This has been a really busy last couple of days. Which is a good thing. And a large pizza can be stretched into food for five meals.
Stayed in my dorm and did homework all weekend, which though productive was a little frustrating. Missed church Sunday morning; while frustrating, I didn't quite feel up to walking down there just yet. Researched my informative speech on the history of the Winter Olympics all day instead; then went to church that night with Louise and Harry.
Pentecostal services are...interesting. It was at this little mountain church way back off several dirt roads, very pretty building, though. Nice green carpet, light finish on the wood of the pews and prayer altars, five identical ceiling fans down the middle of the room. About twenty to thirty people in the congregation; and I was the youngest attendee by about thirty years. Louise had me bring my guitar along, so I was volunteered into helping with the music(which is a bit hard when you don't know the hymns). It was a little off-key, but joyful. Overall the service seemed very simple and down-to-earth; friendly and sincere, though off theologically at times. Shouting was heard often, and one guy marched around the room during the music. The sermon, something about the need of prayer, from what I could figure out, involved a lot more shouting and arm-pumping, with the congregation interjecting their thoughts after almost every sentence, and such a barrage of rather-unrelated Old Testament passages were referenced I couldn't tell if there was a main text it started from or not.
There was also a lot of stories of times-gone-by and news-of-the-grandkids wrapped into a bunch of testimonies, which was interesting to watch. Though I did feel a little unsure of what the proper customs were in reacting to everything...
It was good to spend some time with Louise and Harry.
When I got back it was straight to BCM worship music practice, James Hoover, Mark, Daniel P. and Ricardo helped a lot with getting re-acquainted with playing with other people. Good way to spend two hours, playing music with a bunch of other guys.
Then off to the library to print out a rough draft of my speech outline, then back to the dorm for some sleep. (after about two hours of lying there staring at the ceiling)
Monday started off with Latin, which was good, as usual. Rushed over to the UC to get some food, scarfed that down and hurried back to speech. While waiting, worked on some flashcards I'd been needing to make and read G.K. Chesterton.
Speech was all right. Homework for my Media Management and Planning class the next morning occupied my afternoon, there was a great game of Jeopardy on; going into the final all three players were separated by about $1,600.
Almost no one was eating in The Underground, which was really strange, since typically at 5 p.m. on Monday nights it's packed. Shot pool with Elizabeth before SWAT practice started; I lost both games, 8-ball scratches each time. Practice went pretty well; getting ready for shows to start this weekend. Afterwards we had a meeting in the living room to discuss the direction we're headed, how we can improve things and serve more effectively.
The speaker at the meeting was talking about genetics, euthanasia, cloning, etc. and how we ought to react as Christians, it was horrifying and sickening; the knowledge of the perversity of the world and just...the darkness of it all. And science isn't really my strong point at all in the first place, and then when you start talking about eugenics and abortion and those subjects - I slipped out halfway through, just needed to be alone for a while to pray hard.
Basketball practice went pretty well, it went a little late, got back at midnight, so I missed Jimmy Fallon's first night as Tonight Show host. Fell asleep sometime past one.
Nobody exactly understood the assignment we were supposed to work on over the week in MMP, so we kinda got chewed out for that. That wasn't that great.
Met up with Zach for our weekly Bible study, then went to Westvillle with Mom, Caleb and Amy to go see Nano. Sort of one of those "helping the widows" type thing.
Jessica had an essay she wanted me to edit, so I tried to help with that, did a bit more homework, took a shower, watched a little bit of the Olympics and went to sleep.
I can't remember what was happening, but there was some really interesting dream taking place when I woke up. Those are annoying when that happens. Woke up with DC Talk and Brad Paisley tunes running through my head, which is always a good way to start the day. (That's happened a lot lately. I like it.) Latin went well, more Chesterton reading in the break between classes, found out I missed an assignment while out with the flu, but the rough draft scored pretty well. After speech I had to practice my speech, work on fixing errors and weak spots, at this place in the old Journalism building. Conner was working that shift, it's helpful to have a former classmate edit your work. Reworking that outline and trimming unnecessary details is what I've been focused on most of this afternoon, smacked myself upside the head with the microwave door while cooking dinner. Need to create a PowerPoint tomorrow and meet with my group for this week's advertising project.
SWAT shows on Sunday night at the church where Dad first started youth pastoring and then Monday night at the BCM, the basketball tournament is two weeks away, my speech is Monday afternoon, Latin test on Wednesday morning, and those two 8-week video production classes start in early March. So things have been pretty crazy and busy, but that's a good thing, mostly. And they'll continue to be like that for about as far as can be seen. Of course, that's not very long, this being college and all. But, anyway, right now it's that pre-spring break sense of panic and overstimulation from the project-and test-waves gathering steam.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
The Flu is Stupid
I'm really getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.
This is basically a recap of what I've done this week: "Stayed in the dorm at all non-class times and rather ineffectually did homework."
I've even taken several naps. Went to Grandpa and Robbie's Friday night, spent the night there, took a nap once I got back and then headed right back over there, to get dragged along to the doctor by Robbie(who kind of loved being able to take of a sick young person again), go back home and laid around the house for about three days, I was probably kind of a grouch. Rags didn't really mind, though. It was strange missing class Monday and Tuesday, and trying to not frantically panic over that.
It's been a long week.
This is basically a recap of what I've done this week: "Stayed in the dorm at all non-class times and rather ineffectually did homework."
I've even taken several naps. Went to Grandpa and Robbie's Friday night, spent the night there, took a nap once I got back and then headed right back over there, to get dragged along to the doctor by Robbie(who kind of loved being able to take of a sick young person again), go back home and laid around the house for about three days, I was probably kind of a grouch. Rags didn't really mind, though. It was strange missing class Monday and Tuesday, and trying to not frantically panic over that.
It's been a long week.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Sleep-Deprived Useless Information
THE OLYMPICS ARE HERE. So the TV is on here in my dorm room. Unfortunately, the event currently being televised is something called "team figure skating", which involves a lot of male skaters. Which is why I'm typing up this post at the moment instead of watching.
My braces came off today. So my mouth feels unnaturally large. And retainers apparently take a while to get used to. Lispsth are annoying. (But it'll disappear in a couple days, probably.)
Also, I got a haircut this afternoon.
Tests in Latin and speech tomorrow, gonna need to do a bit of last-second preparing for those.
Dad had a dentist appointment this morning, in the waiting room I overheard this conversation:
Receptionist #1, to Nurse: "Oh, Roger called and said he will be here today."
Nurse, surprised: "Really? Wasn't expecting that, but okay..."
Receptionist #1: "I know, I didn't think he'd be here, either - driving again so soon, and in this weather!"
Receptionist #2: "What happened?"
Receptionist #1: "Didn't you hear? You know he drives a Pepsi truck, the other day he ran head-on into a car. It was on the news. He thought he killed the other guy."
Receptionist #2: "Oh...wow. Did he?"
Receptionist #1: "Nope, just shook up pretty bad."
Receptionist #2: "Huh. So....who is Roger, again?"
Receptionist #1: "You remember, he's the one who was going to church to find a woman."
Receptionist #2: "Oh! Yeah, I remember him."
Tonight will be Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show. ...Huh? It's possible for someone else to be the host?
Jeopardy is having a "Battle of the Decades" tournament going on right now, past champs from the 80's, 90's and 2000s.
The snow could disappear now, that'd be fine. About three more inches today, I think that's the fifth time since New Year's, the sixth or seventh snow of the winter.
This BuzzFeed post by A British guy trying to analyze the Super Bowl is kinda funny.
There is almost nothing of value in this post....that's what happens when you're a college student on a Thursday night and it's too early to go to sleep.
And here's a Weird Al video for no reason.
My braces came off today. So my mouth feels unnaturally large. And retainers apparently take a while to get used to. Lispsth are annoying. (But it'll disappear in a couple days, probably.)
Also, I got a haircut this afternoon.
Tests in Latin and speech tomorrow, gonna need to do a bit of last-second preparing for those.
Dad had a dentist appointment this morning, in the waiting room I overheard this conversation:
Receptionist #1, to Nurse: "Oh, Roger called and said he will be here today."
Nurse, surprised: "Really? Wasn't expecting that, but okay..."
Receptionist #1: "I know, I didn't think he'd be here, either - driving again so soon, and in this weather!"
Receptionist #2: "What happened?"
Receptionist #1: "Didn't you hear? You know he drives a Pepsi truck, the other day he ran head-on into a car. It was on the news. He thought he killed the other guy."
Receptionist #2: "Oh...wow. Did he?"
Receptionist #1: "Nope, just shook up pretty bad."
Receptionist #2: "Huh. So....who is Roger, again?"
Receptionist #1: "You remember, he's the one who was going to church to find a woman."
Receptionist #2: "Oh! Yeah, I remember him."
Tonight will be Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show. ...Huh? It's possible for someone else to be the host?
Jeopardy is having a "Battle of the Decades" tournament going on right now, past champs from the 80's, 90's and 2000s.
The snow could disappear now, that'd be fine. About three more inches today, I think that's the fifth time since New Year's, the sixth or seventh snow of the winter.
This BuzzFeed post by A British guy trying to analyze the Super Bowl is kinda funny.
There is almost nothing of value in this post....that's what happens when you're a college student on a Thursday night and it's too early to go to sleep.
And here's a Weird Al video for no reason.
Seasonal Cliche Material
Can't believe I'm writing this...
February is here, and that horrible holiday most people try to forget called "Valentine's Day" will be just a few days away. Seriously, how did that ever get to be a holiday in the first place? According to the legend(so says Wikipedia, which although not considered "credible" for school purposes has been shown to have less mistakes than the Encyclopedia Britannia), St. Valentine was imprisoned for officiating marriages of soldiers and aiding persecuted Christians, and was interrogated personally by the Emperor Claudius; who stated that if Valentine relapsed back into Roman pagan beliefs he would be saved. Valentine refused, and so was sentenced to execution. Sometime during his imprisonment, he supposedly restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter Julia, after which she, her father and all his household converted to Christianity. The night before he was to executed, Valentine directed a note to be sent to Julia, ending it "your Valentine".
We then fast-forward most of the way through the Dark Ages, coming to the somewhat-recognizable medieval English of Geoffrey Chaucer. Apparently a satirist, in creating an elaborate history of a tradition which never existed in the first place for a poem(kinda like S. Morgenstern...), he ascribed the practice of birds choosing their mates on the day of St. Valentine, which is how everyone first associated the day with romantic love. This spread throughout the courts of France and England, gradually becoming a significant enough part of the year that Shakespeare has Ophelia mention it during Hamlet. They really caught on during the early 1800s in England, influenced by the invention of the postage stamp, and we stole the idea from them about fifty years later.
Many single people try to cover up their annoyance by calling it "Singles Awareness Day", both as a mockery of the extremely-hard-driven fact that they're single and also since there's an "Awareness Day" for seemingly every other condition under the sun. (Much like the plethora of college scholarships available to left-handed blue-eyed biotechnology-major students who grew up the youngest of eight or more children, or other such specialized nonsense.)
Whatever you want to call it, the main focus is about mushy, disgustingly PDA affection called "love" or variants thereof, which is a frequent topic of music, from Keith Urban's "Making Memories of Us" to Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name ", from Garth Brooks' "Unanswered Prayers" to Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen"; as well as many wonderful spins on the subject from Brad Paisley and basically anything Taylor Swift has or will have written.
This leads to the great heartbreak songs of country music, but also could lead to a wedding. There's plenty of songs about that aspect, from Phil Vassar's "Love is a Beautiful Thing" to Billy Ray Cyrus' "Could've Been Me". (The best-ever wedding-related back-to-back songs played on Pandora would be once when "Stealin' Cinderella" was followed by "I Loved Her First", the order of which seemed extremely fitting.)
Weddings, in general, are kind of depressing. Mainly because you have to get dressed up in a suit and stay that way for several hours, as well as being complicated, expensive, they're held in strange churches are easy to get lost in, there's a TON of people around, and generally the stress level is near the steeple. (Or maybe that's my view because I was the ring-bearer THREE TIMES in ONE SUMMER when I was seven....)
Or maybe it's that 94% of the audience stands there awkwardly as two people are blissfully happy and everyone else isn't sure what to do or think. Or that you suddenly see people you used to know and haven't talked to in ages. Or that all these older adults and relatives and everyone smile and say, "It's your turn next!" or "So...isn't it about time this happened to you?" or "He/She sure is a lucky guy/gal." To all of which you grin weakly and say something original like, "Yup...guess so."
We don't really have any way to answer those types of statements....those saying them usually have only gentle teasing in mind, but the words kind of come out as accusing. Because as single people at a wedding, everything screams this fact out loud as clamorously as possible.
Or it could be just because we're in our early twenties and unattached that this message is put on the loudspeakers of our attention. Everywhere we look, we're seeing folks we grew up with break up painfully, move in together, get engaged, get married and have kids. You sort of wonder, "Is this a problem? Is something wrong about me that I'm not doing these things yet?" So we act like it doesn't bother us at all, like we're fine with the way things are and throw up a little at every couple selfie with the following caption:
"(Name redacted) is the best (spouse/significant other/fiance(e)/whatever) in the world and I love her/him more than anyone else can ever love anything because my capacity to love her/him is greater than anyone else's! I'm SO glad that our relationship is PERFECT!!! (Sixteen heart symbols)" (I totally swiped that entire line from the Newlywed in this skit from BYU's comedy group Studio C, Publicly Emotional steals the show and MAKES this video.)
Also, we're like the third wheel on dates, and that's really just.....really awkward. (Strange pause.) Just...yeah. REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. Because tricycles are lousy and don't work well.
