Miracle of modern medicine, or miracle of an amazing mind?

Yesterday while I was at work (making sandwiches like a boss), I heard a story about a soldier from the Iraqi war who lost all four of his limbs. That's not the crazy part of the story though - apparently this man received a double arm transplant. Not prosthetic arms. Real, human arms from a deceased donor. It just blew my mind that that kind of surgery is even possible. I had to learn more.

So, I did. And as it would turn out, my boss wasn't just telling me a wild story. Click here to read the article from MSNBC that I thought gave the most details on the solider, the surgery, and his amazing recovery.

A real photo of Brendan Morocco: 26-year-old retired Infantryman, recipient of two transplanted arms, and general badass.

Understanding the "debt ceiling"

For those of us who watch the news (or just unfortunately major in political science), it's impossible to ignore the umpteenth annual debt ceiling freak-out. Why is our government freaking out about the debt ceiling for the zillionth year in a row? What IS the debt ceiling, actually? Why is the government putting us through this? Why does any of this matter?

All of these questions and more can be answered by this handy video I found, courtesy of YouTuber "Grey" in the series "Grey Explains Things."

There is no Truth without Hope

It's clear that this past weekend was not exactly my... "best" weekend. For those of you who read my earlier post, that's probably an understatement. I got a little caught up in my own head, made a couple of serious mistakes, had a total breakdown in front of thirty of my band/music friends during a service meeting, and made some statements that I probably should not have made. I thought about deleting that post in hindsight, but then I decided against it, not just because of the anonymity of the internet, but also because it is my intention to share myself, and that goal can not be met if I go around deleting every embarrassing post I make.

The point is, though, that it's obvious that I'm not quite as "healed" as I would like to be at this point. There are some complications with the new medicine I'm trying, and the lifestyle changes that I'm trying to make are not as easily implemented as I had hoped. But that's no reason to lose hope.

I know that I am not as religious as I should be. I don't read the Bible and I don't pray that often. But I still believe. I also know, however, that my spirit has been wounded over the past few years, and that I need to make steps towards healing it. I know that turning to the Lord is the answer I should come to, but it's hard to think that way when you're a Lone Wolf thrust into the world. Twenty-one seemed so old when I was sixteen, but now that I'm here, I find that I still really don't know much of anything. It's frustrating.

But, in the aftermath of my humiliating fuss, after my friends had removed all the liquor and knives from my home, someone shared this verse with me.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Even when it seems like there is no hope, no possible point to living on this wretched earth anymore, I need to remember that at least someone somewhere out there has a plan for me. It's hard to think of God when you're busy sobbing hysterically because you really just don't want to exist anymore, but... it would probably help. Because I do want to exist. My to-do list is not yet completed. I have a lot of work left to do.

The truth

My friends found out tonight about my depression. About how I want to end it all. They drove me home. They talked to me. They think it helped. I let them think that. There is nothing they can do to help me. I am the only one who can help me. And I have no idea what to do.

All I know is that I have the hiccups and I want to smoke. Hopefully I can hide the smell with the sound of my intoxication.

Here's a funny picture to make it seem like I'm blogging about something other than my sad life.

A picture of me during the eighth grade Goth Years. I'm the one on the left in the stockings. 

I look happy. What a funny joke.

Yes, I have felt this way since before the eighth grade. How did I make it to age 21? I ask myself that question every day. 

Random song you've maybe never heard #2

Yesterday, in my landlord-provoked fury, I expressed an interest to use dead cockroaches in order to prevent people from stealing my house. I should probably explain why this is such a huge indication of my frustration.

I HATE COCKROACHES. Literally, I sometimes have dreams about them. They make me vomit. I'm not just petrified of them, I despise them. They serve absolutely no purpose on this earth other than to torture me. They don't eat waste. They're household infestations incarnate. In their food chain, they are neither a significant predator NOR a significant food source for ANY other creature. That means that if they were to disappear completely, NO OTHER CREATURE WOULD SUFFER IN ANY WAY.

I hate cockroaches.

So, for today's random song you've maybe never heard, I decided to share a staple of my childhood.

The image displayed in the video actually changes near the end, if you're still listening by the end of the song. For more information on "Bananas at Large," the artist of the song, visit their website here. Enjoy!

Polar bears, cockroaches, law school and landlords

Today on campus, I ran into an old friend. Or at least I thought I did. I'll let cute polar bear sum it up for me.

Anyone else have this problem? I suppose with so many humans on the earth, there are only so many possible combinations of hair, height, and facial features. I swear these girls were twins separated at birth. 

In other news, I had kind of an interesting morning, and it prompted me to write a letter to my landlord today. It went something like this:

Some "DID YOU KNOW?" for your day

Happy January 16th! It wasn't always a happy day though. On this day in history:

"The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land." - History Channel

What does that mean? It means that today marks the 94th anniversary of the American prohibition, one of the biggest legal failures in American history. Even at the time of its passing, it was a hotly debated issue.

Prohibition protesters. They just want beer. Come on, give the poor protesters some beer.  

Random song you've maybe never heard #1

One of the things that I plan to do with this blog - and you, my captive audience (mwahahaha) - is post various random songs that you've maybe never heard. The reason they are going to be called "random song you've maybe never heard" is because most people I know in Real People Land haven't heard the song, but I obviously can't speak for everyone on the internet. At the risk of sounding like a hipster, some of my tastes are a bit obscure. But oh God, I'm not a hipster, I like normal music too. But there are just some things that I feel are under-appreciated in this world and I would like to give them some presence in the blogosphere. 

This is obviously the first thing that came to my mind because it's one of my favorite songs. It's a remix of the Harry Potter theme. Enjoy. 

Why I'm Blogging - An Introduction

I started this blog simply as an outlet for me to talk about the world, laugh about my life, give advice to everyone and no one, chastise idiots, learn, grow, and share. I'm sarcastic, passionate, opinionated, and at times a bit vulgar. I love music, and I'm fascinated by politics. I intend to study law.

I personally believe that both nature and nurture shape the development of small humans, and so, in order to properly understand a regular sized human, you must embark upon an exploration of his or her history. So, here is mine. Forgive me for my lack of perfect chronology, but I try to make it somewhat easy to follow.

For all you know, this baby could grow up to be a serial killer. This is not a picture of me. I am not a serial killer.