I just found out that its been quite a while since Ive posted anything on here. Ive been so busy lately, it seems like our professors love to make everything due right before Thanksgiving break, exams, projects, papers, ugh. And on top of that, Ive been sick all weekend with a nasty cold, I hate getting sick, Ive been drinking Zicam like its my job. But I am currently home (well, back in Bremen, I dont really have a "home" anymore), Im staying with my sisters at their apartment this week.
But other than that, not much has been going on. Ive been trying to prepare for Thanksgiving.....let me explain. I love to eat during Thanksgiving, a lot. During high school, I was unable to eat for thanksgiving because of wrestling, we always had a wrestling meet like two days after Thanksgiving, and I always had to cut weight. For four years, I could only eat like one strand of turkey and a roll maybe. So ever since, I have been trying to make up for those meals Ive had to miss. My goal is to eat twice my body weight in one sitting. And I love pumpkin pie, I look forward to eating pumpkin pie all year. Im really looking forward to this years Thanksgiving.
Oh yeah, and I love seeing my family and all that jazz, haha.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Fun Date
So a couple of weeks ago I met a girl named Lindsay. Ive been hanging out with her quite a bit lately, but havent really told many people. I dont wanna get my hopes up, its seems like every time I do, I get my spirits crushed. But anyways, yesterday I called her to see if she wanted to hang out for the night, go to dinner or something. I didnt even plan anything for the night, just knew that we were going to eat somewhere, not even sure where. I picked her up at 6 and asked her where she wanted to eat. We agreed on a really nice place called Red Seven in downtown Lafayette. So we ate there, I got some salmon (which was scrumtulescent), and she got some Thai dish. Somewhere during our conversations we got to talking about Candyland, not sure why though (some foreshadowing), but overall the dinner was pretty fun. We always have these weird conversations about random things......which I love doing.
After dinner we decided to walk around downtown Lafayette a little to check it out. But we didnt do that for long because it was so freakin cold out. So we drove to Starbucks and got some coffee. And what do we see there as we're waiting in line? Candyland. So as we were sitting there drinking our coffee, we played a game of Candyland and ate a giant rainbow cookie. She won the game. I was very upset.
So as we were drinking our coffee, we were trying to come up with things to do for the rest of the night. She knew that I was taking a ceramics class and had been asking if we could go to the art building and play on the wheel. I was hesitant because I didnt want the instructor to be in there and chew me out, but figured it would be worth the risk. So we headed there next. They also had a gallery going on, so we checked that out first. Then headed to the ceramics room. We played on the wheel for a while, she made a nice plate with swirlies, I made a couple of cylinders, it was a good time. Cleaning up sucked though.
Afterwards we were at a loss for what to do. I brought up the idea that later we should buy a disposable camera and head to the bars and get our pictures taken with a bunch of drunk people, so we were planning on doing that later. It was probably 9:30 or 10 by this time, so it was far too early to meet drunks then. So we just got in the car and started driving around, thinking we would see something interesting and check it out.
Then we created a really fun game in the car. I told her to get a coin and at every intersection we would flip the coin to decide which direction to go. Heads is left, tails is right. And she came up with the rule that if its the same side as the previous flip, we go straight. But after every 10 minutes or so, we would forget which side meant which direction. So she came up with the expressions "Left our heads....", and "Right on our tails." And needless to say......we got lost. But we just trucked on until we found something familiar. We eventually made it back to campus and back to ATO. Once we got back we watched to movie Blow, and after the movie we were too tired to take pictures with drunks and she had to get up early for church, so I dropped her off and called it a night.
So that was a pretty fun, random night.
After dinner we decided to walk around downtown Lafayette a little to check it out. But we didnt do that for long because it was so freakin cold out. So we drove to Starbucks and got some coffee. And what do we see there as we're waiting in line? Candyland. So as we were sitting there drinking our coffee, we played a game of Candyland and ate a giant rainbow cookie. She won the game. I was very upset.