Oh, sure, we could ask somebody for a date....I guess. But that would involve...(shriek of horror) flirting. Now, talk about awkward....that can't be self-taught, and no one in their right minds would teach a class on it. And even if they did, nobody would show up. So, we just think, "Somebody oughta do that..." and of course nobody ever does. (YouTube the BYU Studio C video "Flirting Academy")
Besides....if we're talking about something serious, by whichever name you want it to go by - Time-out. You could just call it "dating" if you wanted(Easy to understand that way). Or you could say you were "going steady"(Wonderfully simple and yet so descriptive. As Cynthia Coppersmith explained to Father Tim in At Home in Mitford, "...Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. You go with someone, steadily, and only with them.") Some people prefer the term "courting"(Ugh. I've always really disliked this term. It sounds so old-fashioned and wooden.)
Whatever the terminology is, it's obvious you're with someone. But it just seems like to me, if you're going to do that, shouldn't you have the intention of possibly marrying that person? That narrows the list of possibilities quite a bit, obviously, but just think about it a minute. Number one, if a Christian, you ought not to marry someone who isn't(2 Corinthians 6:14-17). Number two, you should be faithful.
And in his earlier letter to the Corinthians, Paul devoted a whole chapter to the subject, which is a little hard to figure out. Basically his attitude seems to be, "If you aren't married, that's great. Not everyone is supposed to be. I'm not, and it's what God planned for me in order to better serve Him and bring Him glory. Other people can, and they should, because that also brings Him glory. It really just depends."
What he actually wrote was this: "Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will be faced with many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this." (1 Corinthians 7:26-28) Well, that's understandable. And it makes sense that by melding two lives together, that would naturally bring about twice as much trouble and trials into life.
And Paul continues a few sentences later, "I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) This is really complicated....everything sounds right. And it is. Just hard sometimes to know which stage of life he's talking about in each part.
So....yeah, it's confusing sometimes. And frustrating, waiting for what seems like forever. So we just act like we couldn't care less, exaggerating our disgust at "those couples" and basically living as though we'd forgotten things like relationships exist. Because it's safer that way. And so we just dial our sarcasm blasters up a couple notches to "extremely scathing" level and snap them out whenever we get a chance. (Talking about young twentysomethings in general here, both guys and girls do it.) We'd never admit that it might be troubling, at least not directly, but occasionally indirectly mention the subject.
After Sunny died, a lot of people offered sympathy and were praying for me. GBC is truly a place where we have a church family, it's such an incredible blessing. It's good to have people watching you, checking on you, praying for you, sort of an extended family with lots of extra grandparent-type people and a variety of friendly older-cousins-whose-relation-to-you-can-never-quite-be-traced. Anyway, the sun is shining, it's a pleasant-though-slightly-hot July morning, and everyone is filing out of the building onto the porch. Mrs. Pickard, one of those grandma/aunt types, and a fellow dog-lover, she knew Sunny well, she gives me a hug as soon as she sees me. "I'm so sorry, Wes. It won't be okay, but you can get through this. Pets are such a huge part of our lives....it's so hard." "Yeah....thanks," I mumble, trying to smile as much as I can(which wasn't much). She sighs. "We really need to find you a wife." Maybe it's cause I was so ripped apart emotionally or something, or maybe because God likes to answer the prayers of older people, but I kind of nod. "That might be a good idea, maybe." Mr. Gundersen is standing there listening, he asks if there's anybody maybe on the radar. "Ah....no, not really. Geography's kind of working against me there. Maybe if it wasn't, possibly, but....nah, not right now." Mrs. Guenther jumps into the conversation here. "Well, ya know, I met Allan in Brazil, so....ya never know what might happen." The other three of us look at her. "Brazil?" "Yeah, it was on a mission trip."
Steve Rogers pretty much summed up my attitude on this topic on the way to the experiment with Agent Carter in Captain America. Amused by his awkwardness, she says, "You really have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" "Not really. I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one," He turns serious now. "Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." "You must have danced." He looks out the window at the Brooklyn scenery before replying. "Well...askin' a woman to dance just always seemed so terrifying. And then the past few years....it just didn't seem to matter all that much. Figured I'd wait." "For what?" "...The right partner."
One of these days, I'll come across the right partner. Maybe I already have, and am just too stupid to see it. Or maybe it just isn't time yet. Perhaps she's around some curve some miles off along the highway through the mountains of the future. We'll find out, in time. I mean, the Lord knows, even though I don't.
(Another Captain America reference) Bucky Barnes was teasing Steve before he left as they were on their way to the Stark Expo, saying, "There's three and a half million women in New York, and you'll be the only eligible bachelor left. What're you complaining about?" Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, I'd settle for just one." I don't really mind, I guess, waitin' on a woman...long as she's that kinda girl. But at the same time, I'm still waitin' for you....
February is here, and that horrible holiday most people try to forget called "Valentine's Day" will be just a few days away. Seriously, how did that ever get to be a holiday in the first place? According to the legend(so says Wikipedia, which although not considered "credible" for school purposes has been shown to have less mistakes than the Encyclopedia Britannia), St. Valentine was imprisoned for officiating marriages of soldiers and aiding persecuted Christians, and was interrogated personally by the Emperor Claudius; who stated that if Valentine relapsed back into Roman pagan beliefs he would be saved. Valentine refused, and so was sentenced to execution. Sometime during his imprisonment, he supposedly restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter Julia, after which she, her father and all his household converted to Christianity. The night before he was to executed, Valentine directed a note to be sent to Julia, ending it "your Valentine".
We then fast-forward most of the way through the Dark Ages, coming to the somewhat-recognizable medieval English of Geoffrey Chaucer. Apparently a satirist, in creating an elaborate history of a tradition which never existed in the first place for a poem(kinda like S. Morgenstern...), he ascribed the practice of birds choosing their mates on the day of St. Valentine, which is how everyone first associated the day with romantic love. This spread throughout the courts of France and England, gradually becoming a significant enough part of the year that Shakespeare has Ophelia mention it during Hamlet. They really caught on during the early 1800s in England, influenced by the invention of the postage stamp, and we stole the idea from them about fifty years later.
Many single people try to cover up their annoyance by calling it "Singles Awareness Day", both as a mockery of the extremely-hard-driven fact that they're single and also since there's an "Awareness Day" for seemingly every other condition under the sun. (Much like the plethora of college scholarships available to left-handed blue-eyed biotechnology-major students who grew up the youngest of eight or more children, or other such specialized nonsense.)
Whatever you want to call it, the main focus is about mushy, disgustingly PDA affection called "love" or variants thereof, which is a frequent topic of music, from Keith Urban's "Making Memories of Us" to Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name ", from Garth Brooks' "Unanswered Prayers" to Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen"; as well as many wonderful spins on the subject from Brad Paisley and basically anything Taylor Swift has or will have written.
This leads to the great heartbreak songs of country music, but also could lead to a wedding. There's plenty of songs about that aspect, from Phil Vassar's "Love is a Beautiful Thing" to Billy Ray Cyrus' "Could've Been Me". (The best-ever wedding-related back-to-back songs played on Pandora would be once when "Stealin' Cinderella" was followed by "I Loved Her First", the order of which seemed extremely fitting.)
Weddings, in general, are kind of depressing. Mainly because you have to get dressed up in a suit and stay that way for several hours, as well as being complicated, expensive, they're held in strange churches are easy to get lost in, there's a TON of people around, and generally the stress level is near the steeple. (Or maybe that's my view because I was the ring-bearer THREE TIMES in ONE SUMMER when I was seven....)
Or maybe it's that 94% of the audience stands there awkwardly as two people are blissfully happy and everyone else isn't sure what to do or think. Or that you suddenly see people you used to know and haven't talked to in ages. Or that all these older adults and relatives and everyone smile and say, "It's your turn next!" or "So...isn't it about time this happened to you?" or "He/She sure is a lucky guy/gal." To all of which you grin weakly and say something original like, "Yup...guess so."
We don't really have any way to answer those types of statements....those saying them usually have only gentle teasing in mind, but the words kind of come out as accusing. Because as single people at a wedding, everything screams this fact out loud as clamorously as possible.
Or it could be just because we're in our early twenties and unattached that this message is put on the loudspeakers of our attention. Everywhere we look, we're seeing folks we grew up with break up painfully, move in together, get engaged, get married and have kids. You sort of wonder, "Is this a problem? Is something wrong about me that I'm not doing these things yet?" So we act like it doesn't bother us at all, like we're fine with the way things are and throw up a little at every couple selfie with the following caption:
"(Name redacted) is the best (spouse/significant other/fiance(e)/whatever) in the world and I love her/him more than anyone else can ever love anything because my capacity to love her/him is greater than anyone else's! I'm SO glad that our relationship is PERFECT!!! (Sixteen heart symbols)" (I totally swiped that entire line from the Newlywed in this skit from BYU's comedy group Studio C, Publicly Emotional steals the show and MAKES this video.)
Also, we're like the third wheel on dates, and that's really just.....really awkward. (Strange pause.) Just...yeah. REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. Because tricycles are lousy and don't work well.
Oh, sure, we could ask somebody for a date....I guess. But that would involve...(shriek of horror) flirting. Now, talk about awkward....that can't be self-taught, and no one in their right minds would teach a class on it. And even if they did, nobody would show up. So, we just think, "Somebody oughta do that..." and of course nobody ever does. (YouTube the BYU Studio C video "Flirting Academy")
Besides....if we're talking about something serious, by whichever name you want it to go by - Time-out. You could just call it "dating" if you wanted(Easy to understand that way). Or you could say you were "going steady"(Wonderfully simple and yet so descriptive. As Cynthia Coppersmith explained to Father Tim in At Home in Mitford, "...Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. You go with someone, steadily, and only with them.") Some people prefer the term "courting"(Ugh. I've always really disliked this term. It sounds so old-fashioned and wooden.)
Whatever the terminology is, it's obvious you're with someone. But it just seems like to me, if you're going to do that, shouldn't you have the intention of possibly marrying that person? That narrows the list of possibilities quite a bit, obviously, but just think about it a minute. Number one, if a Christian, you ought not to marry someone who isn't(2 Corinthians 6:14-17). Number two, you should be faithful.
And in his earlier letter to the Corinthians, Paul devoted a whole chapter to the subject, which is a little hard to figure out. Basically his attitude seems to be, "If you aren't married, that's great. Not everyone is supposed to be. I'm not, and it's what God planned for me in order to better serve Him and bring Him glory. Other people can, and they should, because that also brings Him glory. It really just depends."
What he actually wrote was this: "Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will be faced with many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this." (1 Corinthians 7:26-28) Well, that's understandable. And it makes sense that by melding two lives together, that would naturally bring about twice as much trouble and trials into life.
And Paul continues a few sentences later, "I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) This is really complicated....everything sounds right. And it is. Just hard sometimes to know which stage of life he's talking about in each part.
So....yeah, it's confusing sometimes. And frustrating, waiting for what seems like forever. So we just act like we couldn't care less, exaggerating our disgust at "those couples" and basically living as though we'd forgotten things like relationships exist. Because it's safer that way. And so we just dial our sarcasm blasters up a couple notches to "extremely scathing" level and snap them out whenever we get a chance. (Talking about young twentysomethings in general here, both guys and girls do it.) We'd never admit that it might be troubling, at least not directly, but occasionally indirectly mention the subject.
After Sunny died, a lot of people offered sympathy and were praying for me. GBC is truly a place where we have a church family, it's such an incredible blessing. It's good to have people watching you, checking on you, praying for you, sort of an extended family with lots of extra grandparent-type people and a variety of friendly older-cousins-whose-relation-to-you-can-never-quite-be-traced. Anyway, the sun is shining, it's a pleasant-though-slightly-hot July morning, and everyone is filing out of the building onto the porch. Mrs. Pickard, one of those grandma/aunt types, and a fellow dog-lover, she knew Sunny well, she gives me a hug as soon as she sees me. "I'm so sorry, Wes. It won't be okay, but you can get through this. Pets are such a huge part of our lives....it's so hard." "Yeah....thanks," I mumble, trying to smile as much as I can(which wasn't much). She sighs. "We really need to find you a wife." Maybe it's cause I was so ripped apart emotionally or something, or maybe because God likes to answer the prayers of older people, but I kind of nod. "That might be a good idea, maybe." Mr. Gundersen is standing there listening, he asks if there's anybody maybe on the radar. "Ah....no, not really. Geography's kind of working against me there. Maybe if it wasn't, possibly, but....nah, not right now." Mrs. Guenther jumps into the conversation here. "Well, ya know, I met Allan in Brazil, so....ya never know what might happen." The other three of us look at her. "Brazil?" "Yeah, it was on a mission trip."
Steve Rogers pretty much summed up my attitude on this topic on the way to the experiment with Agent Carter in Captain America. Amused by his awkwardness, she says, "You really have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" "Not really. I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one," He turns serious now. "Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." "You must have danced." He looks out the window at the Brooklyn scenery before replying. "Well...askin' a woman to dance just always seemed so terrifying. And then the past few years....it just didn't seem to matter all that much. Figured I'd wait." "For what?" "...The right partner."
One of these days, I'll come across the right partner. Maybe I already have, and am just too stupid to see it. Or maybe it just isn't time yet. Perhaps she's around some curve some miles off along the highway through the mountains of the future. We'll find out, in time. I mean, the Lord knows, even though I don't.
(Another Captain America reference) Bucky Barnes was teasing Steve before he left as they were on their way to the Stark Expo, saying, "There's three and a half million women in New York, and you'll be the only eligible bachelor left. What're you complaining about?" Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, I'd settle for just one." I don't really mind, I guess, waitin' on a woman...long as she's that kinda girl. But at the same time, I'm still waitin' for you....
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Winter Weather, Sports and the Creation of the Universe
Snow. Sleet. Ice. Weather. Classes. Basketball. Studying. Jeopardy. Super Bowl XLVIII. Bible study. The Olympics. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Creation debate.
That's pretty much every single topic that's been/is being discussed on campus and on social media sites over the last couple days.
