I'm laughing at you (not with you)

The mid-Atlantic region is being pounded by record snow falls this week and last week. Being from a region that would routinely get snow falls, it is amusing to me to see how people are handling it. It is also illustrative of a people that depends on the government to fulfill its needs. A couple of examples:

First, many people in my apartment complex spent a day or two complaining that our parking lot and walkways had not been plowed. They stand there decrying their situation, but they don't lift a finger to change it. They want somebody else to come and change it.

To be fair, there is also a group of neighbors that took whatever shovels they could find and started shoveling the parking lots and cleaning off the vehicles. Well, they actually carved a pathway through the parking lot to the road rather than shoveling the whole lot. The point is, they saw a problem and came together to solve it. They acted. Still some them complained about the lack of help they got from the city or the complex, but they decided to be self-reliant.

Finally, a news story this morning was asking a question about plowing roads. The area is obviously not prepared for weather like this, so the city governments are having a difficult time clearing the roadways. The news story was asking the question whether or not citizens with plows "should" plow the the roadways. This is the most ridiculous question I have ever heard. "Should citizens act neighborly?" The answer is "YES!" People asking the question were worried they might be breaking the law. If so, that is a silly law. It does nothing but put the countries (states, counties, cities, etc.) citizens in fear. Here are citizens that see a problem and are willing to act, but are paralyzed by fear of the law. Where I grew up, this was common place. During storms like this you help each other out. Here, people are afraid to help because of a silly law. A law like that forces dependency on the government and perpetuates the mentality of the first kind of individual I mentioned: the kind that does nothing to help themselves and nothing to help their neighbors.

One more point: please stop using the word "snow" in various puns, for example "snowblivion," "snowpocalypse," "snowtorious," etc. Please stop. You're not funny. It is a snow storm. Albeit a bad one, but people in other parts of the country deal with things like this every year. You'll live.

Update: Apparently the city has seen the error of their ways and are looking to employ those with private plows. Probably only have to make a phone call... then go in and fill out two days worth of paper work. (Yes, I'm still skeptical.)

Life

Today, thousands of people will gather on our nation's National Mall to give witness to a part of our nation that lives in darkness. This gathering will be ignored by all media outlets. The liberal media will dismiss them as a group of uninformed, hate-filled people clinging to an archaic ideology. The conservative media have given up hope and would rather not be called names by the liberals. Our country wishes we would remain silent, that we would "respect the rights of others," and that we would "open our minds" to understand the other way of thinking.

Abortion has plagued this country for many years. Currently, 3500 babies are killed everyday in this country alone. That figure does not account for the number that are conceived each year, but are not given the chance to develop because they are unable to attach themselves to the mother's uterine wall thanks to some form of birth control like the pill. The death will continue, and because the individuals being killed cannot be seen and at the moment, lack voice, it will go largely forgotten and unnoticed. But not entirely. Though it is an uncomfortable truth, it is a truth nonetheless. That truth will be given a voice again today.

As a male, it is often difficult to speak about such things. Arguments that this is a women's issue are often used to quiet a voice like mine. Those arguments are appealing because men often want to comfort and protect women. I've watched a man walk his partner into an abortion clinic with his arm around her in an attempt to do just that. The skewed notion of protection is disturbing, evil in its subtlety.

Men have been happy to leave this as a women's issue. But this slothfulness is just as disturbing. Abortion is not the root problem. Abortion is merely a fruit of the tainted tree of our twisted sexual desires. Christopher West said, "Behind every abortion in this country is a man who went looking for an orgasm." Rather blunt, but to the point. The creation of every child requires two individuals. Men who have been consumed by their sexual desire rather than mastering it are one of the roots, and I would argue the root of this problem. Every man who has allowed himself to view a woman as object for his pleasure shares the blame for this insidiousness.

It is ironic that I write this little note on the internet, whose very creation and growth was fueled by a man's lust for pornography and his desire for easy access to it. The objectification of women is a sin that man... men, will have to answer dearly for. But in the midst of all this evil is hope. Christ did not abandon us to wallow in our sin. We have hope of overcoming this evil. We have hope of untwisting those desires. We have hope of redemption of our bodies. We have hope! "Evil had made itself unmistakably manifest... in the exploitation of one human being by another, economically, politically, or sexually. But evil did not have the final word, because at the center of the human drama is Christ, whose entry into the human condition and whose conquest of death meant that hope was neither a vain illusion nor a defensive fantasy constructed against the fear at the heart of modern darkness." (-George Wiegel)

We have hope. We have voice. We have determination. And we have the power of life supporting our cause.

