Nov 2008
I like hot. I hate cold.
11/26/08 07:54 AM Filed in: Stories
I like hot.
I hate cold.
I woke up the other morning extremely drousy. Shuffling my way to the shower (and hitting a few walls in the process due to my not-even-half-opened eyes), I performed the morning ritual, as us Americans know it, of getting clean.
I remember standing in the shower in my delusional state thinking, Didn't Stephen tell me, once upon a time, that it's good for you to take a cold shower? You know, even if he had, I'm not sure why I would have thought it would be a good idea. But, like I said, I wasn't thinking straight at the time. It being, like, 6:00am, I wasn't actually thinking at all.
Something about waking up quicker. Something about jumpstarting all the systems in your body. Something about giving your immune system a Good Game pat for yesterday and a motivational speech for the upcoming game. Something about blood circulation and capillaries. Something about contracting muscles to eliminate toxins.
You know, I'll tell you, it may very well do all of those things, taking a cold shower. So after rinsing my hair, I reached for the handle and turned it to cold. All the way. This was not one of my better ideas in my lifetime.
After my body went into complete shock, it was nearly impossible to function. How was I supposed to get clean if I couldn't even move due to the extreme cold? I tried to tough it out for a while, but myself and I finally decided that this idea sucked, so we resorted to finishing the shower off warm. Bad news: once Brock showers turn cold, they don't turn back.
I was forced to suffer the remainder of the shower under bitterly cold water. Sure, maybe my immune system battled off a few diseases that day, and I certainly woke up faster than I ever have in my life. And, yes, the walk back to my room felt supremely wonderful instead of the usual chilly. But other then that, I don't think it was worth it.
I like hot.
I hate cold.
I hate cold.
I woke up the other morning extremely drousy. Shuffling my way to the shower (and hitting a few walls in the process due to my not-even-half-opened eyes), I performed the morning ritual, as us Americans know it, of getting clean.
I remember standing in the shower in my delusional state thinking, Didn't Stephen tell me, once upon a time, that it's good for you to take a cold shower? You know, even if he had, I'm not sure why I would have thought it would be a good idea. But, like I said, I wasn't thinking straight at the time. It being, like, 6:00am, I wasn't actually thinking at all.
Something about waking up quicker. Something about jumpstarting all the systems in your body. Something about giving your immune system a Good Game pat for yesterday and a motivational speech for the upcoming game. Something about blood circulation and capillaries. Something about contracting muscles to eliminate toxins.
You know, I'll tell you, it may very well do all of those things, taking a cold shower. So after rinsing my hair, I reached for the handle and turned it to cold. All the way. This was not one of my better ideas in my lifetime.
After my body went into complete shock, it was nearly impossible to function. How was I supposed to get clean if I couldn't even move due to the extreme cold? I tried to tough it out for a while, but myself and I finally decided that this idea sucked, so we resorted to finishing the shower off warm. Bad news: once Brock showers turn cold, they don't turn back.
I was forced to suffer the remainder of the shower under bitterly cold water. Sure, maybe my immune system battled off a few diseases that day, and I certainly woke up faster than I ever have in my life. And, yes, the walk back to my room felt supremely wonderful instead of the usual chilly. But other then that, I don't think it was worth it.
I like hot.
I hate cold.
|
Dear Verizon Wireless
11/25/08 03:41 PM Filed in: Stories
Dear Verizon Wireless:
My name is Alex Laird. I'm a 20 year old male student who attends Cedarville University, and I'm one of your loyal customers. I would greatly appreciate it if you would quit attempting to turn my own mother against me. Your conniving schemes to convince her that I am a lying teenager are quite childish and bothersome. I understand that you're the Wireless Giant whose lucrative business thrives more on loyal customers than on happy customers, but your sneaky methods are getting on my nerves.
I'm on your Family Share Plan. My Dad is the account head, and my mother, sister, and I are additional participants on the plan. For an additional $10 a month we can add additional lines to our Share Plan. For an additional $15 a month, I can add 1,500 text/picture/video messages to my line, plus unlimited messaging within The Network. I've done both of these things, so on top of my Dad's plan, you're making an extra $25 off of me every month.
Apparently this isn't enough for you, since the last three months you've charged my portion of the bill over $75.
It all started three months ago. Several applications were added to my phone against my will. You couldn't make it any easier to spend money on subscription services with your phone if you tried. All a customer has to do is browse through the applications list, select one, click "Accept" to the terms and presumable charge on his or her bill, and the application is downloaded. Some applications cost up to $20 a month! Applications, I might add, that do less for you and are less intuitive than any Freeware application I've ever downloaded on my computer. Yet still you manage to gouge the prices, and the reason you have success off of them is probably because people like me will inadvertently get them added to their phone.
After receiving a bill for well over $80 that month, I realized what had happened to my phone. I went onto your website and blocked all forms of applications, web services, or anything that could be added from my phone that would be charged automatically to my bill. I then went on my phone and canceled every subscription application that was on there. I then removed all the applications. I just told my mom to charge it to me, since it was my fault.
The next month my portion of the bill was hefty again, and again I received a call from my mom to figure out what the problem was. Wanting to give you the benefit of the doubt, I established that, since the applications were charged monthly, I must have been charged again before I canceled the subscription. Additionally, I had gone over my allotted 500 text/picture/video messages, so I upped my plan to 1,500 so that wouldn't happen again. Again, I didn't complain to you, and I told my mom to charge me for the mistake.
Then came last month. Again, I was charged over $75. Again, my mom called me. This time, I was beyond unhappy. I went onto your website and reviewed the bill myself. For my portion of the bill, I was charged over $40 for mysterious data charges. On your website, you have a section that will list every single phone call, every single text message, and every single data charge for the entire month. I looked at this section. For every single data transfer on my phone, the charge was $0.0. Yet somehow this added up to $43.68. Perhaps this is some new form of Calculus that I have not yet taken in my college career, but I was not aware adding zero and zero multiple times ever resulted in anything other than zero.
On top of the data charges, I had been charged for another overage of text messages. I had used significantly less than 1,500, but significantly more than 500.
Just these charges alone would probably be enough to make anyone upset, but I haven't even mentioned the most frustrating part yet.
We finally decided to call and complain, since the charges on our bill last month were without sufficient explanation. My mom called. After getting off the phone with your representative, my mom called me. The text messages were an easy fix; you had forgotten to apply my new texting plan. That was $35 back. What about the remaining $43.68?
"Well, here's what I found out," she said. "He said that the reason we were charged is because of applications that are on your phone. Mobile Email. Wikipedia. WeatherBug, etc. Do these sound familiar?"
I was frustrated beyond belief. "Mom, these are the applications I removed two months ago. They should have completely cleared the system last month."
"Well, he says they're still on the account and that the only way to get them off is by canceling them on your phone."
"I can't cancel them on my phone. They aren't on my phone anymore." I wasn't mad at my mom, but to anyone listening it may have come across that way. I reassured her. "I'm sorry, I'm not yelling at you. I'm yelling at stupid Verizon. This is not the first time they've done this."
"I know. Did you remove them from your phone or from the website?" she questioned.
"Both."
"But you're sure you removed them from your phone?"
"Positive."
"Because he says that some people think they remove them when they block them on the website, but they have to go through their phone manually and remove them as well."
"Mom, they're not on my phone." I tried not to sound peeved at her. She was doing the best she could.
"Well," she reasoned, "Why don't you hang up the phone, check in the Get It Now section of your phone really quick, and call me right back. Just to make sure."
I ended the call and browsed the Get It Now section. There were four items in there: "ozforms," "OZHTMLWIDGET," "OZWIDGETS," and "Mobile IM." The OZ ones seemed like they were probably helper files for the menus on my phone, and they weren't applications I could open (I tried), so I targeted Mobile IM. I tried removing it. It said "Erased:" still there. I tried removing again: still there.
There certainly wasn't any Mobile Mail, Wikipedia, WeatherBug, or etc. I called my dearest mother back.
"Okay," I explained, "Here's what I got. Write these four down, call him back, and ask him if any of these are what I'm being charged for. If so, I'll cancel them, but I think they're just helper files, and Mobile IM doesn't work anyway, so I don't think it's really on my phone anymore."
Twenty minutes later, my mom called me back again.
"Well, they're gone," she cheered.
"Wait, what's gone? I didn't remove anything."
"I know. But the lady I talked to said they're gone now," Mom answered.
"But what about those four things in the Get It Now menu I mentioned? Am I being charged for those?" I was confused.
"Doesn't look like it. She said there are no longer any subscriptions attached to your phone. They were all just removed."
"But ... I ... Didn't ... Remove ... Anything ..."
"You know what this looks like, Alex." Yes, I did. "It looks like I'm a naive mother who believes her teenage son who's lying to her. I know you're not lying to me, but they think I'm silly for trusting you."
"My generation is stupid," I interjected. Amen.
My mom and I continued to talk for a bit longer before I realized exactly what had happened. It was when I realized that she hadn’t talked to the same Customer Service Representative when she called you the second time. The second Representative told Mom that just minutes before, all the applications had been removed from my phone. But I had no applications on my phone. I had looked. How could I remove them if they weren't being shown on my phone? More significantly, how could I remove them when I removed them two months ago?!
I understand my generation loves to lie and twist the truth. I understand there are a lot of parents out there that are naive and don't fully understand when their children are taking advantage of them. But I would like to point out a few things: I'm not a teenager, my mother is not stupid or naive, I love my mother (and we get along great), and I don't lie to her!
Here's what I can only assume happened. The first Representative my mom talked to thought I did have applications on my phone and that I was lying to my mom about it. He then realized something after looking at our account history: I had tried to remove the applications two months prior, just as I was saying. They had removed themselves from my phone (rendering me helpless when trying to remove them manually) but for some reason were still attached to the account, thus charging me. The first Representative tells my mom that only I can cancel the subscriptions directly from my phone and that they're still on there. After she hangs up and calls me, the first Representative manually cancels all the application subscriptions himself, even though he specifically told my mom he couldn't do that (and she had even asked him to).
Now, how does this look? The first Representative manually cancels the subscriptions while the naive mother is on the phone with her lying son. See what this looks like? It looks like I just lied to my mom while canceling the subscriptions from my phone myself to get out of trouble. When my mom called you back to tell you there aren't any applications on my phone for me to delete, you were then able to tell her the reason there weren't any applications on the phone was because they were just deleted. And, according to the first Representative, the only way to cancel those applications was from my phone. Now I'm a liar. Thanks.
I would switch cell phone companies, I really would. I'd love to be able to threaten you with that. Unfortunately, you have the best coverage and plans of any phone company out there, and you know it. That's the most frustrating part. You know you have us wrapped around your finger, and you abuse that severely with situations like this. Well I may be a customer that's forced to keep my account with you, but I am not happy with you. Luckily, my mom is not stupid and naive, and she believed me over your lousy Customer Service Representative.
A Very Displeased Customer,
Alex Laird
My name is Alex Laird. I'm a 20 year old male student who attends Cedarville University, and I'm one of your loyal customers. I would greatly appreciate it if you would quit attempting to turn my own mother against me. Your conniving schemes to convince her that I am a lying teenager are quite childish and bothersome. I understand that you're the Wireless Giant whose lucrative business thrives more on loyal customers than on happy customers, but your sneaky methods are getting on my nerves.
I'm on your Family Share Plan. My Dad is the account head, and my mother, sister, and I are additional participants on the plan. For an additional $10 a month we can add additional lines to our Share Plan. For an additional $15 a month, I can add 1,500 text/picture/video messages to my line, plus unlimited messaging within The Network. I've done both of these things, so on top of my Dad's plan, you're making an extra $25 off of me every month.
Apparently this isn't enough for you, since the last three months you've charged my portion of the bill over $75.
It all started three months ago. Several applications were added to my phone against my will. You couldn't make it any easier to spend money on subscription services with your phone if you tried. All a customer has to do is browse through the applications list, select one, click "Accept" to the terms and presumable charge on his or her bill, and the application is downloaded. Some applications cost up to $20 a month! Applications, I might add, that do less for you and are less intuitive than any Freeware application I've ever downloaded on my computer. Yet still you manage to gouge the prices, and the reason you have success off of them is probably because people like me will inadvertently get them added to their phone.
After receiving a bill for well over $80 that month, I realized what had happened to my phone. I went onto your website and blocked all forms of applications, web services, or anything that could be added from my phone that would be charged automatically to my bill. I then went on my phone and canceled every subscription application that was on there. I then removed all the applications. I just told my mom to charge it to me, since it was my fault.
The next month my portion of the bill was hefty again, and again I received a call from my mom to figure out what the problem was. Wanting to give you the benefit of the doubt, I established that, since the applications were charged monthly, I must have been charged again before I canceled the subscription. Additionally, I had gone over my allotted 500 text/picture/video messages, so I upped my plan to 1,500 so that wouldn't happen again. Again, I didn't complain to you, and I told my mom to charge me for the mistake.
Then came last month. Again, I was charged over $75. Again, my mom called me. This time, I was beyond unhappy. I went onto your website and reviewed the bill myself. For my portion of the bill, I was charged over $40 for mysterious data charges. On your website, you have a section that will list every single phone call, every single text message, and every single data charge for the entire month. I looked at this section. For every single data transfer on my phone, the charge was $0.0. Yet somehow this added up to $43.68. Perhaps this is some new form of Calculus that I have not yet taken in my college career, but I was not aware adding zero and zero multiple times ever resulted in anything other than zero.
On top of the data charges, I had been charged for another overage of text messages. I had used significantly less than 1,500, but significantly more than 500.
Just these charges alone would probably be enough to make anyone upset, but I haven't even mentioned the most frustrating part yet.
We finally decided to call and complain, since the charges on our bill last month were without sufficient explanation. My mom called. After getting off the phone with your representative, my mom called me. The text messages were an easy fix; you had forgotten to apply my new texting plan. That was $35 back. What about the remaining $43.68?
"Well, here's what I found out," she said. "He said that the reason we were charged is because of applications that are on your phone. Mobile Email. Wikipedia. WeatherBug, etc. Do these sound familiar?"
I was frustrated beyond belief. "Mom, these are the applications I removed two months ago. They should have completely cleared the system last month."
"Well, he says they're still on the account and that the only way to get them off is by canceling them on your phone."
"I can't cancel them on my phone. They aren't on my phone anymore." I wasn't mad at my mom, but to anyone listening it may have come across that way. I reassured her. "I'm sorry, I'm not yelling at you. I'm yelling at stupid Verizon. This is not the first time they've done this."
"I know. Did you remove them from your phone or from the website?" she questioned.
"Both."
"But you're sure you removed them from your phone?"
"Positive."
"Because he says that some people think they remove them when they block them on the website, but they have to go through their phone manually and remove them as well."
"Mom, they're not on my phone." I tried not to sound peeved at her. She was doing the best she could.
"Well," she reasoned, "Why don't you hang up the phone, check in the Get It Now section of your phone really quick, and call me right back. Just to make sure."
I ended the call and browsed the Get It Now section. There were four items in there: "ozforms," "OZHTMLWIDGET," "OZWIDGETS," and "Mobile IM." The OZ ones seemed like they were probably helper files for the menus on my phone, and they weren't applications I could open (I tried), so I targeted Mobile IM. I tried removing it. It said "Erased:" still there. I tried removing again: still there.
There certainly wasn't any Mobile Mail, Wikipedia, WeatherBug, or etc. I called my dearest mother back.
"Okay," I explained, "Here's what I got. Write these four down, call him back, and ask him if any of these are what I'm being charged for. If so, I'll cancel them, but I think they're just helper files, and Mobile IM doesn't work anyway, so I don't think it's really on my phone anymore."
Twenty minutes later, my mom called me back again.
"Well, they're gone," she cheered.
"Wait, what's gone? I didn't remove anything."
"I know. But the lady I talked to said they're gone now," Mom answered.
"But what about those four things in the Get It Now menu I mentioned? Am I being charged for those?" I was confused.
"Doesn't look like it. She said there are no longer any subscriptions attached to your phone. They were all just removed."
"But ... I ... Didn't ... Remove ... Anything ..."
"You know what this looks like, Alex." Yes, I did. "It looks like I'm a naive mother who believes her teenage son who's lying to her. I know you're not lying to me, but they think I'm silly for trusting you."
"My generation is stupid," I interjected. Amen.
My mom and I continued to talk for a bit longer before I realized exactly what had happened. It was when I realized that she hadn’t talked to the same Customer Service Representative when she called you the second time. The second Representative told Mom that just minutes before, all the applications had been removed from my phone. But I had no applications on my phone. I had looked. How could I remove them if they weren't being shown on my phone? More significantly, how could I remove them when I removed them two months ago?!
I understand my generation loves to lie and twist the truth. I understand there are a lot of parents out there that are naive and don't fully understand when their children are taking advantage of them. But I would like to point out a few things: I'm not a teenager, my mother is not stupid or naive, I love my mother (and we get along great), and I don't lie to her!
Here's what I can only assume happened. The first Representative my mom talked to thought I did have applications on my phone and that I was lying to my mom about it. He then realized something after looking at our account history: I had tried to remove the applications two months prior, just as I was saying. They had removed themselves from my phone (rendering me helpless when trying to remove them manually) but for some reason were still attached to the account, thus charging me. The first Representative tells my mom that only I can cancel the subscriptions directly from my phone and that they're still on there. After she hangs up and calls me, the first Representative manually cancels all the application subscriptions himself, even though he specifically told my mom he couldn't do that (and she had even asked him to).
Now, how does this look? The first Representative manually cancels the subscriptions while the naive mother is on the phone with her lying son. See what this looks like? It looks like I just lied to my mom while canceling the subscriptions from my phone myself to get out of trouble. When my mom called you back to tell you there aren't any applications on my phone for me to delete, you were then able to tell her the reason there weren't any applications on the phone was because they were just deleted. And, according to the first Representative, the only way to cancel those applications was from my phone. Now I'm a liar. Thanks.
I would switch cell phone companies, I really would. I'd love to be able to threaten you with that. Unfortunately, you have the best coverage and plans of any phone company out there, and you know it. That's the most frustrating part. You know you have us wrapped around your finger, and you abuse that severely with situations like this. Well I may be a customer that's forced to keep my account with you, but I am not happy with you. Luckily, my mom is not stupid and naive, and she believed me over your lousy Customer Service Representative.
A Very Displeased Customer,
Alex Laird
RA Fail
11/25/08 12:18 PM Filed in: Stories
Dear RA Who Delivered
Demerits to the Gentleman Texting in the Balcony of
Chapel Yesterday:
My name is Alex Laird. You may have seen my picture here. You may notice that there’s a difference in appearance between that person and the person you gave demerits to yesterday in chapel who gave you my name as his own. That’s because that was my roommate, Dave.
I forget the state, but there was once a guy who was arrested for refusal to cooperate with a Police Officer. After being pulled over, the officer asked him to show him his Driver’s License and Insurance Identification. The man refused to show the cards, but diligently produced the numbers for each (including expiration date) for all forms of his identification. The officer again asked him to produce the materials. The man informed the officer that, by law, he was not required to produce the physical cards, all he was required to give the officer were the numbers. The officer could have just taken the numbers, written them down, and run them through system back in the squad car. Instead he arrested the man.
The case went to court. The man’s defense was that Police Officers should be required to know the laws in their own states. It’s true, you aren’t required to show your actual driver’s license (in certain states) if you can give them a valid number that they can look up; the officer didn’t know this, but the man who was pulled over did. The case was finally dropped because, well, the guy hadn’t done anything wrong. But he certainly proved his point. If the upholders of the law don’t even know all the laws they’re supposed to be upholding, what’s the point of having them uphold them?
Dave and I like to test RAs. It’s a sick fascination we have, I guess, taunting them by quoting from the rule book and weaseling our way out of demerits. I guess I don’t know the official procedure, but I would assume RAs are supposed to ask you for both your name and your identification number; at least, every one I’ve ever talked to always has. What are the odds you actually have a friend’s ID number memorized?
Yesterday, Ryan and I didn’t sit in the balcony of chapel. We sat down on the floor with Kristi for a change of pace. Dave still sat in the balcony. In the empty seats Ryan and I would have been, a Willets RA sat. Next to Dave. Who was texting (per usual). At the end of chapel, the RA informed Dave she was going to have to give him demerits for being inattentive. Though, let’s be honest, he was probably be more attentive than the majority of the rest of the students in chapel, right? Turkey Break starts tomorrow, let’s be honest. Out of spite toward Ryan and me for not sitting with him, Dave gave the RA my name instead of his own. She didn’t ask for his ID number.
These are, hands down, the bests demerits I ever will have received! Demerits take several weeks to process, usually, so I’m hoping they arrive in my Inbox before the end of the semester. I’ll be sure to post them on Facebook as soon as they do :)!
My name is Alex Laird. You may have seen my picture here. You may notice that there’s a difference in appearance between that person and the person you gave demerits to yesterday in chapel who gave you my name as his own. That’s because that was my roommate, Dave.
I forget the state, but there was once a guy who was arrested for refusal to cooperate with a Police Officer. After being pulled over, the officer asked him to show him his Driver’s License and Insurance Identification. The man refused to show the cards, but diligently produced the numbers for each (including expiration date) for all forms of his identification. The officer again asked him to produce the materials. The man informed the officer that, by law, he was not required to produce the physical cards, all he was required to give the officer were the numbers. The officer could have just taken the numbers, written them down, and run them through system back in the squad car. Instead he arrested the man.
The case went to court. The man’s defense was that Police Officers should be required to know the laws in their own states. It’s true, you aren’t required to show your actual driver’s license (in certain states) if you can give them a valid number that they can look up; the officer didn’t know this, but the man who was pulled over did. The case was finally dropped because, well, the guy hadn’t done anything wrong. But he certainly proved his point. If the upholders of the law don’t even know all the laws they’re supposed to be upholding, what’s the point of having them uphold them?
Dave and I like to test RAs. It’s a sick fascination we have, I guess, taunting them by quoting from the rule book and weaseling our way out of demerits. I guess I don’t know the official procedure, but I would assume RAs are supposed to ask you for both your name and your identification number; at least, every one I’ve ever talked to always has. What are the odds you actually have a friend’s ID number memorized?
Yesterday, Ryan and I didn’t sit in the balcony of chapel. We sat down on the floor with Kristi for a change of pace. Dave still sat in the balcony. In the empty seats Ryan and I would have been, a Willets RA sat. Next to Dave. Who was texting (per usual). At the end of chapel, the RA informed Dave she was going to have to give him demerits for being inattentive. Though, let’s be honest, he was probably be more attentive than the majority of the rest of the students in chapel, right? Turkey Break starts tomorrow, let’s be honest. Out of spite toward Ryan and me for not sitting with him, Dave gave the RA my name instead of his own. She didn’t ask for his ID number.
These are, hands down, the bests demerits I ever will have received! Demerits take several weeks to process, usually, so I’m hoping they arrive in my Inbox before the end of the semester. I’ll be sure to post them on Facebook as soon as they do :)!
Facebook Chat Friends and Soccer Players
11/25/08 10:00 AM Filed in: Stories
I was sitting in the
computer pit, outside The Hive, when I overheard the
following conversation. The names have been changed
to protect the innocent.
Soccer Jock 1: I got 120, man!
Soccer Jock 2: No way, dude! That’s awesome!
Soccer Jock 1: I’m serious. It almost didn’t happen, and I was so shocked when it did, but now I have the record.
Soccer Jock 2: That’s pretty sweet. So how did it happen?
Soccer Jock 1: Well, the old record was, like, 107. But I beat that by a landslide.
Soccer Jock 2: Yah?
Soccer Jock 1: Yah. Soccer Jock 3 and I were just sitting at my computer the other night, watching it go up. It was at 100, then it jumped up to 106, then it dropped down to 98. I didn’t think it was going to happen, and then, for a few seconds, it jumped to 120!
Soccer Jock 2: Nobody’s going to believe you, though.
Soccer Jock 1: No, dude, Soccer Jock 3 was there too! He saw it.
Soccer Jock 2: Well, at least you have a witness. That’s awesome.
Soccer Jock 1: Yah. So, now I have the record on the Soccer team for most friends on Facebook Chat at one time.
You, my friend, need to get a life. I have an idea. How about you go out and spend some time with a few of those 120 friends (who are clearly as anti-social as yourself) instead of sitting in your room hoping to get a record number of them to all sit down at their computers and sign onto Facebook at the same time. That’s just sad. What’s even more sad is that you’re having a competition over it with your Soccer team. You do know that most of the school scoffs at your arrogance, right? And this isn’t helping your case out much ...
I’m still not sure which is worse though: the Soccer team or the Baseball team. But this scenario definitely helped the Soccer team a lot of points against them.
Soccer Jock 1: I got 120, man!
Soccer Jock 2: No way, dude! That’s awesome!
Soccer Jock 1: I’m serious. It almost didn’t happen, and I was so shocked when it did, but now I have the record.
Soccer Jock 2: That’s pretty sweet. So how did it happen?
Soccer Jock 1: Well, the old record was, like, 107. But I beat that by a landslide.
Soccer Jock 2: Yah?
Soccer Jock 1: Yah. Soccer Jock 3 and I were just sitting at my computer the other night, watching it go up. It was at 100, then it jumped up to 106, then it dropped down to 98. I didn’t think it was going to happen, and then, for a few seconds, it jumped to 120!
Soccer Jock 2: Nobody’s going to believe you, though.
Soccer Jock 1: No, dude, Soccer Jock 3 was there too! He saw it.
Soccer Jock 2: Well, at least you have a witness. That’s awesome.
Soccer Jock 1: Yah. So, now I have the record on the Soccer team for most friends on Facebook Chat at one time.
You, my friend, need to get a life. I have an idea. How about you go out and spend some time with a few of those 120 friends (who are clearly as anti-social as yourself) instead of sitting in your room hoping to get a record number of them to all sit down at their computers and sign onto Facebook at the same time. That’s just sad. What’s even more sad is that you’re having a competition over it with your Soccer team. You do know that most of the school scoffs at your arrogance, right? And this isn’t helping your case out much ...
I’m still not sure which is worse though: the Soccer team or the Baseball team. But this scenario definitely helped the Soccer team a lot of points against them.
Please Stop Breaking Up In Awkward Places
11/24/08 03:55 PM Filed in: Stories
There I was, wandering
the SSC in an attempt to find Kristi. The search was
in vain, I now realize, because she was in Chuck’s; I
place I didn’t plan on looking. (Why are you eating
now? I still don’t understand. It’s before 5:00.)
Okay, first side tangent. People at Cedarville eat at ridiculous hours! At home, I’m used to eating at normal and civilized hours such as 6:00 or 6:30. You know, after your Dad gets home from work? I come to Cedarville, and it took me several months of eating by myself before realizing if I wanted company when I ate Dinner that I’d have to eat when I wasn’t hungry. Ridiculously early times such as 5:00 and 5:30. And, apparently, not 4:30. I didn’t even know Chuck’s opened that early.
But that’s not even really part of my story. My story involves breaking up. I went through The Hive, checked my mail (again), and finally decided she was nowhere to be found and that I would sit on one of the comfy couches by the computers underneath the stairs. As I approached said area with comfy couches, I noticed an Awkward Lounge Couple. Except this Awkward Lounge Couple was exceptionally awkward. They weren’t in a lounge either. They were in a coat room. The coat room by the bookstore. This seemed a strange place for a couple to be hanging, albeit I’ve seen stranger and more disturbing in my day.
Turns out this couple wasn’t just hanging. Oh no. The Awkward Lounge Couple seemed to be having a DTR, and it wasn’t the good kind of DTR. It appeared to be one of those “We aren’t an R anymore” sort of DTRs. It had all the tell-tale signs of breakupness. Guys head hung in shame. Guy still remaining to sit awkwardly close to girl, even though she was clearly trying to get away. Girl looking far too pleased with herself considering the guys extremely depressed expression. Guys hands folded in his lap. Guy on the verge of crying. Girl sort of doing that weird try-to-touch-his-arm-without-actually-touching-his-arm sort of thing to reassure him/not give him false hope at the same time.
It was just really awkward. And to add to things, it was in a coat room. On uncomfortable chairs that were stacked in the coat room. (Yes, the guy was actually sitting on said stack of chairs, feet not touching the ground.)
So, Cedarville couples, please stop breaking up in public places. This is at least the third public breakup I’ve seen this year. Lounges are just awkward places, not only for the other person involved in the breakup, but also for everyone else in the lounge ... Especially for everyone else in the lounge. This couple seemed to be making an effort to stay out of the lounges and opted for a coat closet. Really, that’s not any better. Not only was it close to a lounge anyway, it’s ... It’s a coat closet! I can’t say anything else about this. I’m too weirded out.
Okay, first side tangent. People at Cedarville eat at ridiculous hours! At home, I’m used to eating at normal and civilized hours such as 6:00 or 6:30. You know, after your Dad gets home from work? I come to Cedarville, and it took me several months of eating by myself before realizing if I wanted company when I ate Dinner that I’d have to eat when I wasn’t hungry. Ridiculously early times such as 5:00 and 5:30. And, apparently, not 4:30. I didn’t even know Chuck’s opened that early.
But that’s not even really part of my story. My story involves breaking up. I went through The Hive, checked my mail (again), and finally decided she was nowhere to be found and that I would sit on one of the comfy couches by the computers underneath the stairs. As I approached said area with comfy couches, I noticed an Awkward Lounge Couple. Except this Awkward Lounge Couple was exceptionally awkward. They weren’t in a lounge either. They were in a coat room. The coat room by the bookstore. This seemed a strange place for a couple to be hanging, albeit I’ve seen stranger and more disturbing in my day.
Turns out this couple wasn’t just hanging. Oh no. The Awkward Lounge Couple seemed to be having a DTR, and it wasn’t the good kind of DTR. It appeared to be one of those “We aren’t an R anymore” sort of DTRs. It had all the tell-tale signs of breakupness. Guys head hung in shame. Guy still remaining to sit awkwardly close to girl, even though she was clearly trying to get away. Girl looking far too pleased with herself considering the guys extremely depressed expression. Guys hands folded in his lap. Guy on the verge of crying. Girl sort of doing that weird try-to-touch-his-arm-without-actually-touching-his-arm sort of thing to reassure him/not give him false hope at the same time.
It was just really awkward. And to add to things, it was in a coat room. On uncomfortable chairs that were stacked in the coat room. (Yes, the guy was actually sitting on said stack of chairs, feet not touching the ground.)
So, Cedarville couples, please stop breaking up in public places. This is at least the third public breakup I’ve seen this year. Lounges are just awkward places, not only for the other person involved in the breakup, but also for everyone else in the lounge ... Especially for everyone else in the lounge. This couple seemed to be making an effort to stay out of the lounges and opted for a coat closet. Really, that’s not any better. Not only was it close to a lounge anyway, it’s ... It’s a coat closet! I can’t say anything else about this. I’m too weirded out.
In Which I Hack Jenna's Blog
11/21/08 08:19 PM Filed in: Stories
Current Status: Causing
Mischief!
That’s right, folks. Ashley and I took Jenna’s blog hostage. After hacking her account, we decided we would write a blog post (from her perspective) while she and Joey were in the car on their way to Iowa. After doing some preliminary research (i.e. reading old blog articles by her, stealing perviously used pictures of Henry, thinking up stories Jenna would tell, etc.), we recalled her aforementioned affection for the cows near the Kansas Turnpike. This was our target.
That’s right, folks. Ashley and I took Jenna’s blog hostage. After hacking her account, we decided we would write a blog post (from her perspective) while she and Joey were in the car on their way to Iowa. After doing some preliminary research (i.e. reading old blog articles by her, stealing perviously used pictures of Henry, thinking up stories Jenna would tell, etc.), we recalled her aforementioned affection for the cows near the Kansas Turnpike. This was our target.
That’s
right, Jenna. We’re both on your blog right now!
We sat on the Grandparent’s couch and hammered out a
post for JennaWoestman.com in less than thirty
minutes.
Our soon to be infamous blog post is
HERE!
The Question of Music, Meaning, and Life Project
11/19/08 02:34 PM Filed in: Media
After viewing a few
John Cage videos on YouTube (like this
one, this
one, and
possibly this
one), I
thought to myself, “What the heck ...
I
could write this
crap.” And so, using his song 4’33” as my deepest
inspiration, I proceeded to do just that. In fact,
I made an entire album, with philosophical song
explanations and artwork to go along with it.
If you’re going to download the album, just realize that it probably won’t actually make much sense unless you read the liner notes (which are only provided on the website at the link below). If you don’t read those, you will basically miss the point of this project.
People make money off this stuff. I just do it for fun. I apologize if you actually like John Cage, but that is not music. The following is meant for satirical purposes and not meant to be taken seriously ... At all.
Click for Awesome --> The Question of Music, Meaning, and Life Project
If you’re going to download the album, just realize that it probably won’t actually make much sense unless you read the liner notes (which are only provided on the website at the link below). If you don’t read those, you will basically miss the point of this project.
People make money off this stuff. I just do it for fun. I apologize if you actually like John Cage, but that is not music. The following is meant for satirical purposes and not meant to be taken seriously ... At all.
Click for Awesome --> The Question of Music, Meaning, and Life Project
My Icky and Cold Morning
11/19/08 09:32 AM Filed in: Indiscriminate
This morning, as I left
my dorm room and headed to work, the temperature was
below 25 degrees, and I shudder to even
speculate at what the wind chill was.
That being said, I was forced to don my coat, gloves, and soft hat this morning, even though they didn't match the rest of my outfit. It's a sad day when I'm forced to bust out the coat ...
That being said, I was forced to don my coat, gloves, and soft hat this morning, even though they didn't match the rest of my outfit. It's a sad day when I'm forced to bust out the coat ...
I've Officially Been Cited
11/18/08 09:48 PM Filed in: Technology
Just over two years I
wrote what essentially amounted to be a research
paper on Apple. You can read the entire
article here.
This week, I was officially cited in a paper written by Gabe Pyle as a reliable source on the subject! In fact, he portrays me as quite a scholarly fellow in his paper, if I do say so myself.
Also, I’m planning on writing a second article dealing with the recent rise in internet stupidity, especially relating to failed attempts to converse in a civilized conversation and the continuing debate of Mac vs. PC. I have an exam tomorrow, but once that is over I should start on it.
This week, I was officially cited in a paper written by Gabe Pyle as a reliable source on the subject! In fact, he portrays me as quite a scholarly fellow in his paper, if I do say so myself.
Also, I’m planning on writing a second article dealing with the recent rise in internet stupidity, especially relating to failed attempts to converse in a civilized conversation and the continuing debate of Mac vs. PC. I have an exam tomorrow, but once that is over I should start on it.
I Am Alex's Inability to Concentrate
11/18/08 07:27 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I have an Old Testament
exam I should be studying for. You can’t blame me too
much for not studying right now. I’m in class right
now learning about Binary Search Trees and balancing
an AVL Tree. The classroom is too warm, and the
weather outside is too cold. Somewhere trapped
between the two extremes is my inability to think
straight and the cause of my obnoxious sweating. Like
most rooms at Cedarville, this one is filled with
distractions. There’s the huge windows which allow me
to look down toward the Milner and Tyler buildings.
There’s that comfy and hideous couch in the corner
which no one ever sits in and everyone wonders why
it’s even in the room. There’s my notebook paper,
which can easily be shredded into a million pieces
throughout the course of a class period; it’s amazing
how many ways you can rip a small piece of paper.
Then, of course, there’s my laptop, which is an
infinite source of distraction. Although it’s not
necessarily all these distractions that are the
source of my inability to focus. They just feed it
when it’s hungry.
I am Alex’s inability to concentrate. Merely a child of his ADD mind and obsessive compulsive characteristics. I’m the reason he counts his steps. I’m the reason he over thinks every situation. I’m the reason he studies minute details that nobody else notices. I’m the reason he walks in syncopation with the music on his headphones. And in a contrasting sort of way, I’m the reason he can’t concentrate on nothing and fall asleep at night.
I make him run potential conversations over in his head, taking every possibly path the conversation might take, traversing every possible scenario even past the point of literal and ethical standards. And I’m also the reason he forgets all the scenarios when finally presented with the aforementioned conversation. I scatter his thoughts and make him forget the sentences he had so carefully constructed.
I’m the reason he taps his foot, shakes his arm, or twitches his hand when most people sit still. I’m the cause of his intermittent thought patterns. I’m the cause of his dazing off, staring at nothing for minutes on end. And I extend far beyond his academic life.
I probably make him feel crazy most of the time, but that’s my job. I’m just doing what I’m meant to do.
I am Alex’s inability to concentrate. Merely a child of his ADD mind and obsessive compulsive characteristics. I’m the reason he counts his steps. I’m the reason he over thinks every situation. I’m the reason he studies minute details that nobody else notices. I’m the reason he walks in syncopation with the music on his headphones. And in a contrasting sort of way, I’m the reason he can’t concentrate on nothing and fall asleep at night.
I make him run potential conversations over in his head, taking every possibly path the conversation might take, traversing every possible scenario even past the point of literal and ethical standards. And I’m also the reason he forgets all the scenarios when finally presented with the aforementioned conversation. I scatter his thoughts and make him forget the sentences he had so carefully constructed.
I’m the reason he taps his foot, shakes his arm, or twitches his hand when most people sit still. I’m the cause of his intermittent thought patterns. I’m the cause of his dazing off, staring at nothing for minutes on end. And I extend far beyond his academic life.
I probably make him feel crazy most of the time, but that’s my job. I’m just doing what I’m meant to do.
Unnecessary Quotation Marks
11/17/08 11:51 AM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I have this thing where
I “can’t stand” it when people use quotation marks
unnecessarily (unless it’s for ironic purposes, of
course). So, of course, when I saw this sign, it was
one of the happiest moments of my life.
There is an entire blog dedicated to the exploiting
the misuses of quotation marks. Check it out
here.
The Best Hot Chocolate I've Ever Had
11/16/08 12:24 PM Filed in: Stories
Yesterday, I had the
single most delicious cup of hot chocolate that I
have ever had. And I credit the entire experience to
Kristi Zimmerman, as she showed me how to make
it, and it was her experimental recipe. So
all can share such a wonderful experience, I will
share the proper procedure for making this delicious
chocolaty goodness.
The last step is critical, as there is nothing worse than cold hot chocolate or coffee.
Thanks, Kristi. You’re officially the bomb-diggity.
- Get for yourself a proper sized coffee mug.
- Fill the mug 3/4 full of hot water.
- Fill the mug 1/8 full of regular coffee.
- Mix.
- Pour a packet of proper hot chocolate mix into the mug.
- Mix.
- Pour a shot of Irish Creamer into the mug.
- Mix.
- Drink and enjoy before it cools down.
The last step is critical, as there is nothing worse than cold hot chocolate or coffee.
Thanks, Kristi. You’re officially the bomb-diggity.
I Know You Were Texting in Chapel
11/14/08 02:28 PM Filed in: Stories
| Technology
That’s right, I know
everything. But don’t worry, I won’t turn you in for
it. I do it all the time.
Who was in chapel this morning, can I see a show of hands? Well, someone was texting in chapel this morning; someone who uses AT&T, and I can almost prove it.
AT&T has got a few things going for them these days, namely the iPhone and their amazing 3G network. While 3G is awesome, here’s the biggest problem with it. It has such high bandwidth data transfer that the signal frequently interferes with surrounding signals. I’ve also heard, though this is not confirmed, that AT&T text messaging uses some sort of an interface that interferes specifically with Bluetooth devices, which your laptop and most computers probably have.
My roommate has a phone that is powered by AT&T. I can predict, almost with perfect accuracy, when he’s going to get a text message before his phone even buzzes. We’ll be sitting in our room, he watching TV, me at my desk doing who-knows-what, and the speakers to our dorm computer will start to sputter, making a staccato style “daaaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaaaa” sound over and over. “Dave, you’re getting a text.” Seconds later, his phone buzzes.
So, remember that loud and obnoxious “daaaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaaaa” that we heard blasting over the sound system this morning, interrupting Dr. Brown as he was recognizing our Grandparents? There’s an extremely high chance (I’d say ... 90%) that the cause of that was someone in chapel receiving a text message on the AT&T network.
Who was in chapel this morning, can I see a show of hands? Well, someone was texting in chapel this morning; someone who uses AT&T, and I can almost prove it.
AT&T has got a few things going for them these days, namely the iPhone and their amazing 3G network. While 3G is awesome, here’s the biggest problem with it. It has such high bandwidth data transfer that the signal frequently interferes with surrounding signals. I’ve also heard, though this is not confirmed, that AT&T text messaging uses some sort of an interface that interferes specifically with Bluetooth devices, which your laptop and most computers probably have.
My roommate has a phone that is powered by AT&T. I can predict, almost with perfect accuracy, when he’s going to get a text message before his phone even buzzes. We’ll be sitting in our room, he watching TV, me at my desk doing who-knows-what, and the speakers to our dorm computer will start to sputter, making a staccato style “daaaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaaaa” sound over and over. “Dave, you’re getting a text.” Seconds later, his phone buzzes.
So, remember that loud and obnoxious “daaaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaa-ta-ka-daaaaa” that we heard blasting over the sound system this morning, interrupting Dr. Brown as he was recognizing our Grandparents? There’s an extremely high chance (I’d say ... 90%) that the cause of that was someone in chapel receiving a text message on the AT&T network.
Grandparent's Day
11/14/08 12:37 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I know, Grandparent's
Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day, which would
be back in September or something. But here at
Cedarville, Grandparent's Day is today! It's true!
Today is the day we celebrate our grandparents,
though I celebrate mine every day of the year :).
Today we had Grandparent's Chapel where we recognized all the grandparents present; we even showed a video of students all over campus talking about why they loved their grandparents. I tried finding the video, but it isn't on our Student Government's website and I can't find it on YouTube, so I guess I'll just have to describe it, if at all possible.
Well, Liz was walking around with the camera and microphone on Monday, and she found me. I'm always more than willing to gloat about my grandparents, so I said a few words about why I love mine. Unfortunately, they cut out my comment about how my Grandparents Laird have been married for over fifty years, which I think is amazingly awesome, but that's alright.
So, why do I love my grandparents? Well, first and foremost, it's they're examples to all of us children as to what a relationship with Christ should look like. Not only that, another encouraging thing is how evident it is that they're interested in their grandchildren's lives (that's me)! On the video, Grandpa, I commented on how you're always technologically savvy and how you even have an iPhone, which you frighteningly use to text me and others while driving. (Sorry, everyone laughed ... You really shouldn't text and drive, you know. There are laws.)
My Grandpa Laird is a great guy with a sense of humor similar to my own, so we get along great for that reason. I like to think he’s a genius. He has been successful in life and always knows the answers to my questions when I call him to ask him things, usually relating to politics or government. We exchange knowledge in that way; I give him computer help and he gives me political help. If he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll find it for me. I said it above, but I’ll say it specifically, my Grandpa Laird loves the Lord with everything in him. He and my Grandma pray together regularly, and he loves to share Christ with people. For a few years he was a pastor, though I wasn’t alive at the time, so I don’t really remember it. I love talking about religious things with him as well as politics. (Just ask him about Christmas … It’s fun *wink*). In general, he’s just a fun guy to converse with, no matter what the subject matter.
My Grandma Laird loves to take us shopping. She loves to spoil us (but in a good way). Whenever we're going to be visiting my grandma on my dad's side, we'll always receive a call the week before asking what sorts of sugary cereals we want to eat while we're there. (Mom never would buy us Lucky Charms.) Ice cream? She'll get it. Pizza? We'll order it. My grandparent's house was the only place I ever really watched cable TV because we didn't have it. We had a TV, but it only had local channels, and I rarely ever even watched them. So when we visited my grandparents, we would always wake up early and watch the morning cartoons. Grandma Laird is a wonderful woman who loves the Lord just like her husband, and not only does she share God’s love with people whenever she can get the chance, she’s encouraging to us grandchildren as well to persevere through trials and maintain a right relationship with God.
My mom’s mom, Grandma Richardson, is the cutest little grandma ever. I got a card in the mail from her the other day, and she went on to describe the cows, the chickens, what my mom was doing, and how my family was, since I wasn't there to see them. She gives splendid hugs, and caring for others is her specialty. Grandma loves God and she loves everyone around her, and she’s a special one with which no one else can compare. She knows all of her grandchildren and great grand children, which is saying quite a bit because she has a lot. When I say she knows them, I mean she knows great details about each of them. She makes it a point to keep up with her family’s lives, and that’s a true blessing.
My Grandpa Richardson, who went to be with Jesus a few years ago, had the biggest heart for God I think I've ever seen in anyone. In his younger years, he was a Baptist pastor (I guess I’m surrounded by them), and he has always served the Lord with all his strength, even when his strength was waning. My favorite thing to do with him was to sit on the couch next to his chair, pick up the Bible, open it to a random location and read a random passage. Then I would ask him the reference. You could see the wheels turning in his mind, even when it took him a few minutes to respond, but if he couldn't nail it down to the exact reference, he could at least tell you the book and probably even the chapter. Additionally, he was able to give you the context of the verse and why it was significant. (Those were free, you didn't even have to ask him and he just would tell you that.) He was truly an amazing man.
All of my grandparents are amazing. They all care about us and love us, and they're all interested in our lives. Let's face it, without my grandparents, I wouldn't be where I am today, and neither would my parents. You're all amazing people who have poured your lives into not only each other and others but also into your grandchildren, and you've made a huge difference in my life. I love you all very much!
Today we had Grandparent's Chapel where we recognized all the grandparents present; we even showed a video of students all over campus talking about why they loved their grandparents. I tried finding the video, but it isn't on our Student Government's website and I can't find it on YouTube, so I guess I'll just have to describe it, if at all possible.
Well, Liz was walking around with the camera and microphone on Monday, and she found me. I'm always more than willing to gloat about my grandparents, so I said a few words about why I love mine. Unfortunately, they cut out my comment about how my Grandparents Laird have been married for over fifty years, which I think is amazingly awesome, but that's alright.
So, why do I love my grandparents? Well, first and foremost, it's they're examples to all of us children as to what a relationship with Christ should look like. Not only that, another encouraging thing is how evident it is that they're interested in their grandchildren's lives (that's me)! On the video, Grandpa, I commented on how you're always technologically savvy and how you even have an iPhone, which you frighteningly use to text me and others while driving. (Sorry, everyone laughed ... You really shouldn't text and drive, you know. There are laws.)
My Grandpa Laird is a great guy with a sense of humor similar to my own, so we get along great for that reason. I like to think he’s a genius. He has been successful in life and always knows the answers to my questions when I call him to ask him things, usually relating to politics or government. We exchange knowledge in that way; I give him computer help and he gives me political help. If he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll find it for me. I said it above, but I’ll say it specifically, my Grandpa Laird loves the Lord with everything in him. He and my Grandma pray together regularly, and he loves to share Christ with people. For a few years he was a pastor, though I wasn’t alive at the time, so I don’t really remember it. I love talking about religious things with him as well as politics. (Just ask him about Christmas … It’s fun *wink*). In general, he’s just a fun guy to converse with, no matter what the subject matter.
My Grandma Laird loves to take us shopping. She loves to spoil us (but in a good way). Whenever we're going to be visiting my grandma on my dad's side, we'll always receive a call the week before asking what sorts of sugary cereals we want to eat while we're there. (Mom never would buy us Lucky Charms.) Ice cream? She'll get it. Pizza? We'll order it. My grandparent's house was the only place I ever really watched cable TV because we didn't have it. We had a TV, but it only had local channels, and I rarely ever even watched them. So when we visited my grandparents, we would always wake up early and watch the morning cartoons. Grandma Laird is a wonderful woman who loves the Lord just like her husband, and not only does she share God’s love with people whenever she can get the chance, she’s encouraging to us grandchildren as well to persevere through trials and maintain a right relationship with God.
My mom’s mom, Grandma Richardson, is the cutest little grandma ever. I got a card in the mail from her the other day, and she went on to describe the cows, the chickens, what my mom was doing, and how my family was, since I wasn't there to see them. She gives splendid hugs, and caring for others is her specialty. Grandma loves God and she loves everyone around her, and she’s a special one with which no one else can compare. She knows all of her grandchildren and great grand children, which is saying quite a bit because she has a lot. When I say she knows them, I mean she knows great details about each of them. She makes it a point to keep up with her family’s lives, and that’s a true blessing.
My Grandpa Richardson, who went to be with Jesus a few years ago, had the biggest heart for God I think I've ever seen in anyone. In his younger years, he was a Baptist pastor (I guess I’m surrounded by them), and he has always served the Lord with all his strength, even when his strength was waning. My favorite thing to do with him was to sit on the couch next to his chair, pick up the Bible, open it to a random location and read a random passage. Then I would ask him the reference. You could see the wheels turning in his mind, even when it took him a few minutes to respond, but if he couldn't nail it down to the exact reference, he could at least tell you the book and probably even the chapter. Additionally, he was able to give you the context of the verse and why it was significant. (Those were free, you didn't even have to ask him and he just would tell you that.) He was truly an amazing man.
All of my grandparents are amazing. They all care about us and love us, and they're all interested in our lives. Let's face it, without my grandparents, I wouldn't be where I am today, and neither would my parents. You're all amazing people who have poured your lives into not only each other and others but also into your grandchildren, and you've made a huge difference in my life. I love you all very much!
New Posts On Dave and Alex's Happy Fun-Time Blog
11/13/08 08:50 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
Since I have yet to
take the time to route the Dave and Alex’s Happy
Fun-Time Blog RSS feed into this blog, I’ll just have
to include links to my most recent posts on the blog.
Here you go.
Things I’ve Seen, Pt. 3
Things I’ve Seen, Pt. 4
Things I’ve Heard, Pt. 2
Read up. I strongly suggest Things I’ve Heard, Pt. 2, which relates to recent ridiculous comments on the election. Gotta love ‘em!
Things I’ve Seen, Pt. 3
Things I’ve Seen, Pt. 4
Things I’ve Heard, Pt. 2
Read up. I strongly suggest Things I’ve Heard, Pt. 2, which relates to recent ridiculous comments on the election. Gotta love ‘em!
Crazy 8s! (Jenna Made Me Do This ...)
11/13/08 12:26 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
It appears as though
I’ve been randomly selected to do one of these survey
things by none other than my annoying sister, Jenna.
Alright, here goes nothing. (After reviewing this, I
realized Jenna and I wrote the same thing before
starting ... That was not intended and has officially
creeped me out.)
8 TV Show I Love to Watch:
And I’m not tagging anyone else in this. Just because I don’t feel like it :).
8 TV Show I Love to Watch:
- The Simpsons
- The Office
- Arrested Development
- Lost
- 30 Rock
- Family Guy
- Gilmore Girls
- Stella
- Panda Express
- Red Robin
- Panera Bread
- Chipotle
- Cheesecake Factory
- Fazoli’s
- Zio Johnos
- Pizza Hut
- Kicked a Java exam in the butt
- Had a Caramel Latte
- Went to chapel
- Blogged about my free coffee from Dr. Miller
- Ate lunch
- Discussed plans for Dave and I’s movie
- Went to work
- Watched The Office
- Graduation
- Passing Calculus
- Moving back to Iowa
- Getting a full time job
- Listening to music
- Dave and I’s movie
- Turkey Break
- Christmas Break
- Working on a project that changes the way we use technology
- Working with the youth at my church
- Making a difference in a High Schoolers life
- Working for Apple or Google
- Being arrested for something I didn’t do. Just because the experience would be sweet, but I don’t actually want to break the law.
- Going to a Coldplay or U2 concert
- To be an Uncle
- The dress code to be dropped (or at least significantly lessened) at Cedarville
And I’m not tagging anyone else in this. Just because I don’t feel like it :).
Another Cedarville Experience
It’s been a long week.
Lost somewhere in exams, papers, and projects is my
sleep. I’m not complaining or saying it’s a bad week,
time just seems to be moving very slowly.
Yesterday, I woke up early to go to work, as usual for a Wednesday. I left work a bit early so I could lay my head on the desk in class for a few minutes before it started. That never actually happened, because as I sat in my comfy rolly chair, Nathan walked up to our row and asked if anyone was sitting in the chair to my right. It was empty, so he sat down.
Dr. Miller, the professor who teaches multiple sections of Old Testament Literature, a class of several hundred students, tore his Achilles Tendon a couple months ago, and he’s had to hobble around in a cast with crutches since then. A hard thing to do for a man who loves to walk up and down the aisles of his class while he teaches. I think he was in an exceptionally good mood yesterday, as it appeared he didn’t have the cast on at all anymore and he was walking up and down the aisles before class started.
Nathan has a travel mug that he had sitting on the desk. Dr. Miller walked up to our row and picked Nathan’s mug.
“It’s not even full,” he commented.
“No, I already drank most of it this morning,” Nathan replied.
“You could go fill it up outside.”
“That’s right!” I jutted in, “they have that stand out there now!”
Usually I would have had to walk all the way back to the SSC, and I was in the Bible building, so that was just too far of a walk. But they have a coffee stand in the atrium of the Bible building that I had totally forgotten about! I reached towards my bag before realizing I didn’t have my travel mug with me today; I had taken it out of my bag the day prior.
“Aw, nuts, I don’t have my mug.” My dismay was evident.
“You could just get one of the cups they have out there,” Dr. Miller suggested. “Here, do you need a dollar?”
“Are you serious?”
Apparently he was, because he reached for his wallet, pulled out a dollar, and handed it to me. “I am so getting a cup of coffee then!” I leapt up from my chair and ran out of the classroom, off to get my Sumatra coffee.
It could have been that Dr. Miller was in an exceptionally good mood due to the lack of a cast on his ankle. It could have been that it was incredibly obvious how tired I was and that he wanted me to stay awake in his class. It could have been that he felt guilty because he still hasn’t followed up on our coffee date which we agreed to last year ... And the beginning of this year. But I like to think that, had all the previous elements been missing, he still would have handed me a dollar. That’s just how Dr. Miller is.
Which brings me to my main point: that’s how Cedarville is. When people ask me what my favorite thing about Cedarville is, or why they should come (or transfer) here, I always tell them to same thing: the professors. Sure, the social atmosphere is awesome as well, and that’s a huge part of college, but the purpose of college is to study and learn, so professors are pretty important, I’d say. And when you’re paying ... Well ... A lot of money for a better education, there had better be some reason you’re paying that much more.
It’s not uncommon to visit your professor’s house, or your advisor’s, or the head of your department’s. The professors here don’t just try to shuffle you through their class with a passing grade, they’re actually interested in whether you’re learning properly. They’re also interested in your personal life, and I’ve had numerous professors offer to pray for me or help me in any way they can.
It’s not always just little things like offering a dollar for coffee though. Last year, I was in a class of about eighty people. For every section this professor taught, he had all the students over to his house to enjoy a home cooked meal after the Final by his lovely wife. Around the time of the final, one of my fellow classmate’s parents died. Obviously, the professor allowed them to go home and take the Final at a later time. That wasn’t all the professor did though. He actually bought the student a plane ticket home as well so they wouldn’t have to drive.
Whether it’s a genuine interest in the personal life of their students, a willingness to serve them in any way possible, or simply a dollar to wake a student up in their class, it’s evident that the professors at Cedarville care about you and your academic career. And, while buying a plane ticket for a student is a pretty awesome thing to do, that doesn’t lessen the meaning of “little” things at all. That coffee basically saved my life this morning. Thanks, Dr. Miller!
That’s just one of the many reasons I love Cedarville.
Yesterday, I woke up early to go to work, as usual for a Wednesday. I left work a bit early so I could lay my head on the desk in class for a few minutes before it started. That never actually happened, because as I sat in my comfy rolly chair, Nathan walked up to our row and asked if anyone was sitting in the chair to my right. It was empty, so he sat down.
Dr. Miller, the professor who teaches multiple sections of Old Testament Literature, a class of several hundred students, tore his Achilles Tendon a couple months ago, and he’s had to hobble around in a cast with crutches since then. A hard thing to do for a man who loves to walk up and down the aisles of his class while he teaches. I think he was in an exceptionally good mood yesterday, as it appeared he didn’t have the cast on at all anymore and he was walking up and down the aisles before class started.
Nathan has a travel mug that he had sitting on the desk. Dr. Miller walked up to our row and picked Nathan’s mug.
“It’s not even full,” he commented.
“No, I already drank most of it this morning,” Nathan replied.
“You could go fill it up outside.”
“That’s right!” I jutted in, “they have that stand out there now!”
Usually I would have had to walk all the way back to the SSC, and I was in the Bible building, so that was just too far of a walk. But they have a coffee stand in the atrium of the Bible building that I had totally forgotten about! I reached towards my bag before realizing I didn’t have my travel mug with me today; I had taken it out of my bag the day prior.
“Aw, nuts, I don’t have my mug.” My dismay was evident.
“You could just get one of the cups they have out there,” Dr. Miller suggested. “Here, do you need a dollar?”
“Are you serious?”
Apparently he was, because he reached for his wallet, pulled out a dollar, and handed it to me. “I am so getting a cup of coffee then!” I leapt up from my chair and ran out of the classroom, off to get my Sumatra coffee.
It could have been that Dr. Miller was in an exceptionally good mood due to the lack of a cast on his ankle. It could have been that it was incredibly obvious how tired I was and that he wanted me to stay awake in his class. It could have been that he felt guilty because he still hasn’t followed up on our coffee date which we agreed to last year ... And the beginning of this year. But I like to think that, had all the previous elements been missing, he still would have handed me a dollar. That’s just how Dr. Miller is.
Which brings me to my main point: that’s how Cedarville is. When people ask me what my favorite thing about Cedarville is, or why they should come (or transfer) here, I always tell them to same thing: the professors. Sure, the social atmosphere is awesome as well, and that’s a huge part of college, but the purpose of college is to study and learn, so professors are pretty important, I’d say. And when you’re paying ... Well ... A lot of money for a better education, there had better be some reason you’re paying that much more.
It’s not uncommon to visit your professor’s house, or your advisor’s, or the head of your department’s. The professors here don’t just try to shuffle you through their class with a passing grade, they’re actually interested in whether you’re learning properly. They’re also interested in your personal life, and I’ve had numerous professors offer to pray for me or help me in any way they can.
It’s not always just little things like offering a dollar for coffee though. Last year, I was in a class of about eighty people. For every section this professor taught, he had all the students over to his house to enjoy a home cooked meal after the Final by his lovely wife. Around the time of the final, one of my fellow classmate’s parents died. Obviously, the professor allowed them to go home and take the Final at a later time. That wasn’t all the professor did though. He actually bought the student a plane ticket home as well so they wouldn’t have to drive.
Whether it’s a genuine interest in the personal life of their students, a willingness to serve them in any way possible, or simply a dollar to wake a student up in their class, it’s evident that the professors at Cedarville care about you and your academic career. And, while buying a plane ticket for a student is a pretty awesome thing to do, that doesn’t lessen the meaning of “little” things at all. That coffee basically saved my life this morning. Thanks, Dr. Miller!
That’s just one of the many reasons I love Cedarville.
My Claim to Fame
11/08/08 10:09 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
So, today I posted on
Jenna’s blog. It was my very first guest appearance,
and it was pretty great. She totally doesn’t even
know what I wrote yet, which is the best part. (It
pays to know your sister’s password, I tell you
what.)
Don’t worry ... I was actually doing her a favor, since she needs to post every single day during the month of November to be eligible for something thing. I noticed she hadn’t posted yet today, so I posted for her. It’s as easy as that.
Here’s my post.
Don’t worry ... I was actually doing her a favor, since she needs to post every single day during the month of November to be eligible for something thing. I noticed she hadn’t posted yet today, so I posted for her. It’s as easy as that.
Here’s my post.
Cotton Balls and Cramps
I was never really good
at Chemistry. Better at it than at Biology, but still
not exceptional. Granted, I earned an A when I took
Chemistry in college, but this was from Kirkwood,
which doesn’t have the highest academic prestige, so
the A was easily achieved without completely
understanding the material ... The same goes for
Biology, which I also took there and received a B+.
That being said, I may not have the fullest
understanding of acids and bases and things breaking
down. (In fact, if the previous sentence really makes
no sense, that’s probably why ... I was just trying
to throw the words out to sound intelligent.)
I’m also the type of person that, if you tell me to do something (you don’t even have to dare me, really) and it’s not against my morals and doesn’t seem to have the potential to cause a fatality, I’ll probably do it. I’m always up for checking off experiences from my “Things To Do Before I Die” list. I guess that’s why I have black nails right now ...
Last night, we celebrated the Finnish holiday of Pyhäinpäivä (PUH-HAH-IN-PIE-VAH). The American equivalent would be All Saints’ Day, but while All Saints’ Day is always on November 1st, Pyhäinpäivä is on the first Saturday between October 31st and November 6th. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Last night wasn’t Saturday. That is very perceptive of you. We just realized this morning that Griffin actually gave us the wrong day to celebrated the beloved holiday of our ancestors, but we will try to forgive him. But since we didn’t get to celebrate Pyhäinpäivä last Saturday, we decided to celebrate it last night, the 6th, by watching The Office and performing several Finnish traditions with a large group of people.
It was a fantastic turnout. We had seventeen people show up to a celebration that they had never even heard of. During the commercial breaks of The Office, we muted the volume and partook together in the Finnish festivities we had planned just an hour before the party started. Such festivities included, but were not limited to the following:
I offered Ryan a rolly-polly baby Panda for Christmas, Shannon performed the interpretive dance, we sang Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in memory of King Valdemar, and I happened to be the oldest male present. So I ate a cotton ball. Not just any cotton ball, mind you, but probably the largest one in the bag; it was dark and I just reached in and grabbed one, but it happened to be enormous. After mustering up all my gumption, I stuck the cotton ball in my mouth and started salivating to get it wet enough to slide down my throat. It took me quite a while, but finally I tried swallowing. It got stuck half way. I grabbed the nearest cup of Mountain Dew and forced the cotton ball the remainder of the way into my stomach. There was much rejoicing, and I took my seat again as The Office came back on.
Had I paid closer attention in my aforementioned Community College classes, I might have known that the acids in your stomach can’t actually break down cotton for some reason (which leaves me thoroughly unimpressed with my own stomach), and I may have been more wary of eating a cotton ball. As it was, I simply thought it would digest and there would be no problems.
This morning I woke up with horrendous cramps (on top of an already very upset stomach) and a terrible headache. I tried sitting up in bed, but that seemed to hurt too much, so I just laid there for a very long time, eventually skipping my first class.
So let this be a lesson to all of you! I know Buddy eats cotton balls in Elf, and it looks like fun and that he doesn’t suffer any consequences from his actions, but trust me ... He does! Your stomach, intestines, and basically any part of your digestive tract don’t get along well with cotton balls.
See what you missed out on last night, Jon McGill?
I’m also the type of person that, if you tell me to do something (you don’t even have to dare me, really) and it’s not against my morals and doesn’t seem to have the potential to cause a fatality, I’ll probably do it. I’m always up for checking off experiences from my “Things To Do Before I Die” list. I guess that’s why I have black nails right now ...
Last night, we celebrated the Finnish holiday of Pyhäinpäivä (PUH-HAH-IN-PIE-VAH). The American equivalent would be All Saints’ Day, but while All Saints’ Day is always on November 1st, Pyhäinpäivä is on the first Saturday between October 31st and November 6th. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Last night wasn’t Saturday. That is very perceptive of you. We just realized this morning that Griffin actually gave us the wrong day to celebrated the beloved holiday of our ancestors, but we will try to forgive him. But since we didn’t get to celebrate Pyhäinpäivä last Saturday, we decided to celebrate it last night, the 6th, by watching The Office and performing several Finnish traditions with a large group of people.
It was a fantastic turnout. We had seventeen people show up to a celebration that they had never even heard of. During the commercial breaks of The Office, we muted the volume and partook together in the Finnish festivities we had planned just an hour before the party started. Such festivities included, but were not limited to the following:
- As is custom, the host must advise all invited guests to bring their own eggs. At the celebration of Pyhäinpäivä, all guests must laugh at anyone who actually brings their own eggs. This ceremony is in commemoration of King Albert’s (of Mecklenburg) practice of sending out edicts via carrier chicken.
- The oldest male must eat a cotton ball in memory of our ancestors that, in the Finnish blight of 1728, had to ingest their bedding and pillows to survive.
- All guests must pass the flaming grease cup. This symbolizes the flame of unity and also reminds us of an old Finnish legend in which a crew of sailors were caught at sea during a long December. The crew was forced to burn their stores of bacon and butter for warmth to survive and was able to outlast the winter. The cup of grease must be passed counterclockwise, each person saying to the person to their right what they would give them for Christmas, if they could give them anything.
- One volunteer, or victim chosen at random if no one should volunteer, must perform the traditional Finnish dance to keep the spirits at bay for the coming year. Since the traditional Finnish dance has long since been forgotten, the volunteer must improvise interpretively. The person must volunteer without knowing what they are agreeing to do, thus symbolizing the stark bravery of Finnish dancers.
- A song must be sung to commemorate the coronation of King Valdemar of the house of Bjelbo. The original melody has long since been forgotten, so any song that is well known, radio-worthy, and at least nine years old may be sung. And, in light of King Valdemar’s decree regarding the Great Minstrel Hunt of 1264, the song must be sung a capella by all guests present.
- There was a chicken virus that went around in Finland in 1355. At that time, whenever someone ate anything made out of eggs, they weren’t sure if the egg had been infected or not. The chance taken in eating things made with eggs is represented by a game of chance referred to as “Never Have I Ever” or, in Finnish, “Koskaan Olen Koskaan.” All guests must form a circle, placing an egg on the group in front of them. One person says something that they have never done, and anyone in the circle who has done that thing must spin their egg. If the egg stops spinning while it is pointing at the person who spun it, they are officially out of the game. The last person remaining collects all the eggs at the end of the game.
- The Finnish are known especially for two things: Their love of unity and friendship, and their exception hip-grabbing ability. To celebrate, all members present must participate in an impromptu conga line from the party’s locale to the nearest seller of overpriced goods, through their place of business, and back to the party.
I offered Ryan a rolly-polly baby Panda for Christmas, Shannon performed the interpretive dance, we sang Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in memory of King Valdemar, and I happened to be the oldest male present. So I ate a cotton ball. Not just any cotton ball, mind you, but probably the largest one in the bag; it was dark and I just reached in and grabbed one, but it happened to be enormous. After mustering up all my gumption, I stuck the cotton ball in my mouth and started salivating to get it wet enough to slide down my throat. It took me quite a while, but finally I tried swallowing. It got stuck half way. I grabbed the nearest cup of Mountain Dew and forced the cotton ball the remainder of the way into my stomach. There was much rejoicing, and I took my seat again as The Office came back on.
Had I paid closer attention in my aforementioned Community College classes, I might have known that the acids in your stomach can’t actually break down cotton for some reason (which leaves me thoroughly unimpressed with my own stomach), and I may have been more wary of eating a cotton ball. As it was, I simply thought it would digest and there would be no problems.
This morning I woke up with horrendous cramps (on top of an already very upset stomach) and a terrible headache. I tried sitting up in bed, but that seemed to hurt too much, so I just laid there for a very long time, eventually skipping my first class.
So let this be a lesson to all of you! I know Buddy eats cotton balls in Elf, and it looks like fun and that he doesn’t suffer any consequences from his actions, but trust me ... He does! Your stomach, intestines, and basically any part of your digestive tract don’t get along well with cotton balls.
See what you missed out on last night, Jon McGill?
No-Shave November
11/06/08 02:45 PM Filed in: Stories
| Indiscriminate
I used to really be
into nostalgia.
The other day I was reminiscing about my childhood. I try to do it regularly, thinking about the time I walked out onto our red back porch in the old house, looked over the rail and asked my mother, “Mom, if I jump off this, will I die?” (Oh, the questions you put up with, Mom ...) Or the time I colored all over the door to the toy room with sidewalk chalk; my older siblings had locked me out because I would have ruined their fun. Then there was the time I climbed on the wall at the library only to fall tumbling to the ground (it was about three feet high ...), landing on my face and breaking my tooth; we were on the way to Chicago, and my siblings were not pleased with me. My brother and I used to have this imaginary world which we dubbed “Nutkin.” We acted out the characters with different hand shapes and made them talk. It drove Jenna crazy!
Specifically, I remember always wanting a beard when I was a little boy. For some reason that is beyond my comprehension these days (but somehow made perfect sense to my feeble mind), I thought facial hair was the coolest thing. I think most little boys do, probably, and maybe some little girls ... Who knows? At some point I decided a beard may be too much, and I decided I just wanted a mustache. A mustache which, if worn these days, would make me look like an absolute creeper, but every little boy has a dream, right?
See, my Dad has a lot of facial hair. He shaves every day because it grows so fast and so thick. I always wished he would just grow it out, because I think he would look like the coolest dude if he did. Then I saw pictures of when he had grown it out and decided it was OK for him to keep it shaved. Not that he looked bad, I just realized I was used to him not having facial hair and it would just be weird if he had it. But every once in a while we would go on vacation or something and he would let it grow out. And if we were especially good, he would let us crawl up on his lap and feel it’s scruffiness with our hands. This just made me want facial hair even more.
No more! Why did I ever want facial hair? This is a message to every little boy out there who thinks he wants facial hair. If you have thick facial hair, you have to shave every day if you don’t want it to look icky. Unless you want to grow it out, in which case you could trim it every day until it’s a proper length; then you have to continue trimming it regularly so it doesn’t get out of control: Example. But until it gets to a certain point, your facial hair will be scratchy beyond belief. Quite annoying.
So, there’s this thing called No-Shave November which presents a solution to this problem. It’s pretty simple, really. You just don’t shave for the entire month. Girls are encouraged to participate, though as soon as we tell them to they all say the same thing: “Trust me, you don’t want me to not shave.” Actually, I wouldn’t care. I probably don’t touch your legs very often, and even if I did ... Isn’t that the point of No-Shave? To be gross? You never here us say that, and you actually have to look at our hair. But I digress. Let’s be honest, most participants in No-Shave don’t maintain their facial hair at all, so they just look like bums for a month. (Yah, that’s right, I’m talking to you.)
This is why I’m not participating. I don’t want to feel itchy for weeks until it finally gets smooth, all the while looking like a hobo. I will continue to shave throughout the month of November and that’s all there is to it.
The other day I was reminiscing about my childhood. I try to do it regularly, thinking about the time I walked out onto our red back porch in the old house, looked over the rail and asked my mother, “Mom, if I jump off this, will I die?” (Oh, the questions you put up with, Mom ...) Or the time I colored all over the door to the toy room with sidewalk chalk; my older siblings had locked me out because I would have ruined their fun. Then there was the time I climbed on the wall at the library only to fall tumbling to the ground (it was about three feet high ...), landing on my face and breaking my tooth; we were on the way to Chicago, and my siblings were not pleased with me. My brother and I used to have this imaginary world which we dubbed “Nutkin.” We acted out the characters with different hand shapes and made them talk. It drove Jenna crazy!
Specifically, I remember always wanting a beard when I was a little boy. For some reason that is beyond my comprehension these days (but somehow made perfect sense to my feeble mind), I thought facial hair was the coolest thing. I think most little boys do, probably, and maybe some little girls ... Who knows? At some point I decided a beard may be too much, and I decided I just wanted a mustache. A mustache which, if worn these days, would make me look like an absolute creeper, but every little boy has a dream, right?
See, my Dad has a lot of facial hair. He shaves every day because it grows so fast and so thick. I always wished he would just grow it out, because I think he would look like the coolest dude if he did. Then I saw pictures of when he had grown it out and decided it was OK for him to keep it shaved. Not that he looked bad, I just realized I was used to him not having facial hair and it would just be weird if he had it. But every once in a while we would go on vacation or something and he would let it grow out. And if we were especially good, he would let us crawl up on his lap and feel it’s scruffiness with our hands. This just made me want facial hair even more.
No more! Why did I ever want facial hair? This is a message to every little boy out there who thinks he wants facial hair. If you have thick facial hair, you have to shave every day if you don’t want it to look icky. Unless you want to grow it out, in which case you could trim it every day until it’s a proper length; then you have to continue trimming it regularly so it doesn’t get out of control: Example. But until it gets to a certain point, your facial hair will be scratchy beyond belief. Quite annoying.
So, there’s this thing called No-Shave November which presents a solution to this problem. It’s pretty simple, really. You just don’t shave for the entire month. Girls are encouraged to participate, though as soon as we tell them to they all say the same thing: “Trust me, you don’t want me to not shave.” Actually, I wouldn’t care. I probably don’t touch your legs very often, and even if I did ... Isn’t that the point of No-Shave? To be gross? You never here us say that, and you actually have to look at our hair. But I digress. Let’s be honest, most participants in No-Shave don’t maintain their facial hair at all, so they just look like bums for a month. (Yah, that’s right, I’m talking to you.)
This is why I’m not participating. I don’t want to feel itchy for weeks until it finally gets smooth, all the while looking like a hobo. I will continue to shave throughout the month of November and that’s all there is to it.
The 2008 Election Is Over ... Finally
11/05/08 07:55 AM Filed in: Indiscriminate
It looks like
we will finally have a new President come
January, and quite a bit of change to come with
that!
I'm baffled by how many people seem to have fallen victim to the silly catch phrase "Yes We Can!" or Obama's claim to "bring change to our nation." Listen, any President will bring change. Claim something significant. And "Yes We Can!" just sounds like a slogan off of Bob the Builder.
But enough bashing of our new President-to-be. That's actually not what I wanted to talk about anyway, I just had to get it out.
Hopefully for the last several months you've been praying that God's will would be done, not that John McCain would be our next President. (I'm looking at you, Conservative Republican-Voting Christians!) That's probably not the right way to go aabout it, and anyway, I believe that God's will has been done.
One thing I'm pretty excited about now that the election is finally past is that your cheesy Facebook statuses will go away. Seriously ... Let me just give you a few examples to prove my point without using any names. (The names that are used below are only because I know the people wouldn't care and because they were one of the few being positive about the election.)
Jane Doe is scared for his country.
Seeing as how we're the most powerful country in the world, this may be a good feeling to have. And change is always a scary thing, for the good or bad. Though, as V for Vendetta, "People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people." In general, however, I don't think you need to be scared of Obama. He's going to do what's best for our country. That's what we elected him to do.
Jane Doe is thinking America is retarded. The only difference between Obama and Osama is B.S.
This sounds like something I would have heard as a joke back in Junior High. But I think she actually may believe it. Anyway, this is ridiculously racist, since about the only thing that's similar between the two of them is that they have darker skin. Please don't try to bring up any bogus remarks about Obama's ties with terrorist organizations now.
Also, prior to the heat of the election, Microsoft Word auto-corrected "Obama" to "Osama" because it didn't know the word, but this has been fixed since then. True story.
John Doe is praying that his country is not really this ignorant.
Probably not. We're not all complete idiots, we know what we voted for.
John Doe congradulates Al-Qaeda.
Honestly, Brad, what school do you go to? You can't even spell congratulate ...
John Doe knows this country needs a lot of prayer now.
I hope that you pray for our country all the time and would have been praying for our country just as much had McCain won. Everything always need all the prayer we can give it.
Jane Doe is here comes socialism.
By the way, Facebook finally removed the obligatory "is", so you could change it to "Jane Doe says" and it would sound even better. Anyway, last time I checked we're still a Democracy and always will be.
John Doe is very scared for the fate of the free world.
Still free. That's why we elected a new President, because we can and we have the right to.
John Doe likes babies. Go McCain!
I like babies as well! They're cute and wiggly and they go "coo" a lot. But, wait, aren't we talking about an election here? As in, who's going to lead our country? Sorry if this sounds harsh, but this isn't a single-issue election, and those who vote based upon a single issue bother me. We voted for the person who could best lead our country in every situation.
John Doe is begining to question peoples christianity who are voting for obama...you fools are unbelievable.
Your status is unbelievable. Last time I checked, God doesn't vote. He doesn't even believe in democracy.
John Doe hopes that by this time tomorrow we can ALL unite under the leadership of whoever wins, whether it's McCain or Obama.
Finally, a mature status! Thanks, Dan, you rock. That's the kind of attitude we need.
John Doe is still proud to be an American, because, last time he checked, he was still free.
Nice, Keenan! You certainly are, and that's the kind of attitude we need here.
Jane Doe is ENGAGED!!!!
Apparently not everyone was thinking about the election last night. Congratulations to my good friends Mr. and Mrs. (to be) David Benson :)! Honestly, any guy who writes "Will You Marry Me?" in flaming napalm on the ground has MY vote. And apparently hers, since she said yes :).
OK, there are countless statuses that bothered me because they were so closed-minded or inconsiderate of other people or God's sovereignty. Or did everyone suddenly forget that we live under the rule of an all-powerful God?
What bothered me most last night was how quickly McCain withdrew from the race. I mean, obviously he was going to lose ... That was predictable around 9:00pm. But it just seemed weak to bow out so quickly. On the flip side, what was it with hundreds of thousands of his supports booing him when he announced his support for our next President, Barack Obama? That's support, huh? I think it's silly he pulled out so soon, but I at least support his decision.
Anyway, you all should have voted for Cox/Laird ’08 last night. But seriously, hopefully people's statuses will soon go back to pointless banter about their upcoming tests, how some girl is annoying them, or the horrible food at Chuck's. Things that don't matter, and things that don't sarcasticly point fingers of blame at fellow believers.
By the way. I voted for John McCain. And I support Barack Obama.
I'm baffled by how many people seem to have fallen victim to the silly catch phrase "Yes We Can!" or Obama's claim to "bring change to our nation." Listen, any President will bring change. Claim something significant. And "Yes We Can!" just sounds like a slogan off of Bob the Builder.
But enough bashing of our new President-to-be. That's actually not what I wanted to talk about anyway, I just had to get it out.
Hopefully for the last several months you've been praying that God's will would be done, not that John McCain would be our next President. (I'm looking at you, Conservative Republican-Voting Christians!) That's probably not the right way to go aabout it, and anyway, I believe that God's will has been done.
One thing I'm pretty excited about now that the election is finally past is that your cheesy Facebook statuses will go away. Seriously ... Let me just give you a few examples to prove my point without using any names. (The names that are used below are only because I know the people wouldn't care and because they were one of the few being positive about the election.)
Jane Doe is scared for his country.
Seeing as how we're the most powerful country in the world, this may be a good feeling to have. And change is always a scary thing, for the good or bad. Though, as V for Vendetta, "People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people." In general, however, I don't think you need to be scared of Obama. He's going to do what's best for our country. That's what we elected him to do.
Jane Doe is thinking America is retarded. The only difference between Obama and Osama is B.S.
This sounds like something I would have heard as a joke back in Junior High. But I think she actually may believe it. Anyway, this is ridiculously racist, since about the only thing that's similar between the two of them is that they have darker skin. Please don't try to bring up any bogus remarks about Obama's ties with terrorist organizations now.
Also, prior to the heat of the election, Microsoft Word auto-corrected "Obama" to "Osama" because it didn't know the word, but this has been fixed since then. True story.
John Doe is praying that his country is not really this ignorant.
Probably not. We're not all complete idiots, we know what we voted for.
John Doe congradulates Al-Qaeda.
Honestly, Brad, what school do you go to? You can't even spell congratulate ...
John Doe knows this country needs a lot of prayer now.
I hope that you pray for our country all the time and would have been praying for our country just as much had McCain won. Everything always need all the prayer we can give it.
Jane Doe is here comes socialism.
By the way, Facebook finally removed the obligatory "is", so you could change it to "Jane Doe says" and it would sound even better. Anyway, last time I checked we're still a Democracy and always will be.
John Doe is very scared for the fate of the free world.
Still free. That's why we elected a new President, because we can and we have the right to.
John Doe likes babies. Go McCain!
I like babies as well! They're cute and wiggly and they go "coo" a lot. But, wait, aren't we talking about an election here? As in, who's going to lead our country? Sorry if this sounds harsh, but this isn't a single-issue election, and those who vote based upon a single issue bother me. We voted for the person who could best lead our country in every situation.
John Doe is begining to question peoples christianity who are voting for obama...you fools are unbelievable.
Your status is unbelievable. Last time I checked, God doesn't vote. He doesn't even believe in democracy.
John Doe hopes that by this time tomorrow we can ALL unite under the leadership of whoever wins, whether it's McCain or Obama.
Finally, a mature status! Thanks, Dan, you rock. That's the kind of attitude we need.
John Doe is still proud to be an American, because, last time he checked, he was still free.
Nice, Keenan! You certainly are, and that's the kind of attitude we need here.
Jane Doe is ENGAGED!!!!
Apparently not everyone was thinking about the election last night. Congratulations to my good friends Mr. and Mrs. (to be) David Benson :)! Honestly, any guy who writes "Will You Marry Me?" in flaming napalm on the ground has MY vote. And apparently hers, since she said yes :).
OK, there are countless statuses that bothered me because they were so closed-minded or inconsiderate of other people or God's sovereignty. Or did everyone suddenly forget that we live under the rule of an all-powerful God?
What bothered me most last night was how quickly McCain withdrew from the race. I mean, obviously he was going to lose ... That was predictable around 9:00pm. But it just seemed weak to bow out so quickly. On the flip side, what was it with hundreds of thousands of his supports booing him when he announced his support for our next President, Barack Obama? That's support, huh? I think it's silly he pulled out so soon, but I at least support his decision.
Anyway, you all should have voted for Cox/Laird ’08 last night. But seriously, hopefully people's statuses will soon go back to pointless banter about their upcoming tests, how some girl is annoying them, or the horrible food at Chuck's. Things that don't matter, and things that don't sarcasticly point fingers of blame at fellow believers.
By the way. I voted for John McCain. And I support Barack Obama.
My Generation
11/01/08 01:35 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I’ve noticed quite a
few irritating trends that seem to be emerging quite
heavily in my generation. And perhaps the most
frustrating notion is the fact that I notice them in
myself as well.
This is a unique generation. We do as we will, we think as we please, and you really can’t tell us to do otherwise. We find ridiculous things funny, we get amusement out of the most childish things, and we’re always right. Always. You can try to educate us, but our minds will hardly be swayed. Pardon the overt cliche, but my generation is, in fact, the post modern generation. Or, at the very least, the most post modern we’ve seen yet. One can only imagine what the next generation, or the generation following that, will be like if this is what my generation has become. And since my generation is the one that will be molding the minds of the next, or at least trying to, it seems inevitable.
When I say you can try to educate us, I’m not implying that we’re stupid. Granted, statistics will tell you that the current generation being schooled in America is the dumbest yet, but we have ingenuity wrapped up in our brains somewhere. What I mean is that, when you try to get us to understand your ways, we’re closed minded. Or maybe we’re too open minded and that’s the problem. And maybe that’s the biggest misunderstanding; my generation is a paradox.
So, what makes us so unique? I’ve tried to come up with the most obvious traits that seem to be evident in most of my generation. Not all of them are, mind you, and some of them may seem as though I’ve taken them to the extreme, but I’m trying to make a point that I think needs to be made.The most disturbing thing I find in all this is that the below attributes seem to be just as commonly found in Christian circles as they are in non-Christian circles. It’s like my entire generation has become numb, not just the secular portion of my generation.
You’re Actually Wrong
We love to be the ones to have the right answer. We love to know everything. So much so, in fact, that we feel the urge to correct you about everything you say.
When I was younger, my older brother used to always ask, “What time is it?” I would reply something like, “It’s 2:47.” Andrew would huff and roll his eyes stating irritatedly, “Alex, you don’t have to give the exact time. Just round it to 2:45 like normal people.” He had this thing with trying make me not feel like a normal person. It took me quite a while to get the idea, but I finally caught on.
Today, things seem to be just the opposite. If you aren’t exact, you aren’t right at all. We’ve become so literal. But the trouble is, you see, you can’t be exactly right. Only we can, and that’s why we feel the urge to correct you, because we’re the ones who really know. It gives us a sense of pride, proving to you how much we know.
That’s Just Your Opinion, Which May Also be Right
On the occasion, you may say something and actually be right in some statement you make. Exactly right. How are we to correct you on this? My generation has brought a new concept to the table, the concept of dismissing absolutes. If nothing can truly be absolute, then “exactly right” is really only your opinion and, once again, we have the opportunity to correct you with what we know to be the exactly right answer. And, trust us, our exactly right is more accurate than your exactly right.
The biggest issue with this is that neither of us can truly be absolute about our exactly right, therefore neither of us can truly tell the other person that they’re wrong. This leaves us with the conclusion that their may be two right answers, and have come to accept that fact.
Don’t Tell Us; We Already Know
Since we tend to build on pride on how much we know, making it obvious to you that we already know it is key. Don’t try to tell us about the newest Lamborghini concept, something you just heard today about politics on CNN, an up-and-coming movie release starring Denzel Washington, the rumor of Green Day’s next LP, or even what the definition of LP actually is; we already know it. We fill our minds with useless information just so we finish your sentences for you.
We’re so full of our own self pride that we can’t be told anything new, even by someone with clearly superior in intellect to us. Apparently it would be a mockery of our own intellect to learn something from someone else and not the internet.
An Insatiable Hunger for Hilarity
We always have to be laughing at something, and we always have to be making you laugh. In my generation it has become awkward to sit in silence; to not hear some twisted joke just to break the tension. We feed ourselves humor constantly, be it from friends, movies, television, websites, or anything. In fact, if we can’t find something humorous in what’s going on around us, we’ll take someone else’s words and twist them, just to make someone laugh. It’s a nervous addiction we have, but it can never be fed enough.
It’s obvious that some of our elders try to make efforts to reach out to my generation. The problem is, we’ll just make a fool of you for a cheap laugh from our friends. You can tell us the funniest joke you know, but it won’t make us laugh. We’re obliged not to. What will be funny is the condescending remark we make towards you directly after. Take the same joke, put it in the mouth of Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell in a movie with a ridiculous plot, and we’ll find it hilarious.
See, it’s not just about laughing. It’s about knowing what to laugh at, and twisting everything else so others will laugh at your “wit”.
Vulgarity and Sacrilege
Our insatiable hunger for hilarity gets worse. We’re at the point where we must make absolutely everything funny, no matter how much of a stretch. The easiest and cheapest way to make anything hilarious is to make some sexual innuendo out of it. But we don’t stop there. We’ll make references to pornography, rape, incest, bestiality, or any other abomination you can think of, just to get you to laugh. Oh, you’re not laughing? You must be an idiot then, because everyone else thinks what we’re saying is hilarious.
Just take, for example, the recently overwhelming popularity of “That’s what she said” jokes.
In conjunction with vulgarity, we’re not afraid to offend the Creator whom we should be worshipping with our words. How many times do we take the Lords name in vain every day? I imagine most of us lose count before lunch. How little we respect someone who has done so much for us. We constantly take Him for granted. We fail to realize that all of the things in this list, when used improperly as they most commonly are, are means of sacrilege, because in sinning, we are continuing to destroy the perfect character God intended for us.
