Derailed

Well, This Sucks! I Was Supposed To Meet With My Comp 1 Instructor Today To Get My Work Back And Go Over My Definition Essay At 11:20 A.M. But There Was A Note On Her Office Door Saying That She Was Out Of The Office Today. Seems Like I Cant Catch A Break With This Stuff Lol!

Anyway, Today Was Very Trying, Not Going To Get Into Specifics But I Had An Unnerving Conversation With Someone Today And Its Been Going Through My Mind All Afternoon. I Am Trying To Do My Best To Be The Man I'm Supposed To Be, It Just Seems Like That Is Not Good Enough For Some People.

Watching Biggest Loser With The Lovely Wife And The Puppies, Going To Go To My Neighbors Later To Clean For Him, Then We've Got To Figure Out What We Are Going To Have For Dinner. I Am Most Likely Going To Thaw Out The Hamburger For This Weekend Tonight.

Turns Out I Am 11 Days Ahead So Far (1/31/14) On My Math, I Have An Assessment To Do In Aleks By The End Of The Weekend. Then I Have 3 Assignments That Are Open On SAM In My Intro To Computers Class That Are Not Due Yet, But I Can Finish Them At Any Time. I Think I Might Just Jump On That And See If I Cant Read Ahead And Get It All Done By Monday And Surprise My Instructor.

For Right Now, I Don't Know What Else To Say. So I Guess This Is Going To Be One Of If Not My Shortest Blog To Date. Might Head Over To The Salvation Army Today. Anyway, That Was A Random Thought Haha! Well I Guess I Will See Yall Later. Find A Reason To Smile Today!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel

Overcoming The Odds

Hey Yall, How's It Going? I Am Sorry I Haven't Really Posted Anything Today, Its Been A Very Busy Day What With All The Laundry, Doctor Appointment, And Other Stuff. I Just Wanted To Touch Base With All Of You Tonight And See How Things Are Going. Also, I Wanted To Make A Comment Or Two On Overcoming The Odds, Hence The Title Of This Post.

My Life Has Been Riddled With Obstacles And Up Hill Battles, I Had Almost No Supporters In Life Growing Up. It Was Very Difficult And Damaging To My Confidence. I Just Want To Say That We All Need To Support One Another And Help Each Other Get To A Common Goal, Which For Most Would Be The "Simple Life" Of Having Just Enough Money To Get Through Each Month Without Hardships. For Others It Is A Little More Complicated, But We Need Both Types Of People In This World To Make The Community Stronger And Thrive.

You Would Be Surprised What A Few Simple Words Can Do To Help Someone Get Through A Trying Or Disappointing Time, Words Of Encouragement Or Enlightenment Can Be An Amazing Thing When Worded Properly And At The Right Time. Someone To Say "I'm Here For You" Or "You Can Do This, Just Keep Trying", Those Kinds Of Things Restore Faith In Humanity. Everyone Is Down On Their Luck Or Something Doesn't Go The Way They Wanted It To More Than Once In Their Lives, And For The Most Part People Have Help From Family And Friends To Lift Up Their Spirits And Restore Their Drive To Continue On In The Face Of Adversity. 

We Need More People Like That In This World, More Of The "Good Samaritan" Type. Do We Forget That Easy About When We Were In a Position Where We Needed To Be Pulled Back On Our Feet By Someone Because We Just Didn't Have The Ability To Do It On Our Own? What Happened To The Feelings Of Gratitude And Thankfulness We Had When We Were Helped Up By Someone Else Who Stood To Gain Nothing From Doing So? We All Need To Find Those Moments Within Ourselves And Keep Them Alive, We Should All Be Helping Out One Another Without Expecting Something In Return.

The Phrase "Lead By Example" Rings True Now More Then Ever, Long Ago There Where A Ton Of People One Could Positively Look Up To For Guidance And Spiritual Leadership, Now There Is Shameful Actions In Churches And No One Is Ever What They Seem To Be Anymore. I Read Something A Long Time Ago But I Am Not Sure Who Originally Said It, The Quote Was "Be The Change You Want To See In The World" And That, My Friends, Is Something We All Have Trouble With. We Would Love To See The World Change For The Better, See Neighbors Helping Each Other, And No One Talking Smack Behind Our Backs, Yet We Will Not Change Our Own Behavior First, So That We Do Not Sound Hypocritical.

My Advice To You Is To Reach Out, Lend Aid To A Friend, Family Member, Or Even A Stranger Who Is Going Through A Tough Time, Mentally, Emotionally, Or Otherwise. No, You Don't Have To Break Out Your Pocketbook Or Anything Like That Unless You Feel Compelled To Do So, Just Lend An Ear, A Hand To Lift Them Up, Pray With Them, Be Their Guiding Light. We All Need A Little Help Sometimes In Our Lives, Don't Push Away Those Who Need You, When There Was A Time When Someone Helped You When Others Pushed You To The Sidelines. Just A Little Food For Thought. Yall Have A Great Night! And I Will "Talk At You Later" As My Late Mentor Always Said (R.I.P. Alan) 

Find It In Your Heart To Help One Another, Be Someones Angel.

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel 

Overall Course Grade: Intro To Computers

Greetings To All Of You! Today Was Kind Of Depressing...My Last Post I Mentioned That I Only Got A 75% On My Intro Exam -That's A C+ By The Way- When I Feel Like I Could Have Done A Lot Better! It Is Very Disappointing To Me. But As I Looked Up My Overall Grade For Intro In ROC, I Come To Find I Have A 91.67% So Far After Only 3 Weeks And 3 Assignments. So That Does Make Me Feel A Little Better...

