declaring war, phase one

As I’ve learned from the United States government, people love it when you declare war on a thing.

With that in mind, I’ve decided today to declare war on the messes in my life.

a few minor notes

I just read over some blogs to analyze my writing skills. I’ve changed my major to English, so writing is a skill that I need to continue to develop. So far I’ve noticed that I tend to repeat myself a little bit, sometimes in efforts to use parallel structure, but sometimes I just state the same idea twice because I lack the ability to choose words powerful enough to express that idea in just one pass.  Also, I occasionally get lazy with my diction. For example, I sometimes use the word “where” in reference to a time instead of a location, i.e. “a moment where such and such happens” should really read “a moment when such and such happens.” So my writing is a work in progress. If there are any other mistakes you notice, just keep them to yourself and perhaps I’ll catch them later.

That is all.

got my money’s worth

For the first time ever, I used my car insurance.

On Saturday night I backed into another car as I attempted to leave a Burger King. The people I ran into were kind of jerks. They seemed to think that I backed into them on purpose. Imho¹, intentionally colliding with other cars is an ill-advised driving strategy. Their last name was Patel, and let me just say, quite racistly, that any business dealings I’ve ever had with anyone with a last name similar to Patel have resulted in attempts to swindle me.²

The point here is I switched to Progressive insurance last month. I have only made one payment to them, and now they are paying for this accident. The only damage was a few minor scratches on the bumper, but nevertheless the amount of the damages is somehow $606.38. Luckily I have no deductible so I don’t have to pay anything out of my pocket. I’m sure they will get every penny back by jacking up my premium, but it feels good to have my insurance company losing money on me as of right now. For the first time ever, I feel like paying for car insurance has proven to be a good investment.

That is all. Stay thirsty, my friends.

¹ I probably could have typed “Imco” here, for “in my correct opinion.”

² Okay, maybe not every time. Just twice, actually. Although I have never had Indian food, so my business dealings with Indian people have been limited to just those two instances, plus a few cab rides in Austin. Too small a sample size to reveal any racist or xenophobic trends. Also, to further illustrate my great and enlightened nature, let me say that I had a great time drinking/socializing with a few of Roper’s friends (once in Ft. Worth, once in Austin) who I believe are Indian, and I enjoyed talking to Mel’s friend Rishad, who is also Indian. Actually Rishad fills two diversity quotas, so suck it, world.

destination

Come along and hear a gripping tale about a man with a cell phone bill.

“what is the deal?”

That title is meant to be read in a Jerry Seinfeld voice. I just wanted to share a few observations that have been plaguing my already busy mind.

when were you under me?

A name popped up on my facebook newsfeed recently. It was a name from my past. My recent past, actually. It was a name that I told myself would never inspire the kind of negative feelings that make people wonder why we bother with relationships at all. I still question sometimes- all relationships seem to inevitably steer me towards this point: contempt of self and/or others- so why bother?

peace be with you

Last night I went to 5:00 mass at a church near my house, one I had never been to before. One of the many things I like about the Catholic church is that each mass is pretty much the same. The readings change each Sunday, the songs may get rotated in and out, and the sermons obviously change, but most of the mass is the same every week. And each time you can get something new out of it. I’ll come back to that in just a minute.

The mass generally contains two parts: the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which is a time of preparation to receive Christ through the Eucharist, we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and then after that we share a sign of peace. The priest says “peace be with you” to us, to which we reply, “and also with you,” and then the priest invites us to share with one another “a sign of peace.” At this time people hug and kiss loved ones, tell them “peace be with you” and then usually turn to those sitting nearby and shake hands and say peace be with you.

Now here’s what struck me last night as I shook hands with strangers and offered them a sign of peace: It’s a rare moment. In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell talks about these moments where the ground is holy, where God is so evidently present. And it struck me how rare the moment is in our lives when we reach out to people we’ve never met and may never see again. There’s no agenda, nothing we need from them. We just want them to have peace. No idea who they are. No idea what they’re going through. We just reach out… peace be with you… and smile.

I was driving home from school on Friday around 10am. I had nowhere important to be for several hours, so I was calm and enjoying listening to a little music and rolling down the windows to let the great weather in. A car came up in the next lane, and its driver was clearly in a hurry and frustrated. He was leaning forward a little, face tensed up, knuckles white from clenching the steering wheel. I could almost feel the heat coming off his red face as I watched him yell at nobody in particular from the “privacy” of his car. Something happens to us when we get behind the wheel; we extend our personal space to the entire lane, and we extend our inner monologue to the entire inside of our car. And I could see his inner monologue spilling violently out of his entire being from the next lane over. The rage was palpable.

He couldn’t see how temporary and unnecessary his anger was. From the outside, it looked ridiculous to get so mad over a little traffic, but in the moment, in the throes of a temper tantrum, there is nothing but consuming hate. Complete strangers. He didn’t know who they were, and he didn’t know what they were going through. He just wanted bad things to happen to them.

As I shook hands with strangers on Saturday and offered them a sign of peace, I thought of the man in the black Chevy, and I wondered what the odds were that he would be in that same church. I wish I could have seen him again. I wish I could have reached out to him, shook his hand, and said peace be with you.

May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

outrageously outmatched and obsequiously owned

Be warned, there is not exactly a ton of substance to this post, but click through if you’re bored enough.

anxiously awaiting an alliterative antagonist’s apology

This blog was attacked recently by an intellectual terrorist calling himself “the Jimbomber.” His uppance shall come.

regarding oranges and professor nikki

This is my first time in the TCC library this semester, and I find that odd, because I’m well on my way to a third consecutive 4.0 semester. My statistics teacher might say that time spent in the library and GPA are independent events, but that’s neither here, nor there. Today I find myself with 22 minutes, sitting at trusty computer #20, which is closest to the large windows, offering a scenic view of the 30 feet directly outside the window leading up to the nearest disgustingly brown brick building. Come with me as I sort through an amalgam of thoughts related only by their mind of origin.