So, my life keeps going on. The holes in my mouth are slowly healing, the summer is drawing to a close (one month to go!), and the days are getting a bit hotter. I returned to City Hall on Monday after my wisdom teeth-fueled hiatus, and things area bit busier since I've been turned into the de-facto website development guy. I don't know HTML, but I know page layout and all I do is layout everything and pass it on to those who do know the technolingo. Easy? Most definitely.

In fact, today I was called in for a meeting with the Councilmember. He informed me that they liked the work I'd been doing and that they wanted to give me some money because of it. This equals a one thousand dollar check. I'm pretty happy about that, since I'd really only been looking for an unpaid internship. He also told me I had a guaranteed paid job at City Hall everytime I'm home from school. This means 10.75 an hour during the winter, Spring Break, and summer for as long as Councilmember Dages is in office. HELL YEAH.  Thank you, taxpayers of Fresno.

For now, I need to get out of my tie and get an otter pop. Watch for SNS structure and officer positions to be posted soon.

There you go, Mike Blakesly. A REAL NO FOOLIN' POST.

“Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth...So let us from this moment begin our work so that in the future men will look back and say: It was then, after a long and weary way, that man turned the exploits of his genius to the full enrichment of his life.” -President Lyndon B. Johnson

In recognition of the undesirable condition of a large part of the Human community, and fueled by the belief that small deeds can lead to great results, the members of Students for a Noble Society dedicate themselves to making a positive impact through community service. By the creation of an open, non-selective organization and by bringing together a diverse group of students to tackle the diverse ailments of our community, the Society hopes to play a role in improving the overall quality of life in Berkeley.

To accomplish this, we hereby commit ourselves to these aims:

- The complete and utter rejection of apathy in all its forms. There is nothing more destructive than a person who just doesn’t care.

- The propagation of Brotherhood and Community. Without a sense of responsibility to each other, and our city, nothing worthwhile can be accomplished.

- Unwavering dedication to tolerance and acceptance. Students for a Noble Society will not be selective in its service projects and will never show preference to organizations/persons in need according to religious affiliation, ethnicity, or political ideology.

- To foster an atmosphere that cultivates and encourages creative thinking. The problems that face most communities today were present a hundred years ago. It is clear that what is needed is creativity and not emulation.

- Anyone who is willing to work will be accepted into the Society. Membership will never be based on monetary dues.

-To create an organization to serve those who wish to serve.

Although the problems we hope to solve are daunting, and our goals lofty, taking the first step is important. What we propose is not just action, but most importantly, transformation of thought. We must stop thinking of Berkeley, and of other cities, as just a backdrop to our lives. Our cities are our homes, our neighbors are our brothers and sisters, and our family needs our help. As students of humanity, whether it be humanity throughout history or humanity in the sciences, it is our duty to try to improve the condition in which our family finds itself. It is this belief, and our dedication to our principles, that fuels our efforts and that will allow us to succeed.

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There it is, guys. Definitely a lot of room for improvement, and I'm begging for feedback and suggestions. I don't want to be doing this alone, and I respect all of your opinions so feel free to tear it apart, to suggest additions or subtractions, and to just be CRITICAL.

It's as if my mouth has been born again.

On Monday I went in to Jerry Sorensen, D.D.S.'s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. After having the coolest x-ray ever taken (I bit down on a piece of plastic and this futuristic machine rotated completely around my head and took one giant x-ray of my mouth), I watched a thirty minute video on the dangers of having wisdom teeth removed. By that time I was pretty much freaking out. They could've fractured my jaw, or messed up a nerve so I lost feelings in my lips, and all sorts of horrible things.

After a bit more waiting I was called into the dentist chair and hooked up to those fancy machines you see on tv that monitor your heart rate and your blood pressure. As the nurse babbled about something or other, I ignored her and kept my eye on the heart beats per minute reading, trying to manipulate it with thoughts. I was trying to see what excited me and what relaxed me. John Edwards excites me.

After that experiment in body function control, Dr. Sorensen came in and told he'd have to take all four wisdom teeth out. He then showed me three giant needles that would be stabbed into me, and immediately after freaking me out with that he showed me the IV that would be jammed into my arm. He proceeded to plunge that into one of my arms and he told me to breathe in deeply three times. Then I woke up as I was practically carried onto a wheelchair.

I wonder if being knocked out like that by anesthesia is like death without pain. I didn't dream, I didn't feel anything. It was as if no time had passed. One minute I was staring at the white ceiling and the next minute I was staring at the white ceiling, minus four teeth.

To make a long story short, it's as if my mouth has been reborn. I have to be careful with it. Everything that it encounters has to be baby proofed, without sharp edges. It eats special things designed for it like penicillin or codine. I'm getting sick of pudding and jello and Macaronni and Cheese. Okay, not Macaronni and Cheese. Never Macaronni and Cheese.

Today I go back for a follow up. There are all sorts of infections I could have, so don't let me bite you. I'm sorry if parts of this entry are hard to read. The last week has been a medicated blurr and I've only put on pants to go to surgery and to go outside for like TEN MINUTES. I'm a CAVEMAN.

Currently Playing London Calling By Clash see related

So, as The Fourth of July approaches I most definitely must resist the urge to write some poliscihistory rant about our Founding Fathers and what this country is all about. Be relieved.

Instead, I will talk about things that don't matter. Like the way the next door neighbor's grass has grown into disrepair. She died about a year ago, but she lived a long life. I never knew her closely, only in the "you're an old lady that lives near me and sometimes I'm going to ask you for your ladder" sort of way. In the few conversations that I did have with her, I learned that she was a widow who didn't particularly like the fact that more and more minorities were beginning to live on her street. Why she felt comfortable telling me this I'll never know. She was flanked by two mexican families.

So, at work I have an amazing amount of access to an amazing amount of information. If you live in Fresno, I can figure out your address, phone number, social security, voting record (not who, but how often), and whether your neighbors have ever reported you to City Hall for any reason at all.

That next door neighboor reported us once, for lack of gardening skills.

Now  her house is occupied by two girls my age who go to Fresno State, two mexican girls with mexican boyfriends who play mexican music a little too loudly. They don't care much about their lawn.

Now that the nonesense is out of the way, I'm going to go have some pizza. Happy Fourth of July Everybodyyyy. Tell me your plans.

Scroll all the way down and you will see the coolest intern ever:

Mike Dages, Council District 5

Minimalist entries rock.