Howdy!

Thank God it's Friday! After 3 days of horrific orientation, I can relax a bit. Tomorrow i my stepsons 6th birthday. My in-laws are coming and we are doing a cookout. Hopefully the day won't be too rough. Thanks for all of the support with the last blog,it's good to know that there are so many cool people.

I did another case evaluation-it's going to be awesome. For the first time in my life I was happy to do homework. It is true, if you do what you love you never work a day in your life. I am in my research class right now-fortunately my teacher wants to be here unlike the last time, but I hate doing research and I have little time to do it. I'll just pick something easy and follow it to the letter for the "A". I truly love to read about the human mind, I am loving the process of evaluating cases and using the DSM. It sounds stupid, but I was getting excited while I was typing out the evaluation. It also helps that my teacher said my first case analysis was excellent.

I am almost ready to post my top and bottom 5 people of 2008 list. It's going to rock and be rather funny. I did however post pics of my families trip to the zoo! Check them out! To answer your next question, no, there are no pics of me or my family.

I am playing GTA IV and Dynasty Warriors 6 right now. Sorry, I am one of the many DW junkies out there. I know they are mindless, but they are so much fun! That and Gamestop buys them back at a decent price. I am a little ticked that they changed my favorite characters weapon. Xiahou Dun now uses a spiked staff instead of his uber cool scimitar. Taishi Ci now has a spear-LAME! I liked it when he beat on people with two metal rods.

I have decided to post a small list as an appetizer, hope you like it. Regulator presents...THE 5 WORST SONGS EVER MADE! At least in my opinion. In true Regulator form I have also included the form of torture I would rather inflict upon myself than listen to that song.

5. Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band: Who knew a song about getting busy in the middle of the day could be so horrible! I think the UN declared it to be a form of torture. I'd rather gargle with battery acid than listen to it.

4. I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness: The lead singer must have been castrated in order to hit notes that high. He warbles the song and it is literally painful to listen to. I'd rather scoop out my eyes with a mellon baller than listen to it.

3. We Built This City by Starship: It may not be the worst song ever, but it is definately the LAMEST! The lyrics are awful, the video was atrocious, and there is even a "weather report for San Francisco" at one point in the song. It is so stupid and so horrifically bad. The lyrics are also mostly unintelligible. I'd rather have a bowl of cereal composed of rusty nails and razorblades with raw sewage than listen to this.

2. Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston: This fat cretin ripped off a classic song (stand by me by Ben E. King) to produce an utter mound of crap. He talks about girls making him suicidal, I don't want to irk the mods, so you can guess what my comment would normally be. He can't sing, the music is horrible, and the subject matter is stupid. The song is terrible from start to finish, it's annoying, and I don't ever want to hear it again. I'd rather cut my own head off with a rusty hand saw than listen to this.

1. Stay by Shakespeare's Sister: You probably have never heard of this song, and that is good. One night my buddy and I saw it on two separate channels right in a row, as a matter of fact, we turned off the one channel to avoid it but it was on another. We almost committed suicide that night, but somehow we pulled it together and endure the emotional scars till this day (mind you this happened in the early 1990's). The person who sang it used to be in Bananrama, and the song is her whining and caterwauling. The lyrics are horrid, the song is repetative, and it switches track midway through to a different melody and then switches back. I know some of you may be tempted to look it up, I urge you not to, take my word for it. Prolonged exposure to this song will bring about suicidal urges, nausea, diarrhea, migraines, hair loss, bleeding out of the pores, depression, itchiness, skin rashes, and your teeth might fall out. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! and yes, she really did call herself Shakespeare's Sister, and yes, a record label put out one of her albums. I would rather bathe in hydrochloric acid and use a steel wool sponge and follow it off by brushing my teeth with a wire brush.

Yikes that was bad! Well, I'll make it not as bad, here are the BEST 5 songs ever...at least in my opinion.

5. Layla by Eric Clapton/Derek and the Dominos: Wow, such a powerful and despearate love song. Eric Clapton wrote it about George Harrison's wife, Patty Boyd whom he was hopelessly in love with. I was in love with a girl named Dana (the names rhyme) and there were a lot of paralells between the song and our situation-she wasn't dating one of my friends, but she was having trouble with a current boyfriend, we were friends, etc. The lyrics are powerful, the music is amazing, Clapton's guitar work is astounding, and the piano exit is lovely. An awesome song I never get tired of hearing. "Like a fool, I fell in love with you, and you turned my whole world upside down."

