Pastor Grant Fishbook made an interesting point today. He asked us what sermon we were going to preach this week. We'd like to think that no one elses opinion matters. That may be fine for a non-Christian. But if we Christ followers subscribe to that opinion, we're kidding ourselves. Our reputations and how we live do matter. A lot. We can say we love God all we want, but if our lives and actions don't reflect it, our faith is dead. Alluding to the "vine" analogy, such branches are cut off, thrown into the fire and burned.
This is something that I've had to think a lot about this year. I tend to meet people. Everywhere. And they need to know through my actions and words within the first five minutes of knowing me that I'm a really happy, really outgoing guy. More importantly, I have to reflect Christ to them.
So, I want to preach about love this week. And forgiveness that's only found in Christ. I want people to walk away from me at the rock wall, or my slackline, or whatever, feeling like they met someone that actually gives a hoot about them. And hopefully, they'll see me again, hop on the line, and I can help them know I stand for love in a world that could really care less most of the time.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
218-My Body Always Seems to Hurt After the Weekend
So I have some stuff to do. One of these things is a large amount of reading. I don't own the book, or I'd be reading right now. After dinner. I promise. I'll be in the library a very long time. It's not hard reading, actually. It was written by this guy looking for an adventure in the early 1930's, so he decided to relocate to the Soviet Union. I can't say that it was the best idea in the world, but had I been alive in the 1930's with the same ambitions as I do now, I would finish school and then do what he did. Which may have led to my end, but we won't go there.
My brother Evan and friend Simon came up on Friday night. It was a really good time, and it was great having them up here. We played Settlers, which I didn't win, but to me was not about winning. It was about having 5 other people in my room at once and watching them all interact, which isn't something that flies on a normal weekend. Went on a hike the next day, and was really tired from that when we set up a slackline and screwed around in the grass for awhile.
Night came. I crashed.
Church this morning.
Then climbing.
then laundry.
Then this.
My back is sort of sore. I didn't realize that climbing worked the back so much. I am still trying to get my upper arms to equal each other. My right is bigger than my left, which to my in-some-ways-OCD self just isn't cool.
My brother Evan and friend Simon came up on Friday night. It was a really good time, and it was great having them up here. We played Settlers, which I didn't win, but to me was not about winning. It was about having 5 other people in my room at once and watching them all interact, which isn't something that flies on a normal weekend. Went on a hike the next day, and was really tired from that when we set up a slackline and screwed around in the grass for awhile.
Night came. I crashed.
Church this morning.
Then climbing.
then laundry.
Then this.
My back is sort of sore. I didn't realize that climbing worked the back so much. I am still trying to get my upper arms to equal each other. My right is bigger than my left, which to my in-some-ways-OCD self just isn't cool.
Friday, April 25, 2008
216
I've been climbing, sometimes twice a day, for the last 6-7 days in a row. Goodness, I'm going to hurt myself. And yet I can't stop! I got a route last night that I have been trying the last 3 weeks, so I finally just said "I'm not leaving until I get this one," since they swap out the holds and the routes on that section Saturday. It felt amazing to finish that one.
So it's a hazy, bright morning in Bellingham. It's looking like it's gonna clear up and I'm not gonna take a break today either.
Nothing epic to talk about today. I'm sorry, I feel myself thinking, but I have no idea what about...
So it's a hazy, bright morning in Bellingham. It's looking like it's gonna clear up and I'm not gonna take a break today either.
Nothing epic to talk about today. I'm sorry, I feel myself thinking, but I have no idea what about...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
214
I really should just stop. Really. One of these days my body is just going to not want to move anymore. And still I have yet to feel direct pain as a result of my activity. So I'm gonna keep going today and see where that takes me.
This quarter is going SO fast. Way faster than I want it to. Six and a half weeks left of school...then I've got to pack up the Chevy and roll on out of here. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'll be anxious to get back up here in early September, even if it is for RA training. Money's gonna be tight FOR SURE. COME ON tax return, I need you buddy!
Can I just say here, though, that I have pretty much felt amazing the last few weeks, with the exception of one or two low points. I'm out having fun, learning cool things (even if my political science class feels like I've been returned to high school due to its formatting,) meeting a ton of really cool people in this really beautiful place. My body is in that constant state of good-sore. Man, Bellingham is RAD.
I think happiness is directly proportional to the amount of sun.
Today I still feel good, but it's kinda gross outside. That's ok though, because yesterday it was about 60 degrees and bluebird.
WOOT.
This quarter is going SO fast. Way faster than I want it to. Six and a half weeks left of school...then I've got to pack up the Chevy and roll on out of here. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'll be anxious to get back up here in early September, even if it is for RA training. Money's gonna be tight FOR SURE. COME ON tax return, I need you buddy!
Can I just say here, though, that I have pretty much felt amazing the last few weeks, with the exception of one or two low points. I'm out having fun, learning cool things (even if my political science class feels like I've been returned to high school due to its formatting,) meeting a ton of really cool people in this really beautiful place. My body is in that constant state of good-sore. Man, Bellingham is RAD.
I think happiness is directly proportional to the amount of sun.
Today I still feel good, but it's kinda gross outside. That's ok though, because yesterday it was about 60 degrees and bluebird.
WOOT.
Monday, April 21, 2008
212
Some of you may know that whatever literature I choose to read tends to fall within the realm of utopian discourse. Novels like 1984 and Farenheit 451 are a few of my favorites. The reason I like them: They take situations that many would consider ideal and switch the perspective around to fit someone who finds the world in which they live utterly terrible.
Such is the argument for a theocracy. I've heard numerous times that the founding fathers of the United States had God in mind when designing our Constitution and that people originally came to this country to worship free from the tyranny of the Anglican church. I don't feel these two aspects of American history are entirely accurate, but that's not my argument. My argument is this: THANK GOODNESS this country isn't a theocracy. And may it never until God takes us home and rebuilds this place.
Some may feel it beneficial to all to make the Bible our Constitution. That's actually what sparked this in my mind. There are people running around these days claiming to fly the flag of Christ that are showing up to funerals of soldiers that were killed in action in Iraq. There may seem to be no harm in this. However, when you're hanging out in the back waving a sign around that says "God Hates Fags," we've got issues. Granted, the Bible that I know exhorts us to love others like Christ loves us and has nothing to do with what these folks are claiming. However, should a theocracy be our chosen form of government here on earth, the government could get behind something like that if they felt it were justified enough.
I'm just saying. It could happen.
But the main issue I take with this is on the issue of corruption. If, theoretically speaking, everyone in the United States was evangelical Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Bahai, what have you. Someone has to be at the top of the ladder leading the country. You may even have a council of some kind. This is beside the point. As long as there is sin in this world, people will make stupid decisions. People let power get to their head, no matter how holy they seem to be, or how holy they try to be. That is human nature.
I had a professor tell me we are all fundamentally good the other day. My mind said an emphatic no. This world seems to have so much to offer, so much that we can see and touch and feel. And that is precisely why God's heaven and New Earth are the only way this could ever work. When all corruption is gone and it's destruction is entirely evident. When God's sent Satan packing and all of his wily ways to the bottom of the freakin' lake of fire.
Under these circumstances, and these circumstances only will a God-honoring theocracy actually work, and only then will everyone actually be ok with it. Imagine that...
Utopia without a dissenting view.
I'm expecting comments on this one, so gimme whatever you've got, I'll do my best to explain my perspective.
Such is the argument for a theocracy. I've heard numerous times that the founding fathers of the United States had God in mind when designing our Constitution and that people originally came to this country to worship free from the tyranny of the Anglican church. I don't feel these two aspects of American history are entirely accurate, but that's not my argument. My argument is this: THANK GOODNESS this country isn't a theocracy. And may it never until God takes us home and rebuilds this place.
Some may feel it beneficial to all to make the Bible our Constitution. That's actually what sparked this in my mind. There are people running around these days claiming to fly the flag of Christ that are showing up to funerals of soldiers that were killed in action in Iraq. There may seem to be no harm in this. However, when you're hanging out in the back waving a sign around that says "God Hates Fags," we've got issues. Granted, the Bible that I know exhorts us to love others like Christ loves us and has nothing to do with what these folks are claiming. However, should a theocracy be our chosen form of government here on earth, the government could get behind something like that if they felt it were justified enough.
I'm just saying. It could happen.
But the main issue I take with this is on the issue of corruption. If, theoretically speaking, everyone in the United States was evangelical Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Bahai, what have you. Someone has to be at the top of the ladder leading the country. You may even have a council of some kind. This is beside the point. As long as there is sin in this world, people will make stupid decisions. People let power get to their head, no matter how holy they seem to be, or how holy they try to be. That is human nature.
I had a professor tell me we are all fundamentally good the other day. My mind said an emphatic no. This world seems to have so much to offer, so much that we can see and touch and feel. And that is precisely why God's heaven and New Earth are the only way this could ever work. When all corruption is gone and it's destruction is entirely evident. When God's sent Satan packing and all of his wily ways to the bottom of the freakin' lake of fire.
Under these circumstances, and these circumstances only will a God-honoring theocracy actually work, and only then will everyone actually be ok with it. Imagine that...
