Summer Time!

Summer time! Lovin' it so far. Today actually marks the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year. Tonight, coincidentally on the night with the least amount of darkness, I will be working all night setting up at Apple. It's a big week next week with the iPhone coming out and all, so they need people to help set up over night. I actually volunteered for it because I need the extra hours.

Yesterday I stupidly spent way too much money. Josh and I bought 4 new dvd's each with amounted to over 40 bucks, and then we went out to eat twice. That right there killed me.

The other day at the beach was fantastic. I drove again which was fine because I volunteered, but it's killing my gas goal. I haven't filled up in 2 weeks now and I still have more than half a tank. My bike has really proven useful so far. I'll be disappointed when winter roles around and I have to take the car everyday. Boo.

Well now that summer is in full swing and I'm starting to settle into a work routine, I need to keep my goals in check. Because I don't actually have to live in the state of Illinois to gain the full tuition waiver of the program I'm going for, I now plan on going back to school more or less as soon as possible. The realistic goal is to gain acceptance by Spring 2009. That gives me a year and a half to complete the necessary requirements for the program. The biggest thing is getting the three classes I haven't taken under my belt. I plan on taking some classes at MCC because it's cheap, but I need to really get into a work routine so I know how often I'll be working. What I really wish was possible was for Fisher to give me a discount on individual classes since I now have a degree from them, but that is serious wishful thinking. Besides that being the biggest deal and the reason I'll have to wait a year to apply instead of next March which is the deadline for Fall 2008, other goals include becoming the advocacy leader for my Starbucks store and completely mastering the Spanish language and all will probably take longer than the longest run on sentence I've ever written. I'll be keeping my goals in tight check, any time wasted will only set me back.

So that's about it. The best news I've heard in the recent 1 or 2 weeks has been the fact that I don't have to live in Illinois for the program. Before when I planned on just moving to Chicago next year I was worried I would settle to into a work routine and not want to go back to school. Now that this news is relevant, I'll be well on my way to my masters degree and my peace corps dreams!

btw, to check out this vid click on the original source for the blog, or check out my youtube, my name is Revan311.

Life has sadly been pretty boring. It is taking a long time for my job to take it's full form. It has been a lot of waiting around and training. The training is good, but really infrequent. I really wish I could actually train full time as well as know if I'll even be a full time employee or not.

Since I haven't been working very often I haven't found very interesting ways to spend my day. Sometimes I ride my bike down the canal. Sometimes I just stay around the house all day. Ugh, hopefully more interesting things will happen soon.

I started thinking one day about what activism actually is. There are countless members of countless communities participating in activities every day, and yet some people who call themselves activists hardly do anything at all.

I've been finished with school for over a month now and have a pretty good job. But it's been a struggle so far to find my place in a world which at times can seem so shitty. I have had enough of the rednecks that believe global warming is a hoax and find excuses for their behavior that bare no logic.

Honestly though, how can I consider myself an environmental activist unless I actually do something to merit it? I drive an SUV. Yeah, I'm pretty much a hypocrite by those standards. However since I've been back home and actually driven my car, I have averaged about 3 days per week of real driving. I would like it to be less and plan on making it a serious goal. I live 3 1/2 miles from my job so most of the time I ride my bike. In fact, just the other day I read an article on CNN about people in several countries making a statement by riding their bikes in the nude around their respective cities. The purpose was to raise awareness that our dependency on cars is going overboard. Besides riding my bike I have urged people that recycling is a big deal. It's so easy why not just do it. I am also eating almost all organic foods. I started out last semester just eating organic milk and eggs but now am eating almost all foods organic.

I don't want a metal or even recognition. The only thing I want is for people to be more aware. One doesn't have to consider themself an environmentalist and can still be environmentally conscious. Where it really starts is in the individual. Greenpeace and other organizations can post as many scary advertisements on youtube as they want, but where it starts is the individual. So recycle, carpool, walk, do whatever you can to love the earth and it will love you back.

Rob at the beach getting his ass kicked by a little girl

Hey.

This is Me.






I'm pretty content right now, but border line bored. I've been back a month now and I'm completely settled in. I have more of less decided that one year in this place is going to be enough. I was struggling with the thought of waiting more than one and then leaving. The truth is, I love academia, and now that I've graduated, all I want to do is go back. It's summer and all I want to do is go back. Because last semester wasn't really school, I want nothing more than to get back into a class room and library. One year here will be enough because I'll have to spend at least two in Illinois in order to gain in-state tuition. Right now I have my sites set on Chicago. I have heard many good things about the city. I do love urban living, just from being in DC for a semester, so I have a feeling I'll enjoy Chicago. Brian and Kelly will both be there soon, so I'll even have friends there. The big thing is having a job where a transfer is possible. Thankfully, I have two.