Hermanos, Herman's Hermits

Thursday night I went to the church on the hill for my first Hispanic pick-up soccer game. Most of them are Christian brothers, and they play every Thursday. Translation: I plan to play every Thursday, too. Sporting, I could actually keep up, especially on defense. Keeping up with the language, however, was a different story.

Friday (last) night Peter, Katie, Trent, and I drove over the hill in Trent's car and met the girls at the Boardwalk. We saw Herman's Hermits live on the beach. I am certain it was lacklustre compared to the original phenomenon, but at least it was actually Herman, still doing his thing. ("Baby, baby, can't you hear my heart beat?") Proceeding to Seabright beach by 9, Peter and I built a fire, and we roasted the hot dogs and s'mores the Callahan girls had brought. I tried to keep Beck's guitar in tune. My clothes smell like smoke. Late summer should always be this good.

True Dreams, Artificial Awakenings

Monday I helped Mike with his house. The guests from Italy are coming, because the intern program starts soon. I got paint on my jeans. Octavia asked me about some events that happened a couple months ago, and how that's going. I didn't know what she was referring to at first, and the poor gal was trying not to say anything too specific, and making faces like it might be a sensitive topic. I finally figured out she was talking about a girl I had sortof dated. I made nothing of it, because I really hadn't thought about her in a while. But then Monday night I dreamed about it. Must have gotten my subconsious stirred up. Anyway, the funny thing about the dreams, which woke me several times in great discomfiture of mind and heart, weren't your typical fictional fare, but a mere tape of the relationship rewound and replayed, with everything but the awkward parts edited out. I woke up early, glad the night was over.

Tuesdays are 65¢ night at The Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, so we went over. We spun ourselves sick, rode rollercoasters, drove bumper cars, and watched people. I played the original Tetris arcade game for a bit. The sticky "Rotate" button made it a little challenging. I also went into the bathroom to wash my hands, and found on the way out that I had been in the women's restroom. Some lady looked at me funny, but I looked at her funny right back, like "what're YOU doing here?" She had to go out and double check that she was in the right bathroom, but by the time she came back I was gone. Anyway, our whole crowd had ice cream at this decent little joint that had a lot of unusual flavors. The goateed, ponytailed, snaggletoothed late-twentysomething guy started making Big Lebowski references. Overall, a very fun Tuesday night with friends.

De, [LAT. "down from"] (also 4th Letter of the Spa. Alphabet) | Re'ah [HEB. "companion"]

FOREWORD. I bought a plane ticket to Atlanta last week. I bought a plane ticket back home this week. From where? Virgina.


De

I also registered for Spanish 5 online. I pulled up my transcript, and got a shock. Apparently, I was misled in thinking I had gotten a B+ in the class. That must have been my grade on the final, because my transcript says I have a D in Spanish 4. No wonder, transferring from Spanish 2, which I took in 2003. Gah. De priore.

Re'ah

But the big deal is the following. Today I will write this as an altar to the faithfulness of God. I will name it Re'ah, which means "close companion," or "a good friend." May I not forget how, following the Lord, I finally surrendered my right to bring my friends with me, and consented to leave them behind (to "hate" them, as Jesus said) if He so requires. This week in Sam, and in Trent, and in Joel, and in Joelle, and in Kenneth, and in Alissa, and in others, I am encouraged that, on the contrary, the Lord will be faithful to bring His own alongside Him, and I need not strive and struggle for them, nor will He withhold the fellowship that heartens me in my faith. We serve a God who is characterized by lovingkindness, and he is faithful and just. To Him be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

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.

Collision Collateral

My mood today was largely determined by something that happened January 6th. On that date of this year, someone slammed into the back of the car I was driving, wrecking both the car and my spine.

Today, I was woken by my cell phone. The fellow who is indefinitely babysitting my wrecked car called. He needs a car cover on it before the 10th, which is when his landlord will see it. The car is thrashed.

