Also, there is a new post of my religion blog.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The last eight days.
The last eight days have certainly started with a smash. Literally.
Jacob was having the YSA over at his house. Lauren decided to drive, and invited Richard and me to ride with her and Ryan. Richard and I live on the same street, and Richard was the last one to pick. After waiting a few minutes for Richard to come to the car, we started off for Jacob's house. We got about 300 feet. All I remember is Lauren and Ryan both freaking out, Lauren hitting the brakes, then a smash, followed by a thud and the sound of breaking glass. All I remember was me realising I was clutching the seat belt with glass on the seat. Our car was sitting in a yard across the intersection. Lauren was on the verge of a breakdown. Richard was covered in glass and in shock. I turned around and saw the other car. It was obviously totaled. The engine was pushed back several feet into the cab.
Everyone walked away. I think I may have gotten the worst of the physical injuries. Lauren isn't doing too well, though. She was charged with the accident. It's her second one.
Saturday wasn't any better. I won't talk about it here, but things aren't going well here with Todd.
Sunday was decent. I talked to Bishop Crookston about my financial situation, and he assured me I won't end up homeless. President Button did some adjustments on my neck. It's sufficiently awesome having an EQP who is a Chiropractor, as well as three members of the Quorum who are licensed physicians.
Monday was alright. Monday night I had three episodes of sleep apnea. They may be from my whiplash.
Tuesday I got an awesome book from the library. It's called "The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat." Look it up. Serious motivation for my future career in neurology/psychiatry.
Wednesday I got more adjustments from President Button and played basketball with a few YA from the ward.
The rest of the week has been uneventful aside from renewing my DL and not having to pay for the Driving test, and then getting two Gator hats for 10 bucks.
I see Sarah today. So excited.
Jacob was having the YSA over at his house. Lauren decided to drive, and invited Richard and me to ride with her and Ryan. Richard and I live on the same street, and Richard was the last one to pick. After waiting a few minutes for Richard to come to the car, we started off for Jacob's house. We got about 300 feet. All I remember is Lauren and Ryan both freaking out, Lauren hitting the brakes, then a smash, followed by a thud and the sound of breaking glass. All I remember was me realising I was clutching the seat belt with glass on the seat. Our car was sitting in a yard across the intersection. Lauren was on the verge of a breakdown. Richard was covered in glass and in shock. I turned around and saw the other car. It was obviously totaled. The engine was pushed back several feet into the cab.
Everyone walked away. I think I may have gotten the worst of the physical injuries. Lauren isn't doing too well, though. She was charged with the accident. It's her second one.
Saturday wasn't any better. I won't talk about it here, but things aren't going well here with Todd.
Sunday was decent. I talked to Bishop Crookston about my financial situation, and he assured me I won't end up homeless. President Button did some adjustments on my neck. It's sufficiently awesome having an EQP who is a Chiropractor, as well as three members of the Quorum who are licensed physicians.
Monday was alright. Monday night I had three episodes of sleep apnea. They may be from my whiplash.
Tuesday I got an awesome book from the library. It's called "The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat." Look it up. Serious motivation for my future career in neurology/psychiatry.
Wednesday I got more adjustments from President Button and played basketball with a few YA from the ward.
The rest of the week has been uneventful aside from renewing my DL and not having to pay for the Driving test, and then getting two Gator hats for 10 bucks.
I see Sarah today. So excited.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Perhaps "Happy Holidays" is better after all...
Every year, my Facebook feed is filled with rants about how we are slowly taking the Christ out of Christmas and how we should be able to say "Merry Christmas" because we are the most Christian nation in the world.
But perhaps we should be saying Happy Holidays instead. Not because it might offend someone, but because it makes more sense.
There are four major holidays within three weeks of each other in late December/ early January. Why should we wish good cheer for only one? Simply because we are the most Christian county? Even if that were true, we still shouldn't just say "Merry Christmas."
