Author: duane

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welcome Carlito Juarez to the family!

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welcome Carlito Juarez to the family!, originally uploaded by duanemoodydotcom.

Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day at Ink and Dagger Tattoo Parlour, getting the color added to James’ amazing koi tattoo. I have to say, that Ms. Malia Reynolds completely exceeded my expectations; this tattoo is beautiful!!! She is one of the amazingly talented artists at the shop, and I am so glad that James could get tattooed by her!

James was a trooper, and managed to sit for almost 5 hours!! I have to say, that he really surprised me with that, and I am glad that he got such an amazing tattoo. If only everyone’s first tattoo could be this amazing, right?

Well, I know that is in large part thanks to Malia! As always, if you want to get amazing tattoos, be sure that you head over to Ink and Dagger, over in Decatur, because it is THE place to get tattooed in (or around) Atlanta!

This definitely makes me want ANOTHER ONE!!! HA!

Hope everyone is having a great 3-day weekend!

hmm interesting, is it just me?, the catch-all-egory, venting, well?, wtf?!

art, wonder, and the lack thereof

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Last night in Anatomy Lab, we went over the amazing process of Mitosis. I have to say, that I have always been fascinated by the way the body works, and how miraculous the many tiny parts of the body work independently in order to keep us running each and every day. It really puts things into this amazing perspective, when you realize that such a tiny thing as a cell really is the building block of everything that we are; and even more amazing, it does its thing without any help or conscious instruction from us. Pretty amazing stuff.

It also makes me wonder how people decided to start looking at things like cells, and the building blocks of the human body in the first place. I mean, I know people “wonder” about things, but what makes them look into things and discover things like cells? I wonder, because I truly believe that it is a little bit (maybe a LOT) luck (discovery without really knowing what you have discovered, or being able to comprehend it), and a little bit something mysterious; which is really where my mind starts to go off in fanciful wonder. It also makes you wonder who in the right mind just “experiments”, like in the case of these freakish experiments (I’m surprised Tuskegee wasn’t in there… ); just to “see” what will happen. Where do these people come up with these ideas? I guess there really is a fine line between genius and crazy, eh? Either way, pretty interesting things have been discovered; and now I have to memorize them for my class!! It’s a good thing I have been through it before, because there is a lot to know about the human body.

Sort of on the same vein, and given that there have been some amazing things that I have been looking at lately, I have to say, that I really don’t get this at all: Damien Hirst is apparently this amazing “artist”, and recently sold a diamond encrusted human skull for 100 million dollars. Correct me if I’m wrong (and this takes into account the whole “art is in the eye of the beholder”), but gluing diamonds to a skull is NOT art. In fact, it is, at best, expensive kindergarten crafts. So, why do people like him display dead sharks in tanks of chemicals, and waste 2 million dollars on “skull crafts”, call it art, and make the big bucks while the rest of us have to get real jobs? Perhaps that is the best swindle of all(?). Regardless of whether or not I “understand” or “appreciate” his “work”, all I can say is that I am more than willing to take a shit in a museum, stick a straw in it, and label it “life sucks”, if you want to pay me the big dollars; because to me, that is pretty much the same fucking thing.

Hope everyone is having a kick ass Friday!

all about me, britney n' k-fed, get over it!, is it just me?, music musings, music suggestion, politics, sex (oh yeah), that is so gay, the catch-all-egory, venting, well?, wtf?!

who really cares?

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Everyone’s raving about another defecting Republican, who got caught giving in to his homosexual tendencies… but really, who cares? I mean, this guy goes up in an airport restroom to score some cock, and everyone is all abuzz about it. Please. I am so sick of the “news” covering stories like this one, or this and that about Britney Spears’ night out on the town; what is really going on in the world? Tell us that stuff!

Seriously. I mean if you really want to look at it, he didn’t even do anything but proposition the guy! No gay sex was involved!! What a freak, and what a non-news situation. Seriously, find something important to talk about, for crying out loud.

I do, however, think it is funny that so many of these anti-gay jerks find themselves in a restroom somewhere begging for a bit of man on man action… which really makes it clear that the more homophobic you are, the more you are covering up your own homosexuality; and honestly, that’s just sad.

I just wish people could be happy with themselves, and the world wouldn’t judge you because of what you do between the sheets. Perhaps people like this would be able to express themselves in a healthy (and more legal?) manner, and instead of being so against our “agenda”, they could just join us in place where you can be happy for who you are, you can enjoy personal acceptance, and people will understand and accept you for you. Man, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing; and potentially, something actually worth reporting (for a change)?

