Saint Patrick's Day 2000 and Eight

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, or St. Paddy's Day if you will. Now, I am part Irish and I find it my duty to go out and drink on this day paying homage. Well, I went out last night. I will be honest, I haven't gone out on St. Paddy's Day in a while...I used to feel like I was killing an infant somewhere by not going out to drink on this day, which is sort of part of my history (in some form). Now, I feel like I have made up for all the St. Paddy's Day's I haven't gone out and drinking and probably the many more I wont go out for in the future. Let's have a brief overview of my night last night...

I left work about 3:30 to run some errands.

Got home about 5:30 and had a headache and went to lay down. Already knowing that this would be another St. Paddy's Day spent in the comforts of me home. Sorry baby Irish infants I just killed.

Kyle knocks on my door and asks if I want to grab a beer or two. YEA! No Irish infants will die tonight! So I got up, head still hurting, put on some pants and went to Skooners.

Had two beers at Skooners (not green ones, in case you were wondering) and just talked with Kyle. Ran into some other friends who said they were going to Triple J's (a favorite spot o' mine) and that we should join them.

Picked up Allen and headed to Triple J's.

Had a lot of beer there and some food. Feeling pretty drunk. I think I had about 4 or 5 beers at Triple J's - oh and in case you don't know they brew their own beer, so its damn good and pretty strong. Met two other people up there and stayed until closing, which is only until 10.

*Now, before I continue, for those of you who really don't know me OR don't know my drinking habits, I usually drink liquor. I like the hard stuff as they say. I hardly drink beer. In fact, I can usually drink liquor all night and be fine, while after about 3 to 4 beers I am usually done. I don't know what it is, but I cant handle beer like I can liquor. It's a scientific mystery.*

So while at Triple J's, people start talking about what are we doing next. Great, Rob is getting drunk as hell tonight. So we all go to Bash's. Apparently every Tech student who did not go on Spring Break is here. Not that is was packed, but there were a shit ton of college-aged kids. That's not a bad thing, just surprised.

So I have two more beers, including finally a "green" beer. I feel the night is complete. I am drunk. I had a "green" beer and I saw one of my best friends and old roommate Eric. However, this was not surprising to see him there because Bash's is like his second home. I then make the mistake of ordering one more beer. The night was done. I was drunk and needed food.

Kyle and myself left the bar sans Allen. He apparently met up with some other friends and was taken care of. So we left. To Whataburger. I got breakfast - the number 14 and a bacon egg and cheese taquito. Heaven. Until about 5:00.

That is when I woke up, stumbled to the bathroom and...you guess it...puked.

I also noticed parts of my body hurting. I now have three random bruises and I do not know where I got them from. I find myself turning into Eric more and more when I drink. In that I mean I will drink so much and the next morning I will find random cuts and bruises and not know how I got them. Oh well, I guess I have learned a lot from a master of drinking...or a master of alcoholism, however you want to look at it.

I took a "sick" day today. It was great. I did nothing but lay in bed most of the day napping. While I was sitting around doing nothing, I started to wonder why I went out drinking. Why do we celebrate St. Paddy's Day.

More importantly, how did we get drinking and wearing green from something that started as a religious holiday. Well, I went to Wikipedia and read about St. Paddy's Day and Saint Patrick himself. Well, I have my interpretations, but I want you to decide for yourself.


Read about St. Paddy's Day here.

Read about Saint Patrick here.

I am not sure how much this relates, but I am pretty sure I could have filled one or all of their shoes last night/early this morning:


Enjoy and I hope all had a great St. Paddy's day!

Spring Break!!! WOOOO!!!....

...Only that I am stuck in Lubbock.

Yeah, working sucks. Not having money sucks. The "Real World" sucks. I love having all these students ask me what my Spring Break plans are. "Do you get a break?" Yes, I get a break. Kinda. I think we get Friday off of this week. I was going to take off and just bum around the house all week; mainly because I have all this time off I thought I needed to use before I quit in August. But then I found out I can get paid for all that vacation time I still will have. So, I figured why use the vacation time when all I am going to do is sit around the house on the Internet and watching TV/movies when I can do the exact same thing at work? The answer is pretty obvious to me. ALSO, I am broke. Not broke as in I have some money in my checking account...broke as in I have a $0.00 balance. SWEET!

