Shit

I think I might have made a huge mistake. I'm surprised it slipped by for this long, hmmmmm....I might have some fixing to do...

When I'm sad, upset or alone I think about you and it cheers me up. I've been smiling a lot more lately because I am excited about our plans and for everything else in store for us.

Its crazy to think that this is the beginning.

Closer

Too many great things have happened lately. Now is definitely not the time to become lethargic. I'm still trying to be the best at everything I do, and just because amazing things have been falling into place for me lately doesn't take away from the fact that I am always gonna push myself to be the best. Right now I'm focused on being the best person, friend, musician, son/brother, tax auditor [uugghhh...] and boyfriend I can possibly be.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."

- Aristotle

We Move Like Swing-Sets

SADNESS/NOSTALGIA

When people ask about who I’m close with, I always say that I have three best friends. Of these three, the person I am closest with is definitely Brian Paul Robles. I remember meeting him for the first time; never in a million years would I have thought that I would became best friends with this guy. Just like all my other friends, Brian is a complete 180 from me, but we’ve always managed to meet each other in the middle. Over the last 3 years we have shared the craziest adventures and have learned each other’s deepest, darkest secrets.

Whether it was housing for the Winter because I wasn’t on speaking terms with my parents, or saving me at multiple parties when I would get too drunk, or even when you would be an unbiased friend and give me the cold-hard truth when I would fuck up, you have definitely been an amazing friend. Sometimes I feel like I never did enough for you as you did for me. Even though I may not have verbalized it as much, I definitely appreciate you and am sad to see you leave.

Yesterday was his last day in the area, and its weird knowing that he isn’t a drive away. I know one day soon our paths will cross again….hopefully he moves up to San Jose or maybe I’ll find myself in Los Angeles. Either way, I don’t think this is the end. It’s just an interlude.

REDISCOVERY/DEDICATION

I have rediscovered a lot of people that used to play an important role in my life lately. It’s a great feeling….not just catching up from point A to point B but actually spending more time with people that used to be (and still are) important. I definitely don’t plan on slipping out of your lives again.

EXCITEMENT/HOPE

What more can I say about you? I don’t know if you read my entries, but in case you do you should know me enough by now to realize that I have no problem saying these kinds of things to your face. This is just posted as a time stamp, so that one day I can look back and see that as of 08/29/2010, I still don’t know YOU.

You told me the other day to read the prelude of one of your favorite books, and that if I liked it I would definitely like the book itself. There is so much a person can gain from a prelude, such as whether or not they like the author’s writing style or themes or characters. I feel like the last month was my prelude of you, and even though I still don’t know YOU, I know a lot of things I like about you. I like the fact that we can talk about music for hours and that you are one of the few people that can introduce me to new artists that I will actually like. I like that you are a huge nerd and, as you would say, “Feel the compelling and urgent need to craft sentences containing unnecessarily complicated vocabulary during inappropriate settings”. I like the fact that if I have a horrible day at work I have something to look forward to when I get to take you out to dinner later in the day. I like the fact that you make me smile, even when you are not in the room.

You definitely have me hooked. I’m very excited to see what happens next.

As the days go by I'm finding more reasons to like/appreciate/respect you.

Untitled.

We don't have scripts and we sure as hell aren't improvising. Still, this all seems cinematic and I'm playing back my favorite scenes over and over and over and over.

I can't stop smiling.

I'm enjoying every second of this.

Life-Like-Saccharine , Pt. II

Are you listening?

I don’t ever want to collect dust. Ancora Imparo; every person that has come and gone through my life has taught me something. Some of the best lessons in life are learned the hard way. I learned a lot about what I want in life through the people who have come and gone. Regardless if they left quietly in the middle of the night or if they left slamming the front door, I am slowly learning more about myself and what I really want and deserve. Sometimes leaving hurts.

God, it used to STING.

This time around it didn’t hurt at all, and I’m sorry you didn’t get to have the satisfaction of knowing that.

Shit, being the bigger person is tough. Your stretched-out half-truths are hurtful, but maybe thats the way you heal? I guess knowing the truth of how things unraveled gives me some sort of solace. I'm really happy right now with life in general and am really excited about what might be around the corner...I don't need to heal. If dragging my name through the dirt helps you through these hard times, then chain me up tight and slam your foot against the damn pedal. When you are done, let me know...I will be more than happy to unwrap the chains and be your friend.

