Goodbye 2005

Goodbye 2005, Like I said I have had ups and downs within the past year. this is my last post in the old year. I am watching band of brothers right now. Its a good series, I own it on dvd. For new years I have a 6 pack of the following: Bass Ale, Guinness, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Harp. Jon (my roomate) bought a 24 pack of longnecks of miller Light, and some strawberry vodka, and some of that malibu coconut rum. I dont think I am going to have any of the hard stuff. I have to work tomorrow so thats why. We also got pizza's from papa murphys: 1 family size, 1 large, and one cheesy bread. We also have like 3 bags of doritoes and 2 boxes of reguler chips. Were having my brothers over too. I think we will have some fun. Well I will talk to you guys in the new year. Fuck you 2005, and hello 2006. Bwaaaahaaa. Later.

Lets hope 2006 is better than 2005

Well I hope you all had a good christmas. I had a alright one. Christmas eve we went my cousins house in winona. There I got some candy from one of my aunts and three boxes of shells from my dad. Yep, shot gun shells, The only time I use them is when I go deer hunting. I only used like 1 box this year and had 4 left over, so now I have 7 boxes. Well its the thought that counts. I had some bad beer, and some home made hooch. It was alright my aunt's going to e-mail me the recipe. Then on Christmas day my family and I went to my Aunts hoouse on my mom's side. It was fun, I got to talk to my cousin that I only really get to talk to when we have family events. My grandma decided when we were going to open presents. Which wouldnt have been so bad, except on the way she decided to do it. She decided that we were going to do it by families. Well My family didn't get to open presents until like an hour and 45 minutes after presents started to be opened. I really dont care when we open presents, but we had to sit there and watch everybody open theres. I kind of feel guilty opening presents in front of people and having them watch you. My Aunt didn't want my family to bring any of our presents from home, beliving that there wasnt any room. So my family didnt open our presents until like 10:45 p.m. on christmas day. Oh well I dont really care I got pretty much all the stuff I wanted.
This year sure had its ups and downs. It started out kind of crappy, but finished on an alright note. I found out what my other class grade was. I got an A. So my semester GPA is 3.3 and my cumalitive is 2.82. One more semester at Inver and then I am done with tha place, then it s off to the UofM. All I can do is try to do my best and have a positive outlook on what I do and the year should be alright. Alright people I have to go clean my room, talk to you all later.

John Engrav

Hell yeah!

Well after working back to back on the weekend and then having two finals and workig another two days back to back, I am beat. The last two days at work have been killer, nonstop people buying masses of books. Tuesday night we only had two scheduled people (me and another girl), I called another girl in and she worked for 2 hours. From when the day manager left (5:30 p.m.), to when we closed (10:00 p.m.) was a constant flow of people. It did not let up. I didnt even take my last break because it was so busy. But after that Becca and I went to applebees and had drinks. It was $1 taps and 1/2 price appetizers. It was fun, we had a good time. But She has a boyfriend so that ends that avenue of advance. oh well shes still a cool co-worker. I am so glad school is done for a couple of weeks. I actually got a C in my math class. So that means that I have no other grades lower than a C. Now my GPA is 3.18. FUCK YEAH man!!! Probably the best I have done in college yet. So I hope that means I have a pretty good chance getting into the UofM next fall. Woo-Hoo. So me and danny boy are ging out tonight and celebratin'. I am so glad that crappy semesteris over with. Although having one of my cousins in my classes was really fun. She was really homesick, so she is going to go to a community college this spring closer to home. I got her a Inver hills t-shirt kinda just saying it was cool being in the same class. Well I am going to go have lunch and then probably go take a nap. I havent really sleeped since Dec. 11. Later

John Engrav

A long Time coming

Okay everybody I know I am really late on this but here it is. Another poem! It's Titled "Men of '61" It's about the 1st. Minnesota regiment in the Civil War. I hope you guys like it.

Men of '61

The Men arrived at the fort
They came for a different sort
They came to fight for a glorious cause
But in battle they would not pause
These are the men of '61

There would be young men lost
on Fredricksburg's cold winter's frost
They fight to set other men free
They work as if a bee
These are the men of '61

They charged the fields of Gettysburg that day
For they kept the Confederates at bay
They lost 82% of there men
For that they call it a slaugter pen

Their is no glory in war only loss
for in the end you are one with the moss
The men sign up thinking it will be fun
But remember in war there is no pun
These are the men of '61

Bring it on!

