You know you're a nerd when...

Well, you always wondered if you were nerdy. Here's a couple of ways that I can tell with myself:

1. You try to classify balloon clusters into shapes of electron orbitals.

2. You get a little bit of a thrill when the M&Ms that pour out into your hand are the three primary colors.

Waiting for Odai

One of my classes is a 1-credit play reading class. It's just Mary, Elaine, and I, and we discuss the plays we've read each week with our professor, Odai. The week we read Waiting for Godot.

In reality, this week's class ended up being on waiting for Odai. We waited for half an hour, discussing the play, and he never showed up. Right before we left, we left him a message on his office voicemail.

Also as we were leaving, we realized that he could have been conducting a text-related experiment on us to see if we would wait for him like Estragon and Vladimir waited for Godot. Inwardly, I still wonder if he would have showed up.

5 People Who Don't Seem to Age

[On a side note before I begin, I went and saw (500) Days of Summer with Jillian. It was fantastic! Now I have the soundtrack and sing those songs in my head wherever I go.]

People Who Don't Seem to Age

1. Leslie Neilson

I swear. That man has had white hair since birth. The only picture that you can find of him with dark hair are black & white, which means something could have easily been wrong with the camera.

2. Nuns

They all seem to be stuck in their mid-30s (a la Julie Andrews), or their around the age of 60 and no one questions them about their childhood. Although, that doesn't stop them from saying, "Back in my day..." But then, that's just an older person thing.

3. Librarians

I just don't think that they're allowed to age. It's probably in the job description. I mean, think about your elementary school librarian... She's still there and she looks exactly the same... Unless she retired, but that says nothing about age.

4. Peter Jackson

Okay, maybe he did age after that weight loss... But in reverse... So maybe that doesn't count.

5. Michael J. Fox

I think they just change his hairstyle to fit with the now, then they call it good.

I know I had more. I just can't think of them right now.

Sounds Like a Mat Kearney Day to Me

This weekend was the staff retreat for the Bethany Community Church youth group. We went and stayed in a cabin in Roslyn, WA (where Northern Exposure was filmed... not that I've seen it). IT SNOWED! <3

Well, it doesn't really look like snow there... But oh well.



We went into Cle Elum and Roslyn. Cle Elum must have really abnormally small moose. Zanie just liked the mule. I'm not really sure what Alex was thinking...

I'd say that Sabrina was pretty excited to finally find a moose she could ride.

John, what's up with the grizzly?

Yeah, that looks like cancer to me too.

Halfway between Cle Elum and Roslyn, we saw this awesome centipede on the playground, so we naturally stopped, despite the rain.

There were really fun things to play on, including one of those spinning discs that you stand on and hold onto the bars (a merry-go-round?). I rode it and the batteries fell out of my camera, so I couldn't document the funny signs in the towns, like "Chew N Butts" at the tobacco shop and "Restrooms & Cemetaries"... Yeah, I've been wondering about that one too.

Livin' is Easy with Eyes Closed

There's nothing quite like watching a movie full of the angsty cries echoing from a previous generation to make you feel like you are alive and blessed to know the freedoms of today.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

Look beyond to see the clouds

No one

Spends so much

Time
On something that is

worthless

God invited me to go on a walk the other day.

One of the ones where you only know you'll get home safely.

I passed lanterns and lone autumn trees on the way.

And stone faces set into the cement,

Too sacred to photograph.

New friends at the Purple Door

I moved into the Purple Door last Sunday, and already, I'm beginning to find people who are akin to me in their unsoundness of mind. Tonight, we dressed up like crazy people and went out to paint over the graffiti on the walls to the back entrance of our house.

While we were out there, a guy pulled over in his car and motioned for me to come over. I didn't get too close, because I thought he might abduct me. He kept saying, "You're so beautiful, can I please give you my number so you can call me? Please? You're so beautiful!" He sounded kinda gay and a little drunk, so I just gave him a flat out, "Nope, sorry." Of all the times that someone tries to pick me up... It had to be when I looked ridiculous. ;)

Also, Rachel from UCU gave me a foam topper for my mattress. I was so happy that I hugged her a bunch of times and started crying. It was the best, most thoughtful gift that anyone has ever given me.

Getting ready to move out of UCU

I really want to start putting more pictures in my blog posts, but my camera is really not the best (which means that most of my pictures look perfect on the camera's preview screen, but they turn out all blurry when I get them on my home computer).

I've now lived at the University Christian Union for 3 years. That's three years of sun, rain, snow, freak wind storms, friends (more like family), pranking, and general fun (besides the studying part). Emily, another one of the girls that moved out this year, wrote the following blog post:

http://emilyvo77.blogspot.com/2009/06/things-ive-learned-at-ucu.html, and in like fashion (I haven't read hers since June and won't re-read until after this, so that I don't accidentally copy something), I will write my most memorable moments from UCU, and yeah, I'll stick to all of the good and/or funny ones.

1. The time that Kris Lawrence dumped an entire gallon of water on a guy in the kitchen during a waterfight.

2. The time that Kirs Lawrence poured a full cup of water down the back of my shirt while I was just standing there, reading the white board.

