Gettysburg Micro News: July 7-10

[I don't often do this, but there has been some interesting pieces featured in my local area. Feast your curiosity.]

July 7th, Sunday.

Pennsylvania Germans' role in Battle of Gettysburg will be aired in Historical Society program

July 8th, Monday.

Man struck by train in downtown Gettysburg, lives!

The police in the wrong with lock-downs, rifles, searches, over a supposed reported stolen vehicle?

July 9th, Tuesday.

Will signs prevent loud noise from bikers during Bike Week?

Man identified from stolen car/police chase on July 3rd

July 10th, Wednesday.

Personal micro news update: The supposedly huge turn out for the bikers during this year's Bike Week was not impressive so far. However, I will have my ear plugs ready just in chase the noise gets too much to handle later on this weekend.

For you,

Everything is just a motion.

Is this all life consists of?
Is this all we have on this Earth?
Where did my energy go?
Why am I not happy, and yet feel happy?
What even makes me happy?
What is happiness?
Is peace better than happiness?
Is peace just as fleeting as happiness?
If life consists of just repetitive motions, than death is rightly feared: it is the end of all repition.
It does not solve anything. It just stops one life from repeating itself again and again.
A habit drawn out overtime, evolving and changing but never straying from the social structure we're ingrain to live by.
A routine, based on actions and consequences, captivated by the indescribable want to taste and see adventure, to escape the blank white walls we live in day in and day out.
The epitome of monotony, your sole choice is to either keep going, or turn around and fight the current.
A slow, exciting death until death finally reaches you.

Everything is just a motion.

Insanity: One Way Ticket Out of Reality?

I just watched Silver Linings Playbook, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. While this isn't a review on the movie, it was a very sweet, emotional, chaotic movie and well worth the $7.50 a ticket to see it.

In the movie, Cooper plays a man that has just gotten out of 8 months rehab, and follows him as he tries to better himself while attempting to do whatever it takes to win her wife's trust and heart back, despite the restraining order she has against him. Oddly enough, he instead falls in love with Lawrence,  who plays a formerly-slutty and now widowed young woman much like himself, and the two work together to perform in a dance tournament for the climax of the movie.

The thing that always gets me with movies like this, is the part where you see the character living in a psychiatric facility. Girl, Interrupted, It's A Funny Kind of Story, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and other movies involving mental hospitals, both intrigue and frighten me. They portray a very small part of what it's really like being institutionalized in a mental facility, and although I've never been in one, I often wonder how much it takes to actually be put into one.

Does it help? Are the people inducted into the hospitals truly insane? How do you know you need to be put in one? Or does someone else decide that for you?

Often times, throughout the day, while doing my rather mundane chores life hands me, I always have this sinking feeling that I'm somehow just waiting for the moment to break. Completely apart. To lose it in the most flourished, crazed way. To scream at the top of my lungs and cry and throw things and break plates and glasses and walls. To let myself be completely unhinged.

But do you know why I let myself just keep waiting for the perfect moment?

Because I think if I ever did truly break down,  it would be a long and very hard process for me to truly get back to reality. I wouldn't want to leave. The stress of my former life would will me into continuing into insanity, and I'd be constantly lying to myself if I didn't believe it. I'd be stuck there, until I got sick of it, and then somehow I fear it'd be too late. I'd have no sense of who I am; I would never want to look in the mirror. I'd be some crazy cat owning lady that rides the subway everyday and talks to herself. I would be insane forever, if I were to break apart to my very inner core.

There was only one time that I can remember where I feel like I almost reached that point. And it took me two years to get past even that. I don't know if you truly ever heal from it; or if it just stays like a quiet shadow with you for the rest of your life. Is it a ticking time bomb able to reset again and again? Or it is a one way train ticket?

