Update XV: Stuck Inside of Tulsa with the Oklahoma City Blues Again

[Mr. Morden]

Again, this is Bushie all over. He loves announcing his 'plans'... but, where is the follow through?

Same thing with weight, if he was serious - he'd throw EVERYTHING out of his pantry and fridge, everything. And start fresh, if his parents genuinely supported him, they should be helping by cooking healthier foods to not give him an excuse to get out of it "Well, she cooked it, so I can't be rude" or "it's a holiday". Again, note he plans to go shopping for healthier food, buy weights, buy walking clothes... you don't need specialist equipment to go for a walk. Comfortable shoes, consideration for the weather and some water... that's it.

And do not get me started on 'diet soda' - the sweeteners in those things are TERRIBLE for you and they cause virtually the same reactions in the body as sugar (including diabetes).

Indeed.  Again:

I do plan to go to Walmart tomorrow night and get some healthier food.

Whatever happened to that, Bushie?

[Mr. Morden]

Again, this is Bushie all over. He loves announcing his 'plans'... but, where is the follow through?

Same thing with weight, if he was serious - he'd throw EVERYTHING out of his pantry and fridge, everything. And start fresh, if his parents genuinely supported him, they should be helping by cooking healthier foods to not give him an excuse to get out of it "Well, she cooked it, so I can't be rude" or "it's a holiday". Again, note he plans to go shopping for healthier food, buy weights, buy walking clothes... you don't need specialist equipment to go for a walk. Comfortable shoes, consideration for the weather and some water... that's it.

And do not get me started on 'diet soda' - the sweeteners in those things are TERRIBLE for you and they cause virtually the same reactions in the body as sugar (including diabetes).

Indeed.  Again:

I do plan to go to Walmart tomorrow night and get some healthier food.

Whatever happened to that, Bushie?

I got some fruits and vegetables, as well as some frozen dinners.

Do you ever eat a dinner at home that isn't either takeout or heating up frozen dinners?

In 2011, you said:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=109091.msg2862862#msg2862862

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So do you ever cook anything for yourself these days, or is it just heating up frozen dinners?

[Mr. Morden]

I'll be honest, I haven't used my oven or stove yet in my new apartment, but I plan to eventually.

Wow, not even for something as simple as scrambled eggs?

Bushie, just go to the grocery store, and buy whatever food you need to cook one meal for yourself.  Doesn't matter how simple it is.  But something that involves using your oven or stove.  Then cook it for dinner tomorrow night.

You said that you know how to cook at least a few things.  (Spaghetti is your "specialty".)  So just cook one meal for yourself tomorrow night.  What is stopping you from doing that?  You "plan to do it eventually"?  How can we take that seriously if you don't take the first step?

[Mr. Morden]

I can't change it all by morning, I have to work at it, slowly but surely.  That's what I intend to do.  I know there is absolutely nothing I can say to change your minds tonight, and probably you guys will NEVER be happy no matter if I lose 100 lbs.  You'll still find something to gripe at.  That said, just let me do it.  It will take time, just let me do it.  Don't keep pounding me in the head multiple times every single night.  Hold me accountable, yes, but don't keep beating me over the head in post after post after post.

We are holding you accountable.  You said you were doing things in previous weeks, and didn't follow through, so now we're calling you out on it.

If you have a plan to improve your diet, what is it?  I suggested that you simply buy what you need to make one meal at home tomorrow night.  That seems simple enough.  Will you do that?  If not, what is your plan?

[Mr. Morden]

Changing topics….Bushie, I forget if you ever mentioned this, but what is Allison's level of religiosity compared to you?  Does she not only attend church weekly but also do both group and individual bible study like you do?

[Mr. Morden]

Anyway, back to your question, I just equate pot with illegal drugs.

I understand that you don't want to do it if it's illegal, but the question is do you think it should be legal?  And actually, the original point was that you said that Allison was "more accepting of" medical marijuana than you are.  I guess that means that she thinks that marijuana should be legal at least for medicinal purposes, and you don't?  You have a *religious* objection to that?

[Mr. Morden]

So he's currently gaining about 3 pounds a month?  At that rate, he'll be at ~320 pounds on his wedding day.

[Mr. Morden]

I graduated successfully,  but seeing my classmates get CAD jobs right away,  Malta me kind of jealous and sad.   I'm happy for them,  of course,  but kind of wondering why I haven't been as successful. 

