Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Moon:

Well, I'd like to visit the moon
On a rocketship high in the air.
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon,
But I don't think I'd like to live there.
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above,
I'd miss all the places
and people I love,
So although I might like it for one afternoon,
I don't want to live on the moon.

I'd like to travel under the sea.
I could meet all the fish everywhere.
Yes, I'd travel under the sea,
But I don't think I'd like to live there.
I might stay for a day there
If i had my wish,
But there's not much to do
When your friends are all fish,
And an oyster and clam aren't real family,
So I don't want to live under the sea.

I'd like to visit the jungle,
Hear the lion's roar;
Go back and meet a dinosaur.
There's so many strange places I'd like to be
But none of them permanently.

So if I should visit the moon,
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam, and then
I will make a wish on a star,
And I'll wish I was home once again.
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above,
I would miss all the places
And people I love
So although I may go,
I'll be coming home soon,
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon.
No, I don't want to live on the moon.


I couldn't find the real version, but I found something just as good. So I'm listening to this jazzy rendition right now and sipping hot apple cider. Yeah, nights like these just make me think of these lyrics.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Dream:

I haven't had a dream in a long while. Nor have I drawn anything. Maybe I haven't been very inspired lately. Here's to hoping that'll change soon.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Crud:

I hope my thumb isn't broken.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Eye:

I'm in the eye of the storm right now. This is Black Friday, folks... a day where the weak of heart should hide their wallets.

This is the first year I've seen any store run a 24 hour long sale for Black Friday. The store, as it turns out, is CompUSA... which in previous years has been a store of few sales and a lots of fine print. So they decided to try opening the store at midnight, Friday morning and put a few great deals in the circular. It's 10 PM and we drive by the CompUSA as we're returning from Thanksgiving dinner at my new-brother-in-law's home in Virginia. Meh, about 25 to 30 hardcore people out there waiting for the next two hours in 24 degree weather. Fastforward to 11 PM when we're back, all geared up in wintery clothes and with the circular in hand. We're only the HUNDREDTH people in line. Oh wait... by 11:45, there are about 300 plus people in the parking lot and still loads more coming. There is still hope, by the way, that I'll be able to snatch my external harddrive. I may not be the sturdiest pusher, but I can slide through a crowd like none other. Anyway, doors open and since this is the first time this store has had to deal with a crowd like this, well, they don't do a very good job. Can you imagine a 300 person line running into the entrance and trying to squeeze through a double sliding glass door? Stampede and trample. 300 people running through the store, knocking down everything. The store was a mess with boxes of you name it strewn on the floor. Think of the Capital One vikings pillaging an electronics store. That's CompUSA an hour later. So 2 hours in the check out line and a few good deals in hand, we finally make it out the door.

I've been in my fair share of human stampedes before, but this one was a quite a bit different. "Oh is this the hard drive I'm looking for? Nope. I'll just throw it on the ground" or maybe "Hey, I'll buy that off of you. C'mon" or better yet "Get out of my #!%#@ way, I need that harddrive... I need that hardriveeeeeee!!" There's just too much pushing, shoving, competition... hate for your fellow shopper.

So Alpha squad returned at 2 AM to rest and pick up Beta squad for round two. Up at a bright and early 3 AM. I choose to forego sleep, even though I probably need it for the real beast- Best Buy. Such an outting gives me the shivers. If I don't make it back alive, you can find my will underneath the suitcase under my bed. The edited version (with projected Black Friday grabs) can be found on flash memory drive on my shelf. I'ma chase me some more hurricane.

Edit/Update: Round 2 was very successful. We obtained all primary and all secondary objectives. We were missing only a single terciary item. We were out of Best Buy by 5:35 AM, scouted Staples for a few minutes and then conquered Target before 6:30. You definitely don't go into a Black Friday morning expecting to get everything you circle on the ads.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Pursued:

Do you know what it's like to be genuinely pursued? Regardless of where you go, they are willing to follow... willing to sacrifice their life for you. To be cared about like that? I would be humbled by that. Thank you Jesus.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
-Psalm 8

Monday, November 21, 2005

Reflections:

1. Sometimes we lose. Grades, money, relationships, time, viruses, arguments, wishbones. Life can bring you down... but only if you let it. Maybe you're actually wishing for the same thing and everyone's winning. There is always hope, there is hope in everything.

2. Wouldn't forcefields be the coolest things? That's what I think of when the word 'shield' comes to mind (note: sad, if you get the reference, but true). There are a lot of shields I and we (as people) put up. Humor, busyness, academics, shallowness, silence, stealth, or just plain ole pushing people away. There are so many ways to hide my true self. I want to learn what it means to drop my shields. I think it'll hurt, but it's part of my adventure... essential to my 'trek' if you will.