First: We, as a collective nation, are none more Christian than any other country. While many state and federal laws are more conforming to Judeo-Christian doctrine than the laws of other modern entities, we are none more religious. While 73% of Americans claim to be Christians, only 36% attend church regularly when possible. Also, there is the remaining 27% that is either non-Christian religious, Atheist/Agnostic, or simply unsure. And in a Republic, (Which is not the same as democracy, and we do not live true democracy. We never have.) the majority doesn't over-rule the minority. That's the sort of thing the constitution sought to prevent with the Senate having two representatives from each state regardless of population. But, if we say for a minute that the majority DOES rule, only 9% of all Americans believe that religion is the most important thing in their lives. That's a pretty small minority.
There is also a belief that the Founding Fathers were Christians, celebrated Christmas, and founded America on Christian principles. None of these are true. While the term "Founding Fathers" includes a WIDE group, well over a thousand, we usually think of the Framers, of the men who wrote the constitution and played a major impact on it's creation. Of this group, there are many agnostics, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. While there are several references to God in the DoI and Constitution, none of them specifically refer to a Judean-Christian God.
As long as we are considering the early years of America and the intentions of the Founding Fathers, you might be surprised to find Christmas wasn't celebrated in Early America. Most Americans wanted nothing to do with anything British, which included the celebration of Christmas. (It's worth noting here than Christmas was more like a New Years back then.) In fact December 25th is nothing Christian at all. It's a pagan holiday that was christianized during the first crusades. The Bible tells us that Christ was born near Passover, which is in April. Most Christmas celebrations, including gifts, lights, and trees, have pagan roots. That doesn't diminish or change the Christian symbolism, but it does put things in a more realistic light. (The same for Easter. It's the same story.)
Finally, why should "Happy Holidays" offend you? It makes more sense. You wouldn't tell me "Happy Hanuka," and I wouldn't tell a Jewish person "Merry Christmas." When I say Happy Holidays, I'm saying "Happy Hanuka if you're Jewish; Merry Christmas if you're Christian; Happy Kwanza if you're Black, and no matter what you are Happy New-years." It's like a shortened URL. Stop Getting offended when someone says Happy Holidays, because very few are offended by Christmas.
But perhaps we should be saying Happy Holidays instead. Not because it might offend someone, but because it makes more sense.
There are four major holidays within three weeks of each other in late December/ early January. Why should we wish good cheer for only one? Simply because we are the most Christian county? Even if that were true, we still shouldn't just say "Merry Christmas."
First: We, as a collective nation, are none more Christian than any other country. While many state and federal laws are more conforming to Judeo-Christian doctrine than the laws of other modern entities, we are none more religious. While 73% of Americans claim to be Christians, only 36% attend church regularly when possible. Also, there is the remaining 27% that is either non-Christian religious, Atheist/Agnostic, or simply unsure. And in a Republic, (Which is not the same as democracy, and we do not live true democracy. We never have.) the majority doesn't over-rule the minority. That's the sort of thing the constitution sought to prevent with the Senate having two representatives from each state regardless of population. But, if we say for a minute that the majority DOES rule, only 9% of all Americans believe that religion is the most important thing in their lives. That's a pretty small minority.
There is also a belief that the Founding Fathers were Christians, celebrated Christmas, and founded America on Christian principles. None of these are true. While the term "Founding Fathers" includes a WIDE group, well over a thousand, we usually think of the Framers, of the men who wrote the constitution and played a major impact on it's creation. Of this group, there are many agnostics, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. While there are several references to God in the DoI and Constitution, none of them specifically refer to a Judean-Christian God.
As long as we are considering the early years of America and the intentions of the Founding Fathers, you might be surprised to find Christmas wasn't celebrated in Early America. Most Americans wanted nothing to do with anything British, which included the celebration of Christmas. (It's worth noting here than Christmas was more like a New Years back then.) In fact December 25th is nothing Christian at all. It's a pagan holiday that was christianized during the first crusades. The Bible tells us that Christ was born near Passover, which is in April. Most Christmas celebrations, including gifts, lights, and trees, have pagan roots. That doesn't diminish or change the Christian symbolism, but it does put things in a more realistic light. (The same for Easter. It's the same story.)