The thing that's so ironic about life is we are expected to be good, upright, sane citizens that are selfless and motivated, loyal, trustworthy, and loving. At least that's the general idea. Most people have hard childhoods and get the tough end of the deal, but me, despite my circumstances that branched out over most of my early childhood and teenage years, I have no true reason to let myself be anything but sane and stable. I could have a thousand things go wrong in my life, and while it would be nearly impossible to cope with it, what we make of a situation is entirely up to us. Not because of our parents, or what someone did or said to us, it is our choice alone to decide whether or not to let fate destroy our lives. Those that are selfless are looked up to, and yet we are taught from the first day we are put in this planet, to be selfish. We cry when we want something. We get angry when things don't work out. We lose hope, we expect the impossible, we hate responsibility no matter what the rewards are, we would prefer to be lazy, and eat what we want and do what we want, and never be told what we should or should not do. Deep down, no matter how good of a person you think you are, we are bad. Some have that potential more than others, others try to never display it, some spend half their lives living in it, and the other half trying to repair and rebuild.

So if we, being little selfish humans constantly striving for perfection (or having given up on that notion), are somehow expected to endure everything life gives us, and to somehow break free from the adversity and trials that never stop, how on earth can we be expected to remain completely in reality at all times? Is there ever an escape?

I haven't quite figured that out yet. Maybe one day I will, or maybe I will never.

I guess I'm just waiting for the right moment.

How They Fry Chicken

Working in a deli at a downtown grocery mart is quite an interesting job at times. Most days I feel like a hamster running back and forth with no real purpose in life (i.e. "I have to slice four more pounds of turkey ham again?!"), other times I meet so many new people, and learn new things, and it's generally a good day. Except when I almost slice my finger off and it gushes blood like it thinks it's the newest Niagara Falls. Eh, that I could definitely live without.


The one thing I've noticed over the course of working here, is how different the fried chicken we sell turns out after each person has "dropped" it in the fryers, as we call it.

I then started to theorize and over think it, as always, and decided to put it down on paper.

With my various co workers, [names changed] some have tough exteriors and others you can tell have the softest hearts. Learning from them and getting to know what goes on in their lives is really an amazing thing. Meeting new people, especially the ones you work with, can be eye opening on just how unique each and every one of us are. While it sounds completely lame, the more I noticed how the chicken turned out, the more I noticed how on point it was to each of the cooks.

Sammy, the head cook is a sweet lady with a wild side. She's a bar tender when she isn't working at the deli, and I can imagine her kicking out a few people for not taking any bullcrap. She'll be cracking hilarious jokes behind the counter making it hard for the rest of us to keep face. When she fries chicken, it comes out looking like classic KFC chicken: She's all about being feisty  getting her work done, and making sure everyone is happy. So with her fried chicken, there has never once been a complaint.

Bonnie, the assistant cook, is this tiny short skinny lady that always looks forward to lunch to see the "Marlboro Man." (a smoke break) At first glance, she's distant and cold at times, but deep down she's a Woo-girl at heart. (Meaning every time she accomplishes something, we say, "Woohoooo!" really loud.) I help her lift heavy things and stuff on high shelves, and she's generally a nice lady. Her chicken is nearly perfect, except for the random bare patches with no breading. Sort of like her: you see what she allows you to see of her, but occasionally lets down her walls and you can see the real Bonnie, outside of the deli.

Arty, the sandwich maker, will sometime throw a batch together when we need it. She's an older lady with short hair and her presence is all about business. She was intimidating at first when I met her, but now she'll giggle at my side jokes and is usually in an all around good mood. Her batches come out very neat and thorough looking, much like her.

Tara, my fellow night shift deli girl, is an extremely energetic and sassy sort of young lady. Closest in age, we usually have a lot of fun working together. Her chicken comes out messy, but it's only because she is usually busy doing most of the dishes and night cleaning, which I am always grateful for. So if her chicken isn't perfect, the rest of the deli usually is.

Now I realize this is an entirely odd blog post, but it made sense to me while I was thinking about it, coincidentally while frying chicken.

What does my fried chicken look like when it comes out, you ask?

Absolutely stunning. But it soon falls apart and I'll never understand why I'm the only person that fries chicken so beautiful only to have the skin slink off later. Not sure what that says about me, though.

All around, I love working this job. It's exhausting and I'm constantly running somewhere and my back, feet, legs, thumbs, and arms all ache when I get off, but it's satisfying work that I think is a great learning experience.

Deli tip: Always ask to have your deli selections sliced for you. While we put in a lot of work to make the case look fluffy and nice, I'd never eat out of it unless it was fresh.