So as we were drinking our coffee, we were trying to come up with things to do for the rest of the night. She knew that I was taking a ceramics class and had been asking if we could go to the art building and play on the wheel. I was hesitant because I didnt want the instructor to be in there and chew me out, but figured it would be worth the risk. So we headed there next. They also had a gallery going on, so we checked that out first. Then headed to the ceramics room. We played on the wheel for a while, she made a nice plate with swirlies, I made a couple of cylinders, it was a good time. Cleaning up sucked though.
Afterwards we were at a loss for what to do. I brought up the idea that later we should buy a disposable camera and head to the bars and get our pictures taken with a bunch of drunk people, so we were planning on doing that later. It was probably 9:30 or 10 by this time, so it was far too early to meet drunks then. So we just got in the car and started driving around, thinking we would see something interesting and check it out.
Then we created a really fun game in the car. I told her to get a coin and at every intersection we would flip the coin to decide which direction to go. Heads is left, tails is right. And she came up with the rule that if its the same side as the previous flip, we go straight. But after every 10 minutes or so, we would forget which side meant which direction. So she came up with the expressions "Left our heads....", and "Right on our tails." And needless to say......we got lost. But we just trucked on until we found something familiar. We eventually made it back to campus and back to ATO. Once we got back we watched to movie Blow, and after the movie we were too tired to take pictures with drunks and she had to get up early for church, so I dropped her off and called it a night.
So that was a pretty fun, random night.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Colors Theory
There are just some things in life we will never know. I think about these things a lot. I think more about the things in life that just pass by normal people. We will never know how others percieve us, how they view us, what their first impressions are. We will never know if the amount of toilet paper we use is a "normal" amount, how would we? We will never know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. And then, of course, I think of the more far out questions. We will never know how others visually view the world. A couple of years ago I was thinking about color and how people view it. Abby sort of touched up on this in an earlier post, which kind of reminded me of this.
My colors theory is how do we know that other people dont see different colors as I do? I know that there are color blind people, and I guess all they see is black and white and gray. But for the other people, how do I know that the color blue for me is also the color blue for them? What if my blue is their red? The color that they call blue is actually the color that I see as red, but they call it blue because thats what they have been taught to call it. Their visual perception of the world would be far different from mine. I mean, the same shapes would apply, but the colors that they see would be like a scene from a drug trip for me.
Actually, this theory has brought up several other questions in my mind. When someone is blind from birth, what do they dream about? When we dream, we see images of everyday life in our minds, but what would blind people see? Do they see images at all? What do deaf people think about? They cant talk inside of their heads like we do. When we think, we hear our own voices talking in our minds, but what do they hear? And then, think of people that speak different languages, they speak their own language inside their minds.
I think about some weird things, I really need a job or something. But Im sure that would just prompt more questions.
My colors theory is how do we know that other people dont see different colors as I do? I know that there are color blind people, and I guess all they see is black and white and gray. But for the other people, how do I know that the color blue for me is also the color blue for them? What if my blue is their red? The color that they call blue is actually the color that I see as red, but they call it blue because thats what they have been taught to call it. Their visual perception of the world would be far different from mine. I mean, the same shapes would apply, but the colors that they see would be like a scene from a drug trip for me.
Actually, this theory has brought up several other questions in my mind. When someone is blind from birth, what do they dream about? When we dream, we see images of everyday life in our minds, but what would blind people see? Do they see images at all? What do deaf people think about? They cant talk inside of their heads like we do. When we think, we hear our own voices talking in our minds, but what do they hear? And then, think of people that speak different languages, they speak their own language inside their minds.
I think about some weird things, I really need a job or something. But Im sure that would just prompt more questions.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Weird Stuff
I know that I think of some weird stuff a lot. And I usually think out loud. I will often times make a comment and in return get a, "whats wrong with you?" or "are you serious?" The other day I was sitting in my room hanging out with some guys, thinking about saliva for some reason. I wondered why we dont have a problem swallowing our own saliva when its in our mouths, but if we spit it out, say in a cup or something, we cringe at the thought of putting it back in our mouths. I mean, its the same saliva. Its not like its been too contaminated in the air. And of course, I said my thought to the group. I got some funny looks for that one.