All Of My Facebook Friends Are Supporting Me, Saying I'm Doing Great And That I'm Only 3 Weeks In So I Can Change That To What I Want It To Be At Any Time. I Just Don't Want To Let My Wife Down, She Expects Me To Do Well, As She Should. I Just Feel This Is A Slap In The Face To Her And All My Friends Because I Said I Would Try Hard And Get The Best Grades I Can. I Guess I've Been Slacking Off Way Too Much, Or I'm Not Studying Long Enough Or As Often.

Anyway, Enough About That! I'm Sitting Here At Home, With My Laptop, An Empty Milk Glass, And My Gummy Worms Trying To Decide If I Want To Go To Buckey's (That's A Gas Station By The Way) And Get Something To Drink Or If I Should Just Stay Here And Have More Milk.

I Did Not Have Time To Turn In My Brain Storming Sheet, Or Get Back My Writing Points Or My Summary Today Because Like An Idiot I Went To My Comp Class And Finally Realized No One Was Going To Show Up So I Took Out My Syllabus And Low-And-Behold We Did Not Have Regular Scheduled Classes For Comp 1 Today Or Friday Due To Conferences With The Instructor One-On-One. So I Met With My Instructor And Scheduled A Time On Friday To Meet With Her And Go Over My Definition Essay. Which For Yalls Information, I Started AND Finished Today Within Like 2 And A Half Hours! Yay Me!

I Cant Wait To Have This Paper Graded! I'm More Confident About This One Rather Than The Last One. 

Side Note: What Do Yall Think About The NSA Whistle Blower Edward Snowden Being Nominated By Some Norwegian Parliament Members For The Nobel Peace Prize? I Find It Quite Interesting, But At The Same Time, I Find It Odd That He Would Be Nominated For This So Soon After He Went To I Believe Canada Or Russia Or Something And Was Granted Asylum From The US Government. Its A Little Cooincidental That He Be Nominated When Not Too Long Ago The US Government Was Trying To Put Him On Trial. Is This Just A Ruse To Get Him To Come Out Of Hiding And Accept The Award Just So They Can Nail Him For Treason? If So, And If He Falls For It, Hes Not As Smart As We Think He Is Lol!

My Dog Is Whimpering At Me. He Wants To Go Out But I Really Don't Want To Go Out Right Now, I Have To Go To My Neighbors And Clean For Him Tonight, Well, To Be Honest, I Should Be Going Before 9pm And Its 8:08pm Right Now. So I Am Being A Total Douche-Canoe And Having My Beautiful Wife Take Out My Baby Boy. I Have Been So Drained Today Its Not Even Funny...

Guess I've Run Out Of Things To Say So For Now I Will Depart. Find A Reason To Smile Today!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel

Exam Day 1/29/14

Greetings Fellow Readers! Today Is Wednesday, January 29th 2014! First Off, I Want To Say That This Month Has Gone By So Fast Its Unreal. It Has Been Close To The End Of 3 Weeks Since I Started IWCC, It Has Already Been A Journey And Will Only Get More Interesting! This Morning Was Very Different From Any Other School Day, My Wife Had To Re-Wake Me Up After I Turned Off My Alarm, I Usually Get Up Rather Quickly And Get Dressed But This Time I Did Not Get Out Of Bed Until About 6:15am And That Is Unacceptable!

Anyway, We Got To School Just Fine, As A Matter Of Fact We Got To School About 25 Minutes Early. My Math Class Went Pretty Well Today, Only Needed Help Like Once, And That Was After I Had Hit Explain Like 6 Times. Only Issue Was I Could Not Help But Keep Yawning Every Few Minutes. After My Math Class It Was Time To Head To The Disability Center And Take My Intro To Computers Exam. Got There Just Before 9am And Got Into The Testing Area Maybe 2 Minutes After 9. My Class Had 50 Minutes To Complete The Exam, But I Got Accommodations From The Disability Center That Gave Me Time And A Half, So I Was Given An Hour And 15 Minutes To Complete The Exam. I Completed The Exam In Less Than 16 Minutes.

I Am Unhappy With My Exam Results, I Guess I Should Be Glad I Didnt Fail, But I Honestly Thought I Knew Most Of The Questions Without Using My Book Or My Notes, Guess Not...I Was Only Allowed To Take This Exam Once, But The Rest Of The Exams Will Be In SAM And Not In ROC So I Will Get 5 Attempts To Take The Rest Of The Exams Throughout The Remainder Of The Semester, And This Includes The Final -If I Remember Right-.

There Where 20 Multiple Choice Questions Covering 2 Chapters, Out Of A Possible 100.00% I Got A Disappointing 75.00%  Which Is Apparently A High C. I Know I Can Do Better Then That! I Studied As Best As I Knew How, And I Did Not Just Answer The Questions With Random Answers, I Legitimately Thought My Answer Was Correct, There Was Like 3 Questions I Was Unsure Of That I Could Not Find In The Book, But To Be Fair, I Didnt Look Very Hard, I Read It A Few Times And Thought About My Options And Chose The One I Thought Closely Fit The Question.

I Dont Know Why I Am Disappointed In Myself But I Am. I Just Wish I Would Have At Least Got A B Or A B+ Or Something. I Know I Can Do Better Than That I Just Dont Know Why I Didnt Apply Myself More To My Studies. I Did Go Over The PowerPoint Presentations And I Even Read From The Book, Guess I Didnt Read Far Enough Nor Did I Read It Enough Times. This Sucks!

