If there’s one thing I’ve learned today, it’s not to trust a margarita. “I’ll just have one with dinner since I can.” Well… it was a Blue Pacific margarita, and I was kinda shocked when it came out. It was half as big as my head. (Ok, perhaps that’s an exaggeration.) In any case, the waiter kinda scared me when he said “Jeez dude, you drank that like a fish. There were four shots in it.” So, in summary, I’m not going to drink alcohol for a while. There’s a lot better ways to spend my life then tipsy off of a stinkin’ margarita.

I had a good time hanging out with Mark and his Jen up in Omaha again today. We had dinner at Chili’s, went to a mall, hung out at Border’s for a while, and shortly after that I came back home. With the hour drive both ways, I’m worn out. Time to study Japanese for a bit and then sleepy time for me.

In other news
Cora got an RA job here in the same dorm I’m in this year. Woohoo! I’m not sure about Jake or anybody else I know who applied, but I’ll probably find out what happened tomorrow. Latez!

Categories: Friends, Life
Tags: alcohol, college, Mark, omaha

I checked my email at 2:53 this afternoon and among the spam, I noticed an email from my friend Mark S. saying that he is in Omaha for a short bit of leave from the Army before he heads back to the Balkans. So I drove an hour, hung out with him and had dinner at Applebee’s. It was awesome to see him again and to talk, talk, talk. A lot’s happened in his life and mine recently, and I feel like we only scratched the surface of what’s been going on. I hope to hang out with him some more tomorrow.

After getting back from Omaha, I went to hear Darrell Scott speak at an event called “Columbine Redemption.” His daughter, Rachel, was killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. In one of her diaries, she said, “Tomorrow is not a promise, but a chance.” I chance to reach out to people, a chance to live. It’s not just another day, and it’s not promised anywhere that tomorrow will ever arrive. It can’t always arrive, ‘cause some day everyone’s life ends.

To all those people who have ever influenced my life or been a part of my life: Thank you. Forgive me for my shortcomings and inadequacies. I cannot fulfill every expectation and I certainly realize that I often fail. At those times and in those circumstances where everyone fails and everyone lets you down, Jesus Christ can be a hope.

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;

Categories: Life

this is a chunk of lyrics from “Ooh Aah” by Grits
Full Lyrics

Reason for mentioning these lyrics
These lyrics really spoke to me today. I just got back from Crescent Moon a little bit ago. I relaxed there, read my Bible for a bit, and also read a bit of “Every Woman’s Desire.” I got back to my room and was briefly (perhaps still am a bit) plagued by some frustrated thoughts. This part of the song just reminded me that even with all the junk going on, I don’t have to worry because all the bad junk and everything I’m dealing with is manageable because of who God is.

Lyrics:
the fear of never falling in love
and the tears after losing the feelings
of what you thought love was
like the dirt still up under the rug
bad characteristics
covered in Christ’s blood
the joy of new birth
and the pain of growing up
the bliss between giving my all
and giving up
the highs and lows
paths and roads i chose
in the cold i froze
trying to ease my woes
in this world of sin
clothes to thin to fend
so to god i send
words of help to win
in grumblings so deep
letters could never express
so the sound of ooh aah
beneath my breath projects

Categories: Lyrics

Earlier tonight, I bought Switchfoot’s (fixed link) new album, “The Beautiful Letdown”. This is a great album and lives up to everything I expected. I heard good things, and it brings good things. The lyrics remain inspirational and something any person can relate to, while many of the songs also offer a critique of the social and cultural climate in this country and much of the world. The music itself remains true to Switchfoot’s original sound, but it also tries new things. Songs like “Ammunition” lets Jon Foreman’s vocals grip listeners with his near yell “We’re ammunition.”

I would offer further musical critique, but at the moment I believe I’ve said enough. If a more in depth review would be beneficial for you, drop a comment and let me know.

Some of the lyrics were lost in a crash between 3/13/03 and 3/27/03 and will be restored at a later date.

Categories: Music
Tags: Switchfoot

“Can you hear this? / Better turn it up, / and when you feel me then it’s loud enough. / Come on everybody don’t be shy, / just come inside you’ve got a right to rock the superfly.” - O.C. Supertones - “Superfly”

Today began at midnight. It does every day, but that’s beside the point.

I spent the first two hours of today finishing homework after procrastinating as long as usual. This time I managed to finish the homework instead of just waiting and turning it in late. Eventually, purchasing an ink cartridge for my printer would be a good idea. The last two assignments I’ve had I emailed in because I didn’t have easy access to a printer.

After six hours of sleep, a class, and a nap, I got a phonecall from Misty. She locked her keys in her car at a gas station several blocks away, so I took her back to her sorrority to get her keys spare key and then to her car again. I enjoyed getting to talk to her about how ManMaker went and also what she thought about the Women’s Retreat. The women heard some quality teaching that challenges them. It’s awesome to see the affect that one weekend can have on people’s thought processes. I’ve observed the impact on my own thoughts. (Oh, quick side note: there are some really cool freshman men in Navigator’s this year! I’m excited to see them grow.)

Categories: Life