I would just like to give props to Jill and Mike on the videos. They were really funny. People became too predictable on the sesame street answer. And on the virginity, come on at least try rhyming, there are lots of dirty words to chose from - "Cock. Balls. / We get the picture Frank you don't have to celebrate it."

Allentown is this weekend? I am jealous. I wish I could be home for it. Last year I got my buffalo belt buckle. Maybe this year I would've splurged on the belt studded with buffalo nickles to match. Now I will never know. If someone is there and feels like spending $40 dollars on someone else, feel free to pick one up for me.

That is all for now and "Stay away from the deli tray" (if anyone can name who said that quote or at least what it is from, they will seriously get the maddest props EVER from me - whatever that is worth)

In regards to terry's response [inlink]terry,243[/inlink], I do agree that respect is earned and not given. I was not meaning to start a political debate on RR's policies and whether they were good or bad. I was just trying to make the point that feelings about the President are subjective and as such they cannot be used as a good method for the government (not individuals) to determine whether the flag should be flown at half mast.

On to other things RR, I visited his casket last night, and oh was it a visit. I will start this story from the beginning. Originally, I was intending on walking down to the Capitol right after I got out of work, which is about 7ish. When I got out I was walking with my coworker and all the roads around the White House were blocked up. Having nothing better to do, I decided to wait and see what was going on. About a half-hour later, we saw the presidential caravan. I was surprised that the windows weren't really all that tinted. It was neat.

I then continued my journey, but was then distracted by a filene's basement. On monday I got a navy blazer, but I still needed another suit, so I stopped. I found a navy suit that looked nice and was cheap, but as they were closing I was unable to try on the pants. So naturally, I just bought it any way. It ended up being cheaper than I thought, like $120. But as I now had a suit, I had to go home, which added another 2 hours to when I got in line (I did get to change out of the suit though).

When I finally got there it was 10:30. Going there I thought, good it will be late so there won't be as many people. Apparently everyone else and their mother thought that too. As a result, I stood in line for six and a half hours (I wasn't even one of those who was there the longest).

I got into the Capitol at 5:10 AM. It was really a beautiful setting. We went in through the front door and the Capitol and the Mall looked so majestic. Little patches of navy blue were starting to break through the dark purple night sky. Once we got inside, it was an regal setting to say the least. The whole scene, with the soldiers and the coffin, set against the backdrop of the always breathtaking Rotunda. It was worth the wait. I will never forget it.

Some less moving side notes. When I went, I didn't know how I was going to get home because I was alone, didn't have a car, and the Metro closed at midnight. I was probably going to have to walk the 7+ miles if my roommates had gone to bed. Luckily all of those things didn't matter because two of my friend who live in the same building were in the next row and I just hung out and got a ride home with them. Even if I didn't find them, the Metro was opening in another hour. The craziness.

I would also like to commend all the people that worked on this, from the park police, to the capitol police, to the DC police, to the Metro bus drivers, to the Red Cross Disaster relief volunteers that handed out free water. For the short notice and the number of people, they did an awesome job and made sure everyone was taken care of.

Anyway, It was an awesome experience and I am glad I did it. It is a story to tell the kids. Sorry if I droned too much. Take care.

I went down with my office to see Reagan's casket process down Constitution Ave to the Capitol building today. We stood right at the beginning and I got to see them take the casket out of the hearse and put it onto the horsedrawn platform. The ceremony of the situation was quite breath taking. The most touching thing by far was the riderless horse. All this week I had been reading about the ceremony and the meaning in the riderless horse with the riders boots turned backwards in the stirrups. But once I was there and saw it and connected it to the fact that Ronald Reagan would never ride a horse again, it was really touching. I know it sounds lame but it was something just being there.

In regards to Paul's journal [inlink]paul,1010[/inlink] about flying the flag half mast. I would say it is up to you how you fly the flag. If you do not think he was a good president then don't. It is your right as a matter of free speech to fly your flag how you want.

In regards to flying the flag at half mast in general for the president, I think the requirement for and length of flying the flag at half mast is codified. I know Reagan and his policies were not liked by all and they hurt a lot of people, but what makes a president a "good person" That is such a subjective term. A lot of people would argue that Reagan was a good person if not a great one. I'm not saying that he was or wasn't. But how could one quantify whether he is worthy of it? Should it be how much they were elected by? Kennedy was barely elected to his first term. If it weren't for a few sketchy votes in Chicago, he would have lost. But many would argue Kennedy is one of our greatest presidents. Should it be the economy during their term? For FDR's first three terms the economy remained in a little slump known as the Great Depression. But many would say that he is one of our best presidents and deserving of the flags being a half mast. Should it be their protection of liberty? Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus while president, but he is considered such a great president that he gets a holiday. My point is, determining whether a president was good or not is impossible and can be up for debate. Lacking a solid manner to measure their accomplishments, I think the flag should be flown at half mast at the death of anyone who has served as our president. You are welcome to disagree with me and I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what I said Paul. I apologize if I sound condescending. I don't mean to. That is just what I think. If you don't want to fly your flag at half mast to show your displeasure with him, I encourage you to. That is the beauty of this country. Our speech is not subject to the orders of the government, and I pray that it never will be.

