Picture of the Day - Judd's Powerpoint

Tonight I attended the final normal meeting of the Santa Lucia Rockhounds this year. Next month will be a Christmas Dinner and new officer installation meeting at the Culinary Academy here in Paso Robles, CA. I was tasked with providing a speaker for tonight's meeting and I was honored to have my history mentor Dennis Judd give his famous and popular Hearst Castle/San Simeon presentation. He gave this presentation to this club several years ago, but I missed it. Consequently, I was overjoyed to finally see it, although much of this I had seen presented in his History of California class at Cuesta College which class I took in 2011 (and in it earned an A). Tonight I operated Dennis' Powerpoint presentation and during which I snapped this image of his Julia Morgan panel. Afterwards, I indulged in a sanity-saving bread-breaking with Judd and Ron, both friends with whom I have coffee every week. Oh, and yes, Dennis did bring his famous blue-green jade cobble from the Big Sur Coast to show off once again. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

College Course Count

I recently noticed somebody on Linkedin included all their college courses completed. I am doing the same as I treat my Linkedin account as a sort of resume. Here is what I came up for my college career collectively at both Cuesta College (97 units completed) and Cal Poly (91 units completed with 19 being taken currently). It is worth noting that some of the Cuesta College classes listed were taken back in academic year 1989-1990 such as Art, Chem, and Journalism.
*Italics for classes in which I'm currently enrolled.
**Last updated 12/20/16

Cal Poly Classes Completed or Currently Being Taken:

AERO 310 (Air & Space)
DEV 10 (Subject Early School Start)
EDUC 300 (Historical, Philosophical, & Social Foundations of Public Education)
EDUC 412 (Access to Learning in a Pluralistic Society)
EDUC 414 (Curriculum & Inquiry in Public Schools)
EDUC 416 (Literacy, Language, and Culture in Content Area Classrooms)
EDUC 418 (Culturally Responsive Teaching in Diverse Classrooms)
EDUC 447 (Secondary Field Experience in General and/or Special Education)
EDUC 469 (Part-time Student Teaching)
ENGL 339 (Introduction to Shakespeare)
GEOG 150 (Introduction to Cultural Geography)
GEOG 301 (Geography of Resource Utilization)
GEOG 308 (Global Geography)
HIST 100 (Introduction to the Study of History)
HIST 214 (Political Economy of Latin America & the Middle East)
HIST 303 (Research & Writing Seminar in History)
HIST 304 (Historiography)
HIST 317 (Lure of the Sea)
HIST 322 (Modern America)
HIST 336 (Britain at War: The British, the Americans & the Struggle for Freedom)
HIST 350 (The Scientific Revolution) 
HIST 354 (History of Network Technology)
HIST 421 (History of Prostitution)
HIST 424 (Organizing & Teaching History)
HIST 425 (Social Sciences Teaching Practicum)
HIST 433 (History of the American West, the Southwest Borderlands, & California)
HIST 442 (Topics and Issues in Latin American History)
HIST 460 (Senior Project I)
HIST 461 (Senior Project II)
NR 308 (Fire & Society)
SCM 335 (Nuclear Science & Society)
SPAN 103 (Elementary Spanish III)
SPAN 201 (Intermediate Spanish I)

Cuesta Classes Completed:

ART 200 (Art Appreciation)
BIO 220 (Environmental Biology)
CHEM 210 (Introduction to Chemistry)
COMM 201A (Public Address)
ECON 201A (Principles of Macroeconomics)
ENGL 57 (Writers Workshop)
ENGL 201A (English Composition)
ENGL 201B (Introduction to Literature/Critical Thinking)
ENGL 231 (Creative Writing)
GEOL 212 (Geologic Hazards, Man, & the Environment)
GEOL 210 (Physical Geology)
GEOL 220 (Geology of California)
HEED 202 (Health Education)
HEED 204 (Standard First Aid & CPR)
HEED 208 (Multicultural Health)
HIST 203A (History of World Civilizations - Antiquity to Early 16th Century)
HIST 203B (History of World Civilizations - Early 16th Century to Present)
HIST 204A (History of Western Civilization - Ancient Middle East through Renaissance)
HIST 204B (History of Western Civilization - 1603 to Present)
HIST 207A (History of U.S. - Colonial to 1865)
HIST 207B (History of U.S. - 1865 to Present)
HIST 210 (History of California)
JOUR 201A (News Writing & Reporting)
MATH 07 (Prealgebra)
MATH 123 (Elementary Algebra)
MATH 127 (Intermediate Algebra)
MATH 232 (College Algebra)
POLS 202 (U.S. Government & Politics)
POLS 206 (Comparative Government)
SOC 201A (Introduction to Sociology)
SPAN 201 (Elementary Spanish I)
SPAN 202 (Elementary Spanish II)

Hollister Adobe 2016

Today I joined my history mentor Dennis Judd to a Cuesta College Board of Trustees meeting on the main campus in unincorporated San Luis Obispo (SLO) between SLO and Morro Bay in the shadow of both Cerro Romauldo and Hollister Peak. We attended this otherwise boring kabuki in order for Judd to "prepresent" along with other activists the interests of the future of the historic Hollister Adobe located on the campus adjacent to Camp San Luis from which the campus was carved. Before and after the meeting we visited the old structure and snapped a few images.

