In the interest of time...

Here I am at work again. I have absolutely nothing that I "need" to be doing. Seriously, I can't think of a single thing that I need to get done today. There are things that I could do and I probably will do them. However, none of things that I can do are going to take very long and in five minutes I'll be right back here where I started. Go ask your boss for something to do, right? I wish I could. My boss decided to go to the UC library for the rest of the day to catch up on some reading. Apparently, there was an explosion during a reaction at Shepherd's sister plant in Mirecourt, France. Therefore, my boss decided that he needed to go to UC to look up some literature on chrome reactions (the reaction that caused the explosion was a chrome (III) reaction that got way too hot in a short period of time). So, I'm gonna be stuck here without anything to do for the entire day.

Went to wing night last night out at Quaker Steak and Lube. That place is great. The all you can eat wings are awesome. Tons of guys went too. I wonder how many wings were consumed by our group alone. Hmm... I personally had around 25 wings. So...25 wings times about 45 guys equals 1,125 wings. Holy crap. Somebody's chicken farm is doin pretty well right about now. Quaker Steak and Lube also has a microbrewed beer. It's a dark beer that tastes a little like Bass. The only draw being the price. One beer was like 4.25. So, 25 wings, a beer and tip cost me like 18 bucks. Not the cheapest place in the world.

I tried the sauce on an atomic wing that we ordered. You would not believe how hot this crap is. There is absolutely no taste to the sauce. It's just burning. I took a little bit on my finger and put it to my tongue and I immidiately began to sweat. No joke. After about 20 minutes I could still feel my tongue burning. No one had the balls to actually eat the wing we were passing around. I wonder what that would do to your stomach?

I want to know what love is...do do do

I woke up at 7:30 this morning (I'm due at work at 8:00). I'm having a real problem getting myself to work on time. The problem with this situation is my lack of motivation to get to work on time. My boss could care less if I even make it to work on a given day, much less get to work on time. Therefore, if I come strollin in at 8:15 nobody really seems to care. If someone would just take the initiative and give me some crap for coming in late everday, I know that I would start getting here on time. I guess this is one of the perks of being a co-op. You're only marginally essential to the day to day operations of the company. So, if you come in obscenely late, or not at all, its not really a big deal. At least thats how it works here at Shepherd.

Davie, Austy, Craig, Perry and I saw Casino Royale the other night. (No spoilers in here, keep reading) Definetely, the best Bond movie since Goldeneye. That's really not saying too much but hopefully this means that they'll be taking the series in a new direction. Daniel Craig did a pretty good job of portraying the rookie 00 agent, James Bond. I can't see Pierce Brosnan playing this role as well as Craig did. Casino Royale's Bond is very unfinished and much more human than in pervious movies. So yeah, pretty decent. A little sketchy in the plot explanations at times, but decent.

Crap. Mark Dantonio is leaving. Wow. 1.1 million a year plus a signing bonus at Michigan State. I bet UC wasn't even coming close to that. Good for him but that sucks for us.

Insert lyrics from a song that no one has ever heard here

I'm really freakin bored right now. Fortunately, there's only one hour left until I can leave for four whole days...nice.
I've pretty much decided on two possible routes for my post graduation life. The first is to volunteer for Navigator staff by means of the EDGE corps. The second is to attend grad school at Ohio University. Of course, there is a good possibility that I'll do both but I'm not sure of the order. In either case, I think I'm ultimately going to end up at Ohio University. There's some definite advantages to being out in Athens. Emily's family lives about 45 minutes from the university and she'll eventually want to move away from our crappy city back to the country. My feeling is that I've had enough of the city too. I've found that I really wouldn't mind moving to the country and I'll still only be about 2.5 hours away from my family and friends. I'm also feeling somewhat called to Ohio University. The Navigator organization there is fairly new and just beginning to piece together a ministry. If God allows, I think that I may be able to help out in expanding that ministry. The only real question then is: What will be my role? EDGE corps would make ministry my job as well as my passion. I would have unlimited time to meet with students and try to give my life away to the campus. While I'm not afraid of taking this risk I do have some reservations about my education. If I'm on EDGE corps I cannot be in classes or have a job. This will push that magical day when I'll be done with school back even further. If I'm simply a grad student at OU I'll be finishing my eduacation but at the cost of my time. I'm sure I'll be busy as hell with my coursework and won't really have too much time to invest in ministry work.
I think what I'm most concerned about is the capacity of ministy that I'll be able to engage in once I'm away from the Navigator bubble. The Navigators uses its name and reputation to bring seekers in. That means that I don't have to go out of my way to meet people who are interested in pursuing Christ. After I'm done with UC, I'll be on my own. Eventually, I'll be in a workplace. I'm really worried that I'll burn out on reaching people once I'm away from my supporting ministry. It's so easy to fall into the "I don't want people to think I'm a zealot Christian. So I'll just sit here quietly" metality. At what point, do you make sure that people know you're different? If you're trying really hard to act like everyone else, how will anyone know that you're not like everyone else, at least in a spiritual sense. I'm really worried about my willingess to take risks.