Ciao,

College, My Sleep Cycle, Fattie Problems, and the fact my Honda absolutely sucks.

I think at my age, (the early-to-mid college age, yet somehow manages to still act like a little kid sometimes) college homework would be more...scholarly. I mean think about it. We go through high school taking notes, sitting in boring classes, listening to teachers drone on and on, surrounded by small town gossip, people we like, and people we don't like. And some crappy and/or boring food is usually thrown in there somewhere too.

Somehow along those years I developed this idea that college would be more, hmm, illuminating than high school. Instead, I sit behind a girl wearing the typical "college girl"  outfit of black leggings, Ugg boots, and Hollister hoodie while texting during the lecture. It's very reminiscent of the girls in high school, and I think to myself, "This isn't what I signed up for."

Why does life have to be so predictable? College turned out for me just the opposite of what I was expecting. You still have homework. It's harder. The teachers are called professors. You get lost trying to find your classroom. You get openly judged by what you wear. There are cliques and clubs and competitions. If you are remotely attractive, guys will openly hit on you. The library isn't quiet. The books cost too much. The coffee house coffee is more expensive than gold. The sidewalks aren't ever used and the "cool cats" smoke out by the gazebo. For some reason I can't help but wonder if this is all it is. The socially required degree obtained by four years worth of this torture, is it really worth it?

I guess I'm too much of good, straight laced A student to ever drop college completely, pack a bag, and move to Bali or something. In the mean time, I'll just stare at the little tan pills collected on the sides of that girl's boots sitting in front of me and wonder how much longer the lecture is going to go on. That coffee shop closes at nine, and I kind of wanted one of those iced hot chocolates....

Its funny how you get a job and start attending college when you notice how crappy your quality of life is going. For one thing, I need to stop watching Law and Order (Special Victims Unit) until 4am with one eye open because I have no self control to turn it off. I have the worst habit of treating days I have off with no class the next day as my weekends. You know, those crazy sorority-drunk-fest-level crazy. Only I don't belong to a sorority and I usually just end up watching Netflix with my two best friends while tweeting and snacking on some sort of delicious candy. That's probably only delicious because it's 3am and we haven't eaten since 6pm, when we went on a taco run. Only to do it all over again the next week. And strangely, while you would think it'd get old, it doesn't. Except for the fact I notice I keep writing "face" when I try to write fact and I, after two decades, can only just now pronounce "enunciate" correctly without adding an "h" sound in there. Let alone getting the correct spelling down, I should feel a little more accomplished.

I blame it on my strange eating habits. For years now, I can go through the day with one meal and a snack, and then when 10pm or 11pm hits, I'm hungry as hell and ready to raid the pantry like the a trigger happy outlaw in the Wild West. (Only I wouldn't shoot the first thing I'd see, I'd just eat it. Ew, that came out wrong.)

I feel like somehow eating alot at night keeps me awake, which prevents me from going to bed, which then screws up my rather erratic sleep cycle, to only add to my very weird food preferences. It's a vicious cycle. And while most people are like, "Well just wake up earlier, go to bed, and eat three meals a day."
I kinda look at them frustrated like Obama trying to explain to Congress why he needs more money, and say, "But I have no time." I feel like I'm rushing everywhere. I don't get a chance to sit still. And when I do, I feel lost. Like I should be running somewhere. I am so lost in this life as it is, I can't figure out what to do with myself half the time. Everyday I say, "I AM GOING TO DO LAUNDRY TODAY." And I end up singing in the shower for three hours, painting a Monet, driving to West Virginia and back, fixing a flat tire, making tacos, and almost setting my eyebrows on fire from stoking the fireplace and I still never get around to doing that darn laundry. It's really degrading hahaha.

Oh snap, look at the clock. Here I am ranting about how I have a horrible sleep cycle and I'm typing this at 2am. I am absolutely horrible.

Speaking of horrible things, yeah. My Honda is a trooper, I'll give her that. She gets great gas mileage but babe, your radio sucks, the heater acts like it's pumping out for all Hell, and the roof paint is chipping. I need to find a new baby. That's all there is to say about that.

Cheers to first world problem solving,

Yours Truly.

