Two Things...

So, whew. This has been a really busy last few days, but damn, I have been productive! 2 papers knocked out, 90% of my reading, several errands/non-school tasks accomplished... I've done stuff that I have been meaning to do for months! I'm feeling motivated for some reason, so why shouldn't my blogging life also benefit?

Anyway, within all of this good cheer for motivation and productivity, there are two things that need to be voiced. First of all, on Sunday afternoon, I was having lunch with a good friend of mine after church and we were sitting outside talking about various church things: the sermon, a class he is taking on adaptive church leadership, UCC issues, upcoming worship services, etc. Well as we are having a lovely conversation, the table behind us decided they want to join in. More the merrier is what I say... usually. This young lady decided that as she left, she would share a bit of her wisdom with us. As my friend commented that he would be needing to come up with a sermon for next week, she (rudely) added "So when you preach next week will you be preaching about Jesus or this other church bullshit".... I was stunned. I had no frame of reference as to who this person was, and I found out later that neither did my friend. He responded by continuing on in our conversation, more or less ignoring her comment. But I was certainly confused. Was she frustrated by our talk about church before? Was there some ideological difference she had? Was she concerned my friend was unaware of the general content that goes into a Christian sermon? Anyway, I was left with lots of questions, and not really sure what to say. So, to that young lady, your comment failed to get across your point. I would love to hear your ideas, but you have to ask politely to join in the conversation first and leave time for follow-up questions. That's just common courtesy.

Second, I am offended by people that take more that 45 seconds at the Taco Bell drive-thru. Granted, sometimes it is not under your control. You may be waiting for the staff to serve you. You may have unruly friends that special order and are indecisive. I get that. But seriously. You went to Taco Bell for a reason. They have food you enjoy. You chose the drive-thru because you feel comfortable enough with the menu to continue to use your gas while you are deciding on your food. I would assume this means you are fairly confident that this will not take very long, or you have too much money and love spending it on gas... Either way, the point is is that you should really not be doing too much starry-eyed gazing at the TB menu when you are on drive-thru time. Yes, the menu looks lovely with all the choices illuminated in front of glowing florescent light and bug carcasses sitting in between the menu and the plastic protective shields, I understand, I feel the same way. But have some respect for me as the driver behind you. I'm hungry, and I have limited money/time: I'm ordering exclusively off the dollar menu and I hate wasting gas while idling... So I promise I will never ever take more than 45 seconds to order, if you promise to keep your special-ordering friends out of the drive-thru lane and to never, ever get in line without at least an outline of your potential TB meal.

I know I said two things, but breaking news... I just killed a HUGE cockroach/beetle thing in my bathroom... seriously, it was pushing 3 inches long... GROSS! Ugh. Where do these things come from? All by themselves? I'm... I'm just not sure how well I'm going to sleep... but I must. OK, thanks and goodnight!

Dispatches from GIMS

BLOG! I've returned! Did you miss me? Oh don't say that, of course I missed you. But in honesty, I almost forgot the password to log into you! But regardless, I'm here and we're happy.

I was re-reading my own blog a few days ago as a measure to stave off the boredom that is "complete and total homework overload", and I realized I like looking back on all of my thoughts and events, even if some were quite pedantic.

So, I will do my best to post up blogs that are mundane, but will be awesome in, like, 2 years. I hear what you're saying: yes, this does mean that my blog is not about entertaining others and gratifying me... but, come on, isn't all blogging a little bit self-indulgent? Let's at least name that...

Anyway, I'm stuck here in GIMS, Government Information and Media Services, in the Vandy library. It's not a bad job, in fact, it's a fine job. I get lots of time to do homework and nostalgically review blog posts! But the customers are less than appealing... in fact, sometimes, they are downright rude. I think undergrads have a way of getting under my skin because they carry themselves as if they know a lot of stuff and all of their requests are either vague or giggle-inducing (note to self: when checking out videos, it is not O.K. to carry on inside jokes while attempting to include the waitstaff, nor is it acceptable to ask questions of the waitstaff simply to fulfill your own, dumb punchlines and giggle amongst your friends)

Tonight, I have only had a few mildly unfortunate encounters with such people, but next time the tragedy of interaction occurs, you will be the first to know...