The Super Bowl...uh, wasn't. It was, actually, pretty much like most of the high school football games I covered for the paper. And it didn't even snow! I didn't really care, but I was leaning slightly towards Seattle. But that much was....well, at 43-8, it tied the largest margin of victory ever. (The Cowboys beat the Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII.) There weren't any good commercials, and the only one that stands out was the TurboTax Prom ad because it was so creepy. And I watched it alone in my dorm room, eating dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Rice Krispy treats and peanut butter from the jar, because that's all the food I had. Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl X was lots better; adorable puppies and kittens playing and napping and looking cute while editing splices together all the best shots and writing turns it into a brilliant mockumentary of a football broadcast. The snow(we got between 3-5 inches) kept me indoors all day; as that was way too cold to walk to church, and the roads were horrendous, so I didn't want to risk Grandpa or Robbie getting in trouble because of the ice while driving across town to watch the game with them.
So I watched most of the first quarter, then practiced my lines for the SWAT skits with Bubba Jacob, came back just as the third quarter was starting and semi-watched the rest of the way. After that it was time to run over Justin and Ja Li Si's one-shot skit for the Monday night meeting, and then it was time to try to get to sleep.
Five of the eleven students in Latin II showed up, so it was a light day; we discussed such important topics as the Super Bowl and Finding Nemo. Speech was canceled because of the awful road and sidewalk conditions, so that was kind of good. Studying in the afternoon, then an early dinner before going over to the BCM. Daniel P., Ricardo and James Hoover have all been wanting me to start helping out the worship team from time to time, so I missed SWAT practice last night because of running over the music. Elizabeth said it went pretty well, though. After worship practice was over me and TJ galloped downstairs to greet our SWAT teammates.
Then it was back upstairs for a few more takes of Justin's skit before the meeting started. The skit went well, and the music went all right, I guess. Never had played with a full band before, that took a bit to get used to.
Off to the dorm to drop off Abby Lee and change into basketball-playing clothes, then Zach and I headed to First Baptist's gym in his orange Camaro for basketball practice. We had eight guys show up this time, so that went pretty well, just enough to be able to sub when needed and tentatively get used to playing with each other. And the recruiting effort to CCF helped, as Connor, Greg, Steven F. and a couple other guys came out to help us practice.
I wake up panicked today just after 8, having a class at 9:30, check my school email and find out it was canceled, which was good. There was black ice everywhere around campus; probably just about anyplace in this area. Elizabeth's car found a patch on the turnpike Sunday and wound up mowing down an exit sign. So I spent most of the morning studying for Friday's tests in Latin and speech, then got some lunch and met up with Zach in Flo's for a look at Ephesians 3. More studying after that, Jeopardy-watching, called Mom. Caleb's foster-puppysitting for Mrs. Jackson, sounds like he's enjoying that, and the pictures are so puppyishly adorable. Rags is busy giving all those (disgusted huff) dogs extremely dirty looks.
Listened attentively to the Bill Nye-Ken Ham debate online, before it disappears from the archives I'm going to need to watch the entire thing. Worldview debates are much easier to pay attention to and follow than political debates, made me wonder what it was like back in the 1800's when debating various subjects was a frequent pastime. Must have been interesting. Anyway, Ken ham did a great job of trying to keep the focus on the Gospel and the underlying bedrock foundation that all the questions would be shot off from. (It was especially interesting, as the fall semester's BCM Monday night messages were a series by Ken Ham on this topic, and also, because Bill Nye is....you know, Bill Nye. The Science Guy.) And Ken Ham is Ken Ham, so....it was really good, definitely planning on watching it again if I can.
The reason I wasn't able to pay sole attention to the debate was because there was a new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on tonight, so I watched the debate before and after the show, and in the commercial breaks during the episode. Anyway, it was spectacular, like always, had several extremely clever scenes of banter, a Stan Lee cameo(!!!), and plot twists that leave you literally gasping you're so drawn into the plot. AND I SO WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!!!!! And I won't find out for another month, probably to avoid competition from the Olympics. That's probably a really smart move by the ABC execs, but as a viewer it's frustrating.
As I was starting college, I mentioned how the Olympics were a good time to reflect on life, examine what's happened since the last time they were held. I asked several hypothetical questions, wondering what the future would be like by the time they came next. Really meant the 2016 Rio Summer Games, but may as well give as good answers I can to them now for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The answers: 1 - My job right now is a student. 2 - Well....that's hard to know how to answer. If a 4.0 GPA through three semesters is a barometer, then yeah, I guess so. 3 - Pretty much the same now as it was then; just take life one day at a time, try to encourage others when possible and work hard at what I'm able to. 4 - Nope. 5 - Definitely not. 6 - Minime. (That's Latin for "By no means!") 7 - Not yet. (Jeopardy-style answers there, click the link for the questions and a look back eighteen months.)
During the Vancouver Olympics, one night on a pizza run Mom came back with an Australian Shepherd/border collie mix puppy we soon named Skeet, Sport really seemed to like him. He soon grew like a weed and assumed second-in-command position from Sunny. We'd just been back in Beggs for five months once the rebuilding was finished, about a month later we finally got a new oven. I was finishing my sophomore year of high school, it was a year away from Youth Tour, Liesel the bipolar psycho cat had disappeared two months earlier.
I'm not sure how much I'll get to watch this year, but I'm gonna try to tune in as often as I can. The Winter Olympics aren't quite as interesting, usually; because of not having much experience with skiable snow and good ice, but it's always something to see. Speedskating(that looks so wrong...), hockey, snowboarding, bobsledding...tons of cool stuff. (With sarcastic definitions found here.)
Cody and his wife are parents now; their son was born yesterday afternoon. Which is awesome. And I'm used to the fact that people I grew up with are getting married now, I guess; with Alton/JB and Kyle/Mariah over the last year, but it still kind of makes you do a double-take sometimes.
Facebook had its tenth anniversary today; kind of makes you wonder what ideas you or friends or classmates might have that could be something a decade from now.
Depending on the road conditions tomorrow, I may get my braces off Thursday. And then there's those tests on Friday.
That's pretty much every single topic that's been/is being discussed on campus and on social media sites over the last couple days.
The Super Bowl...uh, wasn't. It was, actually, pretty much like most of the high school football games I covered for the paper. And it didn't even snow! I didn't really care, but I was leaning slightly towards Seattle. But that much was....well, at 43-8, it tied the largest margin of victory ever. (The Cowboys beat the Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII.) There weren't any good commercials, and the only one that stands out was the TurboTax Prom ad because it was so creepy. And I watched it alone in my dorm room, eating dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Rice Krispy treats and peanut butter from the jar, because that's all the food I had. Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl X was lots better; adorable puppies and kittens playing and napping and looking cute while editing splices together all the best shots and writing turns it into a brilliant mockumentary of a football broadcast. The snow(we got between 3-5 inches) kept me indoors all day; as that was way too cold to walk to church, and the roads were horrendous, so I didn't want to risk Grandpa or Robbie getting in trouble because of the ice while driving across town to watch the game with them.
So I watched most of the first quarter, then practiced my lines for the SWAT skits with Bubba Jacob, came back just as the third quarter was starting and semi-watched the rest of the way. After that it was time to run over Justin and Ja Li Si's one-shot skit for the Monday night meeting, and then it was time to try to get to sleep.
Five of the eleven students in Latin II showed up, so it was a light day; we discussed such important topics as the Super Bowl and Finding Nemo. Speech was canceled because of the awful road and sidewalk conditions, so that was kind of good. Studying in the afternoon, then an early dinner before going over to the BCM. Daniel P., Ricardo and James Hoover have all been wanting me to start helping out the worship team from time to time, so I missed SWAT practice last night because of running over the music. Elizabeth said it went pretty well, though. After worship practice was over me and TJ galloped downstairs to greet our SWAT teammates.
Then it was back upstairs for a few more takes of Justin's skit before the meeting started. The skit went well, and the music went all right, I guess. Never had played with a full band before, that took a bit to get used to.
Off to the dorm to drop off Abby Lee and change into basketball-playing clothes, then Zach and I headed to First Baptist's gym in his orange Camaro for basketball practice. We had eight guys show up this time, so that went pretty well, just enough to be able to sub when needed and tentatively get used to playing with each other. And the recruiting effort to CCF helped, as Connor, Greg, Steven F. and a couple other guys came out to help us practice.
I wake up panicked today just after 8, having a class at 9:30, check my school email and find out it was canceled, which was good. There was black ice everywhere around campus; probably just about anyplace in this area. Elizabeth's car found a patch on the turnpike Sunday and wound up mowing down an exit sign. So I spent most of the morning studying for Friday's tests in Latin and speech, then got some lunch and met up with Zach in Flo's for a look at Ephesians 3. More studying after that, Jeopardy-watching, called Mom. Caleb's foster-puppysitting for Mrs. Jackson, sounds like he's enjoying that, and the pictures are so puppyishly adorable. Rags is busy giving all those (disgusted huff) dogs extremely dirty looks.
Listened attentively to the Bill Nye-Ken Ham debate online, before it disappears from the archives I'm going to need to watch the entire thing. Worldview debates are much easier to pay attention to and follow than political debates, made me wonder what it was like back in the 1800's when debating various subjects was a frequent pastime. Must have been interesting. Anyway, Ken ham did a great job of trying to keep the focus on the Gospel and the underlying bedrock foundation that all the questions would be shot off from. (It was especially interesting, as the fall semester's BCM Monday night messages were a series by Ken Ham on this topic, and also, because Bill Nye is....you know, Bill Nye. The Science Guy.) And Ken Ham is Ken Ham, so....it was really good, definitely planning on watching it again if I can.
The reason I wasn't able to pay sole attention to the debate was because there was a new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on tonight, so I watched the debate before and after the show, and in the commercial breaks during the episode. Anyway, it was spectacular, like always, had several extremely clever scenes of banter, a Stan Lee cameo(!!!), and plot twists that leave you literally gasping you're so drawn into the plot. AND I SO WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!!!!! And I won't find out for another month, probably to avoid competition from the Olympics. That's probably a really smart move by the ABC execs, but as a viewer it's frustrating.
As I was starting college, I mentioned how the Olympics were a good time to reflect on life, examine what's happened since the last time they were held. I asked several hypothetical questions, wondering what the future would be like by the time they came next. Really meant the 2016 Rio Summer Games, but may as well give as good answers I can to them now for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The answers: 1 - My job right now is a student. 2 - Well....that's hard to know how to answer. If a 4.0 GPA through three semesters is a barometer, then yeah, I guess so. 3 - Pretty much the same now as it was then; just take life one day at a time, try to encourage others when possible and work hard at what I'm able to. 4 - Nope. 5 - Definitely not. 6 - Minime. (That's Latin for "By no means!") 7 - Not yet. (Jeopardy-style answers there, click the link for the questions and a look back eighteen months.)
During the Vancouver Olympics, one night on a pizza run Mom came back with an Australian Shepherd/border collie mix puppy we soon named Skeet, Sport really seemed to like him. He soon grew like a weed and assumed second-in-command position from Sunny. We'd just been back in Beggs for five months once the rebuilding was finished, about a month later we finally got a new oven. I was finishing my sophomore year of high school, it was a year away from Youth Tour, Liesel the bipolar psycho cat had disappeared two months earlier.
I'm not sure how much I'll get to watch this year, but I'm gonna try to tune in as often as I can. The Winter Olympics aren't quite as interesting, usually; because of not having much experience with skiable snow and good ice, but it's always something to see. Speedskating(that looks so wrong...), hockey, snowboarding, bobsledding...tons of cool stuff. (With sarcastic definitions found here.)
Cody and his wife are parents now; their son was born yesterday afternoon. Which is awesome. And I'm used to the fact that people I grew up with are getting married now, I guess; with Alton/JB and Kyle/Mariah over the last year, but it still kind of makes you do a double-take sometimes.
Facebook had its tenth anniversary today; kind of makes you wonder what ideas you or friends or classmates might have that could be something a decade from now.
Depending on the road conditions tomorrow, I may get my braces off Thursday. And then there's those tests on Friday.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Late January Rush
This has been a very busy last couple of days.
Sunday the weather was absolutely beautiful; just right for doing anything outside, so it was a pleasant walk both to and from church. Then played guitar for about an hour sitting on the porch before coming reluctantly inside to do homework. (That was before the wind started and the cold front moved in. Seriously, only in Oklahoma can you have a high of 71 degrees one day, to have a wind chill of 2 the next morning.) Nobody could sleep because of things rattling off the windows and the wind slipping through the numerous leaks, so at least it was a new topic to complain about.
Monday had Latin in the morning, which went pretty well, other than being cold. Raced over to the Underground for some lunch, then raced back to Seminary for Comm, which was interesting, full of snarky comments by students and the following quote from the instructor; "Don't ever corner an armadillo. They can get really mean. And they carry leprosy." Studying most of the afternoon, then grabbed some food in the caf, while trying to dodge the far-too-numerous people on my way out I narrowly avoided being run over by a herd of Tri-Sig sorority girls moving along in a pack like they always do.
The full gang was together for SWAT practice Monday evening; it went pretty well, we're still scrubbing the rust off the edges in order to get things all polished and shiny again. Then we quickly ran through our narrations after practice was over, piling onto the couches almost on top of one another in the living room with all the other people killing time before the meeting began.
That went well, and afterwards I got a ride from Zach to basketball practice. Much like the state volleyball tournament, there's a state basketball tournament for all the BCM chapters from each college around the state, held sometime early March at OBU in Shawnee...and I may end up making the team because there were only six guys to show up. Again, like volleyball practice, it was at the First Baptist-Tahlequah gym, divided up by guys and girls, tryouts for the first couple weeks and then more intense prepwork leading up to the tournament. I'm guessing the girls' team will probably do well in the tournament; the guys not so much.
Anyway, woke up Tuesday and went to MMP, then ate lunch in the caf and met up with Zach at Flo's for our weekly Bible study, looking at Ephesians 2. Stopped by the CCF house about 1:30 to help Javier get things set up for their meeting that night, more studying about 3, then watched a rerun of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and went over to the CCF meeting. Jav had just been promoted to assistant minister under Tom, it was neat to hear him teach.
Got an email from a lady asking if I was willing to be interviewed for a story she was writing for Oklahoma Living magazine, that was cool, doesn't happen every day.