Surprised

I've always been a big fan of Law & Order. I know the stories are unrealistic and the dialog treats the viewers like idiots. Also the show has been pushing more and more liberal viewpoint, some to the point where I get really offended. But I check the show out every so often.

I'm going to spoil this weeks episode, so stop reading if you're interested in watching it. Tonight the story centered around the murder of an abortion doctor. Surprisingly, very surprisingly actually, the show actually seemed to give a good pro-life argument, not a stupid one. Nor did they make fun of the pro-life argument. The show did its standard, where one or two characters take one side of the argument, and the others take the opposing side.

This show brought up more of the disturbing sides of this argument as well. It described in detail the horror of what is actually done in a late term abortion. It also gave a description of how a baby was killed after being delivered from a failed abortion attempt. I was shocked. I thought pro-choice people would not want to even touch that subject. Especially since our president voted to oppose a bill that would have required medical attention be given to such babies in Illinois. Finally, a woman testified about giving birth to a terminally ill baby. She described how blessed she felt for having the opportunity to hold her baby for 21 hours before she died. It was a very inspiring story that had a beauty to it, the kind of beauty found in the cross. The acting left something to be desired, but the effect the show was going for at this point was blatantly pro-life.

Finally, there were a few statements made that made it seem that Roe v. Wade was an 35yr old out of date court decision. They also made the statement that "most Americans are pro-life now."

There were arguments for the other side, but they didn't seem as effective. They were weak though, they could have portrayed it differently, but they chose not to.

Finally, the jury convicted the man who shot the doctor of murder, which I was happy about. Most people (not all) in the pro-life movement would not condone such violence.

So thank you Law & Order. I am shocked by NBC, I can't believe that episode actually aired.

Does this surprise anyone?

I saw one of those law commercials that fish for clients today, the kind where they say, "Have you had x happen to you, these people may be to blame and they might owe you money. Call us." They were looking for clients who have taken Yaz, Yasmin, and/or Ocella which are drugs for birth control. They say these may have caused a heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, gallbladder problem, and/or deep vein thrombosis.

I'll leave aside my feelings of the litigiousness of our culture today. Does it surprise anybody that if you taking a drug to alter the way your body is supposed to work, it would cause problems? There is no need for such a drug. I'm sure there is a want, but no need. Changing the way your body is supposed to work is probably a bad idea.

Thank you Bishops

Praise God for courageous men and women who speak out against the evils of abortion. For this reason I'm thankful for our Catholic bishops who wrote this letter to Congress.

USCCB Letter to Congress, 2009-10-08

Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we are writing to express our disappointment that progress has not been made on the three priority criteria for health care reform that we have conveyed previously to Congress. In fact, the Senate Finance Committee rejected a conscience rights amendment accepted earlier by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. If final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill. We remain committed to working with the Administration, Congressional leadership, and our allies to produce final health reform legislation that will reflect our principles.

We continue to urge you to
1. Exclude mandated coverage for abortion, and incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights. No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. It is essential that the legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience. No current bill meets this test.
2. Adopt measures that protect and improve people’s health care. Reform should make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone, particularly those who are vulnerable and those who live at or near the poverty level.
3. Include effective measures to safeguard the health of immigrants, their children and all of society. Ensure that legal immigrants and their family members have comprehensive, affordable, and timely access to health care coverage. Maintain an adequate safety net for those who remain uncovered.

We sincerely hope that the legislation will not fall short of our criteria. However, we remain apprehensive when amendments protecting freedom of conscience and ensuring no taxpayer money for abortion are defeated in committee votes. If acceptable language in these areas cannot be found, we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously. Catholic moral tradition teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential to protecting human life and dignity. Much-needed reform of our health care system must be pursued in ways that serve the life and dignity of all, never in ways that undermine or violate these fundamental values. We will work tirelessly to remedy these central problems and help pass real reform that clearly protects the life, dignity and health of all.

Sincerely,
Bishop William F. Murphy
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Chairman
Committee on Domestic Justice & Human Development

Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Chairman
Committee on Pro-Life Activities

Bishop John Wester
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Chairman
Committee on Migration

What?!

Hey, Jimmy Carter, if you want to enter the Health Care debate, try having an argument first. Try "listening" to the oppositions argument and engaging it. This may not be as easy as calling President Obama's opponents racists, but using your brain is usually more difficult than name calling. I am not a racist. I oppose the Health Plan. I haven't heard any response to the (decent) arguments presented against it. You're infuriating!

