life today is funny. in our schedules we are focused on the what, the where and the how of what we are doing. the comedy lies in the ease (or difficulty) with which we are reminded that it's the experience of the event that is to be treasured.
so this election season has been difficult for me. ever since the primary season began, i noticed one problem, one issue that i would not be able to overlook in the process of deciding who to vote for. that issue is unfortunately not party specific, it is not native to Illinois or Arizona nor is it a talking point on the campaign trail. no, that would be too easy. this problem is the same problem that lives deep, rooted in the soil and asphalt of Washington D.C. it is the very same problem to which each of the candidates claim to be the solution. its just that i don't believe either of them.
the problem is the culture politics.
its a difficult thing to accurately describe, but it is embodied in misleading statements in television ads, debates and mail propaganda. it is stooping to whatever level necessary to achieve your goal, whether that is adding unrelated earmarks to a bill with the express intent of benefiting a special interest or dishonestly spinning a statistic in order to portray your opponent in a far darker light than is accurate.
news flash: politicians are dirty. categorically. if one is a politician, one is therefore dirty.
obviously there are varying degrees of dirty, the extent of which i hope i never know. however, i do believe there are good politicians. i even believe there is some good in all politicians.
but therein lies the problem: i may believe these things, but i don't know them.
this post really gets back to the struggle over knowledge and belief. we Christians know this struggle well, both internally and externally. we can rely on the knowledge we glean from the Bible all day long, but when we rest at night, we have to believe that God is listening.
i think the same can be said for politicians. the sources from which we get our knowledge (ABC News, FOX News, NY Times, Washington Post, The Carolina Review, The Onion) are all just sources. they each have an agenda. they each choose what to and what not to report on. and more importantly, each one is not a living, breathing politician. the only source that can truly be relied upon is the politician himself/herself, or more specifically, the thoughts of said politician.
kind of ironic huh? are we to believe what we hear the politician say on the TV screen, while at the same time knowing there is a high probability they are misleading us to at least some degree?
this was my issue at the beginning of primary season. i saw the democrats and republicans bicker with, back stab and make jokes at the expense of their own party members in the first debates. when the race narrowed to two (and before that, three) candidates, the focus shifted to the opposite party and the digging began. "what dirt can we find on Obama?" "what dirt can we find on McCain?" "how can we spin what the other just said to make him look like a socialist or a warmonger?"
that was my issue. how could i vote for one candidate when it is very difficult to weed out the good information from the bad? how does anyone come to such an conclusion?
answer: the audacity of belief
obviously that phrase is a paraphrase of Obama's book entitled "The Audacity of Hope." while i have not read it, i can only assume that he presents a message which champions the idea that if hope wins, anything is possible. but that doesn't quite translate to "the audacity of belief."
as citizens, one of our civic duties is to vote. so in order to do so, we (I) must cope with our (my) issues of distrust in the system and focus on the good. in short, we must believe. we must believe that our candidate will unequivocally keep his word. we must believe that our candidate will swiftly lead our nation out of that which ails it. we must believe that the one we vote for is undoubtedly the best choice for our great nation.
for many, that's not much to ask. the minds of many of my friends (and millions around the country) were made up LONG ago. that's why there are traditionally red states and blue states. some find it very simple to harbor disdain for the other candidate and unparalleled support for their candidate.
for the rest of us the lines are blurry, and having such belief is a bit audacious.
EXTRA THOUGHTS
the only person i am sure i am going to vote for is (R) Pat McCrory for North Carolina Governor. he is the only candidate (save judges, commissioners, etc.) who has refrained from negative campaign ads. and we gotta rep 704 up in the 919 yo. oh and the DTH endorsed him.
i am SO freakin glad its almost over. as you might have been able to tell, i strongly dislike negative ads.
because of said ads devouring the commercial air time, i have not seen Sarah from South Charlotte Nissan in months! she was a part of my morning routine. i look for her glorious return on Wednesday morning.
speaking of car dealerships, this time of year has to be the worst for business. i honestly don't think I've seen any local car dealership commercials in the past few weeks. with all the crap coming from the candidates mouths, i would welcome Scott Clark's Toyota City commercials. again, i pine for Wednesday morning.
i was going to use boUNCe as one of the news sources above, but i went to its site and i don't think it is in print anymore. kinda sad.
