I have been... Googled.

I can't claim any exclusiveness to this activity, but I enjoy it nevertheless. One of the many "fun" things to go around the Georgia Tech Band Header (which I am unsure as to why I'm still subscribed...) is Googling people's names. George P. Burdell, who nearly won Time's Man of the Year Award, is the most common source of fun because he is not even a real person (look here http://gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/sum99/mystery.html). I'll go into Burdell a little more some other time. I've decided to shake away my non-conformist nature and do the same for myself.

So, what does the almighty Google say about Christopher J. Gill?

*I am a Doctor of Infectious Diseases in Salem, MA.
*I am also an Assistant Professor at the Center for International Health and Development, Department of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
*I was also somehow involved in an Alfalfa Seed Decontamination in a Salmonella Outbreak.
*In 2001 I was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 26th Round. I'm a RHP.
*I am the author of the book Medical Expert Systems: Grappling with Issues of Liability.
*I am a 1950 Alumnus of the University of Maine. Go Blue!


I'm a pretty busy guy it would seem. What wonders and blunders will Google show me the next time I search? Only time, and possibly a few beers, will tell.

The Return of Mr. Picadilly

Ok, so some of you may know about the strange calls I occasionally get on my cell phone. Usually they are not worth mentioning, but today's call was rather special. I've recieved calls from this guy, who I lovingly call Mr. Picadilly, on a number of occasions now. He's some bloke from Britain (as far as I can tell) and he sounds pretty feminine. Anyways, on to our conversation.


*Every Breath You Take - my ringtone*

Me: Hello?

Mr. Picadilly: Hiya, chum.

Me: Erm, hello. Do I...know you?

Mr. Picadilly: Haha. Of course you do.

Me: ...

Mr. Picadilly: Do you want to get together tonight?

--At this point I recognize the voice as the guy I call Mr. Picadilly. He's called before, and each time I tell him I'm not who he thinks I am. Apparently, not only does this "friend" of his have a phone number similar to mine, but I also sound like him. Very...odd.--

Me: You have the wrong number. Who are you trying to reach?

Mr. Picadilly: You, of course.

--Instead of being annoyed or freaked out, I decide to play along with him a bit. What can I say? Work was slow... I had to do something fun.--

Me: Ok, what do you want to do tonight?

Mr. Picadilly: Drink until we're pissed! Hahaha!

Me: Sounds good. Where do you want to go?

Mr. Picadilly: I was thinking we could stay in...

Me: How about the Circus? I love the Circus.

Mr. Picadilly: Huh?

Me: Sure, why not? Lots of people... and witnesses.

Mr. Picadilly: Stop making jokes, Brian.

Me: Brian? Who the heck is Brian? My name is Chris.

Mr. Picadilly: ... Wait, this isn't Brian?

Me: Nope, but I appreciate the flattery. You still want to get together?

*Phone hangs up.*


You can't make this stuff up.

((____________))

I had something planned, but in its stead I wish to observe a moment of silence. More blasts went off today in London, but luckily no lives were lost.

Pray for those families who have been affected by these tragedies. Pray for those who have masterminded these events. Pray for our world leaders to make the right decisions as a result of these atrocities.

Just pray.


________________________________________________________________

My Father

I've been wanting to do a blog on my father for some time now, but I never really knew what to say.

His name is Michael and he is the oldest of three kids. He has always been the "responsible" one and I think I resemble him more then any other member of my family. Perhaps it's because I'm also the oldest. He loves sports, particularly Baseball, Football and Golf. He's a very dedicated Christian and is very involved with his church. Growing up he was always pretty strict with me, but I don't blame him for it. That's how he was raised, so it seemed only natural. All in all the positives about my father far outweigh the negatives and for that I am grateful.



Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. ~Bill Cosby

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~Harmon Killebrew

Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name. ~William Wordsworth


Those are some of my favorite father quotes. Father's Day has already come and passed, but this isn't about a marketable holiday. This is about my father.

3 days ago my father suffered what we believe to be his second seizure. It is impossible for me to explain the amount of emotional stress this puts a family through. I don't cry a lot, but on such an occasion one can't help but do it.

Pop, I love you. Thanks for everything. I hope that one day my kids will be able to spend time with their grandpa.

'Da Government

Government problems


Things To Think About Our Government:

1. 29 Members of Congress have been accused of spousal abuse.

2. 7 Have been arrested for fraud.

3. 19 Have been accused of writing bad checks.

4. 117 Have bankrupted at least two businesses.

5. 3 Have been arrested for assault.

6. 71 Have credit reports so bad they can't qualify for a credit card.

7. 14 Have been arrested on drug related charges.

8. 8 Have been arrested for shoplifting,

9. 21 Are current defendants in lawsuits.

10. 84 Were stopped for drunk driving in 1998 alone, but released after they claimed Congressional immunity.