Continuing to call people like me stupid, irresponsible, racist, and whatever other name you want to use, without responding to our arguments, only makes you look childish.

I spoke with some educated people today on the other side. At the end of the day, we disagreed, but they had some thought behind their arguments. I know there are people like them out there. Why do I not hear your voice? Why do I only hear people who call me names? People like me are not stupid. People who are undecided are not stupid. If you don't present a good argument, you will continue to lose support for your cause.

Catholic Guilt

Stupid decisions and a lax tongue sometimes get me into trouble. This week has not been good for me so far. Going to try and make the rest of the week better, starting with confession today. Guilt sucks, but it is a good reminder that I am still a work in progress.

I am more like Valentine than Peter.

Book Review: Ender's Game

This is widely considered Orson Scott Card's best work. The book takes place in Earth's future and is about a brilliant young boy's training to be a military commander. Andrew Wiggin or "Ender," is an extremely gifted boy who the military begins training to make their commander in an upcoming war against an unseen alien race. Ender succeeds at every challenge given to him, even in situations where he is set up for failure. There is also a video game he plays quite often that takes him through strange worlds and where he must do very gruesome things in order to proceed.

During his training in the school, he has a few encounters that pit him against other children. One such encounter leads to the death of a boy by Ender's hand. After this event he is taken out of the school and put into a new "training" situation. In these "training" exercises he is commanding several ships in what he thinks are simulations, but are actually reality. He is unknowingly commanding the human forces in their war against the alien race called the "Buggers." He eventually succeeds in destroying the bugger home world and destroys the entire race.

Overall I enjoyed the book. There were several interesting battle scenes that most people have who have referred the book to me have mentioned, but that's not what I liked most about this book. Card also makes some interesting political commentary about human beings that I found interesting. Specifically how everyone is filled with hate for an alien race that none of them has ever encountered. Two previous generations had fought wars against this race and videos detailing those exploits were available, but no one alive had ever seen them. They were an unseen fear. This fear seemed to motivate the whole race to join together. The whole of Earth's population was too busy hating the Buggers that they lived quite peacefully. Once this "threat" is neutralized, however, the world falls into waring with one another again. I'll come back to this in a moment.

The main thing I took away from this book was Ender's struggle with his inner demons. Ender was a good person who did bad things. His intentions were usually not evil, but the results were. Because of Ender's extraordinary talent, he would garner favor with the adults in his life. This would cause the other children in his life to envy Ender and then hate him. So they would corner Ender and try to hurt him. As Ender defended himself he would make rational decisions that would lead to disparaging consequences that would haunt him. He did kill two other children in these situations. His goal of self-preservation forced it at the time, but he did shape the events that led up to these deaths. For all his brilliance, he couldn't see things that far ahead, and he chose paths that eventually put him in what he thought was a kill or be killed situation. Ender was a killer. A remorseful killer, but a killer. This struggle climaxed when he destroyed the bugger race. Unknowingly, but he still did it. The epilogue shows him attempting to make up for his past sins.

The struggle of good and evil within Ender was personified in his sister and brother. His brother was a disturbing child, and often thought of death and sought power. His sister was kind and loving and nurturing. Most of the time, Ender would liken himself more to his brother than his sister, but I think he was wrong. Ender was a good person who did bad things, which is very different from a bad a person. The most telling sign of Ender's goodness was his name. His real name was Andrew but he called himself Ender, because his sister called him Ender. He found his identity in something good, and this is why the character is likable.

I liked this part of the book on a spiritual level. I have a Catholic world view that can be summed up like this: people are inherently good but prone to evil. Jesus is a reminder of the good within us and helps us back to that original innocence, separating us from the evil and returning us to the good. Another view that I've encountered in Protestant theology is that people are inherently evil. Jesus covers our sinfulness and this allows us to be loved by the Father. But that evilness is still there. When Ender chooses to be called Ender, he embraces the good in him. It is his core, his identity. I liked this because I thought it was a decent illustration of a fundamental Catholic belief.

Now, Card is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so I doubt he was trying to further a Catholic belief over a Protestant one. He does bring up questions of good and evil, human nature, and sin. This is just what I took away from the book and probably what I will remember most about it. The author could be making the other argument, as illustrated in the war that breaks out after the destruction of the bugger home world. Even though peace was seen on earth, that evilness and hatred was still there, just suppressed by fear.