Why don't you ask them what their strategy was for their job searches, so (assuming that you did in fact graduate and still want a CADD job) you can try to replicate their success?

[Mr. Morden]

The definitive answer on what it takes to pass CADD, written in August 2013:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=176707.msg3829274#msg3829274

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tldr: Sounds like the minimum overall grade to pass the course is 60, however there are also some individual tests (LAP tests) in which you must score much higher than that (85).

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie would clearly be a terrible human being even if he had a different belief system; whether a different form of religion, or something more secular. It doesn't even have to be a belief system in a conventional, structural, sense. There is a certain type of person who can use just about anything to justify just about anything they do; a fairly common subtype - one that Bushie is just a few points of SBC dogma away from actually - would be the person who seems themself as the hero in the story of their own life.

I do think there's something to this, in the sense that it's not entirely clear how much folks like Bushie are actually influenced by their religious beliefs, as opposed to simply exploiting them as a means to justify behavior that they'd engage in regardless.  And I don't just mean Bushie here, but much of the culture that he's embedded in.  I'm not convinced that it would change as much as many people here might imagine if you took religion out of it.

[Mr. Morden]

BK, that still doesn't change reality.

Why do you refuse to call, or respond to any questions about calling??   This shouldn't be that difficult and is part of the reason why many of us believe you didn't get the certificate.  Your actions don't make any sense.

Bushie has a strange aversion to using telephones; remember he would drive to places so he could hand deliver applications or ask questions that he could easily do over the phone or online, like when he drove all the way to Alva, OK to see if he could complete his computer science degree when a simple phone call could have saved him time and money.

So then the obvious solution is a car ride to Metrotech to demand justice.

[Mr. Morden]

bushie do you have a phone phobia?

i actually had one for many years.

I don't have phone phobia, but I did recently realize that I virtually never make phone calls anymore.  Whatever I once might have used phone calls for has now been replaced by email, Facebook, and video calls (via either Google or Skype).  And on the rare occasions when I make phone calls, it's as likely to be done via Gmail on my laptop than it is via an actual phone.

[Mr. Morden]

I don't really have an aversion to talking on the phone,  but I just happen to prefer face to face interactions.

Yet you've taken countless jobs (including this one) that involve talking to people on the phone all day…

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, what are you current plans re: proposing to Allison?

[Mr. Morden]

Tomorrow, we're supposed to role-play for a while, so I hope that will take up more time.

Sounds exciting.  This might give you a few tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZs50kvRibk

[Mr. Morden]

One of the many very odd things about Bushie is how he can not only regurgitate talking points from his employers perfectly despite not being good at anything else, but he seems to believe and buy all of them hook, line and sinker even though virtually no one else does including (actually make that "especially") the people who write them. We saw it back when he believed he was doing people good by hawking the Ameriplan crap and when he defended duping people into buying $1000 vacuum cleaners with arguments about how they really needed such things or they'd get sick all the time from dust or whatever. Now he thinks he's doing all the people he's calling a huge favor with all these products and services AT&T customers just need! Now granted this is nowhere near as morally reprehensible as the other stuff, since he's probably selling stuff that at least has a use and isn't insanely overpriced, but acting like he's doing anyone a huge favor is quite amusing.

Of course that's probably just all chalked up to his extreme cognitive dissonance about basically everything.

I would just chalk it up to being gullible.

[Mr. Morden]

I'm not familiar with how it works exactly, but I believe people who upload super popular videos on youtube can now get paid. It may be time for Video Update!!!

Yes, from advertising revenue.  If you were to come out with a video every week that gets a few hundred thousand views, you could certainly make enough $ to live off of in a place like Oklahoma.  That is, assuming that you don't have to spend big $ to produce the videos in the first place.  But I'm assuming that "Update" videos would be awfully low budget, so that's not a problem.

[Mr. Morden]

I analyzed irregular meter readings of customers gas meters and took appropriate action either adjusting the reading or sending out a service tech to investigate possible leaks.

We should have hired you to investigate leaks from the mod board.

[Mr. Morden]

Oh, and only half the class decided to show up today...

Bushie Sick Day is now a national holiday?  Or is it normal for only half the class to show up?  If not, why did they all pick today to stay home?

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, forgive my ignorance on this, but do either your or Allison's religious beliefs have anything to say about birth control?  Just wondering if a Bushie Jr. conception shortly after the wedding is a strong possibility.

[Mr. Morden]

OK, time for Update XVI.  Who will be the executive producer this time?