Actually, not really. I don't want to be here for spring break. But I am. I could have gone home, but honestly I would have been more miserable there. And at least in Lubbock I will know a couple of people...not that I am going to do anything fun. Ive noticed that I don't enjoy going out much anymore. This is sad. I would rather sit at home and relax/sleep/be lazy. I used to love drinking. I mean LOVE drinking! I used to get so drunk it was great. I would pass out and not remember what I did. Man those were fun times.

Oh if you noticed by now, this blog really has no point. I mean I could look up something cool to talk about, but I just don't want to.

I really need to figure out what I am going. This year hasn't been the greatest. Not that it has been bad, just not what I wanted it to be.

So I started grad school this semester. Needless to say its kicking my ass. I realize now how much I dislike school and homework and tests and listening to lectures and everything else. Well, I am taking two class; one is a blow off, sadly because I was really hoping to learn something in that class, while the other research methods is really puttin a hurt on me.

But, since I am quitting Mass Comm in August, I have no idea what is next. I originally thought this would be my chance to escape from the buckle of the Bible Belt that is Lubbock, TX. However, I am looking into the possibility of gaining a graduate assistant position at the TTU Health Science Center. I would be working in medical video and photography, which is an area I am greatly interested in. But I do not know where things currently stand. A couple of weeks ago we toured an OR to see some of the equipment that is used, the next step is supposed to be sitting in on several operations and actually seeing the equipment being used. Needless to say I am excited.

However, I need to figure out what their plan is, especially in regards to me. Meaning are they going to be able to pay me? How much? Are they going to want me to take some medical related classes? I do not know the answers to these questions and many more.

I need to because if this does not work out then I will surely leave Lubbock. To where I have no clue, but away.

If this does work out then I will continue my education (I think) at Tech. BUT, I have not looked at any classes to take in Summer or Fall. I wanted to wait to see if they wanted me to take any medical courses or something else. Also, I am supposed to be doing a workshop for Mass Comm over summer, but I have not heard any more mention of it.

I hate not knowing what lies ahead. It causes sleepless nights. Even though I usually don't know what lies ahead, this is different. This opens up the possibility for many things. I am through with Mass Communications August 8, 2008. I am pretty sure they are already finished with me though since they no longer come to me to do anything...which is fine with me.

Well, I think that is all. This is the first day of what will probably be a long work week. Especially since I just don't care about anything here (work wise I mean). Basically, this was my Monday - came in about 9:30; screwed around on the Internet for a while; cleaned up my office a bit; talked to Amy; went to lunch with Amy, where I had two Blue Moon's; walked around and took some pictures; and now I am back in my office finishing up this blog. I am about to go home for the day. HA! It's going to be a long week.

I assume I will have more posts up since A) I will be bored over the next few days of work and B) I really need to start contributing to this blog, especially since I may not be escaping anything any time soon...well unless you count escaping my own reality...

Tardy Transmissions from Beyond the Bible Belt - Episode 1

As widely circulating reports have suggested, I, Josh Justice have indeed escaped the tyrannically tight belt that is Lubbock, and have tossed it along with its shiny buckle to the wayside. I can't say it was a a Great escape, certainly nothing of which Steve McQueen could be proud. Perhaps it was more of a whimpering crawl, a sort of duck and roll out of Lubbock and into...into...?


Alpine, Texas - population 5, 786, hometown of yours truly and site of such fame and infamy as, um...hmm...an Alco store? A True Value? I think one of the guys from Bonanza went to Sul Ross University, the college here, which locals sarcastically call Harvard on the Hill. I think they actually offer a major in Ropin'. But yeah, Dan Blocker.

Got his masters in drama here. Oh, and Arlo Guthrie (son of Woodie, grey-headed longhair, devourer of marijuana and mushrooms) once played the Railroad Blues bar, but demanded that nobody smoke. I asked my mom if there was anything I was forgetting, and all she could think of was that we may have had a minor league baseball team here many years ago.


I'm living with my parents again, moving into a room that greeted me with far too many scented Yankee candles and paintings of flowers on the walls. My stepdad constantly watches Fox News - won't watch any other news - but I'm eating far better than I deserve. If we talk about Iraq, it's seriously like we're talking about two completely different things. There's not even enough common ground to debate.

All over town there are signs posted in front yards that say SUPPORT THE TROOPS. LET THEM WIN!!

Yeah, two exclamation points on that last bit. I like to pretend that the signmaker(s) actually had to spend some time debating the perfect number. "One? Hmm, not enough, but three might be overkill. Better just to settle on two. That seems reasonable."

