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fifty years have ridden off into the sunset
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I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of
the right words to say
I know they don't sound the way
I planned them to be
But if you wait around a while
I'll make you fall for me
I promise, I promise you I will
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| On Fire |
| 12:23 AM, Sunday, November 30, 2003 |
Unimportant side note: yesterday I was passing a gas station and saw a guy pumping gas ... seated in a folding chair. Odd people.
So today has not been a good day for my family and fires. First, around 3am my second cousin once removed's mother-in-law (side note: no, I don't know the relationship off-hand; we spent about ten minutes debating it at the family Thanksgiving party today) had a fire in her house that ended up destroying most of the stuff accumulated in her 84-year life. As well, her daughter was living there, and was going to move out today. All her stuff was in boxes, and it was all lost in the fire -- and she nearly died when she searched for her pocketbook and car keys rather than getting out of the bloody house. Worse still, a firefighter was killed when the firefighters blew the basement windows and he was trapped inside.
Then, at the Thanksgiving party the howling wind blew down the attempts to build a fire in the fireplace, nearly spreading it to the living room. So as two people were walking up the stairs and waving hello, others are throwing burning logs out at them and screaming wildly. Nice way to say hello, I think. The smoke detectors had to be covered with plastic to prevent them from continuing to go off.
Not just that, but mom ended up starting two fires while cooking dinner in the oven ... nearly pulled the fire out of the oven as well, then realized that was a bad idea.
So it's been a bit of a bad day for pyrotechnics over here.
-David
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On Monday I find out I'm to do word studies on the eight virtues from Colossians 3:12-14 and present them in the form of a lesson to BJ, one each week for the next two months.
This should be ... er ... interesting.
In other news, I've been insanely busy the past few nights to the point of staying Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights over at BJ's apartment rather than going back to my place. Tuesday Hector joined us, which was cool especially as it'd been a few days since we'd really gotten to talk. I started work on the first of the eight studies, while BJ (sort of) worked on the paper he had to do and Hector read through James.
Well, sort of. We didn't plan on staying there last night but we ended up crashing about 2, though I remember pulling BJ out of bed to go work on his paper. Around 9:30 I did the same thing so he'd actually wake up on time to turn it in.
It was ... uh ... a unique experience. At any rate, had a good talk with Hector most of the morning about some various stuff, then with G in the SAC and on the way to the ferry. Made it across LI Sound in record time and caught the train back to Boston, getting in around 7:50. Got home, ate, slept for a bit, got up, read, and am now probably going to go back to sleep.
It's nice having my own room and own bed again ...
-David
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As we know, President Bush is in England right now, trying to win the hearts of the British population.
So he had to learn some English ...
-David
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Schedule for Tuesday, 11/18/03
01:00am: Finish after-hours basketball in the sports complex.
01:30am: Back to room to start studying for Systems and Signals test.
07:00am: After much procrastinating and not-studying and some studying thrown in, take a nap.
08:20am: Skip American Government to study for Systems and Signals test.
09:50am: Take Systems and Signals test.
11:05am: Complain to TA about how horrible test was. Go back to room.
11:15am: Find room. Randomly position self on bed.
11:45am: Fall asleep to make up for lack of sleep at night ... morning ... whatever.
04:45pm: Wake up. Realize haven't eaten anything all day. Continue trend.
06:20pm: Write boring blog entry. Read Matthew 4:1-11 again to make sure haven't missed anything.
06:21pm: Realize have once again turned blog into journal/diary thing or more accurately "Day Summarizer". Bang head against wall several times.
06:22pm: Realize have managed to give self massive headache. Pass out against roommate's stereo.
-David
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And uh, so, I'm running for a reason. I'm answering this question here and the answer is, you cannot lead America to a positive tomorrow with revenge on one's mind. Revenge is so incredibly negative.
Guess who.
Dubya.
Yeah, I laughed hard too.
-David
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A story is told of a man who took his little girl to an art gallery. She showed no interest at all until they came to a picture of a tired looking man, knocking and knocking on a door. The picture showed people on the other side of the door -- it looked as if they had no plans to open it. She was hooked.
"Who is that?" she asked her dad. How could she know the question would trouble his heart -- a heart that was wrestling with deep questions.
"It's Jesus," he heard himself say with a slight edge to his voice.
A pause, and then: "Won't they let him in?"
Unease began to grow in the man, but he could hardly brush her off, so he quietly said: "No they won't let him in."
Quick as light, she asked: "Is he bad?"
And he shot back just as fast: "No! He isn't bad."
Faster still, she demanded: "Well, then, why won't they let him in?"