So I bought a navy suit coat for work yesterday. I only have two suits that fit me and two others that don't so it was done out of necessity. I wish the fabric was a bit finer but the nicer one was $200 more. I can live with the rough fabric and $200. It is a typical JCPenny blazer, but when I put it on with my khakis and tie this morning I looked like such a preppy ass. It looked like I was about to go sailing on my yaucht after a rousing game of tennis at the country club. Oh well, I gots to do what I gots to do.

Got a crazy call at work today. Someone was telling me how HUD was screwing her and refusing to pay her rent. I'm not exactly sure, she was rambling incoherently for most of the time. I tried to explain to her that we don't handle that. She said that as we give the budget to HUD therefore we had power to tell them to give out the money. I felt bad cause I'm sure whatever she had to deal with sucked but I couldn't do anything for her. She insisted we did so I just took a message and we won't call her back. I feel bad lying to her and acting like we are going to do something. I tried not to act like we were going to call her back too much cause I don't want to get her hopes up, but if she does not believe me what am I supposed to do. I don't know.

On happier news, I finally got my user profile and email. I feel almost legit. Now I only need a photo ID so I can get into the building without having to get cleared in as an appointment each day by my boss. Maybe someday.

Hmmm, I hope I don't get in trouble if this was ever found by a coworker. Just in case, all the situations I describe of me at work are entirely hypothetical, both before and after this point.

That takes care of that. Stay out of trouble, and hopefully I will too.

Along with contributing to this site, I also have started writing articles for one of my friends website that he recently put up, Intellectual Wastebasket. Here is the link: It is also in my links section. Unlike these posts, I actually put thought into developing my position. This article uses experiences that I have had in Buffalo to address what I see as a nationwide problem of government sponsored campaign ads for incumbents. I am curious to hear what other Buffalonians thoughts are on the topic as there is a good chance you have experienced my examples first hand. It is under the "News & Politics" section and the article is titled "Olczak: $ign$" (Sorry about the lame title it was all I could come up with). Please let me know what you think either by posting a response on that site or emailing me through this site. I'd appreciate any feedback I could get even if you think I am a complete moron. Thanks.

In other news, our President declared friday a national day of mourning which means I don't have to go into work Friday. WOOOO HOOOO!!! On Wednesday, my office is thinking of going to see his casket process down to the Capitol and maybe even go see him lie in state in the Rotunda. Oh the joys of working with Republicans.

Hope all is well with everyone. To Jillian: I emailed you back if you have any questions please let me know, we can work out the times or whatever. To everyone, please read the article and let me know what you think. Thanks

I almost forgot. Welcome Teres! WOOOO HOOOO! I can't wait to stalk you as much as I stalk everyone else. Just remember to publish so I can stalk you. Talk to you later.

Well I saw the movie Saved! as promised (see last journal). I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed. Both my roommate and I were expecting/hoping for a witty satire of people that call themselves Christians but are still petty backstabbers and overall not nice people. In the end, it was just another teen dramedy that uses pregnancy in a christian school as its backdrop. At the end they try to salvage it as a social commentary by having one of the nonchristians reach out to the jerk main christian, but it was too little and too late. Another complaint with the movie is it did portray christians in a very cartoonish light. I know how over-the-top people in the very conservative sects of christianity can be, but this was far beyond that. It made them look like little more than crazy morons, and I don't think that is a completely fair assessment either. I have seen how cliquey, mean, and judgemental christians can be even though they profess god's love, but this was unfair in its portrayal. I would also like to say that macaulay culkin should be in more movies as he was pretty good in this. I think he can get over the home alone stereotype, but he still looks extremely young. Don't macaulay culkin's lips always looked chapped. They did in this movie and I remember them always seeming too. Can't the man afford some chapstick.

On to other topics, My roommates and I played poker last night. Two other friends were supposed to come over but they both stiffed us. It was pretty fun but they kept getting angry at me because I would introduce new games and they wouldn't give them a chance. I just wanted to play something other than the same three games we kept playing. I lost all my change in the game, but because it was mostly pennies it isn't that bad. I think sivram came out on top taking both mine and chris' money, but I get solace in the fact that he wanted to play to get rid of pennies, but he just ended up with more.