I Am Really, REALLY In The Mood For Some Gummy Worms, But I Want The 3lb Bag Of Them And I Know If I Get Them My Wife Will Be Pissed, Partly Because I Think She Expects Us To Eat Lunch Together After Her Class -No Clue Whats On The Menu- And Because She Disapproves Of That Much Food At Once. Not To Mention It Is Almost $7 A Bag.

Anyway, Hopefully I Will Do A Lot Better On My Next Exam In Intro. I Get To Have My Papers Ive Turned In Handed Back Today -As Long As Class Isnt Canceled Again- So Im Praying This Day Isnt A Total Loss. Hopefully I Get A Good Mark On My Writing Points, I Honestly Dont Think I Am Going To Get A Very Good Mark On My Summary. It Is Way Too Repetitive.

I Enjoy My English Class A Lot, But I Think In The Coming Weeks I Will Be Greatly Challenged In My Writing Style And My Ability To Be Articulate. Being Challenged Is Never A Bad Thing Unless It Is Just Too Overwhelming For One Person To Handle. I Hope Its Not Going To End Up That Way! My Confidence Level Is Dropping Again, Undoubtedly Due To My Test Score Today. -See? Being Repetitive Again- 

Well, If I Never Make Another Blog Entry Yall Will Know That My Wife Killed Me And Buried Me In A Shallow Grave For Buying Yet Another Big Bag Of Gummy Worms! Its Kinda Like My Signature Snack For This Blog, I Am Usually Munching On Some Gummy Worms When Im Writing Up Or Debating On A Post, So I Guess Its A Ritual For My Writing Lol!

I Guess I Dont Know Anything Else For Now, My Wife Should Be Showing Up Here In A Few Minutes So I Should Probably Get Ready For Lunch. Ill Probably Post Another Blog Later Tonight Yall! Until Next Time My Friends! Find A Reason To Smile Today!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel

Old School Diner

Hey Yall! Its Your Good Pal Gabriel Here, How Was Yall's Day? Mine Was Pretty Damn Good! Now First And Foremost, I Want To Talk About Where I Went For Lunch. Its This Nice Place Called Duncan's Cafe, And It Is Located At 501 South Main St -In The Key Estate Building On The First Floor- In Council Bluffs Iowa, Zipcode 51501 And Their Number Is (712) 328-3360. Their Hours Are M-F 7AM-2PM And Sat&Sun 7AM-1PM.

They Serve Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner All Day I Believe, Been Around For Over 40 Years And Is A Family Owned And Operated Business, The Only Downside To Their Location Is There Are Stairs At The Front Entrance, A Straight Walk-In In The Back Entrance To The Building But When You Go To The Actual Diner, There Are 3 Or 4 Steps And No Other Way To Get Into The Diner So Its Not Really All That Handicap Accessible. The Alternative For Those Who Can Not Or Do Not Want To Or Have Time To Stay, You Can Call Ahead If You Know What You Want And Order Over The Phone And They Should Have It Ready For You When You Need It. They Serve Biscuits And Gravy Every Weekend But It Is Not Available During The Week. Their Portions Are Pretty Decent, Today I Got The PhillySteak Sandwich, Fries, And A Side Of Mashed Potatoes -comes with gravy but you can ask them to hold it- As Well As Some Unsweetened Tea With Lemon Slices And A Really Yummy Strawberry Shake. All Of That, In Good Portions, Was Less Than $14. And My Staff Got A Huge Hot Beef Sandwich Smothered In Gravy And A Diet Pepsi. The Hot Beef Sandwich Took Up The Entire Dinner Plate! And It Wasnt A Small Plate Either!

Anyway, It Was A Really Good Meal With Amazing Personal Service! I Had Not Been In There In A Few Years Before Today, And They Still Remembered My Name, Thats How Dedicated These People Are To Their Returning Customers! If You Take The Time To Come To Their Diner Rather Then Any Other Joint In The Area, They Will Make Sure They Learn Your Name. The Service Is Usually Quick, We Went In At 10:30am And We Had Our Food, Had Finished Our Food, And Was Ready To Check Out By 11:45am. Their Menu Is Not The Longest In The World, But Almost Anything You Get On That Menu You Can Bet There Will Be Enough To Fill You Up, Or Come Pretty Close, For All You Big Eaters Out There! 

So In Conclusion, If Any Of You Are In The Downtown Council Bluffs Area And Have The Munchies, Stop In To Duncan's Cafe And Tell Em You Read A Recommendation On Gabbin' With Gabriel! And Thanks Ahead Of Time For Supporting Local Small Businesses!

That Being Said, Today Has Been A Very Interesting Day! Went To My Doctors Appointment And Convinced My Wife's Psychiatrist To Visit My Blog, Then Went To Lunch, Stopped By The Pharmacy And Grabbed My Meds, And Then Headed Home For Some Cleaning. Got The Dishes Done And The Floor Picked Up -Kinda- And Was Relaxing On The Laptop When My Wife Said She Was Out Of Class Early, So We Picked Her Up From School And Went To Big Kmart For A Few Before Heading Home.

And If That Wasn't Busy Enough, Just A Minute Ago A Few Friends And Neighbors Needed Help Delivering A Couch To Another Neighbor As A Surprise. So I Helped Move The Couch In, And Ended Up Moving A Hide-A-Bed Out In, Not To, In, The Dumpster. So Needless To Say, I Got My Cardio For The Day!