I'm considering writing a letter to the editor asking them exactly what we will win. I'm hoping it's our national dignity back, but since we can't blow the shit out of something for that, I figure that won't be the answer.

Why can't we support a victory over ambiguity and sloganeering? And also, sure, everybody's loves winning and hates losing, but isn't it also how you play the game? Why not post signs that say something like "GENEVA CONVENTIONS. LET THEM BE FOLLOWED!!"


But yeah, I digress. This is supposed to be about me, not politics.


I, a graduate of Texas Tech University, graduated with honors with a degree in Electronic Media and Communications. This qualifies me (barely I think) for my current job as...

...a ditch-digger. More precisely, I install septic tanks. Yeah, where waste (could have gone with all sorts of juvenalia here, but I tastefully refrain...for now) goes. It's hard labor, usually with a hand constantly on a shovel, a tape measure or piece of pipe waiting to be glued.

I certainly am unable to use anything I learned in college. But at the same time, I feel like I am gaining an education perhaps more valuable, one that brings with it useful and simple concepts of hard work, humility, concise communication, and on a side note, a greater appreciation for the outdoors. I mean seriously, who would have known I could have been a fan of the outdoors? I always considered myself an indoor kid. Damn, maybe I should have checked it out sooner.

We've been working in places like Study Butte, Terlingua and Lajitas, deep south of Texas...There is certainly something to be said for the wordless awe of the sheer geologic majesty of rock jutting out of the earth 6000 feet high, with white patches of salt deposits still lingering from the fact that it was once all under the ocean. I like to pretend that the air above highway 118 split by our vehicles was once an ocean depth split by sharks...after all, shark teeth are abundant here, especially around the tops of anthills, where the little bastards have brought up the dental evidence while making their elaborate tunnels.


Getting in better shape, gaining an understanding of beerdrinking with co-workers after a long day...these are things I like. Sometimes, as in the other weekend in Marfa, I am confronted with the concept of...hmm, maybe I'd call it shame or something, I'm not sure...but when asked, "So, what do you do?" by a not-unattractive female, I hesitate before boldly announcing, "I install septic tanks." If they grimace, I like to follow it up with, "Oh yeah, and I live with my parents."

That always makes them even more fascinated in me. I can tell.


I awake every morning to the television in the living room blaring Fox and Friends, the only show hosted by people that, honestly, if I had nothing left to lose in this world (i.e. I wouldn't feel guilty for going to prison/dying and leaving friends/family behind), would actually murder.

But that's dark. I had hoped there would be some hope in this blog. Or at least some hopeful twist on my current status. All I know is that I'm not unhappy. I miss friends from Lubbock. I do. And I'm not one to really admit, even to myself, that I need people. After years of considering myself a lover of solitude, I am ready to admit that maybe I'm a little restless with solitude.

My life is work, sleep, work, sleep, read, sleep, work. That "read" is valued ever more for its dwindled opportunities.


Oh, and in conclusion, besides the septic tank installing job, I have a job on the side with my mom. Yes, my own Mommy Dearest. We mow lawns. No shit. And she has a serious, legit job with the government - ICE, to be exact, ICE being Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

I call our little venture Mama's Boy Mowin'. We do good work.


Damn! How could I forget this? For those that know me as a bespectacled cynic in love with music, air conditioning, and watching b-movies while under the influence, you might be surprised to know that I've been driving one of these:



It's true. One of my first days on the job involved me driving that up a mountain to a job site. I also was wearing a cowboy hat and boots. That being said, my boss is a bit of an extravagant spender, so we have XM radio in the tractor. So, while I was driving this damn thing, I was able to listen to Morrissey's "Every Day is Like Sunday," which left me, possibly quite egotistically, with the notion that such a scenario had never quite occurred before. I mean really, how many people listen to mopey British dudes while driving a backhoe on the way to dig a 6-foot deep hole in which to put a septic tank?


Of course, immediately following Morrissey, I found and listened to a Creedence song. I basked in the feeling of appropriateness.

I'm comfortable with Lubbock?!?!?

