Had that last journal up forever.

Still alive and kicking, just not around here very much. I've got work, i've got music, i've got friends.

Look for me hard enough; you'll find me.

So I think I'll stay
Caught up in a silent prayer
Cause I believe in silence
Our hearts speak the same word

At roughly 10PM last night, I found out my 91-year-old grandma has lukemia. This is a sudden thing for my family as we didn't really see it coming. She had a stroke in late 2007, and had recovered quite well from it when I visited her for Christmas last year. Never did I see such a glow from a human being as I did when she saw me that night.

As of right now, the doctor has told my mother that he doesn't want to do chemotherapy due to the risk of killing her with it. My mother has agreed to this and she will instead have her pain managed until her Lord decides it is her time to walk by his side.

Despite the sadness associated with this news, I will share this story that my mom told me while speaking about my grandma last night. While my grandma was still in shock from the news, she said that she hoped she would close her eyes that night and not wake up. However, when my aunt Sharon informed her that she would be a great-grandma in two weeks, she looked the doctor dead in the eyes and said, "I'm going to be a great-grandma." My cousin Dan and his wife are having a child in the next two weeks, and that was enough to keep my grandma's spirits up.

That sort of strength has been shared with me for the entirety of my life. No matter the obstacle, my grandma never gives up, even when it seems that she wants to. She has had two husbands, both of whom are deceased, and has had health problems for the past twenty or thirty years. But no matter what, she just doesn't give up if she feels she has something to live for. I will always admire her strength.

It's not often that I would ask for such a thing, but if you folks wouldn't mind saying a prayer for her to hang on long enough to hold her first great-grandchild, I would be grateful.

Until next time.

P.S. Ignore the mood for this one. It won't let me change it.

Update: My grandma passed on Sunday into her Lord's hands. I'm sure that as i'm typing this she's probably making quilts for the angels. It was always her thing.

On a side note, my cousin Dan and his wife Nicole had the great-grandson that I spoke of previously. Owen Keppy.

One life out, one life in. Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Good morning. The time is currently 7:47AM. I've been awake since 3:50AM because I had a 5AM meeting at my (recently acquired, for those not in the know) second job, Home Depot.

This particular meeting was for the cashiers, of which I am one. In this meeting, we discussed some current issues which I will later review with the head cashier on duty when I go back in at 2PM. That's just how I am; i'm a professional.

Which brings me to the main point of this journal: the unprofessional attitude of our modern youth.

During this meeting, there were more interruptions than necessary, 80% of which were caused by people my age and younger. Now, in my world, interruptions during a meeting may occur, but they are very limited and addressed without interruption. Again, this is how a professional environment works. Although Home Depot is not exactly the level of professionalism i'm used to when I work at Chase, some level of professionalism is still expected both from my management and my fellow associates. But then again, that's how I am; i'm a professional.

Two of my fellow cashiers, both of whom will go unnamed, were particularly upset with the strictness which is applied to the cashiers. After all, we aren't short staffed, but we need to make sure there are always enough cashiers on the registers to get our customers out the door quickly. The other departments can be more leisurely about their staffing, but we can't. This little piece of common sense, however, did not seem to get through to the cashiers previously mentioned. They felt that they should be allowed several cigarette breaks, and that they should be permitted to sit while working in our garden center. And even after our cashier supervisor explained to them why multiple breaks are not permitted, they continued to argue their feelings toward the guidelines. I sat quietly and shook my head very slightly while this was occurring. I couldn't understand why my fellow cashiers couldn't address these concerns outside the meeting as a professional would.

I think the idea of professionalism has been lost on the current youth. There is no need to discuss things like adults; everything is continuation of the high school attitude. Why talk when you can yell, right? Why pull someone to the side to talk to them when you can do it in front of everyone, right? I, personally, have never lived by these idiotic rules. Maybe it's just the way I grew up, but these actions make no sense to me. As far as I see it, these actions will get you nowhere in the professional world, corporate or otherwise, and will only lead to trouble in remaining employed.

So what does this mean for our youth? Will they ever mature to the point of handling things professionally? Everyone I work with is, at the very least, 18 years of age. At 18, I was assisting a contractor with his customer relations because I could speak clearly and professionally to people decades older than myself. Why can't other people do the same?

Perhaps i'm expecting too much from the MTV generation. Too much from a generation growing up with silver spoons in their mouths, yelling at their parents to get what they want and never working a day in their life until their parents kicked them out to go to college and wouldn't give them money. It's pathetic, really, and I hate to think that that's what the modern world has come to.

On a side note, my Dissection of the Music project is on hold until further notice. I went through and reviewed Kanye West's "808s and Heartbreak," but was not satisfied with the results. The Between The Buried And Me album that `eskirinabsolute requested isn't doing much better. I will update my journal titled "Dissection of the Music: Project Tracking" when I feel they are up to par. I may change formats and go from there; i've always wanted to do normal reviews.

But what do you think of our modern youth? Do you think they will mature? Do you think we need to, perhaps, make them mature a little more quickly? Let me know.

Until next time.

Completed Requests

None!

Pending Requests
_{^{Note: These are in order of receipt.}}

`bornghost
    Kanye West - 808s And Heartbreak

`dammitMEL
    Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way

`eskirinabsolute
    Between The Buried And Me - Colors

Hi all.

Been a while, I know. I tend to hide out for long periods of time, as i'm sure many of you have noticed. But, if you kick around in #seniors, you may have noticed my presence as of late. Just can't stay away from this place, I guess.

On that note, i'm proposing a challenge to every one of you and everyone you tell about it. I want you, yes you, to recommend an album for me to listen to and dissect as it plays through. Don't care what genre or what language. I'll get my hands on the album somehow (though I may need your assistance, wink wink) and take it from there. The format will be something like this:

Artist: Plastic Fantastic
Album: Spare Parts

Track 1, 0:00 - Not sure what to expect. Oh my god, is that a pig squealing? Kind of scared now.
Track 1, 4:23 - The pig hasn't stopped squealing yet.
Track 2, 0:38 - Pig stopped squealing. Gut-based growl going on.
Track 3, 1:56 - The breakdown during this song is pretty impressive. Is that a chicken clucking?
Track 4, 2:49 - May or may not sacrifice a barnyard animal after this is over.

You get the point. It's just going to be me commenting on the album as it goes. And, like I said, i'll be doing it with whatever you recommend. However, I do believe that Kanye West's "808s And Heartbreaks" will be my first victim review.

Get to the recommending!