All I ask it that you help me get the dirt off.

Michael "The Spike" Osorio Appreciation Day

With the 4th of July coming up and me having a three-day week, I took some time to reflect on the meanings and importance of holidays. After thinking for some time, I realized that almost all holidays have something in common: they are a way to show appreciation and celebrate the greatness of someone or something. We celebrate the 4th of July for the founding of our great nation. We celebrate Memorial Day to remember the courageous men and women who have died while serving our country. We even celebrate father's day to show appreciation for (most of) our dads.

So keeping all of this in mind, wouldn't it be great to CREATE your own holiday? Even though I'm the most amazing person ever, it would be pretty damn pompous of me to create a holiday in honor of myself...thats kind of in the same vein of throwing a birthday party for myself. So since I'm out of the picture, who would be the 2nd best person to have a holiday in his/her honor?

Michael "The Spike" Osorio.

Before I go any further, let me clarify that the purpose of Michael "The Spike" Osorio Appreciation Day IS NOT to envy Michael "The Spike Osorio". Hell, that chimp doesn't have anything on me except for the fact that he is a A-List member with Express and I'm not (but when I buy my next pair of work slacks I will be. Watch your back, Michael, we are getting our discount coupons on the same day now). I do not envy Michael "The Spike" Osorio, but I appreciate him and want to celebrate the impact he has made on my life.

Many of you reading this may not even know what Michael "The Spike" Osorio looks like. Coincidently, many of you may have seen him before sometime in your life. Believe it or not, Michael "The Spike" Osorio actually modeled for a magazine when he was younger: http://www.zoobooks.com/upload/cover-images/cover-apes_tn.jpg . If that does not ring a bell, Michael "The Spike" Osorio tried making a comeback in his modeling career a few years later in this famous magazine cover: http://www.zoobooks.com/upload/cover-images/cover-apes_tn.jpg

I feel bad for a lot of people in America today. Not necessarily because of the high unemployment rates and limited access to healthcare, but because not enough people have really experienced Michael "The Spike" Osorio. Describing Michael "The Spike" Osorio's greatness in words is literally impossible, so I will not even attempt it. Here are some interesting fun facts about Michael:

-Michael has two superpowers: throwing tantrums and camoflauge (at night only).

-Michael is the only person in the world to be straight edge and drink. Ian MacKaye is amazed.

-The last time Michael went for a physical, the doctor determined that Michael has no heart. Essentially, he is heartless.

-He is known in some social circles as "Cinnamon Skin". Ask him why.

-Michael was voted as the #3 cutest vegan in the world. Technically, Michael should have been disqualified because Michael is a vegetarian now. PETA wants their award back.

In honor of such an amazing human being, I proclaim July 1st to be Michael "The Spike" Osorio Appreciation Day. To properly celebrate Michael "The Spike" Osorio appreciation day, you need to draw random ass tattoos all over your right arm. The more random and nonsensical your drawn-on tattoos are, the more Michael "The Spike" Osorio Appreciation Day spirit you have....so fire up your BBQs and throw some soyrizo on the grill, tomorrow we are making history.

Life-Like-Saccharine , Pt. I

I'm sitting in my room at the Embassy Suites in Downey and can't help but feel jealous. The lobby is littered with tourists and families on vacation, while I'm decked out in a dress shirt and slacks. I just got back from an audit and I'm sure most of these people just came back from the mall or from the beach. Fuck, I envy you guys.

The 9-5 life isn't really what its cracked out to be. Repetition becomes repetitive and life becomes one gigantic ebb and flow of waking up, working, and sleeping. Even though the business trips are really cool and I love the daily problem solving bullshit I have to go through, I really miss my undergraduate college years already and its only been a year.

Life is an inevitability and I'm really glad I kicked off my career literally the second I graduated college (a lot of the other 'new' auditors I work with are in their 30's...) but at the same time I feel like I'm robbing myself of something I really can't put a finger on...

----------------------------------------------

My diets going a lot better than my last diet. I fell into a lot of...pitfalls...during my last diet, culminating in eggplant parmigiana at The Olive Garden that put my diet 6 feet under ground. This time around, I think I'm a little more committed now that I don't have Fraternity stuff looming over me. I have to buy a new brown belt for work because ::drum roll:: IT DOESN'T FIT ANYMORE! Not only is the weight loss a plus, but I definitely have a lot more energy because I am eating healthy and working out.

