fell beast. For many servants has the Dark Lord; yet the Road they do not cross."
"Can you discern not more amidst these signs?" answered him Legolas. "These marks are as of the feet of a certain bird, one bred unto the farmyard, him that is named among us Círnol Sândas. Have you none such fowl in the Shire also?"
"Yes, but to-day we call them chickens ," replied Frodo, shivering miserably. "O! How I should love to sup again upon some nice roast chicken! But why did it cross the Road, here?"
"Of such things we do not speak," Aragorn told him sternly.
Just a little something to celebrate the release of The Children of Hurin.
Hope you enjoy. :)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Due to my working early this morning, I just got to watch the season finale of Battlestar Galactica that my g/f recorded. And now I have been reminded of just why exactly this is the single best show on television today... period.
Wow!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Starting next week my schedule is going to 4am - 1pm. I am going to be one of the walking dead for a while. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.................
Saturday, March 10, 2007
If you're reading this, then follow these directions immediately:
Stop what you're doing.
Get off the computer.
Go watch 300.
Come back when it's done.
Tell all your friends of its awesomeness.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
I discovered on Sunday that I like Mexican rap much more than African (mainly) American rap. "Why?", you ask. Because when I don't understand the lyrics, I can pretend they're making rhymes about ice cream and unicorns instead of killing a hooker for heroine money. :)
Have a great day!!
Saturday, March 3, 2007
I finally got my taxes finished. I wanted to do the totally free e-filing, but couldn't find one that would let me since I have all the stock option numbers to file. But I did manage to get it done for only 15 dollars. : ) Even got my state taxes completed.
All in all, I didn't do to bad this year. Gonna get back about a grand this year. I know that's not much to all of you out there sporting kids and such, but for me... it's winning the lottery. A thousand dollars... now I'm gonna have things to buy. :)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I've been working on my ever-increasing to-do list the last few days. With some things I'm actually getting successful. With others, not so much.
One thing I managed to get done was that I got a haircut today. First one since probably a couple of months before I moved, which means I was one hairy beast. But now.... dead sexy, baby!!!
Oh yea, I've started a preliminary look for jobs. Not that I lost mine or anything, but I think I can probably do better, not to mention I could use a little extra money. Things to buy, ya know? If nothing, else, I can probably find a little part-time thing to do in my free evenings. Cook some chicken or some junk, I don't care all that much. I'd just rather not deal with too many people (I do that all day as it is), and I'll pass on scrubbing toilets.
Next thing on my list:
Do my taxes (gotta dig up a LA form, somewhere, though)
Navigate: (Previous 20 entries)
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
lsujester's journal