Midday, I went to my old friend Josh Sikora's wedding reception (the wedding was elsewhere a couple weeks ago). The rest of the day was spent on various odd jobs around the house. I can't begin to explain how shooting low back pain, tight neck muscles, numb hands, and sharp pain between my shoulderblades can slow a fellow down. Just trust me, it was bad today. Afte hours of helping clean our garage, tidying my own room, then poring over documents at the office, the pain is just frustrating. It would be less so, if I thought it would be gone soon.

My band is still looking for time to have a first practice. Tomorrow I will play worship music while my brother leads. Monday, I must find a place to get x-rays. Gotta stop avoiding that.

Nothing Is Going On

But my boss says I'm "churnin' and burnin'," referring to the large volume of work I have been turning in this week. And that, well, that's cool.

Headaches and Merry Hobgoblins

Yesterday I had a headache of migraine proportions. Every sound seemed a thunderclap to me. I left work early, and slept off some of the throbbing and nausea. I woke and lolled about, finishing A Midsummer Night's Dream by dim desklamp. I had picked it up, after intending for months to read it, because a statue of Puck in San Luis Obispo reminded me to. Dougie needs to read it, too; he didn't even know the merry troublemaker Puck at all. Anyway, having finished that, I began One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez. Es muy interesante.

 

Tonight, I intend either:

jugar al fútbol

tocar el guitarra con mi conjunto nuevo

ir a "The Boardwalk" en Santa Cruz con mis amigas, o

hacer nada.

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.

An Important Day

This is a rare post, in that it does not detail something I did or am doing. But it's an event in our lives, yours and mine, all the same.

Today is the day I will begin to be more pleasant to people.

Mark it on your calendar. It's not something I will do, but something I trust Someone will do in me, because today, I finally let go.

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.

Wednesday Spending, Thursday Earning

Wednesday, I worked a little on my latest mix, which attempts to prove that there is some cool Christian music out there. It’s hard work, and in looking for this album:

I stumbled across Rasputin’s $3.99 rack of rock albums, which were on sale for $1.99. I had to buy Mander Salis new for full price (which I do not regret), and I got this one:

for $5.99, but I also got all of the the following for one easy payment of $15.00:







Thursday, my hard work paid off and I was given a $1 an hour raise.

El Gaberino Rides Again

As of Thursday I had no plans for the weekend. But certain circumstances caused me to seek solace in the road. On Friday night, I wended my way, in my Accord, from San Jose to Paso Robles to visit Dougie and his family.

Saturday we played music, and the heat was brilliantly affirmative of the spirit of summer. Dougie suggested we go to Boo Boo's in San Lu, so we went, then drove back. I acquired the following, and recommend both, though for entirely different moods:



Upon returning to Paso, we met up with Amanda and her friend Debbie, and we hung out till midnight and a half.


Sunday morning D and I got up early-ish and booked it past L.A. down to Perris. We talked about Romans 6 and parts of 1 Corinthians the whole ride down. I met up with Louisa in Perris, and Lu and I both jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet. After landing and getting myself calmed down (I wa stoked), we hung out all afternoon and evening, swimming to keep off the 110 degree heat, and then I drove back 400 miles home last night. Got back at 3:30 am. It was a great weekend.

Last Night, She Said...

"...good job leading music. It was beautiful."

George Dawson is speaking at our church three nights. Last night he hovered around 2 Peter a lot, and Ps. 103 a little, with some Romans and other books for good measure.

I have decided that fielding worship-leading compliments was the most awkward thing this week, besides maybe the huge jug of Sunny Delight I bought last night. How can I go into a store looking for a headband and come out with ridiculo-size Sunny D, 3 bags of beef jerky, and an AFI album? Only at Wal*Mart, baby. I can't think in there. The mediocrity stifles me. I didn't even get the headband.

The Summer of the Dreams, pt. IV

Today at work I had a terrible time trying not to nod off as I worked on my epic data entry project. Six pages of size 10 medical shorthand, and I am not half done

Two of the things I typed into a MS Excel column were the following:


"...time to ice the cake..."
and
"stop climbing about in the attic!"

