Breaking it Down

'Hope' is for

SUCKERS!

I'm paying

attention!

(Have you met

any humans lately!?!)

**

Trio

There are three kinds

of people in the world.

Those that know the world

is chock-full of dicks....

those too naive to believe

the first group of people...

and, of course...

a bunch of dicks.

***

Get on Your Knees

Well, I can only think of one positive

outcome from someone going down

on their knees...

and silent meditation and favor-asking

of the Big J.C. ain't it, folks.

Prayer; when you're crazy enough to

believe that wishing and hoping and

dreaming and begging will make a damned

bit of existence in reality.

That an omniscient and omnipresent

and omniconscious deity is paying

attention and gives a shit

about what you think or want.

Or, you're pompous enough to imagine

a personal relationship with your

Pocket Protector which allows

you to personally interpret the

supernatural director's

plan and desire for your daily life.

Prayer; when sitting on your ass

and thinking about stuff seems more

useful than actually doing something.

But hey--how awesome that you're

self-important enough to think you

deserve to get what you want...at

the expense of someone else's happiness!

Right on, losers!

****************************************

Making A Difference: Jeff Harris

Jeff Harris - Taking a Different Path to Reach His Goals



On Thursday, May 22, Landscape Architecture major Jeff Harris will don cap and gown to graduate with a group of friends and colleagues with whom he has spent innumerable hours envisioning elaborate, comprehensive, sustainable futures for towns and cities across the country and well beyond.


A little less than a year ago, the landscape of Harris’ own future — and the possibility that he would see the end of this part of his journey at his friends’ side — changed dramatically. While celebrating the 4th of July holiday with friends in North Carolina, a beach accident rendered the 24-year-old a quadriplegic.


For some, that might have been the end of a promising career as a graphic designer and landscape architect. For Harris, his resolve unwavering, he set about determining new paths to achieve his goals.


“In the beginning, I was worried that I would lose everything — who I was, what I was about. In some respects I have, but it’s not going to change my life,” he said. “I’m not going to change my aspirations for success because of this — you just change how you approach it. You find new ways to accomplish tasks — I know that if I have the desire and the will and I keep working at it, I will eventually accomplish everything I want to do.”


Already hard at work at Orsatti Associates in King of Prussia, Harris plans to continue on at the landscape architecture firm upon graduation, “and see where my strengths lie.”


“Will it be graphic design work or computer work; we’ll see. Initially after the accident, I was afraid of how it would impact my ability to work — so much of my work was hand drawn that it made me a little nervous about how I would be perceived,” he said. “For those that didn’t know me, how would they perceive what I could and couldn’t do? I think my strengths are in public speaking and presentation. I’m exploring the possibility of pursuing a master’s degree in graphic design to further my skills and show myself and potential employers that ‘this is what I can do.’”


Harris is under no illusion that the road ahead will be simple in the coming years, but with a strong support system of family, friends, professors, mentors, and fellow students, he knows he’ll never be facing it alone.


“The accident fully severed my spinal cord — my mobility, my strength, just re-learning simple tasks has been a long process, but I’m greatly improved and will always get better. The students on campus, as well as my mentor, A.J., who was injured about 14-years-old, have been terrific,” he said. “Life will never be easy, but I see where I can get to, it just takes a lot of time. The first thing for me is getting back to being a little more independent and getting back to work — I’ll be taking a driving course in the near future.”


Harris said one of his primary goals through his rehabilitation was returning to the classroom to finish his degree program.


“It’s a beautiful campus and one of the best programs in the state. It allowed me to combine everything that I wanted to do as a career,” he said. “I really wanted to get back to Ambler and graduate with my class. They’ve helped so much this semester, even if it was just things like filling up a water bottle or helping me in my chair.”


Whereas in other environments, where it might feel uncomfortable to ask for assistance, “I’ve worked with these students for countless hours, seven days a week for three years — I didn’t even have to ask.”


“I would say I’m able to do about 70 percent of the course work that I used to be able to do — and being able to work up to that percentage is far, far beyond where I was a just few months ago,” he said. “I used to live down the street; I’d be on campus from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. That’s something that is physically impossible for me to do now — I can’t call my family to come pick me up at 3 a.m. That’s been tough because of the standard of work that I place upon myself.”


During his time at Ambler, Harris’ accomplishments have been remarkable. In 2007, he was one of the student leaders on the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture’s Best of Show-winning Philadelphia Flower Show Exhibit “The Poetic Landscape of Ireland.” That same year, Harris received the Wilmer Atkinson Memorial Scholarship, a 2007 Flower Show Commendation, and the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Faculty Special Contribution Award, which recognizes, when merited, “a student’s outstanding contribution to the improvement of the department.”


