Sleeping Cat

Honestly, I sleep too much, I think. And watch television.

It's harder as you get out into the real world because an 8 hour work day at a desk, in a cubicle, staring at a computer, and answering calls can be extremely tiring. But not tiring in a, "Man, I just ran 6 miles" kind of way. Tiring in a, "Man, am I really doing this?" sort of fashion.

My girlfriend and I have this saying that our safe haven is our bed. Not necessarily in that fashion. But everyday when we get home from work (yes, we work at the same place), we immediately change into our comfy clothes and jump under the covers with our dog. What ensues is generally a 3 to 4 hour nap.

Let's take a look at this a little more analytically. Sleep from 10 P the night before to 5 A the next morning. Work from 5:30 A to about 3:30(ish) P, getting home around 4. Hop into bed. Wake up at 7. That leaves really 3 hours before we go back to bed. And those three hours are filled with whatever fodder is on our DVR.

It's an extremely hard cycle to break out of simply because it's so easy to just get home and mentally shut off. I don't know. This post started to get a little more depressing that I had imagined. But, that's what I would say the most wasteful part of my day is. I can't say work because at least I get paid to be there. I need to find a way to break out of the cycle that I am in, however, when I get off of work. Start running or exercising. I don't know. I'm sick of being sedentary. I've put on weight and I've lost touch with people. Blah.

The Arizona Immigration Law: Right Idea, Terrible Execution.

Immigration Reform Leaders Arrested in Washington DC

The recent Arizona immigration law needs to be reversed - it is the prime example of a good idea executed in a horrible fashion.I understand the need for immigration reform - it is a plague to our country and I think that this is something that legal aliens would agree with right next to traditional citizens.

The problem with this law is the gestappo-style enforcement that it calls for. My girl friend is Puerto Rican, born and raised in New Mexico. Her physical appearance, obviously, fits her in with the "stereotype" being looked for by Arizona police. Should she really be worried that if she gets pulled over for a speeding ticket that a cop is going to question whether or not she is an American citizen?

Now, forgive me Arizonians that are reading this for I just recently moved to your state. But I have been watching the local news ever since this law came out and there have been numerous reports that a lot of the anti-immigration fervor is coming from Maricopa County (which Phoenix is in, for the out of staters). Or, as it is known to the rest of Arizona, the "state of Maricopa County". What you have here is a large concentration of highly conservative, white, affluent folks who think that they can take the law into their own hands. The anti-immigration sentiments in Maricopa County are not shared with the same intensity by folks that live in Pinal County - or even closer to the Mexican border. They agree that something needs to be changed, but not by the Prohibition-style raids that Sheriff Joe and his flunkies run on local businesses.

There is a fundamental problem with immigration - we all know that. Even people who oppose this law know that. But the problem is not going to be solved by throwing illegals in jail or packing them on buses and shipping them back to Mexico. What we need to do is find a way to help them get nationalized, those that want to stay and be legal. There are steps to be a legal alien - and we should not put a glass dome over the country to stifle immigration. Everyone reading this may have been born in America - but your ancestral ties are not solely American. The problem is that illegal immigrants were scared and wrong in crossing the border illegally - they knew this and, therefore, did not want to alert anyone to their presence in fear of being deported. So, they stayed without doing anything to become legal. And they had kids. And now their kids are in school, with no knowledge that they're illegal aliens because of their parents' actions, and, suddenly, they're facing deportation at the hands of this new law. Is this really the answer? Are we really going after the right people here? I know I'm going to get some flack for this, but we need to eradicate this kind of fear from illegal aliens. It is possible to be stern with someone while still being helpful. We have to make it clear that they have to become a citizen and we should help them on their way - if they are resistant, then forceful actions can be carried out.

Last, but not least, I hope that some of the boycotts being proposed by musicians, Major League Baseball, etc., actually take place. If there is one thing that I have learned over the recent months living in Phoenix, it is that there is an overwhelming sense amongst Phoenicians that the world does, in fact, revolve around them. If Major League Baseball were to pull the All-Star game and possibly even Spring Training, that would deal a huge financial blow to the city and, just maybe, would cause them to re-evaluate the current situation.

Look - I'm not saying that I have all of the answers or that my counter-suggestions are really more viable options. Like Bill Maher in Religulous, I preach to the gospel of "I don't know". But, much like Bill's views in his documentary, you know when something is the WRONG answer.

Read OR Listen?

Keep the faith - it's all going to work out in the end. And read more.