The Odds in Our Favor
We arrange our lives so that everything works perfectly in our favor. Our relationships, our schooling, our income, everything. If anything starts to fall apart, we drop it and leave, never looking back. We have a horrible issue with commitment for this reason. We figure that if something does go wrong, it must be because we aren’t meant to be in the given situation, so we bail. A loving God wouldn’t expect us to fail, right? We avoid confrontation, which could resolve the issue and bring a closer to those around us, and we choose to back out. It’s the short term, easier approach to solving all of our problems.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
It all goes back to our pride, but we have to look like we have it all together, even though we’re probably an emotional wreck. Yes, I wear expensive clothes. Yes, I have a fancy car. Yes, I buy Apple because they cost more than PC. Yes, my Daddy’s rich and pays for my college. Yes, yes, yes. Is my economic status impressing you? Because it should be.
We always have to have the latest and greatest new product, no matter how useless and overly priced it may be. Sure, we could have found a cheaper brand for $5, but this was has a name attached to it, and it cost me $50!
Maybe it looks like we have money, but we really don’t. We have plastic and we have PayPal, the things that have done more damage to our economy than anything else in history. When we see something we want, we can’t wait. My generation has no patience. We must have it now, not at the end of the month when we get our paycheck. We know we can always buy it on credit and pay it back later or, better yet, use the credit card our parents pay off.
We want you to be impressed with the size of our house. We want you to be impressed with the things we can afford. And, in reality, you probably are. But you aren’t impressed with us as a person, and that’s what our human nature truly craves. But how can you be impressed with us as a person if we act so superficial towards you?
Constant Occupation
Do we look busy enough to you? In the same way we feel we must always make someone laugh, we also feel the urge to constantly look busy. We’re always texting, always in a rush to get back to the dorm to check our Facebook and email, always calling someone, always doing homework, always doing something. If we sit back in silence and let our minds wander, we might actually realize how messed up and far from God our lives have become.
Shock Value
We aim to offend. It could be how we dress, it could be how we talk, it could be what we watch. But somewhere along the lines, about the time we lost all respect for our elders, we decided to take it to the next level and openly offend them.
My generation thrives on awkward situations ... Awkward for you. We don’t find much awkward because we’re so numb to the world, but we know you do. In our cravings for attention from others and, yes, even from you, we’re willing to do just about anything to shock everyone around us into being impressed. Maybe you’re not impressed, but you gave us your attention for a moment, right? And, trust me, our friends are impressed. It’s why we talk so loudly in public, lacing our sentences with obscenities that actually make us sound ridiculous. It’s why we wear formfitting outfits that look cost twice as much but look like the sewing machine ran out of thread half way.
It’s the same reason we tease the kid with the short temper. We want to see him snap; it’s what bullies thrive off of. My generation is just a generation of bullies towards everyone they meet. As soon as you snap and yell at us, we get our adrenaline high.
Apathy
We’ve reached the point where we’re almost raised not to feel in certain situations. It’s not that we’re completely against feelings; on the contrary, we can be quite emotive. We’re only against feelings when there’s the potential for vulnerability or hurt. Our apathy can be responsible for most of the inconsistencies in our character; it’s why we try to offend and it doesn’t phase us, it’s why we have a lack of commitment, it’s why we have no respect for our elders, it’s why vulgar music doesn’t phase us, and it’s why we don’t jump in scary movies. Nothing phases us because we just don’t care. This behavior is completely against everything humans are created to be. Feelings are at the root of our very beings. Being vulnerable is the only real way we can ever express those feelings.
Maybe this is evident in every next generation, and maybe everyone at some point or another has the same feelings of annoyance that I do toward their own generation (and their own characteristics), but I felt the need to get my thoughts out there to see if anyone else felt the same way.
And I think I feel better now.
This is a unique generation. We do as we will, we think as we please, and you really can’t tell us to do otherwise. We find ridiculous things funny, we get amusement out of the most childish things, and we’re always right. Always. You can try to educate us, but our minds will hardly be swayed. Pardon the overt cliche, but my generation is, in fact, the post modern generation. Or, at the very least, the most post modern we’ve seen yet. One can only imagine what the next generation, or the generation following that, will be like if this is what my generation has become. And since my generation is the one that will be molding the minds of the next, or at least trying to, it seems inevitable.
When I say you can try to educate us, I’m not implying that we’re stupid. Granted, statistics will tell you that the current generation being schooled in America is the dumbest yet, but we have ingenuity wrapped up in our brains somewhere. What I mean is that, when you try to get us to understand your ways, we’re closed minded. Or maybe we’re too open minded and that’s the problem. And maybe that’s the biggest misunderstanding; my generation is a paradox.
So, what makes us so unique? I’ve tried to come up with the most obvious traits that seem to be evident in most of my generation. Not all of them are, mind you, and some of them may seem as though I’ve taken them to the extreme, but I’m trying to make a point that I think needs to be made.The most disturbing thing I find in all this is that the below attributes seem to be just as commonly found in Christian circles as they are in non-Christian circles. It’s like my entire generation has become numb, not just the secular portion of my generation.
You’re Actually Wrong
We love to be the ones to have the right answer. We love to know everything. So much so, in fact, that we feel the urge to correct you about everything you say.
When I was younger, my older brother used to always ask, “What time is it?” I would reply something like, “It’s 2:47.” Andrew would huff and roll his eyes stating irritatedly, “Alex, you don’t have to give the exact time. Just round it to 2:45 like normal people.” He had this thing with trying make me not feel like a normal person. It took me quite a while to get the idea, but I finally caught on.
Today, things seem to be just the opposite. If you aren’t exact, you aren’t right at all. We’ve become so literal. But the trouble is, you see, you can’t be exactly right. Only we can, and that’s why we feel the urge to correct you, because we’re the ones who really know. It gives us a sense of pride, proving to you how much we know.
That’s Just Your Opinion, Which May Also be Right
On the occasion, you may say something and actually be right in some statement you make. Exactly right. How are we to correct you on this? My generation has brought a new concept to the table, the concept of dismissing absolutes. If nothing can truly be absolute, then “exactly right” is really only your opinion and, once again, we have the opportunity to correct you with what we know to be the exactly right answer. And, trust us, our exactly right is more accurate than your exactly right.
The biggest issue with this is that neither of us can truly be absolute about our exactly right, therefore neither of us can truly tell the other person that they’re wrong. This leaves us with the conclusion that their may be two right answers, and have come to accept that fact.
Don’t Tell Us; We Already Know
Since we tend to build on pride on how much we know, making it obvious to you that we already know it is key. Don’t try to tell us about the newest Lamborghini concept, something you just heard today about politics on CNN, an up-and-coming movie release starring Denzel Washington, the rumor of Green Day’s next LP, or even what the definition of LP actually is; we already know it. We fill our minds with useless information just so we finish your sentences for you.
We’re so full of our own self pride that we can’t be told anything new, even by someone with clearly superior in intellect to us. Apparently it would be a mockery of our own intellect to learn something from someone else and not the internet.
An Insatiable Hunger for Hilarity
We always have to be laughing at something, and we always have to be making you laugh. In my generation it has become awkward to sit in silence; to not hear some twisted joke just to break the tension. We feed ourselves humor constantly, be it from friends, movies, television, websites, or anything. In fact, if we can’t find something humorous in what’s going on around us, we’ll take someone else’s words and twist them, just to make someone laugh. It’s a nervous addiction we have, but it can never be fed enough.
It’s obvious that some of our elders try to make efforts to reach out to my generation. The problem is, we’ll just make a fool of you for a cheap laugh from our friends. You can tell us the funniest joke you know, but it won’t make us laugh. We’re obliged not to. What will be funny is the condescending remark we make towards you directly after. Take the same joke, put it in the mouth of Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell in a movie with a ridiculous plot, and we’ll find it hilarious.
See, it’s not just about laughing. It’s about knowing what to laugh at, and twisting everything else so others will laugh at your “wit”.
Vulgarity and Sacrilege
Our insatiable hunger for hilarity gets worse. We’re at the point where we must make absolutely everything funny, no matter how much of a stretch. The easiest and cheapest way to make anything hilarious is to make some sexual innuendo out of it. But we don’t stop there. We’ll make references to pornography, rape, incest, bestiality, or any other abomination you can think of, just to get you to laugh. Oh, you’re not laughing? You must be an idiot then, because everyone else thinks what we’re saying is hilarious.
Just take, for example, the recently overwhelming popularity of “That’s what she said” jokes.
In conjunction with vulgarity, we’re not afraid to offend the Creator whom we should be worshipping with our words. How many times do we take the Lords name in vain every day? I imagine most of us lose count before lunch. How little we respect someone who has done so much for us. We constantly take Him for granted. We fail to realize that all of the things in this list, when used improperly as they most commonly are, are means of sacrilege, because in sinning, we are continuing to destroy the perfect character God intended for us.
The Odds in Our Favor
We arrange our lives so that everything works perfectly in our favor. Our relationships, our schooling, our income, everything. If anything starts to fall apart, we drop it and leave, never looking back. We have a horrible issue with commitment for this reason. We figure that if something does go wrong, it must be because we aren’t meant to be in the given situation, so we bail. A loving God wouldn’t expect us to fail, right? We avoid confrontation, which could resolve the issue and bring a closer to those around us, and we choose to back out. It’s the short term, easier approach to solving all of our problems.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
It all goes back to our pride, but we have to look like we have it all together, even though we’re probably an emotional wreck. Yes, I wear expensive clothes. Yes, I have a fancy car. Yes, I buy Apple because they cost more than PC. Yes, my Daddy’s rich and pays for my college. Yes, yes, yes. Is my economic status impressing you? Because it should be.
We always have to have the latest and greatest new product, no matter how useless and overly priced it may be. Sure, we could have found a cheaper brand for $5, but this was has a name attached to it, and it cost me $50!
Maybe it looks like we have money, but we really don’t. We have plastic and we have PayPal, the things that have done more damage to our economy than anything else in history. When we see something we want, we can’t wait. My generation has no patience. We must have it now, not at the end of the month when we get our paycheck. We know we can always buy it on credit and pay it back later or, better yet, use the credit card our parents pay off.
We want you to be impressed with the size of our house. We want you to be impressed with the things we can afford. And, in reality, you probably are. But you aren’t impressed with us as a person, and that’s what our human nature truly craves. But how can you be impressed with us as a person if we act so superficial towards you?
Constant Occupation
Do we look busy enough to you? In the same way we feel we must always make someone laugh, we also feel the urge to constantly look busy. We’re always texting, always in a rush to get back to the dorm to check our Facebook and email, always calling someone, always doing homework, always doing something. If we sit back in silence and let our minds wander, we might actually realize how messed up and far from God our lives have become.
Shock Value
We aim to offend. It could be how we dress, it could be how we talk, it could be what we watch. But somewhere along the lines, about the time we lost all respect for our elders, we decided to take it to the next level and openly offend them.
My generation thrives on awkward situations ... Awkward for you. We don’t find much awkward because we’re so numb to the world, but we know you do. In our cravings for attention from others and, yes, even from you, we’re willing to do just about anything to shock everyone around us into being impressed. Maybe you’re not impressed, but you gave us your attention for a moment, right? And, trust me, our friends are impressed. It’s why we talk so loudly in public, lacing our sentences with obscenities that actually make us sound ridiculous. It’s why we wear formfitting outfits that look cost twice as much but look like the sewing machine ran out of thread half way.
It’s the same reason we tease the kid with the short temper. We want to see him snap; it’s what bullies thrive off of. My generation is just a generation of bullies towards everyone they meet. As soon as you snap and yell at us, we get our adrenaline high.
Apathy
We’ve reached the point where we’re almost raised not to feel in certain situations. It’s not that we’re completely against feelings; on the contrary, we can be quite emotive. We’re only against feelings when there’s the potential for vulnerability or hurt. Our apathy can be responsible for most of the inconsistencies in our character; it’s why we try to offend and it doesn’t phase us, it’s why we have a lack of commitment, it’s why we have no respect for our elders, it’s why vulgar music doesn’t phase us, and it’s why we don’t jump in scary movies. Nothing phases us because we just don’t care. This behavior is completely against everything humans are created to be. Feelings are at the root of our very beings. Being vulnerable is the only real way we can ever express those feelings.
Maybe this is evident in every next generation, and maybe everyone at some point or another has the same feelings of annoyance that I do toward their own generation (and their own characteristics), but I felt the need to get my thoughts out there to see if anyone else felt the same way.
And I think I feel better now.