My final comment is about this fear. Fear is a powerful motivator and has been used to control or persuade many individuals throughout history and even today. The Nazis used fear of Jews to gain power. Both the Russians and Americans used fear to motivate their countries during the Cold War. Today it is used by all kinds of politicians to push agendas. I'm not interested in giving examples. Those on the right will claim it is being done by those on the left. Those on the left will claim it is being done by those on the right. Both are correct. It can be useful, but it doesn't promote the truth. Only the truth will set you free, fear leads to sin and death. There is no redemption through fear because fear is not of God.

For an entertaining plot, likable characters, and thought provoking theme, I give Ender's Game four and a half stars out of five. For another review of this book, please see
P. B. and Jorgy's

1315 Elapsed Time: 48 hours 15 minutes

I'm still alive, and more importantly, so are the kids. I kind of expected that at least one wouldn't have lasted this long (I'm only kidding).

Some highlights so far:

Sean: Lucy, are you alright?
Lucy: I had a accident.
Sean: Did you get any pee on your dress?
Lucy: No, it's ok.
Sean: Did you take your underwear off and clean yourself up?
Lucy: No.
Sean: Well, did you pee in your underwear?
Lucy: No.
Sean: You didn't pee in your underwear?
Lucy: (Smiling) No I pooped in my underwear.



Abby: One time my cousin's dog ate a toy snake. Dogs eat weird things.
Sean: Max likes to chew on Alicia shoes... Alicia doesn't like it when Max chews on her shoes.
Abby: Yeah, I don't like it when people chew on my shoes... except for Seth and for Lucy.
Sean: Who chews on your shoes?
Abby: Seth and Lucy.

2259 Elapsed Time 9 hours 59 minutes

Tired. Going to Sleep.

1905 Elapsed Time: 6 hours 5 minutes

Made it through dinner. Hot dogs and string cheese. How does a 1 year old eat two hotdogs. Amazing! Lucy ate her hotdog in half a minute and then spent ten on her bun. She ended up shoving the whole thing in her mouth and chewing on it for a minute or two. Abby spent most of the meal with mustard on her face, like the size of a dime. Wasn't until the end that I thought about getting napkins. Oh well, I'm learning.

1456 Elapsed Time: 1 hour 56 minutes

The kids are Bailey (age 7), Abby (age 6), Lucy (age 3), and Seth (age 1). * Abby wanted to type a star. That was what that was. Things are going well. Everyone is still alive. There was a close call when Bailey decided he wanted to fly and jumped off the dining room chair and knocked his head against the chandelier (right as I was saying no). But everyone is fine. Seth found Lucy's new book and removed a page for her, she hasn't noticed yet.

Changed a poopy diaper and put the youngest two down for naps like a seasoned pro.

1336 Elapsed Time: 0 hours 36 minutes

I am babysitting four kids for the next couple of days. Ages 7, 6, 3, and 1. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive. People have been taking care of kids since forever. How hard could it be?

So far, no diaper changes, no big fights. They're getting out a game to play. The oldest was sad for about fifteen minutes until we started to play. Already read two stories. Things are going well so far. Oh, someone's banging on the piano, gotta run.

Overwhelmed

Wrote a long blog about this that I didn't post. I'm feeling better now.

Book Review: Pontoon

Can be summed up as follows, "Big Disappointment." The book's author is Garrison Keillor, most well known for a radio show on National Public Radio called "A Prairie Home Companion." I've always enjoyed the radio show. It was always very interesting and insightful. I particularly liked the observational comedy he'd do about Lutherans and Catholics. He would usually gently poke fun at faith, pointing out little absurdities among the faithful, but in a very respectful manner. His radio show never gave me the impression he was attacking faith in anyway, just finding humor in little old ladies who are particular about random things. So I thought, "I remember him, he was fun, I'll read his book."

The book was about an older lady, Evelyn, who dies in Lake Wobegon, the made-up Minnesota town where most of his stories are based. Before she dies, she leaves a note to her daughter asking her to have her cremated, her ashes placed inside a hollowed out bowling ball and then dropped to the bottom of the local lake. She also reveals that she had long ago renounced her faith and was simply going through the motions simply because it was easier that way. She also had a boyfriend in another town and the two would travel the country together quite often.

The daughter, Barbara, to whom the letter was written is an alcoholic and a struggling Lutheran. While dealing with this secret life her mother led, the most pivotal point for her in the book is the moment when she curses God, rejects her faith, and decides she is the only person who is going to help herself and gives up drinking. There are some side stories about a "commitment ceremony" that's not a wedding, and Barbara's son who is trying to figure out what to do with his life.