Utopia without a dissenting view.
I'm expecting comments on this one, so gimme whatever you've got, I'll do my best to explain my perspective.
A thought on 212, but not the big post to which I referred earlier
I was looking through the online NY Times this morning so I could know what was going on in the world, when I noticed a topic near and dear to my heart right on the front page. Jimmy Carter talking to Hamas.
Ok. A few things come to mind here. Some good, some bad. I'll start with the good, and I have about 10 minutes to communicate this, so I'm sorry if it's unclear.
The good: Jimmy Carter has a history of doing things like this, and while people fling him crap for his foreign policy while he was president, he tried, and I feel like he had something (or someone) working against him. Yeah. I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist.
I feel bad for the Palestinians, and I think someone needs to advocate their position. Whatever God's plan is in this, they still need love, because he created them and loves them just as much as anyone. I'm glad someone seems to be (I suspect there's some political motive on the part of whichever candidate he is supporting [Obama?] who said at the beginning of his candidacy that he would be open to talks with anyone regardless of affiliation) loving them and interested in what they want.
The bad: I am by no means a fan of George Bush (there, I said it,) but I would like to know under what political authority Carter is acting, and as such what legitimacy his remarks actually have.
Carter is saying that Hamas would agree to the 1967 borders if approved by a vote amongst the Palestinian people.
Question: how does someone organize that? You have (last I checked) two separate Palestinian states as well as Israel itself. And they can't agree on anything anyway. How in the WORLD are you going to cover every (maybe not...) ethnic Palestinian in this vote? And even if you can organize it, what happens if the Palestinian vote doesn't agree with the 1967 borders? You now have an even more emboldened Hamas, working with a "mandate of the people."
Carter was President for awhile. That merit alone means he knows WAY more than I do. He knows what he's doing, but this seriously just looks like election season remarks against the Establishment. My guess is it's political.
I'll post something actually worth reading later today. Hopefully it doesn't amount to wasted bandwidth.
Ok. A few things come to mind here. Some good, some bad. I'll start with the good, and I have about 10 minutes to communicate this, so I'm sorry if it's unclear.
The good: Jimmy Carter has a history of doing things like this, and while people fling him crap for his foreign policy while he was president, he tried, and I feel like he had something (or someone) working against him. Yeah. I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist.
I feel bad for the Palestinians, and I think someone needs to advocate their position. Whatever God's plan is in this, they still need love, because he created them and loves them just as much as anyone. I'm glad someone seems to be (I suspect there's some political motive on the part of whichever candidate he is supporting [Obama?] who said at the beginning of his candidacy that he would be open to talks with anyone regardless of affiliation) loving them and interested in what they want.
The bad: I am by no means a fan of George Bush (there, I said it,) but I would like to know under what political authority Carter is acting, and as such what legitimacy his remarks actually have.
Carter is saying that Hamas would agree to the 1967 borders if approved by a vote amongst the Palestinian people.
Question: how does someone organize that? You have (last I checked) two separate Palestinian states as well as Israel itself. And they can't agree on anything anyway. How in the WORLD are you going to cover every (maybe not...) ethnic Palestinian in this vote? And even if you can organize it, what happens if the Palestinian vote doesn't agree with the 1967 borders? You now have an even more emboldened Hamas, working with a "mandate of the people."
Carter was President for awhile. That merit alone means he knows WAY more than I do. He knows what he's doing, but this seriously just looks like election season remarks against the Establishment. My guess is it's political.
I'll post something actually worth reading later today. Hopefully it doesn't amount to wasted bandwidth.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
211- The Weekend
I won't lie. I looked at this weeked thinking it would be really boring. Ya know. Things like snow in town tend to put a "damper" (pun intended) on things for guys like me that like to be outside and goof off.
I was wrong. And I was glad I was.
On Friday night, I was really bored until about 8:00, when I found out that I had places to be. I went and hung out at a friend's dorm, then it worked out that a friend from Vancouver came up for the night, so we went and chilled in town. I also introduced him to some of my homies up here, and we made a trip down to the grocery store at 1:00 AM.
Saturday I feel like I didn't do a whole lot, but I don't particularly remember feeling bored. I went and saw a movie called "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which I shouldn't have gone and seen, which was immediately evident five minutes into the fim. I wouldn't recommend it at all, at least to people that care at all about what goes into their head.
Anyway.
This morning I did some work on a history paper, which I came back to throughout the day in between climbing at the gym with my friend Meagan, meals, and exploring and climbing Larrabee State Park with my friend Juliet. We found a really cool traverse route away from the water a bit so we didn't get the water noise, but it was definitely more relaxing than the rock gym. I love real rocks.
Oh. Here, I must give a shout out to the fine folks at REI. I bought a pair of leather lace-up climbing shoes there about a month and a half ago. I climb just about every day, and the thing with leather shoes is that they tend to stretch. When I bought the things, I kept this in mind, and my feet barely fit in them, and it hurt like crazy to walk. Enter today's experience. I went into REI to see what my options were on getting a pair that fit me, because I had been assured when I bought into REI that they stood behind anything they sold, and that if it wasn't meeting my needs it was a refund or exchange pretty much without question. Come to find out this is lifetime of the object in question. Golden. As a result, without any pestering, I was able exchange my beat up ones to get a pair that fit me and don't stretch as much. So KUDOS for sure. I worked retail for awhile, and that's not something that happens everyday.
Oh. One other thing. Everyone needs to know that Gardettos makes a bag that is entirely rye chips. You have no idea how exciting this is for me. I already had a bag earlier. I seem to recall a conversation where the flavor of the rye chips was thought to be based on the flavor of the items around it. NOPE. They're the same.
Ok. Interesting topic tomorrow. Maybe a bit edgy, and a little controversial, even for me.
Until then. Cheers.
I was wrong. And I was glad I was.
On Friday night, I was really bored until about 8:00, when I found out that I had places to be. I went and hung out at a friend's dorm, then it worked out that a friend from Vancouver came up for the night, so we went and chilled in town. I also introduced him to some of my homies up here, and we made a trip down to the grocery store at 1:00 AM.
Saturday I feel like I didn't do a whole lot, but I don't particularly remember feeling bored. I went and saw a movie called "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which I shouldn't have gone and seen, which was immediately evident five minutes into the fim. I wouldn't recommend it at all, at least to people that care at all about what goes into their head.
Anyway.
This morning I did some work on a history paper, which I came back to throughout the day in between climbing at the gym with my friend Meagan, meals, and exploring and climbing Larrabee State Park with my friend Juliet. We found a really cool traverse route away from the water a bit so we didn't get the water noise, but it was definitely more relaxing than the rock gym. I love real rocks.
Oh. Here, I must give a shout out to the fine folks at REI. I bought a pair of leather lace-up climbing shoes there about a month and a half ago. I climb just about every day, and the thing with leather shoes is that they tend to stretch. When I bought the things, I kept this in mind, and my feet barely fit in them, and it hurt like crazy to walk. Enter today's experience. I went into REI to see what my options were on getting a pair that fit me, because I had been assured when I bought into REI that they stood behind anything they sold, and that if it wasn't meeting my needs it was a refund or exchange pretty much without question. Come to find out this is lifetime of the object in question. Golden. As a result, without any pestering, I was able exchange my beat up ones to get a pair that fit me and don't stretch as much. So KUDOS for sure. I worked retail for awhile, and that's not something that happens everyday.
Oh. One other thing. Everyone needs to know that Gardettos makes a bag that is entirely rye chips. You have no idea how exciting this is for me. I already had a bag earlier. I seem to recall a conversation where the flavor of the rye chips was thought to be based on the flavor of the items around it. NOPE. They're the same.
Ok. Interesting topic tomorrow. Maybe a bit edgy, and a little controversial, even for me.
Until then. Cheers.
Friday, April 18, 2008
209- Hunger
Remember, I'm not a revolutionary. If the revolution happens, it will happen by itself. Lately, though, I've realized that I have an intense fascination with revolutionary action.
My mother and I were talking awhile ago about what kinds of events spark revolutions.
Hunger was one of them.
Mom told me "Especially if there're mothers involved. There are few things that cause you to do more than the thought of your children starving."
This is exactly what happened to cement the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, February of 1917. Women rioting because they couldn't feed their kids.
Let's see where this goes.
My mother and I were talking awhile ago about what kinds of events spark revolutions.
Hunger was one of them.
Mom told me "Especially if there're mothers involved. There are few things that cause you to do more than the thought of your children starving."
This is exactly what happened to cement the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, February of 1917. Women rioting because they couldn't feed their kids.
Let's see where this goes.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
208- Nothing Thoughtful Today
So this is something I thought was a good idea that came from another blog I check often. It's basically just list of songs. I listen to them a lot, and they do various things to me, whether they make me want to jump off stuff (in a good way,) fling my hair around, inspire me to think, or just to relax. So if ya'll don't know these songs, look em' up.
Cheers.
