"Tartlets... Tartlets... Tartlets... Ehh... The word has lost all meaning."
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Friday, December 17, 2004
The Return of Bob, and the finding of a worthy musician...
Ok, so you won't believe this... and actually, I don't either.
30 minutes before I had to be at work this morning, the door buzzed, so I buzzed it open, mistake.
Our retarded mailman buzzes all the time so that he can put a package inside the door, so I thought nothing of it. I open the hall door, and BOB... yes BOB is standing there.
(Pause, insert screaming here)
He was all angry and leaning down at me running me over the coals about why I haven't been returning his calls, and that I'm a hypocrite for saying that I'm a Christian, and not resolving things with him, and that all he needs to do, to sue me for a mistake that I didn't really make, is to give his (mythical) "team of lawyers" the go ahead.
To make a long story short, he went on for quite some time, and quite frankly, scared the bejesus out of me. There is no longer any bejesus in me. Not even a little bejesus. He's a fairly imposing figure. Although he's thin, he's very tall, and I'm 6'.
I have to give praise to God for the strength to stand there and listen to him, hear him out, and not A) freak out. B) run away C) call the police D) give in to the pressure he put on me to fix HIS problems. I stood up for my position, told him why I wouldn't return his calls, and why I do not want to work with him any more.
We ended up coming up with a solution, and I am pretty satisfied that he'll be out of my life by next week. I am going to be in Joliet doing a favor for my manager at Starbucks. I will stop by and find a file that he cannot find, put it on the desktop, and be gone. That's it. He said that he won't pursue the lawsuit thing anymore. I wouldn't really care if he did, but I am so tired of having to worry about him calling me, or showing up outside of my house, or at my work, or whatever. I just want it done. D. O. N. E.
30 minutes before I had to be at work this morning, the door buzzed, so I buzzed it open, mistake.
Our retarded mailman buzzes all the time so that he can put a package inside the door, so I thought nothing of it. I open the hall door, and BOB... yes BOB is standing there.
(Pause, insert screaming here)
He was all angry and leaning down at me running me over the coals about why I haven't been returning his calls, and that I'm a hypocrite for saying that I'm a Christian, and not resolving things with him, and that all he needs to do, to sue me for a mistake that I didn't really make, is to give his (mythical) "team of lawyers" the go ahead.
To make a long story short, he went on for quite some time, and quite frankly, scared the bejesus out of me. There is no longer any bejesus in me. Not even a little bejesus. He's a fairly imposing figure. Although he's thin, he's very tall, and I'm 6'.
I have to give praise to God for the strength to stand there and listen to him, hear him out, and not A) freak out. B) run away C) call the police D) give in to the pressure he put on me to fix HIS problems. I stood up for my position, told him why I wouldn't return his calls, and why I do not want to work with him any more.
We ended up coming up with a solution, and I am pretty satisfied that he'll be out of my life by next week. I am going to be in Joliet doing a favor for my manager at Starbucks. I will stop by and find a file that he cannot find, put it on the desktop, and be gone. That's it. He said that he won't pursue the lawsuit thing anymore. I wouldn't really care if he did, but I am so tired of having to worry about him calling me, or showing up outside of my house, or at my work, or whatever. I just want it done. D. O. N. E.
On to something nicer, Sarah and I were watching "Austin City Limits" tonight, because there was a captivating artist on. His name is Ben Kweller, and he has apparently been around since 94 or so. Very "Pedro the Lion" meets "Beck."
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Christmas is in the air...
Yeah. Christmas... It's in the freezing cold air.
I have been having a hard time getting into the actual spirit of Christmas this year... mostly because we've been in the "Spirit of last few weeks of school for the semester" around here.
Bob, the maniac, has tried to contact me again this week. After nearly a month of heavenly silence, he forgot that I don't work for him anymore... again.
My parents and my brothers are coming out to our apartment, and state for that matter, for Christmas day... this will be very cool, as Sarah's family will be here as well. It should be a very enjoyable christmas.
As for gifts. The only thing that I want this year is quite beyond my grasp. So I've asked for money or gift certificates towards it... If you were to guess, it wouldn't be that hard... It's the only product that I truly believe was made for me. It's a small, lightweight piece of heaven that holds more songs than I can listen to in several weeks... straight... The 40 Gb iPod from Apple is the Apple of my eye. They're pretty expensive, but if anybody would get their money's worth out of an iPod, it's me. So I'm dead set on it. Even if I have to wait till my birthday comes around in March and use money and gift cards from that...
Well, I'm getting sleepy, so I'll sign off now.
Later,
Jim
I have been having a hard time getting into the actual spirit of Christmas this year... mostly because we've been in the "Spirit of last few weeks of school for the semester" around here.
Bob, the maniac, has tried to contact me again this week. After nearly a month of heavenly silence, he forgot that I don't work for him anymore... again.
My parents and my brothers are coming out to our apartment, and state for that matter, for Christmas day... this will be very cool, as Sarah's family will be here as well. It should be a very enjoyable christmas.
As for gifts. The only thing that I want this year is quite beyond my grasp. So I've asked for money or gift certificates towards it... If you were to guess, it wouldn't be that hard... It's the only product that I truly believe was made for me. It's a small, lightweight piece of heaven that holds more songs than I can listen to in several weeks... straight... The 40 Gb iPod from Apple is the Apple of my eye. They're pretty expensive, but if anybody would get their money's worth out of an iPod, it's me. So I'm dead set on it. Even if I have to wait till my birthday comes around in March and use money and gift cards from that...
Well, I'm getting sleepy, so I'll sign off now.
Later,
Jim
Monday, December 13, 2004
Rappers for Kerry
I've been half asleep all day today... poor me.
I heard a funny comedian talking today about how so many in the rap community supported the Democrats in the last election, and how it "made alot of sense..."
With a few exceptions... Republicans are known for being a male-dominated, gun carrying group. Obsessed with personal gain... Things that the rap community wants NOTHING to do with...
Very funny.
Jim
(P.S. To gain a better grasp of just how big John Kerry's head is, it should be noted that the picture above is one of the Senator with full grown 38 year old homemaker, Louise Macanucky from Omaha, Nebraska.)
I heard a funny comedian talking today about how so many in the rap community supported the Democrats in the last election, and how it "made alot of sense..."
With a few exceptions... Republicans are known for being a male-dominated, gun carrying group. Obsessed with personal gain... Things that the rap community wants NOTHING to do with...
Very funny.
Jim
(P.S. To gain a better grasp of just how big John Kerry's head is, it should be noted that the picture above is one of the Senator with full grown 38 year old homemaker, Louise Macanucky from Omaha, Nebraska.)
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Incapable of an intelligent thought
Yeah... So I have nothing to say.
I do however have something fun for everyone.
My young sister in law, Kaitlin, had quite the amusing post on her blog today in which she compares herself to an old woman, quotes the movie "That thing you do" and refers to Samuel Clemens on a first name basis. Ah, to be 16 again... I love this girl.
So cheers, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Jim
I do however have something fun for everyone.
My young sister in law, Kaitlin, had quite the amusing post on her blog today in which she compares herself to an old woman, quotes the movie "That thing you do" and refers to Samuel Clemens on a first name basis. Ah, to be 16 again... I love this girl.
So cheers, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Jim
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Day Off!!!
YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!
Ok... so I'm excited. I have really been looking forward to today. I have some fun plans, and hope to accomplish them. Due to sleeping in, the day is going faster than I anticipated, but I have already changed the windshield wipers on the car, talked to somebody I needed to talk to (yeah, that wasn't vague...) and had some devotional time. I have been, for the last 20 minutes, browsing the internet to see what's been going on at my favorite sites, and while doing so, came across this little nugget of joy. An unexplored page on a website I've been to before. The author and his friends review horrible movies, and explain them in a sentence or two. Sometimes they even have sound, picture, or movie clips to accent the horribleness! It's fantastic!!! And very entertaining... I suggest you check it out.
Jim
Ok... so I'm excited. I have really been looking forward to today. I have some fun plans, and hope to accomplish them. Due to sleeping in, the day is going faster than I anticipated, but I have already changed the windshield wipers on the car, talked to somebody I needed to talk to (yeah, that wasn't vague...) and had some devotional time. I have been, for the last 20 minutes, browsing the internet to see what's been going on at my favorite sites, and while doing so, came across this little nugget of joy. An unexplored page on a website I've been to before. The author and his friends review horrible movies, and explain them in a sentence or two. Sometimes they even have sound, picture, or movie clips to accent the horribleness! It's fantastic!!! And very entertaining... I suggest you check it out.
Jim
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Life, and other completely confusing issues...
So God is good. This is the one and only thing that seems stable in life right now. Strangely enough, it IS the only thing that IS stable in life, ever...
Sarah and I have been having a hard time lately. Mostly due to the fact that we can't see much of each other due to her college semester which will (hallelujah) be done in 2 weeks.
I am working hard, and will hopefully make shift manager by the end of the month. I'll definitely be making shift pay by then... which will be nice. I keep doing my best, and hoping for the same.
Later all.
Jim
Sarah and I have been having a hard time lately. Mostly due to the fact that we can't see much of each other due to her college semester which will (hallelujah) be done in 2 weeks.
I am working hard, and will hopefully make shift manager by the end of the month. I'll definitely be making shift pay by then... which will be nice. I keep doing my best, and hoping for the same.
Later all.
Jim
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Persians with attitudes.
My apologies...
I can't really expect people to read this thing if I never put anything new up.
It's been a wierd week. Mainly because of a change of residence that took place... Sarah and I have been house sitting for her uncle Jim and his fiance Judi this past week. They have 4 cats, and we watch after the cats while Jim & Judi go on vacation. My favorite of the felines is a persian named "Pinksters" (Pictured here in the sink)... who despite the manly name, is a girl. She's like a trillion years old, and has quite an attitude with the other cats, but I find "attitude" an admirable trait in cats.
Speaking of persians, I work with two guys a bit younger than me at Starbucks who, I just found this out this week, are persian. I had assumed they were greek, and from what they tell me, there's alot of similarities... at least in the "Old world" attitudes that both cultures have. I was talking to Mike, the younger of the two, who are cousins, and he said that the movie "My big fat greek wedding" was an accurate picture of his family... except that it would be big, fat and persian... much like Pinksters.
Anyway, upon finding out that Matt and Mike are both persian, I thanked Mike for Chess, as I am a fan of the game... and he in turn thanked me for television, as he is a large fan of the tube. We both went away happy, equally proud of our incredibly stereotypical acheivements. Needless to say that my best friend Ryan declared that he was not aware that Persia still existed. I mentioned that I thought it did, but it has evaded our news by evading President Bush's awareness of it's existence. Otherwise, he would've bombed it by now, and we'd know it existed. (Which incidently, is why presidents bomb countries... our schools just aren't doing a great job of teaching geography, and unless we obliterate some little no-name country, most American's will continue on their daily lives unaware of it's existence. We're doing them a favor when you think about it. Their 15 minutes of fame come packaged with the patriot missles we're dropping.) Anyway... Matt & Mike's families are from Iran. As Persia does not exist as Persia anymore. Apparently, not since they had an empire. The loss of which complicated things...
Well, I tire of this blathering... so I will retire.
I will return.
Jim
I can't really expect people to read this thing if I never put anything new up.
It's been a wierd week. Mainly because of a change of residence that took place... Sarah and I have been house sitting for her uncle Jim and his fiance Judi this past week. They have 4 cats, and we watch after the cats while Jim & Judi go on vacation. My favorite of the felines is a persian named "Pinksters" (Pictured here in the sink)... who despite the manly name, is a girl. She's like a trillion years old, and has quite an attitude with the other cats, but I find "attitude" an admirable trait in cats.
Speaking of persians, I work with two guys a bit younger than me at Starbucks who, I just found this out this week, are persian. I had assumed they were greek, and from what they tell me, there's alot of similarities... at least in the "Old world" attitudes that both cultures have. I was talking to Mike, the younger of the two, who are cousins, and he said that the movie "My big fat greek wedding" was an accurate picture of his family... except that it would be big, fat and persian... much like Pinksters.
Anyway, upon finding out that Matt and Mike are both persian, I thanked Mike for Chess, as I am a fan of the game... and he in turn thanked me for television, as he is a large fan of the tube. We both went away happy, equally proud of our incredibly stereotypical acheivements. Needless to say that my best friend Ryan declared that he was not aware that Persia still existed. I mentioned that I thought it did, but it has evaded our news by evading President Bush's awareness of it's existence. Otherwise, he would've bombed it by now, and we'd know it existed. (Which incidently, is why presidents bomb countries... our schools just aren't doing a great job of teaching geography, and unless we obliterate some little no-name country, most American's will continue on their daily lives unaware of it's existence. We're doing them a favor when you think about it. Their 15 minutes of fame come packaged with the patriot missles we're dropping.) Anyway... Matt & Mike's families are from Iran. As Persia does not exist as Persia anymore. Apparently, not since they had an empire. The loss of which complicated things...
Well, I tire of this blathering... so I will retire.
I will return.
Jim
Monday, November 22, 2004
Ok, so you all stink...
I checked back on my blog after our fantastic weekend in Ohio, only to find that NOONE posted anything.
Was the song too long? Should I not have posted my thoughts on it? I didn't expect a flood of responses, but I didn't expect silence either...
Well, I guess this will remain a mystery to me... at least until I can come up with an interpretation of the song that makes sense to me.
Anyway... Sorry for ranting. I just respect all of your opinions, and I thought that this would be something of interest to you.
Jim
Was the song too long? Should I not have posted my thoughts on it? I didn't expect a flood of responses, but I didn't expect silence either...
Well, I guess this will remain a mystery to me... at least until I can come up with an interpretation of the song that makes sense to me.
Anyway... Sorry for ranting. I just respect all of your opinions, and I thought that this would be something of interest to you.
Jim
Friday, November 19, 2004
Pedro the Lion Song:
To understand why this song is here... read the preceding entry, entitled "Pedro Problems".
"Start Without Me"
Verse 1:
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
Chorus:
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Verse 2:
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
Bridge:
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Repeat Chorus 2x
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok... Now for interpretations:
Interpretation one. Just as it appears to be. (According to me.)
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
I have no idea what he's talking about... perhaps the talking character is an invalid. Perhaps elderly...
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
Ok. The main character is a gambler. "Start without me" possibly refers to a meal?
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Maybe a guilt trip or justification of the reason the main character isn't present?