I'm most surprised at #2. Only 7?!? Come on, guys! Get on the ball!

C.J.'s got a gun... C.J.'s got a gun...

Spooky, eh? I digged this photo up last night and couldn't stop laughing. The year: 1997. The place: Some Civil War Museum is Tennessee (or was it Northwest Georgia? I forget.) My friend Tim and I were on one of our many road trips during Christmas Break. On this occasion we started heading for TN and ended up visiting several tourist traps scattered about the state. The Aquarium there is quite nice, but the one they are building here in Atlanta will trump it easily. Anyways, we went to these underground stalactite caves and nearly got lost from the "tour". The guide we had said that there were many people who go exploring deep into the caves and make a week or two adventure out of it. If I wasn't so desperate to live then I would of tried it myself. Getting lost in underground caves is not my idea of excitement. I have another great story about that trip (involving pictures taken of me in an akward position on the side of the highway), but I'm going to restrain myself and keep this PG. I'm hoping that if I don't think about it overly much I'll just forget about it another couple of years. Hurrah for getting old!


I'm still looking for a job and I really need to get one by the beginning of August. If anyone knows of something you can send me a line at 404.966.3841. You can also reply here, or e-mail me at cjgill@gmail.com.

A Gaming Guru I am

First off, I'd like to give props to Yoda for influencing my Blog Title today. Wow. Did I just say "props"? Forgive me...

I want to also say thanks to Gabe for his comments on yesterday's blog. I knew I could count on him giving his uninhibited impressions.

Gaming is a way of life for me. Some people lift weights. Some people go clubbing. Some people sit around and make fun of "Those geeks who play on their computer". No matter what type of category you fall into there are some stereotypes that will never be lifted. I can accept the fact that those who play video games are labeled as geeks, nerds, wastoids, druggies, etc. It doesn't bother me much because I've always had a high self-esteem. I'm more irritated at those who think games are for kids. Why is it that when I tell people my biggest hobby is gaming they give me a look? "Games are for kids. Grow up. That sort of thing won't bring home the money." Sigh. To all the naysayers I would like to point you to this article: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-12-gamer-demographics_x.htm Games aren't necesarily for kids. My generation grew up with the NES, not to mention the Atari 2600. You better get used to it. As technology grows so does the age of gamers.

On a related note, I'm rather upset at how video games are being treated by our government. Politicians have started to blame video games whenever an underage crime is committed. "Such-and-such game promotes the use of guns and violence." "Jimmy stabbed his brother to death because he saw it in a video game." I'm sick of video games getting a bad rap because there are some people in our world who are mentally unstable. Blame something much more real, like the parents. Better yet, do a little research into these kids lives and find out if they have a history of bad behavior. Blaming games is stupid. Period.

On a more happier note, I'm currently playing a game called "World of Warcraft" and I'm having a blast. In truth I've been playing it off and on since its launch last fall, but only now I'm enjoying myself more then I ever thought possible. For those of you acquainted with MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) then you probably know that WoW is one of the hottest games on the market. I play on a Role-Playing server called Scarlet Crusade. I've been with my guild "House Kenafin" for some months now. Just last night we staged a dramatic event in the game and it went over really well. I can't explain how cool it is when 20 or so like-minded people get together and try to speak and think as their in-game character. It adds a whole new element to the genre. MMORPGs usually lack the RPG aspect nowadays, which saddens me greatly. There are even those who have the testicular fortitude to make fun of those who do RP! "Geeks making fun of other geeks", as some may say. It's sad, really... especially when these people go out of their way to ruin the experience for others. Gamers have the negative attitudes coming at them from all fronts. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.

Patriotism

Everyone knows how it took a devastating event like 9/11 to spur patriotism in America. It's not that Americans were unpatriotic beforehand, but the surge of it afterwards sparked a "renewed" interest. I was thinking about this over the 4th of July weekend when I received an email from an old co-worker. I'm just going to cut and paste it in its entirety.



IMMIGRANTS,
NOT AMERICANS,
MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the
terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11,


we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began
complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against
anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population
is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However,
there are a few things that those who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.
This idea of America being a multicultural community
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national
identity.
As Americans, we
have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture
has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories
by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.


We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese,
Japanese,Russian, or any other language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some
Christian, right wing, political slogan We adopted this motto because
Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation,
and this is clearly documented.

It is certainly appropriate to display it
on the walls of our schools. If God
offends you, then I suggest you
consider another part of the world as
your new home, because God is part
of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or
you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move
to another part of this planet. We
are happy with our culture and have
no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where
you came from. This is
OUR COUNTRY,
our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every
citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every

opportunity to do so! But once you are done complaining, whining, and
griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our
way of life, I highly encourage you
take advantage of one other great American freedom,
THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.
It is Time for America to Speak up.