1.) "Don't Stop Believin," Journey
2.) "Lifesong," Casting Crowns
3.) "We Didn't Start the Fire," Billy Joel
4.) "Accidentally in Love," Counting Crows
5.) "Blink," Blue Scholars
6.) "Long Road Out of Eden," The Eagles
7.) "Footloose," Kenny Loggins
8.) "How Can I Keep From Singing," Chris Tomlin
9.) "Awakening," Switchfoot
10.) "Mexico," James Taylor
11.) "Open Your Eyes," Snow Patrol
12.) "Light Up the Sky," Yellowcard
13.) "Leningrad," Billy Joel
14.) "The Saints Are Coming," U2 and Green Day
Cheers.
1.) "Don't Stop Believin," Journey
2.) "Lifesong," Casting Crowns
3.) "We Didn't Start the Fire," Billy Joel
4.) "Accidentally in Love," Counting Crows
5.) "Blink," Blue Scholars
6.) "Long Road Out of Eden," The Eagles
7.) "Footloose," Kenny Loggins
8.) "How Can I Keep From Singing," Chris Tomlin
9.) "Awakening," Switchfoot
10.) "Mexico," James Taylor
11.) "Open Your Eyes," Snow Patrol
12.) "Light Up the Sky," Yellowcard
13.) "Leningrad," Billy Joel
14.) "The Saints Are Coming," U2 and Green Day
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
207
As I await dinner and the climbing adventure scheduled for afterwards, I figured I'd put in a word just for the sake of doing so.
I have realized as of late that I don't particularly like being pressured into things. I'm not talking about assignments given to me by my professors, and if I was employed I would gladly do the work placed in front of me by my employer. No. I'm talking about things of the non-mandatory nature such as, playing Spoons. I had this confront me the other night. There is nothing wrong with playing Spoons. However. I was fine with being an observer. Really, I just didn't want to play. Some around the circle were not ok with me not playing. As they implored me to play, stopping short of grabbing me by the arms and yanking me into the circle, my resolve only strengthened.
I have had this come up with numerous things. Going to the movies. Basketball. Halo matches.
Some nights I am ok with just chillin'. Others I may want to go out someplace and do something. Some nights a movie just doesn't sound like fun.
I seem to recall a similar attitude in my father while on Douglass-Adent-Tai family retreats to the beach. He just wanted to sit and read his book. Not go wander around in the sand. Not throw a football around. Not play a card or board game.
He just wanted to sit and read his book.
He didn't mind people asking him to do things. He did mind when people didn't respect his answer. He didn't like having to respond a certain way, especially under duress, in order to shut up whoever was bugging him.
This was fine. It's simply a character trait of his, and my dad is amazing. In fact, once I was old enough to figure it out, this particular trait worked in my favor much of the time. I am not exactly a fan of the beach, so I didn't mind just because it gave me an excuse to not go to the beach. I didn't realize I was like this as well until I started to get heated when someone wouldn't leave me alone.
"Nope. I'm hiking."
"Why don't you want to go to the movies with us, Brandon?"
"Because I want to hike."
"But I heard this movie is REALLY good and we REALLY want you to come. Give me a reason you won't go."
"OK. FINE. I'll give you three. 1.) I won't know you better at all after I've spent $10 to sit through 2 hours of mind-numbing, brainwashing, typical Hollywood-know-nothing media. 2.) I don't have $10, nor am I willing to waste two hours of my life pretending that I want to be in a movie theater. 3). I'm going hiking."
"Ok, whatever. You're such a party pooper." (They say this thinking they're going to change my mind, when really, I'm just glad they've stopped bugging me.)
Hint. If you've had to pull out the name calling, you've already lost. So don't go there. Someone who knows me can generally tell when my resolve is going to break, so they know when to quit and when to keep going. I generally do this weird wincy-teeth clench thing.
I am not by any means being anti-social in not accepting your offers for activity. By all means, keep asking me to do things. I love being with people, and I would rather be thought of than not. Just know that asking me twelve times isn't going to change my mind if I am not into a particular activity.
I just thought I'd make ya'll aware that I'm aware of this tendency. I don't like how I deal with it all the time, because I could certainly be more tactful and loving at times. I'll work on it. In the mean time, just know that it's nothing against you should I decline an invitation.
There. That was more involved than I thought it would be.
A topic is burning, and I've been formulating for about the last week, and I'm about ready to express it. Look for it within the next few days.
I have realized as of late that I don't particularly like being pressured into things. I'm not talking about assignments given to me by my professors, and if I was employed I would gladly do the work placed in front of me by my employer. No. I'm talking about things of the non-mandatory nature such as, playing Spoons. I had this confront me the other night. There is nothing wrong with playing Spoons. However. I was fine with being an observer. Really, I just didn't want to play. Some around the circle were not ok with me not playing. As they implored me to play, stopping short of grabbing me by the arms and yanking me into the circle, my resolve only strengthened.
I have had this come up with numerous things. Going to the movies. Basketball. Halo matches.
Some nights I am ok with just chillin'. Others I may want to go out someplace and do something. Some nights a movie just doesn't sound like fun.
I seem to recall a similar attitude in my father while on Douglass-Adent-Tai family retreats to the beach. He just wanted to sit and read his book. Not go wander around in the sand. Not throw a football around. Not play a card or board game.
He just wanted to sit and read his book.
He didn't mind people asking him to do things. He did mind when people didn't respect his answer. He didn't like having to respond a certain way, especially under duress, in order to shut up whoever was bugging him.
This was fine. It's simply a character trait of his, and my dad is amazing. In fact, once I was old enough to figure it out, this particular trait worked in my favor much of the time. I am not exactly a fan of the beach, so I didn't mind just because it gave me an excuse to not go to the beach. I didn't realize I was like this as well until I started to get heated when someone wouldn't leave me alone.
"Nope. I'm hiking."
"Why don't you want to go to the movies with us, Brandon?"
"Because I want to hike."
"But I heard this movie is REALLY good and we REALLY want you to come. Give me a reason you won't go."
"OK. FINE. I'll give you three. 1.) I won't know you better at all after I've spent $10 to sit through 2 hours of mind-numbing, brainwashing, typical Hollywood-know-nothing media. 2.) I don't have $10, nor am I willing to waste two hours of my life pretending that I want to be in a movie theater. 3). I'm going hiking."
"Ok, whatever. You're such a party pooper." (They say this thinking they're going to change my mind, when really, I'm just glad they've stopped bugging me.)
Hint. If you've had to pull out the name calling, you've already lost. So don't go there. Someone who knows me can generally tell when my resolve is going to break, so they know when to quit and when to keep going. I generally do this weird wincy-teeth clench thing.
I am not by any means being anti-social in not accepting your offers for activity. By all means, keep asking me to do things. I love being with people, and I would rather be thought of than not. Just know that asking me twelve times isn't going to change my mind if I am not into a particular activity.
I just thought I'd make ya'll aware that I'm aware of this tendency. I don't like how I deal with it all the time, because I could certainly be more tactful and loving at times. I'll work on it. In the mean time, just know that it's nothing against you should I decline an invitation.
There. That was more involved than I thought it would be.
A topic is burning, and I've been formulating for about the last week, and I'm about ready to express it. Look for it within the next few days.
purely experimental extra 206 written on 207
check this out. It's Blanchard Mountain's "don't log me" website. I really just wanted to see if I could create a hyperlink without the full link written out.
I'm wiped out today. I want to thank the new readers who have commented. Keep em' coming. I'm really glad that ya'll think enough of this to spend time reading what a goof-ball 21 year old college kid has to say about the world as he sees it.
Cheers.
Brandon
I'm wiped out today. I want to thank the new readers who have commented. Keep em' coming. I'm really glad that ya'll think enough of this to spend time reading what a goof-ball 21 year old college kid has to say about the world as he sees it.
Cheers.
Brandon
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
206
So I got online this morning to do email and goof off as my roommate sleeps 10 ft away from me. It's 11:25, which means he really should be awake.
Anyway.
I can't remember if I've ever posted anything pertaining to my stance on the environment, so I'll start with that.
I love trees, the forest, and the mountains. I think it's a shame that some people can't grasp the beauty of a sunset, crave the serenity of a forest, the humbling feeling that comes with standing at the top of a craggy 1000 ft cliff. I believe nature was one of God's gifts to his children. Hey, that's us! And I think it's a bummer that we don't put more emphasis on preserving that natural beauty. So, to answer your question, yes, I hug trees. However, I've not about to put a hammock up there with a bullhorn and shout obscenities at anyone that tries to cut me down. I recognize that as a nation, we need lumber. It's a basic material need. Unfortunate, I know, but that's how it is.
So my basic idea is preserve nature as much as you can without hurting anyone. I myself have some work to do to lessen my impact on creation, and I plan for this summer is to drive as LITTLE as possible. This may involve public transportation, riding my bike everywhere, and so on, but it'll make me healthier, and my parents are paying into public transportation anyway, so I may as well use it.
The problem is where to draw the line.
