One year since when...!?!

ANYONE wrote the last (lost) post on this Godforsaken website/blog.

Gap Year...Just a little late

I have given this a fair amount of thought and I think we should take the BD on the road. After starting my new job, I found that it is very similar to my old job. New city, new people, new things to explore, still getting paid 1/2 of everyone else my age. It is a strange thought how quickly supposed passion runs thin. Couple that with the fact the other half of the Bray Dichotomy is now single, I think the brothers Bray need a gap year.

The gap year concept is something I was not very familiar with until a couple years ago. I was checking some guests into the hotel who were dropping their kids off in Seattle as they began their gap year. I inquired about what was planned and the locations that were on the agenda. Instant envy.

Just out of university, 23 years old, traveling the world for one year. Volunteering, working, backpacking, exploring, losing yourself and finding yourself at the same time. After proposing the idea to my realist of a brother, he suggested we start throwing keggers to pay for the expedition. I love the energy. He is absolutely right, though; how are we to afford taking a year off? How much money should we start with? Where should we begin? How will we communicate with the folks back home? I remember hearing about this guy: http://liveoffgroupon.com/ and soon realize that with the advent of social media, people will pay for almost anything as long as it reaches the masses.

This is just the beginning. I will continue to look for ways to save money and increase interest in The Gap Year Project. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

A new city and the sudden realization that nobody reads this.

Hello, I'm writing you now from San Francisco, Ca. It's hard to believe that I am on to my fourth hotel. I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be my last hotel but I have no fucking idea what I'm gonna do next. As fortunate as I feel about "knowing" what I wanted to do growing up, I think I may have been a bit too specific in my major: Hotel Management. Kinda hard to get a job in Marketing with a degree like that. It's all about how you market yourself. Maybe it's just the typical jitters involved in a new place, but I'm missing Texas more now than I have in a long time. Christmas was great. It was spent with family in Southern California. With a three year old niece, I'm now realizing that my domination of presents is over; it's about time. I guess with old age comes the actual enjoyment of giving rather than receiving. I wonder if anyone ever reads this thing. If so, are they concerned that the content is nil? There isn't any form or structure, just thoughts on the screen. Scrambled thoughts at that. There isn't really a roadmap when I sit down and start typing. I guess this is a pretty good representation of what is really going on in my head: nothing. Just thoughts. Random thoughts. Like a slideshow of things thought about. I wish I could string them all together but that just isn't the case. I like how when people talk about other people who have changed jobs and the person they're telling says, "That ABSOLUTELY fits him! Why didn't I see it sooner?!" I wonder what people say about my career. Do they say that? If I change it, will they say it? There's only one way to find out. My Houston trip has been planned for March and I can't be happier about it. Back to the thought about not having a plan on here: some people use the blog as a way to reach people. Not here. In fact, what this has turned into (notice only one author) has become something completely different. No longer am I concerned over the response: there isn't one. Just easy reading with no life pointers or weight loss tips or anything that can actually benefit your life. Just mine. In fact, I think I wouldn't care or even notice if not a single soul read this. It's a strange thought. At age 26 I think I write at a 18 year old reading level and it scares the shit out of me. Someone asked me what my dream job was. I responded, "a travel writer" without really thinking. I would hate that because I know deep down that only a publication like "Ranger Rick" would pick me up. Even then, some of this stuff is FAR below the high level of journalism of such an esteemed publication. I was told yesterday that "journalism is what is killing writing". What the fuck does that mean?

Let's give it another shot

DISCLAIMER: NO DIRECTION WAS THOUGHT OF PRIOR TO WRITING THIS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Good afternoon. Wow. It has been a long while since I've written on this. I've just recently purchased a MacBook and am still getting used to it. I find it stupidly awesome and am giddy like a schoolboy with the new toy.

In the many months since posting, there have been some major changes with the Bray Dichotomy, none being very important. My older brother, The Alex, is now living in Moscow......Idaho. Whew. I bet you thought he was a turncoat for a minute there! He is studying law with aspirations of becoming an environmental lawyer. Aside from being away from family and being bored off his white ass, it sounds like he's doing well. He decided to leave SoCal and a failing business to broaden his horizons and get learned!

I have been in Seattle all this time but have taken a job promotion and will be relocating to San Francisco. THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING. I'm sure I will be a little red speck in a sea of blue. I'm glad it isn't during an election like the last time I moved cities. Arizona, Texas, Washington, and now California. I'm crossing off the list state by state. Wyoming, here we come! Work has gotten better. I haven't felt like I was about to get fired in a while. In fact, I was awarded "Manager of the Quarter" a couple months ago. Re-effing-dicolous.

Have you ever lived in San Francisco? Me neither. I'm not quite sure what to expect aside from expensive rent, state income tax, liberals, Great Whites, Alcatraz, and having to figure out a city that I know nobody in.