Then I was walking back from studying tonight, and it was freezing cold outside. It was so cold I could clearly see my breath. And......I had to fart. But I hesitated because Im always unsure if when its cold enough to see your breath........if you can also see a fart. Unfortunately I was alone in my thinking on this one, I had no one to share my thoughts with then, and ultimately, no one to resolve my dilemma. I still dont know the answer to that one though. I guess thats just one of lifes mysteries.
Then I was walking back from studying tonight, and it was freezing cold outside. It was so cold I could clearly see my breath. And......I had to fart. But I hesitated because Im always unsure if when its cold enough to see your breath........if you can also see a fart. Unfortunately I was alone in my thinking on this one, I had no one to share my thoughts with then, and ultimately, no one to resolve my dilemma. I still dont know the answer to that one though. I guess thats just one of lifes mysteries.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sin Management
I have been thinking about this one for a while, just havent quite figured out all of the points I want to get across, but Ill give it my best shot. Its about sin management, as you can guess, and its the way we deal with our sins, how we manage them, in order to keep us pure. I feel that a good portion of Christians are living the sin managing lifestyle. Im not saying that its not good to shoot for a pure lifestyle, I just feel that most people are doing it for the wrong reasons. They are in it for themselves. They are only doing it to better themselves, but dont look past that and see how it affects others, or more importantly, God. Havent we already been saved from our sins anyways? The work has already been done for us. Why do they keep putting so much effort in controlling their sin "for God" when He has already taken care of that?
Its so much easier to not do something bad than it is to do something good, isnt it?
I think we should worry less about ourselves and how pure we seem, and shift our concerns to others. Worry about Charles and Heather and how we can help them, instead of how we look while we are talking to them. "But what if someone I know sees me?" Big whoop. What if God sees you? What would His reaction be? Delighted, Im sure.
I think this guy states it better:
"A focus on sin and its dynamics plays nicely into the enemies hands. We don't concern ourselves with the impact of the gospel on the world; we gather in tidy fortresses to ensure that we are a pure people. Instead of asking how our sin, and self-centered behavior, affects others, our primary concern is our own salvation and purity. We become self centered in an effort to live the gospel of the kingdom, which is meant to get us beyond ourselves in giving our lives for the world.
"In the kingdom of God it is not so. Rather, we seek first His kingdom and justice.. and let Him worry about the rest. Salvation is already ours.. the Father DELIGHTS to give us the kingdom. Let's concern ourselves with His concerns.. the hurting and lost outside the walls."
I think that God would be more delighted in us for doing something good rather than us not doing something bad.
Actually this has reminded me of some scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 (The Message)
14-18"It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
19-21"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
22-23"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
24-25"The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
26-27"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'
Long post, I know, but I think you get the point now.
Its so much easier to not do something bad than it is to do something good, isnt it?
I think we should worry less about ourselves and how pure we seem, and shift our concerns to others. Worry about Charles and Heather and how we can help them, instead of how we look while we are talking to them. "But what if someone I know sees me?" Big whoop. What if God sees you? What would His reaction be? Delighted, Im sure.
I think this guy states it better:
"A focus on sin and its dynamics plays nicely into the enemies hands. We don't concern ourselves with the impact of the gospel on the world; we gather in tidy fortresses to ensure that we are a pure people. Instead of asking how our sin, and self-centered behavior, affects others, our primary concern is our own salvation and purity. We become self centered in an effort to live the gospel of the kingdom, which is meant to get us beyond ourselves in giving our lives for the world.
"In the kingdom of God it is not so. Rather, we seek first His kingdom and justice.. and let Him worry about the rest. Salvation is already ours.. the Father DELIGHTS to give us the kingdom. Let's concern ourselves with His concerns.. the hurting and lost outside the walls."
I think that God would be more delighted in us for doing something good rather than us not doing something bad.
