The Higher the Education…The Higher the Cost

GREETINGS FROM THE CAPITAL DISTRICT!

Yes, yes, I am back in the freezing tundra that is Albany, NY for a whole new semester.  At least I know, that at the end of the long tunnel will be warmer weather and more daylight and a very long summer vacation.

If you have noticed, I have changed the main picture of my blog.  No, Manny Ramirez is not endorsing my blog, and I highly doubt that he is reading it. 

But anyway…on to the relevant stuff…

In my public policy class, the professor asked us to group together, and to choose the top three policy issues facing our generation today.  Of course, some said global warming, some said health care, and some even went as far as to say our legal system.  But the one that most of the groups (including mine) were similarly concerned about, was the current rise in the cost of a higher education in this country.  For like the last week, I had been thinking about writing about this issue, but I didn’t think that it was worthy enough for a blog entry.  But after that class, I was like, this is a f*&%ing sign!

But really, if your reading this, and you’re a college student, then you will know where I am coming from.  Not only have schools (both public and private) have seemed to go up, but to be honest, that is a touchy issue, and it happens.  As we all know it, the economy sucks, and to maintain these microcosms full of the young and crazy population of our society, so yeah, it’s quite understandable.  No matter how much we bitch and moan about that, these schools can basically say, “Well if you can’t afford it, go somewhere else.”  And come on people be realistic.  Yeah, the cost of a better education is priceless, and I am not arguing that.  People should go beyond the limit to learn and get some form of a degree past a high school diploma, because it means a somewhat better future.  But do not bury yourself in a financial hole to go to a really prestigious school, especially if the career track you want to go into isn’t going to really help pay back the money you will owe in the future.  A few months ago, I read an article in the New York Times about how this Mother helped her Daughter afford to go to NYU so she could go into photography.  They even said, there was basically no way to afford it.  They took loan after loan after loan in order to afford it, and now about 9 years later, the mother and daughter have a debt of about $70,000+, plus interest! 

What I liked least about the article was two things.  1) The mother said it was well worth it because it made her daughter happy and 2) The writers purpose was to, as common theme during these troubling times, blame the banks for allowing these people to take out loans they wouldn’t really be able to pay back.

To the parents out there, don’t make this same mistake.  Yes, you want to be a friend to your child, and you want to help them accomplish whatever goals they set forth for themselves.  However, as parents, your job is to help your kid to go from being a child, and to mold them into responsible adults, and setting themselves up for their future.  However, putting them in a situation similar to the one mentioned before in the article goes against that.  You want to make them happy, but you do not give your kids everything they want.  As a parent, you make decisions that are tough, so make just one more and tell your kids to be realistic.  Help them find a better solution, send them to a good and affordable school. They might resent you for a bit, but they will appreciate it in the long run. 

Also, you can’t blame the banks completely in all these situations.  Because they don’t force student’s and their families to take out these loans.  As the saying goes, its all in the fine print.  Before taking any burden of such kind, families should come together to plan and see what they have to do in order to afford such loans, and not do it blindly.  If one takes out a loan, they were approved on the basis that they are capable of repaying it.  They just don’t hand out this money freely.  

I have a lot of cousins going through the process of ending high school and looking at colleges right now, so I felt as if I had an obligation to do this.  Be smart, get scholarships, get involved so you do get scholarships for that opportunity to get into that dream school of yours.  Nothing in life is impossible.  Dream big.  Just take it one step at a time.  Hopefully, it’ll help out the future parents and the future college students reading….

Till next time folks….

What You Read Isn’t Always What You Get

To begin, as advice to anyone who is reading out there, if you want to be like me and start up a blog, here is a fair warning; it is not as easy as it seems.  After the first three entries…it has taken me almost a week and a half to find a topic to write about.  So future bloggers be warned!

Now on to our main discussion…

Tonight, I was pretty bored as usual, and went onto facebook to waste see what everyone was up to.  After a few minutes, I stumbled upon a few statuses about people worrying about their zodiac signs changing.  My first reaction was “WTF? What are you guys talking about?” and my second reaction was, is that even possible?  First off, I do not believe in zodiac signs, horoscopes, and all that astrology nonsense.  The most that I know is that I am a Virgo.  Yeah, I said it, I believe its nonsense, that’s my opinion and I believe that there is no way that you can determine a bunch of peoples personalities and daily activities with so-called vague and overarching “predictions.”  But if you believe in it and disagree with me, you’re entitled to your opinion as well. 