G-Dub (my favorite name for our president,) has put off adopting the Kyoto Protocol because it would effect the United States economy too much (what does that tell you? We've got an economy that depends largely for it's pollution to exist.) This could hurt people's lives a lot. But if this whole global warming thing is legit (I tend to ere on the "we have to be effecting the climate somehow" side, but I'm not at all a climatologist so I won't pretend to know what's going on. Al Gore drives me nuts, too,) it's going to effect their lives a whole lot more long term if the climate change doesn't favor the production of oranges in Florida. Or if the fishing industry tanks (pun intended) because the temperature of the ocean water changes, thus killing more fish, that's going to result in the layoffs of fisherman, the reluctance of big companies to invest in fishing boats, and for the normal family that just likes to eat fish (Mom makes good fish. Fish in the dining hall has to be fake,) it's going to drive prices up, so grocery stores won't sell as much, so they won't stock as much, and SO-ON-AND-SO-FORTH as I fondly remember my Grammie Adent saying.
Or we could just be careful how much gas we use, what we dump into the ocean, how many trees we cut down, and what we release into the air. Make sense?
Ya'll may have heard me say "I'm not a revolutionary. The revolution, if it happens, will happen on it's own." Today, I wanted to make an impact and actually do something for Washington. The mountain containing miles of trails and home to places like the Oyster Dome and the Bat Caves (really COOL rocks!) known as Blanchard Mountain is slated to be logged soon. For some dude in Olympia (or wherever) who has never been up there and seen the San Juans from 2000 ft on a clear sunny day, that may mean nothing but profits, but to me it means the loss and destruction of the natural beauty found there. The plan to to put a network of logging roads throughout the mountain, and it's perfectly legal because it's not a part of nearby Larrabee State Park or a part of the Chuckanut trail system.
However, it's Washington State land, and as a citizen of Washington State I have a right to protest the destruction of these trails. It looks like the logging is gonna happen anyway, but it's worth a shot, right? Someones secretary will read my letter, then toss it into the ol' "circular filing cabinet." Then they'll write some bull-crap letter telling me how much they appreciate my input on this issue, but the logging will continue as planned.
But at least I'll be able to say I did something about it.
Anyway.
I can't remember if I've ever posted anything pertaining to my stance on the environment, so I'll start with that.
I love trees, the forest, and the mountains. I think it's a shame that some people can't grasp the beauty of a sunset, crave the serenity of a forest, the humbling feeling that comes with standing at the top of a craggy 1000 ft cliff. I believe nature was one of God's gifts to his children. Hey, that's us! And I think it's a bummer that we don't put more emphasis on preserving that natural beauty. So, to answer your question, yes, I hug trees. However, I've not about to put a hammock up there with a bullhorn and shout obscenities at anyone that tries to cut me down. I recognize that as a nation, we need lumber. It's a basic material need. Unfortunate, I know, but that's how it is.
So my basic idea is preserve nature as much as you can without hurting anyone. I myself have some work to do to lessen my impact on creation, and I plan for this summer is to drive as LITTLE as possible. This may involve public transportation, riding my bike everywhere, and so on, but it'll make me healthier, and my parents are paying into public transportation anyway, so I may as well use it.
The problem is where to draw the line.
G-Dub (my favorite name for our president,) has put off adopting the Kyoto Protocol because it would effect the United States economy too much (what does that tell you? We've got an economy that depends largely for it's pollution to exist.) This could hurt people's lives a lot. But if this whole global warming thing is legit (I tend to ere on the "we have to be effecting the climate somehow" side, but I'm not at all a climatologist so I won't pretend to know what's going on. Al Gore drives me nuts, too,) it's going to effect their lives a whole lot more long term if the climate change doesn't favor the production of oranges in Florida. Or if the fishing industry tanks (pun intended) because the temperature of the ocean water changes, thus killing more fish, that's going to result in the layoffs of fisherman, the reluctance of big companies to invest in fishing boats, and for the normal family that just likes to eat fish (Mom makes good fish. Fish in the dining hall has to be fake,) it's going to drive prices up, so grocery stores won't sell as much, so they won't stock as much, and SO-ON-AND-SO-FORTH as I fondly remember my Grammie Adent saying.
Or we could just be careful how much gas we use, what we dump into the ocean, how many trees we cut down, and what we release into the air. Make sense?
Ya'll may have heard me say "I'm not a revolutionary. The revolution, if it happens, will happen on it's own." Today, I wanted to make an impact and actually do something for Washington. The mountain containing miles of trails and home to places like the Oyster Dome and the Bat Caves (really COOL rocks!) known as Blanchard Mountain is slated to be logged soon. For some dude in Olympia (or wherever) who has never been up there and seen the San Juans from 2000 ft on a clear sunny day, that may mean nothing but profits, but to me it means the loss and destruction of the natural beauty found there. The plan to to put a network of logging roads throughout the mountain, and it's perfectly legal because it's not a part of nearby Larrabee State Park or a part of the Chuckanut trail system.
However, it's Washington State land, and as a citizen of Washington State I have a right to protest the destruction of these trails. It looks like the logging is gonna happen anyway, but it's worth a shot, right? Someones secretary will read my letter, then toss it into the ol' "circular filing cabinet." Then they'll write some bull-crap letter telling me how much they appreciate my input on this issue, but the logging will continue as planned.
But at least I'll be able to say I did something about it.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Day 204, written on 205
The weekend is drawing to a close.
I spent Saturday, which was gorgeous, by the way, hiking with a friend in the Chuckanuts up to Raptor Ridge, to which I have been probably four times, but I love it each time I'm there. It's different hiking with someone. It doesn't seem to take as long to get anywhere, and it was way easier to make it up the massive mile-long hill coming up from the trailhead than just by myself. I actually sort of felt like a wimp, because I was hiking with a girl who had been backpacking with her family since forever.
Saturday night I skateboarded a while, but then came back to the room, played guitar, hung out with friends and watched Platoon, a movie about the Vietnam War. It's great if you like war movies and know that they don't accurately show what happened, but not great if you don't particularly like violence or human rights violations and tend to take people's word for things. The film really showed how much the media can influence someone's feeling on a war about which they previously knew nothing. It seemed like we only made it about half hour into the movie before people were asking "Wow, this is terrible, what were we even there for?!" Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings provided a nice backdrop to Willem Dafoe (who was seemingly the only soldier with a conscience) being shot up by the North Vietnamese Army.
Anyway. Bedtime around 2 AM.
Woke up this morning to a moist ground. Lame. "Wet rocks. Rock climbing is out" I told myself as I drove to church. "Good. Maybe I'll actually get something done."
Driving back from church, I noticed that everything was dry. I called Meagan, and rock climbing was back in. We went down to Larrabee and explored a bit, then settled on a nice big boulder with a traverse route (moving sideways across the rock instead of upwards) that was about ten feet away from the water. After attempting the same route for about an hour (real rock doesn't get boring the way plastic rocks do) we finally called it quits, bone tired and holding each other accountable to resting tomorrow no matter the weather. I'm gonna have to get a few more bandanas though, my red one is feeling iffy to wear every day.
Dinner, Batman Begins, guitar, bass, and journaling. I am currently sitting in front of my computer at 12:30 AM eating cookie dough with a spoon and thinking about sleeping while laughing hysterically at a picture into which Peter photoshopped Robbie's face.
Oh My.
Good night.
I spent Saturday, which was gorgeous, by the way, hiking with a friend in the Chuckanuts up to Raptor Ridge, to which I have been probably four times, but I love it each time I'm there. It's different hiking with someone. It doesn't seem to take as long to get anywhere, and it was way easier to make it up the massive mile-long hill coming up from the trailhead than just by myself. I actually sort of felt like a wimp, because I was hiking with a girl who had been backpacking with her family since forever.
Saturday night I skateboarded a while, but then came back to the room, played guitar, hung out with friends and watched Platoon, a movie about the Vietnam War. It's great if you like war movies and know that they don't accurately show what happened, but not great if you don't particularly like violence or human rights violations and tend to take people's word for things. The film really showed how much the media can influence someone's feeling on a war about which they previously knew nothing. It seemed like we only made it about half hour into the movie before people were asking "Wow, this is terrible, what were we even there for?!" Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings provided a nice backdrop to Willem Dafoe (who was seemingly the only soldier with a conscience) being shot up by the North Vietnamese Army.
Anyway. Bedtime around 2 AM.
Woke up this morning to a moist ground. Lame. "Wet rocks. Rock climbing is out" I told myself as I drove to church. "Good. Maybe I'll actually get something done."
Driving back from church, I noticed that everything was dry. I called Meagan, and rock climbing was back in. We went down to Larrabee and explored a bit, then settled on a nice big boulder with a traverse route (moving sideways across the rock instead of upwards) that was about ten feet away from the water. After attempting the same route for about an hour (real rock doesn't get boring the way plastic rocks do) we finally called it quits, bone tired and holding each other accountable to resting tomorrow no matter the weather. I'm gonna have to get a few more bandanas though, my red one is feeling iffy to wear every day.
Dinner, Batman Begins, guitar, bass, and journaling. I am currently sitting in front of my computer at 12:30 AM eating cookie dough with a spoon and thinking about sleeping while laughing hysterically at a picture into which Peter photoshopped Robbie's face.
Oh My.
Good night.
Friday, April 11, 2008
202
I climbed my first real rocks today. I didn't really have that much happen besides that. I was up at about 7 to take my friend Megan to the train station.