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
Back to the fact that the main character is not home, and is calling on the phone... The message appears to be to the writer's wife. It would appear that the bridge, "If it's once I got it, if it's twice I don't" is the end of the message listed below.
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
The reference to money implies that the writer might not make it back, or at least not make it back in time to provide for the family's needs... necessitating the wife to know where to find his stashed money.
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Perhaps the number of telephone rings he will use as a signal to let her know the outcome of his wager?
Interpretation two. Reachy version... with alot of religious references.
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
Still have no idea what he's talking about.
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
The "track" is a symbol for a place of neglect. The family sees it as a place they never go. A place where they cannot go. In some ways, many christians feel abandoned by God in their everyday life because they do not "feel" Him in a tangible way. The meal eaten without the father, is perhaps a symbol of human life without feeling God's presence in a tangible way... thus, the "Say my name as you begin" refers to prayer. Specifically prayer before a meal. The way it's said, so flatly, implies it being an empty, "going through the motions" tradition.
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Perhaps a reference to Christ's sacrifice for us, and the lack of gratitude or aknowledgement of His act, shown on our part?
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
Perhaps a reference to Jesus' ascention into heaven. The fact that his disciples wrote his words down after he left the earth seems to be a viable interpretation of this line if we keep with the spiritual interpretation...
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
If we continue our line of thinking, perhaps this is an allusion to the value of the content in those writings. All that is needed is to "look behind" what Jesus left us, his message, to realize the riches we have because of Him. (Not money, but strength, peace, and forgiveness)
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Absolutely no idea how this would fit into the second interpretation I have provided... Oh well.
So there you have it... opinions welcome and encouraged.
Thanks,
Jim
"Start Without Me"
Verse 1:
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
Chorus:
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Verse 2:
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
Bridge:
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Repeat Chorus 2x
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok... Now for interpretations:
Interpretation one. Just as it appears to be. (According to me.)
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
I have no idea what he's talking about... perhaps the talking character is an invalid. Perhaps elderly...
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
Ok. The main character is a gambler. "Start without me" possibly refers to a meal?
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Maybe a guilt trip or justification of the reason the main character isn't present?
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
Back to the fact that the main character is not home, and is calling on the phone... The message appears to be to the writer's wife. It would appear that the bridge, "If it's once I got it, if it's twice I don't" is the end of the message listed below.
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
The reference to money implies that the writer might not make it back, or at least not make it back in time to provide for the family's needs... necessitating the wife to know where to find his stashed money.
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Perhaps the number of telephone rings he will use as a signal to let her know the outcome of his wager?
Interpretation two. Reachy version... with alot of religious references.
Roll me over, I wanna wave at the kids.
I can't say I prescribe 'cause I don't know what it is.
Still have no idea what he's talking about.
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in.
If you start without me, say my name as you begin.
The "track" is a symbol for a place of neglect. The family sees it as a place they never go. A place where they cannot go. In some ways, many christians feel abandoned by God in their everyday life because they do not "feel" Him in a tangible way. The meal eaten without the father, is perhaps a symbol of human life without feeling God's presence in a tangible way... thus, the "Say my name as you begin" refers to prayer. Specifically prayer before a meal. The way it's said, so flatly, implies it being an empty, "going through the motions" tradition.
It's not like it wasn't all for you...
but like everything I do, it's misunderstood.
Perhaps a reference to Christ's sacrifice for us, and the lack of gratitude or aknowledgement of His act, shown on our part?
Take a message, I'm on my way out of town.
But the wording's important, so make sure you write it down.
Perhaps a reference to Jesus' ascention into heaven. The fact that his disciples wrote his words down after he left the earth seems to be a viable interpretation of this line if we keep with the spiritual interpretation...
There's money behind every picture in the place...
Sincerely, your husband, on my way to the next race.
If we continue our line of thinking, perhaps this is an allusion to the value of the content in those writings. All that is needed is to "look behind" what Jesus left us, his message, to realize the riches we have because of Him. (Not money, but strength, peace, and forgiveness)
If it's once, I got it.
If it's twice, I don't...
Absolutely no idea how this would fit into the second interpretation I have provided... Oh well.
So there you have it... opinions welcome and encouraged.
Thanks,
Jim
Pedro Problem...
Hi.
Ok, so I've been having this... situation.
Whenever I get a new Pedro the Lion album, I sit down and read the lyrics... then I listen to the album. Then I keep listening and reading until I understand what the songs mean. Half the fun of PTL is the incredibly complex content of his songs. You never get some sappy love song, or bitter rant against bad parents, or a "deep" song that states pop culture beliefs in every other stanza.
You get really weird, complex songs. Developed around weird, complex music. Sung by an incredibly simple, untrained voice. It ends up being a VERY enjoyable experience for me. Until the latest album, and for one reason... There is a song on the record that I do not "get."
For most people, they'd let it go, or not listen to the song, but not me. I am sitting at home on my 1/2 hour break from work ranting about this because I cannot let it go.
So I need your help. I'm going to put the song up in my next post, along with the two interpretations that I've been able to come up with. Neither is complete, and if they were, I probably wouldn't be completely satisfied with the outcome anyway... It's just a really enigmatic song. Full of what seem to be references to Christian ideals, but masked so completely that they seem like the song could be about horse racing as much as a story of the life of Christ... bizarre.
So that's what's coming next. Keep your eyes peeled, and please respond with your own ideas and interpretations.
Jim
Ok, so I've been having this... situation.
Whenever I get a new Pedro the Lion album, I sit down and read the lyrics... then I listen to the album. Then I keep listening and reading until I understand what the songs mean. Half the fun of PTL is the incredibly complex content of his songs. You never get some sappy love song, or bitter rant against bad parents, or a "deep" song that states pop culture beliefs in every other stanza.
You get really weird, complex songs. Developed around weird, complex music. Sung by an incredibly simple, untrained voice. It ends up being a VERY enjoyable experience for me. Until the latest album, and for one reason... There is a song on the record that I do not "get."
For most people, they'd let it go, or not listen to the song, but not me. I am sitting at home on my 1/2 hour break from work ranting about this because I cannot let it go.
So I need your help. I'm going to put the song up in my next post, along with the two interpretations that I've been able to come up with. Neither is complete, and if they were, I probably wouldn't be completely satisfied with the outcome anyway... It's just a really enigmatic song. Full of what seem to be references to Christian ideals, but masked so completely that they seem like the song could be about horse racing as much as a story of the life of Christ... bizarre.
So that's what's coming next. Keep your eyes peeled, and please respond with your own ideas and interpretations.
Jim
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Speaking of Heaven
Ok, so I'm listening to my music at home, and since I've had the song "Heaven" by DJ Sammy in my head, I decided to play it. So I typed "Heaven" into iTunes, and it pulled up every song with that word in it. I played the song, and the "random play" function took me to the next random heaven song... "Meet me in heaven" by Johnny Cash, then to "Heaven is so far away" by the Offspring, then to "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin, and finally to "Such a thing as Glory" by Rich Mullins off of his album "Wind of Heaven, Stuff of Earth."
What a weird music collection I have.
What a weird music collection I have.
Heaven on Clark...
Well, I didn't write anything yesterday because I was dead... but I'm ok now.
We went to see Pedro the Lion & Starflyer 59 on Tuesday night.
The concert started around 8:30 at the Metro, across the street from Wrigley Field, here in Chicago. Our party consisted of Sarah, Me, my best friend Ryan, our good friend Adam, and Sarah's youngest sister Kaitlin (her first concert.)
It was a great show. Starflyer was amazing... very full sound for a guitarist and a drummer. Aside from their set being very short, I couldn't have asked anything more from them. They did a great, upbeat version of the song "I Drive Alot" off of the album "Fashion Focus", otherwise, it seemed that all the rest of the songs were off of their new album "I am the Portugese Blues."
Pedro the Lion performed next, with more people on stage than I've ever seen them have. David Bazan, who for many years, has performed by himself or with the man he now refers to as T. William Walsh. This time, he and T.W. were joined by a fantastic (and balding) bass player, an incredibly skinny sound-guy, and a keyboard player. I couldn't have picked a better group of songs myself, and the first 6 or 7 were back to back with no stopping whatsoever. This was highly unexpected, because of how much David likes to talk to the crowd and answer their questions... after those first 6 or so songs, he opened up to questions to give the band a break and then dove right back in with about 4 more songs. After that, it was introduction time, and more questions... From there on, it was straight music, one broken guitar string, and a few more q and a sements. Very cool. David was so much more on top of his game then when I saw him last. The songs were creatively twisted a bit, and he really jumped around his discography. I think that I heard only 3 songs from any one album. They were pretty spread around. Kaitlin really enjoyed the show, and came up close to the stage with me during the Starflyer 59 set. The rest of our crew hung back, except for Sarah, who came up closer with me during the PTL set. What an enjoyable evening.
We took the CTA "L" trains to and from the concert. Always a blast for me. I really love riding the L's. There is a great deal of fear in the south side suburbs concerning the L's, but I feel it's unwarranted. They are very convenient, and run all over the city.
We got home around 1am, which was unfortunate for me, since I had to be at work to open at 5 am. Needless to say, I went to sleep upon walking in the door. Sarah had to stay up till 3 doing homework, and got up at 6:30, so we were in the same sleepy boat yesterday. I don't work today, so I've been chillin. Watched the movie M.A.S.H. for the first time today, and as a lover of the TV show that followed it, I must say I was incredibly impressed. The only fault I had with the movie was that right at the end, they felt the need for some reason to send Hawkeye Pierce and another doctor "home"... One of the important aspects of the show was the overwhelming sense of "We're never going to get home" that pervaded the attitudes of those at the 4077th. In a movie that short, it seemed like they were implying that you go to war for a couple weeks, play some pranks, some football, and operate on a bunch of wounded soldiers, then go home. Granted, the TV show had a much larger platform (longer run) to communicate what it was like to serve in Korea in an Army hospital, but in the movie I never felt that the 4077th was ever 3 miles from the front lines. It seemed more like a summer camp with a tri-og.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Enjoy your day, and as Jerry Springer says, "Take care of yourselves, and eachother..."
Jim
P.S. It should be noted that this entire post was written while listening to the song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd... the song is like approximately 14 days long...
We went to see Pedro the Lion & Starflyer 59 on Tuesday night.
The concert started around 8:30 at the Metro, across the street from Wrigley Field, here in Chicago. Our party consisted of Sarah, Me, my best friend Ryan, our good friend Adam, and Sarah's youngest sister Kaitlin (her first concert.)
It was a great show. Starflyer was amazing... very full sound for a guitarist and a drummer. Aside from their set being very short, I couldn't have asked anything more from them. They did a great, upbeat version of the song "I Drive Alot" off of the album "Fashion Focus", otherwise, it seemed that all the rest of the songs were off of their new album "I am the Portugese Blues."
Pedro the Lion performed next, with more people on stage than I've ever seen them have. David Bazan, who for many years, has performed by himself or with the man he now refers to as T. William Walsh. This time, he and T.W. were joined by a fantastic (and balding) bass player, an incredibly skinny sound-guy, and a keyboard player. I couldn't have picked a better group of songs myself, and the first 6 or 7 were back to back with no stopping whatsoever. This was highly unexpected, because of how much David likes to talk to the crowd and answer their questions... after those first 6 or so songs, he opened up to questions to give the band a break and then dove right back in with about 4 more songs. After that, it was introduction time, and more questions... From there on, it was straight music, one broken guitar string, and a few more q and a sements. Very cool. David was so much more on top of his game then when I saw him last. The songs were creatively twisted a bit, and he really jumped around his discography. I think that I heard only 3 songs from any one album. They were pretty spread around. Kaitlin really enjoyed the show, and came up close to the stage with me during the Starflyer 59 set. The rest of our crew hung back, except for Sarah, who came up closer with me during the PTL set. What an enjoyable evening.
We took the CTA "L" trains to and from the concert. Always a blast for me. I really love riding the L's. There is a great deal of fear in the south side suburbs concerning the L's, but I feel it's unwarranted. They are very convenient, and run all over the city.
We got home around 1am, which was unfortunate for me, since I had to be at work to open at 5 am. Needless to say, I went to sleep upon walking in the door. Sarah had to stay up till 3 doing homework, and got up at 6:30, so we were in the same sleepy boat yesterday. I don't work today, so I've been chillin. Watched the movie M.A.S.H. for the first time today, and as a lover of the TV show that followed it, I must say I was incredibly impressed. The only fault I had with the movie was that right at the end, they felt the need for some reason to send Hawkeye Pierce and another doctor "home"... One of the important aspects of the show was the overwhelming sense of "We're never going to get home" that pervaded the attitudes of those at the 4077th. In a movie that short, it seemed like they were implying that you go to war for a couple weeks, play some pranks, some football, and operate on a bunch of wounded soldiers, then go home. Granted, the TV show had a much larger platform (longer run) to communicate what it was like to serve in Korea in an Army hospital, but in the movie I never felt that the 4077th was ever 3 miles from the front lines. It seemed more like a summer camp with a tri-og.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Enjoy your day, and as Jerry Springer says, "Take care of yourselves, and eachother..."
Jim
P.S. It should be noted that this entire post was written while listening to the song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd... the song is like approximately 14 days long...
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Workety Work Work Work...
Well, I just got home from a rousing night of work.
I am really enjoying Starbucks. I finally told Bob off this week, and am not answering his calls anymore. He threatened a bogus lawsuit, but I've gotten alot of advice about it, and everyone says that he's just bluffing... that noone would go to court over the amount of money that he's trying to intimidate me into giving him. The guy's just rotten. I've had such a hard time being Christlike to this guy, but that's what trials are... trying.
Anyway, back to the "Bucks"... I'm becoming VERY good on the espresso bar. Which is great, because it's easily the most difficult thing to do there, and earns me respect at a much faster pace then anything else.
I am really enjoying Starbucks. I finally told Bob off this week, and am not answering his calls anymore. He threatened a bogus lawsuit, but I've gotten alot of advice about it, and everyone says that he's just bluffing... that noone would go to court over the amount of money that he's trying to intimidate me into giving him. The guy's just rotten. I've had such a hard time being Christlike to this guy, but that's what trials are... trying.
Anyway, back to the "Bucks"... I'm becoming VERY good on the espresso bar. Which is great, because it's easily the most difficult thing to do there, and earns me respect at a much faster pace then anything else.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Cancer...
