Day 131 Why Do I Care?

I was eating lunch today, and when I couldn't find anyone to sit with, settled on a spot by myself. My days eating lunch by myself -I won't lie- suck. Especially when I have nothing else to do immediately afterward. Days like this, though, are GREAT for people watching. As I watched...well...people, I took my headphones out, because nothing says "Don't sit by me" like a set of headphones. I heard some variant of a language of which I am not familiar, and it irritated me, especially because there was a table of about eighty people speaking said language.

Upon this realization, I thought to myself: Why do I care? What difference does it make? Loving people doesn't involve being irritated because someone can't speak the same language as I do. Why does it matter if someone cuddles with their girlfriend (although this is really just awkward and I don't know why)?

Why do we get annoyed?

I said a something from my Christian world view which in hindsight may not have been the most intelligent thing to say, although I believe it with just about all of my being. I can't remember what the question was, but it was some variant of how I thought problem solving amongs peers should work. I said that if two people are having a problem, and I included myself in this, that a portion of the problem exists within both people.

Which means I'm the problem, because not everyone has the same problem I do.

I think that's my flatulance for the day. I'm gonna make easy-Mac.

Day 130: I Should Be Reading, But I'm Over It.

If any one reading this cerebral flatulance knew how much reading I have to do, they'd scold me and unplug my internet, which would actually be better both for myself and the general population.

Today was the busiest day I've had in a long time. Woke up at 7:15, utterly annoyed to have to wrench the covers from my paws. After an "argument" with my roomie over what makes a man manly, I went to my first class. BORING. Some funny stuff happened, but luckily people either didn't notice or were mature and don't think any less of me for it.

Went to the VU. Typed on a paper for an hour before a friend stopped by. We both talk a decent amount, so we did that before I wandered off in search of sustenance. I can't remember what I ate. Oh. "Salisbury steak." That's what it was supposed to be, anyway. I can't remember how it tasted, either. Went to my next class (Eastern European/Balkans History since 1900,) and emerged an hour and a half later glad to not be in there anymore.

Side note: I'm scared to tell my prof that I've been to Slovenia and Central/Eastern Europe. There was one guy that had been to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and he made a presentation the other day. I'm not certain as to whether the prof asked him to, or if he volunteered. Either way. I don't want to take the chance.

Figured I was close enough to the library to go and read something I hadn't. So I did that for an hour, then went to light lunch, since my next class was three hours long and I was out of coffee again. Scarfed down a few bowls of salad, next class.

At least the second movie was interesting.

Class out at 6:00. Hungry again and out of coffee. Went to dinner, met some new people and reconnected with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Refilled my coffee.

Back to the library. Read the rest of the section I didn't finish earlier, finished and printed my paper, and listened to George Strait. I really relate to his songs for some reason.

Walked back to the room and got here at about 8:30 with the intention of reading, but didn't feel like it and realized that my desk was an absolute mess. So I poured myself another cup of coffee, cleaned my desk, and here I am, listening to the Eagles and drinking coffee.

For the record. I've had four 16 oz tumblers of coffee, and working on my second mug since I've gotten back. And I'm still going to sleep really well.

Tomorrow's Thursday. Which means that the day after that is Friday. Maybe catch a sunset over the Bay at that point? I'm in for a busy next-ten days.

Day 129

Woke up this morning to find the inch of snow that had accumulated last night almost completely gone. It must have rained or something. Some friends and I attempted to build a jump on the football field up to a hurdle with the intent of doing some pull-in jibbing. Needless to say, while it was fun, we didn't have enough speed even with four of us pulling.

Otherwise, I had an interview for an RA position today. It went really well, and my history background really came in handy, because it provided some great answers on the diversity questions. Anyway.

That's pretty much it. Went to the dollar store and wandered around making fun of the items.

Anyway.

Yeah, that's it.

2nd Day 125

I have just really had this on my heart all day. There's a lot of crap going on up here
drama-wise, and those who live up here in Bellingham, Gamma Stack9 can attest to that. I have the luxury of being able to not care, and when the stuff gets flung I go sit in my corner and rock back and forth, wondering why people can't just get along.