I am so glad the week is over. I have had the week from hell with school. I might not pass my math class. I found out that after my test I had 63% in math. I turned in my take home portion of the test and I know I did it right. Before the class started I saw a couple people and asked them what they thought of the take home and what formulas they used. We all had the same answers. So thats good. I now have to bust my ass on studying for the final. The teacher told us what was on the final. It's like 15 questions, with 3 or 4 from the last chapter that we are on now. We can use all the notes we made for all the test we had this semester. So I think if I really get down and study hard I'll do alright.
I'm listening to Garrison Keillor again. He is so funny. He also has a weekly column in the Star Tribune titled "The Old Scout". I think I will post them on my blog here, because 1. They are really funny and 2. There is a message in what he says in his column. Here it is, was last updated December 9th.:

Garrison Keillor The Old Scout: Transcendence awaits on that frozen lake
In Minnesota in winter we can march to a different drummer, one who leads us out onto the ice.

Call me Hrothgar the Savage, but when I look at men's fashions in magazines, the models all sullen and sensitive and obviously spending much too much time on their hair, wearing sweaters made from Persian cat fur woven with feathers of snowy owls, yours for $1,495, I feel a strong urge to put on a parka and insulated pants and walk out onto a frozen lake and cut a hole in the ice and fish.

I felt the urge rather strongly the other morning as I drove along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, which was frozen over, while listening to a man talk on the radio about a book he'd written in which he explored his feelings about his father, whom he'd never felt close to. I said to him, "Oh, get over it." The ice is a good place for a man to go rather than waste time writing books about not knowing your father.

In other parts of the country, you can climb to the top of a mountain and look around. Here, we walk out on the ice.

You could be living in south Minneapolis, in a neighborhood of comfortable homes with DSL and HBO and nearby shops selling latte and cranberry scones, but if you walk a few blocks to Lake Calhoun and stride out onto the ice, suddenly you are in Tolstoy's "War and Peace," waiting for Natasha and Prince Andrei to come lickety-split through the birch forest in the sleigh. The moment you leave shore, you are gripped by a sense of grandeur.

This is all thanks to your mother, who warned you eleven thousand times to stay off the ice lest you fall through, warnings that now serve to heighten the drama, which is further heightened by the fact that every year a few men, seeking a leadership role for themselves, drive their snowmobiles onto lakes before the ice is thick enough and drown, a Darwinian moment indeed. The water is cold and the laws of physics apply to us all. But a man must do what a man must do. It's in our circuitry. Little boys of sensitive, caring parents take the dolls that they've been given and rip the legs off and use them for pistols. It's just how they're wired.

A man needs grandeur in his life, more than calcium or vitamin E, so we can get loose of tedious regimentation and blather and b.s. and escape from Gravity Week when Americans are reminded not to slip and fall, and we can march to a different drummer, one who leads us out onto the ice.

Think of grandeur as an alternative to therapy. Hercules did. He had gone mad and done terrible things, as we all do from time to time, and he purified himself by performing heroic labors such as killing the nine-headed Hydra and capturing Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the gates of Hades, and in this way he regained his health, and so may we, if we are brave.

In therapy, you complain about your dad not being available for you emotionally and you do it until you get tired of it and then you quit. It is whiny by nature. When you seek grandeur, you put your dad behind you and you get away from women and their endless questions (Why are you so quiet? What's wrong? What do you mean, "nothing's wrong"? What are you thinking? Why don't we ever talk? Are you listening to me? Do you think I'm too fat?) and you go off to do heroic deeds, such as write your autobiography, or drive to California, or build a cabin, or walk out on the ice.

I once led a group of winter visitors from California and North Carolina and Texas out onto White Bear Lake north of St. Paul. They had never done such a thing before. They stepped onto the ice gingerly, as if it might disintegrate under them, and walked out a hundred yards from shore, stopped, and looked around. It was a cold bright day and they trembled in the grandeur of the moment. They were speechless. They looked at me with tears in their eyes. Their noses were running. They wanted to tell me what a transforming experience this was for them, but it was indescribable, and anyway they knew I understood. We stayed as long as we needed to and then went back to the car. You don't have to go to Katmandu to experience transcendence. It's right here in Minnesota.

I hope you found out what the message was. Talk to you guys later

John Engrav

Where's my molotov?

I just got done with my math test..... I FUCKING hate this class. First I had trouble with a question that had three sub-parts, so I had to skip ahead.So I continued with the test. Then later he said that we had only 5 minutes left in the class. So I got up and asked him "if we don't finish can we go to the math center and finish up?" he said flat out with no thought "No". So I am scrambling to get every single question done before our time is up and the last one I totally got wrong, but I had to at least try it and maybe get partial credit. The one I skipped I didn't even get to. So for sure I am going to fail the class. I am so sick of it. My math class last semester, if we didnt get done, the teacher would let us finish in the math center. So I am not going to be able to graduate next semester unless I also take my math class over again. What choice do I have? none thats the answer. My dad is going to flip when he hears about this. Oh did I mention it's to late to withdraw? well it is! So my only hope is to do well on the take home portion and the final exam. Im going to go pump some iron. That will get all my hate out for a little while. I feel I want to go punch the wall a couple times. later