We ain't gonna take it

What do I wanna do after I graduate? I've been mulling this question over recently. One thing that I know for sure is that I can't settle into a 9-5 job, get married, buy a house, and start living the American dream. I don't think there's anything wrong with all that except for the perception that this post-college routine that society hands us is as good as it gets. There's a bible verse that pounds in my skull:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

What the crap is a full life? I have to believe that it is more than getting good grades, being nice to everybody, going to church on Sunday,graduating from college, raising your kids right and retiring when you're 65. Where is the risk in all that? It's like society is saying "everybody keep your heads low, there's dangerous stuff out there that you don't wanna get mixed up in." John Elderedge makes an excellent point in Waking the Dead, when he points out that Jesus had two objectives. The first, make sure we all don't have to go to hell. The second, and the more important, bestow life eternal. If you read the gospel carefully, I believe there is a distinct difference between the two. I think we've been brainwashed into thinking that our real life will start after we leave this "meaningless" world. I bet to differ with this opinion. I think what Jesus meant by "life eternal" was life right now until eternity. So when I think about settling into the low risk, 9 to 5 routine, something inside of me absolutely screams not to buy it. Obviously, I'm gonna have to have a job. But I think that when my job, or getting a house, or raising a family, or going to church becomes the thing that occupies my passion then I've fallen right into the trap that has been set for me and squandered the gift of real life. So, maybe I'll get a job or go to graduate school or maybe I'll go on EDGE. All that I know is that I can feel God warning me not to buy what the world is selling when it comes to life.

When the deal goes down

I have a renewed interest in Bob Dylan. I've always been a fan but lately I really can't stop listening to him. What an amazing lyricist and musician. I would definetely put him in the top ten musicians of all time. And who hasn't been influenced by his music? Nearly every genre of music has certain artists that reflect, if not imitate, Bob Dylan's music. I was watchin VH1 classic yesterday (always on at the Asylum) when they did a few of Dylan's music videos. The first video was Just Like a Woman. The video consisted of Bob and two other dudes on a stage. Bob had an acoustic geetar and a harmonica. The other guys had an electric guitar and a bass guitar respectively. The other guys kept rhythm while Bob had the melody and vocals. It was so effin simple. There were no complex guitar riffs or hardcore bass lines, just a dude playin his guitar on stage. Yet, it's an amazing song. Plus, when you listen to Bob Dylan's lyrics you get the idea that he's passionate about what he's singing about. He doesn't care what the audience wants to hear about or how they wanna hear it. His songs are about his experiences and things he's passionate about. That's an extremely rare thing in today's music, I'd say almost non-existent.

These aren't the droids you're looking for

Creepy Campout this weekend. There are a multitude of great things about the Creepy Campout. First, there a lot of people that take this weekend very, very seriously. So the tradition of going to the Creepy Campout has become more of a tradition of mocking the events that happen anually at this weekend. For example, there is a pumpkin carving contest every year. Everyone spends hours, if not days, constructing and carving their pumpkins until they drip with over-achievement. There's little pumpkin villages and pumpkin snowmen and Parky the raccoon always comes out to judge and handout trophies. Here's how we've ruined this for people:
"Parky Sucks", carved by Austin Lubbers
"Elder Sucks" , carved by Doug Schmaltz
Smashed pumpkin, carved and then smashed by Rob Kleemeier
"Bush/ Cheney '04", carved by Doug Schmaltz
"The People's Pumpkin", carved by Rob Kleemeier
knifed pumpkin, stabbed by Jon Meyer

The contest is judged partially by audience noise. So if one of your good friends enters a pumpkin which plainly has no right to be in the contest, your friend has as much of a chance to win as anyone. He'll probably have an even better chance, than anyone else, if your friend brings five of his friends to be as obnoxious and loud as possible during the judging. All of the forementioned pumpkin designs were entered into the contest and made it to at least the semi finals before being removed by facist park officials. However, the point is not to win the contest but instead to beat out as many people, who put their hearts and souls into this contest every year, as possible. Is this crual and unjust? I say no. Is it cruel and unjust when it storms at the end of an otherwise beautiful day? Of course not, it just happens. It's been happening for a long time and will continue to happen for a long time to come. It's the same idea with our campout antics. Everyone knows to expect it now because it has been happening for as long as anyone can remember. yeah Creepy Campout '06

There's a Calm Before the Storm...