This is challenging for me as well, because there are certainly people I don't like to be around all the time. I say this to show that I'm not holier than the reader of this wasted bandwidth, but that I'm just like you. I try very hard to get along with everyone, and I still feel like I fail at moments.

For those of you that aren't Christians, bear with me.

1 John 3:15 says "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."

Here's another one

1st John 4:20
"If someone says "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar; for one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen"

If you believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that should make you sweat. The Bible also, at least as far as I've noticed, makes no distinction between "liking" and "hating," nor is there a distinction between "liking" and "loving." "Love your neighbor as yourself," and I know that this phrase is found in multiple world views, so this should apply to everyone.

Another thing, and you can look these passages up yourself and place them in context if you don't trust me, but there isn't an "unless" right after. Love each other. No excuses. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s. That's it. It doesn't matter what that person did, what they said, what you heard they said. FORGIVE THEM AND MOVE ON.

Do with that what you want. I hope you get rid of whatever little things you're fighting about, because no matter what you believe, people are watching and drawing judgements about you whether you realize it or not. Do you want to be known as quarrelsome and unforgiving? Those certainly aren't traits I want ascribed to myself, let alone Christianity as a world view.

Ok. You can agree with what I've just posted or not. I'll leave it at this: People in this world are fighting, killing, and dying over century old disagreements. They started because two people, or groups there-of just couldn't get along, for whatever reason.

Day 125

The snow's flying up here. Maybe it'll stick, maybe it won't. I find I don't really care that much anymore. I mean, snow's good, and I don't have to go anywhere, but it's almost normal to me now, at least for it to be snowing.

Got back from hiking for awhile with some friends. Didn't even make it to the top. Kinda bummed about that, but whatever. Now I know what the trail's like, I'll have to head back up there. It was hard for about the first half hour, but remembering that trail Dad, Evan, and I took in Alberta nothing really seems quite so bad, so it's easy to keep going. It was just starting to get fun too...anyway. Enough of that. Now I have an afternoon with nothing to do.

I'm been sort of in a funk the last few days. It seems like I'm getting annoyed with things that I shouldn't, but at the same time I don't really want to talk to anyone about it just because it doesn't seem Christ-like to gripe about other people. I could be wrong. I suppose I mostly just don't like when other people talk badly about other people to me.

There's crazy drama going on around here too, plus what's going on in Gaza and the cut-throat nature of politics.

I guess that even with all the people that are around me, I just sort of feel alone, like I don't fully identify with anyone. Which would make me the problem. Imagine that.

124- Thinking Too Much

I've got to lead a discussion on Rousseau's Social Contract tomorrow, and don't really want to. Either way, it's happening tomorrow morning, so I get to be done with it then. YAY!

Hopefully the weather's decent this weekend so I can go on a hike.

I've been listening to a lot of country lately. I've got a new song. That's My Kind of Woman by George Strait. Oh. The Blue Scholars are awesome too. WOOT.

I'm just experimenting a lot lately with different music. The more I hear, the more I like. It's kinda fun to like stuff that most people really don't. Anyway.

I'm gonna go skateboard because I need to clear my mind and expend energy.

Day 122 I Saw Something That Irritated Me.

I've seen this bumper sticker a few times that really drives me up a wall. I came across it again on someone's facebook and I've been thinking about it all day. It reads this way: "Except for ending slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, war never solved anything." I figure I'll take this one point by point, although I am sure you know where I'm going just already.

Slavery. HAHA. Let's define it, shall we? Because this quote hasn't, I'm gonna do it instead. What about the girls in India that are forced into sexual acts with men many years older than them? That's slavery. And war didn't end it because it's still going on. "But no," you say "we're obviously talking about slavery in America." Ok. Again, we're defining slavery. So if setting someone free means throwing them out into a capitalist society where they have essentially no rights anyway, what good does it do? I'm not suggesting that slaves weren't happy to be set free. I am saying that they remained oppressed by the Jim Crow laws and a poor public opinion until the flippin' 1960s and 70s, and that oppression continues today as well. This doesn't mention the idea slavery of the proletarians to the bourgouisie, because as good as I have it in this world, I'm still a slave to the system.