Southwest corner view of Hollister Adobe.

Grinding mortars formed from a serpentine boulder located adjacent to the adobe.

This corner was probably never 100% perfectly shaped even when new and the years since have not helped matters.
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Pismo Beach Bonfire of the Vanities

This evening I indulged in a welcome respite from the constant rhythm of responsibility and crisis which has defined my past several weeks. I attended a beach bonfire gathering of friends and their friends at Pismo State Beach down on the beach itself, the world-famous one the public may drive out onto. The wind was initially brisk in route inland to feed the Sundowner Wind event which fueled the Sherpa Fire this evening in adjacent Santa Barbara County. Fortunately, the strong seabreeze calmed down after sundown so we could enjoy some fire-twirling by friends. It was a fun way to celebrate my buddy Blake's birthday as well as both our recent graduations from Cal Poly and reunite with some friends/acquaintances we both know from our Cuesta College days. Most meaningful was seeing our mutual buddy Kameron McMeekin whom we have not seen nearly enough the past few years. It was also really nice to see Lonnan and Britt McIntyre after too long a time. Oh, and now I can finally place Ashley Reika who better get back to blogging!
 

Our gathering is at left where a fire disk can be seen being made by Kameron.

This is the light of the magic hour near high summer along the Central Coast of California.

The fire twirling commences at left.

Kameron's fire twirling.

This was the first time I had seen Kameron do this although he has been doing it the past couple of years.

I like the artistic effect of these images I captured with my camera quite by accident.

There is something rather primal-feeling about people gathered around a fire after darkness falls. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Finals Week Soliloquy

Tonight I am at home alone recovering from my recent bout with either bronchitis or pneumonia as well as the effects of finals (which I completed Tuesday) and senior project (which I completed Thursday of last week) at Cal Poly as well as caring for and caring about a dear Loved One's brokenness. I feel utterly drained and a bit anti-social. In fact, I keep entertaining the idea of ditching my graduation ceremony at Cal Poly this Sunday and just going to the beach alone. However, I know I would regret that decision were I to chose that option so I plan to walk Sunday. I feel a bit discombooberated after all I have experienced and endured over the course of my journey, especially the past two years at Cal Poly and more so this just-ending spring quarter. For the first time in my life I feel middle-aged and I hate it. It feels like too many things have hit me in too short a period of time.

The past two years at Cal Poly have been an amazing experience that has helped me to grow as a man and broadened my horizons. I have been forced to reassess some of my opinions and realizations and make improvements, while other opinions and realizations have merely been reinforced. While at Cal Poly I did not join the Rose Parade float team as I had originally planned, but I did become a member of Phi Alpha Theta. I made some new friends at Cal Poly including one of my professors. While I did not find my wife at Cal Poly or even acquire a girlfriend, I did manage to maintain a celibate lifestyle and keep myself sexually pure in a sexually-charged environment. Of course, it helped I was a fat-forty-something living off-campus for the duration, but still. And yes, I became a Fat Fuck at Cal Poly. Between graduating from Cuesta College in mid-May, 2014, and starting at Cal Poly in late-September, 2014, I lost 25-30 lbs. Over the following two years I quickly gained that back and doubled it up to a 50 lb.+ weight gain. I seem to have fallen just under a 3.5 GPA for my Cal Poly undergrad career.... too many otherwise good papers turned in late caught up with me too many times and I let some A's get away from me.... my bad.

However, I also had a lot of distractions in my private life with the aforementioned Loved One's struggles not helping my already difficult time dealing with my chronic procrastination problem. This two-pronged assault on my GPA began in the Winter of 2015 and kept up right into this week. If this continues either I won't graduate from grad school next year or my Loved One will have to find somebody else to help them if they fall again. Have I been helping or enabling or a bit of both?

I don't know what to expect with what comes next: Cuesta College summer school health ed class (Health 202) to satisfy a requirement for the teaching credential program that I did not get fulfilled at Cal Poly. At least this will be one less unit and a thousand dollars cheaper than had I completed it at Cal Poly. However, I shall have to drive (or ride the bus) to Cuesta College main campus in SLO for six weeks, starting next Tuesday, three days a week (Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.). After that I will have to return to Cal Poly a month earlier than other types of students because I will be doing in-class work at Atascadero High School with my master teacher Ben Tomasini. We will take classes before the local schools resume classes so that means going back to school mid-August instead of late-September. Fall 2016 quarter will be 16 units PLUS some in-class time each week with our master teacher. I hear it will be the roughest quarter of the grad program.

God is sovereign, God is in control. God knows what I'm doing, I do not. I'm just trying to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ and let the chips fall where they may. I have come a long way, yet have such a long way to go. I am merely an explorer and sojourner here; life is fascinating, but so very ephemeral. May God protect me from the storms to come!

