Back

Yesterday, my parents and I drove back to New Orleans. My folks are staying in the city to visit with me for a week. I am very glad they're here, but it is stressing to have my them around. Although I know they are trying their hardest to trust my judgment about the place I live, they are failing. It's just bothersome at times. I guess the balance of obeying/respecting your parents and voicing your own opinions is part of growing older too. Who knows?

This Is My Car Stereo and I Saying Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Time in New Orleans, Mom's Cooking Chicken and Collard Greens

That song lyric is adapted from the Run DMC Christmas song, and changed (Hollis, Queens to New Orleans) by me. Currently, I am in sunny Melbourne, Florida and I am bored. It's nice to have nothing to do. I'm trying to enjoy it, but it feels weird to have nothing to do or worry about. Also, I'm not very excited about Christmas this year. Well I guess I sort of am anxiously awaiting the day; it's more of a forcing myself to be excited situation. This has been happening for a few years now. It just gets harder and harder to have the same feelings as I did when I was a kid or even a teenager. Is anyone else experiencing this at their mid-twenties?

So, yeah...

Remember this? I'm doing it all again today, except for stopping in Orlando.

Tower Records Is Closing Nationwide

Today, my friend Sarah and I embarked on the greatest sale known to man!

As you may or may not be aware, Tower Records is closing nationwide. The local New Orleans store on N. Peters in the French Quarter has been closing for months. I went in there earlier this week, and everything was 50%-70% off. I bought eight CD's for $20. That's a good deal. Today was officially closing day for the store. Everything was $1, and some CD's were .50 cents. It was also buy five, get one free. I tell you, this was one of the best experiences of my life. And all the CD's were new, to boot. I bought 32 CD's for $24 dollars. I got some stuff I wanted, but I mostly bought things to sell on the internet. I will list out the albums and then tell you what the total price would have been if I paid full sticker price:

1. Run Kid Run - "This Is Who We Are" (I bought 2 copies)
2. August Burns Red - "Thrill Seeker"
3. Bleeding Through - "The Truth"
4. Plan B - "Who Needs Actions When You Got Words"
5. Jesus Wept - "Sick City EP"
6. The Panic Division - "Versus"
7. Alove For Enemies - "Broken Pledge EP"
8. Da Theory - "Sex Sells" (Originally $22)
9. The Duke Spirit - "Cuts Across The Land (Special Edition)" [Originally $31]
10. A Life Once Lost - "Hunter" (CD/DVD)
11. The Burning Paris - "Half-Truths & indiscretions (the anthology)"
12. Hawthorne Heights - "If Only You Were Lonely" (CD/DVD)
13. Squad Five-O - "Late New Breaking"
14. Memento - "Booka Shade" [Import - Originally $23]
15. The Shortwave Set - "The Debt Collection" [Originally $25]
16. Chelonis R. Jones - "Dislocated Genius" [Originally $23]
17. It Dies Today - "The Caitiff Choir" (CD/DVD)
18. Alove For Enemies - "Resistance"
19. The Dead Texan - "Stars of The Lid" (CD/DVD)
20. Stavesacre - "How To Live With A Curse"
21. Patent Pending - "Save Each Other, The Whales Are Doing Fine" (CD/DVD)
22. Soulwax - "Any Minute Now" [Import - Originally $22]
23. Burns Out Bright - "Save Yourself A Lifetime"
24. Kutless - "Hearts of the Innocent"
25. Absentee - "Schmotime" [Import - Originally $26]
26. Brassy - "Gettin' Wise" [Import - Originally $22]
27. Hawk Nelson - "Smile, It's The End of The World"
28. Inked In Blood - "Lay Waste The Poets"
29. Decemberadio - "Self-Titled"
30. Anam Cara - "Ready To Live"
31. The Ordinary Boys - "Brassbound" (CD/DVD) [Import - Originally $22]
32. Eleventyseven - "And The Land of Fake Believe"
33. Amber Pacific - "The Possibility and the Promise"
34. Jonah Matranga - "There's A Lot In Here" (CD/DVD)
35. Sinai Beach - "When Breath Escapes"
36. Showbread - "Age of Reptiles"
37. Vinyl - "All The Way (Live)" (2 Disc)
38. Evergreen Terrace - "Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise In This Business"
39. John Ralston - "Needle Bed"

Grand Total Sticker Price = $673.00
Actual Total Sale Price = $48.50

Avoiding Studying For Finals Pays

...and Intern Town is paying me.

If you recall, a month ago or so, I posted about a company named Review Me. Review Me pays you to review websites. (Sadly, as I scroll down, I notice the post is still on the main page. This proves how busy I've been.) Well, lucky you, I get to post about something cool again, and I get paid money for it, again!

My assignment this time around is to review a website called Intern Town [link]. As I was checking it out, I realized just how handy and revolutionary this site is. Intern Town is a part of Translation Central, which is a "document and website translation company with its own foreign language research department." They are based in the United Kingdom and in partnership with many universities and companies from nearly every major city all over the world.

From Intern Town's Website - Mission Statement:

1. To provide a free-of-charge, user friendly space for future interns from all over the world to find challenging positions for up to 12 months at exciting companies worldwide.

2. To provide the definitive site for companies of all sizes, for a minimal fee and with minimal administration, to directly access the CVs of tens of thousands of future interns and make contact with them in a hassle free way.

3. To foster international business and cultural understanding by exposing interns, employees and employers to new cultures, working practices and languages, and help a large number of the world's most talented youngsters find their first steps in what we hope will be highly successful careers for all.

Intern Town helps people who want business experience get that experience by interning all over the world. But that's not it. Intern Town also helps businesses who are looking for hardworking people to an internship at their companies. Registering as an intern is a free service. There is just a short, relatively easy questionnaire that you have to fill out. If you are chosen by a company to do an internship, that company may charge you a fee. Of course, if you have a business and are looking to recruit interns, there is a nominal charge.

The website is well equipped to handle any questions you might possibly have about the service. They also have a contact page if you are interested in learning more about such an exciting venture. There email address is info@interntown.com

New Orleans News

Rep. William Jefferson (Democrat) kept his seat in Congress, winning the runoff against Karen Carter (Democrat) on Saturday. Although I'm still a registered voter in Florida, I got involved in this particular race because of the vast implications this district's seat has on where I live. Out of all of the candidates in November's election, there was only one republican, whom incidentally was white. In this writer's opinion, he had no chance. I have no problem with the leaders of this city being black, white, purple, red, or green. Furthermore, political parties are not my concern, as I am a registered independent. Although I do lean conservatively, I really just want better things for this city. Thus the problem with our local leaders. Karen Carter is a left-wing supporter who wants her vision of a 'New' New Orleans. The only problem with that is she is a rich woman who does not live where the citizens do. And Jefferson is no better. The FBI found nearly $100,000 in his freezer, which is thought to be bribe money. Although he hasn't been charged with a crime, local authorities speculate that an indictment will come soon. As USA Today Reported (click the quote to read the entire article):

The scandal turned the race into a debate largely divided along racial lines, an age-old dynamic in this city that has intensified since Hurricane Katrina displaced large numbers of blacks and upended their demographic and political dominance. Whites, who overwhelmingly voted for Carter in the primary and have been her most enthusiastic financial backers, believed a Jefferson win would confirm this city's image as corrupt and untrustworthy as it asks the nation to fund its recovery from Katrina.

This Is To Whom's 1,100 Post

Yeah, so, that's about all I have to say. Papers, finals, and all that. More to come other than just the typical self-defacing posts.

I...

...resolve to never believe in Jeff Watkins, again.