One final point before I leave this return marathon to go back to reading for class, there needs to be some guidelines laid out on sidewalk etiquette. Young and old, crossing all social locations and boundaries, people just don't seem to get it. There needs to be space so people going opposite directions don't have to leave the safety of the walkway for the street or be smashed against the building or greenery. This means if you are walked two, or three, abreast, you need to file behind or in front of the other members of your party in order to make room for oncoming walkers... In other words, it's not O.K. to keep on keepin' on, while you make people choose between shoulder checking a stranger and stepping into the path of the Fedex truck. It's not a complex idea, but strangely almost no one understands. So people who walk on 21st Avenue, I implore you, I beg you: Look 20 feet in front of you, assess the oncoming walkers, and move accordingly. That's all.

Well, I want to be back. I may be back. I hope I'm back... And I hope you are too!

Islamophobia

I hope people have been following this saga of people opposing the construction of new mosques. As a person who professes to be a Christian, but also has extensive knowledge of Islam, I was truly moved to speak out when I read the below NPR story, centered in my new location of Nashville, TN... please read the article:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129302961


Here is the response to the article that I posted on NPR's discussion forum:

"I am extremely disappointed in our country, and sisters and brothers from my [Christian] faith, that cannot see that Islam is not an enemy. Islam is another religion that professes love, compassion, and equality before God, just like Christianity. Terrorists have used Islam [in an extreme manner] as a justification for violence and have used it as a tool to inspire hatred and fear. Isn't it frustrating that we cannot see the irony in using our "peaceful" Christian faith as a rallying point to battle, exclude, and demonize another group of God's children?

Let's not get confused: Islam did not destroy the Twin Towers, fear, ignorance, and oppression did. We, as Christians, should struggle against those things, not be in collusion with them..."

St. Patrick's Center and Starcraft

So on Wednesday, I went with my mother and two other friends down to the St. Patrick's Center on Broadway in downtown St. Louis to serve and spend time with some homeless folks. St. Patrick's Center is a charity organization that is committed to offering self-sufficiency and dignity to people who are homeless. There are fairly strict rules for the facility: each client must perform jobs around the Center each night, individuals must be awake and out of the Center by 6 am, and after 90 days you have to leave for an extended period. Also, if you violate any of the strict codes of conduct (i.e. aggressive behavior, intoxication, flagrant disrespect towards the staff or facilities), you will be asked to leave. Mom has been going to St. Patrick's since mid-February, so she knows the place well and has made many friends. She really enjoys her time there, and it seems to have had a profound impact on her worldview. But going into this for the first time, I had no idea what to expect.

Upon entering, I was surprised to see how few men there actually were (this facility is for men only, there is a separate site for women and children). Apparently, a lot of guys signed up to be there that were not currently present. And when we got in, Mom basically said to go out and mingle. This put me a bit out of my comfort zone because this was my first time there, I knew none of the guys, there didn't seem to be any staff that were already engaging in conversation, and I really, really felt my race/class privilege showing (especially considering I was wearing my Vanderbilt t-shirt). But, I sucked it up, and started watching four guys playing Spades. I had no idea how it was played, but the guys helped explain all the rules to me in between plays. I moved around a little to talk to other guys. Some of the guys were playing chess, others intently watching TV, others taking turns at the telephone placing calls to family and friends. Some guys would talk to me, others sort of ignored me. I can't blame them, it was a little strange to just sit down and introduce myself. But most everyone was friendly and had a little bit to say. After a bit of that, dinner of bean soup, pineapple, crackers, and ham sandwiches was served. We really didn't need to help with the food; it was not a huge meal.

