Haiku #10

My hands drip with blood,
I slaughter the beast,
The tao guides me.

To Colorado

Sun in my eyes
Following the path of the pioneers
From Kansas to Colorado
Silversweet snow
Litters the ground
Drifts whisper
"Come, fall in me!"
We pass by
Snow lies untouched
Route seventy
Any old song on the CD player
My family,
Snuggly tucked in the four courners
Of the white sports car
Wind howls outside
Screaming "Stay, stay!"
But our momentum is unchecked
Onward we speed
Hope in something unseen
A future destination.

A Package of Goodies

Money is tight. I've just paid Texas State University's $433.50 required amount each month, and have no leftovers. I get paid next week and that money goes to my Ford loan and then I have a hundred left over. Which I might save for next month.
Money is tight, but the gods are good: my conversation with my mom on the way home revealed a package. Yes, my long-lost father has sent me some goodies. Money with Saddam Hussien's picture on it, surely antique material. A hat that says "Danger, Mines!" on it. And a few DVDs. Astroboy, Lady in the Water, Samari Jack, Pride and Prejudice and few others. This little reminder that I am loved comes at the right time.

Recruiters and Baby-Blue Mushrooms

The day gyres into the evening, as the golden orb of day ceaselessly bakes the turning earth. Shadows fall like curtains, covering the ground which instead of techni-color green, brown, and blue, turn shades of grey. The day comes to a close and I review the day's events.
She had nice, white, even teeth. Small silver earrings pierced each ear and a silver necklace graced her neck. A black cardigan went over her modest blouse. She was the recuiter. A little late, I was nervous in front of her, in my navy-blue capri slacks and silky blue shirt. She quickly put me at ease and went over my qualifications, emphasizing Subway, and mentioning that I'd be working two jobs. The most interesting part of the interview was the drug test. A swab you swished in your mouth for at least 3 minutes and then handed over in a small capsule to be rushed to the lab. A background check was also required. I didn't know so much went into putting cans in a sack. After background checks there's orientation and training. It seems they take their employees very seriously.
Which is how I do not take my knitting project of late. A fuzzy mix of fibers, baby-blue in color, I was attempting to make a baby hat. It looks more like a doily at this point and I'm considering unraveling the project. So the project of baby clothes will be put on standby as I make a another hat with double-edged needles, this time, creating an adult hat. A find in the book store, I'm the proud owner of
Hip to Knit which forays into creating hats, socks, and sweaters. My knitting madness is complete.

Kroger, Hates and More

So I have an interview with Rhonda from Kroger tomorrow. Super exciting. More money. I already have plans for the money...Debt, Education, and then I'll buy a bike. There's nothing quite like the feeling of riding a bike. It's like you're flying, balancing as a tightrope walker on two thin treads of wheel.
That and minor forays into knitting. I'm in the middle of knitting a light-blue, fuzzy baby hat with double-edged needles. The first time I've ventured into this type of knitting and overall it's not that difficult of a challenge. The one problem I have is that these needles are short, about 7 inches, and the stitches keep slipping off at the corners.
Other news, now I'm concerned about disease, hunger, agriculture, water resources, and education in other countries, all due to writing scholarship material. Well, there's a down-side to everything. Ha, ha.

Pollution and Population

Greenhouse emmissions were ruled by the supreme court today to be a pollutant and a factor in global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency is now required to re-examine it's uncertainty on such gases eminating from cars and trucks, and to answer why they wouldn't regulate such emmissions or investigate alternative fuel sources. Well, why not when the population of the United States has reached it's 300 million mark in October of 2006.
Which is what I'm writing another scholarship essay on. If the population of the US is sustainable in the long term. My stance is that the population is sustainable in the long term, but with population increases, that sustainability is decreased. There's disease, poverty, and pollution to think about, not forgetting the simplist of resources: food, water, and land. However, I believe that human ingenuity and intellegence can overcome these odds and shrinking life supply to create a stable environment with enough resources. I mean, in China, the government rules that only one child is acceptable, and perhaps that may become a reality in America someday. However, it's more likely that the immigration policy will become strict, and our "loose borders" will tighten. That's the future of Americans though we know it not.

Scholarships and the Starving Children

I've begun the polishing phase of writing on my essay on child labor and compassion. It started out as a crappy essay, and now it's looking a little better. Shortened, edited, and glossed up, it's now gone to the "peer review stage." I've sent it to a couple of friends and family and hope they will tell me honestly what they think. After that, I go over it and make a few more adjustments and it's off to the scholarship board.
I'm hoping that one, there aren't that many outstanding essay's, and two, that I get at least an honorable mention. Previous winners mostly had experience with starving or AIDS infested children, therefore giving them a little more experience than I have, but I think I shaped up a pretty kick-ass essay for someone who hasn't.
Not only that, but now I feel for the little buggers. They shouldn't have to work all day for pennies. They need a chance at education and schooling. Some of them want to be doctors and nurses. They should be able to get that chance without having to worry about when they'll get their next meal, or if they're going to get shoes. Education should be free. At least through the secondary level. This is just a dream to many in underdeveloped countries. Now I want to engage that Doctors Without Borders or Medicos Sans Frontieres. That's an opportunity I'd like to take once I get out of college. To go and respond to the world's needs, instead of just my own.