Apparently, his radio shows are edited quite a bit. I found Barbara's "growth" quite offensive. He portrayed the (Lutheran) church as full of people I would call lukewarm. Not one character was actually attempting to live their faith, they were all just going through the motions. Barbara's rejection of her faith is portrayed as a coming of age, a shedding of archaic ways, and a birth into a new and better life. The whole book seemed to be an attack on the small town country faithful, and I found his arguments shallow and poorly constructed.

On top of that, it seemed as though he was trying to give offense, to shock his reader with stories of old ladies talking frankly about sex and giving graphic descriptions. That may be how some old ladies talk, but its not fair to portray them all that way. His "musings" about the faithful and their practice were much harsher. The only Catholic priest in the story was (of course) having sex with a married woman at his church. There was a group of Lutheran priests who were touring the nation, they were portrayed as drunken materialists. The only character in the book who seemed "decent" was the Lutheran priest in the town who was trying to push his views on everyone, he was an antagonist.

I found the book sad. Just a sad story from an old guy who was trying to shock his reader but just ended up sounding perverted and crude. The only fun part of this book was the end, when of course nothing goes as planned. The son is going to drop the bowling bowl from a hang glider tied behind a boat, trips during taking off and gets dragged through the water, losing his trunks, and just ends up flying through the air flailing and completely naked. Maybe I'm being childish, but I thought it was kind of funny. Just kept thinking, "Ow, poor kid."

All in all, a big disappointment. Probably won't ever listen to the guys radio show again either. For a couple of genuinely funny moments and an interesting story telling style, I give the book 1 star out of 5. A big disappointment.

Book Review: Into the Wild

This is a book about guys being guys, in some good ways and some not so good ways.

The book tells the story of Christopher McCandless and how he ended up starving to death in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless graduated college, gave all his money to a charity that helps feed the hungry ($20,000) and drove away from his DC suburb life, never to be heard from again. He wandered the country for a while and ended up spending a couple of months in Alaska, where he eventually died of starvation.

What I liked about the book: McCandless seems to have tapped into the fact that materialism is nonsense. Material things don't bring happiness, and he was willing to give away most of his earthly possessions and seek something greater. He also believed in providing for himself and found great value in manual labor. He had a hard time accepting handouts and preferred to work for what he received. He also chased his dreams.

What I didn't like about the book: McCandless seemed to hate anything organized, such as the government and religion. He believed more in a spiritual communion with nature than in anything else. He also seemed to think that one could only provide for themselves in the moment and not for the future. He didn't believe in planning ahead, preferring to let "life" lead him where it may. He therefore ended up relying on the kindness of strangers for food and housing. But when it came to money or other material things, he had to work for it. There seemed a disconnect here to me because he was willing to accept one form of charity but rejected another. Furthermore, that charity was provided for by the very system and way of life he rejected. If everyone lived as he did there would be nobody to be charitable.

I also didn't like the way he treated his family. He seemed a little late in maturing. He could forgive others their faults, but when it came to his family he held grudges. He dropped off the face of the earth and never spoke to them again, his heart was filled with a lot of hatred of his father. I had a hard time being sympathetic to a guy who treated his family like garbage, regardless of whatever sin they committed against him.

Finally, the book has a lot of anti religious sentiment, preferring that people "seek their own path" or "find their own way" or some other new-age crap like that. How is it someone can be so arrogant as to reject a philosophy based solely on the fact that other people have believed it, and think that they are the first in all of human history to stumble on the path of true enlightenment? There is nothing new under the sun. People believe all kinds of nonsense and feel as though they are the first of our race to actually "get it." This is pride, plain and simple. To reject something simply because someone else thought of it first is foolish and could not be more self centered.

The poor spiritual aspect of the book was disappointing, but the story and a few of the questions raised were interesting. I give the book two and a half stars out of five. I'd recommend it on a conditional basis, its definitely not something everybody should read, but some may find it interesting.

The Phone Store

Several times in my life I have wished I was making a documentary. Some things take place in front of me that make me laugh, but then give me pause. One such instance happened today at the phone store.

Set up. My wife "needed" a new phone cause hers was being lame and mine "needed" a new battery. As I'm waiting for the customer service people to finish setting up my wife's new phone, I find a comfortable seat and wait. A couple in about their fifties comes in the store and begin to speak with the customer service person who is waiting there to help. The couple's names are Bonnie and Wayne, as I would come to overhear. The gist of the situation is that Bonnie decided that she and Wayne "needed" an upgrade. So Mr. Nice Customer Service Guy starts showing Bonnie and Wayne all the nifty little toys they have.

