Spring Broken

Monday 29
How to return down the mountain? That's always the trouble. To be back at work, sore muscles and all, after a weekend of generally wholesome interactions, was anticlimactic. I found myself drifting through my various undertakings at the office as though under the influence of spiritual Novocaine. Took a few minutes mid-morning to call Oregon's Hood River Circuit Court and pay my traffic fine. The clerk graciously reduced it by about $50. I also got a call from Paul around 8:30. He still refuses to get a cellular phone, so the number is always strange, but I picked up immediately on the hunch it was him. When two connoisseurs of the conversational art meet in witty banter, there really is nothing like it. If good friends, they may resume at any time, in almost any humor, on any topic, with equal ebullience. It matters not how much time passes between.

Tuesday 30
Work was productive and generally carefree. Saw Dr. Choi again for more physical therapy. I'd say it's helping. My neck, back and shoulder pain have gone down significantly since the traffic inconvenience. Definitely coming down with some sort of bug. By the evening it felt like I had a fever, and a soreness had developed in the throat and lower nasal passages.

Wednesday 31
Too sick to go to work. Woke up with a fever, prohibitive head and chest congestion, and a deep cough. Slept it off all day.

Thursday, April 1
I Supposed I was well enough, and past the worst of it, as the fever seemed to have broken. Things at the office were somewhat slow, but there was enough for me to do.

April Fools was mostly uneventful except for a few jokes among online friends at Xanga. My participation received kind raves from some of the who's who of the Xanga community.

“...you win April Fools.”
-GreekPhysique

“You are great”
-trunthepaige

“Full of win”
-Paul_Partisan

“...nice touch.”
-TheTheologiansCafe

“I bow before you”
-La_Chose_en_Soi

“...now this was funny.”
-TheBigShowAtUD

Tiny came over in the evening, ignoring my caveats of illness, and I watched the eighth and ninth installments of Band of Brothers with him. All the rest of us finished our most recent viewing of it a while ago, so he's trying to catch up.

Chapter nine is the heart-wrenching episode entitled "Why We Fight." It's hard to imagine being a comparatively sheltered 1940's soldier, having never heard of a Nazi concentration camp, and getting an impromptu history lesson by witnessing the atrocity first-hand. It never fails; I always weep watching this portrayal. The men who wrote, produced, directed, and acted for this miniseries were geniuses. We saved the last episode for later.



Friday 2
Physical therapy involved some painful massage sessions on the injured areas. I like the masseuse, a large, middle-aged woman who is an amiable Catholic, a San Jose Sharks fan, and a classically-trained opera singer. Given my own background in choral music, arias, and being myself a passive Sharks fan, I enjoy her company and conversation. The day was rather pleasant at work barring sickness, and overlooking the mild office-politics fire I inadvertently started. I was missed in the morning, as I'd forgotten to inform my office of my longer appointment, and had to apologize for my negligence.

I'd intended to accompany Jared to Hillview's Friday night college-group Bible study. I don't usually go to college-group functions anymore, but I think Jared's had a hard time finding regular fellowship since he left Grace, and I want to cheer him on. I didn't feel up to it at all, and spent Friday night in bed. I promised him and the others (most of Martha and The Chores goes to Hillview) I would go next week.

Saturday 3
Woke up with some kind of stuff in my eyes. It seems my cold had progressed through my sinuses into my eyes, where it produced an intense conjunctivitis. My eyes were a deep, evil red and had begun to itch and weep. I tried to putter around and do things but I felt too sick and ended up just vegetating, reading and half-heartedly trying to enjoy a humorous video game. I am not sure how my roommates can stand to spend so many hours of their lives on that Xbox. The whole day was an enormous pile of yuck.

Well, yes, yuck. But there was also sunshine, and softly singing cloud patterns.