3. There is none like You. No one else can touch my heart like You do. I could search for all eternity long, and find there is none like You.

4. No connection, just something I did a while ago:

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Slow:


I was trying to figure out why I was so tired after church. It took me a while, but I finally realized what it was. My church had a Thanksgiving lunch and I had consumed a ridonkulous amount of turkey. Mmmm... tryptophan. So now I have an excuse as to why I was such a lazy bum this afternoon.

On Saturday, after the walkathon, FA and I went to the National Museum of American Indian and then to the US Botanical Garden Conservatory. We saw the titan arum (pictured, but it's not as big as that one), not yet bloomed... but it was supposed to soon and it did the night after. Kind of cool, knowing that it takes 14 years for the flower to grow before it blooms. The NMAI was very cool. I love the design and atmosphere of the museum because it's so fluid and curvy. One quote that particularly caught my interest was, "I did not practice my culture, I lived it." I like that.

Saturday night I went to my church's 70th anniversary banquet dinner. The food was so good and I got so stuffed. Let me enlighten you about the wonderfulness of China Garden's typical banquet menu:
First, there's the cold cut platter with jelly fish. Everything sort of looks gross, but it's all so delicious. The dried meats provide a perfect balance to the slightly pickled jelly fish (which resemble cooked rubberbands). Next comes the second appetizer, fried shrimp balls. These might be my favorite part... it's really just that- fried shrimp chunks... but the simple taste is just incredible. The third dish is a soup. We had an egg drop crab soup. It's not my most favorite, but it has a clean taste and perfectly sets you up for the real meal. Fourth came the roasted chicken, which is very tender and juicy. But really it's chicken and it's a filler dish so you only want to take one good (and by good I mean fewer bones) piece and save room for the rest. After the chicken comes the deep fried shrimp. These shrimp are usually jumbo huge. Like 4 or more inches in length. It's pretty salty and a little spicy so be prepared for a little kick. You eat everything because it's all fried, but it's not considered wasteful if you don't want to eat the head because that can be pretty rough on the mouth. Dish number six is the vegetable. I usually don't eat this because it has mushrooms and a mushroom sauce. Fungi are gross. Seven is the fried rice. I can tell you, CG has some of the best fried rice ever... and I've had a lot of different fried rices. Again, this is a dish that fills you up quick and they hit you with it relatively late so be careful about portion sizes. Eight is the roasted duck. This is the best duck meat next to straight up Peking duck. In my opinion, it's one of the best meats that Chinese restaraunts serve. Take my word, eat this dish with vigor and be sure to claim as many good pieces as you can without being dishonorable. The last savory dish is fish. We had a fish and vegetable stir fry which was pretty good since the meat was tender, but it lacked a true fishy flavor. I enjoy CG's cod... which they serve over one of those warming platters with the fire underneath and everything. Closing out with dessert, we get a pastry and in our case we got a puff pastry filled with lotus paste. It kind of tasted like a moon cake, but much more crispy and sweet. Following that, the last dish was, and usually is, a dessert soup. It was red bean soup, which is rather sweet and has a unique aftertaste that you don't experience elsewhere. I had three bowls since some of the people at my table were weak. If you've made it this far, then you've probably wasted a lot of time learning about Chinese-American banquet food. Most big celebrations, such as weddings or anniversaries, are held at similar type restaraunts and will serve similar foods so it's possible that this information might be useful. Quality-wise, you won't find much better than China Garden. Okay, that's enough of that rant... stop wasting your time and get on with your life.

Oh yeah, my mom bought fortune cookies. Six boxes and I think each has 300 cookies in them. Remind me to bring some back.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Speechless:

I have no adequate words for tonight. Just unintelligble sounds and a longing for so much more.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Retina:

For some time now, I've wanted to be able to communicate through looks. There's already a lot that goes on... length of glance/stare, slight movements, position, etc... but I want so much more. I want to be able to look into someone's eyes and see, "I need you to grab me that sock over there" and not just see attention levels or reactions. Perhaps I am exaggerating. I do long for the day when someone knows me so well that they can see the condition of my soul through my eyes... that they could see through my pretenses and shielding and understand who I am. I'm reminded of a sketch I did on retreat. Too bad it's on paper, it's one of my favorites.