Argh.
My grandma sent us an email yesterday, letting the family know that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer. Please keep her, and the family, in your prayers in future weeks.
Cancer is one of those things that I feel reminds us how little control we truly have over the world around us. In truth, all we can do in this situation is do our best medically, and leave the results in God's hands.
That's all for now.
Jim
My grandma sent us an email yesterday, letting the family know that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer. Please keep her, and the family, in your prayers in future weeks.
Cancer is one of those things that I feel reminds us how little control we truly have over the world around us. In truth, all we can do in this situation is do our best medically, and leave the results in God's hands.
That's all for now.
Jim
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Pedro the Lion
ALRIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!
My favorite band, Pedro the Lion, and my third favorite band, Starflyer 59, are going to be playing together here in Chicago on Tuesday, November 23rd!!! They are playing at the Metro, which is across the street from Wrigley Field, and it is going to be GREAT!!!
I am so excited! I have seen PTL two times, but I have not yet seen Starflyer. My brothers, Stephen and Ezra are really big fans of Starflyer 59, and would probably love to come too, but Pedro the Lion's content is pretty adult, so that wouldn't do. Anyway, Ryan is coming, and our friend Adam, and probably our friend Jack and his son... (Hence the call in the previous post.)
My favorite band, Pedro the Lion, and my third favorite band, Starflyer 59, are going to be playing together here in Chicago on Tuesday, November 23rd!!! They are playing at the Metro, which is across the street from Wrigley Field, and it is going to be GREAT!!!
I am so excited! I have seen PTL two times, but I have not yet seen Starflyer. My brothers, Stephen and Ezra are really big fans of Starflyer 59, and would probably love to come too, but Pedro the Lion's content is pretty adult, so that wouldn't do. Anyway, Ryan is coming, and our friend Adam, and probably our friend Jack and his son... (Hence the call in the previous post.)
Wham, Bam, Thank you... M'am.
Ok. I know that at times, when talking on the phone, I cannot be mistaken for Barry White, or Henry Kissenger, or James Earl Jones... I know that on many occassions I have been called "miss" or "M'am" and the like because of the "Softness" of my voice. I have not, however... until tonight... been called "Grandma???"
That's right... GRANDMA.
I called my friend Jack, and his daughter answered. (She is like 18, so don't let her off the hook for her age.) I asked for Jack, and she said "Grandma???" NO! THIS IS NOT A WOMAN! OR AN OLDER WOMAN FOR THAT MATTER! OR YOUR OWN GRANDMOTHER!!! ARGH!
So that's all I have to say about that.
Oh. I'm a lone wolf tonight. Sarah and I were planning to go to the Chicago Humanities Festival this year. She gets in free to everything because of one of her professors, and last year we had a blast. BUT... poverty reared it's ugly head, and we just don't have the money for both of us to go. So we talked about it, and several of her friends from school are going, so we decided that she should go without me. It's really a shame, and I hate to sleep alone, but it's only a night. She'll be staying in a hostile (For those of you who don't know what a hostile is, it's a really bare bones hotel room. European thing...) downtown with a girl from school. I've decided to go out with my best friend Ryan, and a few of our friends. We'll probably end up here at our place afterwards, and then I'll have church in the morning, so I'll be busy.
Today at Starbucks was busy. It's only going to get more so as the Holiday season goes on... Let's hope tips increase.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
That's right... GRANDMA.
I called my friend Jack, and his daughter answered. (She is like 18, so don't let her off the hook for her age.) I asked for Jack, and she said "Grandma???" NO! THIS IS NOT A WOMAN! OR AN OLDER WOMAN FOR THAT MATTER! OR YOUR OWN GRANDMOTHER!!! ARGH!
So that's all I have to say about that.
Oh. I'm a lone wolf tonight. Sarah and I were planning to go to the Chicago Humanities Festival this year. She gets in free to everything because of one of her professors, and last year we had a blast. BUT... poverty reared it's ugly head, and we just don't have the money for both of us to go. So we talked about it, and several of her friends from school are going, so we decided that she should go without me. It's really a shame, and I hate to sleep alone, but it's only a night. She'll be staying in a hostile (For those of you who don't know what a hostile is, it's a really bare bones hotel room. European thing...) downtown with a girl from school. I've decided to go out with my best friend Ryan, and a few of our friends. We'll probably end up here at our place afterwards, and then I'll have church in the morning, so I'll be busy.
Today at Starbucks was busy. It's only going to get more so as the Holiday season goes on... Let's hope tips increase.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Where I've been
My friend Kristen made a map on her blog of where she's been, so I thought I'd do the same.
I've never been outside the U.S.
Too bad...
Jim
Click Here to see my nice map.
I've never been outside the U.S.
Too bad...
Jim
Click Here to see my nice map.
"Shake it like a baby" and other quoteable phrases
Well, I've become quite the popular man on campus at Starbucks. Despite the fact that I was the only person in the place today pleased with the outcome of the U.S. presidential race. Bush, despite his faults, is so much better than Kerry, and I feel safer with him in the oval office. But back to my story... I have, since I started at Starbucks, aquired several appendages to my nametag which now reads
Jim "Shake it like a baby - Old lady chick magnet - Bush lover" Miller.
Explanation:
"Shake it like a baby" It started as a somewhat morbid offhand comment by myself, and has grown to a small cultural phenomenon at my Starbucks. I was on my way into the backroom kitchen area when I passed my coworker Kristen Condrin making whipped cream. The process of making whipped cream is this: Fill a stainless steel whipped cream "gun" with 16 oz. of heavy whipping cream, 7 pumps of vanilla syrup, screw cap on, and attach a Co2 cartridge, thus charging the whipped cream. After charging, shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. Kristen was, at that moment, attempting to shake her newly charged whipped cream, but instead of handling it easily and shaking it to her side, she was gripping it with both hands, holding it in front of herself, glaring at it as she shook it. "Man!" I commented, "You're shaking that like a baby!" She took one horrified moment, stared at me, and then burst out laughing. She then proceeded to relate the story to anyone who would listen, and it was deemed the funniest, and most offensive thing that anyone had heard in quite awhile. This has apparently become my known talent there. "If you want to hear a completely offensive, and wonderfully funny, go to Jim." I have to admit that I'm a little proud of it. I probably shouldn't be, but then, where would all my stories come from? So the saying has spread, and now everybody "Shakes it like a baby." Funny note: A girl that worked for one day and quit, was there long enough to hear the story, and had the funniest reaction to date. I was walking by her as she was shaking a whipped cream, and she started mimicing Kristen's "baby shake movement" and followed it by holding the whipped cream to her chest, stroking it, and murmering "Mommy loves you... mommy loves you..." It was the most wonderful, morbid thing I've seen in awhile, and I laugh every time I think of it.
Another offensive/funny thing I've said was something that just popped out of my mouth while 2 store managers, a shift manager, and our district manager were standing nearby. It all started when I found a bag from Kohl's on the counter in front of my register. Inside were two, unopened packs of fishnet stockings. Alarmed, but busy, I put them on the counter behind me, and continued to work. About a half hour later, a regular customer of ours came to claim them. She is a british woman, about 33 or 34, and closely resembles Susan Powter. Strangely enough, she is a fitness trainer. Well, when she came up and inquired as to whether we had found a bag from Kohl's, I burst out "The fishnet stockings? Oh, that's great! I was afraid some big hairy guy was going to come in and say 'Did anyone find my stockings?'" There was a gigantic silence, which was followed by everybody laughing, which is good, because I suddenly realized that the only people nearby were all people who could see me fired. But they loved it, and the customer loved it, and everybody was happy.
2nd Explanation:
"Old Lady Chick Magnet"
It is common knowledge to my friends and my wife that if you are a woman, and you are over 60, and are not in my family, you are completely powerless to my old lady charm. I am the biggest Old Lady Chick Magnet on earth. (Note to anyone over 60 reading this, Grandma and Grampa, this means you, I did not mean to imply that you are "old", but to people my age, 40 is like half dead.) So anyway... I have recieved over 3 $5 tips and half a dozen compliments to the manager, thanks to my "chicks." Not to mention that at least 20 of my "chicks" know my name and ALWAYS say hi. When I was a waiter at Chili's, I waited on two women of the age group in question, and at the end of their meal, the woman who was perhaps a bit more swept away by my debonair banter stood up and said "Where's my hug?" so I hugged her. I got a really good tip, too. The other waiters and waitresses thought that she was a relative, and to date, I am the only waiter I know of that has had this happen. I'm sure that waitresses at Hooters get this all the time, but to me, it's new.
3rd Explanation:
"Bush Lover"
Well, this is just due to GW, and my hatred of Kerry. I don't agree with the way that George goes about doing things, but at least I agree they should be done. This is often the case in life, and it really is a pretty good option. Short of a candidate that does what I want, the way I want, Bush is pretty good. Definitely better than Kerry, who stands for stuff I hate, and doesn't even do those things well. Let alone lead the country. But all these things have been exempt from my arguments there. I do NOT want to get fired over something stupid like stating my political views to a bunch of customers and offending people. I'd much rather be fired over saying something funny and offensive. Just kidding. I don't want to get fired at all, so when asked, I have restricted myself to saying "I don't believe in giving promotions to people who can't even do their current job right. In my opinion, Kerry and Edwards are two of the worst senators the US has seen, and don't deserve a higher position." This has earned me the spurning of my peers, and while they are unified in their Bush-hatred, my Kerry-hatred is all they need to deem me a "Bush-lover." Reminds me of second grade. Please stand by your desks as we say the pledge of allegience.
Well. I'm tired, so that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed my newfound titles.
Jim
Jim "Shake it like a baby - Old lady chick magnet - Bush lover" Miller.
Explanation:
"Shake it like a baby" It started as a somewhat morbid offhand comment by myself, and has grown to a small cultural phenomenon at my Starbucks. I was on my way into the backroom kitchen area when I passed my coworker Kristen Condrin making whipped cream. The process of making whipped cream is this: Fill a stainless steel whipped cream "gun" with 16 oz. of heavy whipping cream, 7 pumps of vanilla syrup, screw cap on, and attach a Co2 cartridge, thus charging the whipped cream. After charging, shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. Kristen was, at that moment, attempting to shake her newly charged whipped cream, but instead of handling it easily and shaking it to her side, she was gripping it with both hands, holding it in front of herself, glaring at it as she shook it. "Man!" I commented, "You're shaking that like a baby!" She took one horrified moment, stared at me, and then burst out laughing. She then proceeded to relate the story to anyone who would listen, and it was deemed the funniest, and most offensive thing that anyone had heard in quite awhile. This has apparently become my known talent there. "If you want to hear a completely offensive, and wonderfully funny, go to Jim." I have to admit that I'm a little proud of it. I probably shouldn't be, but then, where would all my stories come from? So the saying has spread, and now everybody "Shakes it like a baby." Funny note: A girl that worked for one day and quit, was there long enough to hear the story, and had the funniest reaction to date. I was walking by her as she was shaking a whipped cream, and she started mimicing Kristen's "baby shake movement" and followed it by holding the whipped cream to her chest, stroking it, and murmering "Mommy loves you... mommy loves you..." It was the most wonderful, morbid thing I've seen in awhile, and I laugh every time I think of it.
Another offensive/funny thing I've said was something that just popped out of my mouth while 2 store managers, a shift manager, and our district manager were standing nearby. It all started when I found a bag from Kohl's on the counter in front of my register. Inside were two, unopened packs of fishnet stockings. Alarmed, but busy, I put them on the counter behind me, and continued to work. About a half hour later, a regular customer of ours came to claim them. She is a british woman, about 33 or 34, and closely resembles Susan Powter. Strangely enough, she is a fitness trainer. Well, when she came up and inquired as to whether we had found a bag from Kohl's, I burst out "The fishnet stockings? Oh, that's great! I was afraid some big hairy guy was going to come in and say 'Did anyone find my stockings?'" There was a gigantic silence, which was followed by everybody laughing, which is good, because I suddenly realized that the only people nearby were all people who could see me fired. But they loved it, and the customer loved it, and everybody was happy.
2nd Explanation:
"Old Lady Chick Magnet"
It is common knowledge to my friends and my wife that if you are a woman, and you are over 60, and are not in my family, you are completely powerless to my old lady charm. I am the biggest Old Lady Chick Magnet on earth. (Note to anyone over 60 reading this, Grandma and Grampa, this means you, I did not mean to imply that you are "old", but to people my age, 40 is like half dead.) So anyway... I have recieved over 3 $5 tips and half a dozen compliments to the manager, thanks to my "chicks." Not to mention that at least 20 of my "chicks" know my name and ALWAYS say hi. When I was a waiter at Chili's, I waited on two women of the age group in question, and at the end of their meal, the woman who was perhaps a bit more swept away by my debonair banter stood up and said "Where's my hug?" so I hugged her. I got a really good tip, too. The other waiters and waitresses thought that she was a relative, and to date, I am the only waiter I know of that has had this happen. I'm sure that waitresses at Hooters get this all the time, but to me, it's new.
3rd Explanation:
"Bush Lover"
Well, this is just due to GW, and my hatred of Kerry. I don't agree with the way that George goes about doing things, but at least I agree they should be done. This is often the case in life, and it really is a pretty good option. Short of a candidate that does what I want, the way I want, Bush is pretty good. Definitely better than Kerry, who stands for stuff I hate, and doesn't even do those things well. Let alone lead the country. But all these things have been exempt from my arguments there. I do NOT want to get fired over something stupid like stating my political views to a bunch of customers and offending people. I'd much rather be fired over saying something funny and offensive. Just kidding. I don't want to get fired at all, so when asked, I have restricted myself to saying "I don't believe in giving promotions to people who can't even do their current job right. In my opinion, Kerry and Edwards are two of the worst senators the US has seen, and don't deserve a higher position." This has earned me the spurning of my peers, and while they are unified in their Bush-hatred, my Kerry-hatred is all they need to deem me a "Bush-lover." Reminds me of second grade. Please stand by your desks as we say the pledge of allegience.
Well. I'm tired, so that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed my newfound titles.
Jim
Friday, October 29, 2004
Reading, Writing and Rhythm... at least, that's the way it should be...
Well, I've certainly been in a "reading" mood. I've been reading alot in the past few days, mostly Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the Bible, but it's been fun. I always read in spurts. I'll go forever without touching a book and then read several in a few weeks. I can hear Sarah groaning as she reads this, she's been reading sooooo much for school. At least a book or two a week. Sometimes more.
As for writing, I have been pretty lazy about writing. A few things of interest have happened since I last wrote. The biggest news was that my grandparents came out to visit last Saturday, and my sister Tammy and her husband came out Sunday on their way back to NY. Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa Miller and Sarah's mom went with us to a sweet adelines concert on the north side of Chicago. It was really good! If any of you aren't familiar with the sweet adelines, they are a large organization of female barbershop quartet singers. The quartets join together, and form a choir. These different choirs compete against eachother, and support what, in many ways, is a dying art form. Barbershop (4 part harmony) is a great American music form, and deserves to stick around. This particular group, the Melodeers, have quite a few younger members, and their future looks promising. They were joined by a really good Swedish choir that had a really good sense of humor, and great voices. Excellent day. We went out to Chili's afterward.
After G & G went back to their hotel, I left Sarah to her homework, and went over to the church to pray for awhile, and on my way out, I struck up a conversation with the security guard, a man of about 50, who is a muslim. He was reading the hadith (Sayings of the Prophet) which is a sort-of "co-Quran"... the two books together form the muslim faith. We joked for a bit, and I told him of the Quran Chaper 9, verse 11 email hoax, and how it frustrates me that in the ongoing debate between our faiths, people feel the need to make stuff up. It's like a couple of years ago, when Marilyn Manson was every xian parent's nightmare, emails circulated saying that he had bitten the head off of a puppy on stage, and other untrue things. Instead of honestly and openly disagreeing with things he did, many people were happy to settle for berating him over things he didn't do. Which was stupid, and when he was accused of things he could disprove, made everyone who disagreed with him look stupid. Kumal, the security guard and I talked for about 45 minutes, during which, we each sat down and read the story of Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael to eachother. It was interesting to hear the story from their point of view, and he listened attentively to the Bible, and what It said. He's been to the site where it happened, outside of Mecca, and has drank from the well that God provided for Hagar and her son. It still flows, and they actually bottle the water which you can buy in the states! Crazy. Anyway, I plan to continue talking to him. I am so happy to have a church that doesn't want to chase muslims away. They'll never see what we truly stand for, unless they feel safe listening to us...
Sunday, G & G went to church with us, and hung out until Tammy and Josh showed up. I made my stuffed burgers on the grill. (Peppers and cheese inside... mmmmm) They were real late, because Josh decided to take a short cut, but we had a nice visiting time before G & G left. That night, we went downtown Chicago, so that Josh and Tammy could have real Chicago pizza. On recommendation, we went to Uno's which was very good. The wait was a bit, but it was a beautiful night, so we waited outside. After that, we wandered around and took a look around the city. Before heading home, we took a brisk ride up Lake Shore Drive and back down. Tammy and Josh spent the night on the floor of our apartment, and stayed until early afternoon. Tam and I got some nice time to talk at my Starbucks while Josh slept.
Speaking of Starbucks. I've been gaining popularity there, which is good. I still feel like I'm not up to speed with all that I need to be, but I keep trying, and it helps that I'm liked. I've made alot of music mix cds for just about everybody there. My best friend there so far is Kris. He's the morning shift manager, just about my age, and been there for about 5 years. Very cool guy. Has a band, in which he drums, so Sarah and I will have to go see them sometime. Yesterday, we had a store meeting about the holidays. It's so crazy. If I thought it was busy there now... Oi. Starbucks does over 60% of its yearly business in between thanksgiving and christmas! It's gonna be nuts!
Well, that's it for now. I'll write more later.
Jim
As for writing, I have been pretty lazy about writing. A few things of interest have happened since I last wrote. The biggest news was that my grandparents came out to visit last Saturday, and my sister Tammy and her husband came out Sunday on their way back to NY. Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa Miller and Sarah's mom went with us to a sweet adelines concert on the north side of Chicago. It was really good! If any of you aren't familiar with the sweet adelines, they are a large organization of female barbershop quartet singers. The quartets join together, and form a choir. These different choirs compete against eachother, and support what, in many ways, is a dying art form. Barbershop (4 part harmony) is a great American music form, and deserves to stick around. This particular group, the Melodeers, have quite a few younger members, and their future looks promising. They were joined by a really good Swedish choir that had a really good sense of humor, and great voices. Excellent day. We went out to Chili's afterward.
After G & G went back to their hotel, I left Sarah to her homework, and went over to the church to pray for awhile, and on my way out, I struck up a conversation with the security guard, a man of about 50, who is a muslim. He was reading the hadith (Sayings of the Prophet) which is a sort-of "co-Quran"... the two books together form the muslim faith. We joked for a bit, and I told him of the Quran Chaper 9, verse 11 email hoax, and how it frustrates me that in the ongoing debate between our faiths, people feel the need to make stuff up. It's like a couple of years ago, when Marilyn Manson was every xian parent's nightmare, emails circulated saying that he had bitten the head off of a puppy on stage, and other untrue things. Instead of honestly and openly disagreeing with things he did, many people were happy to settle for berating him over things he didn't do. Which was stupid, and when he was accused of things he could disprove, made everyone who disagreed with him look stupid. Kumal, the security guard and I talked for about 45 minutes, during which, we each sat down and read the story of Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael to eachother. It was interesting to hear the story from their point of view, and he listened attentively to the Bible, and what It said. He's been to the site where it happened, outside of Mecca, and has drank from the well that God provided for Hagar and her son. It still flows, and they actually bottle the water which you can buy in the states! Crazy. Anyway, I plan to continue talking to him. I am so happy to have a church that doesn't want to chase muslims away. They'll never see what we truly stand for, unless they feel safe listening to us...
Sunday, G & G went to church with us, and hung out until Tammy and Josh showed up. I made my stuffed burgers on the grill. (Peppers and cheese inside... mmmmm) They were real late, because Josh decided to take a short cut, but we had a nice visiting time before G & G left. That night, we went downtown Chicago, so that Josh and Tammy could have real Chicago pizza. On recommendation, we went to Uno's which was very good. The wait was a bit, but it was a beautiful night, so we waited outside. After that, we wandered around and took a look around the city. Before heading home, we took a brisk ride up Lake Shore Drive and back down. Tammy and Josh spent the night on the floor of our apartment, and stayed until early afternoon. Tam and I got some nice time to talk at my Starbucks while Josh slept.
Speaking of Starbucks. I've been gaining popularity there, which is good. I still feel like I'm not up to speed with all that I need to be, but I keep trying, and it helps that I'm liked. I've made alot of music mix cds for just about everybody there. My best friend there so far is Kris. He's the morning shift manager, just about my age, and been there for about 5 years. Very cool guy. Has a band, in which he drums, so Sarah and I will have to go see them sometime. Yesterday, we had a store meeting about the holidays. It's so crazy. If I thought it was busy there now... Oi. Starbucks does over 60% of its yearly business in between thanksgiving and christmas! It's gonna be nuts!
Well, that's it for now. I'll write more later.
Jim
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
I'm an emotional wreck tonight
I just have to get this out. I am so frustrated tonight.
In my life, as a christian, I have been taught that life is a series of challenge/struggles that we need to overcome. Each struggle is more difficult than the next, but by mastering the challenge/struggles that have come before, we develop the character required to deal with the ones ahead. I believe that this is so. Not only because it says that it is in scripture (James 1:2-8 & 1st Peter 1:6-8) but I have found it to be true in my own life.
I have been through several major and minor trials in my life. In each of these struggles, I have either perservered or failed. In the cases of failure, I have found myself in similar predicaments again & again, until I emerged having learned what I needed to. Then, I could move on. I don't believe that God sits back hurling problems at us to deal with. I do believe that while we move through life, He walks with us, guiding us and teaching us what we need to know to deal with life in a way that glorifies Him, and gives value to our existence. So it can be gathered that as I grow in maturity, and my ability to deal with situations/tests/struggles/challenges in life increases, I would deal with the easier ones correctly without really exerting any effort. The giant struggles of my past would seem small compared to the giants I face today. Not because they are any less important, but simply because now I know how to deal with them.
I have been fighting a battle. A very intimidating and uncomfortable situation, for the past few months. In this "battle" I have found myself failing and succeeding. I struggle to do what I know is right, to fight my inward tendencies to avoid conflict, and sometimes I succeed. Of all of the tests I've faced so far, this is what I would consider to be the hardest, if not one of the hardest. I know in my heart what must be done, but this is battled by my inward fear of the conflict that is sure to take place when I do, and the negative/wimpy responses I may have, due to several months of conditioning in an unhealthy relationship. Worse yet, I have been untruthful with the party that has wronged me. In an attempt to make things easier on myself, and give an excuse for why I could not do what they wanted, I lied about having another additional job, thus eliminating any free time I might have. No-one knows this but me. I am so ashamed of my unjust behavior, and frustrated for even getting myself into this situation, that it adds tremendously to my stress levels.
Of all the little white lies that have ever been told, this is the white-ist. I did not elaborate on "the job." I gave no indication of what make-believe income I might make. I did not make this out to be anything more than an excuse for "not having the time" that he might want. BUT... no lie travels alone, and this one has a host of friends in the hall waiting to come in when needed. All they need to rear their ugly heads is just a "So what are your hours like at this other job?" or "What's it like there?" That's what I hate. I think that Mark Twain once said something along the lines of "Always tell the truth. It's alot easier to remember." I couldn't agree more.
Well... I have a feeling that there's more to say, but I'm really worn, so I'm going to take a break. I really appreciate the ability to honestly open up on this site. I really appreciate all of you. Thank you.
Jim
In my life, as a christian, I have been taught that life is a series of challenge/struggles that we need to overcome. Each struggle is more difficult than the next, but by mastering the challenge/struggles that have come before, we develop the character required to deal with the ones ahead. I believe that this is so. Not only because it says that it is in scripture (James 1:2-8 & 1st Peter 1:6-8) but I have found it to be true in my own life.
I have been through several major and minor trials in my life. In each of these struggles, I have either perservered or failed. In the cases of failure, I have found myself in similar predicaments again & again, until I emerged having learned what I needed to. Then, I could move on. I don't believe that God sits back hurling problems at us to deal with. I do believe that while we move through life, He walks with us, guiding us and teaching us what we need to know to deal with life in a way that glorifies Him, and gives value to our existence. So it can be gathered that as I grow in maturity, and my ability to deal with situations/tests/struggles/challenges in life increases, I would deal with the easier ones correctly without really exerting any effort. The giant struggles of my past would seem small compared to the giants I face today. Not because they are any less important, but simply because now I know how to deal with them.
I have been fighting a battle. A very intimidating and uncomfortable situation, for the past few months. In this "battle" I have found myself failing and succeeding. I struggle to do what I know is right, to fight my inward tendencies to avoid conflict, and sometimes I succeed. Of all of the tests I've faced so far, this is what I would consider to be the hardest, if not one of the hardest. I know in my heart what must be done, but this is battled by my inward fear of the conflict that is sure to take place when I do, and the negative/wimpy responses I may have, due to several months of conditioning in an unhealthy relationship. Worse yet, I have been untruthful with the party that has wronged me. In an attempt to make things easier on myself, and give an excuse for why I could not do what they wanted, I lied about having another additional job, thus eliminating any free time I might have. No-one knows this but me. I am so ashamed of my unjust behavior, and frustrated for even getting myself into this situation, that it adds tremendously to my stress levels.
Of all the little white lies that have ever been told, this is the white-ist. I did not elaborate on "the job." I gave no indication of what make-believe income I might make. I did not make this out to be anything more than an excuse for "not having the time" that he might want. BUT... no lie travels alone, and this one has a host of friends in the hall waiting to come in when needed. All they need to rear their ugly heads is just a "So what are your hours like at this other job?" or "What's it like there?" That's what I hate. I think that Mark Twain once said something along the lines of "Always tell the truth. It's alot easier to remember." I couldn't agree more.
Well... I have a feeling that there's more to say, but I'm really worn, so I'm going to take a break. I really appreciate the ability to honestly open up on this site. I really appreciate all of you. Thank you.
Jim
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
New Look, New Day
Well, I'm off to Starbucks in a couple minutes, but I just wanted to show off the new look of my site. Today, I'm working till late, and Sarah is getting a massage and a facial. Part of my birthday present to her... Hope she enjoys them.
Nothing really new, so I'll let you go. Just wanted to update.
Jim
Nothing really new, so I'll let you go. Just wanted to update.
Jim
Monday, October 18, 2004
My great new haircut, and how I've become a pain...
So lately, I've begun my transformation into the largest pain in Bob's butt that I can possibly be. It's all part of my scheme to make him leave me alone. For good. It consists of not answering his persistent calls, taking at least 2 days to respond to the message, and giving him the complete truth when it comes to when I can jump on his problems... "Not today, and probably not this week." After enough of this, I think that he'll be forced into considering me useless to him. EXACTLY what I wish to be.
So on to another subject, I went and got my hair cut the other day, a cheap cut at the SuperCuts® near our house. I chatted with the stylist, got what I thought was a normal Caesar cut, and left. I was pulling out of the parking lot, and looked into my rear view window of my 1996 Buick LeSabre only to see my bangs staring back at me. She apparently left the front of my hair, namely three cowlicks that I have named "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" long enough to elicit the attention of planes that fly too low. Hmmm... "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" is a really good name for a band... note to self... Anyway, I was a bit shocked, but was up for a change, and I am known to like my hair spikier than is good for me, so I've been wearing it the way she cut it for the past week. The next day, everyone, and I mean everyone was complimenting my haircut. I even had the owner of a salon for men's and boy's haircuts ask me who did my hair so that she could steal her for her place. She gave me a coupon for my next cut, and I gave her the girl's name. Worked out well. It should also be noted that every gay person that comes into Starbucks declares their undying love for my hair, thus solidifying it's stylistic validity. (As everyone knows, you have to be stylish to be gay.) Needless to say, I am pleased with all of the compliments, and will keep it this way for awhile at least.
Oh, and anyone who comes into my Starbucks, this is the week to order a regular coffee. We are using Starbucks 2004 Special Reserve Blend as our Coffee of the Week. I believe that they are doing this to get a bazillion people to buy the beans of this incredibly good, and incredibly expensive blend of limited edition coffee. On Friday night, one of my coworkers will be doing a coffee-tasting workshop at 9pm, and anyone interested should contact me so that I can sign them up.
Peace out.
