Doggie Aftermath

So Liz's mom is in town and she is kind enough to have taken the time to repair all of the dog toys in the house that have been annihilated or mutilated.  Now we have half a dozen misfit stuffed animals with missing eyes and legs and noses hanging out on the kitchen table.  It's essentially the best way to start any vacation Friday.

Remember cheese and crackers!? Holy crap this just made my day.

Happiness is...quite Confusing.

So I bought a motorcycle the other day, a "Crotch-Rocket" if you will. I am extremely excited (apart from the 40mpg I am now getting) because I have wanted one for a long time and have always enjoyed riding dirt bikes and bumming a friend or family member's street bike for the occasional short ride. The smell of the outdoors, the wind, the ability to maneuver through an otherwise stagnant and uninteresting A-Z relocation. All of it. It's supremely invigorating.

However.

After sharing news of my new acquisition, along with my overstated joy, with people around me, I am finding that more and more folks, rather than simply embracing my happiness or at least feigning delight, are coming across as completely negative. Saying things like, "You're going to kill yourself", or, "You realize that that is not a smart purchase, right?". I even had one person tell me (hand to God), "As long as you sign your life insurance policy over to me I'll be happy for you".

Totally mind blowing.

I understand (at least I am hoping this is the case) that people are more than likely stating their concern for my well being and, in one fashion or another, conveying their desire to see me explore the world safely. But c'mon. 90% of the people I have told about this bike have presented their “support” in a manner all too grim without even asking about my experience on a motorcycle.  Based on the response of my test group, I have to imagine that everyone I’ve polled in this regard must know someone who has had an incredibly bad accident on a motorcycle similar to mine.  90% of the members of my encounters MUST have firsthand negative experience with a street bike; or else, what would cause this reaction? I promise you that not everyone I’ve told has known someone involved in a motorcycle accident.  Many of them aren't people even slightly connected to anything 2-wheeled, yet they somehow have the right to show their support through vocalizing my horrific hypothetical demise.  Thanks for that.

Let me ask you, has there ever been good news (for you) that has been received so negatively by such a wide range of people that it made you upset to share?

Tax This

So I was checking out my paycheck this morning and it began to sink in that 25% of my income goes to the government. I've known that since the day I received my first paycheck but that knowledge morphed into something a bit different for some reason today. After that 25% of my (and everyone else's, paycheck) gets taken by the government, it then gets (we assume) distributed to areas of Federal expenditure which have a delegated percentage requirement for all of our taxable income. Makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is that the Federal Deficit continues to grow due to a lack of financial responsibility with the money that is taken from the citizens; meaning the government is taking our money, blowing it on shit that we can’t afford, then getting into debt (which has accruing interest to be the burden of our children) with the other lenders it needs to seek into order to fund its expenditures. A household could not function under this balance sheet. Anyone can stand back and take a look at the simplistic nature of economics by peering into their own wallet and realizing that if they only make 500 dollars a week, and they need to spend 700 dollars a week, they are going to need to use a credit card or cut the fat from their expenses in order to stay afloat. Instead of cutting the fat, the government is in the habit of using credit in the forms of overseas lending, domestic sales of bonds to private holders, and even initiating additional taxes which tax its citizens again on money that was initially taxed upon earning. For example, if you make money (in addition to your initial investment) on the sale of a house, or the sale of a stock, you are expected to pay an additional 25% tax (assuming your tax income rate is 25%). That means that smart Americans who have invested the money they’ve earned (essentially benefitting the local/national/global economy) are then penalized on the return they receive for the risk they took to stimulate the economy. AND THEN, that money is mismanaged by a National government who removes that money from the local economy to spend on a black-hole National debt which cannot be feasibly paid off in this, or the next five generation’s, lifetimes. “Hey Daris, we know this already. What’s the point?”

The Point.

If the government has gotten us into such a goddamn disaster with our economic outlook using my (and your) money, and I will NOT benefit from the continued taxation I receive from my government, I don’t want to pay taxes anymore. I mean, if we’re going to go down in the financial flames of a teenager with an AMEX card, then I want to make sure I get that little shit to buy me something sweet before the Feds come to arrest him. However, should I withdraw from my civic “duty” of taxation, I would simply be adding to the burden of some other sap’s taxes to house me in Federal Prison. So, I propose that the government allow every tax payer the right to designate 25% of their adjusted tax percentage to an area of their choosing. I would continue to pay taxes knowing that 25% of my taxes (approx 6% of my income) the government is slipping out of my pocket was going somewhere that it will do the most good; not to some 30 million dollar military training exercise in San Diego (almost 25% of the National Budget is allocated to “Defense” by the way), or to pay for someone who didn’t plan for their own retirement. Side bar – I don’t believe in Social Security; if you didn’t have the foresight to save for your elderly self, tough shit, looks like you’re working until you die. If I knew that I could allocate 6% of my income to a local, worthy, entity (it could even be a state government program); I would have no problem paying my taxes with a smile. If the Federal Government wants to shoot itself in the foot, pushing responsibility down the river until the tides of change grip the U.S.A., go for it. But I promise you this: my local economy will not be on that sinking ship. Citizens are responsible on a per capita basis, but once our money is put into the hands of a number crunching, heartless, corporation-like entity, the humanity of the world is compromised and the cogs in the machine (taxpayers) are forgotten.

Just my two cents.
Which were taxed upon distribution.

Redondo Beach Brewing Company

Fish and Chips. Joe drinking beer and telling stories. Got to see the nieces. It was a good day. Now I have to get on a plane, kinda drunk, and try not hit on the 60+ year old woman who will no doubt sit right next to me and smell like Coconut and Ben-Gay. Be strong Daris.

The Red...

Just found a new beer. It's like if Lucille Ball had sex with an earthquake. They call it "The Red". Try it.

Made it

So, I made it through the crazy masses that encompass the LAX airport. Went to dinner at Waterman's for seared ahi and it was legendary...per usual. Got back to the spread and Morgan was nice enough to have purchased Daris' favorite beer, Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye. Good man. Now I'm watching him try and navigate through a sea of cables to make music come from the television. Hilarious. Oop, he just got it. There's something about this place that makes even the most menial endeavor seem fun. Example: I just petted a cat in the hallway of the house...good time. Granted, this cat has been terrified of me from day one so that might have something to do with my excitement over his accepting me. Aaannyyway. Now listening to Memory by Sugarcult thereby successfully completing the perfect day. TTYT.