Picture of the Day - My Two A.A.'s

This posting here seems apropos given tomorrow is my first day ever of attending Cal Poly: ending one chapter of my life and starting a new one. Therefore, of late I had given up all hope that I would receive my two Associate of Arts degrees from Cuesta Community College for academic year 2013-2014. I had not been awarded one last year (2012-2013) due to a clerical error on my part when I applied for it. I proceeded last year to return to Cuesta one more academic year to consolidate my position getting into Cal Poly and in the process pick up the missed degree from last year (Social & Behavioral Sciences) as well as pick up a second degree (History). Before I ended up over at Cuesta College inquiring upon what was the snag this time in receiving my degrees guess what came in the mail last week? Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLIX

Here I am again after an all-too-long interval since I last checked in with you about my life and general observations. The previous interval was about 7-1/2 months which is way too long and the interval this time since the previous Random Musings posting is a few days short of 8 months. A great deal has transpired in that time and I will attempt to cover a decent amount of it here. I realize I keep promising to post this column more frequently so I won't even bother to make that promise and instead just do it. Oh snap, that means I just made the promise again, no?

Anywho, this blog has now reached nearly 386,000 distinct visits to 1,330 postings. Some of the postings on this blog have became internet favorites as people hit them frequently each and every day in some cases (like the ones about my late grandfather) and others relating to book reviews (get hit during academic quarters and semesters as students refer to my blog presumably for ideas and inspiration.

I gave Google Ads a try but not a single referral was generated here so they dropped me automatically after a few months. I do not regret making the attempt. Therefore it appears this blog shall remain un-monetized for the foreseeable future.

For a great many weeks so far this year I have fallen out of the habit of blogging every day and in one instance in the merry month of March a whole 18 days transpired between postings which saw the monthly total of distinct visits here drop under 9,000 for the first time since May 2011. This month which ends tonight will have my blog down to under 8,000 visits for the month as a result of my lack of posting new content.

Cuesta Career Past

Last time we talked about my doings at Cuesta College it was the Fall 2013 semester and I was whining about how hard MATH232 (college algebra ergo terminal level pre-calculus) was and how I nearly dropped the class but elected to gut it out. Well, I did that and eked out a C in the class to go with A's in History 204A (Western Civilization Semester A) and Biology 220 (Environmental Biology).

Cuesta College Career Concluded

Last month I completed my final semester (Spring 2014) at Cuesta College. I took and successfully completed 12 units with six of those being in two 3-unit classes at the North County Campus in Paso Robles, CA, (History 204B (Western Civilization Semester B) and English 231 (Creative Writing)).

I also bit the bullet and took two 3-unit classes at the main campus in San Luis Obispo (Political Science 206 (Comparative Government) and Sociology 201 (Intro to Sociology)), something I had successfully avoided heretofore since coming back to school in the Fall 2010 Semester.

I had worried about gas consumption and wear and tear on my care and even time lost in-commute as I headed into the semester which things had also discouraged me from taking Main Campus courses previously since 2010. As it turns out I worried for nothing as most of the semester I commuted down and took the public bus home. Before the carpool developed with a returning student two of my classes (he is even older than I am) I had been taking the bus down to class as well. For the first few weeks I did drive my own car until car trouble forced me to look to alternatives and once the car was fixed I never took it down and back again until the very last day of finals last week when I needed to drive directly to work at Santa Margarita Ranch immediately after my last final at Cuesta College.

As for grades... drum-roll... I achieved straight A's in those four classes, a first for me on a single report card in my college career (not the straight A's part but rather having four A's as opposed to three A's or two A's). Next up, I await word as to if I was awarded the two degrees to which I previously applied and have qualified for per every counselor I talked to heretofore.  Last year I qualified to earn an Associate of Arts degree in Social & Behavior Sciences but made a rookie mistake filling out the form for it despite walking at graduation. This year I earned the units necessary to qualify for an A.A. in History and hope in the coming weeks I am mailed my two diplomas.

Along the way I completed units I had told Cal Poly I was taking this semester when I applied there last November 30th in order to be accepted there for the Fall 2014 Quarter. That brings me to the next topic: my plot to get into Cal Poly. 

I Am Officially A Mustang!

Last year for the second year in a row I applied to California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and to my surprise both times was accepted. I feared my declining their offer last year would hurt me if I attempted it again which was unfounded, quite fortunately. As it turns out, I found out that my original conditional acceptance to Cal Poly was contingent upon my having a 200-level math class which I did not and at the time I thought I had slipped through the cracks. Subsequently, I learned that had I not declined my original conditional acceptance they would have withdrawn it anyway over that mathmatical detail so it did not matter in the end that I declined initial acceptance.

I applied again and was accepted again but this time I had not only completed MATH 232 but enough additional units to make my application even more weighty and got more units out of the way cheaper at Cuesta College. In fact, I played chicken with the system and stayed at Cuesta College getting so many units out of the way that I came close to the boundary of not being accepted to Cal Poly for having too many units under my belt since they want me to take a certain minimum number of units with them en route to a degree with them. In any case I am currently headed for Cal Poly this September and will receive a generous financial aid package of both grants and low interest (3.86%) and non-interest loans.

My hope is that I may be able to live off of all that and what I make at Vino Vice and working general labor for my clients all the while continuing to live in Paso Robles. If any or all of that does not work out in conjunction with attending Cal Poly then I shall make necessary adjustments such as moving to San Luis Obispo and/or finding more work.