So being confused about this, I always follow the advice my mother told me as a kid.  If you don’t know something, look it up.  So I did.  So when I entered “Zodiac Signs Changing” onto google, I found an interesting CNN article that basically discredited the claims of an article in a Minneapolis (funny how fast word spreads huh?) newspaper that stated that our understanding of the zodiac is off by about a month and that people have been associating themselves with the wrong signs.  The CNN article says even though they weren’t wrong per se, they neglected to report that there are two different types of zodiacs: the tropical and the sidereal.  If you followed the tropical, the zodiac that Western astrology is based off of, whereas the East uses sidereal zodiac instead, and is the one the Minneapolis newspaper reported on.  Based off of the tropical zodiac, nothing has changed and if you were a cancer last year then you are still a cancer.  That’s funny, last time I checked, Minneapolis, MN is in the WESTERN Hemisphere.

Which leads me to my point.  DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ.  NEVER TAKE THINGS ON FACE VALUE.

The funniest thing about this article wasn’t the negligent reporting of the newspaper staff, but the fact that people were going crazy after people started posting this on Twitter and Facebook.  C’mon people, are you serious?  How can you believe what people post on Facebook?  If I decided to post that I am the son of Barack Obama, would you really believe it?  As a college student, I’ve had to hear over and over again the difference between credible sources and just flat out stupidity!  Before I even believed in this zodiac nonsense…I LOOKED IT UP!  Maybe I think more logically and rational then most people, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a frigging genius to tell the difference between the fact and fiction. 

I feel as if society feeds more on misinformation then the actual truth.  Please people, do us all a favor, get off of facebook and pick up a newpaper.

Thanks.

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

As everyone knows, we are currently in a shitty economic period, more and more people are struggling to either find or keep their jobs, more are find it harder to make their ends meet, and a lot of other things.  This means more people are trying to find new ways to make more money and to make that money to go farther.  For those who can find it, they either work a second job or work longer hours to earn a little extra income.  Some people try to make their money go farther then usual by saving more such as using coupons at the supermarket, cutting back on unnecessary luxuries by eating out less, or find ways to save at home by using electricity less or less water to save on those big bills at the end of the month.  Yet, I think the most interesting option that has been around for a while, is going out to a public place, and just flat out begging for it. 

Who knew it was that simple? Or is it?  Thus the purpose of this entry

Personally, it really depends for me, yet I usually give in.  If I have a few singles or a decent amount of change in my pockets, I give it to them, regardless of how bad their stories are.  And I don’t buy into that “If you give them money, all they will do with it is buy booze and drugs.”  I don’t care, if they do, they do.  However, I gave them money because they say they needed it for whatever reason they said.  If you needed it, how would you feel if someone said that they wouldn’t because that very reason?  However, if the person asking for money is rude, forget about it.  How do you expect me to give you money if you’re a total ass to me? 

However, the ones I find the most entertaining are the ones that usually go on the New York City subway trains and ask for money.  Usually, you get young kids going around selling candy, saying that they need the money in order to stay away from drugs and stay in school and off the streets, then you usually have homeless people who need the money in order for a hot meal and that they need it to stay warm and clothed, and then my all time favorite, the “I’m Broke, It Ain’t No Joke” lady who recites a poem while she beats her drum.  To be quite frank, I think the one have liked the most (before today, foreshadowing?) was this one dude who came into our car with candy and was like “I don’t need the money to get off drugs, or off the street, I just need it for me and to make my ends meet.”  I think this is the best way to go at it, because most people appreciate it. 

Its saves both time and energy by avoiding the charade.  If I needed the money, I’m not going to go around beating a drum, or saying I live on the streets, or saying I am a coke addict and I need money to get off of it.  I’ll just be honest and say “I need money, any little contribution helps, thank you.” 

Of course, some people feel that they need to do something in order to earn it, which is completely understandable, because some just have too much pride to beg for it.  Some try to go out and earn it.  When on the A-train on my way back home today, these two guys walked into our car, and when I saw one of them with a boom box, I said to myself “Oh boy, here we go.”  If I could take anything back, I would take that back.  However, when they started to dance, I was taken aback.  They were like doing an entire Olympic routine in the middle of a fast moving New York City subway train packed with people.  Had I had a bill smaller then a ten, I would have gladly given it to then, but all I had was a few quarters.  Even though I would usually give out the money regardless, I truly felt that they not only earned it, but deserved it as well.  I was able to get about 20 seconds of it on video…judge for yourself!