Fascism. The only country that's ever had this government in it's truest form is Mussolini's Italy, and it worked really well. Fascism, for those of you that don't know, or even care, is a totalitarian form of government in which all power is centralized in the hand of one individual. What was bad about it is that it was based on extreme nationalism. These ideas still persist today. This same train of thought goes into Nazism, which was basically nationalism (you all know this) with somewhat of a socialist twist (industrial army and so on.) There are Nazis and Fascists still out there in this world today. War didn't kill the ideas, because you can't kill an idea. And, by the way, the 1st Ammendment to the US Constitution protects people's right to believe these things. Anyone heard of Aryan Nation? The Church of Jesus Christ Christian? Wikipedia them and see what you find. Essentially Nazis claiming the divine right of white people to rule the earth.

War won't kill an idea.

Communism. Anyone heard of Cuba? Because it's a communist country. Actually, if you're heard of the Bay of Pigs, they actually beat US. Go figure. Vietnam? Yeah, they're communist too. And I am of the opinion that there's nothing inherently wrong with communism, it's dorks that rush it and don't know how it works.

So.

Let's not say what war did and didn't do. It has resulted in millions of lives lost, served as events used for political and economic gain, and reinforced cultural riffs that have led to even MORE wars.

Ok. Sorry, ya'll.

I just really hate war. I see it's use, I just don't like how it's used.

day 121 I almost bought it today

Another eventful day. Woke up early, finished my reading on Rousseau, forgetting to put my shoes or socks on. As I tried to arrange a hike in the Chuckanuts, I was turned away by the lady at the dining hall. Apparently they won't let you in if you're not wearing shoes, although I'm pretty sure that I could get in no sweat if it had been a student at the counter.

Anyway.

Got a hike arranged (YAY) and got out to enjoy the not-a-cloud-in-the-sky goodness. However, I had the urge to jump off something (what else is new?) and jumped over a creek, probably a 10-12 foot gap, jumping from about 5 feet up. I spotted my landing really well, except that I didn't land there. I landed right on the arch of my foot and collapsed at the impact, thankful that I had worn hiking boots, because I could have broken my ankle without the support that hiking boots provide. So I figure I just rolled it, with kind of a fragile feeling in that ankle as I hiked another 4 miles.

Resolving to take it easy, I didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon. But I got an urge to go skating, so I just went and did that and my ankle doesn't feel like it should. Oh Well. Life will go on, I suppose.

That's all. Oh, read Simon's blog. He does a really good job, a lot to say, and does a good job communicating it clearly.

eastcoastbusinesstrip0108.blogspot.com

Day 120 You Thought You'd Never See The Day...

Ok. I know that all six (or so) of you know me. You know my musical taste. You know I'm a classic rock/country sort of a guy. You know I love a solid bass line, tasteful guitar riffs, and tight harmonies. You've been in the car, turned on rap music, and I've shuddered and rocked like a child who's night-light has just burned out.

I went on iTunes and bought a rap CD. Yes. You just read that correctly. No. Joke.

So let me explain. I went snowboarding on Thursday, hitching a ride with a skier named DJ (yes, it's funny) who played rap the entire time. I didn't like much of it. I didn't need to hear about how many girls various rappers had "fooled around with" the night before, how many people they had killed, or how tough they were, rampant with swearing and dissrespect. Then DJ played a song with a rhythm I latched onto immediately. The guy doing the rapping was talking about stuff I understood, a song about injustice, political stuff, how everything is messed up in the world and it's our responsibility to get off our butts and do something about it. I identified with it so much, I logged the name into my memory to check out later: Blue Scholars.

The whole CD was like this. Political references everywhere, what he loved about his girl was not her body (according the the lyrics, at least,) but what she stood for, how she cared for others, how she wasn't scared to get on a bull horn in the street yelling "Power to the people." Socialist rhetoric was scattered throughout, and one of my favorite lyrics was a reference to Reagan's "trickle-down economics" (tax cuts for the rich in order to 'stimulate' the economy.)