3. The time we all watched The Godfather, but everyone fell asleep. Matt curled up on the pool table.

4. Playing Twister with pans of Jell-O instead of dots.

5. Singing at the Crista nursing home.

6. Juan dressed as Rupert for the Halloween dance.

7. When Josh and I learned that we had not only met each other briefly in high school, but that he had been a victim of me and my friends during a "Hug the first person you see at a church rally" game.

8. Going to a Natalie MacMasters concert at Benaroya Hall with Jacob and Garrett.

9. When Heather freaked Linnell out with a prank phone call about an order of penguins from the Woodland Park Zoo (Linnell ended up cancelling her credit card).

10. Emmy, Jaci, and I harassing the La Rouche people (full transcript available upon request).

11. Giving people haircuts for the Week of Man.

12. Swing dancing!

13. "Oopsie poopsies!" Still don't know who that was, but there is speculation.

14. Stealing the guys' house bell, taking pictures of it downtown, then returning it with a children's picture book of its adventures.

15. When Heather and I dressed up in the unicorn costume.

16. Sven and Ducky. :)

17. Matt singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in falsetto.

18. When Mindy and Krista got trapped in the room in the guys' house and they started spraying Axe in under the door.

19. When Emily "peed" on Ben's leg with a water balloon.

20. Monday nights, after Bible study... When things got fun and water-balloon-y.

21. Trick-or-Treating around Greenlake area.

22. When Mindy, Anna, and I dressed in trash bags and slid down the stairs.

23. Hanging out with Alli in the kitchen.

24. Random conversations at lunch.

25. When Mindy and I saw the face of the virgin Mary made by the Christmas lights, so we decided to roll doobies out of the "weed" from Alli's spices. Then we proceeded to burn them on the front walkway.

26. Getting caught while spraying down the guys' pillows with air freshener. They then sprayed us down with Axe, tagged us with blue paint, and released us back into the wild.

27. When Krista and I made a "We love you, Joyce!" banner for our TA and held it up in our 700 person class.

28. Playing a game of 8-person HALO... And killing Parker twice in under a minute.

29. When Anna and Emily were kidnapped by the guys for spying on their meeting, and I fought Zach while trying to save them.

30. New Years 2008 at the Seattle Center and cramming into a little room to sleep at Linnell's house.

31. Murder Mystery Night, especially Emily's stunt double character.

32. "Snaps for whoever's laundry detergent I've been using." "Heeeeey!"

33. When Rachel and I hacked the boys' computers.

34. Jersey quoting Anchorman.

35. Mindy's raquet ball named Mooncake.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241489&id=10735735&op=6#/profile.php?id=1131143712&ref=ts

36. Two by Two to the Zoo! (Mostly Jake's infatuation with the grizzly bears.)

37. Talking to the Mormons.

38. Picking up donuts at Winchell's at 6AM for workday (thanks for driving all those times, Stacy!).

39. The epic war between the houses in '08.

40. Jaci shoving a fistful of Jell-O down peoples' pants.

41. Chandelle days at Bible study.

42. That one parent's banquet where we were all ditzy.

43. When Mindy and I went to get our food handler's permits, and Tage was there... And it turned out to be in the Bingo hall of a casino.

44. When Linnell conspired to put a bunch of hair in Matt's bed. People saved their hair for weeks...

45. SJ's mustache party.

46. When Hannah, Jillian, and I tried to powerwalk back from Bubble Tea and ended up laughing so hard we were doubled up in front of UPC.

47. When Emily and I shaved Matt's leg. (Picture removed for the safety of younger viewers.)

48. Our summer trip to Molly Moon's.

49. The trip to Yakima this summer. :D

50. When Emily and I found Tage's camera... And it had about 50 pictures that he had taken of himself on it.

Obviously, there are thousands of other excellent moments involving excellent people. It's been an incredible 3 years, and I'll miss seeing every one of you!!! Don't worry, I'll come back and visit. ;D

When I'm confused by an aspect of the world/God/humanity, I tend to spend all of my moving time (walking between classes, exercising, walking down the stairs, etc.) trying to come up with an answer. It's made for some profound breakthroughs in my life and walk with God.

Anyhow, I've had the following question as my moving time question on and off for a few years now: "Why do guys throw themselves at the cheerleader-type personalities?" Saying that they're prettier and whatnot is not entirely valid, because I've seen some pretty oog-lay chearleaders that got the same amount of attention, as well as some absolutely gorgeous girls get less attention.

Today, Esther solved my question for me while we were in the middle of a conversation about the maturity levels of our peers. I think that her point is completely valid, and while every statement can use some refining, it is pretty true.

Premise: Guys mature slower than girls do (mostly due to their maturity being related to their ability and drive to provide for their family).