Sunday 4
Awoke ill and oozy, discovering that my lungs and windpipe had been gently run over by a truck. I must have spent the entire night coughing in my sleep. My eyes were less red, but now the cough increased its virulence, and a daresay I would have been a nuisance if I had joined any Easter fellowship. It was disheartening to miss Easter Sunday services, and to be out of fellowship on another consecutive Sunday. All the legalistic types at my church have now probably taken me for an apostate if they hadn't already, those squirrelly scoundrels. No matter; you can never please them anyhow; I think nothing ever does.

I was more taken aback to be uninvited from the family Easter dinner! I'd worked hard to conceal my excitement at the prospect of taking my tired frame back to home's nurturing arms, and the mere thought of the good clamor Mom would certainly be raising in the kitchen warmed my poor bachelor's heart. But it was not to be. They didn't want my germs, and I don't blame them. Such is the life of the roving independent male of the species.

As a consolation, Mom and Dad dropped by later with a brown paper sack full of chamomile tea, cough suppressant, eye drops, orange juice, and other such balms, and a separate bag with what would have been my first and second helpings from the Easter table.

Believe me when I tell you, the spoils were nothing short of the most succulent and crumbling varieties of culinary bliss. Mom's pineapple and dark-cherry ham is unparalleled, and melts in the mouth. Her poppy-seed cake is scrumptious and glazed in heavenliness. Her whole palette brimmed with fresh strawberries and spinach leaves, steamed asparagus and small potatoes with chives and sour cream. My parents were concerned at my red eyes, obvious fatigue, and congestion; they didn't stay long, but urged me to see a doctor soon.

I canceled what small band practice we could have had. Multiple members would be absent due to the holiday, and I didn't feel equal to the remaining challenge. It just didn't seem worth the hassle. I disinfected everything I had touched and called it a night.

Homesuppin' and a Christian Bachelor Party

Thursday 25

As much as I wanted to get some things done at home, and be a crotchety little loner, I realized that my own need for intimate society paralleled that of the tone in my parents' pleas that I come over for a little dinner. Even though my brother is still at home, he is rarely there bodily, and even scarcer in attentiveness, as he is often mentally consumed by various outside undertakings even while physically present. As the passage of time (and the increase in my hunger) was inversely proportional to my desire to cook that mess of something I'd been meaning to cook, I conceded and drove to my parents' place for some chicken, roast apples, brown rice, and fellowship. Went home with every intention of going to sleep early, didn't fall asleep till 1:30. C'est la vie.

Friday 26

Woke up and went to the chiropractor's office for a physical therapy session, then headed to work. Work was happily busy, and afterward I posted some new things to my music blog before heading home to throw some things in a bag and commuting over to the Jeremys' house. There I met Jer Cooper and Mike Shaddle, and we packed up his raised Jeep Cherokee. After a bit of Chipotle and stopping for gas, we headed out. Conversation on the way up was good and deep. Jer and I postulated on being sin and righteousness, being Christian singles and preparing for eventual godly marriages, while Mike added observations from the perspective of a married peer. It was a good long conversation in which all three of us took turns, and it lasted us almost all the way up to Tahoe. We greeted some of the other guys who had already arrived for Jer Walker's bachelor weekend, including best man Josh Walker and Jer's UCD roommate Tim Ingrum. Stayed up watching Arrested Development Season One.

Saturday 27

Rose mid-morning to waffles and staggered Bible time. Finding that the tennis courts were closed and without nets, we proceeded to the outdoor basketball courts in the cold and played for three hours. We played four games, and oddly enough my shots were hitting, so I was on the winning team twice. We all had to stop and gasp for breath occasionally, as the icy, thinned mountain air clutched our lungs with its numbing talons. The thin sunlight soon forced us to doff our tees. It felt like summer in the midst of winter, getting a sunburn on the blacktop with snow in the hedges. The UV-rays and fresh air were revelatory to my hibernating skin. My greatest regret is that I played in my Chuck Taylor sneakers, which, classic casual chic or no, have not been considered proper sporting equipment since the 1960's. I discovered the reason for their obsolescence; I did sense the hot-spots but played through them, so by the end of the game I had blistered badly on the balls of both feet.