Benghazi: What Went Down (as far as we can tell)

   The American people deserve the truth about Benghazi and the events following the terrorist attack.
(A timeline of events was published here for those who didn't read the whole story.)
The current Administration's drones flew over the attack that happened on September 11th in Libya. They saw it. They watched it. Then lied about it. Proper action and justice was not served.

   Why did the President choose to do nothing? What motive is behind this? Why ignore a threat that caused American lives in Libya to be lost?

The CIA operatives were repeatedly denied requests for help as stated in this Fox News article update:

"Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack...shots [were] fired.... they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down,"....Soon after, they were again told to "stand down." Woods and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the consulate which at that point was on fire. Shots were exchanged. The rescue team from the CIA annex evacuated those who remained at the consulate and Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find the ambassador and returned to the CIA annex at about midnight. At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was [deliberately] denied."

Greta Van Susteren tweeted a note on the story, a clarification from FNC's Justin Fishnel: 

"NOTE in Benghazi story: the denial of the request from help went via the CIA chain of command, not military (Pentagon)."

But there were military drones that were watching the entire event take place, minute for minute.

Meanwhile Obama is in the states preparing for another day of campaigning, ignoring the fact that lives were lost over something that could have been completely prevented in the first place. He showed no remorse whatsoever when dealing with Tyrone Woods' family after the attack. He claimed it was all from a video not a Sharia activist group. So we ask ourselves how this will affect the Presidential race looming towards us in less than 12 days.  Was this a fluke in the higher up system of getting the information out to the right sources? In order to prevent Obama from looking bad for being too busy with his own campaign to order the rescue of the Americans in Benghazi, is there any way to justify the way this was handled? 
It seems like this was purposely ignored while the Administration spent the latter weeks telling the public it was caused because of an anti-Muslim video. Which is not true. And even when the news of the attack hit the states, "...former President Bill Clinton has been “urging” his wife to release official State Department documents that prove she called for additional security at the compound in Libya, which would almost certainly result in President Obama losing the election." (source)


As one blogger of vintage-parade said:  

"I don’t care what party affiliation you are.... But you have to understand this. Our President watched four Americans get killed, and did absolutely nothing to help. We had American forces less than an hour away in Sicily, and Obama did nothing. He knew it was a terrorist attack....days later, Jay Carney (the Press Secretary) and Susan Rice (UN Ambassador)...said it was caused because of the video [the alleged anti-Muslim video which you can read about here]." 

Contrary to the video being the reason behind this, the American Spectator warns:

"The "initial information" (to use Jay Carney's words) pouring into the State Department -- which was then handed on to the White House itself -- had no mention whatsoever of an Internet video and a quite specific reference to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia.
....
According to Mohammad Ali al-Zahawi, the self-styled "Commander of Ansar al-Sharia" his group -- admirers of Al-Qaeda -- is all about doing "battle with the liberals, the secularists and the remnants of Gaddafi." The terms "liberals" and "secularists" of course mean Americans and Westerners."

   So not only was the Obama administration denying the fact that the Benghazi attacks were caused by an Al-Qaeda extremist group and saying instead it was from an Internet video, Obama stood before Americans in press conferences, in debates, and was quoted that told us false speculation that the attack had nothing to do with very same ideology that promotes Granny Sarah's "fashion simpatico with a totalitarian ideology" that the media has so carefully avoiding saying much about. 

Nixon lied to the public, but no lives were lost.

Clinton lied about his affair, but no one died.

But Obama lied, and now 4 people have died.

   In the words of Jeffrey Lord, "Who killed Ambassador Chris Stevens? Sharia killed Ambassador Chris Stevens." And Obama did nothing to stop it. Why is the media not completely torn up about this? Why is no one rising up and calling for a trial for treason, impeachment, for justice?

   Clinton stupidly told the Woods family after losing their son that they would find and prosecute the makers of the video. What utter lies! Even if that was the reason, which we know it's not, that would conflict with the freedom of speech in the first place.

   Now would be the right time to re-think your decision on re-electing Obama and facing up to the fact that we don't belong to the government. The government belongs to us. The American public deserves to know the truth and Obama has done everything except give us just that.

   America, you have been warned.

 
For the pursuit of truth,