Spare Change

As many of you have come to find out, I really detest people always asking for change. Well today it hit a new low, I met a gentleman at Earth Day and he said he was running, and will be the next Mayor of Reno. He calls me at the shop today asking for a hundred dollars so he won't get evicted. I mean I thought this guy was laughable at earth day for his claim, but I have yet to have someone I hardly know call me up and expect money. I kind of do hope that he does become the mayor of Reno, just so I can remind him of our earlier conversation. Over the last couple months I have been strategical gluing coins and full dollars to sidewalks. I realize I'm going to hell for this, there isn't the slightest doubt in my mind about this fact either. Its wrong but funny, and gets me through many days. I have even ventured out to getting people to do push ups, jumping jacks, fetching a stick, and picking up garbage for spare change. I work hard for what I have, and I think other people should too. Its that simple, and with everything happening with economy the onset of a recession, get a job fools its not getting any easier. During the coffee shop gig I can count at least 50 people a day walking by that if I were in or near there path they would be asking me for change, and then come the motivated ones who wait on the outskirts of our parking lot and rush in when someone pulls in. I will chase you off with a flyswatter, and post about it on twitter and its an electric flyswatter at that! Ive started coming up with all these unique phrases or way to deal with team spare change, the most effective way is ask them for change first. Your met by a look of utter shock, followed by damn I was going to ask you the same thing. You may also here the famous my car ran out of gas line, and following it up with oh what kind of car, where is the car, or now lets be honest there is no car, creates quality reactions. Now if it is a kid asking for change I cave and give in, that's just sad, and I hate seeing it. Which this really gets me the other day I was handing out passports at the Rush show and a security guard working for the RSCVA told me it was illegal to be handing out Reno Passports but was allowing people to ask for spare change! Honestly what was that about I wish I would of taken a picture of this guy, I want to make shirts. I make his official title Defender of Spare Change Parasites. The best thing is the first thing he does is whips out his badge. Side idea of the moment I'm going to get my own Reno Passport Badge! It will make my Penis grow 2 inches, ego swell two fold, and no one fucks with a man with a badge. What would he do if I pulled out a badge too? Do they cancel each other out? Honestly neither of them mean anything anyways so that's it I'm determined to find myself my own badge to flash, because as previously stated badges equals a larger penis. Which the best part of the whole day was the fact that the RSCVA security guard had a stunning resemblance to the Austrian Horror Dungeon man. They could of been twins, I swear it, even better shirt idea in the works. Yes from this day on so carrying my camera with me where ever I go, and going to buy a charger and cable for the thing. This is going to be trouble, I think I have been spending too much time reading Mr Jerz's blog, just got sucked in again! OK enough of my own blogging and time to read others cheers.

My first blog; I have had a million ideas of what to do after this point but its first one must set the standard! I'm very privileged in this world. I came to realize this last night after sharing a beer with a man that I have an enormous amount of respect for and the value I place on his friendship and advise grows with each encounter. I'm finding that I'm discovering more and more of these valued friendships. We can be honest there are a lot of people we all know but few people that make us eager and excited to be around. Some may call it positive energy i just think of them as people who make me want to be a better person by being in their presence. I have found that these people all share common traits of energy, honesty, genuine, intelligent, and collaboration. All though I may call myself an expert on words, words could never capture the true value of these people. I've had a life full of challenges, each one making me stronger and really making me the person I have become. The very first breath I took was too big and popped my right lung, I also had a kinked pulmonary vein, and by the time I hit 12 days old I had experienced open heart surgery, and a popped lung. I pulled through all right and had a good life growing up with a sturdy family, and just because you love them doesn't mean you like them. As I grew up I always was the kid the nerds picked on, which I could of very well been a kid who brought a gun to school. I was mistreated in many ways which I don't think I will ever be comfortable describing, but truly wish for a day that no other person has to experience the things I did. I had friends I did stuff in high school, then college came and was really just a glorified babysitting environment. I started out as a Biochemistry student, and I was wicked good at it but never liked the social aspect. You were forced to be around other bio chem people because