Wednesday didn't get much sleep, and woke up extremely tired. Finally found out the difference between satire and sarcasm in Latin, Dr. Faulds explained it well. Comm was all right. Spent the afternoon studying, took a shower and froze with the air-conditioning, watched Jeopardy, got an advertising quiz out of the way(not as well as I'd hoped, but it'll do, I guess). And the Thunder absolutely destroyed Miami(in Florida), so that was pretty awesome.
Heard from Daniel, that was good. My Netflix queue is a weird mix of superhero movies, 70s/80s detective shows and Disney movies. The Rockford Files is good, been watching that recently. So is Columbo, also been watching that. And of course MacGyver. When I remember they're on, Full House reruns, and basketball and hockey games.
Reading The Princess Bride again, since I can't find the movie, thinking maybe I should try to learn how to play that theme song. Also been re-re-re-reading(that'd be "reading for the fourth time") Lucy Maud Montgomery's The Golden Road on my Kindle app, just remembered it was there a couple weeks ago.
Thursday morning the writer called; it was interesting being the one answering questions. Had lunch with Mallory, it was good to catch up on how classes were going and talk about basketball. Worked on homework and got a Comm report typed up and printed. Spent the night watching Netflix and doing a little bit of Bible study. And the chain on my braces popped loose, that's a little irritating and painful, but at least it's easy to fix with ibuprofen. (They should hopefully be removed this Thursday.)
The writer needed some pictures to go with the story, that was interesting, and a little awkward. (I'm not much a fan on having my picture taken.) But hopefully she got some good shots. Showed up late to Latin because of that, but at least I was there, and it let out early today. Comm did, too; it's just sort of a gray, slow day. Lots of students yawning and nobody very talkative, except about the Thunder. Now a report to work on for Monday in Comm and a quiz in there on Wednesday, that's the weekend's main homeworkobjectives goals for the weekend(apparently "objectives" refers to long-term milestones to reach, while "goals" is the preferred short term. Things you learn from marketing/advertising textbooks.) And another goal would be deciding who to root for in the Super Bowl.
Sunday the weather was absolutely beautiful; just right for doing anything outside, so it was a pleasant walk both to and from church. Then played guitar for about an hour sitting on the porch before coming reluctantly inside to do homework. (That was before the wind started and the cold front moved in. Seriously, only in Oklahoma can you have a high of 71 degrees one day, to have a wind chill of 2 the next morning.) Nobody could sleep because of things rattling off the windows and the wind slipping through the numerous leaks, so at least it was a new topic to complain about.
Monday had Latin in the morning, which went pretty well, other than being cold. Raced over to the Underground for some lunch, then raced back to Seminary for Comm, which was interesting, full of snarky comments by students and the following quote from the instructor; "Don't ever corner an armadillo. They can get really mean. And they carry leprosy." Studying most of the afternoon, then grabbed some food in the caf, while trying to dodge the far-too-numerous people on my way out I narrowly avoided being run over by a herd of Tri-Sig sorority girls moving along in a pack like they always do.
The full gang was together for SWAT practice Monday evening; it went pretty well, we're still scrubbing the rust off the edges in order to get things all polished and shiny again. Then we quickly ran through our narrations after practice was over, piling onto the couches almost on top of one another in the living room with all the other people killing time before the meeting began.
That went well, and afterwards I got a ride from Zach to basketball practice. Much like the state volleyball tournament, there's a state basketball tournament for all the BCM chapters from each college around the state, held sometime early March at OBU in Shawnee...and I may end up making the team because there were only six guys to show up. Again, like volleyball practice, it was at the First Baptist-Tahlequah gym, divided up by guys and girls, tryouts for the first couple weeks and then more intense prepwork leading up to the tournament. I'm guessing the girls' team will probably do well in the tournament; the guys not so much.
Anyway, woke up Tuesday and went to MMP, then ate lunch in the caf and met up with Zach at Flo's for our weekly Bible study, looking at Ephesians 2. Stopped by the CCF house about 1:30 to help Javier get things set up for their meeting that night, more studying about 3, then watched a rerun of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and went over to the CCF meeting. Jav had just been promoted to assistant minister under Tom, it was neat to hear him teach.
Got an email from a lady asking if I was willing to be interviewed for a story she was writing for Oklahoma Living magazine, that was cool, doesn't happen every day.
Wednesday didn't get much sleep, and woke up extremely tired. Finally found out the difference between satire and sarcasm in Latin, Dr. Faulds explained it well. Comm was all right. Spent the afternoon studying, took a shower and froze with the air-conditioning, watched Jeopardy, got an advertising quiz out of the way(not as well as I'd hoped, but it'll do, I guess). And the Thunder absolutely destroyed Miami(in Florida), so that was pretty awesome.
Heard from Daniel, that was good. My Netflix queue is a weird mix of superhero movies, 70s/80s detective shows and Disney movies. The Rockford Files is good, been watching that recently. So is Columbo, also been watching that. And of course MacGyver. When I remember they're on, Full House reruns, and basketball and hockey games.
Reading The Princess Bride again, since I can't find the movie, thinking maybe I should try to learn how to play that theme song. Also been re-re-re-reading(that'd be "reading for the fourth time") Lucy Maud Montgomery's The Golden Road on my Kindle app, just remembered it was there a couple weeks ago.
Thursday morning the writer called; it was interesting being the one answering questions. Had lunch with Mallory, it was good to catch up on how classes were going and talk about basketball. Worked on homework and got a Comm report typed up and printed. Spent the night watching Netflix and doing a little bit of Bible study. And the chain on my braces popped loose, that's a little irritating and painful, but at least it's easy to fix with ibuprofen. (They should hopefully be removed this Thursday.)
The writer needed some pictures to go with the story, that was interesting, and a little awkward. (I'm not much a fan on having my picture taken.) But hopefully she got some good shots. Showed up late to Latin because of that, but at least I was there, and it let out early today. Comm did, too; it's just sort of a gray, slow day. Lots of students yawning and nobody very talkative, except about the Thunder. Now a report to work on for Monday in Comm and a quiz in there on Wednesday, that's the weekend's main homework
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Super Commercials - Updated
This is basically the same post as "Super Commercials" from last year, only hopefully the links will be viewable in a less-clunky manner.
Only at the Super Bowl would people watch the game for the commercials. (And I'm one of those people this year. Yipes. Well, and I'm also hoping for a blizzard, that'd be fun to watch.) And only Super Bowl commercials could be far more memorable than the actual games themselves. This is a list of my all-time favorite Super Bowl ads. (Beer companies have the best marketing/advertising people, so that's why this list will be heavily dominated by those.)
1999 Budweiser City - Maybe it's the song, or the montage of fast-moving clips showing everyday life in the city. Either way, this has always stuck in my head as an example of a very good ad.
1998 Skyboarder/Goose Pepsi - This looks almost painfully CGIed now sixteen years later, but that was awesome technology then. And it is a terrific commercial. I love how the Pepsi stream flows sideways because of the gravity. And then the way the flock of geese fly in the shape of the Pepsi logo....so cool.
2010 Doritos Shock Collar - Go, Dog, GO! This is one of the better Doritos ads in the last ten years.
1979 Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola - Could this possibly NOT go on the list?! Widely regarded as the best Super Bowl commercial ever, it's awesome. Just awesome. How many commercials do you know the behind-the-scenes story of? That become legendary? It was filmed over two days at this tiny stadium somewhere in Pennsylvania, and he had to drink that whole bottle in one gulp. It took seventeen takes for that one shot. And the fantasy aspect....how amazing would it be for your favorite player to toss your his game-worn jersey right from his back?
1993 Larry Bird/Michael Jordan Big Mac Shootout - MICHAEL JORDAN!!!! Trick shots! Larry Bird! A huge delicious burger! This one has it all. (So good, in fact, they made a sequel the next year, with the tricks getting wackier and Charles Barkley tagging along. And a remake from 2010 is pretty great, too.
1999 Budweiser Dalmatian Twins - Lost in the Clydesdales' hulking shadows are the Dalmatians, who starred in some pretty terrific ads of their own. (And the Frogs weren't bad, either.)
2007 Rock, Paper, Scissors Bud Light - It's not the commercial of the decade, but it's close. And by far the best ad that year.
2000 Budweiser "WHAZZZZZZZUPPPP?!" - This was the commercial of the decade.
2013 Hyundai Making the Team - The stuff dreams are made of. Which is the recipe for an amazing ad.
2007 Bud Light "Dude." - Amazing how effective one word can be, and how flexible.
Broken Elevator Tostitos - One of those commercials that sticks with you. (And I'm always reminded of it just about every time I ride the creepy elevator in our dorm.)
1995 Clydesdale Football - BY FAR THE BEST COMMERCIAL EVER FILMED. EVER. I can watch the dirt fly, smell the horse-sweat, hear the thunderous crash of their bodies slamming into each other....the ball as it gets snapped and then placed for the kick.....and then the football fading off into the distance over the power line is one of those shots that will never be topped, like that last scene in Back To The Future where the DeLorean's tire tracks are in flames in the middle of the road as the rain starts to come pouring down. And, of course, those two lines of dialogue at the end are wonderful.
Only at the Super Bowl would people watch the game for the commercials. (And I'm one of those people this year. Yipes. Well, and I'm also hoping for a blizzard, that'd be fun to watch.) And only Super Bowl commercials could be far more memorable than the actual games themselves. This is a list of my all-time favorite Super Bowl ads. (Beer companies have the best marketing/advertising people, so that's why this list will be heavily dominated by those.)
1999 Budweiser City - Maybe it's the song, or the montage of fast-moving clips showing everyday life in the city. Either way, this has always stuck in my head as an example of a very good ad.
1998 Skyboarder/Goose Pepsi - This looks almost painfully CGIed now sixteen years later, but that was awesome technology then. And it is a terrific commercial. I love how the Pepsi stream flows sideways because of the gravity. And then the way the flock of geese fly in the shape of the Pepsi logo....so cool.
2010 Doritos Shock Collar - Go, Dog, GO! This is one of the better Doritos ads in the last ten years.
1979 Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola - Could this possibly NOT go on the list?! Widely regarded as the best Super Bowl commercial ever, it's awesome. Just awesome. How many commercials do you know the behind-the-scenes story of? That become legendary? It was filmed over two days at this tiny stadium somewhere in Pennsylvania, and he had to drink that whole bottle in one gulp. It took seventeen takes for that one shot. And the fantasy aspect....how amazing would it be for your favorite player to toss your his game-worn jersey right from his back?
1993 Larry Bird/Michael Jordan Big Mac Shootout - MICHAEL JORDAN!!!! Trick shots! Larry Bird! A huge delicious burger! This one has it all. (So good, in fact, they made a sequel the next year, with the tricks getting wackier and Charles Barkley tagging along. And a remake from 2010 is pretty great, too.
1999 Budweiser Dalmatian Twins - Lost in the Clydesdales' hulking shadows are the Dalmatians, who starred in some pretty terrific ads of their own. (And the Frogs weren't bad, either.)
2007 Rock, Paper, Scissors Bud Light - It's not the commercial of the decade, but it's close. And by far the best ad that year.
2000 Budweiser "WHAZZZZZZZUPPPP?!" - This was the commercial of the decade.
2013 Hyundai Making the Team - The stuff dreams are made of. Which is the recipe for an amazing ad.
2007 Bud Light "Dude." - Amazing how effective one word can be, and how flexible.
Broken Elevator Tostitos - One of those commercials that sticks with you. (And I'm always reminded of it just about every time I ride the creepy elevator in our dorm.)
1995 Clydesdale Football - BY FAR THE BEST COMMERCIAL EVER FILMED. EVER. I can watch the dirt fly, smell the horse-sweat, hear the thunderous crash of their bodies slamming into each other....the ball as it gets snapped and then placed for the kick.....and then the football fading off into the distance over the power line is one of those shots that will never be topped, like that last scene in Back To The Future where the DeLorean's tire tracks are in flames in the middle of the road as the rain starts to come pouring down. And, of course, those two lines of dialogue at the end are wonderful.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Life in a Deep Freeze
It is REALLY COLD OUTSIDE. And inside. Even more so than usual, and so the chorus of complaints is louder than ever. Like, seriously, when I checked the temp a couple hours ago it was 18 degrees with a wind chill of 3 degrees. High of 22 expected, low of somewhere between 2-5 degrees. And we're talking Fahrenheit, not Celsius!
And my Kit Kats have been frozen rock-solid. That's not quite so bad as stone-hard Snickers, or fossilized Reese's, but it's still not exactly enjoyable. (Welll...okay, it's chocolate, so obviously it's enjoyable. I just mean that it would've been a little better if it could warm up to maybe room-temperature a bit or something.)
Classes are going...taking everyone a while to get up to speed, it seems. Media Management and Planning(MMP) might go a little easier than we expected. (Note the might.) Somebody said before class Tuesday, as we were all frantically trying to prepare for a quiz over the syllabus, "Why does this feel like we're taking a final and it's only the second week of class?" Lecture was on the importance of proper product placement in advertising, pretty interesting and easy to grasp. Talked to this older guy who sits next to me named Ron for a while about photography after class let out.
Monday was a study-day, because of no classes scheduled for some reason because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It really came at an odd time this year, because we started so late. We don't need a break after one week of school! Why couldn't it come in February or something instead?
Quiz in Comm/speech yesterday, which was somewhat nerve-wracking, and a short little report to whip up for tomorrow.
Latin is going pretty well, a little faster than we'd probably like, but it's all right. I was able to read(and understand!) what the extra-credit sentence said yesterday even before we'd begun dissecting it. (It was the Vulgate translation of Matthew 5:3, if you were wondering.) That was awesome.
Finally used some of the high school graduation gift certificate from GBC to Grace and Truth Books, it's only taken like nineteen months, haha. (Just wanted to make the best use of whatever I purchased, y'know?) And I still have half of it left! Got a book by Paul David Tripp called War of Words, a gospel-centered look at communication issues. It's fantastic, was studying a couple chapters last night because I couldn't sleep.
