Out of the Soviet Bears Cave

History books...arent they interesting?

I dont generally find history interesting unless you throw in science (such as in my college class Intellectual US History) or you hear it from someone else that was there.  Funny thing is, when you hear it from someone else, you will either do one of two things:

1. Think that person has the wrong facts
2. Think the history book is wrong

And Im not saying either is right or wrong but the thing about history is it is a story...his story.  Everyones story is different.

I remember someone some point in my life telling me that the Japanese history books had some things scratched out.  I dont blame them.  The US books probably have a bunch scratched out as well.  Many things are explained in short...many MANY things.  How many people know that Thomas Jefferson actually got to know his slaves?  How many people know that he also wrote about Africans being more efficient in their work due to things like them not having to use the restroom as much (scientifically speaking, Africans retain water due to their native environment not being so water friendly.  This is a hereditary trait much like how a person has pale eyes or a dog has short fur...all due to climate.)  How many people thought that this could further feed racism?  My history books talked about camps for the Japanese and others that looked Japanese, but it was only about a paragraph long.  I imagine a Japanese book really touches on it much like how we really go on about Pear Harbor.

But Im not here to bag on anyone.  I have another story.  Yay for story time!

I have a lot of friends that are either first generation American or that were born outside of the US.  I sort of befriended an older lady named Natalya and I love love LOVE her to death.  She is possibly one of the nicest people I know.  Anyway, Natalya came to the US from Russia probably around 5 years ago with two of her kids.  She has a son and a daughter that still live in Russia.  She grew up in the Soviet Union...oh yes she did.  Of course it isnt the same Soviet Union we hear about in US history books though.

She told me that when she was little, everyone went to school and everyone was forced to keep up and learn (which is why today Russias literacy rate is extremely high.  Even though the US requires children to go to school, were not as strict and our literacy rate is very low.)  Nobody was poor but nobody was rich either (generally speaking.)  Everyone had what they needed and nothing more.  According to her, now there are tons of homeless and starving.  "I love my new home," she would say "but western culture is ruining everywhere else."

Funny story, most of the people I know from outside of the US were poor...poor as in didnt have much money.  However their life stories are so interesting.  Take another friend of mine from Ukraine.  She showed me a picture of her old house with her dogs and her grandmother and aunt (both decided to stay.)  Yes it was small but their yard?  HUGE with lots a fresh fruits and veggies everywhere!  They didnt have much at all but they had one cow and a couple of chickens.  They had what they needed which would be poor according to western standards but well off according to other standards.  Another girl I know, Lyudmila, grew up in Uzbekistan and was also considered poor according to western standards.  What did they have?  A large garden with fruits and veggies, a cow, dogs, cats, chickens, and so on.  Again...well off in some standards!  Of course I know many more from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Thailand, and so on...most which had a way and seem corrupt by another.  Most of the people I know are young so they were often considered poor, even by their country even though they had the basic essentials...food, water, a house....

Tell me...whats so wrong with just having what you need?

Dont get me wrong, I know they had to work for what they did have and I know they had to get some money to cover what they didnt have.  Here in the western world, you are considered poor if you cant buy a new $100 TV without starving.  Why is that?

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Life by the Books

My sophomore year of high school, I realized that I liked school...but HATED it.  It is a joke.  It is a place to hang out with friends, get picked on, and, in most cases, deal with teachers that are terrible or just tired of dealing with you.  Yes there are some schools that are absolutely wonderful and some teachers are awesome but in general...public schooling is a gamble.

Sophomore year, I told my mom that I wanted to go through independent study and start on college on the side or a catholic school (mind you Im pagan) but I didnt want to go through with public school one bit.  When I found out my college courses would be free (and my mom did some really stupid things and made some really beyond stupid mistakes) I went nuts.  I didnt talk to my dad and completely flipped out at my mom.  Why not look at alternatives to get me ahead?  They dont cost more with he exception of private school!  Why do you hate me??

In the end, it did cost me more to finish public school.  We were forced to buy a cap and gown or we wouldnt walk (and we were not allowed to rent or buy used.)  Those didnt come cheap...around $70 for the entire get up.  All of those college classes I could have taken for free were now no less than $75 (not including books and supplies.) The class I need the most was free...now is $175 without supplies at a community college.  Financial aid?  If only the government went by my wages alone instead of my wages plus my parents.  I do not live with them and they do not support me in any way, shape, or form.  I dont qualify for any waivers or grants.

Of course they wanted me to do the whole go through high school, college, get married, have kids, buy a house, blah blah blah.  I have never been that kind of person.  I have always preferred slaving over something I love instead of simply working on something I hate.  Id rather get up at 2 in the morning and shovel horse poo and do farm chores for 12 hours in the middle of summer than work 4 hours in a deli like I do now.  So it shouldnt come as a surprise when I suddenly disappear off the face of this planet...not literally of course.


I have always had my mind set on a county home.  I was checking out some properties with lots of land (to frolic and garden in of course) but no house.  I know by moving, Im probably going to put myself in some sort of debt.  Oh well...at least I will be mentally happy and with only monetary worry which is something I dont have now.  Of course now I worry about where to lay my head because of psychotic landlords (I must be a psychotic landlord magnet.)  Have kids?  Of course but Id much rather home school.
Anyway.  I have always been the forest type person.  Well I found the perfect plot somewhere (yeah I forgot where it was) that keeps coming back to mind.  One side is wooded with a creek nearby but the other side has a field that blooms with wildflowers in the spring.  At certain spots, you can see the city lights at night.
The more I stress here, the more country I get.  Just last week, I told myself the only "farm" animals Id want were chickens (and dogs and cats but you see those just as much in the city.)  Now that I think about it...Im very much considering some cows and/or some goats.  I dont care for pork so no pigs.  It wouldnt break the bank to just buy butchered pork at the store when I want some.

So...there ya have it.  Im just not cut out for that whole planned life.  Id like to just chill and take life how it comes...smell the sweet air of not-the-city.  Wish folks would just let me be.

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