In the past month I have sent Cal Poly my final Cuesta College transcript showing those four A's and just today I RSVP'd and paid for SOAR (Summer Orientation And Registration) in August in which I shall be debriefed on all the minutia I shall need to know heading into the Fall quarter of this year. At that time I shall also enroll in classes based upon the counsel of my department faculty.

On The Vino Vice Front

I began working security for this company 13 months ago starting at the bottom and working much of last year sans a guard card which often relegated me to parking duties but not always so. As I last reported in this column, I acquired my guard card late last year. Since that previous report I have worked my way up in the company in both seniority (turnover seems high given how many guards are looking for full-time work elsewhere and this is a strictly event-specific company meaning part-time work) as well as respect from my boss and co-workers. There is consistent talk of my becoming a supervisor at some point in the not-too-distant future. I choose not to think about that too much in case it does not happen and because it is of no relevance unless and until it happens. In any case, given how the path of my journey in life has meandered it is a pleasant feeling starting at the bottom of something and working my up by virtue of grit and determination and devotion.

A Wealthy Observation

As we all are well aware there are some rather potent stereotypes of the rich as being prone to conspicuous consumption and acting overbearing and elitist with those beneath them in the socio-economic food chain. There are those sorts of people out there amongst the rich who act like that. However, I have found while working security for Vino Vice, Inc. at what now feels like a myriad of events featuring elite Americans at play at weddings and winery events not one iota of that to be quite honest. Most of these people have been rather quite decent and not merely because they are getting their way but even when things have not been going their way in various sorts of minor crisis like being stuck in the mud and such. I have always been treated with decency and respect and in times of near hyperthermia and dehydration or hypothermia and being soaked like a dog I have received unsolicited care and concern from such people in regards to my well-being and likewise when I have appeared to be left all alone out in the dark while they are at play. Some might suggest that is a quirk of the local rich here on the Central Coast but so many of these people I have encountered have been visiting from outside the area. This trend seems to be endemic of the local vineyard and winery people as reinforced yet again at work this past weekend but also part of a larger trend that flies in the face of old stereotypes and class warfare rhetoric.

For The Record Family

Last Saturday evening I worked a wine pickup party at Record Family Wine's Paso de Record Vineyard out east of San Miguel with my buddy Mike. From start to finish and in between the Record Family treated us with decency and kindness and respect both with words and in their actions culminating in feeding us and sending us home with bottles of of their red table wine, "Randy's Red". Mike and I agreed that was the best feeling of any gig we have worked since starting this job and that is high praise because we have often left a job with a great feeling from the place and its people. I'm hoarding that bottle for now but will share here what I think of it when I do get around to trying it.

Mere Christianity

Currently in my church home group I am leading reading and analysis of C.S. Lewis' classic "Mere Christianity". I profoundly love it to my surprise. I tend to hate religious books which I thought this was. Actually, it is collection of radio programs that were an appeal to non-believers utilizing logic in the tradition of ancient Greek logic and debate and rhetoric. I enjoy his intellectual approach. The spiritual elements to God and Christianity are so deeply rooted that it is hard for me to talk about them viscerally to unbelievers who are dead on many of the levels I am alive and their frame of reference and mine are so different I sometimes despair to know how to approach them when discussing these matters. "Mere Christianity" addresses this very matter this very way. 

Speaking of God And All That

I realize I have not talked much about my relationship with God thus far this year (maybe not at all) nor much down the stretch last year. The same goes for my once and former and yet future column "Scripture of the Day". You will see it again soon! I have not lapsed in my relationship with God and continue to grow but chronic sloppiness in time management generally and specifically in regards to setting time aside each just for me and my Creator to commune both in prayer and in reading Scripture has led to some stunted growth issues. However, that is not to say I have not been growing and moving forward within God's plan and generally getting closer to him even if at times it has been an ugly and asymmetrical process to watch.

Older Than Dad Ever Was

This past April 15th I turned 44. It feels strange now being over five years older than my father lived to be. BTW, I can assure you 44 is the new 24. Just sayin'.

Oh the Horror!

I have begun to hear my peers refer to themselves (and worse yet, ME) as "middle aged". What dolts! Everybody knows middle age begins at 50... oh fuck, that is in six years. Nevermind! I'm depressed.

Something I'm Sick Of...

....my celibacy. I was not cut out for it... tis not a gift God gave me. My life has been one giant white knuckle experiment in celibate terror. If at any time you find me grumpy and abrasive now you know why. Of course, I don't exactly plan to go out and fornicate because the only thing that would make me feel worse than my ongoing self-imposed squandering of my sexual vitality would be to have unwholesome and unmeaningful sex with someone I am not madly in love AND lust with and with whom God does not approve I be with both generally and physically. That being said, although I don't have pending egg expiration issues like my lady friends my age, I do really, really wish to enjoy sex while everything still optimally works and I don't know how much longer that will be the case. Whatever! Thanks for bearing with me while I got that TMI off my chest.