go vote. despite all that jibber jabber i just said, I'm going to. so you should too.
so it has been a month since my last post. i have gotten a bit lazy and slack with the bloggage but, alas, i am back at it.
two months have gone by in this, the two thousand and eighth year of our Lord and i am here to give my one-sixth* update on my new years resolutions (which shall henceforth be referred to as goals for 2008 as they are no longer resolutions and the year is no longer new). without further ado, i shall think of G. Ceneviva (and therefore, D. Cook) when i say "come along with me."
goal 1: exercise
doing ok on this one. i am still a member of the gym and have not gone a week this year without going at least once. unfortunately once a week is not enough (i usually go more than once a week, for the record). i am beginning to see the littlest of results from the workings out. probably my biggest sub-goal of this parent goal is to increase my cardiovascular endurance, which is one of the areas where i am observing mild (and sporadic) improvement. i have learned that if i do not focus on the amount of time remaining in my treadmill jog or stationary bike cycle, i do not focus on the amount of breath that i am running out of during said exercise. the tv's in the cardio section help greatly with this.
goal 2: pray more
i was doing much better at this one in January and early February. during this time, there were many things that i feel like i needed to pray about and seek God's guidance on. most of those things have passed, and it was more than two weeks that i had not put an entry in my prayer journal until i put one in last night. i feel like i only turn to God when he slaps me in the face with something that i NEED to turn to him for. i don't like that i need that type of divine motivation. i guess we all need (and get, regardless of need or want) a kick in the pants from the man upstairs, but its a little disheartening to realize how complacent and lackadaisical we (i) get in my relationship with the Lord.
goal 3: read
ok i suck at this. i have read maybe three chapters (very short, easy-to-read chapters) in Wes Miller's book in 65 days this year.** since i joined the GAA, i now also have two issues of Endeavors, UNC's research and creative activity periodical and one issue of the Carolina Alumni Review with another one soon to come just waiting for me by my bedside; their covers are uncracked. i also have the other book i plan to read in the next 10 months, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren waiting on me as well. at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that i would rather go to sleep laying down rather than fight through a page or two of reading while falling asleep every other line and starting again at the beginning of the paragraph without knowing it. i think i just have to make a more deliberate effort on this front. bottom line, i suck at reading.
goal 4: camp
great success so far. Mr. J. Wiggins and I went camping at the New River Trail State Park in Virginia the last weekend in February. as you might remember, this is not where I had planned to go. when i was planning this trip, North Carolina did not have a statewide burning ban and decided to put one up a few weeks before the camping date. so we decided to travel a bit farther and sacrifice a quality hike with a great view (not to mention running water, very close proximity to our vehicles, and flush toilets) to Virginia where there was no burning ban. nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves cooking, cleaning, eating, sleeping and chillin' within sight and sound range of the New River at an old settlement named Foster Falls. Foster Falls sits between the New River and an old railroad bed which has been converted to a very leisurely hiking/biking/horseback riding trail (which they so appropriately named the New River Trail). it was a not-so-ideal weekend to go camping weather wise. it was cold and, at times windy but it was calling for rain on top of the cold and the wind, so I considered us to be lucky with the weather. to sum up: it was cold, yes but we had a fire, plenty of clothes, a sufficient dining fly, cooperative weather, a bit too much bacon grease in our scrambled eggs and possibly a little rum in our coke. cant wait to do it again!
quasi-resolutions: move out, serve, and maintain new found organizational skills
i applied for a job with the city of Raleigh a few weeks ago and have yet to hear anything. but because it is a government job, i am just now starting to expect to hear something. i am trying to not get my hopes up, but i do think i am sufficiently qualified for the position. if i were to get said position, it would obviously force me to move out. we'll see
i have not looked for a place to serve. i have settled into the day to day routine of going to and coming from work, and therefore my desires to serve and be behind the scenes have faded a bit. i will be going back to ASP this summer but this time only for a week as a volunteer with my church. maybe when it gets a bit warmer, my desire for service will be renewed. we'll see.
new found organizational skills are being maintained, but a bit more loosely. its really all about clutter control and getting into the habit of purging my room of clutter at least once a week. doing pretty good here.
so that's my one-sixth update y'all. no deep opinions or thoughts on life in this one.
