Ouch

I'm very sorry for the delay in my posting, but it has been a little busy here in the Blake world. First and formost please allow me to welcome the newest member of the Blake name, My beautiful wife Maddie. We got married on the sixth of September and we couldn't have asked for a better day. I can't thank everyone who helped enough especially her parents, Bob and Crystal. They were bastions of strength and support for the week leading up to the wedding and this would not have happened if not for them.

Now for the title of this post, I went to the doctor today and she suspects that I may have a bicep separation in my right arm. Her office is scheduling an MRI so we can be certain. As I am right handed this is an absolutely annoying injury to have. I never really appreciated just how much I ask my right arm to do until it hurt tremendously whenever I try to do it. But the doctor was kind enough to give me enough vicodin to kill small animals and make a 220 pound man loopy, so if any of this post is not making sense please forgive me.

Again I would like to thank everyone who either helped with or attended the wedding and wish everyone a blessed day.

Wedding on the way

Well in just a little over two weeks from now I will be giving away something that I shall never want to be returned to me. My last name. I'm getting married to a truly fantastic woman who is much more than I deserve but that I thank god regularly for sending me. Having done this before I can't help but notice the differences between my first marriage and this one. The first and biggest change is my happiness level. These last two years with my fiance have been some of the most challenging that I have ever facd, but I face them gladly knowing that at the end of the day I am found to be lovable by such wonderful person. The second difference is my involvement in the orcastration of the actual event, I was two states away when the last wedding was planned and my input was not requested, with this wedding my input is not so much requested as required, and I love it. I might give her a hard time about it but I do so jokingly and I truly appreciate that she values my opinions.

With this big step coming many people tend to get nervous, I am exactly the opposite, I'm excited. I want nothing more than to fully and officially welcome Maddie and all of her family into my own.

Wish us luck and I'll post a few pictures after the ceremony.

South Los Angeles to take a possible cut in Freedom of choice

I couldn't believe my ears today when I heard that the Los Angeles city council was voting to BAN fast food from a section of South LA for up to two years. They say that the area is very obese and that the ban would possibly draw healthier restaurants into the neighborhood. This concept absolutely astounds me, they want to take away the freedom of choice and try to force people to eat better. A representative of the California Restaurants Association said that if the other (healthier) restaurants wanted to be in this neighborhood they would be, but fast food is the only type of food service that wants to be in the area.
How can you possibly think that it is OK to deny people a choice in anything they do on a daily basis, let alone something as basic as where they get their food. It seems to me that not only should the constituents of South LA be in an uproar about this, but so should everybody else. This would set a precedent of actually stripping people of their freedom and interfering with fair trade, that could have detrimental impacts throughout the country. If we only need one simple reason, such as obesity, to begin stripping freedoms of choice then we could begin teetering on the chasm that is simply too close to communism for comfort.

Rambling ABOUT Youth

I understand that I have never been as compatible with my peers as I have been with my elders, so maybe my lack of time spent with the people in my age bracket does not allow me to see from their point of view. But I am getting seriously angry with a number of these people for not giving a damn about anything unless it serves their needs or wants. Not to mention the absolute lack of respect for anyone that is commonly displayed. I was raised to be a respectful person, many people I know were raised in the same manner, when did this policy fall to the wayside? I'm only 24 and when I can look at 18 and 19 year old kids and think to myself "Oh my God, we're screwed" than it has officially become a problem as far as I can see. I also cannot stand the current fashion statement that is gripping the suburbia's of America. This extremely over sized shirts and shorts that not only are about to fall off but are practically scraping the ground, add in the half sideways hats and you complete this debauchery that they have decided to wear. I call people that dress as such exactly what I think they are "wannathugs", and to their face because I think that they might need to hear that most of civilized society thinks they look like morons. I know that some will say that they are expressing themselves and not to be so critical, and to them I will tell a great story that actually sums up this post quite nicely. I was in McDonalds getting lunch between job sites and the young man taking my order had his pants hanging mid way down his backside and I could see his boxers, not exactly the standard I want to see from someone handling my food, so I politely asked him to pull up his pants because their positioning was unprofessional. The young man replied that he would not and proceeded to tell me that he didn't care what I thought was professional and he was going to wear his pants "how I f***ing want". I almost lost it. My uncle had to actually tell me to calm down as I started to reply to this young man. So I stopped and took a breath and then told him that I would like to see his manager. The manager comes over and I tell him exactly what happened, and he did the right thing and gave us our meals for free assuring me that the problem would be solved. This is exactly the kind of behavior that I see on a regular basis and it astounds me, how do you justify this to yourself? I couldn't personally, and am actually quite proud of that. My one consolation is that when these young people get out to the real world and attempt to get the good jobs that we all want, that they are going to have one of the most profound eye openings imaginable.

I think I am confused

I keep hearing talk of bail-outs, and what i keep hearing disturbs me. I believe that one of the great motivators in this country is the fear of failure, be it in business or in our personal life. The fear of failure pushes us to do things that we might not have known we could do. Nobody wants to go through the problems that come with a failure, but it a necessary training tool in life. The lessons we learn when we hit rock bottom are profound, and transform us into the people that we have the potential to be. Now I'm not saying that I have never asked for help, my future in-laws will attest to this fact (thanks again), but there has to be a limit. If you bought more house than you can truly afford and are now having trouble paying for it, I'm sorry, but you have no right to be bailed-out by the government for your mistake. I heard an Ohio politician whose name I did not catch recently on the radio say point blank that they had done all they could in situations where it was warranted, but that for the others "They will lose their homes". This is not a way off blowing peolpe off, it's a way of holding them accountable for their own mistakes.

President Bush Speaks on Gas Prices

I was listening to the local talk radio station at work today and I had the opportunity to hear part of the speech that President Bush gave today concerning gas prices and his lifting of the executive ban of offshore drilling. He said a few things in this speech that made me smile because they are very similar to my own thoughts and what I have been telling anyone who complains to me about gas prices. I should mention that these statements occurred in the question session after the speech. The first statement he made that caught my attention was in response to the question of how will offshore drilling affect us in the short term, and he replied that it will give confidence to people that there will not be a shortage of supply because we are actively working to ensure a growth in the supply of oil inevitably lowering costs, not immediately, but hopefully soon. The other statement that I really liked was the fact that it took us a long time to get into the troubles we are in and that it is going to take a while to get out of them. He said that he didn't have a magic wand to make the problems go away. I actually laughed a little at that one. And he is right, this economic problem has been drawing up on us for more than a little while and it will take even more time for us to return to an even keel.

Greetings

Hello all and thank you for reading my blog. I'll start with an introduction. My name is Blake and I live in Columbus, OH. I am 24 years old and am engaged to be married this coming September the 6th. I spent 5 years in the Navy as a corpsman (medic), and am currently self employed in the construction industry. Thanks again for reading the Blog, Have a great day.