12.31.2008, Wed
A few people that I hang out with in DC came back to Michigan for the holidays. We met up with some other old friends at Buffalo Wild Wings in Novi for 40 cent wing night. We had a wild and winged time.
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You're not so bad yourself.
12.21.2008, Sun
Unfortunately, this is true. 
I’m leaving Virginia for the time being and I’m taking everything I can with me in a PT Cruiser with no back seats. My car is FULL and I can’t see out the rearview mirror. I think I could be dead by the time you read this since I’ll be driving in rain out of Virginia/Maryland and approaching heavy snow in Michigan.
But maybe like in the Fight Club movie, in death, I’ll have a name. I was going to do a farewell from DC post but now I’ll be creepy and make people look at it as a farewell from life post even though I’m betting against death by fiery car crash.
I know there are quite a few people whom I have met or have become better friends with in DC that I’d like to personally dedicate this post to. But I know that since I’m typing this after midnight, I’m going to leave out one or two people that I really should say a few words to. Instead, I’ll send you all something personal as soon as I get settled in my new destination in the new year.
I feel like I’ve learned way more about life simply by living in DC for 3 years than I would have if I had stayed in Michigan. I believe I’d most likely be doing the same things I had done all my life and hung out with mostly the same people I grew up with. I’d almost definitely still be under the tyrannical dictatorship of my parents (a bit of an exaggeration). I wouldn’t have met my past two girlfriends. I wouldn’t have made a ridiculous amount of money doing absolutely no work. I wouldn’t have made a ton of friends from all over the world that I’ll undoubtedly be in touch with for the rest of my life. I have someone who calls me their very best friend (VBF!) who I probably wouldn’t even talk to today if I wasn’t in DC. I have a great friend with whom I started going to a really amazing church with every Sunday. I’d probably still be going to my parents’ boring church if I’d stayed in Michigan.
I can say without a doubt that I would be a COMPLETELY different person in EVERY WAY right now if I had stayed in Michigan. I think the only thing that would be the same is that I would’ve had a job punching keys on a keyboard all day (for WAY less money) and that I’d probably be driving the same car (or the car that I smashed up before).
The most important thing that I learned while in DC was that taking a ton of money doing a job I HATE is the worst thing I could ever do to myself. I had way more money than I should’ve had and all I did was spend it on CRAP that I didn’t need and barely used. It was almost shameful when I saw all the GARBAGE that I accumulated over the years in an effort to find happiness. I realized in the end that the only way to find happiness is to spend my short time in this life doing something I truly enjoy. Once I did that, I actually looked forward to waking up at 8am and getting ready for my day of what I enjoy. I actually enjoyed my nights of photography instead of wasting away in front of a computer or television. I did those things to avoid sleep because I knew that once sleep was over, I’d have to go back to wasting my youth at work doing nothing at a place I really didn’t want to be.
The one thing that BLEW MY MIND was that as soon as I stopped going to work, I completely lost my urge to drink alcohol EVER. I realized a few weeks ago that the two DIRECTLY coincided with each other. I stopped drinking entirely within a week of no longer going to work. Drinking was my escape from the disgustingly harsh reality that the rest of my life would be filled with me getting bossed around by losers if I didn’t do something about it. And instead of doing something about it, I would escape with alcohol. Unfortunately and very fortunately, I realized that fact only after I took action. Sadly, I still see people my age doing the same thing and I don’t know what to do about it. But now, my life is controlled by me alone and now I feel like a real human. I don’t believe we exist to work for some company all day that will fire you for not coming in by 9am every single day among other silly reasons.
On a more positive note, DC, to me, feels like everywhere else in this country combined. Anything that anywhere else is known for can be found in DC. Name anything and what city that represents in the comments and I’ll tell you where you can find it in the DC area. Whether it be for 6 months or 60 years, I feel that everyone should live in the DC area for some time in their life. I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything!
But I digress. In closing, just know that if you get a call from me in the days between now and January 3rd-ish, understand that, even if I don’t say it during the call, you had a major impact on my life. My life is only going to be amazing because you all were in it and I don’t think there’s any way to repay that but I will make the effort. Even if you’re one of the many people I haven’t spoken with since I left my first job, you all are still in my heart. Even if we had a relationship-ending disagreement, I hope you can look at it as a a learning experience and we can get past it and continue to grow together. I’m going to do everything I can to stay in touch with everyone that I can.
But first, I have to make it to Michigan. 
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12.20.2008, Sat
So here’s the results of my photography class final exam. I got a 95! 
I didn’t list which colors were primary and which were secondary. Red, green, and blue are primary colors in photography. Cyan, magenta, and yellow are the secondary colors.
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12.19.2008, Fri
A friend of mine’s sister has a cat that they named Dr. Claw in reference to the Inspector Gadget cartoon. I get just a little bit disturbed every time I hear that because the cat’s name wasn’t Dr. Claw. Its name was MAD Cat.
I went to the site with all the answers (wikipedia) to read up on MAD Cat and get their overly verbose explanation of MAD Cat’s life. I chuckled the whole way through. Here’s a copied and pasted version for you.
MAD Cat
Since the viewers never saw Dr. Claw’s face (or his body) in the cartoon series, MAD Cat was another way to reinforce Dr. Claw’s emotions. When Dr. Claw was happy, MAD Cat would laugh and snicker along with him, or for him. When Dr. Claw was angry, MAD Cat would follow through with his terrible yowl.
Dr. Claw showed great affection for MAD Cat, stroking the sinister feline often. This became a trademark of his on the show (other than his “hands” shtick, though the two are often indistinguishable). However, Dr. Claw was also sometimes an abusive pet owner, and would bully MAD Cat when he perceived the feline as annoying. In an episode that took place in the first season, Dr. Claw was depicted laughing over a triumph, and MAD Cat, in typical “copycat” manner, laughed along with him. Dr. Claw then demanded what the cat was laughing about, adding furiously, “I did all the work!” An episode or two later, Dr. Claw was engaged in tongue-lashing his minions. MAD Cat did the same. Dr. Claw again abused the cat and angrily growled out that he was that one who gave the orders. Sometimes MAD Cat didn’t have to do anything at all to inspire punishment, and Dr. Claw’s maltreatment was almost casual or even unnoticed and reckless on some level. In more than one episode Dr. Claw would simply slam down his fist, not caring where the cat was in his anger or if his pet would escape in time. (However, in one episode, MAD Cat was ready for him and glued his fist to the desk) Dr. Claw once broke MAD Cat’s Inspector Gadget toy bank after Gadget foiled one of Dr. Claw’s plots, and MAD Cat cried uncontrollably. In another, he simply caressed the feline’s head until it hurt, with MAD Cat’s expression betraying discomfort. MAD Cat always forgave Dr. Claw (often by the next scene).
MAD Cat seems to understand English well: in Launch Time, MAD Cat takes instructions from Dr. Claw and operates the controls of the Mad Jet (firing a missile).
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12.16.2008, Tue
My sister’s graduation from the University of Michigan was this past Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Today I’m posting their fight song that they sang at the end of graduation.
University of Michigan Fight Song during Winter Graduation from Jermil on Vimeo.
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