AMEN



My thoughts on this "article" are a little mixed, but I'm more interested in what all of you think. FYI this was submitted by a man to a Tampa (FL) newspaper and was published. I haven't been able to track down which one specifically, but I would be curious to see/read the comments made by its viewers.

Ikea... is it really a treasure trove of Happiness?

This was my mission. I had heard the talk. There were whispers in dark alleys of the greatness that is Ikea, but I was ever skeptical. It's not so much that I keep my glass half-empty, but it's hard to rationalize my can of coke as being half-full when it's this humid outside. My love of coke and pathetic attempts at being clever aside, I made the journey to the furniture superstore this morning. Ryan and Sarah accompanied me (or did I accompany them?) The sheer size of the store lived up to the hype. We spent a solid hour and a half-2 hours walking through the place. The way they have it set up is such that you have to practically walk through the entire store in order to see an exit. Ok, so maybe there are some shortcuts, but who's counting? From a marketing/advertising standpoint the idea is genious. Do the prices confirm this intelligence? Well, yes and no. I was informed, by voices both far and wide, that the real greatness behind Ikea was in its prices. Cheaper furniture sounds good, right? Wrong. I won't sit here and pretend to be Christopher Lowell, but the prices seemed to be just as ridiculous there as they are everywhere else. To be fair I don't go out and price king-size beds at different outlets, but I know a good price from a bad price. I saw a couple of chairs I liked (there was one really comfortable chair that Ryan and I thought would make good "gaming" chairs), and I saw a computer desk at <$100 that would work well once I move. To their credit they do have extraordinary prices on smaller items, such as hangers, shades, toolsets, pillows, sheets, shelves, etc. Ryan picked up a couple of down-feather pillows and some bamboo shades for his bathroom, and spent <$50. However, their "main" itembase was no less cheaper then any other "super-mega-colossal-one-of-a-kind-BLOWOUT-warehouse". Oh well, hopefully someone with better tastes in decor will come along and put me in my place. After all, I am a guy. What did you expect?

Lazy Days

I can't even begin to explain how boring it is to sit around with nothing to do. As a teenager you dream about how awesome it would be to have no job. Sit around, play videogames, read your favorite book, go to the beach... exciting, eh? Not really. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I miss working. I need to work. Not only for money, but for something to do. It would be different if I could convince myself that I was just on vacation, but my mind is smarter then that. Or so it tells me.

I forgot to throw a special shout-out to a good friend of mine yesterday. She called me just when it seemed everything was breaking apart, and for that I am glad. Although I tried to downplay the whole situation she showed concern for my plight. She even offered to make a few calls and see if she knew of anyone looking for a few good men... or man. Thanks Nicole. You've always been a special person to me. I know you will get all the fulfillment you need in whatever career path you walk down.

I'm listening to Coldplay right now and I have to admit that their new album rocks. If any of you are interested in them you can visit their site at http://www.coldplay.com/. Their most recent album, entitled X&Y, reminds me a lot of an earlier U2. I also think of Depeche Mode when I hear them. Anyways, I recommend it.

Contemplations

Long-time viewer, First-time Blogger. The start of things to come.

This week started off so great. My Uncle Mitch, Aunt Jan, and Cousin Tyler came down to visit from Tacoma, Washington. It's always nice to see them since we live so far away from one another. The last time I saw them was Christmas 2000 (or was it 2001?) I was up there with the Georgia Tech Band for the Seattle Bowl. Good times. I remember this one drink I had...

It's probably best if I don't finish that sentence. At any rate, it was nice seeing them this past weekend. The 4th was nice, nothing too special. Fireworks, food, annoying celebrities on the T.V. talking about how their careers are going great (which reminds me, I need to do a little research on the effect that celebrities ego's have on teenage depression). Tuesday was a completely different beast. I went in for my first day at my new job , but by the end of the day I was unemployed. I had quit Barnes & Noble and Acropolis Books in order to work at this new Marketing job, but as it turns out they decided to play me like a puppet. "We want you to relocate to our Charlotte, North Carolina office." Hmm. I remember them saying during my interview that relocating was not an option. So, I reminded them. "If you don't want to relocate, we can arrange it so you'll be travelling to Charlotte on a bi or tri-monthly basis for 4 or 5 days at a time." It was at this point I stood up, dusted my dress pants off, and left the office. "I'll call you later," was my response. I did indeed call them later, and after expressing my anger and confusion at the whole situation we came to the decision that working for them was not the best thing... for either of us. Eso es la vida.

Now I'm at a point where I have to go back to Acropolis, on my hands and knees, and basically beg for my old job back. Christine, who is the manager of the office, makes my day and gladly accepts me back. I don't think I have gone through so many emotions in one day. God certainly got an earful from me today.

I'd ask you guys to pray for me, but I understand that to some of you it may not be "PC". Pray, think, send me your kind words and I will be eternally grateful. I'll get through this, one way or the other.

Until next time... and hopefully a more happy blog.