I got this as a forward just now and I thought I'd share. I wish I had gotten this earlier and read it earlier on in life but I think if I had read it earlier on in life, I would've said, "That's not the way it really is...life's not fair." But now, I know better....

'Rules Kids Won't Learn in School'

By Charles J. Sykes (NOT by Bill Gates, as it is often attributed)

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may
even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you mess up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. None of this, of course, bears the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Anniston.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your dead peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is tough sometimes. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.

You're welcome.

I have to work late tonight....oh no!!!

Well, looks like we are finally buying a new home. The seller has agreed to our bid so things are looking good that I'll be moving with my family over to the neighborhood near Lowell (my alma mater high school). Real close to Lake Merced. So I'll be neighbors with MC and SL. And I'll be able to do my running on a daily basis. How cool is that? On the other hand, I'll be moving out of my home of 18 years... lots of memories, I was just thinking that at the bus-stop on the way to work today. There were kids in uniforms walking to school....walking to St. Monica's specifically, which is by no coincedence, where I went to school. 15 years ago, I was like them, walking in my blue uniform to school with my little sister holding my hand on the way to school. My little sister was so cute back then. Big cheeks. Anyways, so yeah I was just reminiscing back to my elementary school days. It seems just like yesterday...

I guess looking back at my childhood... I remember things very fondly... I was a spoiled kid (but not spoiled in a material sense)...spoiled in the way that my parents supported me and loved me. I was such an idealist back then. The difference between right and wrong were as clear as black and white back then ....now, the lines have been a little more blurred....or maybe it just seems that way.

Food For Thought:

Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence.

Hi! The weekend was really good. Studied LSAT stuff on Friday night. Went to LSAT class on Saturday Morning, played some basketball with lumps guys on Saturday afternoon, studied with some people from my LSAT class Saturday late afternoon/evening. Sunday morning, went running/walking around Lake Merced with SW, studied LSAT stuff and then went to church for late late service. Pastor John's going to go through the book fo Song of Solomon (aka Solomon's Song of Songs). It's kind of a sensual book...let's just leave it at that. Still looking forward to John preaching on it.

Ok, as promised...for all you sisters out there who read my blog, here is my make-up for the Fantasy Football post a few posts down. (All you guys, you can ignore) This is an absolutely hilarious website.

Pucca

Some of them are ridiculously cute and funny. I love #18.... #16, and #21 are pretty funny too...and most of the other ones are decent too....

And no, I'm not saying this is how it should be.... I'm more the traditional kind of guy.... still, enjoy!