they were the only ones who knew what the hell you were talking about, and biochemistry people suck for friends. I was always getting the look in class and in the lab because of colour jokes, they made me laugh. Which at this point I was a DJ on Mix 95.5 now known as Magic 95.5 as the very humble TJ Fallon. Yes very humble is quite sarcastic, I was 20 years old and had a popular night time radio gig, was making a good name, and that was the first time experiencing a drive and understanding my own potential. I knew nothing about radio and with-in 6 months I had people emailing me for advise. Part of the radio gig was an all Reno Radio Blood Drive, and I fucking hate needles. Let me say that again I fucking hate needles and was told my job depended on me giving blood. I caved and needless to say a week before the 21st birthday a letter came from United Blood Service that literally said "You have been discovered to have Hepatitis C, this is a terminal illness, have a nice day, and don't ever donate blood again." I felt the right thing to do was notify my employer Citadel Communication of the situation and was awarded on my birthday with a nice pink slip, didn't want to pay for the insurance. That was also the first day I started Chemo Therapy. Little background Hepatitis C has three different Genotypes American = Bad, European = Not as bad, but still bad, and Asian Pacific = can be cured with chemo. Well talk about winning the jackpot, then the mystery of how in the hell did I get this came up. Most people contract Hep C from Cocaine blood on the end of the straw, never touched the stuff, injection drugs, hate fucking needles, very bloody sex usual of the anal reference, well wasn't getting any so the mystery continued. Ended up being the blood transfusion from my heart surgery totally tainted. Which then came with a crucial decision to sue or not to sue well I just called the hospital and told them what was going on and they ended up flipping the bill, and in all honesty they didn't have a test for Hep C till 91 surgery in 82. I think that was the best decision I ever made. Chemo sucks, if I ever have to do it again not a fucking chance in hell, would rather die, and if you know anyone suffering from Chemo its very lonely and the best medication was a loving hand on the shoulder. I just realized its almost been 2 years to the day I have been done with that stuff. Finished an English degree of language and linguistics from a bed with only being able to move two fingers at time. Learned origami to get the movement back in my hands, and got a new perspective on who I could be. Started riding a bike, went back to school for a communications degree, and got involved in Collegiate 4-H. I'm going to warn you this next aspect is a tear jerker. I had grown up raising pigs, and did all sorts of leadership shit in 4-H, which was nothing more then working for adults who were going for the volunteer of the year award. Anyhow I had developed a lot of relationships with different people in the world of 4-H and since I was over 21 I could be a chaperon at a summer camp. Told them was on chemo can't do much, but they just need the male adult. As it turned out me going up to 4-H camp turned out to be the best experience of my life. Many of teens I had grown up with in some fashion usually them looking up to me and always knew me as fun and rowdy, always the guy with a lot of energy. Then they saw me in a wheelchair and wasn't the person they all knew. The first day I was left on the sidelines and I had gone to bed early and that night the teens got together with the other adults and asked if it would be OK to change the 4-H camp so it could involve me. The next day I woke up with the entire camp waiting for me and to applause, and the rest of the week I had kids and teenagers take the time to make me feel better. This wasn't an idea of an adult but of a collection of 14-17 year old's, and the most awarding aspect of the whole thing was them coming together as a group which is what 4-H teaches. They didn't have to and they did, in the darkest time of my life came the brightest happiest part ever. That experience lead me to going to New Jersey for two years, writing my thesis on communicating leadership aspects to teenage youth, and that storey has yet to be told with out tears from me or the ears it falls on. 4-H make a difference, make the best better all their catchy catch phrases but it was the perfect inlet for showing teens what the effect of reaching out to one person had. I wasn't doing what I did in 4-H because I wanted to help people but to give back for what others had done for me. I finished school Last Friday defending that very thesis, which ended up being used as the national 4-H youth leadership model for summer camps across the nation. I have met so many good people through out the last several years and even with all the challenges I have faced I value them all for molding me into what I am. I'm very fortunate because it has never ended and I'm discovering new outstanding people every day. I have hope for this world, that one day we all look out for each other, and the only thing better then the day we are living, is how it leads into the next. Thank you for taking the time to let me share all this with you. Man blogging is amazing!