I wonder if anyone still reads this, hehe. :)

Big news! Amy and I are getting married! We've been engaged for a little more than two weeks (sorry I didn't tell everyone sooner). Things have been frantic...nobody told me how crazy planning a wedding would actually be (and Amy's the one doing all the work). There I was, worried about getting the right ring, how I was going to ask, if she'd say yes, etc., and I had absolutely no idea of the barrage of questions/decisions that would soon follow.

I'm incredibly happy, yet grateful that we'll only have to plan our wedding once. ;)

Finals week is going swimmingly. I turned in a bear of a paper on Friday (a study of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis using New Historicist theory). My Calculus final was a breeze...I know I missed the problem on Linear Approximation, but to be honest, I don't see the point of knowing how to get an approximation, no matter how accurate, of the square root of 8.98 in an age where a $5 calculator can handle the computation. All that now remains is a portfolio for my poetry class (which is nearly complete) and a final in Latin on Friday (in which I currently have an incredibly high A).

I'm really ready for the semester to be over. While I'm looking forward to next semester, I definitely need a breather. Is it odd that I see working 40 hours a week as a vacation?

For the record, L(x) = f(a) + f'(a)(x-a). I do realize there are further uses of linearization, and I will definitely use it again when I take Linear Algebra. This problem just annoyed me. :P

Date:	2007-11-24 22:59
Subject:	We're back!
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

Amy and I just got back from Indiana. She went with me to visit family for Thanksgiving...it was a great, great time. It was her first Thanksgiving apart from her family, so I was quite honored that she wanted to spend it with mine. We saw a bit of snow, ate a lot of food, and played with a horde of youngsters. It was a grand experience. :)

We also ran into Ethan Hawke at the Indianapolis airport. Neither I nor Amy get all googly over celebrities, for the most part, but Ethan is the one star that Amy used to have a major crush on. Back in the day, don'tchaknow. She wasn't quite drooling as he waited for his plane close to us, but her eyes were glued to the back of his head. It was adorable, hehe.

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! I'll post a picture or two once I get them on my computer. :)

This week, someone in my high school graduating class passed away. 32 years old, massive heart attack. He had an enlarged heart. I'm from a small farm town. Most of the people in my class I've known since kindergarten or before; Carter was no exception. I was never close with him, but I have a couple of fond memories of him.

Thirty-two. It doesn't seem real, nor does it seem right. My mind has not the wisdom to understand. Luckily, I do not need to understand, only to trust. May God preserve this young man's soul, and may his family be comforted in its loss.

Taking a break from writing a mid-term paper. Good times.

Battlestar Galactica Season 3. When, oh when, will you arrive on DVD?

I'll have 70 hours left to complete my bachelor's after this semester. That's 14 hours per semester to finish by Spring '10. One eye sees it as encouraging, as I'm fairly easily handling 16 hours this semester, but the other eye only sees the "2010" part of the equation. I'm not even going to think about how old I'll be once I finish grad school, heh.

The Patriots won again today, convincingly. While I was pulling for the 'boys (first time in my life, for the record), it will make the Colts' victory over them in a few weeks all the more precious. ;)

Yes, I enjoy acting and feeling young. Being silly, as it were. Amusing myself, if no one else. Laughing when someone says "You do do that, don't you?" I mean, come on. Do do. It's stinkin' hilarious.

Immaturity, when free from spite and pettiness, is a wonderful thing. Childlike glee is as fantastic as it is infectious. Throw in those things, however, and it festers and infects.

I'm really learning to despise Formalism (or New Criticism, if you prefer). At its heart, I believe it seeks to transform artistic literary works into scientific formulae. It bugs me, it really, truly does, and not simply because I find writing a 6-page paper on a single sonnet rather ludicrous.

Approaches to Studying Literature. Fiction Writing. First Books: Poetry. Calculus with Analytical Geometry. Latin I.