It was good to visit home for the weekend, lots of homework and cat-petting and video games, in about that order.
Super Bowl is next week...and then the Olympics. And I should hopefully get my braces off February 6. Besides the Daytona 500, those are all the highlights, most likely, from next month. Other than that it'll just be cold gray skies, rain, maybe a little snow, tests and group projects and mountains of homework and wild-eyed students close to snapping from stress and anxiety.
Songs of the Day this week: All weekend long I had the theme song from Friends running through my head. (But at least I figured out that opening guitar riff, which is like one of the songbites of the 90s.) And Brad Paisley on Tuesday; "Two People Fell in Love", "Letter To Me" and snippets from several others. "Jesus Paid It All" and "Be Thou My Vision" have often been running through my head here the last few weeks. This morning it was a handful of Eli songs.
Quote of the Week would go to Maria von Trapp(Julie Andrews' portrayal, not the actual lady) from The Sound of Music, from the "I Have Confidence" scene when she finally comes up to the gate of the von Trapp estate: "...Oh, help." (Still annoyed about that song getting cut from the Carrie Underwood play version...Side note, it seems like everyone is doing that play this semester; it's been about the only thing on my Facebook news feed this week.)
Trying to study today, in addition to just staying warm. And watched several episodes of Full House. Back to the textbooks I go....
(After studying a little more, I listened to two David Platt sermons on angels and demons and spiritual warfare. And as for the cold, my cousin Logan said the high temp in his slice of Illinois was 5 today, with a bunch of snow. Probably worse up along the Minnesota/Canada border, I'd have to ask Jessica about that, though.)
And my Kit Kats have been frozen rock-solid. That's not quite so bad as stone-hard Snickers, or fossilized Reese's, but it's still not exactly enjoyable. (Welll...okay, it's chocolate, so obviously it's enjoyable. I just mean that it would've been a little better if it could warm up to maybe room-temperature a bit or something.)
Classes are going...taking everyone a while to get up to speed, it seems. Media Management and Planning(MMP) might go a little easier than we expected. (Note the might.) Somebody said before class Tuesday, as we were all frantically trying to prepare for a quiz over the syllabus, "Why does this feel like we're taking a final and it's only the second week of class?" Lecture was on the importance of proper product placement in advertising, pretty interesting and easy to grasp. Talked to this older guy who sits next to me named Ron for a while about photography after class let out.
Monday was a study-day, because of no classes scheduled for some reason because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It really came at an odd time this year, because we started so late. We don't need a break after one week of school! Why couldn't it come in February or something instead?
Quiz in Comm/speech yesterday, which was somewhat nerve-wracking, and a short little report to whip up for tomorrow.
Latin is going pretty well, a little faster than we'd probably like, but it's all right. I was able to read(and understand!) what the extra-credit sentence said yesterday even before we'd begun dissecting it. (It was the Vulgate translation of Matthew 5:3, if you were wondering.) That was awesome.
Finally used some of the high school graduation gift certificate from GBC to Grace and Truth Books, it's only taken like nineteen months, haha. (Just wanted to make the best use of whatever I purchased, y'know?) And I still have half of it left! Got a book by Paul David Tripp called War of Words, a gospel-centered look at communication issues. It's fantastic, was studying a couple chapters last night because I couldn't sleep.
It was good to visit home for the weekend, lots of homework and cat-petting and video games, in about that order.
Super Bowl is next week...and then the Olympics. And I should hopefully get my braces off February 6. Besides the Daytona 500, those are all the highlights, most likely, from next month. Other than that it'll just be cold gray skies, rain, maybe a little snow, tests and group projects and mountains of homework and wild-eyed students close to snapping from stress and anxiety.
Songs of the Day this week: All weekend long I had the theme song from Friends running through my head. (But at least I figured out that opening guitar riff, which is like one of the songbites of the 90s.) And Brad Paisley on Tuesday; "Two People Fell in Love", "Letter To Me" and snippets from several others. "Jesus Paid It All" and "Be Thou My Vision" have often been running through my head here the last few weeks. This morning it was a handful of Eli songs.
Quote of the Week would go to Maria von Trapp(Julie Andrews' portrayal, not the actual lady) from The Sound of Music, from the "I Have Confidence" scene when she finally comes up to the gate of the von Trapp estate: "...Oh, help." (Still annoyed about that song getting cut from the Carrie Underwood play version...Side note, it seems like everyone is doing that play this semester; it's been about the only thing on my Facebook news feed this week.)
Trying to study today, in addition to just staying warm. And watched several episodes of Full House. Back to the textbooks I go....
(After studying a little more, I listened to two David Platt sermons on angels and demons and spiritual warfare. And as for the cold, my cousin Logan said the high temp in his slice of Illinois was 5 today, with a bunch of snow. Probably worse up along the Minnesota/Canada border, I'd have to ask Jessica about that, though.)
Monday, January 20, 2014
Trying to Live in a Roman World
This world is falling apart really fast. And just when you think it can't get worse, well....Murphy's Law to the max. And that's to be expected, but still - it's really frightening.
Jesus said if we follow him, we'll be persecuted just as he was. In the Roman world, Christianity was illegal, and you could be executed for being a believer. It's apparently a lot like that still today, in some countries, according to Voice of the Martyrs. So far here in the U.S., we haven't had to worry about that yet. But....well, it's coming at some point. And that's really scary, to be honest.
But I'm reminded of a story someone from GBC once told, about how she was driving one night through the worst thunderstorm she'd ever seen, and she thought for sure the car was going to flip or be swept away by floodwater or hit by lightning or something. And that was terrifying. But then Mrs. Rusco got to thinking about how if that was what God had planned for her that night, well, then, that was that. In some way, it would bring glory to him, and if she died, that meant she was going to meet him all the sooner. And it was only a thunderstorm, out of all the huge, vast number of events in human history that have been and will be until the final chapter of time is concluded. How small is one thunderstorm, compared to a God who handles perfectly every single event in the universe? It's nothing to be afraid of, really. It will be all right.
Gun control, Obamacare, the Aurora shootings, Sandy Hook, the Boston bombings, gay marriage, the NSA...it's all scary. But, you know, maybe they're just thunderstorms, too. Or tornadoes. Those are extremely destructive and harmful, but they have some purpose that we don't know about, in the big picture. It's one of those times when all you can say is the lyrics to one of Steven Curtis Chapman's songs. "God is God, and I am man/And I'll never understand it all/For only God is God." What I need is to remember that He is the King of the Jungle.
Oklahoma's been in the news recently, as a federal judge is trying to overrule our state's ban on gay marriage, saying it's "unconstitutional". My thought on seeing that? "We're doomed." And yeah, we might be. But again, God's in control. I believe the Bible, and so I think homosexuality is a moral perversion(Romans 1, which I'll get to in a second; Ephesians 5:5, many other places I'm too tired to look up right now, it's a school night) If you're gay, well....I think it's wrong, but you're still a person. I don't like it when you shove your values down my throat, but most people don't enjoy that, no matter what the subject is. I'd rather not hear about it, okay? Just keep some activities to yourself, whether gay or straight.
Paul wrote to the Romans a very lengthy letter, because he couldn't visit them in person. In the first chapter, verses 18-32, he writes, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles.
"Therefore God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women have exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were infatuated with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful, they invent new ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these things but also approve of those who practice them."
One of our senators, Tom Coburn, will be resigning after this year. I'm not really sure of all the details, but he's one of the only honest politicians I've ever heard of; one of those ordinary citizens who came to serve their region for a time, did the best they could, and then went back to their ordinary lives afterwards. THAT is how politics ought to go all the time, what our founders envisioned.
I'm not just saying that because he's Dad's uncle, either. He's just a man who's spent his life trying to make the lives of others a little easier, a little better. The way I usually think of him is on the day of Grandma Joy's funeral, at the graveside. It was a cold, overcast and windy November day. He was standing off alone by himself, coat wrapped tightly, staring off into space. Just a man grieving the loss of his mother, wondering how to keep going.
So, yeah, coming back to this Roman world we live in....it's dark for now, and that's all right, ultimately. But it also means we need to fight, spread the gospel and drop good teaching whenever we can, in order to light this world. And that involves being bold, which is not something I'm very skilled at. However, Bennett, Laura and Callie don't have a problem with this; going so far to create their own website to encourage Biblical thinking principles and ideas for ministering to fellow teens. It's called The Ignition Project, highly recommend y'all go take a look. (They're also on Twitter @TheIgnitionPrjt) They love their crew of rappers, something called 116 Clique, made up of Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Derek Minor and others. They're not my style of music, but are in your face about the message of Christ and dealing with sin. And that's not that different from what the guys from DC Talk were always singing about.
It's sort of a 1 Corinthians 12 type of thing. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (verses 4-6.) So they may be working in a different way than I am, but the end result will, Lord willing, be the same; the further glorification of God and growth of the believers. So let's keep on going, whatever than role may involve, wherever that road will take us.
Time is ticking away....
Jesus said if we follow him, we'll be persecuted just as he was. In the Roman world, Christianity was illegal, and you could be executed for being a believer. It's apparently a lot like that still today, in some countries, according to Voice of the Martyrs. So far here in the U.S., we haven't had to worry about that yet. But....well, it's coming at some point. And that's really scary, to be honest.
But I'm reminded of a story someone from GBC once told, about how she was driving one night through the worst thunderstorm she'd ever seen, and she thought for sure the car was going to flip or be swept away by floodwater or hit by lightning or something. And that was terrifying. But then Mrs. Rusco got to thinking about how if that was what God had planned for her that night, well, then, that was that. In some way, it would bring glory to him, and if she died, that meant she was going to meet him all the sooner. And it was only a thunderstorm, out of all the huge, vast number of events in human history that have been and will be until the final chapter of time is concluded. How small is one thunderstorm, compared to a God who handles perfectly every single event in the universe? It's nothing to be afraid of, really. It will be all right.
Gun control, Obamacare, the Aurora shootings, Sandy Hook, the Boston bombings, gay marriage, the NSA...it's all scary. But, you know, maybe they're just thunderstorms, too. Or tornadoes. Those are extremely destructive and harmful, but they have some purpose that we don't know about, in the big picture. It's one of those times when all you can say is the lyrics to one of Steven Curtis Chapman's songs. "God is God, and I am man/And I'll never understand it all/For only God is God." What I need is to remember that He is the King of the Jungle.
Oklahoma's been in the news recently, as a federal judge is trying to overrule our state's ban on gay marriage, saying it's "unconstitutional". My thought on seeing that? "We're doomed." And yeah, we might be. But again, God's in control. I believe the Bible, and so I think homosexuality is a moral perversion(Romans 1, which I'll get to in a second; Ephesians 5:5, many other places I'm too tired to look up right now, it's a school night) If you're gay, well....I think it's wrong, but you're still a person. I don't like it when you shove your values down my throat, but most people don't enjoy that, no matter what the subject is. I'd rather not hear about it, okay? Just keep some activities to yourself, whether gay or straight.
Paul wrote to the Romans a very lengthy letter, because he couldn't visit them in person. In the first chapter, verses 18-32, he writes, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles.
"Therefore God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women have exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were infatuated with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful, they invent new ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these things but also approve of those who practice them."
One of our senators, Tom Coburn, will be resigning after this year. I'm not really sure of all the details, but he's one of the only honest politicians I've ever heard of; one of those ordinary citizens who came to serve their region for a time, did the best they could, and then went back to their ordinary lives afterwards. THAT is how politics ought to go all the time, what our founders envisioned.
I'm not just saying that because he's Dad's uncle, either. He's just a man who's spent his life trying to make the lives of others a little easier, a little better. The way I usually think of him is on the day of Grandma Joy's funeral, at the graveside. It was a cold, overcast and windy November day. He was standing off alone by himself, coat wrapped tightly, staring off into space. Just a man grieving the loss of his mother, wondering how to keep going.
So, yeah, coming back to this Roman world we live in....it's dark for now, and that's all right, ultimately. But it also means we need to fight, spread the gospel and drop good teaching whenever we can, in order to light this world. And that involves being bold, which is not something I'm very skilled at. However, Bennett, Laura and Callie don't have a problem with this; going so far to create their own website to encourage Biblical thinking principles and ideas for ministering to fellow teens. It's called The Ignition Project, highly recommend y'all go take a look. (They're also on Twitter @TheIgnitionPrjt) They love their crew of rappers, something called 116 Clique, made up of Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Derek Minor and others. They're not my style of music, but are in your face about the message of Christ and dealing with sin. And that's not that different from what the guys from DC Talk were always singing about.
It's sort of a 1 Corinthians 12 type of thing. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (verses 4-6.) So they may be working in a different way than I am, but the end result will, Lord willing, be the same; the further glorification of God and growth of the believers. So let's keep on going, whatever than role may involve, wherever that road will take us.
Time is ticking away....
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Language and Language
You know how someone might say while recommending a book or a movie or something, "This is really good, you ought to read it sometime. There is some language in it, but it's still really worth reading." (Non-book example, but Back To The Future works well here.) Well, I would hope there's language in it....else there wouldn't be any book, you know? If there wasn't language, made of words and letters and, depending on the style, punctuation or infixes, strung into sentences, we wouldn't be able to communicate very well. If we couldn't communicate, well, that would be unthinkable. So it's really a good thing that the Phoenicians invented writing.
Through the Tower of Babel, whatever the dominant common language existed in the world disappeared and separate language-speakers migrated towards the same areas, which explains how humans scattered all over the world. Over time, certain languages came to the forefront, like Aramaic, replaced by Greek, which fell in time to Latin. Latin, of course, stayed the dominant language for somewhere over a thousand years, gradually evolving into Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. French became the main language and gradually a strain developed into English, which has taken a little bit of everything and mispronounced it to create the crazy mishmash of our native tongue.
This language can be made into millions of words with specific meanings, that change over time, just due to the nature of the way language works. Some of these words have unpleasant literal meanings, which sort of explains why unimaginative people use them when they can't think of another synonym. Of course, they probably don't think of this; but the ones who first started the practice of insulting people with those terms might have. We call these types of words "(awkward cough) well...language", "swearing", "cursing" or "cussing".