At this point, I noticed that the few volunteers that were down there before us were sort of sitting back in an office, away from the fellas. According to one of the more outgoing volunteers, some of their partners did not want to come out and make contact or even help serve dinner. This was really strange and a bit frustrating to me: if you didn't have any interest in offering help or friendship to these guys, then why come? I realize not everyone is great at being outgoing and friendly to complete strangers, but these guys were exceptionally nice for the most part (one guy even quipped "don't worry, you can sit down, we don't bite"). It didnt' help my frustration that most of the "hiders" were middle-aged, white women. Again, I don't want to assume anything, but something tells me it was a room full of suburbanites that were afraid a room full of homeless black men might do something bad... I don't really know, all I know is that I wished they had come out with us to enjoy in some conversation and fellowship...

Anyway, the highlight of my night was sitting and chatting with an older fellow named Charles. Our conversation started when I overheard him say, "Oh yeah, someone ought to write my biography." I asked him if he had any good stories. He said hell yes, he did. From there Charles told me about everything, from moving between Cape Girardeau/Detroit/St. Louis, to hating his stepmother as a child, to setting pins in a bowling alley, to his favorite blues musicians, to his love for drawing. Charles showed me some of his drawing he had done of pictures in magazines and people he had seen throughout the city. For a 77-year old man, I was impressed. He told me he had been drawing since he was four an a half when his sister bragged on him to his whole family about how good he could draw. Charles told me he had had almost every job there was, but if he could have just one now, it would be an artist. He had so much to tell me but his best advice may have been "Don't worry about too much. Worrying can't help nothing" That was comforting in that moment. I was surrounded by guys down on their luck, working two jobs trying to save up for a car, trying to put together broken pieces and stay off the street, but to be honest, they were some of the most genuine, considerate, and friendly people I have chatted with in a while. Although they may not have much or be where they want to be, they at least have the ability to laugh, talk, and feel a bit less lost in a world that would just rather stay away (or in the office) and not admit that these people are still people. I have been worrying so much lately about work, friends, school, moving... And in that conversation Charles showed me that worrying keeps us standing at a distance, when what we all really need is to let go, be bold, let the Spirit work through us, and we may just get what we need.


In a completely unrelated idea, I just read on the NPR Blog about video game spectators/commentators for Starcraft and other similar games??? Check it out. I watched a clip of a match, and I must say, it was actually quite addicting. I have always like watching video games! It's finally catching on... yes!

Felt like typing...

After a long evening of relaxing, chatting, and listening to music, it only felt right to cap the evening off with a small blog entry.

So I have really been stressing about this move to Nashville and starting at Vanderbilt. I am beginning to realize the dramatic changes this will mean not only in the long trajectory of my life, but also my day-to-day living. I mean, on my Friday nights, I will have to actively search out people to hang out with... no longer can I rely on going home and running into my roommate who is already full of ideas for our weekend. I'm sure that I will be completely engulfed in my studies, but I'm going to need some non-nerdy outlets! Maybe I'll just write on my blog more... Wouldn't that be lovely?

However, in spite of all of the crazy, life-changing things going on, I have been able to keep up with a few other things. I finished re-reading for the 3rd time Slaughterhouse 5. It truly is a joyful masterpiece. I am now currently getting into a book called IBM and the Holocaust, which details the extent to which IBM facilitated the optimization of the Third Reich's numerous political apparatuses that made the genocide so much more precise and efficient... It's an interesting book, and I think the author has a good point, but the prose gets too informal at times and its a wordy to say the least. But, I am enjoying it.

The project I am working on tomorrow is crafting a letter to submit to my church council in the hopes of gaining their approval for In-Care status (the track to ordination) with the UCC. I have to talk about my faith journey and my call to ministry among other things... It should not be difficult to write considering a lot of these things were required for my seminary entrance essay. However, I'm always afraid to start writing because if I sit down and have a terrible case of writer's block, it is so frustrating; therefore, my solution is to procrastinate... I'm not sure if that's the best way to handle it, but what are you gonna do?