Ive Been Drozy All Day And I Cant Seem To Shake It. I Was The Same Way Yesterday. It Sucks! I Could Just Sleep The Rest Of The Day Away, But I Cant Do That Cuz Then I Would Wake Up Way Too Early And Ive Got School, And An Exam Tomorrow. Wish Me Luck Yall! Im Sure Ill Do Fine, But I Will Most Likely Be Studying Sometime Tonight.

Well I Dont Think I Know Anything Else At This Point, So I Guess I Will Leave Yall Alone For Now Haha! Until Next Time My Loyal Readers, Make Someone Smile Today!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel  

Tuesday To-Do's

Hello Again People! Its Tuesday, And Im Tired As Hell! It Is Currently 8:35am As I Type This First Line And I Am So Not Ready For The Day. I Have A Lot Of Cleaning To Do When My Staff Gets Here -What I Mean By My Staff Is That I Have A Payee For My SSI And They Have A Person Help Me With Goals And Cleaning And Also Getting To And From Doctor Appointments- And Then I Have To Go Get My Meds. I Have To Refill A Few Of My Pill Scripts And Then I Have To Go Get My Shot -My Psych Meds- And Then I Will Be Good For Another 2 Weeks.

Really Disappointed That My English Class Was Canceled Yesterday, Now I Have To Wait Until Wednesday To Get My Stuff Turned In And Handed Back To Me. As A Reminder To All Of You, I Have An Exam On Wednesday In My Intro To Computers Class So When I Get My Score I Will Post It On Here For Yall To See.

I Am Considering Posting Some Pictures Up Of My Town At Some Point. I Have My Camera In The Pawn Shop For The Time Being, But I Will Be Getting That Returned To Me Within The Next Month Or So. Speaking OF Which, Something Just Came To Mind, I Think I Might Just Make A Blog About Addictions. Some Of Mine Include The Pawn Shop, Facebook, And Ebay. What Are Some Of Yours?

So I Was Convinced By A Friend To Do A Giveaway At Some Point, And The Only Thing I Can Think Of Is To Give Away Gummy Candies Lol! Call It The Great Gummy Give-A-Way! What Do Yall Think? Im Still Hashing Out The Details And Rules For The Contest But I Thought I Would Pose This Possability To Ya And See What You Think.

Trying To Figure Out What I Want For Lunch. Not Real Sure To Be Honest With Ya. I Dont Really Want Chinese, We Eat At The Great Wall Way Too Much Haha! McDonalds And Places Like It Seem Too Plain-Jane For Me Today, But I Dont Want To Spend A Lot Of Money Either. I Really Enjoyed Taking A Few Friends Out To Applebees This Last Weekend, The Bill Was Surprising But Manageable. Not To Mention We Had A Great Time With Really Good Food!

Well It Is 8:51am And My Staff Should Be Here Any Minute Now, So I Had Better Sign Off And Get Ready For Her Arrival. Just So Yall Know, May Not Post Much More Today. Stomach Is Already Bothering Me Today. But You Never Know What Will Happen So You Just Might Hear From Me Again On This Fine Tuesday! Until Next Time!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel  

Gummy Worms

So, This Is Going To Sound Totally Ridiculous But, I Bought A 3lb Bag Of Gummy Worms Last Tuesday At The College Store And Well, Now I Cant Stop Eating Them! My Wife Got Pissed At Me For Eating More Then Half The Bag While I Was Waiting For My English Class. Now, Im Not Anywhere Near The Skinniest Man Alive, But I Dont Look Like I Weigh As Much As I Do. I Have Been Trying To Get My Weight Under Control For A Few Years Now, I Developed A Thyroid Problem In 2010 And Was Losing Weight Very Quickly, And It Was Making Me Sick. I Went From 460lbs To About 400lbs In Less Than 6 Months, I Couldnt Keep Food Down And I Was Very Ill. Finally I Was Diagnosed With Irritable Bowel Syndrome Or IBS, And I Was Put On A Pain Management Schedule, Sometimes I Am Still In Pain Because Of What I Eat And Drink, My Wife Tries To Look After Me But For The Most Part I Dont Listen. She Gets Mad At Me, Saying That Is Just Too Much Food At Once. I Agree With Her In The Sense That I Probably Should Not Eat Them All At Once, But They Are So Good!

I Have No Clue Why I Have Had A Huge Craving For Candy These Days, Specifically The Gummy Worms. They Where Never My Candy Of Choice When I Was Younger, As A Matter Of Fact, My Choice Was Most Often Oatmeal Cream Pies From Little Debbie (All Rights Reserved: PS Go Buy Some!) And I Used To Eat Entire Family Sized Boxes By Myself. Speaking Of Which, Those Things Used To Be $1.19 For A Family Size Box In The 90's, And Now Its Like Almost $2 A Box! -In The Words Of "Travis Wilson"- Whazzup Wit Dat??

So, I Want To Bring Something To Your Attention. I Am A Country Music Fan, And I Think That Yall Need To Go To I-Tunes, Youtube, Spotify, What Ever Multi-Media Outlet You Choose And Look Up A Country Music Artist Who Is Just Breaking Through The Indy Scene By The Name Of Matt Kennon. Why You Ask? He Has A Few Songs I Think Everyone Needs To Hear, One Of Them Is Close To My Heart Personally And Has 5 Million Views On Youtube, Its Called "The Call" And It Is A VERY Relevant Song. Another Song He Does Is Sadly, More Relevant To Current Events Then "The Call", It Focuses On The Subject Of Bullying. He Is Currently (As Far As I Know) Doing Tours In Schools, At Least He Was Last Summer Anyway, And The "Tour" Was Called "The Bull Stops Here". The Song Im Sure He Preforms Is Called "You Had To Pick On Me". Yall Need To Listen To That Song! It Will Impact You In One Way Or Another If You Are At All Human And Have A Heart. I Will Link His Facebook Here. He Has A Digital Album Out Called "Makin' Music That Matters" And Let Me Tell Yall Something, That Is Something He Lives Up To! He Has A New Acoustic EP Coming Out On February 4th 2014 Called "Simplified" And Yall Need To Check That Shit Out Too! I Heard A Track Or Two From His Facebook Page And They Are Amazing! Some Of His Best Work!

