Let’s Not Talk Politics
This is a week when tempers flare and people disagree to an extreme degree. This is Election Week and people are firm in their opinions. I hate even bringing up politics for the sheer fact that it is such a touchy issue. It is either Bush or Kerry…either answer you give can piss off the wrong people. When the topic of who people are going to vote for comes up in conversation…I feel very uncomfortable. I have made a decision, and that is my own personal opinion, I am not trying to press my beliefs upon anyone else. I hate it when people bash George Bush. They call him incompetent, they call him war-hungry, they come up with anything they can to make him look bad and that makes me uncomfortable. I hate it when people bash John Kerry. They call him indecisive, they call him a liar, they say that he is illogical and that makes me mad. When it all comes down to it…It is a monkey with a plate of cookies versus a horse with a bouffant hair doo. I know where I stand on issues, I wont let my hatred for abortion solely determine my vote, I wont let my hatred for the death penalty determine it either. I just want everyone to realize that God knows what he is doing and that I believe that he can do wonderful things through either candidate. God is not a Republican, he is not a Democrat. I know what I want to see happen…but I am ok if you want something else to happen…I just don’t want to debate anything anymore.
Reminisce About Cosby
Does anybody remember The Cosby Show episode where the whole Huxtable family lip syncs to Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time” and Rudy really gets into singing “BABY!!!…..BABY!!!” I loved that part….I love The Cosby Show…
“Sleep Inn, This is Josh Speaking, How May I Help You?”
Tomorrow I start my first day of training as a front desk clerk at the Sleep Inn. Like I have stated before, I have to dress up…and I am still not sure how I feel about that. That means that I have to buy some more shirts and ties. It means that I have to keep my clothes wrinkle-free and probably buy an ironing board. I do however get the internal feeling that I am doing something a little bit more important. Getting covered in ranch dressing and mopping floors wasn’t glamorous. I guess it is the power that I have at this new job. I have people coming to me asking me questions and needing me to put them in a room. The front desk is the place where everyone knows to go if there is a problem. I guess that means that I have more responsibility, but I am willing to take it on…I am sick of doing jobs that monkeys could do. Try to get a monkey to answer a phone and look good in a tie!
Germany VS. the USA
I have a German friend…he lives in Germany…not just a guy who is German like I am Dutch. We have been e-mailing for a few months now and we did an interesting experiment…I asked him to ask 5 people who he interacts with on a regular basis what they think of when he says the word “American” I did the same with 5 people here when I said the word “German”. Here is a sampling of our results:
Germans: Bush, war, dreamland, cowboys, long trips by car, no idea about what’s going on in rest of the world, Michael Moore, superficial, hypocritical, Baseball, arrogant, cool slang, megalomania, fat, oil, patriotism, David Hasselhoff (he he), corruption, world power, kindness.
Americans: Chocolate, Hitler, Nazis, wienerschnitzel, War, Cars, The Berlin Wall, lederhosen, Bratwurst.
I was surprised by the responses on both sides. I realize that America is a bigger “cultural exporter” than Germany, but I still found it that Americans see Germans as Nazis wearing Lederhosen, eating bratwurst, drinking beer and driving cool cars. While Germans seem to have a larger perspective on America. They watch American movies, they listen to some American bands, they are bombarded with American products and know what is going on here…They seem to be right on with a lot of their opinions…Americans need some work though…I wish we all knew as much about the rest of the world’s countries as they do about us!