John Engrav

Death by Math squad

I have just got done with my math class. I am so F-ing tired of that one. I can't stand it!!! We had a take home math packet due today. Of course, the slacker that I am I waited to the last minute to do it. We were going over questions in class, there was one that I did, and did it right. I got the formula down right and got an answer. It was like 6.4299532e11 or something like that. I thought it had to be some nice huge nuber. And that one is but since it had that "e11" on it I thought it was wrong. So that was f-ing lame. I explained it to him in front of the class and all that he said was "Yeah that was the answer" Well thaaaaannnnnkkkk you Mr. Obvious. Hopefully I'll get partially credit. I talked to another girl in my class about her homework. She said that she has like 80.5% and she totally bombed it. I answered all but 2. So Im aiming for a low c on this thing. We have a test wed. and the take home portion is due on friday. I am seriously thinking I might have to take this class over again. Stupid class. I dont know why I have to know this stuff. Sure mortgage loan plans and amortizations and all that crap. But if you go in to the bank they type it in and all you have to do is sit there and look pretty while the computer spits out the data. A West Point cadet before the civil war once said "Mathmatics is from the lowest depths of hell" So true. So I am going to spend this whole first half of the week making a study guide for our next test, then work on the take home portion. Then I have to make a newsletter for my research class on my career, which is a secondary education teacher. That wont be so bad. I am so burned out. I really dont have any interest in doing anything anymore. I dont have money to get christmas presents yet, I have to pay my roomates for this months rent. And school is one giant sore on my side. But the very good news is my best friend Rich Yaeger is coming home from Iraq in less than 2 weeks. His tour is almost up. He wont be back to Minnesota until Feb., or March. Thats when we go get our Tattoo's and open up a bottle of Irish whiskey I've been saving. Well I only got 2 more weeks to go until christmas break. I'll hang in there, not that I want to, but I will, Later.

Surprise!!!!!

Well that was fun. So after school I came home and took a shower. I did that for two reasons: 1. I had just been working out at school (lifted on like 10 weight machines and ran for 10 minutes straight), so I was sweating really hard. 2. I was getting ready to ask that girl out. So I got all spifed up and my roomate and I left. He actually had to go to a wells fargo back. But I'll explain which one we went to later. I get to the bank were I do my checking and I dont see the cute girl that I want to ask out. So this older women opens a lane, I move up and start asking her a question about something that happened to my checking acount like 10 months ago. It was a real question. I was going to use it to start talking to the cute girl, but since she wasnt there it was all moot. Anyways after I get my answer about my checking account I asked the lady if Wendy had a boyfriend at all. She asked me if it was the same one that worked at the bank, so of course I said yes. Then she had a awkward smile and said that she was married!!! ..... all i could say was "oh thats nice" and made my way out of their like a bat out of hell. So that kinda sucked. Then I told my roomate about the other one that worked at the wells fargo one in burnville. So we went there and with my luck she wasnt working that day. So I was 0/2. We decidedto go to steve and barrys, were I bought a black zipup sweat shirt and a UofM t-shirt. When I told my family about this last night, we were all cracking up pretty hard. Well I have to go get ready for work. And go do some math homework too. Woo-Hoo my day starting off great.

John Engrav

Myspace.com

I signed up for myspace.com My brother is really busy on this thing all the time, so I thought I would get in on the action too. www.myspace.com/nukethewhales13 is the address. Mike's girlfriend put the backround on there. It wasnt my chose, but meh I dont care. Im happy my brother has a girlfriend. I geuss there at the making out stage. Wow I didnt get that far until after high school. Speaking of women, there are two girls I have my eye on. One works at the bank were I drop my works deposit off in the morning. I was flirting with her when I drop it off last saturday. It turns out that her sister works at a kwik trip that my roommates dad used to run. Small world huh? Next time I see her there I think I might ask her out. The other one is at the bank in town where I have my checking account. She's a reall looker too. I mean what's the worst thats going to happen when I ask them out? The most there going to say is either no or they have a boyfriend. What do I have to loose? nothing. I think I am going to ask the one in town out tomorrow. So wish me luck faithful I'll let you know whats happens later.

John Engrav

We've pushed 'em back

Well it wasnt so bad. It was busy 'till around 3 p.m. After that it slowed down, same thing for the next day only it died down after 3. School is going alright, kinda busy wit working retail during the holidays. I took some funny pictures for my brothers my space page here I'll post them for y'all. I went shopping before I went to work last friday. I bought 4 cd's(Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Green Day, and Go Betty Go) then my brother used his discount at BestBuy and got me a really nice laptop backpack. Well I got work tomorrow and Ill post soon. Cya later.

John Engrav

Help! we're being overrun!