Also, everyone needs to be jealous of me because of the awesome friends that I have.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Excited:

Got the turkey tonight. Isn't that exciting? I am also pretty psyched about a few long term projects/goals... we'll have to see how those play out.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Musing:

Definitely stuck in a contemplative, meditative frame of mind. While absolutely unproductive, I absolutely love it. I love hearing. I love listening.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Schmuck:

Time always seems to be running out. Just thinking about where I want to go with my life makes me wonder how at all I am going to accomplish all of this before I get too old to walk. Graduate, get married, find a job, raise a family... you know, all that good stuff. IDK. I usually try to stay focused on the present, but I fell into a small lapse today. I guess there's no point in me worrying at the moment, right? But if I can't pick up a chick by dragging a kid around all weekend, I obviously have no hope! :)

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Clue:


I am by far one of the least dramatic persons ever. Also, I am probably the worst lier/story teller that you'll ever know. But maybe with a little practice and a little experience, I could really get into these sort of things. Jeff described the event as 'basically real life Clue'. Seems to be close enough. Next time I hope I get to be the killer! Being a criminal is so much fun!

*ahem*
steadfast- adj.
1. Fixed or unchanging; steady
2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving

Another quality I really admire. Goes right up under having compassion and fortitude.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Again:

The day 24 ruined my life, part 2. I need to go to bed. *sigh*

Confide:
To give as a responsibility or put into another's care; entrust.

Though that definition may be obvious, I like it a lot. To trust.. oh how essential is that aspect of life. Without it, what would that be like? Not like, 'I can't trust anyone, don't get anywhere near me' paranoid, but maybe a sitch that is much more probable in the society we live in. Maybe someone who doesn't trust others with their emotions or with their secrets. Someone who has no one to talk to. That's a lot more realistic. After all, who wants to give others that kind of power over them?

I would be lying if I were to say that I can fully confide in others. I want... I need to learn how to surrender that power. Granted, there's a time and place for things unsaid, but running paranoidally won't get me/you/anyone anywhere. Believe me, I've watched enough 24 to know that people who can't trust each other end up shooting a lot of people.

"How is your heart?" She asks
"Well." He says plainly
"Really?" She quietly questions
"No." He says reluctantly
"Then what?" She inquires patiently
"Tired." He says with a sigh
"From what?" As her heart breaks
"Running."
-A wise, undisclosed person

Monday, November 07, 2005

Dullless:

Seriously, never a dull moment around here. This is definitely my huh of the week, but please don't go around talking about this because it may be embarassing for some. I walk into my house after returning from a showing of Crash, and I find Jason lying in the kitchen doorway and Andy crouched over his head. Andy looks at me and shows me the paper towel that he's holding against the top of Jason's skull. Hmm, that's quite a bit of blood. Jen just came by and took Jason to the hospital to get everything sewn up. Rest assured, the reason for this injury is indeed stupidity. What would you expect?

I had a bit to say at the Crash showing, but I don't think that the discussion that I had in mind would have fit well there. I think a major point people were missing, in regards to the character Ryan Phillipe played, was that he is a 'racist'. Maybe more so than a lot of the other characters in the movie. I think he characterizes most of our culture in how he handles culture. With a nice long, pointy stick that has a piece of cheese impaled on it. He's charitable to people of other cultures, but does it out of guilt. He thinks he's doing good, convinces himself that he is doing so... but as the film shows, he's actually the one who causes the most hurt and damage. The 'racism' that he carries is a lot more subtle and clearly is just as dangerous. Funny thing is, I and a lot of other people do relate to his character best. Not ignorant or blind, but in a position where we continually need to embrace other people for who they are.

Why do all the best huh's of the week come right after small group?

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Twentyfour:

The show is ruining my life. I spent probably the majority of my day watching 24 episodes becauces they're just so good and addicting. Seriously, like 7 hours. I feel like they're so well done that anyone, including non-Marlbrough or non-male persons, would easily get hooked so don't you judge. Oh well, I think today I can afford a little slack, but I may be paying for it a little bit later. Random note: I believe tomorrow to be full of complications and parts of it non enjoyable because it might not be potentially all that I feel it could be. Thank you captain vague.

Here's a new game:

What do you see? Can you make up a fun story about the abstract shape? I see a cowboy riding a giant worm. It escaped from an animal mutation lab and the only person who can stop it is the best rodeo cowboy in the world, Chad.


Here's a real drawing, if you consider it real. I used a thick shading pencil on purpose so I could be messy and unrealistic.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Bloodshot:

So I just spent the past 10 hours working on that take home exam. Oh, not to mention the 6 hours of class this morning. And it's 3:30 right now. I think tomorrow might be a day in which I try to recooperate a little. Maybe just lay out on the Mall or find a nice cubby to enjoy the day in. Find me or let me know if you're up for relaxing... company would be good. Life is meant to be shared.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Oldness:


Nothing new:
-No depth
-I like comments
-I like climbing
-Ă„nna cracks me up

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Family:


I'm almost certain I went straight to stick figures.