Finally, why should "Happy Holidays" offend you? It makes more sense. You wouldn't tell me "Happy Hanuka," and I wouldn't tell a Jewish person "Merry Christmas." When I say Happy Holidays, I'm saying "Happy Hanuka if you're Jewish; Merry Christmas if you're Christian; Happy Kwanza if you're Black, and no matter what you are Happy New-years." It's like a shortened URL. Stop Getting offended when someone says Happy Holidays, because very few are offended by Christmas.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The difference a uniform makes
So why do I bring this up? Because I've experienced first hand how this kind of prejudice exists. My entire adult life, I've always worked customer service. AT&T. Food Lion. Chick-Fil-A. Perrine's Produce, and now Jersey Mike's. Anytime I wore my work uniforms outside of work, I was always treated with indifference. A lot of professional workers looked down on me. Sure, they were polite, but they were always slightly condescending. They treated me like a low-life loser. I was like the guy who brings the coffee and makes copies.
Things changed quickly when I put on my UPS uniform. Just from sitting outside eating spaghetti-o's out of the can, as I used to do with my Chick-Fil-A uniform, professionals would actually talk to me as someone on their level.
"Hot out there, isn't it."
"Hey man."
"Busy season yet?"
"Alright! Lunch time!"
Now, There is some difference between UPS and these other places. I will tell you that UPS is a more professional organization. A lot more professional. There is a true feeling of team spirit. Unity. Common goal. The only other place I've had that is the stock crew and meat department at Food Lion. But UPS is even better.
But I'm still the same person whether I am in my UPS uniform or my Jersey Mike's uniform. I'm still someone scraping to get by, with high goals and huge mountains to cross to get there. I'm still the same person, no matter what I'm wearing.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
update
So, I haven't updated in a while. Here's the beef:
I am employed at UPS. I guess this is one thing my dad did do for me, in a round about way. He left a good enough impression there that Greg, the general manager, was willing to put me on as a seasonal driver. It's only for this month, but it gives me a chance to get my foot in the door for the part-time positions in January. This doesn't change my plans for going to med school. I'm not going to do to myself what my dad went through working for them. But this is a huge chance for me to make money. I finally will have more than just enough to pay my bills. I can get back to paying off my hospital bill. I can save up for BYU-I.
Sarah is wonderful. I love her. Yeah, it's gunna be hard when she leaves for her mission, but I'll support her 100%. This will be great for her. I love her and I'll wait as long as I have to wait in order to marry her.
I had some ideas for rants, and I may post them later. We'll see
Deuces!
I am employed at UPS. I guess this is one thing my dad did do for me, in a round about way. He left a good enough impression there that Greg, the general manager, was willing to put me on as a seasonal driver. It's only for this month, but it gives me a chance to get my foot in the door for the part-time positions in January. This doesn't change my plans for going to med school. I'm not going to do to myself what my dad went through working for them. But this is a huge chance for me to make money. I finally will have more than just enough to pay my bills. I can get back to paying off my hospital bill. I can save up for BYU-I.
Sarah is wonderful. I love her. Yeah, it's gunna be hard when she leaves for her mission, but I'll support her 100%. This will be great for her. I love her and I'll wait as long as I have to wait in order to marry her.
I had some ideas for rants, and I may post them later. We'll see
Deuces!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Geliebte
German is such a cool language. Geliebte. Beloved. Meine Geliebte. My beloved. Sie ist meine Geliebte. She is my beloved.