Lets See, Anything Else? Im Not Sure! Haha! Ever Since I Started This Blog I Have Not Been Able To Get It Off My Mind, I Have Been Constantly Thinking Of My Next Blog Topic. A Friend Of Mine Wants Me To Do A Blog On Intentional Inaccuracy In The Media, And Another Friend Wants Me To Do A Blog On Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD/Shell Shock) And I Have Done One Of A Multi Part Post Earlier Today.

Anyway, I Will Update Yall On Other Topics As I Think Of Them, And To Those Of You Who Have Signed Up To Follow My Blog Via Email, I Am Sorry For All The Notifications You Must Be Getting! I Just Enjoy To Write And Share My Thoughts -Insert Smile Here- Until Next Time Yall!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel  

102 Blog Views In Less Than A Week! 1/27/14

Thank You!!!

Yall Are Amazing! 102 Blog Views From 3 Different Countries In Less Than A Week! Dude That Is Just Awesome!! I Am Extremely Grateful For All Of My Readers, I Have At Least One +1 On Almost All Of My Posts, This Is Just Amazing! 

Ok, Ok, Im Good! Lol I Am Just Easily Amused And Amazed. I Never Thought My Writing Would Get This Much Attention. I Am Very Critical Of My Writing As A Whole And I Always Feel Like I Fall Very Short Of Even Interesting Let Alone The Captivating Goal I Shoot For, Which Is Probably Why I Use Humor A Lot In My Writing. I Am Just Tickled That All Of You Have At Least Took The Time To Read What I Have To Say, Even If There Is No One Commenting On Anything. No Worries Though! Im Just Grateful For The Views Alone! Again, Thank You! And I Will Do My Best To Produce The Type Of Writing Yall Enjoy To Read. 

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel  

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Pt. 1

Hello All! Its Me Again :) Sitting Here In The Library At IWCC With My Wife, My Dew, And My Gummy Worms! Since My Last Class Was Canceled -For Whatever Reason- I Will Be Posting A Portion Of This Blog In 2 Or More Parts, Depending On How Much Time I Have Before Heading Home.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Or PTSD, Is A Mental Disorder That Is Caused By A Traumatic Experience. In Most Cases In The Past, PTSD -Also Referred To Back Then As Shell Shock- Was Believed To Only Occur In Military Men Who Have Seen The Horrors Of War. As The Years Went By, And Society Changed, We Realized -For The Most Part- That This Disorder Was Not Just Something Those In The Military Have To Deal With. The Mayo Clinic Website Is A Good Source For Symptoms And Helpful Information, You Can Read About Their Definition And Recommendations Here.

PTSD Is A Real And Sometimes Debilitating Disorder That Effects More People Then We Care To Admit. Situations That Could Cause An Onset Of PTSD Range From Losing A Loved One You Where Close To In A Horrific Way, Suffering From Child Or Spousal Abuse, Being In An Accident Of Some Kind, As Well As Many Other Events. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is Similar To Other Mental Disorders In That It Effects Each Person Differently. Two People Going Through The Same Experience Can And Likely Do, Show Different Signs Of PTSD, Such As Memory Loss, Desocialization, Emotional Melt Downs, Abuse Of Alcohol And Or Drugs, Flashbacks, As Well As Other Warning Signs.

I Had Suffered From Very Moderate PTSD When I Was Younger Due To Abuse From My Family, I Chose To Withdraw Emotionally And Become A Very Aggressive Person, Where As My Brothers Turned To Drugs. It Is Something That Most People Do Not Believe Is A Legitimate Disorder, Or That Those Who Suffer From This Disorder Are Viewed As Weak, That Is Not The Case, However, No One Knows Why The Mind Works The Way It Does, But Each Person Copes With Loss, Disappointment, And Trauma Differently. Those Of Us Who Deal With PTSD And Conditions Like It Are Looked At As Outcasts Of Sorts, Alienated From The Groups They Once Belonged To, Just Because People Do Not Realize Just How Badly This Effects A Very Large Portion Of Today's Population...

To Be Continued...   

Monday Morning Madness 1/27/14

Good Morning All! Today Is The Most Hated Day Of The Week, Monday! I Found It Abnormally Difficult To Roll Out Of Bed This Morning, I Didnt Go To Bed Until About 12:30am This Morning -Yeah, Bad Idea- And I Have Been Dragging All Morning. Got Done With My First Two Classes With Ease, Now Im Just Waiting Next To The Library For My Wife To Get Out Of Class So We Can Have Lunch. I Have No Clue What They Are Serving Today So If Its Not Something I Like Ill Just Buy Another 3lb Bag Of Gummy Worms At The College Store!

I Set Up My Extended Test Time At The Student Success Center For My Intro Exam On Wednesday. Im Not Nearly As Concerned About It Now Then I Was The Other Day, It Seems Like Unless Your A Complete Idiot, Or You Where Not Paying Attention At All The Last 3 Week, Everyone In The Class Should Pass It.