This isn't exactly the right terminology, exactly, for some of those terms, but they work. Swearing is an oath of some type. Cursing is strongly wishing punishment on someone. And, of course, they both can mean using offensive words. It's a little hard to tell, exactly, why some words/terms are offensive; it's just not something society in general tries to figure out. It's not a good habit, using these types of terms regularly and heedlessly. It shows a lack of imagination and decency. But there are some situations where it seems like it would be all right; like in extreme provocation, or to highlight an inflection or a meaning in a way that wouldn't be possible unless you did so.
There's a great article on this topic from Focus on the Family's movie-and-pop-culture-review site PluggedIn, they say it a lot better than I can. This is something I've been pondering for a while now, just living in a campus bubble, trying to figure out what it was about that power that words contain that can make life miserable, and that link pretty well covers what I'm thinking. This article offers good Scriptural arguments against using profanity. All words have power, really; and we should use that power wisely, because it's a great responsibility.
Through the Tower of Babel, whatever the dominant common language existed in the world disappeared and separate language-speakers migrated towards the same areas, which explains how humans scattered all over the world. Over time, certain languages came to the forefront, like Aramaic, replaced by Greek, which fell in time to Latin. Latin, of course, stayed the dominant language for somewhere over a thousand years, gradually evolving into Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. French became the main language and gradually a strain developed into English, which has taken a little bit of everything and mispronounced it to create the crazy mishmash of our native tongue.
This language can be made into millions of words with specific meanings, that change over time, just due to the nature of the way language works. Some of these words have unpleasant literal meanings, which sort of explains why unimaginative people use them when they can't think of another synonym. Of course, they probably don't think of this; but the ones who first started the practice of insulting people with those terms might have. We call these types of words "(awkward cough) well...language", "swearing", "cursing" or "cussing".
This isn't exactly the right terminology, exactly, for some of those terms, but they work. Swearing is an oath of some type. Cursing is strongly wishing punishment on someone. And, of course, they both can mean using offensive words. It's a little hard to tell, exactly, why some words/terms are offensive; it's just not something society in general tries to figure out. It's not a good habit, using these types of terms regularly and heedlessly. It shows a lack of imagination and decency. But there are some situations where it seems like it would be all right; like in extreme provocation, or to highlight an inflection or a meaning in a way that wouldn't be possible unless you did so.
There's a great article on this topic from Focus on the Family's movie-and-pop-culture-review site PluggedIn, they say it a lot better than I can. This is something I've been pondering for a while now, just living in a campus bubble, trying to figure out what it was about that power that words contain that can make life miserable, and that link pretty well covers what I'm thinking. This article offers good Scriptural arguments against using profanity. All words have power, really; and we should use that power wisely, because it's a great responsibility.
Galloping Hoofbeats
After being cooped up in the starting-gate of the dorms, the starting bell went off and the gates shot open and the race of this new semester was on; as the student-horses launched themselves into the routine of school life, mental hooves pounding wildly as they expend the effort necessary to meet their goals.
Huh? Oh. You're sure this isn't a horse race? Well, that would make it a lot more exciting, at least....
The first week of classes is halfway over with. It's going to be a long semester, I'm thinking. Sort of feeling pretty overwhelmed. The Latin II class is made up of eleven students, I know about half the people, that's going well so far.
Saw lots of faces I recognize from other classes in Media Management and Planning yesterday, it was moved at the last second from Leoser 127(the Strat classroom) to Seminary 207, which is also where my speech class is meeting. Anyway, I guess it'll be about advertising, planning marketing strategies or something, sounds intimidating. Most other people had no clue what to expect, either, so that helps a bit. Mostly it's PR folks, with some VisComm(Visual Communication; photography) people, a handful of journalism people and maybe three advertising people. Should be informative, to steal Mr. Shamblin's favorite word.
Needed to take Fundamentals of Oral Communication at some point, so I figured now would be as good a time as any(besides, it saves me from having to take those dreaded science courses this semester). Asked around about teachers, Elizabeth said her teacher was all right, so that's who I went with. He has a Duck Dynasty type of bright red beard and is always wearing an orange Thunder baseball cap, seems like a cool enough guy. Though everybody calls the class "speech", we only have about three real speeches, the rest is quizzes and tests and things, it seems. The first of the three speeches was of the loathed "Introduce Yourself or a Stranger to the Rest of the Class" variety. So the awkward interviews were done Monday, and trying to encapsulate the personality of a complete stranger in sixty seconds was handled this afternoon. I was trying so hard not to snicker at some of the phrases used.....
"My pet peeve is: that I'm not a cat person." (That's not a pet peeve....at least, not the way you worded it. Try "My pet peeve would be cats in general" or something.)
"He doesn't like bugs with eight legs." (Then what you meant was that he doesn't like arachnids; spiders, ticks, scorpions, things like that. Insects have six legs.)
"His family's pretty normal....mom, dad, brothers, sister - He's the oldest of all of them." (....Do what? I know what you meant; but the image is so absurd and outlandish....It could work in talking about the cast of a play or movie, though. That's the case of our SWAT skit "The Parable of the Big Push", Elizabeth and I are both actually older than both of our onstage parents, Bubba Jacob and Susan. We were all quoting the skits to thin air over the break, without people around who could catch the references.)
My speech went about as well as could be expected, got through most of the relevant information gathered about the guy I interviewed and wrapped up with eight seconds to spare. I sound nervous on playback, and need to work on writing conversationally on paper so it will translate well into spoken words.
No SWAT practice this week, much to nearly everyone's extreme disappointment. We kind of wandered around campus Monday evening wondering what to do with this suddenly-spare time, eventually one-by-one dropping in at the BCM for the first meeting of the semester. The worship team was blasting a bunch of gospel-style songs like "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", which was awesome(and really made me wish I'd brought my mandolin). The video message was mostly the Duck Dynasty people giving their testimonies, which was somewhat interesting, and probably would've been better if I followed the show.
After that there were some snacks in the basement, so everyone tromped down the stairs and caught up with friends and compared notes on the upcoming courseloads and things like that. James talked a friend of his into visiting for the first time, and we tried to be friendly, but probably terrified him instead by constantly yelling over the top of whoever was already talking and slapping each other.
After that was over, I suggest a coffee run to Bubba Jacob, it quickly becomes a SWAT reunion, as us, Elizabeth, Susan, TJ and James all decide to head somewhere to catch up. It was way too cold to hike anywhere, so while trying to figure out whose car to use, a couple of us suggest we just pile all into one car. "We could fit....we're all small. Well, except for James, but..." The guys jump into James' red Firebird and the girls hop into TJ's car, both were playing the radio and everyone was talking at once, so it made coordinating the meeting-point interesting. We beat the girls to McDonald's and stand there waiting like Brad Paisley until they burst in dramatically, exclaiming about the miracle of getting green lights all the way down Muskogee Avenue. We were the only people there, probably entertained the McDonald's employees. It was two hours of six people crammed into one booth, complaining about the government, about school, trading unsolvable Hobbit riddles, debating which of us could successfully pull off a murder, mountains of Princess Bride quotes, scheduling a list of movies we need to see, even a mock proposal. (After that, well...what else CAN you do but spontaneously (automatically?) sail into Impressive Clergyman mode? At least that's what I thought. And Bubba Jacob. And Susan. And Elizabeth. All at the same time.) It was fantastic, a great way to catch up with everybody. At one point somebody says, "Man, it's getting late. I've got a class at 9:30 in the morning." "Me too." "Me three." "Me four." And nobody makes any effort to get up and leave. We needed that. Susan said the next morning, "That was the best reunion I've ever had!"
Went to Grace Baptist on Sunday, that was good. (I just wish there was some type of directory or something so I could start to remember which names go with which people's faces.)
American Idol is starting tonight; I may watch some of the auditions, but I don't think I'll be watching. It just wouldn't be the same, watching it all by myself. Because even though I did that most of last year, watched literally alone here in my dorm, we had email to talk about the episodes. I just can't stand to listen to Jennifer Lopez's irritating giggle for a while nother season. And Harry Connick Jr. was always really annoying as a guest mentor, so I don't think I'd like him being a judge. And RANDY is the new mentor, replacing Jimmy?! So even though Keith is back, just doesn't seem worth it. Always said I'd try out at some point....still might, but I can't really see that happening anytime soon. Maybe I have a better grasp of life now, see how ridiculous it seems, I don't know. Most people aren't meant to be famous, and Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Scotty McCreery, David Cook and the others are the extremely rare exceptions. We started watching in Season 6, Season 13 is starting now. That's over half the show's lifetime; Amy's been around it since literally before she was born.
The girl next to me in Latin got hit by a car today on her way to class; that doesn't happen every day. Went down to Morgan's Bakery for some cookies and saw a Hiland Dairy truck parked in front of Ned's bar, which was also unusual. And as I was on my way to the UC to get some dinner, I heard a guy walking the other direction whistling the theme song from the Disney version of Robin Hood.
I tried watching a bit of Idol, and all I could hear was Quinton's line "That was the most overly egotistical, pompous presentation I've ever had the misfortune to witness" on constant repeat. (It came from a musical we did in middle school called "The American Ideal") The judges just....I don't know. Something just didn't click. And nobody sounded good.
So I've been playing guitar for a bit, watched a couple Blimey Cow videos, think I might read To Kill a Mockingbird. No classes tomorrow, so it'll probably be a study-day. Like, even more so than usual, especially since we won't have class on Monday(arrrggghh.)
Huh? Oh. You're sure this isn't a horse race? Well, that would make it a lot more exciting, at least....
The first week of classes is halfway over with. It's going to be a long semester, I'm thinking. Sort of feeling pretty overwhelmed. The Latin II class is made up of eleven students, I know about half the people, that's going well so far.
Saw lots of faces I recognize from other classes in Media Management and Planning yesterday, it was moved at the last second from Leoser 127(the Strat classroom) to Seminary 207, which is also where my speech class is meeting. Anyway, I guess it'll be about advertising, planning marketing strategies or something, sounds intimidating. Most other people had no clue what to expect, either, so that helps a bit. Mostly it's PR folks, with some VisComm(Visual Communication; photography) people, a handful of journalism people and maybe three advertising people. Should be informative, to steal Mr. Shamblin's favorite word.
Needed to take Fundamentals of Oral Communication at some point, so I figured now would be as good a time as any(besides, it saves me from having to take those dreaded science courses this semester). Asked around about teachers, Elizabeth said her teacher was all right, so that's who I went with. He has a Duck Dynasty type of bright red beard and is always wearing an orange Thunder baseball cap, seems like a cool enough guy. Though everybody calls the class "speech", we only have about three real speeches, the rest is quizzes and tests and things, it seems. The first of the three speeches was of the loathed "Introduce Yourself or a Stranger to the Rest of the Class" variety. So the awkward interviews were done Monday, and trying to encapsulate the personality of a complete stranger in sixty seconds was handled this afternoon. I was trying so hard not to snicker at some of the phrases used.....
"My pet peeve is: that I'm not a cat person." (That's not a pet peeve....at least, not the way you worded it. Try "My pet peeve would be cats in general" or something.)
"He doesn't like bugs with eight legs." (Then what you meant was that he doesn't like arachnids; spiders, ticks, scorpions, things like that. Insects have six legs.)
"His family's pretty normal....mom, dad, brothers, sister - He's the oldest of all of them." (....Do what? I know what you meant; but the image is so absurd and outlandish....It could work in talking about the cast of a play or movie, though. That's the case of our SWAT skit "The Parable of the Big Push", Elizabeth and I are both actually older than both of our onstage parents, Bubba Jacob and Susan. We were all quoting the skits to thin air over the break, without people around who could catch the references.)
My speech went about as well as could be expected, got through most of the relevant information gathered about the guy I interviewed and wrapped up with eight seconds to spare. I sound nervous on playback, and need to work on writing conversationally on paper so it will translate well into spoken words.
No SWAT practice this week, much to nearly everyone's extreme disappointment. We kind of wandered around campus Monday evening wondering what to do with this suddenly-spare time, eventually one-by-one dropping in at the BCM for the first meeting of the semester. The worship team was blasting a bunch of gospel-style songs like "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", which was awesome(and really made me wish I'd brought my mandolin). The video message was mostly the Duck Dynasty people giving their testimonies, which was somewhat interesting, and probably would've been better if I followed the show.
After that there were some snacks in the basement, so everyone tromped down the stairs and caught up with friends and compared notes on the upcoming courseloads and things like that. James talked a friend of his into visiting for the first time, and we tried to be friendly, but probably terrified him instead by constantly yelling over the top of whoever was already talking and slapping each other.
After that was over, I suggest a coffee run to Bubba Jacob, it quickly becomes a SWAT reunion, as us, Elizabeth, Susan, TJ and James all decide to head somewhere to catch up. It was way too cold to hike anywhere, so while trying to figure out whose car to use, a couple of us suggest we just pile all into one car. "We could fit....we're all small. Well, except for James, but..." The guys jump into James' red Firebird and the girls hop into TJ's car, both were playing the radio and everyone was talking at once, so it made coordinating the meeting-point interesting. We beat the girls to McDonald's and stand there waiting like Brad Paisley until they burst in dramatically, exclaiming about the miracle of getting green lights all the way down Muskogee Avenue. We were the only people there, probably entertained the McDonald's employees. It was two hours of six people crammed into one booth, complaining about the government, about school, trading unsolvable Hobbit riddles, debating which of us could successfully pull off a murder, mountains of Princess Bride quotes, scheduling a list of movies we need to see, even a mock proposal. (After that, well...what else CAN you do but spontaneously (automatically?) sail into Impressive Clergyman mode? At least that's what I thought. And Bubba Jacob. And Susan. And Elizabeth. All at the same time.) It was fantastic, a great way to catch up with everybody. At one point somebody says, "Man, it's getting late. I've got a class at 9:30 in the morning." "Me too." "Me three." "Me four." And nobody makes any effort to get up and leave. We needed that. Susan said the next morning, "That was the best reunion I've ever had!"