 Personality Patterns In Conservatives & Liberals

As some of you well know, I can be a real pain in the neck online when people are speaking or acting stupid. Just today I got accused of being a troll by some social conservatives who not once addressed the substance of anything I said... but at least they did not block me or unfriend me or report me. I generally don't suffer fools gladly.... well, except my own self quite obviously. I have noted that in very general terms with the understanding there are plenty of exceptions, that a great many Conservatives are pig-headed and stubborn not to mention more likely to be less-educated than their smarty and smug Liberal counterparts. Conservatives seem more prone to arguing to the bitter end even when they are dead wrong and getting exposed as such.  However, with that being said, I have also noted a rather quite distinctive behavioral trend and cultural personality trait in Liberals: they are complete pussies! I am losing track of how many of them have unfriended me on Facebook or blocked me on Twitter or banned me from their Yahoo Group or their sub-reddit on Reddit. At least Conservatives, for all their flaws, will face you and take their lickings instead of taking their ball and going home like petulant children.

Don't Assume A Rainy Winter

There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the ongoing evolving El Nino Southern Oscillation condition in the Pacific Ocean. It has great promise and at times this past spring looked even more potent (to an ominous degree) than the 1997 event at the same time of year. That being said, we are in the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and when that goes on El Ninos are less frequent and less potent than in the positive phase of same. The 1990's was during the positive phase and we all remember all the El Nino winters of 1991-1993 and the infamous El Nino of 1997-1998. By 2009 we were in the negative phase of the PDO and guess what happend to the El Nino that year? It got gobbled up by the PDO and nothing noteworthy happened precipitation-wise in California that Winter. That is not to say this El Nino will suffer a similar fate but it does mean we should not count our chicken before they hatch in regards to the precipitation possibilities this coming rain season.

Rockhounds Roundup Is Moving!

The Santa Lucia Rockhound's show committee voted tonight to move our 24th Annual Rockhounds Roundup show (of which I am it's chairman/director) from the Pioneer Park and adjacent Pioneer Museum (where it was held the previous 23 years) up the street to the Mid-State Fairgrounds. This has set in motion a great number of tasks for me as planning for his change will begin in the morning when I meet our club president at the fairgrounds to discuss our options with the fairground management.

Picture of the Day - My Steynberg Address

This was the scene earlier this eveningat Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo right before the readings of the winners of Cuesta College's annual Tellus literary journal contest in which I won 2nd place in the short story category for "Mein Klau". My entry was so long I had to abbreviate it.  During my reading I started feeling an anxiety attack coming on and I further abbreviated my presentation which was frustrating. This occurred for a cocktail of reasons. I was thrown off a bit by my having to figure out what to read and what to not read unlike any other presenter, I had not had enough sleep the night before, I was over-caffeinated, and fatigued from the school and recent rock show chairmanship duties, stressed and distracted about some drama with mom, felt self-conscious about my work in the context of a room filled with 40-50 mostly strangers. Despite this mixed bag of a success and set-back I was getting a great reception from the crowd and received the most effusive crowd reaction of any presenter which seemed to love the edgy social observation in my work. My beloved English professor Dr. Roland Finger is at left.
Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Cuesta College Offers Courses On Lying?

Last week it occurred to me that given the old saying  "There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." that means Cuesta College offers courses on lying given it has statistics courses in its math department. Of course, that thought was not a serious one in my mind but rather a jestful one. By the way, that quote was made famous in this country by Mark Twain but seems to have originated with British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. It once appeared in my Quote of the Day column here.

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLVIII

Well here we are again: another long over-due Random Musings column as in it has been seven months since my last one here to get you all up to speed on my prosaic little life.  By the way: this blog has now received over 298,000 distinct visits. I thank everybody who takes the time to read this blog regardless if they do it randomly one time only or with any semblance of regularity. It is my desire in the future to move it to a different blog-hosting service and start generating ad revenue. It seems fair to get a little remuneration out of my time and effort invested in this blog. I have much upon which to comment but this go-around of this column will be more Kim-focused than I like simply as a practical matter of getting you all caught up on my particulars. Next time will be soon I hope and I have much upon which to opine about not relating to me directly. I actually don't enjoy talking about myself.

Education Update

Since we last talked I earned enough general education credits to earn an Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences degree at Cuesta College. However, when filling out the application papers to receive it I erred. I was not walked through the process by anybody and had never done it before contributing in my error. By checking the wrong box on a form I did not receive that degree but will do so this coming May. At that time I should pick up a second degree, to wit, an Associate of Arts in History. In the next month I am going to reapply to Cal Poly and see if God really wants me there or not. As you may or may not recall I applied a year ago and was accepted. I did not take Cal Poly up on their offer due to some important logistical issues such as housing and commuting and a desire to pick up additional units less expensively at Cuesta before making the big leap. More importantly, I knew in my bones that God did not want me to make that jump quite yet for whatever reason(s). By next summer there is a strong possibility I will be able to move into my mother's house in Atascadero cutting the commute to Cal Poly in half and cutting down on my housing costs tremendously from where they are now which is already incredibly low for what I'm getting due to the generosity of a dear friend. I've known this friend since junior high school and he is paying forward to me a good deed done him by a long-time friend of his who helped him out during his own transition from being stuck to moving forward. Anywho, I might also apply to Fresno State and UCSB as well just for kicks and see what happens. However, if I do not get into Cal Poly this time around it has occurred to me to perhaps get more heavily employed and take a one-year break from school and then reapply to Cal Poly a year from now. I would need to take that before my Creator and inquire as to His will in this matter.