Jim "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" Miller
So on to another subject, I went and got my hair cut the other day, a cheap cut at the SuperCuts® near our house. I chatted with the stylist, got what I thought was a normal Caesar cut, and left. I was pulling out of the parking lot, and looked into my rear view window of my 1996 Buick LeSabre only to see my bangs staring back at me. She apparently left the front of my hair, namely three cowlicks that I have named "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" long enough to elicit the attention of planes that fly too low. Hmmm... "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" is a really good name for a band... note to self... Anyway, I was a bit shocked, but was up for a change, and I am known to like my hair spikier than is good for me, so I've been wearing it the way she cut it for the past week. The next day, everyone, and I mean everyone was complimenting my haircut. I even had the owner of a salon for men's and boy's haircuts ask me who did my hair so that she could steal her for her place. She gave me a coupon for my next cut, and I gave her the girl's name. Worked out well. It should also be noted that every gay person that comes into Starbucks declares their undying love for my hair, thus solidifying it's stylistic validity. (As everyone knows, you have to be stylish to be gay.) Needless to say, I am pleased with all of the compliments, and will keep it this way for awhile at least.
Oh, and anyone who comes into my Starbucks, this is the week to order a regular coffee. We are using Starbucks 2004 Special Reserve Blend as our Coffee of the Week. I believe that they are doing this to get a bazillion people to buy the beans of this incredibly good, and incredibly expensive blend of limited edition coffee. On Friday night, one of my coworkers will be doing a coffee-tasting workshop at 9pm, and anyone interested should contact me so that I can sign them up.
Peace out.
Jim "Big Wave and the Demon Horns" Miller
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Long Time, No Write...
I am so sorry. I have been so bad at writing lately...
I've had such a busy week, and been so uninspired to write, that it's not funny. I am back in the mood however, and will attempt to catch you all up.
The Starbucks
At Starbucks, I finally got myself certified on the bar, and I am now an official Barista. Officially out of training... I'm still a bit shaky on the bar, but given a few weeks, I'll be just as solid as anybody there.
The Sarah
Sarah's been sick this week. She stayed home from work one day, and school the next. It's just a really bad cold, but please keep her in your prayers.
The Wedding
Yesterday, we went to our friend's wedding. It was definitely a unique experience. First of all, the bride is Catholic, and the groom is Lutheran, and in opposition to years of "Well, one of us has to switch..." they decided to do a joint Catho-Lutheran wedding. It was held at a really beautiful Catholic parish, and the service was co-officiated by the priest of that parish, and the pastor of the groom's Lutheran church. It was really strange to sit there and watch two groups of people that were killing eachother as heretics just 500 years ago, just peachy with officiating a marriage together. The sermon the priest gave was one of the worst structured orations I've ever heard in a church. He started off by saying, "In the time of Moses, about a hundred years before Christ..." Yeah, LET'S TRY 2,000!!! Of course, several minutes later, he jumped to the gospel of John and back to Genesis which now was written "several hundred centuries" before Christ. So if you are going to make a mistake in your facts while speaking, only do it once... then correct the mistake. Don't underestimate the time by 20, than multiply it by 200... The rest of the message was a big goopy sermon on love. Love, love love... That's all God's about. Justice, truth, mercy, holiness... those are hidden behind the curtain of big fat santa clause God.
Anyway, in the defense of the marriage ceremony, the music was fantastic. They had one man singing, a piano, a cello, and a violin. They were amazing. Ave Maria was breathtaking, even though the practice is confusing as a whole.
Afterwards, we hung out with the bride, groom and other family and friends at Adam Nielson's house. A highly entertaining time, as we got to meet Adam's brother Jeremy, and talk to a bunch of really fun people. The bride's brothers are hilarious. A great deal of the conversation that went on centered around alchohol consumption, but I don't really hold that against them... As the groom, who's in the Navy put it, It was a "Double-Irish-Catholic-Sailor Wedding" so what can you expect? The reception wasn't until 6pm, and the wedding was at 11 in the morning, so we had a few hours there. Ok, now it's time for the funniest story of the wedding. You deserve it for reading this far... The night before the wedding, at the rehearsal dinner, one of the waitresses at the restaurant accidentally gave the 3-year old ringbearer a gin and tonic instead of the sprite his mother ordered for him. Under normal circumstances, and in a normal family, the kid would've spit it out, the mother smelled it, and a law suit would've insued. In this family however, it went down with junior drinking almost the whole thing, and noone discovering what had happened until someone observed that while he was running wildly around in circles, he wasn't blinking... after smelling the little lush's breath, and determining what happened, they just brushed it off as the funniest thing they'd ever heard. Which it is. Needless to say, that he did not have a baby-hangover the next day, and that he was still tearing up the dance floor the next night.
The reception was alot of fun, but weird. We sat with The Sean, and most of the boyfriends, husbands, girlfriends and wives of the bridal party. It was fun, and we got to see our old friend Francis Gadbois. Someone we haven't seen in over a year. The dinner was fine, and we went out and danced later. I got corralled into taking pictures with our friend's camera because her boyfriend was apparently not skilled enough... oh well. It was a fun evening, and we left around 10:30.
Well... That's it for the wedding.
I'm trying to think of anything I missed from the week.
Oh, my sister got the results back from her tumor tests, and she has something wrong with her, but they can treat it with medication. It is not, however, a tumor.
I got a letter from Mami Kamata, the younger sister of my dear friend Erina Kamata. Mami is currently studying in Britain, and is enjoying her time there. Erina still lives in Japan, but would love to live here. We'd love that too...
We've been invited to several Halloween parties... Geesh... not a whole heckuva lot going on other than work and school and sleep and eat...
I'll write more later. As more happens...
Later,
Jim
I've had such a busy week, and been so uninspired to write, that it's not funny. I am back in the mood however, and will attempt to catch you all up.
The Starbucks
At Starbucks, I finally got myself certified on the bar, and I am now an official Barista. Officially out of training... I'm still a bit shaky on the bar, but given a few weeks, I'll be just as solid as anybody there.
The Sarah
Sarah's been sick this week. She stayed home from work one day, and school the next. It's just a really bad cold, but please keep her in your prayers.
The Wedding
Yesterday, we went to our friend's wedding. It was definitely a unique experience. First of all, the bride is Catholic, and the groom is Lutheran, and in opposition to years of "Well, one of us has to switch..." they decided to do a joint Catho-Lutheran wedding. It was held at a really beautiful Catholic parish, and the service was co-officiated by the priest of that parish, and the pastor of the groom's Lutheran church. It was really strange to sit there and watch two groups of people that were killing eachother as heretics just 500 years ago, just peachy with officiating a marriage together. The sermon the priest gave was one of the worst structured orations I've ever heard in a church. He started off by saying, "In the time of Moses, about a hundred years before Christ..." Yeah, LET'S TRY 2,000!!! Of course, several minutes later, he jumped to the gospel of John and back to Genesis which now was written "several hundred centuries" before Christ. So if you are going to make a mistake in your facts while speaking, only do it once... then correct the mistake. Don't underestimate the time by 20, than multiply it by 200... The rest of the message was a big goopy sermon on love. Love, love love... That's all God's about. Justice, truth, mercy, holiness... those are hidden behind the curtain of big fat santa clause God.
Anyway, in the defense of the marriage ceremony, the music was fantastic. They had one man singing, a piano, a cello, and a violin. They were amazing. Ave Maria was breathtaking, even though the practice is confusing as a whole.
Afterwards, we hung out with the bride, groom and other family and friends at Adam Nielson's house. A highly entertaining time, as we got to meet Adam's brother Jeremy, and talk to a bunch of really fun people. The bride's brothers are hilarious. A great deal of the conversation that went on centered around alchohol consumption, but I don't really hold that against them... As the groom, who's in the Navy put it, It was a "Double-Irish-Catholic-Sailor Wedding" so what can you expect? The reception wasn't until 6pm, and the wedding was at 11 in the morning, so we had a few hours there. Ok, now it's time for the funniest story of the wedding. You deserve it for reading this far... The night before the wedding, at the rehearsal dinner, one of the waitresses at the restaurant accidentally gave the 3-year old ringbearer a gin and tonic instead of the sprite his mother ordered for him. Under normal circumstances, and in a normal family, the kid would've spit it out, the mother smelled it, and a law suit would've insued. In this family however, it went down with junior drinking almost the whole thing, and noone discovering what had happened until someone observed that while he was running wildly around in circles, he wasn't blinking... after smelling the little lush's breath, and determining what happened, they just brushed it off as the funniest thing they'd ever heard. Which it is. Needless to say, that he did not have a baby-hangover the next day, and that he was still tearing up the dance floor the next night.
The reception was alot of fun, but weird. We sat with The Sean, and most of the boyfriends, husbands, girlfriends and wives of the bridal party. It was fun, and we got to see our old friend Francis Gadbois. Someone we haven't seen in over a year. The dinner was fine, and we went out and danced later. I got corralled into taking pictures with our friend's camera because her boyfriend was apparently not skilled enough... oh well. It was a fun evening, and we left around 10:30.
Well... That's it for the wedding.
I'm trying to think of anything I missed from the week.
Oh, my sister got the results back from her tumor tests, and she has something wrong with her, but they can treat it with medication. It is not, however, a tumor.
I got a letter from Mami Kamata, the younger sister of my dear friend Erina Kamata. Mami is currently studying in Britain, and is enjoying her time there. Erina still lives in Japan, but would love to live here. We'd love that too...
We've been invited to several Halloween parties... Geesh... not a whole heckuva lot going on other than work and school and sleep and eat...
I'll write more later. As more happens...
Later,
Jim
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Aching toes
My toes ache.
It's not really a big deal, but it's funny that late at night, when something hurts, it demands your full attention. You're trying to go about your business and your toes are constantly declaring their presence. "Hey!!! I'm a toe!!! I hurt!!! You gotta go back to your computer job!!!"
Stupid toes.
Anyway, today Jen (my gay manager at Starbucks) and I got to talking more. It's really kinda strange for me to deal with her as she is the first gay coworker that openly discusses their relationships with me. I worked with a gay guy named Chester at the Southtown, but he never really went into any detail concerning his life. I will say that Chester and Jen both seem to be the boys in their relationships and I am thankful for that. The prissy gay people really get on my nerves. It seems like they have all the annoying habits of both sexes rolled into one completely obnoxious person. Jen's aware that I'm not going to beat her senseless with my Bible, and since we haven't discussed my opinions on the gay equation, she doesn't really know of my opposition to her lifestyle. This creates a conundrum, simply because I don't really feel all that comfortable discussing and treating as perfectly fine, something I see as sin. I don't feel comfortable with stealing, or lying or any other sin, and wouldn't sit around talking about it and acting like it's ok... It's a weird place to be in. Maybe we'll talk about it soon, and I can clarify my position better.
Well, I'm off to bed.
Later.
Jim
It's not really a big deal, but it's funny that late at night, when something hurts, it demands your full attention. You're trying to go about your business and your toes are constantly declaring their presence. "Hey!!! I'm a toe!!! I hurt!!! You gotta go back to your computer job!!!"
Stupid toes.
Anyway, today Jen (my gay manager at Starbucks) and I got to talking more. It's really kinda strange for me to deal with her as she is the first gay coworker that openly discusses their relationships with me. I worked with a gay guy named Chester at the Southtown, but he never really went into any detail concerning his life. I will say that Chester and Jen both seem to be the boys in their relationships and I am thankful for that. The prissy gay people really get on my nerves. It seems like they have all the annoying habits of both sexes rolled into one completely obnoxious person. Jen's aware that I'm not going to beat her senseless with my Bible, and since we haven't discussed my opinions on the gay equation, she doesn't really know of my opposition to her lifestyle. This creates a conundrum, simply because I don't really feel all that comfortable discussing and treating as perfectly fine, something I see as sin. I don't feel comfortable with stealing, or lying or any other sin, and wouldn't sit around talking about it and acting like it's ok... It's a weird place to be in. Maybe we'll talk about it soon, and I can clarify my position better.
Well, I'm off to bed.
Later.
Jim
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Well Now...
Today was tiring, but marked the end of my incredibly hectic last week at A Quantum Leap Advertising. I give him a year... tops. He is such an incredibly bad marketing guy. I just don't see him coming up with anybody to design what he wants, for the money he's willing to pay.
Oh well.
Things at Starbucks are progressing well. I have gotten pretty good at calling the drinks back to the person at the "drink bar" in the right order, and I've really gotten better at working the register. The only really frustrating moments are when we get slammed with alot of orders for the same kind of thing. In those cases, only one or two people can help out, and there isn't enough room for more. Like today for example, about 20 or so 15 year old girls on a tennis team showed up, and ALL ordered "Frappachino's"... a frappachino is a frozen coffee that's very popular with the younger, non-coffee drinking crowd. I enjoy them myself, but in that bulk, they can really slow the entire line down...
Enough of that for now.
I'm listening to "All you need is love" by the Beatles. I never ever realized how annoying that song is before. I'm switching to another song. And... random picks "Ain't Nobody's Business" by Willie Nelson off of his recent blues album "Milk Cow Blues". I must say... some of the best blues I've ever heard... The guests on the album are fantastic, and the performances are breathtaking. I would love to see a concert of his in this style sometime.
Well, I'm off for the evening. Sorry about what has been an incredibly boring post.
Oh well.
Things at Starbucks are progressing well. I have gotten pretty good at calling the drinks back to the person at the "drink bar" in the right order, and I've really gotten better at working the register. The only really frustrating moments are when we get slammed with alot of orders for the same kind of thing. In those cases, only one or two people can help out, and there isn't enough room for more. Like today for example, about 20 or so 15 year old girls on a tennis team showed up, and ALL ordered "Frappachino's"... a frappachino is a frozen coffee that's very popular with the younger, non-coffee drinking crowd. I enjoy them myself, but in that bulk, they can really slow the entire line down...
Enough of that for now.
I'm listening to "All you need is love" by the Beatles. I never ever realized how annoying that song is before. I'm switching to another song. And... random picks "Ain't Nobody's Business" by Willie Nelson off of his recent blues album "Milk Cow Blues". I must say... some of the best blues I've ever heard... The guests on the album are fantastic, and the performances are breathtaking. I would love to see a concert of his in this style sometime.
Well, I'm off for the evening. Sorry about what has been an incredibly boring post.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Twitches and Tumors
So yesterday was a weird day. I had a pretty awful morning, a fantastic lunch, a decent afternoon, a nice half hour with Sarah, and then a fun/busy evening at Starbucks, followed by a good night's sleep.