Mr. Wiggins reminded me during our camping trip of the name of this Mario World character. If you ever played Super Mario World for Super Nintendo, you know why this would be worthy of a Blag of the Day status.
I Want That (pronounced "Ah Wawnt Thayut") of the day: Renfrow Hardware
Located in downtown Matthews, NC, Renfrow's reminds me of a mix between a small town Appalachian hardware store and the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC. I have only been to Renfrow's once but i immediately fell in love with it. for being a small town hardware store with national chain hardware stores relatively close by, it was packed when i went in this past Saturday to buy a maul with a wooden handle (because Lowe's and Home Depot didn't have any with wooden handles, they had ones with fiberglass handles... whats the point in that?). this place, much like the mast general store, had original, squeaky wooden plank floors, low doorways which lead to another room you weren't expecting to be there, an old Coca-Cola cooler filled with bottled soft drinks and that down-home, old-school feel that makes you want to spend money. also, much like some small town Appalachian hardware stores, this place has a little bit of a lot of stuff. for example, i went back to the section where the shovels, rakes, hoes, axes, mattocks, etc are kept to look for a maul. this was in a corner of one of the connecting buildings (which, by the by, had two 48-star US flags hanging from the very old log rafters - neat-o gang) which had the right amount of organization and disorganization that i questioned whether or not i had wandered into the staff-only section on accident. they had only one or a few of a ton of wood splitting materials including mauls, axes, wedges and other weird looking stuff kind of strewn about an old work bench or two, sitting in 5-gallon buckets or standing in makeshift stands. upon second look, everything had a price tag on it. this is what you miss in going to Lowe's or Home Depot. sure you can get a maul for $7 cheaper at Lowe's but its about so much more than the maul. think outside the maul people. its about the atmosphere of a crowded, congested, dusty, squeaky, slightly disheveled, historic hometown hardware store. its the experience...
*if we wanna get technical here, a one-sixth update would have come on March 2nd, the 61st day of this leap year. this, therefore, is a 64/366th (or 32/183rd) update. that is if we want to get technical...
**i wont mention that i read some of it before the year began... oops...
hey y'all. today is Super Tuesday in the primary election world and i will now use this space to give some of my opinions. you may not agree. thats OK. we can all agree that healthy discussion and debate is one of the things that makes the United States of America the greatest country in the world.
My Political Background
everyone in my family (except for my father's sister's family) leans heavily to the right - to the point where they would hesitate to say that Bush has done a less than satisfactory job over the last 7 years. my parents have always talked with one another and to me about the shortcomings and evil ways of the Democratic party and those in it. i first noticed it during the Clinton administration when absolutely nothing was done correctly. Rush Limbaugh was always playing in the car when his show was on, and my parents made sure to use Rush's nicknames for people around Washington in everyday conversation. just as a little child in India learns of the truths of the Hindu gods and as North Koreans are brainwashed into thinking the conditions in their country are better than those outside due to the great abilities of their "dear leader" Kim Jong Il, i too believed what i heard to be truth because those speaking spoke so emphatically about it. our beliefs, our actions and our opinions are all directly correlated to those which we observe, learn from and disagree with in our immediate surroundings and environments. that being said, i still hold on to many of the things that my parents believe. this is not unusual, but it at the same time, someone else's opinions should never dictate your own; my own. however, i will happily admit that the ideas of "liberal hill" have not been lost on me. SOME (note the emphasis) have grown on me. but at any rate, at this point in time, i would label myself a liberal conservative. it is with this mindset that i will now give my opinions on the major players in this upcoming election.
President Bush
I disagree whole heartedly with nearly all of the things the extreme left wing says about Bush (ie he's evil incarnate, he went to Iraq solely for oil, he should be impeached, he likes to eat children, etc). I also do not think that he is incompetent, as most people who lean left do (yes i just stereotyped). But these things do not mean that i think he is a saint. The state of our union is not strong. It's actually very weak right now and the blame for that falls on the President. That title is equivalent to CEO and when your company (our country) is failing to produce positive numbers, changes need to be made. Which brings me to my next section...