All right, first let me start out by saying it has been a very long time since I have posted anything on here. In fact, one could say I have non-existent in contributing to our blog. My excuse: none; just pure laziness. Well, I did attempt one yesterday, however I broke my computer in the process. So, I am starting fresh. There will be more postings by me and more pictures. Ironically, I have only posted one entry containing pictures. And I was the one who wanted a photography blog. What a failure I am. Oh well…

Well, one of us (us being the two contributors to this blog) has escaped. Escaped the good ol’ shiny brass buckle of the Bible Belt, otherwise know as Lubbock, TX. (“Lubbock, Texas, which has more churches per capita than anywhere else in the nation. [4]” – from Wikipedia under the “Bible Belt” entry. The [4] is a reference from a Washington Post article.) But yes, it is true. One of us has conquered the buckle. I can only image how it must feel being away from it all. Obviously, I am still here. Working. Slowly plotting my escape. Or my imminent doom. Which ever comes first.

I have found myself in a strange state of mind. A perplexed reality. I see that it is possible to escape, although I constantly find reasons to stay longer. I have had my chances. To move to Dallas. To move to the Rio Grande Valley area, and be closer to home. I have had chances to move outside of Texas, to Portland or Colorado. I even have the option to travel with my close friend, Chris, around the world for a year. Simply living in his houseboat and going wherever we desired. He would write and continue his freelance web design work, while I would photograph and probably start writing again. We have talked about this for years. He is not tied down by anything as long as he Internet. I, however, have been the one to question so much. Not about where we will go or what we will do or how we will survive; it has been what will I do with my life here. The more I contemplate this, the more I realize I have less and less here everyday. Friends are leaving. Work is getting worse ever day. I need to leave. I should just go. But I find myself comfortable here.

Comfortable in Lubbock, Texas. It is a strange feeling. To be comfortable. Josh and I were talking one day about the idea of being comfortable. I don’t exactly remember the conversation, but I do remember it involved the thought of “being comfortable” as a bad thing. We both agreed that we thought the idea to become comfortable somewhere was a GOOD thing, great even. The thought of finding a place, a job, a life that you were comfortable with, happy with. Sounds like the perfect scenario to me. But no. Apparently “being comfortable” is frowned upon in today’s fast-paced world. When did this happen? And who decided “being comfortable” was such a bad thing? Has “being comfortable” become the new phrase for “I’m content?” I can understand the desire for one to challenge themselves, but can you not say you are comfortable with your life and job and STILL challenge yourself?

I have decided that I want to live more like a caveman. Maybe in modern times. Maybe in prehistoric times. But the idea of carrying a large wooden club around and beating everything and anything you want and need, and then dragging it off to your refuge sounds like the best life ever. I mean think about it. You want a meal, grab your club, go out and club a cow (or lion or dinosaur or saber-tooth tiger – all depending on which time period you pick) and enjoy. I mean sure, you probably need to cook it, with all the diseases and whatnot. Or, fuck it and just eat it raw. I mean you don’t see animals cooking their food do you? Did cavemen? Probably not. Well, maybe they cooked it briefly over a fire, but that would be about it.

I really don’t know what my point was with that. All I know is that I am comfortable. But I would be more comfortable if I was carrying around a big fucking wooden club. And yes, I would be challenging myself. I mean, really, do you think something would just sit there and let you club it? No. You’re going to have to chase after the fucking thing. Hell, that’s not only a challenge, that’s a damn workout.

I know one thing that’s for sure. I would have a fucking pet dinosaur. And that too, would also provide daily challenges.

All I know is, life sucks. You think you are happy, and then someone tells you that you aren’t. They tell you to do more, to become more. Depression is a way of life. Well, to me it is. Maybe the answer is to leave. Maybe I should travel around the world. I think first I will start small and escape the Bible Belt. I just realized (I am typing this in word and then pasting it) that word tells you to capitalize “Bible.” Why is this? I am not specifying a specific bible. I am sure there are multiple bibles out there. Hell, we have a store here called Bible Mart! Ironically, it went out of business…this is great, a bible store going out of business in the “buckle” of the Bible belt. (I put the word buckle in parenthesis because several places claim to be said buckle of said Bible Belt.)


On a side note, has anyone seen the Trojan Condom commercial where a lady walks into a bar full of pigs? This angers me. It basically says that all guys go to bars to pick up chicks and have sex with them, and unless they use a condom…and apparently is has to be a Trojan brand condom…they are pigs. Well, I for one take great offense. I go to the bar to get drunk. That’s it. And just because I may actually talk to a girl while at a bar…a bar I came to drink at, mind you…doesn’t mean that all I want is to get into her pants! – More on this later, I will try to find the commercial to post along with my rant.