Register to Vote Drive

The other day I worked at a voter registration drive with Chinese senior citizens.  It's amazing how a group event such as this (along with some delicious Chinese food) can encourage people to register!  With the Pennsylvania Voter Photo ID law that has made it more difficult and inconvenient for certain demographics, like senior citizens, to vote, it is more important than even to make sure you can vote this November!

Temple University Meme I made long ago

Littering. Stop. Doing. It.

One of my reignited pet peeves is the amount of littering that goes on in Philadelphia.  I suppose this extends to many other major cities as well.  If it weren't for the fact that most of the offenders I catch are 6'7" and look like they are capable of crushing my skull with a single hand, I would totally say something about it.

An incident with a litterbug today particularly got to me because this person happened to ditch some random garbage into a puddle.  I accidentally fell into said puddle and for the entire way back home my foot had some mysteriously awful odor.  And not the typical polluted city puddle smell.

THERE ARE LIKE TEN TRASH CANS ON EVERY CITY BLOCK! IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO DISPOSE OF YOUR WASTE PROPERLY!?! IT'S BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND MY SNEAKERS!!!  

Existential Sunday SEPTA Read

Returned to Philadelphia today, via SEPTA.  I really enjoy being able to travel from Pottstown area to Philly on $3.55.  It takes about an hour longer than simply driving in, but it allows me to relax and read a book.  Except that I forgot to bring a book.

Luckily, I found a copy of The Flies by Jean-Paul Sartre stuffed deep down into some forgotten recess of my bookbag.  If you aren't familiar with the play, it's pretty much an existentialist interpretation of the Greek Electra story.  If you're not familiar with Electra and/or Orestes, I will give you a quick summary:

This king, Agamemnon, sacrifices one of his daughters to save his kingdom or whatever.  His wife-Clytemnestra is somewhat upset with him for doing this.  She-and her lover-Aegisthus decide to kill him.

Much, much, later, her other daughter-Electra, and her long lost son Orestes reunite and decide to kill Aegisthus and Clytemnestra to avenge their father.

One scene that really caught my attention was a confrontation between Zeus and Orestes, after he makes this declaration of being "free" (existentially).


Zeus was all like:  I don't like that I can't manipulate you and stuff. God hates free thinkers!!You are an aberration of nature etc etc.

Then Orestes says,  "Let [the earth] crumble!  Let the rocks revile me, and flowers wilt at my coming.  Your whole universe is not enough to prove me wrong.  You are the king of gods, king of stones and stars, king of the waves of the sea.  But you are not the king of man." (From Act III of The Flies by Sartre).

Existentialist or no, that is pretty epic and bad ass.  I totally understand where Orestes is coming from with the "whole universe not being enough to prove me wrong" thing.  It's exactly how I feel when I get into a fight with my parents.

Well, just wanted to share a tidbit from my day.  Hope it wasn't too dull due to its educational value.
Cheers!

Hello World!

Greetings everyone!

     Being that this is my first blog ever, however, a more appropriate opening line would probably be something along the lines of "Hello, is anyone out there?"  However, I am hoping/expecting some bored unfortunate souls will stumble upon my barren blog by mistake somehow and that they will at least make it to the warm welcoming line.  From that first line, they will feel obligated to finish reading this brilliant Pulitzer Prize-worthy blog entry, and their original search will be completely eradicated from their mind.  Yup.  That's the plan.

So, I pretty much wanted to start this blog because I'm taking a semester (or two) off from college, and I'm hoping to have some interesting experiences to share with my fellow (and currently nonexistant) readers.  I decided to title the blog Lost in My Neighborhood because my sense of direction is somewhat below average.  I may have even gotten lost in my home town before.  My family might have had to come find me and take me home after I attempted to find the local Barnes and Nobel and ended up in a different county instead.  I'm not saying for certain, but it may have happened.  

During this wonderful period of self discovery, I am making some realistic long term goals.  For example, I am aiming to make my first million by writing the next great American novel before returning to school the following year.  My short term goals include developing the attention span necessary to actually get past the first paragraph of said novel.  

While I am composing the next Great American novel, I am working part-time in Philadelphia and hanging out with the 1.5 friends I have made in my life so far.  I like it a lot.

Well my hunger pangs are making it impossible to concentrate on blogging, so this ends my first post.  Hopefully my next post will actually have some substance to it and at least have a writing level comparable to a gifted sixth grader.  

Cheers!