(SideNote) My Wife Just Walked Up! And She Just Informed Me We Are Having Ribblets For Lunch, So I Guess Gummy Worms Are Off The Menu, For Now Lol!

Anyway, We Have Now Moved To The Lunch Room Just Below The Library. Not Too Many People In Here Right Now, Compared To Last Week. Today I Decided To Do The Buffet, And I Am Having Mashed Potatos, Pizza, Fries, And Some Kind Of Honey BBQ Ham! Yum! Oh Yea, And Some Sweet Tea :)

So, My Wife Wants Me To Do A Blog About One Of Our Transport Drivers From STS (Special Transit Services) So I Think I Will Later Today, As For Now, One Of The Lunch Ladies Just Ran A Dude Out Of The Lunch Room Because She Was Going To Sing Happy Birthday To Him So He Split! Classic Haha!

One Thing I Wanted To Touch On Was A Shout Out To My International Page Viewers! I Have Had 2 Page Views From Someone In Germany, And 2 Page Views From Someone In The UK! So Thank You All For Showing An Interest In My Blog So Early On, It Means The World To Me! I Made This Blog To Sharpen My Writing Skills, As A Coping Skill, And To Share My Work With The World. The Fact That Ive Already Gotten A Few +1's On Some Of My Posts, And A Few International Page Views, My Hopes Are High That This Blog Will Be My Window Into The Career Of Writing!

Taking A Quick Look Around, I Have Realized I Spoke Too Soon, The Lunch Room Has Filled Up Alot More Since We Came In. A Lot Of Chatter Going On, Yet My Wife And I Are Sitting At A Table By Ourselves And Not Socializing Much. We Are Loaners For The Most Part, I Will Say Hi, Well, Howdy, To Strangers And Strike Up A Random Conversation With Them For The Sake Of Being Social. My Wife However, Will Not Do That. She Gets Very Uncomfortable When Shes Around Strangers. Especially Strangers She Thinks Are Hot LOL! I Know You Will Read This Hunny, And I Know Your Going To Be Pissed, But No One Knows Who You Are, So, Quit Your Inevitable Bitchin, Oh, And I Love You! So Dont Kill Me!

It Is 11:15 A.M. Now, And I Have Until About 11:45 Before I Have To Get To Going To My Last Class. I Am Anxious To See How I Did On My Last Writing Points And My Academic Review, I Will Post All Those Assignments Later Tonight With Their Scores For Yall To Read. It Has Been Really Cold The Last Few Days, I Think It Was -24 Degrees This Morning So We Really Had To Bundle Up. Is It Cold, Warm, Or Bearable Where Your At?

Well, I Dont Think I Know Anything Else As Of Right Now, So I Guess Ill Sign Off For Now And Ill Catch Yall On The Flip Side, As They Used To Say. 

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel 

Sunday Scrambling 1/26/14

Hello All! So Today Is Sunday, Those Days Are Usually The Most Busiest Of Days With Preparing For School On Monday And What Not, I Also Take Care Of An Elderly Neighbor Of Mine Most Every Day, And On Sundays I Make His Bed And Sometimes Do His Laundry. Well, Today Was A Laundry Day, On Top Of All That, I Did Not Get Any Studying Done Today. Took My Wife And A Few Friends Out To Applebees For Dinner, It Was Really Good, Well Worth The $85. Something Im Not Sure I Mentioned In My Last Blog, My Wife And I Went To The Salvation Army Yesterday And We Picked Up 42 Vintage Comic Books Such As Excalibur, The X-Men, The N-Men (Failed Spinoff) The Amazing Spider-man And Even A Batman Vs. Predator Comic! The Earliest One He Said He Knew Of Was 1986, Mint Condition And In Their Protective Sleeves! All For Just Under $1 Each. I Hope He Enjoys Them! Happy Late Birthday "Travis Wilson"!

Today's Blog Was Going To Be About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, A Topic A Friend Of Mine Wanted Me To Bring Up. Sadly I Was Unable To Get To That Today So I Might Just Post 2 Blogs Tomorrow, One While Im Waiting For My Last Class, And One When I End My Day. Its Something I Have Delt With In My Past, And What More And More People Have To Deal With These Days. It Is Not Just For Those Who Have Seen War, Nor Is It A "Cop-Out" As My Mother Would Call It. It Is A Real Disorder That Poses Real Limitations, Sometimes To An Extreme, For Everyday People As Well As Those Who Serve Our Country. While Im On The Topic Of Those Brave Men And Women Who So Selflessly Defend Our Nation, I Would Like To Say A Very BIG Thank You, To All Of You Who Serve! Weather You See War Time Or Not, You Are Real Life Heros! And Another Shout Out To The Families Of Our Military, Your Strength And Will To Carry On With Life Without The Ones You Love Is Unmatched. You Are All Just As Brave And Heroic As Your Family On The Front Lines. A Word Of Advice To Everyone, If You See A Man Or Woman In Uniform, Thank Them For Their Service, Shake Their Hand, Even If You Don't Know Them. It Only Takes A Second To Thank Those Who Give Up Their Safty And Their Families So You Dont Have To. All I Ask Is That You Thank Every Servicemen And Women You Get The Honor To Come In Contact With. Trust Me, It Will Mean The World To Them.