Went to Starbucks to study, read the paper and have coffee. It was a good way to start the morning.
Class. Went to the rock wall, then spontaneously decided with my friend Meagan (different friend) to go climb real rocks up on Sehome hill. I liked it so much that after slackline (on which I destroyed myself by taking a six foot shot to the hip and catching the line with my calf on the way down on another occasion.) We went to Larrabee State Park in search of rocks to climb. It was a blast! found some really cool formations and discovered another way to meet with God in nature.
SICK. I posted a few pictures.
That's basically it.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
200! Part II
I was in my small group today for Core. We were discussing Acts, which, for those of you who don't know, I point to for validation of some of my Marxist beliefs. I, being the person that I am, pointed out somesuch thing in a verse that said something about members of the early church sharing everything and doing so willingly, with one heart and mind.
Everyone kind of chuckled and said "I knew you were gonna say something like that."
Someone contested me, someone who had obviously never read Marx and didn't know that Marx envisioned a society in which this willful sharing of property occured.
Thanks, Lenin and Stalin, for wrecking utopia. You've given the world a distorted view of communism that no one in their right mind can support.
:-D
Cheers
Everyone kind of chuckled and said "I knew you were gonna say something like that."
Someone contested me, someone who had obviously never read Marx and didn't know that Marx envisioned a society in which this willful sharing of property occured.
Thanks, Lenin and Stalin, for wrecking utopia. You've given the world a distorted view of communism that no one in their right mind can support.
:-D
Cheers
200!
For the two-hundredth post, I've decided to talk about some political stuff. So if you don't care, you can deal with it, or you can not read. Your choice.
There are some things that can't go on being ignored. And there certainly are some attrocities for which people, or governments, should NEVER be rewarded.
In western Sudan, in a region known as Darfur, centuries-old ethnic and tribal divisions have bubbled to the surface with acts referred to by our own President of the United States as "the g-word": genocide. Do you know how hard-core it is to accuse someone of genocide? Imagine the implications! You don't say "the g-word" unless you've got evidence. Solid evidence. Such things deter most countries in our modern times to do things they ordinarily would not, such as refusing to do business regardless of the resource which it chooses to extract. However, China has chosen to ignore the atrocities of the Sudanese government and instead invested in the African nation, building things like roads and means to extract the oil with which Sudan was blessed in exchange for the oil China needs to fuel it's economy (it is shifting to oil from coal. Gas prices aren't goin' down, folks.) Action has been attempted at the international level in the United Nations Security Council. However, China holds veto power as a P5 member (I'll explain this to anyone who cares) and refuses to sanction Sudan or allow the UN peace keepers into the country without Sudanese consent.
The Three Gorges Dam is to be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world when it becomes fully operational in 2011. However, 1.5 million Chinese landowners and citizens have had to be relocated due to the subsequent flooding in the region. Oh. And arable land is PRIME real estate in China. It comprises 10-ish% of Chinas land, and the food produced is somehow enough to feed over 1 billion people. The land that has been flooded is a part of that arable land
An economy run largely run on coal has polluted the air.
Then there's the whole Tibet thing, which I don't fully understand, so I won't pretend to. WHat I do know is that Tibetans are a people who have been long oppressed by the Chinese government, who still refuse to grant the Tibetans autonomy.
Not to mention the persecuted church (on which I also have no statistics and don't really want to take the time to dig them up.)
So what does the U.S. as one of the most powerful countries in the world do? We'll be at the Olympics. No sweat. As long as China and the U.S. continue to do business, there's no debate.
I'm over-simplifying this, but there really does come a point when we have to do something. I don't have all the answers. But when the whole WORLD recognizes something is wrong, why are we legitimizing China's actions? Economic gain. What else is new.
People have always been trying to douse the Olympic torch, but it's never been publicized like this before. I won't watch the Olympics anyway. But for once, I hope they succeed in putting out the Olympic flame. I just wish G.W. had the guts to make some sort of stand against China in this situation. I think it would hurt economically, but it won't happen, right?
So I can ignore the reprocussions of that which won't take place.
There are some things that can't go on being ignored. And there certainly are some attrocities for which people, or governments, should NEVER be rewarded.
In western Sudan, in a region known as Darfur, centuries-old ethnic and tribal divisions have bubbled to the surface with acts referred to by our own President of the United States as "the g-word": genocide. Do you know how hard-core it is to accuse someone of genocide? Imagine the implications! You don't say "the g-word" unless you've got evidence. Solid evidence. Such things deter most countries in our modern times to do things they ordinarily would not, such as refusing to do business regardless of the resource which it chooses to extract. However, China has chosen to ignore the atrocities of the Sudanese government and instead invested in the African nation, building things like roads and means to extract the oil with which Sudan was blessed in exchange for the oil China needs to fuel it's economy (it is shifting to oil from coal. Gas prices aren't goin' down, folks.) Action has been attempted at the international level in the United Nations Security Council. However, China holds veto power as a P5 member (I'll explain this to anyone who cares) and refuses to sanction Sudan or allow the UN peace keepers into the country without Sudanese consent.
The Three Gorges Dam is to be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world when it becomes fully operational in 2011. However, 1.5 million Chinese landowners and citizens have had to be relocated due to the subsequent flooding in the region. Oh. And arable land is PRIME real estate in China. It comprises 10-ish% of Chinas land, and the food produced is somehow enough to feed over 1 billion people. The land that has been flooded is a part of that arable land
An economy run largely run on coal has polluted the air.
Then there's the whole Tibet thing, which I don't fully understand, so I won't pretend to. WHat I do know is that Tibetans are a people who have been long oppressed by the Chinese government, who still refuse to grant the Tibetans autonomy.
Not to mention the persecuted church (on which I also have no statistics and don't really want to take the time to dig them up.)
So what does the U.S. as one of the most powerful countries in the world do? We'll be at the Olympics. No sweat. As long as China and the U.S. continue to do business, there's no debate.
I'm over-simplifying this, but there really does come a point when we have to do something. I don't have all the answers. But when the whole WORLD recognizes something is wrong, why are we legitimizing China's actions? Economic gain. What else is new.
People have always been trying to douse the Olympic torch, but it's never been publicized like this before. I won't watch the Olympics anyway. But for once, I hope they succeed in putting out the Olympic flame. I just wish G.W. had the guts to make some sort of stand against China in this situation. I think it would hurt economically, but it won't happen, right?
So I can ignore the reprocussions of that which won't take place.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
199
Climbing. I know that this must being getting old by now, but it's become one of my passions within the last few weeks, so I like talking about it.
It is nice to say that I can finally climb worth anything now. I'm still not good, but I've been able to get several routes that have taunted me for the last week.
However.
I notice that while my body is under the strain of clinging on to a hold barely large enough to fit my fingertips while trying to yank myself from under an overhang to another hold of a similar size, I tend to swear. Usually the "d-word" or the "s-word." "Junk" is another one, but that's not necessarily a curse word. This bugs me for a few reasons.
1.) I can't stop doing it, and I think that the things which we do under stress reflect our hearts more than when we have everything under control.
2.) It makes pulling myself up to the next hold easier, thus reducing my incentive to quit saying these things.
All the while, I can't help but think: who decided which words were bad and why? How is mumbling "s--t" under my breath when my arms are screaming at me to let up worse than calling someone an idiot and genuinely meaning what I say? It's not hurting anyone, and it makes me feel better.
Theoretically, it may help to call on God in that moment, but at that point, my arms REALLY hurt, and my focus is on the next hold, rather than on genuinely asking for God's help. I suppose I'm not sure I can sincerely say a prayer in 1.6 seconds. Or whether God would actually strengthen my body just so I could have the satisfaction of finishing a route I've been trying for a week.
I feel myself trying to rationalize it, but that just isn't going to cut it. Because what happens if Brandon is guiding a raft down the Snake River this summer with ten (or however many) middle schoolers on his raft, things get tight negotiating a path down the river, and I let fly with one of my words? Not exactly the best spot to be in, especially because as a Christian I am called to be different than the world.
Still.
Who decided which words were bad? I was raised that way. I don't think most people question things like that. It's what, however many generations of not saying this word. That's how we're socialized.
I'm not trying to justify it (yes I am, I think to myself,) but it's a good question. Many words today, one of which is CRAP, used to be considered one of these words. It's not anymore. Unless you talk to older people who still think it is. But as a result, we just don;t say it when we're around them. I can;t remember if I've ever said "crap" around my Grammie Adent.
I say it around my Grandpa Douglass.
Because he says it himself.
It is nice to say that I can finally climb worth anything now. I'm still not good, but I've been able to get several routes that have taunted me for the last week.
However.
I notice that while my body is under the strain of clinging on to a hold barely large enough to fit my fingertips while trying to yank myself from under an overhang to another hold of a similar size, I tend to swear. Usually the "d-word" or the "s-word." "Junk" is another one, but that's not necessarily a curse word. This bugs me for a few reasons.
1.) I can't stop doing it, and I think that the things which we do under stress reflect our hearts more than when we have everything under control.
2.) It makes pulling myself up to the next hold easier, thus reducing my incentive to quit saying these things.