Blog Sabbatical

Sorry I took such a long time off of writing and updating this thing: I was too busy worrying about losing my job, defrauding retired people, plotting a coup of Canada, watching unbiased news, injecting steroids, watching the worst Super Bowl ever, losing thousands of my net worth, riding my bike, sending money to thirsty kids in Africa, getting arrested, being born again, dying, being born yet again, getting married, going sailing, soaking up the sun, thinking about how dumb Iran is, wondering how in the world 'change' was elected, going to Bainbridge Island, dreaming about Texas, writing a ballad, wishing baseball season would start, buying plane tickets, wondering what is so stimulating about Obama's package, getting divorced, realizing that we are in worse shape than we first thought, reading theonion.com, and playing tennis.

I realize none of these are reasonable excuses or even reasons for such a long hiatus, but I apologize nonetheless. There have been a number of excellent subjects to write about the last few weeks and I hope that y'all have been keeping up with the news and current events, because I know I have!

G's up, Hoes down

Who Took the Funny Out?

At what point did we as a society make a collective decision to start taking ourselves so damn seriously? When did rights of funny people become the toilet paper that wipes the ass of people without a sense of humor?

Bottom line, we live in a fucked up world.

Take a look around, we live in a place where deadbeats, addicts, religious extremists, political extremists, racists, sexists, bigots, unlicensed taxi drivers, homophobic evangelicals, douchebags, hypocrites, and assholes are the majority ruling class.

Ignorance has become our greatest commodity.

Over-inflated self worth is now a major personality trait.

CNN shows 15 minutes about Britney Spears and what President Obama is wearing before it reports on the carnage in the Middle East.

More people still tune in for American Idol than show up on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November. (If you don't know what that date is, you are part of the proplem)

Everyone needs to relax and tell a joke or a funny story. Laughter is still the best medicine for curing people with a chronic stick up their ass.

That's right... I am posting another gem at Midnight

My how things have changed.

I once held the attention of 200+ Arizona State students, parents, and faculty while delivering an insightful and interesting speach about the positive long term effects the greek system has upon university fund raising, athletic boostering, and academic support.

Now I lose arguements with my 20-month old daughter because she says so.

I once closed bars down until 1 am, only to go out to an after hours party and/or casino until 6 am and then make it early to my 8 am class with my homework.

Now I have MBA homework or a meeting I need to prepare for until 11 pm when I cannot stay awake any longer.

I used to have the most supremely awesome collection of DVD movies in the modern world.

No I have a catalogue of Sesame Street and Thomas the Tank Engine DVD's that hoard all the playing time.

I used to listen to thought provoking music about why the government is oppressing my generation through the capitalistic gang bangs brought on by "Big" government, "Big" oil, "Big" globalization, and "Big" Walmart.

Ok, I still listen to that music, and it only sounds better and more relevant.

I was told once by a very close friend that college would be the best times of our lives. When he first told me that, I gave it little thought but held on to his mantra until now. My only response, I would not trade a second of my life today for a year of my past rockstar like lifestyle. Yes, I had fun, but not like the fun I had this evening making my daughter laugh.

I have it too good now to pass up.

3 Reasons Why the Houston Astros are Unlikely to Contend...

Bottom line, Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, but the Astros have the 14 highest payroll in MLB. I am certainly not saying we need to spend Yankee, Mets, or Red Sox money, but make the absolute most of the $100-120 million you are looking to spend.

1.Do you know the game "Good Idea/Bad Idea"?
Using 15 million a year on Mike Hampton - BAD IDEA. I loved Mike Hampton....... In 1999. What has he done over the last decade to warrant being paid the highest salary in the clubhouse? Mike, please talk to whatever personal trainer/clubhouse attendant/BALCO employee, and get yourself a 9-month supply of the good stuff. The cream, the clear, whatever. You are going to need a dump truck of flax seed oil to earn 15 million this season.

2. Offensively the potential is there. Berkman and Lee are in the twilight of their prime, Pence is the future of the franchise, Matsui and Bourn are baseball players and will come around. What the Astros need is just one solid free agent bat. The type of signing that immediately establishes a buzz for Astro baseball outside of the 610 freeway. But is cannot be Mike Hampton.

3. Help out your no. 1 starter. Oswalt has the potential to be a league wide top 5 pitcher. But we will never see that type of production as long as the rest of the Astro rotation plummets in quality after Roy. As a rule of thumb, try to compare the Astro #2-4 starters to other clubs, where would they pitch? The answer, #5 or AAA. What is the one glaring deficiency from our recent playoff teams? Great pitching #1-3 and good pitching #4-5. It was not a coincidence, talk to the Braves… before Mike Hampton got there.

This is a great team, with ownership that seems to love the team about half as much as the fans of Houston do. No matter what, I will still watch and root for my Astros, even if Mike Hampton is there.