Later in the day we went to Fire+Ice for a perfect guy lunch: all-all-you-can-eat American food, cooked Mongolian barbecue-style. The group wandered about for a bit, myself hobbling like an old man, trying to find a place to buy a new game of Risk and some cigars.

We found the requisite tobacco but had no such luck with the Risk, instead opting to watch a matinee of Cop-Out after we were done being distracted by a parade. As much as I wanted to love a Tracy Morgan/Bruce Willis flic, it did not rise above the level of "generic guy movie" or "blatant Tracy Morgan antics vehicle" at any point, and most of us simply laughed at how bad the film was.

After the movies we went to some casinos, which were far less classy than I would have liked. For some reason I anticipated a crowd of nicely dressed, simpering moneyed sorts exchanging laughs and small-talk over sly gambler glances, amid the tinkle of champagne running over crystal. In general it just looked like a dark video arcade for grownups, with claustrophobic rooms, ugly, cheap, brightly colored carpet that crept up the walls to the ceilings, and dingy lights half-heartedly flashing everywhere.

A pack of tattooed, alcoholic d-bag types hung around with the occasional overly made-up woman. Cigarette staleness was everywhere. These women would probably have been more attractive in a different setting, with more becoming attire and less makeup, and a different outlook on life. But as is, they were instead instead quite unattractively beer-swooning and yelling at the big-screen UFC fighters. "BREAK'IZ AAAARM! BREAK HISZ ARRMMMmmm. Awww," they'd fade, going into a dissatisfied murmur of disappointment when sportsmanship was not in fact thrown to the wind in this particular televised match.

We spent an hour or so pumping quarters into a machine that makes plastic horses rattle awkwardly around a fuzzy miniature racetrack, while grossly cleavage-burdened, tired-looking women brought us cheap beers. After watching Jer Walker quietly turn $30 into $60 at the blackjack table, we exited, all underwhelmed, and drove back to the cabin, exhausted. Over pizza we watched The Hangover, during which hilarity I fell soundly asleep without realizing I was doing so.

Sunday 28

Woke nine-ish, had a little quiet time in 2 Samuel, since we'll be studying that this coming Saturday. Jer Walker did too, so we chatted a bit about how remarkable these stories were, at the beginning of David's reign, when he finally had the power to demand that they bring his wife back to him, who had been given away to another man, and how that man followed her all the way back weeping for her. Who does one pity? Both men had been wronged perhaps. I wonder that so little is said about her own feelings in the matter.

After another waffle-coffee breakfast, those of us who had fallen asleep finished the movie, and then cleaned the cabin. Cleaning the cabin was much more rewarding than finishing the movie, which was really only funny in flashes. But the cabin soon looked orderly and grateful, and shone a bit in the spring mid-morning. I cleaned the musty 70's bathroom, shaking out brown and yellow shag rugs that clearly had never been disturbed at any time in the last two decades. We packed and left, the Jeremys, Josh, and Mike for the slopes, and the rest of us home to our various responsibilities.

Tim, Karl Albright, Jay Adams, Robert Brown and I rode back together, chatting about various theological and political subjects of interest, and also concerning the mysterious, nuanced motivations behind the decision of some elderly to sell all in favor of RV living. Robert asked a good deal of questions about my own home church at Grace, which as usual I found hard to describe without sounding negative. But I think I succeeded in communicating some of the personality and ministry dilemmas without criminalizing anyone, which was a relief. It's especially hard to try to answer questions about why Beck and the other elder left recently, because I really don't know for sure. I only have guesses, and the truth is probably a good deal less dramatic than some curious types would probably like.