Yeah, there's a few swear words in it, but not enough for iTunes to flag it as explicit.

So look it up. You may not think it's worth much. But keep in mind that country-rock lovin' Brandon thought it was worth enough to buy it.

118- Some Random Stuff

Went snowboarding yesterday. The snow was great, the company was good, and I learned of a few fun spots to hit, including an awesome cornice probaby 15 ft off the ground, covered in powder and an uber-soft landing. That's...pretty much it. The only thing that could have been better would have been about a foot of new snow, as well as not feeling the effects of the few drinks I had the night before.

Really random thought. I don't know if you all are aware, but the Eagles are my favorite band, and I think you should all know that their new two-disc album Long Road Out Of Eden, really is phenominal. The title cut is my favorite song on the album, and it just oozes with Don Henley's voice and lyrics. If you haven't heard much Eagles (and this is what I love about Henley,) they incorporate a lot of history into their songs; they actually go out and research the subject material. I really urge you to listen to it. If they didn't only sell it at Wal-Mart, I'd tell you to go buy it just because I say so. I got it for Christmas. That's why I have it, because I know you were wondering.

Been down the road to Damascus
The road to Mandolay
Met the ghost of Ceaser on the Appian Way.
He said "It's hard to stop this binging
once you get a taste.
But the road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste."

I love it. So much. Just so you know, the point of the song is how things keep getting worse and we're oblivious to it in this modern day and age, where everyone talks about things getting better, technology, oil companies making big profits, and capitalism basically consuming everything: "We're riding to Utopia, road map says we'll be arriving soon."

Ok, So I just realized I'm a nerd and have read The Communist Manifesto four times. So, according to Marx, once capitalism has gotten to it's peak, the proletariat (working class) will overthrow everything and take the means of production and redistribute it amongst everyone in the society. ANYWAY. Communism was HEAVILY influenced by More's Utopia.

That's it. Peace out, happy Friday.

Day 115

Got my excersize today with two hours of skating. I'm very tired. Exhausted. I've kicked my butt the last few days. I think that's all I really have to say. Tomorrow's the big 2-1. It's also the longest day of the week. We'll see what happens.

113

Last night, having snowboarded yesterday and after two movies and four cups of coffee, it was decided that sleeping was just not going to happen for a few more hours. So, four of us who deemed it necessary to expel a certain amount of energy decided upon a hike up Sehome Hill, about a 3/4 mile each way. Departing the dorm at about 1:30 AM, we arrived back at about 3:30, at which point I promptly fell asleep. My comrades, I'm told, stayed up until 7:45. AM. That's past late. That's early.

So I woke up at about ten, noticed it was sunny, and immediately began formulating a plan to get outside for a few hours of outdoor recreation, despite the copious amounts of reading that I've been assigned, and still have yet to complete. Upon our leaving church, I decided a hike would be a good idea, and called a friend to make it happen. It turned out that four of us ended up hiking to Fragrance Lake (which in reality is anything but,) as well as catching an amazing view of the San Juans with the dark, craggy outline of Olympic Mountains visible in the distance. In addition, three of us have an interest in geology and knew enough to tell sort of what was going on, which made the whole thing more interesting. All in all, it was a joy to break in the hiking boots I acquired over a year ago, treking through inches of muddy-muck and jumping off of a sweet moss-covered log almost ten feet up. Hikers, I had an awesome time.

Now I'm exhausted and have the bulk of my reading done, but I must now attend to the rest.

Day 112- Tired Already

Went snowboarding today up at Mt Baker for the first time. I was eager to see how it compared to Mt Hood, and the answer is that it just doesn't. Chutes, cliffs, deep snow, it's got it all, and you don't have to look very far to find all of it. The first run of the day was AMAZING, riding in fresh powder up to mid-thigh. It was a little heavy, but that's the Northwest for you. At first, this was tolerable. But later on as the snow continued to fall and turned to rain the runs got more choppy, the snow got heavier, my pants soaked through for the first time since I bought them 2 years ago, my legs are simply not in snowboard shape yet, and riding a true-twin tip park board with edges that haven't been tuned in 4 years doesn't help either. In short, while I was certainly impressed with the rugged experts-only terrain, the snow was less than stellar, so the day was somewhat short. It'll be sick in the spring when it's sunny.