His “standard of work” has by no means diminished. In 2008, in addition to being named a Temple University President’s Scholar, he received the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Faculty Award and the American Society of Landscape Architects Student Achievement Award of Honor. He’s also continuing to hone his craft, learning the ins and outs of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator “to develop a style that works for me to convey my thoughts and ideas.”


“The class, the faculty, the administration on campus have been incredibly helpful and accommodating. I would not be able to do this without them,” Harris said. “The faculty have been great. I think they know how dedicated I am to the campus and the program and that I am working as hard as I can; in turn they’ve gone out of their way to work with me to ensure that I graduate on time. I can’t think of too many places that are like that — you are never just a face in the crowd here.”


Harris has no intention of ever being a face in the crowd as he seeks to help raise awareness about spinal cord injury.


In February, the Philadelphia Curling Club, of which he and he father, Steve Harris, are members, held a 28-hour “curlathon,” which raised more than $35,000 on Harris’ behalf for the National Transplant and Spinal Cord Injury Assistance Fund.

“In addition to making this an annual event, we’d like to make the clubhouse and the ice accessible to wheelchairs,” he said. “There is wheelchair curling. In fact, curling is one of the few sports that someone in my position can do. I’m hoping that the curlathon will one day incorporate wheelchair curling.”


For others facing a similar journey, Harris’ advice is simple, yet crucial.

“The hardest part is what you face mentally, the internal struggle. Keep yourself busy, keep yourself focused,” he said. “I’ve met people that just kind of gave up. They spent years waiting for something to happen when, truly, you have to go out and make it happen. If you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything!”

(Article and picture used from the Temple University website)
(I imagine that with his zeal, confidence, and work ethic, accompanied by those tremendous good looks and penetrating eyes, he will do just fine. Certainly he does seem well suited for being a
public speaker; I was inspired by his energy just by reading his story! - Robert)
 

Doing Their Part

Jamie Tworkowski of the

"To Write Love On Her Arms"

organization,

which advocates aide and

education for people with

mental illness, suicidal thoughts,

and addiction.

Check out their site (and Jamie's blog) at

To Write Love on Her Arms

***

The Incompetency Contagion

 So it evidently wasn't bad enough that I made the
mistake of a lifetime by starting up with "University
of Phoenix, online" to try and make getting some
school credits more convenient.

The University of Phoenix was bad enough;
* they provided incompetent 'teachers'
* had robo-correcting and flawed paper-checking
* non responsive counselors
* scammed me for two credits on a semester not taken
* lied to the federal government about me
* blocked my transcript from being released
* then stole money from my account
* and now have an inflated debit against me

So, let's see-- failure to deliver on goods promised, lies,
theft, falsification of documents, and more. What a stellar
institution this is!

Now, on top of that, they have turned over my account,
refusing to take any responsibility for their wrong-doing,
and are trying to collect the monies they fabricate that I owe
them through a "student services" group named the i-3 group.

These lovely folks have been calling and leaving harassing
phone calls at my mother's home, where I do not live, and
talking shit to her.

When I got their number and called them, they were hostile
and aggressive with me, talking shit and telling me to "Take
care of my bills!" Not only is that extremely unprofessional,
it's also against the law. I told them I had no intention of
paying their trumped up charges, and why, and that I was going
to file a lawsuit. They were expressly told to stop calling that
number, and that I wished nothing to do with them.

Nonetheless, the harassing phone calls continue unabated.
The rudeness and pushiness persists.

Whatever you do, don't ever use the University of Phoenix.
I wish I could say you get what you pay for, but the poor
quality of what I received was nowhere near worth the
astronomically exorbitant fees they charge.

Slow, inconvenient, costly, and chock full of shit.
Just what one needs during efforts to learn and prosper.

********************************************

Fuck a Narcissist

"Pussy Got Sway"


I'll tell you what.
I concede;
It's all 'Kill or be killed,'
and you're just the cat that be skilled.

Nothing wrong with kissing babies
with the same mouth that talks shit.
No problem with pretending godliness
so you can abuse via feigned divinity.

I'm jealous of your dickery.
I seethe that you can melt the Eskimos
igloos and then sell them new ice.
Your dispassionate and snarky
command of managerial manipulation
are true mastery.

You are The Head Asshole In Charge.

And you can have it, sweetheart.

I know, now, that that is what it takes
to make it, at least in the same way,
and I'll happily die alone knowing
that I don't have to suffer fools and
falsehoods gladly.

You can have your monies and empire
and sway over the masses, fake teeth clenched
in a charming mind-lock of all you possess.
None knowing you.
Your ill-gotten gains.
Your meaningless word.
Your fictional heart.

I don't need to compete;
you're your own worst enemy.
And I don't want what I have not got,
since you showed me the spoils
of your inner war.

Thank you for your sacrifice.
Sucker.

***