At one point, Wayne, (who seems like a sharp guy, clean clothes, and clean shaven) decides he needs some expert advice on this situation. Wayne removes his flip phone from his belt compartment accessory and makes a call. The store was rather busy so he stands two or three feet from me as he makes this call and this is what I hear...

"Joe? Hey, It's Wayne. I'm at the (phone) store because Bonnie and I needed a new upgrade for our phones. I wanted to ask you, because I remembered we talked about this, what all the features I need for my phone. She wants a blackberry, but I don't think I need all that fancy stuff."

He pulls out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and a pen as well and begins to write as he is talking.

"Number one, I need something that I can make and receive telephone calls with, right? Number two, I need to be able to do the text messaging. Three, I need to have pictures. And four, I need to be able to check my scores online. Does that sound right? Uh huh. Yeah. Is there anything else I need to be doing? Oh, OK. All right, thanks Joe."

Short aside:
Okay, Wayne, I'm pretty sure just about every phone they sell has the ability to make and receive calls. I admire your thoroughness, but that's like asking for a steak at a steak house and checking to make sure it's meat. Secondly, if you are referring to it as "the text messaging," I'm pretty sure you don't need it. If you're not sure why, try looking it up on "the Google." The camera phone I can't fault you for, probably a good feature for you, although that's pretty standard on most phones these days. But checking "your" scores online, is that honestly something you "need?" You're willing to pay an extra hundred some odd dollars for the fancier piece of technology, and an extra fifty or so dollars every month for a service that will give you information you're probably going to read in the newspaper every morning? This just doesn't seem like something you "need."

After Wayne hung up the phone, he went over to show Mr. Nice Customer Service Guy the list he just made. Then he proceeded to read the list and explain why he needed all these things. The sales rep, a very professional man, (and a much kinder human being than I) didn't laugh at Wayne, but proceeded to show him some phones that would suit his "needs."

I try not to eaves drop because it is kind of creepy, but Wayne is just too much fun to resist. Shortly after having selected a new phone, he removes his old phone from his little holster and proceeds to call customer service for Lexus. He wants to make sure that the new phone he's selected is compatible with his built in blue tooth technology in his car.

This is where Wayne stopped amusing me and just made me sad. Here is a guy who has got to have all the nicest and newest of everything in his life. And he pushes it off as a "need." It makes me sad that that word gets used as often as it does. Does anybody understand the difference between a "want" and a "need?" Nobody ever says "I 'want' this" or "I 'want' that." Everything is in urgent "need" of being obtained, of being finished, of being fixed. Just stop. Breathe. Relax a bit. The world will still be here, you're probably not going to die. Take a little time and obtain some needed focus.

If Wayne could do that, he'd realize what he really needs is a pair of pants that didn't go out of style in the sixties.

Friday Night

I spent last night hanging out with some people from work. The group is cliquey, but I don't always think that's a bad thing. Jesus had a clique. Sure he'd do all that preaching, but at the end of the day he'd say "Peter, James, John, come with me." Like I said, I don't have a problem with cliques in general. People tend to hang out with the people they like and are comfortable with. This just makes sense to me.

Anyway, I have somehow managed to find myself becoming more involved with this group. They extend me invitations to various things and I'm now on some email distribution list they use when they want to communicate with each other. This is just odd to me. I'm not complaining, I just find it interesting. One particular invite was for dinner yesterday evening, which I decided to attend. It was a nice evening and I got to know some of the people from work a little better. They are fun people.

High school seems to get a bad reputation for being cliquey, but this doesn't seem fair since it happens everywhere. Perhaps the difference is that high school students don't often work at being outgoing. Not that I'm much better. I'm very happy with my GuMP clique. Inviting others would just seem like work, because then I would have to get to know them. Suppose I don't really like hanging out with them, then I'd have to find ways of hanging out with my current clique and excluding them. See, I haven't grown up yet. I'm still as sophomoric as ever. My friends who I got to know last night are better people, hands down.

Quote...

"Oh this is going to be terrible...
I'm so excited!!!"

Alicia before seeing "The Proposal"

Why is it...

A clean house keeps me on a good spiritual path. I find that if my house is not clean, I tend to wander. But if my house is clean, I am eager to spend time reading my Bible. I don't understand this.

I got home today and I was actually bored for the first time in a long while. My wife had cleaned the house and I felt like there was nothing to do. She did the laundry too so I've got nothing to do tomorrow.

Hmmm...

That is all.