Presidential Candidates
None of them are in the Bush family which i think we can all agree will bring change to the White House. [well duh Erich, say something useful]
Ron Paul
after today, he will be out of the running. he was never in the running even though people voted for him. this baffles me because anyone will tell you that he has absolutely no shot of getting the nomination; so why would you vote for such a candidate? I'll never understand that.
Mike Huckabee
i like Mike. he seems down to earth. he's a southern preacher. he doesn't have much "Washington" in him (not the person, but the place), lost a lot of weight and plays the bass guitar. i think he appeals to young(er) people more than any of the other candidates. unfortunately, he has not had the support (or the money) to carry on a widely successful campaign, only a marginally one.
Mitt Romney
i don't like Mitt. he doesn't seem trustworthy. maybe its his perfectly slicked back hair (which reminds me of another fallen presidential hopeful) or his slick way of talking. maybe it's his religion (i don't agree with Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses). maybe its the fact that he has had to put $35.4 million of his own money into his campaign for it to be successful. he uses attack ads like no other and he seems like he is hiding something. i don't know what, but its something.
John McCain
the liberal war hero. what? is that possible? of course it is. but he's running for the elephants? indeed. i don't really know what i think about him. he seems more willing to reach across the aisle than any other candidate in the race which is a positive and a negative for him. i think he is the complex candidate as far as straying away from the party norm while maintaining a lead in the polls. i am very interested to see how far he goes.
Hillary Clinton
i don't like Hillary. sorry people. this would be one of those opinions that carried over from the Clinton presidency and my childhood/adolescence. i don't know why i didn't like her, maybe just because she was associated with Bill or that she was a democrat. but, like mitt, i just do not trust her. i am convinced that she is just another Washington politician who will do more of the same bickering, name calling, and finger pointing that Washington does so well. i do not think our country will move forward with 4 to 8 more years of the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton Presidential tug of war game.
Barack Obama
my parents would be so very disappointed to hear me say that i like Barack Hussein Obama, the black liberal Muslim. its kinda hard for me to believe that i like him too. if anything, its a sign of maturation by breaking free of the parental ideology (not to say that i cant agree with my parents if i choose to). Barack is the most dynamic, fiery, and inspirational candidate of the bunch. his speeches are reminiscent of Dr. King's speeches in inspiring remarks and loosely in subject matter. he is the "change" candidate which so many people identify with. he is the other candidate who i am really interested to see how far they go.
in those descriptions, i will point out if you hadn't already noticed, that i did not once mention policy of any of the candidates (other than Barack's "change" but thats not really policy). no, i chose to give the descriptions based solely on my opinions of the candidates as they appear on TV and the internet: my perception of the candidates as people.
many of our fellow citizens will enter polling booths in November with only the same type of "knowledge" about the candidates that i have expressed here today. they care not for policy. they care about race, gender and military experiences. they care about an R or a D. they also care about the person (not the pretty face, the compelling arguer or the motivational coach) they think would do the best job in the position. this is a huge part of elections that will never change. inevitably, people will not educate themselves properly on the issues and policies. people will vote from the heart, however flawed that heart may or may not be. it is under this assumption that i give my election predictions.
it is now just after 7:00 PM on Super Tuesday. many polls just closed around the country and i have no idea who will win (except for Huckabee winning in the West Virginia convention earlier today). and the race certainly continues on after tonight, but tonight will be a big step in narrowing down (in the case of the Repubs) or possibly a big step in prolonging (in the case of the Democs). my predictions:
Paul is definitely out. Huckabee will most likely not be able to continue even after the win in WV. Romney has enough money that he will save face by going all the way to the primary, only to lose soundly to McCain.
Hillary and Obama will give a good fight to one another. i actually have no idea will win the nomination. it could be either. for the sake of making predictions, I'll say Obama wins.
so its McCain v. Obama in November. lets step into the hypothetical polling booth with a hypothetical voter who happens to have similar viewpoints that i do. hypothetically.
McCain war hero left-leaning conservative white aisle-crossing probability Washington experienced another republican in the white house
Obama inspiring speaker most likely to bring change black Hussein and Muslim background (false or not*) Washington experienced fresh new face in many different ways i think that there will be people who will discount Obama simply because he is black and his name is very different, and (dare i say) traditionally un-American. and when they look at the R side of the ballot they see a war hero and someone who might possibly get something done in Washington.