4. One by Metallica: Another powerful song, the riffs are intense, the drums are fierce and the song is haunting. The vocals and the music reflect each piece of this song. This song is a perfect example of how it can change melodies and tempo and pull it off astoundingly. James' vocals, Kirk's guitar, and Lars' drums fit each piece of the song perfectly. This is probably one of the greatest hard rock songs ever. "Now the world is gone, I'm just one."

3. Paranoid by Black Sabbath: A description of madness, a frenzied and furious song that was way ahead of it's time. When Paranoid was released it was completely different than anything anyone has heard. Ozzy's vocals are utterly powerful vocals are thought provoking and fierce. The guitar riff is one of the most famous and it helped to launch the era of heavy metal. In the peace and love era of the 60's and 70's this song was vast and overdue departure from the norm. This was the song that got me hooked on Sabbath and they are my favorite group. "You tell me to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late."

2. Freebird by Lynyrd Skynryd: This song is an anthem, which can be said of few songs. It represents freedom, life, and moving on-it is very empowering. It sort of became a requiem for the lead singer and those of the group who perished in a plane crash. It is epic from start to finish, from the slow verses to the insane guitar solos at the end. When I die, I want this song played from start to finish before they put my ashes in the ground. This song is powerful and meaningful: "And this bird you cannot change!"

1. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin: The most amazing song ever made. Every single thing about this song is perfect from start to finish.It like Freebird, is EPIC. Robert Plants vocals are beyond comprehension, the bass is subtle-but upholds the song, the drums are perfect, and the guitar...wow, the performance of a lifetime. From the acoustic guitars in the beginnig to Jimmy Page's sonic assault that bends your mind at the end, it is nothing like you will ever hear. You can almost view the song in your head, you can see the music, it is one of those songs that you utterly feel andmake a part of you. It's mellow, it's intense, and it's just beyond words. The lyrical content is fascinating, it's powerful, and it's just beautiful. Stop reading and go listen to this right now!

That's it, not bad for a guy who is sitting in research class right now. I hope you all liked this blog, I worked hard on it. Please feel free to leave comments. Have a great weekend!

~R

Howdy!

After 3 grueling days, my VA orientation is over. That is one reason I haven't been around as much. It was filled with pointless information that most anyone could figure out. When each day was over, I was so darned tired, I just wanted to chill out. That and I do my homework at night, so that also interferes. I did take a homework break last night, and I will do the same tonight. Here's why...

The orientations are insanely long and boring-there is very little you need to pay attention to. That and most of this stuff was for the nurses and not us social work people. I took one of my textbooks in each day and I read about 90+ pages yesterday and around 80 or so today. This combined with my excessive devotion to course reading last week means I am WAY ahead of the curve!

I also sent in a course assignment to my instructor just to have her check it if I did it correctly. I wasn't in class that day due to the orientation, so I missed how she wanted it done. It was a case evaluation in which I had to analyze the client's problems, give a diagnosis, how the diagnosis is confirmed by the DSM-IV, and give a treatment method with goals. She said it was great, very thorough, and I was actually an assignment ahead...Not bad for a guy who missed class that day!

So I start the VA Monday...where there I don't know.

I did finish up my lists for top and bottom five people. I will post those soon. Well I have more online training to do, so I will post something bigger and better tomorrow!

~R

Howdy!

Always pleased to see lots of comments-I don't know if this posting will do that, but the next one just might...

School started on Tuesday-3 classes and one internship. It looks like my course reading will be light, but the workload will be heavy. The good news is that my research teacher wants to teach this class unlike the harridan I had last year. I just want this to be quick and painless. I found out that 9 people were accepted to the VA this year and that I may or may not be in the running for a job there. I try not to believe what I like to call "Classroom Lawyers" who claim to speak for everyone-but seldom know what is going on. I'll take my cues from the VA and not people I barely know. I have 3 days of orientation there, so I will do what I can to stop myself from committing suicide with a pen.

With all that being said, I am going to be rather busy for a while, I will do what I can to keep up with my posts-but don't be surprised if I am away for a while-School is #1, and I have A LOT riding on this.

My wife, mother, stepson, and I all went to the animal park today. They have a white Tiger there-she is beautiful, lots of cool pics. Once I can get them on the PC, I will see if I can upload them.

For my next blog, I had a cool idea. I love lists-especially "bottom 5 lists" and I wanted something that would stoke alot of conversation. So I thought:

The top 5 and bottom 5 people of the year! What do you all think> Will I get modded?

~R