Who knows… Now back to your regularly scheduled Michael Vick update… wait… I don’t give a shit about that either! HA!

In duane-related news… I have been really working hard at Statistics, which, if you are not a math wiz, is seriously another language. I just hope that I can pull out some magic knowledge or memory, and somehow score an A in this class. It is, after all, the only math class I have to take. At least I am getting it out of the way first!!

Finally, I don’t now if anyone is actually taking my music suggestions seriously, but here is another fantastic one: Kate Nash, Made of Bricks. Wow. She is a little bit Lily Allen, and I love her! The whole CD is a great listen, and I love her writing style. The song “Foundations”, is seriously infectious, and so well written. I have been listening to it on repeat for days. Do yourself a favor, and check it out! This CD is definitely one of my favorites of the year!

all about me, happenings, near and dear

twenty-nine

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So yeah… Today, I am 29.

29 years is a long time… and interestingly enough, most of it was spent in one form or another of school. Most of it was spent under the care of others, which led to confusion and frustration at this point in my life. Little of my life has been spent “on my own”, but at this point, I am really starting to have a real grasp for that concept… and it is starting to get better, with each step I take.

All of that aside, I see this as a step towards something better… I have heard that your thirties are the years when you really come in to your own, and I am certainly looking forward to them. I am looking forward to getting more school, another degree, and perhaps, a new career. I am doing just that, looking forward.

I am going to try and spend this year preparing for the next steps, all the while, trying to enjoy the moment. After all, enjoying the moment is something I have never been very good at, and is something that I am working on.

Here’s hoping that 29 is a good year for me.

is it just me?, music musings, near and dear, that is so gay, tragic, venting, well?

do you know who really IS suicidal, Mr Kingston?

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I am sure that you may have heard that insufferable song, Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston by now. It has rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts, and I keep hearing it creep up on the radio. What I don’t like about this song (other than the annoying way it gets stuck in your head), is that it, at best, makes light on something as serious as suicide.

I just wish that people that write songs like this, and create such things that have massive “appeal”, would consider the issue that they choose to make light of. In this case, teenage suicide is considered to be the number 2 or 3 (depending on which study you look at) killer of teenagers in the US. To me, that says that it is a serious issue that one shouldn’t make light of in a frivolous song about “beautiful girls”, and how they leave one suicidal because they don’t return affection.

I would hope that people like Sean Kingston, being a teenager himself, would realize that gay and lesbian youth are extremely disproportionately affected by suicide. Additionally, in my opinion, by making light of something as serious as depression and suicide, by relating it to being simply turned down or broken up with, is ignorant and shameful. People suffer from real issues that lead them to take their own lives, and with regards to gay youth, it comes down to a lot more than a rejection from a “beautiful girl”. I personally don’t appreciate what this song portrays, regardless of the lack of intention, because frankly, people should know better.

Yet another example of how our society lacks the ability, or even the compassion, to identify with the severity of mental health, and the repercussions of repression and hate. Yes, it is just a stupid song, but I am sure that I am not the only one that is somewhat taken aback by the manner in which Kingston throws around something as serious as suicide, like it were no big deal. Perhaps he should think about the many youth out there that not only consider it, but succumb to this each year; maybe the “beautiful girls” wouldn’t be so much of a let down for him.

all about me, happenings, the catch-all-egory, venting

policy cancellation and first class impressions

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First of all, I wanted to say something about the craziness that is my mortgage company (and in a related note, the craziness that is my insurance company). We have had our loan sold many times, but this was the first one that never sent us payment information (like, where to send it, and when), and then threatened a late payment for the payment we didn’t know existed. Anyway, cut to the other day…

We got a notice that our home insurance policy was about to be canceled, due to a lack of payment. Since the mortgage company are the ones that make those payments on our behalf, we called them up. After a little talk, it was cleared up; not their fault, because they made the payment back in June.

So I called Allstate. Turns out, that someone issued a refund two days after said payment was received and processed. The best part? There was no reason for the refund. All is taken care of, right? Well… not exactly. See, the refund check went to the mortgage company, who, you guessed it… cashed the refund check. Now, we have to get them to pay again.

You know, you would think that companies that deal with many loans, and many customers would be able to keep better track of what’s been paid, who’s paid up, and where $800 some odd dollars are at all times, you know? Well, at least we found out BEFORE our insurance was canceled, eh?

In other news, I have been logging in to my online classes each day, and I really think that I am going to be able to manage this quite swimmingly. I went up to the school yesterday to take care of getting an ID card, a parking pass, and my books, only to discover that the bookstore doesn’t carry my stats book. No matter, I said, I will check amazon! Well, turns out, even better for me, that you can just buy one year’s access to the book online; which is part of a program that I was going to have to buy anyway. The best part, is that it was cheaper, AND I won’t be stuck with another book sitting around that I won’t really need after this class is over. What isn’t so great, is that my anatomy book and lab manual cost me $300! Damn! I forgot that books were so expensive! Oh well… at least I have it, right? Weirdly, the anatomy teacher hasn’t updated anything on the anatomy class website, so we’ll see where that one goes… onward!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday… I can’t wait for tomorrow to be over, because I am off on Friday and Monday! Woot!

all about me, is it just me?, movie musings, the catch-all-egory

back to the heat, back to the grind

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Well, I survived Rochester, NY. I guess I didn’t mention WHERE I was going this weekend for work, and I honestly don’t have a reason for not doing so… just an oversight.

Either way, I had to work all day Saturday, and then was tied up with travel and airport nonsense all day Sunday. Sitting here in my office on a Monday, it really doesn’t feel like Monday at all. I am going to make some of that up by taking off time this weekend… because it’s birthday weekend!

My birthday is on Sunday, so if you want to do something, let me know. I don’t really do parties or big dinners, but would love to just spend time with friends. Also, if you feel so inclined, you can purchase me something shiny and new from one of my amazon wish-lists; which are right there on the right column under “more than just a blog”. But don’t feel obligated, okay?

Overall, the weekend was nice. The weather in Rochester was unbelievably amazing. So much so, that I will seriously consider moving north once I get my nursing degree. It was really nice to walk around in 50-60 degree weather after leaving the sweltering coal furnace that is Atlanta. On Saturday, I went to the movies and to dinner with one of my coworkers, and that was nice, because I really felt we have never really connected before. We saw The Invasion (which was okay), and had dinner before saying goodnight. It was good conversation the whole time. I also managed to have a little one on one time with another coworker who I had connected with, and it was great getting to know her. I look forward to getting to know her better too! I guess some good can come out of working on the weekends, eh?

Classes officially started for me at GPC today. For those that don’t know, I am taking a few prerequisites for nursing school at GPC, and luckily, I get to take some of them online. I have signed on and looked at the stuff, but haven’t gotten my books yet, so I will probably do that tomorrow, and I will then try to get a little ahead in each of my classes. Man, going back to school after so many years is weird, but I just hope it is a good experience! I am sure that I will have updates on that from time to time… so stay tuned.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday… mind feels like Wednesday or something!

all about me, happenings, mixed media, music musings, music suggestion, the catch-all-egory

going oot for work

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I am going out of town (oot) for work this weekend. Gah, going out of town is bad enough, having to deal with airports and whatnot, but going for work is just double gah. At least our work session lets out at 3 on Saturday! What… we got to look at something positive, right?

So yeah, I will be available by mobile and text. I still haven’t fixed my email capabilities on my phone, since every time I call verizon I have to explain everything to them, and apparently, it is really rare to have your own email account that isn’t yahoo, gmail, or one of those other ones. Maybe I will take care of that while I am there… who knows? Either way, I will be able to get emails, I just won’t be able to send them. Man, that was a long way of saying that!

Oh well.

Since I will be oot, and I will be relying heavily on my ipod for entertainment and companionship, I figured I would give you my listening suggestion for the week, since I haven’t already. This week, I have slowly, but surely, been falling in love with Ms Brandi Carlile. If you are a fan of bands like the Indigo Girls, please do yourself a favor and check out Brandi’s new CD, The Story. It is beautiful, and well done. I love her voice, and her sound is so (as my friend Stu would say) “lesbionic”, that there is no way that I couldn’t have fallen for this chick. Seriously, it’s a good listen all of the way through! Let me know what you think, won’t you?

Have a good weekend folks… stay out of trouble!

all about me, the catch-all-egory

two observations

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1. I love tattoos. I might even be “addicted” to them. However, healing them sucks big time. I am also fairly certain that Aquaphor was made by the devil… the OCD in me cringes every time I have “grease up” the tattoo. Thank God it is only for 5 days, today of which is the 4th.

2. Working on the weekends is not cool. Especially when you don’t get paid for it. Additionally, going out of town for work can also suck, even more so, when it is over the entire weekend. There will be some flex time in my future; oh yes, oh yes there will. At least it came the weekend BEFORE my birthday. Yes, this means I will be going out of town this weekend, coming back on Sunday night. Sigh.

That is all for now.