Future job.

So i had the opportunity to speak to someone who does the same job i am interested in doing down the road. Im pretty lucky for this, this lady my mom works for, her step-nephew does the same thing i am looking to do. I learned a lot of new information.

He works in a medium security federal prison, first thing he said, that whatever i do, i should not work for a state prison no matter what level of security, because it is rather dangerous. He said on the other hand, federal prisons are far more secure regardless of the security level. He said only 30 people have died in the 100 years of the federal prison system, and in case something were to happen, someone will always have your back. You'll have to go to some training school in Georgia, to learn some defense moves and stuff, the CIA goes to train there. You'll be allowed to carry a concealed weapon anywhere you go except on an airplane. He said he loves his job for many reasons, he said that he gets bored easily, but this job is great because every day brings something new, and its not the same old thing day in and day out. He said its great because you meet some interesting people, and with many of them you feel like you can reach out to them to help them.

In terms of benefits and finances, its amazing. Average starting rate is ~$65,000/year, with annual raises the first three years. PLUS the government pays for your cost of living, so you will have the annual pay plus they pay for the cost of food, gas, etc. There is tons of room for parallel and vertical promotions, for example in the prison if you work hard you can move up to prison warden, and you can transfer into other government psychologist positions, for example psychologist in the military, psychologist in CIA, psychologist in the courtroom, etc. The government will pay for your medical finances, your medicine, and any other finances like that. And its a steady schedule, 7:30-4, 5 days a week, holidays and government holidays off.

Overall, it sounds great benefit wise and job wise. Im actually happy with this decision.

Tattoo?

I have been debating getting a tattoo for awhile now, and i have my ideas pretty set. Problem is, i know in 10 years these will look like shit, and then i have a feeling ill regret them the older i get. Plus for my job that im hoping to do at a prison (or any job, matter of fact), i would REALLY want to cover these up.

So well first thought, you guessed it, the Polish eagle.

It means what it means. I am proud of my heritage, i am proud of where i come from, and i always want it to stay close to me. I think this would go on my chest. Problem with this one, is that its very detailed, and i wouldnt want it any bigger than like 2.5 inches. So the only way i think its possible is if i get it big, which i dont really want.



Second idea, another Polish thing.

This has a dual meaning thing, and one of them i am again not sure about. This is the closest picture i could find, but this is supposed to be the stars that are found on the Polish eagle's wings (look above). Long ago, Polish generals would get these on their upper chest/lower shoulders (on the front, hard to explain) just like the eagle, to represent that they are bound to their country. Problem is, that over time this developed a new meaning and the Russian mafia took over the idea. To them, any member of the red mafia that has these in the same spot that i want them in (different spots have different meanings to them) means that you follow the code of honor, pride, and respect of the red mafia. Typically they get these after being incarcerated for the first time, also meaning their first struggle behind bars (also what the Russians do, is the amount of points on the star represents years spent during that sentence). So the problem with this one is that people who know about Eastern European culture, will know that this is not a very good symbol at all anymore. The Hilton Head/Bluffton area might be a bit indifferent, but anywhere else i might get uncomfortable, not sure.

So what do you guys think? Both have great meaning to me, but both of them have significant problems. First one is very detailed, so if i were to get it, i would have to get it big. Second one means something good, but is also a very bad image to anyone who knows what it means to another (more dominant) culture. And the problem with both of them overall is that i dont know how i will feel about this as i get older.

So let me hear your opinions!

People need to stop being so passive

I hate seeing people get taken advantage of, and it seems like the older i get, the more i see it.

It really hurts me and basically infuriates me when i see or hear about people who are getting taken advantage of, and they just sit there and take it. Or even worse, sit there and take it, but complain about it and do nothing to fix it. I think that every single person has at least one good trait and one good possession (but most have far more). But when someone exploits that person for whatever it is, its ruining someones' potential and chances are they will never develop that area of their personality.

This goes for anyone. Friends taking advantage of friends, boyfriends taking advantage of girlfriends, girlfriends taking advantage of boyfriends, parents taking advantage of kids, kids taking advantage of parents, managers taking advantage of employees, strangers taking advantage of strangers, people taking advantage of the government, the government taking advantage of people. Its one thing to be nice to someone in one way or another, and out of the goodness of your heart to continue, but there needs to be a fine line here.

Personally, i believe that once a person gets tired of it, they need to put their foot down and hold your ground. For those who have known for me awhile, you know me as the guy who would probably take it for a long time, and do nothing about it. But in the recent i dunno, maybe 4 or 5 years, i listened to my parents, and stopped being a pushover. Maybe this is why i never get along with my managers, because 90% of them are just trying to screw you over and use you to benefit themselves. I hate hearing about a person complaining that their manager did not treat them right or something is unfair, because once it becomes a habit, you need to break, and break it hard.

sort-of-HISTORY LESSON:
And i think this is partially from my roots lol. My parents have tried to teach this to me, and i think its really because of where i am from. In the recent centuries, so many nations tried to invade Poland, control Poland, and take advantage of Poland. Even in my blood, my grandfather's brother was part of the Polish Underground during the Nazi occupation of Poland, and played a huge role in running them out of Warsaw. Then he did the same thing during the Soviet control of Poland some years later, and he was a high valued target for three different nations at that time. He disappeared some time after that though, RIP. Afterall, the two colors of Poland: red represents the bloodshed over hundreds of years on the land fighting for independence, and white represents the peace that the blood was spilt for.

Moral of the blog: People have suffered (and still suffer) all over the world because they didnt stand up for themselves. Instead of letting it happen, everyone needs to stand up for their own personal honor.