Postin again. Yeah now what jerks. I have one hour left at work and nothing to do with it but stare at my computer screen in my makeshift cubical. That's right, I have a cubical. It's not a full fledged cubical, but it certainly serves the same purpose. The walls aren't very high so anyone walking past can see what I'm doing and there's no wall behind me. I need some stuff to put on the walls in here. Right now, I have a periodic table of elements on the right side of my desk and thats it. Maybe I'll get a calendar or a plaque with some inspirational quote on it. Then I'll be like every other corporate tool box out there. It's a good thing that I can walk away from my desk and go work at the lab bench anytime I want. Sitting in front of a computer screen all day, every day is essentially my worst nightmare. I have to be able to get up and do something.
I went to a meeting at church last night (Northern Hills United Methodist). There's some crazy stuff that's starting to happen there. First off, the church is finally looking at modes of outreach to the community. I've been pushing for some Vineyard like, servant evangelism stuff and God has started to break down barriers. Also, we approved a new ministry last night that blends the Buddist Zen tradition of meditation with Christian belief. Essentially, this ministry will focus on meditation as a means of communicating with God. I'm probably going to try it out. I could use some time of just sitting still and doing nothing but being quiet.

Everybody's Workin for the Weekend

So...I live in Clifton now. Actually I've been living in Clifton for more than a month but I haven't bothered to post on this thing since July. But it's pretty great, never a dull moment in the Asylum. We get along most of the time and everybody does their fair share around the house.
I have notice one problem however. There seems to be some confusion about how often we leave our house and at what time between us and the girls upstairs. I noticed this because one of our female neighbors parked in the driveway yesterday. But instead of parking next to Dave and I to allow us to pull out of the driveway, she parked behind both of us. So instead of blocking no one in, she chose to block two people in until she decides to leave. This is kind of a big deal since I leave for work at 7:30 in the morning. Consequently, I had to try to shimmy (in a Jeep Wrangler) my vehicle out of our driveway. It took all of my driving skill to not hit Dave or the girl's car. This process took at least 5-10 minutes and I ended up being late for work. I shoulda snapped a picture of the situation to post on here. From now on, if I have to park in the driveway, I think I'm just gonna park at the very end so that nobody can park behind me.

I'm leading small group for the first time, this year, tomorrow. It's gonna be a good time. Davie and Robby are in my group this time. It's almost a revival of guy's group. It would be a complete revival if Austin Q. Lubbers hadn't ran off and joined Monday night.

Things to look forward to: Creepy Campout Oct 13 and 14th
Alice in Chains Nov 9th
Fall Conference
Turkey Day Race

you like dags?

Yeah it's been awhile since I last posted. I'm not worried about it. Lots of stuff has happened since then, but I'm not gonna go into it. I'm in school and working part-time this summer. Summer classes are pretty easy. I never really have too much homework. I just have to go.
How bout that World Cup? It sucks to be that French dude that missed the penalty kick. He's probably not gonna go home for awhile.
Davie and I went to a NIN concert in Indianapolis last week. It was sweet. The pit was outta control and there were strange liquids flying through the air at all times. Then you have the occassional liquid on the ground that gets splashed onto your legs. I only got hit in the face once. Some dude jumped up and gave me a shoulder. I was kinda pissed for a second and thought about pushing him but I decided not to when I thought about how many people he would probably run into when he fell forward.
I had Testacular IV at my house on Saturday. The fights were pretty lame, especially the Ortiz/Shamrock fight. It was rediculous. The ref stopped the fight way to early...rediculous. I want our 40 bucks back. Apparently, the was a good fight involving undercard, Jeff Munson. However, since the Arlovski/Sylvia fight went all five rounds, we didn't get to see all of it.

And you could have it all...

Yeah. NIN is freakin awesome. I never knew what I was missin all these years. I think I might go to another concert in Columbus this summer with little Davie T.

So...I got a job. I'm gonna work at Shepherd Chemical next quarter. I'm not real excited about it but I guess you can't expect too much with the amount of experience I have (none). Whatever, at least I'll be makin money and not doing homework. I'm thinkin about maybe finding a night class to take to catch up a little.

Who wants to go camping later this week?

Zelda survey

Quick question for ya. If you could live in the land of Hyrule circa the day of Link, Hero of Time, what type of Hyrulian would you choose to be. The choices (as if you didn't know):


Hylian
Essentially a human. The only difference being the pointed ears and occassional ability to do magic. Traditionally, the ruling family of Hyrule is Hylian. Important note: Link is a Hylian, not a Kokiri, a common mistake.










A Sheikah
A very mysterious race of ninja like warriors. Sheikah are the sworn protectors of the Hylian throne. Very skilled in magic and combative arts.

Zora

A fishlike race that inhabit several body's of water in the Hyrule area. Renowned for their skills in medicine. These individuals are very well adapted to aquatic environments and a fiercely loyal to the Royal Family of Hyrule.