The calculus class will be, by far, my easiest course of the semester, due simply to repetition (there was a bit of a snafu in regards to my transfer credit). I'll be doing an insane amount of reading and writing in my creative writing and English courses, but that's precisely what I want. As for Latin, it's a language I've always wanted to learn, but have never been at a school that offered it. It's a bit daunting, but I'll pick it up just fine.

At work, one of the three office workers will be out for an extended period, which means I'll be asked to pick up considerable slack. That won't be a huge deal, so long as I can squeeze in my studies. My boss fully realizes that my courses come first, and he's fine with that. (Charlie's getting his knee replaced, Andy. FYI!)

So, here's the deal. I'm not feeling overwhelmed. Granted, classes just started, but I've been given a tentative scheduling of assignments, tests, and quizzes for all of them and nothing seems insurmountable. Most of my grades will come from essays, workshops, and presentations; I will only have two final exams, and one of them is Calculus, which should be a breeze.

So, there's my quick, boring update!

- UNCW has a gorgeous campus.

- I'm happy that I'm older than just one of my instructors.

- Having lunch with Amy, who happens to work there, is a very nice fringe benefit.

- Latin is both a cognate and parent of the English language. In essence, it's the Uncle Dad member of the linguistics family.

- We're going to be studying, among other things, fairy tales (not sterilized Disney versions, either) and a graphic novel (Persepolis) in my literature course. I'm a happy camper.

I've known for a little while that Amy had an early-birthday surprise for me this weekend, and it involved going out-of-town. I was excited, but I'm not the sort who needs to know details of a surprise before I get it. Where's the fun in that? (I grew out of that phase pretty quick, I believe. I only unwrapped-the-retaped Christmas presents once, if memory serves, hehe. Didn't fool a soul.) So, I waited patiently...partly because I was content in not knowing, and partly because it frustrated Amy that I wasn't pestering her all the time. ;)

The first part of the surprise was that we were going to Charleston, SC. I hadn't been there before. It is such a beautiful city. Aside from the heat, the weather was perfect. The skies were clear as could be, the air wasn't heavy with humidity, yet the heat index was pretty high. We spent the early afternoon checking out a great marketplace, frolicking in a waterfront park, and just enjoying the downtown area.

At lunch, she unloaded part two of the surprise: tickets to see Patty Griffin at the Charleston Music Hall! Fifth row seats, too. It was such a treat. Amy's been a fan of hers for years; she turned me on to Patty last Christmas. It was the last show of the tour, and Patty hardly ever comes out to this part of the country. Amy had never seen her live, so it was a real joy for both of us.

Scott Miller opened, and he was a lot of fun. I'll check out more of his music soon enough. Patty and her band were amazing. She played stuff from all of her cd's, which was nice. Her performance of "Top of the World," which she wrote and the Dixie Chicks covered, absolutely enthralled me. "No Bad News" was amazing...Scott came out for a little practical joke (there were a few throughout the evening, from both acts) and ended up playing his harmonica with the band near the end. It quickly erupted into a full-on impromptu jam session, with all the extremely talented musicians (and everyone in attendance, for that matter) just losing themselves in the music.

It was an amazing evening. We came back to Wilmington a little early today, but that didn't lessen the joy at all. Amy was on cloud nine the whole time, too, which was fantastic. Great weekend. It was the best way to cap off a great summer.

There are several books that I've been meaning to read for quite some time, yet remain unread. I like to consider myself a fairly well-read individual, but the presence of many bonafide classics on my dubious list belies my claim. I'm on a mission to whittle that list down to nothing. The first to fall? Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I know Salinger is held in high regard, but I knew little about the book beyond that it was on several banned lists and the protaganist, Holden Caulfield, has been referenced many times in pop culture.

I'm really glad I decided to plunk down my seven bucks a few days ago. While we have decidedly different roots in terms of era and class, Holden and I have a lot in common. Actually, I should say we "had" a lot in common, because my outlook on life is starkly different than what it was several years ago. The sixteen year-old Caulfield, in terms of psychological well-being, bore an uncanny resemblance to me during my late teens/early twenties. It was a bit of a shocking realization, to be honest, but it reminds me of how thankful I am to be where I am now. The me I used to be was not a good me to be, if I do say so myself.