I would also like to address Ronald Reagan's death. I know a lot of people strongly dislike him and his policies, but the man just died. I read/heard of away messages that said "good riddance ronald reagan" or "now ronald reagan can join his comrade Nixon." The man is dead. Let it rest for a while. Oh and regarding the Nixon comment, Nixon and Reagan did not care much for one another. Nixon feared Reagans conservatives taking over the party, which they eventually did. Maybe I am just being over sensitive about this whole thing. Whatever.

My roommate mentioned something to me the otherday and it struck me as kind of odd. He said that every meal I eat is based around meat. I thought about it and realized it was true, with the exception of breakfast. I guess it goes back to when I was a kid and the main food in most dinners at my house was usually meat - whether hot dogs, meat loaf, chicken etc. It then made me think that it was odd that it was so odd to him that my meals were all based around meat. My roommate is was born in American but he is a first generation Indian (the kind from india). And he always tells me how when he visits india they are almost vegan in the foods that they eat. So much so that when he visited the first time his aunt that lives there didn't know how to cook meat but she knew someone in the town that did and if he really wanted it they could go to him. I don't know if any of this has a point or it is just me rambling. It just struck me as odd the cultural differences between two americans just because of their families. Oh and by the way my roommate is in no way a vegan/vegetarian or a healthy eater, but he does not eat beef.

Today I am going to see the movie Saved! . It should be interesting as I went to a very small religious school (my class was 21 people and we thought catholics were soft) for K-8th grade. Hopefully it attacks the sometimes jerkiness of those in the church but not that all people that have faith are morons and/or assholes, because that is not a fair assesment either. I'll let you know how it is.
Stay out of trouble.

Today at work was the first day I did something that a well trained ape couldn't. Apparently there is something on the whitehouse website where you can submit questions and they will answer them - I'm not sure if they are published online or they just email you back. Our office was given four questions about the budget to answer and I was given one of them, probably the easiest out of the four. They then told me the name and extension of someone who could answer the question. I called them, got the answer, wrote the response, and they made very few edits - so that is good. I would just like to say that I hate calling people on the phone for work that I do not know. I get so flustered and nervous. I have to write out a mini script when I call people so I don't screw up what I have to say or studder too much. I also hate answering the phone. I am always afraid I am going to screw up and not ask the right info or something. I am not sure. Luckily my boss usually answers the phone. It is probably really bad that I work in a Communications office and hate talking on the phone. To quote SLC Punk a movie that I saw for the first time in my hotel room in Cancun (I'm so lame that I go to Cancun to hang out in my hotelroom). Anyway, after Heroin Bob has just gone off on a long rant about the evils of drugs, specifically acid-
Stevo- "It really makes you think, doesn't it, Bob?"
Bob- "Think what?"
Stevo- "That chemistry's the WRONG FUCKING MAJOR FOR A GUY LIKE YOU. It's the wrong major, Bob."
Bob- "Well you shoud still lay off the acid."
I hope you got the connection. hmmmm, maybe its better that you didn't. Cause if you did, that means you are on the same wavelength as me and that probably is not a good thing.

Speaking of the totally obserd, check out this story They are actually suing one another over lies about the candidates in commercials for a fake campaign to become the fake "President of Beers." God bless capitalism, free speech, the legal system, alcohol, and last but not least America.
The lesson we learn from all of this is: Never lie about the country of origin of the opposing beer in a campaign commercial for President of Beers, or more simply, stay off the hooch.

For those interested in the whole steve kurtz thing here is an article from today's washington post on it:
Thought I would pass that along.
Today was my second day at my intership. It is with the Office of Management and Budget Communications office. For those who have lives and don't know what that is, it is part of the White House that decides how much money the President wants to spend on things, like the war in Iraq, and the communications office does all the media stuff for it.
The day went pretty well but it got kind of boring. I swear I must have read the entire washington post and all of the headlined stories at cnn.com. I would rather check my email or go on nonnews sites, but as: I am on company time, my computer is in the middle of the office where everyone can see what I am doing, and it is my first week on the job, I decided that I better stick to reading news as that is passable for work. I have pretty crazy hours. There is another intern so we work in two 6:30 shifts. The first is from 6:30 am to 1 and the second is from 1 to 7:30 pm. We switch each week as to what shift we get. Because it is my first week and I don't have my ID yet, I get the second. I don't think I will mind the first that much because I am use to getting up pretty early. The only part that sucks is I have to walk 2 miles to the Metro station because there are no buses or shuttles that run that early. Oh well, the walking couldn't hurt me.
I hope this entry isn't really boring. I don't know I am new at this. Hopefully, it isn't too bad. Feel free to email me with comments, questions, advice, death threats, etc.
Stay out of Trouble.