The World According to Patrick

create your own visited countries map

Update (May 10th, 2004)...I had to delete the world according to Patrick (blogging's a pretty powerful way to approach the world), as it was throwing off all of the settings on my blog...the link still works, so, go there and make a map.

Today's Epiphany

Something just occured to me...I've always had a sense that A*** and I would have really hit it off if we'd met at a different time, but I could never really figure out why. Well, I think I have...the list is not only chronological, but it is almost alphabetical...the only one that's not in order is (you guessed it) A***...

I always had the sense that she didn't fit into the grand scheme of my life...I just never realized it was because of her name...

Relationships

I've had several girlfriends throughout my life. Every once in a while one of them will seep back into my brain - not sure why, but it's always unsettling when it does happen. I'm happily married now, but, since they pop into my mind occasionally, here's a rundown of my relationships:

C****, who I could have loved if our timing was different
D***, who I lied too (a lot) and ended up hurting
F******, who I also hurt, but eventually forgave me
J****, who I stayed with too long and ended up hating
A***, who was incompatably compatable
V****, who I love and will spend the rest of my life with

Pat Tillman

I've been thinking a bit about the death of Pat Tillman, and I'm not sure what to make of the media attention that it is receiving. Granted, the notoriety of a former NFL player who gave up all of the wealth and fame that comes with that profession to become an Army Ranger does speak volumes for the man's character, however, the fact that he didn't sit for interviews about his decision, because his sacrifice wasn't any greater than that of any other Army recruits, speaks even louder.

The problem that I have with the media coverage is that it seems to point Tillman out for lauding, which is the last thing he would have wanted. He made the sacrifice with a complete understanding of the repercussions, and he did it for a cause greater than himself. The fact that most of the publicity he is receiving is because of his NFL stature, just seems to draw a distinction between himself and the rest of the WIA or KIA from Afghanistan and Iraq that he would have despised.

This is not to say that Pat Tillman doesn't deserve all of the attention he is getting...rather, it is to say that every soldier that dies in a war deserves the same. Sadly, I don't see this happening anytime soon, especially since the current administration is doing everything it can to hide each of these soldier's fates.

The Surgery

Well, the surgery is over, and it would appear that I came through it okay...although, they didn't give me enough local anesthetic to start with, so for the first couple of slices, I could feel everthing...after that was rectified (and trust me...they rectified it), I tried to stay calm by watching my heart rate, which is tougher than you might think. My rate ended up fluctuating between 57 bpm and 90 bpm. Probably the only aerobic exercise my heart will get for a while.

Another story from my past

I was living in California when I was in Kindergarten. I must have been about 6 years old. There were two other kids in my class named Patrick. This would make it very difficult to figure out who the teacher was calling on, especially since she usually refused to differentiate us in any useful way. I guess her thought was that we would be able to work it out on our own...she would usually call out "Patrick," to which the three of us would dutifully run to the front of the room. Once we got there, she would send the two superfluous Patrick's back to their interrupted activities.

Anyway, apparently, I got sick of this. So one evening, I asked my mother if I could change my name to Gabriel Rodriguez. I remember being perfectly serious about this request...I even walked up to her, bent down so my hand supported my weight on my knees, and looked her straight in the eyes...of course, she was sitting on the floor, so this seemed appropriate. After she finished laughing, she asked me why I would make such a request. I explained the three-Patrick situation, and informed her that there was only one Gabriel Rodriguez in the class, and I wanted to even things out.

Tomorrow's the Day

Ok, so I go in for my surgery tomorrow, and, while I'm not saying that skin cancer is the worst thing in the world, it is still pretty scary to think of myself as anything but healthy...maybe carma is coming back to get me for something I've done...lord knows, I've been pretty shitty to some of my former girlfriends.

Epiphany

I've realized that the blogs that I like best have an underlying theme about them. A woman trying to deal with ending an abusive marriage, an assistant manager at a strip club discussing the inner workings of the trade, etc...

I'm not sure what that says about the art of the singular, or, on a larger scale, what it says about my blog, but I'm not sure that I want to have a theme for this blog...I kinda like being able to write what's on my mind at a given time without trying to keep on message.

My Fellow Bloggers

I've spent much of the day ignoring my real work and reading the blogs that are available throughout the internet. I've found a couple that are interesting and elightening, and a couple that disturbing, but, by and large, the blogs that I have found are horrible.

As with most things in life, when done well, blogging can be transendent. Now, I'm not trying to make the case that this blog is anything other than my thoughts...I just wish that the majority of my fellow human beings had something better to say than listing their shopping activities, and posting horrible poetry.

Battle Cry

Striding through the terrain, swinging a reflective halberd, cometh Patrick! And he gives a vengeful grunt:

"For the love of beatings, I plunder until everything has croaked!"

You gotta love the internet...long live the blog...get a battle cry for yourself

Gotta see it to believe it

Understanding that my last post (which was only a couple minutes ago) doesn't really follow this thread...you really should check out "Only in Kenya".

I found it on another blog...great stuff.

WTF

I've gotten interested in politics lately, mostly because of the blogs that I read. I wasn't always that interested, but the 2000 election really taught me how screwed up the American system is...how can we legitimately accept a situation where the popular vote doesn't count towards the final outcome? I can understand that, at one point, having the electoral college made sense...after all, coordinating a national election would have been difficult back in the day...but that's not the case anymore.