I returned to the dorms to discover the Seahawks game on, and I fell asleep to the 'Hawks getting whomped on by the Packers. Went to dinner, and (Western students will know what I'm talking about) as I went to swing over the stairs on the pizza side of the dining hall, I lost my grip, stretched out and landed at the bottom of the stairs flat on my back, laughing SO hard. Everyone (lucky there were no girls I was attempting to impress) gazed down at me, all with that "Oh Junk, I want to laugh but I want to make sure he's ok" look. I swore I must have seemed drunk.

And now I'm here, and if people are around, it'll be a late night again. Get up, go to church in the morning since I didn't go to CCF.

My shoulder hurts. And my knee.

Day 110

My hands are crusty and hurt from climbing the rock wall for the first time in three months.

Having gone to all my classes so far, I can safely say that this quarter is going to be a lot of really hard work. I have lots of books to read, lots to write, and lots to do outside of class.

I again regret to inform you that I really don't have anything to write about even remotely interesting. Oh. Here's something...

Here's a list of things I didn't need to see yesterday, but did, and in an educational setting, nonetheless.

*Little boys digging holes in the ground and humping them. No worries on this one, they had clothes on.
*Little boys comparing..."part".. characteristics
*A naked woman having a seizure
*A 10 year old girl reaching into an old man's pants and saying "You can't milk a bull, Uncle Octavio."
*A cat being tethered to a coat hanger and being smashed by a guy's head. The guy looked up with gunk all over him... smiling.

Among other things.

Yeah. You didn't need to know that...

But I just told you

HAHA!

I still don't know what I learned from said film.

Day 108, I think

First day of class. Walked in two minutes late (oops) and found out that it's going to kick butt.

Not much else to report upon. Hung out all afternoon, mostly did nothing. Read the intro to one of my 19 books in order to get a head start on the reading. Yeah.

I had forgotten exactly how much fun I have up here. I missed being around people all the time, which I think is why I had such a mediocre break, seeing as I only was hanging out with people during the last week I was in town.

Um. I think that's it...Sorry so boring.

Day 107-Bellingham is Sunny..For the Moment

Yesterday was highly interesting. Setting out for Bellingham with two friends and a completely full pickup bed, at about 10 AM, it didn't take long for crazy stuff to start happening. I received a phone call from my current roommate wanting to know where the keys were. I helped him as best I could without being there. Not a half hour later, he called again. Oh Junk, I thought, what now.

It seems as though John, when he had left up and left for another dorm, had failed to actually pack anything. According to Robbie, his stuff was strewn about without rhyme or reason. His key had been left on his former desk. UM.

"You know Charb, the Resident Director?"
"Yeah?"
"Go find him."

I felt bad, because I was going to help John move his stuff, but I had to leave for Vancouver before he thought to call me. When he did call, I apologized for the misunderstanding, and asked John two questions :

"John, do you have another way to get your stuff out by 4:00 tomorrow?"
"Yes."
*I cringe, knowing it's probably not true*
"John, does your family know about this?"
*pause* "Yes"
*CRINGE* There was no way that one was true.

Robbie (new roomie) found a place to stay for a few days until the situation could be evaluated. However, as I pulled in and began to unload, I saw John moving his stuff into his brother's car.

Problem solved. Robbie moved in within a few hours. He seems like a cool guy. We're both history majors and even in one of the same classes, our earliest one, so it'll be easier to get up in the morning.

John stopped by a little bit later to say hi. Which was sort of awkward, but it's always awkward talking to him. He had to get his bike, which he left over here, but the fact that he stopped by meant he appreciated me in some way, so that was cool.

Finished the day by talking with the suite/stackmates and watching a movie, Hot Rod, which I am certain my brother would love, but my friend Simon would likely abhor. Some language stuff was in it, but it was mostly just really bad acting-on purpose. It was funny. I laughed.