Well tomorrow is the day after Thanksgiving. The "big sale" is every were. Tom my brother is working at best buy from 11-8. I hope he is ready to deal with some real nasty customers. I work from 1-730. So its not that bad. I am almost done with Harry Turtledove's The Great War: American front book. It takes place during world war 1. But the twist is it's were the south won the civil war and is allied with france and england, and the north is allied with germany. So it's and alternate history series, its really god I highly encourage everyone to at least give it a shot. After that I with probably finish up my Garrison Keillor book and then start reading my Mike Hammer P.I. books again. I will probably be so tired after work tomorrow I wi'll probably just go home and eat supper have a pint and chill. I am listening to the Mahones. Their and Irish punk band. Their kinda like Flogging Molly which is also a really good Irish punk band. The title of the somng was "Drunken Lazy Bastard", it had the same beat and rythm as Flogging Molly. I think anyone that likes Flogging Molly would like The Mahones. Well I better get to sleep, I am going to have to tame the crowds tomorrow. I wonder how riot control cops feel? must be fun shooting tear gas and waiving a billy club around. Oh well talk to you later y'all.

John "The Bruiser" Engrav

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all!! I hpe you all eat alot of turkey and sleep well today. I know I am going to. Here is a picture of my dog Winston the Duke of Winchester. I hope you all like him. He can run so fast and he likes to snuggle up in your lap too.
talk to you later y'all

John Engrav

Newcastle Brown Ale

So another weekend of deer hunting is over with. Thank god. There are guys in our hunting party that do this all week. They love this stuff. I take my hat off to them because I know I couldnt do it. I got a deer, and my brother got a deer. I came back and I was so tired. This morning I woke up at 7 a.m., for what reason I dont know. I guys its my internal alrm clock. I usually wake up at that time for school. Speaking of school, I decided to skip my geography class today pon account I was so tired from deer hunting. I had my math class at 11 so I left for school at 10:15. I came home and had some food and took a nap for and hour and 45 minutes. Tonight I made a beer run because we were out at my place. I got a 24 pack of budweiser, and a single bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale. I thought the newcasle tasted like water. It didnt have the beer taste that I thought it would. Not that I hated it or anything, but I dont think i would buy it again. Well I have tomorrow off from school and work. So I am going to do laundry and clean my room some more. never ending job. Later y'all

John Engrav

TIme for a pint of the dark stuff

I really dont like her. I mean I really don't like her. I have tried to be nice to her. I have tried to do things her way. It doesnt work, she constantly finds something wrong with the way I do things. Today I had to laugh at what she wrote. 2 things. First, she wrote on the mirror in the bathroom that said "please shut the shower curtain" She had underlined it and put explnation marks all over it. Then She put on the white board "Please do not let teddy (their dog) out during the day, because he has to learn to be in the kennel for long periods of time." Well first of all they dont let their dog out in the morning. So I do because the dog has to pee for being in the kennel for 10 hours. So if I didnt the dog would be in the kennel for over 16 hours without going to the bathroom. Why she wants to do it that way I dont know. I am so tired of giving me crap about little things like this. It didnt bother me before, I usually just let it roll off my back. When I went out of my room today to go releave myself, she was coming up the stairs and as soon as she saw me she says "oh shit". That did it. i officailly do not like Liz. Like I said I have tried to doing it her way, but she hasnt given me a chance so you know what. Fuck it. Later y'all.

John Engrav

Bass Ale

I am drinking a bottle of Bass Ale right now. Every time my buddy Jon and I go to the liquor store I usually get some Guinness or some Bass Pale Ale. I dont now what it is about the beer I like. It could be the taste or that its a foreign beer. I dont know. I am so tired again tonight. Not like yesterdays tired though. At work tonight we had our district manager come in and we were working our tails off. She decided that we needed to take an entire shelf row down. So that took about half an hour. Then we had to clean all the crud that was underneath the shelves. Then she said we had to put all the extra shelves and frames up to storage. She said she needed someone strong to bring it up there, when she said that she was looking straight at me. So Raulie and I hawled the crap up to storage. But you got to remember that storage is on the other side of the mall, almost next to Marshall Fields. So then I watched the front for another half hour and then went on break. Then I did magazines and trash and surprisingly that was my night. I didnt stop moving until I went on my break, then the last 10 minutes the store was open. But it sure went by fast though, which is always a good thing when your at work. Then this storm is hitting us. I knew it was coming but it still sucks anyway. I go deer hunting this weekend. I dont mind hunting but I dont like getting up at 0430 and sitting outside in the freezing cold until 0900 and go back to the lot were all of use hunter hangout. I just hope it doesnt rain and/or snow this weekend. I have been outside when there was flurries blowing in the wind. That's tollerable. I have heard stories that my dad has told to the group when he remembers one year. It had blizzarded outside and they still went hunting. Gosh that's got to suck. Oh well shit happeneds. I cant control the weather so I guess I should shut up and do it. The wind is howling outside hard. I can hear it hit the house. Oh Dawn if your reading this Diana wants to know if you can work some shifts this season. Another girl is leaving to work at old navy so were going to need another person. Well it was just a thought. Talk to you guys later.