All the while, I can't help but think: who decided which words were bad and why? How is mumbling "s--t" under my breath when my arms are screaming at me to let up worse than calling someone an idiot and genuinely meaning what I say? It's not hurting anyone, and it makes me feel better.
Theoretically, it may help to call on God in that moment, but at that point, my arms REALLY hurt, and my focus is on the next hold, rather than on genuinely asking for God's help. I suppose I'm not sure I can sincerely say a prayer in 1.6 seconds. Or whether God would actually strengthen my body just so I could have the satisfaction of finishing a route I've been trying for a week.
I feel myself trying to rationalize it, but that just isn't going to cut it. Because what happens if Brandon is guiding a raft down the Snake River this summer with ten (or however many) middle schoolers on his raft, things get tight negotiating a path down the river, and I let fly with one of my words? Not exactly the best spot to be in, especially because as a Christian I am called to be different than the world.
Still.
Who decided which words were bad? I was raised that way. I don't think most people question things like that. It's what, however many generations of not saying this word. That's how we're socialized.
I'm not trying to justify it (yes I am, I think to myself,) but it's a good question. Many words today, one of which is CRAP, used to be considered one of these words. It's not anymore. Unless you talk to older people who still think it is. But as a result, we just don;t say it when we're around them. I can;t remember if I've ever said "crap" around my Grammie Adent.
I say it around my Grandpa Douglass.
Because he says it himself.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
197
This morning was really hard.
I rose from my blankets out of obligation rather than joy and anticipation of the day to come. Not exactly the way to start the day. Church was a bit of a chore, which blows, because it shouldn't be. The pastor said some things that made me think, but mostly in the way that I didn't want to. Ways like "When's this guy gonna be done talking?" and "I'm not sure I agree with what you just said. Especially because you didn't show me any scripture to assure me that you didn't talk off the top of your head." I remember statistics, but not the points they were intended to prove. He spoke with a passion that scared me more than excited me. I was glad to not have to listen to him talk anymore.
So that would be my morning.
Got back and embarked on a two hour journey to the College Store, Rite Aid, REI, and Haggen, albeit mostly out of boredom. I walked around looking at backpacks, waterbottles, bikes, socks, webbing, rope, and the vast assortment of climbing gear. I've definitely got to pick cheaper hobbies. Getting into rock climbing is rough on the budget. Harness: at least $50. 60 m of climbing rope: $207. Carabiners: at least $6 a piece. Even if I want to avoid all that and just boulder (climbing generally below 15 ft without a harness or gear) all the time, I could just buy a crash pad, which is still right around $150-200. *sigh* If only our bodies could take 1500 foot falls and walk away every time. I did walk out of the store with a bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes while hiking and climbings so I could not cover my whole head with a hat. No. I know what you're thinking. I will not get a haircut. It will take more than hair in my eyes to make me do that.
Otherwise, I bought my other textbook *eek* and wandered around Haggen killing time with Peter. I'm doing pretty well at pinching pennies this quarter. It's all about rationing things. Not eating at will. So on and so forth. I will say though, I am SO SICK of dining hall food. Words cannot express this sentiment to those who have not themselves felt it.
I'm thinking of making coffee, since I have lots of that, but I'm not thinking I want a buzz at 9:30 in the evening. So I'll probably skip that one.
Oh. Found out I got a jury summons. Stupid. Oop. Did I say that? Ok, well it's only because it gives me one more thing to worry about. I also got one a little under a year ago, and it irritates me to think that they've got me on some sort of stupid schedule. They can say it's random. Bull crap. I wasn't born yesterday. My last name starts with AD. I've been first on the list for everything for as long as I can remember. I sat in the left front corner for every elementary school class because the teacher was too lazy to create a seating chart. I went first for every class presentation. My name is the first on the roll-call, which means that if I'm absent, the teacher immediately knows it was me. It's a conspiracy. Doggone it.
I guess that doesn't explain why my mom hasn't ever gotten called for jury duty.
But it seems like my Grammie Adent always has jury duty.
Yes. My argument does have validity.
I promise.
I rose from my blankets out of obligation rather than joy and anticipation of the day to come. Not exactly the way to start the day. Church was a bit of a chore, which blows, because it shouldn't be. The pastor said some things that made me think, but mostly in the way that I didn't want to. Ways like "When's this guy gonna be done talking?" and "I'm not sure I agree with what you just said. Especially because you didn't show me any scripture to assure me that you didn't talk off the top of your head." I remember statistics, but not the points they were intended to prove. He spoke with a passion that scared me more than excited me. I was glad to not have to listen to him talk anymore.
So that would be my morning.
Got back and embarked on a two hour journey to the College Store, Rite Aid, REI, and Haggen, albeit mostly out of boredom. I walked around looking at backpacks, waterbottles, bikes, socks, webbing, rope, and the vast assortment of climbing gear. I've definitely got to pick cheaper hobbies. Getting into rock climbing is rough on the budget. Harness: at least $50. 60 m of climbing rope: $207. Carabiners: at least $6 a piece. Even if I want to avoid all that and just boulder (climbing generally below 15 ft without a harness or gear) all the time, I could just buy a crash pad, which is still right around $150-200. *sigh* If only our bodies could take 1500 foot falls and walk away every time. I did walk out of the store with a bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes while hiking and climbings so I could not cover my whole head with a hat. No. I know what you're thinking. I will not get a haircut. It will take more than hair in my eyes to make me do that.
Otherwise, I bought my other textbook *eek* and wandered around Haggen killing time with Peter. I'm doing pretty well at pinching pennies this quarter. It's all about rationing things. Not eating at will. So on and so forth. I will say though, I am SO SICK of dining hall food. Words cannot express this sentiment to those who have not themselves felt it.
I'm thinking of making coffee, since I have lots of that, but I'm not thinking I want a buzz at 9:30 in the evening. So I'll probably skip that one.
Oh. Found out I got a jury summons. Stupid. Oop. Did I say that? Ok, well it's only because it gives me one more thing to worry about. I also got one a little under a year ago, and it irritates me to think that they've got me on some sort of stupid schedule. They can say it's random. Bull crap. I wasn't born yesterday. My last name starts with AD. I've been first on the list for everything for as long as I can remember. I sat in the left front corner for every elementary school class because the teacher was too lazy to create a seating chart. I went first for every class presentation. My name is the first on the roll-call, which means that if I'm absent, the teacher immediately knows it was me. It's a conspiracy. Doggone it.
I guess that doesn't explain why my mom hasn't ever gotten called for jury duty.
But it seems like my Grammie Adent always has jury duty.
Yes. My argument does have validity.
I promise.
Friday, April 4, 2008
I Screwed Yesterday Up...Today is 195
Journey of Desire. The time has come for me to tell you what I thought. I literally finished three minutes ago and I have a lot on my mind about it. Keep in mind that I do not review books, so try not to dislike me too much if you have read this and disagree with me. I am also condensing 212 pages of text into four paragraphs, which by no means does the work justice, but I don't want to re-write the book either.
First, a general overview. It was written by John Elderidge, whom I suppose is a well known counselor and author. This book is set up in somewhat philosophical terms. He banks a lot on such writers/ thinkers as Pascal, T.S. Eliot, and C.S. Lewis, but he did a pretty good job of keeping his sources diversified. He also relied a TON on scripture, which was awesome, and it's interesting to read what people get from things that I may not pick up on.
Topic-wise, it's about...well...desire. The longings that each of us have as a result of whatever circumstances. A fair amount of time, about 3/4 of the book, is spent showing that desire is God-given, and shouldn't be fought like most people have learned to do since we often get discouraged by having our hopes thwarted by the world, or even God himself. Many people find "imposters," as Elderidge calls them, to fulfill these desires. For example, if a man wants intimacy, he could obviously turn to something like pornography and other types of sexual sin to feel the void that a lack of intimacy has left in his life. This is made pretty clear throughout the book, so there isn't any sort of confusion following this.
The whole point is that it's OK to have these desires. God gave them to us for a reason, and although we realize that due to the Fall as described in Genesis our attaining perfect life is just not going to happen, it's ok to pursue these desires, as long as the God-given desires do not take precedence over God himself. Elderidge ultimately comes to the conclusion that if we surrender our desires to God, he'll take you places you may not expect that may be ABOVE your desires. There's definitely an element of eternal perspective in this mixed in, knowing that following Christ is eventually going to mean paradise for eternity.
I'm a little shaky on the conclusion to which Elderidge comes, and to be honest I felt a little gyped, considering he told me something that I feel I already knew and have been told many times, though I am not sure I follow all the time. Through the whole thing, I felt like he was saying things I really identified with, and I'm thinking "Yeah! That's ME! Tell me what to do about it." And he did. And I didn't feel like I learned anything through his conclusion.
While I was a little bummed with his conclusion, I was really glad that I read this book. It helped me think. I basically have two HUGE desires for my life.
1.) Adventure. I need to see new things, to travel the world snowboarding, climbing, meeting new and different people. This is rather unrealistic due to monetary circumastances, I realize, but it's what I want. Badly. As much as I love Bellingham and can tolerate Vancouver and the Portland area, I will go crazy if I'm here forever.