I Dont Think This Post Will Be Quite As Long As The Last One, Its Already After 7pm And Ive Got To Get Something Done Study Wise, That And I Have To Be Up At 5:30am To Get Ready For School. Lets See, What Else Has Been Floating Around In My Head Today That Would Be Useful Or Interesting To Bring Up? Oh! I Know! So, Ive Got This Friend, Shes Totally Amazing! Not To Mention Talented! Her Name Is Savannah, Check Her Out On Facebook, Just Look Up Savannah Marie Photography, She Has Great Rates And Does An Amazing Job With Her Clients. A Little Unorthodox But It All Will Pay Off, Trust Me! Go Like Her Page And If You Are In The Omaha, Nebraska Metro Area Shoot Her A Message And Set Something Up! Valentines Day Is Just Around The Corner And Some Sweetheart Photos Will Make Your Loved One A Very Special Gift!

You Can Find Her Facebook Page Here: Savannah Marie Photography Facebook Page

Something I Just Thought Of, It Turns Out I Will Be Making Like 3 Or 4 Blog Posts Tomorrow, I Forgot I Have A Writing Points Coming Back And An Academic Summary As Well, So I Guess Yall Will Have A Lot To Read Come The End Of The Day Monday! My Wife Has Passed Out On The Chase Couch Next To Me With Out Dogs Curled Up Next To Her, That Proves It Has Been A Long Day When All 3 Of Them Are Sleeping Before 8pm.

Guess Ive Run Out Of Things To Say Tonight. Its Been A Very Long Day, And I Have Not Seemed To Be Able To Shake This Tiredness At All. But Thankfully I Am Used To Going Reguardless Of How Tired I Am. Until Next Time My Friends, Have A Great Night, And Try To Make The Most Of Your Monday!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel    

Saturday Studies And More 1/25/14

So Today Is Study Day One Of Two, And Im Already Not Liking It! I Absolutely Despise Studying! I Prefer Research Over Studying. I Just Cant Seem To Keep Myself Focused, I Get Tired And Get Easily Distracted When I Study. That, And I Cant Seem To Comprehend Anything I Read When Im Studying Alone. I Dont Know Why...But No Worries, As Of Right Now The Only Class I Need To Study For Is My Intro To Computers Class, And I Am At The Section Where I Know Almost All Of This. (Being A Tech-Savvy Person Comes In Handy) So Anyway, I Got My Brain Storming Sheet Done For English Composition 1, It Was Easier Then I Thought.

My Wife And I Went To The Salvation Army Today When She Got Back From School And She Found A Really Nice Front Zip Dress For $5. Its Like A Goth Style Dress, But Its Got A Rip In It So I Have To Patch That Up With My Sewing Machine But Thats No Biggie. Saw A News Post On Facebook This Morning....The Developing Story Of The Shooting In A Maryland Mall Is Most Saddening. Why Do People Have To Be This Way?? And I Think Im Noticing A Pattern With All These Recent Shootings, Most Of Them Either Where In Foster Care Or In Some Kind Of Mental Health Service At Some Point In Their Lives...I Just Dont Understand It, Why Do People Have To Torture Others? Half Of The Mass Shootings Where Because The Shooter Was Suicidal And Had Either Emotional Or Mental Issues Or Had Been Picked On Or Targeted In Some Way For A Long Time. Am I Wrong? Because Thats What Im Getting From All These Happenings. So Either Our Mental Health System Has Failed The People Who Need It Most, Or The Fellow Man Has Failed His Neighbors So To Speak. I Just Wish People Would Not Hold Grudges, Or Feel The Need To Make Fun Of Or Taunt Others For No Reason. Thats Another Thing, Why Do People Get So Violent When Someone Says Something That Offends Them? They Are Just Words People! If The Other Person Is Not Threatening Bodily Harm To Someone Or Themselves Just Consider The Source. I Know From First Hand Expireances That Words Can And Do Hurt, And Alot Of Us These Days Dont Have Thick Skin, But There Is A Difference Between Someone Saying Something To Start A Fight And Someone Tormenting A Defenseless Person With The Intent To Emotionally And Mentally Tear Them Apart. If Someone Calls Your Girl A Hoe, Well, Is She Acting Like Or Dressed Like One? If So, Maybe She Should Rethink Her Outfits And Actions. If Not, Just Consider The Source.

I Get The Whole "Defending Someones Honor" And All That Jazz, But Really? Someone Says Your A Nobody So You Gun Them Down In Their Home? Come On People! What Has This World Come To? We Look At All These People Who Claim To Be Religious Yet They Would Beat Your Ass Or Kill You For Saying The Wrong Thing...That Is Obviously Against Almost Every Faith Out There, You Cant Say You Are A Person Of Faith, Or Believe In God Or Whoever You Believe In And In The Same Breath Take Someones Life For Calling You A Punk Ass.

It Seems Now A Days We Are Reverting Back To More Barbaric Times, And Its Very Depressing. I Have Seen All These Futurama Mimes On Social Sites With The Caption "I Dont Want To Live On This Planet Anymore" And Its Getting To Be That Way For Me, Honestly, No One Cares About The Greater Good Anymore, No One Will Lend A Helping Hand To Someone In Need Without Either Expecting Something In Return Or Looking Down On Them For Being In That Situation. Why Cant We Just Get Along? We Are All Going Through Our Own Struggles And Demons. We Are All Just Trying To Make It Through Life And Make A Difference In The World. I Dont Care Who You Are, We All Want To Make Some Kind Of Difference, Rappers Want To Make Their Life Better Because Its Been Shitty, Or They Want To Give Their Kids What They Didnt Have, Same Goes For Those Who Where Poor Or Those Who Where Abused, And Yes, Even Those Who Lived A Wealthy Life As A Child And Saw Their Parents Shun Those Less Fortunate And Hord Their Money And Belongings And Say Such Terrible Things Of The Middle And Lower Class, They Dont Want To Be Corrupt, They Want To Make A Noble Name For Themselves.