Gerudo

Gerudos are a race of thieves that live in a desert fortress. This tribe is composed entirely of females except for a male that is born every 100 years to become their king. Gerudo's are very skilled archers and riders and are known for their stealth. Ganondorf himself is from this race.

Kokiri

This carefree race dwells in the Kokiri Forest. They look much like children and are terrified of the outside world. Each has a guardian fairy and they are closely watched by the Great Deku Tree, an ancient guardian spirit of the forest. Link was raised by the Kokiri which explains his fairy, Navi.

Goron

Gorons are a fierce but loveable. They dwell in underground caverns and enjoy a diet of rare rocks. Gorons are excellent metal smiths and tunnelers. They also have a soft spot for music. It's speculated that Goron's are hermaphroditic because it is impossible to tell male from female.

yeah

This just in....officials don't actually watch the game.

hey everybody....where did Mary go?

Super Bowl time again. Time to watch the Seahawks mack on the Steelers. Looks like Navs has elected to have it at my place. That's cool though, just means I don't have to drive to Clifton.

So Em and I hammered out where we're goin for our group's mission trip, finally. Now we just have to raise the money and apparently we both have to attend a conference in Chicago to find out what we have to teach our kids before we're allowed to go down there. Speakin of conferences, we're headed to two of them this weekend. The methodist church has to indoctrinate us to ensure that we're brainwashing their children effectively. So they're gonna trap us in a room Friday evening and most of the day Saturday and pound theology into us. Maybe then I'll turn from my heathen, non-denominational ways and accept the perfection that is the United Methodist Church. Em and I might show up, sign whatever, and then hop the fence (avoiding the sniper fire.)

You know who's sweet? System of a Down. I've been listening to Mezmerize a lot and its pretty awesome. They're definetely one of the best contemporary bands out there (not that that's hard). It's pretty rare to see bands today that are as diverse or generally musically talented as S.O.D.

Thunderlizards Rule

Been awhile. That's alright though. How bout that call reversal for the Troy Polamalalalalu interception? I don't know why that's a big deal. The Steeler's won. Everybody gets a crappy call once in awhile. Unless you're a Bengal, then you get them all the time. The point is that the Steelers get away with all kinds of crap when they should be penalized. Maybe the NFL should go back and watch T.J. Houshmanzadeh being raped in the endzone after an incomplete pass by two Steelers. Thats not gonna happen though. Whatever, I'll just get more satisfaction next season when we destroy them twice. Also, the Steelers don't stand a chance against Denver. They've won two games they didn't deserve to win. It won't happen again.
Alright. I was gonna show everyone some pictures from Tenn. but apparently Kodak is gonna make me buy the pictures before I can download them for .15 a piece so forget that. There's probably a way around that but I don't have time to figure it out right now. This dude had some great Jesus bumper stickers on his truck and Wemer took pictures of them while I distracted him. Dude was crazy.
Here some good ones:
"Are you following Jesus this closely?"
"Forbidden fruit can get you in some bad jams."
"Condems "con" you into thinking you're safe."
"Godly parents are an endangered species"
"One day you'll wish you had all these Jesus bumper stickers"
The list goes on. I wish I could download them and post them here but I don't want to buy them. Anyway, we're not goin down there anymore.

I did some alone hiking yesterday out at Miami Whitewater State Park. I really wanted to steal some alone time to talk to God and think some stuff out without the the stress and noise of the world to distract me. It was awesome. I highly recommend it. Only when you do it, don't take a trail. Just wander into the woods (provided that you know where you are going and how to get back). I walked about two miles down a creek just because I could. The weather was perfect. You really get a feel of God's spirit out there. Peaceful but untaimable. I don't want to go on a John Elderedge rant, but being out there definetely helped me tap into that. I wanted to challenge myself. I walked across the creek multiple times, the water still had ice sheets in some still areas, just to see if I could and to deny the urge to take the mundane beaten path. The water was freezing but as long as I kept moving I wasn't cold (there's a lesson there, I think). Going back, I changed my route. Instead of taking the creek back (the way I came), I trecked across country through the wooded hills. It's incredibly peaceful. Here's a place that you have no control over, no matter what. Here's God's spirit poured out in something tangible. Before I got back to my truck, God showed me his wonder a last time. An owl flew down out of a tree not 10 feet in front of me. It's wingspan had to exceed 6 feet. It perched on a nearby tree and turned its head to watch me (I had startled it from its old tree). It was the largest and most incredible bird I've ever seen. It's face was unmistakable. It's eyes were huge and black and its body was fat. The untaimable nature posessed by that single owl in that huge forest is amazing to me and makes me thirst all the more to know its creator.