2.) A girl with whom I can share my adventure. I just to think a golden retriever named Jasper and a Chevy full of gear would be all I needed to see this country. No. If I have to go through life without a wife, I will go crazy. There's no sense in denying this anymore.
SO. Thanks to some underlining that had been done (thanks, Mom. There were actually some points in the book that I wanted to break out my highlighter, which I decided against because I didn't want to wreck your book...) I was able to derive that a main point Elderidge was trying to make was "surrender." Not not caring. Nor was he trying to suggest giving up hope for something better. It's giving your desires to God, putting them in his hands, and watching him work with them, going where he takes you.
I can do that. I think. It's hard though.
There was one point at which I was slightly confused. Elderidge talked quite a bit about relationships and how many of us have given up hope of ever having one that works out the way it was designed to (I have now taken myself out of this category. I can't remember if I explicitly said that I was ever in it. I think it's day #169 or something that I talk about this in greater detail.) Of course, the author takes this moment to talk about sex and what it means, being a metaphor of eternal union with God (which kind of creeps me out in ways that I'll be happy to indulge within the privacy of an email.) It didn't seem to add to his main point.
Side note: while this didn't necessarily make sense to me, I have to say that I get this image of heaven being sort of an eternal worship service. Which...gonna be honest...sounds REALLY boring. I want to do things like go fast, climb things, jump off stuff, and so on without the side effect of getting hurt and aching all the time. I have visions of snapping my broken bones back into place and laughing hysterically at the fall I just took from 1500 feet climbing some crazy rock face without a harness. Who knows what heaven will be like. Anyway, the author brings this up, but doesn't really say anything to say it's not as boring as it sounds, probably because he's never been there and none of his friends who have have bothered report back (for good reason.) I was glad that he did mention it, but I had hoped he would talk more about it. Anyway.
That's a jumble of conclusions I came to. I don't know that I would recommend it highly as previously mentioned, but I would recommend it. It took the place of Mein Kampf in my reading, so now I should probably read the rest of that as well as my textbooks. Awww man!
Hopefully I can hike tomorrow.
Cheers.
First, a general overview. It was written by John Elderidge, whom I suppose is a well known counselor and author. This book is set up in somewhat philosophical terms. He banks a lot on such writers/ thinkers as Pascal, T.S. Eliot, and C.S. Lewis, but he did a pretty good job of keeping his sources diversified. He also relied a TON on scripture, which was awesome, and it's interesting to read what people get from things that I may not pick up on.
Topic-wise, it's about...well...desire. The longings that each of us have as a result of whatever circumstances. A fair amount of time, about 3/4 of the book, is spent showing that desire is God-given, and shouldn't be fought like most people have learned to do since we often get discouraged by having our hopes thwarted by the world, or even God himself. Many people find "imposters," as Elderidge calls them, to fulfill these desires. For example, if a man wants intimacy, he could obviously turn to something like pornography and other types of sexual sin to feel the void that a lack of intimacy has left in his life. This is made pretty clear throughout the book, so there isn't any sort of confusion following this.
The whole point is that it's OK to have these desires. God gave them to us for a reason, and although we realize that due to the Fall as described in Genesis our attaining perfect life is just not going to happen, it's ok to pursue these desires, as long as the God-given desires do not take precedence over God himself. Elderidge ultimately comes to the conclusion that if we surrender our desires to God, he'll take you places you may not expect that may be ABOVE your desires. There's definitely an element of eternal perspective in this mixed in, knowing that following Christ is eventually going to mean paradise for eternity.
I'm a little shaky on the conclusion to which Elderidge comes, and to be honest I felt a little gyped, considering he told me something that I feel I already knew and have been told many times, though I am not sure I follow all the time. Through the whole thing, I felt like he was saying things I really identified with, and I'm thinking "Yeah! That's ME! Tell me what to do about it." And he did. And I didn't feel like I learned anything through his conclusion.
While I was a little bummed with his conclusion, I was really glad that I read this book. It helped me think. I basically have two HUGE desires for my life.
1.) Adventure. I need to see new things, to travel the world snowboarding, climbing, meeting new and different people. This is rather unrealistic due to monetary circumastances, I realize, but it's what I want. Badly. As much as I love Bellingham and can tolerate Vancouver and the Portland area, I will go crazy if I'm here forever.
2.) A girl with whom I can share my adventure. I just to think a golden retriever named Jasper and a Chevy full of gear would be all I needed to see this country. No. If I have to go through life without a wife, I will go crazy. There's no sense in denying this anymore.
SO. Thanks to some underlining that had been done (thanks, Mom. There were actually some points in the book that I wanted to break out my highlighter, which I decided against because I didn't want to wreck your book...) I was able to derive that a main point Elderidge was trying to make was "surrender." Not not caring. Nor was he trying to suggest giving up hope for something better. It's giving your desires to God, putting them in his hands, and watching him work with them, going where he takes you.
I can do that. I think. It's hard though.
There was one point at which I was slightly confused. Elderidge talked quite a bit about relationships and how many of us have given up hope of ever having one that works out the way it was designed to (I have now taken myself out of this category. I can't remember if I explicitly said that I was ever in it. I think it's day #169 or something that I talk about this in greater detail.) Of course, the author takes this moment to talk about sex and what it means, being a metaphor of eternal union with God (which kind of creeps me out in ways that I'll be happy to indulge within the privacy of an email.) It didn't seem to add to his main point.
Side note: while this didn't necessarily make sense to me, I have to say that I get this image of heaven being sort of an eternal worship service. Which...gonna be honest...sounds REALLY boring. I want to do things like go fast, climb things, jump off stuff, and so on without the side effect of getting hurt and aching all the time. I have visions of snapping my broken bones back into place and laughing hysterically at the fall I just took from 1500 feet climbing some crazy rock face without a harness. Who knows what heaven will be like. Anyway, the author brings this up, but doesn't really say anything to say it's not as boring as it sounds, probably because he's never been there and none of his friends who have have bothered report back (for good reason.) I was glad that he did mention it, but I had hoped he would talk more about it. Anyway.
That's a jumble of conclusions I came to. I don't know that I would recommend it highly as previously mentioned, but I would recommend it. It took the place of Mein Kampf in my reading, so now I should probably read the rest of that as well as my textbooks. Awww man!
Hopefully I can hike tomorrow.
Cheers.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
193 I Think...
This morning I found myself awake a little later than expected: 10:30 AM. This isn't too late I suppose, but I thought I would wake up a bit earlier. Anyway.
Headed straight to the gym to get my rock on. I have come to the realization that I can't climb anything. Like. At all. I've lost all the endurance I had and can't climb anything above a V0 (basically the lowest climbing level) and I was able to get V1s and V2s in Portland over break. My friend tells me I'm about to break a V1 and to just be patient. Yeah, well, tomorrow I have to rest, because my body hurts.
I went from the rock wall to lunch, then down to slackline for about an hour and half. I made a few new friends and had a lot of fun doing that.
Class time: which consists of two different class settings. One is the large group meeting and lecture, the other is a small group discussion time. I met the small group today, which was super fun. It's going to be a really cool group, and I laughed a lot.
This was pretty much my day. Now is the point where I sit in my room and think about all the people I could have said hi to and didn't, or all the conversations I could have started.
I thought a lot about the book I mentioned in an earlier post, The Journey of Desire. I read a segment last night that made me think like crazy. Well. A few segments. I'll outline them later. I'm about halfway done. Lemme tell ya, I'm going to have some thoughts. I am going to go out on a limb and tentatively recommend this book highly. It's got a lot of things I see myself in.
Headed straight to the gym to get my rock on. I have come to the realization that I can't climb anything. Like. At all. I've lost all the endurance I had and can't climb anything above a V0 (basically the lowest climbing level) and I was able to get V1s and V2s in Portland over break. My friend tells me I'm about to break a V1 and to just be patient. Yeah, well, tomorrow I have to rest, because my body hurts.
I went from the rock wall to lunch, then down to slackline for about an hour and half. I made a few new friends and had a lot of fun doing that.
Class time: which consists of two different class settings. One is the large group meeting and lecture, the other is a small group discussion time. I met the small group today, which was super fun. It's going to be a really cool group, and I laughed a lot.
This was pretty much my day. Now is the point where I sit in my room and think about all the people I could have said hi to and didn't, or all the conversations I could have started.
I thought a lot about the book I mentioned in an earlier post, The Journey of Desire. I read a segment last night that made me think like crazy. Well. A few segments. I'll outline them later. I'm about halfway done. Lemme tell ya, I'm going to have some thoughts. I am going to go out on a limb and tentatively recommend this book highly. It's got a lot of things I see myself in.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
193- Sunshine Brings Out My Outgoing
All I need to do to be reminded that I'm an extravert is watch my attitude towards other change when the sun comes out. I have been making extra efforts to meet people in the last few days, and I'm convinced it's the sun. When it's t-shirt weather, I am just a happier person and care more about meeting people.
Something else. There is a terrible element to awesome weather: the football team practices at about 6 AM. This means I hear team cheers, grunting, screaming, clapping, whistles blowing, and so on and so forth. I should gripe, but I don't know who to gripe to, because it won't change anything.