Now he was really uneasy. He'd had enough, and as he gently but firmly walked her away from the picture, he heard himself say in a tone too terse: "How do I know?" She sensed the tension and said no more, but every now and then, big, dark, round eyes glanced at him and then in the direction of the portrait. She knew he knew something he wasn't telling her.
At supper no word was said about it, but the eyes kept talking. After supper she got ready for bed, and with pajamas on and with toothpaste still around her mouth, she climbed up on his lap and hugged his neck longer than usual. Then she kissed him, headed for the bedroom, stopped, turned, and said: "We'd let him in, wouldn't we?"
-David
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"A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own, so she loves everyone else's. Grandmas don't have anything to do except be there. If they take you for a walk, they slow down past leaves and caterpillars. They never say 'hurry up.' Usually they're fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses, and sometimes they can take their teeth out. They can answer questions like why dogs hate cats and why God isn't married. When they read to you, they don't skip words or mind if it's the same story again. Everyone should try to have a grandmother, especially if they don't have television, because grandmothers are the only grownups who always have time for you."
--Excerpted from a quote in Jesus: Hero of Thy Soul, by Jim McGuiggan
-David
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SH is having a concert this Friday in the Bronx. It's $5 ... and closed to the public. It's for students of Fordham University only.
ARGH!
-David
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| Hmm |
| 8:19 PM, Sunday, November 16, 2003 |
My mom just got IM. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Insofar as I was laughing about other peoples' mothers having IM, I think I'm rather perturbed.
Although it was pretty funny, since for two days she couldn't send me an IM, then I call her and ask what IM service she's using. "Yahoo." "I'm not on Yahoo." "Can't I send you a message anyway?" "Uh, no."
So maybe blissful ignorance will work out after all.
In other news, I have nothing pertinent to update with, because then it becomes a diary, and I'm pretty certain nobody wants to read a diary of my life. I mean, I barely want to hear about my own life.
Brilliant and completely random thought: Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. (Is 26:20)
-David
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Last night I finished Finding the Love of Your Life by Neil Clark Warren. It's got some interesting points, certainly more helpful than pithy advice stuff or something. Definitely some good practicals about love and romance and other things involved in marriage. Am now interested in finishing They Smell Like Sheep which I picked up roughly two months ago and have not had time to finish.
Am also interested in writing another article for Four Seven as well as creating a web page for LT and going through the NT systematically and in-depth. Have much to accomplish, even if I have no tests this week.
Bah. I hope I'm not taking five classes next semester.
-David
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No, I'm not quoting Kahlil Gibran. I'm quoting Ambrose Bierce. Which, admittedly, is almost as bad.
marriage (noun)
the state or condition of a community consisting of a master, mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.
-David
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Alarm didn't go off. Found I set it to go off Saturday, not Friday. So instead of getting up at 9, got up at 12. Studied for test at 3:50, which I probably failed.
After that, went back to the room and chilled for a while, then met up with one of the people we've been studying with to head off to devo. His class got out late, so we ended up being like 25 minutes late. Bah.
Well, at least there were two of my favorite songs during the thing, so that was good. Afterwards, went back to Van & Cindy's, got food, and watched some basketball and The Core. Interesting movie if slightly predictable. But all in all, good.
Were driving back and looking at the constellations, then turned attention back to inside the car. Happened to look out just in time to see a shooting star. Beautiful and perfect finish to the day.
-David
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I just finished the final book of the NJO about fifteen minutes ago. To be more specific, 4:21 AM EST, 11/05/03. No, I don't know why I'm telling you this, and I don't know why I'm recording it. I certainly didn't record when I started Vector Prime. On the other hand, I didn't understand what I was starting with that book, other than a brand-new SW novel with new ideas, new enemies, and new frontiers.
Still, I honestly can't believe it's over. It's been a five-year journey, and it's been a part of me for so long that it just seems like it's going to be missing. I've matured so much over the past five years, and the New Jedi Order saga has been there throughout. I don't want to ascribe more to it than it's honestly been, but it has opened new authors, new ideas, and new ways of staying up until 4 in the morning to finish a new book. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, indeed; and a new philosophical idea in the hands and mind of a dreamer and thinker is more dangerous than all the knowledge in the world. In some ways, my thinking has been influenced by this series; no more than anything else I read, to be sure, but likewise no less.
For all that I've been annoyed at the authors and books at times, some more so than others, it's a brilliant philosophical series, with some stunning bits of writing (and some not-so-stunning) and some very interesting parallels to theology and faith.
I'm going to miss it.
-David
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"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
--Hermann Goering
-David
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