The Eternal Anti-Rebel

Is what I am. Let me explain.  All my life, I have been afraid of getting in trouble.When I was in 2nd grade, I got falsely blamed for making fun of JJ Hecei.  He told Mrs. Benne that I was making fun of him.  In order to avoid getting in trouble, she told me I needed to write a letter of apology to JJ for what I had done. If I did not write the note, I would miss recess for the rest of the week.  Well I certainly did not want to lose recess and I really didn't want to get in even more trouble for not apologizing.  (I told my mom that I had not done it but she insisted that it would be best to just apologize and move on)  When I was in 6th grade, I told Joey Beckerle that he was a bitch.  He immediately went and told the teacher, which got me in super deep trouble. (A pretty bitchy move if you ask me)  I was so scared that I was in trouble, I was sure that I never wanted to have that feeling again.  In high school, getting a JUG (like detention) took 5 demerits OR you could get an automatic JUG if you didn't have your demerit card on you.  The one and only time I had to serve JUG was the day I was talking during afternoon announcements and had forgotten my demerit card at home.  Coach Vitello caught me talking to Kevin Inglis and that was it.  Vitello was scary enough without forgetting your card.  I also had a chance to smoke pot on the way to school freshman year.  I was jammed into a green Saturn and while I never actually smoked, I was so nervous about being late to school and smelling like reefer.  Luckily, I was only late.  1 demerit.

A few years after that, I was faced with many opportunities to possibly be in trouble.  I remember when I turned 21, all the talk was about whether or not I would give my younger brother, Tom, my ID.  I always wanted to be that cool older brother who would hook up his younger brothers but I just never had the stones.  He never got my ID.  I remember even before I was 21, trying to get beer was so tough. My best friend Kevin (the one who I was talking to in front of Vitello) was the one who would tap shoulders for someone to buy us some beer.  That never worked but he did manage to get an older co-worker to buy us some Corona.

This brings me to today.  I'm 26.5 years old and still afraid of getting into trouble.  I was at Best Buy buying a dvd when 3 adolescent girls came up to me and asked me if I would buy them 'Call of Duty: Black Ops'.  I told them I felt like I was being set up and that I was sorry but could not help them.  I was devastated for them.  Earlier, while browsing the aisles, I had seen these girls wandering around.  It took them asking me to make said purchases for me to realize why they were wandering.  After saying no, I headed to the checkout.  Halfway down the steps, I paused and looked back upstairs for them.  I was SO close to turning around and telling them that I would do it but then I remembered that I am the eternal anti-rebel.

Random

I wonder if it means anything when someone says that they DON'T want something on their sandwich as opposed to people who say what they DO want on their sandwich.  Can those two groups of people be different in other ways besides how they ask for toppings?  I saw this guy on the train knitting.  His look didn't necessary say 'knitter' but that's what you get in this city.  I was in the bathroom at the Merchandise Mart recently and was peering through the stall door at the guy who was washing his hands.  He took forever to wash his hands and when he was finally done, I saw him peer in the mirror through the crack of the stall.  I couldn't believe how rude the employees were in the Mart as I was trying to find the bathroom.  No one is friendly anymore.  I find that as I grow I discover more pet peeves that I own.  It's almost entirely work related.  How can someone be on the phone the entire time they are ordering food?  It's pretty rude if you ask me.  I have plenty more.  Another year means another year of me hating the BCS.  Somehow, this past week, Auburn came from 21 down to barely beat Alabama while Oregon routed Arizona but the two teams flip flopped in the standings.  How is that possible?  I read this article recently that said blaming the 'computers' for the BCS is the wrong way to look at it.  Humans made the formulas that the computer uses.  In the past, when the humans didn't like the numbers the computer generated, they simply changed the formulas the computers used.  I think that's the right way to look at it. It's our fault.  Until the BCS is thrown by the wayside, I cannot be a fan of college football.  I just cheer for the underdogs.  Mostly, that means Boise St.  It's tough to realize that we are entering a long winter.  It's just the beginning now.  I feel like I'm getting strapped in for a long roller coaster ride knowing I won't be able to get off the ride until April. That's harsh.  I'm listening to the newest Kanye West album.  He's legit.  No way around it.  The gap between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years is too small.  Why can't we spread these holidays out a bit more?  It's tough to make a change in the world.  I was reading a book while spending some time in the bathroom over Thanksgiving break.  It was about simplifying your life.  One of the chapters was titled "In 100 years, all new people".  The point was that in 100 years, no one living now will still be living.  If you can accept that, I feel like you can live life freely.  Don't regret.  Auto tune really sucks but this album is still really good.  I brought some Boulevard Wheat back from St. Louis.  I've always said it is my favorite beer but I'm starting to think that it's time to move on from it.  I still really love it but enough to consider it my favorite?  Probably not.  The search is on for my new favorite.  College basketball season started and I couldn't be more excited.  It's the best sport out there.  So with this short time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is a lot to do in preparation for the big one.  I had a discussion about God over the break.  It was a good one but I don't think it made any progress in either direction.  It reminded me of this thought I had a few years ago.  It went like this, "Are we smart enough to have a God or are we too smart to have a God."  What I mean by each thought is this...The first half is asking if human beings are special enough for God to have created us.  We have rational thought and make towns and cities and governments and so on.  Are we special enough to have a creator?  The other half is asking the opposite.  It is asking if we, as humans, are so smart, in science and technology, that we have ruled God out.  Are we to the point that we have come to see that God simply cannot exist.  I think it's an interesting thought.    These are random thoughts.