Have you ever come across a fictional character, any medium, that resonated within you? Maybe the current you, perhaps the you you hope to be, or possibly the you you used to be. Share!

I just ate at Hiro for the first time. I've wanted to eat there for a while, but tonight was a good excuse to go. One of Amy's best friends, Tara, is in town from Ohio, so the three of us went out to a nice restaurant.

I've never been to a Japanese steakhouse before, but I was really impressed. The tables seat ten, and are arranged around a grill. The three of us were sitting with an extended family of seven. The patriarch, Mike, was sitting next to me. The cook grilled the food in front of us; it was easily the most interactive meal I've ever had. He'd toss shrimp in the air for us to catch in our mouths, for instance. Occasionally he'd squirt a bit of water at someone who wasn't paying attention. There were a couple of young kids at the table who were absolutely enthralled by the show. It was a great time! The Price family was a lot of fun, and the food was pretty darned good, too! (Not to mention bounteous. Holy smokes, was there a lot of food!)

Near the end of the meal, the cook asked how the checks would be split up. Amy, Tara and I told him our preference, but I could have sworn I heard Mike say he'd get the whole table as he made a motion which included us. He didn't say it loud, though, so I shot a questioning glance toward Tara and Amy. They thought they heard it, too. When the check came, Mike moved to the other end of the table to take care of it. The rest of his family had already made their way outside. I wasn't sure of the best way to broach it to him, but I decided that asking "Are you paying for ours, too?" would have come out entirely wrong. Instead, I approached him and asked if he had seen our checks. "I'm taking care of it all," he said warmly. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted. The four of us had some more conversation before calling it a night.

I'm floored. Amy, Tara and I aren't destitute, mind you, but a gift given by a total stranger without any thought of repayment really touched all of us deeply. Mike, you're an inspiration. Thank you. May we all have generous hearts.

( Boring medical stuff. And Pez. )

Anyway, I'm tired, and just felt the need to ramble.

I still want Pez.

When I was a child, I loved small, furry things. I had a gerbil. It was awesome! I forgot to feed it for a few days, though, and it died most likely a miserable death. I got another gerbil. After that one died, I got a hamster. Lost it once, but found it. I love it with my whole heart. Got another after it died.

I read a local culture rag on occasion. I was flipping through the latest issue today at lunch. The intro "Letter from the Editor" piece lamented the lack of passion in the lives of, essentially, everyone. He argued that while many of us may not hate our jobs, for instance, our level of delight rarely rises above enjoyment. It's difficult to find someone who is truly passionate about their profession.

The fact of the matter is that passion in general is absent from most of our lives, professionally or otherwise. The zeitgeist of modern-day America seems to be an apathetic one. What am I passionate about? There are certainly things I want to be passionate about, but desires only become passions when action is added to the mix. I could give you a laundry list of things that are important to me, but the seeds remain unwatered. Unless we sprinkle them with the waters of pursuit, those seeds will never blossom. The ideals will ever remain out of reach.

At the first of the year, our pastor delivered a series of messages entitled "My One Word." Essentially, he urged us to choose one word to focus on throughout the year which would order our lives in such a fashion to better walk with God. Think of it as a more sincere, earnest form of the typical New Year's Resolution.

People chose different words for a multitude of different reasons. Port City set up a website so people could share their words and the motivations for choosing them. Mike, the pastor, chose "finish" as his word as a constant reminder to him to finish what he started. Other examples: peace, conviction, enough, obey, release, boundaries, employed, cherish...the scope of peoples' imaginations in selecting their word was impressive. Me? I spent a couple of weeks hemming and hawing over what I wanted to focus on, but eventually I chose "stewardship."