Lessons From Defeat

I am currently struggling in my college algebra course this semester. I recently achieved my first ever "F" on a test in any subject my entire life from Kindergarten onwards to the present. This happened even after working hard to be prepared for the class as well as consistently working hard in the math lab on my homework. I must confess that over the past several semesters I have been attending Cuesta College either part-time or full-time I have been largely skating along on accumulated smarts and natural talent and not investing the sort of time and effort and focus that is necessary to be successful at the university level. Doing that the past three semesters earned me an A-, and two B's in classes (MATH07 / MATH123 / MATH127, respectively) that were largely refreshers courses for me. However, this semester I'm in MATH232 which is called "College Algebra" but is essentially Pre-Calculus sans a few concepts that would be broached in this class if it were for students planning to go on up the ladder and take more math (in which case it would be MATH242 and be five units). However, this class is a terminus math class for those of us for whom only one three-unit 200-level math course is required to graduate and/or transfer as is the case with me. I have long been haunted by the theme of those in a struggle or conflict whom encounter great setback but lacking the adequate nerve to succeed fail to knuckle down and hang in there and see things through to the brutal end. Most poignantly stuck in my mind as a sterling example of this is the premature panic and errant suicide of Cassius in the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E. when he erroneously heard that Brutus' army had been defeated (when in fact Brutus had soundly defeated Octavian in their first engagement). Cassius' jumping the gun then caused his army and Brutus' in combination to be defeated once and for all. We see this concept repeated time and again in usually less-climactic and realm-changing circumstances all the time. I nearly did that myself in withdrawing from this math class and retaking in the Spring. I'm glad I did not as mom pointed out the folly of it in concept and in practical matters I realized that by simply working harder and doing better on the remaining three unit tests plus the final I can bring my average from three test scores (70, 63, and 47) up. Not only that, but with perfect attendance (which I'm on track for) my instructor will add 20 points and she takes our worst unit test score and replaces it with our score on our cumulative course final if it is superior. By being able to state truthfully that I'm in a 200-level math class when I apply to Cal Poly this month my case will look stronger, too.

Guard Carded

I am now officially a licensed security guard employed by Vino Vice, Inc., having passed the mandatory minimum initial eight-hour online no-fail course and submitted my Livescan with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  and submitted an application to the California Bureau of Security and Investigation Services (BSIS) which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. I must now complete online another 16 hours of online instruction in less than a month's time and another 16 hours of online instruction in the next six months in order for my license to be more than merely provisional as it is now. This curriculum is broken up into modules which makes it easier and it also is all non-fail. This weekend I will be working an event (a release party) at Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles, CA, on Saturday and "Giddy Up Round Up" Family Fun Day at Santa Margarita Ranch this Sunday. A week from this Saturday I shall be working perhaps the last public event ever at Windfall Farms (the old Cardiff Stud Farms out in Creston, CA, formerly owned by Alex Trabek of "Jeopardy" fame), to wit, the Garagiste Festival. The corporate owners of the property don't care to do many if any events there in the future as they move in another direction with the property from how it has been managed in its recent history. Soon, however, events will quiet down for the Winter and work will dry up until the Spring so I hope to catch some season work this coming Holiday season.

CERT-ified

In the morning I'll be attending the first ever meeting of the North San Luis Obispo County CERT. I'll have to leave early to go work but I hope to catch the first 45 minutes of it and then attend the make-up meeting for those who could not make this one. I plan to join the team having already passed the basic CERT course offered by the North San Luis Obispo County CERT program. At the morrow's meeting I also plan to inquire as to the next CPR & First Aid class offered locally so I can renew my certifications which expired last May. I'm already certified for Mental Health First Aid as of last April as I shared here previously as well.

I'm Not Vina Robles After All

They hired me last spring as you might or might not recall from my initial report. It turns out they intentionally over-hired initially and then simply called a select group out of the total to come work and blew off the rest of us. That is not how I do business nor anything with which I wish to be associated. I'm not willing to ingratiate myself in order to work AFTER I've already been hired nor, for that matter, at all ever under any circumstances. Either hire me or don't hire me but don't jerk me around! I consider working at a venue like Vina Robles an honor and privilege. I likewise feel that it is an honor and privilege for such a place to employ me. It is up to them to see my potential and exploit it to their benefit... or not. Given how a typical concert there means about six hours (max) per concert at starting pay of $8/hour and be jerked around as to if I'm actually employed there versus working with honor and respect and for a longer annual season with starting pay of $11.50/hour at VinoVice with many more hours at stake plus sometimes overtime guess where my loyalty lays? Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the very brief experience I had there and feel honored to have worked the first ever concert there.

I'm Older Than Dad Ever Was

Today my late father, James Gordon Noyes, would have turned 67, but instead died later this month 28 years ago at age 39 and nearly one month. I'm now over 43 and six months of age so I'm in a strange place as I realize dad was never my current age. He is now eternal and immortal and beyond sin and suffering and has avoided all the shit that I have plowed through since his ascension that cold, dark, damp, foggy late November morning early my freshman year of high school. God took him away and I know why which is more than most people take away from such a tragic event. I count myself blessed in this regard. God has used that happenstance and what followed to shape me into the thing He has planned for me to become which metamorphosis is still underway.