Esther's Point: When girls are less mature, they tend to strive for attention, seeking to get it from everyone around them. Obviously, this attention-seeking will attract male attentions. While it is probably true that these immature girls can never be satisfied with the attentions of one guy, guys will see them as easy to please. If guys give them attention, then they will be pleased. Since the girls are easy to please, they are also easy to date, because they require less effort. It happens the most earlier on in life, because the guys have not matured yet, and they will perceive the easy-to-please girls as at the same maturity level as themselves. Conversely, the mature girls intimidate guys, because the guys know that they will have to put forth an effort to please them and capture their hearts.

Thomas's Point: The other day, Thomas mentioned that some of the guys he has been talking to (guys my age, because he's a bit older) see women as second class citizens. Then he brought up the point of how a husband and a wife are equals, even though the wife is to submit to the loving leadership of the man. With the same thought in mind, "Who wants to be married to a second class citizen?" he asked. "A good friend of mine married his wife because she was the first person that said 'no' to him. I married mine because she is my equal and I know that I can count on and trust in her opinion, and she counts on and trusts in mine."

Ending Points:
Boys, grow up.
Girls, grow up.
Boys, be careful with girls' hearts.
Girls, be careful with your own heart.
Boys, look for someone that you can treat and who will treat you as an equal.
Girls, look for someone that treats girls with respect and dignity.

Virtual Detachment

Disclaimer: Yes, I do realize the irony of my posting such a topic on a blog... The truth is that I will talk about it with people in real life as well.



Today, Justin pointed me to the following article:

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/read/read/a0004580.cfm

It comes in three parts, and was written by a woman who was living in Africa and Asia for the last five years. She talks about how she is experiencing reverse culture shock. It's really good. An easy read. You should read it yourself. Have I made myself clear?



Anyways, the issue is that in an age with such advanced means of communication, we are actually having trouble communicating with people.



"'As a wise Englishman once said—100 or so years ago—'The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.' "



In a way, our methods of communication (cell phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) have become a means of avoiding communication with the people that are actually, physically with us.



Sometimes, I wonder what my little sister's generation will grow up to be like. They are growing up with almost no knowledge of a world without the internet. They will know very few years when they did not either desire or own their own cell phone. (I was actually very against cell phones until I put my car in a ditch, but that's another story.)



My sister's generation is constantly bombarded with unoriginal hip-hop music (although, I will admit to enjoying some of it), formulaic television shows, movies whose humor requires nothing more than bathroom humor, and an underlying desire to escape it all.



So the problem comes to where everyone goes to escape from the constant bombardment of technology and media. The ironic thing is that they turn to technology and media.



Honestly, answer me this: what was the last book that you read? Schoolwork does not count. Neither does Twilight. Okay fine, maybe Twilight counts, but only if you read it for the story, not to imagine that Edward is going to sweep you off your feet and whisk you off to Forks at any moment. Not going to happen. There's nothing in Forks anyways.



We do not escape our daily lives by reading, or by having deep conversations with our friends and family. Instead, we sit down and turn on the TV. We turn on the TV, and we tune out our loved ones.



Today in class, my teacher mistakenly said that a famous playwright had died of "TV." While she meant TB, her response was not all that surprising to me. Excessive amounts of TV lead to the death of creativity, the death of strong relationships, and the death of conversations.



Furthermore, we find ourselves creating our reality from the virtual. I think this shirt speaks to the mindset of many:

Thus, we have people living in complete fantasy worlds. Although, they may not be as drastic as constantly expecting to find Edward or Zac Efron around the next corner, we are constantly thinking about some form of media.

It may be that the best thing we have to talk about with friends is the latest episode of The Office, or how great the baseball game was that was on last night. Don't you find more enjoyment in things that are real? Like playing catch with a friend, having a dance party with your housemates, or listening to someone talk about their day.

I would take any of those moments over any TV show. What about you?

First Blogger transfer from LJ

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm_intro.html

It's really interesting to see how deeply impacting a photograph can be. These are the ones that changed the world, or so they say. They at least changed the worlds of many.

MEMORIES

Sometimes, I really wish I could hear what people say about me to each other. I remember one time in high school when there was meeting of the Japanese club, and it was one of the few that I could not attend. Later, I asked Chris McLam (?) what they talked about during the meeting. It was at a time when there was a dispute over who was going to be the president the next year. At the time, I was the Secretary/Treasurer. He told me that they ended up talking about me, but that they only had nice things to say. I've never admitted it before, but after all these years, I still wonder exactly what was said during that meeting.Man, I've almost forgotten about all these things... Time to go back through the old LJ and relive some stuff.... But not other stuff... Like some of the sadder days of DMF.

GMAIL

So, I have this gmail account that sits there, unused for the most part. However, each time I go back to it, there's some new e-mail from someone that thinks I'm some youth pastor named Mike or Chris... One time I got a letter that was entirely in Spanish. The only time that I used the account, really, was when talking to Andy from Hoquiam. I was curious about how ridiculous that whole thing had been, so I peeked at some of those old e-mails. He totally led me on. Also, for a smart guy, he was a bad speller.

MUSIC

I'm listening to Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown. It has this knack for moving me to tears. Even when I went and saw them in concert, I teared up. No wonder I usually listen to it in the shower.