John Engrav

My favorite band

Here's a picture of my favorite band the Dropkick Murpheys. The are Hardcore Irish Punk based out in Boston, Ma. I urge everybody to listen to their "Blackout" album or their newest album "Warriors Code".

So tired

Boy am I tired today. I got to my first class and read my book during the whole period. I read it on my break that was about 50 minutes,then went to my math class. I started to pay attention, then I started to get real tired again. I was paying attention for like the first 10-15 minutes then I zoned out. I then realized it was 12:46 and was the end of class. It seams like that alot of days now. I dont sleep anymore. I come from my parents house and am tired when I leave, but when I get to my place I am not tired anymore. So usually I surf the net and study. I dont go to sleep until 1-1:30 and wake up at 7:00a.m. I am seriously done with school, I am so ready for this semester to be done with. I dont know if im burned out or what but I am just done with school. Im ready to pick up and leave, not sure where, but you know anywhere but here would be great. I also got alot of info on the UofM campus in the cities. All the schooling to be a teacher and get a major in history is going to be alot of work. Another 3 years does not appeal to me. I talked to my buddy thats in Iraq right now, online last sat. and he wants to move into a apartment in the cities somewhere when he gets back. That would be so much fun, unfortunetly he doesnt get out for another 1 1/12- 2yrs. So I got to wait a while. But the good news is he's coming home from Iraq before Christmas and will be back in Minnesota sometime in feb. or march. Doesnt anybody get the feeling that they repeat the same day over and over again? I know I do. Oh well I got no homework and nothing to study for at the moment. My buddy just called and were going to go to a pub. So Im going to go have a pint of Guinness and feel better. Well talk to you later y'all

John Engrav


P.S. I swear i'll publish another poem on here soon!!!

Vetran's Day

Here is a good article in Newsweek about Veteran's day:
The Wages of War
Old soldiers know the human price of battle. What history teaches us about how vets truly think.


By Jonathan Darman
Newsweek
Nov. 14, 2005 issue - Italy, late May 1944. The Allied Army advanced on Rome and suffered a brutal counterattack. Hunkered down near the beaches of Anzio, a 23-year-old Army private from Oak Ridge, Tenn., sent a despondent letter home. "Take a combination of fear, anger, hunger, thirst, exhaustion, loneliness, homesickness," Paul Curtis wrote to a younger brother who wanted to know about war, "and you might approach the feelings a fellow has." Nothing can ease his depression, not even the prospect that the war might end. He is certain that war will "rise again." After all, he writes, "peace will be settled by men who have never known combat and ... hold no dread of another war for they don't know."

Old soldiers have always led America. They've shown us how to love our country, revere our military and honor our war dead. More softly, they've warned of the dangers of wishing for war. "It is well that war is so terrible," said Robert E. Lee, or else "we should grow too fond of it," and soldiers have echoed him from Antietam to Iraq. Now, as we celebrate another Veterans Day, we welcome home a new generation of soldiers. If history is a guide, only a few of these new veterans will join antiwar movements; most will proudly support their country in any future entanglements it may face. But many of those returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will doubtless join a tradition of brave veterans who quietly hate war. They can teach us why war is never romantic, but may sometimes be worth fighting all the same.

Fighting soldiers fall quickly out of love with war. Living in cramped quarters, stripped of their individuality, they find their youthful dreams of glorious war alien and strange. "I once had a dim notion about the 'romance of a soldier's life'," wrote a Union soldier after the first Battle of Manassas. "I have bravely got over it since." In World War II, "anybody who was involved with killing and being killed was disillusioned from the start," says the war historian Paul Fussell. "You can't go through that kind of combat without becoming disillusioned."

Some veterans voice their feelings clearly. Gen. William T. Sherman's admonition that "war is hell" is often remembered for its irony (Sherman was the cruelest prosecutor of the Civil War in the South). Forgotten is Sherman's audience, a graduating class of military cadets. Seeing hunger for war rising among his listeners, Sherman offered simple advice: "Suppress it." Adults can be equally susceptible to romantic notions of wars. "The intellectual community is apt to say we have to 'do something'," Gen. Colin Powell wrote in 1995. "But in the end, it is the armed forces that bring back the body bags and have to explain why to parents." Some even give up all illusions of noble service. "Never mind about the glory of a uniform," a Korean War veteran wrote to a friend considering enlistment. "There are too many dead & maimed glorious & honour bound boys."