This Applies To Most People, But There Are Those Evil, Selfish People, Those Hurtful Ones That Are Only Out To Step On People And Make Them Feel Worse About Themselves. But Wake Up Parents! They Are Getting It From Somewhere! Either How You Treat And Talk To Others Or The Media That You Expose Them To, Or The People They Hang Out With. Get Your Acts Together People, Make Them Have Morals At A Young Age Or They Will Be Horrible People Throughout Their Entire Lives. If Its Not Something They Are Getting From Home Then You Need To Be More Involved In Their Social Life, Which Is Something You Should Be Doing In The First Place. Make Consequences For Them And Stick To It Or They Will Never Learn To Treat People, And Authority With The Respect They Deserve. And To You Kids, Just Because You Where Raised In A Less Than Savory Environment Does Not Mean That You Can Use That As An Excuse For Your Behavior. I Was Raised In A Home With Abuse To The Max, Not To Mention Chain Smokers Drunks And Drug Addicts, The Difference Is, I Did Not Use What They Did To And Around Me As An Excuse To Do Those Things To Other People. It Does Not Make Me Any Better Then Those Who Did It To Me, Matter Of Fact It Makes You Worse, Because You Know How It Feels And You Know Its Wrong Long Before You Do It.

What Happened To People With Integrity And Respect? Anyway, Ive Ranted About This Subject For Far Too Long. At Any Rate, I Pray For The Families Of Those Two Employees Who Where Shot And Killed Today, As Well As Those Who Where Wounded, Both Physically And Mentally. The Shooter May Have Thought He Would Get Away With This By Killing Himself, But He Now Has To Answer To God For What He Has Done. And That Is Worse Then Anything He Would Have Faced Here On Earth. Thats All For Now Yall!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel

Writing Points 1/20/14

What Is A Definition People In Society Disagree On?

The Definition Of Appropriate School Boundaries When It Comes To Sexual Education Is Varied. Some People Believe The More You Know At A Young Age The Less Likely You Will Make Mistakes Later On In Life. This Is Not The Case In Most Families, Particularly Those Who Are Modestly Religious. They Believe It Is Overstepping Serious Boundaries As A Place Of Learning For Young Children To Teach Such A Thing In The Early Stages Of Learning And Life. I Believe That It Should Be An Option Chosen By The Parents When And What Is Taught To Their Children.

Score: 5/5

Your Thoughts? -Gabriel

Sick Day Friday January 24th 2014

Sick Day

Today Was A School Day For Me, But I Was Unable To Attend Thanks To My Stupid IBS! (Irritable Bowel Syndrome For Those Who Don't Know) I Have Been Suffering From This For Over 2 Years Now. Thanking God Its Not Nearly As Bad As It Used To Be. So Anyway, I Emailed My Teachers And As Per Usual, Only 2 Out Of 3 Of Them Responded So Far (2:10pm). Mrs Butterbaugh, My Intro To Computers Instructor Said She Worries About Me When I Don't Show Up To Class, Not Sure If That's Very Sweet Or If Its Mildly Stalkerish. She Let Me Know That I Need To Read Chapter 2 About Microsoft Office 2013 And Windows 8 By Monday, And I Need To Review The PowerPoint On ROC (Reiver Online Campus) So That Im Caught Up.

Mr. Mabie, My Math Instructor Was Short, Sweet, And To The Point. He Just Said He Was Sorry I Couldn't Make It And That He Entered My Grade In Aleks For Completing My Objective Pie By The Due Date. He Seems To Not Be Much On Email Replies Unless Its A Reminder Of Due Dates. My English Composition 1 Instructor Miss Smith Has Yet To Answer An Email I Sent The 2nd Day Of Class And We Are At The End Of Our 2nd Week. She Says ROC Is Down For The School Staff All The Time But Im Not Sure If That's 100% True Or If She Just Doesn't Know What Shes Doing Haha! I Jest, Im Sure Its The Website, She Seems To Be A Very Intelligent Person, Easy To Get Along With And Talk To. (SideNote: Shit! I Forgot Today Was The Due Date For My BrainStorming Sheet For My Upcoming Definition Essay!)

Today Has Been A Slow Day. Slept Much Of The Morning Away. Had Our Dogs With Me The Entire Time, I Really Enjoy Having Them Close By When I'm Not Feeling Well, Its A Real Moral Booster. I Am Going To Be Doing My Definition Essay On Mental Illness And More Specifically, The Differences Between Schizophrenia And Schizoaffective Disorder And Their Common Misconceptions From The General Public. I Will Be Posting My Writing Points And Their Scores Every Monday Wednesday And Friday, Just Note Their Might Be Gaps In Between Assignments For Writing Points Based On A Few Variables.

I Will Be Posting My First Writing Points That I Got Back Later Today. And Then I Will Post A Writing Points And An Academic Review Of An Essay Entitled "Mother Tongue" That I Was Supposed To Get Back Today Had I Been There. Also, I Will Most Likey Be Moving Some Of My Writing From My Personal Social Networking Sites On To Here In The Coming Days. Well, My Wife Went To The Gas Station To Get Me Some Gummie Worms And Green Tea To Make Me Feel Better, And At This Moment I Have Run Out Of Things To Say, So I Guess Ill See You Later!

Be Safe, Take Care, And Have A Great Day! -Gabriel Vega