McCain gets inaugurated.
lets say Hillary gets the nomination...
McCain war hero left-leaning conservative male aisle-crossing probability Washington experienced another republican in the white house
Clinton not republican liberal first female US president not (necessarily) "business as usual" White House experienced another Clinton in the White House
(forgive my inability to come up with many positive things to say about Hillary)
again, i think that there will be people out there who will cross Hillary's name off the list solely because she is a woman. i really don't think the majority of the nation is OK with having a female president. or an African American on for that matter. the only way Hillary or Obama win is if they lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote. i just don't see that happening.
Clinton concedes to McCain
some of you out there have found fault with or possibly even taken offense to some of the things i have said and will no doubt like to argue with me about it. i hate arguing. even if it is healthy debate. i am a terrible debater. it comes close to me getting on someones bad side, and i have given my best effort my entire life to avoid getting on someones bad side. that said, reply with corrections, opinions if you desire, just please don't tell me i suck, miss the point or am an idiot like Bush (even though i do and i am when it comes to politics).
i would love to talk to you about this stuff in person. give me a call to catch up, talk about camping plans, or throw around political ideas. i really do miss y'all.
until next time
Blig of the Day: Good things at the Gym yesterday - i saw Nick G an OLD friend from college (like, he was old when i was a frosh) - free pizza on every first Monday of the month (at a gym? what?) - GOOD run on the treadmill - i usually struggle to get through it but i was able to distract myself from thinking about how much time is left or how much breath i don't have with... - Friends quotes - one of the TVs was on a Friends rerun and i knew what was going to be said without even having audio. it was TOW** Eddie Moves In. I knew when Joey was going to say "I need the juice!" and when Chandler was going to say "You took your eggs and you left! Did you really expect me to never find new eggs?"... yeah, i laughed out loud on the treadmill.
*Barack is not Muslim, just to clarify. my point in adding this in is that many people do believe he is a Muslim and that he is just lying about not being one **every Friends episode is given a title that begins with "The One With" or "The One Where." It's often abbreviated TOW
hey y'all, its been a while since I've posted a real post so here we go.
recently i have been planning my very first camping trip of 2008! at first i wanted to go to the Linville Falls Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. its been many many years since i have been to linville falls and i wanted to go back. i also knew that the surrounding area has awesome mountain vistas because of Linville Gorge (like Wiseman's View - highly recommended). i am a sucker for sweet views, especially if it faces west for the sunset. in trying to call the park ahead of time, i was not having much luck. i then called the blue ridge parkway people and they told me that the BRP no longer offers winter camping because of funding cuts. the campgrounds are open from May to October, a mere half of the year. its really pathetic that places like this cant be open year round.
so that option was out. but, deterred not, i kept on the search for a good place to camp. my father and i remembered Stone Mountain State Park (not the one in Georgia) in the northwest corner of the Tar Heel State and thought it might be a good place to start out.
stone mountain is essentially a mountain with a big bald spot. and by bald i mean stone. and by spot i mean face. the park is full of the mountain laurel (short name, short leaf) and the rhododendron (long name, long leaf)* as are many locations in the blue ridge region. i remember really enjoying this location in the past so i don't think i will be disappointed on my first trip out.
this is the fun part. you are most certainly invited to come with me. i would actually LOVE for you to come with me.
i don't care if you are in the triangle, the triad, the QC, the blue grass, the bean town, the grand strand, the black burg or the state in which everything is bigger, i want to go camping with you. shoot, i just want to see you, but camping with is much more fun than just seeing.
SPECIFICS
when: February 22-24 (ill probably take a half or quarter day Friday to go up and be there in plenty of time to set stuff up. you could come with or meet me up there)
price: $15 per night per group (so it will be $30 split amongst all who go) plus money for food (which will depend on # of people going) and gas money. the more people come, the less you'll have to pay
accommodations: water and restrooms very close to campsite. there should not be many people there in late Feb so we should be able to get whichever site we want. each site has a fire pit and a picnic table.
campfire: the burn ban that was around in the fall has been lifted - fire away!
stuff to do: tons of it. i personally plan on hiking a good deal. maybe making a hot mid-hike lunch on top of the mountain or at the waterfall, depending on time. there are also some historic sites around that i wouldn't mind checking out, if only briefly. the blue ridge parkway is not far away either. i plan on taking a picture or two and generally enjoying the experience.
if you're thinking of going, i would suggest you check out the park's website. its got all the info.
again, i would love to go camping with you. don't make me go by myself.
until next time - holler
Junk of the Day: Welch's Apple Cranberry Juice
the vending machine at work has these (for some odd reason) and they are the perfect lunchtime beverage. i don't know if local grocery stores carry them or not, but talk about sweet nectar!
