The countdown continues...

I have a test every day this week. Hurray!

Still waiting to see what my final decision will be. My time limit isn't up yet.

My attempts to get through have failed. Rather, they are being ignored. I've been erased from existance in another world and am now worth nothing there. Probably less than nothing. This is devastating to me, but I have no choice but to give up. I will not try to call again. How a person can toss someone they claim to care about aside like that is beyond me, but I guess it's much easier when you keep everyone so far away that you don't truly care for anyone.


Sadly, the way things have ended up have also made me not want to be here anymore. I no longer like Athens, and don't feel that I have anything lasting for me here. From now on everything will bring back memories I'd rather not have. Nothing here is untouched, because everything here is so intertwined. For me Athens has been nothing but a series of endings. Not good ones either. There are only a few constants, and even they are unpredictable at best. Flaky, selfish, and/or nowhere to be found at worst. Frankly, I'm sick of it.

Today begins the Great House Clean-Out of 2008. I'm hoping to get rid of lots of stuff. I want the eBay gods to smile on me.

I filed my state tax return last Saturday. I got my refund on Thursday. That's one hell of a turnaround. Next up is my stimulus check. Hey, I'll take another $300 no problem.

The Georgia Aquarium was pretty neat, but it was all things I've seen before. The best part was at the sea lion enclosure, when the trainers came out. Those sea lions are trained better than most people's dogs. Six Flags was a bit of a disappointment. I don't go all that often, but when I do I always feel like I'm not getting something. The coasters are fun, but never seem as thrilling as the coasters I've ridden in Ohio. First off, we didn't get there until 8pm because traffic in Athens and then Conyers was retarded. Then we couldn't meet up with a friend who was supposed to be with us because they got there 2 hours before us, but then failed to bring a cellphone into the park with them. Then we waited in line for 2 hours to ride Goliath, which isn't really all that big. It kept having problems, so by the time we got on they were running only one car. The first drop is fun, but after that it's smooth sailing. Nothing spectacular. They claim that it's 3.5 minutes long, but it only runs about 2.5 minutes. We asked an employee about that, and we found out that all the rides at Six Flags Over Georgia are scaled-down from their original counterparts due to the park's proximity to the airport. Nothing can be over 200 ft tall, so the rides are just smaller overall. Boo.

The ticking clock is all that's left.

Not much to say anymore. I've made a decision, which I will not disclose as of yet, which will possibly change everything. Or nothing at all.

Friday will be a busy day. School trip to the aquarium in the morning/early afternoon. We not only got a very discounted rate, but we get to go 'behind-the-scenes'. And our 'behind-the-scenes' is going to be much more in depth than the one that is offered to the public, as in we get to go into Necropsy (if there's something going on there) and other off-limits areas. After riding in the van back to Athens, a group of us are hopping in cars and driving BACK to Atlanta. We're going to Six Flags. I haven't been in years, so I'm all over it.

I have been receiving these mailings from Paul C. Broun, M.D., the member of congress representing the 10th District. I get about 3 a week, and I really want them to stop. I didn't vote for the guy, and he's obviously a raging Republican. Here are some quotes from the letter I got today:
-"Our nation's enemies hate us, our freedom, our values, our religious heritage, and our very existence."
-"God forbid, but if a suitcase nuclear bomb were detonated in a major American city, what difference would an array of government social programs make?"
-On whether or not we should be in Iraq: "Frankly, the best exit strategy is  victory. The arm-chair quarterbacks should stop blaming America first and start putting America first!"
-" "Illegal immigration" poses a serious threat to national security."
The one I got yesterday was even funnier. It's about tax reform.
-The first sentence: "The IRS is akin to a shark tearing large chunks out of our wallets, and I am a committed shark hunter."
-"The present system punishes success."
-"It is very important to restore the idea that ours is a society that rewards personal initiative, hard work, and success."
-"At minimum, we must: Lower tax rates. Make the tax cuts enacted under the leadership of President Bush permanent. End the death tax. Lower capital gains taxes."

This guy's for the Fair Tax. I'm not a fan of taxes either, but every letter I get from Paul C. Broun, M.D. talks about what a waste all social programs are. Here's the end of the letter:
-"I am a fierce advocate in Washington for cutting taxes and for cutting federal spending. Tax and spend public policy is poor public policy. Spend, spend, spend- as Congress has been doing for decades is disastrous public policy. Every year for decades Congress has been on a spending spree! And it has to stop. One of the worst examples of the government wasting your money is pork-barrel earmarked spending that faces no objective scrutiny and no competition. Billions of dollars are literally thrown away on stupid projects like the "bridge to nowhere," tea cup museums, studying the growth of grape vines, etc. The plunder of the treasury is facilitated with "earmarks" or "pork-barrel spending". I have not engaged in this pork-barrel spending. I want to get rid of this wasteful nonsense in Congress."

The best part? In small print at the bottom of each letter is this phrase: "This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense."