This is for Mike and Phil, and Probably Only for Mike and Phil

Hi Mike and Phil,

I believe you two are the only two who made comment about this blog since it's last post several years ago. This post is for you two.

Congrats.

Now get back to work at The Nerdery.

-Brett

Remember Blogging?

I'm going to get back to it. I promise.

Only 10 months later!

Anyone still read this tome?

Auto Carriage Shenagins

Last time I wrote a blog it was Thanksgiving. Suddenly it is January and it is the dead of winter. This is my least favorite time of year. That isn't surprising or rare and I'm sure most people dislike January and February in Minnesota. Winter is saved by Christmas and the first few snows by my account and then is worthless after New Years Day. Maybe I'll just go into hibernation until my Birthday.

If nothing else, perhaps I should try to avoid the roads. For those who haven't heard, I was in a car accident on Friday. I'm fine - Thank God - and so is Lindsey, who was in the passenger seat. There was a simple Minnesota snow hitting the decks of the 35E bridge and a gentlemen driving a gigantic (and Red!) Dodge Ram thought it might improve our evening by sliding over and hitting my door panel, shattering my window and then fishtailing into the gas tank and bumper area.

Hooray.

My car is in disarray, but like I said, it is important that everyone involved was okay. More painful is the insurance process that is currently ongoing. Nothing is simple in this world.

In a "Final Destination", surreal way all sorts of people I know then promptly got into accidents. Joe got into one a few hours later. Then Monday my "Judging Ronald" and movie star friend Nick managed to use his Pontiac Sunfire weapon to destroy a couple cars. Today I heard that Suzanne also got into an accident on Monday. Everyone is fine, but how strange is to have 4 people get in accidents in 4 days?

I feel a bad movie script is being written as I type. ("Final Destination 4: The Common Car Accident" is now Copyright 2008 Brett Patterson)

All of the car drama that has been going on this week has made me think how lucky I am to even have a car and to have adequate insurance for it. I know it is lame to be thankful for a car, but I've been on a kick lately to be thankful for what I have and not to complain about what I don't. It is a better way to live, I feel.

I'm fairly sure that the lovely Mazda 6 that has been mine for 2 and a half years will be totalled. What I will do after that...I have no idea. I'll likely just buy something for the money I get for the car...not something new. I'm still paying off the Mazda and I don't feel the need to add to the payments.

Honestly, I've been really positive about all this and I like to think that is because I tried to hand it off to God right away, because I'm not great at dealing with situations like this. Long, intricate processes are not my speciality, so I'm trying to get along with it best I can.

Happy 2008 everyone. Lets hope to see some positive changes for Earth in 2008.

={+}=

Giving Thanks.

Well, Thanksgiving was on Thursday. I'm not sure how America celebrates Thanksgiving anymore, but I'm pretty sure that it mainly revolves about eating Turkey and Pumpkin pie, watching football and preparing to shop the next day. In some ways it is comforting, since eating, football and consumerism define America in a lot of ways, but I'd like to think that at least a few people go through and at least think of everything they should be thankful for in life, reflect and spend some time with those they love. I was able to do those things this weekend and I wanted to share what I was thankful for...

-My family and how much they really do mean to me and what they have done and sacrificed for me. I consider myself very lucky to have the Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister that I do. I know this gets overdone and sappy, but it is true and I don't know if there is any other way to say it.

-My friends. Everyone says they have the best friends in world. That's not true. Only I have the best people in the world as friends. Really. I know I can count on them when it matters and that there will always be somebody, regardless of the circumstance, that I can turn to. My friends are a diverse bunch, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am extremely blessed.

-I had a hard time with this next one initially, but I gritted my teeth and went with it. I'm thankful for my job. I'm really lucky to be able to be in the upper 2 percent of all the world and be able to provide for myself and work towards a secure future. As much as I complain about my job, I am lucky to have the job I have, especially right out of college. Even if it isn't what I want to do with my life, the fact that it provides me enough to do what I want and be independent is important. Getting past my own issues with idealization and focusing on the positives is something I'm working on, but for now I'll just be thankful for what I have.

-The list gets a bit more specific from there, but I'm not going to be shy with most of them. I'm thankful for having a great friend to live with who is understanding and fun to live with. I'm thankful to be able to travel. I'm thankful to be able to have grown up and make my own decisions and live in a country where I am free to do so. I'm thankful for a just, free, democratic America. I'm thankful to have siblings who are incredible people. I'm incredibly thankful for Lindsey, who clearly means a lot to me. I'm thankful to be the person I am and will continue to be, regardless of how everything else shapes around me. I'm thankful to have had almost the same exact best friends for almost 10 years. I'm thankful for my education.

I know it is a bit of a tedious list, and it is a little sappy, romantic, and idealistic...but I don't care. I don't think the main idea of Thanksgiving is given enough thought anymore, and I want it to make a comeback. Our holidays get so bloated in this era that they can pass by without a thought. I want to get back to their original meaning, and I don't mean the mass slaughter of an indigenous race.

I want to be pre-old school. I want to give thanks.

Happy "late" Thanksgiving.

={+}=

Feed the Hungry AND Cure Boredom?

I thought this was A W E S O M E...

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

What a fabulous idea. I know a way to hook ME on the internet is to have some sort of application/game that proves how smart I am. Double bonus that my strange addiction feeds people in impoverished areas.