On arriving home I showered all the weekend away, nursing my sore muscles and blistered feet, and prepared for worship practice, which went relatively well again. Looks like we'll be ready for Summit, but I'll get more organized yet.

Auto, Beck, Drinks, Bible, Baseball, & Office Style

Wednesday 17
Worked. Had forgotten all about St. Pat's, so no green. I love my protestant types, but I find it mildly annoying they always de-emphasize that one. (I wonder if they celebrate that in England?) went to class.There is no set of words in my mind proper to the task of describing how I feel, brisking my way across that University campus twice a week. But, and this is perplexing, it's decidedly un-medical.

Went home and put on a green shirt (yes the green-shirt) and some shorts because it's been so happily warm.

Was thrilled to go drop a cheque by Mike's house to pay for my new car. It's hardly new but it will do for "new" in my world. It's a silver 1997 Acura CL 2.2, which has a sun roof, great sound, and motorized leather seats, all of which make me feel significantly upgraded, but also like I am one step closer to being the perfect old man. Downsides: two-door, automatic transmission. Sigh. I am determined to once again own a manual transmission vehicle within the next few years, but we shall see.


I dropped Mike a few hundred extra for all his troubles. I'm sure it cost him almost that much to hang on to that car while I was trying to decide whether to buy it, and I think he needs it a good deal more than I do. Besides, I may have decimated a chunk of savings, but I'm still debt-free, so I want a Dave Ramsey merit badge or something. I ain't braggin'. Well, okay yes I am.

Went to Beck and Heather's house with Trent and Peter. We looked at old photos of the glory days in college ministry when we all used to be at their old house every week, and the pictures of the trips to Italy and Romania, Mexico and the snow. It's funny how much their family glows. They always ask me to play a couple worship songs, and somehow I don't mind being put on the spot to do that when I'm with them. It's just a privilege to know people so sincere, genuine, serious, cheery and loving.

We fellows went back to my place afterward and each had a spot of black beer and Bailey's over conversation. None of us were quite sure what to do with the Irish Cream, and were surprised to find how sugary it is. I have a hard time imagining how anyone could ever drink that stuff straight.

Thursday 18
Workaday. Felt a mite dehydrated. Note to self: drink water when imbibing alcohol. Boss has horrible habit of leaning directly over me while pointing at the screen of my computer to indicate changes he wants. He has always done this, but lately he has done it much more. He also spits a bit when he talks, and he does not provide a towel. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that he is incredibly good at what he does. It just changes my comfort level. The main thing I do protest is when he approaches the screen with the business end of a pencil. No, boss, no! Bad boss!

Had promised old Vaccerelli we'd come visit San Francisco Thursday night. Tiny (Tim Nichols) came along, and we prayed before we got there and prayed after we left. A few drinks, a moment or two of serious metaphysical conversations mixed with amazing juke tunes and Phi-brand company. Good times in general. But we got back so late. I really need to get back to my 10pm drop-dead bed time.

Friday 19
Nothing really happened. Went to work, came home, worked on Bible study and homework, went to bed on time, etc. Had an outburst of poetic creativity for about a half hour toward the end of the day. It will publish tomorrow on The Tortoise Initiative.

Saturday 20
Got up at five, finished Bible study stuff, worked on draft preparation for Matt's dynasty league.

Drove the 45 minutes to Fremont, got there by 8, went to pick up pastries and coffee for the guys. Studied I Samuel till a little after noon. I think Erich Wieger, our Bible study leader, is a genius.

I think I drafted well. It was rather frantic because the Jeremys' (Walker and Cooper) internet was down, so I had to use the neighbor's wireless signal, which was weak. I lost connection every five minutes or so for the entire two-hour draft. Jeremy (Purves, who was at home in Modesto) took his turns slowly whenever I appeared to have left the draft, to try to buy me time to reconnect. Actually in retrospect it is hilarious, but at the time it was really frustrating, and I must have looked very comically flustered with that laptop, couched with an intense look on my face.