Actually this has reminded me of some scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 (The Message)
14-18"It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
19-21"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
22-23"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
24-25"The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
26-27"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'
Long post, I know, but I think you get the point now.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Charles
So today I went to Walmart to buy some trinkets (CO2 cartridges, deodorant, and a box of cereal, you know, the usual) and as I was entering the parking lot, I once again saw a homeless person standing there with a sign. Once I saw him I again thought to myself how I could approach and get to know this person. So as I was leaving, I drove up to him, parked my car, got out and introduced myself. His name is Charles. This man was a little different from Heather in a sense that he looked like he was going to die any minute. I was in shock at the bad condition he was in. He was on oxygen, coughing and hacking, shivering, and just looked like death. Now I know that he could be putting on a show, and thats a shame if he is, but I really felt like I needed to do something to help. So as I was talking to him I told him that in exchange for a high five, I would give him $20 to help out a little. So he gave my a sweet high five, I gave him some money, then left. I also told him I would keep him in my prayers, I think you should too.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Im in a Puddle
I was flipping through some of my older posts just now, and I came across The Puddles of Life. Im really glad I wrote this one down because I seem to be in a puddle these days. It seems that lately, nearly every day, something more goes awry. This week, I havent been feeling very well. I went to work out tonight and nearly threw up, and apparently I lost about 5lbs this week, from what, Im not sure, just being sickly I guess. And that just adds to list of crap that has already happened lately. Im not sure when I entered this puddle, but rereading that post raised my spirits a little. I just need to trudge through this puddle and search for dry land. Im trying to keep my head up, but Im sure theres still some rough waters ahead.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Elections are finally over!
Im pretty disappointed that elections are over, Im really gonna miss all of those campaign commercials! Yeah right. Im pretty pleased with the turn out, I pretty much expected Obama to win, but wouldnt have been torn if McCain won. Obviously, I voted for Obama. Of course, if you know me, I dont like things to stay the same. Im addicted to change, remember.
Im really surprised at the reactions of people after the elections. I got on Facebook because I knew that people would have some things to say, but everyone just went nuts! It was like a war. People saying things like "the world is gonna be run into the ground", "heres to the new socialist republic", and my favorite "F*** Obama....Christian nation my a**, America is full of ignorant people." I left a comment to that guy, I was pretty upset about this comment, I probably shouldnt have but I said, "....and youre an ignorant Christian." As a Christian, I was offended by this comment. How you can be so judgemental to me? I really wish I hadnt made the comment though, because I now realize that I was also being judgemental.
But anyways, we'll see how Obama does with this whole President thing. Im pretty excited to see some things change, but hopefully he does it responsibly and with our best interests in mind.
Im really surprised at the reactions of people after the elections. I got on Facebook because I knew that people would have some things to say, but everyone just went nuts! It was like a war. People saying things like "the world is gonna be run into the ground", "heres to the new socialist republic", and my favorite "F*** Obama....Christian nation my a**, America is full of ignorant people." I left a comment to that guy, I was pretty upset about this comment, I probably shouldnt have but I said, "....and youre an ignorant Christian." As a Christian, I was offended by this comment. How you can be so judgemental to me? I really wish I hadnt made the comment though, because I now realize that I was also being judgemental.
But anyways, we'll see how Obama does with this whole President thing. Im pretty excited to see some things change, but hopefully he does it responsibly and with our best interests in mind.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Eventful Night
So tonight was interesting and full of a variety of emotions. It started a couple of hours before chapter, maybe around 6 or 7pm. My friend Cam, a brother in the house, came up to me and told me that our Housing Director was coming to the house tonight to inform four of us that we are being evicted from the fraternity. This was a little upsetting, but I wasnt going to make a big deal about it since I didnt have all of the facts, and since I was proven innocent by the brothers, I figured I wouldnt be getting evicted also. So after chapter (thats our house meeting every Monday where we do fraternity business), we had a little discussion with Ty, the house director. He came straight out and said that all four of us were getting evicted next semester. Like I said earlier, I was proven innocent by the chapter, so had no punishments according to the brothers due to the fact that it wasnt my alcohol that was found in our room. But, since I knew it was in the room, the housing corporation decided to evict me, which is separate from the fraternity. I was just a tad upset about this, and told Ty what I thought. The whole thing was sketchy to begin with, it seemed like they were targeting certain people, mainly the people I pledged with. So I told him how shady everthing seemed, told him we deserved a second chance, and told him that because of this about a quarter of the house might be quitting.