Nah Son of the Day: Vocal Heidi
Heidi is our cat that we have had for many years here at the Sechler residence and in the past few months she has learned that she can use her vocal cords often like we do. she has learned to meow incessantly when someone is in the kitchen cooking because it's meal time. she also will yell and scream (in felineese of course) for seemingly no reason when she gets worked up or excited about something. the funny part is that she has no sense of inflection when she gets vocal. for example, she could be all riled up because she hasn't gotten her food yet and will let out this long, low meow that sounds like excruciating sorrow. maybe its one of those things you have to be there for but its definitely interesting.
Blig of the Day: Chopping Wood
We have big transmission power lines running through our back yard and we had two trees that Duke Power had deemed to be in the Danger Zone (Kenny Loggins anyone?) or something like that and they needed to be cut down. so they came and cut them down but they would only chip up the branches. so we were left with two trees worth of trunk to do whatever we would like with. we do not use our fire place and i don't know of anyone around who does. IF YOU WANT SOME, LET ME KNOW. but i have had fun chopping it. its harder than it looks and it hurts the back but its so satisfying when you hit one just right. also, this will give me firewood that i don't have to pay for or scavenge for when i go camping. fun stuff.
* this is different than what i told one of you fairly recently. feel free to rag me about it because i was totally wrong. i am, in fact, an idiot.
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
This was the passage today that the preacher at Elevation Church in Charlotte spoke on. During the course of his sermon, the Lord was convicting me of something that has been on my mind for the past 6 months. These are the main points that got me thinking about it.
- the disciples asked why. even though Jesus answered ("neither"), He cares not for the why. He cares about the what. the pastor gave the example of someone in the midst of some hardship in their life asking the Lord why they were there; why they were put there. he said that we should not "live in the why" but rather ask "what" of the Lord. "What is it that you are trying to tell me through this event, Lord?" "What should I be learning here?" "What is your overall purpose for me in this time?" It is here, in these questions, where we begin to understand God's purposes and, in doing so, move on from our times of hardship.
- the blind man had most assuredly heard of Jesus. he also probably knew that one of the main things that Jesus did was work miracles, including healing blind people. so this guy could probably overhear the conversation between Jesus and his disciples where Jesus says in verse 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." the blind man had to have known that Jesus was talking about him. he had to have been able to hear Jesus' footsteps coming towards him. he had heard of the miraculous healing that Jesus was capable of with just a single touch. how excited he must have been! it is then when he hears Jesus, God Himself in the flesh, hock (hauk?) a loogie and spit it right at his feet. what? Jesus probably had to spit multiple times in order to get enough moisture to make mud. he then puts this mud on the blind mans eyes. how humiliating! here we have a blind man from birth, begging on the street, deemed unclean by society and the son of God, his only hope puts mud made from spit on his eyes. he must have been really confused. Jesus then tells him, to go wash in the pool. there is no "Your faith has healed you" or "Go and tell others of what you have witnessed here." there is simply "go wash in the pool." thats it. thats all he gets. what else is there for him to do but to follow the orders of the Christ? he does and is healed.
the point of that interpretation of the story is that in being healed by Jesus, things often get worse, sometimes much worse, before they get better. if we are to accept healing, forgiveness, cleansing and the grace offered us by Jesus Christ, we must understand and accept the pain, suffering, withdrawal and awkwardness that comes with dying to ourselves and to our own motivations.
whew... thats hard to do aint it? things WILL get worse before they get better. no one likes hardship. it is rare that people would volunteer hardship to come their way. but if we as followers of Christ are to accept His grace, we must be ready to go to battle with our old selves. we must be ready and willing to face hardship head on.