I awoke by means of becoming frustrated with myself for an orthographical faux pas. As I dreamt, I misspelt the word "attic," by putting a "k" on the end. What a way to realize you're dream-typing: by dream editing, eh?

St. John, Halo, St. Paul, & the readvent de las chicas

Friday night I taught the college group. We went through John 19:1-16, which is the second half of the account of Jesus' interaction, during his trial, with Roman proconsul Pilate. We talked about how not to end up like the Jews, who waited for a Messiah and then missed Him because they were pissed off, or like Pilate, who didn't choose Christ for fear of personal loss. It was good.

Saturday, in a rare display, the fellows from Grace Bible Chapel and Hillview Bible Chapel got together and played Halo. All day.

Sunday morning, I taught from II Corinthians 2:17 and 3:1-3, discussing how to be an authentic Christian. We decided that unless Christ personally has his hand in it, having a good attitude or good actions are never going to lend us the authenticity we need. If your Christianity is someone else's recommendation letter, and you're just the paper, and God's both the author and the ink, then the more interaction with him, the better.

At noon the girls came back from Mexico. They built a house there. They were all covered in paint, and scrapes from a lathe they had been using. They were complaining of getting insulation all over themselves. I could relate. Last night some of the crowd from Fairhaven (San Leandro) came down to San Jose to play soccer and hang out at my place. It was a blast.

Delay of Raise, Relay of Praise

Today my boss told me that due to a negative report he received a few weeks ago, the promised raise is now contingent on three more weeks of productivity mirroring my current highly approved pace. I think I can, I think I can.

Also, in the absence of our fearless elder/college group leader Beck, I am unofficially running the college group ministry. Which means that since our guest-speaker-hopeful Silvenas will not be joining us this Friday night, I will be teaching Bible study. John 19:1-16. This further means that I must pass the worship leading (i.e. glorified cumbaya strumming) to brother Peter.

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.

Gabe's Mango Salsa Verde

As served to my co-workers, classmates, and family yesterday, to rave reviews.

INGREDIENTES

2 medium ripe mangos
3 tomatillos, (2-3" appx. diameter)
1 tomato, (2-3")
1 yellow onion (3½")
1 jalapeño pepper
1 relleno pepper
2 or 3 limes, (or ½ cup of lime juice)
salt & pepper
2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro
2 tbsp secret ingredient

DIRECCIONES

Dice the riper of the two mangos, and half the onion. Seed and cap the peppers, hull the tomatillos, and finely chop the cilantro. Puree the tomatillos, tomato, both peppers, the other mango (without the seed, duh), and the other half of the onion. Mix in the juice of two (or more) limes, the cilantro, the diced onion and mango, and salt & pepper to taste. (Oh, pour in the secret ingredient, too. Don't worry, it's still good without it. But I'll give you a hint. It's not green, and it's got antioxidants!)

Chill.

Serve.

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.

Chewing the Homework Cud

I really don't like checking my email in the community college library. Even if it is for school. It's just sortof... naked. What makes it worse is I forgot to email myself my re-done Spanish 4 assignment. And I have 15 minutes till class. So I cannot re-chew this stuff again right now. I am an educational cow. I can't chew and swallow just once. I have to do it a couple times.

Last night I went up to the east bay. San Leandro, to be precise. I went up to see my friends from Summit this year and last year. Since they are cool guys, it was a good time. I also found out their church, Fairhaven Bible Chapel, has their breaking of bread service every Sunday night instead of Sunday morning. They teasingly say they're more correct since it's the Lord's "Supper." The perk was, one Sunday, two BOB services. And the Spirit was there, so it was good. Go read Psalm 116-118, Revelation 19:7-10, and Luke 22:14-20. If you wanna know what I got out of all that, ask me later.

Additional note: Baker's Square's "4 Alarm Burger" seems tame till it hits your stomach. The heat was mild, but the indigestion was horrible.