Cuba anyone?

With the failed health, and perhaps even death, of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro apparent, I think it is just a matter of time before the United States will allow trade, and perhaps even travel between the United States and our nearby neighbor, Cuba. President elect Obama has mentioned that he is not completely opposed to relieving the trade embargo with Cuba. All it took was for a smoker to become President to relax the strict regulations! The embargo is severely outdated and in need of scrapping. The fact that Cuba is communist is a terrible reason not to trade with them; China and Vietnam were both a lot stricter Communist countries yet the United States still traded with them. Why not Cuba? Kennedy's damaged personal image after the Bay of Pigs fiasco? BS. That is a selfish reason to deprive a blossoming nation the millions of tourist dollars that would have been spent on the island. With that added revenue, the people of Cuba would not have been sent back decades by Hurricanes like Ike, but instead rebounded back and provided assistance for other fledgling countries in the area. Haiti anyone? It truly bothers me that an idiot like Hugo Chavez was the first leader in the Americas to reach out to the people of Cuba with much needed assistance in the time of dire need. It's bad enough that he relates President Bush to the devil; anyone remember the "still smells like sulphur" comment? Truly disrespectful and shameful.

I would like to apologize for the unedited version of this post: the holidays slowed us down. Next up:

"Who wants to the an Illinois Senator"
"Whose bailout is it anyway?"
and my personal favorite, "Everybody loves Hamas"

I look forward to 2009 and all that it has to offer. Good night everyone.

Socialism at it's finest

Welcome to Seattle: the world's greatest place to be homeless. Decent weather, great public transportation, near-water location, and always someone to give a handout. That's right my friends, not a hand up, a handout. If you need a hot meal: covered. Warm bed: done. Reduced fare on public transportation: not a problem.

If, however, you pay taxes (read: supply the homeless with reasons not to work) and need something to be done, it is not looking good. Case in point: the snow that has buried the city and left thousand of people stranded is still here. No plows, no salt, no sand, nothing. Just....nothing. The city has not even acknowledged that they messed up.

One would think that with over 3,000 people stranded in the airport on the day before Christmas, the city would respond to assist those in need. Nothing. Instead, the reason why the planes were grounded was released. They ran out of de-icer. Ran out. Excellent planning fellas, excellent. For the first time in quite some time, I am speechless at the amount of people in high places who dropped the ball. 5 p's: proper planning prevents poor performance. This is unbelievable.

I waited for the bus today for 75 minutes before deciding to drive. During that time, I watched as three busses loaded to capacity drove past me and the other waiting at the bus stop. The snow has made people in this city crazier than they are normally. They are afraid to drive anywhere and rightly so: the streets are covered in snow and ice. With the influx of people in need of public transportation, a smart city would have added transportation options. Not here in snowy Seattle: the city with the most college educated people per capita. Wasted.

Maybe I see things just a bit differently, but as a taxpayer, I expect the bare minimum from my government. Something as simple as plowing a street and spreading salt to prevent icing seem like clockwork as the winter months approach. Don't purchase snow plows? Run out of de-icer? Don't extend public transportation options? Are you new to this whole city management thing?

All the while as the snow falls and busses nearly fall off of overpasses, the homeless of the city are well fed and warm. I wonder how New York, Chicago, and Boston are handling these winter months. Probably a bit better than the wealthiest city in America per capita: Seattle. All those dollars and no sense. Seems like a waste to me, that's all.

Originally original

I find myself in various places in my new city thinking the same thing about people I see: what the hell were you thinking, if you were, when you dressed yourself this morning?

I don't want to step on any toes but...

I appreciate and almost understand a person's desire to be an individual and express who they are to everyone around. Our appearance is always our first impression unless you're a switchboard operator or sex chat fiend. We display ourselves for everyone who we are because we will not have the opportunity to speak to everybody we come in contact with.

But come on people! If you look at how your friends and you dress, and there is no difference: you've succesfully become your own worst enemy: trendy. I'm afraid so, but it's true. You have successfully made the most debilitating of all personal statments: "I'm just like the person next to me, I'm just like somebody else." Ouchtown. Population: you.

Maybe I am oblivious to this occurance in any other social groups, but I notice it most in the "against the grain" group. You know them: black hair, black fishnet stockings, Against All Authority (the band) t-shirts, and really tight pants. The very group who is against establishment is establishing themselves a solid mass of non-individual thinkers. Nice work gang.

I don't want to step on any toes though, I'm just saying.

Today's Traffic Was Still Shitty

Across the country, people with a variety of sexual proclivities are facing Wednesday December 10th in a multitude of ways. For me, a human only heterosexual, this is just another beautiful Wednesday in Southern California. My work week is half way over and the weekend is on the horizon. The rapidly fading possible days for Christmas shopping for my wife and daughter seem to be the only thing weighing on my mind. On second thought, I am also mildly concerned of the fact that I work in the construction industry in Southern California and it currently seems like the world hates construction. Really the only industry worse off is the Big 3 domestic car manufacturers, which need to be complained about by us soon, and they are in some seriously deep s.