Went to Grace Baptist on Sunday, that was good. (I just wish there was some type of directory or something so I could start to remember which names go with which people's faces.)
American Idol is starting tonight; I may watch some of the auditions, but I don't think I'll be watching. It just wouldn't be the same, watching it all by myself. Because even though I did that most of last year, watched literally alone here in my dorm, we had email to talk about the episodes. I just can't stand to listen to Jennifer Lopez's irritating giggle for a while nother season. And Harry Connick Jr. was always really annoying as a guest mentor, so I don't think I'd like him being a judge. And RANDY is the new mentor, replacing Jimmy?! So even though Keith is back, just doesn't seem worth it. Always said I'd try out at some point....still might, but I can't really see that happening anytime soon. Maybe I have a better grasp of life now, see how ridiculous it seems, I don't know. Most people aren't meant to be famous, and Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Scotty McCreery, David Cook and the others are the extremely rare exceptions. We started watching in Season 6, Season 13 is starting now. That's over half the show's lifetime; Amy's been around it since literally before she was born.
The girl next to me in Latin got hit by a car today on her way to class; that doesn't happen every day. Went down to Morgan's Bakery for some cookies and saw a Hiland Dairy truck parked in front of Ned's bar, which was also unusual. And as I was on my way to the UC to get some dinner, I heard a guy walking the other direction whistling the theme song from the Disney version of Robin Hood.
I tried watching a bit of Idol, and all I could hear was Quinton's line "That was the most overly egotistical, pompous presentation I've ever had the misfortune to witness" on constant repeat. (It came from a musical we did in middle school called "The American Ideal") The judges just....I don't know. Something just didn't click. And nobody sounded good.
So I've been playing guitar for a bit, watched a couple Blimey Cow videos, think I might read To Kill a Mockingbird. No classes tomorrow, so it'll probably be a study-day. Like, even more so than usual, especially since we won't have class on Monday(arrrggghh.)
Monday, January 13, 2014
More Strange Dreams
Had another strange dream last night(this morning? (Woke up fifteen minutes ago at 4:32 a.m. on 11-13-13.)
I was either on my way to or somewhere in Canada, and was hungry and looking for some cookies at this mall that turned out to be even more abandoned than Promenade, full of escalators and shut elevator doors and dried-out decorative water fountains on the first floor.
So I take an escalator up, following a bald man in a suit, where I find myself in a bustling airport, and somehow end up inside a mammoth plane about to take off. People are complaining about there being a problem with the Internet, and it's cloudy and stormy, so they'll have to touch down for several hours soon. I need to get out of there quickly, cause I have to be wherever it was I was going, and I get this text from Ja Li Si. It says, "Will you please use your extreme professionalism and smack the crap out of someone for me? I've tried talking to him, that hasn't worked..." "Haha, sure. Who do I need to beat up?"
I squeeze out of the plane just in time, find this grocery store that's a bit like somewhere between K-Mart and Homeland. I'm looking for some cookies, ask this random dude who's shopping there where the snacks are and if he has any suggestions on what to get. He recommends and picks up a package of Reese's Pieces trail mix, with hot peanuts and raisins inside, and then goes on his way. Next to the candy are several Cardinals baseball caps, I try some on, hoping to find one that looks good. Another text from Ja Li Si. "You know how I mean....it's like he's using us all. I'm leaving the team." I start to reply, "Just give it until the end of the semester, all right? After Sunday we'll see how things are before we regroup in spring."
And then I wake up.
Most of the dreams I've been having for the last couple months are very stressed and complicated, too much so to remember what's happening what I wake up, but it pretty much always involves S.H.I.E.L.D. in some way.
11-28-13, dreamed that I was like a permanent babysitter-type person for the five young kids of this pastor and his wife. It was set in Broken Arrow, but the library was the church instead where the pastor worked, and it was our house in Beggs post-fire on the inside. It was kinda stressful, but interesting.
12-19-13, There was this long, elaborate dream that I was getting married. I'm not really sure who the bride was, but she had dark brown hair. Anyway, there's this montage of wedding-preparation over several months, Father of the Bride type thing, the bride is planning, I just kind of nod. The rehearsal goes fine, the church is Trinity in Morris, but with the sanctuary of Tahlequah's Grace Baptist, and the church is set where the Haworths used to live, with our house in Beggs right across the block. We get there on the day early that morning, maybe another rehearsal? Whatever it is you do on the mornings-of-wedding-days. Only there was this MMA fight on the stage, complete with referee and ring girl and judges, so we had to wait for that to finish. Then the guests started arriving way early, so we had to welcome the. Grandpa was there, bunch of people from GBC, not sure who all else. Then, even more strangely, Maddie's dad and her brother Caamen walk in. That's about when I realize, "Oh, this is seriously happening" and begin to panic. My stomach starts getting upset, the wedding's in like, four hours, and then I wake up.
12-20-13, School's started back up again, and I have no idea where my classes are, or what times they are. It's scary. And for some reason they all got moved to the halls of TCC's Southeast campus, so I was running eighty miles an hour with no idea where I was going. It was STRESSFUL.
12-21-13, not really sure what was happening, but it was some kind of game show set with lime green and pink walls, and involved miles of leopard-print duct tape. It was also stressful, trying to beat the clock and win the challenge.
1-12-14, I was watching as some of the Sesame Street Muppets(I spotted Elmo and Rosita, and someone just out of camera range that was enormous and reddish who looked a little like Snuffy, Zoey was coaching) were playing pickup football against the Monstars from Space Jam.
1-13-14, One of those long, complicated, very interesting dreams that last most of the night, it was shifting back and forth from first-person to third-person. It began by trying to win the affection of the Jensens' dachshund Mercy. Then a bunch of us gathered around to listen to a story, told by Lazarus(yeah, that Lazarus), he'd just gotten back from some spy mission where he was being held by a bunch of rats(think ROUS-scale). He was able to escape by impersonating several cats, and there were several other parts that I unfortunately can't remember now. Somehow a new apartment that was being moved into came into the tale, and Thanksgiving, maybe? A big meal was being eaten, so it was some sort of holiday.
1-25-13, I was playing volleyball at sunset on this beach, possibly the Lake Keystone/Arkansas River beach outside Sand Springs? Anyway, there were waves from the water crashing up onto the shore, it was beautiful. The players were like a mix of camp and college people; I spotted Ash and Jed, my neighbor Steven F. .and his fiancee Allison and our RA-ish person Olivia. Then it switched to observing from left field during a Little League baseball game played at Dewar High School, the team on defense wore yellow jerseys with blue lettering/numbering. From there became a Full House episode where Danny, Jesse and Joey were all having various mishaps as they were trying to earn the right to be the new mascot of the Charlotte Hornets.
I was either on my way to or somewhere in Canada, and was hungry and looking for some cookies at this mall that turned out to be even more abandoned than Promenade, full of escalators and shut elevator doors and dried-out decorative water fountains on the first floor.
So I take an escalator up, following a bald man in a suit, where I find myself in a bustling airport, and somehow end up inside a mammoth plane about to take off. People are complaining about there being a problem with the Internet, and it's cloudy and stormy, so they'll have to touch down for several hours soon. I need to get out of there quickly, cause I have to be wherever it was I was going, and I get this text from Ja Li Si. It says, "Will you please use your extreme professionalism and smack the crap out of someone for me? I've tried talking to him, that hasn't worked..." "Haha, sure. Who do I need to beat up?"
I squeeze out of the plane just in time, find this grocery store that's a bit like somewhere between K-Mart and Homeland. I'm looking for some cookies, ask this random dude who's shopping there where the snacks are and if he has any suggestions on what to get. He recommends and picks up a package of Reese's Pieces trail mix, with hot peanuts and raisins inside, and then goes on his way. Next to the candy are several Cardinals baseball caps, I try some on, hoping to find one that looks good. Another text from Ja Li Si. "You know how I mean....it's like he's using us all. I'm leaving the team." I start to reply, "Just give it until the end of the semester, all right? After Sunday we'll see how things are before we regroup in spring."
And then I wake up.
Most of the dreams I've been having for the last couple months are very stressed and complicated, too much so to remember what's happening what I wake up, but it pretty much always involves S.H.I.E.L.D. in some way.
11-28-13, dreamed that I was like a permanent babysitter-type person for the five young kids of this pastor and his wife. It was set in Broken Arrow, but the library was the church instead where the pastor worked, and it was our house in Beggs post-fire on the inside. It was kinda stressful, but interesting.
12-19-13, There was this long, elaborate dream that I was getting married. I'm not really sure who the bride was, but she had dark brown hair. Anyway, there's this montage of wedding-preparation over several months, Father of the Bride type thing, the bride is planning, I just kind of nod. The rehearsal goes fine, the church is Trinity in Morris, but with the sanctuary of Tahlequah's Grace Baptist, and the church is set where the Haworths used to live, with our house in Beggs right across the block. We get there on the day early that morning, maybe another rehearsal? Whatever it is you do on the mornings-of-wedding-days. Only there was this MMA fight on the stage, complete with referee and ring girl and judges, so we had to wait for that to finish. Then the guests started arriving way early, so we had to welcome the. Grandpa was there, bunch of people from GBC, not sure who all else. Then, even more strangely, Maddie's dad and her brother Caamen walk in. That's about when I realize, "Oh, this is seriously happening" and begin to panic. My stomach starts getting upset, the wedding's in like, four hours, and then I wake up.
12-20-13, School's started back up again, and I have no idea where my classes are, or what times they are. It's scary. And for some reason they all got moved to the halls of TCC's Southeast campus, so I was running eighty miles an hour with no idea where I was going. It was STRESSFUL.
12-21-13, not really sure what was happening, but it was some kind of game show set with lime green and pink walls, and involved miles of leopard-print duct tape. It was also stressful, trying to beat the clock and win the challenge.
1-12-14, I was watching as some of the Sesame Street Muppets(I spotted Elmo and Rosita, and someone just out of camera range that was enormous and reddish who looked a little like Snuffy, Zoey was coaching) were playing pickup football against the Monstars from Space Jam.
1-13-14, One of those long, complicated, very interesting dreams that last most of the night, it was shifting back and forth from first-person to third-person. It began by trying to win the affection of the Jensens' dachshund Mercy. Then a bunch of us gathered around to listen to a story, told by Lazarus(yeah, that Lazarus), he'd just gotten back from some spy mission where he was being held by a bunch of rats(think ROUS-scale). He was able to escape by impersonating several cats, and there were several other parts that I unfortunately can't remember now. Somehow a new apartment that was being moved into came into the tale, and Thanksgiving, maybe? A big meal was being eaten, so it was some sort of holiday.
1-25-13, I was playing volleyball at sunset on this beach, possibly the Lake Keystone/Arkansas River beach outside Sand Springs? Anyway, there were waves from the water crashing up onto the shore, it was beautiful. The players were like a mix of camp and college people; I spotted Ash and Jed, my neighbor Steven F. .and his fiancee Allison and our RA-ish person Olivia. Then it switched to observing from left field during a Little League baseball game played at Dewar High School, the team on defense wore yellow jerseys with blue lettering/numbering. From there became a Full House episode where Danny, Jesse and Joey were all having various mishaps as they were trying to earn the right to be the new mascot of the Charlotte Hornets.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Pixar Personality Testing
So we found that personality test online in November, and I just wrapped up my ranking of Pixar movies. Well, today I came across this: A Pixar personality test.
"Let me explain - No, no, there is too much. Let me sum up: Based on my top five favorites, these could be some of my personality traits." (Not Pixar, but....when you have a chance to throw in a Princess Bride quote....take it!!!!) My ranking(s) are in parentheses.
Monsters University - (6) "A true MU fan is highly dedicated. You appreciate what it's like to put out as much effort as humanly possible to achieve a dream. But you also might know that doesn't guarantee that you'll achieve that dream the way you've always imagined. If Monsters University was right up your alley, you've probably got an amazing work ethic, much like young Mike on the first day of school. Maybe you've also got a hint of a competitive streak."
Pretty much....and my high school drama teacher said Mike reminded her of me. If I'm not a little green eyeball with legs, then I'm probably Rex the anxious green dinosaur made by a smaller company that was purchased by Mattel in a leverage buyout. And one of the meanings of "Orin" is Irish for pale green. And green is one of my favorite colors...so, yeah. Where were we?
A Bug's Life - (5) "A little bit quirky, a little bit of a dreamer, a little bit of an innovator, you are an idea person. When other people see routines or obstacles, you see opportunities. You're probably an underdog rooter as well, tending to side with the little guy."
Not so good at seeing opportunities, exactly; and I'm not sure about being an innovator, but the rest fits. And yes, I know it's a rock. DON'T YOU THINK I'D KNOW A ROCK WHEN I SEE ONE?! I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AROUND ROCKS!
Up - (4) "A lover of Up is a lover at heart. You are definitely a romantic and a dreamer. You probably have a lot of plans about the future: romantic getaways, adventures all over the world and outlandish occupations. While others might sit back and say "Wouldn't that be nice?", you're one of those brave souls who can put a crazy plan into action, because with enough balloons and the right attitude, life can be an adventure."
Ha...I wish... It definitely is an adventure, though. And as Louis L'Amour said, "Adventure is just a romantic name for trouble." Of course, there's also that G.K. Chesterton quote: "An adventure is merely an inconvenience rightly considered, and an inconvenience is merely an adventure wrongly considered."
Cars - (C1 3, C2 9) "You'd love nothing more than to go on a long road trip, because, after all, life IS a highway, and.... Not much for fancy frills, you're good at appreciating the little things in life like a tasty milkshake at a diner, a field full of cows to be tipped, or a beautiful landscape on the open road. Like Mater, you've learned that all your dents are valuable, as they all represent a fun memory you had with good friends."
I would LOVE to go on a road trip somewhere! Don't really like fanciness much at all, and I like the little things. Dents are valuable, which is why we keep 'em.