Morning: Bad. Bob was moody, I interviewed a pretty sad designer for the job I'm leaving, and I had a ton of stuff to do. I got a call from Tammy, which was the only upbeat moment of my morning, that is, until she told me that she went to see her doctor, and she thinks that Tammy has a tumor in her head. Now before you say, "Gee, I wish I had a tumor..." it's not as glamorous as it sounds... So if everyone would be praying for her. We're all hoping it's something other than that, and preferably better. So on we go with the day...
Lunch: Ate really good sushi at this nice little Japanese restaurant in the area. Since I was the only customer, the chef came and sat with me and we talked while I ate. Very refreshing...
• Funny story: I am sitting there trying to look like I know what I'm doing, while in reality, I only sort of know what I'm doing, and the first thing I ate on my plate was what looked like a pile of very finely cut lunch meat. Now what happened next was not bad, but definitely shocking... Flavor sort of exploded in my mouth... Like fireworks. Not spicy, but very effervecent. I got "tweaks" in my nose, and my eyes, and all over my mouth... It was the most intense eating experience I've ever had... So I look up at the chef who was just coming back from the kitchen, and I'm like "What the HECK did I just eat???" And he looks at the empty spot on my plate and says "Oh... you ate the ginger!" Yeah... I guess that most sane people put a slice or two on top of the sushi, and use it as a condiment... not me. I eat the whole pile of it.
Meanwhile... we join Sarah in class. In anthropology, Sarah developed a twitch in her right eye. At first, she was annoyed, but as it continued, she began to realize just how much she's been doing. It reminds me of that line from the movie Bringing Out The Dead where Patricia Arquette's character asks Nicholas Cage's character about a doctor who keeps mumbling and poking himself in the eye... Cage's response is a matter-of-fact, "He's working a double shift."
That really seems to be the case with Sar. I think that she'll stop mumbling and twitching when the semester is through. OH... I can't forget. Sarah spelled her name wrong on a test! Yeah, two "r's"... Is that the funniest thing you've ever heard or what? If that doesn't inspire you to give the poor girl a hug the next time you see her, I don't know what will.
On with the day. Afternoon.
The afternoon went well. I got the rest of my work done, and left without incident.
Sarah time.
Got home with 45 minutes to spare before leaving for work. Cuddle time central. Sarah got home at the same time, and we just laid down on the couch for awhile and hid from our day.
I really love this girl. She's such a pleasure to be with, to live with... It's almost her birthday.
She'll be the big 25 in just over 2 weeks. Her birthday is the 15th.
Starbucks.
Worked a very fun shift at the "Bucks" as Ryan's started calling it. Worked with Jen and Michelle. Jen is a very nice, mid-thirties lesbian who has a quick wit, and likes old movies. She and I got off to a very good start, and I really cherish the opportunity to prove that, while a christian, and one who disagrees with her lifestyle, I am not about to pound her over the head with my Bible and rain hellfire down on her. She seems comfortable with me, and I am comfortable with her. We'll see how things progress with her. Michelle is decent. She's friendly enough, but has a bit of a martyr complex, combined with a victim thing... oh well.
Nighty Night.
I have to say that Sarah and I both had a really good night's sleep last night.
Not that it's unheard of, it's just unusual, and I was sad to see daylight come.
Well... now that I've told you about yesterday, I'll briefly run down today. Today was my last official day with BOB. So that was awesome. I can't even think at this point... I had about an hour at home, and calmed my nerves a bit... Starbucks was great tonight. I am feeling better and better about what I'm doing, and getting things right more.
On a cool note, I picked up two old Starflyer 59 albums this week. The silver one and the gold one. The gold one seems to be more of an aquired taste, and I'll keep working at it, but silver is AMAZING!!! Blue Collar Love is absolutely stunning. One of the most frighteningly intimidating guitar riffs I've ever heard. Right up there with Anthem of the Year 2000 by Silver Chair.
I gotta go to sleep...
Later.
Morning: Bad. Bob was moody, I interviewed a pretty sad designer for the job I'm leaving, and I had a ton of stuff to do. I got a call from Tammy, which was the only upbeat moment of my morning, that is, until she told me that she went to see her doctor, and she thinks that Tammy has a tumor in her head. Now before you say, "Gee, I wish I had a tumor..." it's not as glamorous as it sounds... So if everyone would be praying for her. We're all hoping it's something other than that, and preferably better. So on we go with the day...
Lunch: Ate really good sushi at this nice little Japanese restaurant in the area. Since I was the only customer, the chef came and sat with me and we talked while I ate. Very refreshing...
• Funny story: I am sitting there trying to look like I know what I'm doing, while in reality, I only sort of know what I'm doing, and the first thing I ate on my plate was what looked like a pile of very finely cut lunch meat. Now what happened next was not bad, but definitely shocking... Flavor sort of exploded in my mouth... Like fireworks. Not spicy, but very effervecent. I got "tweaks" in my nose, and my eyes, and all over my mouth... It was the most intense eating experience I've ever had... So I look up at the chef who was just coming back from the kitchen, and I'm like "What the HECK did I just eat???" And he looks at the empty spot on my plate and says "Oh... you ate the ginger!" Yeah... I guess that most sane people put a slice or two on top of the sushi, and use it as a condiment... not me. I eat the whole pile of it.
Meanwhile... we join Sarah in class. In anthropology, Sarah developed a twitch in her right eye. At first, she was annoyed, but as it continued, she began to realize just how much she's been doing. It reminds me of that line from the movie Bringing Out The Dead where Patricia Arquette's character asks Nicholas Cage's character about a doctor who keeps mumbling and poking himself in the eye... Cage's response is a matter-of-fact, "He's working a double shift."
That really seems to be the case with Sar. I think that she'll stop mumbling and twitching when the semester is through. OH... I can't forget. Sarah spelled her name wrong on a test! Yeah, two "r's"... Is that the funniest thing you've ever heard or what? If that doesn't inspire you to give the poor girl a hug the next time you see her, I don't know what will.
On with the day. Afternoon.
The afternoon went well. I got the rest of my work done, and left without incident.
Sarah time.
Got home with 45 minutes to spare before leaving for work. Cuddle time central. Sarah got home at the same time, and we just laid down on the couch for awhile and hid from our day.
I really love this girl. She's such a pleasure to be with, to live with... It's almost her birthday.
She'll be the big 25 in just over 2 weeks. Her birthday is the 15th.
Starbucks.
Worked a very fun shift at the "Bucks" as Ryan's started calling it. Worked with Jen and Michelle. Jen is a very nice, mid-thirties lesbian who has a quick wit, and likes old movies. She and I got off to a very good start, and I really cherish the opportunity to prove that, while a christian, and one who disagrees with her lifestyle, I am not about to pound her over the head with my Bible and rain hellfire down on her. She seems comfortable with me, and I am comfortable with her. We'll see how things progress with her. Michelle is decent. She's friendly enough, but has a bit of a martyr complex, combined with a victim thing... oh well.
Nighty Night.
I have to say that Sarah and I both had a really good night's sleep last night.
Not that it's unheard of, it's just unusual, and I was sad to see daylight come.
Well... now that I've told you about yesterday, I'll briefly run down today. Today was my last official day with BOB. So that was awesome. I can't even think at this point... I had about an hour at home, and calmed my nerves a bit... Starbucks was great tonight. I am feeling better and better about what I'm doing, and getting things right more.
On a cool note, I picked up two old Starflyer 59 albums this week. The silver one and the gold one. The gold one seems to be more of an aquired taste, and I'll keep working at it, but silver is AMAZING!!! Blue Collar Love is absolutely stunning. One of the most frighteningly intimidating guitar riffs I've ever heard. Right up there with Anthem of the Year 2000 by Silver Chair.
I gotta go to sleep...
Later.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Johnny Ramone is Dead
My Hero, Johnny Ramone is dead.
He picked up a guitar at 22, and helped change the way people looked at Rock and Roll.
As a founding member of the Ramones, the band that many people consider to be the first "Punk Rock" band, Johnny personified the rebel spirit. He embodied the rebellious look of the kid on the street with ripped jeans, white t-shirt, and leather jacket. He played his guitar with a ferocity and speed that defied the standard set of chords that made up many of the Ramones' songs... The truth of it is, that there has never been a punk like Johnny, and the reason is that even among the rebels, he didn't fit in. Johnny was Republican. And he wasn't just a little Republican, he was all the way... In an environment that was exceedingly liberal, he stood up for Reagan, Bush, and even Dubya Bush more recently. In the Ramones 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, Johnny stepped up to the microphone and said "God bless President Bush, and God bless America." Nobody in the rock and roll scene (except for Ted Nugent, who is another story entirely) would be caught dead saying that in 2002. But that was the way he was. He could, and often had to defend his views, and never backed down. One of my favorite pictures of Johnny is a photo of him and another punk icon, Johnny Rotten of the british punk band the Sex Pistols. Personally, I'm no fan of the Pistols, and Johnny Rotten was the standard punk. Rebellious of all things corporate and conservative... accepting all things liberal and offensive. The picture is of the two of them chatting around 8:30 in the morning and Johnny Rotten already has a beer in his hand and Johnny Ramone is standing there with a Pepsi. That's what made Johnny Ramone the true rebel. In a society where being a rebel means fitting the mold of a liberal underdog fighting "The Man", constantly declaring their individuality... as a group, and not seeing the contradiction... Johnny stood alone. On the stage he stood alone, feet planted firmly apart, head down... the very picture of determination and concentration. He took his music seriously, and he took his life seriously. Being a "pinhead" (The Ramones' word for punk) is not about the look, the attitude or even the music... It's about standing alone. It's about playing music for those who stand alone. Johnny Ramone, dead at 55. That only leaves Tommy as the only living original member of a band formed in 1974. The good do die young, I guess.
One last thought... I was able to talk to a friend of Johnny's earlier this year, and this guy called Johnny up and told him about me. About my similar political and musical views, and let him know of my admiration for him. Several weeks later, I received a package with a signed picture from the man himself. It said, "To Jim, a good American. Your pal, Johnny." To be honest, I couldn't even put a value on that photo now... I'm so grateful that even while dying of cancer, he took the time to send a fan he'd never met an autograph. People like that are rare.
Here's to a good American, Johnny Ramone.
He picked up a guitar at 22, and helped change the way people looked at Rock and Roll.
As a founding member of the Ramones, the band that many people consider to be the first "Punk Rock" band, Johnny personified the rebel spirit. He embodied the rebellious look of the kid on the street with ripped jeans, white t-shirt, and leather jacket. He played his guitar with a ferocity and speed that defied the standard set of chords that made up many of the Ramones' songs... The truth of it is, that there has never been a punk like Johnny, and the reason is that even among the rebels, he didn't fit in. Johnny was Republican. And he wasn't just a little Republican, he was all the way... In an environment that was exceedingly liberal, he stood up for Reagan, Bush, and even Dubya Bush more recently. In the Ramones 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, Johnny stepped up to the microphone and said "God bless President Bush, and God bless America." Nobody in the rock and roll scene (except for Ted Nugent, who is another story entirely) would be caught dead saying that in 2002. But that was the way he was. He could, and often had to defend his views, and never backed down. One of my favorite pictures of Johnny is a photo of him and another punk icon, Johnny Rotten of the british punk band the Sex Pistols. Personally, I'm no fan of the Pistols, and Johnny Rotten was the standard punk. Rebellious of all things corporate and conservative... accepting all things liberal and offensive. The picture is of the two of them chatting around 8:30 in the morning and Johnny Rotten already has a beer in his hand and Johnny Ramone is standing there with a Pepsi. That's what made Johnny Ramone the true rebel. In a society where being a rebel means fitting the mold of a liberal underdog fighting "The Man", constantly declaring their individuality... as a group, and not seeing the contradiction... Johnny stood alone. On the stage he stood alone, feet planted firmly apart, head down... the very picture of determination and concentration. He took his music seriously, and he took his life seriously. Being a "pinhead" (The Ramones' word for punk) is not about the look, the attitude or even the music... It's about standing alone. It's about playing music for those who stand alone. Johnny Ramone, dead at 55. That only leaves Tommy as the only living original member of a band formed in 1974. The good do die young, I guess.
One last thought... I was able to talk to a friend of Johnny's earlier this year, and this guy called Johnny up and told him about me. About my similar political and musical views, and let him know of my admiration for him. Several weeks later, I received a package with a signed picture from the man himself. It said, "To Jim, a good American. Your pal, Johnny." To be honest, I couldn't even put a value on that photo now... I'm so grateful that even while dying of cancer, he took the time to send a fan he'd never met an autograph. People like that are rare.
Here's to a good American, Johnny Ramone.
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
The other day, we went and saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
It was great! Very close to what I expected... that being very cliche, kind of cheesy, but well acted, and well written. The cinematography was great, and it was very entertaining.
Things went well with Bob this week. Completely unexpected...
All the same. He's going to Florida tonight, to stay the weekend, so I don't have to work on Friday. This is a much needed break, as this week has been very packed. On Tuesday and Wednesday I went to Starbucks at 6am, and then drove to my other job after I got off there. Today, I'm doing the opposite, and driving to Starbucks when I get off here.
So anyway... Sarah can always use your prayers as she goes through what is her most challenging semester yet.
Later.
Jim
Monday, September 20, 2004
A good day... and it's a Monday too...
WOW!
I had a good day!!!
I really wasn't expecting it. I had to change my schedule again to acomodate Starbucks, and I thought Bob would pitch a hissy fit. But he didn't.
I was able to spend some time in the Word this morning, and I read through some of 1st Peter which deals mostly with trials and hard times, and it really helped me gain perspective on the whole situation, and what I need to do, and what my mindset needs to be. One verse that spoke to me today was Chapter 2 verse 18 which is "Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust." I'm pretty sure that Bob falls into the second catagory, but the neat/awful thing about God is that we're judged not on how others act, but on how we act, and that really made me realize that Bob can be a jerk... he'll have to answer for that someday... but I'll have to answer for how I've acted. If I've been kind and forgiving, I won't regret my actions, but if I give in to my personal vindication, I don't think I'll be so proud, or look so good. Excuses don't work with the big guy, and I need to practice what I preach...