Homosexuals in particular are calling December 10th “A Day without a Gay”. A day where homosexuals are encouraged to not show up for work, essentially “calling in gay”, in an attempt to recreate the effects of the film “A Day without a Mexican”.

One of the driving factors for the aforementioned day is Proposition 8, recently passed in California, which prohibits same sex marriages. Personally I believe Prop 8 is unconstitutional as it blatantly restricts the rights of American citizens in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Moreover, it mettles in the divisional relationship between church and state (which I think should be kept at the very least plutonic, if not separate).

Now a little history to show where I am coming from.

Currently I am in my first year of an MBA graduate program. By all accounts it has been a challenging and rewarding process that I have truly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone considering it. While this program offers numerous opportunities to expand the knowledge and business acumen of each of its students, it would appear that it comes at somewhat of a price. I chose this particular program specifically for its accreditation and flexibility, all while knowing in full that the University held religious affiliations. While I consider myself a person of faith, unless I am studying theology or attending seminary, I do not think literal biblical based religion belongs in classes like Business Law and Statistical Business Modeling, yet the instructors have found a way to do it.

Back to complaining.

Recently I had lunch with some of my graduate school classmates, who by the way hold a wide spectrum of beliefs none of which seem to align with mine (which if this blog shows any signs of tenured life will inevitably be the source for many topics in the future). After the obligatory “I can’t believe our instructor said this” or “the lady who sits next to me is a whack job”, the conversation eventually worked it way to how each of us voted for Prop 8. Their consensus argument was that the ban on gay marriage was necessary because the state had no right to tell them and/or their churches how or whom they could chose to marry.

Naturally, in an attempt to mildly antagonize and hopefully inspire them to think more about their decision, I attempted to repeat their point to them.

“What you are saying is that the state has no right to step in and tell you or your church what you can and cannot do when it comes to marriage?”
“Yes”, was their reply.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes”, again.
“Then how can you expect the state to step in and tell how someone else can and cannot do with marriage?”

If I could somehow measure the speed in which the subject was changed I think we may have a new land speed record.

The right of free speech is not your right to say whatever you want. The right of free speech is the right for someone else to say whatever it is they want, regardless whether or not you agree. The same rule applies to each of our fundamental rights.

What do you think?

I hate to say I told you so...

My brother and I have had several little arguements over the years, most of them based on opinion, and having very little to do with being right or wrong, just wanting to argue for the sake of arguing. The following link, however, provides undeniable evidence that I was right about at least one of them. The actual event happened when I was in middle school, but the "discussion" did not happen until many years later. The prompt: How many United States Presidents have been impeached? Not removed from office (as they are two very different things), but impeached. Enjoy reading this one... I did.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/impeach.html

Here we go...

I, on the other hand, have never known life without a sibling. My first 24 years of life have been the most recent 24 of his. To even title this experiment as a "dichotomy" seems very complimentary to me. He still owes me for a CD burner that he stole 11 years ago, but I am trying everyday to forgive him...not there yet. This, as mentioned before, is an experiement. Truly a long shot at the always desired but never received glory that the both of us think we are destined for. Maybe this is the first of many opportunities that we'll have at greatness: a suit in an office will realize the true star power and genuine comedic talents and potential lucrative windfall of the Brothers Bray, a producer or philanthropist will stumble upon our experiment and recognize the hidden gem beneath, a long lost friend who we'll reconnect with through the underestimated power of the WWW, or it will simply serve as a constant reminder that as long as there have been siblings, there have been sibling rivalries and that the best humor is when you don't try to be funny. Or we'll fail miserably and have to think of something else. Either way, buckle up, it's going to be one helluva ride.

The Bray Dichotomy Genesis

I have had the esteemed privilege of having a little brother in my life for the past 24 years. I have little recollection, but for the 4 years prior his arrival I can only imagine my microcosm was filled with unilateral attention, bountiful Christmas gift receiving, minimal dissention of my opinions, and unyielding praise for my various preschool artistic ventures. While this is a spectacular time in any temporarily only-child’s life, it was lacking what every American middle class adult male with nothing to complain about truly wants…something to complain about and someone to argue with about all the things completely outside of the realm of their control.

Thus, we have created the Bray Dichotomy. A place where people from all backgrounds, positions, and beliefs can read what we think and speak their minds about it. Come to think of it, we are essentially providing the same usefulness as the Internet, but funnier.

The Bray Dichotomy will attempt to show that two brothers from the same socioeconomic and religious background, can hold, maintain, and project polarizing opinions about life, politics, and sports, and do so through the use of prose and a serious attempt at humor.

Enjoy.