/rant

Greatest movie alive.

Crank: High Voltage was by far the most entertaining movie alive. The first movie was so stupid, so ridiculous, so pointless, but so entertaining, and the sequel completely blew away the standards that the first movie set. If you can get past the type of movie this is, and understand that its not made to be serious, then you'll enjoy it. This movie was so over the top extreme, and so over the top hilarious because it was so out of control. After the movie, most people were completely speechless. Like there is nothing you can say after the movie ends, because so many things happened its like watching numerous action movies at one time.

Jason Statham is definitely the action star of this decade. From Transporter to Crank, he does all action roles perfectly.

This movie was the most entertaining movie i have ever seen.

Thank you Charles, for giving me the idea to make this into a blog.

Also, if you go see it, watch after the credits begin rolling for some foreshadowing, if you know what i mean.

Music is dying.

I just want to make a blog to put my feelings out there about modern mainstream music. Because i personally think most genres of music are changing their standards just to get that popular sound, just to make money, even if they are making it so music is becoming less of an art. I know all music changes over the years, but personally i think these latest trends are not for the best. Basically, music is dying.

JUST A DISCLAIMER:
These are JUST my opinions, this is not intended to criticise anything that anyone likes, its just how i personally feel about music today. I dont know why, but people seem to get mad when you say something about the music they enjoy now. Its just an opinion.

Well i will start this blog off with my main genre of music, which is rock. Rock used to be great, not only did it sound good, but it was an art. With amazingly written songs, thoughtful and deep lyrics, and some instrumental talent that was not easily imitated. The latest mainstream trend in rock music has taken a sharp turn toward that generic sounding "pop-punk" sound. Of course there are some mainstream artists that do not follow the popular sound, and still manage to stay popular. Still artists to this day make some incredible music, but you will NEVER hear about them. And it just so happens, that most of those bands are the ones that were popular years ago, and never changed their style to adapt to that modern sound.

When it comes to rap, i now see why the label "rap" rarely exists as a genre anymore, it changed to "rap/hip hop". Tupac, Biggie, and Dr. Dre, all made amazing music in the 90's that was very well written. Now we have turned to artists like Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy. I think i have a strong bias against Lil Wayne, and this is why i am not fond of mainstream rap today, because he is in about 75% of the songs you hear on the radio. He is definitely not a horrible artist, but he is by far the most overhyped artist in the past many years. I personally believe that he has poorly written lyrics, and has little to no emotion in most of his music. Now that he became popular, his style is copied by many artists. If its not that kind of music, then we have music like Soulja Boy, and well there isnt much to say about that. Much like rock, there are lots of good rap/hip hop artists that still make music that dont follow the mainstream pattern, but of course, you wont hear much about them (with the exception of a few).

Like i said, just my opinion and taste in music. I feel like as newer artists come out, i like less and less of them and i find myself listening to more older music than newer music. Rock is dying because of the pop-rock sound, rap is dying because of the Lil Wayne/Soulja Boy sound. Im no music expert, but i have my tastes.

Note: lol Gregg the Grim Reaper

I'LL BE BACK

One other blog i thought i would post, on a less serious note (or maybe more, depends what way you see it).

This past weekend, i was reunited with a really close old friend of mine. Its been years since he brought me joy and happiness, but he is back now, and hopefully for good.

My good friend, Vanilla Coke has come back to the stores.



I nearly shit myself when i saw the case of Vanilla Coke at Publix the other day. I don't know if you guys remember, but they stopped producing this delicious carbonated beverage maybe 4 or so years ago for whatever reason. But its back now, and if you have never had it before, you really need to try it out.

Greatest soda alive

Life -> ?

This blog is becoming just what i thought it would be. Post a few times, then rarely after that. So i will contribute something to it right now to keep it alive.

So lets talk about LIFE



Really nice picture btw. Open the full thing to see it.

So who has had that feeling of not knowing what the rest of your life will be like? Lately this kind of stuff has been on my mind. College flew by, i guess after having awful grades in high school motivated me to try extremely hard in college, and its paid off. Now i am way ahead of the game, and i can take whatever class i want, for example, i will take golf in the fall semester lol. Only a year to go before i am done.

My game plan, being a psychology major, i have some strange drive to work as a prison psychologist, every time i tell people thats what i want to be, i get some strange looks and the same questions: "Aren't you scared?", "WHY?!", etc. Its always been interesting to me. And what makes me happy is helping people, especially helping people change their ways for the better, maybe even saving a life that way. Well after i finish college, i will take a year off (or a semester, we'll see) and either try to get a 35-40 hour job and save up money, or try to get a paid internship at some prison to get a start. After that, i know for sure i will go to get my masters. The problem is where and how. My family is from another country, so the school system is different there, i am the first person in my family to go to college here and graduate, so they have no clue how to help with this. Plus, i dont know what school i want to go to. After that, i hope to begin working at the prison. Maybe after two or three years of that, i will try to go back to school one more time to get my PhD, and advance more in the job to something more like working as a court psychologist.

But of course, thats just a goal. Honestly i dont know how achievable it is, seems realistic, but that doesn't mean too much. But what comes along with all of this stuff? Where will i live, will i still have the same friends, will i still have the same hobbies, what about my family, what about starting a family. I am just under 2 months away from being 21, and i feel like nothing has been done in all of these years.

Seems like life was so much easier as a kid LOL. Wake up, go to school, be bad and mess around all day long, come home and play with friends, go to sleep and start over again the next day.