Expat Jon takes on the world (well... Sweden)

I found out about the latest mass shooting when I was on my way to the comedy club to do a set.  Great!  Just what I needed to get me in a good mind set.  Thanks Swedie.  I said I wouldn't read up on it just yet.  I didn't want it on my mind.  I walked in and a Swedish comedian nodded to me:        - What's up bro?  Did you hear about that shooting?  You guys and your guns, man.  It's crazy! I just shook my head.  It was like I was representing my dumb ass country with their stubborn ass, outdated rules.  The rest of the civilized world is baffled by our stupidity.  This keeps happening and will happen again because we are a gun-crazed society that refuses to change.  The culture is dangerous and the political process is polluted.  The NRA has too much control over the conversation and we eat that shit up because it's "our right".  I hear people shouting out "SECOND AMENDMENT!" without kno...

I do a lot of reflecting throughout each day.  A lot of it happens in the shower and ends with me shaking my head in disbelief.        -How could I have done something so stupid? Most of these shower moments are related to social situations.  I think back on them and wonder how someone with my social skills could embarrass myself like that.  I'm surprised that I don't reflect on situations that could have been really life altering.  Mistaking someone for pregnant isn't nearly as big of a deal as accompanying a home invasion/assault with a pistol, but somehow I get more chills thinking about the former. There are things I've done in the past that could have gotten me in huge trouble.  Each time it's something easily avoidable.  But like most young men, I thought I was invincible.  I'm lucky that premise wasn't tested.  Now I'm older and wiser and less inclined to go on an adventure.  There's one instance in the past t...

It's 2001 and 19 year old me is still adjusting to my first official military assignment.  Of course, as luck would have it, Miami-bred me was assigned to Alaska.  Thanks, Uncle Sam!  I was determined to make the best of it and that I did.  Some of my best friends now are from that time.  But I digress.  Fall was coming, it was getting colder, but parties were still happening and I wasn't trying to be holed up in my dorm room. I went to a party with an old work buddy of mine.  She and her husband were the only people I knew there, but I made the best of the situation.  I am a social butterfly after all.  After a while, my friend told me that she and her husband were leaving.  They had a baby at home with a babysitter and they were going to turn in.  She must have seen the disappointment on my face because she asked if I really wanted to stay.  I said I would and she said she'd see if some other guys that she knew would give me...