welcome to 2008 everyone! we here at it's the experience... would like to wish you and yours the very best of new years. may it be filled with all that you dream of -- or maybe everything feasible that you dream of. well maybe not "filled" either because then the entire year would be only a dream. there would be no hardship, and we know that we learn from hardship. ok, ok... may this year be sprinkled with all that you dream of. wait... if all that you dream of is sprinkled throughout this year, what will i wish you for 2009? "Happy New Year! Hope you don't die!" but that doesn't really work. i'll just say "Good Luck in 2008!" or you could just rely on fortune cookies from Chinese restaurants like the one i got yesterday which said "You will make a change for the better within the year." now that's easy enough to achieve. enough with the funny stuff.
as this is the first full week of 2008, i would like to share with you my new years resolutions. these resolutions are blogworthy because this will mark the first time that i am actually resolving to keep these resolutions. so i guess that's my first resolution... we will see if i can keep it.
one way that i have chosen to help myself keep these resolutions is to make them quantitative. for example, i will do so and so x number of times over a given time period. this way it will be very clear when i am succeeding and failing at keeping my resolutions. with that said, ladies and gentlemen, my new years resolutions, in no particular order.
- - Resolution: Exercise
raise your hand if you've made this resolution before. i would guess that this is probably the most popular new years resolution in our country. so, yes i have joined the bandwagon, but i hope not to fall off of the turnip cart. i would also say that this resolution is the most commonly broken resolution in our country. therefore, in order for me (someone who is not, by nature, particularly athletic) to keep this resolution, i need incentive -- a reason to keep going and a reason to not quit. i have joined a gym, so my incentive will be to not give them my money for no reason. simple enough right? for me it will be because i have become very organized (ok... anal) when it comes to money. but that's not all; there needs to be a quantitative aspect to this, remember? i will either go to the gym every other day (alternating MWFSun and TTSat; 366 leap year days/2 = 183 times in 2008) or three times a business week (MWF; 52 weeks x 3 = 156 times in 2008). i do not yet know which will work out better for my schedule. i started on this past Thursday and went again on Monday. i did give blood on Saturday so that threw a kink in things right at the beginning. already making excuses...
for me this resolution is not totally about weight or body image or the self-esteem related to those, but it is also about my general health. my eating and lifestyle habits in college most assuredly took me down the path of taking years off of my life, and if i would like to stop the subtraction of life, habits need to change and change sooner rather than later. my job now is, like many others, completely and totally sedentary, with the only opportunity to burn calories during the day coming from taking the one flight of stairs in the morning rather than the elevator. so if i am going to accomplish this goal, it is going to come during those times that i am at the gym. so now you can all ask me "dude, have you been working out?" and i'll reply "cheah brah!" i wont really reply that way. i might though. not really. but, seriously.
- - Resolution: Pray More
it is said that the easiest way to embarrass a Christian is to ask them about their prayer life. it is also the easiest way to make a Christian feel like a bad Christian. personally, i have slumped into a time in my life (and have been here for some time) where i am content to know and believe that God, through Jesus' death on the Cross, has counted my sin that i have committed, am committing and will commit in this life as null and void, and i need not worry about those other things in the Christian lifestyle because the ultimate goal has been taken care of. that mindset is more of a subconscious one than a conscious one but the fact remains that i have let prayer and other aspects of Christian life slide. i seek to remedy that in this new year. my plan is to keep a prayer journal every night. considering that i just bought the middle school style binder i will use as the journal yesterday, i haven't been doing too well thus far. however, the year is young and i have one specific thing to pray about that a friend told me of today. my ultimate goal in this is to use this journal as a motivation to converse with the Lord more, and by doing so, foster a better relationship with the Lord.
- - Resolution: Read
ok so i hate reading. it is something that my dad always told me i needed to do more of, something that i rarely did in college (schoolwork or leisure) and, unfortunately, something that puts me right to sleep. i mean i am lucky to get through 5 pages. no joke. but because i haven't really read for fun (except when i read Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth in middle school), i don't know for sure that my dislike of reading is independent of the subject matter of the reading material (aka, if i read something i am interested in, will i be able to stay awake long enough to enjoy it?). what better way to test this theory than with my Christmas present from my aunt and uncle: Wes Miller's The Road to Blue Heaven. i didn't ask for this gift but i thought it was a good one. for those of you who don't know, the book is a week by week journal entry-style account of his senior year (2006-2007) in the Carolina Blue & White (capitalized for importance). Adam Lucas, the guy who writes all the really good post-game articles on TarHeelBlue.com, collaborated with Wes to help him hone his thoughts. quantitatively for this resolution, i am planning to underachieve. this way, if i reach my goal, i will still feel good. the goal is to read two whole books this year. some of you read two books a month and are thinking that this is hardly a goal, but i am starting from nothing. gotta start somewhere right?