Toy Story - (TS1 2, TS2 8, TS3 1) "If you love yourself some Toy Story, you probably have a big heart and a head full of memories. You were probably that kid who stuffed all your stuffed animals into your bed at night. And we're not saying you cry at the drop of a hat, but you can get a bit teary-eyed when you take a stroll down memory lane."
I guess so... And yeaaahhh, that didn't happen very often, but there were a few times when I'd pile all the Beanie Babies on my bed and burrow somewhere underneath them. Sometimes our dents aren't so pleasant, but they're still important. And yes, some bring back memories that are so amazing you can't help but tear up a little.
"Let me explain - No, no, there is too much. Let me sum up: Based on my top five favorites, these could be some of my personality traits." (Not Pixar, but....when you have a chance to throw in a Princess Bride quote....take it!!!!) My ranking(s) are in parentheses.
Monsters University - (6) "A true MU fan is highly dedicated. You appreciate what it's like to put out as much effort as humanly possible to achieve a dream. But you also might know that doesn't guarantee that you'll achieve that dream the way you've always imagined. If Monsters University was right up your alley, you've probably got an amazing work ethic, much like young Mike on the first day of school. Maybe you've also got a hint of a competitive streak."
Pretty much....and my high school drama teacher said Mike reminded her of me. If I'm not a little green eyeball with legs, then I'm probably Rex the anxious green dinosaur made by a smaller company that was purchased by Mattel in a leverage buyout. And one of the meanings of "Orin" is Irish for pale green. And green is one of my favorite colors...so, yeah. Where were we?
A Bug's Life - (5) "A little bit quirky, a little bit of a dreamer, a little bit of an innovator, you are an idea person. When other people see routines or obstacles, you see opportunities. You're probably an underdog rooter as well, tending to side with the little guy."
Not so good at seeing opportunities, exactly; and I'm not sure about being an innovator, but the rest fits. And yes, I know it's a rock. DON'T YOU THINK I'D KNOW A ROCK WHEN I SEE ONE?! I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AROUND ROCKS!
Up - (4) "A lover of Up is a lover at heart. You are definitely a romantic and a dreamer. You probably have a lot of plans about the future: romantic getaways, adventures all over the world and outlandish occupations. While others might sit back and say "Wouldn't that be nice?", you're one of those brave souls who can put a crazy plan into action, because with enough balloons and the right attitude, life can be an adventure."
Ha...I wish... It definitely is an adventure, though. And as Louis L'Amour said, "Adventure is just a romantic name for trouble." Of course, there's also that G.K. Chesterton quote: "An adventure is merely an inconvenience rightly considered, and an inconvenience is merely an adventure wrongly considered."
Cars - (C1 3, C2 9) "You'd love nothing more than to go on a long road trip, because, after all, life IS a highway, and.... Not much for fancy frills, you're good at appreciating the little things in life like a tasty milkshake at a diner, a field full of cows to be tipped, or a beautiful landscape on the open road. Like Mater, you've learned that all your dents are valuable, as they all represent a fun memory you had with good friends."
I would LOVE to go on a road trip somewhere! Don't really like fanciness much at all, and I like the little things. Dents are valuable, which is why we keep 'em.
Toy Story - (TS1 2, TS2 8, TS3 1) "If you love yourself some Toy Story, you probably have a big heart and a head full of memories. You were probably that kid who stuffed all your stuffed animals into your bed at night. And we're not saying you cry at the drop of a hat, but you can get a bit teary-eyed when you take a stroll down memory lane."
I guess so... And yeaaahhh, that didn't happen very often, but there were a few times when I'd pile all the Beanie Babies on my bed and burrow somewhere underneath them. Sometimes our dents aren't so pleasant, but they're still important. And yes, some bring back memories that are so amazing you can't help but tear up a little.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Here We Go Again...
Well, winter break's over. So I'm back in Tahlequah, got my books yesterday afternoon. Had to get a new backpack to replace the one I'd worn out, so naturally I got as close to a clone as I could find, and attached the Snoopy keychain into place. My student ID card had worn out after a year and a half; so had to run over to the CASE building earlier today and get a new one.
Been doing a bit of studying to pass the time, and Netflix-watching. Campus is really creepily dead right now....it's freaky. And my CD player has apparently bit the dust. That's not cool.
Things just feel different right now - it's always weird, the calm before the storm of the semester, but this isn't normal. This'll be my fourth semester, I've given directions to three different people today. It's almost like starting college all over again. Maybe it's just that realization that after this semester I'll be about halfway done with classes, Idk, but it seems like this year will be full of changes and events. Every year has those, of course, just some more than others.
Reading through Ephesians as part of this saturation idea that a bunch of people from GBC are trying this year, it's been interesting, and making a lot more sense about the content.
Slept about four hours last night...not cool. I even made up for it by taking a nap this morning. Further strangeness.
The Jeopardy nationwide audition test was last night, I get more nervous about those than any real college tests... Of course I won't make it on the show, the odds are so microscopic, but it's fun to try.
Reading through Ephesians as part of this saturation idea that a bunch of people from GBC are trying this year, it's been interesting, and making a lot more sense about the content.
Slept about four hours last night...not cool. I even made up for it by taking a nap this morning. Further strangeness.
The Jeopardy nationwide audition test was last night, I get more nervous about those than any real college tests... Of course I won't make it on the show, the odds are so microscopic, but it's fun to try.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Backyard Kids - Where Are They Now?
It's a snowy day here in January, and as Sunny Day would have said, "It looks like a winter wonderland!" And with the ranking of Pixar movies and the NHL's Winter Classic both happening recently, that naturally led to reminiscing about the "Backyard Sports" video games, and a fake-news post about what they might be up to now, sort of like this post somebody wrote about the Wishbone cast. (This BuzzFeed article totally applies to my life, haha.)
"There are those friends you've known forever and talk to nearly constantly. And there are those that you don't hear from often, but are still in contact with. Then there are the type that just seemed like they fell off the face of the earth, and you wonder, "What happened to them, anyway?" The last option is why we decided to catch up with the Backyard Kids and see how they were faring in their young-adult lives.
Everybody remembers Sunny Day, the polished, loquacious announcer of the neighborhood ball games. She stopped calling the games just after the skateboard craze to focus on school and went on to major in broadcasting at Tech State University, serving as radio voice of the Fighting T-Squares' hockey games. She could not be reached for comment on this story, but sent a polite email saying that she was very busy developing a TV series about Spy Fox.
Her longtime color commentator, Vinnie the Gooch, can often be found hanging out at Mark's Burger Joint, where Dante Robinson and Kimmy Eckman work, or riding motorcycles with Tony Delvecchio. They hung out a lot together in high school, and more or less graduated. Angela didn't have this problem at all, she took valedictorian honors her senior year, giving her speech with her tassel constantly flopping into her face. She retaliated at the cap by throwing one of her fireballs with it afterwards, spinning it neatly into the aisle where she picked it up on the way out, almost tripping over it.
"Ricky Johnson continues to play soccer and football in his spare time, and also took up skateboarding. He now works at Mom and Pop's Skate Shop.
"Annie Frazier is currently working as a cashier at Weasel Barn while she is studying for her bachelor's in education, she stated that she will be interning at Scheffler Elementary next fall.
"There are a lot of the kids now in coaching; Jocinda Smith is coach of the Hammers basketball team, Stephanie Morgan leads the Hornets in the Backyard Baseball League, Chuck Downfield is staying involved in the gridiron action as an assistant for the Bombers, Ricky and Annie both coach soccer, for the Wombats and Fishes, respectively, and Buddy Cheque is is trying to teach the Polar Bears how to play hockey out on Duksana Pond.
Some moved away over the years, like Pablo Sanchez. "He just kind of disappeared one day, nobody's exactly sure what happened to him. We sure miss him, he was a good guy, and a fantastic athlete," said Kiesha Phillips. "The Webber twins were going after careers in pro tennis last I heard. They were great people, even if I did have trouble telling Ashley from Sidney. Mikey Thomas moved during fifth grade."
According to Frazier, a lot of people attended Billy Jean Blackwood and Marky Du Bois' wedding last summer, music was provided by the Khan brothers' band. "It was fun to see everybody again, great to get to catch up and see how friends were doing."
. Always known as Jabberjaw growing up, a trait for which most people tried to avoid her, Gretchen Hasselhoff's bubbly personality is now put to use in her job as a tour guide at Shark Belly Shores amusement park. "Oh, yeah, I haven't heard from a bunch of people in a couple years, well, more like three or four, actually, but, anyway, there's Facebook and Twitter and all that stuff. The Boss is in management at our sister company Walter Weasel World, actually....it's a pain sometimes, but what're you gonna do, you know what I mean?
"Kenny and that science-y kid put their super-smart brains together and built more robots like Mr. Clanky, pretty awesome if you ask me, that company is probably gonna get super rich, and here we were growing up with the original!
"Course, not everybody's doing quite as well. Kimmy sort of got into trouble a few years ago, she's working at that restaurant in town, I think. And there was Ronny's whole deal..."
The field that once was Eckman Acres is now mostly a flower garden, and Dirt Yards is no more, briefly becoming the Paveway and now housing the Squirrel Creek Shopping Center. This well-documented construction is still looked upon with disfavor by many. Pete Wheeler works as a groundskeeper for the Parks Department, mowing the grass, mainly. He's set a local record as the only person to get a speeding ticket on a Snapper lawn tractor. The police officer who gave him that ticket? None other than the Mad Dog herself, Lisa Crockett.
The gang occasionally gets together for a pickup soccer or baseball game, but those times are rare; everyone is busy going their separate ways and with their lives. Some have kids, some are in college, some have done well, others have had harder times. But they've all been part of some great memories, and provided countless thousands of hours of highlight clips on the Junior Sports Network and YouTube. We can't let their performances on the field define their entire lives, though; instead they ought to have a chance to be ordinary average citizens of the community."
"There are those friends you've known forever and talk to nearly constantly. And there are those that you don't hear from often, but are still in contact with. Then there are the type that just seemed like they fell off the face of the earth, and you wonder, "What happened to them, anyway?" The last option is why we decided to catch up with the Backyard Kids and see how they were faring in their young-adult lives.
Everybody remembers Sunny Day, the polished, loquacious announcer of the neighborhood ball games. She stopped calling the games just after the skateboard craze to focus on school and went on to major in broadcasting at Tech State University, serving as radio voice of the Fighting T-Squares' hockey games. She could not be reached for comment on this story, but sent a polite email saying that she was very busy developing a TV series about Spy Fox.
Her longtime color commentator, Vinnie the Gooch, can often be found hanging out at Mark's Burger Joint, where Dante Robinson and Kimmy Eckman work, or riding motorcycles with Tony Delvecchio. They hung out a lot together in high school, and more or less graduated. Angela didn't have this problem at all, she took valedictorian honors her senior year, giving her speech with her tassel constantly flopping into her face. She retaliated at the cap by throwing one of her fireballs with it afterwards, spinning it neatly into the aisle where she picked it up on the way out, almost tripping over it.
"Ricky Johnson continues to play soccer and football in his spare time, and also took up skateboarding. He now works at Mom and Pop's Skate Shop.
"Annie Frazier is currently working as a cashier at Weasel Barn while she is studying for her bachelor's in education, she stated that she will be interning at Scheffler Elementary next fall.
"There are a lot of the kids now in coaching; Jocinda Smith is coach of the Hammers basketball team, Stephanie Morgan leads the Hornets in the Backyard Baseball League, Chuck Downfield is staying involved in the gridiron action as an assistant for the Bombers, Ricky and Annie both coach soccer, for the Wombats and Fishes, respectively, and Buddy Cheque is is trying to teach the Polar Bears how to play hockey out on Duksana Pond.
Some moved away over the years, like Pablo Sanchez. "He just kind of disappeared one day, nobody's exactly sure what happened to him. We sure miss him, he was a good guy, and a fantastic athlete," said Kiesha Phillips. "The Webber twins were going after careers in pro tennis last I heard. They were great people, even if I did have trouble telling Ashley from Sidney. Mikey Thomas moved during fifth grade."
According to Frazier, a lot of people attended Billy Jean Blackwood and Marky Du Bois' wedding last summer, music was provided by the Khan brothers' band. "It was fun to see everybody again, great to get to catch up and see how friends were doing."
. Always known as Jabberjaw growing up, a trait for which most people tried to avoid her, Gretchen Hasselhoff's bubbly personality is now put to use in her job as a tour guide at Shark Belly Shores amusement park. "Oh, yeah, I haven't heard from a bunch of people in a couple years, well, more like three or four, actually, but, anyway, there's Facebook and Twitter and all that stuff. The Boss is in management at our sister company Walter Weasel World, actually....it's a pain sometimes, but what're you gonna do, you know what I mean?
"Kenny and that science-y kid put their super-smart brains together and built more robots like Mr. Clanky, pretty awesome if you ask me, that company is probably gonna get super rich, and here we were growing up with the original!
"Course, not everybody's doing quite as well. Kimmy sort of got into trouble a few years ago, she's working at that restaurant in town, I think. And there was Ronny's whole deal..."
The field that once was Eckman Acres is now mostly a flower garden, and Dirt Yards is no more, briefly becoming the Paveway and now housing the Squirrel Creek Shopping Center. This well-documented construction is still looked upon with disfavor by many. Pete Wheeler works as a groundskeeper for the Parks Department, mowing the grass, mainly. He's set a local record as the only person to get a speeding ticket on a Snapper lawn tractor. The police officer who gave him that ticket? None other than the Mad Dog herself, Lisa Crockett.
The gang occasionally gets together for a pickup soccer or baseball game, but those times are rare; everyone is busy going their separate ways and with their lives. Some have kids, some are in college, some have done well, others have had harder times. But they've all been part of some great memories, and provided countless thousands of hours of highlight clips on the Junior Sports Network and YouTube. We can't let their performances on the field define their entire lives, though; instead they ought to have a chance to be ordinary average citizens of the community."
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