I chose the word not only for the obvious financial implications it echoes, but also in terms of my talents. As the year goes on, I haven't forgotten about my word. The depth of it continues to grow. How I choose to steward my time, for example. Are the things that have my attention worthy of my attention, or are they fruitless pursuits?

In short, I chose the word because I've a sensationally poor track record as a steward. If I made it more than a simple resolution, could I change? I wanted to order my life so that I would better respect the blessings lavished upon me. I wanted a constant reminder of how to wisely spend my money, time, etc. Sometimes, I have to admit, it's annoying.

I'm not turning into a tightwad, nor do I have any aspirations for such, but I am becoming more aware. And I'm becoming more aware of things that still need a lot of work. God has entrusted me with a great many things; it's well past time that I treated them as treasures to be cherished instead of trinkets to be tossed to the wind.

What would your one word be? Forget that it isn't the new year. Think of one word...a concept, a concrete thing, anything really...what would it be, and why?

• I just got a check from my community college for $90. It says it is an AR Refund. I have absolutely no earthly idea what this is or why I got it, but money is money, right? Right.

• My summer class is officially over! Still awaiting my grade, but I'm really not that concerned.

• Vonage's website is being really funky, and I'm not sure why. When I go to their homepage, my browser (regardless which one I use) gobbles up my resources like nobody's business until I go to another window, at which case my CPU usage returns to normal. Odd.

• I'm reading Blue Like Jazz. It's got substance, yet I also find myself chuckling aloud quite often. Bonus!

• I have no idea why I'm using bullet points. Probably because I just like keying alt-0149.

• I live within 1 mile of UNCW (by, oh, about 50 yards), so I'm not allowed to park on campus. It's annoying, but at least I won't need to fight for parking spots, heh. That ninety bucks I mentioned earlier? Going towards a bike. Fortunately, I love riding bikes, so not really an issue.

No one is good
There is not even one

The front pages of papers of children raped by rapists
Iraqi torture chambers and we the blame claim we're blameless
Wrong all
And swelling up inside of us there's this pride in us this arrogance
And our only line of defense is the sense that
I'm not as half as bad as this friend of mine so I must be fine
We mean well don't we
Yet I've never seen good intentions set a man free from
Hurt all
This poor unfortunate soul
Filling a single void with toy after toy with girl after boy
How boring this wasn't meant to be Humanity's life story
Warring with God saying what have you done for me
Bought all
Hanging out for six hours marred beyond recognition
In complete submission to the Father's will still
A proclamation was made louder than the loudest temptation
With more beauty than all His creation
More eternal than eternity more angelic than the heavenlies
It is done
You are bought with blood
Accept
Rejoice
For freedom has come

--Jimmy Needham, Benediction

So, I've been accepted into UNCW for the fall semester, contingent on my passing the course I'm taking now. That won't be an issue. Financial aid is in place. My job offers tuition reimbursement of up to $5,250 a year, which will help significantly. I'll be more aggressive about pursuing scholarships in the spring; most are well beyond their application deadline for this year.

I'm excited. To a lot of people, this wouldn't be a big deal, but it means a lot when you're a bit older, heh. It's another step forward. I'm not exactly certain where the step is leading; that's fine by me. It certainly isn't in a circle. Of that, I'm sure.

Insurance, o insurance, how I do appreciate thee.

Yesterday was my first trip to a gastroenterologist since I moved out here, oh, four years ago. Yeah, yeah, I know. I should have gone in earlier, considering I do have a certain chronic illness. At any rate, my primary care physician thought it might be an idea to go get checked out by a professional butt/gut doctor.
( Read more... )

Eh, I've got time to mull it over. I've got about a month before I see the doctor again (and he gets to see my innards, lucky bastard), so plenty of time to ponder.

Iron bonds kept me content,
(sad comfort in my restraints)
now are gone. He beckons me fly.
Opened doors and open skies,
wings spread wide then furl again.
So content with singing songs,
terrified of taking flight.