Reading Lists

I intend to update this frequently.
* Currently Reading
**Have read, or at least read part of it
*** Want to read

Political:
Marx: Communist Manifesto*
Kropotkin: Mutual Aid**
Reiman: The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison***
Loewen: Lies My Teacher Told Me**
Jefferson: Works Of Thomas Paine***
Orwell: 1984 and Animal Farm**
Kennedy: Profiles in Courage***

Literary:
Kerovuac: On the Road***
Adams: Hitchhiker's Guide Series**
Gandhi: Peace***
Poe: Tales...***
Shakespeare: COMPLETE works*** (read some, not all yet)
Beowulf***
Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath***
Sinclair: The Jungle*** (I have a copy, just never had time to read through the whole thing.
Carroll: Alice in Wonderland**
Nabokov: Lolita** (Dear sweet gentle jesus, this is an amazing book)

Religious:
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching** (haven't gotten through the whole thing yet)
Warner: Hardcore Zen**
Hoff: Tao of Pooh** (Quick Read)
Egyptian Book of the Dead **



Updated occassionally

Qidong

I would highly recommend practicing Qidong as a fun, fulfilling workout. I take some classes at the YMCA taught by a lady by the name of Debi Dunn. Fun person, really not altogether as serious as some people may be about Qidong, but really knows her stuff.

The classes ended last week, and I was a little upset, because it seems that I was just getting the hang of Tai Chi, as well as Qidong. I actually felt something enlivening, something very powerful there. I think I was blinded by many things for the past few weeks, and, just learning to let go of certain things was a very refreshing liberation for me. I dropped the work I was doing with Aflac. I had a falling out with someone who showed me their true colors. And, while this may be a depressing moment of people's lives, for me it felt wonderful. I believe this is what made me a little more able to control my energies from within.

OK, so, just for the record, I am not a Buddhist. Rather, I'm more or less on the Agnostic scale; but I figured that I would mention this as I said I would be talking about other important matters of life other than just politics. I do, however, find Buddhism to be a fascinating religion, with many a great friend being a part of it. That said, I would also like to mention that I am also exploring the religions of Hermeticism, Taoism, and a few others. I just don't like tying myself down.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend taking Qidong before starting on Tai Chi. However, you need to be able to manage your energy, and take the time to reconcile the outside influences of your life in order to fully understand what I'm talking about.

Food For Thought,

Exploitation of Labor

I haven't updated in a while, perhaps that's because I've been very busy working for nothing with Aflac. It's all commission, and, as my brother calls it, is therefore the purest form of capitalism.

I am reminded of a quote near the beginning of the communist manifesto:

"In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed -- a class of laborers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labor increases capital. These laborers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market."

Essentially, if I don't get a sale, I don't eat. I don't have a roof over my head. And I die. Oh well, he's just an insurance salesman, right? Well... my friends. This is wrong. I opened my eyes to this, and saw what Aflac was really about. "Aflac was rated the most ethical company to work for." They told me. Really, now?

Also, what pisses me off about the job is that I've been mislead altogether too often. I was told things about Aflac and their benefits program; when in reality, it DOESN'T EXIST. I was told that I never heard that, and I must be lying. OK.

I was in love with Aflac for a while. I was blind sighted by pie-in-the-sky numbers of the money I'll make, and the trips I could win, and so forth. And then, during training, after I had accepted the job and put so much time, money, and effort into it, was I finally told that 65% of the agents don't make any money. Why? Because they don't work. Funny, how I was working my ass off and not making a cent. But, I guess I wasn't working hard enough. 16 hour day, for three days straight, while working a full six days a week on this wasn't nearly enough, apparently.

So, after a long talk with a friend, I finally figured out what this all was. I opened my eyes up and saw that I was nothing to Aflac. I was just another agent. I didn't deserve to be paid, because I didn't work hard enough.

I have decided to look for another job. I need something that will direct me where I want my career to go. I want to be a speech therapist someday. This will mean that I need to start shaping my life towards that career. I have an interview request from Devereux, which won't pay me the highest estimates that I got from Aflac, i.e. $653000 per year. But, I will get about $20000, which, is enough to live on for now. Provided that I get this job, I will be doing work with Special needs individuals, the mentally and developmentally handicapped, the mentally ill, and so forth.

This is my ideal job. Scratch that, it's my ideal career move for right now. Wish me luck.

Food for thought: