i just realized i posted this to the wrong blog.
i HATE it when that happens.
i think i've mostly officially closed this blog...
go here... this is where the relevant stuff should be.
08 September 2009
i'm back
well... mostly anyway.
i am back in the states, and have been for the last 2 months or so.
i suppose i'm also back to blogging, though i never really left. of course, i don't suppose i was really ever terribly here to begin with.
i have loads of good intentions (and photos...) when it comes down to it... but that just makes for a mediocre blog.
what i really lack is initiative.
perhaps this is due to having too many classes/other things to deal with and think about. therefore, being too caught up in things that are important and matter, i get distracted from blogging.
this seems unlikely.
whatever it is, i'll try to get better and provide more meaningful content to the readership... which last i check is like 2 1/2 of y'all. ;)
i am back in the states, and have been for the last 2 months or so.
i suppose i'm also back to blogging, though i never really left. of course, i don't suppose i was really ever terribly here to begin with.
i have loads of good intentions (and photos...) when it comes down to it... but that just makes for a mediocre blog.
what i really lack is initiative.
perhaps this is due to having too many classes/other things to deal with and think about. therefore, being too caught up in things that are important and matter, i get distracted from blogging.
this seems unlikely.
whatever it is, i'll try to get better and provide more meaningful content to the readership... which last i check is like 2 1/2 of y'all. ;)
03 March 2008
from the papers...
this is a most amazing poem. by the US poet laureate (2001-2003). we'll just pretend that i'm posting this with permission. :)
Billy Collins - On Turning Ten
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
25 February 2008
i'm not dead... i promise...
it's just that i don't have enough time to sleep, let alone breath, eat, blog and other important things like that.
i'm trying to work out my schedule so that i am able to have free time to get all the things done during the day that i need to--this being a manifestation of that attempt:
so, i'm gonna try to do better... but i don't make any concrete promises at this time. i mean... i've got posts that go back to like... heck, i don't know. since within a week of whenever the last time i seriously posted was.
just know that i haven't forgotten y'all (like the 5 of you that read this...) and that i have every intention of reviving this sad little pigeon from the ashes...
i'm trying to work out my schedule so that i am able to have free time to get all the things done during the day that i need to--this being a manifestation of that attempt:
(all the pretty colors!)
so, i'm gonna try to do better... but i don't make any concrete promises at this time. i mean... i've got posts that go back to like... heck, i don't know. since within a week of whenever the last time i seriously posted was.
just know that i haven't forgotten y'all (like the 5 of you that read this...) and that i have every intention of reviving this sad little pigeon from the ashes...
07 December 2007
funny
it's amazing the weird looks you'll get from people when you walk down the street in a wool coat, scarf, gloves... and flip-flops.
27 November 2007
killing me softly with [its] song
okay...i realize that i've been sucking it up lately at doing the whole "posting-to-the-blog" thing.
i almost care, too.
but i'm so friggin' tired!
and i'm behind in my classes, trying to figure out how little work i can do while still passing the class (which, if i recall, only require a D...)
and quite frankly, I DON'T CARE!
i really don't...
it's almost enough to concern me...but i can't be bothered.
i just feel dead and lethargic...and don't care about anything but laying in bed with my wife in my arms.
i think marriage is dangerous for this reason.
and i'm not talking in euphemism here. just laying there. doing nothing. watching a movie at the most. sleeping, maybe. but mostly just laying there. doing nothing.
i'm not entirely sure what brings up this deplorable attitude.
most likely a combination of things...acting together to form a synergistic super-power that is slowly consuming my soul.
i hate it when that happens.
i almost care, too.
but i'm so friggin' tired!
and i'm behind in my classes, trying to figure out how little work i can do while still passing the class (which, if i recall, only require a D...)
and quite frankly, I DON'T CARE!
i really don't...
it's almost enough to concern me...but i can't be bothered.
i just feel dead and lethargic...and don't care about anything but laying in bed with my wife in my arms.
i think marriage is dangerous for this reason.
and i'm not talking in euphemism here. just laying there. doing nothing. watching a movie at the most. sleeping, maybe. but mostly just laying there. doing nothing.
i'm not entirely sure what brings up this deplorable attitude.
most likely a combination of things...acting together to form a synergistic super-power that is slowly consuming my soul.
i hate it when that happens.
07 November 2007
post scriptum ad angelum
so... you'll probably never read this in the present life... but thank you kind angel, for that's what i esteem you to be, for the ride to the wilk, so i could get to my religion class on time.
:)
you're swell.
:)
you're swell.
29 October 2007
same old drummer
i saw the funniest thing as i was coming in to the library just now...
out in the square, there's a "hey, we're cool, come get free pizza from us" thing going on. naturally, with such a thing, they need to have loud music being played on the monitors, so that EVERYONE knows there's something happening.
well...i'm just walking along to the rythmn of the music, cuz it's kinda catchy and fun... and as i notice that this is what i'm up to... i also happen to see the guy in front of me walking to the same beat. and the two girls walking toward me. and the lady coming out of the library.
as i look around, i notice that about 80 percent of the people in the square are walking with the exact same pattern of footfalls. and i'm sure that not more that a few of them knew what they were doing... let alone that thirty people right around them where doing the exact same thing. just amazing...
out in the square, there's a "hey, we're cool, come get free pizza from us" thing going on. naturally, with such a thing, they need to have loud music being played on the monitors, so that EVERYONE knows there's something happening.
well...i'm just walking along to the rythmn of the music, cuz it's kinda catchy and fun... and as i notice that this is what i'm up to... i also happen to see the guy in front of me walking to the same beat. and the two girls walking toward me. and the lady coming out of the library.
as i look around, i notice that about 80 percent of the people in the square are walking with the exact same pattern of footfalls. and i'm sure that not more that a few of them knew what they were doing... let alone that thirty people right around them where doing the exact same thing. just amazing...
22 October 2007
16 October 2007
my kingdom for a pen
i need to start recording thoughts in a notebook. i had no fewer that three marvelous ideas for posting in the last 10 days. i told myself, "that is such a wonderful thing...there's no way i'll forget it!"
i promptly forgot within the hour.
curses!
i promptly forgot within the hour.
curses!
02 October 2007
hip being square
my wife is having quilting spasms...
it's kinda fun.
i somehow got snagged into the ordeal. i've been acting as pattern organizer.
this is the pattern i came up with for my brother's little girl. now...uhh...ignore the colors. we're focusing on the pattern here. the actual colors may be interesting too...being as they were chosen by a 2 year old... but you know...you take what you can get.
it's kinda fun.
i somehow got snagged into the ordeal. i've been acting as pattern organizer.
this is the pattern i came up with for my brother's little girl. now...uhh...ignore the colors. we're focusing on the pattern here. the actual colors may be interesting too...being as they were chosen by a 2 year old... but you know...you take what you can get.
oh, how lovely
i like early morning.
it occurs to me that this statement is totally uncharacteristic of myself. allow some explanation.
i like being awake in the early morning. i detest the thought and abhor the act of waking up early in the morning. but...when circumstance requires, or if i just happen to have not actually gone to bed that night, i do enjoy being coherent and functional during the early morning hours.
sadly, the heaven's usually don't align correctly so as to make this a reality. i have to suffer through waking up most of the time to enjoy morning. and by then, all enjoyment has passed.
but...it will be noted that when this does occur, there is so much to be enraptured with at that time!
take, as an example, the above picture. no justice is rendered to the actual scene by the device used to make the image...but the general idea is understood. this is nearing the close of my favorite part of morning. i like the 45 minutes to an hour just before the sun rises...and a few minutes or ten past. that's the best time. that is when the birds are doing their thing, when the air is just crisp and tasty... when all that is wonderful about the world is at it's best.
i don't get the opportunity to see this part of the day very often--more than i probably want to...but i don't enjoy it nearly as often as i see it. but, a few times a year, i get to joy in the splendor of it.
it's always rather refreshing...especially if i don't have anything too particularly pressing that i have to be about. i think this is one reason i like camping so much. i usually wake up early when camping...and am perfectly happy to do so, with a general disregard for the time i went to bed. then i can just sit...and contemplate God's wonders, and relax from the worries and cares that usually jostle me throughout the day.
it's nice. it's really nice.
01 October 2007
paradise lost
so...they've had these magnificent flowers surrounding the library for the past several weeks--just gorgeous! i should have taken more pictures of it...but neglected to do so. here's one that i snapped just before coming to post:
now...i know it's a little old and wilty looking...but you can imagine the splendor of it all.
the post sadness also contains a closeup shot from the gardens...
and so, you can imagine my dismay and morbid fascination when, as i came in the west atrium entrance, i find a scene of carnage and destruction upon the field where once lay such beauteous wonder.
my only consolation is knowing that there will be something fresh, new and more befitting of the present season that will shortly replace this herbal armageddon.
now...i know it's a little old and wilty looking...but you can imagine the splendor of it all.
the post sadness also contains a closeup shot from the gardens...
and so, you can imagine my dismay and morbid fascination when, as i came in the west atrium entrance, i find a scene of carnage and destruction upon the field where once lay such beauteous wonder.
my only consolation is knowing that there will be something fresh, new and more befitting of the present season that will shortly replace this herbal armageddon.
28 September 2007
painful sight
so, i'm leaving class...and i witness something very hard on my eyes.
it starts with a girls...innocent enough.
then she has a pink notebook...relatively normal-ish.
she's also wearing a huge pink sweater...kinda scary.
and...to top it off: a bright, shiny, barbie-pink macbook...ouch!
some colors are just best used over small areas.
it starts with a girls...innocent enough.
then she has a pink notebook...relatively normal-ish.
she's also wearing a huge pink sweater...kinda scary.
and...to top it off: a bright, shiny, barbie-pink macbook...ouch!
some colors are just best used over small areas.
27 September 2007
going abroad
well...maybe.
and no, this is nothing like going a viking. i already have a wife.
what this does mean is that i am seriously looking at doing an internship in europe for the spring/summer time period. or maybe "the islands."
this is a very exciting prospect for me. it would not only send me back to europe, and most likely france (really...the most important part of the whole endeavor...), but it would also look super good on a resume!
there are a couple of options i'm looking at:
1) "the islands" - info meeting tomorrow to figure out what that means... it has something to do with the church...
2) united nations, european union or british parliament internship - any number of places around the old world
3) french internship - this would put me somewhere in the great nation of cheese and balls (uh...no. not that. well, yes...that too...but i was referring to the game "boules"...translated "balls") - working for government, business or tourism. yea! :)
so...i'm basically really excited at this possibility. i'm starting to find all sorts of info regarding how people will give me free money for this too...which is even better. why go to europe at your own expense when someone else is willing to pay you to do it? i mean, honestly....
and no, this is nothing like going a viking. i already have a wife.
what this does mean is that i am seriously looking at doing an internship in europe for the spring/summer time period. or maybe "the islands."
this is a very exciting prospect for me. it would not only send me back to europe, and most likely france (really...the most important part of the whole endeavor...), but it would also look super good on a resume!
there are a couple of options i'm looking at:
1) "the islands" - info meeting tomorrow to figure out what that means... it has something to do with the church...
2) united nations, european union or british parliament internship - any number of places around the old world
3) french internship - this would put me somewhere in the great nation of cheese and balls (uh...no. not that. well, yes...that too...but i was referring to the game "boules"...translated "balls") - working for government, business or tourism. yea! :)
so...i'm basically really excited at this possibility. i'm starting to find all sorts of info regarding how people will give me free money for this too...which is even better. why go to europe at your own expense when someone else is willing to pay you to do it? i mean, honestly....
26 September 2007
subliminality
last night i made ratatouille.
no...this had nothing to do with innate murine culinary talent. that's so pixar!
but...it did involve couscous. this was enough to make my soul want to burst with joy and excitement!
and...the tablespoon or so of butter i added to give the sauce a little extra oomph aside...it was probably the most vegan meal i've eaten in months!
it was a meal greatly appreciated by all who partook...and really...who didn't want to partake?!
who wouldn't want to partake?!
need we really ask these questions...i mean...this is COUSCOUS!
ahhhh....i need to move back to france.
no...this had nothing to do with innate murine culinary talent. that's so pixar!
but...it did involve couscous. this was enough to make my soul want to burst with joy and excitement!
and...the tablespoon or so of butter i added to give the sauce a little extra oomph aside...it was probably the most vegan meal i've eaten in months!
it was a meal greatly appreciated by all who partook...and really...who didn't want to partake?!
who wouldn't want to partake?!
need we really ask these questions...i mean...this is COUSCOUS!
ahhhh....i need to move back to france.
24 September 2007
under construction...
i've decided--since there is a distinct possibility that this blog will be acquiring a greater readership--to redo all the labels and stuff.
mostly this is because as people peruse the archives, they may encounter strange things from the origins of the blog. mostly it's going to be in an attempt to make myself look like less of a creepy weirdo. i fully realize this is a rather daunting task...but sometimes you just gotta bite off more than you can chew.
mostly this is because as people peruse the archives, they may encounter strange things from the origins of the blog. mostly it's going to be in an attempt to make myself look like less of a creepy weirdo. i fully realize this is a rather daunting task...but sometimes you just gotta bite off more than you can chew.
20 September 2007
sadness
i pulled out my phone and snapped an image...but i don't think this picture truly captures the beauty of what i saw. i need to carry nick around in my back pocket so he can take all my pictures for me.
as i crouched over the plant i had two thoughts/impressions:
1) how many people think i look silly hunched over on the sidewalk, staring at this random plant...
2) how many other people actually do things like this?
the second got me to thinking a little bit.
i've never seen anyone doing something similar. and it made me sad for all the other people passing by...some rushing somewhere, others just walking along. but...none of them stopping. none of them looking. no one taking the time to admire all the beauty around them.
maybe this is all because 3 minutes earlier i had seen an advertisement for employ with the byu ground crew that said something to the effect of "come help us beautify our campus..." but how many people actually take note of the wonderful things that are being done around them? and not just on the plane of landscape architecture... how many of the natural beauties that surround us each and every day are people missing out on because they are so pressed, so worried, so busy and stressed out with school, work, home matters--and all the crap that modern life shoves down our proverbial throats. how many people stop to listen to the wind blowing through the trees? probably not many...it's too much effort to take out the earbuds and pause the ipod.
as much as i love technology and am an advocate of using it and having it help us in our everyday... i often feel it saps humanity of so many of the characteristics that make us just that--human. it's leeching away from so many the ability to appreciate the inherent beauty of one's surroundings. it seems to rape so many of the charitable and virtuous qualities...leaving only the questions "what's in this for me? how will i be benefited?" leaving only the search for a quicker fix and more convenient way of reaching the end goal. what of the journey which ought make getting from point to point the reason for wandering?
granted, these are things that have always existed as part of human nature...but that doesn't make it any less sucky. and there seems to be an increase in such things... perhaps not. i can't say.
all i know is that the flowers do look nice these days.
11 September 2007
major issues
sometimes i sit and ask myself dumb questions...like, "what the devil am i doing majoring in french?"
usually these come up after i've had a particularly interesting time in one of my french classes.
today, for example. i'm just all sorts of tired and not wanting to be awake. yet, i find myself waking up at 5 am (subconscious worry that my alarm won't go off), then again at 6:15 (when my alarm actually does go off), to be early for an 8 am class (so i can finish up my homework...). i don't really even want to be in this class! i wanted to be in the noon class...but, as cited by the officials and powers that be over such situations, it was canceled due to "the low number of students enrolled." silliness. pure, unadulterated silliness...
i hereby post my formal complaint.
mostly i'm peeved at this whole thing because if i'd've been able to have the other section, i would have only had one 8 am class--a lab on monday--and i would have had only one class on tuesdays and thursdays--men's chorus at 4 pm. just pause and reflect upon how marvelous that would have been! i would have been perfectly happy with my solid 6/5/3 hour block of classes on monday/wednesday/friday starting at 8/9/11, respectively. but, alas, there is no such luck for a lowly sophomore majoring in the french language. sadness overwhelming!
otherwise, things are coming along smashingly.
usually these come up after i've had a particularly interesting time in one of my french classes.
today, for example. i'm just all sorts of tired and not wanting to be awake. yet, i find myself waking up at 5 am (subconscious worry that my alarm won't go off), then again at 6:15 (when my alarm actually does go off), to be early for an 8 am class (so i can finish up my homework...). i don't really even want to be in this class! i wanted to be in the noon class...but, as cited by the officials and powers that be over such situations, it was canceled due to "the low number of students enrolled." silliness. pure, unadulterated silliness...
i hereby post my formal complaint.
mostly i'm peeved at this whole thing because if i'd've been able to have the other section, i would have only had one 8 am class--a lab on monday--and i would have had only one class on tuesdays and thursdays--men's chorus at 4 pm. just pause and reflect upon how marvelous that would have been! i would have been perfectly happy with my solid 6/5/3 hour block of classes on monday/wednesday/friday starting at 8/9/11, respectively. but, alas, there is no such luck for a lowly sophomore majoring in the french language. sadness overwhelming!
otherwise, things are coming along smashingly.
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