Warning: Rant enclosed.

[BigBear]

No where else to let off the steam... so don't read if you don't want to hear #%&^$^&.

I am a good guy, I try to take care of my business. I even try to help out others when possible. I'm @#%^ sick of money issues and people "axin' gangsta".

Let's start with the white boy trying to be culturally kewl stuff... pants hanging below your butt? I will buy you a belt if you need one. You ahve a limp? Might want to see a doctor about that. The hat was invented to keep the sun out of your eyes, not off your right ear. Corn rows go in a field, not in your blonde hair. Are you a shoplifter? Cause your shirt is more than 4 sizes too big. The English language affirmative is "yes" not "yeah" or "uh-huh". When you're trying to get my attention or my friends and don't know mine or their name say "Excuse me, Sir" instead of "Yo, dude" or "Hey bra Ni##as". They are "Blacks" not Ni##ers and they happen to be great friends of mine who have no problem kicking your sorry @$$ if you make that mistake again. They are not African American either, they were not born there, they did not immigrate from there, they have no plans to go there. I am white, not "Caucasian" look up the etnotonmy of the word and you'll understand. On teh same note, I am not an "European American".
If the music is so loud that you have to yell to talk, turn it down. If you pull up to a redlight and everyone rolls up their window, turn it down. You want my respect, show me you deserve it. I am a musician, I love music, just not at 1K decibels next door when teh baby is trying to sleep and plaster is falling from the ceiling due to vibrations! If you're wearing more gold than Ft. Knox has in it's armory and you can't afford bread and are begging money for beer and cigs... you might want to adjust your priorities. Yes, your kids (how the F do you get kids and my wife and I who've been trying to a year can't?!) are watching how you "axe". You are their role model. Just remember, it takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and only 3 to execute proper trigger squeeze. "Smile and wait for the flash."
On to the money. It's not secret that I've been struggling. I've never been too smart on handling finances, luckily my wife is. We are slowly crawling out of debt. It's a crawl, but it's forward progress. We make enough to make ends meet and I'm sure it'll get better once I find a job in my field. Please Lord let me find a job in my field cause my job right now SUCKS!! Ha. The other day with the ice storm, I warm up my car (which has no radio, no suspension, electronics are faulty, etc) and when I pull out of my parking space I hear a crack... my front bumper was frozen to ice and it was pulled right off my car... I just laughed. Then on the way to work, I hit a pothole and now I have a flat tire to go with it. Luckily the car is paid off. It's just that things never seem to work out. I had three grand saved over a few years ago that I was going to spend on an EBR (Noveske 12 inch SST...oh yeah!!) but it had to be redirected to cover some expenses for the wife. Saved up another 4 grand but it had to be directed towards the wedding. Now I have saved up a few hundred for a christmas gift for her and it'll now have to go to repairs. I also had some money put away to get some work done to some firearms, but that "may" have to diverted to another cause as well. Were still working on that. Plus, mother in law lost her job so now she is living with us.... Me, wife, dog, Mom in law in a tiny two bedroom apt (that's costs $900!!! for a 2 bed room?!?!?! but we are locked in the lease until March) is not good. Student loans coming due in January and I'm just getting "flustermagated". We've cut cable, eating PBJ, try to drive one car (which is hard when we both work).... grrr..
Ok, that felt good. I'm better. CHRIST is the reason for the season, not presents... it'll all be ok.

BigBear out.

[Bailey Guns]

I feel ya, brother Bear. Been there and done most of that...except the MIL thing.

Had a rough go from about 03-05...still trying to pull out of it. With respect to the cultural issues you discussed? That's why I live in Bailey and rarely venture to the metro area.

Hang in there.

[Irving]

I think the first part of your rant is a bit over board, with hating on people saying "uh-huh" and the like. However, given the second (and more important) part of your rant, I can see why you are frustrated enough to get upset about little things. I'm in a similar situation as you financially and it does get a bit old doesn't it? Good luck sir.

[BigBear]

I think the first part of your rant is a bit over board, with hating on people saying "uh-huh" and the like. However, given the second (and more important) part of your rant, I can see why you are frustrated enough to get upset about little things. I'm in a similar situation as you financially and it does get a bit old doesn't it? Good luck sir.

I'll try to qualify it a little better if I can... More often its not teh "uh-huh" but more the manner (tone) in which it is said. I do some substitute teaching on the side as well. Kids these days are just horrible. Parents try to be their buddies instead of parents. Kids get spoiled at home. It's up the to teachers to "raise" the kid at school leaving no time for education. Discipline problems abound along with disrepect, no regard for human life, etc... Then to go and watch TV or look at society on the streets... they all act the same. People type and talk like they text in formal papers and coversations! (LOL, eye outta here bra, cya l8tr... or da pricident o da unitted Stakes of amerryika is Obama i lik cuss hez black) I am a YOUNG guy, but I feel so OLD. My father raised me (at least he tried, HAHA) to have respect for all, to be educated and learn from my mistakes and the past, blah blah blah... That kid (man, he had to be at least 35ish) just really upset me and some friends the other day and it's been knawing at me.

Other than that, I appreciate the support. Take care all.

[GreenScoutII]

Hey BigBear, sorry to hear you're having such a rough time right now. I can relate. This economy SUCKS. Financially, I'm worse off than I have ever been. I have worked since I was fifteen. In all of those years, I have never been out of work except for one 10 day period in 2001. I've been laid off 6 months out of the last 12. My wife has a pretty decent job, but she had to take a 10% pay cut as well. I'm so friggin broke, I can't afford to pay attention...

I hope to God in heaven I can get back to work at a wage at least comparable to what I usually make, otherwise.... Well, I don't want to get into that on a public forum....

As far as the first part of your rant, it made me laugh. I'll tell you a story:

A few years ago, I was doing a basement finish for this lady and her husband who I had done a bunch of work for previously. They live in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Colo Spgs. Very upper, upper middle class nice area of town. Anyway, I finished up about 10 pm, locked up the house and left. I stopped at a gas station in this same neighborhood to get a pack of smokes. As I was pulling in, I get cut off by a Cadillac Escalade which was going way to damn fast through the parking lot. Stereo was booming some kind of rap shit at full volume. As I pulled in behind the Caddy, I noticed it had a "my kid is an honor student at such and such elementary school" bumper sticker. Ah yes, rich whitey trying to look all "gangsta" while driving his mommy's Escalade.

I park and walk in to the Diamond Shamrock behind "G-Dog" and his pal "Money". G-Dog looks to be all of 16. This kid was Hyper-Caucasian. I mean, not just white, but borderline albino. Hes wearing an oversized basketball jersey, baggy running pants, and high top basketball sneakers. He has a gold chain the size of a Grant steering wheel around his neck. His buddy, Money, was dressed much the same except with a ball cap covering his right ear as you described in your post and the same stupid assed corn rows in his golden blonde hair. I'm sure their parrents were proud.

Anyhow, G-Dog approaches the clerk and says in the most exagerated, stereotyped black accent he can muster, "Uh, yeah, yeah, let me gets a pack a Cools yo".. The clerk, a cranky old dude who I immediately liked, says " Yo, can I sees some ID Yo?? Money then responds, "why you gots to be sweatin' us dog?" The clerk, a 60 something black guy, says "Don't be playin' me boy" "You aint gots no ID, I aint gots no smokes.."

As G-Dog and Money slinked away I was laughing my balls off. I offered to buy the clerk a beer. Funny shit man...

I guess I just don't see the appeal of a hard, urban life to priveledged white kids from the subburbs. I'm willing to bet any kids from the real "hood" would happily trade places in a heartbeat...

[Irving]

There is this dipshit on one of my import boards that I post on that has been driving me up the wall lately. His grammar and spelling is the worst I've seen. The other day he started a thread about getting a puppy and it went like this.

Hey guy's, check out my new baby boy. Hes so cute, but damn he's a hand fool.

I shit you not. I about had an aneurysm trying to read that and stay conscious at the same time. My 11 year-old niece texts me occasionally, and one or two times, I had to tell her to resend the text because her spelling was so bad that I couldn't actually figure out what she was trying to tell me. So sad. Don't people ever pick up a fucking book?

Speaking of which. NWS for language. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOcMFeWUsuM

[Ranger353]

Good luck and may 2010 be a better year for you. I have been there, eating baloney and cheese sandwiches, and sometimes just cheese, 2 times a day to make it. The wife and I have seen it all, just learn from these times and keep moving forward, it will get better.

Take care.

[BigBear]

Greenscout!! That may have been the same guy I ran into! Great story. I'll be praying you find some more profitable work. One of my friends comes from the philly ghettos (talk about a hard knock life) and was involved in drugs, gangs, and the whole life style. Got a little too close to a drive-by on day and it straightened his life out. He is so impressed with my family and our life. He loves it when I invite him back home for a holiday or something. I bet a solid 90% of the "ghetto rats" would change places with that priviledge SOB cracker if they could. The other 10% are there cause they like it and the gooberment pays for everything, and what they can't afford they just steal...

Stuart, great rap video map, lol. Not my taste of lyrics but it makes a solid point. However, I will say they picked a great classical piece of music to base it off of with some very interesting hooks and a good groove with the drum machine.

How does someone mix up "full" with "fool"? READ A BOOK @#$%!! HAHA. That's like saying "Take my pole!" instead of "Take my Poll!" HAHA. I'll take that pole and shove it up your... lol. Thanks for the support and laughs folks.

[Bailey Guns]

Here ya go, Bear. I'm hopeful it'll bring a smile to your face for even just a minute:

The Economy, How Bad Is It?

The economy is so bad...

1. ...That I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
2. ...I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"
3. ...That CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
4. ...If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
5. ...The economy is so bad... McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
6. ...Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
7. ...A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .
8. ...Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.
9. ...Motel 6 won't leave the light on anymore.
10. ..The Mafia is laying off judges.
11. ..Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

[Bailey Guns]

I can't count the number of times while working patrol I'd have to give a young man a hands-on lesson on how belts work.

I got more than a few laughs making gangsta boyz look like they learned their pants-reated fashion tips from Urkel.