I have been to all of my classes at this point. I have decided that I've got it good this quarter. My Soviet history course is going to be AMAZING. The prof knows her stuff, has a great way of interacting with students, and a very dry sense of humor which I find highly entertaining in a professor. She reminds me of my first history professor, Dr. Katherine Sadler at Clark College in Vancouver, WA.
Class #2, Intro to International Relations, will be interesting. It's definitely something I identify with. I was a little irked when the professor said that we'd be reading the New York Times for all of our news. While I agree with the publication choice, I would rather read something else in ADDITION TO the New York Times. Everything has a bias, and NY Times is no less biased than anything else. Christian Science Moniter is actually pretty good too, though I am not as experienced in their ways and refuse to believe the words of their founder, Mary Baker Eddy. In addition to this irksome attribute of the class, there was also this simple realization that PoliSci 271 is DEFINITELY a GUR class, as well as a pre-req for anything political science, which I need to minor in the subject. Such. Freshmen. I know this shouldn't irritate me as much as it did, but when you're used to following the syllabus with the assumption that the professor knew what they were mandating with regard to the course assignments, you generally don't question their words or challenge their course requirements. When told to read the "A" Section of the newspaper everyday, a good question would NOT be "The 'A' Section is kind of lengthy, what specifically do you want us to read?" I got the feeling most people thought it would just be an easy GUR, and were bummed out when they found out they actually had to work for it.
The RA class. Yeah. Um. I don't know how good the class itself will be. But the people in it are AWESOME. As mentioned, and to anyone who doubted it, the person who's words you are now reading (whether you're reading is a good or a bad thing has yet to be determined) is an extravert. To the max. So. Throw him in a room with a bunch of extraverts and see what happens. HE DOESN'T SHUT UP. I tried really hard to meet as many people as I could and talked to as many people who would talk to me. Yeah. It was fun.
My back itches.
So, today was an interesting day. It was a lot of fun for the most part. However, there was one particular segment of which was mildly awkward. A middle aged man was holding up a giant sign in Red Square (brick courtyard in the middle of campus) that read "God is Angry at Sinners" and shouting various other things. Oh boy. Surrounding him was a crowd of students asking him questions and basically mocking him.
Dilemma for Brandon. As a Christian, how do I deal with this? I am a firm believer that while it may work sometimes, there are better ways to talk to people about God than to carry a confrontational sign like that. I would rather draw people to Christ by talking about things like love, forgiveness, and living these things out to the best of my ability, knowing the whole time that I'm still a sinner and don't deserve the grace that only God can give. I do my best to answer the hard questions that people have about my beliefs, and if I don't know, I'll tell my friend I don't know the answer to their question with the belief that it's better to be honest than make up some kind of bullcrap to avoid being vulnerable. My suitemate said that he asked one of the sign carriers questions at one point, and the guy was just blowing off questions he couldn't answer, telling his inquirers "Nope, you're wrong. Penalty box."
On the other hand, it should generally be assumed that this guy was my brother in Christ. That's serious business. Option #1: I could distance myself from the situation and play it safe (this is the one I chose when I heard the verbal abuse this guy was taking.) Option #2: Jump in and help. "Help what?" I asked myself. I can talk to people one-on-one and be relational, because that's my strong side (I was reminded of Moses and him saying he wasn't qualified to talk to Pharoah as I wrote this.) But these students were riled-up-mad at this guy, and I could see why. He was yelling at them. He was coming into people's lives, of which he knew nothing, and telling them the were going to hell if they kept up what they were doing.
I am not sure if I'm satisfied with the decision I made. Maybe next time I'll play it off differently.
I had a revalation. I really wish there was a footnote option for these things. It would be so much more helpful to the reader than parentheses. So if anyone actually reads this and knows if you can add footnotes let me know. I would like the information.
Cheers.
Something else. There is a terrible element to awesome weather: the football team practices at about 6 AM. This means I hear team cheers, grunting, screaming, clapping, whistles blowing, and so on and so forth. I should gripe, but I don't know who to gripe to, because it won't change anything.
I have been to all of my classes at this point. I have decided that I've got it good this quarter. My Soviet history course is going to be AMAZING. The prof knows her stuff, has a great way of interacting with students, and a very dry sense of humor which I find highly entertaining in a professor. She reminds me of my first history professor, Dr. Katherine Sadler at Clark College in Vancouver, WA.
Class #2, Intro to International Relations, will be interesting. It's definitely something I identify with. I was a little irked when the professor said that we'd be reading the New York Times for all of our news. While I agree with the publication choice, I would rather read something else in ADDITION TO the New York Times. Everything has a bias, and NY Times is no less biased than anything else. Christian Science Moniter is actually pretty good too, though I am not as experienced in their ways and refuse to believe the words of their founder, Mary Baker Eddy. In addition to this irksome attribute of the class, there was also this simple realization that PoliSci 271 is DEFINITELY a GUR class, as well as a pre-req for anything political science, which I need to minor in the subject. Such. Freshmen. I know this shouldn't irritate me as much as it did, but when you're used to following the syllabus with the assumption that the professor knew what they were mandating with regard to the course assignments, you generally don't question their words or challenge their course requirements. When told to read the "A" Section of the newspaper everyday, a good question would NOT be "The 'A' Section is kind of lengthy, what specifically do you want us to read?" I got the feeling most people thought it would just be an easy GUR, and were bummed out when they found out they actually had to work for it.
The RA class. Yeah. Um. I don't know how good the class itself will be. But the people in it are AWESOME. As mentioned, and to anyone who doubted it, the person who's words you are now reading (whether you're reading is a good or a bad thing has yet to be determined) is an extravert. To the max. So. Throw him in a room with a bunch of extraverts and see what happens. HE DOESN'T SHUT UP. I tried really hard to meet as many people as I could and talked to as many people who would talk to me. Yeah. It was fun.
My back itches.
So, today was an interesting day. It was a lot of fun for the most part. However, there was one particular segment of which was mildly awkward. A middle aged man was holding up a giant sign in Red Square (brick courtyard in the middle of campus) that read "God is Angry at Sinners" and shouting various other things. Oh boy. Surrounding him was a crowd of students asking him questions and basically mocking him.
Dilemma for Brandon. As a Christian, how do I deal with this? I am a firm believer that while it may work sometimes, there are better ways to talk to people about God than to carry a confrontational sign like that. I would rather draw people to Christ by talking about things like love, forgiveness, and living these things out to the best of my ability, knowing the whole time that I'm still a sinner and don't deserve the grace that only God can give. I do my best to answer the hard questions that people have about my beliefs, and if I don't know, I'll tell my friend I don't know the answer to their question with the belief that it's better to be honest than make up some kind of bullcrap to avoid being vulnerable. My suitemate said that he asked one of the sign carriers questions at one point, and the guy was just blowing off questions he couldn't answer, telling his inquirers "Nope, you're wrong. Penalty box."
On the other hand, it should generally be assumed that this guy was my brother in Christ. That's serious business. Option #1: I could distance myself from the situation and play it safe (this is the one I chose when I heard the verbal abuse this guy was taking.) Option #2: Jump in and help. "Help what?" I asked myself. I can talk to people one-on-one and be relational, because that's my strong side (I was reminded of Moses and him saying he wasn't qualified to talk to Pharoah as I wrote this.) But these students were riled-up-mad at this guy, and I could see why. He was yelling at them. He was coming into people's lives, of which he knew nothing, and telling them the were going to hell if they kept up what they were doing.
I am not sure if I'm satisfied with the decision I made. Maybe next time I'll play it off differently.
I had a revalation. I really wish there was a footnote option for these things. It would be so much more helpful to the reader than parentheses. So if anyone actually reads this and knows if you can add footnotes let me know. I would like the information.
Cheers.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
192
I love Bellingham in spring. The sun shining this morning was a an absolute delight. So this is the Bellingham I've heard about.
Strangely, I find myself being bored a fair amount. My afternoon classes are going to keep me from hiking as much as I'd like to this quarter, which is going to be a bummer. I've been to the rock wall twice, and had a terrible time both times. I can't climb anything anymore.
I haven't had any classes yet, so we'll have to see what that does to the boredom level around here. There's a book that I have been reading called The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge, and it was recommended to be by my mother after a conversation following the same lines. Despite a poorly chosen title if you ask me, since it seems to allude to some white-trash romance novel, it's really an interesting book. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll probably wind up recommending it, but it's too early in the book to tell.
I should find something productive to do. Because there's no way that this is.
Strangely, I find myself being bored a fair amount. My afternoon classes are going to keep me from hiking as much as I'd like to this quarter, which is going to be a bummer. I've been to the rock wall twice, and had a terrible time both times. I can't climb anything anymore.
I haven't had any classes yet, so we'll have to see what that does to the boredom level around here. There's a book that I have been reading called The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge, and it was recommended to be by my mother after a conversation following the same lines. Despite a poorly chosen title if you ask me, since it seems to allude to some white-trash romance novel, it's really an interesting book. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll probably wind up recommending it, but it's too early in the book to tell.
I should find something productive to do. Because there's no way that this is.
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