Anyway, Sarah and I are doing well, and expect to have a peaceful evening home tonight. I think that we're planning on seeing "Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow" at some point this week. We really want to see "Hero" but we have free tickets to Sky Captain.
I'll write more later... Thanks for checking in!
Jim
I had a good day!!!
I really wasn't expecting it. I had to change my schedule again to acomodate Starbucks, and I thought Bob would pitch a hissy fit. But he didn't.
I was able to spend some time in the Word this morning, and I read through some of 1st Peter which deals mostly with trials and hard times, and it really helped me gain perspective on the whole situation, and what I need to do, and what my mindset needs to be. One verse that spoke to me today was Chapter 2 verse 18 which is "Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust." I'm pretty sure that Bob falls into the second catagory, but the neat/awful thing about God is that we're judged not on how others act, but on how we act, and that really made me realize that Bob can be a jerk... he'll have to answer for that someday... but I'll have to answer for how I've acted. If I've been kind and forgiving, I won't regret my actions, but if I give in to my personal vindication, I don't think I'll be so proud, or look so good. Excuses don't work with the big guy, and I need to practice what I preach...
Anyway, Sarah and I are doing well, and expect to have a peaceful evening home tonight. I think that we're planning on seeing "Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow" at some point this week. We really want to see "Hero" but we have free tickets to Sky Captain.
I'll write more later... Thanks for checking in!
Jim
Friday, September 17, 2004
Pictures and Comments
So I've decided to illustrate myself in my "profile"...
I've made several versions of me, all reflecting whatever mood I'm in. I'll change them from time to time, so check back to see more of the versions...
I realize that some of you may not be aware that you can comment on posts. If you want to, feel free... I think that the comments are more fun than the post itself.
Thanks again for coming back, I will continue to try and make my life interesting...
I've made several versions of me, all reflecting whatever mood I'm in. I'll change them from time to time, so check back to see more of the versions...
I realize that some of you may not be aware that you can comment on posts. If you want to, feel free... I think that the comments are more fun than the post itself.
Thanks again for coming back, I will continue to try and make my life interesting...
Wow... what a week.
Well, that was a week from hell. Literally. I think that if any more things could have gone wrong, I'd have keeled over. I chalk it up to doing what I know is right.
I was going to go all into it, but it's Friday night, and I'm so happy to be done with the week that I don't want to rehash it.
Sarah and I went out to Max and Erma's for our date tonight. Ok, but nowhere near the quality of Chili's... prices were about the same. I think they're both owned by the same people, but I'm not sure.
Things are going very well at Starbucks. I have been there 3 days so far, and have learned how to make just about every kind of Frappachino imaginable. There are only about 17,000 different kinds!!! Just kidding, but it does feel like that.
I will be so happy to go to work and work... not have to worry about my insane, domineering boss and his whim of the day. You know, I've had a job like this before, and I was young, maybe 17 or 18, and I was so afraid of the guy it took me a couple weeks to work up the courage to quit when I realized how unhealthy the situation was. The weird difference between that and my current situation is that it took me very little time to tell Bob that I was quitting, it's taken forever to get out of the place. Every trial is another lesson learned. A friend, and former employer told me that he had made every mistake in the book, and it had been a year or two since he'd seen a new one, so he thought he'd gotten them all figured out. I suppose the only way to avoid mistakes is to make them, or to watch a stupid friend or relative make them... Neither seems like a blessing, but someday this will be just another old scar that reminds me not to make this particular mistake again... just like that old experience.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
I was going to go all into it, but it's Friday night, and I'm so happy to be done with the week that I don't want to rehash it.
Sarah and I went out to Max and Erma's for our date tonight. Ok, but nowhere near the quality of Chili's... prices were about the same. I think they're both owned by the same people, but I'm not sure.
Things are going very well at Starbucks. I have been there 3 days so far, and have learned how to make just about every kind of Frappachino imaginable. There are only about 17,000 different kinds!!! Just kidding, but it does feel like that.
I will be so happy to go to work and work... not have to worry about my insane, domineering boss and his whim of the day. You know, I've had a job like this before, and I was young, maybe 17 or 18, and I was so afraid of the guy it took me a couple weeks to work up the courage to quit when I realized how unhealthy the situation was. The weird difference between that and my current situation is that it took me very little time to tell Bob that I was quitting, it's taken forever to get out of the place. Every trial is another lesson learned. A friend, and former employer told me that he had made every mistake in the book, and it had been a year or two since he'd seen a new one, so he thought he'd gotten them all figured out. I suppose the only way to avoid mistakes is to make them, or to watch a stupid friend or relative make them... Neither seems like a blessing, but someday this will be just another old scar that reminds me not to make this particular mistake again... just like that old experience.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
Monday, September 13, 2004
New Job
Well, tonight's my first night at Starbucks.
Today, my boss at the job I'm quitting tried to trick me into staying another 2 weeks... this guy is unbelievable! And he didn't even offer me anything to stay... he tried a GUILT TRIP instead! At the last job I gave two week notice, they gave me an extra $200 to stay another week. This guy told me that because he's "letting" me adjust my schedule to train at the new place, I should help him out by staying an extra two weeks, maybe more...
UH... NOOOOOOOOO!
I have been doing my best to put his needs ahead of my own in every instance, and the guy just keeps pushing for every ounce of value that he can get. It's like if your cell phone carrier was to say "You know, we've been really great to you by not having all your calls dropped, and we did give you that free caller I.D., so we want you to sign on for another 5 years..."
Argh.
I am not going to let this ruin my day...
Lord, grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to bury Bob in a place where noone will find him.
Today, my boss at the job I'm quitting tried to trick me into staying another 2 weeks... this guy is unbelievable! And he didn't even offer me anything to stay... he tried a GUILT TRIP instead! At the last job I gave two week notice, they gave me an extra $200 to stay another week. This guy told me that because he's "letting" me adjust my schedule to train at the new place, I should help him out by staying an extra two weeks, maybe more...
UH... NOOOOOOOOO!
I have been doing my best to put his needs ahead of my own in every instance, and the guy just keeps pushing for every ounce of value that he can get. It's like if your cell phone carrier was to say "You know, we've been really great to you by not having all your calls dropped, and we did give you that free caller I.D., so we want you to sign on for another 5 years..."
Argh.
I am not going to let this ruin my day...
Lord, grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to bury Bob in a place where noone will find him.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Hebrews
Today in church we started a verse by verse study of the book of Hebrews.
This is something I have not yet seen in a church. Hebrews is an incredibly deep book, and I am really anticipating a year of leaps and bounds spiritually.
In other news, Sarah has been doing well, but is having some difficulty concentrating while studying. This is completely due to the massive amount of stuff she's involved in. Please keep her in your prayers. For those of you who aren't savvy to Sarah's school situation, she is in her final "full" semester of school before graduating from St. Xavier University on the Chicago south side. She is studying English, very successfully I might add. (she has held a 4.0 since returning to school 2 semesters ago.) In addition to her school, she holds down two part time jobs, one at the school, and one about a half hour away... I am extremely proud of how she has gone back, and refused to let go of her dream of graduating from college. She will be the first from her family to do so.
Well. I'm headed to bed. Tired...
Later
This is something I have not yet seen in a church. Hebrews is an incredibly deep book, and I am really anticipating a year of leaps and bounds spiritually.
In other news, Sarah has been doing well, but is having some difficulty concentrating while studying. This is completely due to the massive amount of stuff she's involved in. Please keep her in your prayers. For those of you who aren't savvy to Sarah's school situation, she is in her final "full" semester of school before graduating from St. Xavier University on the Chicago south side. She is studying English, very successfully I might add. (she has held a 4.0 since returning to school 2 semesters ago.) In addition to her school, she holds down two part time jobs, one at the school, and one about a half hour away... I am extremely proud of how she has gone back, and refused to let go of her dream of graduating from college. She will be the first from her family to do so.
Well. I'm headed to bed. Tired...
Later
Birthday
Hello all,
Yesterday was Sarah's dad's birthday, and today we went out to celebrate it. We went bowling after church, and I surprised everyone including myself with a pretty good first game. I got 142, which for anybody except Sarah's dad was awesome. He still beat me, but it was his birthday... He was sorta proud of it too, that is until our second game, when I showed my true bowling prowess and got 105. Yeah. I need to start bowling more than once a year.
My grandmother on my dad's side contacted me today with some info about a cousin I don't know who lives here in Chicago. I'll have to look him up. He sounds interesting, and is half Japanese. (Anyone who knows me well, knows of my infatuation with all things and people from that country.) Family is a really big deal to me, and the idea of having a member of my family so nearby is very cool.
On another note, I start the Starbucks job this week, and will be training. I will finish the training at the end of the month, and Lord willing, start my training for shift manager immediately.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
Yesterday was Sarah's dad's birthday, and today we went out to celebrate it. We went bowling after church, and I surprised everyone including myself with a pretty good first game. I got 142, which for anybody except Sarah's dad was awesome. He still beat me, but it was his birthday... He was sorta proud of it too, that is until our second game, when I showed my true bowling prowess and got 105. Yeah. I need to start bowling more than once a year.
My grandmother on my dad's side contacted me today with some info about a cousin I don't know who lives here in Chicago. I'll have to look him up. He sounds interesting, and is half Japanese. (Anyone who knows me well, knows of my infatuation with all things and people from that country.) Family is a really big deal to me, and the idea of having a member of my family so nearby is very cool.
On another note, I start the Starbucks job this week, and will be training. I will finish the training at the end of the month, and Lord willing, start my training for shift manager immediately.
Well, that's it for now.
Jim
Friday, September 10, 2004
Continued rant about death
I didn't want to do this in the main article, but it's my blog, I can say what I want...
Deaths in the war in Iraq vs. legal abortion in the US.
According to the Allan Guttmacher Institute, the research branch of Planned Parenthood:
Over 1.5 Million unborn children are aborted in the US every year.
That's approximately 4,100 a day. The US represents 3% of worldwide abortions.
1% of worldwide abortions per year is 500,000. Therefore 100% of worldwide abortions is 50 million per year. 50 million potential births... anyway, back to the US.
According to these dudes, 1006 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war began on 3/19/03. One day of abortions in the US quadruples that number. I really don't want to do the math, but anyone who can figure out how many days we've had since March 19th of last year, multiply that number times 4,100 and that's how many abortions we've had since then.
If you don't see abortion as the ending of a human life, than these numbers mean nothing to you, but I can't see it otherwise. One can criticise ol' G.W. for sending our servicemen and women into an unjust war, but at least he isn't killing them out of convenience to himself.
"Being a president is hard... I need less Americans to govern... I know!"
I'm convinced that this just might be the most offensive thing that some of you have read, but if abortion is murder, it is genocide, and genocide in the hundreds of millions is the kind of thing that can put events like 911 in perspective. Noone would compare 911 to the holocaust... It doesn't even come close. So why is it that we Americans cry over our towers when we legally allow the deaths of thousands a day?
I am now done with my thoroughly offensive post.
Deaths in the war in Iraq vs. legal abortion in the US.
According to the Allan Guttmacher Institute, the research branch of Planned Parenthood:
Over 1.5 Million unborn children are aborted in the US every year.
That's approximately 4,100 a day. The US represents 3% of worldwide abortions.
1% of worldwide abortions per year is 500,000. Therefore 100% of worldwide abortions is 50 million per year. 50 million potential births... anyway, back to the US.
According to these dudes, 1006 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war began on 3/19/03. One day of abortions in the US quadruples that number. I really don't want to do the math, but anyone who can figure out how many days we've had since March 19th of last year, multiply that number times 4,100 and that's how many abortions we've had since then.
If you don't see abortion as the ending of a human life, than these numbers mean nothing to you, but I can't see it otherwise. One can criticise ol' G.W. for sending our servicemen and women into an unjust war, but at least he isn't killing them out of convenience to himself.
"Being a president is hard... I need less Americans to govern... I know!"
I'm convinced that this just might be the most offensive thing that some of you have read, but if abortion is murder, it is genocide, and genocide in the hundreds of millions is the kind of thing that can put events like 911 in perspective. Noone would compare 911 to the holocaust... It doesn't even come close. So why is it that we Americans cry over our towers when we legally allow the deaths of thousands a day?
I am now done with my thoroughly offensive post.
September 11th is tomorrow.
And all I can think about is our dads' birthdays.
Sarah's dad celebrates his tomorrow on the big 911, and my dad has his b-day on the 15th. We're gonna hang with the inlaws on Sunday, and unfortunately, we don't have the moolah to drive to Ohio to be with my folks... The sacrifices of living so far away... but this distance is nothing compared to when they are in Africa, so we definitely should make the most of this situation while we can.
I don't know what it is about 911 that makes me not care.
I seriously feel that we, as Americans, are so unaccustomed to having large numbers of people die that when it happens, we expect the world to stop. Columbia has an earthquake and 5,000 people die. We don't even notice... Monsoons happen in Cambodia, Volcanos in the ring of fire... We don't care. The number of homeless people who die in US cities every day completely shadow the numbers of soldiers we lost in Iraq that day, and those numbers are completely obliterated by the thousands who die in Africa of aids every single day. But then a tragedy strikes us. We were attacked. Thousands of OUR people died, and we want the world to stop. We want them to band together and acknowlede our loss... to share in our grief, and to avenge our dead. I just don't see it. When the train station in Spain was bombed earlier this year, I didn't see any Americans pause for a moment to honor their dead... After all, they don't effect our lives. I feel as though we're a kid who burned his fingers on the stove. When we arrive at the hospital, and see the people in the burn unit with their full body 3rd degree burns, instead of being humbled, we demand their attention and sympathy. If we're really as tough as we think we are... maybe we should handle events like this as the rest of the world does. Realize that things like this happen, try to prevent it from happening again, and move on.
Sarah's dad celebrates his tomorrow on the big 911, and my dad has his b-day on the 15th. We're gonna hang with the inlaws on Sunday, and unfortunately, we don't have the moolah to drive to Ohio to be with my folks... The sacrifices of living so far away... but this distance is nothing compared to when they are in Africa, so we definitely should make the most of this situation while we can.
I don't know what it is about 911 that makes me not care.