I was wondering how they afforded to support this idea, but I saw the tactful advertisements on the bottom of the page for really big companies...so I guess that is where the funding comes from.

Honestly, I'm in awe of whoever was the mastermind behind this project. I'll keep donating AND improving my literacy whenever I can.

America: Help the hungry. Improve your own English skills when you are bored of contributing to the drab work life! What a slogan...

={+}=

Desperate For Change

I've been asked to write for another blog, a political blog. You'll notice it on the sidebar. "The College Whig Review" is a blog started by Alex Kurt, who has worked on The John Edwards campaign. I'll post there once and a while, and when appropriate, re-post that blog here, but I might not send them here, so make sure you check it out...there is some great writing already going on at the blog.

Here is the post:

Steven Colbert announced last week that he intends to enter the presidential race, running as both a Democrat and a Republican (delicious!) on the docket in South Carolina. Within days the web was swept up with "Colbert Buzz" and his Facebook group, "A Million Strong for Steven T. Colbert" has already passed a million members. Obama, the candidate who is supposed to be the one who "understands the youth" has just over a THIRD of that size in his Facebook group. Friends have asked me if I would vote for Colbert, if given the chance. I'm somewhat dumbfounded. Vote for a comedian with no political plan? I love Colbert. He is smart, hilarious and clearly on top of the satire game, but as a serious political candidate? Most can't even distinguish between the actual Colbert and the Papa Bear-esque character he plays on "The Report".

However, I am glad he is doing what he is doing. If for no other reason, Colbert's campaign has shown Washington that the young do want change and not "soon" or "down the road"...but now. The idea of change is labeled on a lot of campaign slogans...and has been since the birth of at least this nation, and probably since Acropolis in Greece. The advertised change is artificial. It might be a change from one party to another, or worse just a change in the warm body occupying the chair of authority. When we look at the last 40 years of American politics, we see change, but what kind of changes? We haven't seen radical political change since at least Wilson to FDR. Since the end of the Cold War, we haven't reviewed our political ways in America, we've gone on as usual, waiting for change to just happen, or worse...forced to happen.

I'm sure someone is thinking: "Do we need change? Is this not working?" The answer, of course, is yes we do. I'm not talking about a mere change from George W. Bush to someone else, be it either a Democrat or a Republican, but actual, meaningful change to the system, the people and how we view our leaders. The Cabinet, Senate, House and all elected leaders are supposed to be public servants, but they aren't anymore. They serve their own causes, not those of the people they serve. How can we have a president have a 30 percent approval rating? How can the huddled masses be shouting at the top of their lungs and not be heard?

I realize how idealist this is. I know that any political system will become corrupt at some point, it is the way humanity works, but I think our current system has been exploited enough and it may be time for a change, and it has been shown to us all by a guy who became famous on Comedy Central. God Bless cable.

={+}=

Getting Hit on at Chipotle, Drink! and India

First off, I love the diversity of this blog's title. Actually, it is really just a listing of the three things I'm going to ramble about today, but still...I like to feel I live a diverse life of thought. I can think about international relations one second and completely shift to American versions of imported food the next.

So goes life.

Yesterday I was eating at Chipotle for lunch. I was sitting by myself dressed up for my Target HQ visit later that day, enjoying my chicken soft tacos (cheese, tomatoes and lettuce please) and reading "Chasing Daylight". A girl got up from her table and came over and sat next to me. She commented that she had read the same book I was reading. We talked about for a minute or two, me being secretly shocked by the tenacity of this stranger. After some small talk about where I work and where I'm from....she asked me if I wanted to get coffee after work.

I was kind of in shock. She probably saw that, since it took a second to realize what just happened. I politely told her about the wonderful girlfriend that I already have. Obviously, she understood.

She left and went back to her table with her friend/co-worker/whatever. It was like nothing skipped a beat. I was blown away. I have never been asked out by a stranger after a short conversation like that. The funny thing is that the book is about taking charge, and chase what you feel Jesus and you want to do. I found it interesting that our common bond was THAT book. Interesting. I guess you never know what is going to happen on any given Chipotle trip!

On Saturday I met up with Phil late into the night at Drink! in Uptown. I generally don't like places like Drink to begin with. In fact, I'm confused by the point of it. It is way too loud to talk to anyone. It is way too packed to even move around. There is almost no where to sit. The patio is nice, but it still suffers from the same problems. Too loud, and too crowded...and a bottle of anything costs 4 dollars. Why do people WANT to go there? In closing, it isn't a place you would normally find Phil, and a place where I would never choose to go...but have been to on at least a half dozen occasions. At least we got to make a bad song like "Hollaback Girl" into a political treatise about embargo and strife. I'm pretty sure that is exactly what Gwen Stefani was thinking about when she wrote that song.

Apparently, my company is still considering sending me to India for a few weeks sometime around the new year. I've never been so excited about a possible business trip before. If the plan comes to fruition I'll go and do whatever work I'm supposed to do (set up our India facility with some marketing materials) and then take some time off, explore India and come back. I think I'd take 10 days to explore. I'd want to try and go to Nepal, if their political dispute gets resolved, and maybe Sri Lanka, if it is cheap. If it works out, I'd go to other places in Asia (Japan, Taiwan) if it works out with work flying me back from where ever. I've learned so much about India the last two years that it has made me really excited by the prospect of going there. I really hope I can make it happen.

That is all I got for now. Peace out.

={+}=