Other old soldiers are always hungry for a fight. Theodore Roosevelt was in love with war when he stormed San Juan Heights and never lost his romantic sense of combat. Even at the death of his son Quentin in World War I, Roosevelt was triumphant: the boy had "had his crowded hour." ("My other boys are just as daring," Roosevelt bragged when responding to a letter of condolence. "If the war lasts, they will all be killed unless they are so crippled as to be sent home.") As a young lieutenant colonel in World War I, George S. Patton came under heavy fire in the St-Mihiel offensive. Remembering his grandfather, a fallen Confederate general, he concluded it was his noble destiny to be "another Patton" who died on the field of war. (He lived and went on to command campaigns on two continents in World War II.)

Other military families are less eager for combat; still, if it's war, their sons will fight. Some think it dangerous to dwell on war's horrors. Man's "destiny is battle," said the thrice-wounded Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. "If it is our business to fight, the book for the army is a war-song, not a hospital-sketch."

Veterans who speak openly of war's evil, though, say honesty can help us in future fights. History may be on their side. Combat had no romance after World War I; a generation had been lost for nothing but the dreams of dead kings. But when darkness fell again in Europe, the weary West stood up to fight in World War II. "We are all conscientious objectors," said the English writer Rupert Croft-Cooke, "and all in the war."

It is the privilege of the old soldier, then, to speak realistically of war, and idealistically of peace. Another privilege: speaking for those who did not live to speak for themselves. At the end of his letter home, Paul Curtis, the downtrodden Army private, ventured that "all new men" shared his hatred for combat. He wondered if old men felt differently and if someday he would feel differently, too. We cannot know. Three days after writing his letter, Curtis was struck down in combat, just south of Rome.

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

May we never forget what they did for us. Hopefully one day terrorism will be wiped off the face of the planet.

John Engrav

Coffee Shop

I am siting in a coffee shop. I feel like such a yuppi. I am with my brother with our laptops and ordering coffee. Wow, this sure feels different. Well I have nothing important to do today and you know it feels great. I have to work on my math take home tonight. I probably said earlier that I was off to do it. Well to the people who know me know that I usually wait to the last minute. I just got done with johnny Cash's When the man comes around. Wow thats a good song. Its about the apocolypse. I tell ya it sure gives you goose bumps when you listen to it. I also have to look for political cartoons for my research class. We are studting fallicies and our group are pretty much trashing bush. But before some of you get your pitch forks and torches, we have a pro bush person in our group. Or least was a pro bush person. He said he cant believe he voted for the idiot again. That was his exact words. I went to Brit's pub in Minneapolis this last weekend, boy was it great. I love it there. Its an old wood style british pub run by a old British guy. It has such an awsome atmosphere, anyone in the metro region should go to it. I think there website is justwww.britspub.com. I got a pint of this beer called Fullers London Pride. It was delicious. Not bitter, not to strong, it was an ale. After that I got the traditional pint of Guinness. Boy was that a good night. I have to get going tom has to work at 6 tonight and I have to drive him home. And in the words of Garrison Keillor "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch"

John Engrav

I know I know

Okay so I havnt updated in a week. i have been uber busy. I have had two tests last week, and one today. My brother got his first hickey. My mom who is going through empty nest syndrome right now is saying that its disgusting, and wants me to talk to him. I started to laugh and of coarse my mom wasnt and said that it wasnt that funny. Well I said to her that was why it was funny. Mikes going to grow up sooner or later and there is now way you can stop that. Its a badge of honor to a guy. I know how that can sound but its true. The Liz front is pretty stable now, she was even nice to me one day. I dont know were came from. It's like the DMZ with north and South Korea. It could erupt at any moment. stupid analogy huh? oh well I have to get packing up so I can get to school and finish up on my math reveiw sheet. Later Y'all.

John Engrav

What me worry

I havnt updated in a few days. I have been staying up late like everynight to download jazz and movies and play computer games. Today I have alot of homework to do. I have to watch west side story for my online class and have to study for my goegraphy test. I also have to do an essay for my research class. Today the Engrav men were going to go down to Lewiston, Mn to go sight in our shotguns for deer hunting. Although now it is raining outside and we called three different relatives to see if it was raining in down there but no one answered. So we decided that we would go down later, maybe in a week or two. If we did go I wouldnt get back until like 6 or 7 at night. I would have been scrambling to get all the work done. Oh well it worked in my favor. Well off to listen to some online jazz and then at 11 its Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. WOOO-HOOO.

P.S. Rich if your reading this Happy Birthday. I know your in the big cat box, and only having near beer, But remember when you get back from Iraq were going to drop like $100 each on pints of Guinness at the Irish pubs.

Fix Bayonets!!!!!!!!