I seriously feel that we, as Americans, are so unaccustomed to having large numbers of people die that when it happens, we expect the world to stop. Columbia has an earthquake and 5,000 people die. We don't even notice... Monsoons happen in Cambodia, Volcanos in the ring of fire... We don't care. The number of homeless people who die in US cities every day completely shadow the numbers of soldiers we lost in Iraq that day, and those numbers are completely obliterated by the thousands who die in Africa of aids every single day. But then a tragedy strikes us. We were attacked. Thousands of OUR people died, and we want the world to stop. We want them to band together and acknowlede our loss... to share in our grief, and to avenge our dead. I just don't see it. When the train station in Spain was bombed earlier this year, I didn't see any Americans pause for a moment to honor their dead... After all, they don't effect our lives. I feel as though we're a kid who burned his fingers on the stove. When we arrive at the hospital, and see the people in the burn unit with their full body 3rd degree burns, instead of being humbled, we demand their attention and sympathy. If we're really as tough as we think we are... maybe we should handle events like this as the rest of the world does. Realize that things like this happen, try to prevent it from happening again, and move on.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Starbucks
Lately, I've been looking for a job.
For the past 5-6 years, I've been a graphic designer, but I tire of the "make this for me, I'm not creative, but I am sneaky with money so while you're busy designing, I'll rob you blind" world of advertising...
Needless to say, I am taking the first steps toward my life-long dream of being a minister.
I plan on going to Wheaton College in the fall of 05. In the mean time, I need a job that has benefits, won't exploit me, and will be flexible... surprisingly, I found it.
I applied at the Starbucks in our area on a whim. Surely the money, benefits and hours I would get would not be enough... but nay, I was wrong. I have been a faithful patron of Starbucks for quite some time. I enjoy the people, the coffee and the environment. But, to tell the truth, when the assistant manager called for an interview, I took it mostly for the free coffee I knew I'd get... To my surprise, the health plans are fantastic, the benefits are very good, and after a pretty impressive interview, they offered me the hours I wanted... 40. I went back for a second interview on Saturday, and this time, met the store manager. The store is the highest volume store in the area, and they have a shift manager position opening up. By the end of the interview, we set it up that I would come on board for 3 weeks as a Barista (hourly worker) and then move up to shift manager in my 4th week. This is good news for me, as the pay moves up about $2 an hour at that point. Plus, I'd still get tips...
So it looks very promising. I can definitely see doing this during college, and it really seems like a nice place to work. The biggest surprise to me, was that Starbuck's founders seem to have set up their system to not take advantage of their employees. Their computer system doesn't even allow them to schedule someone to open the store if they closed the night before. Their salary positions get overtime pay for any hours over 40, and the minute you start training to be a higher position, you get that position's pay. Pretty cool...
Anyway, that's where the job situation stands. I finish up at my current job during the month of September while training at the new. By the time I finish at the current, I'll be starting my training for the shift manager's position.
Later.
For the past 5-6 years, I've been a graphic designer, but I tire of the "make this for me, I'm not creative, but I am sneaky with money so while you're busy designing, I'll rob you blind" world of advertising...
Needless to say, I am taking the first steps toward my life-long dream of being a minister.
I plan on going to Wheaton College in the fall of 05. In the mean time, I need a job that has benefits, won't exploit me, and will be flexible... surprisingly, I found it.
I applied at the Starbucks in our area on a whim. Surely the money, benefits and hours I would get would not be enough... but nay, I was wrong. I have been a faithful patron of Starbucks for quite some time. I enjoy the people, the coffee and the environment. But, to tell the truth, when the assistant manager called for an interview, I took it mostly for the free coffee I knew I'd get... To my surprise, the health plans are fantastic, the benefits are very good, and after a pretty impressive interview, they offered me the hours I wanted... 40. I went back for a second interview on Saturday, and this time, met the store manager. The store is the highest volume store in the area, and they have a shift manager position opening up. By the end of the interview, we set it up that I would come on board for 3 weeks as a Barista (hourly worker) and then move up to shift manager in my 4th week. This is good news for me, as the pay moves up about $2 an hour at that point. Plus, I'd still get tips...
So it looks very promising. I can definitely see doing this during college, and it really seems like a nice place to work. The biggest surprise to me, was that Starbuck's founders seem to have set up their system to not take advantage of their employees. Their computer system doesn't even allow them to schedule someone to open the store if they closed the night before. Their salary positions get overtime pay for any hours over 40, and the minute you start training to be a higher position, you get that position's pay. Pretty cool...
Anyway, that's where the job situation stands. I finish up at my current job during the month of September while training at the new. By the time I finish at the current, I'll be starting my training for the shift manager's position.
Later.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Arghh!
Today on the way to work, a big ugly chevy cut me off. This is no unusual occurance... what was unusual was the stone that came flying back and chipped my windshield. Right in my line of vision. All that windshield, and where does the rock go? My line of vision.
On the good side, it really could've been worse. The chip is a little bigger than a centimeter, and isn't really "spider webbing" on me. I called State Farm from the road after it happened, and they are sending a repair team to fill it while I'm working. Very efficient. It won't cost anything, since we're having it repaired, not replaced. Replacement would be nice, but it's a $500 deductable. Ouch. As if car insurance isn't expensive enough. Anyway...
I have a story to tell. I'll wait till I get home to unleash that one...
Later.
On the good side, it really could've been worse. The chip is a little bigger than a centimeter, and isn't really "spider webbing" on me. I called State Farm from the road after it happened, and they are sending a repair team to fill it while I'm working. Very efficient. It won't cost anything, since we're having it repaired, not replaced. Replacement would be nice, but it's a $500 deductable. Ouch. As if car insurance isn't expensive enough. Anyway...
I have a story to tell. I'll wait till I get home to unleash that one...
Later.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Abandon Ship!
Well, ladies and gents...
I am abandoning my short lived blog at spymac. They have just been sooooo slow lately. I don't particularly blame them, they have a massive online community, and offer a great deal of stuff for free while not being a particularly large company.
All the same, I am happy with the way things look here at blogger.com, and I will now be posting my life and times here.
I think that I will post a few of the entries I really like here as past posts... so feel free to look through those. There won't be alot, but still...
That's it for now. I'm going to continue to set up the account.
Jim
I am abandoning my short lived blog at spymac. They have just been sooooo slow lately. I don't particularly blame them, they have a massive online community, and offer a great deal of stuff for free while not being a particularly large company.
All the same, I am happy with the way things look here at blogger.com, and I will now be posting my life and times here.
I think that I will post a few of the entries I really like here as past posts... so feel free to look through those. There won't be alot, but still...
That's it for now. I'm going to continue to set up the account.
Jim
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Really super cool awesome news
This week, Joe Stowell, the president of Moody Bible Institute announced his plans to retire from his position, effective February. Click here for the full details.
Anyway, for those of you to lazy to click the link, or you're just waiting till you're done reading the full post to check it out, Stowell, who has preached at our church several times in the past, made the point that God has gifted him in two very distinct areas. One is administration and leadership, the other is teaching/preaching. For the past 18 years he has, in his words used up almost all of his ability to do the first, while barely tapping the latter. Over the past few years, he has had the growing desire and passion for teaching, so after much prayer, and on the advice of many of his trusted friends and advisors, he decided to step down as president of Moody.
This morning, after the service, James MacDonald, head pastor of our church had a little "family meeting" with our congregation of several thousand to talk about the financial situation of one or two of the projects the church has undertaken, and to announce that Joe Stowell will be taking a position here at Harvest as assistant pastor in March of next year. James preaches an average of 39 sundays a year, and that number will move down only to 37 next year, with Joe taking the 15 of the remaining sundays. So anyway... this is great news. We're very excited, and happy to see some of the pressure off of James.
That's it for today.
Anyway, for those of you to lazy to click the link, or you're just waiting till you're done reading the full post to check it out, Stowell, who has preached at our church several times in the past, made the point that God has gifted him in two very distinct areas. One is administration and leadership, the other is teaching/preaching. For the past 18 years he has, in his words used up almost all of his ability to do the first, while barely tapping the latter. Over the past few years, he has had the growing desire and passion for teaching, so after much prayer, and on the advice of many of his trusted friends and advisors, he decided to step down as president of Moody.
This morning, after the service, James MacDonald, head pastor of our church had a little "family meeting" with our congregation of several thousand to talk about the financial situation of one or two of the projects the church has undertaken, and to announce that Joe Stowell will be taking a position here at Harvest as assistant pastor in March of next year. James preaches an average of 39 sundays a year, and that number will move down only to 37 next year, with Joe taking the 15 of the remaining sundays. So anyway... this is great news. We're very excited, and happy to see some of the pressure off of James.
That's it for today.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Tammy and Josh
Well, today I talked to my younger sister, who got married earlier this year, and is living out in New York. She and her husband Josh closed on their first house today. It's really well priced for the size of house that it is. 3 bedroom with a 2 car garage and a big yard. What great news!
My creativity's been on the fritz again lately, and Sarah's been overwhelmed with all the things she has coming up. Please pray for her, as she will be going back to school, and working her crazy schedule at two jobs.
That's all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Jim
My creativity's been on the fritz again lately, and Sarah's been overwhelmed with all the things she has coming up. Please pray for her, as she will be going back to school, and working her crazy schedule at two jobs.
That's all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Jim
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Missions
For those of you who don't know the situation concerning my parents, I'll catch you up. My parents and my 2 younger brothers are planning on going into the missions field in Africa. Specifically, Tanzania, and have been facing delay after delay in the process. They were to have a meeting in New York state this week with the heads of the mission board that they'd be serving under to determine whether they were ready to begin their "training" in NY city. This training would take from 6 months to a year, when it started, which might not even be till Jan of next year. Needless to say, mom and dad have been very antsy to get going, and we've all been praying that something would happen soon.
Well, today it did. They met with the board, who was so impressed, they've decided to skip the NYC part, and send them directly to Tanzania!
They're soooo excited, and I am too. The head of the board was so enthusiastic about them, that he is going to call the pastor in Tanzania to see when they can come. The situation there is absolutely perfect. The pastor they'd be serving under is an aging missionary who is looking to retire soon, and needs someone to mentor. They are on what the board calls a "fast track" which consists of 2 years out, and then they come back for evaluation. From there, They'll decide to go back or somewhere else.
Anyway... very exciting news.
Jim
Well, today it did. They met with the board, who was so impressed, they've decided to skip the NYC part, and send them directly to Tanzania!
They're soooo excited, and I am too. The head of the board was so enthusiastic about them, that he is going to call the pastor in Tanzania to see when they can come. The situation there is absolutely perfect. The pastor they'd be serving under is an aging missionary who is looking to retire soon, and needs someone to mentor. They are on what the board calls a "fast track" which consists of 2 years out, and then they come back for evaluation. From there, They'll decide to go back or somewhere else.
Anyway... very exciting news.
Jim
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Amadeus
It's fitting that we watched Amadeus last night.
I've been having an Amadeus kind of day. In the movie, Mozart is forced into being creative until he dies of exhaustion. That and drinking himself into oblivion... So if you just replace the cronic drinking with a bad stomach cold, and the "being a piano-playing genius" with being a graphic designer; it's me.
Stress has been building up lately, and with the constant demand on my employer's part for new and "more amazing" designs... I'm running out of steam. And since the "steam" is what I bring to the table, I need to keep it coming or I am not exactly considered useful. All the same, all these thoughts culminated today in the action of my brain farting. Yes, I think that in my overactive, and recently abused imagination, I heard my brain go "Phummph" today around 3:42pm. At first, I thought it might be our neighbors, "The mexicans" who have a giant garden growing in what was meant to be the loading dock of their business. But no, the harsh reality that my brain had just farted was the disgusting, whether real or imagined smell of boiling hotdogs (which for those of you who don't know, is the worst smell ever...) which smelled only slightly less horrible than the skunk that ate burnt popcorn, crawled under our apartment the other night and died in a fiery sulfuric blast. This is merely my interpretation of the smell that started smelling about 11:30 the other night. It stopped reeking around 8:45 that morning. Just enough to deprive us of as much sleep as possible. Later that day, upon arriving home, I went sniffing (literally) around the apartment to find the source of the hideous odor... but to no avail. No skunkish-burnt-popcorn smells to be found.
Oh well.
My head hurts, it must be the pockets of brain farts that are bubbling around up there, just waiting for the chance to get out and mortify me with all their hot-doggy glory.
Later.
I've been having an Amadeus kind of day. In the movie, Mozart is forced into being creative until he dies of exhaustion. That and drinking himself into oblivion... So if you just replace the cronic drinking with a bad stomach cold, and the "being a piano-playing genius" with being a graphic designer; it's me.
Stress has been building up lately, and with the constant demand on my employer's part for new and "more amazing" designs... I'm running out of steam. And since the "steam" is what I bring to the table, I need to keep it coming or I am not exactly considered useful. All the same, all these thoughts culminated today in the action of my brain farting. Yes, I think that in my overactive, and recently abused imagination, I heard my brain go "Phummph" today around 3:42pm. At first, I thought it might be our neighbors, "The mexicans" who have a giant garden growing in what was meant to be the loading dock of their business. But no, the harsh reality that my brain had just farted was the disgusting, whether real or imagined smell of boiling hotdogs (which for those of you who don't know, is the worst smell ever...) which smelled only slightly less horrible than the skunk that ate burnt popcorn, crawled under our apartment the other night and died in a fiery sulfuric blast. This is merely my interpretation of the smell that started smelling about 11:30 the other night. It stopped reeking around 8:45 that morning. Just enough to deprive us of as much sleep as possible. Later that day, upon arriving home, I went sniffing (literally) around the apartment to find the source of the hideous odor... but to no avail. No skunkish-burnt-popcorn smells to be found.
Oh well.
My head hurts, it must be the pockets of brain farts that are bubbling around up there, just waiting for the chance to get out and mortify me with all their hot-doggy glory.
Later.
Sickish
Well, I'm still sick, but I had a good night's rest.
Sarah and I watched Amadeus last night. Not overrated at all. 8 Academy Awards including best picture were well deserved. I watched it once when I was young, and wasn't sure that it was really as good as I remembered... but it was.
I'm off to work, which is a graphic design job. It's pretty cool, and I get alot of creative reign, but my boss is a super-penny-pincher when it comes to everything. Oh well, you can't have it all...
Later.
Sarah and I watched Amadeus last night. Not overrated at all. 8 Academy Awards including best picture were well deserved. I watched it once when I was young, and wasn't sure that it was really as good as I remembered... but it was.
I'm off to work, which is a graphic design job. It's pretty cool, and I get alot of creative reign, but my boss is a super-penny-pincher when it comes to everything. Oh well, you can't have it all...
Later.
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