- - Resolution: Camp
i am so freaking excited about this one. the last time i went camping was in the fall of 2006 to Hanging Rock State Park. that is over a year without camping. before that, the last time i went camping was on spring break 2004 in Destin, FL at Henderson Beach State Park. that was over two years without camping. you have to understand that i was used to going once every month in high school. needless to say i heart camping. i am going to go camping at least six (6) times this year. that is once every two months for you math majors out there. i have resolved to go by myself if i cannot get anyone to go with me, which has been a problem in the past. i would love for you to come with me. all you have to do is let me know. my first camping trip of 2008 will take place in the month of February, probably the 22nd-24th (we play Wake Forest at 7:30PM that Sunday - you'll be back in plenty of time). i do not know yet where i would like to go, but it will most likely be somewhere in the mountains... probably near the Boone area. i like it up there, but over the course of the year, i do hope to go somewhere that i haven't been before. as always, any suggestion, and more importantly, your company is very welcome.
i also have some things that are not quite resolutions (because i cannot yet come up with quantitative goals for them) but are still things that i want to accomplish in this, the two thousand and eighth year of our Lord.
- - Quasi-Resolution: Move Out
this is also something that i am very excited about. what excites me is the idea of being responsible for my own place. most people see rent and utilities as a burden, but the idea of being self sufficient enough to pay for those bills without any help from parents or loans is exciting to me. i am sure that excitement will wear off after a while but i will still have my own place. also, i dislike doing chores like vacuuming, dusting and washing dishes (what? you don't have a dishwasher? what do you, like, live in the 70's? yes). i wouldn't mind doing them so much if i were cleaning up something that was my own; like my own dishes or my own carpet. you know what i mean? anyway, i don't know when this will be. it will largely depend on what happens with my job. we'll see...
- - Quasi-Resolution: Serve
i detailed my thoughts on service and community service in my last post so i wont elaborate anymore here. i am, though, still feeling the tug of service and i need to look into some volunteer work. i did let the people at my church planning the annual ASP trip that i would love to go with them. but that's not until this summer. there's a lot of time between then and now.
yeah, i am surprised at myself. i am very organized now. well not very, but rather organized. when i came home from ASP in august, i wanted to rearrange my room and repaint it. so i did, and in the process i realized that i wasn't just taking furniture out and putting it back in in a different location or painting the walls a different color, i was making the room, that i had lived in for about 18 years, for the first time, my own. i had never changed the way my parents had set the room up or the color that the previous owners of the house (pre-1984) painted my walls. for the first time, i took pride in my room. that means that i am now less likely to clutter it up with half-dirty clothes*, random papers or other stuff. i have devised a system for keeping clothes organized and i have also put pictures on the wall, something i didn't do before. i have also become really organized with my money. i even invested in Quicken to help me do this. i am confident in my ability to mix saving money, paying off bills, and keeping money to spend for myself. it's a pretty good feeling, but i do understand that this is easy to do while living at home and not paying for rent or food. my goal is to at least maintain this level of organization so that when the time comes that money becomes short, i will have the skills i need to manage it.
and those are my new years resolutions. sorry for the long-windedness.
Blig of the Day: The AT&T Sven Commercial
i thoroughly enjoy this commercial. probably because it features a foreign accent and incorrect English in said accent. you really cant go wrong when you put those together. i like!
Warm Fuzzy of the Day: Blog Feedback
ok so not too warm and fuzzy. recently two of you have asked me when my next post was going to be and two others of you have complimented me on my posts, something i definitely wasn't expecting. so thanks. seriously.
*you know, the clothes that you've worn once but have no good reason why you can't wear them again, because lets face it, no one can tell as long as you wait a few days until you wear it again. might also be seen by some optimists as half-clean clothes.
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