Went over to Tiny's house to consult with him about his growing "office worker" career. We discussed a possible website design and marketing strategies, which his employer badly needs, and also wardrobe. It really was fun to go through his shirts and explain which ones were dress shirts, and which ones were certainly not, and why. Then we had a lesson in pressing the shirts, and how to use starch. There were a lot of "whys" that I had never thought about and it was fun. His mother seemed amused at the whole process. We didn't get around to pants, or tying ties, or the fact that the six ties he has are terrible 90's and 70's crimes.

I went with Tiny and BJ (his brother) to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was an awfully dirty disappointment and too expensive. Note to self: never pay four dollars for a hot dog again, especially if they are out of relish.

Week in the Knees

Wednesday, March 19th, was a boring enough work day. Very little occurred.

Thursday, March 20th, I went to class in the morning, dressed up in my slacks, the dress shoes I bought in that little shop in Rome, and my skinny sweater and tie. I was faux-interviewing for class. I showed my "tree" graphic design piece. Will get the video this Thursday. Then I ran some errands and met Grace for lunch at Pizza My Heart. Went to class and had class break snack for the last time with my classmates. Went home, tried to watch Farewell to Arms (Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes) but found it generally a butchering of Hemingway and went to do my homework, mid-film, before going to bed. Luckily the poster is pretty cool, and doesn't try to make Hayes look pretty.

Friday, March 21st, I worked, but I was worried about homework, so I left a little early. Went home and worked on some homework but had to clean up and go to Bible study before long. Came home from there and worked on homework late into the night.

Saturday, March 22nd, I got up and mowed the lawn, then worked on homework for a couple hours. Went over to the church to practice for Easter Service music, only to find out from Mike that the practice had been canceled. Went home for a couple more hours of homework, then drove over the hill to Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz for Silvanus' super-tame bachelor party. The lamest part of the party was the attempted Silvanus roast, because everyone knows there's nothing about Sil to roast. Overall it was a good gathering. Came back by 9 and worked on homework.

Easter Sunday was a sleepy morning. Went to church at 8:30 to help set up tables and chairs outside for the impending wedding reception, then went into church and half-worshipped, half-dozed. Note to self: even if it's awesome and amazing that I can pay attention even while fading in and out of consciousness, I probably shouldn't do it. Went home and napped. Went to Sil and Sarah Grace's wedding, enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. One of the bridesmaids was drop-dead gorgeous and by all accounts a godly young woman, so I sent my little brother toodling over there as soon as the reception was underway, post-haste. He couldn't break the ice, which means her ice is amazingly thick. After, Octavia, Daniel, Bethany, David, Trent, Peter, Chris, Mike Abraham, Katie, Jenny and I went to BJ's for drinks and appetizers. We had a kumbaya sort of mushy talk where we all told each other how much we appreciate each other. Then went home.

Hired. Cop. Clash. Call. Music. Hospital.

Friday 3/14/08 I worked all day. Got a call around noon from the marketing director at De Anza College, offering me the job for which I had interviewed. I accepted. I left work a little early and went to West Valley college where they were having the San Jose Clash speech & debate tournament. I judged a round from 4:30-6 then filled out the ballot for an hour before going to bible study. Went over to Trent's place and watched The Big Sleep, left around midnight, got pulled over by a cop on a routine "California roll" making a right turn on a stoplight. He let me go. Looked disappointed I wasn't a criminal.


Saturday 3/15/08 I spent the whole day at the tournament again, judging and spending time with the Winthers and fellow Clash alums such as my beloved ol' debate partner JP Rose and his girl, and other rascals including Joe Rose, Michael Majchrowicz, Kendra, Noela, Sammy Franusic, Thane Rehn and Joe Sheffield. Little Bob Rose isn't so small anymore; he got 3rd place speaker in the tourney, and was one vote away from qualifying for nationals. Went to the Duke for a drink and a bite before getting a crazy call from Hilary then heading home, tired out, around 1:30 a.m.

Sunday 3/16/08 was boring. Got to church late-ish, didn't socialize much after. Went to Starbucks because I needed some alone time with God, but saw Katie I. there, which resulted in one of those long catching-up conversations. Still managed to have a good quiet time but I didn't get much done in the evening.

Monday 3/17/08 I worked all day. Productive day. Also payday. In the bank parking lot, an Italian man tried to get me to buy 4 Gucci leather jackets for the price of one at half-off. Luckily I am not stupid and I just ignored him. I went to Rasputin because I couldn't find this album anywhere online:


I also thumbed through the bargain bins (50c - $2.95) and came up with some pretty good stuff. I always have to choose. Either way, I definitely checked some things off my want list without dropping much coin.

Went home, Brian came over but left again right away. Never got around to St. Patrick's day celebrations. Started trying to finish my homework quickly, but Peter came home with some kind of major abdominal pain and asked me to take him to the ER. He was in a pretty bad way but within a couple hours he had gotten better and the docs didn't find anything in the blood-work or ultrasound imaging. Got a late fast-food dinner with Trent. Talked for a while. Went home and crashed.

When I Don't Need to Do the Homework

Friday night after my last post I tried to go to the mall again, failed. Went to Bible study, that was fine but boring.

Yesterday I met Aaron, one of my best friends of mine since childhood, for coffee and catching up since we haven't really talked in months. He's thinking about engagement rings. I then spoke with Megan on the phone, which was flipping awesome though cut short, and then Leah, which might have been more awesome if it had been cut short. 'Sall good, sometimes I open my mouth and put my foot in it. I had planned to do homework, but I didn't get much done. I so often don't when I want to, then do when I need to and can't afford not to anymore. Not the best pattern. Went home to clean a little. Spring cleaning is the thing. Then I went to see 10,000 B.C. with Grace, Jared, Jean, Jenny & Jessica. That movie was so incredibly crappy, but had a fun cheese factor. Came back home, did nothing. Ennui! Went to bed.

Today I went to church, sat through it. God is good but my soul was a little like molasses this morning. Talked with Sharon, who showed me some verses in Proverbs 16 that helped me with my developing understanding of life-planning before God. Then saw Mike later, prayed with him and my dad a bit. Tony and Spen were there by then, setting up his Eagle project, rebuilding the benches outside the church building. Helped for a minute, saw "Mr. Ken" Morgan, my old scoutmaster from 10 years ago. Went over to Juicy Burger to hang with Trent and the rest of the crowd. Went home to study, ended up spring cleaning instead. Talked with Dougie on the phone for more than an hour, about his plans and his music and stuff. Says he's now an item with this girl Jen, who lives in Virginia, and he's planning on moving to Prague for a year to teach elementary school for MK's. Cool. We also talked about possibly music blogging together. At five met Dad & Mom and Peter over at the Johns' house for dinner. Indian food is objectively awesome, including goat meat and onion-cilantro-yogurt salad. Texted some with Leah about Big Lebowski quotes and Eagle scouts giving crappy sermons at Meth O'Dissed churches. Talked with Trent a little about the Prov 16 verses. Came home, working on stuff now.

The Times, Quickly Becoming a Weekly

Nothing is going on.

I have spoken a lot on the phone with Kenneth, Cannone, Julia and a little with Rob and Jacob. Hung out a bit with Trent, Katie, and the posse this weekend. Played some old songs with Peter for the new girls. Saw the Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Funny, but sadly overrated. Seeya when something noteworthy happens. I shall duly note it.

Aggressive Amusement

Wednesday night, Brett, Brianna, Matt, Peter, and Bri's friend (and now our friend) Brittany piled into a minivan and made our way to L.A. At around 1 am we arrived and crashed at our Hotel.

Thursday, Friday, and yesterday we ground-pounded all over Disneyland and the affiliated California Adventure theme park. Brett and his sister Bri are very aggressive theme-park goers, who knew the park and its nuances well, and liked to start early and end late. We tried to keep up with them, and with the exception of sleeping in on Saturday, we paced with them well. Turns out it's better to not plan the day ahead of time, but just as the day goes, an hour or so ahead and no more. Otherwise, unpredictable dynamics (weather, closed rides, crowds who had the same idea) can cause high stress levels. Lesson learned (not the hard way): amusement is best had when laid-back. In other words, Disneyland was awesome. Ariel the mermaid flirted with me, and my brother had a fun date with the girl from the corndog stand. It was cute. Last night a plumber had left an unpleasantly unfinished mess in our hotel room. So this morning we were given a refund at checkout, which in the end was quite a welcome turn of events.

Today we saw Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, and wandered the walk of stars afterwards. It was lovely, as was the drive home on hwy 5. Truly a delightful, sunny day, with blue skies and golden, waving hills. God knows when we want some simple happiness, and He doesn't deny it, may He be praised.

The Weekend

Friday, I did some reading on housekeeping, and took some measurements of my room. I also filled three trashbags with clothes and things to take to the thrift. The heat was oppressive, so everyone swam at Grace's place after Friday nite Bible study.

Saturday, I charged up the battery on my old smashed Corolla and found that it still runs quite smoothly. I drove it down the street and onto my friend David's trailer, by which means it was safely transported to the lot behind Trent and Shawn’s place, for storage. It no longer need mar my parents' driveway, thank God. I found my happy tie and my Cars' Greatest Hits cassette in the glove box before leaving it. Pete, Trent, and I beat the heat by seeing an air-conditioned showing of Lady in the Water (which was fun, 3.5 stars) and later swimming at Grace’s house again.

Yesterday, the weather topped 110°, and we went to Santa Cruz after church for Danni’s birthday. It was significantly cooler there, and Michael and I hit the cool waves for a little body surfing. Most excellent.

4 for 4, Plus 1 More

Debuilding - I had a four day weekend culminating in the 4th of July. Most of it was spent tearing down someone else's house, for an add-on they are doing. They (my friends Mike and Nancy) will be hosting Bible students in the fall. My head was covered in dust. Insulation, drywall, and sawdust.

Cussion - I led college group Bible study on Sunday, since half the group is out of town in Mexico. That was difficult because not everyone was interested in tracking with the lesson. Biblical discussion leading is sometimes maddening, and that's not good. I want to get better at it.

Apsychotica - It recently got back to me that one of the girls, behind my back, cited my brother Peter and I as the only "normal" guys around. Thanks, I think.

Supeman Simplex - On the 3rd, Mike and I replaced my master cylinder and lubed the power windows. (Note to self: older car = broken stuff. It's a '91 Accord and a lot of it is still original stock parts. I think the next thing to go will be the starter.) Then I went with Peter to see Superman Returns. It is an instant American classic. Superman is a gentleman and a scholar, even if he does have a child out of wedlock.

Existentialization - On the 4th itself, my dad and I rebuilt our picnic table. All these things make a man feel very tactile, solutions oriented, and purposeful. I was all ready to watch the sky get shot to pieces in a blaze of existentialized glory last night. Here's to the all-American summertime blues.

Presentaciones y Cine Cómico de Lucha Libre

So last night was fine. I do need to email that stuff to la profesora though. Las presentaciones de los estudiantes last night were almost unbearably long. And we had to have the obligatory presentation about Frida Kahlo, the most overrated woman in the history of mankind. Sure, her life sucked, and she painted well. But she was sortof morbidly self-obsessed as well.

So last night my brother and I took in the new Jack Black flick. Not gut wrenchingly, I-can't-breathe-it's-so funny, but definitely a finely-tuned, chuckle-inducing piece of comic genius. The lack of one-liners will probably hurt the DVD sales.