My Walk Of Late

This year has been spiritually challenging for me and most of that has been self-inflicted. Simply put, I have  not been in God's Word this year to the degree I have been in the past and need to be all the time. My schedule is busy and I tend to rush out of bed and get into my day without setting time aside for God to give to prayer and reading scripture in putting on the armor that will sustain me. It's all about tithing time not just money and making God a priority in this respect and I continue to struggle in this regard. I am a creature of habit which can be to my benefit or my bane. The dearth of "Scripture of the Day" postings here lately directly correlates with this phenomenon. That being said, I have been growing in Christ nonetheless and moving along spiritually, but perhaps not as quickly as if I'd had my nose in the Word every day along the way. I choose to change that. That is my power. All of that refers to my private relationship with God or rather "vertical" worship. My relationship with God through fellow believers or rather "horizonal" worship is doing better than ever after my 20-year hiatus from attending church and being involved with other believers. I continue to worship regularly at North County Christian Fellowship as that is where God has assigned me for now and I am content to be there. A Thursday evening "home group" from that church is my adopted spiritual family. I am also now lately visiting a second bible study group Thursday evenings that is populated by Paso Robles Bible Church members which church I have attended off and on over the past few years.

My Family

My wonderful mother Lynda seems to be moving forward in her life and big things seem to be on the near horizon for her which are rather momentous and exciting. She is a private person so I won't divulge much but for what I am willing to share stay tuned! My Grandma Noyes is also doing quite well, but must ambulate with a walker which is a relatively new development. She is thriving in her post-married life and she and I have never gotten along better than now following many troubled years in our relationship both during and after the demise of Grandpa Noyes. Grandma and I  love each other as always but now we like each other as well. Her husband was in my estimation a wicked man with a religious facade but no reality of Christ within him. He failed to lead our family and caused me much pain and hurt over the course of my life. I know his son (up until his death) felt that way to the point of tears. Forgiving him has been a spiritual battle for me. Since Grandpa Noyes shed this mortal coil his wife has thrived as I never could have imagined. This follows the pattern her mother followed who after marrying an unsatisfactory man in like manner then thrived following his demise. My brother Andrew continues to live in work in Flagstaff, Arizona. We hardly ever talk as he desires no relationship with either me or his mother. The loss is his as I have formed my own new family. Who says you can't pick your family?

People Can Be Disappointing 

A former untermensch roommate of mine from the late 2000's period of my life recently revealed to me the degree to which my ex-girlfriend blabbed very private details of our relationship with people who were even enemies. The same ex-girlfriend also made patently false accusations to a mutual friend regarding my character back nearer the time of the break-up (breakup was in 2009 and the ugliness came out of the blue in 2010). Given that I at no time during or since our breakup disparaged her behind her back to anyone or murdered her reputation in any way, shape, or form as she has done me it seems terribly cruel and unfair a development which it is. However, that merely revealed to me the true nature of the person in question whom I never really knew as well as I believed at the time (nor she, me, I suppose). I hope she is doing much better these days and is not now the same essential person who did those things a few years ago just as I am no longer the same person I once was who at times failed on my part in our relationship causing her hurt. However, from the get-go I took ownership of that shit and fell on my sword in and around the time of the breakup. Unfortunately, there has never been any reciprocity in this respect.
 

My Stalker

The aforementioned untermensch who shall go unnamed here as he does not deserve to be mentioned continues to stalk this blog (and perhaps beyond that). He periodically trolls in the comments section of specific postings. It was obvious back in the day from fairly early when I lived with him that he had absolutely no class nor character. He manner was so piss-poor that he caused me to start suspecting he is some sort of sociopathic individual. His actions since continue to confirm that suspicion. Someday he will die alone and nobody will care, least of all me. It sucks to be him.

No Love Lost Apparently

At the recent Cayucos Gem & Mineral Show at which I am one of the organizers and was in attendance part of the weekend I inevitably ran into my old boss/former friend with whom I had a falling out earlier this year as I shared on this blog (I'm intentionally not providing links to the postings but you can find them if you really wish to read them). The whole saga is rather sad and actually quite egregious. Anywho, he and I exchanged strained pleasantries and platitudes but that was it. He was too proud and stubborn and selfish to reach out and make any attempt to heal the rift. He, too, will die alone someday and that will be fully on him. He betrayed our friendship and the supposedly inviolable trust that bound it. He is like that you know. So many people get stuck in their own lives and don't even know it. God showed grace on me and delivered me from myself in this regard.

Picture of the Day - Kimwipes By Kimtech

My environmental biology instructor says this product has been a mainstay in the laboratory for some time now and remains so to the present, yet its very existence alluded me until I took this class. Photo by Kim Patrck Noyes (all rights reserved).

Getting "Mental" at Cuesta College

This video features my dear friend Erin opening up briefly about some of her struggles. I remember these all too well from knowing her during some of her roughest years when I for some stretches feared she would be found dead someday. I can also personally relate to some of her struggles having trode that road myself albeit in a different lane in a different vehicle in a different gear.