My favorite quote from the movie Gettysburg. I am so layered with work and homework. I work the next four days and have to start studying for my Human Goegraphy test. I also have a math test coming up about a week from halloween. I told you guys I got my laptop, It is so awsome. I finally have internet at my place, I can watch movies and listen to old Prairie Home Companion shows. I'll get another poem up soon ye faithful. I also talked to a counsler on campus here about graduating this coming spring. I have to take 2 science classes with at least one lab, and Humanities and one fine arts. Theres going to be a UofM Rep here pretty soon and the counsler suggest I talk to them about secondary education and doing a history major. So suffice to say I have alot on my plate right now. I am so tired of work and school I just want to fall asleep for a month. But like the title says Fix Bayonets. I have to move forward and charge straight ahead. Well I have to get going I will post later. Later y'all

John Engrav

All the small things

I got back from my camping trip yesterday. It was really fun although it had rained on sunday morning. I geuss my roomate liz is pissed of at me again. I really dont know anymore and again I dont really care. I geuss all that I can do is try to work with her. Thats all that i can do. I tried to buy my laptop today but my check card got declined. It was because my huge check didn't get cleared yet. It will be tomorrow so thats wen I will get it. Again with my roomate I am really getting tired of her geting pissed off at me for no reason at all. oh well later y'all

John Engrav

Life's tough

I am sitting here listening to the writers almanac with Garrison Keillor. He reads birthdays and anniversay of events of great literary writers. At the end he reads a poem. Like i said in a previous post that I bought GK's "Good Poem's" book. I only read a couple of the poems and there are fantastic. I like to write short fiction and some day I really want to write a novel. I also write a little bit of poetry too. I started writing when I was in my high school creative writing class. I absolutly loved it. I kept all my stories and poems on a flash zip drive. I also have the poems in a little black notebook that I also keep with me. I think this would be a great place to share some of my poems. This is one titled

"Life's Tough"
I have an alright look at life
But for me it's always filled with strife.

I go to school and come home from work
that's what it's like.
I just hope it's better for my brother mike.

When I moved out it was hard for my Mom
It wasn't hard for my brother Tom.

Dennis Leary has a great quote for life:
"Life's tough get a helmet"

If you liked it leave a comment, if not still leave a comment. If your in my research class, come over and say something, I am the kid who always wears the Boston Red Sox hat. Lator gators

John Engrav

Lock and Load!

Well this weekend has been pretty good. I haven't had to do any homework, which has been really realy great. I am going camping with my scout troop this week during MEA. I cant wait. Tomorrow my dad and maybe my brother are going to pick up my mom and brother up in chicago. They are coming back from their European vacation. I wont be able to go because I have to go into stupid work. I'll stay at home that night so I can see my mom and brother when they get home. I went to Half Price books and bought Garrison Keillor's "Good Poems" book. I love Garrison Keillor. I literally have all his books,I am only missing like 2. I also bought Tim O'brian's :The Things They Carried", I also bought Tom Petty's "The Last DJ" cd. well off to go listen to it. Later.

John Engrav

the endless search

In my broadway class I have to watch West Side Story. Okay thats fine but I really dont want to spen money to rent it, because I cant find it at school. So I try to download it. Well I found it but not enough people have it so it either go tremendously slow or not at all. I also have to pick out 2 other musicals also. I have tried looking for them all over the net but am unsuccesful at finding them. I know a lady at work that might be able to help me out. Apparently she likes musicals; whats up with women and musicals anyway. Well I have to finish watching the sound of music (ugh!) its due tomorrow and I havn't started on it. Good ol' procrastination, where would I be without you!!

John Engrav

Kingdom of What?

I just got done watching Kingdom of Heaven. I thought it was a good one, but not the best one I've ever seen. My roomate Liz is again pissed off. I really dont know why and I really dont care. I try to help around the house because I rent from them and I should. I beleive I should, but she gets pissed off when I try to help/clean. Well I geuss thats good news to me. As soon as I get my new laptop, I think I will hunker down in my fortress of a room. Well i'm off to have a pint, G'night y'all.

John Engrav

Action Research

I am starting an action research project. Action reserch is were instead of looking at books or files on the computer I go out into society and interveiw people for data. The purpose of this assignment is for me to learn a new way of doing critical thinking and a different style of research. The experience I got out of this was a good one. I traditonally like doing research over the internet and through books. But doing something different is always good to do. I learned a new skill that I will use when I transfer to the UofM to become a teacher. This research was new to me but I followed through and "trucked on" if you will. All in all like I said above this wsa a good experience.
For this research project I am to interview a person that works for the city of Farmington, Minnesota. The main general question for this task is “Who in your opinion is in the greatest need in our community?” I interviewed Barb Thompson. She works for the Farmington Chamber of commerce. I asked her these questions to find out more of the veiws of other people. To get other people impressions on our small city.
I learned there is many different view points between individuals. I dont always have to agree with the person I am interviewing but I have to be open minded to what they are saying. When I did the interveiw, I wanted to learn what this person thinks about the disadvantaged people in our community. By doing this I believe I have opened my eyes by looking broader on the landscape. Not in black and white anymore.
I know Barb Thompson personally. Barb's son Rich Yaeger and I are best friends. He is currently serve in Iraq with the Army band. We both were in boy scouts and church group together. If I ask her one of my questions, and she has difficulty answering, I will try to generalize it more for her.
When I interviewed Barb I was expecting honest answers from her. And that was exactlywhat I got. She has work in the city of Farmington doing different jobs until getting this one for 15 years. Barb didn't have any bias that I could tell. She didn't speak as if they were low people. She gave me her opinions truthfully to her knowledge. When she answered my questions there was no racisim or classism in her responses. She merely stated on why they might have left their country and what they are trying to do in ours.
I have converted her interview into a concept map. I will attach it to my blog here as soon as I learn how. Doing this research project has waken me up I would say. Doing a action research project like this was a different experience for me. Back in high school when we did research projects it would be usually on something we would have to go to the library for or the internet. Here I had to go around town and ask some one who works for the city “Who is in need?”.
Here is the questions and the answers in the interveiw given to Barb Thompson"