So after our conversation, I was walking upstairs to my room when about three or four guys stopped me and asked about our conversation. I explained, and they were also upset with the decision. So they gathered as many guys as they could, and headed to the kitchen to have a huge discussion with Ty. This was pretty amazing. There were about 25 or 30 guys in there defending us four, we all told Ty how we disapproved of him, the corporation, and the Board of Trustees, telling him that they are more concerned with punishing us than helping us, which in turn is hurting the house. This whole conversation went on for a couple of hours, just Ty against all of us. It was pretty amazing how everyone came together to give him our opinions, and we were really blunt about it, telling him that his decisions and leadership skills are disgusting. We have had problems with this guy in the past, hes really unethical and unprofessional, but this was the breaking point. We eventually told him we wanted to get rid of him as housing director, that he wasnt helping the house at all, only ruining it. Im still not sure if I am still getting evicted though, either way it doesnt bother me, I had half of the brothers tell me I could stay in their room next semester. Shoot, I wouldnt have to pay rent that way.
So after that, Im sitting in my room talking to some guys about the events of the night when I hear some yelling and running coming from the staircase. Earlier in the day, some guys on the first floor had set up a fort in their hallway made of mattresses and challenged the second and third floor to a battle. This was the battle, and it was freakin awesome! We started out using brooms and frebreeze or axe spray as our ammo. The guys on the second floor (my floor) would charge and all of this smelly stuff would just cloud up the whole hallway. I was using a stick of deodorant as my defense, wiping it on anyone near me. Then I got my airhorn as a defense. And, eventually, someone got the idea to use the fire extinguisher, which, looking back, was a horrible idea. That thing left the biggest mess, white powder was everywhere, I mean, everywhere! Then everyone was on the verge of throwing up because of the white cloud of dust filling the air. We all ran outside and were coughing and spitting trying to get the taste out of our mouths. The dust cloud even made its way up to the third floor. We eventually settled down just before 1am. Im not sure who cleaned up the mess, but it was huge. Someone even threw a pumpkin. Yes, I know, we are wild and irresponsible, but we had so much fun!
So after our conversation, I was walking upstairs to my room when about three or four guys stopped me and asked about our conversation. I explained, and they were also upset with the decision. So they gathered as many guys as they could, and headed to the kitchen to have a huge discussion with Ty. This was pretty amazing. There were about 25 or 30 guys in there defending us four, we all told Ty how we disapproved of him, the corporation, and the Board of Trustees, telling him that they are more concerned with punishing us than helping us, which in turn is hurting the house. This whole conversation went on for a couple of hours, just Ty against all of us. It was pretty amazing how everyone came together to give him our opinions, and we were really blunt about it, telling him that his decisions and leadership skills are disgusting. We have had problems with this guy in the past, hes really unethical and unprofessional, but this was the breaking point. We eventually told him we wanted to get rid of him as housing director, that he wasnt helping the house at all, only ruining it. Im still not sure if I am still getting evicted though, either way it doesnt bother me, I had half of the brothers tell me I could stay in their room next semester. Shoot, I wouldnt have to pay rent that way.
So after that, Im sitting in my room talking to some guys about the events of the night when I hear some yelling and running coming from the staircase. Earlier in the day, some guys on the first floor had set up a fort in their hallway made of mattresses and challenged the second and third floor to a battle. This was the battle, and it was freakin awesome! We started out using brooms and frebreeze or axe spray as our ammo. The guys on the second floor (my floor) would charge and all of this smelly stuff would just cloud up the whole hallway. I was using a stick of deodorant as my defense, wiping it on anyone near me. Then I got my airhorn as a defense. And, eventually, someone got the idea to use the fire extinguisher, which, looking back, was a horrible idea. That thing left the biggest mess, white powder was everywhere, I mean, everywhere! Then everyone was on the verge of throwing up because of the white cloud of dust filling the air. We all ran outside and were coughing and spitting trying to get the taste out of our mouths. The dust cloud even made its way up to the third floor. We eventually settled down just before 1am. Im not sure who cleaned up the mess, but it was huge. Someone even threw a pumpkin. Yes, I know, we are wild and irresponsible, but we had so much fun!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Check These Out!
These are some HILARIOUS videos I found. Today at church, we watched the second video, I was laughing SOO hard! Enjoy!
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