That's mostly it. Today it's sunny, so it may dry up enough for me to go play outside.

Cheers.

Day 100- A New Year

I've had such a good time the last few days. Hangin' out with good buddies until the morning's wee-hours playing cards, goofing off, and playing in the snow. Yesterday, we all went up to a friend's house up in the mountains outside Washougal, WA. They had about three feet of snow, and we had a really good time in it, wrestling, throwing snow around, jumping off stuff, and just hanging out. There was a fair amount of hiking involved, so that was a lot of fun, and I felt it when I woke up this morning.

After our mountain adventure, we went back to my friend's apartment in Vancouver and hung out until about midnight at which point I realized that I had slept almost entirely through a movie and had woken to my brother screaming about something Halo-related. So I went home, exhausted. This year's first song played was "It's All About Soul" by Billy Joel.

I really don't have much else to say. I've got great friends, and I've had a lot of fun in the last few days. Not working really makes things a lot more fun around here.

I do have a topic which I would like to explore which is very relavent in politics in this day and age, and a topic of great..shall we say...contention amongst those who don't quite understand it. I was approached by a very opinionated person the other day, who knew my background and brought up "revisionist history" and somewhat of what I viewed as a criticism of the intillectual leanings of the institution which I attend. While I avoided an argument (much to my mother's dismay, because she had been bragging about me to this particular individual, I found out today,) the topic of historical revisionism stuck with me, because I have had the conversation before. These are my thoughts, and you can do with them what you like. For those of you who don't know, I am a history major, so I'd like to think I have some sort of experience in the area.

The example used of "historical revisionism" was the United States Constitution and how it's being bent to fit the needs of special interest groups and whatnot. Here's my thought: If anyone wonders why people interpret the Constitution so loosely, they obviously haven't read it. Because it is one of the most vague documents I've ever read. And if criticizers want it to be interpretted literally, as first written, neither women, nor blacks, nor land-owning males under the age of 21 would be able to vote, and I'm not even certain if the Constitution specifically mentions the voting age. We would not have a system for the electoral college, nor a system for determining who becomes president in the case of a tie. SO. MANY. THINGS aren't even mentioned. A lot had to be added on; 17 Ammendments worth, in order to specify anything what-so-ever. The Constitution didn't even specify how to ammend the Constitution.

Do you know why this is?

Because the founding fathers and the Congress were a heckuva lot smarter than we are. They recognized that times change, and as times change things get defined and interpreted differently, and wanted to leave room for things to be defined at a later date.

As for revisionism. Does it occur to anyone that new documents can be found? That those documents actually DO have historical significance? That just because they challenge an existing idea doesn't make them a farse, like some random digger just pulled it out of their butt to fit their own agenda?

Example: the Nostic gospel of Judas. Yes. It does have historical significance, it's a document that's hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Just because it challenges the Bible and the Gospels doesn't take away that significance.

People interpret things differently because we're different people and have different perspectives. Um...go back to...like...mid-late 1500's. I regret to inform you that I fail to remember the date for Luther's 95 Theses. West of Constantinople/ Istanbul (this proves my point even more) Christianity WAS Catholicism for 1500 years. That was the prevailing thought at the time. Why did Luther think otherwise? Because he read the Bible differently than priests who wanted nothing more than power that came with being able to send someone to hell. Perspective. And Luther read it differently than we do now. Perspective. Ever witnessed an accident? Or a crime? Get a few people who saw the same thing happen, maybe a few who were actually involved and ask them to tell it to you exactly how it happened. More likely than not, you'll get conflicting reports. They might convey the same ideas, but specifics will likely be different, if they're provided at all.

One last thought. Just because some guy wrote it down 600 years ago doesn't make it true. It provides insight into how people lived, sure. But not everything in it is fact. Only they people who were there know for sure, piecing together an explanation of an event. If we're lucky, they wrote it down. Even more lucky if more than one of them did. That's what history is. Looking at different perpectives, trying to think like each person in an event and, using that, try to determine what really happened.

I'll close with this. It sums up all I just said. "History is written by the victors."

If you've got questions, facebook me. I'll do my best to answer them.