I haven't written on here in a while, and something amazing has happened in that while: My faith in the YSA program has been restored by Sarah. (Isn't she beautiful?) She and I met at a YSA dance. We talked the Sunday afterwards. We haven't stopped talking since. She's absolutely an amazing woman. She's a Chemistry Major at USF. She's super smart, really nerdy, and uber amazing. It's as if everything I've ever looked for was all rolled into one person. Even small things that I like but aren't that important are there. (Like the fact that she is a Gator. Wait, nevermind, that's a MUST!) She feels the same way as me on a LOT (almost all) subjects, she's politically active, plays guitar, writes poetry and she is fluent in ASL. (Check out this video of her doing some ASL. I love it. That's my nerdy girl.) She lives in Tampa, so we really aren't able to spend a whole lot of time together. Thankfully we have skype. She and I have been skyping EVERY night for the past several days. For several hours, actually. (We just got off skype as I started to write this post.) I'm heading over to the Tampa Institute dance, except once I get there she and I are gunna bug out and go get some dinner. And she's planning on coming over here the following Saturday. We've got some plans to hit up a few places around here. I've been longing for someone, even just a good close friend. I've finally got it, and I couldn't have asked for a better gal. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She's been such a good friend already, and she's already done a lot to help me. She really does feel like the missing piece of the puzzle. She's such a great fit. We've got a few kinks to work out, like the fact that I'm going to be moving to Rexburg in April, but I know we've got what it takes to make it. So, a few posts ago I said my friends were eating steak while I had hamburger? Well I certainly don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel like I would change anything about us, her, or the path she took to become who she is. I love her.
I haven't written on here in a while, and something amazing has happened in that while: My faith in the YSA program has been restored by Sarah. (Isn't she beautiful?) She and I met at a YSA dance. We talked the Sunday afterwards. We haven't stopped talking since. She's absolutely an amazing woman. She's a Chemistry Major at USF. She's super smart, really nerdy, and uber amazing. It's as if everything I've ever looked for was all rolled into one person. Even small things that I like but aren't that important are there. (Like the fact that she is a Gator. Wait, nevermind, that's a MUST!) She feels the same way as me on a LOT (almost all) subjects, she's politically active, plays guitar, writes poetry and she is fluent in ASL. (Check out this video of her doing some ASL. I love it. That's my nerdy girl.) She lives in Tampa, so we really aren't able to spend a whole lot of time together. Thankfully we have skype. She and I have been skyping EVERY night for the past several days. For several hours, actually. (We just got off skype as I started to write this post.) I'm heading over to the Tampa Institute dance, except once I get there she and I are gunna bug out and go get some dinner. And she's planning on coming over here the following Saturday. We've got some plans to hit up a few places around here. I've been longing for someone, even just a good close friend. I've finally got it, and I couldn't have asked for a better gal. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She's been such a good friend already, and she's already done a lot to help me. She really does feel like the missing piece of the puzzle. She's such a great fit. We've got a few kinks to work out, like the fact that I'm going to be moving to Rexburg in April, but I know we've got what it takes to make it. So, a few posts ago I said my friends were eating steak while I had hamburger? Well I certainly don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel like I would change anything about us, her, or the path she took to become who she is. I love her.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Heart-to-heart
I haven't posted in FOREVER on here.
hmm
time for a new blog
So, in my last post I talked about how KD and I have had a falling out.
Well, we've seemed to patch things up. Last night she and I had a long heart-to-heart talk. It turns out she's kinda been waiting for a missionary. Really explains things. We sat/layed on her car for about 2 hours talking. We talked about life, our futures, etc. Afterwards, we went to Wendy's.
Other than that, lifes been rather bland. Work. Sleep. FHE. Church. Institute.
Oh, and I have a crush on both sister missionaries in my ward right now, more so on Sister Dunford. She likes me. I guess it's alright. She wants to go out to BYU-I when she is done with her mission, so we'll see how things work out.
Here're some MEMEs to brighten your day.
hmm
time for a new blog
So, in my last post I talked about how KD and I have had a falling out.
Well, we've seemed to patch things up. Last night she and I had a long heart-to-heart talk. It turns out she's kinda been waiting for a missionary. Really explains things. We sat/layed on her car for about 2 hours talking. We talked about life, our futures, etc. Afterwards, we went to Wendy's.
Other than that, lifes been rather bland. Work. Sleep. FHE. Church. Institute.
Oh, and I have a crush on both sister missionaries in my ward right now, more so on Sister Dunford. She likes me. I guess it's alright. She wants to go out to BYU-I when she is done with her mission, so we'll see how things work out.
Here're some MEMEs to brighten your day.
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