Since I pretty much lost all of my creativity lately, my next few posts are probably just gonna be journal entries on my diet. I apologize in advance....

Dry

My well of creativity has gone dry. I blame it on the daily ebb and flow of work and not having any time for myself.

So in place of my writing, here's a quote that captures me as a person at the time of this writing, especially in regards to my crazy diet, preparing for CPA exams, thinking of going to graduate school, deciding whether or not to stay with my department, and most of all my own personal happiness:

"Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people.' People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war... Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest."

-C.S. Lewis

Just 'Cause You Can't See Your Cage Doesn't Mean That You Are Free

"The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed."

- Joe Stack (1956-2010)

The above quote is taken from Joseph Stack's suicide letter, posted on the internet shortly before he flew a small Piper Cherokee PA-28-236 into a Texas building that houses IRS offices. Being a tax auditor myself, this news definitely hit home for me and it took me up until now to really wrap my finger around the whole situation. Do I support his actions? Obviously not. Do I support his beliefs? Thats more hit and miss... but do I sympathize with his frustrations?

Wholeheartedly.

I have never been a religious man, but if I were to vest my beliefs and faith in one thing it would be PERFECT capitalism. Please pay attention to the fact that I bolded and upper-cased the word "perfect". The form of capitalism we have in America today is so twisted and perverted that its a whole 'nother animal. We teach our sons and daughters at an early age that they can "be whatever they want to be", but lets not kid ourselves: there are so many financial and economical barriers that many people can't cross. The obvious comes to mind: low income families can't send their kids to an institution of higher learning... without a higher education, these kids will only have enough human capital to be janitors and waitresses. Dig deeper. Homosexuals can't serve in our militaries, even though they are just as able to serve as you and I (hopefully this is repealed soon, but thats another blog post in its own). Dig even deeper, and we can make a connection with Joseph Stack: in our new age of Americana, its becoming more and more impossible for people to operate a small business due to stringent governmental policing and tax enforcement.

A very large portion of small business owners do not have a background in economics, accounting, or taxation. At the same time, a lot of these businesses do not use a CPA or bookkeeper to help them with tax compliance because they cannot afford it. When it is discovered that these businesses fall out of tax compliance, they are literally raped and pillaged with penalties and assessments that can cripple and shut them down. The sad thing is, even if these businesses discover that they were underreporting taxes, "come clean" to the government and are willing to pay the difference, most government entities will still assess and charge penalties. Penalties were designed to curb one's behavior in a socially optimal manner; how does it make sense to penalize someone who understands their errors, is making an attempt to correct them and get back into tax compliance, and will not make the same mistake again? For those of you who are reading this without any background in the complexities of operating a business, it only takes a quick scan of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to show that complying with tax laws isn't an easy task, even if you are an extremely small and simple business. If you are a small business owner, let me make it clear to you: the government does not care about you. At all.

I'm in no way suggesting that we turn a blind eye to small businesses because they do not understand the U.S. tax system. I am suggesting that we become more aware, understanding, and committed to helping small businesses fall in compliance with tax laws and regulations.

Small businesses are great. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses generate 60-80% of new net jobs annually and pay 44.3% of U.S. private-sector payroll. Small businesses help create jobs and keep the money we spend in our local economies. However, I predict that by the time I die and pass on, the small business model that we are accustomed to will be extinct. With the government's stringent tax policies, the advantage of economics of scale for large corporations, and the massive price wars that large corporations like Wal-Mart and Costco can command, you would have to be out of your fucking mind to want to start a small business now.

Politicians are supposedly "taking a stand" on unemployment and are developing policies that will hopefully, one day, spur economic growth. Here's my take: politics and big business should be separate, just like church and state. Cut off our politicians' allowance money from corporate america and lets make DC pure again. Political parties should not be able to accept contributions from businesses, in my humble opinion, as it really does influence their policies. Government should not be focused on penalizing Americans who are trying to operate small businesses, but rather should make the initiative to educate these people on how to properly run their business in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.

To call America a capitalist nation is far from the truth. We all believe that we have freedom...freedom to say what we want, practice what we believe, and make our own choices...but just because you can't see your cage does not mean that you are free.