John Engrav: Who in your mind, comprise the needy and the underpriviledged in our community?
Barb Thompson: I think that most of the needy are the migrant workers, and immigrants that come to our city looking for work.

JE: In your view , what do you think were some of the contributing factors for there situation?
BT: Most of the immigrants that are in our city are from Mexice. So I think that most likely that the reason for them leaving and coming here is because of low paying jobs or even not even any jobs.

JE: Where in our community do you think most of the people of lower income reside? Do you think there is even a specific place?
BT: I think if they have family that has previously moved here they stayy with them. The probably stay in a low income type of home i.e. apartments or trailor homes.

JE: When in their lives do you think they got into their situation?Why?
BT: probably the reason they moved. They were born into poverty and wanted a better life then what they had and for their families.
I think this was worthwhile to do. I got a lot out of it.

Well isn't that craptactular

Well My brother and I didn't go to the comic book convention. We really didn't get lost but couldn't find the street were to turn like mapquest said to. We instead went to Barnes and Noble instead. I bought a 50 movie mystery pack for $29, so that was pretty cool. So now mapquest is useless to me. I am watching movies for my online class which are taking up alot of my time. I am also working on my research stuff. I dont have a computer were I live so I have to do it at my parents house or at school. It's okay though but it does get a little hecktic trying to get everything done at once. That should change in about 2 weeks. I will be getting a laptop sometime in the future. So I will be able to get it done were I live. Well I have to get going to my math class. Let's hope I really dont fall asleep in class like all those other times. Wish me luck!!

John Engrav

P.S. HI CATHY!!!!!!! how do you like my blog?

Smurf

Well tomorrow I am going to take my little brother to a comic book convention. It should be alright I hope. They said in the flyer that they have pulps there. Pulp's are old magazine. They made them in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. ?The were made on cheap pulp paper, hence the name. The Shadow, private eye tales, all that type of stuff came from that era. Plus I have to start getting my research findings on here. well later folks.

John Engrav

Moop

Well the evening went well. We had nico over and had some really good tasting ribs. After that we decided to get some pizza because we were still hungary and also made a beer run to the liquor store. I found a can of Fosters for like $2.79. I was like sweet! it was a pint and it was cheap. Well I am still working on my school work. All I have to do is finish up on the reasearch stuff, and get it on here. I also have to work on my online Broadway class. I still have to waatch those two musicals. I rented one from Mr/ Movies in town, but cant find the other ones. I might just end up watching the Sound of Music, because thats on our list also. I am reading this book on a guys army hitch through Iraq. It reads like you were just talking to him. Its a really fast read. If anybody's interested its titled "My War" by Colby Buzzell. It just came out today, but since I work in a book store I got to take it home yesterday and start rerading it. It makes me think of my best buddy Rich Yaeger who is over there right now. I hope that he's safe and that he gets to come home soon. He hasn't written on his online blog in over a week, but I talked to his mom on tuesday and she said that she talked to him last saturday, so I'm prety sure he's okay. Well y'all Im off to go read my book before I learn how I did on my math test. Wish me luck!!

John Engrav

Workload

I started this blog because for a class it is required. Both my brothers have blogs and I think this would be good for me to do. Lately I have been burning out with so much homework. But I am catching up. I handed in my math take portion today. After school today I am going to go home and probably read a good book. Tonight I am having my friend Nico over and we are going to have some ribs. Well I might have him over it all depends how my roomate Liz feels. She has been kinda pissy at me lately. I dont really know why. It seems though that either she is pissed off at me or her boyfriend Jon who is also my roomate. So frankly I dont care if she is pissed off, or not anymore. I just got used to it. I bought these ribs from cub because they looked pretty good. The only really big problem is that we don't have a grill. Ha thats one of the main things that we need for the ribs. Oh well I will just wait and see what happeneds tonight. Wish me luck!

John Engrav

Does anyone have any Guinness?

Right about now I need a pint of Guiness.