Till Next time…

Girls, Girls, Girls!!!

As the classic saying goes, when it comes to women, you can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them!

I know I know, how juvenile and unoriginal is it for me to be writing about the opposite sex, especially for my first blog.  However, it has something that has really been frustrating me lately.  Personally, the opposite sex has always been a bit of a mystery to me (and I am sure I am not the only one).  As a child, I was always told to treat women with the utmost respect, and (I know that this might sound corny) to treat them as if they were a gentle flower.  I guess my mom tried to raise me as the perfect guy for all of women kind.  I guess it is because of this that I have always seen myself as a relationship kind of guy rather the hookup type. 

Anyways….

With how most women describe us guys now-a-days (jerks, pigs, asshole, morons, etc.), you would assume that I would have had my share of relationships? Wrong! As much as women like to complain about guys, why the fuck do they never ever fucking learn?!?!  Maybe you can say that I am acting a bit “bitter”…maybe I am, I don’t deny it, but when you constantly have to hear “why is he doing that?” “what does that mean?” “why can’t I find a good guy?” and all that shit.  It gets irritating, and even worse is when a guy has feelings with said girl because the dude has to hear a chick complain while he really wants to say “Well maybe you should give me a shot?” (I’ve been there before and it sucks!)  And to add to that, a lot of the times where a good guy is in such a situation, said girl justifies not giving the guy a shot because he is not her type.

WTF?!?!?

1) HOW ARE GOOD GUYS LIKE US NOT YOUR TYPE? U JUST SAID GOOD GUYS ARE!

2) HAVEN’T YOU LADIES EVER HEARD THAT OPPOSITES ATTRACT? ALSO IF YOU HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY SCREWED OVER BY GUYS WHO ARE ALL ALIKE…GIVE US GOOD GUYS A SHOT…WHO KNOWS? MAYBE US GUYS WILL SURPRISE YOU BUY NOT SCREWING YOU OVER!

And then the defense of why women do it is another story.  But to keep it sweet and simple, they make no sense and just are flat out S-T-U-P-I-D! 

And you know what?

Girls go through this by guys.  I am not denying that at all.  But lately, I have just felt as if people have neglected that girls can also be shallow and complete bitches too.  Women are capable of breaking a guys heart just as guys are able to do to them. 

So to conclude. To the good guys out there in this crazy and lonely world: I feel you.  I am a good guy too and if this has happened to you too, then you completely understand where I am coming from.  Be patient and do not look for the right one for you.  Let her find you. To the Ladies, well, not all guys are alike, so please do not generalize that all us guys are pigs, especially if you refuse to actually try and date one of the good ones out their.  Either give us a shot or quit complaining.

Saludos!

So where should I begin?

I do not want this to sound like one of those corny “ice breakers” that professors and R.A.’s like force people through in order to learn the most trivial facts about one another, but since this is a new blog, who knows, maybe the first one will be read by someone who isn’t a friend, and it is quite improper to not introduce oneself.

My name is Enmanuel, friends know me as Manny.  I go to college, study stuff, like to do stuff, and I like to work so I can buy stuff too.  If you would like to know more about me...well…sorry, due to our present day society, I do not think it wise to post any personal information online for the entire world to see.  However, if you would like to know or ask me anything, please, do not hesitate to leave me message.

Lately, and the reason behind my blog, is that I felt that I have been keeping too much to myself.  I felt that I needed a healthy way to discuss and let out the things that I have been experiencing, thinking about, and also a nice way to be “one” with the creative part of my mind.  Maybe some will see it as amazing insight to the present day world (I’m not even that good) or maybe some will see it as “insanely idiotic” or “not even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought” (you gotta love Billy Madison!), but please do not take it as a great offense, because if you do, THEN QUIT READING!  Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I respect that.  However, since everyone has a right to read what they want, you also have the right to censor yourself, so if you have the complete opposite view to mine on a particular topic, then please, be an adult, and send me a message with your point, and we can take it from there.  No “YOU’RE A VILLAINOUS VIPER” or “YOU ARE GOING TO HELL” type of stuff.  All I will do is open it, read it, laugh my ass off, and click delete.  I open to free dialogue and open discussion of ideas, so lets do that instead.

So with 2010 over and 2011 having just started, I would like to introduce you to my blog!  I hope you enjoy it and hope you all have a wondrous beginning to a new and exciting year and all that other nonsense!