Also, in a final thought, I would like to say I think it's completely ridiculous how much the public has been bombarded with the commercials paid for by the American Petroleum Institute about how raising energy taxes will hurt consumers... First of all, let's just be honest: the real objective of these commercials is not to tell people how raising taxes will hurt consumers, it's to making sure Americans continue to bend to the interests of Big Oil. Second, in an industry that is raking in record-profits (and clearly spending millions, if not billions, on a PR campaign), doesn't it seem reasonable that instead of passing on the cost of higher taxation onto consumers, they find ways to absorb the costs by being innovative and cost-effective? We demand that government be as lean and efficient as possible, why shouldn't expect the same kind of discipline from our private sector? Anyway, the whole media blitz has me worried that people will just continue to make blanket statements that all taxation is bad and all government regulation in dangerously restrictive... I just hope we all take the time to analyze and determine how to address energy issues with concern for both environmental sustainability and economic realities.

Trying to get back at it...

In order to avoid being called a liar (again), I am posting up!


Hello. It feels like it has been a long time since I have blogged at all, especially for my own personal enjoyment. I am typing this post on my brand new laptop that I got this evening! It is very exciting to have a computer with the most recent versions of Word and that can run iTunes while also having an Internet browser open! So tonight I have spent far too much time installing new software and various other things that go along with starting up a new computer.

I do need to get to bed though because I have an early morning in the Picnic Basket. But in order to make this post not entirely fluff, I have two bits of reflection:

1. It is incredibly frustrating when people inform you that you did not give them all of their food order when they have not, in fact, checked the entire contents of the food basket. Please, ma'am, give me more credit than that: of course I put a spoon in their to go with your yogurt. Sir, if you would just look underneath the salad, you will clearly see that I put both the chocolate milk and the chicken noodle soup that you so desperately desire... At least have the courtesy to carefully examine the basket away from the pick-up window.

2. Read Slaughterhouse 5. I am currently re-reading it for the third time now, and I love it even more with every read. I would recommend going slow and possibly finding a good literary analysis to go along with the book. It will help put a lot of the philosophy and prose in context.


OK, well, have a wonderful evening, and look forward to more blogs!

Mostly because I'm bored...

So, this week has been a surprising mix of boredom and stress.

I have a huge literature review due on Friday. Luckily I have gotten to start and I'm roughly 6 pages in. It needs to be at least 20. But I also have most of Wednesday and all of Thursday to hit is hard. So no worries. For tonight, I prepared a thesis/methodological statement for my research paper in Early Islamic Art/Arch. My only beef with this is that we were supposed to print out a copy of it for every member of the class. So I am going to get a copy of all 17 members of my classes thesis? With all due respect, I'm just not that interested. I'm sure it could be riveting and inspire lots of deep conversation, but I just don't think so. And tomorrow I'm supposed to go to the the science lab and mix up some buffer solutions, glucose, and cacao for my Diabetes research project... Again, really not looking forward to it, but it could be worse. Amidst all these projects, I am also getting ready for a research paper for my hip hop class, and sort of determining my future by choosing my M. Div. school (I should hear from CTS on Friday). But despite all of these projects going on, I am amazed at how bored I still am in between venues. I really need to start bringing my pleasure reading books along with me every day...

Speaking of which, I'm on track for 12 books this year; I just finished Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals". Anyone who is considering being a vegetarian or completely oblivious to the CFO or factory farming industry that produced nearly all of our meat should read this book. It was highly informative and persuasive. After reading it, I'm glad that I have already started the path of becoming a meat-free eater. But now I'm not really all that sure about eating eggs. But anyway, everyone who eats (that means you) should read this book, and make a conscious decision to think about what you eat and what is it worth to you.

Oh on a final note, US hockey did me proud in the finals against Canada. I know it's old news now, but I was proud of the effort that our team, especially Ryan Miller put up on Sunday. We kept it competitive and hopefully brought some well-deserved respect to the US Hockey program. We will certainly get you next year, Canada. And, obviously, go Blues! First game back tonight. Hopefully we can kick it into high gear and nab a playoff spot.