Here's why I'm really pissed off about this. Having lived in Virginia for the past 10 years (before I moved to England last year), and being a registered Democrat with general liberal tendencies, my vote never counts...Virginia is a solidly Republican state, which can always be counted on to add it's electoral college votes to the Republican candidate. Without local elections on the same ballot, there is no reason for me to vote in any presidential election. Of course, this hasn't changed since I moved to England and will, thus, submit an absentee ballot in the November elections. I can understand the apathy that is endemic in the current social construct.

The fact that Virginia is a "solid" Republican state, in essence, makes the electoral process a game...the system is "played" to game the system. This can be seen, quite clearly, by the fact that the contested states are the focus of all of the effort on both sides.

I remember during the 2000 election there were efforts to swap votes. Democrats in Virginia (and other solidly Republican states) were offering to vote for Nader in exchange for Nader supporters in Florida (and other "swing" states) voting for Gore in their home states. This, of course, engendered a strong reaction from politicians, and was generally met with derision.

How hypocritical is it to have the people who are making a concerted effort to "game" the system, tell us (the people, who, by the way, should have the real power) that it was unacceptable for us to do the same?

A memory from my childhood

I lived in a small town in Rhode Island from 1983 to 1988. Pretty much the only town that anyone has ever heard of in Rhode Island (unless you've been or lived there) is Newport. Newport is where the rich people live...the mansions of the Asters, Rockafellers, etc. Well, the town I'm talking about is the poor little brother of Newport. Right next door, close enough to see the wealth, but far enough away that it's easy to hide if the "right people" don't want to see it.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the socio-economic conditions of competing townships in Rhode Island, rather, this has to do with nicknames.

My family lived in military housing, and my brother quickly met and became best friends with a boy who lived a few doors down from us. He, like my brother, was (and continues to be) two years older than me. At the time that of this incident, I was about 11 and he was 13.

He used to sit out on his front step and do his homework, and I would go over to talk with him. He never really seemed very interested in the work itself, and would tell me that as long as he had something written down, then his teacher would be fine. Not knowing if this was true or not, but believing him nonetheless, I would ask if I could do his homework for him. I'm still not sure why I would do this...it wasn't like he would ask me to...I think it had more to do with me trying to be friendly. I do remember thinking that the math was challenging though...

Anyway, after a few months of doing his math homework for him, he started calling me "Wiz," because he said I was a wiz at it. For many years, this was his nickname for me, and no one (not even my brother) knew it. That is, until I tried out for the varsity football team as a sophomore in high school. He was a senior, and one of the best players, and he would call me "wiz" out of habit. As are most sporting teams, this group of boys were very status conscious, and many of them started calling me wiz as well - with little or no understanding of where the nickname came from. Many of my former teammates, most of whom I haven't seen for years, will still call me wiz whenever they see me.

The funniest part of this whole situation for me has always been that I don't even know if I was doing the math right or not...

The Health Concerns

Well, it appears that I'm not as healthy as I thought I was. I just returned from the doctor's office (as an aside, the healthcare in England is much better than I was lead to believe by my "socialist-country" spouting friends and family) and was told that I have (or, more precisely, had) a spreading malignant melinoma...that's right, the dreaded skin cancer.

I guess there's not really any reason to worry too much. I had it removed nearly a month and a half ago, and I had the sense that something was going on. The doctor was great. He said that this is the kind of cancer that you'd want if you had to have cancer...I guess that should give you an indication of how scared I should be.

Really does put a damper on my planned trip to Santorini in June though.

Any way, I'll have another minor surgery on Friday of next week, which will remove an additional section of skin (as a precaution to make sure they removed all of the cancerous cells last time). After that, I'll have hospital appointments every three months or so to check on the progress...

More on this later.

The reason for naming this blog Hapax Legomenon, which happens to be my favorite phrase, is because it is a fantastic example of how a singular concept can be recognized and applauded. The fact that a singular instance of a word in a text has its own designation is beautiful in, and of, itself, however, it becomes even better when it is understood that a plural form of this term is available (hapax legomena).

Who Am I

At risk of sounding a bit like a desperate single man writing his first dating service description, I'll try to make the introduction as painless as possible.

I'm a 32 year old husband and father of one. I received a BA in History ('94), an MS in General Secondary Education ('97), and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership ('02). Currently, I lead a project to improve assessment practices at a fairly high profile British University. I took this job after working as an Instructional Technology Specialist for a Federal grant in a rural school district. I accepted my current position in order to provide my family an option to travel before my son gets too much older. My current contract runs out in March of 2005. At that time, I will be looking for an academic position in America.

I could discuss my interests and hobbies, but this already sounds too much like I'm looking for a date, so I think I'll stop there.

I've decided to start this blog in order to have a forum for my thoughts and musings. I hope that anyone who stumbles across it will enjoy what it contains, however, the priority is for me to have a medium to express myself.

Hapax Legomenon:

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th Ed) definition:

NOUN: pl. ha·pax le·go·me·na (-n)
A word or form that occurs only once in the recorded corpus of a given language.