Seeing A Fire From 150 Miles Away

Early this evening between classes I posted the following commentary/observation on my Facebook wall:

"I'm currently sitting in front of the Cuesta College NCC library in utter awe as I behold the mammoth pyrocumulus cloud complex atop the convection columns of the various flanks of the exploding Rim Fire in Tuolumne Co. on the Stanislaus NF west of Yosemite NP 150 miles north of my location over the horizon."

Picture of the Day - Shrimp & Me

Tonight I attended the 23rd birthday party of a friend I met and made at Cuesta College, to wit, Krystal Marie Sprague, the significant other to another friend of mine I met and made at Cuesta College, to wit, Blake Burgess. The party was a hoot and at one point I self-captured this image of myself and yet another friend and met and made at Cuesta College: Kameron "Shrimp" McMeekin who has become my little brother by another mother. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - One More Grad Pic

Friend and classmate and fellow history major Blake Burgess and I posing in the parking lot following walking at the Cuesta College 2013 Commencement Ceremony last Friday evening. Photo by Krystal Marie Sprague (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - The Graduate

I HATE self-portraits or even other people's images of me. For that reason one does not see much of me on my blog. However, I am making a rare exception here as this shows me late this afternoon at Cuesta College San Luis Obispo Campus in my graduation ceremony regalia right before I lined up in preparation to walk into the gymnasium for the ceremony. Image taken with my iPhone (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - The Diploma Stork

Dr. Gil Stork, Cuesta College President, pictured here in the San Luis Obispo main campus giving us an incredibly awesome speech during our graduation ceremony rehearsal which was not merely a practice run for tomorrow's speech but was for us to hear today privately. I first met the man for the first time earlier this week at the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo scholarship award ceremony. I found him to be incredibly personable and human and cordial. For me that was reinforced by his speech today. Image taken with my iPhone (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Scholarship Diploma

Today at midday I attended a San Luis Obispo Rotary Club scholarship award luncheon wherein I was generously awarded by them a scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year at Cuesta College. The overall experience was magical and I was so impressed with the other scholarship nominees, young people young enough to be my own kids. Their accomplishments are impressive and their composure and presentation before the audience was stirring. It is impossible for me to be 100% pessimistic about the near-future of our civilization knowing people like these are being produced by our community and in communities scattered across our fair land. These new adults will be the leaders and movers and pushers and shakers and "doers" of the coming quarter to half century. I salute my fellow nominees and pray they live fruitful and meaningful and well-lived lives. I was also quite impressed with the caliber of people who are members of the SLO Rotary Club that meets at the Madonna Inn. I would be honored to someday become a member of that august body.  Photo taken with my iPhone (all rights reserved).

Make That THREE Scholarships!

Dear Kim Noyes ,

Congratulations!  You have been selected by the Cuesta College Scholarship Committee to receive the following scholarship(s) for the 2013-2014 academic year:

317650 - Glenn H. Robinson Memorial Scholarship Fund              $ 625.00
327150 - Rotary Club of SLO         $ 800.00
313900 - Delta Kappa Gamma Alpha Mu                $ 625.00

If you wish to accept this award, you will need to write a thank you letter (TYL) to the donor(s).  You will receive a separate email with instructions and details about the TYL format. The Financial Aid Office must receive your TYL(s) by Friday, May 24th, 2013. You must submit one TYL for each scholarship you receive.

Students who will not be attending Cuesta and/or want to decline a scholarship award do not need to submit a TYL. Any students who do not have a TYL on file with the Financial Aid Office by deadline will forfeit their scholarship award by default.

Students may submit TYL via email to maria_vaccaro@cuesta.edu with subject line “1314 Scholarship Thank You Letter”. Students also have the option of submitting the TYL in person or by mail to:

Cuesta College

Financial Aid Office

PO Box 8106

San Luis Obispo, CA 93403

As a scholarship recipient, your attendance is required at the annual scholarship reception that will take place on Friday, August 9, 2013. The reception is hosted by Cuesta College Foundation and provides the opportunity for donors to meet their scholarship recipients. Invitations for the reception event will be sent out in early July.

On behalf of the Financial Aid Scholarship Committee, it is our pleasure to recognize your personal and academic achievements. Best wishes for a successful year ahead!

Sincerely,

Maria-Belen Vaccaro
Cuesta College
Financial Aid Specialist

I Gotses Me A Scholarship!

Dear  Kim Noyes

Congratulations!  You have been selected by the Cuesta College Scholarship Committee to scholarship(s) for the 2013-2014 academic year.  You will receive a follow up email within 3-5 day with details about scholarship details, scholarship amounts, thank you letter requirements, enrollment standards and other important information.

As a scholarship recipient, your attendance is required at the annual scholarship reception that will take place on Friday, August 9, 2013. Please mark your calendars in advance for this important event.

On behalf of the Financial Aid Scholarship Committee, it is our pleasure to recognize your personal and academic achievements. Best wishes for a successful year ahead!

Sincerely,

Maria - Belen Vaccaro
Cuesta College
Financial Aid Specialist